Farewell to the King of Mars

Ah, weird title I'm assuming? How many people think they know what I'm talking about?

Well, let me explain.

Ray Bradbury.

Still lost?

Well then, my friend, you need one of his books, on the double!

Ray Bradbury is probably one of the most influential, if not the most influential, science fiction writers of the twentieth century. And to tell you the truth, he is just plain awesome.

But unfortunately, last Tuesday, he died. But he left behind a legacy that all writers dream of.

There are those people who have great ideas, but just ruin it with their writing. Ray Bradbury made those great ideas come to life.

He was, to put it simply, a genius when it came to the written word.

He wrote so many amazing short stories, whether it be The Martian Chronicles, or The Veldt, or The Smile. All Summer in a Day was pretty amazing, too. (Not to mention his novel, Fahrenheit 451, about burning books!)  But in each and every one of his stories, we were placed in some sort of amazing world, an amazing place where what seems unreal is real. And it doesn't sound far-fetched either.

He brought about so many great ideas, so many amazing paradoxes and theories, we can't help but be in awe. If you asked me to choose a favorite, I wouldn't be able to. He's written about everything, from the butterfly effect (A Sound of Thunder) to strange societies where people only watch television the moment they arrive home (The Pedestrian).

Science Fiction wouldn't be half the genre it is today, without him.

So here's a final farewell to the King of Mars; the writer who brought the most far-fetched stories, the most out of this world stories, back to Earth.

Ray Bradbury. 1920-2012. Rest in Peace (or on Mars, if you wish).

~ Banana Win

Seven Places I'd Rather Be Right Now

Right now, I am positioned in a steaming sauna in which my arms are slowly melting, melding into my legs, sweat pooling on the back of my neck.
No, really.
My fingers are placing little sweat marks on my keyboard. Icky, little sweat marks.
Can you say "EW!"
It is hot. Sure, 85 degrees may not seem overbearingly hot, but when you're stuck in the room above the basement, it's a whole other story.
It is more than just hot.
And so I have no idea why I'm sitting here, at my computer (that is making a disturbing whoosh sound), when I could be at so many other places. Yeah right.

First: the pool. I need that cool blue water on me right now, soaking me to the point in which heat has no meaning. But that's not going to happen, I assure you.

Second: Antarctica. Unrealistic, and utterly stupid, I realize. But can you blame me? When I'm being overheated to the point of--cue the gasp--laziness?!

Third: The Krusty Krab Freezer. Alright, I know this one is dumb too, but after seeing that episode...with all the ice... and burgers... Call me insane, but that sounds like freakin' paradise to me right now.

Fourth: Canada. I mean, does it get annoyingly, burning hot up there? Probably, considering I know nothing about Canada. But still! I want the cold! And I heard there are some pretty charming people up there...well, I've heard that from the Bieber lovers (ick!) ... but I'm sure there are cool people up there! God, the puns could just go on and on.

Fifth: Mount Everest. Primarily, the top of it. I'd get to have the fame of climbing the mountain and be cooled down. Instantly. Now getting up there, that's another issue...

Sixth: the Moon. I heard it's pretty chill up there. Plus, it would be awesome to wear an astronaut suit. I could collect moon rocks too!

Seventh: The North Pole. I could say hello to Santa Claus. 'Nuff said.

I wish I could curl up with a cup of Rita's Italian Ice right now and call it a day, but that's not going to happen... Because I had Rita' the day before yesterday...and it's too late to go now. I guess I'll just have to settle for ice cream... or chocolate... or berry punch... or all three of those things.

I'm going to go before I bore you (if I haven't accomplished that feat already) into oblivion.




Ta-ta for now!

~Banana Win


P.S. This is some pretty picture from some place called Lake Louise in some place called Alberta, in Canada! Doesn't that look pretty... and not burning hot?!

What Makes You Terrible

WARNING: ONE DIRECTION (AND BIEBER) FANS BEWARE.

I am officially sick of hearing the obsessively crazed One Direction fangirls.
So sick in fact, I have decided that I hate the band. Ok, I can't hate people I've never met. I'll just dislike their songs. Not to mention, their songs really aren't that special...to me, at least.
Really.

And I'm so annoyed at hearing the band that I'm posting this. See, there's only so many "na-na-na's" that I can take. Honestly, didn't young, poppy boy-bands die out...hm, ten years ago? Why the need to bring them back? I think they should've stayed in their grave.

But unfortunately, they didn't. Recently, I came upon this hilarious parody of One Direction. Words cannot describe how hilarious it is...But the sad part is; certain parts of it can be qualified as true.

Now, everyone knows you can't critique someone/ something without seeing all they have to offer. But I have officially scarred my eyes when I came upon their video for "What Makes You Beautiful." So this is for you, One Direction.

What Makes You [One Direction] Terrible:

1. It is as if the devil came and put five Justin Bieber's into one band. Must voices go that high?

2. The lyrics to their songs are definitely appealing to one demographic only: squealing teen-girls. Make some real music.

3. The tune to their one smash hit, "What Makes You Beautiful" is nothing special. It has repetition, easily sung notes, and comes nothing close to singers who have talented voices and soulful songs. I'll admit, it has the craved catchiness, and the tune isn't bad.

4. Because of the extremely narrowed down demographic, schools across the world are forced to listen to crazy fan-girls rant about strangers whom they've never met. Obsessions have become popular, it seems.

5. The first time I heard it, I was insulted. Not all teenagers are insecure, wear make-up, and smile at the ground. I'm sure it wasn't meant to come across like this, but that was my first impression. First impressions count.

Must I even continue? I am honestly sick of the squealing, and ranting, and raving, and obsessing. It's time all girls grow up and listen to themselves.

My first reaction to One Direction was simple. After hearing some of my friends mention that "There are five of them, right?" I jumped in saying, "No, there are four. North, South, East, and West."

I got blank looks in return.

Nevertheless, I soon learned to loathe the band as murmurs of "pretty hair," "cute eyes," and many more comments filled the halls.

While One Direction sings to girls all over the world about what makes those girls beautiful; I'll be humming to my own tune: What Makes You, One Direction--fine, fine, their songs, Terrible.

~Banana Win

P.S. Enjoy!

The Ego: Give it a Poke, Kick it a Smudge, and Shove it Down Their Throat

Why would you need to insult egos?
Well to bring a conceited person down a notch of course!

Today, I will be talking about something not so serious: how to properly displace someone from off their throne. Translation: how to kick someone of their high chair.
There are many ways to go about doing this...some ways more painful than others. But I will just list a few.

1. Insult their intelligence. It gets people every time. Throw in a witty and well-placed comment and you will get many affronted looks. Even the old, "Wow, you didn't know that?!" can at least startle a person. Or, you can get down the nitty-gritty. "I won't bother talking to you, because I know that lower life forms--a.k.a., you--will not understand me." Either way, it is quite surprising how we, as humans, take our own intelligence in pride.

2. Insult their looks. This one works great with the superficial goons out there. Great points to touch on is hair, muscles, and the face in general. "Did your hair get attacked by a wild animal or is that a new style?" That will give their ego a beating, boy or girl.

3. Insult their physical strength. Whether it be calling them a weakling, "Eh, I know you're too weak to handle this," or degrading their ability in sports, this is one of the sure fire ways to bring an ego down. Guys, mainly, do not like to be told that they look weak, or play sports terribly.

Of course, some egos are too big to be caught by these tricks and tips. The key with those people, you ask? Any time you talk with them, ignore them. I'm sure they will loathe that--I mean, one less person to brag to! Or, kill them with kindness, and leave their stunned faces with a smirk of "so ha!"

Either way there's not too much to it.
The way to downgrade an ego? Give it a poke, kick it a smudge, and shove it down their throat.

Ah, simplicity.

~Banana Win

Road Trips

I just recently came home from a five hour long road trip, and I decided to post. About road trips. If there are three things I absolutely loathe about road trips they would be:

1. The GPS
2. The radio, and
3. The car

Let me explain. The GPS is one of the most useful and most annoying things man has ever created. Sure, it will give us directions, but it could be so annoying! Why? Because it will always recalculate. How many times did the GPS recalculate while I was driving to and from Massachusetts? Too many times to count. If I have to hear that GPS recalculate one more time, I will go insane.

Next, the radio. You will not believe how much B.S. is played on it! While driving through upstate N.Y., I finally realized just how bad the stations were up there. If I didn't switch to an advertisement, then there would be some terribly unknown country song, or worse, a bland talk show. It's bad when you hear a song that goes as such: "Once you start, you can't stop, till you eat all the chocolate in my chocolate shop...I'm the chocolate man, I'm the chocolate man!" That particular song actually amused me, but nonetheless, it allowed a very confused and bemused look to appear on my face. I learned later that the song was called "Chocolate Man," by Guy Davis.

That man must have something wrong with him.

Anyway, that isn't the only weird song either, just the one that was the weirdest.

Therefore the radio on a road trip can be the enemy.

And lastly the car. You may be thinking: the car is getting you places, why would you loathe it? Let me be more specific: the car seat. Still don't get it? The car seat is one of the most uncomfortable places to be in for five hours. Let me tell you, your bottom hurts after sitting for so long.  Not to mention, it is not exactly one of the more comfortable places to fall asleep, read, write--or do anything for that matter.

So how was my five hour road trip? (Mind you, this was to and from, equalling a total of ten hours). It was terrible, and oddly amusing.

But it was a road trip after all.

~Banana Win

One of Those "Worst Day Ever" Moments

So I can't say that today was my absolute Worst Day Ever, but it comes pretty close. To put it simply, my day consisted of:

Stress (from home) x Friends (stressing me out) + 1(annoying mistake) + 1(program that would not cooperate) = Bad Day

Simple equation, I assure you.

I have this one friend. We had to choose groups among our friends for a trip. There's this big mix-up, probably some lies involved and some secrecy. I get into a group. We were both supposed to be in it. We didn't get in together. Well, she didn't get in it. What does this create? Problems. So she doesn't have a group, and everyone needs a group to go on the trip!

She starts crying. Yes, I know you're sad. Yes, I know you're stressed. But for God's sake it's not the end of the world! I felt really bad though--even though I knew nothing was my fault.

We try to solve the problem. Her way of solving the problem was to leave my group whom I wanted to go with and pair up with her. There are four people in a group. One + One does not equal Four. It wouldn't work. We would get split up. Or put together with some random people.

Now tell me, isn't that a bit selfish? At first I didn't say anything, but she just kept on pressuring me! For the love of all above, why?

She kept on provoking me, "Yeah you could just leave your group, it'll be fine, they probably won't get split up anyway," or, "Yeah, then we can be together at least, and we could find someone," to "Yeah, since it's not too hard to change it, we can find a way to fix it."

I felt like yelling at her: Did I agree to go with you? With someone who isn't that close of a friend? With one other person who, not to mention, does not talk so much? And then get paired up with people I'm not close with?

Talk about aggravating! She had to go drag everyone into it, cry--please, it's not such a big deal--and then pressure me. I chose against her, thank you very much.

Now I know, I know, it may seem like I'm being a mean person or something like that, but think about it fairly: If one friend wanted to go with you compared to two close friends (not including the third girl) who wanted to go with you, who would you choose? Will crying help? Would pressuring help?

Frankly, I'm a very blunt person. I see things in black and white. I look at a situation and I see the best option. My friend should have understood that though she may have fun--I wouldn't. She should have taken into consideration my own feelings. Instead of me dragging me through a hell of a mess adding onto my hell of a day.

She sure knows how to make a person feel more stressed. Her problems looked so petty compared to moving to another state. I hope she learns one day that there are bigger things to cry about. (And no, this does not imply that she won't ever learn, Anonymous who commented on my last post. Assuming can sound very condescending, and the comment sounded more like a lecture than anything else. If you want to lecture, start your own blog! And see, I was still nice in my reply to your comment--I said thank you.)

Today was definitely one of those "Worst Day Ever" moments.

We're Luckier Than We Think

I recently read "Night" by Elie Wiesel.
It was one of the saddest pieces of literature I have ever read.
Each word held so much emotion.
And the actual story; my lord it was unbelievable. But the sad thing is, is that the whole story is true.
It's a true holocaust memoir.
It made me think about life. How bad do I actually have it? Yes, I'm annoyed that I have to uproot my life for the umpteenth time, but that's nothing compared to the horrors of the holocaust.
I thought my life was messed up. My life is nothing compared to the horrors that Wiesel writes of.
At least I have a home.
My freedom.
The ability to walk.
But I can't help but get so mad and infuriated; so annoyed; so much so that I block my friends out. I let bitterness overcome me. But am I just being selfish?
Probably.
Maybe it's just human nature.
Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I can be in a worse situation.
But I truthfully think that we can't say one person's life is harder than another's; especially if both of them have gone through hardships.
Sometimes I think my friends are so naïve. Naïve about moving. About parent-relationships. So what if I hate my dad? I have reason to. People don't always get forgiveness. Even if he never did anything to hurt me physically, does that mean I still can't feel emotional pain? They are a bit too naïve sometimes. But I guess I've experienced more than they have. They have their lives to live, and I have mine.
That's the other thing. We're born all alone, into this world. We die by ourselves, we don't take anyone with us. Is it just irony that human nature causes us to want to talk to others? Bond with others? Love others?
I want to hate love. But it's hard.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm lucky. That I could be worse off.

We're luckier than we think.

~Banana Win