Mr. Nance - An exercise in Antonyms and Comma Splicing

The Quack

The Quack is the easiest teacher here;yet by far the most challenging.
He is extremely sarcastic; however, he is deadly serious.
He is quiet, while he is talkative.
He is mature, but he is childish.
He is all knowing; similarly, he is ignorant.
He is ancient, even though he is youthful.
He is black, and he is white.
Although he is a hard worker, he is slothful.

In short, the challenges are easy, the attitudes are tides of change, and the silent mouth longs to utter. 
He is an infant, even so, he is arriving at the midpoint of life.
His brain longs to consume information.
He is wise; however, he is young in appearance.
He is mixed in race, with black hair and dark eyes with white skin.

That is all for now!
DINGBAT OUT!!

OH MY GOSH I'M SO IN LOVE WITH ALAN RICKMAN NOW!!!!

OH MY GOSH I"M SO IN LOVE WITH ALAN RICKMAN NOW!! I decided to do a little more research and I have found out that he is half IRISH!!!!!!! OOOOOOH MYYYYYY GOOOSH!!!!! That is so amazing, and it's super funny because he was born in England, has a British accent, and he is so British in his manner; it's so funny.  I think it's amazing, and if you know me, you know I have a thang for Irish guys; and it helps that to me he is a hotty, and he is a very talented musician.  He plays cello, piano, and he sings like an angel!  I don't care if he's 65, to me he's adorable and amazing, and half the girls my age think the same.  It’s something with teenage girls and romance, or actors that they respect.  I discovered one of his movies called The Song of Lunch, and it's pretty darn good (I watched a little bit of it).  My favorite movie with him that I have already mentioned is Something The Lord Made.  I found another one too, called Bottle Shock, which is based on a true story about wine, and how it was made in France and started being made in California, and I watched the trailer, and it looks so good.  I really want to watch it now!  I really like films based on true stories.  I didn’t realize how many films he’s narrated, or done the voice to a character, or done a TV series.  I think that’s awesome.  He’s also a world class director in my opinion.  Many world renowned directors say the same thing.  My friends tease me all the time.  They say, “He has a porn-mustache” or “he’s hideous.” I just laugh because I know that I think he’s amazing, so who cares what they think?
I LOVE ALAN RICKMAN SO MUCH!

That’s a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!

The Snow Day

          Finally, for the first time this year, we get a snow day and I don't have to go to school.  The sad thing is, we only got 3 inches or less and they closed the schools down because nobody in New Mexico knows how to drive.  Flower was on the internet on Facebook and found that the Quack had posted on his Facebook saying, "You know you are in New Mexico when the maintenance men in your apartment complex go outside and start clearing the snow on the sidewalks with leaf blowers.  LOL, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.  

          In Utah people are smart.  They put salt water on their roads before the storm, which is super, super smart because the roads will not freeze.  The salt decreases the freezing point of the ice.  My sister, Flower, told me that apparently all the teachers, Sewards Rat, Shimmy Dude, the Barbour, and the Quack, were on Facebook on the snow day.  (And, by the way, I am changing Flower's nickname to Midget.  Blame the Quack, he refers to her as the Midget.)

          Ben, my brother, went out and shoveled snow.  Not for very long, because he came in exhausted.  He is more a brainiac than an athletic kid.  He is a nerd too.  He takes after me!  The Quack likes my brother Ben.  There was one funny time, when I was talking to Shimmy Dude on Skype, and my brother came up to the camera and I told him to get out of the way.  Shimmy Dude said, "Hi, Sarah's brother.  My name is Nerd."  It was funny.  The only bad part of the snow day is that I could not take my teachers Klejnar (klinah).  That is a Danish cookie that is made in Danish homes during the Holiday season to offer to visitors and neighbors as they drop in on each other’s homes.  If you do not know what Klejnar is, you were born in a cave (hahaha the Quack).

That’s a Wrap!

DINGBAT OUT!!

The Maze Runner

The morning has come and they have returned to Alby. Minho looks as if he's in a daze. the doors open shortly after, and Minho and Thomas walk in, exhausted. The Gladers are standing there, in awe, watching. They go in the homestead and get washed up and rested. After a couple of days, Newt approaches Thomas, and tells him they need to have a gathering to decide a punishment. Thomas seems confused that a punishment is even necessary considering he saved their leader's life. Newt reminds him of the concept of order, and despite the heroic act, he still broke the rules, and needs a punishment. They go and have a gathering with all of the keepers except for Alby where they discuss Thomas's fate in front of him and tell him not to speak unless spoken to. All the keepers stand up and share their opinions on the situation, and discus what treatment if any should be used. When Gally stands up and goes crazy, yelling and screaming that Thomas is crazy and should be banished or kept in the slammer at all times. Newt starts to freak out on him and tells him to stop if that's all he has to say about it. Some time goes by and Minho stands up. He says something very exciting and even frightening. He nominates Thomas as Keeper of the Runners; that's how impressed Minho was with Thomas's performance. Newt tells him he can't just do that, that Thomas has to train with him first. Minho nods and they decide on one day in the slammer, and then training will begin. Gally freaks out again, calling Minho crazy and idiotic, saying that it's nuts to trust Thomas, because he thinks he's some kind of spy, that he was trained before he came. Thomas was getting really mad now. He didn't want to be here either. He wanted to go home just as much as anybody. Minho and Newt both shoot at Gally and Minho catches him in a chokehold, threatening to kill him if he continues. Newt pulls him away from Gally and tells him to leave. After that shock, Gally walks out, hate and lunacy in his eyes. The day ends and Thomas is sent to his day in the slammer early in the morning.

That’s a wrap, more to come,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

Standards Night

Every year in December, the Young Women have a Standards Night in my church. The young women come together where the Laurels, Mia Maids, and Beehives come together and share a project that they did over the year that helped them come closer to their Heavenly Father and helped them achieve a goal in their Young Women Personal Progress.  The Beehives are the first group and are ages 12 to 14.  Mia Maids are the group I am in ages 14 to 15.  The Laurels are 16 to 18 years old. 

Standards Night was fun, emotional, and spiritual for me.  It was emotional for my mom because she cried when I talked about the project I did, which made me want to bawl (which I think I did bawl).  It was also spiritual for my friend Brianna McKenney.  It was really cool because it was centered on the girls.  The young women were called up one by one and were given a banner and a tiara for the following values:  Faith, Good Works, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Integrity, Virtue.  My mom picked Faith for me.  I don’t know why, but she did.  I thought she would pick Good Works but she didn’t.  We got our banner and a tiara and we each had a table where we displayed our project.  It was kind of like the State Fair where we had our display.  Everybody could go around and view the displays.  Then we were each asked to talk about our project and what we did and how it brought us closer to Heavenly Father.  (The Sewards Rat will really love my project.)  My project was for Good Works. 

There is this little down syndrome girl in my choir named Belen Heindrich and she is the sweetest little girl you would ever want to meet.  She wants to give me hugs all the time.  Whenever she does something right she comes to me and tells me about it even before she tells her mom.  My Choir Director, Ms. Sue, didn’t know how to communicate with her, just like she really didn’t know how to communicate with me, I am Aspergers and Belen is Down Syndrome.  Belen is like my sister, I love being around her. 

I am in a group called River Voice in my Choir, and it is the higher level singing girls in the choir from Sophomore to Senior year (we have all been singing for about 10 years or longer).  Ms. Sue expressed the desire to want us to have a group of kids that we would take and work with on parts and on the different songs.  I specifically asked for Belen.  It frustrated me a little bit that Ms. Sue didn’t quite know how to communicate with Belen, but because of me, by the time of the concert, Ms. Sue was listening to Belen and she was taking time to dedicate time for Belen.  I think this was because of the example I set and it meant a lot to me.  Because people like Belen hold a special place in my heart because of my disabilities and what I have gone through, I can feel them, sense them, and read them. 

On the day of the concert, Belen’s mom said she asked for me all day long.  It got to the point, when we were at rehearsal she asked Ms. Sue asked if Sarah could take her in the room and work with her to get better.  I found myself being extremely protective of Belen when someone neglects her or treats her different.  (Just ask the Quack, he will tell you it is true.)   That was what my project was about.  It was one of the most amazing times of my life.  I fell in love with this little girl.  I adore her and she has taught me about being humble.  She reminds me of myself when I started in Ralph Woodward’s choir in SLC, in the Salt Lake Children’s Choir.  My mom was always worried about the things I would do.  I see a lot of myself in Belen.  She is a sweetheart and I love her and love being around her.  I feel a special bond with people with disabilities.  It is special.  I hope that never goes away because that is one of the sweetest things in my life. 

That’s a wrap!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Me and Belen November 2011

My Persuasive Essay, Part II (Final Part)

            Joseph Smith had to have had divine right, help, and authority from God to do the miraculous and marvelous things he did.  The first big feat was the act of translating the Gold Plates, and then printing it.  As mentioned above, the plates were written in Ancient Egyptian, making them relatively impossible to translate.  Moreover, Joseph had so much as a third grade education.  Through the use of the sacred Urim and Thummim, and the revelation he received through the power of the Holy Ghost, The Gold Plates were translated, and the Book of Mormon was published.  Joseph’s wife, Emma, recounts upon these events: “”.  The second authority he had was the authority to hold the priesthood, and he did many miraculous things with it, things beyond the power of man, but the power of God.  He miraculously healed people from the most serious of injuries and illnesses, where they recovered immediately, and also performed baptisms, and called men to be his counselors and members of the quorum of the twelve.  He then set them apart with the power of the priesthood.  The power of the priesthood is our sole way of receiving direct messages from our Heavenly Father.  After my dad gives me a priesthood blessing, he doesn’t remember anything he said, because it’s not him speaking to me, it’s Heavenly Father. The third example is that Joseph was blessed with the strengths and skills he needed to be able to establish the church today. John Taylor, of the Quorum of The Twelve said:  “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.” Also, for people who study the bible, there’s another huge significant piece of evidence.

            I know it’s true is because it specifically talks about it in the bible in Ezekiel 37:16. It states: Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, for Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph (the Book of Mormon), the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions. This scripture alone should be evidence enough for everyone to see that Joseph was chosen before the world was by God, and that he did talk to him. For my three examples, I am going to squish them all together into one. There was a talk given in the last General Conference by Elder Tad R. Callister, and there is one part I would like to quote. It says: “why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same bible? It is because they interpret the bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, ‘In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established’ (2 Corinthians 13:1). The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is the second witness so crucial? How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point? How many lines could you draw between these two reference points representing the Book of Mormon and the Bible? Only one, so only one true interpretation.” I testify that the book of Mormon is true, and if you know that the Book of Mormon is true, you know that Joseph Smith was a real Prophet of the almighty God, and if you know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, you know that the Church of Jesus Christ is true, and is the only true church in the world today.

            So for the matter of whether or not I think that Joseph Smith saw God, and talked to him, and restored his church in the world, I don’t just believe it, I know it to be true. Joseph Smith suffered all manner of persecution for the sake of the word, and the truth. He performed many amazing works and ordinances given to him through the omnipotent power of the almighty God. He was the one chosen to restore the gospel to its fullness, and bring the Book of Mormon into the world. I know that this church is true. I know it with all of my heart, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


Dingbat Out!  

I discovered something sooo cool!

I discovered something so cool in Seminary this morning; something I have never noticed before.  There’s this film called Mr. Krueger's Christmas, and it was produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  However (and I never EVER realized this until today at 6 o'clock in the morning surprisingly!), it has Jimmy Stewart in it!  I mean I was so excited, because he is one of my favorite actors.  He is not Mormon, yet he did a Mormon film.  I thought that was the coolest thing EVER, and my respect for him grew a million times more.  I fell utterly in love with him; he's great.  And he loved music, as I found out later after seminary when I told my mom about it.  She also told me that he only did the movie because our church has the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and it had always been his lifelong dream to conduct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  The LDS Church must have known this somehow, so they purposely offered the job to him.  In the film, after he's done conducting, the choir starts clapping, and I don't know if that was planned, but it was awesome, and you can tell he is so excited.

He’d had been waiting his whole life to do that, ever since he was a boy, and here he is a 70ish year old man!  I told the Quack and Shimmy Dude this and they thought it was an amazing story.  I don't think they would have guessed that about Jimmy Stewart, and I didn't know about it either.  I think learning that was the highlight of day, because I love music too.

In fact, I want to be in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir someday so I can sing and perform all over the world, and at General Conference!  WOW that would be absolutely AMAZING; the highlight of my life! 

Well, I bet you’re tired of hearing from me,
DINGBAT OUT!

My Persuasive essay part one:

Joseph Smith:
The Man Who Talked To God

“I feel like the apostle Paul.  Some said he was dishonest.  Others said he was mad.  And he was ridiculed and reviled, but he knew he had seen a vision, and all the persecution under Heaven could not make it otherwise.  So it had been with me.  I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me.  I had seen a vision.  I knew it, and I knew God knew it, and I could not deny it.”(Joseph Smith Jr.)  In regards to whether Joseph Smith, the first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints saw the eternal God and his son, Jesus Christ in Sacred Grove or not, my standing belief and knowledge is that I know he did, because it was revealed to me by the Holy Ghost in the sacred town of Nauvoo, Illinois.  But how do I know that it’s real, that Joseph Smith wasn’t insane?  I know for many reasons, and there is plenty of evidence that denotes there was something special about Joseph Smith.  His greatest enemy’s hearts were softened towards him, claiming to the world that he was indeed a humble man in tune to the wishes of God.  The first reason I know that he saw God is that he was willing to withstand all manner of persecution willingly, and without malice, for so great was his faith in the Lord that he knew somehow he would be delivered, and he was.  He even suffered death humbly and willingly, that the work of the Lord might proceed.  Second, he had to have had divine right, help, and authority to do the miraculous and marvelous things he did. Some of these were translating the Book of Mormon (which was written on the Gold plates in Ancient Egyptian), curing the sick and wounded through the sacred power of the Priesthood, and receiving revelation that would lead and govern all the functions of the modern church today. The third and last main reason that I know that it’s true is because it specifically talks about it in the bible in Ezekiel 37:16.

            Joseph Smith was willing to withstand all manner of persecution willingly, and without malice, for so great was his faith in the Lord that he knew somehow he would be delivered, and he was.  Joseph Smith showed his devotion to God in many different ways.  One of them was that he was persecuted and mocked from the day that he saw God and his son, and he was but a boy of 14 when he had his vision.  In his short and difficult life, Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered at least ten times.  His enemies, driven by the lust and desires of the devil, wanted nothing more than to discontinue the work that Joseph Smith had been chosen to do.  One time, the angry mob broke into his house, woke him up, dragged him out in the street, and smeared boiling tar all over him, and then threw feathers on top.  Moreover, the mob had broken the door down, and their little baby, who had had Pneumonia, died later that night from the freezing wind blowing through the open cavity in the wall. Despite the agonizing pain he felt, and the sadness that lingered in his heart for the lost boy, the great man attended his church meetings early in the morning the very next day, undaunted by the abuse of his visitors the night before.  Secondly, he was thrown into Liberty Jail, which was a jail that was specifically designed to be impenetrable.  The worst criminals were sent there, and here Joseph Smith and his men were sent, having done nothing wrong.  These men were in the jail for 6 months, 6 horrible, horrible months.  They were fed poison food, and poison water, and had nothing but filthy straw to lie on.  They were taken from their families, and despite these many tribulations they faced, Joseph prayed and worried continuously for his family, and the families of the other suffering saints.  Many of the Prophet’s prayers went unanswered, causing him to make this one final plea: “Oh God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth up thy hiding place?”

“My son, peace be unto thy soul. Thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment, and if thou endure it well, God will exhort thee on high.”

Joseph learned that the reason he had been sent to Liberty Jail was to be perfected and learn patience through the adversities he faced. He came out of the jail better man, so much better.  Another example of the trials Joseph withstood was that of the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith.  As that great man hugged his wife, and kissed his children goodbye in that spring of 1844, he knew as did his other comrades that he would not be coming back.  He mounted his horse and rode to Carthage jail from Nauvoo, Illinois.  I have been to Carthage jail twice, and I have seen the door with the bullet hole in it that took Hyrum Smith, Joseph’s brother’s life, and in that small room, I received witness of the event.  My bosom burned, and I was weak.  I began to cry.  I knew, right then and there that Joseph Smith truly was a man of God, and he died for his God, his father in Heaven.  Joseph Smith had a special relationship and communication pathway with God as the Prophet of the church.  Through, the Lord, he was able to do all things; things he never ever would have been able to do without him.

To Be Continued,

Dingbat out!  

The Maze Runner

When we left off of my last post with Maze Runner, Ben had just been banished.

I am almost done with the book, so I'm just going to sum it up.  Right after that Thomas is standing with Alby and suddenly an Asian kid runs through one of the gates to the maze, exhausted, and raspy, gasping for breath.  It’s a boy named Minho.  After arguing with Alby for a couple of minutes, the leader goes and gets him water.  Minho's back really early.  He tells him he found a dead griever, and then after some resting, they go explore the maze.  They’re gone a long time, and Newt's freaking out, because the walls are about to close, and if they don’t come back, that means that they are dead, near dead, or soon to be dead.  Just as the walls are closing, Thomas sees Minho carrying Alby, his limp arm on his shoulder.  Thomas sees that they are not going to make it and he instinctively breaks the number one rule: never go out into the maze at night.  Minho yells at him and tells him how stupid he is, because they are now all going to die.

Thomas won't accept Minho's hopelessness, and starts brainstorming.  He climbs up the wall using the vines, pushing Alby up inch by inch, using all of his strength.  He sits on the wall thirty feet in the air and waits.  A griever approaches and starts climbing up the wall.  He swings and starts leading the grievers away from Alby by swinging on the vines.  The griever starts chasing him and he runs.  He runs for a long time, then turns and waits for it to approach.  He lets it get within feet of him, and then dives out of the way.  Then Minho finds him and takes him to the cliff.  He tells him to stand there and wait for them.  They wait until four grievers are coming straight at them.  Then, using Thomas's idea, they dive out of the way just when they are about to get them, and they all fall over the edge, except one, which they push off the edge with their feet.  Then they run back to where Thomas told Minho he left Alby.  Minho is so impressed with the Greenie's performance that he doesn't know what to say.

That’s kind of a lot, so we'll stop there. 

DINGBAT OUT!

The Mysterious Ticking Noise

I had always known about the "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape" song, but I had never seen it, or even known what it was called.  In Anatomy and Physiology class, my friend, Sara played it on her laptop and I laughed so hard I cried!  The Piercing Spear made us turn it off, but she was being a hypocrite because around the same time she was watching little kids sing.  Her excuse was, "It's little 6-year-olds singing.  They're adorable!"  It was just a study day so it didn't seem like it mattered much that we were watching it; it wasn't like she was teaching or anything.  

I became immediately obsessed with this video and looked it up later on Youtube, only to find that it was called "The Mysterious Ticking Noise," and had over 715 million hits!  I thought it was awesome, so I watched it at least ten more times and learned it.  I also watched Wizard Swears made by the same people.  The funniest stuff I've seen in a really long time!  I showed it to my brother and he thought it was absolutely hilarious!  He especially liked the Dumbledore part.  "Dumbledore!!" high-pitched.  I liked Snape's and Harry's part the best.  I showed it to my parents and they thought it was the stupidest thing they'd ever seen, but that's just because the video was made for teenage ears and eyes.  Not adults.  So anyway, I'm going to go around and show it to my teachers, the Quack and the Shimmy Dude.  They will probably love it.  My brother and I plan on performing it sometime soon.  I absolutely love it.  I'm going to post the video on here for you to see.

Well, that’s all for now,

DINGBAT OUT!

MAZE RUNNER (Cont'd)

Ever since Thomas heard the word "Runner" he felt that he was destined to be one.  He was asking Chuck about it the second night, or one of the first nights he was there, and Chuck tells him he is crazy and tells him to go to sleep.  Thomas doesn't feel completely lost anymore because some have answered a few of his questions, but not many.

After Thomas wakes up, Newt takes him to one of the walls of the glade with a dirty window. Newt tells Thomas to look into the window and Thomas sees a Griever.  Thomas is pretty startled by what he sees and is upset and scared and he still wants to be a Runner; in fact even more.  I am going to skip a couple of chapters and get into the meat of the story.

Thomas, the very next day after he arrives, a girl comes in via the box.  They all think she is dead.  All of a sudden, her eyes roll back in her head and she creams as she sits up erect and she starts seizing.  In her hand is a crumpled up piece of paper with the following written on it:  "everything is going to change."  They think she is in a coma so that scares the boys.  They think she is not waking up.  The Med-Jacks come to pick her up and take her into the homestead.  Alby suspects Thomas, because since Thomas' arrival crazy things started to happen.  Traditionally one person comes into the glade on the same day, the same time, the same way and now a person arrived a day after Thomas and it is a girl.  Prior to that it had always been boys.   Alby suspects Thomas of doing something, and Thomas has no clue what Alby is talking about.  From there, it gets worse.

Thomas goes for his first day with one of the Keepers.  He goes to the Blood House.  The Keeper's name is Winston.  Winston teaches Thomas how to tend the animals, take care of them and how to slaughter them.  Thomas cannot handle the slaughtering of the animals.  Thomas is convinced that Winston loves his job too much.  Thomas has a theory that all had been sent to the Glade because they did something wrong.  Thomas thinks Winston may have been a Serial Killer.

Thomas goes to the deadheads and goes into a forest with dead trees and it gets progressively darker.  It feels like night time.  He is walking and his stomach goes chill.  He finds a graveyard with approximately 30 people buried.  There are crosses embedded in the ground.  One grave has a window to look in.  There is someone in with half missing that has a sign that says, "This half shank is a reminder of all who wants to go down the box because it will cut you in half."  Thomas feels like he is being followed.  He wants the person to show theirself.  All of sudden Ben attacks him.  Thomas has to break out of his grasp.  Ben is trying to kill him by choking him and stabbing him in the calf.  Alby comes out holding a bow and arrow.  He asks Ben to stop or he will kill him.  Alby aims at Ben's brain to shoot him, but misses and it hits his cheek.  Ben falls over.  Ben, however, survived the attack.  Later the next day, Ben is banished.

The Keepers perform a ceremony to banish Ben.  The Keepers throw Ben in the maze, in the morning when the doors open the collar is sitting there which means they eat the person they leave in the maze.

That's a WRAP!!
DINGBAT OUT.

FRACTALS!

I went to Arts Adventures tonight and we saw the fractal show at the Natural History Museum, and it was AWESOME!  The fractals were amazing and I learned a ton about how you can minutely change the formulas causing the fractal turns out completely different, it's amazing.  My favorite one was the fractal that he made that he changed the exponent from 2 to 2.001  It changed the whole composition.  I absolutely loved it, and the music was awesome.  We were in the first row leaning back and looking up, and the music had so much bass that it vibrated all the seats.  When you were in there it was like you were actually moving, it was really cool!  Afterward I felt drained, and I had a headache. I got to meet the man who did it, and he is a PhD that owns the Fractal organization.  He’s a nerd, but a very, very smart one, and surprisingly he has good social skills.  I talked to him and saw his fractal tie and asked him where he got it, and he told me he designed it.  I told him my dad would love one, because he loves Gerry Garcia ties, and that's all he buys.  He told me they were $30 each, so I'm getting dad one or two for Christmas, and maybe for one other person too (I'm not saying who). 

Now I want to go to the website to download the software to make the fractals because it's free!

Fractal Foundation

http://vimeo.com/15133198

OH MAN - COOL STUFF! 

DINGBAT OUT!

The Strength of the LDS Youth

Where do the youth of the church get their strength from?  Where do they receive the courage and will to push through all the crud of the world, and repel the fiery darts of Satan?  How do they do it? Where does this extreme amount of spiritual strength, commitment, and courage come from?  For young women, it comes through the personal progress program.  The personal progress program is a part of the young women's program, in fact, it is the structure.  The personal progress program strengthens us and our testimonies by providing hundreds of experiences that bring us closer to Heavenly Father.  The Personal Progress Program consists of 8 values.  They are faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue.  For each value experience there is a project that needs ten hours at the VERY LEAST!  The Personal Progress Program takes at least 180 hours to complete if you do it fast.  It usually takes at least 300-600 hours. The Personal Progress program is the equivalent of an Eagle Scout project for a young man.  These activities increase our relationship with God, and this increases our strength in the Gospel so much. Through our strength, we can be strong enough to resist all temptation.  For example, sex before marriage, drugs, smoking, drinking, etc.  These things are an abomination in my sight. 

Another thing that helps us be strong is a pamphlet released by the church titled For The Strength Of Youth. This book lists many of our values and lists why it is important to stay strong and steadfast to these principals. We are instructed to carry it with us at all times.

That's What I'm Talkin' 'bout!!! 

Then there's stuff for the strength of young men, like duty to God. I don't know very much at all about the Young Men Program, so I'll just put some pictures in:

DINGBAT OUT!!!!

STORM..CELTIC THUNDER!

We were at the Celtic Thunder concert in Salt Lake City where we purchased the Storm DVD and CD.  I watched it on my laptop and found it to be amazing.  Storm is a little story about Irish Settlers and they have a big chest of gold and jewels.  There is a Gypsy King (Ryan Kelly) and he tries to steal the Settler's stuff.  He is the opposing person.  Damian McGinty is the Young Buck, George Donaldson is the Chief, Keith Harkin is the Highwayman, Paul Byrom is the Land Owner's son.  I like that it is choreographed and everything in the story is musical so it is sung.  The dialog is in notes and music.  It is pretty much music.  I love it when Neil plays the Mandolin.  Even though is not very good looking, to me that is, he plays like 15 different instruments.  It is a story of honor, pride, vengeance, romance and lust.  My favorite song is "Hail the Hero, Shadows, and Look at Me." 

I love the percussion and the enthusiasm of the performers, the choreography, dancing, singing, flipping, acrobatics.  The Gypsy men are very ahtletic and are amazing.  The Gypsy men dance very athletically.  I love Damian's deep bass voice!

In the Heritage DVD, Emmett sings Kindred Spirits and I love him more than Damian (which is hard to believe)!  Emmett is my very, very, very, very favorite member of Celtic Thunder ever!  He is hot too!  He sings Opera too which is very sexy if you ask me.


That is all for now! 
DINGBAT OUT! 

Flutes, Flutes The Magical Sound!!!!

I brought my flutes to school today so that I could play them at lunch.  (If you don't know already, I LLLLOOOOVVVVVEEEEE NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTES!)  I brought my flutes to school on Friday because it's not a school day.  I showed up early so I could play for The Shimmy Dude before his meetings started.  He loves to hear people play the Native American flute.  Unfortunately, he doesn't own any, and I don't think he can play, but the Short Man's wife plays, and so does the Quack, and his wife too I think.  Anyway, I showed it to him, and he loved it and asked me if I would walk around at events such as the COL (Celebration Of Learning) and play to set the mood with music.  I brought them again today to show the Quack, and it's amazing, because anything he picks up, he can play, literally.  He's a prodigy.  Anyway, he was super interested, and asked me to play each one for him.  I own three, so I played them all.  Then, and this is so cool, he picked one up, wiped it off, and started playing it. That was cool; to see my teacher play MY flutes right in front of me.  Neato!  Then, in math class, it's funny because The Shimmy Dude plays Native American flute music on his computer, and I just kind of sink when I hear it.  I relax immediately.  But today I didn't notice it.  He loves it when I do that, and I think that's why he plays it.  He was like, "oh, come on!  Sarah."  Then he got my attention, smiled and turned the music up.  Then I was like "ah," and slumped down.  He laughed softly and lovingly.  I love The Shimmy Dude.  We have a special friend relationship and we talk about religion a lot too.  I will post my persuasive essay that I wrote in parts, so you can read it.  It’s based on religion. 

Anyway, this was a great day.  Of course every day is great, but this was a GREAT day!  I love my teachers, and my school!  The only thing is I didn't get to play my flutes at lunch because I forgot I had other requirements, boohoo, but I will play tomorrow.

So long,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!

Maze Runner

I have not written about this book for a while, since the last post I have fallen in love with it and it is one of my favorite books.  After Thomas gets taken out of the elevator and meets Alby who is the leader, they do not do much to welcome him in.  They tell him the rules, and they give him to Newt to show him the ropes.  They take him to a boy named Chuck who is really short and looks to be about 12 years of age.  Chuck is a portly kid that reminds me a little of my brother.  Thomas starts looking around and starts looking at where he is and he finds out he is in a place called the Glade and everyone there are called Gladers.  There is a garden, a place with cows, pigs, chickens and so forth.  There is a wooded area with dying trees.  Thomas runs in to a guy named Gally who is mean to him because he said he remembers him.  Thomas finds this interesting, because no one can remember anybody in the Glade.  Gally insists that he knows Thomas.  Gally went through a changing because he was stung by something called the Griever.  A guy named Ben is going through the changing at this time and Thomas asks what this is.  Gally tells him to go look.  Newbies are not allowed to see things like the changing.  The guy on the bed has green skin, his veins are green and he is writhing.  Thomas is kicked out and he gets into trouble for being there.  He returns to Chuck.  Chuck is sarcastic all the time and does not answer Thomas' questions.  Thomas likes Chuck and at the same time finds him to be annoying.  Thomas is glad to have a friend, nonetheless.  Thomas goes to bed and tries to put the image of Ben out of his mind.

DINGBAT OUT!

I Went to the Cadaver Lab at UNM (Cont'd)

Guess who fainted out of all of us?   I never would have guessed in a million years that she would have fainted because she's such a tomboy?  My best Friend, Briana.  It was scary. When she fell, she was shaking, and her eyes were glassed over.  We thought she was seizing. Turns out it was just a freeze chill, because all the blood went to her organs.  When we came out she said, "Oh man I can't believe I missed the brains!"  She is so tomboy!  The only reason she passed out in the first place was because she locked her knees because she was so interested in what was going on.  Bryah's mom was watching, so she was able to catch her.  Then Briana's next response was, "I wish I could have hit my head and got a concussion, then the story would be much more dramatic to tell the engineering kids."  She is a dork, but of course I probably would have said the same thing.  

So anyway, we went to lunch at the Sub, and I got a Calzone with Mushrooms which was delicious, but the mushrooms looked like smoker's lungs which we saw there.  I was like "hey guys, what does this look like?" And they said, "a smoker's lung," and then I stuffed it in my mouth.  YUMMY!  The Piercing Spear rolled her eyes, saying her husband says stuff like that all the time, and we laughed.  I love my friends.  So anyway, we went back and back to class. Yeah (not)!

WOW, THAT'S LONG!  (Just for you Shimmy Dude),
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

I went to the Cadaver Lab at UNM

            Today I went to the Cadaver Lab at UNM and my best friends Jakey, Briana, and Sam went with me.  Just to see if I can, I am going to name all the Anatomy and Physiology students who came with us.  There was Bernice, Johnny, Reno, Alexis, Bryah, Sydney, Chris, Cheyenne, Isaiah, Asa, Sara, Mary, Steven, Niquelle, Meghan, and I can't remember any others.  The Piercing Spear, The Robot Lady and our principal came too.  I remember we got there and were waiting, and there was this couch that had waves.  Seven of us were sitting on it and it goes up and down because it is shaped like a wave.  I was sitting on the upward part and the gravity was pushing me onto The Robot Lady.  I'm going into a lot of detail now because I don't want to go into too much detail about what we saw when we were in to the Cadaver Lab, because then I'll start smelling Formaldehyde! 

 

We walked up the stairs and we saw this doctor with a big bushy white mustache and two white tufts of hair on either side (LOL).  He looked a lot like Einstein at first glance, at least to me.  There was also a young pretty woman with reddish/brownish hair and blue eyes.  They were both in lab coats. When we first went in, I was fine.  I was pretty excited.  We were asking questions, and it was great. Then the white haired doctor opened up the body bag.  I couldn't breathe, the Formaldehyde smelled so strong.  It seemed with every breath my stomach lurched upward, and my gag reflexes triggered.  I thought I was going to puke.  The whole thing was SUPER COOL, but I just could not have handled the smell; it engulfed me.  I almost puked a total of 3 times, and almost passed out the same amount.  The whole thing was really cool, because we got to see all the organs, and touch them, and feel how thick the skin was.  The one thing that really got me grossed out about feeling the organs and body parts was the moisture and coldness of the organs.  (I'm already getting nauseated again; knew I couldn't refrain from the details.)  We wore gloves so the organs and such were not touching our skin, but the moisture and coldness of the organs is what we felt through our gloves, and we felt the cold and the wet for a while after touching it.  That was the worst thing, other than the smell. We could feel the temperature and wetness of the skin and organs. Oh, and the texture. The coolest parts were when we got to hold the brains, and hearts, and lungs, and livers; but the hearts and brains especially.

TO BE CONTINUED.....,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

How Harry Potter should have ended, the youtube video, and how star wars should have ended, the youtube video!!! BOTH ARE HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sitting in World History class with a Sub in the room, and I'm done with my assignment, and the next one's not due until Thursday, so I decide to take a thirty second break from my work (inside joke, LOL!) and I go on to YouTube and look up Severus Snape, who is my favorite character out of them ALL!  I like him even better than Harry.   So.... back to where I was going. I looked up Severus Snape and I found this little animated cartoon titled How Harry Potter Should Have Ended.  Intrigued, I clicked on it.  I swear I laughed so hard it's not even funny, and it's awesome, I mean, Snape comes back to life and then shoots Voldemort in the head with a "muggle" gun and then he goes back in time with Hermione's time turner, and returns to where Dumbledore is in Tom's orphanage and Snape jumps in out of nowhere and kills Tom Riddle.  Then Dumbledore's like "What the heck?  Why did you do that?" and then Snape's like "I just saved your life in the future, but it's a really long story.  I mean no, it's a REALLY LONG STORY, like long enough to fill 7 books, and then Dumbledore says "or 8 movies," and then it's the end.  It’s so funny!  OH MY GOSH, and then there's How Star Wars The Emperor Strikes Back Should Have Ended.  That’s so funny.  I’ll explain this one briefly because I want you to watch it.  It’s HILARIOUS!  The Emperor is telling Darth Vader that Anakin Skywalker has a son, and he freaks out. “I have a son????!!!!” then the emperor says, “no, I Said Anakin has a son, you’re Darth…..” “I can’t believe this, this is so exciting!!!  Hey guess what Storm Troopers, I’m a dad!!!  Guess what asteroids, I’m a dad!!!!  Hey Bounty Hunters, you know I’m gonna be a dad right???”  Now you can watch the end of it.  Here’s the videos

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

School: What's Happening?

School is pretty awesome, and there's a lot going on.  I'm finally squared away on my master project, and Flower and I are on top of it now.  The Barbour wants me labeling and mapping all the nerves and nerve endings in the thumb, on all sides.  Flower and I are trying to get it done but it's a lot of work.  Today was a good day in school and I got a lot of my work done in class.  I love school so much, but very sadly I didn't get to see my favorite teacher (The Quack) today : .(.  Other than that, it was a really good day.  I understood my math in class and had it finished, so I got to help the other kids in my class understand and do it.  That was probably the funnest (YES, FUNNEST IS A WORD IN MY VOCABULARY!) class today.  Shimmy Dude was so pleased that I helped that he asked me personally to come back, but I told him I couldn't skip the Short Man's class, (unfortunately) but he knows.  I hope that he knows I would always be more than willing to help if I could. 


Different topic altogether, but guess what??!!??  The Sewards Rat had her Baby, Nico on Friday at 3 in the afternoon!  He's so CUTE, I"M GONNA DIE!  Also, my World History teacher's wife had their Baby also, Michael!  I haven't seen a picture of him yet, but it's so exciting!  Even though it's exciting neither of them are here right now so we have to deal with Subs, uck, but I know it's all good, and they'll be back before we know it.  


Oh and guess what?  WE'RE GOING TO THE CADAVER LAB ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!


Dingbat Out!