16-0!!!!!!!!!!!

OH YEAH, PATRIOTS WIN!!! 16-0!!!! RECORDS BROKEN!! ACTUALL POST LATER!Just let me enjoy the win for now.

Poor Mars

Well, they took out Pluto, Eris, and even Ceres, but now, going after Mars? Oh well, here's a good read.

Asteroid May Smash Into Mars

True Believers Only

OK, By reading the title of this post, ya'll might expect me to go into some long angry post about religion, but guess what!?!?! This is for the other kind of believers.

Yup this is for the kid-at-heart Santa believers. This post is mainly for a website that's fun for anyone [but especially if you have siblings, family members, or younger friends that still stay true to the man in red {non-believers can enjoy it too^_^}]. Now, when I was a kid [I was brought up with Santa, I'm not sure about any other readers, if you didn't hear about Santa, I'm sorry, I was, and this post may not interest you at all unless you know of someone] I was always told that I needed to be in bed [preferably asleep] on Christmas Eve as soon as possible so that Santa would come. I did [being the resourceful child that I was, I even set up a camera] and the presents and tape proved it, and I was happy with Santa. One year after my camera escapade [I did video Santa for those of ya'll wondering ^_^>] my father found this website.

Now, I had never heard about NORAD or anything else dealing with it, but I knew that these people somehow were tracking Santa, so I tried to find out as much as possible. Sure enough, I found out who NORAD was, and their story seemed to stand up. So, every year, I would run to the family desktop and watch to see when would be the prime time to go to sleep. Even now, it's a tradition I keep.

Well, I'd love to say more, but I gotta go celebrate Christmas, wrap my gifts, and celebrate Christmas for the reasons I celebrate it.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holiday of Your Choosing.
DPS

Early Christmas, brought to you by Nintendo

Well, on both ends of the emotional spectrum, my official deferral letter came in today, and I'm perfectly fine with that [the Internet one seen below {yes it is edited at the name and it didn't really say "Man of Mystery"}]. I still have hope, so I'm going to grab onto that hope and most likely strangle it nearly to death until 15 or 22 March. But while I'm bear-hugging my hopes, I'm doing work at school, work and apps [and app supplements] at home, and playing with my Wii.

*sigh*

This year, Nintendo treated me to an early Christmas by FINALLY sending my brand new straps and Wiimote covers. To anyone who bought one after all the recalls on straps and additions happened, ye don't have to worry about any of this because ye've been spoiled by getting the new straps and the covers along with your system. Those of us who stood in line, pre-ordered, or bought one before the new stuff came out, received no covers and the "dangerous" straps that snap at the drunken throws of people everywhere. I mean, seriously [not really], what were they thinking? People actually playing games sober? Please. [OK, maybe I should lay off the sarcasm] The new accessories are a good improvement over what I had though, so it's really nice. I never had problems with the old stuff though, and the only slightly negative thing was that I nailed my cat during a game of Wii bowling, but in the end, he knew it was his fault because he saw my warnings, but came anyway. [I guess I should have made more warnings, but it was mainly his fault.] Either way, I will still pwn anyone at Wii tennis, and my cat should pay attention more. [Oh yeah, harmless cool website plug, check it out, Wii Have A Problem]

[We don't get along, so I love this picture because of how much he hates that sweater]

The new accessories are nice either way. The covers are comfortable, and have padding around the front end [maybe good for my cat], and are a nice clear colour so I can enjoy the modern white of the Wiimote. They are also made for quicker battery changes too, so I love them. The straps are also nice, one of my favourite features is the clip feature. Since it snaps it closed, it holds it in place, which I like. The string on the end of the strap looks like Nintendo put it on steroids, and even though the pictures are hard to see, the difference is crazy. To those of ya'll who haven't already put your orders in, I recommend that ya'll do it soon. Nintendo will ship for free, and they're very nice accessories to have. And seriously, who ever wants to pass up free stuff?



I love Nintendo. They're just so nice and awesome [like a certain institvte I know of]. OK well, that's enough for this post. My next one may be a bit more uhh... angry and rantish? Also, I've finally updated my blog to Eastern Standard Time. lol for some reason, I was still posting on Pacific time.

Have fun, and happy Christmas.

Just For Now

Well guys and gals, I have two actual posts in the works, but they aren't done yet, so I'll give you an update real quick. Well, as you can see, my colours haven't changed, and they won't until 15/22 March for Regular Decisions, even if I may be a deferred admit, I still have a chance. As Ben Jones said in one of his past MIT Admissions posts, "Deferral is not rejection."

Also as a quick update, I'm considering adding another language to my repertoire, but I don't want to add a normal one. I am really wanting to learn a dying or small language because there is something important in learning something that's dying or slowly growing out of use, and by losing something as important as a language loses a culture. So, if ya'll [which I now hear is supposed to be y'all] would like to help suggest one or comment one the ones I'm thinking about, I'm open to everything.

My current ideas:
1. Hawaiian - I've always loved the Hawaiian culture and the language is truly a beautiful one. My dad was born in Hawai'i and I love learning about its history and people.

2. Inuktitut - OK, I have absolutely no relation to the Inuit people or their language [besides Nunavut being one of my favourite Canadian territories], but the culture is also one of sheer intrigue and is really interesting.

3. Cherokee or Lumbee- I lived in North Carolina for a long time, like a good 70%, at least. I've always enjoyed the cultures, mythology, and history of American tribes, and learning the language of one from North Carolina would be awesome.

Also, SAT scores come out tomorrow, and ACT may have come out tonight, but I'm going to wait and check both at the same time.

Well, I got to go work on the rest of my letter to MIT. Talk to ya'll later.

DEFERRED

Well, I've found another box and switch. I've also hit the wall, but I'm not unconscious yet. Here I come Regular Action!!

A Couple More...

...as I move into the less than thirty minutes left mark. I don't like the third one much, but it came to me, so what the heck?


Applying to MIT is like searching through a box in the attic, three things can happen:

1. You open the box only to find tons of cool stuff like old comic books, cards, or all that other cool stuff. [Acceptance]
2. You open the box only to find that a family of spiders have made it their home, and you just tried out their new home security system. [Rejection]
3. You open the box to find...what?...ANOTHER BOX?!?! [Deferral]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applying to MIT is like looking into a flashlight, one of three things can happen:

1. The batteries have died, you live to see another day. [Acceptance]
2. %$&#! One of those LED flashlights blinded ye. [Rejection]
3. You cut it on, and it's bright [What'd you expect you turned on a flashlight?], but what's this? There's another switch? [Deferral]

As I Sit...

As I sit here thinking about different ways to describe MIT applications, one thing keeps coming to mind, so as I sit, slowly entering the 12 hours left stage, I'm going to share them with you all at random [meaning that I'm just going to post ones that come to me as separate posts until the big decision]. [Note: Comparisons don't provide options for transfer, though that is always an option, and if worse comes to worse, it will be an option I pursue to the fullest.]


Applying to MIT is like running headlong into a brick wall. When it finally comes time to hit it, three things can happen.
1. You can hit it only to find out the bricks are child bricks of cardboard, and they all fall down, and you realise you had nothing to worry about all along. [Acceptance]
2. You hit it and get knocked unconscious, never to think of the brick wall again. [Rejection]
3. You hit it, nothing happens, you walk back to the start, and run again. [Deferral]

Pi Sin

OK, guys, I was driving home from school the other day, and as I scan the area around the road, BAM, I see this. One of my friends was with me, and as I start laughing and enjoying the fact that the sign is 3.14 acres, my friend shot me one of those, "You haven't snapped, have you?" looks, and asks me what the devil I was laughing at. Also, If you get a good look at the picture, I love the way it labels one of the roads as "DIRT ROAD." Well, gtg, enjoy the sign.

[3 days 14 hours 35 minutes]

OMG WE HAVE A DATE

12:00:00 PM EST on 15 December 2007!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!1111ONEONEone!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!exclamationpoint!!

[Big smile, eye twitch, drop books]

Blog Colours

Hey guys, as ya'll know, I read Snively's Blog [I check it everyday]. Being the investigative guy that I am [and one who is a tad overly obsessed with MIT] I looked back at Snively's December 2006 posts. I knew that he was accepted early, and I wanted to see "The tube" so I went to the beginning, and read. I found all I was looking for and more. I also found this post. So, I figured since he did it, and got the aforementioned tube, it wouldn't hurt me that much to try it as well ^_^> So, in tradition, I've changed my blog's colours to commemorate MIT soon to be announced Early Admissions. Enjoy, and wish me luck ^_^> [I'll need it]

Not The Best Princess

Aloha all!

Well guys, it’s finally over...kinda. I HAVE indeed taken my last SAT. Last Saturday was the big day, and come this Saturday, the ACT will also be a thing of the past. If my assumptions are right, MIT’s big day, the Acceptance Day is within a WEEK!!! According to the CollegeBoard, it is within a week, but the big guys and gals haven’t said anything official yet. College apps are also going...decent. Though it’s mainly over, I still have three [maybe four] more to do, but they aren’t fully due until January or February for some. What has caused my pain lately, scholarships. I mean some of them are lengthier than college apps. But, oh well, it’ll all be over soon.

As I sat here thinking about what to blog about, since nothing’s really going on, except for the obvious lol, so I’ve decided to explain the title of the post.

lol I’m talking about the recent Powderpuff Football Game at our school. To those who don’t know what this is, or have this at their school, a Powderpuff Football game is a football game where the Senior and Junior girls battle it out on the football field, the Senior and Junior guys are dolled up, taught cheers, and made cheerleaders, the student council makes money, and the Senior guys compete for “Powderpuff Queen,” which is voted on by the student body [K5 – 12^th]. All in all, it’s fun, the girls get to finally release the stress that they’ve built up against the Juniors, the Senior guys get to attack the Junior guys [even though we look crazy], and the little ones will constantly get laughs. Since we have a small Senior class, we have very few guys, about seven. Three of these guys took the easy route and grabbed the “coach” spots, leaving the other four of us as cheerleaders. One of the cheerleaders didn’t show, and the people bringing the stuff only brought one wig. Guess who was chosen to wear it...

There is no way to explain this picture >.< [I wasn't happy]

The cheerleaders...

Me cheering...

Yup, me. But I took my lot with grace and donned the wig, make-up, and balloons, and cheered my wig off. In the end, I won "Powderpuff Princess" [I hate that title] and got most likely a year's worth of jokes to live down. But oh well, the little ones laughed their heads off, Seniors won 14-0 and exams are approaching, so I'm good. For those of ya'll who know me on Facebook, ya'll can probably navigate your way around to finding the other pics >.<

Later all, and happy fourth day of Chanukkah!

The Beowulf Club

Aloha all and Happy Chanukkah everyone! Since I haven't posted much in a while, and I know that some people tend to post papers and stuff on here, I'm going to post a recent review that I made on Beowulf the movie [Warning, if you liked the movie to a strong degree or simply a normal degree, DON'T READ THIS. I didn't like it, and I feel that there are better movies out there. Also, If you hate a little bit of scrappy English, I'd recommend ye not read this either as it gets choppy in certain parts.]

I recently received the opportunity this Saturday to waste a full two hours of my busy day. What gave me this pleasure, you may ask? Beowulf, the 2007 edition. I guess just telling you that the movie stunk isn’t good enough, so let me give you my gist of the thing first. Beowulf consisted of one of the most forced amalgamations of poor writing, “Hollywood-izing” of a book, and brilliant 3D animation this reviewer has ever seen.

Beowulf is based on the epic poem of the same name and revolves around the egotistical main character, Beowulf. The condensed form of the story is: man cheats on wife with demon, gets cursed, becomes king, and later gets drunk, drunken merriment angers illegitimate demon child, child attacks, kills, and destroys, Mr. Ego comes, shouts his name a bit, kills illegitimate child, more shouting, repeat steps one through four, another illegitimate child is born[this time a dragon], name shouting again, dragon’s death, finally the ultimate end to the shouting as Mr. Ego gets permanently silenced, and then nothing. The ending was near senseless, pathetic, and a definite let down. Seriously, what better way is there to end a movie than by having the title character kill himself and putting his best friend face-to-face with his demon lover [note the sarcasm]?

Before I get into the actual movie, let me first mention what was good about it. The 3D was indeed superb, and no doubts the best that I’ve seen in a while. The end. That was the only good aspect about it. The 3D would honestly be the only reason one should watch this movie, and even it was drawn out tighter than a bridge cable by the time the movie was over. The stereotypical events where it was apparent that Zemeckis wanted to show off the revolutionary 3D where the obvious spear “comes” out of the screen along with the other annoying attempts to say, “Hey we have pretty 3D animation,” got so annoying that by the third time it happened, I considered doing what exactly one fourth of the audience did after the first ten to twenty minutes, and leave.

Since I’ve already started with the negative points of the movie, I’ll continue. Beowulf as a piece of art was generally good, but as a cinematic piece, Beowulf came up rather short. The movie itself somewhat reminded me of one of those toys we play with as a child where the square blocks go into the square holes, the circle blocks go into the circle holes, etc. The movie, however, seemed like the game with only square blocks with circle holes. The movie as a whole seemed rather forced as if Zemeckis was trying to “dumb down” the poem for the least attentive of the audience. If this was the case, I believe he hit the target, and kept going a few hundred kilometres. The movie was filled with yelling, and though I understand that the characters are Vikings and thus expected to yell, I believe they brought that screaming to too high of a degree. Beowulf’s own love of himself, also expected, seemed to go a bit too far as well as almost every other five minutes, he was shouting his own name, like the audience had fallen asleep and apparently forgotten who he was.

Before I end, I’d also like to make a couple of statements about the more controversial issues of the movie. The “pornography” that many people talked about was less porn and more of an annoyance. I mean if someone really had a fetish for Barbie dolls and/or gold paint, then yes, it would definitely be pornographic, but to those who are mature enough to understand that she’s a demon, it’s all computer animated, and it wasn’t meant to arouse, there shouldn’t be any problem. The partial nudity that got on my nerves the most was Beowulf’s rather than Grendel’s mother’s, and it surprised me how they censor Beowulf every chance they get to the point where you can predict the times that a “hidden” “area” censor will come up, whereas with Grendel’s mother, the censors could care less about coming up and the gold whatever liquid quickly drips off as if Zimeckis wanted to cause an uproar. As for the off-hand references to Christianity, I noted them pretty soon when we are confronted with someone sharing Christianity at what is essentially a urinal at the beginning. The second blast came when the essential village idiot of the movie, Unferth, becomes the village’s only monk. It makes one wonder, should religious zealots really focus on movies such as The Golden Compass when movies such as this insult Christianity more blatantly?

In the end, I’d definitely say that I wouldn’t recommend this movie to anyone except to maybe 3D animators, and even then, I’d only tell them to do it if they had some money they really wanted to waste, though burning it would be quicker and a lot more fun. I wouldn’t send my senior class to see it because of the sheer quality of the movie’s direction, its hopeful discontinuity with the book, and the fact that I’d doubt most of the people are mature enough to get through it without laughing their heads off or saying “Ewww,” every chance they got. The movie itself didn’t give me the feeling that I had watched something dirty, so I doubt that I’d consider it pornographic or bad in that sense, but in the end, it was simply a waste of money and time, though I did score some extra credit for it. The movie itself was decent, but for those who have grown up with good movies with full, well defined plots and at least decent artistic design, watching Beowulf will feel like a punch in the gut. Now don’t get me wrong, it’ll be a pretty, well-exectuted punch in the gut, but at the end of the day you’ll still be walking funny.

Yes dear Zero Punctuation fans, I did get a couple quotes from dear old Yahtzee [or at least modded them] and for the whiners about my little stab [not really a stab but like a friendly nudge] at The Golden Compass, might I say, I could care less about the "Atheistic" parts of it, or at least I'll determine whether I care about that after the movie. I'm going against a couple of my teacher's wishes by watching it, but I could kinda care less. Enjoy my scratchy, a bit angry review. Jya Ne.

Catsup......

or Ketchup as we say down here [Get it, catch up?]

Hey guys and gals,

Wow, I really haven’t blogged lately have I? I wouldn’t want to let my devoted readers down though, so I figured that I’d write a little bit about how things have been going and some things that I’ve run across over the week. As for updates, I’m going to be opening up maybe my site again for a comic that I draw for friends. I’m hoping to get it running well by the end of the month so that it’s up by Christmas/Winter Solstice/Chanukah/Eid al-Adha/Boxing Day [take ye’re pick]. The name of the comic is Sugoi Jinsei, which if I’m not mistaken means, Awesome Life in Japanese. As I mentioned, I draw it frequently for friends, and have just decided to make it public I guess one could say. I figured I’d start ya’ll off with a sketch that I modified in the good ole’ Gimp. It’ll be up soon, or ye can find it right at the bottom of the blog. The summary and a link to my sugoi blog will be up soon as well.

In other news, I have gotten my Christmas tree up [In all honesty, it was up before mid-October] and have it decorated for the moment as my “College Tree.” “Now DPS,” ye’re asking, “What the devil is a ‘College Tree’”? Well, a college tree is essentially a small artificial pine tree [anything artificial is not a Christmas tree in my book] that I have decided to decorate with the mascots, symbols, or memorabilia of the college’s to which I’ve applied.

Notice a beaver [MIT], tiger tail [Clemson], NC State Wolfpack football helmet antennae thing, and Hawaiian lei [U of H: Manoa]. The tree is missing at least two or three other colleges, but hopefully will have them up soon, depending on what I decide. Since the tree is for the colleges that I’ve applied to, I don’t know if I feel OK about adding ones that I’m not sure about applying to. Considering the price for admissions, I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable about asking my parents to pay $180 for JUST applications [that’s not including the ones I’ve already applied to].

But I assume that those are my problems and ya’ll don’t want to hear about my problems or constant whining; you want to hear about actual blog-worthy stuff and not the blathering of some neurotic twit. What's Going on? SAT, School, and umm...blah is what’s going on.

SAT. Rofl, I could go on and on about my Subject scores. “That good?” you wonder? No, that bad. I’m almost sure that a trained dog with a bowl of kibble and a pencil taped to his paw could have done better than my Physics score, but going into a test of more than just mechanics and only knowing mechanics because ye got a basic book because ye didn’t know what the devil to buy, I think I did about as good as I could’ve done. I’ve also bought a better book/books. Two of them to be in fact for a sweet $66.66. I’ve checked, only like two to four chapters are devoted to mechanics, so I’ll get a more rounded education. The others were decent to say the least [which I will]. Also, remember this post? Turns out I lied. I’m going to be taking the tests [Reasoning {depending on what happens with Nov. Scores this 20^th} and ACT] this December. This will hopefully be my last ones,so that I can put the bloody things behind me.

Now for school. Prom may be returning [“Official Study is still in progress], I’ve somehow become yearbook co-editor, and I’m going to try to get my peers to help join in a charity that I learned about at College Experience Program #1. Now Invisible Children is a great charity to be apart of, and I suggest anyone who can help with it, but my school has a bad habit of, oh how do you say......not giving a flying dingo about others needs. Now we do the annual can food drive, heart walk every now and then, and a couple of other things here and there, but when it comes to charities in other places of the world, they kind of just shut off [save for the Operation Christmas Child one, which many do simply for the extra credit some teachers give for it]. I’m not saying that they’re evil or anything, it’s just that they tend to not know how truly awful these people are, so they just don't do anything. Hopefully the DVD I’m going to show them from Invisible Children will help them understand, and help our school to do something beneficial for an actual reason.

Finally, the blah. I’ve currently rediscovered my love for Celtic music [along with my love to talk with random accents], found an awesome TV show at a pretty easy to watch slot, AND FINALLY MIT RELEASES DECISIONS FROM EARLY ADMISSION IN LESS THAN ONE MONTH [counting February][I think]!!!!1one! Music: I discovered I enjoyed Celtic music early in life, and this summer, a concert reminded me of that love. It recently returned when I watched a video recommended by the Ninja Consultants as one of the top five best AMV’s [I tended to agree more with Erin than Noah]

Awesome isn’t it? Combined with the fact that pretty well any Ghibli movie roxor, I liked it. As for TV, the show is called The Big Bang Theory. It comes on CBS at 8:30 EST. It combines nerdiness with comedy which usually can never go wrong. I’m not sure about its airing other than in the USA, but I do know it can be bought in the iTunes store for $1.99 an episode [completely worth it]. As for the major thing I mentioned [the thing in all caps], I’m assuming that it happens on 8 December of this year. I’d soooooooooooooo [o {not zero} x infinity] love to get accepted and get the well-known tube, but that’s up to the Admissions Staff [^_^ = Big smile]. Blast while typing, I just realised that I mentioned my blog zilch in my app. -_-‘ Oh well, maybe it’ll go well anyway[hopefully]. If I get deferred, I can easily expect about a 100 day wait which would no doubt eat me from the inside like something from a Studio Ghibli film [Ashitaka's curse, dont know who or what that is? Rent the movie and find out! Ye'll love it! I promise!]. Nonetheless, I’m pushing forward to my destination, wherever it may be, and all is well and busy.

Also for those of you who remember me talking about MIT Gridiron, they finished their season last week, 2 wins – 7 losses -_-‘ Oh well, there’s always next year. Talk to ye later, and Jya’ Ne.

Quick Check-in

Well, I'll make a serious post soon, but I wanted to share this. Have ye ever been so tired that you just start laughing uncontrollably at something that was meant to be funny, but not entirely THAT funny whether it be from being extremely tired or extremely out of it? Here was mine for today.

Little Bobby Tables

Also, three cheers for Sonic and Snake coming to Smash Bros. BRAWL!!!!

Later

Slipstick, Sliderule, M.I.T!!!!

HEY GUYS!!!! YA MISSED ME!?!?

*crickets*

-_-' yeah I was scared of that......

Oh well, it's time for me to blog again anyway, because I have time to spare! I will tell you know that it's going to be a long one though.

Well, first things first, I've applied to my first college! Sadly, however, it's not MIT, as was hoped. This is simply because...my interview STILL has not been processed. *twitch* I know that the guy may be busy and all, but seriously, I had my interview in the second week of August, and it's been terrifying. I'm honest guys; this MIT app is my MOST important. I'm going to be taking action either today or tomorrow.

As I went to my MIT account last night, I noticed that MIT was repairing it last night. I figured that well, this is normal, who doesn't update their site regularly? It was then I noticed an odd link on the site.

Yes guys and gals, MIT links to The Impossible Quiz whenever they're doing repairs. I've only done it a bit, but otherwise, am not too familiar with it. I keep telling myself that whenever I get the chance to practice the art of punting.

As I mentioned above, I have already applied to one college so far. This college is my second choice, and sadly the only in-state college to which I'm applying [unless I get waivers from a bunch and can find a whole lot of time just lying around.] They've been very kind lately, almost to the point of annoyance, and my father has been stressing how nice it is, failing to remember his own rave reviews on how nice MIT was. I do understand why he's pushing it though, it's just it's getting a good bit annoying. Oh yeah, I've forgotten to tell you who the school is. It's Clemson University. To help cultivate a growing love for Clemson, my father has encouraged numerous trips to the campus for football games, both of which, Clemson's won.

As I'm sure all of ya'll know IT'S [American] FOOTBALL SEASON!!! I'm pumped, because I love gridiron. So far I've been to two Clemson games and one UNC-Pembroke game, but sadly, I have missed a lot of my high school's games, which bites since I'm the head photographer for our yearbook [despite my horridly blurred shots above]. I have a lot of nicer pics, but I'm working on fixing them to look a lot nicer. I might post a link to them, but I've been told to put watermarks on some of them. ^_^> Well, as expected, Clemson's football team is doing spectacular, but as for MIT [whom I've been watching very closely] hasn't done as great as I've hoped [0-2]. I do hope that they'll be able to pick it up later [they play Nichols College this Saturday]. I've actually been watching MIT football for about a year, and I have been thinking about participating in MIT varsity football/fencing/swimming/crew if accepted. [I doubt I'd get the chance at Clemson lol] I'm definitely interested in MIT Athletics, and actually pull for them more than Clemson/Duke/N.C. State/Hawai'i. I even know the cheer:

ONE PERSON: I'm a Beaver!

TEAM (answering): You're a Beaver!

ALL: We are Beavers all,
And when we get together we do the Beaver call:
e to the u du dx.
e to the x dx.
Cosine, secant, tangent, sine,
3.14159.
Intregral, radical, mu dv,
Slipstick, sliderule, MIT!

But here's something that really miffed me off recently!!! As I'm sure ya'll know, the 2008 Olympics are going to be held in Beijing. Before every modern day Olympics [or at least since 1936 but that's a story for another time]. OK they have recently begun searching for torchbearers for the Games. I LOVE the 2008 torch, along with any other torch since Barcelona/Albertville. 2008, however means a lot to me. These will be my first 18+ Olympic Games [I've secretly been plotting the purchase of tickets]. They're also in China, one of the most culturally rich nations in the entire world. I want to be part of that torch relay more than almost anything [maybe save for an MIT admission] So as I'm browsing Gamesbids.com, I notice this link: 'New Thinkers' can win a chance to run the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay in China*. You can imagine the bleeing that proceeded from that moment until I got home. When I got to an internet connection, I went straight to signing up until I realized that you had to be OVER 21 TO DO IT!!!!!!!ONEONEONE!!!111!! I was crushed and now I am miffed off with Lenovo for tricking me.

Now for what I promised Kate a while ago. My interview. My interviewer and I met at a local Books-a-million where the interview in its entirety was held. He seemed very comfortable, and the entire interview seemed like a semi-casual conversation. He asked me questions about my school, my SAT scores, my wants and dreams for the future, why I want to go to MIT, my leadership skills, etc. Basically put yourself in their shoes. Assume that you are the interviewer, and no matter how insane you may feel, interview yourself [out loud]. It will do wonders. Get one of your parents or friends to interview you as well, usually, they can be just as, if not more, honest than you can be. Other than this I can't really tell you much. Show up on time [and have their contact info at all times in case they don't show], have your info in line, and just be honest.

Oh well, time for bed.

Jya' Ne

A Sign of Things To Come

Hey guys, it's just going to be a quick one here to tell ya'll what to expect. Info about my trips to college #2 and my feelings about it, college football, a weird MIT link, the weather, my MIT interview, why I currently dislike Lenovo, books I'm reading, school in general, THE OLYMPICS!!!, Christmas, senior stuff, and whatever happens to fall at my fingertips as I type.

Breaking it with a Blog

Well guys, I'm on a bit of a break today since I've gotten most of my homework done, and I figured I'd post an entry about some things I've found interesting or been thinking about lately. The first thing is this:
Now, for ya'll BIG fans of my blog, or those with good memories, this sign has been featured here once before. If you remember, I blogged about my trip to the Final Four, where I watched all but the Championship game because of it being ON A SCHOOL NIGHT O_O *twitch*. I also talked about my huge misprint that I discovered after I had finished it, and was holding it up at the games [It was supposed to read, MIT PWNS, but I just wasn't of my senses at the time I guess]. I also blogged about my trip to the other eastern coast tech. You know, the one with the yellow jackets or something like that [please note the sarcasm]. [BTW, Click the original picture at the Georgia Tech sign, and notice the phrase in chalk above my head. My father and I noticed it when we were checking how the picture turned out, and it just worked out perfectly lol]

After the trip, my mother asked me, "What's that thing for?" I politely responded that, "Its there to spread my message to the world." She consented and let the poster stay in the den for
a while. After about two weeks though, it went missing. [She hid it.] During a recent clean-up at my house it resurfaced [a sign maybe???]. Either way, now it's in my room! and I'm displaying it PROUDLY!

Currently, my interview still has yet to appear on my Online App Tracker, but I guess it's OK, because if I'm not mistaken, my interviewer was going on vacation last week anyway. I'm still worried, but I'm keeping my hopes high, and my dreams higher ^_^>. Well, my Frankenstein book's giving me a weird look, and is mysteriously on my bed now [was under my pillow] so I believe that my break is over. Kate sorry for no response to the stuff on comments in this one. I promise, responses will be in one of the next two posts.

The Countdown's Begun

OK, If I get screwed over by Blogger again, I'm moving to a different blogging site. I wrote an entry, and then went to upload pics. After uploading, I lost the biggest paragraph entirely. I did copy the entry in its entirety before the destruction. Here it is in picture form, ye'll have to click it, it's unreadable otherwise [unless ye wanna read the tiny writing]

BAH!!!

Well guys, I'm pretty sure gridiron is over. After a long discussion with arguments, yelling, and stuff galore, my family and I have decided that I will not be playing it this school year. -_-' I am still going to do football [soccer] though, so that's good. I guess it's all for the best in the end since it'll give me more time to focus on academics and stuff. In other, more brighter, news, I'm going to be going to school in two weeks. Now those of you who aren't seniors, or actually like your high school won't understand why I'm excited to go to school. I do like to learn......a lot, but I mainly am ready to go to school because IT WILL BE OVER EVEN SOONER!!! All I've got to worry about is getting through safely [grades that is]. But now, I've gotta go.

Answers & Light Shedding Info Galore

HELLO EVRYONE'!!!!! Yes, I'm happy to be blogging again, since I haven't done it in......uhhh......a long time -_-' But I'm sure my numerous *cough* readers already know that. It's time now to answer the question that I posed in the previous post. Where was I? BOSTON/CAMBRIDGE!!!one!1one11! Yes, and believe it or not, I actually got to go to MIT. Honestly the only way to describe it is, 「すごい　です」. If I'm not mistaken, that means it was awesome......in Japanese. It was amazing lol I think i got a bunch of looks because I kept touching everything, but I honestly couldn't help it. It's like whenever you see all these pictures of awesome things like a huge roller coaster, an amazing computer, or really big shrimp, and then, you actually get to see, ride, or eat it! [even though I don't eat shrimp].

I got a LOT of pictures, but since they were on bloody disposable cameras, they were all horrible. I mean seriously, I went against a LOT of my purchasing morals on this trip. We got to be at MIT for a whole day!!! I saw the Great Dome [which is a lot bigger than it looks in pictures], walk the Infinite Corridor [they mean infinite......have a map], pick up an application!!!ONE11!, look around in Lobby 7, go on a tour, and even talk to a V.I.P. on campus. It was all definitely a top three on my summer event list. I've already filled out most of my application, and all I have left is my essays, interview, and SAT Subject Tests. I'm terrified of this physics one, but I'm learning, and I feel a tad confident about it. I hope I'll be ready.

Another big thing about my trip was my two hour long trip to Boston! My first time EVER on a plane, and it was awesome. I actually brought all my study materials with me, like my physics book, my Japanese workbook, and my copy of the 2007 MIT Admissions application, but I never got to any of it -_-' Maybe it was the hopeless romantic in me, or the simple desire to procrastinate, but I watched outside the window at all times. -_-' There and back......

In other news, I'VE GOT A BRAND NEW COMPUTER!!11!!!!ONE! Yes, it is nice. Not an Apple -_-' but nice nonetheless. I've also been at gridiron camp. Which was loooooong......very very LONG! Either way, I'm through with most everything......except for this one mission trip that I'm gonna be on until next Saturday ^_^> Luckily I think I'll get rest for one week before school starts [and when I say rest, I mean tons of studying and writing], but it's all good, because I know that on 24 August, I'm gonna be sitting in a movie theatre watching Mr. Bean's Vacation on the big screen. I'm soooo ready for it. I loved Mr. Bean when it came on TV, and the whole thing's just hilarious. Even better than ANY of those other movies. bah, I can't wait. Well, I'm gonna be leaving in about thirty minutes, so I'm gonna head off, and I'll try to post again when I return. Who knows, maybe I'll post some of those pics I keep mentioning. [Yes, I did indeed take a couple of stereotypical pictures in front of the Great Dome] Jya Ne

o.o I'm in where???

Ok. Blogger's corny. I just wrote an ENTIRE post, and it didn't save a bloody word of it. I'm gonna actually write it, and then maybe I'll try re-posting it. Now I'll just say, today's a day for vapor-trails. Later.

Cicadas, Squirrels, and Moon Rocks, Oh My

Well, it's the last day of my educational enrichment program, and I've had a pretty memorable time in the past month. The fourth was very active. The first thing was an attack by a squirrel. First of all, I DID NOT provoke the squirrel, unless it didn't like me looking at it. Second, it shouldn't have made noises like it did to begin with. Either way, he chased me for a little while, but I lost him. After losing him, sure enow, a cicada [or at least something that looked near-exactly like one] jumped up and flew straight at me. I dodged the buzzing bullet of terror, and it hit a tree as I continued on to my room.

Animal attacks aside, I also achieved complete happiness. Yes, it has finally happened. I was mistaken for someone not from America. *inner bli* Yes, sure enow, while I was looking around in Millennium Music, I was confronted by a reporter from the local ABC News. He confronted me, and informed me that they were doing a report about people coming to America to work and study, and was wondering if I had had a hard time as a student coming to *insert the name of college where experience program was held* as an international student. I was very tempted to make up stuff [and I mean VERRRRRRRY tempted], but sadly I just told him that I wasn't a college student, and he said OK, and walked away in search of someone else. -_-' Man, I wanted to be on that interview. Either way, that's done with.

In other news......
YUP!!! Sochi, Russia was awarded the 2014 Winter Olympics. My first choice of cities, PyeongChang, Republic of Korea, wasn't chosen, but they got second, and according to GamesBids, they have a good shot for 2018. Either way, I just hope they get it soon. I mean, they've been going for it for two Winter Olympic elections so far, and I'd way rather them get it than Salzburg [also been going for it for two elections]. Now that I am home for a week, before science camp, I am reviewing every video presentation that the cites gave for the IOC, like I've done since 2005 [Yes, I know that's only one election other than this, but they just started in 2005, and it's kinda a tradition].

I have now shifted my attention to 2016 since Sochi has officialised 2014. Lets see, so far only three cities have officially sent something for 2016, and no more can apply as of 13 September. Then on 2 October 2009, we will all know where 2016 will be held. You can count on it, I'll be there either way. So far, Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid have sent a bid in, and, even though Madrid's bid for 2012 was AMAZING, if the IOC awards them the Games in 2016, I will be forced to send angry letters to Monsieur Rogge and the fine people at the IOC. Seriously though, Madrid is awesome, and has amazing plans, but we have London with 2012 and now Sochi in 2014 [no matter what ye say, Sochi is in Europe, deal with it]. I would be very distraught to see Europe get three games in a row. That's not right.

I am also trying to find out information about how to be a torchbearer for Beijing 2008. Ohhh I'd love to be one, and get to hold that B.E.A.U.tiful torch. I'd consider buying one off of eBay like I will do in the future with the others. Yeah, I like the torches from the Games. I've always wanted to collect the ones from 1992 and up. That's a post for another time though.

Now, I've got a chance to play an online game that I kinda help moderate, practice gridiron, and sort through 100+ pictures from my program. I may post some with their stories, but right now, don't expect much. Have a nice day/night/morning. Jya' Ne.

Miffed Off, But Moving On

Well, it's over. I've taken all my SAT's, except for the Subject Tests in October. The results, I practically wasted my parent's money on the June SAT. I didn't do anything, except raise my score in Critical Reading by 40, but either way it's not that great for MIT. I have already told them that I cannot allow them to pay for anymore tests; so from now on, I will, indeed, be paying for my own SAT's from now on. I plan on taking it again in November, to maybe help my app while it's at MIT, but otherwise, by October, it's very near to over.

While at my college program, I've met so many people I envy. My suitemate had perfect math and near perfect critical reading. -_-' I've bought a $15 iTunes card, and I'm going to buy the Kaplan's SAT Prep game either at home or if my dad lets me while I'm here. "Don't worry about that stuff while you're there, he says." Apparently, he hasn't had to apply to go to school at one of the world's most highly selective institutes. Either way, I'm going to try not to worry about this thing. If MIT wants me, they'll take me [I'll just keep applying there until I'm not allowed to apply anymore].

On the lighter side, I have downloaded what has to be the UBER best internet browser in the world. Better looking than Firefox! Faster than IE! It's......APPLE SAFARI!!! Seriously though, if you want to have a reallllllllllllly nice browser, dl Safari. But I'm just an Apple fan, so don't mind me.

Hmmm, I don't really have much to say at the moment, and my camera is not "with" me at the moment. Jya' Ne.

It's Not The Heat, It's The...

water leak in the upstairs room of your suite.

Yes, I'll explain the title later for those of you who don't understand it [hopefully all of you]. Well, I've officially been at my first college experience program for a good week now, and I guess you could say I'm trying to make the most out of it. It's pretty fun so far, considering I get to READ COMICS for homework in one class [about graphic novels] and get to look up tons of information about countries in the other [also just as fun, believe it or not]. We got there the first day, and I immediately had nothing to do [it was a weekend so no class]. I got moved in to my suite/dorm/whatnot, and met my new roommates, and got that horrid eerie silence thing out of the way. After we get all settled, we got our welcome, met people, made appliances out of ourselves, you know the normal things people do when they come together.

We were all fine and dandy in our suite, and decided, "Hey why not go get some food." Because you know, my friends and I are average humans who like food. Well we go, eat some awesome sandwiches, and then return to our suite. As I opened the door, I immediately stepped in, and found my foot to be wet! I look up and down, and there is water pouring from my roof, onto the floor, and truly flooding the entire suite's first floor. In return, we were not so swiftly removed and placed in a more "habitable" suite......it had carpet. We've been in there since, living it up, and enjoying our college experience, expect for me.

Why, you may ask? As you know by now if you read my blog, I am dreaming of a future at the best most awesomest school in the universe. What is this school? MIT. But as I was saying, I've taken the SAT with a pretty good return most of the time. Not exactly MIT good, but good to say the least. Since I hadn't even thought about knowing physics, I decided that instead of going for the subject test in June, I'd take the SAT Reasoning Test instead. Needless to say, the scores are posted Thursday. THURSDAY! and don't even get me started on the ACT [also coming out this week!!!!!!!!11one]

Either way, I am enjoying it here. Even though I have absolutely no desire, motive, or reason to attend the college I'm at for these three more weeks, it is very interesting and fun. I'm taking an awesome graphic novel course taught by an amazing professor, and get to read and draw comic books for homework. I mean, seriously, can it get any better? I've also got a couple of reading suggestions as well, for any graphic novel readers. Superman: Red Son [a story about if Superman had crashed in the U.S.S.R. instead of Kansas] and Persepolis [autobiography of Marjane Satrapi] are the two best at the moment. I also have an awesome global issues class too. We're doing one of my favorite things at the moment. Researching countries, and learning more about them. Seriously, it may sound stupid or wierd or whatever, but I love learning as much as possible about new cultures. Plus, the professor's cool too.

This year's program has seemed fun, but I can't help but feel jealous of last year's group. They were allowed a Java course [I SO WANT THAT COURSE] and to boot, a featured speaker was the awesome MIT renowned Daniel Barkowitz...Daniel T. Barkowitz, the Director of Student Financial Aid and Student Employment at MIT. I'd soooooo love to be able to talk with him about college and financial aid, but I'm enjoying the lady that we have had this year. Since my school has no guidence counselor, I soak up useful information like a sponge, and become a bit of a leach to those who have it and are willing to help [a strong curse]. Mrs. ________ has been VERY understanding and has done more in a week than I've gotten in two years though, so that's awesome. I will be talking to a professor who used to go to MIT, and be speaking with a physicist soon, so all I can do is sit back, think of questions, do homework, and blog at the moment. I've got to do the third of these at the moment though, so talk to ye later. Jya' Ne.

Wow, Longer Than I Expected

Well, I'm back, and only 54 more days until late July!!! [for any MIT prospect, yeah that's when the applications come out {or so they say}] So far, my summer's gone uber slow, and I'm about fed up with it already. I really need some Christmas music. Oh well, to update ya'll on how things are going so far, I've got about a day or two until my first physics test [Chapter 3: Motion in One Dimension], about two days until my FINAL ACT [!!!!11!1one], and about three days until I probably forget my blog for a month while I'm at the first of many college experience programs, and I haven't even started packing. So I'll blog now about what's been going on.

SAT: I took my last ever SAT Reasoning Test last Saturday. I was excited until I started thinking about my score, and now I'm just ready for them to post the bloody thing so I can get it over with. I've done well enow so far to get highest score in my class, but low compared to MIT standards, so I'm ready to see how I matched up.

Gridiron: Yes, I've taken on another endeavor for next year, and will indeed be playing gridiron next year. Fun: hopefully. Interesting: definitely. Who knows, if I play my cards right, I might be playing gridiron for the Engineers! rofl yeah right.

College: Yup, I can already blog about college, since I was admitted to my first last week. It is most likely the best engineering college in my state [but if ye compare it to other engineering programs, it's probably uber lacking]. Yup, I got my letter the other day, and now all I got to do is fill out the application for next year.

College Experience Program #1: Yup, since I haven't mentioned yet what state I live in, I'm not going to tell you the CEP I'll be participating in. I can tell you it's a MONTH long! I love the whole experience thing, but a month! bah, I'll just have to suffer, and I'm only taking two courses anyway lol. Journalism and the Graphic Novel. woooooooooo. Both were my last choices, and I don't really see much coming from them. I like anime/manga so I suppose that the Graphic Novel would be cool, and if I get my hands on a camera, I'd be an awesome video journalist, but otherwise, that's about it.

Computers: I'm miffed. My computer [an DECREPIT Toshiba laptop] is evil. I severely despise it, and am ready to get rid of it. My family has already discussed this topic for a good year now, but get this, we haven't done anything. I've got my dream computer already made, and all we have to do is purchase it, but I have to consider when I buy it. Here's the deal. I can buy it in December of this year, and get an amazing laptop will the biggest specs that I can place on it, or I can get it in June of next year, and get a FREE iPod Nano!one11!! For those of ye who don't know the problems with my computer [which should be all of ye, unless ye play a certain video game, or go to my school] it has a habit of cutting off when I least expect it. For example, it's probably cut off once...at least, while I'm typing this post. When I play games online, it really cuts off a lot, and they say it's due to overheating. Soo, I bought a $30 "cooling pad." Guess what, it didn't work. My best option is an ice pack that I got for free that I put in the freezer everyday that I have to put under my laptop. Surprisingly, it works.

The New London 2012 Olympic Logo: OK, I'm an Olympics fanboy. I hate to say fanboy, but it's true. I've watched them ever since Atlanta '96 and will watch them till the day I die.

Well, the LOCOG [London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games] announced their latest design for the London 2012 Olympic Games logo. Their decision is below.
Yup, it's......AWESOME ISN'T IT!?!? Yeah, I hated it at first, but now I love it. If you're like I was at the beginning, and can't see what it is, it's a stylised 2012. The only thing I don't really care for is the colours. Also, I kinda still like the candidature logo... [seen below]
See? It looked good to begin with. Oh well. Oh yeah, lol, the new logo has received a good bit of umm... negative criticism. An ad with a blinking logo also caused seizures in about 12 people I think an article said. People are now calling the LOCOG to change the logo, but honestly they don't have any credibility to begin with [yeah, I saw the other designs you Brits came up with]. The new one is nice, and a great design in my opinion. The whole seizure thing is stupid to begin with. Yes, I know it's a medical condition, and I know thousands of people suffer from it daily, but honestly, do you really think that it's just this logo that'd cause it? I mean, have you seen those old MTV commercials??? Yeah, they changed due to time, and I'm sure after 2013 ya'll won't have to worry about it.

2014: Yeah, the decision about the 2014 Winter Olympics comes out on July 4th. I'm gonna be begging for the internet or television that week and the week of SAT releases so that I can check my scores, and watch the announcement of who the games were awarded to. I'm honestly pulling for PyeongChang, Republic of Korea, but I'm scared that Sochi might end up getting it since Russia hasn't hosted an Olympics since 1980 and that Europe just had the 2006 Olympics, and will get the 2012. But then again, Austria hasn't hosted an Olympics since 1976 [also a Winter Olympiad], and Asia is getting the 2008 Olympics, so Salzburg might stand a good chance as well. Guess we'll just have to wait ^_^>.

AND FINALLY!! I've just read a post from a fellow blogger about nerds and geeks, and I have to say that I believe the complete opposite of Snively, if you read what was written, switch the words geek and nerd and you have probably a close approximation of what I think about it. I do agree with, "Nerds play Dungeons and Dragons, read fantasy books." That is true. I've always considered myself a nerd, even though I don't really play D&D, but I still believe that nerd culture is richer than geek culture. Plus, the way they sound does seem to make it go right. Nerd sounds awesome. Bluegirl likened it to the candy, which was also my first thought. It's kinda a way to say nerds are cool, we come in different shapes and sizes, and at times we can be either sweet or tart depending on when you try us. Geek......BAH! Honestly, it sounds like something you'd find on the bottom of your shoe, like seriously, can't you just hear, "Awww man, I stepped in some geek, hold on let me wipe it off." I'd take the time to write things about me, but I've been writing for uhhh... a little while and I'm a bit hungry and I need to make a trip to Wally's World, so I'm gonna say that I so disagree with the whole "I will school you in Wii tennis," stuff is so false. I so pwn when it comes to the Wii lol ^_^ v Well, time to go. Jya' Ne

Preview of Summer and a Rant

Well, I've begun summer. Yeah, it pretty well much ends at that. I'm sitting down with a Physics book on one leg, a Japanese book on the other, a learn Greek website open, and the TV running full blast. It's summer all right. I have, however, taken breaks to explore as much stuff as possible while I wait for the college applications to come out in July. I'm not even gonna check on Ga Tech or Clemson's applications yet. Taking all this into consideration, I've visited my extreme nemesis College Confidential. dot com. For those of ya'll unfamiliar with College Confidential, I'll go ahead and warn you, it's the spawn of Satan. Well, it and Myspace. Though there are a few people on there that truly know what's right, the majority of them are pure idiots.

But wait, you may be thinking, "Oh Walt, you're over exaggerating." pfft I'll be over exaggerating when I truly think that they are all truly deserving of all that they really think they deserve. The MIT section of CC has been filled with mindless drones who think that their stats and "amazing personality" will grab them the perfect spot, that random people on a random website will tell them if they can get into MIT, and those who think that trolling will get them true happiness.

I've also noticed that a good number are asking about "Why should I apply to MIT?" No, seriously, do you know how angry this makes me? Imagine a cat, now slap it around a bit, now pour ice water on it, now pull it's tail, and finally, drop it in a pool full of puppies and ice water. This is about 1/10 of how angry these posts make me. I know a lot of people aren't sure about what college to choose, and I know that MIT's not the college for everyone. These are the exact reason why they make me mad. MIT is a place where if you truly want to go to it, by simply reading stuff from the blogs, or the site, you should just have everything click. Seriously, if you're a match there, I think things would seriously click. Now I've not been accepted, and have strong doubts about my acceptance, and have talked to people who have, indeed, had things click, and then got rejected. Even so, I go by the belief that you don't go to college to get a degree. You don't go so you can brag later about "Oh yeah, I went to Fill in Name of Uber College. It's stupid to do that. Seriously, do you know how purely horrible that is? You don't go anywhere to do THAT!!! College is made to TEACH!!! AND YOU GO TO LEARN!!! YOU LEARN SO THAT YOU CAN HELP HUMANITY!!!

OK, yeah, I know this rant may sound a bit on the corny side, but seriously!!! Bah even so, I think I've used up my rants for today, and either way, youth group's about to start, so I've gotta go. I have another post in the works about the news from yesterday. enjoy my rant. Jya' Ne.

IT'S ALL OVER!!!

OH YEAH!!! WE ARE DONE!!! FINALLY I'M A SENIOR! BLI BLI BLI!!! UBER BLI!!! OK, that's over with. Well, not really, but then again, yeah it is. Well, if you haven't caught the drift yet, I'm out of school, and officially a SENIOR! and at the end of July, MIT releases their applications for Freshman Admission. *bli faints* Here's a quick review of my summer though. June, six days free, then the rest is at a college experience thing. July, first ten days, I'm still at college experience thing, then I have a free week, then science camp, then free week to bli over MIT's newly released application. August, trip to CAMBRIDGE [WOO!], then Habitat for Humanity, then a week, then SENIOR YEAR BABY!

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! During this entire summer, I have to teach myself Physics for the SAT Physics Subject Test, teach myself basic Japanese [and hopefully Greek{already started a bit}] So, what do ya think? Can I do it? ^_^ Oh well, I can at least try, right? Well, besides that, I'm also miffed off because my chairs got destroyed [Oh sorry, I'll make sure I write about this, it was boredom fun {what's more fun than boredom fun, seriously?}] I gtg now, cause I'm gonna be helping my grandma clean up uhh today. Jya' Ne all.

Like A Top That Never Stops Spinning WOO!

BACK!!!, well only kinda. I figured I'd jam pack this one with pics and info galore, but I'm not sure right now, I guess we'll find out at the end. OK, from last time, A few weeks ago, I went to my first prom.

[Bah, horrid prom pictures]

Well, the prom itself was awesome, even though our DJ was either not up-to-date with good ole' old skool music or just didn't want to play what I requested [I clearly said "Lean On Me" not Lean With It, Rock With It"] Everyone enjoyed themselves and I was able to become Limbo King! Turns out, it's a good thing that everyone had a good time, because the next day, we were informed that we would no longer be having proms at our school any more until our school does an "Official Study" into how proms are conducted. They banned them because they did not like the bumoing and grinding going on on the dance floor. "Like sex with clothes on" I believe our Spanish teacher described it as. [For those who're wondering, no, I only slow-danced]. The Friday before prom, I also became student body president, which is pretty kool, even though I uber miffed off my opponent. In essence, our school's final prom was a truly awesome one [we even had a limo...that got in a wreck!].

Our school even went to the State Soccer Tournament as well, and even though we lost, the ride there was truly awesome. I took a bunch of pictures for ya'll to enjoy as well. ^_^ v Most of the pictures are a tad, ummm, satirical? I know that there are probably truly reasonable explanations for most of them, but some things in life just make ya laugh sometimes. [Photos will be posted soon.]



BTW, as for school, IT'S ALMOST OVER!!!! My friends and I followed up by celebrating the first day of exams which signaled one more week on Friday by going fishing and riding ATV's immediately after school. It was, as you can imagine, amazing, and I also took a bunch of random vids today as well. [Yes vids, I'm moving on up in this blogging thing, now all I have to do is figure out how to post them]. As for now? yeah, I'm just postponing studying for my LAST JUNIOR EXAM!!! -_-> Yeah, I know, a bunch of ya'll are "been there, done that," but this is awesome for me because it means that I'm almost away from Fill in School's name here Ahh, just a couple more days/hours. Also, I've decided to add something to the side that posts fellow MIT hopefuls blogs too. If I put it up and ya'll don't want me to put it up, tell me, I'll drop it [WARNING: HORRID POP CULTURE REFERENCE] like it's hot. Bah I hate that song. Oh well, Have a nice day/night/morn. Jya' Ne.

BRB

Well, I haven't been able to blog lately due to an enormous amount of work [two weeks before school gets out, and they pile work on us!]. Because of all this, I won't be blogging until the 15th or later. But while I'm gone I'll leave you with this vid... Enjoy.

An Even Quicker Vent

ARG, why can't I get time to post... New post will come soon [Things to watch for: Last prom, my first name, an alligator with a flag, the Squat and Gobble II, and a big fish.]

...... AND Why does Photobucket only take 1024 x 768 images or less!?!?!?!?!?!

A Quick Vent

OK guys, I've been silent for a while but now I'm miffed, and have decided to postpone my Honors work while I vent a bit. If anyone's watching MIT, they know what has happened with the Dean of Admissions. I've read the stories, thought about the situation, and will be sending the MIT Admissions Office an e-mail with my complete thoughts tonight. I am however following the blogs, and the comments on the blogs. One of these is the new Dir. of Admissions, Stu Schmill. I opened the good ole' laptop the other day to find out that the blogs and comments had been re-opened, and that the first post was by Stu himself. The comments made were mostly expected, but then around 12:50, someone begins posting idiotic comments such as "Read the News." They then proceed with different names to insert the exact same thing into the comments, and/or to insult Mrs. Marilee. I'll say now I don't know Marilee, nor do I know anyone at the admissions office, but it's people who make comments like the following that make me mad. I'll post some and then respond:

"Please read the news:

Marilee Jones falsely bolstered her credentials to get a job with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and over the course of her career claimed to have earned degrees from three schools. MIT officials say now they have no evidence she ever graduated from college at all.

The school announced Thursday that Jones had resigned after acknowledging she had misrepresented her education when she started working at the university 28 years ago, and declined to correct multiple incorrect claims since then.

A senior MIT official said that by claiming degrees she had never earned, Jones could no longer lead an admissions office that occasionally rescinds the acceptance letters sent to applicants who are untruthful about their own accomplishments.

Jones was asked to resign because her actions go "against her being a model for integrity that an admissions director sets," Clay said. "It represents a very, very long deception, when there were opportunities to correct the record. This is not a mistake or an accident or an oversight."

_________________________________________________

Details:

MIT dean resigns over misrepresented credentials
POSTED: 12:15 p.m. EDT, April 27, 2007
AP) -- To stressed-out parents and students, MIT admissions dean Marilee Jones was a rare voice of reason in the high-pressure world of college admissions. With colleges demanding kids who play sports, run student government and take the heaviest course load they can, Jones shouted back the opposite: daydream, stay healthy, and don't worry so much about building a resume just to impress an elite college.

Yet it turns out that Jones was susceptible to pressure herself. She falsely bolstered her credentials to get a job with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and over the course of her career claimed to have earned degrees from three schools. MIT officials say now they have no evidence she ever graduated from college at all.

The school announced Thursday that Jones had resigned after acknowledging she had misrepresented her education when she started working at the university 28 years ago, and declined to correct multiple incorrect claims since then.

A senior MIT official said that by claiming degrees she had never earned, Jones could no longer lead an admissions office that occasionally rescinds the acceptance letters sent to applicants who are untruthful about their own accomplishments.

"We have to uphold the integrity of the institution, because that's what we've been trying to sell and she's our chief spokesperson on that," MIT Chancellor Phil Clay said. It's "regrettable, ironic, sad, but that's where we are."

Jones had become one of the most public voices urging parents, students and especially colleges themselves to "lower the flame" surrounding college admissions. She made the cause her own after growing alarmed at the increase in stress-related health problems among young people and has become a much-in-demand speaker at admissions events.

Last year, she co-authored a book: "Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond."

"We're raising a generation of kids trained to please adults," Jones told The Associated Press in an extensive interview last year. "Every day kids should have time when they're doing something where they're not being judged. That's the big difference with this generation. They're being judged and graded and analyzed and assessed at every turn. It's too much pressure for them."

On Thursday, MIT released a short statement from Jones in which she said she was "deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the MIT community and beyond who supported me, believed in me, and who have given me extraordinary opportunities."

Clay said MIT was alerted to questions about Jones' credentials in a phone call, from someone he declined to identify, to another dean. An inquiry determined Jones had at various points claimed degrees from Union College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Albany Medical College, all in New York, but in fact had no degrees from any of those institutions. Clay said MIT was not aware of Jones having any undergraduate or graduate degree.

Jones was confronted on Monday, acknowledged the misrepresentations and accepted a request to resign, Clay said.

Jason Gorss, a spokesman for RPI, said Jones attended that university as a part-time, non-matriculating student in 1974 and 1975 but did not receive a degree. Officials at the other two schools said she had never been a student there.

A number of people in the college admissions field said they were saddened by the news and hoped Jones would find another venue for continuing her cause.

"She's been such a high impact and good influence on all of these admissions conversations," said Bruce Poch, dean of admissions at Pomona College in California, who knows Jones well. "This hurts."

Clay said MIT now checks credentials of new hires but did not generally do so when Jones first applied to work there. The first job she applied for, as an administrative assistant, did not require a college degree, but Clay said Jones claimed to have one. He said she did not correct that claim during her appointment process as dean in 1997.

Jones was asked to resign because her actions go "against her being a model for integrity that an admissions director sets," Clay said. "It represents a very, very long deception, when there were opportunities to correct the record. This is not a mistake or an accident or an oversight."

Lloyd Thacker, the founder of the Education Conservancy, a group also trying to tone down the admissions process, said Jones "has had a very positive impact on the lives of many students and families and has brought inspiration to the professions." Her resignation "in no way discredits the value of her work," he said.

Posted by: Read the News on May 5, 2007 12:50 PM

HIGHER EDUCATION
MIT admissions dean resigns amid scandal

After admitting to falsifying her academic credentials, MIT Dean of Admissions Marilee Jones resigned yesterday.

"I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to MIT 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my resume when I applied for my current job or at any time since," she said in a statement posted on MIT's website.

Throughout her time at MIT, Jones was believed to have received degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), when in fact none of the three institutions had conferred a degree on her, MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay explained in a statement.

An RPI official confirmed that Jones had been a part-time student at the Troy, N.Y., school during the 1974-75 academic year, though she did not officially matriculate. Albany Medical College and Union College had no records in her name.

Jones started work in the MIT admissions office in an entry-level position that did not require a college degree, Clay said. By the time she was under consideration for the position of dean of admissions, Jones had already become a central figure in the office, holding the positions of assistant dean and associate dean. Thus, MIT did not make any effort to check her credentials at that time.

About a week and a half ago, however, MIT received information that threw Jones' credentials into question. Several days of investigation were enough for the institution to ask for her resignation Monday.

Posted by: News from Princeton on May 5, 2007 12:57 PM

I found this on MIT web site last Saturday.
It is a joke that Marilee Jones claimed herself to be a scientist ...

____________________________________________

Marilee Jones is Dean of Admissions at MIT. A scientist by training, she joined the MIT Admissions Office in 1979 to lead the recruitment efforts for women.

Source: www.mitadmissions.org/Marilee.shtml ·

Posted by: A Joke on May 5, 2007 01:01 PM

Dear news guys and jokers, I'm pretty sure that we've all read the news by now, and have been reading this stuff for the past week that we have known about this. How about respecting the feelings of the MIT staff, current students, and prospective students by just dropping it and letting them move forward like they are trying to do. We know what's happened and is happening, and it has taken bravery for MIT to be so open about all of this. Allow them at least a bit of peace as they are trying to move along. They're proving themselves strong in a time of trial, can you say that you could do that?

Posted by: De Petagma Saru on May 5, 2007 01:05 PM

Yes. I agree:

"It represents a very, very long deception, when there were opportunities to correct the record. This is not a mistake or an accident or an oversight."

Throughout her time at MIT, Jones was believed to have received degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), when in fact none of the three institutions had conferred a degree on her, MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay explained in a statement.

An RPI official confirmed that Jones had been a part-time student at the Troy, N.Y., school during the 1974-75 academic year, though she did not officially matriculate. Albany Medical College and Union College had no records in her name.

Posted by: Opinion on May 5, 2007 01:11 PM

We are in America! We have the freedom to express our opinion.

We are upset at Marilee Jones, not MIT's admission office or students. As a matter of fact, MIT is the victim of Jones' deception.

Posted by: A Joke on May 5, 2007 01:21 PM"

Notice the genius double-post. This is very annoying. It's idiots like these that make America a horrible place at times. There's "A Joke" who'd probably yell "Bomb" in a classroom to express his "free speech" who apparently has forgotten that Marilee doesn't work at MIT anymore, hence the word "resigned," and continues to post insults to her which extend to those who feel for her, and who are her friends. Then there's the News boy, and Opinion man [who I assume are the same person, and the same as A Joke {all that he truly is}] who apparently aren't smart enough to stop parroting themselves, or others. Baka. I'm assuming they're mad because they are students who weren't admitted [let's all feel pity for the idiot who didn't get admitted]. To them now, I say, "IDIOTS! YOU ARE A FARCE TO ALL PEOPLE WHO HAVE EVER APPLIED TO MIT, AND I AM GLAD THAT YOU WERE DENIED, BECAUSE WITH THAT FORM OF REACTION TO ADVERSITY, YOU DON'T BELONG THERE ANYWAY!!!" OK, now I shouldn't talk, because I'm a backwoods redneck, applying to MIT with a hope and a dream, and compared to people I know, I probably don't stand a chance of admission, but I feel I have a pretty OK character, and I can at least understand the general concept of compassion for others in a time of need. MIT has been strong and brave to be so open about all this, and if A Joke, News guy, and Opinion boy are so mad, they should go whine to someone who cares. MIT is moving forward, with or without their idiotic and impolite comments whether they want them to or not. If ya'll are still reading this post, thanks ^_^ v I'll probably update every now and then. Jya' Ne all.