Swimmer troubles

 

                http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2011/08/03/sports/doc4e38a904bcdba779643521.txt

I read this article in the daily press and it got me thinking. I’m a student athlete,  I train to get better and I work out. Now my sport isn’t volleyball or basketball, are any of those truly famous high school sports. I’m a swimmer. That means that every day I get up and I go to school at 5:20 am to practice in the morning, then after school its straight to the pool to practice 3 to 5:30, final I will get to go home and do homework sleep and do it all over again. This is what it takes to be one of the varsity swimmers on the team.

The article suggest that it would be okay to stop having two a days for their preseason camps in football, but swimmers still do this and we don’t stop after school starts.  This is what it take to be good at this sport. What it takes to be good at another sport is a lot different. You don’t see volleyball players running 3 miles to get better at their sport. What you see is them practice spikes. These sport don’t require two a day practice not even to truly get better.  

It's Stolen and i Know it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCnzi6L_BsM

To have watched this video i find that as I’m, military child, I can say I know what it means to have a soldier in the family. My dad has now severed over sees twice, been at three floods to help, and one tornado. He has been gone a lot. He also has come back all of those times, when he came back he got medals for serving.

Now you can go online and buy these same medals for about $1.25 to $7.50 for the metal ones. ( found prices at http://www.usamilitarymedals.com/army-army-full-size-skill-qualification-badges-c-2069_1201.html) But to do this you must think about why you are buying these medals. Now if you are dressing up for Halloween as a army person, and you want it to look good, and its only a costume then you can go right ahead. But if the drive is to start saying that you did what those medals mean, are you being honest or respect full to those men and women who severed for their county and sometimes gave their lives.

To go out and buy those medals is disrespectful to those men and women, the medals they are award have special meaning and levels of important to those guys. To wear those medals around if they do, they tell the story of that solider service to their county to other men and women in the service.

Now when you see a decorated army guy you must understand they did the time. If you buy a U.S. Army recruiter identification badge, you are saying you have meet criteria that allows you to recruit people to the service. (http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_8_22.pdf) To wear that means you have spent time going threw background checks and also getting approved by people.

To be in the service and get these awards is an honor and a career changer. When you start to go out and buy these medals, you are plagiarizing someone’s hard word and you are saying you did it.

Now what will happen is that when you wear those medals and say you were there, you will look like a great fool because if you don’t do any research you might buy a World War 2 award. Then what will happen is that soldiers will go out and make angry YouTube videos mocking you and they will because I know in someplace they have a lot of free time to make the videos good.

When in Rome

The next place in Italy we will go to is Rome. It is said “when in Rome do as the romans do”. I hope to follow this when I plan my trip there. Rome is one of the oldest cites we have, being established in around 625 to 753 B.C. Rome is also home to the smallest country in the world Vatican City, Which is where the top part of the Catholic Church resides. We will look at the Vatican while in Rome.

Getting  around Rome to see thing is going to be pretty easy once you get into the city. If you need to jump sides of the city I would take the Metro to save time and it will save money more than a cab. (information found http://www.rome.info/transportation/)

Things to see in Rome would be Coliseum, Roman Forum, and The Pantheon. The Coliseum was built from 72-80 AD. It is famous for housing the battles of the Roman gladiators. The rate to get in for an American citizen is 15.50 euro. The Roman Forum is in the heart of what use to be ancient Rome. This is the place where most public speaking took place. This one doesn’t cost a thing to see.  The Pantheon is a the final site to see in Rome that has little to do with art. It was built around 118 – 125 A.D. all that is truly known about this place is that is to worship the pagan gods of Rome.  (Found at http://www.rome.info/sights/)

            Vatican City is the central place of Catholic religion. So if you are Catholic it’s a must see but if you aren’t it still is, because the Vatican has amazing things to see and reflect upon. The Vatican became its own state in 1929 with the Signing of the Lateran Treaty. The Vatican has 11 museums, the number one thing to see Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel and Vatican Gardens which is a collocation of large and small gardens.    Any of the 11 museums in the Vatican will cost you €18.  (info founded at http://www.rome.info/museums/vatican/ )

Whats happened

    
I'm reading a nonfiction book called “in the garden of the beasts" by Erik Larson

This book takes place during the 1930's so far. The two views we read threw are the views of William E. Dodd, the ambassador of the United States to Germany. He brings his family with including his daughter Martha. With these two different points of view you see different styles of narrative.

You read of how Martha describes people more vividly than Mr. Dodd on page 120 she describes Boris with "he had an unusual mouth and upper lips." it is an odd thing to notice in a person. While with Mr. Dodd you see more talk of character and less of their looks, you see this on page 158 which his when he meets Hitler. You get no discretion of his face but you get more of his character feel from his view.

                Also in the way that they write their figures of speech you see different tones from the two main points of few.  In Martha’s writing she uses a lot more metaphors and similes, while Mr. Dodd who before becoming an ambassador was a collage professor favors more the Allison style. An example of this Allison would be on page 157 where Dodd is visiting Hitler and compares how the SS men raise their hands to “Caesar Style”.

The book so far has been very good. To me it has opened my eyes a little more to the lead up of world war two in Europe.

The election

The idea that today’s life has been changed by the 2014 elections is a normal; I mean its election year. But the problem is that with all these commercials and ad we find ourselves losing the candidates themselves and only the rumors of who they are.

This year we have to really big candidates running for president.  Are president now and democrat position is held by Barack Obama (https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=obama&oq=oba&gs_l=serp.1.0.0l2j0i3j0.2912.13353.0.16155.16.9.7.0.0.0.329.1642.0j7j1j1.9.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.-SRMUOvX0uk&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=bf525e541b623bda&biw=1280&bih=620). While for the republican side you have Mitt Romney (https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=1&tok=WzyPjbwsasAEkrBE-nOTAQ&pq=obama&cp=4&gs_id=2c&xhr=t&q=mitt+romney&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=mitt&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=bf525e541b623bda&biw=1280&bih=620). They are two very different guys and they both want to be president.  I want to look at their political idea and not just the bather they give us on TV and the news I want to really understand my president so whoever he may be I will know where he will stand. These next couple weeks I will be looking at some big issues and where they stand for sure. 

The mystery of masks

Masks, offer a new mystery that you don't get much anywhere else. They are found around the word in religions, theaters or just on one day a year in October.   Masks have been found all over the world from the Chinese who used them to perform in theater or to prevent diseases. While in England they wore them sole for theater or for pagan rituals.  (http://www.ehow.com/about_5398612_history-cultural-masks.html) 

Weddings

Well another weekend another wedding. This time I wasn't allowed to be at the wedding, no I watched from a far in the hotel room with a baby in hand.  Last weekend I was at another wedding which also was celebrating the gift of binding two different people and becoming husband and wife.

 A wedding is a funny thing; more often it involves a church, a bride, and a groom. Sometimes it’s a little different like it may be a red dress than a white but weddings are deeply rooted in tradition. Some of these have become little more that tradition others are still as important as when the couple says "I do".  One tradition that has lost is meaning is that while the all groom has to promise to be faithful, the bride must promise to take care of the home and be faith full. In today’s society that could be virtually impossible for the wife who is the one working while the husband stays at home.  Does this mean all the man has to do is sit at home and be faith full? I think not they have just switched roles for the time.

Now in America most weddings have white wedding dress, why is that?  Wearing a white wedding dress isn’t that old I found, only like 200 years old. It is mostly today thought of as a way to show purity, but in the early 20^th century it was more to show wealth. Red wedding dresses are more found in china because they are a sign of good luck and wealth. (information found at http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/weddings/why-do-brides-wear-white-3.htm)

Weddings are also full of odd little things like why we have bridesmaids. People think it is an honor to be in a wedding party but you’re a bridesmaid you were originally picked to protect the bride from evil spirits.  Another thing to protect brides from evil spirits was the veil. (http://www.weddings.co.uk/info/tradsupe.htm#flowers)

Weddings are one of the few things that most of the population no matter what religion, you will attended. This is because more often or not the wedding is for someone you know. If we were to treat everyone like we treat people at a wedding would we solve world problems like war? I don’t think so mostly because we are human and forget easy that feeling we get when we see two people say “I do”.