Two posts in one week? I'm on a roll!
As you may, or may not, have noticed, I got bored with my blog background so I changed it again. I nearly peed myself I got so excited when I found out I could change the font on some of the things on here! If I was a techno-mo-magic smarty pants, I probably would have found out that sooner, but alas, I have a life (well, as far as you know). If I could change all the fonts (I probably could, i just don't know how to) I would, like every day.
Me and fonts, we are like this. . . (You can't see, but I'm crossing my fingers on both my hands) I don't take the subject of fonts lightly. I can spend just as long choosing the font and format of an essay as I will writing it. That's why I like my word processing software, Pages, over MS Word because I have twice the font selection.
I'm such a font nerd, I have managed to write three paragraphs on the mere topic of this amazing and diverse subject.
Toss away the Times New Roman and Calabri default users, and explore the fine curves of Baskerville, or the chic blocks of Copperplate.
How many normal people do you know that can make up a poetry style sentence about fonts? (If you actually know someone like that, hook me up!)
My New Background:
I don't know what it is with me, but I have the need to change things often. I will go into crazy monkey-mode if I can't change the furniture arrangement of my room, or the color of my walls, or anything else that is on my mind on that second without planning it or thinking it over, several times a year.
Oh, the curses of an artsy fartsy person like me has to deal with.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Book Review Corner
It's time for another fabulous book review from the greatest book reader, writer, and reviewer of all time -- Me!
Ashes
Ilsa Bick
This book was pretty awesome. It has all the aspects that I have been into lately: action, adventure, and post-apacolypism. I always give every book recommended to me a chance of 60 pages before I quite or finish the book. This was one of those that almost pushed me to the limit. The first 30 or so pages weren't so good (I felt like the author tried a bit to hard) but weren't bad. Around a quarter way into the book it gets intense. But the thing that bothered me was that the climax -- in my opinion -- was in the middle, not the end. I read 'til the end just to find out what happens, but the book plot turned for the not as exciting.
The writing is a little weird, the paragraphs end in weird spots, there are seemingly random breaks and the don't make much sense. And it showed more than told.
Backstory Time!
In my writing class, it was drilled into me that when writing, you should show them, not tell them.
Back to the now:
Anyways, the chapter would end all suspenseful like normal, than they next chapter would pick up, like, three days later and Alex would say how the battle ended.
Should all these complaints discourage you from reading it? No!
As I said to my english teacher "The writing isn't the best, but it is definitely worth reading because of the amazing plot."
Would I recommend it to someone? Yes. Would I read the sequel? Yes. Do I love it? No. Do I like it? Yes.
Overall, I give it 3.9/5 Stars.
Now for some sad/happy(shappy?) news: my amazing english/writing class had two real live authors come by every tuesday to teach us how to be writers, and last tuesday was their last. I'm so grateful for what I've learned, but it's still sad since I looked forward to it every week.
That's about it in my life for the last 11 or so days(Is that pathetic?) Have a happy weekend and TGIF!
Ashes
Ilsa Bick
This book was pretty awesome. It has all the aspects that I have been into lately: action, adventure, and post-apacolypism. I always give every book recommended to me a chance of 60 pages before I quite or finish the book. This was one of those that almost pushed me to the limit. The first 30 or so pages weren't so good (I felt like the author tried a bit to hard) but weren't bad. Around a quarter way into the book it gets intense. But the thing that bothered me was that the climax -- in my opinion -- was in the middle, not the end. I read 'til the end just to find out what happens, but the book plot turned for the not as exciting.
The writing is a little weird, the paragraphs end in weird spots, there are seemingly random breaks and the don't make much sense. And it showed more than told.
Backstory Time!
In my writing class, it was drilled into me that when writing, you should show them, not tell them.
Back to the now:
Anyways, the chapter would end all suspenseful like normal, than they next chapter would pick up, like, three days later and Alex would say how the battle ended.
Should all these complaints discourage you from reading it? No!
As I said to my english teacher "The writing isn't the best, but it is definitely worth reading because of the amazing plot."
Would I recommend it to someone? Yes. Would I read the sequel? Yes. Do I love it? No. Do I like it? Yes.
Overall, I give it 3.9/5 Stars.
Now for some sad/happy(shappy?) news: my amazing english/writing class had two real live authors come by every tuesday to teach us how to be writers, and last tuesday was their last. I'm so grateful for what I've learned, but it's still sad since I looked forward to it every week.
That's about it in my life for the last 11 or so days(Is that pathetic?) Have a happy weekend and TGIF!
Monday, December 5, 2011
I'm back!(For now:)
So,
I haven't posted in forever, in case you haven't noticed.
I really don't know what to say. It's one of those things that you forget about, and when you try to do something about it, it just makes it worse because you're so far behind, you don't want to remind anyone that you're a failure at keeping blog.
What's new in my life:
School started. I got a new baby:D Winter came. The wind storm came and ruined my week. I got in trouble at Wal-Mart for being to charitable.
Here's a picture of my new baby! JackJack
Here they are together:
Other than that, life is as monotonous as usual.
Oh, I got my name in the paper THREE times! And they misspelled my name THREE times! Is my name Seth Baty?! Um, no! It's Seth BATZ!! With a Z! That's not even a proper typo since Z and Y are nowhere near each other on the keyboard.
Well that's my rant for today.
In other news, I am trying my hand at writing a book. I am at chapter 7, which is very impressive for me since I have the attention span of a squirrel on speed.
It doesn't have a title yet, but it's pretty freakin' awesome so far.
I even made a book trailer for it(It's not very good since I threw it together in like 10 minutes)
What do y'all think? Does it look enticing? If you want what I have(or a piece) so far, just contact me and I'd be delighted to share and hear your comments/questions.
I haven't written anything really blog-worthy yet, but I'll post when I write the summary that goes on the back of the book, or anything amazing/inspirational/life altering that I, the Magnificent, have penned.
Have a super-fantastic Monday(if you can:)
I haven't posted in forever, in case you haven't noticed.
I really don't know what to say. It's one of those things that you forget about, and when you try to do something about it, it just makes it worse because you're so far behind, you don't want to remind anyone that you're a failure at keeping blog.
What's new in my life:
School started. I got a new baby:D Winter came. The wind storm came and ruined my week. I got in trouble at Wal-Mart for being to charitable.
Here's a picture of my new baby! JackJack
Here they are together:
Other than that, life is as monotonous as usual.
Oh, I got my name in the paper THREE times! And they misspelled my name THREE times! Is my name Seth Baty?! Um, no! It's Seth BATZ!! With a Z! That's not even a proper typo since Z and Y are nowhere near each other on the keyboard.
Well that's my rant for today.
In other news, I am trying my hand at writing a book. I am at chapter 7, which is very impressive for me since I have the attention span of a squirrel on speed.
It doesn't have a title yet, but it's pretty freakin' awesome so far.
I even made a book trailer for it(It's not very good since I threw it together in like 10 minutes)
What do y'all think? Does it look enticing? If you want what I have(or a piece) so far, just contact me and I'd be delighted to share and hear your comments/questions.
I haven't written anything really blog-worthy yet, but I'll post when I write the summary that goes on the back of the book, or anything amazing/inspirational/life altering that I, the Magnificent, have penned.
Have a super-fantastic Monday(if you can:)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
2012 Doomsday?
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I’m sure you all missed me terribly. I was looking through my student drive again at school and I was looking for something interesting, and I found it. It was an assignment for journalism class about if the world will end in 2012. My teacher was going to pick the best one to be published in the Salt Lake Tribune, and I got second out of everyone. I was pretty proud of myself, and so I thought I might share it with y’all. What do you think? Will the world end in 2012? What is your opinion on it? Let me know!
2012 Doomsday?
By: Seth Batz
We’ve all heard the prophecies and tales of the “impending doomsday” that lies on the date of December 21st, 2012, but what do you really know about it? Some say it’s the return of the lost planet Nibiru to usher in a New Age of enlightenment, or to collide with the Earth. Some say there will be a massive solar storm that will wipe out all living organisms. If you look at it scientifically, there is no proof anything will happen, but no proof that nothing will happen.
It’s really hard to understand this mysterious date if you don’t know what it all is about. I’ll start at the ancient Mayan calendar legend. Many people use the Mayan calendar in their arguments saying that their calendar ends on December 21st, 2012. Well, do you want to know something? The calendar hanging in my room ends on December 31st, 2011, so is the world going to end then? The ancient Mayans believed in "world ages" in their texts, but many of their texts have been lost or destroyed over the years, so the exact significance of this is unknown. According to the text, Popal Vuh, the book of creation to the Mayan people, we are living in the fourth world. The Popal Vuh says the first three worlds that the gods made failed, but the fourth was successful because man was created. The Mayan calendar was very accurate and sophisticated. It was divided up into three main cycles, the longest cycle being the Long Count, or B'ak'tun. In the Long Count, the previous world ended after 13 b'ak'tuns or roughly 5,125 years. The Long Count starts where they believed the third world ended, and the current one began, around August 11th or 13th 3,114 BC. This means that the fourth, and current world will also have reached the end of its thirteenth b'ak'tun on either December 21 or December 23, 2012.
The Mayans didn’t believe that the world was going to end; they probably would have partied because they made it a whole cycle. "There is nothing in the Maya or Aztec or ancient Mesoamerican prophecy to suggest that they prophesied a sudden or major change of any sort in 2012." says Mayanist scholar Mark Van Stone.
The Mayans thought there was another world before this, so that could mean they were comfortable with the idea of another after this. They even predicted future events past the end of the fourth world, such as the returning of one of their great leaders, Palenque ruler K'inich Janaab Pakal in AD 4772.
Some say that the doomsday will be a collision with the planet NIbiru. The first civilization on Earth was the Sumerians. Ancient Sumerian mythology says that they learned everything they knew from their gods, Anunnaki(translated ‘Those who from heaven to Earth came). They seemed to have an advanced knowledge of our solar system. They knew all nine planets of the solar system, their colors, and their moons. They even said that Mars once had water, which is now being proven. The Anunnaki are said to have come from a planet called Nibiru (‘The planet of the crossing’), and came to teach us. The Sumerians say that Nibiru comes into our solar system every 3,600 years, because of its long, complicated orbit. Many people believe that Nibiru will return again and bring enlightenment or will collide with us. Zecharia Sitchin, one of the very few people who can read and translate ancient languages of the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Hebrew, stated that then next time Nibiru will come back to our solar system is December 21st, 2012. This theory has been disproved because if Nibiru were to come back, it would be in 2087. Also, a body of mass that large near our solar system would have been detected long ago.
Finally, I’ll show you the science and astronomy of 2012. To fully explain and understand the whole of what is going to happen on December 21st, 2012 would be nearly impossible. You would need a PhD in astrophysics just to be able to understand it, but I will do my best to paraphrase it.
In our solar system, everything is balanced. Like a ruler you place on your finger, you need to hold it in the center. With something that’s heavier on one side, you slide that closer to the center. Our sun does that with all the planets, so it can “slingshot” them around itself. But there’s several objects around the sun, so it has more than one barycenter(the balancing point). This causes distress on the suns insides and outsides, the product of which is solar flares. Solar flares go through a cycle where the most intense flares happen at the end, solar maximum, and the less intense, solar minimum, at the beginning. The solar maximum happens about every 11 years. The next solar maximum is set to happen on December 21st, 2012. But that’s not all.
Our solar system is part of a huge disc shaped collection of stars and planets called the Milky Way galaxy. Our solar system is somewhere on the edge of the disc, slightly on top of the disc. But very soon we'll be moving to the bottom of the disc. This change, from top to bottom, begins on December 21, 2012. On the same day when our Sun is at its solar maximum, something will happen that's never happened for millions of billions of years, our solar system will intersect with the Galactic plane(the middle between the top and bottom of the disk), called the "Galactic Equator" of the Milky Way. But there’s more… We will be doing this precisely aligned with the center of the Galaxy where it’s at maximum mass! More mass means more gravity, more gravity means more disruption on the barycenters of our Sun. That means there will be more of a pull on the debris from the solar flares, which could cause it to hit earth!
So, there is your evidence. Even though many cosmic things will happen on December 21st, 2012, there is nothing to suggest anything will happen, but many things could happen. Now it’s your turn, do you think December 21st, 2012 is doomsday, or just another day of trying to get your last minute Christmas shopping done?
2012 Doomsday?
By: Seth Batz
We’ve all heard the prophecies and tales of the “impending doomsday” that lies on the date of December 21st, 2012, but what do you really know about it? Some say it’s the return of the lost planet Nibiru to usher in a New Age of enlightenment, or to collide with the Earth. Some say there will be a massive solar storm that will wipe out all living organisms. If you look at it scientifically, there is no proof anything will happen, but no proof that nothing will happen.
It’s really hard to understand this mysterious date if you don’t know what it all is about. I’ll start at the ancient Mayan calendar legend. Many people use the Mayan calendar in their arguments saying that their calendar ends on December 21st, 2012. Well, do you want to know something? The calendar hanging in my room ends on December 31st, 2011, so is the world going to end then? The ancient Mayans believed in "world ages" in their texts, but many of their texts have been lost or destroyed over the years, so the exact significance of this is unknown. According to the text, Popal Vuh, the book of creation to the Mayan people, we are living in the fourth world. The Popal Vuh says the first three worlds that the gods made failed, but the fourth was successful because man was created. The Mayan calendar was very accurate and sophisticated. It was divided up into three main cycles, the longest cycle being the Long Count, or B'ak'tun. In the Long Count, the previous world ended after 13 b'ak'tuns or roughly 5,125 years. The Long Count starts where they believed the third world ended, and the current one began, around August 11th or 13th 3,114 BC. This means that the fourth, and current world will also have reached the end of its thirteenth b'ak'tun on either December 21 or December 23, 2012.
The Mayans didn’t believe that the world was going to end; they probably would have partied because they made it a whole cycle. "There is nothing in the Maya or Aztec or ancient Mesoamerican prophecy to suggest that they prophesied a sudden or major change of any sort in 2012." says Mayanist scholar Mark Van Stone.
The Mayans thought there was another world before this, so that could mean they were comfortable with the idea of another after this. They even predicted future events past the end of the fourth world, such as the returning of one of their great leaders, Palenque ruler K'inich Janaab Pakal in AD 4772.
Some say that the doomsday will be a collision with the planet NIbiru. The first civilization on Earth was the Sumerians. Ancient Sumerian mythology says that they learned everything they knew from their gods, Anunnaki(translated ‘Those who from heaven to Earth came). They seemed to have an advanced knowledge of our solar system. They knew all nine planets of the solar system, their colors, and their moons. They even said that Mars once had water, which is now being proven. The Anunnaki are said to have come from a planet called Nibiru (‘The planet of the crossing’), and came to teach us. The Sumerians say that Nibiru comes into our solar system every 3,600 years, because of its long, complicated orbit. Many people believe that Nibiru will return again and bring enlightenment or will collide with us. Zecharia Sitchin, one of the very few people who can read and translate ancient languages of the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Hebrew, stated that then next time Nibiru will come back to our solar system is December 21st, 2012. This theory has been disproved because if Nibiru were to come back, it would be in 2087. Also, a body of mass that large near our solar system would have been detected long ago.
Finally, I’ll show you the science and astronomy of 2012. To fully explain and understand the whole of what is going to happen on December 21st, 2012 would be nearly impossible. You would need a PhD in astrophysics just to be able to understand it, but I will do my best to paraphrase it.
In our solar system, everything is balanced. Like a ruler you place on your finger, you need to hold it in the center. With something that’s heavier on one side, you slide that closer to the center. Our sun does that with all the planets, so it can “slingshot” them around itself. But there’s several objects around the sun, so it has more than one barycenter(the balancing point). This causes distress on the suns insides and outsides, the product of which is solar flares. Solar flares go through a cycle where the most intense flares happen at the end, solar maximum, and the less intense, solar minimum, at the beginning. The solar maximum happens about every 11 years. The next solar maximum is set to happen on December 21st, 2012. But that’s not all.
Our solar system is part of a huge disc shaped collection of stars and planets called the Milky Way galaxy. Our solar system is somewhere on the edge of the disc, slightly on top of the disc. But very soon we'll be moving to the bottom of the disc. This change, from top to bottom, begins on December 21, 2012. On the same day when our Sun is at its solar maximum, something will happen that's never happened for millions of billions of years, our solar system will intersect with the Galactic plane(the middle between the top and bottom of the disk), called the "Galactic Equator" of the Milky Way. But there’s more… We will be doing this precisely aligned with the center of the Galaxy where it’s at maximum mass! More mass means more gravity, more gravity means more disruption on the barycenters of our Sun. That means there will be more of a pull on the debris from the solar flares, which could cause it to hit earth!
So, there is your evidence. Even though many cosmic things will happen on December 21st, 2012, there is nothing to suggest anything will happen, but many things could happen. Now it’s your turn, do you think December 21st, 2012 is doomsday, or just another day of trying to get your last minute Christmas shopping done?
Monday, April 4, 2011
To Good to be True
“Have you heard the four seasons of Utah? Almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.”
On Friday, it was a beautiful, cloudless day, and I spent some time outside and I even got a sunburn. It gave me hope that spring was right around the corner, and I was so grateful and happy in the 68-degree weather. I started planning my spring and thinking about how life was gonna get better, and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
But that all changed on Saturday.
It was a lot like Friday, except there were a few more clouds and a bit cooler. It was a beautiful morning, and I was in a good mood when I woke up. Around noon clouds started to roll in and the temperature dropped, but that didn’t stop my mood(much).
My mom was meeting an old friend down in Salt Lake City, and I went along to help with the public transportation. It started to get chilly and more clouds were rolling in, and that did bring down my mood.
It was around 6 when it started to drizzle. That didn’t make me loose hope, it just made me loose hope for clear sunny skies, and I was unprepared for what was waiting for me back in Clearfield.
We boarded the FrontRunner at 10:30, and by the time it got to Clearfield it was about 11:40. It was like the beginning of a blizzard, the wind was very fast and the snowflakes were huge. We couldn’t see anything, and it took us several minutes to find the car. When we turned the heat on in the car, it melted the snowflakes on me, and I was soaked.
On Sunday the weather was a bit warmer, but it was snowing off and on all day, and this morning was very cold, 25 degrees(that may seem warm, but when the days have been in the 50s lately, that’s cold)
So all in all, I have lost hope that spring will ever come, especially after last year. Last year, the last snowstorm was May 24, and I left Utah before I could bask in the warmth of the 90 degree weather (it was like a cold spring storm all June long)
Mother Nature, why do you hate Utah?
On Friday, it was a beautiful, cloudless day, and I spent some time outside and I even got a sunburn. It gave me hope that spring was right around the corner, and I was so grateful and happy in the 68-degree weather. I started planning my spring and thinking about how life was gonna get better, and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
But that all changed on Saturday.
It was a lot like Friday, except there were a few more clouds and a bit cooler. It was a beautiful morning, and I was in a good mood when I woke up. Around noon clouds started to roll in and the temperature dropped, but that didn’t stop my mood(much).
My mom was meeting an old friend down in Salt Lake City, and I went along to help with the public transportation. It started to get chilly and more clouds were rolling in, and that did bring down my mood.
It was around 6 when it started to drizzle. That didn’t make me loose hope, it just made me loose hope for clear sunny skies, and I was unprepared for what was waiting for me back in Clearfield.
We boarded the FrontRunner at 10:30, and by the time it got to Clearfield it was about 11:40. It was like the beginning of a blizzard, the wind was very fast and the snowflakes were huge. We couldn’t see anything, and it took us several minutes to find the car. When we turned the heat on in the car, it melted the snowflakes on me, and I was soaked.
On Sunday the weather was a bit warmer, but it was snowing off and on all day, and this morning was very cold, 25 degrees(that may seem warm, but when the days have been in the 50s lately, that’s cold)
So all in all, I have lost hope that spring will ever come, especially after last year. Last year, the last snowstorm was May 24, and I left Utah before I could bask in the warmth of the 90 degree weather (it was like a cold spring storm all June long)
Mother Nature, why do you hate Utah?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Seth Book Review Corner!!
It’s time for another Seth Book Review Corner!!! Duh, duh-duh-duh duh duuuuuh!!!! K-chsk!! As I said earlier I was going to do a book review on one of the stories I’m writing, and so here it is:
The Tridantey Virus. I hear the author is supa good looking and smart too, and this is just a literary masterpiece! It will go down as the next Tale of Two Cities. It’s about the capital of the Earth Empire, Earth and it’s a very divided planet. The main character is 10-year-old Howneo Tridantey, who is basically Earth royalty. Earth isn’t run by a monarchy, but it sort of is. The head of the government is five individuals, and two are Howneo’s father and grandfather. The rich live in tall apartment buildings in the center of the City and the poor live in small apartment buildings on the outskirts of the City or the Farmlands. The story says that there are only 14 great and mighty cities scattered across the war-scarred continents. At the beginning, Howneo’s grandfather announces a magic cure-all has been made, the Tridantey Vaccine, and it will cure almost anything that ails you. And to make amends with all the citizens with Earth, and promote equality, they will administer the vaccine to everyone, free of charge.
Howneo hates being rich, and so he goes and converses with the poor people out in the alleys and lives a double life. His best friend says that all the Nuisances(what they call super poor or homeless people) are disappearing. Eventually Howneo goes to the alley where he always meets his best friend, and he never showed up. He went there every day for several days but he never showed. He even asks some of the other Nuisances where he went and they all say every day more and more Nuisances disappear.
Howneo likes to be on the roof of his building, and spends most of his time there; he says he’s in his room, but climbs up the fire escape to the roof. After coming home after waiting in the alley on the eighth night of his friend’s disappearance, he is climbing up the escape and goes past a window to his father’s study. He overhears a conspiracy between his father and grandfather about the Nuisances and the vaccine that leaves him totally shocked.
Should I tell you the rest? I am nowhere near being done with this book, so if you want to know the ending now, ask me and I’ll tell you, or I can put on here, and you can read it. Let me know what you think about the story and ending.
The Tridantey Virus. I hear the author is supa good looking and smart too, and this is just a literary masterpiece! It will go down as the next Tale of Two Cities. It’s about the capital of the Earth Empire, Earth and it’s a very divided planet. The main character is 10-year-old Howneo Tridantey, who is basically Earth royalty. Earth isn’t run by a monarchy, but it sort of is. The head of the government is five individuals, and two are Howneo’s father and grandfather. The rich live in tall apartment buildings in the center of the City and the poor live in small apartment buildings on the outskirts of the City or the Farmlands. The story says that there are only 14 great and mighty cities scattered across the war-scarred continents. At the beginning, Howneo’s grandfather announces a magic cure-all has been made, the Tridantey Vaccine, and it will cure almost anything that ails you. And to make amends with all the citizens with Earth, and promote equality, they will administer the vaccine to everyone, free of charge.
Howneo hates being rich, and so he goes and converses with the poor people out in the alleys and lives a double life. His best friend says that all the Nuisances(what they call super poor or homeless people) are disappearing. Eventually Howneo goes to the alley where he always meets his best friend, and he never showed up. He went there every day for several days but he never showed. He even asks some of the other Nuisances where he went and they all say every day more and more Nuisances disappear.
Howneo likes to be on the roof of his building, and spends most of his time there; he says he’s in his room, but climbs up the fire escape to the roof. After coming home after waiting in the alley on the eighth night of his friend’s disappearance, he is climbing up the escape and goes past a window to his father’s study. He overhears a conspiracy between his father and grandfather about the Nuisances and the vaccine that leaves him totally shocked.
Should I tell you the rest? I am nowhere near being done with this book, so if you want to know the ending now, ask me and I’ll tell you, or I can put on here, and you can read it. Let me know what you think about the story and ending.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
A Letter
I had to write a letter for an assignment a few weeks back, and I found it on the computer at school, so I took a look at it, and I thought it was pretty good, so I thought I’d share it with you. We were just learning about government and leaders of government in World Civ and had to write a letter to the leader of a certain country along with a common subject, and I chose the United States and a Sylvia Brown quote. I got docked some points because I didn’t reference the quote enough but I think it’s a pretty rockin’ letter. It’s on the internet so maybe, just maybe, someone up in the hierarchy of our nation might read it. That would be pretty awesome. Let me know what you think of it.
Dear leaders of the United States,
I am writing you for an assignment, but I expect you to take me seriously. Have you ever heard of Sylvia Brown or her famous prediction of the fall of the President of the United States? If you haven’t, then you should look into it. It sounds completely ridiculous when you hear it, but if you really think about it, we are heading there. She said that we would switch to a pure democracy and we will no longer have a president by the year 2050. Our government is corrupt and the leaders only look after themselves, and the people are getting restless. We need a change now or we will fall.
I believe that we need to keep our republic; it is the best form of government for our society. Machiavelli says that, prior to contrary belief, a republic is the best form of government. I personally don’t believe there is a one form of government that is a one size fits all, but a republic is a very good for a diverse society like ours. A republic is a great combination of many different types of governments, but like all the others, can become corrupt. Thomas Acquinas believes that monarchy will solve everyone’s problems. But as many of us see, a monarchy can so easily be corrupt and ruled in favor of the ruler. I, like many others of this nation, was taught that our government was indestructible and we are perfect. What we fail to see is that we can become just as corrupt as a monarchy, ruled in favor of the ruler. Can’t you see it now? All of our money goes to raising congress’s paycheck, and not for helping the man with a wife and three kids who just got laid off because of cutbacks.
My suggestion is radical to say the least, but I believe that it will work. I think we need a total reform, impeach most of our current leaders, and elect good, and honest people who will make sure that us people will be taken care of.
Rulers can be a controversial thing. Acquinas says that he needs to be noble and have a caring heart and love the people, and that’s fine and dandy, but that’s not reality. He is an idealist if I ever saw one. Machiavelli is more of a realist, but also a bit of a pessimist. He thinks that a ruler should be good in general, but not afraid to knock of few heads. The ruler also needs to be able to do the hard things like lie cheat and steal. I believe in the Greek “golden mean”, that the truth is somewhere in the middle. A ruler needs to have mercy and kindness but willing to do what it takes to keep us safe.
In conclusion, I think we need to reevaluate how our government is, because we are definitely heading in that direction, and if we don’t act soon, we will become a pure democracy, 51 percent rules the other 49.
Sincerely,
Seth Batz
Dear leaders of the United States,
I am writing you for an assignment, but I expect you to take me seriously. Have you ever heard of Sylvia Brown or her famous prediction of the fall of the President of the United States? If you haven’t, then you should look into it. It sounds completely ridiculous when you hear it, but if you really think about it, we are heading there. She said that we would switch to a pure democracy and we will no longer have a president by the year 2050. Our government is corrupt and the leaders only look after themselves, and the people are getting restless. We need a change now or we will fall.
I believe that we need to keep our republic; it is the best form of government for our society. Machiavelli says that, prior to contrary belief, a republic is the best form of government. I personally don’t believe there is a one form of government that is a one size fits all, but a republic is a very good for a diverse society like ours. A republic is a great combination of many different types of governments, but like all the others, can become corrupt. Thomas Acquinas believes that monarchy will solve everyone’s problems. But as many of us see, a monarchy can so easily be corrupt and ruled in favor of the ruler. I, like many others of this nation, was taught that our government was indestructible and we are perfect. What we fail to see is that we can become just as corrupt as a monarchy, ruled in favor of the ruler. Can’t you see it now? All of our money goes to raising congress’s paycheck, and not for helping the man with a wife and three kids who just got laid off because of cutbacks.
My suggestion is radical to say the least, but I believe that it will work. I think we need a total reform, impeach most of our current leaders, and elect good, and honest people who will make sure that us people will be taken care of.
Rulers can be a controversial thing. Acquinas says that he needs to be noble and have a caring heart and love the people, and that’s fine and dandy, but that’s not reality. He is an idealist if I ever saw one. Machiavelli is more of a realist, but also a bit of a pessimist. He thinks that a ruler should be good in general, but not afraid to knock of few heads. The ruler also needs to be able to do the hard things like lie cheat and steal. I believe in the Greek “golden mean”, that the truth is somewhere in the middle. A ruler needs to have mercy and kindness but willing to do what it takes to keep us safe.
In conclusion, I think we need to reevaluate how our government is, because we are definitely heading in that direction, and if we don’t act soon, we will become a pure democracy, 51 percent rules the other 49.
Sincerely,
Seth Batz
Monday, March 28, 2011
Responses
I am going to make a goal right now to post at least two times a week, so if you ever have any ideas for me please tell me. I may be super awesome and creative but even I will have a hard time thinking of things to write on. I will also try to post at least one picture per post, but that might not happen.
Responding: -What is your opinion on having a limit on # of children (such as china)
My opinion for pretty much everything is it all depends. I don’t think there is a universal law for everything and everyone, for something to be effective it has to cater to the specific situation. But for China, I do think that it is necessary. China has way too many people and if they didn’t do anything about it, they would be stacked like anchovies on top each other. They are almost to that point anyways. People argue about Planned Parenthood saying we need the continuation of our species, hull-lo! We have nearly seven billion humans on this planet; I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. I remember when I was little and they would say there were only five billion people on Earth, that’s nearly two billion in what, eight years? But for like Montana, it has plenty of space to offer so they wouldn’t need a restriction.
My philosophy is we should build up instead of out. It’s far more effective in my opinion. Building up saves space and if built right, more energy efficient. I’m not saying it doesn’t have its downsides, but I do think it has more upsides than down. Building up would give more space for farming food and solar energy fields. And if it is more than just a residential building than you could just go down and get your food or shopping instead of getting in the car a polluting the air. I designed this super massive skyscraper that is a small city. There was just the building surrounded by fields and fields of farms. It would be totally self-sufficient, no need for cars because everything is in the building, and no need to truck in food because it is surrounded by the fields. I hope that one day, this dream will become a reality.
In Utah we desperately need to start building up. We are very, very rapidly losing farm lands to housing development, and we are building businesses in a few central locations, making the need to have to travel to do or get anything. And we are keeping all these old houses from the ‘50s and ‘60s, they are not historical nor energy efficient so why bother to keep them? I made a plan on MS Paint to turn my whole neighborhood into an apartment complex and park. And I would post that picture, except that I can’t find it on my computer. On a boring and rainy day I even designed a public transit map for the Clearfield-Roy area (I can’t find that picture either)
Wow, I went off topic, but oh well. In conclusion I think that some places do need laws about how many kids you can have, because we just plain can’t fit all 7,000,000,000 of us.
Responding: -What is your opinion on having a limit on # of children (such as china)
My opinion for pretty much everything is it all depends. I don’t think there is a universal law for everything and everyone, for something to be effective it has to cater to the specific situation. But for China, I do think that it is necessary. China has way too many people and if they didn’t do anything about it, they would be stacked like anchovies on top each other. They are almost to that point anyways. People argue about Planned Parenthood saying we need the continuation of our species, hull-lo! We have nearly seven billion humans on this planet; I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. I remember when I was little and they would say there were only five billion people on Earth, that’s nearly two billion in what, eight years? But for like Montana, it has plenty of space to offer so they wouldn’t need a restriction.
My philosophy is we should build up instead of out. It’s far more effective in my opinion. Building up saves space and if built right, more energy efficient. I’m not saying it doesn’t have its downsides, but I do think it has more upsides than down. Building up would give more space for farming food and solar energy fields. And if it is more than just a residential building than you could just go down and get your food or shopping instead of getting in the car a polluting the air. I designed this super massive skyscraper that is a small city. There was just the building surrounded by fields and fields of farms. It would be totally self-sufficient, no need for cars because everything is in the building, and no need to truck in food because it is surrounded by the fields. I hope that one day, this dream will become a reality.
In Utah we desperately need to start building up. We are very, very rapidly losing farm lands to housing development, and we are building businesses in a few central locations, making the need to have to travel to do or get anything. And we are keeping all these old houses from the ‘50s and ‘60s, they are not historical nor energy efficient so why bother to keep them? I made a plan on MS Paint to turn my whole neighborhood into an apartment complex and park. And I would post that picture, except that I can’t find it on my computer. On a boring and rainy day I even designed a public transit map for the Clearfield-Roy area (I can’t find that picture either)
Wow, I went off topic, but oh well. In conclusion I think that some places do need laws about how many kids you can have, because we just plain can’t fit all 7,000,000,000 of us.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
I Want YOU
I don’t know what to talk about. I want to discuss something and show my point of view, but I’m out of ideas. Give me ideas for my next blog post in the comments! It could be anything, well not anything. Something not boring, an maybe something I won’t have to do much research on(I’m lazy like that).
So give me ideas!
Also, on another note, I am currently writing something, and I would like people to read it, but I’m not sure how. Also, I have some serious writers block, and lack of self-motivation. I thought of my story plot, and recently changed it, because I thought it was too boring. So, even though not much has been written, I will do a Book Review Corner on it sometime soon, maybe even the next post. I will tell you the title now, The Tridantey Virus. Sounds cool huh?
Have a great day people! And give me ideas!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Book Review Corner!!
It’s time for a Seth book review!!! Duh, duh-duh-duh duh duuuuuh!!!! K-chsk!! I just barely made up that fancy little diddy right here on the spot. Anyways, the book I will be reviewing is Matched. I FREAKIN love this book. Of course I’m a big sucker for dystopian future novels; this one is still just plain amazing. I highly recommend this book, if you love loved the Hunger Games trilogy. Matched makes you think just like the Hunger Games. Although Matched makes you think more about to what extent do you want the government to help you, and how much they can control. In Matched the government does and provides everything for you, you make no choices. They decide what you eat, what you will do, and who you will marry. This book makes no reference to religion, so I am assuming that the Society did away with it. One thing I like(to an extent) is that everyone is equal. You are so equal that you don’t really own anything that is truly and just yours. Something that I didn’t notice until I looked at a book trailer of it, was that in the Society they is no such thing as money.
A bad thing about the Society is that since there is no money, you have to contribute to the government. It reminds me of the Aztec Empire, they had no money, but everything they needed was provided for them. And the Society does away with you when you can no longer contribute. This book brings up the matter of death, and what is a good way to go. In the Society they felt that eighty is the optimal age to die, so on your eightieth birthday you die. That sounds so horrible when you think about it, knowing when you’re going to die, but on your last day, you get to spend it with all your friends and family and get to eat whatever you want(which is a big deal in the Society) and when you die, at midnight your family is all there holding your hand. At first that sound so horrible, but if you really ponder it, is it really that bad? You get to die with all your loved ones being with you and your last meal could’ve been cake and ice cream.
Let me know what you think! Would you like to die like that, with all of your loved ones, or live in uncertainty and maybe said “I hate you” to your best friend, then you or the friend die the next day.
Anyways, overall Matched was just fantastic. I would like to say more, but I don’t want to spoil anything.
Have a good day everyone!
PS, if you’re wondering why I am posting this so early in the day, it’s because I am in school right now, in Computer Tech. I know, I’m such a bad boy. I’m bad to da bone! See how I said “da” instead of “the” that was me being all gangsta!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Do you belive in division?
Do you believe in division? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I’m starting to think I do. We have been studying government lately in World Civ, and I have been studying it on my own. It’s kind of fascinating for me, I’m not sure why. Anyways, I know this sounds kind of horrible and mean, but I think that we need to be divided up. We are all making each other go crazy and getting on each other’s nerves with opposing views. So why not have different sects of a city devoted to a certain thing. It’s not like we wouldn’t be allowed to see others in different sects, or be allowed there, but there would be certain rules. i know that would greatly reduce the cultural diversity and new ideas in our world, but I think people would be generally more happier. And I also think it would reduce hate, and hate crimes.
For example, some people are religious and some are not, if they lived in different sects than they could live by different standards in peace. Some people don’t think that same-sex marriage should be legal, so they would live in a different sect than someone who does.
So what do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know!
For example, some people are religious and some are not, if they lived in different sects than they could live by different standards in peace. Some people don’t think that same-sex marriage should be legal, so they would live in a different sect than someone who does.
So what do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Dear Algebra...
Dear Algebra,
First off I want to say I hate you. No offense or anything I'm just being honest.
Second, you mix letters and numbers. They are separate for a good reason: they were never meant to be together. so why do you put them together? Oh and why did you seduce the American school systems to think that we need to learn you?! When ever I try to find help the adult always says that they forgot it. What does that say to me? That I don't need you so why am I being forced to learn you and your older brother Algebra II and your cousin Geometry?!
And, most people don't like you, so take a hint and go hang out with the geeks who actually like and will use you. I haven't yet picked a career but I will most likely no use you since like 90% of careers don't even need your younger brother, Prealgebra.
Sure you have your uses, just not to everyone. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that you should disappear because you are worth something, just not to me and the general population.
So I can tell this isn't going to be resolved at least not anytime soon, so I will just continue to hate you while you continue to torture me for the rest of the year. When I'm an adult I'll just forget you like the rest of adults and I will be content with our relationship.
Love,
Seth
First off I want to say I hate you. No offense or anything I'm just being honest.
Second, you mix letters and numbers. They are separate for a good reason: they were never meant to be together. so why do you put them together? Oh and why did you seduce the American school systems to think that we need to learn you?! When ever I try to find help the adult always says that they forgot it. What does that say to me? That I don't need you so why am I being forced to learn you and your older brother Algebra II and your cousin Geometry?!
And, most people don't like you, so take a hint and go hang out with the geeks who actually like and will use you. I haven't yet picked a career but I will most likely no use you since like 90% of careers don't even need your younger brother, Prealgebra.
Sure you have your uses, just not to everyone. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that you should disappear because you are worth something, just not to me and the general population.
So I can tell this isn't going to be resolved at least not anytime soon, so I will just continue to hate you while you continue to torture me for the rest of the year. When I'm an adult I'll just forget you like the rest of adults and I will be content with our relationship.
Love,
Seth
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Sometimes I
Sometimes I wear my headphones on with no music(sometimes not connected to my iPod even) in public just so no one will talk to me.
Haha, I felt like being witty today.
Hrmmm... What else to say, not much still hasn't happened, I have a boring life. I know, I know, I say ALL the time bit it's true. Probably the most exciting thing I did since I last posted was see Beastly with my friends. I also saw I Am Number Four a few days prior to that, and it was pretty awesome.
Movie time review! Beastly-overall I loved it. I saw with Crystal, Carlos, Kierin, and Kyan. I think Vanessa Hudgens is a talented actress even though she has made some mistakes. I also have to tip my hat to the makeup artist(s), they did a great job of making Kyle/Hunter look ugly.
I Am Number Four-it was kinda tenniebopper like the reviews said, but still freakin amazing. Move over vampires, aliens are the new thing.
Haha, I felt like being witty today.
Hrmmm... What else to say, not much still hasn't happened, I have a boring life. I know, I know, I say ALL the time bit it's true. Probably the most exciting thing I did since I last posted was see Beastly with my friends. I also saw I Am Number Four a few days prior to that, and it was pretty awesome.
Movie time review! Beastly-overall I loved it. I saw with Crystal, Carlos, Kierin, and Kyan. I think Vanessa Hudgens is a talented actress even though she has made some mistakes. I also have to tip my hat to the makeup artist(s), they did a great job of making Kyle/Hunter look ugly.
I Am Number Four-it was kinda tenniebopper like the reviews said, but still freakin amazing. Move over vampires, aliens are the new thing.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
What to say...
I really felt like I should have posted again, but nothing has really happened that's blog worthy.
I have been doing art, and I love it. But lately, I have been having a creative block. And also I haven't been in a artsy mood. If you want to see pictures of my art, it's on Facebook.
I have been contemplating the unthinkable. I might not go to Stanley to work. Aunt Janet emailed me saying how things will be very different there, and her house will be very crowded. Like she said that they wont allow electronics. I'm a tech junkie, and I am addicted to my cell phone. I want to retain contact with the rest of the world, and my friends. I am NOT an outdoorsie person, so being up in Stanley doesn't give me a a big variety of stuff to do that I like. So I go to one of my best friends, Internet! But I may not be able to... I could do other things, but what? There's the obvious, like drawing and painting, but I really can't think of anything else that i can do. Listening to music is electronic, writing stories is electronic, and texting is electronic, those are the things I do the most. I could write everything out, but I hate doing that because I will have to type it later. I could always spend all my time at the library, but it closes early, and it's a mile and a half away. I already applied at all the jobs I could work at in my area, and they all turned me down. My teacher told me that here, most places wont hire till 17, even though 16 is legal. That's where I get all my spending money for the year is work. If I don't, then I will be bored out of my mind. Ugh, I don't know what to do...
Well that's about it... Nothing else has happen since January.... Wow, I sound so pathetic...
I have been doing art, and I love it. But lately, I have been having a creative block. And also I haven't been in a artsy mood. If you want to see pictures of my art, it's on Facebook.
I have been contemplating the unthinkable. I might not go to Stanley to work. Aunt Janet emailed me saying how things will be very different there, and her house will be very crowded. Like she said that they wont allow electronics. I'm a tech junkie, and I am addicted to my cell phone. I want to retain contact with the rest of the world, and my friends. I am NOT an outdoorsie person, so being up in Stanley doesn't give me a a big variety of stuff to do that I like. So I go to one of my best friends, Internet! But I may not be able to... I could do other things, but what? There's the obvious, like drawing and painting, but I really can't think of anything else that i can do. Listening to music is electronic, writing stories is electronic, and texting is electronic, those are the things I do the most. I could write everything out, but I hate doing that because I will have to type it later. I could always spend all my time at the library, but it closes early, and it's a mile and a half away. I already applied at all the jobs I could work at in my area, and they all turned me down. My teacher told me that here, most places wont hire till 17, even though 16 is legal. That's where I get all my spending money for the year is work. If I don't, then I will be bored out of my mind. Ugh, I don't know what to do...
Well that's about it... Nothing else has happen since January.... Wow, I sound so pathetic...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)