Poetry

A rose, sweet and innocent,
Grew in a field alone,
It was kind and beautiful,
But it still had it's thorns.

One day a man was in the field,
And saw the rose alone,
He plucked it from the ground,
And then he took it home.

He showed it to his girlfriend,
And knelt down on one knee,
And then pulled out a diamond ring,
For all the world to see.

All things die... New and old,
No matter how beautiful and sweet-
But really it's their purpose,
That makes their life complete.

Book Swap!

This week, me and my friend decided to do a book swap- I have to read her favorite book, and she has to read mine. So far, we are both about halfway through each other's books. She has to read 'The Fault in Our Stars' and I have to read 'The Selection'. Being the typical girls we are, they are both romance novels that involve a lot of drama, sadness, and love. However, so far we are both enjoying the books, so it was a good idea.

We have agreed to trade back the books on either Monday or Tuesday of next week (depending on when we see each other at karate). It's fun, anyway. I also have a few classes coming up over the weekend that my Dad and I signed up for- they are free and being held at a nearby lake in Peterborough. We are doing Bird ID, Orienteering, Leave No Trace, and a few other outdoorsy ones.

I am going to end my post here- I want to get ahead on some of my schoolwork because I want to have my friend over on Friday being school is out.

Maddie

The Swimmer (A Short Story Analysis)

The first thing I want to say about this short story is I enjoyed it very much- but I didn’t get the underlying meaning behind it. To tell you the truth, I didn’t like the underlying story as much as I liked the story itself, and it kind of annoyed me how something good turned into something that was, in my opinion, really crappy. Anyway, here are my thoughts on the story AND it’s underlying story.

I at first though the story was a time warp or something, because everywhere he went he seemed to be forgetting things and people treated him horribly when he thought he was close to them. I didn’t even THINK of the nervous breakdown until Dad told me, but I did pick up on the alcohol in every part of his swim. I think Dad was somewhat correct about how the swim was a metaphor for his life, but I also think he may have gotten the nervous breakdown theory wrong. After seeing both his and my own renditions of what happened, this is what I came up with:

I think that the “swim” is really just showing the stages of alcoholism. It starts out easy, almost party-like- and as it progresses, it destroys you. It makes you lose your family, your friends, your house- and even your life (because if you remember, at the end of the story, he is almost dying). But even though he is “dying”, what does he ask for? Alcohol. It truly shows how addicting and harmful it is, and how you can be oblivious to how it slowly kills you. It would also explain his memory loss as the swim progresses.

However- I think I may have also been on the right track with the time warp statement- because it shows him aging! The season he started in was mid-summer- but as he swims on, the season seemingly changes into autumn. So maybe he swims in the warp, but at the same time his life is still passing and his illness is progressing. At the very end of the book, it seems his life is at it’s end and his house is gone- and there is no sign of his family anywhere. If the warp is true, then maybe his wife passed away in the process as well.

All in all, I think the story represents the type of crisis that Mom went through- the fun, innocent days of happiness, the downfall and the strive to keep plugging on, and finally, her death because of what was so “fun” in the beginning. In fact, Neddy kind of represents Mom in my opinion- she lost friends, dignity, AND memory because of her illness. She also lost her family and her home- it all ties in; the story is clearly showing a story of an alcoholic and perhaps even the deteriorating marriage.

Perhaps you were right too- maybe it was a nervous breakdown BECAUSE of the deteriorating marriage which was CAUSED by the alcohol! BAM! Wow, deciphering this stuff is actually really fun once you figure it out (and get help from Dad). Dad and I should do this some time for fun- is there an after school club for this? Anyways, I really enjoyed the story and I enjoy my own version of what happened even better than yours.

Maddie

The Snipping Tool

Today I want to talk about one of my favorite tools installed on my computer- the snipping tool! You can literally take a picture of anything that is on your computer screen, and I find it amazingly useful. Me and one of my friends pass time playing the Sims 3, and use the tool to snip photos of our newly created sims. It is much easier than digging through files to find sloppy screenshots from the built in game camera.

The snip tool is also useful if you want to show someone a technical problem with your computer if you are corresponding through IM or email. It goes as far as you want and best of all? It's free and installed on most computers! You can go through your list of apps and find it and add it to your toolbar if you want- that's what I did. It also allows you to write on pictures, though I usually don't because my internet "writing" looks more like my little sister playing on Paint.

I hope you like the snip tool as much as I do! It can be fun if you want to take pictures in a game- let me know how you like it in the comments!

Maddie

The cursed stone

The Cursed Stone
By Madison Nef

A long time ago, in 1692, (the year of the Salem Witch Trials) there was a witch named Betty Sawson. Betty had 2 daughters who were the loves of her life: Judy and Kelly. Judy and Kelly knew of their mother’s witchcraft, but were not witches themselves. Betty had seen many of her friends hanged from the gallows, and knew it was only a matter of time before she herself hung too.  

The day came- she was caught. But instead of just taking her, the court ALSO took her daughters. They insisted that being related, her daughters also must be witches. They were all thrown in a jail cell together. Betty was distraught- she didn’t want her daughters to hang for her own sins! But try as she would, she couldn’t get the court to release her daughters… and 5 days after their capture, her daughters went to the gallows without her.

Betty was distraught- she HATED the court! How could they just hang her daughters!?! THEY WERE INNOCENT! She slowly drove herself insane- the court must pay for their mistake! As she sat in her barren cell, she noticed a small rock was loose from the wall. She pulled it out and turned it in her hand a few times, and as she did, a plan came to her. She would curse the stone- that anyone who had wrongly accused a witch or killed an innocent would suffer deeply for his mistake.

She started with that basic curse, but as the days went on, she added more and more black magic to it, so the small pebble grew to be the size of her fist. A month after her capture, the day came for her to be hung. Slipping the rock into her hand, she slowly walked towards the gallows. Before the noose was slipped over her neck, she stopped short, took the rock- and launched it into the nearby lake. She then laughed an insane laugh, and was hung.

The rock stayed in the lake for centuries before it was touched again, but its magic was still present in the town. People who had wrongly accused others fell ill with an incurable disease- and died shortly after. Nobody remembered old Betty Sawson’s hanging- or the object she threw into the lake. Now, in the late 1900’s, a little boy was swimming in the lake and found the VERY SAME ROCK- it had been washed in closer to shore. He was collecting rocks with his little sister, and saw that it was very nicely sized. It was the largest rock he had collected all day, so he took it and dropped all the others.

The little boy happened to be visiting his grandmother a few weeks after he found the rock. She lived in a house in Rindge, NH. The boy very rarely got to see her, and so he was very excited. He took the rock with him to show her. He arrived at her farmhouse, and after eating a healthy lunch, was asked to go pick corn in one of the farm fields. The boy had forgotten about his rock, and took it with him to the field- and lost it while in the corn. The boy was distraught, but forgot when his grandmother gave him a nice dinner with corn muffins that he had helped to make by collecting the corn. Years later, that very field had a house upon it- and the rock was still there, deep in the soil, waiting for someone else to find it.

And soon, someone did- a 12 year old girl looking to do a school project for her Dad. She picked up the stone, looked at it and sighed, and then turned to go back to her house. She then wrote this story... not knowing that she had actually just written the true history of the stone.

Mug Cake

This week, I tried out a new and very simple dessert recipe- Nutella Mug Cake. It's a basic cake that only takes about 5 minutes to make (yes, including bake time!) and is made in the microwave. I gave it a shot, and while I was doubtful about the results, it turned out WAY better than expected. The ingredients needed are below.

4 tablespoons self-rising flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Prep:
Very basic- combine everything in a large mug. Make sure that you stir well (I suggest using a fork) and break up all the lumps in your batter. Then, put your cake in the microwave for 2 minutes. WATCH IT- the cake rises up very quickly. Depending on your microwave, you may have to open the door to let the cake collapse a bit so it doesn't make a mess of the inside of your microwave. If it isn't baked all the way through, just keep adding minutes until it is done.

I hope you enjoy this cake- I love it. It is a quick fix if you feel hungry in the middle of the night and in my opinion tastes like a brownie. Leave me a comment if you tried it!!!

Maddie

A Morbid Death Calculator and other things to do when you are bored

Today I am going to be blogging about: DEATH. I know, I know, it sounds grim, but it really isn't. I was bored earlier today and looked up a calculator that would give me a rough estimate of when I would die. Naturally it is fake, but it occupied me for a little. It turns out that I will die on December 24th of 2080- at age 79. Well, at least I'll have had a full life... HAHA. Here is the link:
http://www.deathclock.com/

Another thing that my Dad actually found to do today is the game "Find the Invisible Cow". It's very funny, and a very addicting time killer. You can unlock 2 animals (3 if your willing to make a donation). The aim of the game is to basically move your mouse around and listen to the different sounds. As the sounds get louder, you can identify where the cow (or other animal) is. Check it out here: http://findtheinvisiblecow.com/

The last thing I recommend to do if your bored is to make ice cream! I found another recipe online that goes with my ice cream maker, but can actually work with any maker. It was for vanilla ice cream so it used vanilla extract, but in all honesty you can use any flavor/extract you want and also you can substitute stevia or artificial sweetener for sugar. Here is the link to the recipe- my family made it using butterscotch extract and it turned out great!
http://krups.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/96/~/ice-cream-recipes

School Project- Useless Items with sentimental/neat value

The Odd and Useless

By Madison Nef

The odd and useless items I am going to write about are the root beer bottles in my collection. Being I can’t pick JUST one bottle (as the paper would be too short), I am going to write about each bottle I have- so basically a collection of mini stories.

The Fort at #4 - This bottle is the oldest one I have so far and actually is the one that started my collection. I had gone on a homeschooling “field trip” of sorts with my family to an old colonial fort. It’s closed now except for special occasions... but in any case, Dad was thirsty and bought it from the gift shop. 4 years later, he gave it to me as a keepsake and I decided that it was cool to collect them.

Nardelli’s - Nardelli’s was opened in 1922 and has taken the name of New England’s best grinder (basically a sandwich) and also the name of Connecticut’s oldest sandwich shop. I acquired this bottle on a trip back from NJ. My Dad had been dying to try one of the famous sandwiches after being enticed by a very deceiving bulletin board. I’m not much of a sandwich person, so I’d say the root beer was the best part of the meal- but even Dad was disappointed with the sandwich.

Regina Pizzeria - Regina Pizzeria is a very small but good pizza place on the way to one of my family’s favorite malls. I got this root beer bottle the first time we visited. The root beer was alright, not my favorite. However, the pizza made up for it in all aspects- it was a thin crust with lots of cheese and that type of pizza sauce that is overly salty. PERFECTION- and I got to add to my collection.

Bagel Mill - Bagel Mill is a small bagel shop in Peterborough NH. It has TONS of different types of fresh bagels and is famous locally for it’s maple cream cheese. It is rare that we go into it, and on my 3rd or 4th trip I decided to try a root beer (I had never noticed that they had glass bottles before). It was overly cold, but was good to wash down the stale cinnamon bun that I had.

Al Dente - This is the last bottle that actually has a good story behind it. I acquired this bottle at a small Italian restaurant in Massachusetts. The story behind it is that no one could agree on anything good to eat- no one wanted crappy McDonald’s and we found that Denny’s was overpriced, so we asked a mall clerk. She recommended the tiny place behind the mall. I would NEVER recommend it to anyone- it was terrible. I left hungry and highly dissapointed. Even the root beer didn’t satisfy me- and it’s my favorite drink!

The rest of the bottles have been found miscellaneously. The WORST root beer I have ever had was bought at Market Basket- it was Virgil’s Root beer. At the time my dad had been on his diet, so I got the diet root beer that had been sweetened with Stevia. Two words: NEVER. AGAIN. It was sickly sweet and actually made me feel like throwing up. YUCK! The others are Stewart’s (my personal favorite) and IBC.

Statistics

This week, my Dad has given me a break on schoolwork in math and instead of IXL, I get to do statistics work! I find statistics are WAY more fun than the usual math I do- I've already made a good chart of it! I took note of hair and eye color of the people in my karate school and then turned the data into a chart. I then took down the median, mode and range for both the male and female students/parents and got the following results:

Mean: 1.3 (roughly)
Median: Tie between types F and I
Mode: Types B and E

Mean: 2.1 (roughly)
Median: Tie between types E, F, and G
Mode: Type A


Key:
Hair, Eye
A- Brown, Brown
B- Black, Brown
C- Grey, Blue
D- Red, Blue
E- Blond, Brown
F- Blond, Blue
G- Brown, Blue
H- Grey, Green
I- Grey, Brown

Atlas Shrugged

Thoughts on Atlas Shrugged
By Madison Nef
I want to start out by saying what a GREAT book Atlas Shrugged was. At first, I thought I wouldn’t like it (judging by its length and by the opening chapters). However, once I got past about the 1st part of the book, I began to like it a bit better. But as with every great book, it had its fatal flaws. One of them, in fact the one that I thought ruined the book, was the main character’s personality. I didn’t like the fact that Rand put so much emphasis on- almost ENCOURAGED- cheating on one’s partner.

I think that the point was completely unnecessary to make the point of the book. It DID give Lillian a reason to blackmail Dagny, but in my opinion, Rand could have found a better point, such as a business scandal (being that was the theme of her book anyway: a corrupt government). I think that apart from that one negative, Dagny was actually a very good character. The only good thing I can say about putting that into the book was that it added a LITTLE more depth to both of the characters and showed that even people with better, higher lives have their flaws.

“Thought—he told himself quietly—is a weapon one uses in order to act... Thought is the tool by which one makes a choice... Thought sets one's purpose and the way to reach it.” - Hank Rearden

Every piece of the book I read seemed to represent a different part of Rand’s philosophy, starting with the tree described by Willers in the beginning of the book- something that he trusted in and thought was true and whole ended up being weak, shallow and empty. I see this as a reference to the government- something that many people are FORCED to place their trust in, and yet truly is shallow and weak. It shows the lies that the government feeds us and the false image of protection that they give us.

Rearden Metal is the next reference I noticed. I think that Rand is trying to show that Rearden is being an individual- breaking free from communism by denying the government rights to his metal. Rand had previously stated that obedience, conformity, submission and alikeness were necessary to have a communist country- and Rearden showed none of this, therefore rejecting communism. He was proud of the metal he had created, and regardless of how much money was offered for it, refused to sell the right or even the metal itself to the government.

In the book, Rearden says this: “There might be some sort of justification for the savage societies in which a man had to expect that enemies could murder him at any moment and had to defend himself as best he could. But there can be no justification for a society in which a man is expected to manufacture the weapons for his own murderers” when he is not allowed to know for what experiments his metal will be used in. Obviously, Rearden figured that the government was using his metal to make powerful machines or weapons to keep people in check. He at LEAST wanted to know what his metal would be used for if he was to sell the rights to it to the government.
“If enjoyment is a value, why is it moral when experienced by others, but immoral when experienced by you?... Why is it immoral for your to desire, but moral for others to do so? Why is it immoral to produce a value and keep it, but moral to give it away?” - John Galt

The largest reference in my opinion was the tramp on the train’s story. The story tells of the tramp’s previous job and life and how unfair the factory had been. It is a HUGE reference to both socialism and communism in my opinion.  Basically, the factory workers were all on the same pay, and being paid as the OWNER of the company saw fit to their needs. Poor people worked hard- only so that the rich people who had enough money to take care of themselves could mooch off of the company, cutting the poor people’s paychecks down.

Factory workers soon knew how to manipulate the owners of the company to give them more money- they brought in relatives to live with them, got “sick”, among other things. While the company was getting gypped, poorer people (who were working very hard) were being given less and less money for their enjoyment- not even being allowed enough to get a drink. Soon, the workers got enraged- and when it seemed that a “sick” person needed medical attention, they would suddenly “disappear”. Murder was never suspected, but it was highly likely.

  “Your mind is your only judge of truth–and if others dissent from your verdict, reality is the court of final appeal.”- John Galt

Yet ANOTHER reference (and this one almost slipped by me) is the town just outside of the old factory where Dagny and Hank found the motor. When Hank tries to buy information off of a man in the town, the man refuses, saying that money is of no use to him. Hank is shocked, and asks the man why- to which the man replies that the people of that town trade goods with one another. This is a semi-capitalist argument- capitalists believe in letting people have free trade and naming their prices based on what the item is ACTUALLY worth.

 “Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value.” - Francisco d’Aconia

Speaking of d’Aconia- in a very LONG speech he did in the book on money, he pretty much covered most of Rand’s philosophy.

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires. Money is the scourge of the men who attempt to reverse the law of causality–the men who seek to replace the mind by seizing the products of the mind.”

d’Aconia drove home the point that instead of money being the source of all evil, it was in fact the source of good. Personally, I think his argument was correct- without money, I don’t think our world would even KNOW how to begin to function. Everything and everyone depends on money and honestly, it shouldn’t. We say money is the root of all evil when we ourselves created it- and it is we ourselves who MADE it evil.

“So you think that money is the root of all evil? Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?”
d’Aconia’s point throughout the whole speech was basically that while many think that money is the root of all evil, we are placing the blame in the wrong place. Money itself isn’t evil- it is what a man DOES with his money that is evil. This isn’t to say that because you have money you will be evil- but what you DO with your money is what makes you evil.

“Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter. So long as men live together on earth and need means to deal with one another–their only substitute, if they abandon money, is the muzzle of a gun. ...Such looters believe it safe to rob defenseless men, once they’ve passed a law to disarm them. But their loot becomes the magnet for other looters, who get it from them as they got it. Then the race goes, not to the ablest at production, but to those most ruthless at brutality. When force is the standard, the murderer wins over the pickpocket. And then that society vanishes, in a spread of ruins and slaughter. ...”

I think that Rand also through some political references into the speech- such as “...It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money...” I think she is referring to the government as the “looters” and the people that receive what they have not earned (such as the people in the factory) the “moochers”. Why do I think this? Because in that same paragraph d’Aconia also says  “Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor–your claim upon the energy of the men who produce.”

d’Aconia is basically saying that no matter how much money you have, it won’t keep you alive- especially if it loses its value after being exploited too much. As mentioned in the quote above- money is sought out by looters to the extent that money is no longer an item of trade- but a token in war. No longer does anyone care about how WELL someone can actually do their craft- all that matters is that they produce money. Suddenly, all that matters is who has the biggest bank account and the fattest wallet- not how they obtained their money.

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.”

“Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants: money will not give him a code of values, if he’s evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a purpose, if he’s evaded the choice of what to seek. Money will not buy intelligence for the fool, or admiration for the coward, or respect for the incompetent. The man who attempts to purchase the brains of his superiors to serve him, with his money replacing his judgment, ends up by becoming the victim of his inferiors. The men of intelligence desert him, but the cheats and the frauds come flocking to him, drawn by a law which he has not discovered: that no man may be smaller than his money. Is this the reason why you call it evil?”

I think that the world today has become obsessed with money- prices are increasing and more and more money is being printed every day. We really have become a socialist/communist country... and it is sad. “Looters” have taken so much money and left us with nothing... money is slowly losing its value, and this will only lead to economic collapse. I truly believe that Rand foresaw this coming- even in the years she wrote the book. If it was that bad back then, think of how bad it is now!

The speech, now that I have actually taken the time to read it, is very wise and overall one of the best parts of the book. All in all, Atlas Shrugged was a very insightful book for me and I would recommend it to everyone who likes to read. I hope you enjoyed my paper.

Maddie

Home Alone

Due to another one of Grandma's doctors appointments, I get the joy of staying home... but this time, all ALONE! My sister decided to go with Dad and Grandma, and I hadn't gotten enough schoolwork done to go. So, 3 hours later, here I am, STILL alone (even though the appointment was supposed to be finished, oh, about an hour and a half ago) and I am not at all pleased. Currently, I have everything done except for my math (being I hate math with a passion). I hope my family gets home soon, because I am getting kind of worried. Did something go wrong at the doctors?

I hope not. I have eaten lunch, played with Lucky, worked on schoolwork and checked FaceBook. There have been no phone calls whatsoever, for me or for anyone else. I am getting EXTREMELY bored (if you can't tell from how this post is being written). At least Dad said he would take me fishing when they got back. I am going to end this post here because I am putting up a second post today- the dreaded paper on Atlas Shrugged! It turned out better than I expected though... I hope you enjoy it!

Maddie

Fishing Contest

This year, me and my Dad have decided to have a fish-off for the whole season. Whoever catches the most fish owes the other person $5 at the end of the season. 3 fishing trips in and so far, I am winning by 1 fish. I am going to create a page on my blog to keep track of the contests as we have fishing trips during the summer. We started on June 1st and are going to keep fishing until October 15th (because here in NH, after the beginning of October it is hopeless trying to fish- unless you include ice fishing, which both me and Dad find dangerous).

And that is not the only contest that is going on between me and dad- we are also doing pushups! There is nothing to win or lose- we are just doing it for practice. My Dad's goal for the year is 36,500 pushups- meaning he has to do 100 pushups a day. I didn't set my goal quite as high, and I am a bit behind. I will also post our pushup scores for each month on the contest page.

The page will be up tomorrow because it is past 12 o'clock now and I am heading STRAIGHT TO BED as soon as this is published.

Good night,
Maddie

Cool Whip Ice Cream

I invented a new recipe this weekend just from experimenting. My sister wanted some whipped cream for her jello, and being we didn't have the canned stuff, I improvised and made some cool whip using heavy cream, vanilla bean paste and stevia. After my success with the cool whip, I decided to try to make ice cream using the same recipe. It worked like a charm- Here is the recipe!

You will need:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Domino's sugar/stevia blend
1/8 tsp pure vanilla bean paste

Basically, put everything in a bowl and mix on medium speed until the cream gets REALLLLYYYYY thick (almost to the point of turning into butter). Stop it JUST before it reaches this point. Then, freeze for about 4 hours (sometimes longer depending on the amount you are making).

ENJOY!

After everything is mixed, you could try adding in some chopped fruit or different flavors... but I haven't tried that yet. If you do end up trying out this recipe, let me know how it comes out!! Also, you can substitute any kind of artificial sweetener or plain sugar for the sugar/stevia blend. I just make it with the artificial sweetener because I find it healthier.

Maddie

Fishing!

Yesterday, my Dad and I went fishing for the first time in 3 years! We have been REALLY busy with family business these past couple of years and haven't had much time to relax and do fun stuff... so this year we are going to try to do more active and fun things! I have already gotten Dad to agree hiking Mt. Monadnock again over the summer, and we also plan on canoeing, fishing and hiking in the woods and also going to parks more often for my sister.

Speaking of parks... dad also took me and my sister to a playground yesterday. For those of you who don't know, my sister LOVES to swing really high on the swings. She had let go a little earlier and my Dad warned her to hold onto the chains. She let the swing get to the height of its arc and then said: "It's OKAY!...." and fell right off the swing, doing a flip in midair on the way down.

My sister landed in a faceplant, mouth open and ended up (LITERALLY) eating dirt. Ouch! Luckily for her (and us) she only ended up with a scratch on her nose and a split lip... she recovered in about 10 minutes and hasn't complained today.

Maddie