Tom Storm

Why a bubble? This photograph was taken in The Windy City, also known as Chicago, and it captures the whole city in one, tiny bubble. The city is realistically portrayed in the top half of the bubble and is reflected into the bottom half. Tom's photograph from Chicago exhibits his surroundings in a never-ending circular quality that engulfs every detail of his current location. The location Tom picked for Chicago was perfect considering Chicago is widely known for its giant metallic bean in Millennium Park. The only other location in Chicago that would have equally summed up the city would have been Wrigley Field. However, for the city dwellers, shoppers, and travelers, who make up the majority of Chicago, Tom’s photo is an accurate portrayal. The area around the bubble is a blurred so the focus is maintained on the bubble, and what the bubble contains. It is comparable to a pair of eye glasses, vision is blurry without them, but when looking through them, everything is clear. The bubble being so small in size when compared to the giant skyscrapers in the background captures the world around it as if the city of Chicago was the smaller of the two. The giant bean is represented as the centerpiece of Chicago, sitting precisely in the middle, and surrounded by much larger things. By looking very closely and concentrating, almost unnoticeable black specks are scattered throughout the image, obviously people. This is the kind of picture where something new appears with every new glance. Tom’s idea was so ingenious, yet it captures how big the world really is. The funny thing is, he captures the largeness with something so small. A new perspective is all that is necessary.   

Short List #3

1. Tom Storm -
http://www.tomstorm.net/

This guy is incredible. He travels all over the world and takes pictures, the only thing is. He takes pictures through a bubble. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Chicago and in the first picture, that is the silhouttete of my friend Emily and I helping Tom blow bubbles. In the other picture that is a bubble Emily and I blew and it was voted best bubble for Chicago. If you look closely, my reflection is in the bubble. So cool!

Tom sent me picture he took of Emily and I and a T-shirt! If you don't believe me, go to his website and watch the video of "The Windy City" ... I'm in it!








2. Like chill retro stuff? Check this out - http://www.retronaut.co/
This website just has a bunch of retro stuff to check out. The top of the page has a timeline so you can pick with era you want to check out! You can check out the 1800's and life during the wars. It's pretty chill, and is really interesting.

3. My Favorite - http://www.remedylive.com/home.aspx#/?framed=true
This website is great. If you are a Christian, struggling with your faith, or not a Christian, come check it out. You can listen to live chats and even chat with someone online to help guide you through your personal struggles. It is really helpful and amazing to listen to the conversations that happen on there. They will talk about anything and it's designed specifically for teens. It's great!

Reading Log #6

This week...Sense and Sensibility. I am one of the few reading this book for pleasure's sake not for AP Literature, I being a student in Jankowski's class. I have previously seen the movie before, but regretted not reading the book first. So finally, I did it. While I am only in 143 pages in, the depth of the novel is much more palpable than the movie. However, most books tend to be. The Dashwoods have lived in the sane town, Sussex,  for many generations at an estate called Norland. After the death of Henry Dashwood, the son of his first married, John Dashwood inherits everything. This setting was all stated very plainly within the first few pages of the novel. I admire all the details early on that prepare you right away for what is to come, rather than novels that take forever to even begin the story. At this point, I like this book. Many claim that it is a girly book, but it also provides another story of a family and the issues that can be solved by communication and reasoning. It is wonderful to collect the specific details, it adds much more to make you think as to what each specific details' purpose is in the story and how it will affect the characters. I really enjoy books that make me think. However, I just started reading a book for a girls bible study at my church, so I will probably hold off on finishing this novel. I guarantee I will finish it someday though, just not sure when.

This American Life - Continental Breakup Short Summary

After a long difficult decision to decide what to listen to on This American Life I finally came to a decision. My decided upon episode 455, Continental Breakup. In this episode, Ira Glass interviews Alex Blumberg, a writer, and attempts to explain the credit crisis in Europe in a simplistic manner, easy enough for the average American to understand. The job was well done. They regress to 100 years prior and bring forth the events that lead up to the current problems in today's society. The controversial relationship between France and Germany is without a doubt, very interesting.

"Germany no longer wanted to dominate Europe. It wanted the opposite, actually. It wanted to be a team player, a peacemaker. Germany wanted to be the nicest guy at the European table."

"Of course, France didn't want Germany to dominate either. Germany would always be bigger, more powerful. So France wanted to link its economy to the German economy. That way Germany's strength would be France's strength."

"And also, a united Europe would be big enough and rich enough to become the world's other superpower and rival the United States, which both countries liked. All this was making a once-poetic dream much more appealing."

All of this shows the immense thought that goes on in society, that every day people don't usually think about. Every single decision made or not made by a country effects every country around it and the people within the country. Every decision is huge, and I have a lot more respect for the people in charge, because they have a lot on their plate. I'm really  glad I decided to listen to this episode, it sounded intriguing by the name, because I'm a history fanatic and I find anything worldly related interesting.

Awkward Family Photos

I could say so many things about every single picture on this website, but I had to pick just one.

To begin, the only person who looks truly happy is the little girl in the front. The older sister's smile in hiding what she is really feeling inside, which is "I don't want to be here" while the geeky brother has a smug look about him. The mother isn't even attempting to look happy, but I can assume she didn't get a lot of sleep the night before from her dazed expression. I don't even want to begin to worry about the father, who seems to have actually been photoshopped in the family portrait. I don't know what kind of family decides to take a family photo, without a member of their family. Another point, most families want to look great for their one family picture every 10 years so they are busy prepping themselves all morning. However, this family seems to beg the differ looking as if they just rolled out of bed. The eldest girls shirt blinding everyone that looks at this, and the nerdy brother in a puke green sweatshirt, and the mother and youngest daughter are wearing t-shirts? Classy. The father is the most dressed up, too bad he wasn't actually there. There seems to be almost a forced relationship between this family. If it weren't stated that these people were related, by their facial expressions it could be presumed that they are random strangers fitted awkwardly together to make a memory. This picture is definitely worthy of being on this website. Kudos to this family, because it makes me uncomfortable just by looking at them.

Reading Log #5

I've decided to continue reading books that help me grow in my faith. It is hard to follow Crazy Love, since it was such motivational and inspiring book. This week I began to read a book called When Teens Pray by Cheri Fuller and Ron Luce.  It originally attracted me because it was about Christianity, and teenagers. A lot of books focus on adults or younger kids, but this book put the spot light on teenagers. To me, teens are the ones that need the most motivation and encouragement to get through high school years. So much change happens as a teenager and I see it all the time, some go down the wrong path, some go down the right path, then there are those in the middle who haven't decided which path they belong in. To quickly summarize, this book is filled with true  stories written by teens from all around the world, who share their stories of faith and how God worked in their life. I wasn't far into the book when one story really stuck out to me. A teen named Adam, got caught up into drugs and alcohol and began to believe that the only way he would make it in the world was to join  a gang. So he did. He became a drug dealer, he had some visits to jail, he did it all. After being adopted into a family that attended church every Sunday, he began to wonder if there was really more to life. He slowly began to regress in his bad behaviors to become one of God's disciples. He felt God in his life and he knew he had to change. So he did. He is now a pastor and in his words he says,

"May God reveal to you the great and awesome plan he has for your life. May you and all your generation climb from the rubble of sin and ascend to your destiny. May you wash your hands and your hearts in the blood of the Lamb, allowing Him to cleanse both your actions and the motives of your heart. May every man idol in your life turn to dust. May you never again be captivated by MTV stars, by the drug dealer on the corner, by the music industry, or by this world's standards. May you, like the psalmist David, cry out to God, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" (Psalm 73:25). And above all, may you answer the great and glorious call to pray" (22).

I think Adam sums up being a teenager perfectly in his words. We all sin, nobody is perfect, but it is pointless to live your life in accordance to the world's expectations. Hearing these words from someone who has literally climbed from the rubble of sin, is so much more meaningful and realistic. Who cares who you are now, it only matters who you aspire to be and who you end up being in the future. Adam should be an inspiration to everyone, whether Christian or not. Why not  drop to your knees and say a prayer? It's worth a shot.

Short List #2

1. Free Rice
This awesome website (linked above) is a non-profit website that is run by the United Nations World Food Programme. By playing the educational games, you donate 10 grains of rice to the hungry people in different countries. It adds up quickly, trust me! You can create a username and password and track your overall progress and see how much rice you've donated in all and each day. It not only benefits those gain food from it, but those who use it as well. It is a great website to start spending a little bit of time one each day.

2. The Onion
The Onion is a not-so-famous website that covers the news. However, it adds a sense of humor and covers topics that most famous news websites don't cover. The Onion turns the spotlight on humorous and sometimes irrelevent topics. Although it isn't as serious as regular news, it is without a doubt more entertaining. Check it out!

3. Awkward Family Photos
This website isn't anything but hilarious. After going to the website and clicking on one of the many options in the photos category, you get some real winners. The name of the website speaks for itself. You may have thought your family portraits were weird, but trust me these are weirder. While looking through some of the pictures, it makes me realize how unique each individual person is. It is definitely something to check out.

Erika Eiffel

Erika's last name might ring a bell to some by bringing the Eiffel Tower to mind. Well, it should since Erika confessed her love to the Eiffel Tower and held a ceremony, then changed her last name to represent her marriage to the tower. The strangness of the whole situation has brought about many questions, and this scenario gives insight to some of the crazy happenings of the world today. The main question that crosses everybody's mind-

Is this legal?

 No, although she was allowed to change her last name and hold a ceremony, it wasn't an actual wedding.

Erika loves objects much deeper than just admiring their beauty. She percieves feelings from them, like they are talking to her. As weird as this may seem, Erika is a part of a small group of people who are known as "objectum sexuals". These people can love any sort of object they feel an attraction to, and they love these random objects rather than people. This disorder may be the answer for everyone who thought this was as strange as I, but I believe that these people should be given help.

Although, Erika needs medical attention in this aspect of her life, she otherwise lives a completely normal life. Many things can be assumed from this controversial situation, like has she ever been marrried? Has she always been like this? Did something happen that made her like this? Some answers we will never know, but we can conclude that Erika lives a different life than most and she interacts and sees objects in a way that most people don't. It is definitely strange, but sometimes it's best to do what makes you happy, and for Erika, that's her husband, the Eiffel Tower.

Reading Log #4

As I'm continuing my reading with Crazy Love, I read something that connects to the lesson I just finished learning in Bible study, giving God your first fruits. The timing was perfect, God works in funny ways, huh?

"God didn't just give a little for us; He gave His best. He gave Himself" (203).

True love includes sacrifice. In Bible study, I learned that God desires our first fruits. When we recieve our pay check, yes, even as a poor teenager, He wants us immediantly to give back to Him. I mean after all He's given us, it should be easy right? This is something a lot of people struggle with, including myself. He doesn't want what's left our pay check after we buy everything that we want, He wants it first. I've applied this concept to my own life, but without money. I generally tend read my Bible at night, before bed, until I realized that God doesn't want me when all I'm thinking about is sleep. He wants my attention, when my attention is on Him alone. This quote I read fits right in with this whole concept. I thought it was really cool to connect it and relate it to something I learned outside of Crazy Love's pages. Nothing has been more true, God really didn't just give a little for us, He gave everything. He didn't put in some effort, He did his best. He didn't give some of His time, He gave all of His time. He didn't give some of Himself, He gave all of Himself. He wants the same in return from us. Although nothing we do can ever compare to His ever-lasting love, He wants our best. He wants us completely. This book has done wonders to how I view everything around me. If you are looking to grow in your Christian faith, read Crazy Love.

Reading Log #3

I started the second Hunger Games book, but for some reason I wasn't interested anymore. As I searched for a new book to read, I decided to read a book that would help me grow in my faith, that's why I picked up Crazy Love off of my shelf and began to read. This book is INCREDIBLE. Every page is jam-packed with eye opening realizations. I've learned so much and I'm not even done yet. As a warning, if you aren't a religious person, you might not enjoy this, but it is something that is important to me enough to share.

"God knew me before He made me" (58).

This thought originally appeared as daunting to me..the fact that God knows everything I would do in my lifetime before I was even born, including my life after death, Heaven or hell. It's a hard concept to wrap your mind around. Skeptics crticize this all the time, why would He create bad people? I've come to the conclusion that He allowed us to have personal decisions in life, He just wants us to choose Him, and that's where some wander away from the only true Saviour. This leads me to the next thought..

"God knew who He was creating, and He designed me for a specific work" (59).

There are so many people today, specifically teenagers, who make destructive decisions and no matter what they try as an answer, there is only one true answer. Everybody just needs to understand that they are here for a purpose and no matter what happens, you can overcome it, because if you have faith, Jesus is with you. God designed each one of us differently, and we are each different in every aspect of our lives, and we should be thankful that He cares about us that much and he continues to love us no matter what.

To sum everything up..

"But I do know if God's mercy didn't exist, there would be no hope" (60).

Nobody is perfect. God is the only perfect thing in this world. We all sin, everybody, it is a part of our life, but you can either drown in your sin or ask for forgiveness and do your best to honor God through your actions everyday. I love this quote from Crazy Love, because it's so true. God's mercy is our only hope.