utopia thingie.

so, problems with today's society include
:violence
:lack of communication
:deteorioration of family structure
:drugs DDD:
:intolerance of other beliefs
:poverty
:hunger
:disease
:orphans (they're not a problem..but their parents dying..well...yeah...)
:and ugly people.

How to fix it!!
:perhaps conduct studies into the fields of violent crime. Why does it happen? Find the cause. Suppose the cause is poverty. They rob and kill to get money. Well, providing a more stable economy will cut down significantly on this problem.
:television stations should go idle for a few hours a day around dinner time. We will have this time for families to get together as well as offering places for people to get together and commune with EACH OTHER. Start communication, folks..or go to jail, or something XD.
:The family structure is EXTREMELY important for a society's morals to be good. (good by today's understanding). Learning to share and care about other's feelings happens primarily before the schooling of a child officially begins. We should have a committee of sorts that assist families in remaining together as best they can. The family is the base unit of society and it's IMPERATIVE THAT WE PROTECT IT
:Substance abuse can lead to a lot of other problems. Wasting funds on it can lead to poverty, and overuse of illegal substances just makes one unable to work. If the drug user is a parent, it could contribute to a weak family structure, lacking support for the younger ones. For those FEW that fall into substance abuse, we need good rehab services. But, the best rehab is a pre-rehab. Hopefully keeping the family structure strong will cut down on the incidents of drug abuse. The crimes related to drug abuse will lessen in frequency. The obvious health problems would be eliminated. Joy...no drugs :D. Except for the medicines...
:intolerance

Practice Notes

Practice Notes (November 19, 2006)

20TH century famous guitarist – Andres Segovia (he’s Spanish)

Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, The Duel – Chekov

Cantos – Ezra Pound

1905 – Russo-Japanese Treaty – Portsmith

1748 – Austrian Succession – Aix-la-Chapelle

Ode ON a Grecian Urn – Keats

Sympathizes with Don Juan – Lord Byron (George Gordon)

Farewell Symphony – “blow out candles in the end” – Haydn

Marries Lucie Manette in A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Darnay

*plot of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – The novel takes place in the late 1770 -1780s in England and France. Charles Darnay (the protagonist) is on trial for treason. He has a lawyer named Stryver who is unable convince the court to acquit Darnay until Sydney Carton aids him. Sydney Carton is a stereotypical, cynical, Englishman, prone to drinking. Carton points out a striking resemblance between himself and Darnay which would take validity from the court’s argument that Darnay was indisputably identified as a spy. Lucie Manette is reuinited with her father, who makes shoes constantly. Her father spent many years in Bastille. He is revived by Lucie’s loving demeanor. Darnay meets Lucie and they fall in love. Carton too falls in love. A woman named Madame Defarge wants revenge on Darnay’s evil family, the Evrémondes, by making Darnay pay for their transgressions. Carton hears of Defarge’s intentions of killing Lucie and Lucie’s daughter as well, and warns Lucie, and takes Darnay’s place in jail. Carton dies in place of Darnay and finally feels he’s made something of his life.

A Dream Differed by Langston Hughes.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

February 15, 1898 – Havana, Cuba – USS Maine sinks killing 260 American soldiers – Spanish American War

Spanish American war- (President McKinley) “Splendid Little War” It was over unrest regarding stability in Cuba (revolutionaries in Cuba wanted freedom from Spain). It ended with the Treaty of Paris 1898 (Must specify year. There are many, many “Treaty of Paris”es.) This war resulted in the American acquisition of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Court order prohibiting action – injunction (legal term)

Natty Bumpoo – James Fennimore Cooper character in Leatherstocking Tales

Cooper works – 1st work – Precaution, The Pioneers, Tales for Fifteen, The Last of the Mohicans: A narrative of 1757, The Monikins, Homeward Bound, Old Ironsides, The Deerslayer, Life Before the Mast

Nabakov – wrote Lolita: Confessions of a White Widowed Male, KEYS: written in the author’s sixth language (Nabakov wrote the novel in English his sixth language) and KEY for Nabakov is : lepidoptorist (studies butterflies)

J.J.Thompson – born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester taught Rutherford. He became Cavindish professor in 1884. Won the 1906 Nobel Prize in physics for the discover of the electron. He discovered isotopes and worked with cathode rays.

Introduced into Parliament by William Gladstone – CLOTURE

Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996), born Spiros Anagnostopoulos in Towson, Maryland, was the 39th Vice President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard M. Nixon. His was the highest-ranking United States political office ever reached by a Greek-American citizen. He is most famous for his resignation in 1973 following evidence of tax evasion. Agnew was also the 55th governor of the state of Maryland from 1967 to 1969.

The Fountainhead – by Ayn Rand – Howard Roark is the talented architect. The plot is about how creators are doomed by society’s intense outside pressure to never achieve their potential. Other characters include Dominique

Ayn Rand – We the Living, Atlas Shrugged, and Anthem. Objectivism (founder of this I suppose)

Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand’s magnum opus - Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden – Dagny dreams of controlling her family’s transcontinental railroad. The question, “Who is John Galt?” is repeated throughout the novel.

The Good Earth – won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for Pearl S. Buck – Wang Lung marries O-lan. They gain wealth from the land of opium addicts (the Hwang family). They have two sons and a retarded daughter. O-lan dies and Wang Lung regrets reproaching her for her big feet (she never had her feet binded).

Pearl S. Buck – won the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature; Other works “The Exile; East Wind:West Wind; A House Divided” born in Hillsboro, VA, raised in China, daughter of Presbyterian missionaries.

Gustav Kimt- born in Baumgarten near Vienna, Austria – The Kiss. His painting, the Portrait of Adelle Blosh-Bauer is the highest sold painting to date.

Flourentine – 1260s-1330s – Giotto – Adoration of the Magi

Civil Disobedience – Thoreau, born in Concord, Mass. Other works include: Walden, A Plea for Captain John Brown, he was a naturalist and wrote things like Summer, Winter, Autumn, and Early Spring in Massachussets

Fried Green Tomatoes – by Fanny Flag

Tess of the D’Ubervilles – A Pure Woman Faithfully Represented by Thomas Hardy:

Durbeyfields are characters in this book. Tess is sent by her parents to live with the D’Ubervilles where she is raped by Mrs. D’Uberville’s son and has a child named Sorrow that dies soon after birth. She marries a man named Angel Clare, whom she confesses her past to in a letter that he never sees. They eventually tell each other their transgressions, and Tess forgives Angel, but Angel runs off to Brazil. Tess and Angel find out in the end that they are related. Key for Tess : milkmaid

Govinda – character in Siddharta by Hesse

Napoleon Bonaparte – born in Corsica in 1769

Blitzkrieg – “Lighting war” term coined in the Second World War by the Germans it was the German military tactic that avoided long wars. With the entry of the USA, Germany was forced into a long war, and inevitably defeated in 1945

The Bell Jar – by Silvia Plath (Sylvia Plath born in Jamaica Plains)

Einsenach, Germany – Birthplace of JS Bach. Where Martin Luther was raised.

Eislebein, Germany – Birthplace of Martin Luther

Peter Zenger – The Zenger trial dealt with the alleged “sedition libel” published by Zenger against NY Governor William Cosby – Zenger was defended by Philadelphia attorney Andrew Hamilton and gave a definition to FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

John Donne – Jacobean poet – Death be not proud ; No man is an island.

For Whom the Bell Tolls – was written by Ernest Hemingway

Death be Not Proud – is a book written by John Gunther

Thomas More – Utopia (Henry VIII beheaded More for refusing to accept the king as the head of his faith)

Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salindger – “If you really want to hear about it”

My Simplification of Fundamental Particles :D

Elizabeth’s Simplification of Subatomic Particles!!!!!

Okay, it’s time to get this stuff straight. If I weren’t on academic team…you can be SURE that subatomic particles would be relatively low on my “gotta know” list. But..NAQT puts them rather high on theirs..so WE GOTTA KNOW IT!!!!!!

Understanding this isn’t TOO hard. JUST BELIEVE :P

First these have to be laid down.

FERMIONS & BOSONS!!!

Fermions: You have to know that fermions are particles that have a ½ integral spin (spin = instrinsic angular momentum). So, a particle made up of an odd number of Fermions is a fermion. It has a ½ integral spin.

Bosons: Bosons, however, have an integer spin. So…an EVEN number of Fermions is a Boson…

There are lots of reasons for making this distinction in spin and it has to do with a painful amount of math that is NOT necessary for getting questions. (I’m not sure what it’s actually necessary for).

Next..

Quarks and Leptons!!

Both quarks and leptons are fermions (that means they both have a ½ integral spin).

This also means that all bosons are made from an even number of quarks or leptons.

Quarks: These particles come in six “flavors”. Worry about the “flavors” later. (at the end of this break down I’ll list the flavors and charges. For now just know, Quarks make up Hadrons!!! Hadrons are made of quarks…

What are Hadrons made of?.....if you didn’t say quarks, slap yourself. Quarks experience STRONG interactions. There are four types of physical interactions: gravity, electromagnetism, weak interaction, and strong interaction. Quarks experience all four.

Leptons: Leptons, however, only experience weak interaction. They too have six flavors. I’ll get into those later.

Okay now…Hadrons, Baryons (not bosons don’t get them confused), and Mesons.

To understand Hadrons, Baryons, and Mesons, it’s necessary to go back to Quarks.

Hadrons: This is the name given to the particles that quarks make up. Quarks always exist in a hadron compisition. If there’s a quark there’s a Hadron, because Quarks rarely exist alone.

Now..Hadrons are divided into two types, a fermion and boson type.

Baryons: These are hadrons that are fermions. THREE FERMIONS make a baryon. Neutrons and Protons are baryons. This means they have ½ intergral spin :D remember?

Mesons: These are hadrons that are bosons. This means they have an integer spin.

Now to flavors and charges.

Quarks have six flavors as I mentioned before. Up, down, charm, strange, top (sometimes, "truth"), and bottom (sometimes, "beauty"). Up and down are easy to remember. The others you can group like this (Truth is stranger than fiction) for top and strange… and (Charm and Beauty) just seem for fit together…for top and charm. So there’s the six. UDTSCB.

Quarks have two different charges.

CUT flavor (charm, up, top) have a positive 2/3 charge. (positive = good = truth )

DSB flavor (down, strange, bottom) have a -1/3 charge. (negative = down + strange)

Leptons have six flavors too. Don’t get confused and buzz right after they say “six flavors” because it could be either quarks or leptons. Three of the flavors are the electron, the muon, and the tau.Each flavor is composed of a "weak doublet," which is an electron, a muon, or a tau linked with a virtually massless neutrino (neutrino: virtually massless neutral particle) An electron lepton, therefore would be a “weak doublet” of electron and a neutrino (an electron neutrino)

***Electrons are Leptons!!! Leptons are also Fermions. Electrons have a ½ integral spin!!

Alrighty, there you have the basics :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This study guide was originally intended for academic teamers. But...if you've just stumbled across this GO AHEAD AND LEARN SOMETHING XDD

Fishg

So....what'cha doing?
I bet I know!!!! f
Yeah...
So.........bbb
Did you have an accident?
Hmm?
Tjaden?
XDD
uhhh.....Tahjahden
Teenjbggbden
Okay
! BYE!!
Eat mur vf Catholics!!!hggughj
*This Pope is part of a balanced bgtreakfast!!*
doot!

Sboobles

I was going through the internet. (As is the norm) And I found NO SBOOBLES!!!
So..I'm posting the sboobles.
Official christening of completeness for the internet!!!
It now contains sboobles!!!!
Yay sboobs! And bles!!
And especially sboobles!!!!

A-Team Chronicles: FISH

So, Academic Team is fun. It sure is. Okay, stop looking at me like that, it is! Despite the studying intensely and the scheduling/time management problems, A-team is a very exciting and fulfilling activity. I'm so much more culturally literate now than a few years ago (pre-Ateam). However, despite how fun practices can be, there are people that don't dedicate their time and energies to the program. That's all fine and dandy. We're not a cult that requests ownership of your soul. But, our coach, Our Beloved Hauck. The Hauckinator himself is not a "oh well, let's just see how it goes, don't worry too much about it" kind of guy. He's more of a "WHAT?! We still can't get Pragmatism off William JAMES!! People, COME ON!!" (only not at all mean, more constructive than anything else). He makes us strive for greatness, just as he strives for greatness. So,...he decided to inspire us with a little anecdote about FISH.
Okay, what is fish?
Fish is a way of life. (stop the funny looks!!!). He read a book called "Fish Sticks." In that book it talks about one of the nation's best nursing units. The nursing unit had once been less than the best and they decided to change it by getting rid of negativity and encouraging a good environment in the workplace. Soon, everyone was striving to give their all to this great place that they played a role in. They were the best in the nation and everyone wanted to work there and work like that. Then, there was something about this super-waiter at a Sushi restaurant who went out of his way for his clients to be as comfortable and attended to as possible. He went out of his way. HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY. He did more than the minimum required of him.
So, what does this mean for an A-teamer? What does it mean for a coach?
Well, basically, for me it means: Come to practice with a smile, study with friends, study on notecards, make little mnemonics. It means, sign up for every tournament and SHOW UP. It means being a great leader. It means being a great player and friend to my teammates.
For the coach it means, making practices fun and enjoyable. It means finding alternative methods of making things stick (ie, instead of reading lists, go see a play)

Anywho, the whole FISH concept makes me happy. I actually jump around a little (on the inside of course) when practice is coming up. We get little prizes and whatnot. We have a great time. I love A-team. It's not for everyone, but, it's definitely for me.

I'll blog again soon :D :D :D (practice tomorrow) :D :D :D :D :D