This week has been good so far. Because it is Christmas and it is short. That is pretty cool. Now I don't have to do much until I get back on January 5th. Our English report went pretty well today. Ashlee was on Skype to be part of the project. I'm not quite done with Christmas shopping yet, but it won't be too much longer yet. Mainly because I don't have much longer to shop. I guess I should start wrapping my presents soon too. Christmas!!!

It looks like I might get the chance to do my Christmas shopping today instead of the 24th. Then tonight and tomorrow morning I am singing at a couple different places with choir groups, and tomorrow night I will probably watch the Titans - Steelers game. They are the two best teams in the AFC this year, so it should be a good game. It might even be a preview of the AFC Championship Game. That would be cool. Whoever wins basically gets homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, which is nice. Both teams already have a first round bye. Then on Monday we have school and musical tryouts, and hopefully the results will be posted on Tuesday at school before our break begins on Wednesday. I can't wait for Christmas break. It will be nice to be able to relax for a while. The musical starts and the end of the year will come quickly. At which point I will need to have a college decision made. I might work on that some today with my mom. There are a couple schools that have both of the majors that I want, but two of them are in Southern California. Not that I'm complaining, I just don't think my parents want me quite that far away. It would be awesome though. This is the awesomest time of the year.

So way back at the beginning of the school year I was sure what school I wanted to go to and what I wanted to major in. Now I'm not so sure. And I don't know what to do about. I guess I still have a little time to decide. But I was absolutely sure about what I wanted to do. Why am I second guessing? I don't even know how to go about deciding what to do. What do I want to do with my life after I'm through with college? Don't know. Maybe I'll just go to a college with a lot of majors so I can switch a couple times and have choices. Who knows? It'll work out.

Snow is pretty cool. I don't want a cancelation tomorrow, but I would be completely alright with a two hour delay. I wish life would just stop and let me catch my breath. I feel like I'm always running, and sometimes I just need the chance to simply be. Not doing anything, just being. That would be awesome. Since that isn't realistic in today's on the go society, I am trying to make time to just be. All after school activities were cancelled, so now I am going to have a bunch of time. I don't really know what I'm going to do yet, but maybe thiis is the time I can use to just be.

Musical auditions are this week. Today was the singing part, and it went okay, but it definitely was not even close to the best i could sing it. Tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday are the reading auditions. That should go better I think. And then we wait until she makes her decision. Regardless of the outcome, I think it should be a really fun show. With Christmas break coming soon, classes are starting to get ready for that last test that can get slipped in before the holidays. I'm not really a big fan of those pre-break tests. I don't think we should do anything for about five days before break. Just a thought.

The Last Slice

As dinner comes to a close, the dessert option is brought out. The main course is taken away and the pie or cake is served. The dish goes around the table and each member of the family takes a piece. The last two people are brothers. How is one supposed to divide this final slice? Who makes the rules of engagement in this test of brotherly love? A solution needs to be decided upon ahead of time so that there is no advantage to either person during the encounter. The older sibling getting the bigger piece is not cutting it anymore.
The most obvious solution is to cut two completely even slices. However, this method has some very large flaws. First, who makes the cut? If either of the brothers do it, bias is likely to be involved. This is easily solved by allowing a non-biased third party to enter the scene, such as a parent. Now there is the obstacle of who gets first pick. Regardless of how evenly cut the slices are, there are going to be differences that make one slice better than the other. Take a slice of cake, for example. One of the slices is bound to have better icing, making the slices uneven. The same is true for any other dessert dish. The disproportionate pieces make it difficult to see this as a fair way to divide the slices.
To solve the uneven slice problem, the brothers can use a random method of picking their piece. One random method could be having the third party pick a number and allow the brothers to guess it. Whoever guesses closest gets to pick first. Another easy randomization technique is rock-paper-scissors. Randomness can be unfair, and it is possible to stack the results in favor of one person. These randomization techniques are the second best solution, but there is still room for improvement.
The ultimate solution to the dilemma of the last slice is, ‘I cut, you choose.’ One of the brothers takes the knife, and carefully considers the most equal way to divide the piece into two slices. He makes the cut, and the second brother is free to choose the slice of his choice. This provides significant incentive for brother number one to make the slices even, because otherwise brother number two will get the bigger half. The next time this situation arises the roles are reversed, and brother number two makes the cut while brother number one picks his piece first. This eliminates bias and also provides a way around one brother getting lucky a significant amount of the time. In addition, neither one will be able to complain about the end result because he was in the process. The first brother has the opportunity to make the slices completely even, and the second brother has the chance to pick the bigger or better slice if it exists.
The most effective way to solve the issue of the last slice is to create a system that forces the brothers to make the slices even on their own. The ‘I cut, you choose’ method does just that. No longer will the younger brother eternally get the raw end of the deal. With this innovative solution the brothers will divide the slices as evenly as is physically possible.

The chorus concert is tonight. That should be interesting. I'm not sure that it is going to be perfect, but really, who cares? And next week is musical auditions, which people care a considerable bit more about. Saturday the LEF church choir is singing at Christmas Candylane. That should be fun. We sound pretty good. Calvin and Hobbes is so good!

Why do I do things that I regret time and time again? I say something dumb, and say to myself 'self, never do that again.' Three days later in the same situation I do the same dumb thing. It applies to other things too. Actually just sin in general. Romans 6-8 kind of covers how I'm feeling right now. Shaun Groves put it pretty well in his song, Twilight. We become stuck in this area in between the night and the day, the wrong and the right. We know what the right thing to do is, but we have trouble doing it and slip back into our darkness. It feels like there should be a way to stop myself from doing dumb things repetetively. But I just can't. Sure I usually learn from my mistakes, but I sometimes end up doing it anyway, just because that's the way I have done it. For example, I'm trying to cut down on saying things that might hurt people even if that wasn't the way I intended it. But again and again I say something that makes someone upset. Why? I don't know. Every time I say, 'self, that was the last time you're ever going to do something dumb like that.' But the next time the opportunity is there to say a sarcastic or mean comment to someone I don't necessarily like, I will probably do it. It's like a really bad habit that just won't go away no matter how hard I try to get rid of it. I can understand why it's is hard for people to quit smoking. Even if it isn't something you like or want in your life, the addiction is there because you have done it for so long that it is engrained in your system. How can we get around this obstacle of the twilight area? I don't know, yet, but I'm going to do a study on Romans and see if Paul has more to say about what I'm going through.

So I just saw a brief summary of a recent Boston Celtics game, and Kevin Garnett just completely chewed out Glen 'Big Baby' Davis after the bench players almost blew a 25 point lead. And yes that is his real nickname. Davis then proceeded to get upset, walk over to the bench, put a towel over his head, and come very close to tears. I don't know what Garnett said, but was it really bad enough to come that close to crying in front of the whole world? I don't understand. It must have been pretty bad to get that upset about it. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in professional sports before.

So apparantly my blog is under review as a spam blog or something? Don't really know what that is but if this gets shut down I'm pretty sure it won't be good for my English grade.

How to Write Proper
Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Always avoid alliteration.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Contractions aren’t necessary and shouldn’t be used.
Avoid clichés like the plague – they’re old hat.
Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place, do’nt put it in the wrong place, and omit it where its not needed.
Don’t use two words where one is sufficient enough.
DON’T use too much emphasis at once.
If you’re writing web pages, never underline anything that’s not a link.
Long sentences without any punctuation are hard to read so break them up into shorter sentences and punctuate where appropriate so that everyone can read them and understand what they say.
Also, don’t write run-on sentences, break them up just the same.
As I’ve told you a million times, don’t exaggerate.
Eliminate quotations, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
Don’t make generalisations – they’re bound to be false.
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
Watch out for the many irregular verbs that have creeped into our language.
That a clause can be the subject of another is wrong.
And finally, never begin or end a sentence with and.

Somebody in the UK had way too much time on his hands.

So last night we had our madrigal feast, and we have another one tonight. I just woke up at 1230. And I have to be back over there around 4. This day is just flying by. And I have a bunch of stuff to do tomorrow too. This weekend is just going to fly by. That isn't really cool. I'm not okay with that. At least it's soon Christmas vacation. That is a major plus. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol is a pretty good song, plus it is really easy on piano. :) I am trying to learn the Fray How to Save a Life, but I don't know the chorus yet. Maybe I'll do that today. Or maybe I'll just be lazy since tonight is going to be a long night. Yeah, that sounds like the best idea.

Christmas is soon here! That's pretty cool. Because that means snow, Christmas songs, seeing college friends, no school, and all that good stuff. I can't wait. I guess I should go Christmas shopping sometime before then. Maybe I'll just skip the days right before Christmas and go then. Since we don't do anything in school those days anyway. Not sure that my mom will agree with me, but maybe if I get her something really nice. Really really really nice. Manchester United are the greatest! Young Argentinian striker Carlos Tevez struck four times in their win today. How about that for one outing. I'm not sure if Argentinian is the correct way to say that. Argentininite. Argentinoan. I don't know. I don't even know how to say that I'm from Lebanon. Lebanonian. Lebanese. Lebanonite. I kind of like that last one, but I'm pretty certain it isn't correct. Good stuff. I feel like learning a really cool song on piano right now, but I can't think of a really cool song that I want to learn. So I am just sitting here. I'll find one eventually.

I really don't feel like going to school tomorrow. I don't really feel like doing much of anything, actually. Not that I have a choice, but if I did I wouldn't choose school. The Steelers won last night. It was nice to see the Patriots taught a lesson in humility as they got smashed. James Harrison forced two fumbles on the day, so that was pretty cool.

Manchester United played today and beat Man. City 1-0. Thanks to Wayne Rooney. Cristiano Ronaldo took a soft red (after two yellows) and was sent off, leaving the Reds down a man. The Steelers play later today, and I'm really hoping that they can beat the Patriots because the Patriots are my least favorite team in the NFL. And it is rainy and gray, which is not my favorite weather. I can't win anymore at Tetris.

So today is only the second day of Thanksgiving break, but it feels like a lot longer then that since I haven't been in school since a week ago. And once we get back, there are only a few weeeks until Christmas. I can't wait! There are a few things that will happen between now and then, and I do have some things that need to get done, but it should still come really fast. This year has gone by pretty quickly so far. I hope it keeps moving this fast. I have a bunch of applications and stuff to fill out this weekend. And I should probably do it soon because otherwise I will go to hang out with people and it won't ever get done. And that wouldn't be good. Because my mom wouldn't be too thrilled. And that wouldn't be very good.

Tetris is addicting. For sure. I just set a record and somebody broke it. Not okay with me. Now I need to beat their new record. And I probably will play until I do break their record. Okay, I just beat her record. Yay. It only took one try too. I guess I'm just that good at Tetris. Haha, just kidding. I ate Thanksgiving lunch a couple hours ago and it still feels like I can't move. I ate a lot. And then some.

This thing just told me that there were conflicting editing attempts or something. So it deleted everything I had written. But anyway... I just got back from Delaware, and the water was cold, but it was fun, and I'm tired, and I'm going to sleep a lot tonight. I like Thanksgiving.

I am going to be in Lewes, Delaware until Wednesday. It should be a good time, as long as it warms up a little bit. If it doesn't I'm going to be really really cold. And it might not be quite as much fun. Then once I get back it's Thanksgiving vacation which should be fun. Until Tuesday rolls around and I need to go back to school. I'm pretty tired and I probably won't get any less tired over the next few nights so I think I might go to bed soon, even though it is early. Tetris is a fun game.

It's snowing! And it is actuallly staying on the ground!

Social Responsibility: Government or Church?
Politics today are blamed for much of what goes wrong in our country and our world. Democrats blame Republicans and vice versa. Both parties feel a different way about how the government’s resources should be used. Many church members take a strong stand on one side or the other. As a member of the universal church, I am involved. It is easy for us to say that the government should be taking care of the poor, or the government should enforce moral values. But is that really the job of government, or is that the job of the church? While we may want to sit back and say that politicians should take care of this issue and that issue, in reality many of these issues should be taken in by the church.
The Republican Party tends to take the stance that the government should be involved with traditional moral values such as gay marriage or abortion. The Democratic Party leans toward government activism and social change. The Democrats put more money toward programs for the poor while the Republicans put their attention on allowing you to live a gay lifestyle or have an abortion. But are either of these the responsibility of government? As defined in Political Science with Mr. Wentling a “state” (or country) is a body of people organized politically who are living in a defined territory that is sovereign. Garet Garrett said, “Formerly government was the responsibility of people; now people were the responsibility of government.”
Regardless of party affiliation everyone would agree that the government has responsibilities, but the church is responsible for many of the things we blame politicians for doing poorly in. Maybe the reason politicians fall short of our ideals is that it was never their job to handle these issues.
Democrats are pushing for more money to be given to the poor of our country. It seems like a good idea, because the people of our country who are not well off need support. However, according to Jesus, the church should be taking care of the poor. Multiple times in the Bible there are references to the churches responsibility to help the poor. In Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to the rich young ruler, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But this issue is not limited to the poor people living on our streets and in our slums. After Hurricane Katrina took ravished New Orleans, the government sent in workers to help in various ways. A few years later the area is still feeling the effects of the hurricane, but the media has moved on to other news and few people give a second thought to the people who are still trying to get their lives back to normal. There are still a few church organizations working on the area, but the area has a long way to go. Some people fault the government for not responding and giving enough support. But I think the church could have done a much better job. The Bible is clear that it is the church’s responsibility to help those in need, not the responsibility of the government.
Many people classify Republicans as the Christians, which is partially because many of the Republican planks stem from Christian morals. Republicans are pushing for laws restricting gay marriage and abortion. The government does not have the Constitutional power to enforce a law that would restrict someone’s rights. And yet many conservative evangelicals are trying to get the laws put in place. But maybe the law should not be there anyway. If the church would set a moral standard for the world, the government would not need laws enforcing morals. If Christians would rise up and provide the care and support that is necessary, many abortions would be prevented. Forcing morals on someone is the similar to forcing beliefs on someone. It is not an effective way of resolving the issue, because many times we try to correct the surface level problem when the real issue is the root level problem. If the church were to set a better example for the world and provide the necessary support, the root problem would be eliminated and therefore surface issues would also disappear. Some people would say that those who are not Christians might not know that what they are doing is wrong, so we should enforce the surface issues. But if we provide care and information, people would at least know what they were doing.
If the church would do a good job of caring for the poor and establishing a system of moral values, there would be absolutely no reason for the government of the United States or any other government to be involved in such issues. We, the church, need to stand up and take on the responsibilities that have been handed to us. We have a great responsibility that requires attention. The church has fallen behind, and the government should not be faulted for trying to take on a job that is not its own. The church should not get involved in areas that relate to the purpose of government, but at the same time we need to show that we can live the greatest commandment (love) in our daily life. This way, church and state can function together instead of coming into conflict with each other. It’s time for the church to step up it’s game.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is a quote that I really agree with. It is easy to be a good person when things are going well. In addition, I think I grow the most during times of challenge and controversy. Maybe it is simply that these are the times that I notice it the most, but it seems like the most substantial growth occurs during the hardest points in life.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
As a pacifist, this is a really cool quote. Hating those who hate me isn't going to help anything. It will only end up in more hate. But if I make the decision to bring in some love, the darkness can be extinguished. In my experience this is harder than it sounds. But it is a phenomenal idea that is definitely worth every effort to do.

I think I'm going to go see the new James Bond movie at some point over the next week or two. it looks decent. I don't think he is my favorite Bond, but he is better than most of them. I don't know when I'm going to find time to see it, but I have someone to see it with. So I'll just have to figure out a time that works.
Looking for the best possible outcome is usually good, right? Or is that just asking for failure? If the standards are set too high, will self-esteem go down as a result of the failed attempt at a high goal? Maybe it's better just to leave the standards low, so that it comes as a nice surprise when success comes. But if high goals aren't being sought after, is it possible for us to reach that level of success at all? I don't know. I personally fall on one side in some areas and on the other side in other areas.

I don't know why I just can't let go. It would be so much easier just to forget for a little while. Instead I sit here. Miserable. Waiting for something to happen, but realizing there's a good chance nothing will. For some strange reason, something is holding me in place. I don't know who or how or why. I just know that for some reason I can't take it that far. Someday maybe I'll understand why things are like this right now, but until then it is driving me crazy. I don't think I've ever lied to more people in my life. I lied to everyone today. Of course, now they can see it anyway, but that's okay because it is probably only the people who actually care who would randomly look on here. Everyone asked what was wrong. I said nothing. I'm just tired from the weekend. It couldn't be further from the truth. It has just been one of those days. And I don't know when things will get better. But I will put on a happy face, cause that's what the world wants to see. That's what people expect of me. Maybe not everyone, but alot of people think I've got it all together. Well, my newsflash for the day is that I don't have it all together.

The Steelers won yesterday.

I just got back from my roadtrip/college visit to Wilmore, Kentucky and Asbury College. During a three night stay I got a grand total of 12-14 hours. Needless to say, tomorrow should be interesting. We watched a couple movies, including the Prestige, Elf, and the Patriot. We played games until the middle of the night, and had a good time doing other stuff. Now I'm tired, and not really looking forward to the prospect of returning to real life. Although there will be some nice things I guess. Actually I can't think of too many right now, but I'm sure there is something. I am tired.

I'm going to Asbury for the weekend. Actually I'm leaving tomorrow morning, and I won't get back until Sunday night. I hope Mr. Miller is okay with less posts for this week, because I'm probably not going to get the chance to post until Sunday or Monday. I already got accepted there. I think that I want to take some serious theology/ philosophy classes in college. Because I like things where there are different possible answers. I didn't really like the last English paper where we had to review something. But I do think I will like this next one. It is an argument, which I think is probably when I write better. My fantasy football team won last weekend by three points. That's pretty cool I guess. I can't wait to see a couple of my friends who go to Asbury. It is going to be amazing.

I just saw a YouTube video about Oprah and her religious views. Oprah was quoted saying something to the effect of 'One of the biggest mistakes humans make is to think they know the only way.' She commented that there were people in the far reaches of the world who may never have heard of Jesus, so for them there is another way to get to God. It's a very post-modern viewpoint, and it seems really wrong according to Christian beliefs. In the quote she was saying that whatever way works for you is the right thing for you to believe. She raises a good question for those people who do not have the opportunity to hear the Gospel. She went on to take the question a step too far, potentially. So at this point I can see the possible concern, but I can also see a bit of Oprah's point. But the video goes on to make it political. It brought it Obama, and made it look like he also was post-modern to the extreme. And that really bugged me because not all Republicans are Christians and not all Democrats are non-Christians. That is far from the truth, and it is a stereotype that bugs me to no end. Okay, I say to myself, this is just some conservative Republican trying to bash Obama by taking down anyone who agrees with him (this was posted before the election). But the video isn't over yet. It goes on to compare both Obama and Oprah to the KoolAid Cult of Jim Jones. I couldn't believe it. I would put it down to politics again, but are you serious? Have things gone that far? Even John McCain and George Bush would be offended by this. It's okay, even good, to disagree with one another. That's what makes this country so great. But for real, putting Obama and Oprah down as cult leaders might be a bit far. While I may not agree with Oprah's apparent religious beliefs, she is concerned with the wellbeing of people, unlike Jim Jones who was only concerned with his own power. I am really tired or I would go on about this for a while longer. If you want to discuss it with me, let me know. I would be more then glad to have a discussion about it.

I only got six hours of sleep every night except one over the four day weekend. That is ridiculous. On Saturday I helped reshingle a roof. I'm not sure if that is a word, but that's what it was. First we ripped off the old roof layer, and then we removed a few rotten pieces of wood. Then we put new wood down and began to put the new stuff on. It was fun working with Dave S. and Dave M., but I got a blister. I mean, it never even formed into that little pocket of fluid, it just ripped a bunch of my skin right off. Yeah it hurts a lot. Because every time I move my knuckle it rubs and gets stretched. So hopefully that heals quickly.

Yay the election is over! Our play is this week. I bought my suit for it last night. I only paid one dollar. It was a pretty good deal. Actually the suit isn't in very good shape, but it works for a costume. The Steelers won on Monday night! They remain on top of their division, which is very good. It would be pretty cool for us to win the division again. This is our last day of school this week. That's pretty cool. Next week I am going on a college visit so I am only in school three days. Now I am going to go sleep a couple periods because I only got four weeks of sleep. Actually I meant only four hours. Thats how tired I am.

The election is going on right now. I can't wait for it to be over. I think the candidates are really quite ridiculous. We spend so much money on bashing the opposing side that we forget that we are all Americans. I don't like how some people don't even know the policies of the candidate they vote for, they just vote based on what party the person is in. I think that there are times when the best person for president is Republican and there are times when the best person is Democrat. There are also times when the best person is neither. Because of our two party system, we never give those other candidates a second thought for our vote, unless we want to make a statement. I don't know what the better solution is, unless we go back to the theocracy of David and Solomon's time. And it doesn't look as if that is in the near future, so I guess we're stuck with what we have now.

The National Honor Society induction was tonight. I had to give a speech and stuff. Not really the best night of my life, but now I get to watch the Steelers game. They better win. They've lost to every NFC East team that they have played. And they haven't lost to anyone else. How ridiculous is that. Calvin and Hobbes is officially the best comic strip in the world, and they are my role models. Whenever I wonder what to do in a situation, I just think to myself, 'self, what would calvin or hobbes do?' And I find the answers to all of life's questions.

Louis Armstrong, Babe Ruth, Al Capone, Women Vote,
Charlie Chaplin, Mein Kampf, Sacco and Vanzetti

Prohibition, King Tut’s Tomb, Winnie-the-Pooh, Time,
Flappers, Lindbergh, Bubble Gum, Sliced Bread, and Houdini

BBC, League of Nations, Lie Detector, Jazz Singer,
Car Radio, Ragtime, Sigmund Freud, and Insulin

Reader’s Digest, Mickey Mouse, Oxford English Dictionary,
Stock Market, Picasso, Mussolini, Penicillin

CHORUSWe didn't start the fireIt was always burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't start the fireNo we didn't light itBut we tried to fight it
Louis Armstrong was an innovative performer who helped shift jazz from group improvisation to solo improvisation. He was known first as a cornet player, then as a flashy trumpet player, and finally for his raspy singing voice. Armstrong was very influential and has many awards and recognitions.
Babe Ruth was a baseball player in the twenties. He is considered to be the best baseball player ever in many circles. His homerun hitting abilities were unmatched by anyone during his time. He set many records in MLB, some of which are still standing today. He was one of the first players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Al Capone was a famous gangster from Chicago during the Roaring Twenties and the Prohibition Era. He became known as Scarface because of some scars he received from a brawl in Brooklyn. He murdered men early in his life, and is part of the reason Chicago had such a bad name during the 1920’s.
Women Vote- Women got the right to vote after years of lobbying and many people giving their time and energy towards the cause. President Woodrow Wilson tried to push Congress to pass the bill that would become the 19th Amendment, and give women the right to vote in the U.S.
Charlie Chaplin was an English comedian who acted, composed music, mimed, and directed. He was popular near the beginning of the Hollywood Era, and is still looked at today as one of the best mimes ever to be filmed. His silent movies are still found commonly in video stores across the country.
Mein Kampf was a book written by Austrian Adolf Hitler, who went on to become the leader of Germany and a central part of World War II. It propagated many ideas of Hitler which were illustrated larger than life when he took over power in Germany and attempted to eliminate the Jews and those who were of the ‘inferior race.’
Sacco and Vanzetti were immigrants to America who were executed under questionable circumstances. Many people believe that they were innocent and should not have been executed. It is widely believed that there was not enough evidence to make such a decision, and people feel that they may have been executed simply because they were from parts of Europe which had a bad name in America at the time.
Prohibition was the attempt in America to eradicate the use of alcohol by making it illegal. However, it had the opposite effect as there was a rise in illegal selling and trading of moonshine all over the country. One city that is considered a center of this rebellion is Chicago. Al Capone helped create this anarchy and lack of law enforcement that the Roaring Twenties became famous for- from illegal bars, to gangs, Prohibition seemed to magnify the situation.
King Tut’s Tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. Most Egyptian kings were buried in pyramids, and many of the artifacts were stolen or destroyed by the time archaeologists got to them. It was an important find because the tomb was still sealed, and therefore the artifacts were all there in their original position, which gave archaeologists a better look at Egyptian kings than was available previously.
Winnie-the-Pooh is a children’s story which was written by A. A. Milne. The story originally came out of his son, Christopher Robin Milne, and his adventures with his stuffed animals. Many of his animals have the same names in the storybooks and movies that have been made since Winnie-the-Pooh was first published in a newspaper in 1925.
Time magazine was published on March 3, 1923. Time was started by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce. It was the first ever weekly news magazine in the United States. Time attempts to tell the news through writing about people. Many of the covers feature one person, and the first person ever to appear on the magazine was Joseph G. Cannon.
Flappers were the new breed of women in the 1920’s who wore shorter skirts than was considered acceptable, bobbed their hair, drinking, smoking, listened to jazz, used excessive makeup, drove cars, and treated sex casually. Basically they ignored all social norms and showed their dislike for accepted behavior.
Lindbergh was the first person to fly across the Atlantic in an airplane. He made the flight from New York to Paris in the one-seating plane, Spirit of St. Louis. Charles Lindbergh made the flight on May 20-21, 1927. Lindbergh used his overnight fame to promote U.S. aviation through the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Bubble Gum was perfected in the 1920’s by a man who worked for Fleet Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia. His name was Walter Diemer. He was an accountant, but in his spare time he played around with new bubble gum recipes. Every other early form of bubble gum was too sticky and broke easily. This new form discovered by Diemer was not sticky and it did not break easily.
Sliced Bread is a ‘loaf of bread which has been pre-sliced for convenience. The first sliced bread was sold in 1928 by Chillicothe Baking Company. Sliced bread was then a competing industry, and companies raced to create the best storage device for the bread. After slicing the bread, companies needed to figure out a way to keep the bread together so that it would not spoil as quickly.
Houdini was a well-known escape artist, magician, stunt performer, film producer, actor, and investigator of spiritualists. He is widely regarded as the best escape artist ever. He died in 1926 as a result of apparent appendicitis. It is widely speculated that the appendicitis was a result of a student from McGill University hitting him to test Houdini’s claim of being able to withstand any hit.
BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC was started in 1922 by a group of telecommunication companies to broadcast experimental radio services. In 1927 BBC was granted a Royal Charter and ceased to be a privately owned business. Today BBC is known as a reliable source whose purpose is to educate, inform and entertain.
The League of Nations was the international organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The goals of the League of Nations included disarmament, preventing war between nations, improving quality of life throughout the world, and settling disputes through diplomacy rather than war.
Lie Detectors were not used often because of their unreliability. In 1920, a device was developed that recorded both blood pressure responses and galvanic skin response of the patient. The device was first used in Berkeley, California under the command of nationally renowned police chief August Vollmer.
Jazz Singer was a major breakthrough in the movie business. It represented the shift from the old silent movies into the new age of talking movies. The movie had the words synchronized to the movement of the actors. This was the beginning of a new era for the movie business and it set the stage for many more breakthroughs soon to come.
Car Radio was developed in the Roaring Twenties, although it was not available to the average person until later. The car radio allowed people to listen to the radio while they were on the move from one place to another. It was a huge breakthrough because the radio needed to be downsized in order to fit in the car. Many of the radios of the 1920’s were big and bulky, so it was a breakthrough to even think about putting a radio in the car.
Ragtime was a form of American music which set the stage for many movements which in the Twenties were considered somewhat radical. Scott Joplin is considered the king of ragtime. His radical ragtime rampages set the stage for jazz and blues music to come.
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian psychologist who developed many theories which were radical for his era. Although a large portion of these theories have been proven invalid, some of his theories persist. He is still considered an important psychologist because of his breakthroughs, particularly in the area of defense mechanisms, sexual desires, and psychoanalysis.
Insulin is ‘a hormone with extensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems.’ It had been experimented with before, but it was not until the Roaring Twenties that it was discovered to be a cure for diabetes. J. J. R. Macleod was the man who discovered the relation to diabetes.
Reader’s Digest is a general interest, family friendly magazine which was founded in 1922 by Lila Bell Wallace and DeWitt Wallace. Reader’s Digest became a great success, and eventually went international. Today, sales have declined but it is still among the most sold magazines in the history of the world.
Mickey Mouse’s birthday is November 18, 1928. That is the date that Steamboat Willie was released. Mickey Mouse has gone from a cartoon character to a symbol for the company that owns his name, Disney. Mickey’s original name was Mortimer Mouse, but thankfully Walt Disney’s wife told him that Mortimer was not a good name choice.
The Oxford English Dictionary was first published in 1928. The dictionary had been a work which had been in the process for a while, and once it was published, Oxford University was finished with the project. However, time went on and the English language continued to change. The dictionary has had revisions since 1928, adding new words and updating outdated ones.
The Stock Market was a central figure in the Roaring Twenties, especially as the thirties approached. Although the Stock Market is remembered by the crash of 1929, the Stock Market was a symbol of wealth and success. People were making more money and new things were being developed, so people could afford to invest their money into stocks.
Picasso was a famous artist from Spain. He produced modern forms of art which were radical expressions. The prices of his paintings today vary, but some of his paintings have been sold for 45 million dollars, 95 million dollars, and 105 million dollars.
Mussolini was the leader of Italy during World War II. His rise to power occurred during the 1920’s. He became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922, and stayed in power in Italy until his death in 1945, at the end of World War II.
Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Sir Alexander Fleming. Penicillin was a huge breakthrough for medicine, although the people who worked on extracting it were not working on the project for suffering people. Many of them were only working on it because it was an interesting scientific exercise says Australian Nobel Laureate Howard Florey.

I don't feel very good. It might just be from the cold weather and stuff, or maybe just because this hasn't been the best day every. All I know is that I don't feel as good as I normally do. The weather people said that we might get some snow/freezing rain. In northern PA and NY there was a bunch of snow today. As of right now all we have gotten is a bunch of rain. Which is pretty miserable, because it is windy and I don't like wind. I'm supposed to do prelude and offertory for church this week, but I don't have anything prepared. And I don't really feel like getting anything ready right now. This could turn out badly. One week until showtime!

The Phillies are up 2-1 right now. Hopefully they can pull out the win so they can win the World Series in Philly. Otherwise they will need to go back down to Florida. That would not be cool. So let's go Phillies! Next week is our show week for Arsenic and Old Lace. We still do not have all of our lines down, but it is coming together and it should be a good show. Okay now the Phillies are tied 2-2. And now they are up to bat again. Come on Phils, put another couple runs up and finish out the game strong. After that I'm not sure what I will do after school. I might start working out again, because I should probably do that. We will see. Until then, I need to memorize my lines. And the Phillies need to win the World Series. Then everything will be good.

Chris Rock was on David Letterman about a month ago, and he says that when he hangs out with Bill Clinton he tries to stay away from the smart topics because he isn't that smart. Chris also said Bill needs to get over himself because Hillary lost the election. He says it wasn't sexism that lost the election, because she lost to a 'black guy nobody heard of.' Rock says he is out on the front line every day. He says that he was shooting for an HBO special all over the world, and he discovered that the dollar was worthless. Chris Rock was on the same night as Bill Clinton.

We tried to get onto this one website, and it didn't work because it was blocked. So that isn't cool. And now I am blogging. Because Mr. Miller is doing relaxation techniques. Deaven brought cookies in today. I didn't eat one yet. Maybe I will. I don't know. The Phillies won last night. That is a really good thing. I am happy about that. People bother me. Just saying. I guess I shouldn't say too much more or I could get myself in trouble. Larry Johnson isn't playing this Sunday to give him a chance to get his life back on track. Because he says he wants to. We'll see if that actually happens. It would be nice to see a professional sports star do the right thing for once. Mr. Miller is writing about us on the smart board. This is a good class. I like it a lot.

WHY?

One of the most amazing couples in that I know are going through a tough time in their life. This couple got married a few years ago, and they were the picture perfect couple. It appeared that they were destined for a lifelong marriage of incredible closeness and friendship. Less than one year later, Jen began having grandma seizures. Debilitating seizures that left her unable to function. Ryan stood by her every step of the way. He carried her around the house, did all the laundry and dishes after working a full time job. She couldn't even do her work, she had to stay home. It was a tough time, but Ryan stuck by her and supported her in every way. About six months ago Jen had surgery and the part of her brain that was supposedly causing the seizures was taken out. The procedure can never be repeated. In July she had another huge seizure, and two weeks ago she had yet another one. The surgery was an extreme one; they didn't know what they would do if the surgery didn't work. And now she is having more problems. Ryan is working a full-time job at EMM as the head of DM. And it is really hard for him to go through this with his wife, and to see her suffer so much. It doesn't make sense to me. WHY DO THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN?

Everyone has to do their psychology project. And I can sit here and laugh because I did it last year. And they all laughed then, so I think that gives me every right to laugh now. I got accepted at another college I applied to. And I got a pretty nice scholarship, so that's cool. I still haven't finished all of my applications. I really need to get on that.

The Concept of Belief
Since the beginning of mankind, belief has caused war after war and split after split. According to Wikipedia, belief is “the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.” To a high degree, belief is subject to the upbringing and surroundings of the believer. There is no ‘absolute belief’ existing in the world today. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines belief as “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.” This removes any thought that belief is reserved to religion. While belief is a large part of religion, it is also a huge part of a non-religious person’s life. Belief is difficult to define and remains vague in most definitions because each person believes something different from the person next to them.
In his song Belief, John Mayer sings about how much belief can affect us and how dangerous it can be if we are not careful. ‘What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand/ Belief can, Belief can/ What puts the folded flag inside his mother's hand/ Belief can, Belief can.’ Our beliefs can have drastic impacts on the world and other people. According to one of the most common interpretations of this lyric, the sand stands for the Middle East and the folded flag inside his mother’s hand stands for all of the soldiers who have been killed in the War on Terror. Using this interpretation, Mayer is saying our belief that democracy is the best way and thinking we (U.S. citizens) have the answers can be dangerous. Our country moved into Afghanistan and Iraq with the belief that we were setting those

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people free. Instead, thousands and thousands of innocent people were killed, and the problems are still not solved.
At another point in the song Mayer implies that everyone has beliefs and no one wants to step down and lose them. He goes on to say, ‘We’re never gonna win the world/ We’re never gonna stop the war/ We’re never gonna beat this if belief is what we’re fighting for.’ Since everyone has their own beliefs specific to their surroundings, when we go into a war with the idea of giving someone else our beliefs it may not be possible to win.
Belief does not only relate to war and John Mayer songs. Religion is one of the most common forms of strong beliefs. Whether one has Muslim or Christian beliefs, or believes that no God exists at all, most people have a strong stance on religious beliefs. However, even within one religious group there can be many splits. In Christianity there are many splits in belief; Roman Catholic, Methodist, Mennonite, Brethren in Christ, the list goes on and on. History tells us that differences in religious beliefs can cause wars and persecution to the extreme. But belief is not only something radical and religious. It does not only cause war and pain.
Belief is a fundamental part of our everyday lives. We eat low fat foods because we believe that it will help our health. We sit down on a chair because we believe that it will support our weight. We pray because we believe God listens and will answer. We cheer for the Phillies because we believe this could be the year. But in each of these situations, someone else could have the opposite belief. For example, fans of the Devil Rays believe it is their year to win the World Series (although they are wrong), and atheists do not pray because they believe there is no God and therefore He will not answer. But what causes us to believe what we believe?
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Our parents and upbringing have a large hand in what we believe. Role models that we had as kids can shape our lives as we try to be more like those people. Young minds are the most impressionable, so when we see our role model saying something we believe it must be right. The society in which we grow up also greatly affects our belief. Growing up in a twenty-first century U.S. leads us to believe that even the moon is not really that far away. It takes only slightly over half a day to travel to the other side of the world. But at the same time in a primitive, remote village in Nepal the other side of the world seems a lifetime’s journey away. The type of entertainment that surrounds us influences our beliefs more than we may even realize. So many factors go into determining our beliefs that it is not possible to expect two people to have identical beliefs.
Belief is an awesome and terrible thing. It is a characteristic that can distinguish one human from the next. It shapes our lives, our relationships, and our world. But it can cause tremendous damage when we try to force our beliefs onto another person. Our beliefs are the core of who we are, and while that is important to recognize, it is also essential that we remember that another person’s beliefs are the core of who they are as well. Max Born said, “The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world.” But we need belief in our lives. As Israeli heroin Hannah Szenes said, “One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one's life has meaning, that one is needed in this world.”

I have really expensive taste. In shoes at least. I was in Boscov's buying dress shoes, and the prices were on the bottom of the shoe, so I couldn't see them. There was a sign that said the prices were from $39-99. Without looking at any prices, my favorite was the $99 shoe. Of course that would happen. Needless to say, I quickly found another favorite shoe that was half the price. Tonight is the homecoming dance. It looked really nice when we were setting up this morning, and it should be a fun time. I don't know if I am going to do anything afterwards or not. That will be a gametime decision I guess. Speaking of gametime, I think Penn State plays in about an hour.

This week has been a fun week. After my teeth began to hurt less anyway. I am actually looking forward to this afternoon and tonight at the football game should be fun. Tomorrow we have to decorate everything and get ready for the dance tomorrow night which should also be fun. Except the decorating part. I also need to get shoes for the dance. That would be tomorrow afternoon. Then I am going to go hang out with friends after the dance. Looks like a good weekend to me!

My mouth is very sore after a full day of school and doing stuff. I really cannot wait until my mouth goes back to normal and I don't have to take drugs to reduce the pain slightly. It is a horrible feeling, and I am probably a jerk to everyone. So to all of you, I am sorry for that. Once everything with my tooth implant gets completed I think it will be awesome, but until then the process stinks. Plus I can't eat real food, so that does nothing to improve the way I feel. In other news, the Phillies won last night in L.A.

There were quite a few upsets in the NFL yesterday. The Phillies lost too. They should win tonight, though. The Cowboys and Redskins both got beat by teams they should have destroyed. That is good news for Eagles fans, because the Eagles pulled out a win against the 49ers and are not as many games back in the division now. The Steelers had a bye week but are still strongly on top of the division. Today I need to write my political science paper as well as memorize lines for Arsenic and Old Lace, which shows in about three weeks. My teeth still hurt, and I am pretty sure that one of the stitches came out. Hopefully that is not a bad thing, because there is not much I can do about it at this point. I see the guy on Friday again, so if it is bad he can tell me then.

My mouth still hurts a bunch. I really hope the pain and swelling go away soon. Because it sucks. The Steelers don't play today, but I think the Phillies are in LA for game 3 tonight. Calvin and Hobbes is officially the best comic strip ever. It really is an incredible comic strip. I have watched movies and played video games and watched tv, and that is just about it for the past few days. Not exactly the way I like to spend my weekends. But I guess it is a good thing in the long run. This week is homecoming for us, so there should be a lot of fun stuff going on. I don't know what I'm going to do the rest of the day, but hopefully I find something fun to do because it's getting a little bit boring doing nothing and being in pain.

So oral surgery is definitely a bad thing. That is an official. My mouth hurts so much, and the pain killers aren't making it go away. Tomorrow it will hopefully feel better, but I still probably won't do too much. Maybe watch a few movies, play video games, watch tv, and eat yogurt. On Sunday I hope to actually do stuff, so I am really hoping that this pain disappears by then.
We won our last game last night against division rival Donegal 2-1. It was a great way to end our season, and as a senior it was a good way to end my career. We have the most phenomenal coaching staff ever, and I think that played a huge part in our good season. If these coaches are planning on sticking around, we could be looking at some fantastic teams over the next few years.

So now there is absolutely no chance of us going to districts. That was a disappointing loss last night. I wish we could have pulled out a stronger game against our county rivals. But the only thing we can do is put it behind us and finish the last two games strong, and hopefully upset the top of the table. The Steelers found a way to win this week. Actually they should have won by a lot more. Ben had about 250 passing yards in the first half alone. But because of other issues, it remained a close game. Eventually their line will probably catch up to them, but if they can keep pulling out wins their line may gel and even exceed expectations. I get surgery on Friday. Hopefully that goes well.

Yesterday was terrible. Except that we won the football game. Today I slept in, did some work around the house, and then went to LVC's soccer game against Albright. LVC won 5-2, which was awesome. Hopefully I can do something tonight, and tomorrow might be busy. This is the last week of soccer already. I can't believe it. I like our Homecoming song this year. It's So Close by Jon McLaughlin.

I need to edit and revise my English Comp paper that is due tomorrow. Soccer practice was pretty easy today, but it was really chilly. I hope we do better tomorrow than the last time we played Central. That was pretty humiliating. Next week we have three games and then our season is over. That is going to be weird. It has been an amazing year, helped out by the coaching staff being awesome. The team should be even better next year. Our football team needs to rebound after last weeks loss at Annville. That was not cool. I need to submit another college application.

We just lost our game. It was a pretty bad night overall. Hopefully tomorrow is a lot better. I need to go into school early for court pictures. But first I need to eat supper and decide what I am going to wear tomorrow. I am really sore, and I don't really feel like doing anything. It hurts every morning when I wake up, which is not fun. But soccer is an amazing sport and I'm going to miss it when this season is over.

I'm applying for more colleges. At least another one tonight hopefully. Tomorrow we have a game against Cocalico, which is our first step if we want to think about districts. Homecoming court was anounced today, and I'm going to be Ashlee's escort thing. That should be cool. Only five soccer games left in my high school career. This year has gone by quickly, and the next few weeks look as if they may go even faster.

We just beat Lancaster Catholic. It was a hard fought game and I am really sore. But I am also running on a lot of adrenaline right now, so I won't be getting sleep any time soon. If we get three more wins, we make districts. That would be the first time in a while for our boys soccer team, and it would be amazing to show the world what a couple good coaches can do for a team. We play another tough team on Wednesday, but if we pull it together for a full 80 minutes we can definitely win. I am really sore, hopefully I can sleep that off. Tomorrow we're going to the girls field hockey game to cheer them on. It would be awesome to see them pull out a win. Why is the Steelers line horrible?

As I walk into the room in the corner of the basement, the warmth of the room is a welcome contrast to the brisk cold of the mid-September air. The three battered old sofas are lined up in the same fashion they always are; in the shape of a semicircle. The couches have seen more than their fair share of use. The one on right, the largest one, does not have all its legs holding it up anymore. It is very soft to the point of being too soft. The light tan and green colors swallow the youth up, sinking into a deep hole that leaves everyone too low to the ground to be properly comfortable. The middle couch is by far in the worst condition of the three. The couch has only two cushions, but can comfortably seat three people. The center of the couch is missing springs. When someone sits down in the middle, he or she continues to sink, and the resulting position is rather uncomfortable. The couch closest to the door finishes the left side of the semi-circle. This couch is the most comfortable of the three couches. Its outer coating of cloth is the same design as that of the center couch; an off-white body with gray and blue lines running vertically.
The focal point for the semi-circle is a white board, which tonight has been furnished with all sorts of announcements wittily drawn by a skilled artist. To the left and right of the white board there are notes of potential interest to members of youth group. Youth group regulars who end up in the news can be found on the tack board to the right of the white board. Letters from youth group members who have moved on to college also adorn the tack board. There are fascinating pamphlets relating to the various ministries the church is connected with. To the left of the white board there are pictures of the most recent mission’s trip the youth group has gone on. The white board and tack boards are on a removable wall. The entire wall can be pushed down, leaving the basement available for fellowship meals. On the opposite side of the room there are two windows at ground level. In between the two windows is a gigantic tack board. This one is full of random pictures containing members of youth group at events. Many of these pictures are old, a reminder of the youth group that existed in the past. After seeing the people in these pictures and the twenty or so people currently populating this room, it is clear that some changes have occurred. The people in the pictures show a playful spirit, and an easy to get along with attitude. Throughout the room the story is different. A girl puts her hood up and then pulls it down over her eyes, as if no one can tell she just wants to sleep. A boy on the sofa to the right rolls his eyes in a condescending manner. The noises that now fill the room are not same as they were a few years ago. Multiple conversations go on all at one time, with few people caring what someone on the other side of the room might be saying. Where there was once unity, now there is separation. Where there had been love, now there is dislike. A boy with turrets has an outbreak of noise, and the boy on the tan sofa imitates him and snickers.
There is a table near the door. On it there is a Staples set of easy organization drawers. Inside there are pens, pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, note cards, and a plethora of other activity supplies. Also on the table is a plastic container with a red screw on top that is used to collect the offering. Between the center and right couches there is a small bookshelf full of Christian music and literature. On top of the three and a half foot bookshelf there is a radio. To the right of that shelf lies a stack of large pillows. Some of the pillows are already in use around the room, and more will disappear from the pile as people try to make sitting on the floor as comfortable as possible. As everyone settles in I realize that this youth room is home, and it’s peculiarities are part of what makes it so special.

Which team will win the Super Bowl this at the conclusion of this season? This is a difficult question because only a few games have been played so far this season. Many people will exhibit a bias towards their favorite team, since every team is still in the running for the national title. The results also demonstrate a potential geographic bias- people are more likely to pick the team they live near and read about in the newspaper every day. In this situation, the ‘hometown’ teams are mainly Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. The survey asked high school students in Lebanon County who would win the Super Bowl.
ESPN.com has a power poll. This poll basically shows what teams are doing very well, what teams are very weak, and what teams fall in the middle of the pack. This power poll can help people see who is playing the best regardless of record. These listings are subjective because they are the opinions of analysts. The polls can also shift quickly because of injury and other issues. The record of the Patriots, for example, began at 2-0. However, their power poll rating dropped dramatically because of the season ending injury to Tom Brady. Likewise, teams that have a poor record currently can still find themselves high in the power poll ranks because they have the player talent and ability to keep up with the best teams. One such team would be the Chargers, who are relatively high in the rankings even after a poor 0-2 start. People know that they are better than their record was showing, so they still had respect even without a win under their belts.
The top five teams in the power poll this week are the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Titans, Steelers, respectively. These are the teams that are at the top of their game and have the ability to control any game. The Chargers are 9th even with their poor record. There are eight teams below them who have better records. This poll puts things in perspective because it shows what teams are expected to do well even with poor starts. When compared with the team’s record, this can be a great tool to pick who is going to continue to do well as the season goes on. The official NFL website (nfl.com) also is a great resource with many articles and tons of video footage of games and highlight reels. These allow people to see for themselves how good they think the teams actually are, instead of taking an ESPN commentators word for it.
With all of these things considered, I would expect the Eagles and Steelers to get numbers of picks to win the Super Bowl. I would also expect teams that got off to fast starts to be high on the list. These teams would include the Cowboys and the Packers. The Packers had a poor showing this past week, but during the first two weeks they were quite impressive. Because Lebanon is generally considered Eagles country, I would expect votes for the Cowboys to be lower than they would in many parts of the United States. The Eagles and Cowboys are rivals, so even if an Eagles fan knows the Cowboys are good and have a good shot at winning, they will be reluctant to pick them as winners because of the intense rivalry.
The results were relatively unsurprising. The Steelers, Eagles and Cowboys had the highest scores, with Green Bay, the Giants, and the Chargers scoring the next level of votes. The Steelers and the Eagles were fairly obviously going to be on top. Both teams are in state and are playing pretty well at the moment. Miami registered some votes even though they are not a great team. A large part of that is the thumping they gave to the Patriots this past week. The Steelers ended up with the highest number of votes, although a majority of their votes came before this past week’s loss to the Eagles. The Eagles were the second highest team, and a bunch of their votes came after beating the Steelers. Early on in the survey they were not receiving many votes, probably because of their devastating loss to the rival Cowboys. The Cowboys were third highest even though in many parts of the country they would have received the highest number of votes.
The Giants are the defending Super Bowl Champs, and they stand undefeated at this point so they received the next highest number of votes. The Packers got votes early after a great week by their new starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, but their votes dropped off after the loss last Sunday night against Dallas. They also had a star player get a serious injury, so if the survey were to be redone at this point I would anticipate an even larger drop off in votes. The Chargers got a decent amount of votes even with a poor record. They lost two close games that they should have won, including one game lost from an officiating controversy. Not many people are counting them out of the race yet, even with a poor start. The statistics would show that they are still a dangerous team that can win on any given Sunday. The Titans are the surprise of the year so far, standing undefeated at 3-0. Many people are still used to them being a shabby team, so their votes were low for an undefeated team. A big surprise to me was the absence of many votes towards the Colts. They were an incredibly talented team a few years ago, but now find themselves hard-pressed to capture a victory.
The results for this type of survey would change on a week to week basis, so it is difficult to clearly find the answer to the question. Because the survey was local, it is difficult to capture an unbiased vote. However, the question was addressed to high school students in Lebanon County, and the majority of the students seem to feel that the state teams are going to do quite well this year, along with the NFC East Division (the Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants are all a part of the NFC East). Could there be an interstate Super Bowl? We can only sit back and observe in order to see how accurate the votes were.

Ms. Darrup came into our English calss to talk about college. We are supposed to start applying for college and college scholarships. Last night I applied for one, so I guess I'm sort of on target. I need to apply to a couple other colleges before too long. Hopefully I get a lot of scholarships so that I don't have a huge debt coming out on the other side of college. I am pretty sure that I know what I want to major in, but it would be nice to get some conformation for that if that is the direction God wants me to go.

I just applied to my first college. I am just about one hundred percent sure that I won't go there, but my mom wanted me to apply a few places anyway. Tomorrow is going to be a tough soccer game. They always sport a fast competetive squad and they are tough to beat. Then our schedule is easy for our Thursday game before getting hard again for last year's state champs on Saturday. We should definitely come out of the week with at least one win, maybe even a tie on top of that.

We tied last night two to two. We went into overtime and couldn't come out with a winner. We played decently as a team, but still had some issues finishing the ball. For us to win Tuesday we need to finish every opportunity we get. The Steelers lost today to the Eagles, which made me sad. But honestly I haven't really cared about football as much in the past two years as I used to. I don't know why, but it just seems that there are a lot more important things in my life. So I'm not too upset with the loss.

Today our football team has an away game. Hopefully a bunch of us can get out there to support our boys. It should be a big win for us, and we shouldn't have any issues staying undefeated. I am in English class right now. We are talking about naming and talking about details and that type of stuff. The Steelers play the Eagles this weekend for the Pennsylvania bragging rights. The Steelers won the last matchup by a large margin. Hopefully I will get to watch the game with Dave, who is an Eagles fan. That would be fun. Last night we lost to LS 5-1. Nik scored from half field 13 seconds before half time. The game wasn't really as far apart as the score showed. Hopefully we can pull out a win on Saturday night. That would be good for our confidence.

A leader is someone who guides. A leader exemplifies the qualities that he is asking his followers to show. A leader does not always need to be at the focus of the group. The most important duty of a leader is to work himself out of a job.
A leader is a guide. He does not stand back and tell other people what to do; instead he blazes the path when the going gets tough. A leader is not a boss, who tells everyone what to do. A leader uses himself as an example for others to follow. A leader will not be a hypocrite, saying one thing and doing another. A successful leader does not need to lead from the front. He can simply be a good example, realizing that those around him respect him and strive to do the things he does.
A truly successful leader is happy when his followers do greater things than he ever dreamed. When a leader works himself out of a job, and does not feel the need to hang on to the power that has been entrusted to him, the leader has been successful. A leader who is power hungry is dangerous, because instead of working to better those around him, he works to better his own position.
Some of the most effective leaders are servant leaders. They look to serve, and to help and encourage their followers to grow in every way possible. Leaders are examples, role models. By this definition, we are all leaders. According to a statistic I heard over the summer, there are twenty-six people that you have a significant influence on. That is a large responsibility.
We are not only the leaders of tomorrow, but we are also the leaders of today. People look up to us and watch what we do. Honor Society magnifies this idea. We have the responsibility of being good examples and watching what we say and do.
Leading is not necessarily a position. Leaders can simply be respected members of any group, who other members of the group look to as an example. Part of our responsibility as leaders is to be examples in our actions as well as our words. We owe it to the twenty-six people looking up to us to do the right thing and make the right choices. It is time Honor Society members became leaders instead of merely having a good thing to write on college applications.

A couple of girls from the soccer team have gotten or are getting surgery this fall. Two more will get surgery this week. Hopefully everything goes well and they can be back on their feet in record time. Today was a pretty crappy day. I don't really know why, except for our loss last night against a rival team. We shouldn't have lost by 3-1. Tomorrow we play LS, who is usually a much better squad than the team we lost to yesterday. It will be a tough, physical game. Coach gave me the Crunch Award, which is sort of like the game ball, but I don't really feel like I earned it. Since I play defence, I'm not satisfied with three goals scored on us. That isn't acceptable against a squad that we can beat. Our offense didn't have a great night either, and our mids didn't control the midfield, so I don't even think anyone should get an award for our performance. The second half went much better, and hopefully the next time we play them we can show them we are for real.

We are testing the internet in English class right now. That basically means we aren't doing too much. Manchester United is coming out with a new third kit, which is all blue. I think I might get a Reds jersey. We'll see. Today was the Tuesday morning Bible study, and it went pretty well. Next week someone else will be leading it, so that should be cool. Tonight we have a big soccer game and I am excited for that. We played volleyball on Saturday and that was pretty fun. I can't wait to play again soon.

The Steelers always seem to get at least one game each year that is played in hurricane conditions. I don't know why, but it has happened a few times over the past couple of years. Last night was this year's hurricane game. The Steelers played the Browns in Cleveland, and Hurricane Ike was overhead, creating gusts of 35 mph wind. That makes it really difficult to throw the ball. And since both teams knew that the other team would have to run, it was difficult to do anything. The Steelers won though so it's okay.
Tomorrow the soccer team plays ELCO. We don't like them very much, so it would be nice to pull out a win against a rival school. Last year they beat us twice, but hopefully we can turn that around the other way. We beat Pequea Valley 4-0 and they only beat them 1-0, so it looks like we've got a chance.

I got the bad guy part in the class play this year. I was hoping that I would get the chance to play a bad guy, and now I have that opportunity. It will take quite commitment because I have soccer on top of memorizing a lot of lines. It should be really fun.
I don't understand why someone who wants me to help them with math would be mean to me. Really now, if you want my help, try being nice. And I wouldn't be opposed to bribes. Or you could just pay attention in class so you don't need to be tutored outside of class. Now there's a brilliant idea.
Applying for college is really boring. I might only apply to one, it was actually that bad. Of course my mom won't understand, and I will end up applying to three or four.

For quite a few years, students at my school have been having a coffee shop Bible study before school. The tradition has been passed down from class to class. However, the coffee shop we had been going to closed because of the owner's health. So we finished off the year last year at someone's house instead of the coffee shop. Last year we spent most of our time socializing and not a whole lot of time was spent studying the Bible and praising God. This year things will be different. I am deciding to be responsible for once during my senior year and help to lead this early morning activity. I didn't even really get voted in, I sort of appointed myself and then asked for everyone's consent. So really I'm a dictator for life of this little time with God. Anyway, I was deciding what to do with this next Tuesday's cafe experience when I felt God laying love on my heart. Not erotus, the Greek word for love between a man and woman in marriage(physical). Instead God will be meeting us in a discussion about the kind of unfathomable love that God shows us. The love between a father and son, a mother and daughter. The kind of love that does not ask anything of anyone. Jesus tells us in Matthew that all of the commandments can be summarized into one: love God and your neighbor and yourself. How awesome is that? I can summarize the entire message of how to live a Christian life through a lesson on love. Jesus died for us when we were still sinners. There is no greater love than to be willing to die for someone who is disrespectful to you. In Sparticus, all of the guys are willing to die for their leader because he is an amazing person. But would you or I be able to die for someone who wanted us dead? Would I be able to honestly say that if I would have the chance, I would lay my life down for Adolf Hitler? Jesus did that. He died for us all. Hitler did awful things, and Christ loved him anyway. This unconditional love is incredible also in its infinite proportions. The love of Christ does not give us a certain amount of chances until we're done and doomed to hell. God gives us infinite, unconditional forgiveness through his incredible, unfathomable love. That is why love is the purest motivation for everything we do. It's late and i need to get to sleep, but God is good, and He loves us where we are at. And if we only remember one thing when we relate to other people, it should be the words from a Shaun Groves song. "When we love the least, we love Jesus." When we love those who annoy us, we love God. Keep that in mind the next time you want to flip out on someone. That is a challenge for me everyday. Okay, enough rambling. Peace in Christ who loves and died for all.

Mr. Miller
English Comp. Pd. 3
A Reminder that Life is Good
I remember so little of my seventh grade year. I know it was different from anything I had ever experienced before, but I do not have many specific recollections. I remember the late winter of that year like it was yesterday. I had just been bowling, a day or two earlier. My right ankle began to swell to gigantic size. I could not put any weight on it because of the magnitude of the pain. My dad was a doctor, and he requisitioned some crutches for me to use until I could walk on my foot again. We were concerned that it could be a spider bite from the rental shoe at the bowling alley. I took some anti-inflammatory drugs, and after a short time the swelling subsided and I was able to return to my normal activities. It was not a big deal; I could forget that experience and move on. However, it was not meant to work out that way. A few weeks later my right knee began to swell to tremendous size as well. My dad decided it would probably be best to head into the emergency to get everything checked out. At the hospital, I had thirty-three cubic-centimeters of thick fluid drawn out of my knee. The fluid came out like molasses on a cold day. The poor nurse was pulling as hard as she could, and only a small bit of fluid made its way into the test tube at a time. The needle that was being used to extract my unwanted fluid from my knee was quite large, and the entire process turned out to be excruciatingly painful. The doctor wanted to take a number of tests to see what type of disease could be causing this unusual reaction. So the nurse drew a blood from my arm, and the doctor checked off which tests he wanted to have performed. My father, also a doctor, brought up a disease or two that he thought it could possibly be. One of the diseases my dad wanted to have me tested for was Lyme’s disease. The doctor had not planned on having that test run. After conversing for a short time with my dad about my symptoms in a confusing and difficult to understand dialect that I call doctor language, the physician agreed that I should be tested for Lyme’s. At that point we did not even consider that a real possibility because I had never found a tick bite; it was more of a precautionary test. I went home from that emergency room visit with no answers. We just had to wait until the results came back from the numerous tests. A longer wait I have never endured in my life. There were so many possibilities. Near the top of our ‘possibility list’ was juvenile arthritis. This possibility scared me more than just about any of the other options, and for a time my parents and I considered it to be the most probably answer. That was an extreme low point for me. I was off my feet and unable to do much of anything, except to consider the possibilities. Juvenile arthritis scared me because it could mean that I was done with competitive sports and active activities forever. As a seventh grader, I could hardly think of a worse fate. After days of waiting, the results were finally in for all of the tests. The Lyme’s test had come back positive, but there was a fairly high percentage of false positive cases with this blood test. So I needed to have another more definite test. As a precautionary measure I was put right on oral antibiotics. The symptoms had gotten worse since that first swelling had appeared. Going into the next test I was tired all of the time and I was weak to the point where all I did was hang out on the couch. The new test came in the form of a spinal tap. When the needle went into my back the pain was phenomenal. My arms flung outwards as I tried to get away from the needle now entering my back. That test took some time to return, but when it did the test turned out to be positive. The news was good and bad. It was bad because Lyme disease is not something that is fun to go through, and we knew it must be in some of the later stages because we had never found the tick that bit me. The news was good because it meant that I did not have juvenile arthritis, which was such a relief to me that I was actually happy to have Lyme’s. My case was one of the more severe cases in Lebanon county, because we had not caught it early. I had the distinguished honor of going to see a specialist in the area, who felt that she needed to educate me in all the ways of Lyme disease. She saw me after I already knew that it was Lyme disease, so when she told me that I did in fact have Lyme disease I was not exactly thrilled that I had wasted my time with her. It was an extremely awkward visit, and I could not wait until she finally was through with me so that I could leave. In many ways the visit to her office was even more unpleasant than the spinal tap and Lyme disease in general. Now that things had been clarified and I knew for certain what the problem was the only thing that remained was for me to continue taking my medications three times a day. I sat at home and did nothing as the pill bottle began to empty. ‘Nothing,’ of course, is relative. Some people from my church loaned me movies and I had a few video games to play, but apart from memorizing the entire Pirates of the Caribbean movie I effectively did nothing. I was even too tired and weak to read on most days. And so I spent much of my time thinking about getting better and dreaming about my future. When the pills began to near their end, I still had not gotten better. At this point we realized that I needed to have a stronger means of ridding my body of this disease. I got an IV line put into my upper chest, and every day I needed to connect a tube and put the medicine into my body. Eventually I began to improve. I started back to school slowly, adding hours each day until I was back to full days. At this point I still had the IV line in my shoulder and I was still receiving injections of the medicine each night even though I was back in school. Finally my time with Lyme disease was over and we could pull out the IV line. I thought that removing the tubes would be painful, but soon it was out and I had not felt a bit of pain. The only sensation was a sliding feeling under my skin. I had been out of school for almost forty school days, and I had had my life put into perspective. I appreciated the ability to run at soccer practice. I understood why people thank God for their healthy bodies. I usually just took my health for granted. I considered it a right, not a privilege. Coming out from an experience like that gave me insight that many people only get after they pass their prime and can no longer run as well as their younger selves could. I discovered how lucky I really am to have a body that functions as well as it does, and how blessed I am to have the opportunity to live in this world and enjoy life every day. I now realize how much grace and mercy God has shown me, as well as how many blessings He has given to me. When I see a sports star that is on the top of his game, I sometimes wish I had ability like that. Then I remember how fortunate I am to be alive and walking, and everything is put into perspective.

Tonight the NL boys soccer team played Pequea Valley. Both varsity and jv had vicories, with varsity winning 4-0. It was a nice change of tempo from last weeks slide. The Braves were a very dirty team, tending not to go for the ball at all on many occasions. Next up for us on Friday is the Lebanon Catholic team. They have been an easy team to beat in the past, but their field is horrible so we will need to be prepared for anything. I am very sore right now and it is pretty late considering I need to be up in six hours, so I am going to get some sleep soon. Go Vikings!

The Steelers won big today, wiping out any early thoughts of a Houston Texan's upset. Willie Parker had three touchdowns rushing while Hines Ward caught two Ben Roethlisberger td's and Jeff Reed tacked on a field goal to give them a huge day scoring. Second year player Lamar Woodley had a fantastic day for the defense, with an interception, fumble recovery and a few sacks of Texans qb Matt Schaub. The Steelers have a really tough schedule, but that was a very good way to begin their season.

Have you ever had one of those really horrible nights where no matter how much you like a person, you're still a big jerk to them? Well, this was one of those nights for me. We lost 7-0 to Manheim Central, and I got injured. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. So after the game I have a bag of ice in my left hand, and with my right arm I am leaning heavily upon my younger brother, Seth. As we near the opposing sideline of the stadium, someone from the crowd says hi to me. I wasn't in the mood to talk. I gave her attitude and walked away after a brief, 3 or 4 second conversation. In the car on the ride home, I realized that this girl had been in one of the K-Teams I had helped lead. Oh crap is right. Here I am, a role model, and I am a horrible person to her. Talk about making me feel like an idiot. I am the person who was supposedly the one who had it somewhat together, and here I am doing the least Christ-like thing possible. I hate when I let myself down, and I feel like a disgrace to the person I love most when things like that happen. As I am writing this, I am talking to her and apologizing for being an idiot. Fortunately, she is a nice person and is still my friend even after I was a jerk to her. It seems like God picks the least opportune times to test me. Why couldn't He let me run into sometime when I'm having a great day? Oh well, I guess I'll learn more from this than I would have the other way. God, give me strength to love everyone and have the patience to lead a life that Christ can be proud of. That is my prayer tonight.

Last night was not good at all. I didn't come prepared for the game, and as a result it took me a while during the game to get mentally ready. They weren't even as good as I originally thought they would be, but we still lost by a score of four to nothing. It was a wake up call for me to come ready to play and give my very best every time I step on the field with my teammates. Tomorrow we play Manheim Central and you can bet I will show up with everything I have to give, so that when Friday comes I will have no regrets.

Cocalico game tonight should be interesting. We haven't played them in recent years so we don't really know what to expect. I decided that my memory influence paper thing for English Comp. is going to be about when I had Lyme Disease. Because that was a memorable experience that I can remember. I switched out of creative writing for a study hall today because I had two writing classes back to back. And aftre soccer, school and God I don't really have time for anything else. So that's all I have to say about the stuff that I am doing. Football season starts this week. Go Steelers!

Tonight I am really tired, and I don't really know when I will have the time to catch up on all the rest I need. Tomorrow is our first section game against Cocalico, which should be interesting. I have lots of stuff to do and I don't know when to do it. Calvin pretty much got it right when he said, "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." I'm right with the six year old on that one. I am not a big fan of being with extended family for three weeks in a row. I have a busy day tomorrow. Pasta party right after school followed by a haircut and then my soccer game. I should sleep well tomorrow night!

Today was our first official soccer game of the season. We began our season by playing in the Pine Grove tournament. Our opening matchup was against Pottsville or something like that. We struck early and never let up, leading to a nine point lead about halfway through the second half. They scored a scrap goal near the end of the game, but it was a great way to start our season. We then had an hour and a half or two hours to go get something to eat and get ready for our next game. Warming up for the championship game didn't go very well for me, because of how tired and sore I was from our first game. We got out onto the pitch and put a goal in within the first five minutes. That was an amazing boost for us, because we knew that this game was going to be tougher game than the first one had been. Within the rest of the first half we were able to put in one more goal to set the score at two nil going into the half. We didn't allow very many quality attempts for Hamburg to score, and they weren't able to capatilize on any of them. The second half was fairly uneventful, with the possible exception of a yellow card to Ryan Comiskey and some trash talk between the teams. When the final buzzer we found ourselves at a place we never found ourselves last year, as tournament champions. We also began our season with a record of two wins and zero losses. That's half the wins we had all of last year. The JV team also won the championship, so we swept the tournament in Varsity as well as JV. It is gratifying to go home after a game and know that you gave it your all and did pretty decent while you played. Our section is a very tough one, but if we stick together as a team we won't get destroyed like we did in previous years. It feels good to be a champion!

We held our own against a good team in our scrimmage today, and left the match with a draw of two to two. I haven't played well at all this week, and I don't really know why. Today I had my moments where things were going well, but I still just couldn't quite get everything together. Hopefully a good night of sleep will help that out.
On a completely random note, Usher is quite talented. Not only does he have a fantastic voice, he also has an amazing dancing ability. I wish I could sing and dance like him.
Speaking of singing and dancing, I am really looking forward to musical this year and I can't wait until Mrs. Masser announces what show we are going to do this year.

Tomorrow is our second scrimmage for soccer, and it is away at Big Spring. I have no idea where that is or how good they are. I just know that we leave class at 1:45 and will only arrive back at the school around 8:37. It looks like our defense is starting to take shape and work well together. Hopefully that carries through to the league games.
I enjoy just about all of my classes, which is awesome. I just can't wait until things settle down a little bit and I have time to hang out with friends outside of school. At this point my schedule is really crazy and I don't have very much free time.
This past summer I was on the 'support staff' for the K-Teams with Eastern Mennonite Missions. What that means is that I helped lead youth groups on inner city missions work in South Allison Hill (Harrisburg), Oxford Circle (Philly), and the Bronx. It was an amazing summer full of awesome relationships, fantastic outreach times, and incredible spiritual growth. I can't wait to see over the next few months where God will lead me from my experience.
I think I decided on a college and major. Which is impressive because normally I am a huge procrastinator, but this time I am actually ahead of the game. Of course, things could change in an instant as they sometimes do. Until then, I am going to pretend that I am going to Eastern University to major in youth ministry and minor in theater. Eastern has an amazing campus and lots of cool opportunities to do stuff. They also seem to have pretty sound and grounded theology which is always a good thing.

Senior year of high school is starting to sink in. It is crazy to think that it is finally here, and we will finally be graduating in less than a year. Future plans are starting to shape up and look more and more realistic. It will be interesting to see where my classmates and I will be in a few years. Actually it's kind of scary to think of us getting released to go out into the 'real world.' This year is going to be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to get settled into this year's schedule.