This is how I perceive my current math situation.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Struggles
Having a problem with perceived idiotic authority and math problems is the worst possible problem combination I could have.
This is how I perceive my current math situation.
No, really, I know it's all my fault. When I put my mind to it, I can do
well in math, and I enjoy it when I can do it. However, I resent having
a teacher that essentially treats teaching like it's a joke, and
expects most of the learning to happen outside the classroom. I don't do
well in that kind of environment when I struggle with a subject, like I
do with math. So it's essentially an endless cycle of me trying, getting frustrated, hating my stupid teacher, not wanting to try, and then hating myself because I just can't get it.
This is how I perceive my current math situation.
Homework Post: My Top 5 Presidents and Why
List your top five presidents in ranked order.
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Ronald Regan
Herbert Hoover
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Ronald Regan
Herbert Hoover
2. What were your five judging criteria, and why did you
choose them?
Understood public and private integrity
Put the needs of the nation before party politics
Leaders, in more than just the sense of the office they held.
Took responsibility for their actions and the fate of the nation
Had some kind of work ethic before, during and/or after their presidency.
I believe these reflect an ideal candidate or president. Responsibility and accountability are sorely lacking in this day and age, especially in finger-pointing politics.
Understood public and private integrity
Put the needs of the nation before party politics
Leaders, in more than just the sense of the office they held.
Took responsibility for their actions and the fate of the nation
Had some kind of work ethic before, during and/or after their presidency.
I believe these reflect an ideal candidate or president. Responsibility and accountability are sorely lacking in this day and age, especially in finger-pointing politics.
3. Did you and your partner largely agree with the criteria
and the list of top five presidents, or was there some disagreement? Explain.
There was disagreement, they thought George Washington was too stereotypical, when he was just the first president, and nothing bad really happened under him. They didn’t like they hype about Abraham Lincoln, especially when the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t do what everyone thought it did and he had suspended habeas corpus. No one really likes Herbert Hoover because of the bad press of The Great Depression. But I think there is more to these men than just what some textbooks or some biographical analysis says.
There was disagreement, they thought George Washington was too stereotypical, when he was just the first president, and nothing bad really happened under him. They didn’t like they hype about Abraham Lincoln, especially when the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t do what everyone thought it did and he had suspended habeas corpus. No one really likes Herbert Hoover because of the bad press of The Great Depression. But I think there is more to these men than just what some textbooks or some biographical analysis says.
4. What are some common features that you noticed about your
top five presidents?
All of them had some kind of hands on work experience, either in tending their own land or in their chosen profession. They knew the value of money, of hard work and of someone’s honor and integrity. They believed in American Exceptionalism and that America had so much to offer the world as a nation.
5. Did any of your presidents govern during a time of crisis? If so, did they share anything in common with the way they handled each crisis?
George Washington didn’t govern during a crisis, but he did govern the first years of America as a nation, and did what he could to set an example of what a president could and should do. The closest he came to a crisis was when he was enlisted to aid in the French Revolution. One councilor was pro-France, the other Pro-Britain. Washington elected to remain neutral until the United States could grow stronger. Thomas Jefferson had to deal with political animosity and conflict and in his second term he did what he could to keep America out of the Napoleonic wars. Abraham Lincoln served during the Civil War, definition of governing during a time of crisis. He kept his head and his temper, never reacting executively with anger, and responding with humor to death threats. Ronald Regan served during a recession, managing to deal skillfully with Congress and help with curbing inflation, renewing growth and increasing employment. He handled relations with the Soviet Union and negotiated a treaty that would avert nuclear war. His long time goal was to achieve peace through strength. Herbert Hoover was president during the beginning of The Great Depression and was painted in a bad light because of his refusal to engage hand out welfare programs. He wanted to cut taxes and balance the budget to expand public works. He had opponents in Congress who circumvented his efforts to create a efficient and effective public works program who painted him as callous and unfeeling and cruel because he wouldn’t endorse welfare programs like the New Deal, of which he was an avid critic.
6. Were your top five presidents good at staying within the bounds of the Constitution? If not, what does this say about our countries highest office and the state of our democracy?
For the most part everyone on this list stayed within the bounds of the Constitution, the most notable discrepancies being Abraham Lincoln suspending habeas corpus for Confederate soldiers and generals, and Ronald Regan negotiating peace with the Russians. I think this says that the president should stay strictly within the bounds of the constitution unless the safety of the nation’s people is in jeopardy. In the case of Abraham Lincoln, he needed to ensure the safety of Union troops as well as people caught in the crossfire. Ronald Regan negotiated a treaty with the Soviet Union to ensure that a nuclear war wouldn’t happen, protecting Americans and Russians. Yes, they over stepped their bounds, but it’s easily arguable that lives were spared in these actions, and neither served an underlying agenda beneficial to the President, his party or other personal interests besides that of the wellbeing of America and her people.
All of them had some kind of hands on work experience, either in tending their own land or in their chosen profession. They knew the value of money, of hard work and of someone’s honor and integrity. They believed in American Exceptionalism and that America had so much to offer the world as a nation.
5. Did any of your presidents govern during a time of crisis? If so, did they share anything in common with the way they handled each crisis?
George Washington didn’t govern during a crisis, but he did govern the first years of America as a nation, and did what he could to set an example of what a president could and should do. The closest he came to a crisis was when he was enlisted to aid in the French Revolution. One councilor was pro-France, the other Pro-Britain. Washington elected to remain neutral until the United States could grow stronger. Thomas Jefferson had to deal with political animosity and conflict and in his second term he did what he could to keep America out of the Napoleonic wars. Abraham Lincoln served during the Civil War, definition of governing during a time of crisis. He kept his head and his temper, never reacting executively with anger, and responding with humor to death threats. Ronald Regan served during a recession, managing to deal skillfully with Congress and help with curbing inflation, renewing growth and increasing employment. He handled relations with the Soviet Union and negotiated a treaty that would avert nuclear war. His long time goal was to achieve peace through strength. Herbert Hoover was president during the beginning of The Great Depression and was painted in a bad light because of his refusal to engage hand out welfare programs. He wanted to cut taxes and balance the budget to expand public works. He had opponents in Congress who circumvented his efforts to create a efficient and effective public works program who painted him as callous and unfeeling and cruel because he wouldn’t endorse welfare programs like the New Deal, of which he was an avid critic.
6. Were your top five presidents good at staying within the bounds of the Constitution? If not, what does this say about our countries highest office and the state of our democracy?
For the most part everyone on this list stayed within the bounds of the Constitution, the most notable discrepancies being Abraham Lincoln suspending habeas corpus for Confederate soldiers and generals, and Ronald Regan negotiating peace with the Russians. I think this says that the president should stay strictly within the bounds of the constitution unless the safety of the nation’s people is in jeopardy. In the case of Abraham Lincoln, he needed to ensure the safety of Union troops as well as people caught in the crossfire. Ronald Regan negotiated a treaty with the Soviet Union to ensure that a nuclear war wouldn’t happen, protecting Americans and Russians. Yes, they over stepped their bounds, but it’s easily arguable that lives were spared in these actions, and neither served an underlying agenda beneficial to the President, his party or other personal interests besides that of the wellbeing of America and her people.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Deep Love: A Ghostly Folk Opera
If you live near Provo or Salt Lake City you need to see this performance!
It's a masterpiece! Written by two guys from Rexburg who were going to
school and took it into their heads to work on an opera. Genius knows no
limitations.
Last night I went to see a Deep Love: A Ghostly Folk Opera. I was blown away
from the first moment. The premise of the opera is the love between Old Bones
and Constance, thwarted by the death of Old Bones. Constance and Old Bones have
sworn to love each other forever, and Old Bones promises to watch over
Constance. Constance mourns love lost so soon, but then meets Friedrich. Friedrich
has a somewhat implied “bad-boy” history, and he starts to flirt with Constance
as if she was any girl from his past, but when he really meets her he falls for
her. Their love is what gives Constance new hope and love for life. They can
leave the grief of their respective pasts as their love grows. Florence, Friedrich’s
former lover, confronts Friedrich about his sudden change. She mocks his ideas of
love and tells him they should be together, because she knows the real Friedrich.
Constance and Friedrich grow closer together and declare their love for one
another. They promise to never leave each other, and Friedrich suggests that
they might be together till death. Still watching over her, Old Bones appears
to Constance and reminds her of her vows of love for him. Frightened, Constance
reaffirms her vows, but inwardly recalls the vows she made with Friedrich.
Pressured to choose between the men, she becomes confused and reluctant.
Sensing this Old Bones swears he will end Constance’s happiness if she doesn’t
leave Friedrich. Constance contemplates the choice before her and, because of
her devotion to her new love, chooses to spare Friedrich’s life by leaving him.
Believing Constance’s lies, Friedrich rejects her rejection and claims that he’d
rather be completely heartless than to ever feel love lost again. Friedrich
tries to understand why Constance left him as he was beginning to have faith in
love. Old Bones asserts that she left because Friedrich expected from Constance
what he couldn’t give: constancy. Old Bones reasons to Friedrich that love and
hope are vain, and in this he gets his revenge as Friedrich starts to unravel.
In his despair and abandoned by hope Friedrich takes his life. Constance
grieves the death of her second love, a death she inadvertently caused. On the
breeze she senses Friedrich’s voice and touch, which grants her understanding and
peace; the only thing Old Bones could take from her-her life-would now only
bring her closer to Friedrich. Florence comes to Friedrich’s grave, blaming
Constance for his death, claiming that the earth calls out for vengeance that she
will carry out. She confronts Constance, using guilt to torture Constance who
defends herself, contending there was nothing she could do to save Friedrich. Still
single-mindedly determined to destroy Constance’s will, Old Bones entices
Florence to carry out her vengeance and
persuading Constance to accept his protection in exchange for a renewing of her
vows. As a ghost, Friedrich sees the torment of his love and attempts to warn
and comfort her, attempting to convince her to act with caution. Constance
rejects Old Bones as Florence approaches with an axe. In an act of madness,
Constance kills Florence with a knife. Completely unstable, Constance tries to
rid herself of her demons; namely Old Bones. She digs up his grave, planning to
bury Florence next to her former lover. When she uncovers his grave she reaches
the ultimate depths of her own despair, lies down in the grave herself, and
determines to never live or love again.
The music for this opera was beautiful, haunting,
and
passionate. I was drawn in to the story from the first song. I’m so glad
I
finally got to see it. It was worth the admission price and then some.
They threw their hearts into the performance and I nearly fell in love
with Friedrich myself. They all had such presence on stage, you couldn't
help but be captivated. I'm so glad I finally got to see it. After the
performance I
got pictures and signatures of all the cast! They signed my program and
my
songbook. It was spectacular. And they liked my funeral attire. (being a
opera
that revolves around death it was the suggested dress for the event) I
have
pictures posted on my facebook, and once my friend email’s me the
pictures she
took of me you can see what I wore.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Magazines are fantastic!
I got The Hobbit: A Tribute to the Unexpected Prequel to the Lord of the Rings collectors edition magazine put out by theonering.net
Now I just need to get:
I'm a little excited about this. I need to get a nice box for all the magazines I want to keep. Because I am keeping this. For a good long while. That is what I do. I collect memorabilia of the things I like. It's nerdy and quirky, but it's one part of me that I like, even though I know it's ridiculous.
But I may have to go to IF to get it. I do need groceries... Winco and B&N?
Monday, October 15, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Well...I'm in SLC
It's rather metropolitan, if you know where to look. It's also got a graffiti problem in a few areas. I'm staying with a friends who has a very enviable studio apartment (It's the good kind of jealousy though, not the mean kind). It was a short drive, it seemed. I always thought it took longer, but maybe I'm just getting through with little traffic? The drive down was fun, talked a lot with one of my flatmates, (it's not a house, so she's not a housemate, and apartmentmate is weird and, according to the red squiggle, not a word.) had some nice bonding over tv shows we watch/used to watch. It was fun! Then I drove around SLC a bit trying to figure out where to drop her off and then had to try and find my friends apartment. They have parking in the middle of the street on some streets. VERY odd. we stayed up late talking and around 11 decided to call it a night. I managed to go the whole night without accidentally snuggling her! I'm pretty proud, but it did not make a restful nights sleep. She went to Saturday morning session of General Conference and I'm at a coffee shop getting breakfast for the free wifi. I've decided that I'd love to have a husband who makes me hot chocolate with caramel in the mornings (at least the cold mornings). It'd be nice. Should I add that to the list of requirements?
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Awesome Day Thus Far
Last night I asked a question via tumblr to a girl who also likes the show Once Upon A Time. I discovered last week just how devoted a fan following there is, and I browsed around a bit. Anyway, no one knows the background Fairy Tale Land identity of Dr Whale, and I told her about a production of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea done by Disney (who owns ABC who does OUAT) and how a character named Ned Land sings a song called "Whale of a Tale" about all the women he's loved. In Storybrooke Dr Whale is a bit of a womanizer, and he has Kirk Douglas-ish similarities. It's possible, since Captain Hook and Mulan are coming to Storybrooke and they're not part of fairy tales, but they have a fairy tale quality, that Dr Whale is Ned Land, or someone from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
So I told her about it, and this morning when I checked her tumblr, just to see, she'd posted my question and her answer! It was so exciting!
http://my-book-nook.tumblr.com/post/32372958820/so-an-idea-for-dr-whales-fairy-tale-land-identity
Then after classes I came through the Manwaring Center on a bit of a whim and I saw that there will be a haunted house day of Halloween in the Hart, and they had sign ups for "The Infection" which is to be their zombie theme Haunted House. Not a fan of zombies personally, but I enjoy productions! I signed up for all the positions; set, make up and actor. I'm looking forward to being able to channel some creative energy, and dressing up, even as a zombie, for Halloween is going to be so much fun! My sugar skull look wont fit in, but I'll make something else that's just as awesome! Plus I'll finally be getting out and meeting people! I'll post pictures on here, and/or on my facebook.
Also, Once Upon A Time starts on Sunday! I'm SO EXCITED!
So I told her about it, and this morning when I checked her tumblr, just to see, she'd posted my question and her answer! It was so exciting!
http://my-book-nook.tumblr.com/post/32372958820/so-an-idea-for-dr-whales-fairy-tale-land-identity
Then after classes I came through the Manwaring Center on a bit of a whim and I saw that there will be a haunted house day of Halloween in the Hart, and they had sign ups for "The Infection" which is to be their zombie theme Haunted House. Not a fan of zombies personally, but I enjoy productions! I signed up for all the positions; set, make up and actor. I'm looking forward to being able to channel some creative energy, and dressing up, even as a zombie, for Halloween is going to be so much fun! My sugar skull look wont fit in, but I'll make something else that's just as awesome! Plus I'll finally be getting out and meeting people! I'll post pictures on here, and/or on my facebook.
Also, Once Upon A Time starts on Sunday! I'm SO EXCITED!
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