Moving!

Greetings to all (Three) of my blog followers! Just thought you might want to know, I will be focusing my efforts mainly on my new blog, Photogeniosity. The address is photogeniosity.blogspot.com Check it out!

Portugal: A Summary.

     As some of my faithful followers of my blog may have noticed, I haven't been updating my blog on the trip to Portugal. For this, I apologize. I don't have an excuse, but I do have a reason. Every night, we would arrive home around ten and be so tired that we watched TV for a few minutes then went to sleep. This leaves no time for blogging. Other times may have been available, but I wasn't feeling that into it. Now, here is a summary.
     We saw many intruiguging sights in Portugal. Some scared me, and some amazed me. I'll give you an example of each. I choose the Moorish Castle for scary.
     The Moorish Castle is an ancient castle that has been around for about twelve-hundred years. It has typical battlements as well as many high towers. I climbed to the tallest tower and almost passed out while doing it, as you can see in the video below. The Moorish Castle made me think, In America, they wouldn't even let people up here! Somebody would fall and sue the keepers of the castle! I realized how different things are!
     For my amazing thing, I choose the Presbyterian churches. These guys are roses among thorns! Lots of the surrounding Catholic churches that draw the big crowds are not teaching the truth. Lots about  prosperity Gospel, money, and earthly stuff is preached there. One church member gave us an example of this. That was that on Easter Morning, a "sermon" was preached about money. ON EASTER MORNING!
     This is what really amazes me about the true churches. God gives selected people enough sense to realize what's going on at the Catholic churches, even when what they're hearing there may sound good,  and he gives them the will to do something about it and start places like Campo De Ourique that have good pastors that preach the true Word! That, my friends (Lol, John McCain reference), is what The Great Comission is all about!
     That is only a single rock in the entirely rock-paved roads that cover Portugal. (metaphorically, of course! Although, I did bring home an actual rock!) Check back for more!

Me risking life and limb for you, the viewer. Please, hold your applause.

A Busy Monday

On Monday, I got my first real taste of Portugal. We awoke, took the metro (subway) to downtown Lisbon, and did many fun things there. First, we walked around the city and explored the main square. Then we ventured into the hills to see St. George´s Castle. It had some great views!! Then we Ate a pretty bad lunch at some restaurant close to the castle.  After that, we came down from the hills and walked around the main road in Lisbon where all the shops and stores are. Then we rode the Lift. It´s a hundred-year-old elevator that takes passengers straight up to the sky and provides a beautiful view of Lisbon. After that, we took a peaceful metro ride home to relax in our apartment.

A beautiful view of the street below from the Lift.

On Portugal's Main Tourist Street

That store was a combination of Abercrombie and a Gypsy hut. Mainly Gypsy hut.

In Portugal's Main Square

The wind was blowing my hair like crazy!

Today-What a Day...

Today, a lot happened. We went to one church service at eleven a.m. which got out at two, and met one of the members of the church's daughters and taught them Rock-Paper-Scissors which they became amazingly obsessed with (they were ages 6 and 8). Then someone asked Dad to preach the same sermon that he had just preached again later that night at five at another church. We ate a terribly rushed lunch at Cafe Mel Kia before someone picked us up to take us to the next church. Before the five o'clock sermon, we had to sit through an hour-long Sunday school lesson that was spoken in Portugese. I didn't understand a single word which made it quite boring. After five-o'clock church, we came back to the apartment and cooked a frozen pizza. Now we are watching Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark which has amazing distracting Portugese subtitles. And here it is at nine p.m. in Portugal (6 hours ahead of USA Central time). Bohn Noite (Good night!)!






These were the two girls that we met at the first church. They spoke no English but were very sweet!

At Cafe Mel Kia in Portugal

The Continente

I just got back from the Continente which is Europe's largest mall and which also happens to be about a football field from where I'm staying. We didn't do a whole lot of shopping, mainly buying necessities like bread and water. The place was huge! The grocery store part was bigger than a whole Wal-Mart itself! As I said, we didn't explore the entire place, just the grocery section.

One thing that strikes me strangely about Portugal is that everyone looks so depressed! Droopy faces, need-to-be-shaven beards, and big noses make me realize how blessed we are in America. I'll try to get a picture of an example of this to show y'all. Now for some sleep. The jet lag is killing me...

These salted cod in the Continente certainly were not on my shopping list!

I'm in Portugal!

After a long day of travel, I have finally reached my destination. Lisbon, Portugal. Right now I'm sitting with the people who are showing us around in the apartment! Here we go to the mall to buy the necessities for my two weeks!

I'm in the Terminal!!

Someone's name in my party was spelled incorrectly on a ticket, so we got here two-and-a-half hours early. All that it took to fix that mistake was a simple click. now I have tons of time on my hands. Thank goodness for WiFi! Just two more hours...

New Chat Room

Check out the new chat room!! -------------------------------------->

My Trip to Portugal

This Friday, I will be leaving for the amazing country of Portugal. On the Netbook lent to me by my uncle, I will keep the blog updated on the day's activities. There will be a variety of pictures, videos, as well as stories of everything that I see while I am there.

The Tree

The Tree

By Samuel Crawford

There is a tree that grows all ‘round the globe,

To every corner and high pointed peak,

Down every narrow and winding road,

It grows not by sun, but by those who speak.

I’ve seen it in foreign lands, the beared fruit.

The bright result of many a stretched year,

All for a new place in which to set root.

Because of one man’s redeeming aged tear.

The tree knew Bethlehem and shone its light

On a man and woman, that e’er-glow night.

Its sprout grew to a man, a sacrifice.

The man died so we wouldn’t pay the price.

Gone are the sins of a sinner like me,

All because of that incredible tree!

Rebirth

To the ground fades the bulb,

Scorched by winter’s frosty fire,

To wait, dormant.

When the mind has been swept,

Up from the ground springs the bulb,

Its old white as snow.

Hope

Upon the glass it sails

In search of victory.

Steered by Patience,

The captain of the endless sea.

Onward, ever onward,

Moving, never ceasing, towards victory.

Life

From lofty reserves it drains

To wind about

Surviving the narrowest pass

Somehow to continue.

It breaks and bends off of the course,

Dividing to search elsewhere,

To banks unknown.

Until, upon sun’s faded red,

It joins as one.

Water Boarding and Terrorism: Where the Terrorists are Coming From

I've been watching the television series 24 lately, and, being a show with lots of "government conflict", there is shooting as well as torture (not extremely graphic, however). Anyway, the torture aspect got me thinking, "Is torture right?" I did some watching and reading, and I have formed a what I think is well supported opinion. Torture is wrong because it is inhumane.

The idea of causing someone so much pain that they feel as though they might die is just plain wrong. However, I can see where "interrogators" are coming from. People like terrorists could potentially cause great harm to the United States.

While what they're doing is very wrong and I believe that they have no right to come and kill lots of people, we must remember that these terrorists are just doing what their god (lowercase) is telling them to do. Would you tell God (uppercase) "No, I'm not going to do that." if he directly told you to do something? However, God (uppercase) would never tell you to do something bad like that.

Back on torture, specifically, water boarding. Water boarding IS torture. Not an "enhanced interrogation technique". Making someone think that they're about to die, especially by drowning, which feels scary, needs to be stopped. It seems to me that all of this fancy wordplay from the government is just trying to make us feel like we're doing the right thing when it is totally wrong.

In the end, I think that, in terms of torture, we should remember the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Limerick

There once was an old Israelite
Who possessed lots of red dynamite
He had great pity
On the neighboring city
So he blew them up late in the night.

Trigger

An inch supports life.

A metallic piece moves just so far.

Like an autumn sky, before storm,

All seems fine, then, chaos.

Gone.

The eye of death looks straight, no emotion it shows,

It performs so well, unconscious of the effect.

Like a child manipulated to steal,

No influence has the eye on the backlash, no opinion on its duty,

Just the operator, manipulating the piece,

Damage, terror, war.

All a result of an inch.

This is Just to Say

This is just to say,

I put chocolate pudding in your gas tank.

There’s no need to forgive me,

Chocolate pudding tastes way better than gas.

If Only

If only, if only, I could drive, thinks the young boy doing his chores.

If only, if only, I could get married, thinks the new sophomore in college.

If only, if only, We could have kids, thinks the groom walking down the aisle.

If only, if only, He would grow up, thinks the new father.

If only, if only, He would grow up, thinks the father.

If only, if only, He would leave for college, thinks the aging father.

If only, if only, Thinks the old man on his deathbed, I could go back. 

Whales killing Trainers

On February 24, 2010, a KILLER whale was performing a routine show when it went crazy and dragged

Dawn Brancheau to the bottom of the pool; drowning her. People said that this is terrible, but I think it makes a lot of sense(I am by no means glad this happened).

     First, compare that tiny pool to the ocean. There's no comparison. Imagine being locked inside your bedroom closet for the rest of your life. You'd be pretty crazy, wouldn't you?

     Secondly, this whale was a KILLER whale. Hint, hint, zookeepers? Killer?

     I think that this is a terrible tragedy, but the whale was being natural.  

The iPad

Me with the iPad!










After eating some Pizza Hut, my dad and I went to the Apple store. iPlayed with the iPad. It's sooooo cool! iFind the book feature the thing that would lure me in, iMean, if people can read 100's of books without even physically turning a page, I'm in! Sadly, my wallet was recently stolen, so I'm 25 dollars back on buying one.

Stuff to Look For

A brand new enthralling story-
A music player with calming music for enhanced reading experience-
More poems
More polls!

Leaves-Another Poem By Me

*Snip* A leaf falls from the sky and sends ripples to shore. Down the stream it floats, around bends and breaks, not knowing where it goes. Past the wet sandals, whose owner meanders about without them, "Not I," says the leaf. Past the pebble wedged between two toes, wiggling for freedom, "Not I!" again says the leaf. Past the long forgotten sweet gum ball at the bottom, covered in algae, "Not I!" once more says the leaf. Down the waterfall and into the air flutters the leaf, and into a green pond of dormancy to be covered in algae, trapped, and alone.

Temptation-A Poem By Me

Temptation
As the fiery passion burns out the exhaust of the rocket ship, the temptation of the approaching star looms ever closer. Investigation and ambition draws the ship nearer like a fish on a hook, unable to control its course. Invisible gravity tugs at the will of the ship, pulling it ever closer only to be consumed by burning flame. Yet, belief speaks that all is fine; surely the ship will not be destroyed. Closer and over the line draws the ship, and it is gone, obliterated by such innocent temptation.

The Letter D Part 3-The Final Installment

Part 3
Wow. Mr. Herrera. Dead. I felt anger swelling inside of me. I wanted to make Ms. D. PAY for what she did to him!
In a super hero-like feat, I tried to rip off the straps-and failed. The needle punctured my skin and I screamed in agony as the yellow liquid drained into my stomach from the needle. I was going to die. Ms. D. had won. She was probably going to conquer the world now.
As I felt the acid eating away at my stomach, there was an explosion in the side of the wall. Lots of darkly dressed men dressed in suits that said FBI ran in and shot Ms. D. I yelled ,”Help!” and passed out.

***
That gets us to where I am now. In a hospital bed, room 256. My family is here. Everyone. Today, the doctors said that there is nothing they can do. The acid continues to eat at my inside, and I wear a smile for my family. This smile is a dark curtain hiding the pain inside that is slowly eating my life away.

The End

The Letter D-Part 2

Part 2

I awoke. I opened my eyes. Darkness. Was I at the dentist’s office? This table sure felt like one of Dr. Fred’s tables, however, unless it’s a bad day, Dr. Fred usually doesn’t usually strap me down.
“Hello!” my call echoed across the apparently large room,”is anybody the-“ a hand clamped over my mouth.
“Shut up, kid!” the hand’s owner scolded in a whisper. Hmm…that voice sounded familiar. I thought
I kept quiet as the hand left my mouth and the footsteps pitter-pattered away.
After a few minutes of quiet, I whispered,” Hello?”
“What?” said that familiar voice.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“At school,” came the reply.
“What part?”
“Underneath it.”
“How?” I asked.
“Well, “ he said,” it’s a long story.”
“Tell me.”
“Alright. About 25 years ago, a lady named Mary Denelux started the Parragon Mining Corporation. After a few years, she started selling her top export, dynamite, to various terrorist organizations. Mary played a part in the Oklahoma City bombings and other disasters. The terrorists convinced her to join them, and she then went on to be an inside terrorist for the Taliban in America, and, believe it or not, she built her first base right here, about three years before your school was built.”
“Then we must be inside of her building,” I said, a hint of fear creeping up my spine.
“Yes, we are, but you didn’t let me finish. Mary was discovered here when your school was built. She was supposed to serve a life sentence in jail, but she paid her bond and fled to Tanzania. No one has seen her since, at least, no one is willing to say that they have. I’m here on a lead that she is back and trying to execute some new plan of hers,” said the voice.
“Neat, but, who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Mr. Herrera,” said the no longer unknown voice.
“Wow!” I said,” So, you’re not really a math teacher?”
“No, I’m not,” he said,” I work for MI6.”
“THE MI6?”
“Yes.”
Bang! The gunshot rang throughout the room. As I heard it ricochet off of something metal, my eyes flew to the sight of the shooter-Ms. D.! So she was Mary Denelux! I thought. Wow. Terrorism really took its toll on her.
“Why did you eat that popsicle?!?!” she asked.
“I was hungry,” I replied.
“That was for the principal! I was going to bring him in and get the password to the school’s bank accounts!”
“I didn’t mean to foil your plan,” I said.
“Well you did, and you’re going to pay!” she screamed.
She flicked a switch and the lights came on. The room was covered with large shipping crates that looked kind of like dumpsters. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the large hypodermic needle moving towards me with a yellow liquid inside of it. I also saw the table with an array of fork and knife-looking things on it.
“That capsule in the popsicle cost me 15,000 dollars!” she yelled.
“I sure am sorry, again, I didn’t mean to do any harm!” I told her.
“That’s too bad, sonny, ‘cause you’re gonna pay!”
She pressed a button on the wall, and a keypad flipped out from a brick. She then moved a joystick that moved the hypodermic needle towards my stomach.
“This will slowly cause all of the mucus that lines your stomach to wane away while the potent acids in your stomach dissolve first your stomach, then your entire internal organ system!” she said.
While closer and closer the needle moved, something wasn’t quite right. Where was Mr. Herrera? He worked for MI6, couldn’t he do something? How ironic! Just as I was doubting him, a crack rang through the room. Surely that was Mr. Herrera! I tried to sit up the best I could and saw a sight. The bloody body of who used to be Mr. Herrera lying on the floor.

Next installment in production.

There's a first for everything.

Congratulations to one Mr. John (middle initial) Steakley for posting the first comment. Ever.

The Letter D-A Story(not the truth)

As I woke up last Thursday, I couldn’t believe that there were only seven weeks of school left. After seven weeks, it would be smooth sailing. The Beach,the lake. Oh yeah. However, I had some big assignments in almost all of my classes so I had to keep my mind focused.
Cole greeted me with a smile as I walked into the cafeteria later that morning.
“Ahh, the fresh smell of a new day,” he sighed as we walked to our lockers. “Did you finish the math?” he asked me.
“Yes, but I had some trouble with the circle measurements,” I replied.
“I found it quite enjoyable,” he said.
We continued on and parted ways at the central stairway. I dropped off my instrument in the band room and continued on to my first period class. Mr. Herrera wasn’t there, just weird old Ms. D.
Ms. D. Had been a sub last year in sixth grade, but, unfortunately, she followed me up to seventh grade. The droopy skin on her arms and her horrible socks with her Choco’s (yes, socks with Choco’s) made me want to vomit. Fortunately, she was hard of hearing and engrossed in a novel, so, instead of working on the classwork, we just played spades the whole 52 minutes.
Later that day, when I was walking to lunch, I noticed that there was no one attending the front desk. I glanced toward the back and saw a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the break room calling for me to come and devour them. I’d won Good Citizen twice; they wouldn’t punish me too badly- anyway, I'd only get one.
Perfect. No more doughnuts. However, there was a box of Skinny Cow popsicles in the freezer. Chocolate-not my favorite, but it would have to do. It did all right.
My first bite was pretty good, along with the second. The third bite had something crunchy in it. I felt dizzy. Really dizzy. As I dropped like a rock to the tile floor, I glimpsed the infamous Choco’s with socks walking my way.
To be continued...

Healthcare

Good Job voting in the poll! Boo Healthcare bill!

Old Men and Wheelchairs: Essentially-Healthcare

Healthcare is a widely debated issue across these United States. As do most things, it has many Pro’s and Cons.
A main pro is that 32 million uninsured Americans will receive Healthcare coverage that many of them don’t even want. The plan also comes with a promise to save one-trillion dollars over the next years. This plan will also crackdown on insurance company rip-offs that I wrote about in my Socialism post. I am all for these things(which are mostly bogus like the 32-million number).
I am, however, not for the many heavy-weighted cons that come behind closed doors with this bill. One of the cons is the age old idea of tax. What happened to cutting taxes, Mr. President? Many Americans (like me) don’t want to pay for somebody else’s Healthcare coverage while compromising their own! Another issue is quality. For example, say that an old man needs a new wheelchair. He goes to his private insurance company and receives a fancy automated wheelchair with all the bells and whistles. Another old man goes to the new Medicare and gets basically the leather base of a chair with some wheels attached. This will be the story for many law abiding Americans who are FORCED to purchase poor insurance coverage over their old and better coverage. The plan’s cost will amount to around 940-billion dollars. But, hey, the government’s used to spending money.
Many questions have arisen about what the constitution has to say on this plan. Well, the Necessary and Proper Clause says that congress may bring about all things that are, well, necessary and proper. The question is, is Healthcare necessary and proper? Nothing specifically about healthcare is in the Constitution, so we may have no way of knowing.
I have spotted one good that about the plan, if the plan saves one-trillion and costs 40-billion, we’ve saved 60-billion dollars! Woohoo! That’ll sure put a dent on that 12 trillion dollar national debt.

March Madness!

March is truly mad. I was 9 for 16 on Thursday, and I'm hoping I'm perfect on Friday! Murray St. Beat Vandy!! WTF!(with the family). I also am very sad that Georgetown lost to Ohio. I'm currently watching West Virginia and Morgan St.-go WV!-at my aunt's house. Funness! Hope y'all's brackets are doing well! e-mail me your first round records!

Re: Da Lake

We actually never went to the lake because of the fact that we were all tired because we camped in a tent in Fletcher's Aunt's backyard. The next day we went fishing and I cought a bass. I got a great picture of me holding this fish and looking very tired(my eyes are closed and my hair is horrible!!!). However, we did come back to Fletcher's house and play some Table Tennis.

Da Lake

I'm going to the lake with my friend Fletcher, so I won't be able to blog. I'll do some blogging about what I do there once I return. I'll have fun.

Crazy Parties and too much pond water

As you may have noticed, the fish changed colors. They all went to a party this past weekend and had a bit too much pond water. Oscar(the now black one) decided that it would be a great idea to get his full body tatooed with black ink. The others just used their superpowers to change colors(AKA I don't want to make up more stories =P).

Healthcare and Socialism

I think that, in terms of healthcare, we are doing too much. While it is bad that poor people don't have money to pay doctors, they might have jobs if the Bailout plan had worked. But, that's another story. Read my other article for that one. Anyway, Congress is fixing something that isn't broken (it just needs a few tweaks).
First of all, I do think that Congress needs to put in new laws about insurance companies dropping you for insurance when you get hurt. Aren't insurance companies supposed to help you when you get hurt? That's what insurance is!!Along with that, kids shouldn't be denied because of pre-existing conditions.
Congress also needs to say that insurance companies can't raise your rate a large amount because you get hurt.
Note: Not all insurance companies do this, just some.
Under the proposed healthcare bill, families will be FORCED to buy government provided insurance, and if they don't, they will be fined. Isn't that Socialist? Dictionary.com says that socialism is "a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole." That basically means that the government is making us buy insurance whether we like it or not.
I always thought that America was the "land of the FREE"(to make our own choices).

New Camera!

I Finally got a new camera! It's an Olympus X-42. 12 Mp's for only 69.99! "How did he get such a GREAT deal?" you may ask. Well, to answer your question, It was on sale! I love OfficeMax!

G-Parents' House

Here are some fun pictures from my visit to my grandparents' house.


Milk and cookies!

Story time with Mr. Chef Frog and Mr. Gnome!

Going...going...going...gone.

I will be going tonight(Friday) and tomorrow(hopefully you aren't that dumb) to my grandparents house. As you may or may not understand, that means no more blogging! Waahhhhh!

Bingo And Bills

Bingo and Bills(Dollar Bills)

In my opinion, we as a people should be asked to vote on the current bingo issue. Isn’t a democracy BY the people and FOR the people?
I also don’t see why bingo is such a big deal. I know that it might encourage other forms of illegal things, but isn’t it a free country? People should be able to do what They want with Their money as long as it is legal.
This dispute is all the President’s fault(haha =P). If his bailout plan had worked and created more jobs without spending HALF of the 800 BILLION BORROWED DOLLARS, these people would have jobs, and they wouldn’t be so desperate to risk their money(and usually lose it).
The only thing I’m worried about is is the future. I’m 13, and in about 15 years, when I’m paying taxes, the rest of my generation and I will be digging the U.S. out of the 12 TRILLION DOLLARS(and counting) of debt that we’re currently piling on.

Vaccination

As you may have noticed, I have removed The Disease. After re-reading it, I developed a burning hatred for it, so, because this is MY blog, I removed it. I feel so empowered!

Re:The Bachelor

My mom made me leave the room while she was watching the Bachelor because of the bikinis.

The Bachelor

The Bachelor is a show that is very interesting to some people. I am not some people. Some of the girls at school like it, so, I decided to watch it thinking it would make good conversation. Tonight is the season finale. Why have I been so dumb to watch this crap?

Falling Down

This Morning, when I awoke, my leg was asleep, so, when I tried to walk, I fell over. This sentence has an amazing amount of commas. That is a true story.

Missing School

You know what's sad? When you miss a day of school. I missed one on Friday for a newspaper conference(which was great). However, I REALLY HATE the make up tests and make up work. I missed an English Vocab. quiz and a huge math test! Ugh...