October 2008 – Page 2 – Bri's Own World

You should be careful what you wish for!

Posted on October 14, 2008February 26, 2009 by Bri

One thing I’ve noticed about music is that it’s really hard to imagine most people listening to it, unless they’re stereotypical indie types or boy-band loving preteens.

I remember once in middle school where I was once asked if I ever listened to music, not including Beethoven.

Ok, seriously? Do I really look like I listen to classical music? But since then, I’ve watched people closely (do I sound creepy enough yet?) and noticed the exact same thing. I can’t see any of these people listening to music. Even my friend Kelli (SROTS), who is a huge music lover that I’ve personally seen listening to music, and I STILL can’t see it. It’s so weird!

However, there are those people, like our new admin, Shawn, who I can definitely see kicking back with a retro cassette player listening to obscure bands that no one’s heard about. Shawn, like every other cliched (sorry, Shawn) indie rocker, is the kind of person who wears colorful, seizure-inducing graphic tee shirts and skinny jeans. He rocks the straight, shaggy blond hair that’s swept to the side over his eyes, the over-sized skater shoes, and the handmade beanies. (Has anyone else noticed this new trend… colorful hand made stocking caps? Or the fact that boys are learning to knit so they can make them themselves? No se…)

I can imagine Shawn rocking out on an actual guitar listening to bands like Run Kid Run, Metro Station, and INSERT NEEDLESSLY LONG OBSCURE INDIE BAND NAME HERE. Not to diss your music or your look, indie rockers, I like a lot of that stuff too. Red Jumpsuit Aparatus and Death Cab For Cutie are bands I regularly enjoy.

But really, can you actually imagine just some normal person listening to music? Everyone has their specific musical tastes, but not matter how much you understand that the cowgirl listens to country, can you actually imagine her, sitting in her room covered in pictures of her and her prize winning rodeo horses, rocking out to Keith Urban?

Movies

What are some of your favorite movies?

Posted on October 12, 2008February 26, 2009 by Godfather

Ok, instead of a regular blog today, I just want to find out which movies everyone likes the best. I’m doing this so I can try to write blogs that are more to your interest. So, here’s my top ten (currently, it changes a lot since I watch a ton of movies).

1. Fight Club- Can’t find anything wrong with it, to me it’s a perfect piece of filmmaking.
2. Casino- Wonderful movie, after watching it a few times it does seem to be a bit long though.
3. Die Hard- Best action movie ever made, every guy NEEDS to see this one.
4. Gladiator- Everything is amazing in this movie, especially the acting an music.
5. Braveheart- A lot like Gladiator, they’re almost the same movie.
6. Rambo First Blood- Another great action movie, even without a lot of killing!
7. The Shawshank Redemption- Perfect ending to an emotional movie.
8. The Godfather- Classic, like Gladiator in respects of perfect music and acting.
9. No Country for Old Men- The ending is great, don’t listen to the idiots out there.
10. Memento- Very original piece of art by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight).

Issues, Politics

Three down, forty-seven to go…

Posted on October 10, 2008February 26, 2009 by Aardvarki

Tell me: what do these three names have in common: “Massachusetts, California, and Connecticut.”
That’s right, folks: these are the names of the states in which gay marriage is now legal! The Connecticut Supreme Court today, in a 4-3 vote, decided that a ban on gay marriage constituted “cognizable harm” and infringed on a “fundamental right” of same-sex couples, and was, overall, unconstitutional. If you’d like to read a bit more about the ruling, copy this URL and paste it into your URL box: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4996BE20081011

Issues

Conforming

Posted on October 9, 2008February 26, 2009 by The Maker

Since none of you OBVIOUSLY cared not about stem-cell research, this submission is upon the basic dichotomy of conforming to society or dancing to your own tune. I know bullying isn’t as much a problem as it was a long time ago, both in last decade and elementary school (young kids seem more discriminatory), but still.

They’re always there. Everywhere you go, you see buff, pumped up, steroid munching jocks and anorexic, implanted models. They are The Fad. The Style. The thing to be. Everyone around you subscribes to this belief: everything they do is Right. The world constantly attempts to squash out any difference with a military neatness. They mold you like clay to adopt their merchandise, their virtues, their thoughts. One is pressured to conform, encouraged by every medium to adhere to brand-name conformity and adopt uniform, national blandness.

But what of those who refuse? The dissidents of Pop culture. They wander, receiving quizzical looks, suffering the jests and jeers of outraged authority, who themselves discarded their uniqueness to adapt to society. Is the reward of personal contentment, to know that you AREN’T the product of Hollywood and Madison Avenue, enough to shield you from the constant insults, the unrelenting hurricane of prejudice against difference? Is it better to be oneself even if that self is not socially accepted? Do the masses mock and malign you for your dissidence, taking refuge in the fact that you arn’t suffering like they are, stripped of their thoughts, their values, the very essence that makes them an individual? Do you sit alone, wearing your personally tailored suit or outfit that went out of style last century, or do you sit with ‘friends’, wearing glittering lip gloss and Aztec Blue eyeshadow or munching on steroids, laughing and discussing a funny movie you all saw?

Books

And even when your hope is gone…

Posted on October 9, 2008February 26, 2009 by Bri

The Twilight Obsession.

You’ve all heard about it, don’t try to pretend otherwise. Stephenie Meyer’s novel Twilight and the following three books have exploded in sales for young adults, specifically among teenage girls. There’s a movie coming out in November, fan clubs littered all over the internet, and merchandise being sold left and right.

I’m only a little ashamed to admit my part in this. My laptop is named Bella, my camera is Edward, and the truck I drive is Jacob. I got roped, unwillingly, into a Twilight book club at school, I’m planning on going to the movie as soon as it comes out, I went to the midnight release party for the final book, I dressed up as a Cullen for Halloween freshman year, and my copy of Twilight is so worn it looks like it’s been through a weed whacker. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been infected with Twilight-induced insanity.

But if you haven’t read these books, you’re missing out exponentially. The writing is incredible, the characters alluring and captivating, and the plot contenting. Stephenie Meyer, who has another book out, The Host, is an excellent writer and should not be shunned merely because her books are now “mainstream”. That’s the problem with people today. Once something becomes “mainstream” it loses its value. I like this book far before it was insanely popular, and Rachel read it even before that. I’m no poser, ladies and gents. I fell in love with Edward years ago.

And that one thing I saw on the internet was right… Twilight makes human boys suck.

Teenage Life

Your lack of intelligence astounds me

Posted on October 8, 2008February 26, 2009 by Bri

It’s 7:49 pm and I realized that I haven’t posted a blog yet. I posted a video blog, though, on YouTube, so check it out!

So I was gonna do a music review as planned, but I’m about to start jumping up and down and screaming profanities. PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID SOMETIMES. OH MY GOODNESS.

No, I’m not going to elaborate, so don’t ask me to.

But just let me say something…

You deleted ALL THREE YouTube subscriber notifications? Are you serious? You don’t delete Nano upgrades, but you delete the messages telling you that I SUBSCRIBED TO YOUR FEAKING YOUTUBE CHANNEL? Seriously??? Dang, I must have done something REALLY wrong.

Ok, I got a bit of that out. I’m going to go write now.

Oh, before I go, I want to let everyone know that I’m now in the middle of writing three novels. Yeah, three. I’m crazy.

Sports

Blue Train

Posted on October 8, 2008February 26, 2009 by iridethelines

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of a better 5k time. Is that a bad substitution? Being the only underclassmen competing for the regional/state varsity cross-country team I find myself unpleased with some aspect of each race. “I didn’t P.R.” or “Man, I beat him last week”.

The Blue Train is so tight and fast that we have eight guys under 18 minutes and 10 guys competing for seven varsity spots. Four of these spots have been lost to the regional organization committee, they are already decided and therefore immune from the elimination prospect. This is tough for me, because I can beat two of them, but maybe not some of the non-immune ones.

I guess I’ll just have to see what happens this district race, and hope/try/do/yay-running my best.

For those of you not currently participating in a FMHS running team the blue train consists of seven cabooses(runners) in blue uniforms, periodically they are together, but sometimes there is a “run away caboose”

Blog, Teenage Life

A little something I wrote a while back…

Posted on October 7, 2008February 26, 2009 by Bri

Boys suck.

Excerpt from Bri’s diary in 2-7-07

I’ve realized what the trye meaning of a jerk is.

A jerk is someone who pretends to be your friend for a while, then decides not to talk to you much or starts being rude to you, and then, when they need help, they come to you. After you help them, they lapse back into ignoring you.

That is a true jerk. A jerk isn’t someone who calls you fat, stupid, or ugly. Those people don’t even know you. A jerk is someone who actually gets to know you, learns about your strengths and insecurities, and THEN calls you names, while still expecting you to help them out. A one-sided deal.

Parasitism is the relationship between two organisms where one benefits at the others expense. Parasitism. Like a bad friendship. A jerk is a parasite. A bad friend is a jerk. Therefore; STOP PRETENDING TO BE MY FRIEND. IT’S NOT WORKING ANYMORE. YOU AREN’T WORTH MY TIME, SO STOP WASTING MY LIFE AS WELL AS YOUR OWN AND GO AWAY.

–end of transcript–

And now, I’d like to add a bit more.

I trusted you. I forgave you. I believed in you. I helped you. I cried for and over you. Is this how you repay me? Is this the reward for being a good friend?

Five years of my life I wasted on you. I knew all along that I would get hurt, but I waited for you anyways. I was your friend anyways. Do you see this quote above? That was a little more than a year ago, but that’s not the only quote I have. I’ve been saying the same thing about you in my journals ever since I met you. Does that make this my fault? Maybe. But at least, before I sleep at night, I know that I did my best to you. I was my best for you, because I thought you deserved that.

Don’t I deserve some respect, if not a little credit? Don’t I deserve your acknowledgment of my existence? Apparently not.

“Dorky, nerdy, strange, annoying. I’m done.”

Those words will forever be burned into my mind. And you know what the worst part is? I would do it again. I’m so emotionally dependent on you that I would risk my feelings and my psychological health to help you through your hard times. I haven’t even learned anything. So where do we stand now?

You’ll never read this, but that’s ok. Maybe one day I’ll email it to you, but I doubt you’ll even give it a second glance. I know you deleted the notification that I subscribed to you on YouTube. I know you deleted all the texts from this summer and from the beginning of the school year. I know you got every single email I sent you in the past few months, but I also know that you don’t care. Destroying my life and mental well being means nothing to you, does it?

You say you’re done. Maybe this time you’ll mean it. Maybe I’ll be better off. Or maybe we’ll just start over again, with me apologizing for your cold heart, and you pretending that what I do even matters.

Movies

Top 5 Worst Things That a Superhero Movie Can Do

Posted on October 5, 2008February 26, 2009 by Godfather

With so many new superhero movies coming out on dvd, and more coming next summer, I thought its a good time to talk about what plot devices they should stop using in these movies. Disclaimer: I LOVE MOST OF THESE MOVIES, I’M JUST SAYING HOW THEY COULD BE BETTER.

5. Bad lead actor choice

Worst offenders- Batman and Robin, The Incredible Hulk

Did it right- Iron Man, Hulk

We all know George Clooney in different ways, but one person that I don’t think he can play is a crime fighting guy in a suit. When I just saw one scene with him as Bruce Wayne, it just didn’t seem believable that he actually would hit someone. Another example of this to me was The Incredible Hulk. Edward Norton is a great actor, but I really can’t see him playing Bruce Banner. They should have kept Eric Bana, who I think fit the role perfectly.

4. Too weak of a Villain

Worst offender- Superman Returns

Did it right- The Dark Knight, X-Men 1,2,3

Lex Luthor is a good villain, if Superman was really a contender in knowledge bowl and they came from rival schools. When I think of a superhero movie, I want a guy who can punch for punch be as good or better than the hero. Not somebody that uses their high I.Q. to kill them. We want fights, not intellect battles.

3. A weak end battle

Worst offenders- Iron Man, Hulk

Did it right- The Incredible Hulk

At the end of the movie, I want to see big hits and big explosions. The hero and villain should both be at their best, and the fight should show their pure strengths. Iron Man instead, had him hit the other guy once, then he pretty much just played keep away. Hulk just didn’t have a good enough villain, which led him to be drowning, not hitting the guy all over the place.

2. Too much love

Worst offenders- Spiderman 1, 2, 3, X-Men 3

Did it right- Iron Man, The Dark Knight

The target audience of these movies is action junkies, and we could all (with the exception of most girls) care less if Peter Parker is going to get the guts to be with Mary Jane. Now if they put comedy in there to go along with the love (Iron Man) then its fine, but don’t make me see a sappy love story when I’m going to see guys hit each other.

1. Not enough action

Worst offenders- Hulk, Iron Man

Did it right- The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk

If you’re making a superhero movie, cut to the chase and show us what we want. In Hulk, there was about an hour before a good action scene came up. Iron Man also only had 2 good action scenes, since the end battle was pretty lame. They really need to cut down on the backstory in the first movies.

Best Superhero Movies

1. The Dark Knight- I really can’t find any flaws in this movie, except MAYBE it’s length, but really, it did everything right.

2. Daredevil- Most would disagree, but I think that Daredevil did everything right, maybe not perfectly, but it was a very solid movie.

3. Batman Begins- Since you can’t see too much of the action in Batman Begins, there wasn’t too much else wrong with it.

4. Iron Man- Yeah, lots of these flaws were in it, but that didn’t make it TOO much worse, there were just things that I think could have been added to make it #2 on my list.

Music