New Zealand

Ever since I saw Lord of the Rings, I have wanted to go to New Zealand. This is probably one of the only countries we didn't cover this year, and so I looked it up in the textbook. Unlike most of the other countries we have learned about, New Zealand doesn't have very many problems with it's goverment, land, or economy. It sounds perfect. If you think about the relative size of New Zealand; a small island off of the coast of Australia that is not very big, it's land is so diverse. At the same time, people are skiing down steep, treacherous slopes, with other are in bathing suits, tanning at the beach. People go kayaking down white water rivers and in caves, while others go hiking through the lushest, greenest forests, full of towering trees, bushy plants, and vines, hung like streamers from tree to tree. It's coasts rival that of Mexico's, where everything is picturesque, and, once again, perfect. In the last two weeks, we have gone over South/Southwest Asia, and learned about the areas of main interest, the Middle East. One thing I liked was that the textbooks had unbiased information, that was free of rumors like the media. I learned a lot.

Overpopulation

People make such a big deal about the way countries, such as China,deal with overpopulation. Obviously, there's too many people, and families want their last name to be passed down. The only way for that to happen is for them to literally discard their daughters onto the streets. They keep their sons to keep the family name, while the infants and children fend for themselves, eventually getting forced into child labor. If they're lucky. As I said, people make a big deal about this, and they should. It's wrong, simply put. What kind of parent throws away a child like they're some sort of object or an unwanted gift? I'm not quite sure what I would do to solve an overpopulation problem. Every solution I can think of are rather unethical and inhumane. The first thing I think of is start a military draft, but a more reasonable one would be to offer overseas jobs in order to get more people out of the country. Another way would be to issue a law say that familes may not have more than 1 or 2 kids. None of these so-called "solutions" seem effective or beneficial. I honestly would know what to do, which is good, because I don't plan on ever having to solve the problem.

The Genocide in Darfur

In my opinion, war and fighting is bad, and I think everyone else's should be the same on that. I also don't like having to pick who's the worst. Think of it this way: If all the groups got a nickel for every bad thing they did, and they had to stack on on top of the other, and then you got in airplane and looked down on their stacks of nickels, you would only be able to see the top one. So it's not a question of who's the baddest, it's who's bad and who's good. So my opinion on this is that everyone who is not trying to stop the fighting is the worst. So I think that pretty much includes everyone except the UN forces that are trying to achieve peace peacefully. Keep in mind that every group is trying to achieve peace for themselves or others. Just like everyone says, "It's not what you do that matters, it's how you do it."

RUSH

Last year, April 23, I was lucky enough to go hear the Canadian progessive rock band trio, Rush. I was a Wednesday night at the Frank Erwin Center, and building where several UT basketball games are hosted. They are known for playing 3 hour long concerts, and me and my friend ended up having to leave before it was over, at 11pm. The first time I heard them, it sounded like a goat yodeling over a bunch of lazer sound effects. The singer/bassist/keyboardist Geddy Lee has a voice that takes getting used to, but he makes up for that with his amazing bass lines and keyboard fills. The drummer, Neil Peart, is considered the greatest one in the world, and not even being a drummer, his playing gives me a tingling feeling everytime I hear his music. Finally there's the guitarist Alex Lifeson. I don't even know how to describe how awesome his playing is to me. He is a master at both acoutsic and electric guitar, and when he plays, everything sounds perfect. There first gig, with previous drummer John Rutsey (who was kicked out), was in 1968, so they're pretty old, late 60's and stuff, but they can definitely rock hard.

Free Topic - Guitars

I can go on forvever about guitars. I picked up my first one in kindergarten, and have been playing/taking lessons for close to 10 years now. It's a wonderful experience to be able to play music, as music is the primary way to express yourself when words come as no help. I have an acoustic one that is really good, and an electric one that is not the best, but it's usuable. I prefer acoustic ones, because I feel more at home playing it as opposed to electric ones. Like every single guy, I loathe shopping, yet I can spend a whole day at Guitar Center (heaven for guitar players). My music taste and my favorite bands change, but as of right now, my favorite guitarists are John Petrucci, Alex Lifeson, Tom Morello, Randy Rhoads, and Edgar Cruz.

Romeo and Juliet

In a brief overview of the extremely popular Shakespeare novel, Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet and members of different families that are mortal enemies. Unfortunately, they fall in love, and to add, a nobleman also wants to marry Juliet, without Juliet's consent. Love is such an indescribeable(?) word. Originally it was a verb, to love, but has been adapted to be a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb. From my small knowledge of it, I would say it is better to learn to love than to fall in love. So many unexpected things happen falling in love. Now, I would like to quote one of my more philisophical friends, and his thoughts of love. "Love is interpreted in many ways though, and who is to say that one interpretation is correct, or if any are correct for that matter. Love could possibly be the sight of a fly landing on a wall - who is to say that the emotion we feel whenever we notice a fly on the wall is not love? I would daresay that everyone would dispute this theory, because everyone is seeking hope. Obviously the example of a fly landing on a wall as being love is obscure, but I use it purely because it is so ridiculous. Some would admit that love is in fact ridiculous, in that case, why couldn't a fly be the definition of love?"

Global Warming

Global warming is kind of a hot topic. haha. In my community, or even in Austin I guess, we have city transportation, like buses. My mom thinks that this is the best thing since the Beatles, so my whole family uses in as much as we can. I can't think of any eco-friendly, local groups off of the top of my head. There are Boy Scouts and Cub Scout groups, although I have no idea what the difference is..And same volunteer groups work and help clean up trash and other similar things.