33 Miners in an RV

If you've been watching the news lately, you may have heard about some miners that are trapped in an RV. Well, actually they aren't in an RV at all. They're trapped in a mine under the Atacama Desert in Chile. The area in which they are enclosed is approximately 550 square feet, just a bit bigger than the RV in which I am enclosed in whilst writing this paper. Thus, I am in a unique position to relate to those miners who are trapped down there. With 33 people in 550 square feet, that gives each person just over 16 square feet each. That's about the size of the slide I'm sitting in to write this post. Chile officials have contacted submarine specialists to learn about how people should stay in shape while trapped in such a small space. They have also met with NASA specialists on how to take care of the miner's psychiatric needs. I think that might be going a little far. I sleep in a 24 square foot box every night and I don't need psychiatric help so far as I know *eyebrow twitches*.

So I do share many similarities with these trapped miners. The difference? I'm sharing this space with three other people and two dogs (one of which can take up lot of room, let me assure you), whereas these miners share that same space with 33 other unshowering people for about four months, or until a rescue tunnel can be dug. Even I have problems with just three other people. For one, my little brother has the top bunk. He can't just leap out of his bed every morning, however, because that would shake the whole trailer like we just had a 10.0 earthquake. So he has to step down onto my bed and, consequently, onto me as well (not too delicately I might add). Even my dogs are kind of hard to bear in close quarters. For example. Ginger, the biggest, gets up at exactly 4:00 a.m. every morning and starts running around the house and barking to try to wake us up so we can feed her. If that doesn't work she turns to me (of course) and licks my face. The end to every single dream I have ever had is being drowned because I have a dog that has enough slobber to run a City Public Water system for two hours.


Another difference is that as I look around I have several comforts to make living in a small space much more comfortable. For example a tv, a radio, a computer on which I am furiously typing in order to go to the library, and (probably most important of all) a toilet. With a sewer hose waiting to take any unsightly matter out of sight and out of mind. Not exactly out of smell, but that's beside the point. The miners have no such comforts. I was watching the news report and specifically saw a box of Huggees diapers being passed down through the supplies hole. *shudders* I really hope you're not eating while you're reading this post.

Despite these small (and, in one case, disgusting) differences, I just thought those miners down there having some quality time with their unshowered buddies might feel a little better knowing that someone has had experience in that same circumstance and has turned out ok.....so far.

Bingo night for criminals

Well, I suppose this is just pure spite on the part of the Obama administration. In response to my recent illegal immigration post they have officially opened what I call Illegaland (or maybe "Dozens of flags entertainment!"), a brand-new illegal immigration resort. This place has everything a law-breaker could ask for, including bingo, movie night, free cable and HD, Internet, self-improvement classes and Pilate's dance classes. All free! Well, not for the law-abiding tax payer. But for the morons who chose not to follow our laws and pay taxes, it's a wonderland! What? Send them back where they came from? Heck no! That would be just wrong! Let's let them sit here in our country and feed off of our money!







Sounds crazy, right? The worst part is that I'm not making this stuff up. If you read my blog you know I like to be satirical. With this administration, though, I'm kind of out of a job. They're being so insanely stupid with taxpayer dollars that all I have to do is report the news and it's funny to those that don't know it's the truth.







Look, if we provide these people with accommodations that are better than the place they come from, what's to discourage everyone else to come here illegally? Detainment centers are sometimes better off then most middle-class homes in other countries. Illegal immigration is ILLEGAL. Doing so means breaking our laws. Just like stealing, murdering, or any of the other crimes you can commit. How would we all feel if a thief was getting to sit back and watch Dumbo in prison? Sometimes... I just don't understand...







Coragon, signing off.

The flying dog

For those of you who don't know, I have two dogs. One is an English Springer Spaniel named Ginger, the other is a Schnoodle named Pepper(part Schnauzer, part Poodle, both miniature. The result: a really small dog). Pepper, despite being our smallest dog, is also our bravest dog. Even to the point of barking at a Great Dane across the street that is being walked by a nine year old. Not only does she have the self-appointed job of protecting us from other dogs, but also cats, seagulls, horses, snakes, rabbits, and vacuums. And...ducks. Especially ducks. For some reason, both of our dogs have an inbred fear and hatred of all birds. Pepper especially hunts them with a zealous determination. This was demonstrated at our last campground.

At the last campground we stayed in, there were many ducks. Much to the frustration of Pepper, they had no fear of leashed nine pound dogs. So, Pepper resigned herself to barking endlessly at the very undisturbed ducks until either she fainted of exhaustion or until the ducks got off our spot. Neither result was accomplished before we left. When we leave, mom usually leaves the window open for the dogs to see out. Pepper was looking out the window at the ducks and making some kind of gurgling noise that was as close as she could muster to a real growl. Something must have snapped. She must have decided to give the ducks one last scare before we left. The window of our truck must be four feet of the ground. To a small dog, that's like me jumping off the top of a one story building. Pepper has always hesitated to jump any distance, even two feet. She did not hesitate that day. She leaped out the window with all four paws outstretched like Underdog trying to get as much hang time as she could before she hit the ground with a yelp. Not missing a beat she leaped up and scrambled all jets to get to those ducks. The ducks scattered like quail. Mom, however, has been trapped in the car this whole time throwing her hands around and calling Pepper's name uselessly. She couldn't simply leap out of the car after the dog because the car doors hadn't been unlocked yet. When she finally did barrel out of the car, Pepper was still barking and running around in circles chasing ducks. The thing about ducks is they will not take flight until they are sure there is no other solution. Why? The main reason is that they are fatter then a stuffed sausage. One of the ducks went airborne and confused poor Pepper. In the few seconds it took her to figure out she doesn't have wings, mom snatched her and abducted her back to the truck. Pepper had no guilt. In fact, she looked rather smug.

Is this normal for little dogs? Or do we just have a special case?

Coragon, quacking off. (haha, get it?)

Smoky mountians round 2

We went back to the National Park yesterday. The weather was slightly rainy, so we decided instead of hiking to drive up to the highest point in the park to see the view.



The drive up was pretty, with all the flowers, streams and trees. We also saw some poor guy trudging up the mountain with a lawn mower (in the rain). On a slightly scarier note we also saw a car wrecked on the side of the road with windows that appeared to have been shot out with a shotgun.



Finally, we reached the top observation point. The bad thing about being really high up is that the most likely view is cloud. Which is exactly what we saw. So we decided to wait a bit and see if the cloud would blow over. While we were waiting, I was listening to the radio and looking around the parking lot. There weren't very many cars. Then, a guy got out of one of them and walked to the back (hang on, this story is actually going somewhere). He then took off his shirt and started rummaging around in the back. He came out wielding a bar of soap. Logically, I thought he was heading for the public bathrooms that were less than 50 yards away. Apparently, however, this guy has nothing whatsoever in common with logic. He walked around to the side of his car and started splashing himself with water from a puddle (he was standing in the rain, by the way. As if he wasn't wet enough). I ask myself why I kept on watching. Perhaps it was due to boredom. Perhaps I was just too shocked that this guy had no common sense. Whatever the reason, I will regret it forever. Why? Because after he finished splashing himself, he walked to the driver door, opened it, removed his shorts and threw them in (sadly, he was wearing no underwear). Screams echoed throughout the car as everyone ducked for cover, sheltering their eyes from the horrible hind end of Sir Showersalot. I will never get that image out of my head.



Once we were assured that the horrible scene was past and Mr. Free To Be Me was back in his car, we dared to look around once more. After a bit, the cloud did blow away a bit and the view cleared up slightly. Then it truly was a beautiful sight.



Again, I felt an odious and evil presence. My gaze was drawn back to the car of Mr. Mooner. Where just before the windows had been mercifully fogged up, there he was, cleaning them with his sock. I squealed and hit the floorboard again.



Needless to say, we did not linger on the peak. We may go back again today, and hopefully no one will get any ideas about taking a public shower.



Coragon, over and out.



"Blue moon. I saw you outside your car. Without a brain in your head. How very naked you are."

Smoky Mountains

We are currently parked in the Smoky Mountains. This was one of the main stops on our trip, and, sadly, from here we will also see our last state.

Yesterday we went on a hike in the Smoky Mountains. We took a trail to Abram's Falls. Five miles round trip. The falls are beautiful....once you get there. Don't get me wrong, the trail is one of the most beautiful I've seen. However, when the sign says "moderate difficulty", they lie. This trail is just as hard if not harder then Yosemite trail. The hike to the falls is not too hard, but the way back is very strenuous. When we arrived, it was a near perfect day. The temperature was about 80 degrees and the sun wasn't too blazing hot. Then we started on the trail.

The hike was kind of a new experience. They had log bridges spanning small rivers (along with signs telling you how many deaths have occurred on those same bridges).

At first the hike was a blend of uphill and downhill. There was plenty of beautiful scenery to take your mind off how tired you were.

Then there was a sudden increase in elevation. Not too steep, but slightly strenuous. Then, we got to the top of the mountain. From there we could see all around, and the river down quite a ways in the bottom of a ravine.

From there, the hike was mainly downhill. Due to that, it didn't take us long to get to the Falls.

The falls was a nice place to stop and take a rest, letting the cold breeze cool us down.

Then, unfortunately, we had to start the hike back up the hill. With much wheezing, puffing, heaving, and coughing, we made it back up to the top of the mountain. From there, it was downhill again. We took many more stops on our way back along the riverfront. During one of these, I looked across the river and saw three splashes. A family of river otters chose that moment to start swimming and playing in the water. Otters are some of my mom's favorite creatures. They stayed just out of sight of our camera, but if you look close you can see them under the fallen tree:

Seeing the otters re-energized us enough to finish the trail with smiles. Then we took a dive around the park for a while. I have to say, this park rivals Yosemite as my favorite park. Almost, but not quite. I still love Yosemite the most. However, if you can't go to Yosemite, the Smoky Mountains is a nice substitute.

Mammoth Cave

Despite it's name, Mammoth Cave contains no mammoths. Mammoth merely describes it's size. The name is well placed. This cave has nearly 396 miles of cave, more than any other cave in the world.

We are currently stationed in southern Kentucky. The weather is nice here. A little hot, but that's nice compared to the freezing that has been following us for the past 6 months or so.

A few days ago we took the main tour of the cave to get our bearings a bit. Legend has it that the cave was recently discovered in 1799 by a bear hunter who shot and wounded a bear, who retreated into Mammoth Cave. The hunter followed the bear into the cave, and Mammoth Cave was discovered. When we started thee tour, we walked down 69 steps (that doesn't matter until you come back up). At first the cave doesn't appear to be anything special. I've been to Carlsbad Caverns and Lava Tubes, and those caves were pretty fantastic. Once you walk through the entrance, a large draft of cold air hits you. Air is always coming in holes at the top of the cave and coming out the entrance. The cave is at a constant 54 degrees, but at the entrance it can seem much cooler because of wind. Then, we walked inside.

The cave does not have many formations due to the average dryness. The lack of water means that there are few stalagmites or stalactites. The most impressive aspect of the cave, however, is it's size. If you have ever seen Lord of the Rings, just imagine the Mines of Moria on a slightly smaller scale. Then you have a basic idea of the size this cave.

We saw many interesting things in this cave, but unfortunately we were able to take no pictures. The cave was very dark, and despite our flash we were unable to capture many images. Here are a few of them.

Fat Man's Misery:

We didn't find this too hard. Not quite as hard as some of the low portions of the tour.

Bottomless Pit:

A see-through bridge spans this deep chasm, definitely not for the faint of heart.

Hall of Records:

This area was only covered in the lantern tour, and has tons and tons of smoke-signatures on the roof. Some visitors would pay tips to the guides for a chance to use canlde smoke to write thier name on the roof of the cave.

The main tour was nice for getting the scope of the cave, but the crowd was not as pleasant (over 120 people, a significant number of them hungry, cold, tired and thus cranky toddlers).

The tour we preferred for seeing the cave was the lantern tour. This tour takes you into a different part of the cave, is more informative, and has less people. Unfortunately, it was far too dark to be able to take any pictures, so you will just have to go and see it yourself! If you do get the chance, I would strongly recommend visiting. They also provide horseback rides and trails above ground if you prefer the warm, high and dry.

Overall, the Mammoth Cave National park is a great stop if you're in the area!

Corvette Museum

My life is now (almost) officially complete. I have seen nearly every single model of Corvette in existence. I'm one of those people who stops thinking, moving and sometimes breathing when they see a sports car. I want everyone else around me to share my enthusiasm as well. Say a Corvette passes by, I use what I call P.O.R.S.C.H.E (Pause. Observe. Run. Shout, "Corvette!!", and Hop Enthusiastically).

So as you can imagine, a place like the Corvette Museum is about as close to heaven as you get.

The first thing we realized when we arrived was that we forgot the camera. So we had to buy a disposable camera. So, if the pictures are a little fuzzy, that's the reason. The next thing we saw was this concept Corvette that looks like Speed Racer.

Inside the main lobby was a Corvette that you could sit in.

After seeing those cars, we entered the Museum itself.

The Corvette Museum holds some of the most rare, old, and overall cool Corvettes in the world.

There is a very large section of the museum dedicated to the history and improvements on the Corvette since it's release in 1953. There were many trivia machines spread out through the museum to help you learn (we missed nearly all of them. I'm not THAT much of a fan.)

After we examined all the history of the cars, we looked at the gallery of Corvettes. They had every kind of Corvette through the years, also the most popular. This also included the pace cars from the Indianapolis 500.

Past that, came the non-stock cars. These cars had been improved by their previous owners before being donated to the museum.
Then, unfortuantely, the tour was over. We had to leave. I wept. Unfortunately, they weren't giving away free samples either. There was a way to enter for a chance to win a Corvette (for just $200). Hmm....

A Case for Creation

Evolution: the idea that all life has come about through descent with modification from a single-celled common ancestor over billions of years. Creation: the idea that the world and everything in it was created by an intelligent designer in 6 days, not billions of years. These two ideas are the most-believed throughout the world. Though only one is being accepted right now. The theory of evolution. This theory is taught everywhere. Museums, schools, National Parks, even tv and movies. According to the mass media and a large group of studied experts, there are absolutely no problems with this theory, and that it is the only correct explanation for how life began. If you question their theory, then you are a misinformed, delusional religious fanatic and in violation of the Separation of Church and State. There are many problems with this theory, however. Hopefully this post will shed a little light on the subject. We will examine a few of the problems with the concept of evolution later in the post, but for right now what I'm going to do is try to fix some of the potential problems that evolutionists have raised against Creation.





The first potential "problem" is that evolutionists say that they can date rocks back to billions of years ago. How do they do this? Through a supposedly infallible process called carbon dating. The only problem with carbon dating is that the conductors make a ton of assumptions when they conduct it. When they first start the carbon dating, their assumptions effect the outcome. So, for example, if they believe the earth is 3 billion years old, they are going to get an estimate relative to that assumption. For example, there was a recent test conducted on rocks that had been formed during the Mt. St. Helens eruption. We know how old those rocks are, since that event was fairly recent (1980). The conductors were able to calculate them through carbon dating based on current assumptions to be over 100,000 years old. So carbon dating is not the most effective method of dating.




Another problem is the fact that helium has been found in rocks dated to be millions of years old. What does this mean? That they cannot possibly be that old. Helium is constantly leaking out of rocks. So, that means that the helium would have been gone within thousands of years of when it was formed. Billions of years=no helium.





A common problem often referred to by evolutionists is the Grand Canyon. Slow erosion must have taken millions and millions of years to erode all that rock. My answer is, not really. Again referring to the Mt. St. Helens eruption, canyons were formed hundreds of feet deep in days. Imagine, if a cataclysmic event (such as, say, a global flood like that described in the Bible) could have carved those canyons? If the eruption of Mt. St. Helens carved canyons only 40 times smaller than the Grand Canyon in days, think of what a major event like a global Flood could have done in a year!





The argument most would raise against this is that there is no evidence that such an event ever occurred. Actually, the evidence is everywhere. How else do you explain fish remains found atop mountains a mile above sea level? Or the excessive amounts of coal found all around the world caused by uprooted and waterlogged trees buried quickly by sediment? Or explain resulting stories from every culture in the world of a global flood (the epic of Gilgamesh, Chinese legends, even Native American stories)!





You might say, "Scientists have found all kinds of missing links between man and ape!" No, not really. Consider all the fraudulent ape-men that have arisen in the past. Nebraska man turned out to be a wild pig, Neanderthal Man was a rather large human. Now, it seems, we have Lucy. Now I'm not an expert on ape/human anatomy, but I do know that apes have a sloped face, no nose bones, and you can't see the orbits of their eyes from the side. Humans have a relatively flat-sloped face, have nose bones, and you can see the orbits of their eyes from the side. Look at this picture of Lucy and compare to a human skull and tell me if she's an ape or human.

To add further to the problems with Lucy, the knee joint that evolutionists used to prove Lucy walked upright was found 2 miles away and further down in the ground then the rest of the bones. Either Lucy was the first discovery of nitroglycerin or the whole thing is a hoax.

Now that we have hopefully addressed some of the issues with Creation, let's move on to confront some unspoken issues with evolution.


The magnetic field surrounding earth is slowly decaying. This continuous decay would have made the earth unlivable only 1.5 million years ago! So the earth cannot have formed billions of years ago, because we're still alive today.





Comets. Comets deteriorate every time they pass the sun. Which means that there would be no more comets today, because they would have all evaporated millions of years ago. Since there are still relatively large comets out there, evolutionists have to assume that comets form spontaneously. Spontaneous formation has never been observed, however. Neither, consequently, has star formation. Blue stars cannot last millions of years. Since there are still several known blue stars out there, and stars have never been observed forming, we can safely assume they have been there since the dawn of creation. That means the universe was not made millions of years ago. Hmm......





Another problem would be salt in the ocean. Every year, there is more salt going into the ocean than is going out. Which mean that if the earth is billions of years old, we would practically be able to walk across the Atlantic because it would be pure salt.





There is an inconsistency in the arms of spiral galaxies. If they are billions of years old, they should have no arms. The fact is, the arms spin slower than the core of the galaxy. Which would result that the arms would be twisted beyond recognition if the universe were as old as evolutionists state. Yet all the known spiral galaxies are still in spiral form.





The moon is slowly drifting away from Earth. Based on this effect, the moon would have been closer to the earth in the past. Not a problem if the earth is only about 6000 years old, because that would mean the moon has only moved about 800 feet. Most evolutionists profess the moon to be over 4 billion years old. However, just over a billion years ago, the moon would have had to be touching the earth!





You might ask why I am bringing up points on the age of the earth. Without age, evolution does not work. Evolution has to be a slow, progressive process involving millions of years. Thus, if there are no millions of years, evolution does not work.

Besides all this is the fact that you cannot have a partial organism. You cannot simply go from simple to complex, even with a supposed millions and billions of years. You can't have a fully functioning heart and no lungs. You can't have a fully functional brain without a heart. You have to start with a complete, fully functional human. Consider this analogy, a tornado sweeps through a city. The vortex travels through until it reaches the city dump. The vortex then hovers over the dump for months and months. Finally, the tornado dissipates, leaving behind a fully functional supercomputer (with it's own Facebook account). Would you believe this story? Absolutely not. However, you would be willing to believe that a random series of extremely fortunate events formed a living organism, which is more complex then even the most advanced supercomputer.



As Christians, we cannot edit the Bible to say that maybe God created the earth through evolution. The Bible says that God created the earth in six days-literal days. If He had created the earth over millions of years, death and sin would have existed in the world long before the Curse. No animal has been found who lived over a million years. This means they would have died even before Adam and Eve ate the Fruit. If we do not take the Bible for it's literal word, why should we believe it when it says Jesus came to earth and died for our sins? We should never try to fix scripture, despite the proclaimed "truths" of our culture! As for the argument of Religion vs. Science, the definition of religion is: Something someone follows devoutly, with faith. I think that believing that all life randomly generated from nothing with no intelligent movement or purpose requires just as much faith, if not more, then the converse. Just because we don't believe the theory of evolution doesn't mean we have to ignore science (which was hopefully demonstrated in this post).

If you want to learn more about the science of the Bible, you should visit some of these links from AnswersinGenesis.com.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/get-answers/features/young-earth-evidence/?utm_source=aighomepage&utm_medium=bigbanner&utm_content=Six_Evidences_of_a_Young_Earth&utm_campaign=MonthlyCampaign
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab2/humans-evolve-apelike-creatures
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/does-c14-disprove-the-bible


Coragon, signing off once again.

Oil Spill

As you all probably know, a BP oil rig recently spilled tons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. And, lo and behold, the Obama administration and environmentalists are already trashing off-shore drilling. The oil spill is tragic, yes, but why aren't they letting the fishermen and other people do something? Why are they just sitting on the beach and not doing anything? The only people who have taken any action are the people at BP. What can the environmentalists and the Government (one and the same) stand to gain from this? Dead fish. Dolphins. All kinds of dead plants and other marine life. One of the main campaigns of environmentalists is ending offshore drilling. So, if they play this up to be a huge catastrophe, they can use it as a major weapon to outlaw offshore drilling. Or, maybe not all offshore drilling, but destroy BP (a non-governmental company).

That statement is not as controversial as you might think. Why else would they be making all these halfhearted efforts to stop the spill. If the government really wanted to stop the spill, believe me, they would. What would be a really controversial statement would be saying that the government created the incident. I guarantee that if it was a Republican administration, that's exactly what everyone would be saying. "BUSH DID IT!!!"

Speaking of finger pointing, Obama recently spoke (this guy doesn't know when to be quiet, does he?) about how BP should not be pointing fingers at him for anything. He then turned around and proceeded to blame Bush for any bad thing that's ever happened during his term in office. That's hypocrisy at its highest level.

Speaking of hypocrisy, I'm sure every one of you has heard of Michelle Obama's anti-obesity campaign. First off, I don't call a couple of appearances on Sesame Street a campaign. Secondly, Sesame Street covers a whole 6% of kids. If I was four-years old and watching Sesame Street, I would be saying, "Who are you and why are you lecturing me? Bring out the cookie monster." While she is doing all that, however, Obama is eating burgers left and right. I can see it now, Obama sitting in the Oval Office eating and Michelle bursting in wielding a bottle of hairspray and screeching, "PUT DOWN THE BIG MAC!"

Also, where did the recent rise of environmentalism come from? Back a hundred or even fifty years ago, you could go out, shoot a cow, cook a burger and eat it and not be condemned by the media. But now, it seems, the life of a small, non-significant little fish is more important than the lives of hundreds of farmers out in California. When you put these things in the right perspective, they seem rather ridiculous to me. For example, the fact that the majority of people who are so worried about the environment fly their private jets to the conference in Copenhagen (where, by the way, they couldn't land because of the snowstorms). Now, let's see, wouldn't you say that flying a private jet to get somewhere creates a significantly bigger carbon footprint than us driving in our trucks to get somewhere. If they really wanted to be environmentally friendly, they could drive a lawn mower (sorry, I meant Smart Car) everywhere they go. But do they do that? The unsurprising answer is no. So why should they expect us to do something that they won't?

I think that we do need to keep our planet clean. God gave us dominion over the earth, and made us stewards over his creation. Taking it to this level, however, is simply ridiculous.

Coragon, over and out.

PandeMOMium

My mom is slightly paranoid at times. Of course, I suppose all moms are. Just yesterday we were in Philadelphia and we were trying to get into a parking garage. We were worried that we wouldn't fit (Go figure. Being a slightly average sized tank it's hard to fit in anywhere.) Then, suddenly, some nice guy came up and said, "I think you've got about a foot left." Mom was opening her door to look at the roof and when she saw the guy she let out a blood-curdling scream. "AAAAAAHHHH!!! You scared me to death!" I really felt for the guy. He must have thought he was really scary-looking.





Along those lines, sometimes I go to bed after mom has gone to sleep. Now, Mom doesn't like me going to bed without telling her goodnight. So I walk into the bedroom and try to wake her up. I try to be quiet. That doesn't work. Ever. She does not wake up to the sound of any voice. Here's my dilemma. If I tap her on the shoulder or something, she nearly has a heart attack. If I raise my voice, however, she nearly jumps out of the bed to grab a fire extinguisher. So what do I do? One poison or the other. So, I tap her on the shoulder. She gasps and wakes up, wide-eyed. "Oh, Cory, you scared me. Don't scare me like that!" *sigh*









Mom also seems to inflict fear on everyone else when we are in the car. Sometimes, as happens to everyone, somebody stops right in front of you. Now, panicking doesn't help anything. That's exactly what Mom does. "Oh, you're going to HIT HIM! BRAKE!" She then gasps loudly and grabs the armrests of the car tightly. After the crisis is averted, and everyone hearts are still pounding, she straightens up and immediately changes the subject. "Oh, look. What a pretty bird."She then proceeds to throw everyone into a panic by gasping again, "GASP!!! Look at that dogwood tree!" Dad of course slams on the brakes as soon as he hears the gasp, but then gets mad when he hears what she gasped about.

Maybe all moms are this way. Does every mom gasp when someone drops an empty paper bag on the way to the trash can?

New York City

Forget anything I ever said about L.A. being my favorite city. NYC has to be the best city ever. I mean, Hollywood is ok, but the rest of LA can't compare. Don't get me wrong, I still love LA. However, it simply can't compare to New York. Now, New York City isn't exactly the cleanest city in the world, but there are lot more things to do there. Besides that, it may not be as big as LA, but it is big enough for me.

First, we got on the tour bus to ride into the city (since we couldn't exactly take the trailer into NYC. We had to stay outside of the city and take a tour into it). The tour bus took us on a 75 minute drive into NYC. The first stop, Ellis Island. I thought it was very interesting to be able to see where so many immigrants came to start their new lives as American citizens. The museum had graphs of every kind about the immigration into America. What race, where they were from, height, gender, and just numbers in general. Unfortunately, we could not stay long, because we wanted to catch the next ferry to the Statue of Liberty. She really is a impressive monument. However, I have noticed that most statues are a lot uglier up close. For example, Lady Liberty's nose is slightly too big, and her arms look similar to the arms of a sturdy sailor (I guess holding that torch up for over a hundred years really works your arm muscles). We walked around the base and admired the architecture of the statue. The island also gave us a beautiful view of New York City from across the bay.After touring the island, we ate lunch (Great restaurant, by the way. Usually food is extremely overpriced at these kind of places, but this one was very reasonable.) After taking a look around at the statue we took ranger-led tour that explained the history of the island, the statue, and a little bit about other American history as well. Speaking of which, I'm going to do a poll of how many people know what the seven prongs on the Statue's Crown signify. Hopefully, some people will ANSWER IT *glares out at empty room*.

We then took the ferry back to where the tour bus was waiting to take us to Ground Zero, the site of 9/11. After touring the site of the towers, we went into the church where some of the rescue workers stayed while they worked. St. Paul's Church, where we stayed, also was one of only two buildings around the World Trade Center that had no damage from the blast. Not even a crack on one of the windows.

I will give you a little advice based on experiance. If you do what you're supposed to do in NYC, you will get run over. For example, waiting for the walk signal at the street corner. Apparently, New Yorkers don't wait for signals. They walk when they want to. That means anyone standing at the corner like a good boy is going to get run over. Don't look up at the sights, either, or at least wait until you are out of the way. Seemingly, New Yorkers also like to annoy tourists. "Oh, look. A tourist. Let's bump into him three times in a row."

After we left the church, we walked along the streets where the people ran away from the blast. We saw a memorial wall erected to the firefighters and policemen who died in the buildings. We also saw one of the T beams from the building in the shape of a cross that had been dedicated to remembering the victims of 9/11.

When 9/11 happened, I was in the living room of our house watching TV. Then, Mom ran in and turned on the news. I was too little to really comprehend what was going on, but the memory of that day has never gone away. The tour guide said that all New Yorkers are honored and delighted that for one day, no matter where you came from or where you were, everyone was in New York for one day. That everyone all over the world was with them, no matter the race, color, country of origin, or belief.


We met up with the bus again and it took us past Rockefeller Center and finally into Times Square. I did not want to leave. I loved Times Square. All of it. Broadway, and just the Square itself. The square feels very alive. We bought a hot dog and sat at a table in the middle of the square and just looked around. That was probably my favorite part. Just being able to look around without getting bumped. We then went into a restaurant and got some cheesecake (not New York style cheesecake, just New York cheesecake). The chocolate cheescake was delicious. The restuarant also provided a great veiw of the Square.

Then, unfortunately, we had to head home. Time was up on our grand adventure in New York. I was comforted by the notion that we might come back someday. I look forward to it. If you ever happen to be in the area, don't pass up the opportunity to go there. While you're there, be sure to get a hot dog. You can't say you went without doing so. Now I believe I can truly say "I <3>

That makes no sense whatsoever.

I find myself saying that phrase quite a lot. For one, there are infomercials. My favorite (meaning the one with which I spend the most time yelling at the TV) is the HD sunglasses. They are sunglasses which advertise to not only protect your eyes but somehow allow you to, quote, "See the world in HD!" Alright, first off, HD means that the definition resolution is at it's highest. ON A TV. You can't just put on sun glasses and see colors better. Your eyes already see the world in REAL definition. The whole point of High Definition is to make it look MORE like REAL definition. Definition doesn't get any more high than REAL.







Also, I heard a story on Fox News about some company thinking about putting chocolate in baby formula. And that quote, "Some parents are outraged." Number one, I notice that people get outraged about a lot of things nowadays. ("Someone forgot to flush. Some people are outraged.") I suppose that they have some reason to be outraged. Childhood obesity is a big problem in the U.S. However, I highly doubt that giving kids chocolate formula is going to get them hooked on chocolate for the rest of their lives ("Nobody move! This is a hold-up! Hand over all your chocolate Blizzards! NOW!"). Besides that, if you don't like the formula, DON'T BUY IT. There are plenty of other formulas to choose from, and this same company (enfagrow) has many other flavors that no one is quite "outraged" about. So, obesity is not going to be a problem. I didn't see anyone outraged when Nesquick came out with chocolate milk.

On another note, I am getting really sick of the Bachellor and the Bachellorette on ABC. I can't believe people actually watch it. I might understand if you watch it for one season, but if you are coming back for season 5,346, I have to question your taste in television. Honestly, it's the same plot over and over. A bunch of women compete to marry a random guy whom they have never met. Tears, people go home, Mr. Bachelor has trouble making up his mind. Enter 3-hour season finale. Then, the lucky winner drives off into the sunset with Sir Smoochesalot, and they live happily ever after. We assume such, as we don't hear from them again. Then, one of the rejects gets a season all to herself. Repeat process indefinitely until we have successfully driven the guy population of the world insane.

Where oh where did The Dick van Dike show go?

Lobster cooking

Right now I'm here in Maine. And I would not be surprised, I kid you not, I would not be a bit surprised if there was a lobster flavored baby formula up here. They have lobster everything. Lobster pizza, lobster ice cream (not kidding), and then just plain lobster. I have been fully educated on everything involving or having anything to do with lobster. I have been on a lobster fishing boat, cooked, butchered, and fully demolished and consumed a lobster. Now, cooking a lobster yourself is...well...an experience. Luckily, it is hard to pity a lobster, being a fully unfeeling and thoughtless creature. But...then there are the eyes. Those horrible little eyes. As long as you don't look at the eyes, eating a lobster can be quite fun. First, you have to boil them. For this you need a cooker (you don't actually have to have a genuine lobster cooker. A turkey cooker works as well. And you probably won't burn your house down. Probably.). Luckily, our campground supplied one free. Then, when the water starts to boil, you tie the lobsters up in a bag, and put them in the water. When the water starts to boil again, you cook them for 13 minutes.
Then, you are ready to eat. Personally, the claws are my favorite, but the whole lobster is good too. First, you twist off the claws. Then, to get the meat out, you simply pull down on the lower pincher. This open a hole which you can cut with a knife down the rest of the claw to expose the meat. Then, using a small fork, you can pull out the claw meat. The tail or the lobster, though, is considered the delicacy (now, I consider delicacy to be a relative term. You might say that in some parts of the world, snails are also considered a delicacy). First, you cut down the middle of the tail. Then, you twist the tail off the main body. Then, you tear off the sides and pull out the meat. You will now see green goo. This is a subject of debate. Some that are brave (or just plain odd) enough to try it think that it is good. I frankly don't care. I just wiped it off with a napkin and continued the demolishing of my lobster. Now comes the moment of truth (and no, this is not a Verizon commercial). Are you willing to tear the lobster open and in doing so break the head off? My answer was, heck yeah. Meat can be found in the legs and on the inside of the lobster's sides.
Now you've eaten pretty much every part that can be eaten on a lobster. Now the question is, who found out all this? Who was so desperate for food that they would dive down, find this creature that looks kind of disgusting (not to mention they can break your finger off) and decide, "Hey, that looks really good. I bet there is some meat on the inside of that bone breaking claw!"

Illegal Immigration

I once entered in speech and debate. The subject for debate was Illegal Immigration. Now, I must admit, I had some fun thinking about ways to stop illegal immigrants (my poor victims were Juan and Maria) from coming over the border (i.e. landmines, pits filled with spikes, and other such unrealistic things). But, I imagine the best way to do this is make this country even worse than the one they are coming from. So, with the Obama administration running the US economy into the ground, I guess it's all an anti-illegal immigration policy?


But now, Arizona has passed a law (that really was already valid in over 20 states and matches current federal law) that police had the right to ask for identification from suspects. And already people are calling them Nazi's or racists or saying that it is color-oriented. But, in reality, the only way the police can ask for identification is if the suspect has already been noted for suspicious activity (for example, the back of their car dragging the ground because of the four people stuffed in the trunk. Real story.) So, no. Police aren't harassing poor Latinos on the way to get some ice cream (to quote Senor Obama). The only way they can ask for said papers is if the Latino has done something worthy of suspicion. That doesn't sound much like Nazi's to me.


As a matter of fact, this brings to mind yet another of my pet peeves. Everyone pities the Native Americans and villifies the settlement of Europeans in North America. Now, don't get me wrong, some of the things the U.S. did to the Indians was wrong (for example, the Trail of Tears). But I get sick at all the things our founders were accused of. For example, there is a rock at Plymouth Rock, erected to a day of mourning for the Indians for the landing of the pilgrims. Isn't that a little over the edge? Well, I guess they had a right to be mad about the illegal immigrants who came into their land (sound familiar?). Those darn white people. They took everything from the Indians. The Indians were here first. Well, what about the Mexicans scrambling over the border illegally by the bucket load? We were here first and we have deeds to the property. And some of those same people are taking our money and smuggling it back to Mexico. Not to mention the fact that they are bringing in drugs by the millions.


And another thing. Because these pilgrims came to America, they introduced technology unknown to the Indians. Without us, it would have taken the Indians much longer to discover these things. So, what I propose to do to the Indians is give them back their lands. Yes, give their lands back EXACTLY the way they were when we got here. Take their iPods out of their ears, restrict their computers and phones, and give them back their Teepee's and animal skins. See how well they can hunt for their own food with a crummy bow and dull arrows. When you put it that way, life with the whites ain't so bad.


Now I'm not being racist here. I actually have a smattering of Indian descent in me. I just get sick of all these people complaining about their lands being taken away. Well, let's just think about all the people who got their lands taken away by insurgents. Romans. They allowed barbarians into their lands as sanctuary and then the barbarians killed them, slaughtering millions of Romans. Yet I don't see any day of mourning for those poor Romans. Not even a stupid rock commemorated to mourning the day the barbarians got in. We just view it as history.


Now, some might say that, "Well, the barbarians weren't racist! The Americans fought the Indians just because of the color of their skin. If the Indians had been white, the Americans would have just accepted them into their culture." Well, yes, but you know what? The Americans tried that. But the Indians didn't want any of the whites culture. All they wanted was some guns, a few of those cool jingle bells (I wrote about this in a Trailblogger post) and that's it. Besides that, the main issue with the indians was land. If the indians had been white, I'm pretty darn sre we would have fought them anyway. They were standing on land that we wanted and they weren't about to just hand it over. Now, say we had lost the Indian war. Would we be mourned? I really doubt it. I think we would have been written down in history as losers, and that would be that. Couldn't that just be the way everything was done?


Coragon, signing off.

Mount and Blade: Warband

As promised, here is a game reveiw on Mount and Blade: Warband.

Rating: T

The first Mount and Blade game stood out due to it's in-depth RPG style gameplay with RTS style battles. However, Warband has excelled above and beyond the first version. The first thing you do upon starting the game is create a character. You can choose gender, color, strengths, weaknesses, even your life (such as who your father was, what his career was). Your choices can make the game harder or easier. If you choose, say, that your father was an impoverished noble, you will start the game with a banner and more men will follow you. However, you will be attacked more often (due to the fact that you will be more likely to be ransomed). If you choose for your father to have been a thief, you will have a lot of trouble gaining a reputation, but you will also have a few skills which you did not posses as a nobleman's son (such as archery, tracking, and bandits will be less likely to attack you). Then, after picking your lineage, you choose your early life (such as, steppe child, street urchin, or paige, etc.) and then your more recent lifestyle (shopkeeper's apprentice, game poacher, or university student, etc.). These effect the game most of all, as these establish your traits. For example, choosing the game poacher option makes you an excellent archer, or university student will increase your engineering skills, which makes it easier to manage villages, castles, etc. Then, you choose the country you start out in. This does not effect the outcome of the game as much, but different factions have different advantages. Some are more powerful, but it will be harder to make a name for yourself. Then the smaller ones are harder to maintain late-game, but it is easier in early game to rise to power. Then, finally, you start your adventure. First off, you get attacked (go figure). After you easily defeat this assailant, the Merchant of whatever city you are in runs up to help (AFTER you've already defeated the bandit). He then takes you to his house, where he offers you a mission: to save his brother from the bandits. You can accept this quest or not, but accepting gives you a good tutorial of the game. After your first quest, you are pretty much free to pursue your dreams. You can build a warband by recruiting men from villages or from taverns. You can also add characters to your party to add some story to the game (and some of them are pretty good warriors, as well). Then, once you have got a good feel for the lay of the land, you can offer yourself as a mercenary to one of the factions. This will open up the rest of the game. Castles, battles, looting, diplomacy, and (*spit, spit*) romance. Sound like fun? It is.



Now, being a mercenary opens up the opportunity to become a vassal, which means you will be able to mange your own fief. Then, the king may grant to the ownership of a castle. This is really fun, but it is also a lot of responsibility. If you don't garrison, you can bet that your castle is going to be attacked and taken. Then it will be a long time before you are granted another (even if you take a bunch more. This is one of the frustrating aspects of the game. The king is a jerk. If you take a castle and lose a whole lot of men, he may still give the castle to one of his buddies and give you some minuscule sum to quote, "Pay for expenses.") But, along with good things, being a vassal also has it's downturns. Being a baron means you are much more likely to be attacked by other barons. This presents a problem, as most barons have 80-200 men in their party. This means that you'll have to use some strategy.



Strategy in Mount and Blade is one of the best aspects of the game. Of course, you can just let your men run around like idiots and get themselves killed, but if you want to save your men, you will have to use some of the battlefield commands. For example, if you want the cavalry to hold back, you have to hit 3, and F1, and select hold this area. Then, you could probably tell you archers to hold their fire until the enemy gets a little closer to get better shots and conserve arrows. But then, of course, you have to be able to fight a little bit yourself. As a matter of fact, you make up the majority of the casualties. Without you, quite frankly, your men stink. So, you have to pick your four items (for example, my character had a bow, arrows, a scimitar, and a shield) and ride out into battle (or walk. But I prefer a horse).



Also, unfortunately you can engage in courting one of the ladies of the court. After a few feeble tries (for the sake of the review. You guys owe me big.) I resolved to be a bachelor in this game. The majority of the women of the court are snobs. You have to actually PAY to learn some poetry, but there is a chance that they will not like it. They never liked any of the stuff that I bought. That is, if they even talk to you. The only way to enter a courtship is to talk to them and say, "I must admit I am your most ardent admirer." Now, they will either respond with, "I LOVE YOU TOO!!!" or "Um...ok... oh, look at the time, I gtg bye!" I have decided that it is definitely not worth the effort.



Now all your tactics (such as what towns to loot, how to take castles, how to engage in diplomacy, etc.) you have to learn through trial and error. This means that you will probably have to restart your game many times before you finally get the hang of how to play it through. But once you figure it out, this game is extremely fun to play. The lack of storyline does kind of leave you running around chasing random bandits in boredom sometimes, but when you figure out what you want to do (quests help some early game, but eventually you will be powerful enough to do whatever you want to) this game is extremely fun.

I would give this game a 4 out of 5 stars.

Current Events catchup

Wow. It's been awhile since I did a current events post. You guys must be heartbroken, huh? *cricket's chirp randomly* ...but, anyway.

It seems that Obama has contradicted himself yet again. He, along with many others, criticized Bush for golfing during the War in Iraq (and, as a matter of fact, he stopped golfing because it takes too much time away from his work). Yet, Obama is doing the exact same thing and none of those people are getting upset. In fact, Triple Bogey Obama golfed more times in a year than Bush ever did during his whole time in office (32 times in 1 year to 28 times in 8). So, if a regular game of golf takes an average of 3 hours (without any water hazards or golf cart malfunctions), then Barack has spent about 96 hours on golf alone this year. He also chooses to golf while Poland is mourning the deaths of several of their leaders in that awful plane crash. "Well, hey, I AM sad and all about your president getting blown up, but uh... let me be clear. Since I uh...can't be there at the moment because of this volcano eruption, I'm just going to golf to pass the time."

Speaking of the volcano, I don't see a reason why everyone in Europe has to close their airports. I can understand that planes can't go North and West, but why not South and West? If the volcano is in Iceland, why can't someone take an indirect route to America through Africa or Italy?

Also on foreign countries, I am really confused about Russia closing all adoptions based on this one incidence. I mean, just because one crazy lady sends a kid back doesn't mean that you can't let anyone else have a kid that has already passed all the tests. It's an isolated insodent! There's no reason to stop all adoptions based on one peson's actions.

Upcoming movie reviews. I will DEFINITELY be seeing Iron Man 2, so be expecting a review soon after it comes out. And, I will also be doing a game review on Mount and Blade: Warband (new game, but I haven't played it enough to do a full review. I'm not QUITE an expert gamer. Just close.)

Once again, my idea for becoming president has come up. I was interviewed by Fox News a few days ago at the Tea Party in Boston (yes, yes, hold the applause. It was pretty much only because I said I was from Texas. It seems that to most people, Texas=Cowboys and they needed a good old cowboy hick to get a good angle.) and when she asked me how I felt about things, I told her that basically the Government should listen to what the majority of the American people want because the Government is elected by the people (in other words, A=A). Then the reporter remarked that what I said was very well spoken and that quote, "We might be talking to a future president here!"

So, who'll vote for me? (answer the poll)

Coragon, signing off.

Tips for surviving a trip to Washington D.C.

1. Prioritize. Know what you want to see, and do those first. Crowds get worse as the day goes on. Though they probably won't be as bad as they were in the middle of both spring break and cherry blossom season, they will still be there.

2. If you are unlucky enough to intercept a field trip (usually 90-150 kids), RUN to wherever you want to go first. Nothing is very enjoyable with over a hundred kids crowding around you. With a party of four, you can usually avoid them by going to wherever they aren't. We were able to avoid them most of the time, but on some of the guided events there was no way around it.

3. Take the metro. Yes, it is kind of expensive, but so is the bus. The metro is a lot faster and a little less crowded. If you want to save some pennies, ride the metro to the nearest stop to your location, then walk (no bus) the rest of the way. Exercise + saving money= good. I would also recommend getting the metro pass. It saves money, as you only have to add more money when you want to. It is five dollars to buy the card, and then you decide how much more to add. There's no daily, weekly, or monthly agreement or anything. You use it when you need it. Also, a few tips for riding the metro: Try to wait at the ends of the track. People usually group around the middle. If you can make it to the end of the train, those cars tend to be less crowded. Also, when you board, try to snag the chairs closest to the door. People are less likely to stick an armpit in your face if you are away from the standing poles.

4.I do have a few recommendations for things to see and do: Lincoln Memorial,Washington Monument, Jefferson Monument, US Capitol, Smithsonian Museums (specifically the Air and Space and American History), the National Archives, Spy Museum, Iwo Jima, and the Vietnam Memorial:All of these can get a little crowded, so either make reservations or arrive early. Some of these are less popular than others. For example, the Jefferson memorial is not as crowded as the Smithsonian museums, so see the Smithsonian first, then the Jefferson, then whatever else you want to see. I would also highly recommend taking the night bus tour to get your bearings and learn about want you want to see most. It also is a nice way to see the city after dark and still be safe.

Gettysburg

Now, finally, we have seen the biggest battle of the Civil War. I realize I am skipping some events of our journey, but if you would like to know more you can see some of my parent's posts (and some written by me, as well) on their blog.


First thing we did upon arrival was go to the bookstore and buy an audio tour. We have found that these offer a very helpful and educational tour of the battlefield. This case was no exception. The tour was very informative and interesting. I would highly recommend buying these to anyone looking for a short but in-depth look at the battlefield.


First we visited McPherson Ridge, the first skirmish of the three-day battle. We would eventually take a long drive throughout the entire battlefield. Here is a short summary of the story of everything we saw:


First, the Confederates under Lee attacked a division of Federal cavalry. The Union under Meade won that confrontation, but that was the only positive side to the day for the Union. After heavy fighting on both McPherson and Oak ridge, the Union forces received reinforcements and retreated to a fishhook position all along a ridge from Little Round Top to Spangler's spring. With this fishhook formation in place, Meade could send reserves to any point that required them. This strategy is still viewed as one of the most effective military strategies ever. When Longstreet tried to thrust through the Federal lines at Little Round Top and the Wheat field on the second day, he was repulsed. Also, coincidentally, those were also the bloodiest skirmishes of the battle. Lee also ordered attacks to commence on both flanks. These also failed. This made up the main events of the second day.

On the third day, Lee realized he was going to have to break the Union defenses or retreat. He tried both, and only succeeded in one. He decided that the Union center seemed to be the least defended, so he ordered a mass charge to strike the Union center covered by an artillery barrage. This is the famous Pickett's Charge. This strategy would have worked if the artillery had come through. But after the first barrage, the smoke from the guns was so thick that the gunners couldn't see what they were hitting. To save ammunition, they stopped firing. Also, the Union soldiers were expecting the charge and set up a terrible volley of gunfire. Cannons loaded with canister shot unloaded into the enemy ranks. Volley after volley poured from the Union's muskets. Then, once the confederates reached the walls, they were faced by more than twice their number in bayonets. But, once they realized that they were overcome, the Confederate forces ran back down the hill, once again peppered by the Union guns. Of 15,000 that charged up the hill, only 5,000 would make it back down. Lee watched his men slowly trickle back to the safety of the Confederate lines. Lee then made the decision to retreat.

With this, the Union was safe, and the Confederacy broken. Lee would never again try for a campaign into Union territory. Most historians consider this to be the turning point of the war.

When I saw the number of casualties inflicted during this battle (51,000 on both sides), I thought about how unstoppable these two forces could be if they were united. As it was, thousands of Americans died fighting other Americans. Not to say that the Civil War was not necessary, however. The war eventually unified all the states, not just North or South, but all of America. However, it is just a pity that so many had to die to that end.

I have to say, Gettysburg is probably the most well-preserved battlefield. Unlike some of the other battlefields we have seen, Gettysburg is the only place where I have been able to visualize where each regiment was and their role in the battle. This is probably due to the hundreds of monuments erected to each regiment and general that played a part in this battle. Here are a few of these:

Above is the Valley of Death. The name is rather self-explanatory. The name is the result of a Confederate charge up Little Round top that was intercepted by a Union regiment. The Confederates were taken completely by surprise and were decimated.
Above is a picture of Devil's Den, an odd arrangement of big rocks that were fought for almost through the entire battle. The formation served as a command post for the failed taking of Little Round top.

Above and below are monuments to the 22nd Maine, which saved the Union line under Joshua Laurence Chamberlain, who rushed to Little Round Top when he was informed of it's possible taking by the Confederates. He successfully held them back and routed them with a bayonet charge. This decisive action probably saved the Union line.
Below is a statue of the man himself, Joshua Laurence Chamberlain:








Below is a monument to the Confederate Major General Lee, where he was positioned during the famous Pickett's charge. Below is a monument to the Confederate (North Carolina) troops who participated in Pickett's charge, sculpted by none other then the same man who carved Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum. And finally, here is a picture of the Eternal Peace memorial, erected in memory of the entire Civil war, in hopes that such a war may never happen again.

Virginia

So now we are in Virginia, one of my favorite states. Why? Because, number one, it is one of the first colonies established in America, two, the landscape is amazing, and three….they have good ham. But, really, there are a lot of cool things to see here, Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and others. The first one we saw was Williamsburg.

If any of you have been to a renaissance festival, just imagine that, but colonial times. Colonial Williamsburg is exactly that, with costumed re-enactors, shops, and even merchandise, just as it was back in Revolutionary War times. First, of course, you have to buy your tickets. But once you do, if not for all the field trip groups, you feel like you are back in 1774. You can either walk to the village or take the bus. We took the bus, because we wanted to spend as much time as possible in the village itself . When we arrived, we immediately started to look around. There are plenty of things to see, for anything you might want. There is of course the Governor's Palace, which is very impressive. Inside are hundreds of swords, guns, and other weapons lining the walls as decorations. The size is not overall very large, but it makes up for the lack of size by having lots of windows and mirrors. Once iside, it makes you feel like you are in a very large house. Yet, in every room, there is the royal seal, always above you, to remind you that the king is always more important than you are. There are shops for shoes, clothes, kitchen tools (such as silverware, dishes, etc.), and furniture. Then there are also educational places such as the shoemakers, blacksmith, magazine (no, not Life magazine, it's a weapons armory), and more. I liked the blacksmith shop, and the shoemaker, but my favorite was probably the book maker. If you don't already know, I am somewhat of a book fanatic. So anything that has to do with books is something I'm interested in. The book makers don't print the books, they make the bindings, probably the most important part. Back then, a book was a significant investment, so you wanted your book to last. Thus, the bindings were important. The bookmaker showed us how he makes the bindings, and designs the cover. Then, after we had finished looking at all the shops, we headed over to the main street for the re-enactment. The re-enactment is where they illustrate what the people felt like and did at the time of the Revolutionary war. It was very interesting, the only problem was that it was held wherever that event took place in the village. So when one act was finished, we would all get up and follow the actors to the next place. So we decided to skip a few of the performances we weren't really interested in (for example, some of the things that sounded like a soap opera, "Can their love withstand this trial? Or will they be split…forever?" I half expected someone to be handing out Reader's Digest, "Someone. Will. DIE. Who will it be this time?") but overall it was a very good and educational show.

Then we went to Jamestown. Jamestown is reputed to be the oldest English settlement in the original 13 colonies. First, we looked around the museum until it was time for the movie. The movie was very interesting, explaining the reason the English took interest in establishing colonies in the Americas. Then we headed to the fort, where they demonstrated the hardships the English colonists went through. I got to try on some armor (photo) and we also watched a matchlock rifle firing (photo). Then we headed to the ships, where we saw where the colonists traveled and lived for months (with no shower and almost no living space, by the way). But on our way out we heard about an exhibit called military through the ages, where volunteers demonstrate the weapons and tactics used from Medieval times through the Vietnam war. So, the next day, Dad and I went back. I felt like I was in heaven. There were weapons, armor, and guns galore (photos). But then, after all our fun, we had to leave. I had to be dragged away from the flails and maces, but such things must be.

Then, finally, there was Yorktown. Yorktown was the final battle of the Revolutionary War. George Washington and Lafayette's armies engaged Cornwallace at Yorktown, trying to trap him against the French fleet. Cornwallace placed half his men across the river, serving as cover in case he lost and had to retreat. He did lose, but he couldn't retreat. The French fleet had blockaded the river, preventing either side from meeting and making a defense. Cornwallace surrendered, ending the Revolutionary war.

The first thing we did was go to the museum. At the museum, they have interactive exhibits that tell you the stories of all the people during the Revolution. They also have a very good movie that tells you the stories of the American soldier living in the trenches at Yorktown. Then, we looked at the exhibits some more, which included an actual printed copy of the Decleration of Independance, an in-depth look at all the battles of the war. And, finally, there was a cannon firing demonstration. I was just in the middle of telling Mom how they should allow people who demonstrate knowledge of how to fire a gun to do so (being myself one of these people), when they called for volunteers. I was selected for Primer, the man who primes the powder hole and pours the powder. Now, unfortunately they did not give me real powder. But the package that I had to open with my teeth sure tasted like black powder (sputter cough hack wheeze). Then, after we were done with our non-powder demonstration, they fired the gun for real. Then we headed to the surgeon's tent. A nice place to be. That's where they tell you exactly why and how they amputate limbs (seeing as that was the response to a lot of things, "Hey, where are you injured?" "Oh. I got a cut on my leg." "Where's my saw?"). But, no, really they were surprisingly well-equiped for some things. In fact, some of the medicines that they used we still use today, even though they were unaware of the existance of bacteria.

After we were done, we headed out of Virginia. The climate is agreable, the people are relatively nice (there are always a few meanies), and the landscape is beautiful. There are also many historical places to see, along with those I just mentioned. I would highly recommend a trip to this state.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Rating: T for violence)

This was an excellent game! Unfortunately, this was the first Metroid Prime game I have played, as I am waiting for the Trilogy game for my birthday. But, anyway, this game has the best graphics you can ask for in a Wii game. But, graphics aside, the plot is incredible. If you are not already a fan of the Metroid series, then I highly recommend you become one.

You (Samus Aran, a bounty hunter armed with a Chozo Varia suit. OK, she's a girl. A highly trained combat-ready girl who can shoot a Space Pirate in the face and not worry about ruining her manicure. So, yeah...) start out in your ship, meetingwith the Galactic Federation fleet. When you arrive at the ship, you make your way to the control room(using the best first-person controls I've ever seen), where Admiral Dane is waiting for you. When you arrive, you and three other hunters (Rhundas, Gandrayda, and Ghor) are informed of a virus that has been injected into every Galactic AU (Aurora Unit, a genetic supercomputer that makes up the entire GF database), and that you must purge the AU's of the virus before it becomes permanent. But, in the middle of the briefing you are informed that the fleet is under attack by Space Pirates, and that they are headed for the planet Norion's home base, where the planetary defense system is. You are sent down to the planet to stop the Pirates. Once you arrive there, you are assigned the mission of rebooting the generators that power the Planet's Defense gun, the only weapon capable of taking out orbiting ships. After you do this (no easy task your first time through, I assure you) you head to the control room with the other hunters, and try to fire the gun at an incoming Phazon bomb. But, before you can do this, Dark Samus (apparently she comes about in the first Prime) bursts through the window and blasts all of you with a Phazon beam. Ouch. You (Samus) stagger to the gun and fire it, saving the planet. You then collapse, unconscious.
One month later, you wake up to find that the other Hunters were sent to go purge the Virus from the other AU's in the system, using the Phazon found in their bodies after the attack. Phazon, a new extremely powerful energy source, was incorporated into their suits to use against the new extremely powerful enemies sprouting up everywhere on these planets. Your suit has also been modified to use this Phazon. However, the hunters have since disappeared. You are now the Galactic Federation's only hope (go figure). You must go and find the other hunters, and purge the virus from the AU's. However, unbeknownst to Samus, the Phazon in her body is slowly spreading, and if it spreads too far, she will become fully corrupted. You must destroy this spreading Phazon...before it destroys you.

While this is a violent game, it is surprisingly not bloody at all. When you shoot an enemy, they fall to the ground and evaporate. Some of the enemies are slightly creepy (for the record, I only screamed twice when they popped up out of the ground), and some of the areas do cause a chill to run down your spine. This is due in part to the creepy music that plays throughout, and the dark atmosphere that makes up this game. However, your blaster is used more for problem-solving then blasting baddies. There are many slightly hard puzzles scattered throughout the game, making this more than just your average first-person shoot-em-up. Also, the moral of the game is good...in a way. Samus has to overcome the corruption in herself, when she could keep it and become fully evil. But she doesn't. However, the game makes it so that you HAVE to use the Phazon every once in while, or else suffer a painful and annoying death. I spent half the time yelling at the TV in frustration. But, in all, I think this game deserves a 5 out of 5 stars.

North Carolina

ONC. Old North Carolina. I say this as a method of agreement, similar to OK. I do this because OK is actually the abbreviation of Old Kentucky. So, whenever you say OK, you're really just referring to Kentucky. Which would be fine with me if I were IN Kentucky. But, right now I'm in North Carolina. Hence my ONC. Though, when I say it as a word I end up sounding like a large goose.

Anywho, as I said we are currently parked in North Carolina. As it turns out, there are a lot of cool things to see here. Kitty Hawk, Lighthouses (not to mention the Atlantic Ocean) are among these.

First we went to Kitty Hawk (for those who flunked out of Fourth Grade history, or those who just forgot, Kitty Hawk was where the Wright Brothers performed the first motorized, non-glider flight in 1903). The first thing you see upon arrival is the aviation monument on top of Kill Devil Hill. We missed the show by about 2 minutes, so we looked around the museum for a little while. They had all kinds of exhibits on the experiments and calculations conducted by the Wright Brothers. The Wright Brothers were originally bike repairmen. I found it amazing that you can go from bike repairer to aviator in thre years. As a matter of fact, their experience with bikes was evident in the motor that they invented for their plane (a chain drive). Those men had to have been brilliant. They had to read and memorize al the formulas (no calculators, computers) from books that they could find in their parent's library. The museum also had exhibits about the progression of aviation after the first flight. I found it remarkable that we went from no aviation to breaking the sound barrier in a little over 40 years.

After the museum, we headed to the actual flight sights. The Wright Brothers made four runs, the last one being the farthest (852 feet). There was a rock embedded in the ground for each landing, one at 120, another at 175 feet, and the third at 200 feet. They had also reconstructed the cabins which Orville and Wilbur lived while conducting their experiments. Then we hiked up the hill (puff, wheeze, gasp) and reached the top. The view was amazing. I wanted to take a shortcut down the hill, but apparently they don't want you on their dead grass (FYI you can't plant grass in sand). When we arrived back at the museum, we were just in time for the informative show. The park ranger came up and talked about the Wright Brothers lives and about the times they lived in. Then, he asked for a volunteer. I raised my hand because, hey, you might as well, right? Well, I got picked because I was the tallest kid in the room (which almost never happens unless I go to a kindergarten). I was handed a little white glove that looked almost exactly like the Hamburger Helper. The ranger then led me to the Flyer. He told me to grab a lever and pull, and not to worry, the guy who owned this plane only paid a million dollars for it. I gulped and pulled. The front elevators of the plane moved up and down. This demonstrated the ability of the Flyer to change pitch. Then he took me to the side of the plane and told me to push one of the fuselages up and down. The wings moved up and down with rod. This was to generate lift. The back rudder was also used to adjust yaw (moving left and right).

fter the show, we headed to the other museum building. Inside they had a flying model of the Wright Brothers plane, and videos of recreations of the first flight at the 100th aniversary in 2003. One of which was a failure.

As we left, I started to think. Man has always considered things that are beyond their own knowledge to be impossible. Flight, space travel, and and even the automobile are examples of this. What else could we acheive when we try to attain the impossible?

Temeraire book 2: Throne of Jade

Rating: T (violence, language)

Plot: After the successful repulsion of Napoleon's invasion, Laurence and Temeraire have another enemy to worry about. Now that Temeraire has been revealed as a Celestial, the highest in Chinese royalty, the Chinese want him back. Laurence argues that the egg was found and captured aboard a French vessel, and therefore rightful property of England. But the Chinese refuse to acknowledge the politics of the world, and still demand Temeraire be sent to China, or they will side with France in the war. Temeraire does not want to leave Laurence, and the new prince Yong-Xing will do everything in his power to separate Laurence from Temeraire, including murder. To avoid war, the English Aviator Corps send Laurence to China to convince the Emperor to allow Temeraire to fight for England. But the voyage to China is treacherous, with unknown creatures, storms, and frequent French attacks. And at the end of the voyage waits the complications and dangers of Chinese politics. Meanwhile, Napoleon prepares for another assault. Laurence must survive the trip to China, sway to Chinese Emperor to England's cause, and return to England before Napoleon strikes again.

Highlights: another great book in the Temeraire series! Unlike most fantasy novels, this one creates a believable story which keeps you interested throughout. Even the political aspect, while plentiful, keeps you interested and is not slow at all. Like the first novel, this one contains plenty of fighting, most of which is slightly bloody, but realistic.

Negative elements: Less of these than in the first book. Still a little language and lots of violence, but overall a very well-told story. I can't wait to read the next book.