Gold closed today the highest since 1987. I find that depressing since I don't own any and would like to. If you do own it, this is your lucky day and you are now my enemy.
Also my car needed a new tire today and a realignment. I wasn't kidding when I said that money hates me.
Today's entry is about Purcellville and Leesburg.
We stayed in Leesburg. Its a small town a bit outside D.C. and a bit outside Purcellville. Well really Purcellville is a bit outside Leesburg. Anyway, its got a population a bit over 100,000 or so I think I read, which means that Simi Valley is safer than Leesburg. Go figure. Actually it has a bit of a Simi Valley feel in its newer parts. Run of the mill stores in strip malls. If you travel west in Leesburg you will encounter its old townish part. That's the part I liked...actually loved is more the word for it. There is a lovely courthouse which I would like to see the inside of one of these days, old style houses, brick buildings, and no shortage of Italian food. Purcellville was about the same. It had its newer part, which is fine with me, but the majority was old and scenic. Purcellville, however, is much smaller than Leesburg.
A few things that struck me about the area:
-There were track homes and many new areas being built up, but they are nothing like Southern California track homes. They were very spaced out instead of fitting as many houses as possible into one area. Really most houses were like that. There does not seem to be pressure to maximize the value of the land. After observing Virginia it seems to me that clustering people really tightly together does more environmental damage than just letting them roam about the land and end up where they will.
-Zoning laws seem to be a new invention over there. Our first day there we missed a lot of town because we thought we were heading into residential areas. Well we were, but what we didn't realize was that there were resturants and businesses of various sorts occupying that same space.
-Lots of water. That was especially evident flying in but it was also pretty noticable as we drove around. It reminded me of a lot of puddles and I rather liked it. I guess some places aren't constantly battling with nature in order to get a decent supply of water.
-Beautiful. Even though most of the trees were naked, it was still pretty. I like open space and I really like grass, so that must have been what made me love it.
I love Virginia.
To Be Continued....
I haven't fully recovered from my motion sickness of sorts but I decided to blog anyway. As you can see, I was accepted and now I am going to tell you about my trip that got me accepted.
My mom and I arrived at LAX on Wednesday morning looking rather perplexed about what to do with ourselves. This landed us a spot in the first class line which allowed us to get through the airport in 20 minutes instead of 20 hours. We sat behind some smelly people and they weren't speaking English. Don't you hate it when you can't eavesdrop? Anyway, we arrived at Dulles and had about the same experience. It was quick getting through. At Dulles they have these people mover things that look like giant horned (horn-ed) caterpillars. After renting our car we attempted to drive to our hotel.
Since the remainder of my series on my trip will be praises for Virginia I will take this opportunity to voice my one complaint. This may come as a shock to the world, but I prefer L.A. freeways. GASP! (and a few people keel over dead) See, here's the thing. In L.A. the offramps (1) have names (2) warn you about three times before they come upon you and (3) almost always are on the right. In Virginia the offramps mostly just have numbers and lead to different things like toll roads and interstates and highways and greenways and who knows what else, they might warn you that they are coming in 5 miles but you don't know where they are until you've passed them, and you can never predict what side of the road they'll be on. So while there is much more traffic at least in L.A. I can find my destination. (all roads lead to Santa Clarita)
To Be Continued......
I am leaving early tomorrow morning for Patrick Henry College (PHC). I have my admissions interview on Thursday and I'm rather nervous, after all, THIS IS MY LIFE IN THE BALANCE! Yes, Kristen Young did not apply to any other school. It didn't make any sense to since going to another school would necessitate another year at Moorpark College and if I wanted to go to PHC I would be wasting time to continue at Moorpark since ZERO credits transfer. So yeah, PHC or bust. The bummer is that we (my mom and I) only get to stay for one full day. We arrive in the afternoon tomorrow and go home first thing Friday morning. That does not leave very much time for sight seeing or a trip to D.C., though we will have ample time to see the campus. I'll be sure to blog about it when I get home. In the mean time I need to get packing. Valeo si valetis.
This is just too much for me. Ok, these drug commercials always have these long lists of side effects that take up like the entire commercial and oftentimes the side effects are the same problem as the problem you are trying to treat. This latest one really takes the cake. Anti-depressant pills have been linked to suicide. Go figure.
So I like taking quizzes sometimes...
Utinam barbari spatium proprium tuum invadant!
"May barbarians invade your personal
space!"
You are highly confrontational and possibly in a
bad mood. You would have sworn in this quiz,
if I had made it an option.
Which Weird Latin Phrase Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Now the title makes some sense. Pardon my, uh, Latin.
Yes, today I'm going to tell you about my California day.
I guess it didn't really start out that way. My mom called me in the morning and told me about a job fair going on. So I went to that. Had to get dressed up in black pants and a collared shirt and dress shoes, it was too hot of a day for that sort of thing. It wasn't a great job fair, no one was doing interviews so I couldn't impress them and get a job right on the spot, I'll still just be an application in a stack. Oh well, I found out that Home Depot pays more than I thought they did, so I'm going to try to get a job there.
But now to California. This afternoon I set about to finish planting these violas we had left from the party favors for my sister's wedding shower. I had already planted many of them in this small planter we have by the spa in the pool area and the rest I was planting by my sister's duck's pond. We've got this nice little floral scene going on there, it just needed the annuals to be replanted. My neighbors are adding on to their house, so they have guys over there working most of the time. Today as I was gardening by the pond they decided to listen to mariachi music. As I am pulling weeds they start to sing along. As I start planting flowers they start whistling. One guy whistled like a bird. I'm not sure how many of my readers have heard this sort of music, but around here it's rather common and I am not rather fond of it. However, for some reason I enjoyed it today and I enjoyed hearing people sing along to it, not that I understood a word of it.
Then tonight, while places like Wisconsin have snow on the ground and places like Pennsylvania are just shedding their wet, white blanket, my parents and I went in our spa...outside. It was an overcast evening so it was just cool enough that the hot water felt really nice. The frogs are out and the world is alive. Next Saturday its off to Emma Wood for a beach day for my sister's 15th birthday. "Yeah their out there a having fun in the warm California sun."
If I leave, I'm going to miss this place.
The same-sex marriage issue is currently big on the political and cultural scene. So, I decided to put here my conclusions thus far on the matter. I have not completed my full opinion of homosexuality and the law, but what I have put here as definite is indeed where I have landed strongly and unwaveringly. My final opinion has taken some years to form, my first considerations being given to it when California passed the law banning same-sex marriage. I have not given all the background for each assertion I make since my primary purpose is to state my position and state the beliefs that have led me to that position, not to give a supporting argument for each belief along the way.
The first thing that must be established before stating a position on an issue like same-sex marriage is my moral beliefs. My moral beliefs sum up to these basic presuppositions: (1) Moral absolutes exist. For an intellectually sound but readable argument for this, read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, there is a chapter on this topic. (2) The Triune God of Christianity is the real and true God and He has revealed His moral will to men in Scripture and has revealed much of His moral will to all men in conscience and nature.
The Bible is very clear on homosexuality. “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surly be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.” (Lev. 20:13 NKJV) This was the law given by God to Israel. Homosexuality is an abomination. It falls into the category that is commonly labeled “crimes against nature.” Indeed, this is one of those things that is quite obviously contrary to the natural order and has also brought with it negative physical consequences. Both from a Biblical and natural law perspective, homosexuality is immoral.
For the government to give legal recognition to an immoral act is wrong. Marriage, as it is being fought for by homosexuals, is a legal institution regulated by the government. If the government includes same-sex marriages as part of that institution, it will be condoning homosexuality by giving it a legally recognized status. In fact, granting any positive legal recognition to homosexual couples for any purposes would be to give government sanction and protection to immorality. It has been argued that to allow these unions would open up the way for other unions such as polygamy and incest. With this I strongly agree. If the government gives legal recognition to homosexual couples there will be no foundation upon which it can stand in order to deny sanctioning other morally deviant unions as legally recognized by marriage.
Should the government outlaw sodomy? That I have not decided yet. And there is a distinction between these issues. What I have been talking about thus far is proactive, positive government recognition of an immoral act. It is a somewhat different issue to say that the government should take a step further and prosecute people who engage in sodomy. I actually do lean toward outlawing sodomy, partly because of the argument I have already mentioned that says that to allow sodomy is to leave no ground on which to stand to outlaw other sexual practices such as polygamy, incest, bestiality, pedophilia, and any other immoral sexual practice that the sinful mind has concocted.
I hope to be stating my position on same-sex marriage within the day.
I also plan to start following the U.S. Senate race, I am really at a loss as to who I should vote for, therefore I will let my search be also your search. For those who don't live in California and who might think that this would not concern you, reconsider. Many things happen in California that shape the nation. For example, illegal immigration. As you see how I would choose which candidate should represent California as senator I hope that you will keep in mind these qualities for your own senate candidates so that serious problems that the nation seems to have turned a blind eye to can one day be resolved.
Well not really, just the park. I like going there except for one thing. There's this poky thing in my left sandle and sometimes when I step on a rock on the path it pokes up into my foot and I look like an idiot jumping, tripping, and wincing as I walk. But otherwise I like going to the park. Today I discovered that that pair of Canadian geese have taken up residence at my park. It made me glad, though I am still a little confused as to how they got there in the first place and why they aren't leaving. I did not get to feed them, however. They swam by while I was reading not while I was feeding. Some idiot left their fishing hook and line on the ground, a lot of it too. (I threw it away) Please never leave stuff on the ground. If you are there enjoying the park it would seem to make sense that you would have an interest in preserving it. But maybe I'm just old fashioned. I was raised that when you leave a campsite you leave it cleaner than when you got there. Also at the park was this guy playing his guitar. It was rather soothing. For a while he was sitting off somewhere where I couldn't see him but then he moved over to my side of the pond. For that I was glad.
1. Congrats to Scott and Dara on their engagement.
2. Heidi and I are on a mission to save the image of Goldberry. That's all I'll say about that until we've finished our project.
Today my school, Patrick Henry College, made the front page of the New York Times. You can read the article here. The article, and consequently the school, got a lot of radio attention as a result. It seemed a mostly balanced article, but quite from a liberal perspective. I think we have the left a bit scared. Still, it said a number of positive things and did the job of bringing us to the attention of the whole country. This quote was especially amusing/notable. While I would say its an unfair characterization, I'll take her reaction as a compliment.
"Mike Farris is trying to train young people to get on a very right-wing political agenda," said Nancy Keenan, the education policy director at People for the American Way, a liberal advocacy group, and a former Montana state superintendent of public education. The number of Patrick Henry interns in the White House "scares me to death," she said. "It tells us a little bit more about the White House than it does about the kids."
Also, a few days ago we were featured in The Economist. See that article here.
I'd like to tip my hat to Prof Root who said today in his blog that we are his best students. I took his class, so that includes me. To see what he had to say about us and about the article go here.
I haven't had much opportunity to write here the past few days, and I will not until I accomplish this other thing. You see, a friend of mine has challenged me in a peculiar sort of way and I am busy answering his challenge. I will ultimately be victorious, of course, but in the mean time my mind is rather occupied with strategy. See you when its over. Valeo si valetis. Habete fidem.
Some news of a political nature. My candidate of choice for the republican nomination for U.S. Senate did not win. Howard Kaloogian 11.1% (my choice) was beat by Bill Jones 44.6%. I would just like to say that Bill Jones is a ninny and I do not want to vote for him. I'm considering voting for James Gray who is running Libertarian, but I'll keep you posted as I find out more about him. I had been hoping to get involved in a campaign, this kinda puts a damper on that. I refuse to support Bill Jones, while I might vote for James Gray I would not go so far as to give him extra support, and the American Independent guy is a freaking conspiracy theorist. So I'm at a loss. I'll just have to fade into political obscurity for a while until someone decent comes along.
At long last, here are some of the Defense Team highlights. (just the attorneys tonight, i'm tired)
Caleb: showed himself to be quite on top of it during his pre-trial argument when the clerk (not Kelli) shorted him at least a minute. With amazing composure, he pulled his argument together into the time he had left and still made a convincing argument.
Chris: astounded me. He delivered a calm, collected closing argument as he swaggered in and out of the well. His referrence to things that actually took place in that evening's trial was the best I had ever seen in all my years of the Mock Trial.
Jason: can object. The most impressive moments were those when he objected to the admissability of the diagrams. Few teams do this, and he pulled it off like he did it every day.
Tiana: was the much needed female presence on this team. It is difficult to sound compassionate while arguing a case and not only did she sound compassionate but her demeanor exhibited that quality as well. This made both her and the testimonies she brought out believable.
Stay tuned for the witnesses..........
"I must know that girl!"
Sunday was a big night in Hollywood and I was there. I attended the Into the West LOTR fan party with Heidi. Now I know this may come as a surprise to everyone, but this was a big deal party as far as I was concerned. I had never encountered a bouncer in person before, not to mention I rarely make it in to Hollywood. Now you might say, why? don't you like but a short 45 minutes from there? But if you actually had ever been to Hollywood you would not question my general rule of avoiding that place. But I digress. We arrived looking quite stunning and were admitted by two frightening looking men in black suits. Inside was decorated LOTR style, with different rooms as different places from the stories. We wandered around a bit, found some people Heidi knows, and wandered some more. We ate dinner as we watched the show. Great food, but between the corsette in my dress and the little chair I was sitting on, eating was a difficult task. That was by far THE BEST Academy Awards show, or for that matter any awards show, that I have ever seen. I spoke to my grandma about that, she agreed and she's been watching it for far longer than I have. It wasn't just because of the ROTK clean sweep, I found almost the whole thing to be quite entertaining. But yes, ROTK. It really is quite a lot of fun to watch the Oscars at a party. Everyone kept screaming. I like screaming. We screamed every time any cast or other affiliated person showed up on the screen. We also screamed for Johnny Depp. How could it be helped? So that was a lot of fun. After the show was over we wondered about a bit more and bought a few things. Heidi bought a pair of dangly sword earings for her mom and I bought an enting for my sister, Kelli. It was a charity thing of Dominic Monaghan's where you donate $5 for tree planting and they give you a little baby giant sequoia to plant in your backyard. Eventually we wandered in to listen to the bands play. All celticy sorts of course. I liked them. While we were at that we took a picture with a guy from Gondor and another from the Shire, but by the looks of it he was a bit big for a regular hobbit. (btw, for those who don't know, I'm the one in black and Heidi is the one in green) We then hung out watching the bands until about 1:30am and then drove home. Quite a lot of excitement for me, I still haven't quite recovered. Oh, and it was also a night of discovery. I discovered two things about myself.
1. I find armor irresistable
2. Same goes for kilts
Good night.
