Latin! Latin! Latin!

Today must have been an Opposite Day, or some variation thereof. (Spring Fever Day, Dumb Dog Day, All Fool's Day, whatever.)

First, Mr. S. opened up the Junior High Latin 2 syllabus to find our assignments.

And at first he just thought he hadn't altered the syllabus properly.

Then, SethA's mic wouldn't work. Who knows why.

Then Luke's brother's dog ran away. But this didn't cause as much disturbance...

as EmilyL's dog, choking while she was trying to read.

We didn't run over the quiz material because we spent too much time explaining exercises. (do I detect class conspiracy?)

And what about spacing out when it's your turn to read? It hit an all-time high today. (What line are we on? Huh? I'm next?)

Our brilliant section 2 is forging new territory! Blazing the way for TPS Latin students!

~SUBJUNCTIVES!!!~ (verbs one step away from reality, Mr. S. says.)

We are the first Latin students of our teacher to use this particular part of the textbook.

In other words, we are the Lab-rats.

Icarus just fell into the sea and got an island named after him. Now we're reading about agrarian life in Latium. Whee.

Huh??

A funny thing my government teacher circulated:

Maybe you've seen this before...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.

John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.

John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost a child while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.

Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.

Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808

Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.

Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."

Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford."

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

Lincoln was shot in a theater and the assassin ran to a warehouse.....

Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and the assassin ran to a theater...

: - (

Here's a link to a sometimes funny and amazingly tiresome site.

Actually, Pervinca gave it to me. We have a dangerous but very fun game, where we type in a word and add ".com" to the end, and see where it takes us.

This is our find of the year.

A Modest Proposal

Mine, from last year's rhetoric class with Mrs. Howat:

Assignment:
find a social ill and correct it in a gruesome but compelling manner, in imitation of the Jonathan Swift composition.

Here was my piece. Read if you dare...

Among the greatest of social ills that are present in our nation today, the worst (as I have been informed by numerous parents) is their teenager’s untidy bedroom. This epidemic is altogether too common among teenagers, who often receive the third degree for snacks, clothes, homework, chewed-up pens, shoes, and bedding found lying on the shelves and (infinitely worse!) the floor. The parent often feels embarrassed and yes, nauseated when he or she opens the door of their model child’s room, only to discover the awful truth: in at least one obvious respect, their child is Average.

Many remedies are unsuccessfully applied to such cases, but there is one which I have found to effectively work in every case. This remedy has been recommended to me by a noteworthy psychologist and counselor friend of mine who tells his clients to ration their son’s or daughter’s meals to one small slice of bread and a glass of water every day. The child becomes so ravenous that in a matter of days he feels compelled to clean out the deep corners of his room.

First, he will eat the old package of crackers that was hiding in the depths of his dresser drawer. Then the cup of lemonade under the bed will disappear. And when all else fails, he will resort to eating his linen shirts, window-sill dust, erasers, and maybe even long-lost drafts of literature assignments.

When his room is empty or when he starves, clear away the remains. Do a quick vacuum and perhaps some minor dusting, and viola! You have a clean room.

This has many obvious benefits. In the short term, it will cut back on what had probably been a sizeable food budget. Your daughter shall no longer be able to complain that she is “fat.” Your son will fear you so much that his room will be kept in perfect order for the remainder of his time in your house. And because he will have eaten most of his worldly possessions, there will be no need to maintain all the junk that would have otherwise overrun his room.

Hands Across the Water

An interesting musical project referenced from the Solas website.

I got this funny idea from one of my ACT diagnostic reading test sections (if you have the 2005 Princeton Review book, you know what I'm talking about).

One of the segments described how television changes the way we think about world events. Newscasters only spend about five minutes per story. In this way, really serious events become fun and games. Murders, robberies, and scandals exist to keep us entertained.

It's only when they spend hours and hours covering a story that anyone pays any attention and begins to think maybe something's wrong here??

And they rarely do that. Unless the Twin Towers are collapsing, or a tsunami just killed hundreds of thousands of people in India and Sri Lanka.

Hence all the tsunami-victim projects sprouting up across the nation. There are other neglected but just as worthy causes all over the world, but we don't care about those because nobody else cares...

Hey, at least now we know that raising awareness does have an impact.

Forcing someone to think about something for a long period of time, and proving that what they're thinking about is REALLY IMPORTANT, will arouse a person to action.

If you can't spend more than five minutes covering a horror story, DON'T COVER IT AT ALL!!!!

I'd love to get this cd, just because it's a gold mine of musical folk art. I love almost all the artists featured. (And it's produced by an *idol* of mine, Andrea Zonn.)

a recommended link.

~I Cor. 15: 50-58~

my new favorite Bible verse.

'Tis the season for recognitions.

In honor of Miss Pervinca Took:

~the grammar whiz

~the astute historian

~the brilliant understander of mythology...

who received a gold medal for her very-near perfect score on the National Latin Exam.

Congratulations! You are brilliant! We always knew you were, darling!

*(honored guest briefly enters room)*

...you also have an awful cough. Go get some rest. O_O

For lack of a better topic...

I will now take up Miss Pervinca Took's current little debate on her blog... give my own personal perspective on talents... and invite some more discussion. There's nothing I love more than a little debate, and I haven't been to TPS forum for ages now... >_>

And now, a ponderous editorial:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think of an athlete and Average Joe. Do both need exercise?

To an athlete, working out is the end in and of itself. He works out to achieve its necessary result: the ability to work out again tomorrow.

To Average Joe, working out is a means. Average Joe works out to keep himself healthy for other activity. He works out because if he doesn't, he'll throw his back out on his construction site. Or his mind won't be sharp enough to keep up his sedentary office work.

For the Christian, talents are not the end. We do not foster a specific capability to its extreme levels just for the sake of being really good at it. We do all things toward unity with God, glorification and enjoyment of Him.

Being really good at something is not wrong, and for some people, it's exactly what God wants. But don't get confused: expertise does not necessarily indicate a direct calling from God. He may have totally different plans for you.

Following Christ entails the taking up of a cross. Remember Paul's "thorn in the flesh"? God told him he needed that hindrance because "My strength is made perfect in weakness."

And that ever popular verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

If God wants you to do something, the talent doesn't matter. Anything He tells you to do, you can do! On one hand, He only gives you things you can handle, but on the other hand, He enables you to handle the things He gives. He wants to teach trust, not independence.

I can name a whole flock of Christians who gave up brilliant careers in a particular field to become nurses, mothers, taxi drivers, construction workers. These Christians do commendable work.

Think Jim Eliot. Classic example. What did his summa cum laude degree in Biblical Greek do for him in Ecuador? Well, he had talent for intellectual learning, for languages, for understanding Scripture. But his calling was bigger than that one talent. And in fact, most of what Jim Eliot did in Ecuador was medical work--you know: gross, underappreciated, terribly unpredictable.

Even so, we aren't supposed to consider our personal abilities as anything more than part of God's shaping hand in our lives. We have a lot of talents, and they aren't all supposed to be used to the same extent in the same way. My mother, after a music performance turned music education career, married and had eight children. That didn't waste her talent. It just channeled it differently. Her musical understanding still comes in handy, but it isn't the focus of her life. That's the way it should be.

Here I give two of the many kinds of people:

~those who obviously glorify themselves through their talents in front of a whole lot of people, and then say that "it was a great ministry opportunity," or "it glorified God." Most Christians think this way (including myself). All we have to do is be outstanding, and suddenly God gets the glory.

~those who could do a whole lot of good with their lives, and instead thrash around in either (a) patent laziness, or (b) self-pity, or (c) both.

~~~~

God's plan goes beyond getting good scientists, journalists, musicians, and athletes into the world. (How much does He really care about all that? I've often wondered.) We die. God lives on. Our contribution to the world of science, politics, music, or whatever, will be (almost certainly) completely obscured within a hundred years. (how many scientists from a hundred years ago can YOU name? And that is what percent of the era's world population? academic population? scientific community population?) But God's name will live on in a different fashion because of us.

Talents make us ourselves, and they give us ways to bond with people around us. But they should never give us our primary identity, nor should they be the focus of life.

"Nobodies" don't exist. God gives the primary identity. But "Nothings" do exist: Christ made Himself "of no reputation" and took on the form of a servant. For that reason I hesitate to say that one with a talent MUST use it to its fullest potential. We use all our talents for God's glory. If that great reading voice will be used for nothing but three kids in a violence shelter on one Saturday afternoon, then so be it. If that great piano playing has no purpose other than elementary school, so be it. As long as a person actively seeks God's purpose for his life, the actual use (or non-use) of a particular talent should not be a concern. When the opportunities arise, the Christian seeks God's will.

Christ had abilities He just never used. The reason why should be obvious: He was here to do the will of His Father. So He healed as He preached the gospel, and gave signs to validate His message... but He didn't use His abilities for their own sake. Satan tried to make Him do that, remember? He didn't use His abilities when they became convenient--like when He was on the cross above a taunting crowd. He only used His authority, His gift, in conjunction with the ministry of the Father.

Christ is our pattern. And even so, our gifts are only useful in the way they relate to God's calling on our life.

The end. :P

Vivaldi: a seven-minute expose.

Vivaldi's concerto in a minor is one of the easiest and most boring concertos to play, bar none.

I spent at least an hour running through it today. You'll probably never hear a real recording of it, because it is intolerably short, dry, boring, and *typical.* Usually it's played by wooden gradeschoolers, as a sort of educational experience. :P

So let me offer a brief description:

First movement: an allegro. Two pages. Starts out with this jumpy little tutti thing, then keeps it up with variations for about two minutes.

Second movement: Larghetto. To me it sounds like a random interlude between two very similar pieces of music. Instead of A minor, it's D minor. Has 32nd notes that sound slower than sixteenth notes. Very beautiful, melodic, rhythmically artistic. Lovely phrasing. Baroque largos are so far my very favorite thing to play.

Third movement: Presto. A return to the first movement, only faster and with more fire. Instead of the arch, sparkly sound of the opening bars of movement one, movement three has more surprises. It's short, a bit more random sounding (to me). Vivaldi seems to alternate between several variations in completely random order. I find it most unpredictable...

Movement three is the hardest to play. It has the most wierd shifts and also goes the fastest.

And now my dad says VAMOOSE!

more later.

my ten minute marathon post. i.e., a boring ramble

Okay. So I want to know when FB will get a blog.

That was a random comment, by the way. <_< >_>

It seems that one's mind gets stuck in a certain vein, and remains that way for a long time until gradually oozing over into another vein... A year elapses and suddenly we're so different than we used to be.

My vein becomes apparent very quickly in this blog. Academics, teenage contemplations, more academics. Is it obvious to everyone by now? I am in Highschool.

Saturday, after finishing up with my part of the play rehearsal, I did nothing. I took out my notebook and began writing the Gothic novel that Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey) is reading through the course of the play... Something about a black veil and Laurentina's skeleton.

That part always sends me into fits of laughter. "Oh, what could be behind the veil?...I am SURE it is LAURENTINA's SKELETON!!"

Cute play, but I'd never read the book. :P
~~~~~

When I was at the library on Tuesday, I went straight to the Russian history section, and picked out this book about Alexander II. It is titled something like, "THE ROMANCE OF ALEXANDER II," and it's contemporary to its time period. Written by a Frenchman, as you may have guessed.

I only made it through the prologue, which was a good description of the czar's funeral procession. Is a Russian funeral procession special, or is it like a regular European ordeal? I wouldn't know--I don't know how an English king in the 1880's would have been honored in death.

Oh well. That's the problem with being too specific about one's historical interests.

I find Eastern Orthodox Church History much more interesting that Russian history. Which is why I also love to read Byzantine history etc. Political histories aren't so interesting.

Hah. there goes my timer now.

Vale!

Yet Another Recognition...

in honor of Michelle Suzanne Roise, who was born today. You were only two weeks overdue, and you ARE only TWENTY-THREE INCHES LONG!!

Way to go! You have been formally inducted into the Tall and Gorgeous Baby Hall of Fame! (..which is not to be confused with the Just Plain Gorgeous Baby Hall of Fame.)

((In honor of this momentous occasion, and in order to see lots of pictures of Mitchie and her siblings, you may want to visit the Roises' blog.))

(the link to the blog is in my links)

today, yesterday, and various randoms.

"Random" is a noun. I do henceforth declare it so.

Today: I was in nursery, as I mentioned sortof yesterday. I discovered that Mrs. K. and I like the same kind of needlework: NO KNITTING, lots of crocheting, Swedish weaving, and some embroidery.

Several assorted friends (you know who you are) have birthdays on April 9th, and some of us (including me) are taking the ACT that day. What a nasty coincidence. :(

Papa, CV, CO, Pearl, and I took a walk down to Lake Carl Blackwell this evening. The forest looks so beautiful this time of year: clear, slightly green, redbud trees in bloom. The path through the ravine (the Mountain Lion's Lair) was better than usual. We saw a Great Blue Heron.

Yesterday: Ruby, Perv and I did a bunch of gardening stuff. Planted zinnias, marigolds, MORE pansies (they'll die within a month or two, sadly enough, because Ruby just loves them), and some salvia. Nothing major. The flower bed along the front walk actually looks ALIVE, while some spots in some of the others are coming along. It's taken us quite awhile to even get this far.

Our Illinois trees taken from my grandmother's farm are still Illinois trees: Behind the Times. The walnuts actually have buds, while the redbud tree only BARELY has anything resembling a bud on it. They'll be up and running in two or three weeks. :P

Mama, Pearl and I went to...(probably shouldn't say exactly where)...and watched the Symphony Orchestra and Choir sing the Brahms Requiem. It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I would have sung along with parts if I could. The orchestra was pretty tiny, the violin section pathetic (the wind section good, as typical in this State). But the choir sang beautifully.

The audience was amazingly respectful (compared to my current location's concert audience, not compared to a Krannert Center audience), though someone occasionally coughed. I'm struck by how many of the concert-goers are senior citizens. Like I noted at the Mozart Festival last spring, 90% or better of the audience must were over the age of 65. How I wish more young kids would enjoy beautiful music!

My guess is, however, that by the time I'm 65, most of my peers will enjoy going to classical music concerts as well. Age tends to mellow a person.

My bridesmaid dress is IN THE MAIL!! **excitement**

My mom signed my sisters up for TPS classes again. I'm taking...Rhet 2. And that's it, unless I can convince them that I MUST HAVE LATIN 3!!!! They think I already have enough to do next year, I already have enough Latin to pass highschool, and I can take the class at the university year after next.

I'm saying...but,but,but... it won't be the same!! I want to finish sooner than year after next! my memory will rust!

The decision is no rush because a place in Latin 3 doesn't fill up fast like it would in Latin 1--the only candidates for it are graduated Latin 2 students. I happen to know that there are quite enough slots in the class for me to get one, no matter how late I'm registered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, there is but one more tale to tell. Maybe it shouldn't be told here, but as I don't expect to get it emailed to all my friends and acquaintances, it's just as well.

On Tuesday I had an all-day babysitting job. Thus, Tuesday was a very interesting day. Because of this I actually participated in a ballet class (a first for me). I was helping a small girl out in her class, so I didn't do everything. But still!! I really loved the teacher, and the atmosphere, and the sight of all the little girls dancing, and the music...

Ah, the tales I could tell. I came home about 9:30 at night (12 hours after starting the job), sat down on a chair in the office where my parents worked at the computers, and began telling tales. Real-life anecdotes from the day, carefully selected so as not to give my parents a heart attack. Some were left out... or very broadly generalized...

My father promptly says to my mother, "Are you sure we should let her do this? It sounds like more than she can handle."

I'm thinking: Ha. You ain't heard nothin yet.

Well, this is not to say that these girls aren't the sweetest, cutest, and most pleasant children to work with--they are. They just happen to be challenging at times. Mostly by running in three directions at once. The situation grew rather alarming every now and again... I constantly worried about:

~one of them climbing the fence
~another going on a walk without asking me first
~someone getting into the cookie jar or the strawberry yogurt

etc.

:)

I kept them outside for most of the day. We took walks, played games out in the field behind their house, and played with the dog. Despite my best attempts to keep the house in some sort of order, it didn't look well when the parents got home. But the laundry was on the line, the dishes were washed, and everyone was still in one piece.

Babysitting is so much fun, after all.

If you want to hear the misc. horror stories (I have a whole portfolio of them from that day alone) ask me sometime. I don't post real-life stories of that nature online for all to read. :P

The rest of the days this week were spent doing school, reading, and sleeping.

**yawn**

Daylight Savings Time. What a bother.

sermons, worship, and being in the nursery

I used to think missing the Sunday morning sermon was a big deal, because I really love listening to a good sermon, and our pastor preaches quite well.

But since then, I've discovered that nursery work gives me just as much understanding and insight into the world.

First, there's the older woman with whom I watch all the children. She can tell me about her family, she can tell me about God, and also impart a lot of down-to-earth wisdom. And she does.

Second, there's the baby monitor. One can hear the singing and participate. An important part of worshipping God is the time spent singing with the congregation.

Third, there are the children themselves. Profoundly untainted illustrations of human nature. They haven't mastered the art of hypocrisy as profoundly as their older siblings. They still go by gut instinct, and are not afraid to cross border-lines. In them, Respect for Persons manifests itself only in its most rough and basic form.

Fourth, the revelation of God's goodness, grace, and the needs of those around. Prayer times and story times inevitably arise from my hour and a half with these children.

So many times the Scripture and sermons just pass from my mind within a day or two. Much of the time I have my own thing going on in personal devotions, and I don't want to spend time on something discussed at church. Perhaps I fear that it will narrow my understanding of Scripture, or something. (Ha!) I won't soak as much up if I'm just learning what the pastor teaches on Sunday morning. What balogna. I mean, baloney.

I used to make a point of listening to lectures during the week, on top of my theological study, reading from the Bible, and (willy nilly) prayer times. Now I don't.

Isn't it funny how we approach God? Well, at least this is the way I aproach Him. I set aside a specific time to pray, read, study, and think. I make time for Him. (sounds pious, doesn't it?) But the things that eat up my whole day--school, chores, work, and play--those things I take for granted. Those are my life. God is the thing I wedge into my life for one or two hours a day (usually when I'm the most tired and foggy).

Really, it's supposed to be the other way around. I should so obsessively worship God, that I should really have to squeeze to fit in my school. I should work so hard at obeying and glorifying Him, that my important Agenda seems to me a trifling, flimsy thing. I should live all my life in His presence.

But I don't.

And so, I'm off to think some more, and to hopefully take some action. Have a restful Lord's Day.

THREE CHEERS

for Miss Marigold Gamgee:

Who gained ELEVENTH PLACE AT THE STATE GEOGRAPHY BEE!!!! OUT OF A HUNDRED KIDS!!!

THATS SO WONDERFUL CONGRATULATIONS I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID IT!!!!

Perv and I practically screamed for joy when we found out.

She achieved a feat that smart kids dream about. Not only did she make it to a state competition, but she excelled in it.

Marigold did no formal study for this event, but she did say that these things helped:

~her dad travels a lot.
~she plays geosafari on the computer
~she read American Girl books.

Be sure to congratulate her the next time you see her.