I've been doing a lot of research on seemingly unrelated topics lately.

A lot of politics centered around my own personal interests,
Human rights in Iran, the proposed bill in Uganda that would make homosexuality illegal, the emergence of "new technology" mostly looking up Google and reading in depth reports about their growth as a media company instead of just a search engine.

I can do all of this because of my ipod kindle thing. It's an app for my ipod touch that lets me download books really, really easily. Scary easily. I've spent at least 20$ in the last week or so on books that I am devoring. I've missed reading for pleasure, time to get back to it! Though I think instead of focusing on fantasy (though I still love it) I want to start researching the world around me. I have this wierd feeling in my head lately that I should be studying up on all of these odd little things, just in case. I want to be able to use the knowledge that I find interesting in my everyday life. And to do that, I should have a comprehensive understanding of those topics. So- research. the fun kind. : )

Anyway-
I'm not going to write about Iran or Uganda, I just can't focus on that anymore. I ended up writing my should-be-four-pages term paper, and while writing it became so upset and obsessive that I ended up writing a comprehensive report six pages long. Which I mean, not THAT bad. But I'm really lazy, and that's kind of surprising coming from me.

I like that google in engineer- centered. I also love the corporate motto of "Don't be evil." Now there's something I can stand behind. Obviously, that's what they intend with the use of such a motto, but let's not get too scrutinizing yet. It doesn't surprise me to read that they have had graphic artists just up and quit, becoming too frustrated with the logic based ideals that Google holds dear. I've noticed similar things in my everyday visits to the CS department. When looking at a problem engineers will undoubtably look for a logical flaw and try to fix the underlying problem. At least in my own experience, when one of the CS kids doesn't understand whaat it is I'm talking about, they end up trying to figure out the logic of what I'm doing. Why I chose this or why someone acts the way they do-- It could be extremely frustrating if you don't have the patience.

It almost scares me the way that Google takes care of all of their employees. they live in the "Googleplex" and refer to Google's land as "campus". they never have to leave, Google offers everything they could need right there. Medical coverage, gourmet meals, massages, dry cleaning, day care, everything.

I can't decide whether to love or hate them. Their power is scary, but I cant help but want to jump on this bandwagon. I would work there, though Im not sure I have the smarts it would take to actually get in. Either way, we should all be watching as this is only going to get more and more interesting.

OK MY FRIENDS.

This is a call to arms. I need every bit of happy music that you can recomend/send me the torrent links to. I haven't had any really good new music in awhile, and I'm dire need for a pick me up as far as music is concerned.

I enjoy bouncy music and pianos/strings are always a bonus, but EVERYTHING IS ACCEPTED!

Thanks in advance, guys.

-Lauren


A Crimson Rose and a Gin Tonic - Asuka Sakai & Ado Mizumori

If you know, you know that this is the perfect picture.

two dreams last night.


One was mike and I running away from a dinosaur invasion.

and one was me, only ten years older telling me to sit down and shut up. then future me told me that she forgives me.


Oh, and I cut off the tip of my finger on accident, so now im all bandage-y

The was a boating accident out on the lake last night.

Mr. and Mrs. Gearheart were killed.

I've known them both since I was five. I was around for the birth of both their children. She used to make all of the kids mock chocolate martinis so we wouldnt feel left out.

They were out at night, and hit a dock at full speed.

three died. one is in critical condition.

The kids dont know yet.

Jay and marina dont even know yet.



This shouldnt happen.

There was a group of "speakers" At  GVSU this week, they were preaching about their good lives, claiming to be sinless and telling each of the passerby why they were going to hell. Things started to get ugly, and I was there with my camera (Which is miraculously and inexplicatively working again) Alot of things happened, and a lot of people were misunderstood in the craziness.

BUT.


This is best told through pictures and video. So here.

Photo Journalism, bitches.









( Photos from the protest. )

LAdies and gentlemen.

This is what I NEED to do this summer. I want more than anything to be apart of this program.


" Summary of Position
Pixar's Undergraduate Program is an approximately ten-week course taught in the summer by an experienced Technical Director at Pixar. Undergraduate Program students will be in a hands-on classroom environment and will learn the tools and processes of several TD disciplines at Pixar. During the summer, students will have the opportunity to learn about Pixar's filmmaking process and explore a variety of technical career options as they get firsthand experience in how a production studio works. The classroom curriculum will focus on several of the technical aspects of filmmaking, for example, modeling, shading, rigging, lighting, simulation and visual effects. Students will work on projects individually and in small groups to reinforce the lecture concepts. Additionally, students will be exposed to production work in greater detail via presentations from a variety of technical directors at Pixar.
.
Qualifications
* Currently enrolled undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science,
Art or a related field.
* Interest in a career working as a Technical Director at an animation studio.
* Interest in or experience with computer programming.
* Interest in or experience with a 3D graphic package such as Maya.
* Interest or experience in photography, art, sculpture, sewing, costume design, or film.
* Proven academic excellence and/or extracurricular passion in Computer Science, Art or a related field. "



This is everything I've been looking for. This is everything I could hope for. If I get this it could mean a career, conections within pixar.... I just...


*explodes*

My Cancer-y cells are weak, and they're going to freeze them off of me.


This means that I will have to miss one friday's worth of classes to drive to... troy? and get my cervix frozen and some cells plucked off. ....But hey! Its not full fledged, and I'm going to live.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN.

"I watched too many romantic comedies in my childhood. I can't be single! Some people are like 'being single is awesome!' and I'm like, 'No, being single is what happens before you meet some one and they make your life great."

There was so much more, but I cant remember it all.

Last night was amazing.

Lanzio, even though you were late, You introduced me to Guinness and spectacular conversation.



OK GUYS.

Im off to get tested for cancer.

Luck. Send me some.

particularly the really nice ones over at apple support.


More specifically Paul. Who after seeing that my phone support had expired and heard the desperation in my voice quickly whispered how to fix my internets.

He then proceeded to say in a very loud voice "I'm sorry I can't help you, Lauren, but thank you for calling! *whisper* Ill send a backup email in case that doesn't work."
And when I said thanks, he just said "What for? :)"

I love nice people, they brighten my day, even when it is POURING outside, and the lightning is so close it sounds like gunshots.


I <3 Geeks.

http://www.linearpublishing.com/RhinoStory.html
J.K. Rowling, Lexicon and Oz
by Orson Scott Card

April 24, 2008
Can you believe that J.K. Rowling is suing a small publisher because she claims their 10,000-copy edition of The Harry Potter Lexicon, a book about Rowling's hugely successful novel series, is just a "rearrangement" of her own material.

Rowling "feels like her words were stolen," said lawyer Dan Shallman.

Well, heck, I feel like the plot of my novel Ender's Game was stolen by J.K. Rowling.

A young kid growing up in an oppressive family situation suddenly learns that he is one of a special class of children with special abilities, who are to be educated in a remote training facility where student life is dominated by an intense game played by teams flying in midair, at which this kid turns out to be exceptionally talented and a natural leader. He trains other kids in unauthorized extra sessions, which enrages his enemies, who attack him with the intention of killing him; but he is protected by his loyal, brilliant friends and gains strength from the love of some of his family members. He is given special guidance by an older man of legendary accomplishments who previously kept the enemy at bay. He goes on to become the crucial figure in a struggle against an unseen enemy who threatens the whole world.

This paragraph lists only the most prominent similarities between Ender's Game and the Harry Potter series. My book was published in England many years before Rowling began writing about Harry Potter. Rowling was known to be reading widely in speculative fiction during the era after the publication of my book.

I can get on the stand and cry, too, Ms. Rowling, and talk about feeling "personally violated."

The difference between us is that I actually make enough money from Ender's Game to be content, without having to try to punish other people whose creativity might have been inspired by something I wrote.

Mine is not the only work that one can charge Rowling "borrowed" from. Check out this piece from a fan site, pointing out links between Harry Potter and other previous works: http://www.geocities.com/versetrue/rowling.htm. And don't forget the lawsuit by Nancy K. Stouffer, the author of a book entitled The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, whose hero was named "Larry Potter."

At that time, Rowling's lawyers called Stouffer's claim "frivolous."

It's true that we writers borrow words from each other ? but we're supposed to admit it and not pretend we're original when we're not. I took the word ansible from Ursula K. LeGuin, and have always said so. Rowling, however, denies everything.

If Steven Vander Ark, the author of Lexicon, had written fiction that he claimed was original, when it was actually a rearrangement of ideas taken from the Harry Potter books, then she'd have a case.

But Lexicon is intended only as a reference book for people who have already paid for their copies of Rowling's books. Even though the book is not scholarly, it certainly falls within the realm of scholarly comment.

Rowling's hypocrisy is so thick I can hardly breathe: Prior to the publication of each novel, there were books about them that were no more intrusive than Lexicon. I contributed to one of them, and there was no complaint about it from Rowling or her publishers because they knew perfectly well that these fan/scholar ancillary publications were great publicity and actually boosted sales.

But now the Harry Potter series is over, and Rowling claims that her "creative work" is being "decimated."

Of course, she doesn't claim that it's the Lexicon that is harming her "creative work" (who's she borrowing from this time?); it's the lawsuit itself! And since she chose to bring the suit, whose fault is it? If she had left Vander Ark alone to publish his little book and make his little bit of money, she wouldn't be distracted from her next novel.

But no, Rowling claims Vander Ark's book "constitutes wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work."

Seventeen years? What a crock. Apparently she includes in that total the timeframe in which she was reading ? and borrowing from ? the work of other writers.

On the stand, though, Rowling's chief complaint seems to be that she would do a better job of annotating and encyclopedizing her own series.

So what?

Nothing prevents her from doing exactly that ? annotating and explaining her own novels. Do you think that if there were a Harry Potter Annotated by the Author, Vander Ark's book would interfere with her sales in any way?

This frivolous lawsuit puts at serious risk the entire tradition of commentary on fiction. Any student writing a paper about the Harry Potter books, any scholarly treatise about it, will certainly do everything she's complaining about.

Once you publish fiction, Ms. Rowling, anybody is free to write about it, to comment on it, and to quote liberally from it, as long as the source is cited.

Here's the irony: Vander Ark had the material for this book on his website for years, and Rowling is quoted as saying that when she needed to look up some 'fact" from her earlier books, she would sometimes "sneak into an Internet cafe while out writing and check a fact rather than go into a bookshop and buy a copy of Harry Potter."

In other words, she already had made personal use of Vander Ark's work and found it valuable. Even if it has shortcomings, she found it useful.

That means that Vander Ark created something original and useful ? he added value to the product. If Rowling wants to claim that it interferes with her creativity now, she should have made that complaint back when she was using it ? and giving Vander Ark an award for his website back in 2004.

Now, of course, she regrets "bitterly" having given the award.

You know what I think is going on?

Rowling has nowhere to go and nothing to do now that the Harry Potter series is over. After all her literary borrowing, she shot her wad and she's flailing about trying to come up with something to do that means anything.

Moreover, she is desperate for literary respectability. Even though she made more money than the queen or Oprah Winfrey in some years, she had to see her books pushed off the bestseller lists and consigned to a special "children's book" list. Litterateurs sneer at her work as a kind of subliterature, not really worth discussing.

It makes her insane. The money wasn't enough. She wants to be treated with respect.

At the same time, she's also surrounded by people whose primary function is to suck up to her. No doubt some of them were saying to her, "It's wrong for these other people to be exploiting what you created to make money for themselves."

She let herself be talked into being outraged over a perfectly normal publishing activity, one that she had actually made use of herself during its web incarnation.

Now she is suing somebody who has devoted years to promoting her work and making no money from his efforts ? which actually helped her make some of her bazillions of dollars.

Talent does not excuse Rowling's ingratitude, her vanity, her greed, her bullying of the little guy, and her pathetic claims of emotional distress.

I fully expect that the outcome of this lawsuit will be:

1. Publication of Lexicon will go on without any problem or prejudice, because it clearly falls within the copyright law's provision for scholarly work, commentary and review.

2. Rowling will be forced to pay Steven Vander Ark's legal fees, since her suit was utterly without merit from the start.

3. People who hear about this suit will have a sour taste in their mouth about Rowling from now on. Her Cinderella story once charmed us. Her greedy evil-witch behavior now disgusts us. And her next book will be perceived as the work of that evil witch.

It's like her stupid, self-serving claim that Dumbledore was gay. She wants credit for being very up-to-date and politically correct ? but she didn't have the guts to put that supposed "fact" into the actual novels, knowing that it might hurt sales.

What a pretentious, puffed-up coward. When I have a gay character in my fiction, I say so right in the book. I don’t wait until after it has had all its initial sales to mention it.

Rowling has now shown herself to lack a brain, a heart and courage. Clearly, she needs to visit Oz.

Ouch.

Now then thyself, presume no god to scan;
The proper study of mankind is man.
Placed on this ithsmus of a middle state,
A being darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the skeptic side,
With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,
he hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks too little, or too much:
Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;
Still by himself abused, or disabused;
Created half to rise, and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

I adore sinfest.


and ive finished my homework.



There has been so much wind here lately, it feels like summer storms.



I really miss feeling like somewhere was home.

Maybe it's just everything that's going on, but the i can't shake this really terrible feeling.

I'm just being weird again.

"Whats that thing alex plays and thinks hes a musician?"



" guitar?"

wooo comics!

I have been accepted to grand valley state university's art and design academy.


im one of only 120.



the stress go poof :):)



i have somewhere to go! my future is certain again!



fuck YES!

http://www.epica-awards.org/assets/epica/2005/finalists/film/flv/02506.htm

beautiful.

I want to do something Earth shattering.

fixed and finished ::whew::


i miss my digital camera.


i need to find that... hm.

"To die will be a great adventure."

"it is the only adventure you have left."

i like these muchly.

 

i suppose you get the picture

Don't ask to be added if you dont like crazy fandomness-- even though i dont post it alot of the time, i like it alot so leave it be. no ignorance, please. besides that, im really openminded, and im always open to new freinds :)

 

come on an adventure with me?

 

lauren