Dancing is Healthy

Negation Definition

Insanity is not jumping off of a bridge into a lake or river. It is not dancing by yourself at night. It is not quoting Shakespeare during awkward silences in order to seem British. Insanity isn't punching a wall because it wouldn't talk back. It's not the feeling you get when you like someone. It is not an ointment you rub on your skin to keep from getting sunburned. Insanity is not jumping into a ball pit as a grown man when it's meant for young children. It is not a bear singing a song to you in the morning after a guys night out. Insanity is not a dance. Insanity is not believing you are insane.

Body Scans

The body scans at airports are meant to make the process of boarding a plane more safe and more quick. The arguments against the intrusion of privacy are understandable and valid to a point, but in the future the pro's of the scanners will greatly outweigh the personal con's that people have. The fear of terrorism has dulled greatly in America because of the time in between the last major attacks. This is human nature, to forget and move on. But if preventative action is not taken, the same or similar event may happen. I plan of flying out to California in the near future to visit my family, and I will not opt out of the body scan. It is a personal feeling of mine to want to get in and out of an airport as quickly as i can. I have no fear of images of my body scan showing up on the internet because there's no way the government would allow such things to be possible legally. If one opts out of the scan the opt for the possibility of being patted down. That is a verbal contract of accepting the concequences of no doing the body scan. Everyone keeps looking for a faster way to do things; getting information, sharing news, getting food, and yet when it comes to getting through the painstakingly long process of going through the airport-people complain. Safety of the masses before the individual. Just let it happen.

Bombs Bursting-Entropy

Bombs Bursting in Air
1. Shannon having a tumor.
2. Big girl disappeared
3. Friendly custodian was fired
4. Best friend died in sleep
5. School clown committed suicide
6. Friends sister arrested for selling drugs
7. Boys die in a car wreck
8. Teachers husband dies of heart attack
9. Girl didn't go to class for a week and when she came back they learned she was no longer living with her mom and stepdad
10. Divorce

Entropy
1. The refrigerator breaking down
2. Car broke down
3. Wood rots
4. Childrens room gets messy
5. Ability to play the flute
6. Social institutions
7. Nuclear War
8. Metal rusts
9. people wrinkle
10. flowers wither

My Tio Ade

My Tio or "uncle" Ade was born with Down syndrome. Of course, no one knew this when he was born because he was birthed in a small town in Guatemala with no real medical equipment around. He was born a still baby with his twin brother, but only Tio Ade made it. The doctor told my grandma that her son was going to be sick forever, and that forever probably wouldn't be long. It took my uncle six years to talk and 11 years to learn to walk, but he did it. They said he'd never be more than a moving vegetable, but my uncle is a successful member of society. He works, he lives, and he loves more fully than anyone I’ve ever met. It is because of my Tio Ade that I have never given up. It may take me longer than others to achieve a goal, but if my Tio Ade can achieve his goals I can too.

The Men in My Life

The Men Who Taught Me The Most:
-My dad
-My Tio Ade
-My Grandpa's (Papa Chalo, Ray, Tommy)
-Adrian

The Men I Hope to Never See Again:
-Quinton
-Adrian
-Kris

The Men I've Disrespected The Most:
-John
-Vinnie
-Matt

The Men I Have The Most Respect For:
-My Dad
-My Grandpa's (Papa Chalo, Ray, Tommy)
-My Tio Ade
-Scotty

The Men I Love as Brothers:
-Scotty
-Matt
-Vinnie
-James

Stretch Marks

How to Stretch Your Ears
My ears are gauged, as are the ears of a large portion of the college generation. The process of gauging is different for everyone. And, when putting in healing factors and the individuals skin elasticity the progress of stretching one's ears can vary. However, the main rule that covers each individuals process is to take as much time as needed.
 I believe everyone will agree with me on stating that the first step is to pierce your ears. There's not much point in attempting to stretch something that isn't there. Although, I'm not here to judge so by all means try it if you think you've got a shot. There are many different places to get peirced such as Wal-Mart, Claire's, and your local body peircing shop. The first two are more likely to use a "gun" that launches a sharp stud through the lobe of your ear at an intense speed. The latter may simply shove a long sharp needle through your ear with their bare hands. Not really my cup o' tea, but to each pain fetish freak, their own.
 Once your ears have been run through like a practice dummy at a jousting range, the healing process begins. Listen to your torturer! Clean your ears. This point cannot be stressed enough. All throughout the process you should always clean your ears. Infection is a nasty bitch, so don't let her get you. The healing should last a few weeks to a couple months depending on the person, at which point you can start the stretching. And keep that in mind, once the ear is healed you can start stretching. This is true for the entire stretching process as well.
 The first few times it's surprisingly simple to go up a gauge. When I started I moved up two gauges at a time. But, be sure to know your gauge. If you're at an 18g and you try to shove in a 10g you'll probably cause some tearing and, more often then not, bleeding. When gauging up if you notice resistance, especially in the early stages (18g to 12g), use lotion. It's wierd and you'll have to CLEAN YOUR EARS afterward, but it helps keep the pain level to a minimum. Also, you can put in new stretchers while showering. The warm water relaxes your skin enough to make the process less painful.
 Stretchers are going to be a big part of your life from this point on. Stretchers look like long pointy nails without a head. The point of these is to ease the ear into an elongated shape without ripping the lobe to shreds. Ease them in until you feel they cannot go any further and then leave it be. Depending on the size you are attempting this could take a few days just to get the stretcher all the way in. Don't push it, take the time needed, and clean regularly.
 When one starts getting up in the gauges to the point where it's a visibly thick stud, one should stop using acrylic to gauge. In fact, never do it. The best stretchers to use are glass and metal. It helps keep your skin from attatching to it as it heals and they're easier to clean. At about 8g and up you'll probably start to notice that your ear "scabs" up around the piercing. This is normal, your skin sheds and creates new skin all the time. The build up is new skin healing at a new shape. Just keep cleaning your ears, don't pick your scabs, and make sure it doesn't get infected. Also you may want to slow down the stretching. Stretching is a long drawn out process that could take years depending on how big you gauge them.
 At a certain point, stretchers just wont do. It is at this stage that most people begin to tape their ears. This process involves getting teflon tape, wrapping the gauge a few times, lubing it up, and putting it back in your ear. This method has a faster healing time and is usually less painful or stressful on the ears. But again, don't jump ahead too far, serious damage can be caused. At this point there's really no other way to get the gauge bigger, so you've possibly reached your goal or plan to keep going. Just remember to take your time and as always, clean your ears.



How Skin Stretches
 Studies show that the elasticity of an individuals skin is a genetic predisposition. There are two layers to skin, the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the top layer of skin which contains pigment, proteins, and is responsible for the generation of new skin cells. The dermis is the layer of skin that contains blood vessels, hair follicles, and collagen.Collagen produced in the dermis gives the skin it's elasticity. From birth to death the skin is constantly producing new skin cells.
 As the body-or parts of the body-grows new skin cells are produced. The skin cells pushed toward the surface are moved sideways to slowly repair any damage. It eases the strain caused from muscle, fat, or bone growth on the existing skin.This works as well with piercings, other self inflicted changes to the skin, or cuts. The new cells rise to the surface and fix the damage done to the old cells while moving sideways. It is for this reason that people are able to stretch ear lobes, lip piercings, and receive implants without serious "injury" to their skin.

Road Trip 2009: Revenge of the Road

Censor everything!

We are censored-all of us. There is not one person in this country that has undiluted access to everything. And as a whole, the world has become mostly complacent with that fact. The ones who push the boundaries of censorship are most frequently artists. It's not always serious artists, who may remain unbathed for weeks and create crude sexual sculptures with their toenail clippings. Sometimes it's a couple of guys looking to poke fun at everyone.

Since when is this fair? Television was made for upstanding citizens to sit back and watch other upstanding citizens solve mediocre problems. Americans don't need to watch a woman get punched in the face by a drunk frat guy at a bar. If that were true MTV's Jersey Shore would have been allowed to put the "fist-to-face connection" on air for all to see. Little Susie May and Joe Jr. probably get enough of that action at home watching their soon-to-divorce parents slug it out over the dinner table. Which is the way God intended them to view true love.

Whomever is calling the black bar shots is doing a well enough job, but more is always better. Just ask the growing population of alcoholics and drug addicts. Near the end of a South Park episode, in which the prophet Muhammad "appeared", all crude and insulting words and images were blacked and beeped out. Huzah! That show asks way too many questions, and proves one too many points to be allowed on the air. The Muhammad episode was, without a doubt, their best episode. And who called for this action? A group of extremist muslims with a square head on their shoulders.

That's right! It took some seriously well thought out threatening to get the censor ball rolling. Maybe the wrong people are doing the censoring these days. Keep it up extremists, without your well balanced minds the censors might let the reigns loose on these wild thinkers. Watch out America, there's a new sherrif in town with the backbone to bleep you good.