Blogging experience

I have to admit, when Molly first said we would be keeping a blog I wasn't to happy about it. I mean come on what will we possibly do with this? It turns out though, that the blog idea wasn't so bad after all. It kept me writing throughout the whole semester, and some of the posts were actually fun to write. Overall the blogs were a good addition to a usually boring english class. I wont be keeping the blog for my own use, but for school it was great. So Molly if your gonna be teaching this class again i would say use the blogs, really helped out in keeping me inline.

Stories!!!

Alright i read the school, and good god that was weird lol. Best way to describe it is just pessimism personified on paper, with a very creepy and small light at the end of the tunnel. I will say that the school was nothing compared to Mollies masterpiece, always knew you were a little off. But i digress, on to my story...

It was a dark, and very cold night in Anaktuvuk pass Alaska. Father had just left to get more firewood and medicine for Mother, she had come down with a very nasty flu of sorts and wasn't doing so well. I was nearly asleep when i heard a cry from outside the village. I ran outside to see what was happening only to find the village on fire with some strange men riding in on horse back. I wanted to go find Father with ever fiber in my being but i knew he would be upset if i left Mother by herself, so i stayed back and hid until i saw Father again. I was overjoyed when i saw him still alive and running towards us, but then, just when he was almost to the tent, a mans sword effortlessly robbed him of his head. I couldn't help it, i screamed with all my might over Fathers death, and in the midst of all that anger i lost myself. I took up a spear and rammed it straight through the mans rib cage who had killed my Father. Only to have the next second turn black from a pain on the back of my head. I was struck with some type of club and was bleeding out. I heard the man's laughter as i laid their slowly slipping into cold abyss. I am not sure why but i thought of Alaska and its great arctic weather and storms, and seemed to realise at that moment that i was becoming one with the land. The cold darkness of night that i had lived with my whole life was becoming me, and as my eye's turned white and the last flickering of the flames reached my eyes. I was whole, for that moment, peace was with me forever. Also it helped that i knew about karma and that these guys would get paid back for what they did to my village and all. :)

Books to read and such...

To start off i really only read fictional books, its just the kind that i have always enjoyed reading about. Not to sound too nerdy but science fiction is kinda up there on the list of books i read. Most recently i was told about a collection of books by John Scalzi, one of which is called Old Mans War. Its about the military of earth in the far away future, i hope. The government now only takes the retired due to them having the longest life experience and knowledge about the world around them, they then give them new bodies which are of course better faster and stronger then human ones. The book is written in first person by a man just reaching his enlisting age of 75. Overall the book is very well written and has a great story, i would highly recommend it to anyone who likes military or sci-fy type books. Probably my favorite author i have read so far though is Richard A. Knaak, so look him up to.

Thanksgiving

This thanksgiving was really different  from others that i have had over the years. I decided to head over to my Grandpa's for a hunting trip. Being that it was just two guys, we didn't have the big home cooked meal that I am used to. We just bought one of those frozen turkey dinner things, and surprisingly it was really good. As far as the hunting went. I got a big doe, didn't get the buck i wanted but hey it all worked out in the end. So ya almost the polar opposite of what usually happens at thanksgiving. Only downside of the whole thing was the drive over to Billings. Probably the hardest and scariest driving i have ever done or ever seen for that matter.

The Cathedral

This story was very weird, both in how it was written and just the story itself. I do however think the blindness metaphor is the same as a lot of the others i have heard. The ones who cant see are usually the ones who see the best, or something along those lines. The ending really confused me, and I still don't really get it. I mean did he make him blind? Or did he just finally come to understand the metaphor i mentioned earlier? Only part i didn't like about the whole blindness thing was how cliche it was. A man who really kinda hates blind people comes to "see" what they do? Come on, who hasn't heard that one before.

Writing tips and tricks

Don't space it over time.

 I have fond that despite people saying your shouldn't procrastinate, you really shouldn't write a little then come back later to write some more. Make time to do it all in one shot, if you space it out your train of thought will be different then before and people will see that in your writing.

Input the personal.

Now unless its strictly a research paper you should input some of yourself into the paper. I am all for facts and getting the clear picture across but people get more attached if they understand your writing rather then just read it.

Read books.

I don't know if this is just a coincidence but about two years ago i started reading books regularly, and i actually noticed a difference in how i wrote. I think you unconsciously start writing like the author you read the most, so ya it helps.

Practice makes perfect.

I know everyone has heard this before but its actually true. Everything in life take practice to get better at. You can have all the natural talent your want but nothing take the place of experience in my book.

Get some variety.

There are many different types of writing, and you will never be good at them if you don't try it out. This goes hand in hand with the last tip. All the types are different. You can write i good research paper you might not be able to do so good on a essay, it all depends.

TV shows!!!

Alright first off i know you said to pick a TV show that not a lot of people like so it will be harder to state your point, but that didn't work out. I chose to do this blog on the amazing TV show called House , for those of you who haven't seen it the show is about a brilliant doctor that solves many mysteries about diseases and people. I like the kind of shows that have a brilliant person in them that seems to be able to solve anything, but this one jumps out at you in a big way. Doctor House is the best diagnostic person there is, and he is a complete and utter dick to everyone. This is whats makes the show funny and states a fact of life, it doesn't matter what you look like or how you act if you are the best at what you do people will have to learn to live with you. There is actually a episode that talks about this whole thing but i cant remember exactly which one it was, so find it yourself i guess. So if you like hospital shows or just like seeing puzzles solved with comedy thrown in House is the show for you.
Gregory House for president!!!

Op eds

Alright i started off with the op ed called "The seat not taken" thinking it would be like the road not taken or something along those lines, i was wrong. This op ed is the telling of, well racism. I for one cant believe this is happening to this guy, he says that most people wouldn't sit next to him on the train he takes to and from work because he is black, and he gave some good back up knowledge for his theory. I am from Montana you don't see many blacks out here but still when i do i don't treat them any different than anyone else i would happen to meet. There is no reason why you wouldn't sit next to this guy on the bus, he is a well off middle class citizen not a druggy or anything like that. He does seem to always look on the bright side though, saying that he kinda likes it since he always has more room for himself.
After that i went on to read the op ed "if schools were like american idol" just cause of the name really. This one might have been more interesting if i could have read the whole thing, it cuts you off saying that you need to subscribe to read on, but whatever. It started off by saying that in America there is a number of drop out high schools but they only relate to about seven percent of the total number of high schools which isn't bad really. Despite this the seven percent that these schools are is also the cause of 81% of the total student who end up dropping out, that's quite a change in percent if you ask me anyways.
Lastly i read the op ed "facebook, i just cant quit you" once again only because of the name. I can actually relate to this problems she is talking about, without a facebook or myspace you do seem to have a shut out appearance to the public. I myself continually find it hard to do homework for example with having a facebook. Its not like i try to do it, it has almost become a reflex when i get on the internet to go to facebook, which really hinders on the whole homework thing since really whats more interesting?

Enneagram test, and results.

Alright for starters i never really liked these "find out who you are" quiz things. My main type is apparently type 9, the peaceful or calm type. After seeing what all that might mean i didn't really believe like i had done the test right cause very few things were true. When i looked at the other tops picks though i was surprised to see that with all of them put together it pretty much sums up who i am and what i believe in. This was crazy for me since i never trusted these things, but  i guess they do kinda work cause mine was close to dead on.

Type 1	Perfectionism	||||||||||||	42%
Type 2	Helpfulness	||||	14%
Type 3	Image Focus	||||||||||||	50%
Type 4	Hypersensitivity	||||||	30%
Type 5	Detachment	||||||||||||	50%
Type 6	Anxiety	||||||||||	38%
Type 7	Adventurousness	||||||||||||	46%
Type 8	Aggressiveness	||||||||||||	50%
Type 9	Calmness	||||||||||||||||	66%

Your main type is Type 9	Your variant is sexual

This blog was fun to do though, i actually learned some things and had a good time seeing how close this test could get. Overall this test was pretty cool and we should do more blogs like this one.

Believer responce blog

                 Trash is piling up all around us nowadays and despite our best efforts we are having a hard time dealing with the effects of it all. Here in Montana there isn’t that big of a problem due to our large area and little population, but large populated states and cities are seeing this mess get worse and worse as the years go by. This is simple to understand why big cities are worse off than say even Missoula, the more people in a smaller space the more garbage there will be in the same area. New York City seems to be the worst, with trains and trucks, according to msnbc , running nearly fifty thousand tons of trash a day, but where is it all going?

                The answer actually makes me angry, since New York has so much trash and waste there landfills and incinerators have ether shut down or can’t handle the load, the believer article even talks about being able to see the landfills from outer space. So what do they do? They ship it to rural areas to have it dumped or burned there. Now this is maddening to me because I hate big cities, Missoula is even pushing it, I have always loved Montana for its open areas and small population but it seems that we are now being looked upon as a giant garbage can for the people who can’t take out their own trash, so to speak. Rural areas don’t have the waste or pollution of the bigger cities, and that’s why people like them, don’t go and ruin something so simple and sweet by giving rural places the same problems as cities.

http://believermag.com/issues/201009/?read=interview_nagle

First Paper Brainstorming...

I will be addressing logging and how useful it is to help clear the dead trees from fires and actually stop fires from being so bad. A couple of summers ago i actually was a logger, so i have some personal background into the topic, its hard work but pays well lol. I haven't found a exact thesis for my paper yet but i am sure i will as time goes by, i always seem to anyways.

Pizza, always better in New York?

Ahhh pizza, an amazing food which really does go good with almost anything, and at any meal. I am sure most of you have had pizza before, and i am also sure that you have heard that New York is where to get the best pizza. I always wondered why this was, whats so special about New York, i mean ya there is a lot of people there and stuff but what makes them better at making pizza. I decided to go on a hunt to find out why there pizza is so good, and how i could make some just as good, if its there recipe.
While surfing the internet i found a interesting article, chowhound did a test on New York pizza, they went with the idea that maybe pizza was made better there due to the tap water they use to make it. It turns out that they were right, after they made the pizza they had four blindfolded chefs do a taste test, all of the chefs picked the pizza made from New York tap water to be the best. Now i wonder what the people of New York have been putting in there water to make pizza better??? Whatever it is i want some, i love pizza...and aparently i am not the only one to think so.
Joe Brown said the same thing, the love of pizza is everywhere. He said, and i quote, "It costs $482.79 to get a decent pizza in San Francisco — $17 for the pie, $85 for cab fare, and $378.80 for the flight to New York. Throw in $1.99 for tinfoil." what kind of pizza do they have over there??? I mean good god, i personally have never had New York pizza but now i just might fly there to get some, i have $482...
p.s. i might miss class due to pizza 

First blog thingy

Hello everyone my name is Jake Glover I'm from Hamilton Montana, ya i know big move, and i am hoping to get a degree in computer science. I like hanging out with friends and overall just having a great time. Never really liked school much ether, besides all my friends, but college seems to have the best of both worlds and am looking forward to four years here in Missoula.
To be honest i never really cared for reading all that much till alot later in my life, so as a result i am a very slow reader. This seems to have a effect on what i read. I only read stuff i really like, or am forced to, and i need alot of time to read long books. Despite this i do find reading enjoyable if i have the right book, if you find the right one books can be way better then any movie you will every be able to watch.