Lunch at Bellini's

Yesterday, I went to lunch with my good friends Michelle and Jimmy at Bellini's Italian Eatery. I think I should explain why we picked Bellini's: Jimmy works there, we could get a discount if we ate with him.

Anyways, I would say we had a successful lunch. While all getting the same meal (along with some calamari), we had a series of nice conversations amongst each other for an hour and a half. However, I was 15 minutes late, because I drove there and was scared out of my mind, because I thought I would get into an accident on Buckland Road.

I have very little to say about it, yet I would say that it was definitely one of the best lunch experiences I have had.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Don't worry, I'm not reviewing A Chronicle of a Death Foretold. I hate that book too much to want to write more than I'm going to write in this blog post about it. Anyways, this is why I can't stand it....

SPOILER ALERT - DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT IF YOU ACTUALLY ARE ENJOYING THIS BOOK.

1. Vague Wording: “Besides, when he finally learned at that last moment that the Vicario brothers were waiting for him to kill him, his reaction was not one of panic, as has so often been said, but rather the bewilderment of innocence.” (page 101) What am I supposed to make of this quote? It clearly has a lot to do with the finalization of the story. Maybe I'm just overanalysizing it. However, this sentence could have been much clearer.
2. Far Too Compacted: "They'd brought in fans from the bedrooms and some neighboring houses, but there were so many people anxious to see it that they had to push back the furniture and take down the bird cages and pots of ferns, and even then the heat was unbearable." (page 73) That was one sentence. Gabriel Garcia Marquez - do you know what a sentence is?!??!? Take a breather. Honestly. No book should ever give me a headache while reading it. That's too much to read at once.
3. Again, no book should give me a headache while reading it. I would have been perfectly fine reading this book - if it was 200 pages or so. 120 pages is far too short to tell this story. The sad thing is that this book was written by a journalist. Journalists are supposed to be good writers.
   

Model UN

I am in Model UN. I have been part of it since my freshman year of high school (2008-2009). I love MUN.

However, I am not satisfied with the quality of resolutions that end up in the packet. This year I was representing Chilé in the economic committee. Our issue was Oil in Sudan. There were two resolutions that were just awful. Iraq and South Korea. These resolutions were completely vague and completely screwed Sudan.

Let's face it, Iraq only wants people to get oil from them, because they get a whole bunch of money from it. If Sudan were to have that same benefit, then Iraq would run back into its pre-2004 state, where they had no industry that people would want to buy from.

Meanwhile, South Korea just didn't say anything at all. They just wanted to have people get oil from countries not in crisis. I understand that we want to end the crisis in Sudan, however, if we want every nation to be successful, we need to have Sudan be successful.

Here's the problem: The workers on the oil fields are mostly non-indigenous people to Sudan. They have no interest in the affairs of the Sudanese people, which screwed the nation of Sudan.

Civics

Civics, Civics, Civics. What was the public school system thinking when they put me in civics. Did they really want me to have a class that is designed for me to debate other students. Honestly, nobody should let a student like me take civics. It's dangerous to other people's minds, because I'd spend all class promoting socialism (and not the American way) if I had the opportunity.

However, this is the only class I've had that truly encourages the watching of the news. Granted, my teacher tells me that we need to get our news from nightly news programs (such as NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams). However, I don't see any value in national news shows, because they do not provide you with everything that's happening in the world. For example, after the Tucson shootings, all the nightly news programs would cover was Tucson (failing to realize that people are killed everyday around the world, not just in America). This is why I get my news, for the most part, off the internet. You can only show so much in a 30 minute news program, especially since only 15 minutes are dedicated to actual news stories, the rest of the time donated to special interest nonsense.

For example, on NBC Nightly News last night, there was a 5 minute story about how Obama is about to stop smoking. Here's my response to that... What does that have to do with anything that actually matters and is affecting our country? However, I will give her some credit for encouraging us to watch PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer, a real news program.

Meanwhile, I was reading this article during civics and found it hilarious. Sarah Palin said she has a journalism degree and wanted to help the American media. Here are a few questions for Mrs. Palin: Where did you get your journalism degree (Wasilla Degree Factory)? Why do you act unprofessional in interviews? Why is the media so "liberal" in your opinion, when your party is clearly a failure?

Grammar

Grammar is a very important thing. I am very disappointed when people don't know how to use it correctly. Here are some things that grind my gears...

• Your vs. You're. It's not you're book. It's your book.
• There vs. Their vs. They're. It's not "according to James, it's they're fish." It's "according to James, it's their fish."
• Lack of Commas. It's not "Sweetz walked into the kitchen ate some food then drank some water." It's "Sweetz walked into the kitchen, ate some food, then drank some water."
• Failure to use capitalization rules. For example, I wouldn't say "the mighty mighty bosstones are a great band." I would say "The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are a great band."
• Saying "me" first in a list. It's not "me, Jimmy, and Michelle went to Bellini's." It's "Jimmy, Michelle, and I went to Bellini's."
• Misspelling "definitely." If you really don't get that, look at this.

That's about it. Please, please, please learn these important grammar rules. They really will be helpful in your life.