Poem On Manipulation

I wrote this last night. I figured I would post it on Think a Thought. Here you go.

Manipulation

Twist and turn it,

Scorch and burn it,

Til it's something new,

Bend it round your little finger,

Telling your cheap lies,

You'll never ever stop,

Because manipulation doesn't die.
You cannot rid yourself of it,

By lying to yourself,

Lies never help anything, 

They give your honesty bad health.

Lie about this,

Lie about that,

Soon enough the lies will stack,

and one day will all flood back,

But you'll forget one,

Wait and see,

and you'll rat yourself out for eternity,

No longer will anyone lay trust in you,

Instead they'll think your full of poo.

1 Year Anniversary

About 1 year ago, I started Maddie's Think a Thought with a post titled "Lucky, My 8-month Old Puppy". I was 9 at the time. Since then, I have turned 10, Lucky has turned 1, and I have written over 200 posts. My blog has gotten almost 2000 views since then. I have looked at my stats, and I know I have followers who are reading my posts. I am very happy. Thank you to all of my readers.

I have also upgraded my blog from just regular writing posts to chat rooms, fish, shareit's and more. A year ago, I would never think of doing that. I would not even know how to use the computer if it wasn't for Dad. I wanted to say thank you to Dad for helping me with my blog. I would not have been able to run it as well as I do if Dad had not helped me and kept me commited to writing every day. Thanks Dad.

While I am here, I wanted to wish my friend a happy birthday. Kyle runs a blog as well, and his blog can be found here: www.kylesfreespace.blogspot.com  Please check it out. I am sure that Kyle would appreciate it. Happy 11th Birthday Kyle! :)

Maddie
P.S. If you can't see the link for my friend's blog, it is ok. Just click the space that is there and it should take you to his blog :)

The Great Schism

The Great Schism was when 2 popes were elected at once when the French Cardinals rebelled against Pope Urban VI. Urban was a bit crazy and would embarrass the cardinals out in public by throwing a fit and/or tantrum. So the cardinals vowed not to call him their pope anymore, and elected a cardinal to be their pope.  They took him to France, and so forth their became 2 popes: One in France, and one in Italy.

The French Pope was Clement V. Each Pope had 3 countries that followed them. Clement's followers were mainly from Spain, France, and Scotland. Urban had followers from Germany, England, and Italy. The council decided it would be best to wait until one died, and the one left standing would be the one and only Pope. Urban died first, but when he did, his followers still refused to turn to the French, and simply elected another pope. The same happened when Clement died.

The schism lasted from 1378 until 1417. It was finally resolved by the council of Constance. They confirmed the resignation of the old pope, and excommunicated the pope that refused to step down, and then elected Pope Martin V. This essentially ended the schism.

News

It is sometimes hard for me to go back and check all my comments to reply. So from now on, any of your requests and comments go on a page I am creating called Comments and Requests. It will be at the right-hand side of my blog next to the most recent post. Please use this page to leave comments etc. and the post that they are for.
Example:

blahblahblah for post name: example

Anyway, it is the end of the month which means... BACKGROUND CHANGE!!! I am going to decorate the blog for Halloween. I am thinking of going for pumpkins or something up that alley. I seriously don't know yet, I will have to look in the backgrounds after I finish writing.

I have noticed no one has used the chatroom. Some people are not allowed in because of Java. JAVA WILL NOT DO ANYTHING TO YOUR COMPUTER!!! Just click that you allow Java to run and you are good to go. It has not damaged my computer, and it should not damage yours.

Gravity Falls Characters

Pacifica Northwest

Gravity Falls is a show on Disney Channel. Here are some of the characters:

Mabel Pines

   Mabel is a sweet, dorky girl who is the 12 year old twin of Dipper Pines. She is known to be very air-headed and silly most of the time. Her arch nemesis is Pacifica Northwest. Mabel loves sweaters and glitter.

Dipper Pines

      Dipper is a smart, on edge boy. He is the twin of Mabel Pines. He tends to overthink and gets tired of his sisters' foolishness. Dipper got his name because of his embarrassing birthmark that looks like the big dipper. He started covering it because of teasing. He is known to have a crush on Wendy. His nemesis is Robbie.

   

Wendy

Robbie

  Wendy is a lazy store clerk that is somewhat a tomboy. Dipper has a crush on her. She is a teenager, but is good friends with Dipper anyway. She has a boyfriend named Robbie who Dipper is extremely jealous of. She is very friendly.     

Grunkle Stan

     Stan is a stingy old man who owns the Mystery  Shack. He is the great uncle "grunkle" of Dipper and Mabel. He is strange, and kind of reclusive. He hates loud and noisy events. Stan seems to know what goes on in Gravity Falls, yet won't tell the children.

NJ

New Jersey was great. I did a lot of fun stuff. On the weekend, I went to see a movie with Dad. We also went to a small park and me and my sister just hung out for a little bit. Me and Dad saw Paranorman. It was OK. Not the best one I have seen. On Tuesday we went to see Finding Nemo in 3D. It was not the best picture to see in 3D because it was meant for 2D. It was alright.

On Sunday, everyone went to the aquarium. It was super fun. You should have seen my sister- she kept pressing her face up against the tank and saying "shark" in this amazed voice. It was HILARIOUS. I got to see the sea lion feeding. It was very neat. The sea lions could do some really cool tricks, like retrieving stuff and brushing their teeth. They got rewarded with dead fish and squid- eeewwww!!!

Dad did not get any jobs. That was a real bummer. But the rest of the trip was really fun. We even went to the boardwalk by the ocean. We ate some super good pizza and then went to the rides down at the end of the boardwalk. We loaded up on tickets and had fun. I even got DAD to go on a few rides with me (all though he was complaining about feeling sick after.)

I had a great time.
Maddie

Going down to NJ

Tomorrow, I am leaving for New Jersey. Dad has a few business meetings, so hopefully he will get some clients. I have my fingers crossed that all goes well for him. On Monday and Tuesday he is going to be in New York, so me and Ashleigh will be hanging out with Grandma. It should be fun.

On Saturday and Sunday, I am not sure what we are going to do. I am hoping that Dad might take me and Ashleigh to the zoo, but I don't think so. Hey! A girl can hope. Also, I would like to go to an art museum Dad was telling me about sometime. He said likely when we come up near Thanksgiving.

I can't wait to see the rest of my family. It should be a very fun trip. It will be really great if Dad can pick up a few clients. That would just make the whole trip for me, and for Dad too. Right now, Ashleigh and Grandma just finished packing. I am going to do mine now.
Maddie

New Chat Box

If you haven't noticed, I added a new page today. It is for a chat window, where you can talk among each other and to me. I am going to try to keep it friends only, but really anyone is welcome to use it. There is no downloading required, all you have to do is allow Java to run on your computer and you are set.

Please go check out my new chat box. I will be on most of the time, so you can just tell me what you want put up right there. Remember the rules. I will be making a page for those too. All rules that apply to my blog also apply to the chat box. Anyone who uses foul language etc. will be banned from the box permanently.

If you want to get a chat box for your own blog, there is a message that pops up when you first enter the chat that says at what site you can get your own. It is completely free and as far as I have seen, very reliable. If any of my readers also run blogs, please let me know in the chat box. I would love to see your blogs, but PLEASE remember- age appropriate ONLY.

Thank you,
Maddie

Link

madejustforfun.blogspot.com

Pompeii

Pompeii History-

By Madison Nef

Pompeii was a city state in Italy. It had a beautiful, lush green mountain that overflowed with vineyards and forests.  This mountain was really a volcano, but no one realized this in Pompeii. This was Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Vesuvius is the volcano that unexpectedly erupted and buried Pompeii underneath ash. It was a normal day in 79 AD, and everyone was doing their usual routine. For most people, several hours were spent in the baths.  Most people escaped Pompeii when they saw Vesuvius erupting. Still, 2000 people didn’t make it out. It was almost 1700 years before anyone remembered about the mysterious buried city again.

Then, treasure thieves came in and started digging, stealing the most valuable artifacts from the city and leaving the rest in even more of a whirlwind mess then it was before. Then, real archeologists came in and handled the excavations properly.  Restoration began centuries later. Since 79 AD, Vesuvius has blown its top more then 80 times. The last eruption was in 1944. This is the record time that it has stayed silent.

One smart man named Giuseppe Ferrailai saw a body-shaped lump in the earth. He poured plaster into a crevice near the lump. After he was sure it had dried, he chiseled away the earth to discover a beautiful plaster cast. It showed exactly the position that the person died in. These casts are now shown at a lot of museums. They are still being made when dead bodies are found. Many of these casts are shown in perhaps the most famous house in Pompeii- the House of Menander.

The House of Menander is one of the most luxurious and large houses in Pompeii. It was still pretty intact by the time the volcano was over. 2 dead bodies were found there- a slave named Eros and an anonymous little girl. In the basement, 2 treasure chests were found filled with silver and gold and many items of silverware. It seems that 2 is the number for the House of Menander.

Before the volcano erupted, Pompeii people were a lot like us. They had lives, and their town had stores and gyms. Their gyms were more like baths and saunas, with a hot, warm, and cold bath.  You COULD lift weights if you wanted but many people came for a massage, 2 baths, a massage with oils, and another bath.

Pompeii Before and After Mount Vesuvius Timeline

8^th Century BC- Original Oscan settlement comes to Pompeii

79 AD- Mount Vesuvius erupts unexpectedly for the first time, killing one tenth of the population (2000 people)

80 AD- Pompeii is already long forgotten, buried under ash for about a year. Name and location are forgotten, but stories still circulate in small pieces about a buried city.

1500 AD- Thieves and collectors discover city and dig through it, taking the most valuable items and destroying the rest worse than it already was.

1700 AD- Real archeologists come in and properly excavate the city, starting restorations later on and bringing back the old statues to their home. Some of the restored places of Pompeii got flushed away by the multiple volcano eruptions after.

1944- Mount Vesuvius erupts for the last known time. This is the longest it has stayed silent and not erupted.

Pompeii is the perfect example of “everything is not what it seems”.  Pompeii was known for having the occasional earthquake, so when the floor shook for the first time, the people thought nothing of it because they didn’t know they were living next to a volcano. They didn’t have any plan on what to do except run. 1/10 more of the city could have survived if they had a plan. Another good quote: “always have a plan!!!”

Granted, they did not live today. When earthquakes happened- OH, THIS BAD RUMBLE FROM GODS! They didn’t even THINK that “hey, maybe the gods are a little bit MAD at us if they are shaking the ground?” No, they thought the gods were just rumbling the ground and destroying houses for NO REASON AT ALL.  Maybe the gods were mad at them for taking good farm animals that could be used for selling or food and tossing them away and calling it “SACRIFICE TO THE GODS”.  Hey, everyone to their own belief.

Pompeii suffered from many earthquakes and houses always needed renovations. At the time of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, houses were just being repaired from an earthquake and were almost finished. It added that extra amount of insult that said, HEY! How dare you rebuild your houses! Ok, here you go! And in comes the volcano.

That is all I have to say on Pompeii. 

Interview with Ashleigh James Nef

Today, I am going to do an interview with my little sister. I am going to ask her questions and put her answers here.

Me: Hello Ashleigh! I am going to interview you about your life as a 2 and 1/2 year old today! For starters, how are you?
Ashleigh: Good!
Me: Who is your most favorite person in the whole entire world?
Ashleigh: Daddy
Me: What's your favorite type of food?
Ashleigh: Pizza!
Me: What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Ashleigh: Vani-lla!
Me: What do you want for Christmas?
Ashleigh: I don't know, a toy!
Me: Can you tell me what kind of toy?
Ashleigh: Ipod! (You see, she had just been playing on MY ipod, MINE I repeat not hers.)
Me: Oh, one like sister's?
Ashleigh: Yea.
Me: What's your favorite TV show?
Ashleigh: Victorious!
Me: Who is your favorite singer?
Ashleigh: Cat! (Ariana Grande)
Me: What's your favorite computer game?
Ashleigh: Wizard 101!
Me: What's your favorite phrase?
Ashleigh: Chocolate Ice Cream!
Me: What is your favorite word?
Ashleigh: Da-ddy!
Me: What is your favorite pair of PJ's?
Ashleigh: Scooby!
Me: What is your favorite song?
Ashleigh: Shut up and dance!
Me: Are you a dog fan?
Ashleigh: Yes
Me: Most importantly: do you like Victoria Justice?
Ashleigh: Yes
Me: Name some songs by her!
Ashleigh: Make it Shine, 5 Fingaz to the Face, Shut up n dance

That is all for right now!

More News

Last night, my sister stopped using her binky for good! We had been cutting slits in her binky, and she finally said, NO GOOD! So she threw it in the trash. Last night, she cried blue murder about her binky, but dad taught her how to suck on her thumb. Then she was good. I remember when she was really tiny....

Anyway. I REALLY, REALLY NEED READERS REQUESTS!!! If you have a request, please leave a comment. I will try to make another email address for my blog. At the moment, the stupid internet isn't working, so I can't use Yahoo.

Stores have already started selling candy corn and candy pumpkins, and I guess you all know what that means. Dad bought some for us. He SAID they were for Halloween, but in this family, nothing with sugar in it lasts more than maybe 3 days. The candy corn was polished off in 2 days. Dad has yet to open the candy pumpkins, but I hope he does so soon.

That's about all the news I have for right now.
Maddie

CONGRATS TO MY LITTLE SIS ASHLEIGH WHO JUST STOPPED USING A BINKY!!!! GOOD JOB SIS! :D

Clean Room

Today, I FINALLY cleaned out my room. It has been messy for so long now, and has been driving almost everyone in the house crazy. Beth, Dad, Grandma and even ASHLEIGH have been getting on my case for weeks: Clean your room, Maddie! It looked like a bomb had gone off in my room before today.

Grandma helped me organize all of my items, and we found a good spot for most of it. We are not done quite yet, but soon. I want my room to look perfect, not like tornado hill. I now have a drawer in my dresser for everything- even miniskirts and shorts. My long dresses hang in the closet and my skirts hang with them. It's quite a nice setup.

I haven't figured out what to do with my figurines yet. I want to rearrange them too, just not yet. I need to find a spot where they don't look messy. I'm thinking of putting them on my windowsill. Anyway, I have other work to do today, so that's it for right now.
Maddie

My Favorite Singers -Updated

Here is a list of my favorite singers and the songs I like by them. It has changed since the last time.

Rihanna had a rough start before she became a successful singer. She grew up in a 3 bedroom bungalow in Barbados, and grew up selling clothing with her father in street stalls. Her childhood was a bad time because of her father's addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Rihanna-

Man Down
Love the way You Lie
We Found Love
Russian Roulette
Where Have You Been
Please Don't Stop the Music
Only Girl In The World

Katy Perry grew up a church girl. At 9 years old she began singing in her church. As a kid, she listened to gospel music and was not allowed to listen to pop music. Her mom did not like it. Her sister started pursuing a music career, and Katy started taking spare tapes and practicing and performing the songs for her parents. When her Mom offered her vocal lessons, she snapped them up and took them until she was 16 years old.

Katy Perry-


Wide Awake
E.T.
Firework
Teenage Dream
California Girls
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
The One That Got Away
Part of Me

Kesha, too, has a stormy background. She grew up with her mother, a singer/songwriter, and her brother, Lagan. Her mother was poor and they had to live on food stamps to get by. Her mom often took care of her while she was onstage performing. At 16 years old she wrote her first song, and at 17 dropped out of school to pursue her music career.

Kesha-

Blow
We R Who We R
Tik Tok
Your Love Is My Drug

I am not going to bother- I already did an entire Think a Thought on her :) To see this think a thought, please click here

Ariana Grande-
Put Your Hearts Up
Die in Your Arms
Give it up


Victoria Justice-
Too many songs to list- I like them all!!!

Selena Gomez-
Who Says

Victoria comes from a pretty good background. She started acting in commercials when she was 10 years old, and later on got a job working with Nickelodeon's Victorious.

A Year Without Rain
Hit The Lights
Round and Round
Tell Me Something I Don't Know

Selena Gomez was born and raised in Texas. Her parents divorced when she was 5 years old, and she went with her mother. She attended Catholic Church when she was younger and usually went to the park for BBQ's after. In 2004, Selena was discovered by Disney Channel and began her acting career.

News

Has anyone looked at my latest blog, Around the World in 80 Days, recently? If you haven't, you should check it out. I completed my journey in around 25 days, traveling only 1000 miles (or less) a day. I am now continuing for a SECOND trip around the world. If you are interested in following my travels, please click here.

I am thinking of once again re-designing Maddie's Think a Thought. Starting today, there will be a new Think a Thought design each month, matching the theme of the month. Example: October; pumpkins (for Halloween), December; Christmas themed, and so on. Ideas are welcome!

Speaking of Halloween, Ashleigh and I are going as... MUSKETEERS! :) I found some cute matching hats, and my Grandma is going to help me make a cape. We have swords, and even some adorable glittery face masks. This is going to be the best Halloween ever!

Well, that is about it. Oh- one last thing- If you are interested in reading the FUNNIEST blog ever, click here. My Dad writes on it weekly during football season, and it is a write-up of some of the teams in our Fantasy Football.

Later,
Maddie