Intrusion!

Shoulder Angels

CAST
Good Shoulder Angel (A1)
Bad Shoulder Angel (A2)
Aaron (Me)

Scene: Aaron's bedroom

-----------------------

Me: What should I do now?

A2: The blog calls!

A1: School calls louder!

A2: That may be, but the blog has been more neglected.

Me: He's right! (Starts post about shoulder angels)

A1: Don't you want to graduate next year?

Me: Gulp. (Pauses)

A2: Think of your audience! Your fans! The huddled masses yearning to be edified!

Me: You're right! Send these, the tempest-tossed to me. Just five more minutes, Good Shoulder Angel, that's all I ask.

A1: But think of your mother!

Me: (Addressing Bad Shoulder Angel) You know, he's got a point.

A2: The masses!

A1: The mother!

A2: The masses!

A1: The mother!

Me: Guys, guys. Just quit it. I'm trying to write, and you're making it hard.

A1: What! You're writing on your blog?!?! You're giving in to that low-down good-for-nothing creep who dares to label himself an angel?!?!?

Me: Well, I kind of labeled him that myself...

A1: For shame!

Me: (Sighs) You're right. After all, you are the good shoulder angel. I guess I'd better get to work.

A2: But....

Me: (With head high and noble tones and expression) No buts, coward! I am going to do what I know is right! No longer will I fritter away my time pursuing popularity when I could be expanding my mind! Education must triumph! I will do the right thing, with malice toward none, with charity toward all! Once again good will prevail!

The End

Extreme Thrift

I just had the best idea for inexpensive Christmas gifts. You know how you can have a star officially named after someone? It's such a special thing to think that someone appreciates you so much that they'd name a nearly invisible light in the sky after you so that when they're lonely they can look through a telescope and thing about your name. But naming a star is not my idea; someone else already had that, and I can't stand to be unoriginal. No, as a token of love and appreciation, this year I am naming clouds after my family members! Think about it! No cost, no purchase process, no hassle for the giver, and the givee's heavenly namesake is so much closer to earth, where it can be admired on a much more intimate level. There's a really nice billowy purple cloud out my window right now that I might name after Bria...

On a more serious note, I am excited for Christmas, but it's SO weird having December 24 be warm and cloudy. This is New Hampshire, for Pete's sake! Still, it'll be Christmas no matter what the weather.

Now that Christmas is so close, I can't decide whether I want it to be here ASAP or to delay in coming JUST a wee bit. You see, I have SOOOO much to do (which explains why I'm taking fifteen minutes to write on my blog)! More time would be nice, but I can't wait to have it all done with. And I can't wait for Christmas. But the list IS pretty long. Sigh. Fortunately, I don't have to make a decision. If I were in charge of time instead of God, time would be so disorderly that everyone would always be confused. ("Wait, it's 2! No, it's 1:30! Oh, hold on, we just skipped Friday so Aaron wouldn't have to take his big exam...") Christmas will be here in 11 hours no matter what, so I guess I'll just grab some headphones and the Messiah while I work, and "Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice greatly... for unto us a Child is born!"

Merry Christmas, everyone!

An Early Christmas Present!!!

You should have seen my jaw drop when Daddy handed me the gold-plated keys to this baby. I'm sure he would have waited until Christmas, but we have no place to hide it here. I'm happy to have it now anyway! It's so powerful, so fast, so downright gorgeous .... it's too good to be true!

Aaron S: Diary of a Young Boy

Due to lack of time and space, I've been forced to share only about half of the volume of my first diary with you. Nevertheless, I have managed to include, word for word, what I think are probably the most enjoyable nuggets from the little (and I mean LITTLE) volume.

Sat., 1996, Mar. 2:
On the 27th in February, was my birthday! I am 7 years old! ....

You will soon find that the subject of this last little entry - birthdays - once predominated nearly the entirety of my thoughts, or at least those I deigned worth sharing with the future. I shall now skip two entries to bring you to one of the next notable days in my calendar:

Friday, November 1, 1996:
...It is Bria's birthday, and she is (9) 9 years old...

...My Jack-knife is missing. It has my diary keys on it. My diary was locked, but Bria let me use her keys. Her key's are just like mine.

At Breakfast we had egg's and bacon. For lunch bologna Sadwiches.

Bria chose Savory Chicken, rice, lima beans, String beans, cornbread, and water for supper. For desert, of course, it was cake.

...My birthday is on February 27th. Next year I am turning eight.

Cara turned 6 last Friday.

That's all I have to say today!

Saterday, November 2, 1996:
...Next year on my birthday I want to get playmobil, train tracks, Some books, and some little lego's.

Next year my birthday is goint to be on a thursday. I hope I'm going to have a nice birthday.

Like random? You'll love this:

Sunday, November 24, 1996:
In four days is thanksgiving. Lisa A***** has e-mail in Bible school. I need new pajama's. Today mama is going out. Tomorrow We have school. I'm going to rest now!

Tuesday, November 26, 1996:
Today is cleaning day. I cleaned one of the bathrooms, my room, and nothing else.

Monday, December 30, 1996:
Today I Accidentally broke a chip (about this big -> [little scrawl]) off my violin. Kimberly M***** is coming over. We alway's have a fun time together. I cleaned my room today. It looks much better than yesterday.

I'm not sure why I said Kimberly and I "alway's have a fun time together." Please don't misunderstand me: Kimberly is both very nice and very fun. However, as a general rule, she played with Bria whenever she came to our house (possibly because they were both girls and she is about 4.5 years older than I). In fact, the above-mentioned event may have been the very time I got so mad at Bria and Kimberly for excluding me that I threw a metal trash can at our poor guest. I believe I got in rather serious trouble.

This entry immediately follows the last one:

Tuesday, February 28, 1997:
Yesterday was my Birthday! I'm Eight now.

Ninety-seven was actually a good year for my journal-keeping. I posted a nearly record-breaking SEVEN POSTS before I got to this next one below:

Sunday, December 7, 1997:
Christmas is only 19 days away! I'm very excited....I've made a cardboard dollhouse out of a box.

Next post:

Monday, January 26, 1998:
Christmas was 32 days ago. I got [blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah]. Well, I have nothing else to say!

Saturday, January 16, 1999:
....In about a month I'll be 10. My first decade! My next one is 20.

And with those words of wisdom, I'll sign off, wishing all of you a very merry last-week-before-Christmas!!!!!

Ryan is the Nicest guy in the WHOLE world!

Ryan is handsome,strong,cool,nice etc.

This Day in History

Last year counts as history, right?

Duecento!

I now have officially published 200 POSTS! I'm sure you are all so thrilled.

In retrospect, it really is amazing how much blogs have become a part of my life. Was there really actually once a time when I didn't have one? Umm, yes. About two years ago. In fact, I had never even heard of blogs before about two and a half years ago, and what I did know then was rather vague.

Now, however, now I am a veteran! I have posted 200 times!!! I feel so cool and prolific.

P.s. If you have two hundred seventy posts, good for you. You can write your own post about it. Much as I LOOOOOVE getting comments, I'd rather have my bubble intact. Thanks. :)

Simply Amazingness

Did you know...you'd better not have known, or I'll be really disappointed. I feel like every time I tell someone something around here they've already heard it and say, with a disdainful flip of the hand, of course, "Oh, that! Aaron, that was news way back yesterday. You're so behind the times!"

Well, nobody's ever said quite that to me before, I must admit. But anyway, excuse my going off on a wild tangent...

By the way, a tangent has several definitions besides the one in which it was used above. For example, the tangent of an angle in a right triangle is the ratio of the opposite side to the adjacent side which is not the hypotenuse. It is also a line that touches a curve at only one point.

Am I being incoherent?

OK, here's what I've been trying very hard to say this ENTIRE time:

As a teen, Fanny Crosby memorized Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, many Psalms, and - here's the most amazing of all, at least as far as I'm concerned - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Numbers! Deuteronomy! Oh... my... WORD! Talk about amazingly amazing! She knew all that by heart! And I thought I was pretty good when I memorized all the Epistles of Paul...

Ahem.

Here you must whistle, hum, or sing any song you can come up with about a grain of salt (or two or three). And then, just because it fits so well with both the topic and the season, sing the following of Fanny Crosby's hymns:

Carol, sweetly carol,
A Savior born today;
Bear the joyful tidings,
O, bear them far away:
Carol, sweetly carol,
Till earth's remotest bound
Shall hear the mighty chorus,
And echo back the sound.

        Refrain:
        Carol, sweetly carol,
        Carol sweetly today;
        Bear the joyful tidings,
        O, bear them far away.

Carol, sweetly carol,
As when the angel throng
O'er the vales of Judah,
Awoke the heavenly song:
Carol, sweetly carol,
Goodwill and peace and love,
Glory in the highest
To God who reigns above. 

Carol, sweetly carol,
The happy Christmas time;
Hark! the bells are pealing
Their merry, merry chime:
Carol, sweetly carol,
Ye shining ones above,
Sing in loudest numbers,
O sing redeeming love. 

Memo to the Masses

Boston's Classical Station, WCRB, has moved to 99.5. They "bring [me] my favorite classical music and now it's up to [ME] to spread the word, to tell my friends, family, and EVEN THE MAILMAN!!!" I just figured I might as well tell my blog-readers, since then I can forget about it, except for telling the mailman. I guess I'll go wait for him at the end of the driveway. Sigh.

(Can't you just picture the mailman's amusement? "Hello, Mr. Mailman, I was wondering when you'd come! I've been waiting here for an hour so I could tell you that WCRB is now on 99.5 instead of 102.5! Aren't you GLAD!?!? Well, have a nice day...oh, and I'll take the mail.")

The Glass Was At Least Half Full Today

Today was pretty nice, athough the weather was a wee bit cool for July. Which is fine since it's the last day in November. Sorry, all you West Coast people, but I can't help but exult in the splendor of today's weather. The air smelled and felt WONDERFUL. My only regret is that I spent so little of my time today outside.

Now, to ward off all cries of "HYPOCRITE!" (see Andrea's blog...), I feel compelled to point out that I would have been equally exultant if we got dumped with a foot of snow. It would make the Christmas season seem so much more legitimate. On the other hand, even a cold, sunny, day would be better than the rain that predominated throughout the first half of the week! But since today's weather was positively vernally splendiferous, "I must shout to the world my excitement from the top of some place very high!" (AKA my fourth-story bedroom; quote from Cars.)

Another reason I have for being happy is that I found a deal on TigerDirect.com for a NEW PCI WIRELESS ADAPTER!!!! (Right now I have a USB adapter with a nominal antenna.) This is going to be AWESOME, because, as KJ and anyone else who has either used my computer or logged on to AIM while I was also on, assuming that said person has me on his Buddy List, and watches it - as any of those people know, my connection is bad. Bad, bad, bad. High-speed, it's true, and I'm grateful for that; but who doesn't get annoyed, high-speed or not, if every thirty seconds his computer resets the connection!? Who likes to likes to listen all day to "Welcome!" ... "Goodbye!" ... "Welcome!" ... "Goodbye!"? Who likes to see "Connection lost" and "Wireless Network Now Connected" repeated over and over and over at the bottom of his screen? I tell you, my blood boils even thinking about it!!! AND IT'S ALL HAPPENING THIS VERY INSTANT!!!!

Sigh. My fondest hope is that, come December 5th, all connection problems will be HISTORY! That sounds like heaven on earth....

...except I still have to write essays on Limited Omniscient Narrative Voice and how it applies to my life.

Sort of.

The Music Man Speaks

Or: Il Professore di musica dice.

For those of you who didn’t know, my music teacher is Italian. He was born and grew up in Italy, but he came here to go to get his masters after attending Milan University. Now he is an American citizen and speaks English fluently, fortunately. In some ways, however, it is even more fortunate for me that he also speaks Italian fluently, for that gives me an opportunity to practice my foreign language with a fluent speaker whenever I get up the nerve (which is rare).

Today, however, was different. I actually spoke a whole sentence to him in Italian!!!! It was actually in the middle of an interesting conversation which I will attempt to paraphrase below.

By the way, I will refer to my teacher as “Roberto” for the sake of anonymity and convenience.

“Oh, Roberto, you remember those songs by Josh Groban I showed you?”

About a year ago, I had shown him the lyrics to the Italian songs in Closer so he could interpret them for me. He had said, “Ugh! These are trash! ‘I will miss you when you go, I will miss your serenity…’ You don’t want to know the rest!”

Now, however, he didn’t remember them. I continued.

“Well, I’ve been interpreting them some recently, and they’re all so dumb! For example, I was recently listening to one called ‘Un Amore Per Sempre’ – (Roberto rolls his eyes) – I knew it was corny from the title, but I thought, ‘At least it’s not ‘Mi Mancherai.’ But then I read the next line. The whole first sentence is ‘Un amore per sempre dura sola un instante.’”

Here Roberto grimaced quite visibly and uttered an exclamation that could probably be best described as a mixture of amusement and disgust.

“Pop music is so corny! ‘Senza di te, morirei’… But do you know what’s even worse? American country music. The lyrics are so stupid! You know? “There’s a tear/In my beer/’Cause you’re not here/My dear!’”

I laughed all the way to the computer.

The sad thing, though, is that he didn't make that up (although he didn't get the lyrics QUITE right). People actually listen to that sort of stuff?!?!? I don't. I listen to "Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration."

The Changing of the Colors

As you can see, we have got at least some of our Christmas lights up now. Furthermore, we've started to get out our Christmas music and, in case you hadn't noticed, my Autumn template has given way to a Christmas theme. To quote Kermit in the Muppet's Christmas Carol, "There's magic in the air..." (By the way, that's a really annoying song, but I used the quote anyway because it's apropos.)



The following photos were taken of a campfire at the recent youth weekend at Fairwood.

Dessert

The picture says it all.

As everyone else has been saying...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Freedom From Want by Norman Rockwell

Somethin' Weeuhd

I was just looking at my profile to see if it needed updating. It did, but not in an area I expected. As I blithely scanned the page, this is what I read - Name: Aaron S.; Industry: Student; Location: New Hampshire, United States; Age: 250; Gender: Male. Notice anything wrong about that? I did. Screaming (mentally, of course), "WHAT on EARTH?", I clicked the edit profile button and, sure enough, it said my birthday was February 27, 1756.

Well, I don't think I have to tell you that that is not even remotely close to the year in which I was born (or even the year of my due date!). If it were, you probably would have heard about it. In fact, 1756 only shares one digit with the real year. I'll leave it up to you to decide which is the correct digit, but let me tell you that the other three are WRONG! And furthermore, I have absolutely NO idea how that number got there. I don't recall ever entering even the right year, and I certainly didn't put in the wrong year as a joke.

So now I'm wondering, what's up with that?

Sheer Idiocy

As I was briefly looking over some of my archives, I came across this comment:

We actors don't get a lot of swimming pool starter kits till we get "really" famous - but we live and breathe our swimming pool starter kits regardless.

Isobella
http://www.onlinepoolchemicals.co.uk

Ummm...am I missing something here? I don't ever recall hearing about an actress named "Isobella" in my LIFE! Plus, what actress would have that address for her website? Do actors get "starter kits" or do they hire people to take care of their pools? Does ANYONE "live and breathe" swimming pool kits, regardless of ANYTHING?

I THINK NOT!

There's something fishy about that Isobella....

Why Have I Not Been Posting?

Well, there are several reasons. First, I have been busy (so what else is new?).

Second, a good bit of my computer time has been spent perfecting little details with my link list.

But, for today at least, the most significant reason is that I have felt like this:



...and have been doing this:



I am definitely starting to feel better, but now I have to work on the Powerpoint presentation for tomorrow's church service. So, once again, I have absolutely NO time to blog. Nothing to write, nothing to show, no one to listen...but Aaron never complains! Not every blogger can be an Aaron!

Video: For Lisa

Well, here is a li'l music video that I've been planning for months. To be more precise, I had been planning for months to do a Gilbert and Sullivan music video for Lisa's birthday. As the time got closer, I didn't come up with any I really liked. Some of them were too dark, some of them had too many mistakes, some were in bad angles, etc. In addition, Cara didn't want to do any and Ryan doesn't know any of the songs. He wants to do one still, so maybe we will this weekend. In the meantime, however, here is the best I could come up with on my own:

Here is the WMV version.

Big Development

CLICK HERE for my newly designed link page!

Jack Frost Pays a Visit

The Veteran Traveler

Today I visited three states! The sad thing, though is that I only intended to visit two. Furthermore, I traveled more in the other two than I had intended. It wasn't too bad, but...oh, I'll just tell you the story. Here goes.

Daddy went today with one of his office workers, who is an even more avid sailor than he is, to sail Eagle Wings, our 30-foot Hunter, from Portsmouth to Rye, where it will be taken out of the water tomorrow morning. I went along to take one of the cars home so they would not have to return to Portsmouth when they had finished their ocean jaunt. I had not been actually expecting to go, but I was fine with it and took my Calculus in the car with me, so I would not be bored on the way up. I was going to take my audio Italian CD for the way down, but, well, let's just say non lo ho potuto trovare. So I didn't take it. No matter! Instead I toted along a tasty collection of Classical from the library: Violin concertos by Beethoven and Mendelssohn performed by Isaac Stern (who, by the way, is TOTALLY INCREDIBLE!!!!), some Chopin and Liszt, and a Tchaikovsky CD I didn't end up listening to (but which is also terrific).

Anyway, I began with the Calculus right away, listening to the (TOTALLY INCREDIBLE) Violin CD with my Walkman. Unfortunately, I had a math test and was done in twenty minutes. How I wished I had more school to do! Not because I wanted to do school particularly, but because I was in a rather scholastic mood and wanted to get done as much as possible. However, there was nothing else to do, so I sat and listened in raptures to Isaac Stern's incredible skill.

We reached Rye in good time, and leaving the Camry in the harbor parking lot, headed up the coast to the Portsmouth Naval Base, which, for those of you who are so uninformed as to believe the Portsmouth Naval Base is in Portsmouth, is in Kittery. Go figure. I dropped my passengers and their cargo off at the pier and headed out into the great wide world, full of hope and ambition.

All was well, at first. After all, I have driven home from Portsmouth before. Misfortune was not far ahead, however. I am used to coming down the Rte. 1 Bypass, going around the Portsmouth circle, and heading straight to 101 via 95. This was impossible today, for SOMEONE had decided to close the Rte. 1 Bridge!!!!! I was furious! Why close the bridge when Aaron was coming to town? Sadly, there was nothing I could do but follow the detour sign. Actually, there were more signs than that one, but I didn't see the others in time. I sped by them, following the signs for I-95. In no time flat I found myself screaming up I-95 NORTH, praying for an exit. There was one pretty soon, but not soon enough to avoid adding another 14 miles to the trip.

So, once again I was going the right direction. I was annoyed at the whole missing-the-detour thing, but at least now I was home free, right? Of course right!

Or not. As I continued south down the interstate, I thought of this and that, listened to Chopin, and all in all drove a bit absent-mindedly. I wasn't driving dangerously or anything, but I certainly wasn't concentrating on my route. I went through the tolls with my dad's EZ-Pass, and instantly my mind was on that subject. I weighed the pros and cons of the electronic system versus the tokens, thought about whether I liked the fact that EZ-passes sometimes let their possessors get through legally but without paying (i.e., the bill doesn't charge for every toll). The statesman inside me screamed, "Return to tokens, vote in a Republican governor!" But my carnal nature rather liked the situation.

So I continued with such ponderings, and pretty soon I thought I should watch the signs. "Hmmm....495? Huh, I thought that was in Massachusetts. Weird." Hardly had these thoughts passed lightly through my mind when I was startled by three words: "Massachusetts Welcomes You!" I didn't welcome Massachusetts.

I was pretty seriously annoyed, but I remembered from a another boat excursion, that one to Gloucester, that 495 connects with 93, and I have driven that road a hundred (well, maybe ten) times. Therefore, I began to look for signs for 495 North (because New Hampshire is to the north, right? Of course right!). There were none to be seen! Everything was "495 South", "495 South." (Probably just another example of the inefficient, bureaucratic government of Massachusetts.) After going a good way further, finally there was a sign for the northern half of the highway. I took it joyously, and headed farther and farther down a little highway, with no sign of nearing my hoped-for destination. Finally, putting aside my pride, I stopped for directions.

"Hi, can you tell me how to get to 495 North?"

"Next light."

Grrrr. I made it back onto the highway. Finally, finally, finally, I was on the right track. I started to breathe a sigh of relief - but ended it as a cry of despair as another hateful sign approached: "End 495; Joining 95." So I had just gone in a big loop! So that's why there were no signs for 495 North! Suddenly it all came back to me: "You have to take 495 SOUTH to get to 93! NOW I remember." I didn't do another turnabout, though, and this time found the 101 exit pretty quickly (my eyes could not have been more peeled). In the meantime, I passed a VERY welcome sign, one of the first: "Welcome (Bienvenu) to New Hampshire: Live Free or Die"!!!! No more of this "You're going to like it here" stuff; everyone already does anyway.

The rest of the trip home was long but blessedly uneventful. I made it back to my home town without further ado, although I got pretty tired of Chopin and was too tired to change the CD. Now I am home, and it has almost never felt so good.

Below: An overview of my trip; blue lines indicate where I was behind the wheel; red indicates where my dad was driving.

Joyeux Anniversaire à ma soeur!

For Bria - of this day the queen:
Ah, she has eyes of purest green,
   Her teeth are nothing if not white,
   Her soft, sweet smile a fair delight;
Her cheeks are like a nectarine.

This lass, with hair of golden sheen,
I pray this verse does not demean;
   Or else my own cheek I would smite
      For Bria!

For on this day, with rapture seen
By rich, by poor, by those between,
   I do not wish to place a blight,
   Be it great or be it slight,
But wish an overjoyed nineteen
      For Bria!

Happy End of Daylight Shifting Time!

I'm so brilliant! That name is so much more accurate than "Daylight Saving Time", because who can actually literally "save" daylight? God, and God alone! (Just check out the book of Joshua in the Bible, or watch A Knight's Tale.) The whole situation reminds me of the legend in which some king named Canute proved that he wasn't omnipotent by unsuccessfully ordering the tide to retreat. What happened? It kept coming! DUUUHH! And you can't change the amount of sunlight any more than you can change the tide! Good grief! What are people thinking!?!?!? Sigh. I guess I'm the only sane person in this world. I mean, who else would have thought of a title for DST that is so much more appropriate?

So, now it's confession time. I didn't think of it myself! I was plagiarizing!!!! At least, I would have been, were I not to point you to this little link. The whole idea came from someone else; I just argued the point much more eloquently.

What's wrong with the picture?

But more importantly...what is so very right about it?

Here are some hints:

1. It has something to do with a song (and yes, it's the one you're thinking of).


2. It has something to do with today, October 25th.


3. Most of the picture was taken in 1965, and the rest was taken in 2006, but the theme of the picture has more to do with 1990.


4. It has to do with my sister being totally unprepared to face a world of men.

Want to know the answer?

Well, I guess I'll tell you.

You probably deserve to know...

that it's Cara's birthday!

And although this has nothing to do with the picture, it's Ian's birthday too!

Happy 16^th Birthday, twins!

A Glimmer of Hope

An Autumnal Anecdote

It was a stunning day in early October, a perfect example of the ideal jour d'automne. The radiant sun shown brilliantly on the radiant leaves, and all was just as any idealist would expect. Longingly, Aaron had gazed at the inviting outdoors, barely managing to force himself to continue his schoolwork. The view through his window beckoned unmercifully, but still he persevered.

When he had finally finished the bulk of his academic allotment, Aaron ventured out into the glory of the brisk New Hampshire day, armed with his camera, to record the splendor. Unfortunately, many of his pictures did not come out as well as he had hoped, a disappointment probably best blamed on the lighting. You see, it was a bit late in the day, and the pale autumn sun was already sinking behind the scarlet treeline. Nevertheless, our hero pressed on, determined to get the best photographs possible. You may be the judge of whether he succeeded.

Aaron first headed toward the swamp behind his house, a place quite full of gorgeous foliage - though not as full as it had been several years ago. The swamp had once been so replete with gold and crimson that it was widely considered one of the seven wonders of the modern Bedford. That was before the beavers. Certainly, the beavers were a joy to watch, and they made the pond a joy to look at; but their diligent improvement and expansion of the dam so raised the water level that all but the highest of trees in the swamp drowned, partially drowning the beauty of the area...but not completely. It was the few surviving maples, still lovely in their loneliness, that Aaron set out to capture in megabytes.




Aaron wandered around the edge of the swamp and along the east side of the pond, snapping pictures as he went.







Presently, as Aaron approached the lawn above the pond, a hideous monster came barreling at him out of the shadows!



His first thought was "So the Hound of the Baskervilles wasn't fiction after all!" and he would have said in spectral tones

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!--prophet still, if dog or devil!
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted--
On this home by horror haunted--tell me truly, I implore:
Is there--is there balm in Gilead?--tell me--tell me I implore!"
Quoth the mongrel, "Nevermore."

except that his second thought was "Oh, it's no mongrel after all! It's my trusty hound, Kate."




And sure enough, it was!

The End

Here's what I excel at:

Not posting in eons and blaming it all on school when REALLY it's the fault of my own procrastination.

(I'm also pretty good at annoying certain siblings by reciting The Raven in spectral tones...)

We can't all excel at everything...

In absence of other ideas for what to post, I thought about promising to the next person on my list of blogs who posts that I would put up his picture on my blog as an award. Then I decided it might be a deterrent, and I'm not exactly sure I have a picture of every person whose blog I regularly read. By the way, if you're a girl and are upset that maybe I don't read any girls' blogs because I said "his picture on my blog...", read Grammar 101 or ask an English teacher.

This train of thought draws my mind instantly to the subject of Physics. Why? Because of the author of my Physics book, Dr. Jay Wile of AEM. He is a great teacher, to be sure, and knows much about science, but one sentence I read in Physics a week or two ago nearly drove me to the brink of insanity: "If someone drops two different objects of any size and weight from the same height in a vacuum, she will find that they land at the same time." SHE????? If he said "female person" instead of "someone" I could pardon the feminine pronoun, but, of course, he didn't. If he had said "he" I would have smiled; if he had said "he or she" I would have rolled my eyes; if he had said "they" I would have shaken my head; but since he said "she", my sense of justice to the English language was grieved. The only thing worse would be "it"! It is time Jay Wile was exposed for what he is: a brilliant teacher and scientist (as well as, according to his website, a pianist and actor) with a slightly incomplete grasp of grammar.

Aaron the Noctolegiomaniac

Recently I have been reading in the most voracious manner I have ever read since, I think, sixth grade (when Hardy boys were keen). I always enjoy reading to an extent, but I tend to "take a break" after reading a book . . . and the break just keeps going and going. Not this week! Besides my literature book selections, I have read most of The Scarlet Letter and all of Agatha Christie's The Body in the Library and Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning in the past couple days alone. I know, only three books...but this time I WANT to keep going, and I read three books - one of them a classic!!!!!!!! - in just a few days. You may ask, "When does Aaron find this kind of time?" I will tell you. I don't know. (Actually, I do, but if I said so it would deviate from the quote.) I have been reading mostly at night. Like, late at night. I started the mystery novel last night at 11:30 and finished it at 2:00. Smart, huh? Expand you brain when you have nothing else to do.

Except now I'm tired. So tired I can't do anything but post on my blog.

The human mind (mine, at least) is a strange thing.

Tricky question: what do this car and I have in common? We're both Ramblers!!!! Ha. Ha. Ha. Or, as Craig would say, "Polite chuckles."

By the way, "Noctolegiomaniac" is a big big word that, in this case, means "one who stays up late reading."

Exclusive(!) pronunciation guide and etymological disection:
[noct-o-lej'ee-o-MAYN'ee-ak: noct (night) + leg(ere) (to read) + maniac (madman, basically)]

For Red Sox Fans

Are you down in the dumps? Do you feel like the world has let you down? Is life full of misery? Then I have a bit of news for you that you are going to love. Of course, you've probably heard it already, but....

...New York is JUST as dead as Boston!!!!

Finally, life has meaning again... ; )


Photo from MLB.com

Recoooooooord!!!!!

I have officially (well, actually, I didn't research this, but I think it's right) neglected my blog for the longest period EVER since June of last year! Actually, this year in July probably comes close, but let's not haggle over the inconsequential details. The point I am trying to make cannot be denied: I have not posted in nearly a fortnight! I confess and repent in torrential tears. Almost.

Our extra cell phone broke. Somehow it ended up sitting in a cupholder of water and now when it is turned on the screen says "Service required." Grrr. The ensuing shortage of mobiles (pronounced MO-bilez) has been annoying to say the least. When you have three cars and 3.5 drivers (Cara's the 0.5), and constant appointments throughout the week - not to mention errands! - how can you LIVE without cellphones. The fact that we did, in fact, live without cellphones ten years ago is of no importance. These days, cellphones are a NECESSITY! Plus, do you realize how "uncool" it is to not have a cell phone? I shudder at the thought!

In an effort to remedy the dire situation, I bid on a cellphone on ebay.com. (I know what you're thinking: "Uh oh, here comes a story." Well, you're right.) I didn't win either of the first two I bid on, but then I noticed another inexpensive phone, bid on it, and won it - all in the space of about one minute. It was then that I was pointed to the fact that the phone was for AT&T...and we use Verizon Wireless! AAAAAHHH!!! Embarrassment and devastation!!!!

Ahem. So, now we had an extra phone that was worth nothing to us...nothing whatsoever (notice how I switch to "we" once there's a mistake involved; I'm so open-minded). However all was not lost; when the phone came, I (first person singular again) did something daring: I put it back on ebay! I'd never sold anything online before, so this was a new experience. I've been studying HTML and CSS and the like for school somewhat, though, so I leapt at the challenge. It sold! And know what? I got $5 more than I paid for in the beginning!!!!! Therefore it is said, "Like Aaron, a mighty ebay seller before the Lord."

A Shining Example of Breviloquence

Well, I don't have much to say, but I'll say it anyway.  Last night, as I lay sleepless in my bed until the early hours of morning (why, why did I have to take that Excedrin?), I schemed grand schemes for my spectacular Sabbath Post.  I would write poetry!  I would post pictures!  I would thrill and awe!  The wonders of my rhetorical, technical, and artistic skills would be sung to the third, yea to the third and fourth generations!  Alas, it was not to be.  Instead I involuntarily cleaned the kitchen to give everyone else a Sabbath break.  Sigh.  At least that's over.  It wasn't too bad, really; I recited "The Raven", "Paul Revere's Ride", and "The Embarrassing Episode of Little Miss Muffet" while Ryan prompted me.  I sang "You Gotta Eat Your Spinach" and "Come and Get Your Happiness" (from Shirley Temple's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, in case you wondered) to pass the time.  By 9:30, however, it was getting old. I am so slow at cleaning the kitchen, and, unfortunately, "passing the time" never speeds things up.

Well, I know you were all dying for news from my end, and boy, do I have some for you!  I rearranged my room again!  Woohoo!  There's something I like just so much about rearranging furniture.  This time it was not just for fun, though.  I had a mission: to move my bed, bookcases, bureau, desk, and computer in such a way as freed up enough wall space for me to bring my keyboard into my room.  I managed it!  Fortunately, I like it, too.  It's not as aesthetically pleasing as the former arrangement, perhaps, but it is more functional.  The best part (other than that I now have a keyboard in my room) is that my bed is directly under the skylight, and I can look straight up into the stars!  Not that our stars compare with those of the Catskills or even western NH, but I'll take what I can get.

(Speaking of the stars in the Catskills, have you ever seen them?  I have lain for hours on the H.'s lawn just gazing at the sheer beauty of the sky.  If you haven't seen stars like that you don't know what you've missed.)

Well, I'm going to leave off here in hopes of my pastor reading my blog post aaaaaaaaalll the way through.  He told me today that he doesn't always get through my lengthy "sermons."   I said to him, "Upon my honor!"


Actually, I didn't.  : )

Another good Payne cartoon

Click here.

I'm back, Lucius.

This week has been SO busy! I have had NO time to write posts! Actually, that's not quite true, but I haven't had MUCH time. Add to that the fact that I have had NO inspiration at ALL to write, and you may realize why it is that I have not.

First of all, the biggest news of the week is that we have been redoing our roof. Our neighbor Mr. Z. has been doing it with occasional help from me and/or Daddy. Roofing can be pretty fun! The first part is best: tearing out nails, ripping off shingles, generally performing mass demolition. It's awesome, let me tell you! I like laying shingles, but it is not so nice as ripping old ones. Laying shingles just doesn't have the same, shall we say, exhileration to it: slowly working up the roof row by row, measuring and cutting individual shingles, working around the flashing (you have to in demo too, but just not the same way), and smashing skylights. In case you wondered, that last part was unintentional. Fortunately, I had nothing to do with it. Anyhow, the front side of the house is basically finished, and next week we will move to the back, which though much larger, is less steep. It contains fewer skylights, too.

I finally cleaned my room yesterday after floundering in mess for weeks. It's amazing what a difference it makes! It's also amazing how much much less work it takes to mess it up than to clean it! Bother those stupid laws of thermodynamics...

Having a clean room is especially nice because this week I will be able to do my school there. Of course, I could have before anyway, but it can be just so hard to concentrate when you are surrounded by clutter! I have been doing most of my school subjects in the living room, dining room, or basement, but there are a lot more distractions in the first two and the third is relatively dark. Distractions can be fatal when you're doing such subjects as Calculus or Economics, both of which require constant concentration. As a matter of fact, so do Writing, Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Italian, Vocabulary, and music (if you're doing them right, anyway)!

Thursday I worked on the same problem in Calculus for close to twenty minutes and still got it wrong. SO frustrating. Fortunately it was one of very few. Also, I have been getting the same kind of problem wrong for DAYS...and all because I keep not noticing when they say "diameter" instead of "radius." Grrrr. School has not all been sadness and depression, however. In fact, so far I have been enjoying pretty much all of my school subjects, albeit overwhelmed a bit here and there. Even little things people say every now and then remind me of a new concept I studied recently in Chemistry, or a poem from Literature. (Did anyone spot my allusion to Nancy Boyd's (Edna St. Vincent Millay's) "I Like Americans" in my paragraph on roofing?) For a rather weak example, something Elizabeth said the other day reminded me of something from chemistry...something about the penetrating abilities of radiation from atomic bombs?...ok, so that's REALLY weak. But I have also noticed numerous applications of supply and demand!

Today I read an Agatha Christie through from beginning to end. It was a nice Sabbath thing to do; so relaxing! Alas, I didn't figure it out. The murderer was the very person of whom I said to Cara, "Well, the very LEAST likely person is such and such...", not counting Poirot or the narrator, of course. Near the end I THOUGHT I had it all figured out, but it was a red herring...a secondary crime meant to cast suspicion on a character who is shady but not completely shaded, if you know what I mean. Oh, Agatha! How do you do it?

Picture Puzzle

See if you can guess or figure out what these three things from my room are.







Here are the answers:
(Hover over each link for the name of the object, or click the link for a larger photo.)

Object I

Object II

Object III

Now, here's the big question.

Which ones did YOU figure out?
	None
	Object I
	Object II
	Object III
	Objects I and II
	Objects I and III
	Objects II and III
	All of them
	I didn't even try.
POLLHOST

An Explanation

In case nobody got my corny little "Sand End" joke from a couple posts ago, it was a take-off from Bag End of Tolkein fame. Just so you don't think I'm a brainless lunatic...

Looking for a good laugh?

Today Elizabeth, Bria, and I were talking about how people's personalities are different on the web from in real life, and how Facebooks and MySpaces can be deceiving. Later, as I was perusing the website of my favorite editorial cartoonist, Henry Payne, I came across this pertinent - and hilarious - cartoon:

Click Here.

(Copyright laws allow me to link to it but not reproduce the image.)

Boston Red Sox!

Well, very few of my pictures came out well. It was pretty dark and it's hard to catch any movement with a slow shutter, or any light with a fast one. I don't know enough about camera settings to know what would be optimal, but fortunately, I did get a few that were OK. Here they are for your benefit.  : )

By the way, if you want to read about what happened, Ryan posted most of the major details here on his blog.