When will it end?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/opinion/blow-the-bleakness-of-the-bullied.html?ref=columnists

Above is a heart-stopping story of the bullied. It seems like you always hear about someone being picked on, sometimes almost to the point of suicide. This article caught me off-guard. As it turns out the author of the article himself was bullied. Bullied until he considered suicide. He shares his story of the very moments he thought of ending it all. It's unfortunate that our society needs a constant reminder of making sure children treat each other with deceny, but if that's what it takes today to prevent damage to people's lives, then so be it.

This essay is short, but powerful. Powerful writings require the writer to actually have had the experiences they write about in my opinion. It gives to the readers the passion of the story needed to completley imagine themselves in the story. It's sad to have to read it, but it becomes easier to imagine.

Sound and Fury

This is complicated. Too complicated. I couldn't tell you what its like to be deaf, but I know how passionate you can feel when defending your own discourse. I was slightly offended by the end of the film by the father and the deaf gathering conversation, but I can't help but understand how enraged he must feel that his daughter would want to leave her natural roots. The father is proud to be deaf and there is a lot of honor in that. It was what he was given and he doesnt have a regret.

I'm stuck in between the sides here. At first for a moment, I was shocked that you wouldn't give your child an implant because whether you like it or not, it is the right choice if you want to give your child more opportunity. It only opens doors and closes none. But the direct family brings up good points. It's their child, she's deaf. Thats the way it is.Why leave your whole family behind? But then we got to the point where I almost felt stupid to be able to hear and then my feelings really expressed themselves.

Humans are supposed to be able to hear. That's the way they are built. That is the way the world is constructed for - those who can hear. To miss sounds anyway in general would be hell. You have no idea what you're missing. And to never be able to hear music? That is just wrong. Music is arguably the greatest and most beautiful art form and way to express yourself.

But then again, it's still their kid and she was born that way. So...I don't know which way to lean.

Fear?

Come on...I'm Ryan Michaelis. I'm all that is man - afraid of nothing. Just kidding. I'm afraid of a lot of things; clowns, dolls and puppets, sometimes heights, hannah montana, and I'm not entirely fond of spiders. Don't let that list fool you though. I can party with a clown without hurting him and running frantically out the door. I...can maybe be in the same house as thouse creepy American Girl dolls that no longer have hair or the puppets that just sit in the corner smiling.

More importantly, let's look at the fears I overcame! Needles man...needles. All you have to do is look away. Heck, you could stare at it, just don't think about it if it all possible. (FF(Fun Fact) It took seven doctors and nurses to hold me down for a booster shot when I was nine.) I don't know whether to be proud of my man power when in distress or eternally ashamed of what a big baby I was....am.

Other than that I overcame my fear of complete darkness as well. I just didn't like the feeling of not being able to see what might be there. Somethimes I'd just be frightened by the thought of bumping into a wall. It's not like I thought there were monsters in the dark, eventually.

I can relate to the phobia reading though. I can't say I have ever been afraid of my sleeping bag, but I'll be honest...I've looked up and have had the sudden sensation of falling off the face of the earth. I don't know why and I don't get the feeling anymore...but It still makes me think every time I look up.

        Alright I'm going to be honest, I didn't get far into my my Ipod's list of songs but this one caught my eye. The song is called, "Ain't no Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant. The lyrics are as follows:

I was walkin' down the street, when out the corner of my eye
I saw a pretty little thing approachin' me
She said I've never seen a man
Who looks so all alone, could you use a little company?

If you pay the right price your evenin' will be nice
Or you can go and send me on my way
I said you're such a sweet young thing, why you do this to yourself?
She looked at me and this is what she said

Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free

I know I can't slow down, I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good

Not even fifteen minutes later after walkin' down the street
When I saw the shadow of a man creep out of sight
And then he swept up from behind, he put a gun up to my head
He made it clear he wasn't lookin' for a fight

He said give me all you've got, I want your money not your life
If you try to make a move I won't think twice
I told him you can have my cash but first you know I gotta ask
( From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/c/cage-the-elephant-lyrics/aint-no-rest-for-the-wicked-lyrics.html )
What made you wanna live this kind of life?

He said there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free

I know I can't slow down, I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could
Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good

Well, now a couple hours passed and I was sittin' at my house
The day was windin' down and comin' to an end
And so I turned on the TV and flipped it over to the news
And what I saw I almost couldn't comprehend

I saw a preacher man in cuffs, he'd taken money from the church
He stuffed his bank account with righteous dollar bills
But even still I can't say much because I know we're all the same
Oh yes, we've all seek out to satisfy those thrills

You know there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
We got bills to pay, we got mouths to feed
There ain't nothin' in this world for free

I know we can't slow down, we can't hold back
Though you know we wish we could
No there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good
Personally I think this song is a good representation of maybe our nation as a whole right now or maybe even a majority of Wisconsin. I'd think to think it doesn't have much to do with McFarland, but you never know. Sadly our world, our species, is driven by power or money. Most won't admit it, but that's all they might be in something for.

As bluntly as it's presented in the song, that's sometimes how it actually is. Prostitution exists, people get mugged often. Maybe not here, but they do. I'm not calling man-kind, or at least all of it, wicked, but there's a lot of room for improvement. It just seems to me like one of the world's biggest cliches is in fact true. Money is the root of all evil. It drives us against eachother and tears the possibility of maximum progress of our kind.

Anyway, cool song. Check it out.

What...could writing possibly be to me?

I don't think I talk that much really. At least I hope not and if I do, sorry. But I tend to write as though I am speaking, quite often fresh my thought process. It's...bad writing to most, but easily refinable. Personally I don't think it's anyones business to judge whether or not someone's writing is good or not as long as they are writing, but I suppose...there is bad composition out there.

Really, the way I like to go about writing is the same way you would...brainstorm as an engineer. No matter what you type what you come up with. You throw down everything you've got and piece it together later. Right now, I can envision myself reading this off to a small group. It's just keeping writing natural.

To me, complex, scholarly, properly puncuated writing is disgusting. It's so artificial and boring. But I guess...if writing like that gives you attention, why wouldn't some students do it?

How to win a Presidential Election...

Really all you have to do is continuously mention the people, the nation, sprinkle in some law, freedom, and on occasion peace and you've got it.

The word choice between the presidents doesn't necessarily alter that much throughout the existence of the United states. The same bland speech is given every four years with maybe a address to some event that would have been going on at the time to give it like a false uniqueness to it. That...may not be fair to say.

Actually it was really interesting being able to see the new vocabulary of presidents' speeches in the times they served and during the events they served in. George Washington used Nation the most, probably because the nation was just being born. Abraham Lincoln used the word war the most because he was president during the Civil War, arguably the worst war America has ever had a part or parts of. And so on.

Of course, the all knowing and oh so wise George W. Bush chose to say freedom the most which really didn't seem to have much relevance to anything for me. Maybe its because I don't like him or maybe he was really concerned about losing freedom during the terrorist attacks. Okay, I'll give him some credit.

It would just be nice to hear a president say something else, preferably from the heart, not by his personally writer or whatever.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the best president ever.

Secrets secrets are no fun....well...now they're for everyone.

 I must admit, I've always had a little interest in UFOs and Area 51 since the first time I heard of its existence. This book snapped my full attention towards it the moment my peripherals picked it up. I must say, I wasn't dissatisfied with my purchase one bit. I get a fun sense of excitement learning about topics that were so secret at least in the past and gaining clues to what still might be going on with the government and what they're trying to hide.  

Annie Jacobsen....blew my mind away every time I turned the page. Classified black project after covert operation and covered up event all seemingly to connect to one another in the conclusion. About 100 miles north west from Las Vegas lies the largest land mass restricted to authorized government officials. Named the Nevada Test Site entirely, Area 51 is only a small part of the property in the north east corner. What goes on there is never really revealed until on average of thirty years after it happens and some things...are still black or classified.

Jacobsen's style of writing, was challenging but made up for it with it's unique and enjoyable nature. Annie takes a few pages to explain a series of events that occur in a grouping of years, then proceeds to spend the next hundred pages or so sending you on a wild goose chase in detailed reports and pieced together stories of members, technology, and degree of secrecy involved that were included in those events. Really she just about covers the whole time line in each section, but spices it up by telling you the whole story first, then going into detail about new Air Force officers, pilots, or CIA officials and their experiences either gathered by interviews or taken from past news and government stories. Throw in some of the funniest but also terrifying encounters with the Soviets in the Cold War's Arms Race and this text is gonna keep you drooling for more classified info.

The creation of so many different technologies and organizations are covered in the book as well. Origins of the Central Intelligence Agency, Space Commands, MIT, and who was really behind the famed Project Manhattan. 

But, the thing your really dying to know....are Aliens real??? All I will say is in the beginning,  most UFOs were indeed US government and Russian spy planes. But, that's not the whole story. You'll have to read the book to find out yourself. And the best part, they're are still files kept black to this day since Area 51 opened up with one hangar and a few tents.

To conclude, give this book a shot whether your curious or not about government conspiracies. I will warn you though, be prepared to read the word clandestine once a freakin paragraph in some chapters.

Man...this was a beast...

Alright so my grandfather is kinda sexist..and I kinda want to make him read this and record his reaction.
Yes? No? Alright just kidding.

This was one of the most prestigious essays I've ever read. And wow was it difficult. From the old english, to the advanced vocab, relentless rants on random, seemingly un-related topics, and references to men I've never heard of also made this reading...take up my whole night. Nonetheless, great piece of writing.

From what I got away from it, the writing was an extened editorial on the respect given to women and how they are unfairly percieved in that times world. I agree with basically everything she stated. Equal treatment between the sexes however is not just a utopian dream as she said, it should be natural. It really is a shame some men think they're better than women just because they may be bigger or stronger in stature.

I really...really did not enjoy the length. It couldve been shortened as to me it seemed completley repetitive by the end. She was literally saying the same thing over and over again. I was also tricked by the advanced grammar. I was impressed by the initial presentation, but then it was just copied over and over again.

The references, were flawless. I have to give her that. Examples and interpretations of the text with backgrounds of the authors was superior work.

All in all, it was a very enlightening text. But I want to leave with one question to put forward. It seemed to be one of the only few things i took away from the extended argumental conversations with some of my male, republican elders: If women are so eager to be entirely equal, why are they not forced to sign up for the draft as well?

Welcome back....

Good news! I understood this one. Completely. Yes it may be hard to tell from reading just text, but I am in fact implying that it was ridiculously repetitive. In fact, it reminded me of a slightly more informal version of the traditional uptight, artificially written school essay that bores me half to death and makes me shudder on how scholars and professors believe its good writing. But like I said, slightly more informal so it made it bearable.

Okay. The intro, although I am entirely familiar with it,  felt out of place. Or at least there were so many better choices that the author could've used. I suppose it served its basic purpose and he did end up connecting it well in the conclusion. Another positive, he was far....far far far far away from being short of examples, connections, and citations in his text. Every other paragraph was some guy, from some time, doing something to notice they were becoming more "staccato" in their thinking. I loved that phrase.

Really, the thinks I connected with best were all of the mentions of the parts, functions and characteristics of the brain. I took psychology so most of the concepts and vocab to do with the brain i understood. As with the examples from Plato's texts as I also took philosophy and studied his works.

Admittedly, I nerded completely whenever I heard the term artificial intelligence or AI. I have followed, played, watched too much sci fi garbage to hear just about everything there is to hear about AI. and honestly, I can say I'm disturbingly open to having another processor and hard drive implanted into my head.

As a whole, I can't say I agree with the theory of the essay. Google isn't making us stupid. If used correctly....CORRECTLY....it's making us as individuals more proficient.I'd explain in more detail, but I have other plans with my day off....in summer.

Anywho, I'm not going to continue writing this boring blog with my improper vocab or writing habits. But I will say this piece was slightly less painful from the last. Thanks for the read Mr. Kunkle and Nicholas Carr.

Confusion

I'm not entirely sure I understand what I just attempted reading. It may be in part to my un-relentless stubbornness to not do my homework or because I am currently exhausted, but this was just a roller coaster ride of vivid, random thoughts, dreams, and memories from this most likely very lonely lady. I'm also not sure of at what point during the ride...I fell off.

So...I assumed we started with an actual memory of this chick's past. Although her writing may be terribly over crowded with unnecessary description and explanations while simultaneously being impossible to follow, she picked the right place to sleep while going through one of her teenage episodes. perhaps she's never grown passed those troubled teen years and the wild emotions they come with. I honestly can't fathom any other excuse as to why she would waste bandwidth on the world wide web sharing insanely detailed, random dreams of hers.

I really can't talk however. My dreams, when I can remember them, are just as random if not more. But usually...I don't give them a second thought, and I especially don't think of sharing them with others. I have to give her credit, I can't recollect that fine of detail in my dreams or back story to accommodate what's actually occurring. And I really don't understand how she has such lengthy dreams. The first time she mentions where she dreams best, she gives an example of almost the full bio of an actually living, different person. Poet-in-the-schools. Teaching a variety of characters. Staying at multiple, cheap motels. Living low. Who remembers that from their dreams?

I have to say there wasn't much of a connection for me with this story at all. It was random, it was confusing, it was utterly a waste of my time to read the whole thing, but the writing was probably better than anything I could've written. Very descriptive anyway. I really enjoyed how she talked about the hunting land for some reason though. I always felt like I could stand where she was, see what she saw, and hear what she heard when she talked about it.

I guess...all in all. I'm tired. I didn't like the story at all. Sorry. It did nothing for me. And despite the belief and well thought out argument of Louise to the contrary...I would most certainly never want to be a skunk if any animal.

Viewpoints on the Unthinkable

Although the two pieces presented this week were on the same topic, they had significant differences in meaning and tone.  John Updike and Susan Sontag seemed to have written their works at different times in my opinion. To me, Updike's article must have been written immediately after as it gives, in vivid detail, his experience in watching the horrors of 9/11. On the other hand, Sontag's writing reminds of some editorial article I would've read a month after the tragedy. Both pieces gave me varied emotional responses listed below.

As morbid as the subject is, I can honestly say I enjoyed reading John's writing. It was a simple recollection of what he saw and heard through his own senses.  At the same time there was an inspiring undertone to his view of the events occurring. To condense what he was trying to say, from what I got from it, his message reminds of the phrase, "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger." He described all of the new-found pain and fear that he and other Americans were feeling, but the patriot inside of him knew that it didn't matter whose fault it was, why it could have happened, or what the government should be doing about it, but that America, together, will again rise to the occasion.

Sontag's article left me confused and latching on to mixed feelings about her view on the event, our government, and her patriotism in general. Not one paragraph spared a line to commend an American for fighting through the setback or to compliment the efforts of the U.S. government in their restoration process. Instead it's damn near pure criticism of all members involved. However, I will say I appreciated the fact that she leveled the playing field in terms of explaining why the Terrorists attacked and that they, in fact, are not cowards.

Anywho....cool articles. Peace.

A little preview of Ryan...

Howdy,
My name is Ryan Matthew Michaelis. Born here in Madison at Meriter Hospital in the greatest year of all time, 1994, I share a birthday with the one and only M.C. Hammer. (Be jealous) But the coolest thing you'll ever know about me...I'm Italian ;). And not the creepy Guido kind. I'm not going to lie, the beginning of my life ain't a fun story to share. I mean sure; i traveled a lot, met lots of exciting people, learn things i may or may not should have been allowed to learn that early, and most importantly had a lot of fun. But now, my family is all messed up with divorce, drug abuse, and anger. Yuck! But whatevs. *Coined term with my bro Dane C.*

Hmmm....hobbies, hobbies, hobbies. I enjoy playing the greatest sport the world is not privileged enough to completely be covered in, football. Also I'm in track, going to try out swimming, maybe lacrosse, I sail, I'm in bike club, student council, ambassadors, GSA, Police Explorers, and now I'm part of the Life of a Spartan Leadership thing...so yay. I loveeeee video games, all music (I mean all), model making, biking, some reading, cooking, amateur guitar and drum player,  hanging with my bro, and definitely working for my boss Ryan Krattiger. lol. *Are...text speak and side notes allowed in this weird blogging stuff?*

I have to say the most important thing to me that almost always fills my thoughts is my amazing girlfriend Megan Howen. There's simply no other way to put it, she's the best. We've been going out for a little over three months now, I don't see any reason to not keep this going longer. 

Pssshhhh....my future...haha....funny story. I have no idea! My current ideas: Lawyer, Politician, Police Officer, Engineer :), Business Man!, Stunt man?, or Officer in the Air Force. My options are slimming pretty quickly as I am dangerously unmotivated, probably dyslexic (Okay, I might secretly be a super genius as well), and have no confidence, but strangely...i wanna say i got this.

To conclude, I'm really bad at English as you probably have already noticed so be nice please. But dont worry, my insane coolness levels will surely make up for it. And yes, this is late. Might...wanna get used to that happening.......oh...and Mr. Kunkle......GO BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!