Love in the movies

Romeo and Juliet, and more recently Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, literature and movies love to play around with what are known as “star-crossed lovers”. What does that even mean? Star-crossed lovers are basically defined as two people who want to be together, but can’t, because of fate, or family, or disease, or whatever is pushing them apart. We just love them for some odd reason. Why is it?

  I feel like part of the reason people love the idea of star-crossed lovers is because it gives them hope that they can find their “soul mate”, the person that is fated for them. Star-crossed lovers show people this and give them they idea that can find their Romeo or Peeta and Katniss. People think that just because a few unlucky couples couldn't make it that they will be able to. Sure maybe they’re single now or in a relationship that is just “average” and isn't like what they've seen in the movies or TV shows that they love. A lot of girls what love like Romeo and Juliet. A love that would be worth risking what anyone thought about you so that you could have that wonderful movie love. Unfortunately, this does not exist.

 When I first read Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade I thought it was the stupidest thing ever. Why would two teenagers ever think that they could be together forever when they had so much life ahead of them? Now, thinking back to when I read The Fault in Our Stars in seventh grade, I thought Hazel and Augustus’s romance was riveting and perfect and that would have been together forever, even though they were also only teenagers. The difference between Romeo and Juliet and Katniss and Peeta is that they were star-crossed by something that couldn't be controlled, cancer. With Romeo and Juliet you can say that they were stupid and ignorant, but that what love does to people.

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Cedar Rapids,at least we're better than Nebraska

If you are ever talking to somebody about cedar rapids, you will probabaly talk about how there is nothing to do here, and most of the time, I would have to agree. Most people who weren't born here don't have as tight of a connection to the city as those who do. People with family here often love it, as it is a nice city, and they have people who they know and like. People like my family though have found their way here through various means, don't know much about here or the people, and one thing I've noticed is not many people go out of their way to greet or get to know people who aren't from around Iowa. One of the things I feel like would make this city better is if there were more things for people to do with their spare time. I would love to go on bike ride. Around the city I can get place to place with the bike lane, but I mean I want to go somewhere and see something, not just use my bike to travel between work and home. I know lots of people use the bike lanes and I'm not saying they are bad, but what I am getting at is that I have very limited options of where to bike where it is safe. Yes there is a trail or two around here, but one brings you right along the river, which usually smells pungent and gross, and gives you a nice view of mount trash-more. Now I do not intend to be very harsh to the people who like the city just the way it is, I as well like Cedar Rapids, but I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement. One thing that I feel would be really nice here would be a water park, like we almost got not too many years ago. I feel like there would be more than enough people who want one to be able to go there and make use of it, but also I feel like that could be a source for tourism, which there is not much of in Cedar Rapids. Another thing I feel like would be great would be a football team that was in Cedar Rapids, which I don't see happening since everyone here already goes to the Hawkeye games every Saturday they play. Something else I feel like would give people more to do is just to have more off-leash dog parks, because this would be great for new people to the area to be able to meet people who are like themselves (enjoy outdoors/ dogs etc.). The dog park would be best if it was in a centralized location, and have different areas depending on dog size to prevent some of the bigger dogs from hurting the others. Overall, I do think there is a lack of things to do here, and that there could be improvement to CR if we got some more things that people who were born and raised here as well as people who are new to enjoy.

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The longest minute

In a blog a few weeks ago I talked about a strategy to pass the time while you are doing something that has no entertainment, and that is extremely boring, such as work, and especially school. I still believe that not looking at the clock is a very... VERY good way of passing the time. But it can be extremely punishing if done incorrectly, if you don't trust yourself, or if you tried the other method, and it failed, and you never want to try it again because yesterday just felt like a month. Then try these two new methods.

The first is intervals, you take your shift, or school day, and split it into time segments. Say you are working a 5 hour shift later today, you will split it into segments between 30 minutes, and an hour. Say we choose 30 minutes for this shift. It is split into 10 different segments. Just in case you have to work late, or just for a extra bonus to feel good at the end of the shift, add another hour, or segment onto yours. So for my example I am working a 5 hour shift, that is split into 12 thirty minute segments. At the start of your shift you can look at your watch. But it works best if you try and predict what time it is. So whenever you feel like it has been 30 minutes, look down, and check your watch. If you are doing something boring, it may feel slow at times, but if you feel bored, a lot of the times (at least for me) I look down after what has seemed like a long 30 minutes, and it has turned out to be 45 minutes. When you are at your half way mark, you are actually past the half way mark in your shift, that is if you can trick yourself into thinking that your shift is longer than it actually is.

I really think this can genuinely help you get through the day quicker, with less boredom, and you will feel better afterwards, I still don't think that it is as good as the other method. But if you have the self discipline to look down at your watch whenever it feels like its been 30 minutes instead of every 5 minutes. If you like your job I envy you, but if you don't give this a try, it will make it less painfull.
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The best way to have fun with your friends

Over the years, there are a lot better ways of having fun, more video related entertainment, using your gadgets. But I think that the best entertainment is still most definitely with your friends, in real life, and not over some screen. And I think that the most fun, and the most memorable thing to do with your friends, is to go and mess with them. Go prank them, stay to see their reactions, and the adrenaline rush you get from not getting caught, or getting caught.

Prank wars are fun to do with your friends, but should not be taken too far, doing anything that would cause actual damage to property should never be attempted, only harmless, and maybe annoying things, such as tee-peeing, saran wrapping your friends car, and forking their yard.

For those of you who don't know a whole lot about pranking, tee-peeing is when you get a whole bunch of toilet paper, and throw it all over their yard, and maybe house, get it tangled in their tree, this is probably the most severe prank you can do without damaging physical property, saran wrapping somebody's car is simple, you get a couple hundred feet of saran wrap, wrap it around their car, over the windshield, door handle, side mirrors, all over the place so it is just really hard, and annoying to take off, and if you friend is silly enough to leave their car doors unlocked, take a bottle of perfume or axe deodorant with you, and spray it all over the inside of their car, to make it smell terrible. Saran wrapping is my personal favorite prank. The third, and least common is forking, It has to be around this time of year (10/4/2015) because the forks that you stick into the ground have to get stuck. What you do for forking is get a whole bunch of plastic party forks, and simply stick them all over in the ground, when they wake up in the morning, then will not be able to pull them up, and there will be a bunch of forks, and broken forks sticking out of their lawn.

All three of these are very fun to do. Although they may seem mean, you are supposed to do them to you friends, with your Friends, you should not do this to random people, and especially not to teachers. and also remember that all of these are harmless, no physical damage should be done, and it should only be done if you do something wrong. Having a prank war with your friends is so fun because you get to see the reaction of your friends, and you will always have to keep on your toes because you could be next. It is most definitely the most fun thing you can do.
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State Championship

A couple months ago I talked about how the most fun thing you can do is get together with a couple of you friends, and go do something. This Friday night, I would suggest going to watch the Kennedy Cougars take on the Dowling Maroons in the state championship at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls. Our Cougars have made it to the playoff games almost every year, but we have never in our history won a state championship, this would be the first state championship for our school, and if you go to it, you will be a part of it.

I myself went to the game last Friday night, and it was the best Kennedy game that I've ever been to in high school. It was insanity, I am usually not bothered by sophomores and freshmen sneaking up in the student section in front of me. But it was actually really nice to not have to worry about it because of the green gold color coding, besides that, Kennedy has gone undefeated this year, and everyone is extremely pumped to see them win, It just makes that game more enjoyable to watch when the title of undefeated was at steak, and whoever loss would lose the title. 

Now, it is the same situation, but it should be an even more difficult game for the cougars, there are rumors of how great of a football team Dowling has, I myself have heard three specific rumors. That their student section is absolutely massive, and that it has destroyed everyone in noise so far this year, I have heard that their linemen are massive, and they have been compared to the line men of a small college. And I have also heard that they have people that care so much about football, that some people live an hour or more drive away from the school, and go there just for football. 

A lot of people are scared, and are saying that we will just get stomped, but I myself and just exited to watch an excellent game, and watch the Cougars as they win their first state championship. I hope wee can get as many people into the Dome as possible to support our team, and to outshine Dowlings student section. Just remember that if you are going, drive safe. We are supposed to have a lot of snow on Friday, and there will be a lot of teenage drivers, be cautious. And Roll Cougs.

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What POV is better?

I likes to sit back after a long school week, or after a rough Monday night, and watch a football game. Even though I love to sit down, relax, and watch a football game myself, i would much rather get some friends, and go play the game myself.

There is no doubt that it is better for your health to be out playing a sport, rather than inside watching it on the TV. And secondly, playing sports is better than watching for the same reason I believe playing video games is better than watching TV or Netflix. Because it is interactive. While watching the game you get to know the players (if you watch it enough), and you get to see the struggles, the bad calls, and all the really great stuff that people talk about when they talk about football, like interceptions, and touchdowns. but when you are playing the game for yourself, in real life. All of those troubles, and all of the experiences are your experiences. The week after you get back from playing an actual game you will be talking about how I did in the game, the plays i made. Not how the packers did, or how Iowa did.

Also you don't have to sit there are be annoyed or aggravated by the decisions made. The ref has all the authority and there is no arguing that. But you don't have to sit there and ask "What the heck was that throw?!" or "Why didn't he go for the first down". Because you are making the decisions. You have only yourself, and maybe your teammates to be angry at. And when you do something rewarding, the feeling is much better than watching somebody that you have never even met before do it.

And the last reason it is way better to play a game instead of watch it is because it is social. You can sit on your couch and watch a game, and it will be entertaining. But if you are out there playing it, you are having social interactions, and having those fond memories or playing with your acquaintances. People walk around with jerseys of players names, and I really don't think it matters. I think the only reason you should have a name on the back of your jersey is if it is yours, or somebody you actually know.
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Spotify vs. Pandora

Pandora a few years ago defiantly dominated the online music industry. It was the first online music website and app that got huge. And people loved it, me included. You could simply put in an author or a genre and it would generate a playlist just for you. But now there is Spotify, a new music website that is different than Pandora, you can choose your own songs individually, and get rid of them as you please. In this comparison, i will only be talking about the free versions.

Spotify is better than Spotify on computer in my opinion because you can choose your songs specifically, you can skip and back up, and skip to any point in the song as you please. You would be  crazy if you thought that Pandora is better than Spotify, but that is only on the computer, what most people listen to is their phone, and Spotify on your phone is different, you can only skip a few, and you cannot skip songs like you can on the computer. You can still select your songs, but it will not pick the songs that you pick, after the first song, it starts playing random songs that you may not even like. 

Pandora is better on the phone in my opinion because it is the same on the website, you can dislike and like song so that the songs you are listening to so that it will only play the songs you like, in my personal opinion, spotify is better for me just because I listen primarily on the computer. But your favorite will almost entirely be dependent on what you listen to, Pandora of Spotify, death metal is horrible.

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The Sunday struggle

Procrastination, I am terrible at this, I will tell myself at school, its not that bad, just a little bit of homework, I'll just do it right when I get home, it sounds like a good plan, but then when I get home I feel like I deserve some rest after a long day of school. I've been sitting in a chair doing work for 8 hours, I owe it to myself to relax, I work a long, hard, day, and I deserve this. Then after its about 8 O'clock already because I have wasted my night eating, playing games, and watching TV. And I procrastinate more, and most can probably relate with the Sunday struggle. But I take it even further, I love smart lunch, and I talked in a blog a few weeks ago about how I utilize smart lunch, and how I utilize it very well, and how everyone should. And I do utilize it, but I don't work on tonight homework, I work on yesterdays homework, in fact, that's what i'm doing right now, writing this blog.

I know its hard, but if you can, just try not to be like me, don't get behind, If i simply sat down for one night and just do work for one or two hours instead of procrastinating, I would no longer be behind, I would be able to eat at smart lunch, and I would not have as much anxiety about getting done my school work, just do your homework right when you get home, I myself don't do it very often, and I am trying to get better at it, even though I probably won't do it tonight even though I am telling myself right now to do it. But if you are better than me, if you have the self discipline to force yourself to just do it. You will love yourself, you will have a less stressful life, and you will be a happier person, not to mention you will have far better grades, and probably be smarter than me.

Don't let the Sunday struggle happen to you, be strong, and do your work on Friday night, or better yet, get it done during smart lunch, work on tomorrows homework in smart lunch instead of yesterdays homework, I know I've said it a bunch, but when you get home tonight you will not want to, JUST DO IT. You will love yourself at 5 O'clock, and maybe you won't go bald as soon as J Kline.
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Console vs PC

Xbox or PlayStation, there has been many discussions on which one is better. They are the same. "But the Xbox's controller is worse than the PlayStation's!" Shush your face, they are the same, just get the one your friend has so you can play together... But consoles vs PC has been discussed a lot, and I myself sometimes get in arguments with friends about which is better. Consoles have slightly more reliability, more family friendly games, and are cheaper. But PC's are far more customization, they update frequently, you don't have to re-buy all your games when a new system comes out, and you can play a much wider variety of games.

Consoles are better for families, you can play split screen games, and party games that you just can't play on the computer, a computer has one keyboard, and one mouse, and is only supposed to be for one person, but a console has four controllers, and can sometimes even hold more. If you are a more social  gamer, then a console is right for you.

Consoles are cheaper, and you don't have to worry about them as much, a typical console is about $350, while a decent computer, with all of its accessories can range from $500, to $2000, some can even be more. But with consoles everyone has the same, and you don't have to worry about any processors, video cards, fps, and in my own experience, you don't have to worry about latency as much. While with a PC, you do have to worry about fps, because if you have bad equipment you will have a bad gaming experience, and in my own experience you have to worry about latency, because those with lower latency will have a better experience. But since it costs more, it is far more customizable , you can build you own PC, and you can pick and choose the different parts that you want, so that you will love it. You have a bad computer that holds you back in your ability, or you can have a great computer that pushes you forward to the top.

PC's do cost more, but if you take care of it, and it doesn't break for a long time, then it is not as bad as it seems, consoles every so often, just two years ago the new systems of the Xbox One, and the PlayStation 4 came out. When new consoles come out, they make the old consoles obsolete, and basically force you to buy the new consoles, then once you have the new console, you will have to buy a new controller, the games for it. This can add up very quickly, when you have to replace a new computer, you will still have all of your games, and unless you want to get an upgrade, you will still have your mice, headset, and keyboard.

I personally like computer because its what my friends play, also, you can play far more games on the PC than on consoles because you can have over 100 key combinations, meaning more commands for in game, when in consoles, there is only a dozen at most. When it comes down to it, its really just how much money are you willing to spend, what games do you like to play, and do you want to play, and what your friends play.
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If you love a song.... let it go

Have you ever loved a song so much that you just want to sit there and do nothing but listen to it on repeat all day? STOP! you will drive yourself crazy. Not only will you have it stuck in your head, you will not want to have it stuck in your head. If you listen to a song on repeat if wears out quickly, it gets only exponentially quicker, and you will never want to listen to it again.

This problem has been more and more problematic for me in today day in age where radio is obsolete, almost all cars have AUX cords, and if it doesn't, you probably have a CD player that you use in it. And also there are all these new music apps and websites like Pandora, spottily, and YouTube Repeat, so if you want to listen to a song over and over again, you easily can. This may not be true for everyone, but for me, I don't like the songs today on the radio, or the songs in the past couple of year's, because I have listened to them far too many times, I love the music from the early to mid 2,000's. When I was in elementary school, and maybe early middle school. I didn't have a smart phone, I did not have the option to listen to a song on repeat, the only time I even listened to music was when I was in the back seat of my parents car. The songs that were on the radio back then are the songs that I really like now, because when I used to hear them it was a treat. 

I don't like them because they reminded me of my early childhood, and no, I didn't have a terrible childhood, I still like them because they were not played on repeat, and they did not get old to me. They were a treat, and now when I hear them, they are vaguely familiar, and I still like them 5,6, or even 7 years later.

My suggestion to you is that if you like a song, don't put it on repeat, and don't put it on a short playlist, playlists should be a medium length, somewhere between 10-20 songs, if you have too many, there will be some that you simply just don't want to hear, and then you will spend half the time skipping songs, and not actually enjoying them. And if they are too short you will hate it soon because it will get old very quickly. If you love a song, just let it go.
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The Delivery Man

The delivery man is the most overlooked man in all of entertainment, I can almost guarantee that most of you don't carry TVs to your own house, carry sofa's into the house by yourself, you need the help of the big, strong, delivery man. His big strong hands can carry things that you could not even carry in your dreams, and sometimes he even brings help with him. He is by far in my opinion the most overlooked, and most important guy in entertainment.

He brings you everything you order. He will just bring it to you, and give it to you personally, sometimes you don't even see him. Even if you order something small like a computer mouse he will bring it. I don't know much about other areas, but our delivery guy watches out for us, he will hide packages in between the pillars in our homes, so that it is not easy to see, and so that somebody doesn't come to steal it. He doesn't get paid for it, he just goes ahead and does it because he is a good person, not because he has to, but because he wants to. And that is what separates good people from great people.

Now on the internet you can order something from across the country, or across the world. Imagine traveling all of the way to Tennessee to grab your package, then drive it all the way back, or even to Europe to get it. These delivery men spend long and hard days, and nights to get you the package. I have seen some people invite delivery men into their homes to thank them personally, and I think that it needs to be a more common thing. Delivery men should be more appreciated, and more people should invite them into their homes, and thank them personally. It give you that small town feeling that I feel is missing in the modern community.

Next time you see your local delivery man, I encourage you to talk to him, and personally thank him for his services, he works long and hard days to deliver the package, he brings you your entertainment, sometimes its big, sometimes its small, but each time it fill you with joy, and you need to repay him, it doesn't have to be money, just make him feel good.
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Hulu Vs Netflix

Netflix almost had a monopoly on streaming, and chilling. Some people don't even know what Hulu is, and the people who know what Hulu is think it is simply just a bad version of Netflix. I think that Hulu is better than Netflix. It does have ads, but it makes up for it by showing series as they come out on TV.

Hulu has less movies than Netflix, but most people can agree that most movies on netflix aren't that great, it has some, but not even close to all or most of the good movies out there in the world. Most people just watch series, most popular are Parcs and rec, the walking dead, arrow, south parc, supernatural, and others. Hulu has all of these, and they show them the day after they are showed on TV.

The main reason that Hulu is looked down on by people is that it plays ads, and if you think that this makes it worse than Netflix you are super inpatient. Hulu has adds because they have to spend more money to get the shows right when they come out. Which would you rather have, wait 30 seconds for your show to continue, just a couple of times each episode, not nearly as bad as commercials on television. Or would you rather have no 30 second commercials, and have to wait over a year to see the next season of your show.

Most people with brains could agree that it is worth the ads, and that having to wait a year for your show to come out is not worth no commercials. So open your eyes don't let Netflix have the "I phone effect" on you (its an I phone so its the best automatically), don't just assume its the best because its name is more popular. Look through the options, and you will find out that hulu is better than Netflix, and you will want to change. Think it over, and choose wisely.
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Passing the Time: Updated

A few weeks ago I gave you some insight on how to pass the time, and I introduced a few strategies that involved simply tricking your mind into thinking that time is flying, or tricking you mind to not think about time at all. But now, I have experienced a all new entertainment low in my work life, and school life, and I have derived from it a brand new, revolutionary idea. You will never be bored, work and school will be far less painful, and you will be happier, and more energetic because of it.
The idea I am about to share with you is.... make friends.

I am not saying that you don't have friends, everyone has at least a few friends, somebody that they can hang out with, vent to, or simply get along with. But if those friends aren't in your everyday life, if you are bored alone, the boredom intensifies. Having somebody to entertain you can help a lot. Think about the people who hate school the most, is it the popular kids, is it the kids that have their friends in every class... no. Its the kids who don't reach out to anyone, its those of you who are too shy to talk to people, to get to know people, and to have fun with other people.

If you simply reach out and talk to people, you will like to be by them in class, you will want to work with them in class, and if you want an A in that class, you will just work with Tyler Dennis. But if you are talking to people, if you have friends in your class, you will look forward to that class, gym class is fun, but sometimes I hate it because its with people I don't know. Fun classes can be made bad if you are with the wrong people, but boring classes can be fun if you reach out and make friends with people, make school better for yourself, and make some friends.
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Smart Lunch, what should I do?

Last year Mr. Kline, the relatively new principle of our fine school, introduced a new lunch system that sounded great, and ended up even better. It was called smart lunch, smart lunch is a 1.5 hour lunch that can be used to great effect to get school work done, and make up work without having to stay after school, or go in before school. Or it can just be an extra long lunch. Either way, the love for smart lunch is almost unanimous.

I myself love smart lunch, I would like to think that I use smart lunch to great use. Even though I can leave, and I only live a few minutes drive away from school, I often resist the temptation to go home and entertain myself, I instead decide to stay at school and bore myself, and starve myself, and do as much work as I can, for an hour and a half. For 5th and 6th hour, this is awful. I am hungry, and angry. I wish I went out with my friends, had some fun, and were entertained during smart lunch. But I decided to do work, its a terrible feeling. 

But after school is over, and you get home, and you have an amazing feeling that trumps the bad feeling that you had for the past 2 hours. You get the feeling of accomplishment, you lose something that you would almost always have if we did not have smart lunch, homework! 

I cannot force myself to stay and work through both tutorials and do work every day, but I do it about twice a week, and it really helps me finish my school work. I suggest that you that you use your smart lunch wisely, and that you don't leave every day. You don't have to do homework every day by any means, but you should not leave every day, or stay in the lunch room every day for both tutorials, if you put in some time to work on your work in smart lunch, you will be much more happy at night, and your life at Kennedy will be far less stressful.

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