Assignment 21- Sarah Clark -the isolationist policy

I get asked about my brother a lot. Most of the time I don’t mind, and I explain to them how his “college” works, and I laugh when they inevitably make the joke that its a cult, and I smile when they ask me if I want to be a cowboy, too. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind doing any of this. I just don’t think these are the important questions to be asking. 

One major obstacle I’ve encountered happened this year. My brother went to a college with an isolationist policy. Now, from what I’ve seen, most people aren’t half as much concerned with that as they are at the thought of Sam slaughtering pigs as part of his education. But the isolationist policy is 1000 times worse than whatever butchering my brother has in store.

For some backstory, Sam and I are really close. Lots of people think I just copy off what he does, playing tennis, taking the same classes, and joining the Speech and Debate team. But we genuinely like the same things, which makes us so close. So not seeing him for 6 months, not being able to text or call him unless he texts or calls me, and just being the only child is really hard for me. And it only seems to get worse. In August, he’d send me pretty detailed letters every week or so. Now, I get an envelope holding a 30-page essay with margin notes about once a month. I don’t want to have to read some complex text about the psychology of a bird’s brain (the last essay) to know what my brother’s doing. I know he’s probably trying to hint at some deeper message that somehow represents his current state of mind, but I’m frustrated that he can’t just call me and tell me, I’m frustrated at being the only child, and I’m frustrated that he gets to be in California learning how to be self-sufficient, and that I’m stuck here. That sounds selfish, and maybe I am being selfish, but I thought by 7 months into the school year I wouldn’t still feel this frustrated. 

Hannah Whaley - Assignment 18 - my very ambiguous life plan

This may sound stupid, but on my bucket list before I finish high school is to
have a boyfriend that I really care about. I feel like I can’t relate to adults until I’ve been in a serious relationship, and I also feel like I’m missing out sometimes. Don’t get me wrong I am super happy single but I just don’t want to enter college without that life experience. College is where you probably find your future spouse so gotta be ready to impress if you catch my drift. HOWEVER I will not lower my standards so if it doesn’t happen then that’s how it’ll be.
On my bucket list before finishing college is to be completely sure of and happy with my career choice. I don’t know what I’m doing, all I know is it’s probably medical and had to make lots of money for the lifestyle I want to live. However, once I graduate I better know where I’m going and be excited to begin my career. If you don’t love your job, you won’t love your life.
Lastly, on my bucket list before I die is to raise successful and happy kids. The purpose of all life is to reproduce. So, it only makes sense that my final goal is to have kids and have then be set up for a good life, as mine will (hopefully) have been. I want my genes to continue, of course. And please let my kids be good people and have a father. That’s all. Also if my kids were good looking that wouldn’t hurt either. Now I’m done.

#19: We're All Gonna Die- Kelly Landry

     It's such a cliche but I think that living your life like you're gonna die tomorrow helps people act boldly and do what they should/want to do. I think living out our (even unrealistic) dreams/aspirations, to a certain extent (not to the detriment of others) is one of the only ways to truly be authentic to one's self. I want to be able to regularly and consistently tell people how much I appreciate and value them without being scared of coming off a certain way, I want to be able to live adventurously without contemplating everything that could go wrong. I think that people could achieve so many incredible things if they lived with selfless urgency and people wouldn't waste their time on things that don't matter to them and more time enjoying life. I think that a lot of people these days are scared of the raw vulnerability of this idea, but this fear is something we need to break down as a society.

Assignment 20- Mary Huffman- How to Birth a Bangin' Blog Post

How to Write a Blog Post

I don’t know. Does this count as “meta”? An example of Step 6, which you’ll experience later. I consider myself a professional blog poster. I hate to admit it, but I devote entirely too much time to it, and (please don’t tell) I actually really enjoy writing blog posts. Since I’m so experienced, I will provide the following section as a comprehensive, step-by-step list to write blog posts like you’ve always wished you could, like Mr. Logsdon dreams about, like user Mary Huffman writes them.

1) Keep in the back of your overflowing mind the final due date of the current group of blog posts. This may be difficult to do, especially the first couple times, but realize how important blog posts are to your grade, and put the date in a calendar or something. Whatever you do, remind yourself each weekend before the due date of the impending deadline.

2) Choose to do one post a week, a blog post binge, or procrastinate until the night they’re due. Whatever route you choose, make a plan. Set aside enough time when your brain can fully function to do all the posts you’ve decided upon. You may work great under pressure, or you may enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes with completing your blog posts early.

3) Find a cozy place to sit, a yummy snack, and a good playlist. Especially if you’re binge-writing, you want to be comfortable and relaxed, yet able to focus on crafting the ultimate blog post. Play your most calm playlist quietly in the background. Plug in your computer charger. Prepare to write a dazzling blog post.

4) Visit the labyrinth that is the Blogger website. Now for the hardest part- starting. Open the questionably created Blogger site. Read the assignments you’ll be completing during this writing session and begin writing in response to the post that most intrigues you or ignites a creative spirit within you.

5) Write like your life depends on it. Once you’ve formed your initial idea for the post, write whatever flows from your powerful writing mind. Don’t be afraid to get emotional, go off topic a little bit, embarrass yourself. Embrace the art that is blog post writing, and become the artist within.

6) Inject a healthy dose of your own personality. You’re funny, you’re clever, you’re talented. Make your writing just as interesting as you are; make your classmates keep reading. Play around with sentence structure. Try out a new joke. Be controversial. But not the bad, cringe-worthy kind of controversial that will get you cancelled. Have fun with your writing and your readers will, too.

7) Stand back and marvel at your masterpiece. Maybe you re-read your blog post, maybe you want to edit it for length or style. You might find a sentence or two that make you radiate with pride. Think of a title that represents what you’ve just done. If you’re feeling frisky, make it extra catchy so the rest of the class can share in your thoughts. This is really important. An artist still has to advertise her magnificent painting with an eye-catching title and display in a gallery, despite the painting’s beauty.

8) Post! At long last, you can hit that ugly orange button. But first, you should hit the more subdued “Preview” button, and if necessary, change the formatting of your post so that it limits monotony and maximizes aesthetic. 

And you’ve done it! You’ve written an incredible, Mary-worthy blog post that your fellow bloggers will be itching to read. Congratulations and Happy Writing!

Assignment 19- Mary Huffman- I LoVe BiLLiE eiLiSh, or A Lesson in Confidence

Car rides with my mother are almost always interesting. For a variety of reasons, but the one I’m thinking about right now was not interesting because she is a questionable driver, or because she was telling me a story about some unruly horse-horse owner pair she dealt with at work. She had picked me up after a particularly bumpy Alice in Wonderland rehearsal which unfolded after a particularly bumpy school day. I was bummed by all the bumpiness, and as I shared the latest theatre drama with my eagerly-listening mom, I pulled back the curtain on one of my recently developed insecurities. Some of the people closest to me might have noticed my passing references to my lack of acting talent, deservingness of a pretty major role, etc. But maybe you haven’t, because we usually brush off mentions of insecurities and move on to happier topics. I didn’t just brush it off in the car that day. I dove head-first into a pool of murky insecurity. 

Ok, I didn’t want to get off topic, but I’m listening to Billie Eilish (quirky, I know) as I write this. The song playing at this moment is “everything i wanted,” which begins

“I had a dream

I got everything I wanted

Not what you'd think

And if I'm being honest

It might've been a nightmare

To anyone who might care.”

My furious typing halted when I heard those lyrics. No, these lyrics heard me. I’ve dreamed of having a main role in a play since I was prohibited from auditioning in middle school because the director (love ya Mr. Briggs) wanted me to run the stage crew. But now that I’ve somehow fulfilled this dream, I don’t know what to do. My audition was terrible. I am the last person who deserves this. I can’t even act. After listening to a rant similar to this one, my mom sat thoughtfully for a moment, staring at the road. Then she told me something I’ve been telling myself ever since. Even if your audition wasn’t the best it could’ve been, you’ve proved yourself to the director in enough other ways that he trusted you with this role. She told me that I couldn’t feel guilty for getting something I’d earned. What a great mom, I mean honestly. I feel like I’m usually the person who gives advice, for better or for worse, to others first and myself second. I don’t often receive it because people think I’ve got my shit together. While that may seem true, I just realized today that I cry much more than I thought. To paraphrase, I was in dire need of this advice, and Mom came through.

Assignment 20- Sarah Clark -how to play tennis

I have been playing tennis as long as I can remember. This is because both my parents and my brother play tennis. My dad actually proposed to my mom on a tennis court. So it was basically my destiny.
Up until about 7th grade, I really didn't like tennis, because I felt forced to play it. But I played for the Tates Creek High School team that year and I guess I just loved being part of a team and suddenly I wanted to play every day.
Ok but enough backstory. Here's how to play:
1. Find a racket. I prefer the Babolot pure drive.
2. Find some balls. I prefer Wilson Practice.
3. Find a court. I prefer Lexington Tennis Club.
4. Find a friend! I have no preferences here:)
5. To warm up your game, start on the service line and hit to the other person on the service line (the line in the middle of the court). Make sure your swing goes from low to high, and when they hit the ball to your right, hit a forehand (hold the racket with your right hand, as if you're shaking the hand of the racket). When they hit it to your left, put your left hand above your right and hit a backhand. Continue hitting short until you feel warm.
6. Go to the baseline (the last line on the court) and hit to the other person on the baseline. Don't change your swing to hit harder, just put more force behind it. Swinging your racket faster will get you more pace. Swinging up the back of the ball will get you topspin. Hitting around one side of the ball will get you slice. Choose your shot wisely: I prefer topspin: it's more likely to go in and you can hit it pretty hard.
7. Serving. Even I struggle with serving. Stand at the baseline. You're supposed to hit the ball into the service box (from the service line to the net) diagonal to you. Toss the ball in front of you, making it as high as your arm holding your racket can reach. Bring your racket back behind your head and accelerate up, brushing up the back of the ball to make it kick up when it lands.
7. Ok, so now you've got the hang of hitting and serving! The only thing left is strategy, but maybe we'll save that for another blog.

Assignment 18 - Tahsen Hossain - Lists of the Bucket Variety

General Information: The lists are not in any specific order. The priorities are bolded.

Before highschool ends I need to...

- Enjoy my parents cooking while I'm still here since I can't have it in college, as often.

- Figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life

- Write a novel or comic book that I'll probably cringe at later in my life.

- Orchestrate or at least be a part of an awesome senior prank

- Spend as much time with my friends as possible

Before college ends I need to...

- Have at least one stable relationship

- Go on a road trip with some friends

- Go bungee jumping and/or skydiving

- Start a small side-hustle and hopefully make more profit than my current side hustle

-Find some way to be helpful to the people around me

Before I roundhouse kick the proverbial bucket I need to...

-Be able to look back and be content with all that's happened and all I've done

Assignment 19 - how to begin - cat lucier

When I was 8, I was throwing a tantrum because I didn't want to clean my room. Eventually, I calmed down a bit but I didn't know where to start, so my dad told me to "start with the low-hanging fruit". I now use this phrase in pretty much every part of my life. I need to clean my room? Start with the dirty socks on the floor and throw them in the laundry bin. I have a near-overwhelming amount of homework? Start with the small, easy assignments like a Spanish verb conjugation chart. The house needs to be cleaned before people come over? Start by folding the blankets wadded up on the couch. It's a great way to not feel immediately overwhelmed with big tasks. Also, it helps you get started on a task and not procrastinate it further. 10/10 would recommend.

Assignment 18 - Bucket - Cat Lucier

High School:

1. Get into the college I want

2. Be a National Merit Scholar

3. Graduate from the Academy

4. Pass all my AP Classes

College:

1. Get into grad school

2. Get multiple degrees in 4 years

3. Get a Ph.D.

Life:

1. Be charitable

2. Get a Ph.D.

3. Have 2 cats

High School #1: I want to get into my top choice college because it is my top choice college for a reason - I think I will enjoy school and life there and that it will prepare me for the next 60 years of life. 

College #1: I set really high expectations for myself and I also love learning and it sounds like my parents had a blast in grad school so I'm headed there too.

Life #1: There is nowhere near enough kindness and acceptance and charitability in the world so I want to do as much as I can to try to make up for some of the dearth.

Assignment 19: Plastics

Most of the advice we receive in our lives is unsolicited and quite frankly inane.  However, every once in a while we get a real gem and changes our trajectory.  What is the one piece of advice given to you that has stuck?  Explain its effect on your life.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, February 2 at 11:59 pm

February 9 is the last day to make up blogs 17-19

Assignment 19- Sarah Clark- finding meaning

The best advice I ever received was “To our enemies all over the world who plan America's demise, please take my advice. Give up now. No matter what, you will lose. You will lose it all.”

Just kidding. The best advice I ever received was from my tennis coach: “When in doubt, call it out.”

Just kidding again, but my tennis coach actually did give me the best advice. I’m sure he stole this from someone else, but the advice was something like:

It’s embarrassing to have been concerned with the problems of mankind for all your life and find out at the end that no one has more to offer by way of advice than “try to be a little kinder.” 

I think this really stuck with me because I get super concerned with thinking about how one day, everyone on Earth right now will be dead, and everything we ever did won’t matter, and so what’s the point of even following this arbitrary system of living, like going to school to get good grades to get into a good college to get a good job, so when I have kids they can go to a good school and get good grades and...and I spiral deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. Anyway, whenever I think about how meaningless our lives seem, I remind myself of this quote. Our lives may seem meaningless, but the emotions we make others feel certainly mean something to them. If we can make the people around us happier, that is certainly not meaningless. Just because we won’t have any significant effect on all of eternity doesn’t make our actions invalid. At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters, the only thing that seems especially meaningful to me, is how you made others feel.

Assignment 17- Mary Huffman- The Absolute Truth of One John Wick and his Younger Sister, The Accountant

I am notorious for sleeping through movies, T.V. shows- nothing shown on a screen after 7 PM is safe. Last Saturday evening, I watched 3 movies in a row and managed to stay awake through Blazing Saddles and Coming to America, but Kevin Hart in Get Hard put me right to sleep. The first two movies I had already seen before, Blazing Saddles at least twice as many times as the latter, but Get Hard was a first-watch scenario. All this is to say that tried and true films usually keep me engaged enough to keep the naps away, but I’m a little bit of a hard sell when it comes to movies.

The John Wick franchise holds the record for most-played in the Huffman household. We aren’t a violent people, but those movies are nearly always playing on a host of channels. I think it makes my dad feel more manly when he gets his John Wick fix because, and even I will admit this, John Wick is a certifiable badass. I never sat down and watched the whole movie, but I think I’ve watched John Wick (either Chapter 1 or 2, I’m honestly not sure which) in its entirety just because of the sheer number of times it’s played in the living room. The movie is really about a semi-retired assassin-for-hire who just keeps shooting people, mostly because they messed up his car or blew up his dog. Oh, and he is on the run because he’s shooting people in the same field of work and he’s shooting them because he’s running from them. Quite a vicious cycle, really. This guy has a thing for cars, but he cares exponentially more about dogs. I love Keanu Reeves, especially in the Bill and Ted movies, but John Wick objectively lacks character or emotion. Maybe that’s because he kills people for a living, but that’s no excuse.

A film of similar type is The Accountant, which stars Ben Affleck (not my favorite) and Anna Kendrick (definitely my favorite). An autistic man works as an accountant for dangerous people who head illegal business endeavors. Because of his high-risk employment, the accountant is constantly moving and destroying his old personas. Of course, he gets tied up in a corrupt scheme and as he works with this company’s funds, he starts to realize he is involved in a deep money-laundering sort of conspiracy. Long story short, he’s on the run just like John Wick, only he has a maybe-girlfriend (Anna Kendrick) and an old couple to protect who cannot be made aware of his true identity. 

Though both movies lack depth, they more than make up for it in gun fights and cheesy dialogue. The Accountant is written with much more cliche and predictability, but the characters at least have more motive than a puppy or a Mustang.They do well what is required of them by the genre, but leave the audience with little more than an aroused violent instinct or heightened paranoia of bounty hunters. If you’re a softy at heart, but want to pretend you aren’t, I’d recommend the more sentiment-heavy Accountant, while the John Wick films are more for pure manly macho men who prefer untainted violence and plenty of grunting with their gun violence.

Assignment 18- Mary Huffman- I cried again smh

Before I finish high school, I want to:

• Get a job
• Help start a club
• Execute a stunning senior prank
• Spend more time with my family
• Get accepted into the perfect college
• Have some semblance of what career I want to pursue
• Take a DNA test
• Go on a road trip with a few friends

My priority before graduating high school is to spend more time with my family. It’s taken me too long to realize you never know when or if you will see someone again, and even longer to realize you must take advantage of the time you get to spend with those you love. I’ve always been excited to go to college somewhere far away, to escape home, but in thinking about it recently, I’m having second thoughts about enthusiastically leaving my family. I swear I don’t cry that often, but I’ll admit this is the second blog post I’ve written while crying ugly alligator tears. Every day after I get home, my little brother comes and sits in my room and we just talk, sometimes for an hour or more. We’ve gotten a lot closer over the past few years and this is really part of our routine at this point. A couple weeks ago he said that when I went to college he would probably come into my bedroom at home and sit on his reserved seat, a yoga ball of which he is the sole user, alone. He doesn’t know that I broke down when he left my room because I realized how badly I would miss him.

Before I finish college, I want to:

• Visit a foreign country
• Find my true passion
• Reconnect with old friends

As it should be my priority in this list is to find my true passion. I used to want to become rich, retire early, and then have fun. I had no real plan for this ambitious goal, but I know it wouldn’t have involved a job doing something I enjoyed. I would still love to be a millionaire. But above that I want to love my work, whatever it ends up being. 

Before I finish living, I want to:

• Be proud of what I’ve accomplished
• Buy my mom a house
• Move to Colorado
• Influence the world in some (small) positive way

Now and for the rest of my life, I want to look back and be proud of the things I’ve done. Until this point in my life, I can say I’m proud of the person I’ve become. I’m not necessarily proud of everything I’ve done in these nearly 17 years, but I’m confident that the not-so-great things I’ve done have taught me enough to make up for themselves. I hope that throughout the rest of my life, I continue to accomplish great things. Having pride in myself will eventually mean that other people can share in my pride, and by the time my funeral rolls around, the eulogies given by those I love will reflect the meaningful way I spent my years.

#18: Before I Finish Living, I want to Live- Kelly Landry

     Before I finish high school I want to do the absolute most I can. This is a very general and immeasurable goal- which is my point. This can be applied to anything and I can carry this task out in any way I see fit, without the looming disappointment of failing my goals. For school this means I want to try the absolute best I possibly can and not give up even when it' difficult and I don't understand stuff. For relationships, because soon I won't be seeing my friends and family basically every day, this means saying yes, even if  have doubts or try to come up with excuses because I'd rather be able to look back on memories with the people I care about instead of regretting excuses I made because I wasn't completely feeling it. And just in general I want to experience as much as I can.
     Before I finish college I want to travel outside of the country more because I might not be able to once working life hits. This goes along with wanting to do/experience the most I can.
     Before I finish living I want to live. I don't want to look back on a boring, mundane life that I'm not proud of. I want to know I did my best and accomplished as much as I could.

#17- Galaxy Battles: The Ascent of Airrunner- Kelly Landry

 I have seen what people call "The Original" Star Wars movies. My highly unpopular, and inexpert, opinion is that they were okay, good for their time but not all they're hyped up to be. I recently saw the newest of the movies and was admittedly extremely confused. I know the general premise of the Star Wars movies, but (spoiler alert) was unaware of facts like Luke and Leia (I just looked it up and it turns out I spelled her name correctly on the first attempt) are siblings and not love interests. I also was unaware of Rey and Kylo Ren being star-crossed lovers (no pun intended), as well as Kylo Ren not being his name (I think?). I will also admit that for the last hour and a half of the movie I thought "Surely this is about to end," I was sorely mistaken, the movie is three hours long. Although it wasn't terrible, I was not invested; thus, the scenes intended to make hardcore fanatics were lost on me. Yes, I was a poser likely in a sea of Star Wars devotees; yes, I probably didn't enjoy or know enough about the movie as the aforementioned fanatics would prefer, but, I thought the acting was good. And there you have my take on a fandom I have no merit speaking about.

Assignment 17- Daniel Mendoza Vasquez- Uncut Gems Review

The one thing I will not concede is that Adam Sandler’s performance as Howard Ratner was in any way as amazing or ‘beastly’ as some critics righteously claim. It is certainly good, but he seems to be the same naive, overly-confident, and troubled character that is featured in many of his films. The difference is a competent script that isn’t cheesy and elaborates on that character by placing him in a much darker and more realistic situation. So, as far as I’m concerned, Uncut Gems is a masterful piece of film. It is intense and loud and it never slows down from its fast start, which may be a problem for the weak-willed and close-minded moviegoer, but the unique trippy-ness is invigorating for me. That type of cinematography helps create the grittiness of the whole story, a story that chronicles a Diamond District shop owner trying to navigate the cutthroat world of the jewel industry. Your cortisol levels remain high throughout, for when Ratner (Sandler’s protagonist) solves one problem, another worse one springs up elsewhere. And in the end, when things finally seem to be falling into place, it comes to a heart wrenching and sudden--but not unexpected--conclusion. I recommend it to everyone, except those who have an aversion for profanity--you’ll find no escape here. And if you’re a fan of sports, it's worth seeing Kevin Garnett do a very good job of playing himself.

Hannah Whaley - assignment 17 - Love and Basketball

“Check.”
Monica bounces the ball with force back to Quincy. This game of one-on-one means everything. It’s a horrible, heart- wrenching game. Either she wins... or she loses the love of her life. Love and Basketball is an empowering romance between two characters that have known each other since childhood. Until the end of the movie, the plot is respectable and filled with heart-warming scenes in which two characters fall in love from childhood to college. Everything makes sense and it’s your common romance- until it’s not. Where the film gets interesting is when the two main characters go into two budding basketball careers, but instead of the man being the successful NBA player, Monica ends up the professional. And her boyfriend of a decade ends up with another woman. The angst of wanting the two to get back together is respectable, and the movie evokes plenty of emotion from the viewer as Quincy gets injured and Monica visits him- only to see he’s engaged. However, the movie becomes a bit unreasonable. Two weeks before the wedding Monica wins him back through a game of one-on-one basketball and steals him away as easily as an open ball on the court. This is where I lost some of my respect for the film, because it’s not plausible or fair. However, the underlying theme of woman empowerment makes up for it. Monica becomes the successful basketball player instead of Quincy, adding a twist to an otherwise easy-to- predict film. Although it’s plot isn’t perfect, and it’s hard to respect a woman who steals somebody else’s fiancée, Love and Basketball still puts the viewer through an emotional roller coaster- a skill that I have come to expect and respect in all classics.

Assignment 18- Sarah Clark- I want to die alone

High School Bucket List:

1. Win region in doubles
2. Get girls’ tennis team to go undefeated (again) this year
3. All As
4. Pass all AP Exams
5. Go to France with Ellis again
6. Get seal of biliteracy 
7. Learn to correctly parallel park 
8. Become chair of Waste & Recycling Committee on BYSC next year

College Bucket List:

1. Don’t drown in student loan debt
2. Play tennis
3. Study abroad
4. Make new friends
5. Be nicer to people
6. All As
7. Eat healthy

Life Bucket List

1. Don’t become a burden on society
2. Be less judgemental
3. Visit Senegal
4. Walk the Appalachian trail
5. Good job
6. Move around a few times 
7. Keep on rockin in the free world

First, high school. I’ve played singles on the girls’ tennis team for the past 2 years, but this year I think I’m going to play doubles with my friend, Kennedy. We’ve played doubles on our club team, and when our team won state, we played doubles in Georgia at Southerns. Although we might not win region this year, there’s always next year! Anyway, winning Region would give us a higher seed at state and would make my coach (Kennedy’s dad) so happy he’d cry. He cries whenever we win important matches, so winning region would just trigger an entire emotional breakdown. 

Onto college. I don’t want any student debt. Maybe this is because my brother’s been through the system (and now goes to college for free), but I think it's RIDICULOUS that most of my classmates keep talking about how they can’t wait to leave Kentucky, and go to a super prestigious school. First of all, I don’t want to live in Kentucky for the rest of my life, either, but my peers act like going to college in Kentucky is the worst thing in the world. Sorry that I don’t want to pay $80,000 a year to go to a college that offers the same quality education as UK, or Centre, just because I think it’ll “look better.” My cousin went to Furman, dropped out (after racking up over $100,000 in student debt), then went to BCTC to get her nursing degree. And guess what? Hospitals didn’t care where she got the degree, as long as she had it! Anyways, I’m really just fed up with people who talk about how they want to go to Stanford or Brown or Duke when they’ll most likely end up going to UK. Which, again, is a great school that offers the same level of education as the ones where you don’t get in-state tuition. Going to college in Kentucky isn’t some mark of shame, it's the most practical choice, and if you think otherwise, you’re being naive. 

Finally, the life bucket list. I hate relying on other people, and when I become old, I know I’ll have to. So, when I’m about 45, I think I should move into a log cabin in the woods. I want to be self-sufficient, and if I’m all alone in the wilderness, I think that’d do the trick. When I die, I die, and if that’s when I’m 65 because a bear attacks me, so be it. I don’t want to be waiting in a nursing home for bingo games to start, or forcing my relatives drive me to a podiatrist appointment because my reflexes and eyes don’t work the way they did when I was young. If not wanting all that means I die alone and nobody knows about it, I still think that’s a pretty good deal.

Assignment 18 - Elizabeth Moore - Simultaneausly excited and terrified for what's to come!

1.       Before I finish high school I want to reinvigorate my love of reading. As a child I remember accidentally staying up until 2:00 in the morning – on school nights no less – because I lost track of time reading a good book. But with the oversaturation of duties and obligations in my life and relentlessly appealing streaming services (curse Disney plus), I seldom pick up a book. I realized this year as my brother, who is enrolled in a private school focused on a classical education, read scores of books for school discussions that I was missing out on many of the best literary works of the last 3 centuries. I want to think more deeply and inquisitively about the world and I think that starts with reading.

2.       In my college years, I hope to see the world a bit on my own. I love art and history and Europe has an abundance of both, so I want to study there for at least one semester. Italy in particular is extremely appealing to me because I love the era of Italian city states during the 15^th century Lombardy Wars. I also dream of painting the beautiful Italian cityscapes and shorelines after I´ve had some collegiate art instruction. Wish me luck!

3.       While my high school and college goals are fairly individualistic, in life I crave human connection. I believe that the value of life cannot be gauged by success in a career or monetary worth, but by happiness. And happiness for me is a large, loving family.

Assignment 17 - Tahsen Hossain - Annihilation

I would apologise for how long this is but honestly, I'm not sorry and you're lucky I didn't write about Star Wars because that would never end. (:

   In 2018 Netflix aired a documentary about a man named Bob Lazar called "Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers". In this documentary, Lazar claims to have worked for a government base like Area 51 and to have done extensive research and testing on potentially alien technology which we know very little about because it "breaks the known laws of thermodynamics". (He also appears on this free podcast on youtube where he explains his story as well) He recounts that he was chosen to research the propulsion systems of a "flying saucer", which he claimed functioned on a concept thought to be purely theoretical; an anti-gravity engine. He doesn't claim to know how it works or where it comes from but he claims that the US government through years of trial and error now understood how to turn it on and off. He details that the uncertainty of working with such a byzantine device terrified him because he didn't know what device could do. He eventually had internal conflicts with the management there and was exiled from the area. Now my actual review is not of this documentary but Lazar's story may serve as a comparison and may, in fact, have had an impact on the movie, to which this review pertains.
   Annihilation is hard not to spoil. Its beautiful multi-coloured visual style which reflects organic structures found in flora and fauna is closely intertwined with the narrative which hinges on uncertainty in times of change and relishes in its (sometimes brutal) semi-realism despite its science-fiction premise. Annihilation asks what would really happen in the event of introducing alien life but instead of viewing it from the lenses of warmongering or peacemaking (calling on heroes to defeat an invading alien force or go on a mission of diplomacy to learn about our new neighbours), it takes a much more scientific and methodical approach. The movie treats the aliens not as ally or enemy but as indifferent forces of nature; a combination of invasive species and mysterious geothermal phenomena caused as a side effect of the aliens are what the researchers are simultaneously horrified and astonished by throughout the film.
   The protagonist essentially gets Lazar-ed. They are enlisted to research a potentially dangerous and alien environment for the government. What they find there is beautiful and intriguing and also terrifying and new. It is something that breaks the laws of nature and they are not prepared for it. They spend most of the movie searching for answers.
   While I did thoroughly, enjoy this movie there are inevitably flaws. The movie often becomes inconsistent with its theme of realism in order to artificially maintain the pace of the film. For instance, the people sent into the "Shimmer" often react to incredibly odd situations as if they are normal or as if they had spent a long time under these conditions. Now, this happens often throughout cinema, especially in the science fiction genre but when the entire film is built around humanity's realistic reactions to the discovery of aliens on earth, it becomes a much more noticeable hindrance on the narrative. Additionally, while it offers many philosophies on how to interact with such an unprecedented change it never really commits to one but rather chooses to fumble around with all the concepts throughout the movie.
   Overall, I still really appreciate this movie for not using the "they're a hive-minded alien species; kill the queen" cop-out like most sci-fi's do, but rather entertaining real scientific ideas without being boring (like this review probably was to read.) 

Solid 3/5, Would recommend to anyone that likes sci-fi - Tahsen Hossain 


P.S I don't necessarily believe Bob Lazar's claims, they were just useful for the review.

Assignment 17 - Elizabeth Moore - The Rise of Skywalker (I would have called it the Rise of Palpatine)

SPOILER REVIEW
After learning that The Rise of Skywalker was a “splat” on rotten tomatoes, I was devastated and had extremely low expectations walking into the theatre. But by the end of the movie I was skeptical of the critics’ interpretation… This movie was awesome! While I would have appreciated less CGI, the character development was excellent. Per the Disney standard, the movie’s writers wove the new trilogy into the original trilogy intricately and fascinatingly. Leia’s back story – however brief – enhanced her character and made us fall in love with her all over again. I also loved that the Rey and Ben learned to use their force connection intentionally, which allowed for one of the best transitions of the entire series when Rey holds Leia’s lightsaber behind her back, and it appears in Ben’s hand so he can take down the Knights of Ren. I didn’t know it before The Rise of Skywalker, but the concept of the Sith home planet Exegol was missing from the series and truly demonstrated a balance in the force. We’ve seen Jedi temples, the Jedi counsel on Coruscant, and a sacred Jedi library tree thing on the island where Luke lived in exile. Why not a Sith equivalent? I was not so won over by the expansive fleet of star-destroyers with planet-killing capabilities. While impressive, it was also a bit far-fetched. I appreciated the drama, but it strayed from the monstrous yet refined vibe of the original empire. The struggle between Palpatine and his GRANDAUGHTER (wow!!!!!) made me confident in the film again. A battle of wills between the spirits of all of the Sith and all of the Jedi is the perfect climactic point for the final installation in this trilogy of trilogies. The poetic final scene, when Rey buries Luke and Leia’s lightsabers on Tatooine, is an unforgettable moment of nostalgia, and it seems fitting that Rey has a bright yellow lightsaber; a new Kyber Crystal for a new age of the Jedi.

I couldn't figure out how to give you a link to my rotten tomatoes review but here is a snipped image of the page where I posted it.

Assignment 18: Buckets and Buckets

Welcome to your first blog prompt for 2020! Yay!

A bucket list is a list of everything you want to accomplish before you kick the bucket. That doesn't mean you can't have such a list for specific aspects of your life as well.

To begin the year, generate your own bucket lists - one for high school, one for college, and one for life. Then, write about the priority on each list.

1. What is the number one item on your bucket list before you finish high school?
2. What is the number one item on your bucket list before you finish college?
3. What is the number one item on your bucket list before you finish living?

(This blog is inspired by Axel Liimatta - former academy teacher - my friend and former colleague that inspires me to live every day more fully)

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, January 19  at 11:59 pm

February 9 is the last day to make up blogs 17-19

Assignment 17- Sarah Clark- space movies

I love space movies, so the 2 movies I pick to compare are Interstellar and The Martian. First, Interstellar. A cinematic masterpiece. Possibly my favorite movie of all time. Interstellar combines heart-wrenching emotional trauma (a father and daughter are separated for about a lifetime while the father is in space), the destroyed state of our world in about 50 years due to climate change, the effects of space on time, a “ghost”, life outside Earth, and insight into what happens when we die. Although it’s difficult to imagine one movie successfully combining all this, Interstellar does it seamlessly. The Martian, on the other hand, is simply about living on a planet alone. No special, underlying meaning. Not much dialogue, and I could count the number of characters in the movie on one hand. However, you only have to watch the Martian once to understand its plot and meaning. Interstellar requires 2-3 watches to fully comprehend all that’s going on (and it’s about 3 hours). So, although Interstellar is a much more complex and altogether more interesting movie, the Martian is easier to watch if you have a short attention span.