they even have the same arm gestures!

Hey, ya’all, Bella here. So lately I’ve been obsessed with one of two things: LOST. The other is call of duty: modern warfare 2. Or to many of you boyish nerds (or is it nerdish boys?): COD MW2. But the latter is only slightly important, at least in comparison to my biggest non-guilty pleasure that I will happily inform perfect strangers of. I’m almost finished with Season 5 of LOST, thank you Hulu. And it’s pretty darn amazing. Likened by some to General Hospital on an island (okay, by me)–it is still a crowd pleaser. Bella Pleaser. Same thing.

Anyway, I decided to broaden my T.V. show repertoire and include a few other ABC and ABC Family shows. Now, I’ve heard the rave (used correctly? Dunno) about Modern Family, a newer installment in ABC Family’s comedy Wednesday group (again, not sure of proper terminology/whatever). So I made a quite astonishing discovery! Ms. Shephard was cheating on Jack with… Paul Dunphy! …Phil Dunphy. It really does make perfect sense, considering that, yeah she was actually cheating on Jack with someone. Unless of course, in Season 6 she comes back and throws herself back at Jack like the little turd she is. But then they would make a great family of crybaby turds now wouldn’t they?

I didn’t know where to put this, so here it goes:

AUTISM. AND WHY YOU SHOULD CARE!!

Let me explain: we have this lovely project (and no I’m not being sarcastic!) that my teacher thought up a couple years back. She calls it Democracy In Action (DIA), and I’m proud to say that I think there’s only one other school that copied us. Well, DIA is the big thing that all the 8th graders do. The 8th graders freak the seventh graders out mostly by complaining about it, and saying how hard you’ll work, the lack of sleep you’ll get… but I digress.. The point is this: I chose to do autism as my DIA topic. I didn’t have to think about for long; I hate how the opted “weird” kids always get attacked at school. Middle School is, as we all know, the struggle to “fit in” by basically crushing other people’s lives into tiny little pieces of pain and sorrow. Seriously. For those lucky few who manage to look good, attack others, etc, they’re (kind of) safe. The truth is, no one can be 100% safe ever, but anyway. For those many people who aren’t so fortunate, life is hard. For thefew who actually struggle with behavioral problems, etc, it’s even harder. Possibly more than anyone can imagine, I know I can’t really wrap my mind around it. Anyway, for those (now not so rare) people with autism, being surrounded by their peers who aren’t autistic like themselves, I can assure you, is tough. Obviously, I’m not autistic, but let me just tell you a little bit about this disorder.

I believe the first time autism was really looked at, or reported was in the late ’40s. In that time, however, no one seemed to understand it, and the few who were actually studying it wouldn’t have been able to tell you much. Today, more and more people are starting to take an interest in autism. There are lots of organizations (headed/started mostly by mothers, or fathers of autistic people) that offer aid to families affected by autism. (I’ll put some helpful links below, if you’re interested.)

Autism itself, and for many autistics out there, is a battle, and a struggle to stay in control of their emotions, etc. Today, every 1 in 100 or 110 (1 in about 70 boys) children are autistic. Over the years, the rates of autism have increased greatly, and no one knows exactly why. Of course there’s the theories, and all that, but there’s no known and/or proven cause of autism. Along with that, there’s no cure. There’s treatments, of course; now there are schools for autistic children, (my mom works at a school where they have a classroom with autistic children. The kids interact with other, non-autistic students, but have their own classroom where everything is organized, taught, etc specifically for them) and if a child is diagnosed early enough, and there is time, and money, they can be placed in (hopefully) a good school where their autism can not necessarily be cured, but dealt with, and handled properly. If done soon enough, the child’s autism might not be as bad as those who don’t receive some kind of treatment until they’re, say around the age of 8.

Autism begins to be noticeable in children around the ages of two and three. It’s a shame when some autistic children aren’t realized to be autistic until they’re much older. By then, they’re further into their own world, and their own kind of mental prison, one that becomes harder and harder to control and escape from. Still, you need to know, and remember this: they aren’t stupid, and they are most definitely not unaware of the world around them. I was reading an article that had a kind of interview with , Sue Rubin an inspiring autistic woman who is learning to really cope with her autism. Here’s a little excerpt that really made me think (taken from “What Are They Thinking“, a CBS online article)

When asked about what it was like to be locked in silence, inside her body without any way to communicate non-verbally, Rubin is blunt.

“Nightmare,” she types.

So I hope that hits home with you guys, like it did for me. It really made me think about how easy life is for all of us, and how often we take it for granted. I think I’ll add more to this in a while, because right now as I go over this, all of it sounds bad. I don’t usually write so horrendously… Anyway, here are some links that you should really check out:

AUTISM SPEAKS

AUTISM SOCIETY OF AMERICA

SPECTRUM MAGAZINE

Hey, guys! Sorry for being such a sloth and not doing anything for months and months and months. This blog, right now, could technically be compared to a sluggish old person trying to watch some 5 hour long movie, but falling asleep, and then starting it over. Ick. I know, crappy example. Haha. Anyway. I must explain: I have two ideas, and I really didn’t want to put them in the same post, mainly because they’re opposites, and have nothing to do with one another. Yeah. I need order. (: Alright. So, topic no.1:

WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY GENERATION?

A few days ago, Bella told me a gruesome story, one that I won’t tell you, I’ll only give you a few main points, and details. A girl basically killed an animal (one that I suppose wasn’t cute, and furry because she basically stabbed it to death), laughed about it and took pictures of it. I’ll spare you the rest of the story, and get on to my main point. Has this generation lost all feeling, and sense of right versus wrong? I mean that is just inhumane (inanimane?), and it just made me wonder how anyone gets around to that, and getting some kind of joy out of it too. I just don’t get it. Maybe it’s all of us kids (starting from like the tender age/s of 6-8) playing violent video games and all that. (For instance, a credible source told me of some 8 yr olds he knew who played games like GEARS OF WAR. I mean seriously, 8 year olds?? I think that’s going to maybe mess them up a bit..) Now, I’m sure some of you may be like: “Well, teenagers can handle it. They’re mature enough to shoot at animated people, and not go out and shoot other people.” I mean, I’m not talking about violence, so much as… just insensitivity, and inhumane-ness(?). (I still like those games, but I guess I’m just lucky that I know how gross, and more importantly awful, and cruel, it is to kill little animals for no apparent reason.)

Anyway, what I’m trying to get at is this: people change, generations change. I’m sure my generation, in comparison to one 12 years ago is going to be vastly different…But it would be nice if every generation kept a sense of right and wrong, had some morals, and knew what a life–even a little fishy’s– means: definitely more than a few laughs.

Oh lord, it’s been how long? Well, on behalf of my irresponsible sisters and I, I’d like to (again) say sorry. But my life is well… a life, and I just write on this blog to feel famous. Not really. Anyway, I had something really awe-inspiring to pronounce, however it has escaped my mind. Instead, I’ll direct you to the title just above the cartoon me’s adorable head. A good t.v. show used that for a commercial and my mom apparently has the cd. I looked it up on youtube, it was funny but that guy can sing.

On another note, school’s been hectic. And Apple as always is rolling out the many (seemingly the same products). Such as the giant itouch, ipad. Aside from the slightly strange name and oh so unique idea, it looks… well, okay. My grievances? For one, I’ve always hated ipod touches. It seem so cool in the beginning, however the typing and weird web browsing turned me off. Then it broke. Anyway, if I ever bought an Ipad, I’d probably prefer a laptop, and would still buy one. Also: They are creating this whole ‘book store’ thing online, just like music. If I’m correct, it was actually an old app. Anyway, it’s sort of like some product Barnes & Noble came out with. To be honest, I prefer books over weird computerized e-books that provide the sound of the page crinkling when you swipe it, which after a few minutes gets only a little annoying (based on the app version). Still, the great thing is the ipad only costs about $500. Well, I’m just skipping from topic to topic here, so here’s a picture of Stevie and his pad.

In other news… First off, I never thought I’d be talking about anything other than me and my life on here! Okay, so in other news: lots of things are going on in the world. I hate to be so serious, but right now I’m doing a lot of–well unselfish things, I think. It seems strange since on here I tend to be anything but selfless. Well, I’m planning to donate shoes to other countries in need (think shoe drives!) through a site called Soles4Souls. Other than that, you can be sure that I pitch change in the help for Haiti cans whenever I see them. Let’s make this year a caring year. After all, we have so much to give, if only we could give just a little bit of that–think how much good it could do! Lots of people, myself included have an excess of shoes, clothes, food, things we end up buying but not using. Even in a school environment, I see lots of kids who don’t truly value, appreciate, and understand the simple fact that they get to go to a school–especially in such a nice neighborhood. It’s sad and something we can’t really get around. So the most we can do is give a little here and there.

Well that was serious. Anyway, my mom is going away to Philadelphia tonight. She’s taking the red eye and is coming back Sunday night. To say the least I am devastated. I guess I’ll end up living with my parents until I’m forty and slightly balding (not to say that all 40 year olds bald/slightly bald.). However, I’ll continue! The nature of her visit is related to photography for a competition that she is a finalist in- ONWARD. Note: she’s the first one. I’m greatly excited for her, and I know she’ll win. At least, she deserves to.

Well, so long everybody, have a wonderful rest of your life.

Okay, so hey there. No, I haven’t posted much… big surprise? No, not really. Anyway my excuse for the week/month/year is homework. Loads and loads of the stuff. I mean crazy amounts of work to the point where sharing my thoughts with all this sites’ viewers gets to be… well, just a teensy bit hard. Never fear, for I haven’t (completely) forgotten all of you.

So here’s a video I just saw on youtube. It’s amazing and fantastic and stupid too because it can only be shipped to Australia and other unimportant places. Why don’t they ship something as wonderful as this to amazing places… like, for example the U.S.? Not that I don’t love Australia. Their accents are so cool when compared to like Canadian accents which don’t serve much of a purpose (still, I’ve never heard of Australian Bacon, yeah?), however all accents are awesome.

That was totally beside the point. But anyway, I won’t bore you on the details as all I ask of you is to watch and enjoy! Besides it’s almost 30 minutes long, so I doubt you have the time to sit here completely ignoring the piles of work you still have to accomplish (not like I’d ever do that).

The creator of this great short film was director Anthony Lucas and the link to the Jasper Morello site is here.

If you haven’t noticed, the past week or so has been filled with… well, nothing. Not surprised? Technically, due to our crazy activeness in writing posts, you might have seen this coming. So. I have a more valid excuse this week, at least it’s a little less vague as “I was busy.” And way better than a disappointingly honest “I was just too lazy to give a cat’s whisker.” Although the last two are usually true, this week Jehovah has decided to at least give me an alibi for all of this blog’s millions of viewers.

My terribly horrible (no, I mean it was truly terribly horrible) reason is this: the internet. Or rather, airport. Or that little black box with the blinking green lights that’s plugged into the computer. I don’t really know the difference, and one day I’m going to ask Steve Jobs exactly why those little white boxes are called airports. It doesn’t really make much sense to me. All I know is that all of those things have decided to quit, or go on strike. Either that or they’re going through puberty as moody adolescents who throw fits and have mood-swings. If you didn’t understand my analogy, I mean that my internet sucks. When it works it works for an hour or less and only connects to one computer. In fact, it’s a miracle that I’m able to even publish this, since this is really an old post that I’ll be saving (and then publishing) when my internet connects for more than five minutes.

Have you ever gone camping? And not your lame excuse kind of camping where you pitch a tent in your backyard (or neighbor’s yard, if you want an adventure), but I mean in the (sort of) untouched wilderness of Utah, or Montana, or um… the park down the street. But anyway, the point is that things, things that normally don’t matter begin to become a hassle. Like washing your hands for example, brushing your teeth, avoiding bear wastes, or producing wastes. All of these things are hard to do whilst in the wilderness (might or might not apply to neighbor’s backyard). When you finally decide to take the long trek to the outhouse at night, everyone jumps up to go with you, you all need to take care of unfinished business. Right?

Well, the same goes for bad internet. When you haven’t used it in weeks and your email is piling up, or you haven’t harvested your crops on FarmVille and they’re all wilted, every chance you get to go do those things–you’ll take it. Which pretty much explains why my family takes a laptop with us wherever we go. If we’re at a coffee shop with free wi-fi: Get out the laptop! Cruising through residential areas: Get out the laptop! We’ve become first-class internet pirates. Although we don’t wear pirate hats or have parrots/monkeys on our shoulders, we are real deal. Taking over (not really) your internet for as long as we can. So beware, until I get my internet fixed, I might be parked outside your home, using your internet that you paid for with your own money (if you don’t have a password, that is) or rolling down your street at five miles per hour, looking for more internets to plunder. As a consolation, you should be honored.

Hello, all. Today, I would have to say is a very important day. No it’s not just the fact that we have a day off as far as school goes (which, don’t get me wrong is awesome), but the simple fact that our world isn’t perfect. Ever since the dawn of time, when Jehovah first created life (or maybe a little after), there has been fighting. War. Countries have been threatened, lives have been lost. There are a brave few who stand up to the challenge, however, and put their life on the line, 24/7 to defend us. Ourselves and our future. I know what you’re thinking, how can Bella, Gabby, and Siena be so talented, smart, and witty, and also save the world whilst doing so? Although I would very much like to agree with you kind people, I have to say that no, for once I am not in the spotlight.

It’s about honoring not just one person, but the many who have risked everything for their country. They make it able for us to go about our daily lives, for us to believe whatever we wish to believe, to pursue and education as well as happiness. My grandfather served in WWII, years ago, and I would also like to honor him now, and the millions who fought alongside him. Take this moment to realize what you, as an individual can do. Be your own hero! Go out of your way to do good. And meanwhile, if you know someone who served in a war, tell them a simple ‘thank you,’ which personally doesn’t really even begin to describe how thankful you should be. Give them a hug, a smile, even a handshake. Just let them know how much they mean to you, and mean it.

Happy Veteran’s Day everyone, or is it Veterans’ Day?

Actually, I’d love to re-word that to: The Quandary That I Find My Generation In. First and foremost: music. I know that music changes through the years, but there are some songs, and artists that are timeless, and probably will remain timeless for years and years and years. The point is, folks, I think that my generation is in need of a wake-up call. I do appreciate a lot of songs that kids my age listen to, however, they just aren’t my style. That’s not a crime, definitely not, but sometimes I wish that I could enjoy that kind of music a lot more than I actually do. Still, no matter how hard I try, I really can’t. A lot of people think I’m weird (but I know that already), and the music I listen to (categorized as “crappy old music”) is… for lack of a better word, strange. So. I am assigning you Children an assignment that must be completed ASAP. (:

There are some amazing songs out there, and I’m only going to give you about three or four. I want you to cultivate your music tastes haha. Yeah. Don’t I sound so professional? Anyway… Here are some songs that I love. (: Hope you enjoy. If you don’t I don’t want to hear about it. Haha just kidding! O:

“Rock and Roll Suicide” – David Bowie <3

“Last Nite” – The Strokes

“Bullets” – Tunng

“I go Crazy” – Paul Davis (no that’s kind of a joke.. but still…)

Now. Go ENJOY yourselves, my tan-faced children. (Bonus points if you know where i got that quote.) There is more to come, my darlings (quote), and expect a follow up to this in a few days, yess?

be·ret (bə-rā’)
n.
1. A round, soft, brimless cap that fits snugly and is often worn angled to one side.

Although the dictionary built into my computer simply says that it is a round flattish cap of cloth or felt. If you ask me I will say it is a french cap that is pretty cool, especially when purple. Anyway, what does it have to do with anything? Beret’s also remind me of this movie I used to watch when I was a little kid, it was called American in Paris and starred Gene Kelly. Maybe I was a weird kid, but I loved that movie. Anyway, Gene Kelly is a painter who sings and dances, and basically the important part was he was a painter. And if I’m not mistaken (I probably am), he wore a beret. So I associate beret’s with art. From all of the blubbery rambling, you probably realized that today I did something that had to do with art.

Also, as a side-note I would like to admit that a: we haven’t posted in a long, long time, and b: I’m too tired to really understand what I’m writing, so yes this is a bunch of rambling. Deal with it… Please? Anyway, today I had to wake up early (10:00 AM) to go to an art class taught by Orly Avineri. Not only is she a great artist, she’s also Ilan’s (a friend) mom. Upon entering the building, I ran around a lot, chased their cat who obviously didn’t like me, and chased Siena. Minutes later, we commenced in artistry.

I won’t bore you in the details, but I’ll merely show you my masterpieces. Yes, I know what you’re gonna say, they remind you slightly of a mixture of Michelangelo and Da Vinci, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

This one should be vertical and you really can’t see the words at the top. Oh well, I have to say that they look much better in person versus on a computer screen. Anyway, the instruction for this spread was to use water colors, and really to soak the page. Then you apply your colors, splatter them on and let them mix into different colors, shapes, etc.. Once this dries you can outline different shapes both real and abstract in pen. At the top I added a thick line of paint and let the paint drip down the page, then outlined it in white gel pen.

I really love this one, it took me a long time to finish, and looks better upside down, but you know. It still looks nice both ways. I did the water colors again, this time using dark greens, blues, reds, and blacks, and let them mix. I found random bits of paper and glued them on, then painted a thick black and blue streak at the top left, trailing down. I traced over everything in white gel again, making winding pathways. So this spread is pretty much a huge map of life I guess. For once my post sounds mature, ha.

To wrap everything up, I really enjoyed this class, and hope to do it again sometime soon. My sisters also have some really great pieces that I want them to (finally) post up here. What do you think? Hopefully it doesn’t make your eyes bleed… too much. I hope this inspires some of you guys to get artsy and creative or just do something differently in your life. Like if you eat microwave meals every night, maybe turn off the t.v., throw the Hungry Man in the trash (or back in the freezer) and go get Chinese or make a salad. Or go skydiving or bungee jumping or kiss a sea cucumber. Take a walk or watch a movie, or rent Creature from the Black Lagoon (remind me to tell you about this later). Buy some pepper spray or have a baby. I don’t know what I’m really talking about, but I hope this inspired you to do.

Slideshow

Orly Avineri’s Classes information

Orly Avineri

Today was this wonderful, amazing day starting off at (my usual waking up hour) 12 noon. Then I proceeded to throw a big fit (in my mind of course) because someone had used up all the whipped cream cheese. That being a total crime, I went on to complain loudly to everyone then looked for the frozen blueberry waffles because frozen blueberry waffles are like a dream come true. Much to my annoyance, the frozen blueberry waffles were all gone. So instead I had to settle for mac and cheese. Not so very elegant, yes, but who doesn’t love cheese and dough (other than people who don’t like cheese and dough of course)? Anyway, then I just sat around watching t.v. and waiting for my cousin to come over. I won’t bore you with the details about my cousin, let’s just say I’m more interesting… kidding. Of course. Why would I ever say that?

After that everything was a blur of food, sumo wrestlers, and those horrifically crappy movies with all your typical teen stars back from the early 2000′s (a painful reminder of what life was like only years ago). Besides the crazy amount of pedophiles passing off as teens (PPOAT), and tacky plots, they passed the time well. I really enjoyed “Sleepover” with Alexa Vega and her 20-something year old boyfriend…

After that we went and rented the Bucket List and The Notebook. I’ve still got to see the Notebook, but the Bucket List was pretty good. And sad. Morgan Freeman was amazing as usual (and Gabby was kind enough to explain how Morgan was a girl’s name), and Jack Nicholson, however creepy he may seem was pretty great too. It was heartfelt, touching, and hilarious. I would strongly advise everyone see it, and even though I didn’t cry (I never cry at movies, however the closest I’ve ever come was tearing up at Mulan, which is a different story entirely), I was crying inside. Okay, so maybe I wasn’t. The point is, this movie is great and I already love it. Actually, I want to see it again (:

No, I’m not seeing Love Happens. Not that I wouldn’t, but I’m not entirely sure that it’s even out yet. Anyway, the point is that to me it simple seems like one of those cliché, boring, typical love stories that are being mass-produced as a means of getting some easy cash. Of course, maybe it’s just my overly cynical self here (probably is), but I’d be willing to be proved wrong. Anyway, that leads me on this wonderful tangent about typical love stories/movies which will later lead me on to books by James Patterson/Dan Brown, which will in turn lead me to Scott O’Dell’s marvelous books, and don’t fret, I’ll get there very soon. Anyway, back to my first digression (?): the typical love stories I’m talking about are the kind I like to call “airport fiction.” Namely all the books in airports that are about some shocking 300 pages centered mainly around a studly Italian male model (My Antonio) and an underestimated, gorgeous girl and their tumultuous relationship. Okay, so I’ve never read one, but I can take a good guess. These are mainly made to tide you over for a long, boring red-eye flight to New York. It’s either that or focus on the man falling asleep, slobbering on your shoulder. And you thought you had a choice. What adorns the cover of a typical Airport Romance Fiction novel is a muscled tanned man, naked as far as we can see and wrapped in a pink silk sheet hugging a woman with flowing red hair. Or, if you like the more scenic, in-tune-with-nature images, you can have the two intimately bathing in a pool of clear water in a forest, hippie-style (don’t ask?) with a majestic white unicorn grazing in the background.

Enough said there, right? On to Dan Brown who is pretty much synonymous with James Patterson. I love reading their books, but let’s face it, the main characters are either gorgeous, yet aged men in their late 30′s/40′s who still can manage a few hours of swimming laps in a pool and can pull off a delicious chocolatey baritone voice. Or there’s the brainy heroines who are world-class geeks with ‘swimsuit model’ bodies. Buuut, they’re still entertaining reads and far better than “Abandoned Love,” “A Love Tested,” blah blah blah. Anyway, the gorgeous heroines remind me of Scott O’dell’s classics. Take Island of the Blue Dolphins, or that other one, Carmen was it? And then there’s a few others I’m pretty sure with those beautiful, courageous girls stranded in their own world, fighting to prove themselves, etc., but still, his books aren’t half bad (If my memory’s correct). Anyway, this huge tangent means absolutely nothing, I’m just tired on a Saturday night and rambling like an old man.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Outrage at my mindless speculating? Feel free to alert the staff (aka: me). Have a wonderful night/day/year/life everyone.