Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Musicians are such babies sometimes, I swear. It's enought to drive you crazy. I'm not talking about anybody in particular, this has been a post long coming. But really, people, you are making music, not running a marathon. You can have a lesson the same day as a recital. You can even have a rehearsal the same day as a recital. You can have a lesson, a coaching, a rehearsal, AND a recital all the same day. This is what you signed up to do for the rest of your life, remember?
I say this as a flute player, and I understand it's a little different with brass players (and maybe even strings or vocalists, I don't know). But really, just stop complaining and suck it up. Seriously.
I say this as a flute player, and I understand it's a little different with brass players (and maybe even strings or vocalists, I don't know). But really, just stop complaining and suck it up. Seriously.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
While you're at it, check out THIS one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXiJYcK4-GU
This was a real show
and I'm pretty sure I watched it at least once in my life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXiJYcK4-GU
This was a real show
and I'm pretty sure I watched it at least once in my life.
By the way, I was in a competition in Atlanta, and I got second place again. That's what I was expecting, though. It was like Rocky against Apollo Creed:
"I can't do it...I can't beat him...I been out there walkin' around, thinkin'. I mean, who am I kiddin'? I ain't even in the guy's league...I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight...'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance."
In any case, it was a fun competition!
Here's some funny cartoon clips that I found while I should have been doing homework:
(me on sugar): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICFQmvECFdg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk8zxUj_q9Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zQgKk3g7Uo&feature=related
Rocko doesn't have it good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH2J4LkOCM&feature=related
Bobby's World!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqQjpTbHR0A
"I can't do it...I can't beat him...I been out there walkin' around, thinkin'. I mean, who am I kiddin'? I ain't even in the guy's league...I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight...'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance."
In any case, it was a fun competition!
Here's some funny cartoon clips that I found while I should have been doing homework:
(me on sugar): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICFQmvECFdg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk8zxUj_q9Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zQgKk3g7Uo&feature=related
Rocko doesn't have it good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH2J4LkOCM&feature=related
Bobby's World!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqQjpTbHR0A
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Craig and I had a discussion about aliens the other day. We agreed that if intelligent life does exist, it probably wouldn't want to come here because all we would do is try to kill it. I mean, really, can you think of any alien movie where the humans don't at some point try to kill the alien?
Craig: "Aliens are probably like, they kill each other! Why would I want to go there?"
P.S. According to the Worst-Case Scenerio Survival Guide trivia game, the best way to attack an alien is to go for the eyes. DON'T wave your arms around erratically and then punch it in the mouth.
Craig: "Aliens are probably like, they kill each other! Why would I want to go there?"
P.S. According to the Worst-Case Scenerio Survival Guide trivia game, the best way to attack an alien is to go for the eyes. DON'T wave your arms around erratically and then punch it in the mouth.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Hello! My name is Ashley Stahl, and I am a hard-core fan of the major league baseball team, the New York Yankees. Now let me ask you—does this information raise or lower your opinion of me? If you are like a huge number of Americans, this will lower your opinion of me. Trust me, as a fan of the Yankees, I know. As soon as people find out I am a Yankees fan, I immediately get responses like, “And I thought I liked you,” or “How could you?” or simply “I’m so sorry.” The Yankees are just one of those teams that a baseball fan will either love or hate. To put it in the words of famed Chicago Tribute columnist Mike Royko, “Hating the Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax.”
But why do people hate the Yankees so much? That’s what I would like to explain today. There are three reasons I’ve found that people give for hating the Yankees: their extreme wealth, their wild success, and their deeply-rooted rivalries.
So let’s move on to the first of those reasons: money.
It’s no secret that the Yankees are filthy rich. The Yankees are seen as the snobby rich kid of the baseball industry. And nobody likes the snobby rich kid. Let me give you some numbers to let you know just how rich the Yankees are. (writes on board)
21.6 million
22.7 million
23.4 million
24.3 million
According to USA Today’s online salary database, this first figure was the salary of the Yankees’ ever-popular shortstop Derek Jeter last year. 21.6 million dollars. This second figure was the salary of the Yankees’ third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod. The third figure was the salary of the Yankees’ designated hitter, Jason Giambi. And this last number, well, this number represents the payroll of the entire team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
I think the numbers here speak for themselves. I’m not going to deny the fact that the Yankees are rich. According to a December 2003 article from ESPN.com news services, their wealth has even dubbed them “The Evil Empire” But where does all of this money come from?
Well, that brings me to the next reason why people hate the Yankees, which is success.
For those of you who aren’t baseball fans, the world series is the like super bowl of baseball—it’s the highest honor a team can reach in a year. And the Yankees, well, they have won the world series a lot of times. I mean A LOT of times. 26 times, in fact. They’ve BEEN to the world series 39 times. Think about this for a second—if you average these figures into the total amount of world series, the Yankees have appeared in the series an average of every 2.7 years and they have won an average of every four years. If you take into consideration that there are currently 30 major league baseball teams, these numbers seem more than a bit lopsided. It’s a fact that the Yankees are not only the most successful team in major league baseball history, but also the most successful team in North American professional sports history, passing the ice hockey team the Montreal Canadiens, who only have a measly 24 national titles.
With all this success, it’s no wonder that people hate the Yankees! If you’re a fan of any other baseball team, chances are that your hopes and dreams have at one point been thwarted by the Yankees. I can see how it can be infuriating.
And no team feels this more than the Boston Red Sox. The third reason why people hate the Yankees is because of their rivalry with the Red Sox.
According to the Washington Post staff writer Dave Sheinin in his March 2005 article “Red Sox-Yankees is Difficult to Top,” the rivary between the Yankees and the Red Sox are one of the fiercest and most bitter in all of sports. It’s natural—they’re two good teams in the same division, always fighting for the top place. But this is more than a normal rivalry. This is HATRED. Well, mostly the Red Sox hate the Yankees, not the other way around.
The Boston Red Sox were one of the most successful teams at the turn of the century and the beginning of organized professional baseball. The Yankees, then known as the Highlanders, were, well, less than great. This all changed, though, with one event, which has been dubbed “The curse of the Bambino.” Some of you may know the story. The Red Sox are bought by new owner Harry Frazee. Frazee sells Babe Ruth to the Yankees to pay off personal debts. BABE RUTH, people! He sold BABE RUTH!
Since then, the Red Sox have been the most unfortunate team in baseball, always losing to the Yankees by a microscopic margin. Boston has created endless stories of hard losses; one could make a whole speech about these sob stories. Between the years 1920 and 2003, the Yankees won 26 world series, and Boston won zero. Boston is the eternal underdog; the Yankees are the Evil Empire.
Only recently has Boston seemed to have been able to break the curse, winning the world series in 2004 and 2007. These wins, though, have only served to intensify the rivalry between the two teams who seemed destined to hate each other for all of time.
To conclude, I hope that this presentation has given you some insight as to why people hate the Yankees. I’ve gone over three reasons: their wealth, their success, and their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. I am far from trying to convince you to hate the Yankees, though, as you already know that I am a Yankees fan. Despite their shortcomings, I love my team, and I will be watching them and cheering for them until the day I die. I think the great Joe DiMaggio said it best when he said, “I’d like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.” Thank you.
But why do people hate the Yankees so much? That’s what I would like to explain today. There are three reasons I’ve found that people give for hating the Yankees: their extreme wealth, their wild success, and their deeply-rooted rivalries.
So let’s move on to the first of those reasons: money.
It’s no secret that the Yankees are filthy rich. The Yankees are seen as the snobby rich kid of the baseball industry. And nobody likes the snobby rich kid. Let me give you some numbers to let you know just how rich the Yankees are. (writes on board)
21.6 million
22.7 million
23.4 million
24.3 million
According to USA Today’s online salary database, this first figure was the salary of the Yankees’ ever-popular shortstop Derek Jeter last year. 21.6 million dollars. This second figure was the salary of the Yankees’ third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod. The third figure was the salary of the Yankees’ designated hitter, Jason Giambi. And this last number, well, this number represents the payroll of the entire team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
I think the numbers here speak for themselves. I’m not going to deny the fact that the Yankees are rich. According to a December 2003 article from ESPN.com news services, their wealth has even dubbed them “The Evil Empire” But where does all of this money come from?
Well, that brings me to the next reason why people hate the Yankees, which is success.
For those of you who aren’t baseball fans, the world series is the like super bowl of baseball—it’s the highest honor a team can reach in a year. And the Yankees, well, they have won the world series a lot of times. I mean A LOT of times. 26 times, in fact. They’ve BEEN to the world series 39 times. Think about this for a second—if you average these figures into the total amount of world series, the Yankees have appeared in the series an average of every 2.7 years and they have won an average of every four years. If you take into consideration that there are currently 30 major league baseball teams, these numbers seem more than a bit lopsided. It’s a fact that the Yankees are not only the most successful team in major league baseball history, but also the most successful team in North American professional sports history, passing the ice hockey team the Montreal Canadiens, who only have a measly 24 national titles.
With all this success, it’s no wonder that people hate the Yankees! If you’re a fan of any other baseball team, chances are that your hopes and dreams have at one point been thwarted by the Yankees. I can see how it can be infuriating.
And no team feels this more than the Boston Red Sox. The third reason why people hate the Yankees is because of their rivalry with the Red Sox.
According to the Washington Post staff writer Dave Sheinin in his March 2005 article “Red Sox-Yankees is Difficult to Top,” the rivary between the Yankees and the Red Sox are one of the fiercest and most bitter in all of sports. It’s natural—they’re two good teams in the same division, always fighting for the top place. But this is more than a normal rivalry. This is HATRED. Well, mostly the Red Sox hate the Yankees, not the other way around.
The Boston Red Sox were one of the most successful teams at the turn of the century and the beginning of organized professional baseball. The Yankees, then known as the Highlanders, were, well, less than great. This all changed, though, with one event, which has been dubbed “The curse of the Bambino.” Some of you may know the story. The Red Sox are bought by new owner Harry Frazee. Frazee sells Babe Ruth to the Yankees to pay off personal debts. BABE RUTH, people! He sold BABE RUTH!
Since then, the Red Sox have been the most unfortunate team in baseball, always losing to the Yankees by a microscopic margin. Boston has created endless stories of hard losses; one could make a whole speech about these sob stories. Between the years 1920 and 2003, the Yankees won 26 world series, and Boston won zero. Boston is the eternal underdog; the Yankees are the Evil Empire.
Only recently has Boston seemed to have been able to break the curse, winning the world series in 2004 and 2007. These wins, though, have only served to intensify the rivalry between the two teams who seemed destined to hate each other for all of time.
To conclude, I hope that this presentation has given you some insight as to why people hate the Yankees. I’ve gone over three reasons: their wealth, their success, and their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox. I am far from trying to convince you to hate the Yankees, though, as you already know that I am a Yankees fan. Despite their shortcomings, I love my team, and I will be watching them and cheering for them until the day I die. I think the great Joe DiMaggio said it best when he said, “I’d like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.” Thank you.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Friday, February 08, 2008
In the past two weeks, two bills have been filed to the Florida Congress:
Senate Bill 1320 and
House Bill 813
Their aim is to increase Bright Futures funding for who pursue degrees within of the fields of:
Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics
Education
Nursing/Health Professions
by decreasing funding to all students pursuing degrees outside of those fields.
The bill, if passed will go into effect on July 1, 2008, thus affecting EVERYONE in Fall of 2008. The bill aims to do the following:
1. Florida Academic Scholars:
100% tuition --> 80% tuition for non-S.T.E.M.E.N. students
--> 110% tuition for S.T.E.M.E.N. students
$600 books --> $475 for non-STEMEN students
--> $660 for STEMEN students
2. Florida Academic Scholars with the higest academic ranking per school district:
$1500 scholarship --> $1200 for non-STEMEN students
--> $1650 for STEMEN students
3. Florida Medallion Scholars:
75% tuition --> 55% for non-STEMEN students
--> 85% for STEMEN students
4. Florida Gold Seal Vocational Schlars:
75% tuition --> 55% for non-STEMEN students
--> 85% for STEMEN students
Join the "Save Bright Futures" facebook group. Send your parents, teachers, professors, and friends to savebrightfutures.org and tell them to start papering the capital with complaint letters. Voices matter and the more of them that chant "NO," the better our chances of defeating these horrible pieces of legislation.For more information:
You can get your congressman's address and your "Vote NO!" letter here:
http://grove.ufl.edu/~democrat/bfutures/index.html
You can preview the proposed bills here:SB1320: http://www.flsenate.gov/session/index.cfm?BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&Mode=Bills&SubMenu=1&Year=2008&billnum=1320
And here:H813: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=38293&SessionIndex=-1&SessionId=57&BillText=&BillNumber=813&BillSponsorIndex=0&BillListIndex=0&BillStatuteText=&BillTypeIndex=0&BillReferredIndex=0&HouseChamber=H&BillSearchIndex=0
-----------------------------------------------------------
Seriously, this Jeremy Ring guy has got to be a complete idiot to think this is a good idea.
Get a move on! This YOUR money we are talking about.
Senate Bill 1320 and
House Bill 813
Their aim is to increase Bright Futures funding for who pursue degrees within of the fields of:
Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics
Education
Nursing/Health Professions
by decreasing funding to all students pursuing degrees outside of those fields.
The bill, if passed will go into effect on July 1, 2008, thus affecting EVERYONE in Fall of 2008. The bill aims to do the following:
1. Florida Academic Scholars:
100% tuition --> 80% tuition for non-S.T.E.M.E.N. students
--> 110% tuition for S.T.E.M.E.N. students
$600 books --> $475 for non-STEMEN students
--> $660 for STEMEN students
2. Florida Academic Scholars with the higest academic ranking per school district:
$1500 scholarship --> $1200 for non-STEMEN students
--> $1650 for STEMEN students
3. Florida Medallion Scholars:
75% tuition --> 55% for non-STEMEN students
--> 85% for STEMEN students
4. Florida Gold Seal Vocational Schlars:
75% tuition --> 55% for non-STEMEN students
--> 85% for STEMEN students
Join the "Save Bright Futures" facebook group. Send your parents, teachers, professors, and friends to savebrightfutures.org and tell them to start papering the capital with complaint letters. Voices matter and the more of them that chant "NO," the better our chances of defeating these horrible pieces of legislation.For more information:
You can get your congressman's address and your "Vote NO!" letter here:
http://grove.ufl.edu/~democrat/bfutures/index.html
You can preview the proposed bills here:SB1320: http://www.flsenate.gov/session/index.cfm?BI_Mode=ViewBillInfo&Mode=Bills&SubMenu=1&Year=2008&billnum=1320
And here:H813: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=38293&SessionIndex=-1&SessionId=57&BillText=&BillNumber=813&BillSponsorIndex=0&BillListIndex=0&BillStatuteText=&BillTypeIndex=0&BillReferredIndex=0&HouseChamber=H&BillSearchIndex=0
-----------------------------------------------------------
Seriously, this Jeremy Ring guy has got to be a complete idiot to think this is a good idea.
Get a move on! This YOUR money we are talking about.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
When I was little, I was convinced that if I stepped in a certain pattern, if I moved in a certain way, I would unlock the portal to another dimension. I only had a vaugue definition of what "dimension" meant, but I knew that I didn't want to unlock the portal. I wanted to stay right here, in the dimension that I know and love.
I was contantly on guard for strange happenings: the floor falling from under me, a flash of light, an alien perhaps. Who knows what's in other dimensions.
I also really believed that if I ate enough carrots, I could see through walls. I think my grandpa told me that one.
I also used to stare at street lights in an effort to go temporarily blind, just to see what it is like.
True stories.
I was contantly on guard for strange happenings: the floor falling from under me, a flash of light, an alien perhaps. Who knows what's in other dimensions.
I also really believed that if I ate enough carrots, I could see through walls. I think my grandpa told me that one.
I also used to stare at street lights in an effort to go temporarily blind, just to see what it is like.
True stories.
Monday, February 04, 2008
I was not ready for the day,
But the day didn't care.
The day gave me success.
There has been so many times
when I have been ready for the day
But the day has not been ready for me
And I have not met success
I try so hard but it seems that
It doesn't matter how hard I try
Because life is going to give
What it wants to give
Nothing more and nothing less
But the day didn't care.
The day gave me success.
There has been so many times
when I have been ready for the day
But the day has not been ready for me
And I have not met success
I try so hard but it seems that
It doesn't matter how hard I try
Because life is going to give
What it wants to give
Nothing more and nothing less
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Hello friends, I'm back to Tally.
It was a good weekend, but I am not going to write much because I have come home to a lot of schoolwork (bleh).
I came in second place in the competition. The winner was Jessica Gist, a senior here at FSU. I have always greatly admired her playing, so I'm glad she has finally gotten the recognition she deserves.
I had a good time in general, but it was somewhat quiter and tamer than earlier years, as most of the attending students from FSU were graduates (who tend to be more mature than us heathen undergrads).
I played for John Bailey, who is a nice guy, and I saw some people play for Jim Walker, who is almost a nice guy. Learned some new things, met some new people, made some new experiences, heard some new music. Not the best flute fair ever, but still a good one.
It was a good weekend, but I am not going to write much because I have come home to a lot of schoolwork (bleh).
I came in second place in the competition. The winner was Jessica Gist, a senior here at FSU. I have always greatly admired her playing, so I'm glad she has finally gotten the recognition she deserves.
I had a good time in general, but it was somewhat quiter and tamer than earlier years, as most of the attending students from FSU were graduates (who tend to be more mature than us heathen undergrads).
I played for John Bailey, who is a nice guy, and I saw some people play for Jim Walker, who is almost a nice guy. Learned some new things, met some new people, made some new experiences, heard some new music. Not the best flute fair ever, but still a good one.
