Yale

Well, back from Yale. Debated quite a bit, made it to semifinals (and almost finals), and had a nice time. I also went to the famous Sally's Pizza, which is not only famous for its fantastic pizza, but also for its amazingly long waits. (3 hours. Urrrrgh.)

In addition, I'd like to wish everyone a happy new year. Yes, that's what Rosh Hashannah is. Shame on you if you didn't know.

Yale

Well, tomorrow I'm leaving for a debate tournament up at Yale - won't back until late late Sunday, so you won't here from me for a little while. Considering the amount of work I've put in (countless hours and counting), one would hope that I can at least make finals in my event. Or so I'd hope.

For kicks, topics that I will be debating include... Plug-in hybrids, offshore drilling, tightening Myanmar sanctions, privatizing Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac), World Bank/IMF reform, eliminating water subsidies to agribusiness, the FairTax act, Georgia (the country), and FEMA reform.

Exciting. I know.

I Hate Economics

My head hurts. So badly. I need to write a speech on why it's bad if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tank (and therefore why they should stay nationalized), and why/why not the US should cut funding to the World Bank and IMF. Also, once done, I need large amounts of research on Ntl. Sales Tax, Disaster Relief, and Georgia. (The country)

I am busy. I am tired. I am going to Yale on Friday. Grah.

Cannabis

Well, I've a debate tournament to go to at Yale on Friday, and I have until Thursday to write between 6-10 speeches, with research on four more. Curse my accursed to desire to succeed. It's always wreaking havoc with my free time.

Always amusing to find a proposed bill to legalize marijuana, though. If there's one thing you can bet on debating at around half of all forensics tournaments, it's pot. Because we really want our pot, don't we.

I also happen to have a really, really strong, 4-point affirmative speech prepared on it, that ranges from topics of medical benefits to economic benefits to deterrance of crime. I am set.

It's funny, too, because as not-serious of a topic it is, there really are a lot of arguments for legalizing marijuana. It really isn't as bad as it's made out to be. The problem is that stupid people always end up abusing it and throwing their lives away to get cash for it. The actual physical detriments are pretty slim - the main thing is that you're liable to do stupid things when under its influence. But the same can be said of Valium, and it is much more legal. In all truth, prescription pot makes perfect sense. It's just a matter of cleaning up the messy undeground use.

Jammy

Friday night was one of the more profound musical experiences of my life thus far. Me 'n a friend decided to have a jam session, him on the acoustic gui-tar (which he rocks at), and me jamming on piano along with him.

Conclusion: Acoustic guitar and a grand piano do not rock very hard together.

Conclusion: Acoustic guitar and cello gel extremely well together.

After a bit of experimenting (including a semi-failed attempt to play a cello guitar-style), we finally realized that acoustic-cello improv sounds awesome.

If you hear of a band called the "Kaetan-Jon Connection" or "The G String" or something like that that involves a really talented guitarist and some random cellist improving, it's probably us. Go check us out, future people.

Bored

Is it a bad thing to say that you actually want to go faster in a class? Because, right now, I actually want all of my classes to get harder and start getting challenging. In all of my three major courses (AP Calc, Honors chem, Spanish III), I've essentially learned nothing new. Calc, it's all about limits, which I already knew about. Chem is as interesting as a coma (dimensional analysis is so stupid.) and Spanish, well, nothing new yet.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but someone please throw something hard at me! Make me do derivitives, solve crazy chem equations, and teach me how to say "the world will end on the day that the Flying Spaghetti Monster descends from the heavens" or something like that in Spanish. (Not true, but nonetheless, you get the point.)

Of course, I probably won't be saying that tomorrow afternoon, when I'll have to write something like ten 3-minute speeches before Friday. But for now, I'm bored.

Chocolate Rain

Well, I was recently approached with the weird idea of our school chorus singing a version of "Chocolate Rain" at their spring pops concert. One issue: They need a keyboardist to play the crazy accompaniment. (If it actually ends up happening, anyway.) Suggested keyboard expert: Me.

I am actually about to go learn Chocolate Rain for the piano. That's just a little creepy. Oh well. It's an 8-measure phrase repeated endlessly, with verrry minor variation. I'm sure my crazy improv skills can take care of that.

Oh, and if you've never seen it before, here you go. It's quite insightful, and also very funny. (Hint: Replace the phrase 'chocolate rain' with 'racism'. Gasp!)

Mobile

Well, this marks my first ever attempt at mobile blogging from my iPod touch. Granted, it's not as fast, convenient, or feature-filled as using a good old computer, but it seems to work just fine. Plus I've included a stylish drawing that I made myself. So very stylish. Oh, wait, no, Blogger isn't good enough to do even that. Hm. This post is somewhat lacking. Oh well.

Oh, and Michael Phelps is a great swimmer and all, but seriously, stick to swimming, Mike. Acting just isn't your forte. (See: SNL, 9.13.08)

Sleep is Bliss

One of my favorite songs, Rebellion by Arcade Fire, starts with the lyric "sleeping in is giving in." If that's the case, than giving in is bliss. For someone who gets an average of about 6-6.5 hours of sleep a night and rises at 5:30am, sleeping for nearly 11 hours until 10:30am is like... So, so, so very good. I love sleep.

In other news, the LHC Rap (Large Hadron Collider) has taken the internet by storm. Watch and be educated, amused, and slightly embaressed by the sheer amount of nerdiness. Also, just be thankful we haven't been turned into seventh-dimensional spaghetti or something.

Spreading the Gospel of Pastafarianism

I'd like to announce that I have become a follower of the Pastafarian movement. For those of you unfamiliar with the movement, we Pastafarians believe that the universe was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He and his Noodly Appendages are responsible to all that you experience about you. There are many of us; millions of supporters, in fact, and, no, I assure you, I am not joking. To all skeptics: He is invisible, of course, and that's why you've never seen him. Have you ever seen the Christian or Jewish God?

A little background: In 2005, the Kansas State Board of Education voted to require the teaching of intelligent design. In response, one Bobby Henderson sent this letter (which I strongly encourage you to read) to the School Board in response. Two years later, the decision was repealed. No, the Church of the FSM does not necessarily require that you believe in its deity, but rather the principles behind it: The opposition of the intelligent design movement, the defense of science, the opposition of religious fundamentalism, and the support of a fully secular government. Religion should be fully separate from politics, although this is clearly not the case today.

Remember, the majority support of a theory does not justify it. For all its support, intelligent design cannot be taught as a scientific theory in schools, simply because there is no evidence supporting it. One could argue that there is no way to disprove it; this is a weak and overall stupid argument. If the theory that an omniscient, all-powerful, Judeo-Christian-Islam God created all we know can be taught in schools, but is impossible to prove scientifically, then it only makes sense that other beliefs should be taught as well. You cannot disprove the belief that the Flying Spaghetti Monster created all that we know.

Many people that would advocate such a "ridiculous" theory as this would be marked as crazy, even heretics. Apparently, one need not have justification for a theory to be taught, only have it described in ancient books, taught as a sacred truth on Sundays, and instilled into the minds of children in school for it to become acceptable.

I encourage you to check out the Church's website. It's one of the more sensible beliefs out there today. And no, this is not an athiest/agnostic manifesto. I continue my Jewish faith: I only consider myself a Pastafarian because I reject mindless worship, and fully support a secular govenment.