Science Majors Who Just Want to Dance!

I’ve hit a point in my life where I really like and really hate being a science person.

I really like it because I understand it and it forces me to think about the world a little. In a certain way, pretty much everything makes you think about the world, but science forces you to think about the very basic building blocks of the world and why they’re there and how they have changed. Also I like understanding this tough stuff and feeling smart, since most scientists are so specialized you can feel like this just talking to colleagues and stuff like that. Not that I’m obnoxious about it, but it’s a good feeling when you feel smart (which I never got to with French class…).

But I’m also having this issue where I love the arts. I do so many more arts activities than science-y activities, it’s a little ridiculous. And then there’s the sheer fact that you can’t affect other people with science the way you can with art. Art gives existential crises, it gives meaning to the world around you. You can’t do that with science, unless you find something really huge and important to everyone. But since everything’s so specialized and everything, you’re more likely to find something small that only affects people in your field.

And also whenever I go to see a show, I just really want to be part of it, be up there doing it as well. I think it’d be wonderful to do that, to affect so many people and make a difference to them. You just don’t touch as many individuals in the sciences as you do in the arts.

Of course, I’m not actually good at the arts enough, and probably don’t love it enough to make a living out of it. So I’m staying with science. But if there a term for this sort of crisis? Science majors who just want to dance/act/draw/play music? I like to think that I’m not the only one, but maybe this doesn’t bother other people to the extent that it bothers me!

20 Non-Bullshit Things That I Learned Before I Turned 20

I turned 20 today. It’s unfortunate. I can’t use my ripe adolescence as an excuse anymore. And no one ever does something in their 20s and is labelled a prodigy or anything, but do it as an 18-year-old and you get in all the newspapers.

HOWEVER this is not a post about how being old sucks, this is about what I have to show for the two decades I spent on this planet. And I know everyone and their mother has made a list like this, but they’re always filled with sappy junk like “cherish your friends” “you only live once” and whatever. What I’m aiming for is an actual list that actually gives advice and helps someone instead of being all touchy-feely (which means that a certain amount of sass is going to be in attendance so sit up straight! And let’s go!).

1.       Stop procrastinating! Like, right now! Need to get something done? Do it now! Always wanted to do a thing? Do it now! If you don’t get it done now it’s never going to happen and you’re going to be stuck watching Netflicks forever! Up and at em’!

2.       Organize and manage your time! This goes along with the previous one. Quit putting it off, get a planner, and get your life together! No, you aren’t going to remember that lunch date on Thursday, write it down somewhere and be consistent! Plan out your day so you can do everything you want! Don’t have enough time for everything? Liar, stop watching TV and playing Skyrim then!

3.       Get over yourself right now. You are not the freaking chosen one, eventually you are going to end that streak or fail that test or lose that thing. You are human, you are going to make mistakes, just accept that now and get it out of the way. Having said that, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!

4.       Simplify! I swear to the Powers that Be, if you buy one more unnecessary item that’s just going to sit on your desk for the next ten years I’m going to have a fit. Get rid of your junk! And don’t get anymore! You don’t need that new thing, it isn’t going to kill you to not get it, and you aren’t even going to use it on a regular basis! See it for what it is and be realistic before you buy it.

5.       You are going to be alone. There is almost definitely going to be times when you actually are alone, aka without anyone. Because they aren’t attached to you at the hip, obviously. Take the time to get to know yourself, because you are going to be spending a heck of a lot of time together.

6.       Nothing lasts forever. Enjoy the moment with all you’ve got because it’s going to pass and then no one will find the significance in it except you. And then everyone’s going to leave until no one even remembers it anymore. So you better enjoy it. Even if you aren’t enjoying it now, you’re going to later. Just remember that.

7.       Go to bed. Get sleep, you look like you need it.

8.       Stop worrying about everyone else. Odds are, no one cares about what you’re wearing today. If you just stop caring about what they think, your happiness is going to skyrocket.

9.       Don’t do that thing just because someone told you to. Think about it, consider it, and question it. There are enough mindless zombies out there that you don’t need to be one of them. Try thinking about your situation a little and wonder if it all seems reasonable. Everything everyone has told you is completely wrong, but no one ever believes me when I tell them that.

10.   Don’t follow someone else’s philosophy, create your own. Figure out your own ideas about life, love, and the universe, don’t become a parrot. Then you’ll only get crackers.

11.   Disturb the universe a little, it’s been far too quiet around here. Go out and do something you have never done but wanted to do, or something you’ve never done and don’t want to do. If you never try, you’re going to fail 100% of the time. So stick that on your resume. Learn about something new, try something new! Your only limits are in your mind, so why would you limit that as well?

12.   Just talk to people! If you don’t put yourself out there and have a conversation every once in a while, you are going to end up stuck inside with no one to talk to. Strike up a conversation about cats or cheese or anything, you never know what it will lead to. Doesn’t matter if you’ve never met them before or haven’t spoken in years, talk!

13.   You never know the full story. Ok so she did a thing. Did you ever think about why she would do the thing? Or what that means to her? Consider what the other side might be, realize that you have no freaking clue, and adjust your attitude accordingly.

14.   There are two things you only get one of in this life. One body and one brain. Don’t freaking destroy them.

15.   If you haven’t considered the fact that you’re eventually going to die yet you should probably get on that. Time’s a wasting, and it’s going to happen one of these days. Might even be tomorrow.

16.   Adjectives are useless. There is no “bad” or “good” or anything. Everything just “is”. So keep your opinions/descriptions to yourself.

17.   Shut up and listen. People are talking because they have something to say, so give them the courtesy of actually listening and understanding them. And the reverse, unless you have something really important to say, then just shut up.

18.   Remember what happens. There is no point if you just forget it. Keep a journal, write down what you’ve done and who said what, it’s all going to be fascinating later.

19.   Having said all this, stop working so hard and have a little fun. You do not need to be constantly doing something that you need to do or that will help you later or something. Take a break, stop and smell the roses a little. Find people lying in a field and join them. It isn’t going to hurt you.

20.   QUIT READING THIS STUPID BLOG AND LIVE YOUR LIFE

Two Years Ago...

So we all remember the Sandy Hook shooting two years ago. I still remember all of my high school teachers being really on edge, but no one said anything until last period when my French teacher almost started crying and finally told us. I remember going home and hearing the NPR announcers cry on air, unable to say anything. This tragedy hit me harder than most, I lived in Sandy Hook until kindergarten, and still call it home. It was strange to see it be the center of attention, have all eyes on some tragedy happening in my home, because you never expect it to happen.

And nothing's happening to make sure this never happens again, legislators are stalling, the NRA is indignant, and despite Obama's best efforts we have remained in the exact same position that we were two years ago.

Have we learned nothing? Has this country lost all hope of improving? Both gun control and mental health policies need to be revised, but no one seems to want to do it. It's taken the lives of small children before, and it will again! And it could be anyone, anywhere!

This shit needs to stop, we have students and teachers living in fear, and unless precautions are taken it will continue. THIS ISN'T GOING TO GO AWAY ON IT'S OWN despite what everyone seems to think.

Here's a good article I found on it, for more information on this. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/14/a-teachers-open-letter-to-congress-what-kids-need-two-years-after-sandy-hook/

Reasons Why The Music For Some Musicals Just Sucks

So there are a ton of musicals out there, and some are going to be better than others. But what I want to talk about here is some musicals that most people are big fans of that I literally cannot stand. Because what I’m really focusing on here is the music, since that’s really what I’m paying attention to and that’s really what stays stuck in your head for weeks after the show.

First of all, there’s Andrew Lloyd Weber. Now I like “The Phantom of the Opera” as much as the next person, but it has everything to do with the plot and not with the music. (Also “Evita” is so much worse than “Phantom”.) He must consistently run out of ideas halfway through writing the music because every song has the same theme, the same melody, and the only thing that varies are the words or the accompaniment. The entire show sounds like monotony as a result, exactly the opposite of what you want a musical to be. And “Evita” is an opera, so there’s no talking involved, which makes it even worse because all you get is the “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” melody for about two hours. And even then, there is very little flow to the music, it’s like he’s throwing darts at the staff and putting down notes where the darts land. Long story short, Weber has very little creativity.

And then there’s the problem that a lot of modern, rock musicals fall into. They come up with a decent plot, and then the music just isn’t memorable. It sounds as though they took monologues and set it to a beat. Musicals are supposed to become earworms and have clever lyrics, that’s what audiences remember them for.

But of course, they all get a cult following anyway because of the subject matter. They nearly all deal with some sort of issue that becomes a tearjerker. (Note: this doesn’t apply to all of these musicals. “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” or “RENT” are amazing. To contrast, “Next to Normal” is not.)

So what you really need for a good musical are composers who actually put thought into the words and music, and don’t just take the lazy way out. You would think that this would be obvious, but it very obviously isn’t.

More on Friendship...

Wait but Why is a blog that I'm a fan of, and they just posted this nice article on friends and friendships and also adult friendships. I'm not in my 20s (got another week until I can't use my adolescence as an excuse), but these descriptions are spot-on!
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/12/10-types-odd-friendships-youre-probably-part.html?utm_source=List&utm_campaign=49b9666932-WBW+%28MailChimp%29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5b568bad0b-49b9666932-50590553

Swerve

Epicurus’s theories about the world were pretty simple: everything is either atoms or the void. Atoms are the smallest particles of matter, so small that you cannot see them (this term was later adapted by scientists) and their random motion causes everything to happen.

He also theorized that atoms have a natural tendency to fall down (as in gravity) because that is their original state of being. So at the beginning of the universe, atoms simply fell down until they hit each other and formed compounds, which triggered the creation of the universe.

Critics found a flaw in this logic, namely, if the atoms fell straight down, how would they hit each other?

Epicurus’s answer is rather simple: one swerves.

For pretty much no reason, one tiny atom decided it had enough of this monotony and altered its path by the tiniest amount. This led to the formation of everything that exists today, including you and me. If one atom can trigger all this just by swerving by the tiniest amount, imagine what you can do when you decide to change something! If one atom can bring the universe into existence, then a being made up of trillions of atoms can rip it apart, or bring another into formation. The possibilities are endless.

So have faith in yourself, because that little atom has faith in you!

(Of course, critics also ripped apart this answer, since no reason was given for the swerve. But Cicero in his critique pointed out that we give no explanation for mental decisions, so that is what I’m going with here.)

Society and Friendship vs. Romance…

There are a ton of writings by ancient people about friendship, and its importance. People seem to have forgotten its importance these days.

Don’t believe me? Aristotle and Epicurus both said that friendship is the most blessed thing and essential for a happy, ideal life. And I’m sure that there are more out there.

No one seems to agree with this anymore, everyone is so set on romantic relationships that they forget about friendship and how important it is to everyone!

The reality about romantic relationships is they either end or you get married. That’s it. No one really accepts this (which is a totally different problem) but it’s also not the case with friendships. Friendships can last forever, assuming it’s the right kind of friendship (which is also a topic for another day).

Part of this is the huge emphasis in society on romantic relationships. Think about the numerous times where there’s an ad for a couple, or for someone trying to impress a significant other. (And of those, how many are men trying to impress women and objectifying them into cold beings that you have to impress?) How often when you see a relative do they first ask “do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?” We are constantly bombarded by this idea! People keep shoving the message “romance, sex, dating, do iiittttt” into our heads constantly!

There are so many problems with this! First of all, it’s freaking annoying. Second of all, if you have no plans of getting into a relationship soon, you’re pressured into it. Please leave me alone and let me do my thing! The constant stream of this idea makes it seem as though it’s normal for people to be in a relationship constantly, or looking for one.

Plot twist: it’s fine if you’re single. It’s fine if you want to stay that way. You don’t need to do anything you don’t want. And you need to remember that as you carry on.

And friendship is important! Aristotle made distinctions between the different kinds of friendships, but I think that while that’s interesting and everything, it’s not really necessary. Friends are people that you enjoy being with, regardless of the reason, and just because of that it’s good to have them. They get you through all the tough times, and celebrate the goods ones with you. Without friends, we would all be alone in this world, partying and crying by ourselves. Good friends last forever, even if you haven’t seen them in a while you always know that they support you and have your back.

It’s wayyy more important to have good friends (whether it’s one or ten) than it is to be in a romantic relationship. And the best relationships start out as friends!

As Cole Porter said: “When all other friendships have been forgot, ours will still be hot!” (the most cheesy of cheesy…)

One Shot Limit

So I noticed that I never reread books anymore. Literally never. Not since middle school, at least. That was the last time I actually had the time to read books for leisure as well, after that I just got too busy. I just have no time anymore. Then I can’t waste what precious free time I have, so I spend it on reading new books.

And of course there’s so many good books out there! New ones keep popping up all the time! And I can’t waste the time I have, so I just read the new ones.

Of course this means several things. First of all, I can’t remember the exact plot of books that I loved a few years ago. Which is really annoying, especially if there was one character or one moment that I really loved but just happens to escape me now.

And it also means that I never give books a second chance. They get one chance to wow me or I’m never going to think about them again. And even then if they don’t wow me enough, I’ll probably remember them but never think “gee I should read that book again.”

And this is all really unfortunate because I have found that the meaning behind a book only gets clearer with reading it multiple times. Or one passage will mean something to you at one point in your life and something else in a different part. Maybe all of a sudden you get it and understand what the author was going for in a certain befuddling passage.

I mean as far as problems go, this is a pretty good problem to have. But it’s just really unfortunate that there’s so much literature in the world, you can never really know and understand as much as you want to. It’s a constant journey to an unreachable goal.

Everything Strange about Symphony Orchestras

So there’s a lot of things about orchestras that I think is just strange. Since I will probably never be in one, I doubt that they will ever totally make sense to me.

First of all, seriously? People clap when the principal violinist walks in? She hasn’t even played a note yet! And that happens for none of the other instruments, this just feeds into the violinist’s ego. Literally no other group or section does this, and despite people’s attitudes, playing the violin does not make you incredibly more talented than the rest. Sure it takes talent to get there, but I don’t think it warrants this. It just feels so archaic and hierarchical.

And the conductor leaves and then comes back to applause every time? You already entered, just stay on stage! You don’t really need to re-enter every time! It’s pretty much just a waste of the audience’s time. And again, this probably is an ego thing. (It may be a good thing that I’m not in orchestra...)

The wind players hardly play. My jazz/orchestra director in high school had this joke that orchestra trumpets were the most well-read section because they just sat in the back and read literature the entire time. If you are going to write a symphony, give all of the instruments something to do (and while we’re at it, write a saxophone in). It’s not really fair to have the trombones sit there until measure 108 and then play one note and be finished. It’s pretty annoying for the players.

And how do people think solo violin music sounds good? It’s literally a constant squeaking.

I should really stick to band.

Attitude Towards Mistakes

A super short piece on mistakes and things everyone does.

So we all tend to super focus in on our own mistakes. I mean, who hasn’t had a perfectly fine day ruined by remembering something awkward we did in seventh grade? (Or a week ago…) We’re all so worried about messing up and looking like idiots that we dwell on our mishaps for years!

But then whenever someone else messes up even a little bit we blame them and make fun of them and do other horrible things. And it’s a little hypocritical, given how hard we are on ourselves. And it just perpetuates the cycle, because then they’re going to be harsh on themselves and take it out on someone else. And so the stress rolls on.

We know that nobody is perfect, and yet we expect others to be so anyways. When we should be rejoicing in the fact that we aren’t the only ones that make mistakes we ridicule them. Everyone’s imperfect! Everyone screws up! We don’t need to be so harsh about it, just learn and move on and make sure it doesn’t happen again! We’re so focused on perfection all the time, need to change this and create less stress in the world, instead of more. Because stress sucks. And no one likes it.

Neil Patrick Harris’s “Choose Your Own Autobiography”, Therefore, this is a Choose Your Own Review

If you would like to give a positive review, keep reading.

If you would like to give a negative one, please pipe down.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll just start with saying that this is the funniest premise for a Choose Your Own Adventure that I’ve heard yet. And to be honest, I don’t think NPH’s personality would come through any other way. Because he is a joker, and an actor, so this was a really great way to bring that out. And how do you know that autobiographies are accurate all the time? You expect them to be, but everyone’s going to lie at least a little (intentionally or not) in a depiction of their life. At least he’s upfront about it.

The actual autobiographical stuff is poignant and touching, including meeting his partner David and having their two kids. There’s also plenty of humor regarding his shenanigans in the world of theater and awards show hosting. With little snippets of interesting personal information (his favorite place on earth, for example). And of course there’s pictures of the young Neil!

It isn’t just an autobiography, there’s drinks, recipes, and even a crossword puzzle! (Speaking of, I bullshitted half of the answers, does anyone want to discuss them with me?) NPH is quite talented.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone, fans of NPH or fans of quirky books. It’s sure to please.

Tick-Tock Go "The Bone Clocks" by David Mitchell

I’m a huge David Mitchell fan, but this latest is definitely one of his best.

It’s written in a similar style to Cloud Atlas or Ghostwritten, in that the narration breaks periodically and is picked up in a different time and place by a different character. However, this book is set apart in that it focuses on one person, Holly Sykes’, life and so every narration eventually runs into her.

What I find is really great about Mitchell’s books is that characters keep recurring in them, so every book feels like another window into this special universe that the author has created. As though all of his characters are running around and he just zeroes in on a few at a time. Just in The Bone Clocks there’s a character from Black Swan Green, a few from Cloud Atlas, and one major one from The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.

This one’s more science fiction-y than before, with the fifth narration centering in on a battle between souls who get reincarnated but retain their memories (this is rather similar to that one section of Ghostwritten, for those of you keeping track) and those who steal other souls to never age. I feel like I should reread the book to fully understand it, but I’m pretty lazy.

Another reason to reread is all of the interesting tidbits throughout the book as the reader and Holly try to figure out what the hell is going on. Characters pop up briefly and then return much later, and hints are spread throughout. It’s rather similar to Cloud Atlas in that sense.

One thing I haven’t quite figured out are the images. The maze becomes fairly obvious, but each section has its own, and some seem to be less relevant than others. Also the little clocks in the upper corners of the page go through one hour in the first section, two hours in the second, and so on. Not sure if there’s a bigger meaning to that than meets the eye.

The overall message of this book probably has to do with time. There’s clocks everywhere, “the bone clocks” refers to us mere mortals, and the good guys in that war are called the horologists (studiers of time). If I had to guess at the actual message, it’d probably be something along the lines of enjoy it while you can because it doesn’t last forever (unless you use evil means). Many characters die young and civilization turns into a chaotic anarchy in the 2040s, so you never know when everything’s going to turn to shit.

If you can take obscure science fiction that’s never totally explained (personally I thrive off of doing a little literary detective work) then you will probably enjoy this book. And I would highly recommend reading the rest of David Mitchell’s repertoire, as that can only enhance the experience.

A Summary of "The Blood of Olympus" Written with a College Student’s Sense of Humor

This is literally 6 pages of dumb, probably inspired by the Dirtbag Shakespeare series on The Toast. Now go read the actual book (do that before you read this, it might seem actually funny then).

 

Chapters 1-4: Jason

Jason: Darnit, I’m old! I can’t handle this! The future is too close! I can’t handle this! Give me back my old body!

Piper: Hey, at least I’m pretty.

Jason: I guess so. Wait this is just like Rick and Morty. Can we be Rick and Morty?

Annabeth: Not now Jason!

Jason’s mom: My baby!

Jason: Eww mom quit calling me, I’m hanging out with friends.

Annabeth: Quit talking to your mom, it’s fight time!

Jason: *makes lightsaber noises*

Stabby Guy: Die symbol of the patriarchy!

Jason: *dies*

Piper: I think this is a metaphor!

Annabeth: *starts lifting up her shirt to get Leo’s attention*

 

Chapters 5-8: Reyna

Nico: Let’s play this a good idea: falling into a volcano.

Reyna: Can you fucking not?

Coach Hedge: I LOVE THIS GAME

Nico: Fine, let’s just do stupid tourist things in Pompeii. I love dead people, they’re much less annoying than alive people.

Dead people: Did someone say it was a par-tay?

Nico: I take that back, you guys are annoying too.

 

Chapters 9-12: Leo

Leo: I’ll just hide here so everyone can look at my butt. Heh heh, butts.

Buford: PUT SOME CLOTHES ON

Leo: butts butts butts butts everybody!

Percy: Could we actually have a productive meeting for a change?

Jason: We have to defeat victory and other paradoxes.

Leo: I am so ready! Let me at em, grrrr.

Frank: The animal schtick is my thing!

Hazel: Me, Frank, Percy, and Leo can challenge Nike.

Nike: I am the goddess of sports shoes! But you only ever see men in the commercials. That’s because they’re scared of female athletes! *high-fives Hazel* Compete for your lives!

Frank: I don’t wanna.

Nike: You ruin every party. Come on just one round of Mario Party.

Percy: Don’t even joke about that, that game ruins friendships.

Nike: Fine just a fight to the death I guess.

Leo: Let’s do this thing with these things I conveniently made!

*they capture Nike and drag her back as a spoil of war*

 

Chapters 13-16: Nico

Nico: I have a ton of angst so I’m just going to send people trippy dreams.

Clovis: Better than drugs.

Nico: Go back to sleep.

Coach Hedge: Hey Nico, you want to take shots?

Nico: I just woke up.

Coach Hedge: It’s shots o’clock then! Shirtless o’clock is in ten minutes.

Reyna: Could you fucking not?

Hades: My son.

Nico: Dad you’re ruining my vibe.

Hades: Fine I’ll just give you some drugs.

Nico: I can get my own.

Hades: I’m trying to connect with the youth! Now do you want one marijuana or two?

Nico: Dad leave.

Reyna: Hunter, six o’clock!

Coach Hedge: Did someone say shirtless o’clock?? *rips shirt off and gets stuck in it*

Reyna: Do I need to do everything around here?

Nico: Percy is so pretty…

Reyna: Nico, get us out of here.

 

Chapters 17-20: Piper

Piper: There’s got to be poison around here somewhere… Let’s just lick things until we find it.

Frank: *turns into a cat and starts cleaning* Hey I think I found some.

Poison Guy: Here ya go, I won’t card ya.

Piper: Wow I didn’t even have to seduce him.

*on ship*

Piper: Jason I love you.

Jason: I know, you keep telling me!

Piper: Do you like me? Tell me I’m pretty!

Jason: Fine, you’re pretty.

Piper: Giants are starting shit!

Percy: *breaks all the toilets*

Leo: Did you have to clog all of them? There’s a lot of butts around here!

Annabeth: Come on Piper, let’s go fight fear to add to our victory.

Piper: Giant! Tell me I’m pretty!

Giant: Ewww you’re gross.

Piper: Well if you won’t look at me I guess I won’t look at you. *starts feeling around* Annabeth!

Annabeth: *the struggle is pretty real*

Piper: Don’t think, feel around! Use the baby thoughts you were just reduced to!

Annabeth: Well now we have this giant ear.

Piper: Mine’s much prettier. Take it, gods!

 

Chapters 21-24: Reyna

Reyna: Darnit, we landed in my home. This means backstory time.

Nico: I had some oatmeal this morning. It was cold and tasteless.

Reyna: My backstory, not yours!

Coach Hedge: Why helloooo there alcohol! Meet liver!

Hunters/Amazons: Bazinga!

Hylla: A blast from the past!

Reyna: And my sister. This really is backstory time.

Orion: I have you now! Die recurring minor characters!

Reyna: Well, shit just got real.

 

Chapters 25-28: Jason

Jason: Oh my gods, did Percy start another storm because his food wasn’t blue?

Percy: Hey I was playing Final Fantasy when this started! Let’s go check it out!

Jason: Hold on, I just have to kidnap a wind spirit and force it into slavery.

Storm goddess: You little shits.

Giant: I’m her gigolo! Excuse me while I puke poison!

Percy: You’re excused.

Jason: Wait! If I please you with sexual favors, will you stop?

Storm goddess: Only if it’s to my Greek and Roman sides.

Jason: Perfect, I wanted to get around a lot and travel anyways.

Percy: *dying of poison* tHAt’s WhaT sHe sAId!

Storm goddess: Well I guess I don’t need you anymore. You weren’t that good at it anyways. *decapitates Giant*

Jason: Percy! Should I give him mouth to mouth?

Percy: No way! I have no idea where that mouth’s been!

Storm goddess: I think I know… You were unconscious for a while Percy.

Jason: My wound healed! Do you think this is symbolic?

 

Chapters 29-32: Nico

Nico: My transformation into the darkness is almost complete!

Reyna: Ok, so here’s my backstory-

Nico: If it doesn’t involve darkness and meaninglessness then I don’t care.

Reyna: It’s sad, you should like it.

Roman jerk: This is the po-po! Hands up!

Reyna: I’m in the middle of revealing my past!

Roman jerk: Tell it to these dead people!

Nico: Hey! Those are my pals! How dare you use them against me! *morphs into the Hulk and kicks Roman jerk’s ass* *then promptly falls asleep*

Coach Hedge: Good news! I had a drunken correspondence with some nature hippies, and we’re either getting a ride or I just got invited to a threesome!

*pegasi appear*

Coach Hedge: That’s a little more than a threesome…

 

Chapters 33-36: Leo

Leo: Nooo! The love of my life! My ship’s butt!

Hazel: Don’t you mean the engine?

Leo: IT’S A BUTT

Jason: So who wants to talk to Apollo?

Leo: I do! And Frank and Hazel are coming with me!

Frank: He coerced us!

Hazel: Fine, let’s go. We barely get to do anything anyway.

Apollo: *playing horrible country* Well my girlfriend left me and she took my tractor so all the meaning in my life is gone-

Artemis: That’s every country song ever! Play something else!

Leo: I put all of my love for butts into this instrument.

Apollo: What a coincidence! I like butts as well! Here’s some information!

Leo: Sounds like a good way to die young, I’ll take it!

Apollo: But also check with my son, because I’m pretty useless.

Apollo’s son: I’m really pretty useless as well.

Leo: Here let me rewire your conveniently programmed things so we can get in.

Jason: Wait I think we can play Super Smash Bros Brawl on that screen.

Leo: Sick! I call Captain Falcon!

Jason: He literally just poses, he doesn’t even really move.

Leo: Well you always insist on being Jigglypuff so you can’t really talk.

Apollo’s son: You all have personality disorders!

Piper: But I’m pretty!

Apollo’s son: Oh shush. Fine, maybe Leo’s ok.

Piper: There must be something wrong with Leo!

 

Chapters 37-40: Reyna

Reyna: The Romans got some really big guns! Shit just got real again! Wait, let’s try to reason with that one.

Tyson: The cavalry is here!

Reyna: Ok you guys go start shit, I’ll take care of the huge statue.

Orion: Hey girl hey!

Reyna: You male! I am woman, hear me roar!

Orion: Not again! I hate women! *dies like the patriarchal scum he is*

Reyna: Score! I got a new cloak!

 

Chapters 41-44: Piper

Snake people: hiss hiss motherfucker

Piper: I got this guys, my name even has “pipe” in it, I’m a natural snake charmer. *clears throat* Don’t drop that thun thun thun…

Snake people: It’s so beautiful!

Rest of crew: I’M IN PAIN!

Piper: Now lead us into certain danger! And tell me I’m pretty.

Snake people: Yes wise snake mother. You’re very pretty.

Annabeth: Kay so Piper and me started a girl club so we’re going, and let’s take my boyfriend for good measure.

Giants: Oh look a snack.

Percy: I taste like seaweed! You won’t like me!

Jason: Can I cook that snack for you? *zaps giant* whoops, I missed.

Leo: I have a huge ass war machine up here! Heh heh.

Annabeth: *bleeds on them*

Giants: AIDS! Get away from her! Bleed all over the earth instead, she wants your disease.

Percy: Darnit, it’s so dry in here my nose is bleeding! Look at what you did!

Piper: Percy you’re going to stain your-

Percy: *drips blood on ground*

*everything falls to shit*

 

Chapters 45-48: Nico

Nico: Ok losers, this is what we’re going to do-

Will: As your self-appointed doctor, you should pipe da fuck down!

Nico: This is why I hate people.

Will: Let’s just take out those things.

Romans: Hey! Listen! It’s Greeks!

Will: I shall sacrifice myself valiantly! *sprints off*

Nico: Dumbass. Let him die. Oh alright, let’s get him.

Greek extra #1: It’s a bird!

Greek extra #2: It’s a plane!

Nico: It’s fucking Reyna with the damn statue.

Reyna: Ok listen to me peasants! We need to unite!

Octavian: I don’t fucking think so.

Gaea: Too late pathetic children.

Reyna: Could shit stop getting real??

 

Chapters 49-52: Jason

Jason: Dad! That was so cool how you did the thing-

Jupiter: Not now, annoyance. We need you to do our dirty work again.

Jason: If it makes you love me, then sure!

Jupiter: Alright, everyone hold on while I bitchslap you to the other side of the world…

Leo: That was awesome! Ok Festus, morph into your dragon form!

Gaea: Not more meddling kids!

Leo: How about you get up here, old lady?

Jason: Wait, I want to be included! Come on girlfriend!

Piper: Yeah I have to say a word or something. Let’s go!

Gaea: You’re ugly!

Piper: BOOBS

Gaea: Nooooooooooooo

Leo: Great good job +A for you now leave.

Jason: What? No!

Leo: I love you…r butts guys.

Jason: What?

Leo: *explodes everything*

 

Chapters 53-56: Nico

Nico: Octavian! I’m going to hurt you!

Will: Doctor’s orders!

Octavian: I know you are, but what am I?

Will: That was an awful comeback!

Octavian: *basically blows himself up*

Nico: Jerk deserved it. Wait, do I feel sadness? What is this?

*after battle is over*

Nico: *arriving at Hades cabin* No place like home I guess.

Percy: So are you staying?

Nico: Sure. Also, you’re much prettier than Piper.

Percy: Hey thanks bro! Tons of homo?

Nico: Tons of homo. But I have my doctor Will now to give me check-ups. If you know what I mean.

Percy: Ooo high five bro!

Chapter 57: Piper

Piper: Hey Reyna, you’re pretty cool. Want to join my and Annabeth’s girl club?

Reyna: Well ok.

Jason: Piper! Let’s go on the roof!

Piper: Won’t we get in trouble?

Jason: I am a hard core rebel who don’t follow no rules. I might even kiss you.

Piper: Oh my *giggles*

Chapter 58: Leo

Leo: HOLY SHIT I’M ALIVE Yes there are so many possibilities now! Like butts!

Festus: *whirls*

Leo: Wait we’re by Ogygia? I guess my butt days are over.

Calypso: You took freaking forever!

Leo: I have returned my princess!

Calypso: Don’t you call me that or I’ll dump you.

Leo: Sorry. But I gave up butts for you!

Calypso: And I’m giving up my home for you, now let’s go off into the sunset.

Leo: Sounds great.

*iconic kissing as they fly off*

"So, yes, it happened, but ordinary life carried on at the speed of time, and the following day doesn't care about all your paranormal adventures in the days before."

-Holly Sykes, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

"...you don't get to choose whom you're attracted to, you only get to wonder about it, retrospectively."

-Hugo Lamb, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

"I think about pinball, and how being a kid's like being shot up the firing lane and there's no veering left or right; you're just sort of propelled. But once you clear the top, like when you're sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen, suddenly there's a thousand different paths you can take, some amazing, others not."

-Holly Sykes, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

"People are icebergs, with just a bit you can see and loads you can't."

-Holly Sykes, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

"You must be hungry… Either that, or your stomach speaks hedgehog. That was quite a statement in hedgehog."

-Coach Hedge, The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"
-Buford's Mini-Hedge, The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

How to Cope With Rejection (When Everyone Else Isn’t)

So there’s this thing that tends to happen to me. I audition for something, and all my friends end up getting it and I don’t. I wish I could say that this hasn’t happened multiple times throughout the years. As a result, I think I may have some insights as to how to deal with this.

So here are my tips:

1.       Try not to care about this thing. I know it’s hard, and maybe you really wanted to, but in ten years, who is going to care? Pretty much no one. Try to see it from that perspective.

2.       Be realistic about your efforts. Maybe you didn’t do as well as you thought.

3.       This’ll all be over soon and no one will care.

4.       Maybe don’t hang out with your friends that got in for a bit. Don’t shun them, but if given the choice between sitting with them and sitting with someone uninvolved, go for the latter.

5.       It’ll be fine. What you didn’t get into doesn’t matter.

6.       Have some me time. Sit down and give yourself a few minutes to cope (or longer if you need it) and then busy yourself with something else so you don’t dwell on it.

7.       Really what does this all matter? We’re all just going to die of heat death anyway.

8.       Be happy for your friends who made it. They worked hard for this as well. Even though it’s hard, be nice to them.

9.       This isn’t an actual measure of your worth, it’s a measure against some rando’s standards, which literally is entirely subjective and has zero bearing on anything else you ever do.

10.   Find someone else that didn’t get in and start a club.

11.   Look at pictures of cute puppies online.

12.   HUGS

13.   You will be ok!

Early Music History: Progression of Polyphony and the Motet

Test is coming up and this is my way of reviewing.

So all of the early music was monophonic, or only had one line of melody without any harmony. Polyphony (multiple lines of music) most likely developed as a way for soloists to show off. It was discussed in Musica enchiriadis, a musical handbook aimed at students, and was called organum. There were several different kinds of organum, the main ones being note-against-note organum, which is when the voices move at the same time, and free organum which consisted of oblique, parallel, contrary, and similar motion.

Aquitarian polyphony developed a specific style of writing music in the twelfth century. They often had florid polyphony, which is when the upper voice has a long melody while the lower note holds one out. One issue with their notation though was that the timing between the voices was never clear, so a lot of this is up for interpretation. The opposite of this was discant clasula, which was the term for a section of the piece that only consisted of note-against-note organum. (Discant was another term for note-against-note, while clasula just referred to a part of the piece, or clause.)

From there, Notre Dame polyphony was developed in the thirteenth century. They developed a system of notation that was a lot clearer than the Aquitarian system. This included using ligatures to connect notes and a system of notes called longs and breves to indicate durations. They also developed six rhythmic modes, all of which were in threes. Two main composers of this time were Leonin and Perotin. The treatise Anonymous IV credits Leonin with putting together a “Magnus Liber Organi” or “Great Book of Organum.” Of course, it wasn’t just him, but the extent that he worked on it is uncertain. The composers of Notre Dame polyphony also liked to write substitute clasula, or clauses that could substitute others in a piece.

The writing of substitute clasula led directly to the development of the thirteenth century motet. Eventually, composers started putting words to the substitute clasula that they were writing, and this developed into its own genre. Duple or triple motets started to be written, which is when more than one voice is texted, or polytextuality. Since this made the words difficult to understand, motets were written for a more elite audience. The third voice added (usually in the middle, above the tenor) was even called the motetus, which is where the term motet comes from. Many motets were preserved in the Codexes Montpellier and Bamburg, which were collections of hundreds of pieces and motets. Often motets were a type of cantus firmus, which is when the tenor has a part of a chant that the rest of the piece is based off of. The tenor got the short end of the stick here, they’re just chanting while the other two voices (triplum and duplum/motetus) get these pretty melodies.

Then Franconian notation was developed, which included double longs and the semibreve. This led to much more rhythmic variety. This was taken advantage of by composers like Adam de la Halle and Petrus de la Cruce in their pieces.

Then the Ars Nova, or New Art, developed in France. The Ars Nova featured both triplets and duplets, which was pretty controversial at the time since people considered the triplet to represent the Holy Trinity. As a result, triplets were called perfect time and duplets imperfect time. They also had isorhythm, which is when a part has a rhythm and then repeats it, not necessarily with the same notes. There was also hoquet, which is when voices alternate very quickly. And the tenor had a rhythmic part called the talea, which would match up with the color, or melody, in the upper voices. The talea was usually shorter than the color and it would take a few repetitions until they matched up. All this can be seen in pieces by Phillippe de Vitry who wrote several fourteenth century motets.

So that’s the motet. It’s not that interesting, but there are some interesting connections between early and modern music, and hopefully I’ll get around to writing about that soon.

The Switch from Reading for Plot to Reading for Thought

So I noticed recently that the reason I read books has changed slightly. I used to read books that I thought looked exciting and interesting, in other words, the plot looked decent. Now though, if I’m going to commit myself to a book, it’s either because it was recommended to me by someone or it is a classic.

I used to pick up any series about fantasy when I was little (it was quite the phase, I still have most of the books). But I can still remember not exactly being satisfied by the plot when it was too thin or had contradictions or the author remembered past events incorrectly (ok how does the AUTHOR mess up facts like that?). Over time, it just developed into me refusing to read stuff like that.

Now though, I really only read books that I have researched and read reviews on. If it’s a classic, I do less work, but I still check to make sure that it’s something that I’d like. And I hardly ever read modern books anymore, I just never know whether I’m going to like it or not. I’m not a big risk-taker. I was confused when my friend picked a book up off the shelf in a bookstore and went to buy it. I just don’t work like that anymore.

I mostly blame honors English for this change, honestly. I’ve started being unsatisfied with books where they don’t have a higher meaning and are just about people doing people things or whatever. I need something that speaks to humanity and says something essential. It can’t be a book for the sake of a book anymore, it has to be communicating something to the reader.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just means that I’ve gotten choosier about what it is that I’m putting into my head. And I think that’s fine, it’s the only brain I’ve got and there are books out there that are more beneficial for it than others. If you disagree, that’s fine, but this is my view and it’s interesting how things like this change over time and as we learn more.

Why Writing is Weird

Writing is a really strange academic. You really just need to convince someone that your writing is good, the way it’s evaluated is completely subjective. Thousands of years ago, you could spell however you wanted, and anyone who has read Shakespeare can tell you that the sentence structure has gone through some changes since then.

Which is why I think it’s a little strange to say that someone is “good at writing”. Because good writing is something different for everyone. What they’re actually good at is writing that suits the reader. Your teacher may not like it when you hand in fanfiction for an assignment, but people online might think that it’s amazing. How you are received depends on your audience.

This all gets multiplied 50x when you’re in college and are doing legit papers for multiple classes. Philosophy writing is totally separate from English writing, which is in a different sphere from Biology writing. So everything is very confusing.

But if all you have to do is convince someone that your writing is what they want, then supposedly you should be able to write a trashy paper and then hypnotize your teacher into thinking that writing “so” repeatedly is genius. Because there literally is no right answer at all!

This is what makes writing completely different from anything else, the closest thing to it is history and even that has some wrong answers in it. Writing is totally subjective, everything is in the eye of the beholder.

And that’s what sets it apart from the rest of the subjects, for once you can completely express yourself academically.