Jealousy.
It causes people to do crazy things.
Like what, you ask?
Well (: Let me enlighten you.
#1- Jealousy causes stupid remarks
'ur not smart, stop raisin ur hand, ur a wnnebe'
Wow. First of all, I commend you on your spelling skills. Your vocabulary as well astounds me. If anything, this whole thing is an oxymoron. Really, people, come on! If you're going to insult me, please at least make an effort. Try being original.
#2- Jealousy causes blindness
'People who are in art can't do anthing else.'
Lies. Lies. Lies. Must I begin listing famous, rich artists who were multitalented? DaVinci? He was a very famous scientist. Absolutely amazing. Although, I'm not sure that you have even heard of DaVinci...
#3- Jealousy causes stress
...not just for me. Really. This is in your best interest. I know it must be difficult comparing yourself to other people all the time, and trying to figure out how you can make yourself seem above them. Trust me, jealousy isn't the answer. Try listening. Or learning. Or being polite. It helps you relax, eases the tension, and will save you from me attacking your rather small head.
Point made.
Rant over.
~Kajsa
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Hello World.
It sure has been a while. I have been rather busy since June, and I hope you all aren't to mad at me for putting this off a while.
I'm in eighth grade this year! Exciting. I'm running for Student Council president (I'll tell you how THAT goes tomorrow). I'm in art, and choir, and Our Town at the MCFTA. Pretty busy, actually, if you count all of the math homework I have to do.
I would write more, but this morning I'm short on time. expect a longer entry tomorrow.
Au Revoir,
~Kajsa
I'm in eighth grade this year! Exciting. I'm running for Student Council president (I'll tell you how THAT goes tomorrow). I'm in art, and choir, and Our Town at the MCFTA. Pretty busy, actually, if you count all of the math homework I have to do.
I would write more, but this morning I'm short on time. expect a longer entry tomorrow.
Au Revoir,
~Kajsa
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Forgive me...
It appears I haven't been paying enough attention to this lovely blog of mine, and for that, I am sorry. Truth is, nothing very interesting is happening at the moment. Oh wait, there is something...IT'S FINALLY SUMMER! The second Summer of this blog. I can't believe that I've actually kept updating for so long unlike (Sarah and Arlo) some (Sarah and Arlo) people (Sarah and Arlo!)...Not naming names, of course. That would be rude ;)
Now onto different business...which I can't think of at the moment. Oh my goodness, what WAS IT? Oh yes- I'm a fairy named "Cottonwillow" in Midsummers Night Dream! They're holding it in the Dow Gardens- I'm so excited! Not only that, I'm the only middle schooler there, and by far the youngest- everyone else is in 10th grade to College! Intimidating, yes, but it does make me feel a little special :).
That is all,
~Kajsa
Now onto different business...which I can't think of at the moment. Oh my goodness, what WAS IT? Oh yes- I'm a fairy named "Cottonwillow" in Midsummers Night Dream! They're holding it in the Dow Gardens- I'm so excited! Not only that, I'm the only middle schooler there, and by far the youngest- everyone else is in 10th grade to College! Intimidating, yes, but it does make me feel a little special :).
That is all,
~Kajsa
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
~Chapter 3~
A week had passed since school had started in Laguna Del Carbon High. Everything was normal. The seniors taunted freshmen. The mall was flooded with populars. The football tryouts were held. Everything was going very smoothly. Until, one day, Brent was called to the office. He sat in the waiting room for no less than 15 minutes, wondering what in the world he could have done to get him sent there. You see, Brent wasn’t exactly the ‘bad-boy’ type. He generally respected teachers, was quite shocked to hear his name on the intercom. But, nevertheless, he waited all the same.
“Brent, Mr. Davis is ready to see you now,” announced the counselor. She was a plump, good-natured lady of about 70 years. Her makeup was extremely overdone, and she wore fluffy things that looked like they were made by kindergarteners, but the students respected her all the same.
As he entered the office, Brent noticed something unusual. Mr. Davis didn’t have his signature scowl etched into his face. He, in fact, looked almost apologetic. As you can imagine, this disturbed him immensely, but he sat down into the overstuffed armchair anyways.
“Ah, Callahan. Lovely to see you. Would you care for something to drink?”
Brent shrugged, still unsure of what to expect from this man. He watched as Mr. Davis poured some water into the glass and handed it to him. Upon seeing that Brent didn’t pick up the glass, the principal started,
“Well, Brent, I’m guessing you want to know why you’re here today.”
He nodded ferociously, finally picking up his water and giving it a sip.
“It’s come to my attention that your grades are below average. Quite frankly, the counselor and I have decided that, from this day forward, you need a tutor to help you with your work.”
Just as quickly as the water was swallowed, it came back up, spraying onto the desk in front of him. Brent looked as if he had just been told he was going to be sent to the Moon to live forever. Mr. Davis seemed to ignore this, and continued,
“Not to worry, not to worry. We’ll be asking one of your fellow students to help you. I don’t know whether you know a Miss Alyssa Bauman? No? Well this will be the perfect time to get to know each other. Alyssa, will you come in please?”
A few seconds passed, before a rather confident looking girl entered the room. She wasn’t fat, nor was she skinny. Her brown hair shone like copper…Brent thought she looked vaguely familiar, and judging be her momentary look of shock, she thought the same. The principal continued to introduce them, and give Brent his new and improved schedule for the year. The whole time, the jock couldn’t keep his eyes off Alyssa. Why hadn’t he noticed her before? Her eyes, her smile, they were just so enticing…
Alyssa apparently noticed the constant starring, to which she shot back and evil glare that was as deadly as a radioactive vat of arsenic. Quickly, he turned away, but he still couldn’t get her smile out of his head. It was teasing him, taunting him. By the time they left the office, Brent knew that this was definitely going to be an interesting year.
“Brent, Mr. Davis is ready to see you now,” announced the counselor. She was a plump, good-natured lady of about 70 years. Her makeup was extremely overdone, and she wore fluffy things that looked like they were made by kindergarteners, but the students respected her all the same.
As he entered the office, Brent noticed something unusual. Mr. Davis didn’t have his signature scowl etched into his face. He, in fact, looked almost apologetic. As you can imagine, this disturbed him immensely, but he sat down into the overstuffed armchair anyways.
“Ah, Callahan. Lovely to see you. Would you care for something to drink?”
Brent shrugged, still unsure of what to expect from this man. He watched as Mr. Davis poured some water into the glass and handed it to him. Upon seeing that Brent didn’t pick up the glass, the principal started,
“Well, Brent, I’m guessing you want to know why you’re here today.”
He nodded ferociously, finally picking up his water and giving it a sip.
“It’s come to my attention that your grades are below average. Quite frankly, the counselor and I have decided that, from this day forward, you need a tutor to help you with your work.”
Just as quickly as the water was swallowed, it came back up, spraying onto the desk in front of him. Brent looked as if he had just been told he was going to be sent to the Moon to live forever. Mr. Davis seemed to ignore this, and continued,
“Not to worry, not to worry. We’ll be asking one of your fellow students to help you. I don’t know whether you know a Miss Alyssa Bauman? No? Well this will be the perfect time to get to know each other. Alyssa, will you come in please?”
A few seconds passed, before a rather confident looking girl entered the room. She wasn’t fat, nor was she skinny. Her brown hair shone like copper…Brent thought she looked vaguely familiar, and judging be her momentary look of shock, she thought the same. The principal continued to introduce them, and give Brent his new and improved schedule for the year. The whole time, the jock couldn’t keep his eyes off Alyssa. Why hadn’t he noticed her before? Her eyes, her smile, they were just so enticing…
Alyssa apparently noticed the constant starring, to which she shot back and evil glare that was as deadly as a radioactive vat of arsenic. Quickly, he turned away, but he still couldn’t get her smile out of his head. It was teasing him, taunting him. By the time they left the office, Brent knew that this was definitely going to be an interesting year.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Just a thought...
I had an interesting experience today. It really made me think about something- how our personalities warp our decisions.
It was something very simple. Both my friend and I went to Aeropostale. We both looked at the same clothes, in the same shop, with the same music playing. Afterwards, we looked at what we had bought.
Arlo had bought a Giraffe shirt, that was white, with spots, and a black giraffe on it.
Now here's the catch- I had bought the same shirt, but it had a tiger on it.
Now I was wondering- was this chance? With similar tastes, why didn't we both buy the same shirt? Well, I've come to the conclusion that our animals almost...described us.
Giraffes are mostly gentle. They don't usually attack, and they're vegitarians.
But Tigers are very proud, and aggressive, and are easily offended. They don't like to have their paths crossed.
Yeah- I see why I bought the Tiger shirt.
G'night!
~Kajsa
It was something very simple. Both my friend and I went to Aeropostale. We both looked at the same clothes, in the same shop, with the same music playing. Afterwards, we looked at what we had bought.
Arlo had bought a Giraffe shirt, that was white, with spots, and a black giraffe on it.
Now here's the catch- I had bought the same shirt, but it had a tiger on it.
Now I was wondering- was this chance? With similar tastes, why didn't we both buy the same shirt? Well, I've come to the conclusion that our animals almost...described us.
Giraffes are mostly gentle. They don't usually attack, and they're vegitarians.
But Tigers are very proud, and aggressive, and are easily offended. They don't like to have their paths crossed.
Yeah- I see why I bought the Tiger shirt.
G'night!
~Kajsa
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Sitting in Wait
I, am sitting here in English class. Don't worry, I've finished my work! This is what I do in my free time. Anyways.
Do you ever find yourself sitting in wait, wanting something interesting to happen? Well, try taking this point of view; when you're sitting, waiting, what is happening around you? In my case, to my right is Lauryn, who is going through the 'Odd News' and laughing at some teenager who was arrested for rapping in Mc Donalds. Yes, hilarious, I know.
To my right, however, is someone who is oddly quiet. Evan is actually reading! Odd, I know. Usually he can't seem to close his mouth, but now he seriously seems to be enthralled by his book. "It's about baseball," he says, only lifting his head long enough to give a short reply, and then is sucked back to his reading. Or at least, he was reading, until Corey pulled him away to show him some article about Call of Duty.
Behind me, is Joyce, who is going around the room asking for someone to please tell her the story of Goldilocks. You see, she's going to re-write it for a fractured fairytale. You have to have the full fairytale in order to fracture it, you know.
My teacher, Ms. Villano, seems peacefully unaware that I am wrecking havoc. Muahaha! Oh alright, I'm not wreaking havoc, I was just saying that. No, I think Ms. Villano is grading papers, or something, because she's being very quiet as well. Come to think of it, most of the room is quiet. This is not normal.
Oh no, now we only have 5 minutes left. That explains why I'm starving! I have to shut down my computer now....So I'm going to stop my ranting!!
Au Revoir,
~Kajsa
Do you ever find yourself sitting in wait, wanting something interesting to happen? Well, try taking this point of view; when you're sitting, waiting, what is happening around you? In my case, to my right is Lauryn, who is going through the 'Odd News' and laughing at some teenager who was arrested for rapping in Mc Donalds. Yes, hilarious, I know.
To my right, however, is someone who is oddly quiet. Evan is actually reading! Odd, I know. Usually he can't seem to close his mouth, but now he seriously seems to be enthralled by his book. "It's about baseball," he says, only lifting his head long enough to give a short reply, and then is sucked back to his reading. Or at least, he was reading, until Corey pulled him away to show him some article about Call of Duty.
Behind me, is Joyce, who is going around the room asking for someone to please tell her the story of Goldilocks. You see, she's going to re-write it for a fractured fairytale. You have to have the full fairytale in order to fracture it, you know.
My teacher, Ms. Villano, seems peacefully unaware that I am wrecking havoc. Muahaha! Oh alright, I'm not wreaking havoc, I was just saying that. No, I think Ms. Villano is grading papers, or something, because she's being very quiet as well. Come to think of it, most of the room is quiet. This is not normal.
Oh no, now we only have 5 minutes left. That explains why I'm starving! I have to shut down my computer now....So I'm going to stop my ranting!!
Au Revoir,
~Kajsa
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Maryclaire's Portrait!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
My I-search
It's what all of you have been waiting for. Oh yes- my I-search. I'm not sure whether it will be able to be all in one posting, but I'll try.
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Kajsa Ryne's Guide to Knowing the Unknown
I am writing this to warn you; to tell you that They do exist, and that They are coming. They are coming with weapons none of us could ever fathom. Their technology is far greater than ours and They will use it for great evil. You cannot run from Them and you cannot hide from Them. There’s no point in attempting to contact the government; they knew this day was coming. They have been covering up information that could help us for centuries, just so they wouldn’t have to deal with a world-wide uproar. The media is in on this too. It seems that anyone who could make a difference in our fate is part of the scheme to keep us in the dark. To keep us from the truth. To stop us from discovering that They, the Aliens, are real.
…well there you have it! Hope you weren’t too alarmed; I assure you, if it didn’t aid the learning experience, I wouldn’t have written it. What’s that? You didn’t know this was supposed to teach you something? Oh, forgive me, forgive me, I’ve gotten too caught up in my Sci-fi drama. Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Kajsa Ryne, and I am going to shed some light on aliens. More specifically, I am going to answer a very serious question; what are the odds of intelligent life on other planets?
Now, I’m guessing you’re interested in why I chose this topic. Well, you see, the unknown has always been exceedingly prominent in my mind. At a young age, when I looked up into the stars, I was wondering what all the ‘bright stuff’ was. Even in my conversations today, I always bring up some controversial topic that we spend at least an hour debating. So, if you know me (even vaguely), you will not be surprised by my rather ‘strange’ topic choice.
And now we venture into the unknown to answer my question. After all, don’t you want to know what the odds of intelligent life on other planets are?
Before you are enlightened in the topic of the unknown, however, I thought that I would give you some idea of how I found my information. As it turns out, there aren’t very many non-fiction books about UFO sightings and abductions in the Jefferson library, and certainly no helpful information (no surprise there). So, I was forced to use the evil tool of doom- no, NOT Wikipedia. Google. Yes, I understand that we were meant to search for information using the ‘educational’ sources given, and believe me, I did look. It doesn’t surprise me though, that websites intended for younger students don’t have much helpful information on extraterrestrials. I was stumped. I searched high and low for some sort of breakthrough. I searched, and searched, and searched and searched. Finally, worn out, I plopped down onto the sofa and turned on the television. I was amazed by what I saw. The National Geographic channel was having an all day special- about everything from alien abductions to area 51! I ran to get my papers and hurriedly started recording information as fast as I could process it (possibly faster). I had finally found what I was looking for.
After that lovely finding, I wave of shock hit me. I had to interview someone regarding my topic. Let me ask you a question; In the small city of Midland, in which we live, do you suppose anyone has been abducted by aliens or seen a UFO? If you answered yes to the previous question, I would honestly like to know who that would be, because at the time, I could not seem to find anyone (that is alive) who would be willing to have me interview them! Could it be because of my odd way of speaking? Or maybe my psychotic genre of writing? You don’t think that I could be, ehrm, how do I say this, off-putting to some people, do you? Oh. You do. Well then. Never mind. I found someone anyways, Kathy Theriot, who was helpful and insightful, no matter how odd I was. More on that later; onward we march!
Now it is time to give a special shout out to the people who helped me find information about my topic. First we’ll start with Kathy Theriot, my very willing interviewee who helped make this happen. Then there was… lets see…there was- oh wait, he was making all that up. Or maybe- no, she read that from ‘War of the Worlds’. Alright, so maybe I was a bit too independent in my search process. However, I assure you that this did not affect the quality of my work. No, everything is as precise as it would have been with extra help. This independence also forced me to make a lot of choices on my own. For instance, when it came to choosing my sources, I had to sift through countless ‘conspiracy’ sites, for something of better quality. Luckily, I have the power of sensing something that has been written well and from the heart. Usually that means the information is correct. Right? Well, even if that isn’t true than this paper will be nothing more than a compellation of common misconceptions. In spite of this possibility, please don’t just drop this paper and run. Take the time to read, and you’ll find out what the odds of intelligent life on other planets are. It’s awfully interesting you know.
Surprisingly, the idea of aliens is a very new one. The modern age of ufology actually started in 1947, when Kenneth Arnold saw the first ‘UFO’ (Booth, n.p). This caused a major outbreak of sightings and supposed ‘abductions’ in the early 50’s. Of course, it didn’t help that all of the authors were experimenting with the new genre ‘Science Fiction’ (Calling all Aliens). Pretty soon, everyone was putting more thought into old paintings and strange monuments. “After my first sighting, I started to look at everything twice” says Theriot. This seems to be the case with everyone. Even cave drawings that apparently depicted alien life forms were found! (UFOcasebook, n.p). Yes, I know that this sounds crazy. Please, just keep in mind, that even though people think that all of this stuff is bogus and influenced by others, the first person who experienced this couldn’t have just dreamt everything up. However, I find it interesting how people can twist even the most ordinary drawings into being ‘aliens’.
The same thing applies to UFO’s. There have been over 100, 000 reported sightings so far, and 646 cases still remain unsolved. (Blue Book Archive). Other than that, there have been six major sighting s over the span of 30 years (Wilson, n.p). “I know what I saw” says Theriot “It was something…strange. Something that could have easily been overlooked. But I know what I saw, and I saw something from another planet”.
Most sightings these days are around Rachel, Nevada. For those of you who have no clue where that is, it’s a small town in the middle of nowhere (Gibbons, n.p). It’s surrounded by deserts and mountains, and most importantly, a very mysterious Government base, Area 51 (Calling all Aliens). Of course, there could be many explanations for this, and it doesn’t help that there is a diner, the little A’le’inn, that’s dedicated to these sightings (Laundenklos, n.p). They all congregate and their stories seem to grow bigger and bigger. This makes it hard to separate the fact from fiction. That’s also why many conspiracies are born.
For instance, in 1947 was the Roswell Incident (The Roswell Incident). It was basically when an old farmer found some old shiny remains of something that had crashed on his field and took it to the government to examine. They shrugged it off as nothing more than a weather balloon, but many eyewitnesses disagree (Carey, n.p). However, it wasn’t until 1978 that all the witnesses started to come out. They stated crazy things, like that the government was hiding the real remains in a bunker in Area 51. After all, with all the rumors surrounding Area 51, why not put the blame on it? (Thomas, n.p).
Area 51 has been shrouded in secrecy ever since it’s establishment in the 50’s. No one knows exactly what goes on there, however there have been many rumors regarding (Calling all Aliens). Some think that it is merely a misdirection attempt, but many disagree. There have been claims that it is actually a facility to try and develop a system of time travel (Stooge, n.p). That’s not the craziest claim; a good amount of the population that believes it’s an alien spacecraft storage! (Area 51 Zone, n.p). Of course, don’t think I’m prejudiced, no, I perfectly accept the fact that some people think I am insane for believing these claims. Again, I’d like to remind you that these ideas could not have been thought up without a certain amount of evidence. Is there something the government is hiding from us? Mrs. Theriot thinks so. “If they weren’t hiding something, there would be no reason why it would be guarded so heavily. Something’s going on here”.
However, the government has publicized the fact that they have spent quite a lot of time trying to find intelligent life (on other planets). First we must realize that the United States aren’t the only ones interested in finding these so called ‘aliens’. Russia has started a program where small children write letters to aliens that are going to be sent off into space. Along with these letters, they also attached a single lock of hair so that whoever receives it can trace the DNA back to Earth (Calling all Aliens). The US has a similar project. On August 20, 1977, Voyager 2 was launched. Why is this so special? Well, when NASA realized that this object would become scrap-metal floating around in space, they decided to add a gold audio plate holding information about Earth. They included everything from a video of the Olympics to the sound of a barking dog. (Angrum, n.p). This wasn’t the first thing the US government has done, though. In the mid 60’s they set up a ‘Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence’, more commonly know as SETI. However, the government decided to drop SETI in 1984, leaving them scrambling for money. (Seti Inc, n.p) But don’t you think that if all of this had no possibility whatsoever that people would have dropped the idea a long time ago?
SETI is basically an independent team that searches the universe for radio signals. (Seti Inc, n.p). It holds at least 50 satellites, which are unfortunately very expensive to maintain. They have to ask for donations from wealthy business owners like people at Microsoft to help pay for the maintenance costs (Calling all Aliens). So far, the only signal recorded that could be extraterrestrial was, unfortunately, a false alarm. On the other hand, the satellites can only focus on one star at a time, so it doesn’t surprise me that nothing has been found. (Shostak, n.p) They’re out there; I’m sure of it! Either that or maybe the aliens don’t wish to speak to us.
….Or maybe they’re already making contact with us in a different sort of way. Have you ever heard someone claim they’ve been abducted? Odds are that they aren’t, in fact, insane. They are just most likely suffering from the disease ‘sleep paralysis’ (Kristoff, n.p). Sleep paralysis is when you think you are awake, but you aren’t able to move or interact with the world around you. Sometimes, people’s imaginations run wild, and they believe that they have been ‘abducted’ by aliens (Cromie, n.p). Unfortunately for scientists, many who have experienced this say this is not the case, and search for other explanations. “I don’t know why people don’t believe me” says Theriot “If it had happened to you, you would have known they were actually there. I just can’t accept the fact that this was all in my head.” Some say that what it really is is ‘Recovered Memory Syndrom’. Recovered memory syndrome causes people to forget extremely dramatic and scarring events from their life. This could be why some ‘dream’ about the abductions; they could just be replaying the activities in their mind (Pervia, n.p).
Finally, the piece of information that finishes my intricate puzzle of confusion has been found. In 1961, Dr. Frank Drake discovered the equation to find (approximately) how many stars, containing life, in the Milky Way there are. The simplified equation is ‘N=Nx*pf*ne*fl*fi*fc*fL’ (Aguirre, n.p). I understand that none of you here understand what that means, so allow me to simplify. Let N=the number of civilizations that can communicate in the galaxy. Then ‘Nx’= the number of stars in the Milky Way. Estimated, this is about 100 billion. ‘fp’ is the percent of stars that have planetary systems (planets around them). Scientists guess this is anywhere from 20% to 50%.Now, ‘ne’=the number of planets per star capable of sustaining life. Basically, this is one planet. ‘fl’ is the percentage of ‘ne’ that evolves. This is where things start to get iffy. The percentage can range anywhere from 0% to 100%, causing serious dispute among scientists (Seti Inc). Moving on, though. ‘fc’ is the fraction of ‘fi’ that want to communicate. Again, this is widely argued, but it’s anywhere from 10% to 20%. And finally, ‘fL’; the planets life during which communicating civilizations live. Again, this is only a estimate, but scientists are guessing it’s about 10 billion years. If you multiply all of these numbers (have you been keeping track?) you get 1000 civilizations! Amazing, right? I hope I didn’t loose too many of you all there. I know that math may be a bore, but it’s essential to this project.
Speaking of this project, I’m afraid I’m going to have to bring this journey to an end. I’ve learned all I’ll ever need to know about intelligent life on other planets. I’ve searched all I’ll ever need to on Area 51. I’ve spent enough time unhealthily obsessing over possible UFO’s in the sky…and yet, I still haven’t found the answer to my question. Yes, I’ll admit that I have a good amount of evidence, and reasoning to back it up, but when push comes to shove, this is only a paper based on what others say or heard or experienced. This was a very interesting project, and I had fun researching, but I don’t think I learned anything about myself that I didn’t already know. I learned I’m eccentric- but I already knew that. I learned I’m obsessive- not anything new there. But honestly, I’m really sad to say goodbye to this piece of writing. It was like my best friend. I could argue with it and not have to deal with snarky comments back. I could write things in the most bizarre ways and not be judged by it. I could even share everything I knew without having it tell me to shut up. So yes, sadly, this project has influenced my life. It has actually touched my heart in many ways, and it pains me to say that I’m sorry to see it go. But life must go on, so here I sit writing my farewells. Oh, right, you want me to write my conclusion as well. Okay ::sniffle::, just let me compose myself….
After many tears of frustration shed, I have indeed come up with an answer to my question, ‘What are the Odds of Life on other Planets?’. Truthfully, my answer is that it should (and shall) remain in the realm of the unknown. As I stated before, my reasoning is based on nothing more than claims of believers and non believers. However, I hope that my I-Search has shed a new light on aliens and such. I tried to capture both sides of the arguments in my paper, but I have the feeling that my sci-fi side got in the way sometimes. What can I say? I am just so passionate about this topic I find it hard to control myself. This is another reason why I can’t bring myself to answer my overall question. I gave you the information and a different point of view on things. Now you make the choice; are those lights in the sky UFO headlights, or nothing more than stars? Are those footprints from a bear, or something not from around here? Am I an alien in disguise, or nothing more than a 7th grade student with an odd name and strange attitude?
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There you have it! Of course, the printed version (which was double spaced) was exactly 15 pages! How awesome is that? I hope you all enjoyed!
~Kajsa
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Kajsa Ryne's Guide to Knowing the Unknown
I am writing this to warn you; to tell you that They do exist, and that They are coming. They are coming with weapons none of us could ever fathom. Their technology is far greater than ours and They will use it for great evil. You cannot run from Them and you cannot hide from Them. There’s no point in attempting to contact the government; they knew this day was coming. They have been covering up information that could help us for centuries, just so they wouldn’t have to deal with a world-wide uproar. The media is in on this too. It seems that anyone who could make a difference in our fate is part of the scheme to keep us in the dark. To keep us from the truth. To stop us from discovering that They, the Aliens, are real.
…well there you have it! Hope you weren’t too alarmed; I assure you, if it didn’t aid the learning experience, I wouldn’t have written it. What’s that? You didn’t know this was supposed to teach you something? Oh, forgive me, forgive me, I’ve gotten too caught up in my Sci-fi drama. Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Kajsa Ryne, and I am going to shed some light on aliens. More specifically, I am going to answer a very serious question; what are the odds of intelligent life on other planets?
Now, I’m guessing you’re interested in why I chose this topic. Well, you see, the unknown has always been exceedingly prominent in my mind. At a young age, when I looked up into the stars, I was wondering what all the ‘bright stuff’ was. Even in my conversations today, I always bring up some controversial topic that we spend at least an hour debating. So, if you know me (even vaguely), you will not be surprised by my rather ‘strange’ topic choice.
And now we venture into the unknown to answer my question. After all, don’t you want to know what the odds of intelligent life on other planets are?
Before you are enlightened in the topic of the unknown, however, I thought that I would give you some idea of how I found my information. As it turns out, there aren’t very many non-fiction books about UFO sightings and abductions in the Jefferson library, and certainly no helpful information (no surprise there). So, I was forced to use the evil tool of doom- no, NOT Wikipedia. Google. Yes, I understand that we were meant to search for information using the ‘educational’ sources given, and believe me, I did look. It doesn’t surprise me though, that websites intended for younger students don’t have much helpful information on extraterrestrials. I was stumped. I searched high and low for some sort of breakthrough. I searched, and searched, and searched and searched. Finally, worn out, I plopped down onto the sofa and turned on the television. I was amazed by what I saw. The National Geographic channel was having an all day special- about everything from alien abductions to area 51! I ran to get my papers and hurriedly started recording information as fast as I could process it (possibly faster). I had finally found what I was looking for.
After that lovely finding, I wave of shock hit me. I had to interview someone regarding my topic. Let me ask you a question; In the small city of Midland, in which we live, do you suppose anyone has been abducted by aliens or seen a UFO? If you answered yes to the previous question, I would honestly like to know who that would be, because at the time, I could not seem to find anyone (that is alive) who would be willing to have me interview them! Could it be because of my odd way of speaking? Or maybe my psychotic genre of writing? You don’t think that I could be, ehrm, how do I say this, off-putting to some people, do you? Oh. You do. Well then. Never mind. I found someone anyways, Kathy Theriot, who was helpful and insightful, no matter how odd I was. More on that later; onward we march!
Now it is time to give a special shout out to the people who helped me find information about my topic. First we’ll start with Kathy Theriot, my very willing interviewee who helped make this happen. Then there was… lets see…there was- oh wait, he was making all that up. Or maybe- no, she read that from ‘War of the Worlds’. Alright, so maybe I was a bit too independent in my search process. However, I assure you that this did not affect the quality of my work. No, everything is as precise as it would have been with extra help. This independence also forced me to make a lot of choices on my own. For instance, when it came to choosing my sources, I had to sift through countless ‘conspiracy’ sites, for something of better quality. Luckily, I have the power of sensing something that has been written well and from the heart. Usually that means the information is correct. Right? Well, even if that isn’t true than this paper will be nothing more than a compellation of common misconceptions. In spite of this possibility, please don’t just drop this paper and run. Take the time to read, and you’ll find out what the odds of intelligent life on other planets are. It’s awfully interesting you know.
Surprisingly, the idea of aliens is a very new one. The modern age of ufology actually started in 1947, when Kenneth Arnold saw the first ‘UFO’ (Booth, n.p). This caused a major outbreak of sightings and supposed ‘abductions’ in the early 50’s. Of course, it didn’t help that all of the authors were experimenting with the new genre ‘Science Fiction’ (Calling all Aliens). Pretty soon, everyone was putting more thought into old paintings and strange monuments. “After my first sighting, I started to look at everything twice” says Theriot. This seems to be the case with everyone. Even cave drawings that apparently depicted alien life forms were found! (UFOcasebook, n.p). Yes, I know that this sounds crazy. Please, just keep in mind, that even though people think that all of this stuff is bogus and influenced by others, the first person who experienced this couldn’t have just dreamt everything up. However, I find it interesting how people can twist even the most ordinary drawings into being ‘aliens’.
The same thing applies to UFO’s. There have been over 100, 000 reported sightings so far, and 646 cases still remain unsolved. (Blue Book Archive). Other than that, there have been six major sighting s over the span of 30 years (Wilson, n.p). “I know what I saw” says Theriot “It was something…strange. Something that could have easily been overlooked. But I know what I saw, and I saw something from another planet”.
Most sightings these days are around Rachel, Nevada. For those of you who have no clue where that is, it’s a small town in the middle of nowhere (Gibbons, n.p). It’s surrounded by deserts and mountains, and most importantly, a very mysterious Government base, Area 51 (Calling all Aliens). Of course, there could be many explanations for this, and it doesn’t help that there is a diner, the little A’le’inn, that’s dedicated to these sightings (Laundenklos, n.p). They all congregate and their stories seem to grow bigger and bigger. This makes it hard to separate the fact from fiction. That’s also why many conspiracies are born.
For instance, in 1947 was the Roswell Incident (The Roswell Incident). It was basically when an old farmer found some old shiny remains of something that had crashed on his field and took it to the government to examine. They shrugged it off as nothing more than a weather balloon, but many eyewitnesses disagree (Carey, n.p). However, it wasn’t until 1978 that all the witnesses started to come out. They stated crazy things, like that the government was hiding the real remains in a bunker in Area 51. After all, with all the rumors surrounding Area 51, why not put the blame on it? (Thomas, n.p).
Area 51 has been shrouded in secrecy ever since it’s establishment in the 50’s. No one knows exactly what goes on there, however there have been many rumors regarding (Calling all Aliens). Some think that it is merely a misdirection attempt, but many disagree. There have been claims that it is actually a facility to try and develop a system of time travel (Stooge, n.p). That’s not the craziest claim; a good amount of the population that believes it’s an alien spacecraft storage! (Area 51 Zone, n.p). Of course, don’t think I’m prejudiced, no, I perfectly accept the fact that some people think I am insane for believing these claims. Again, I’d like to remind you that these ideas could not have been thought up without a certain amount of evidence. Is there something the government is hiding from us? Mrs. Theriot thinks so. “If they weren’t hiding something, there would be no reason why it would be guarded so heavily. Something’s going on here”.
However, the government has publicized the fact that they have spent quite a lot of time trying to find intelligent life (on other planets). First we must realize that the United States aren’t the only ones interested in finding these so called ‘aliens’. Russia has started a program where small children write letters to aliens that are going to be sent off into space. Along with these letters, they also attached a single lock of hair so that whoever receives it can trace the DNA back to Earth (Calling all Aliens). The US has a similar project. On August 20, 1977, Voyager 2 was launched. Why is this so special? Well, when NASA realized that this object would become scrap-metal floating around in space, they decided to add a gold audio plate holding information about Earth. They included everything from a video of the Olympics to the sound of a barking dog. (Angrum, n.p). This wasn’t the first thing the US government has done, though. In the mid 60’s they set up a ‘Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence’, more commonly know as SETI. However, the government decided to drop SETI in 1984, leaving them scrambling for money. (Seti Inc, n.p) But don’t you think that if all of this had no possibility whatsoever that people would have dropped the idea a long time ago?
SETI is basically an independent team that searches the universe for radio signals. (Seti Inc, n.p). It holds at least 50 satellites, which are unfortunately very expensive to maintain. They have to ask for donations from wealthy business owners like people at Microsoft to help pay for the maintenance costs (Calling all Aliens). So far, the only signal recorded that could be extraterrestrial was, unfortunately, a false alarm. On the other hand, the satellites can only focus on one star at a time, so it doesn’t surprise me that nothing has been found. (Shostak, n.p) They’re out there; I’m sure of it! Either that or maybe the aliens don’t wish to speak to us.
….Or maybe they’re already making contact with us in a different sort of way. Have you ever heard someone claim they’ve been abducted? Odds are that they aren’t, in fact, insane. They are just most likely suffering from the disease ‘sleep paralysis’ (Kristoff, n.p). Sleep paralysis is when you think you are awake, but you aren’t able to move or interact with the world around you. Sometimes, people’s imaginations run wild, and they believe that they have been ‘abducted’ by aliens (Cromie, n.p). Unfortunately for scientists, many who have experienced this say this is not the case, and search for other explanations. “I don’t know why people don’t believe me” says Theriot “If it had happened to you, you would have known they were actually there. I just can’t accept the fact that this was all in my head.” Some say that what it really is is ‘Recovered Memory Syndrom’. Recovered memory syndrome causes people to forget extremely dramatic and scarring events from their life. This could be why some ‘dream’ about the abductions; they could just be replaying the activities in their mind (Pervia, n.p).
Finally, the piece of information that finishes my intricate puzzle of confusion has been found. In 1961, Dr. Frank Drake discovered the equation to find (approximately) how many stars, containing life, in the Milky Way there are. The simplified equation is ‘N=Nx*pf*ne*fl*fi*fc*fL’ (Aguirre, n.p). I understand that none of you here understand what that means, so allow me to simplify. Let N=the number of civilizations that can communicate in the galaxy. Then ‘Nx’= the number of stars in the Milky Way. Estimated, this is about 100 billion. ‘fp’ is the percent of stars that have planetary systems (planets around them). Scientists guess this is anywhere from 20% to 50%.Now, ‘ne’=the number of planets per star capable of sustaining life. Basically, this is one planet. ‘fl’ is the percentage of ‘ne’ that evolves. This is where things start to get iffy. The percentage can range anywhere from 0% to 100%, causing serious dispute among scientists (Seti Inc). Moving on, though. ‘fc’ is the fraction of ‘fi’ that want to communicate. Again, this is widely argued, but it’s anywhere from 10% to 20%. And finally, ‘fL’; the planets life during which communicating civilizations live. Again, this is only a estimate, but scientists are guessing it’s about 10 billion years. If you multiply all of these numbers (have you been keeping track?) you get 1000 civilizations! Amazing, right? I hope I didn’t loose too many of you all there. I know that math may be a bore, but it’s essential to this project.
Speaking of this project, I’m afraid I’m going to have to bring this journey to an end. I’ve learned all I’ll ever need to know about intelligent life on other planets. I’ve searched all I’ll ever need to on Area 51. I’ve spent enough time unhealthily obsessing over possible UFO’s in the sky…and yet, I still haven’t found the answer to my question. Yes, I’ll admit that I have a good amount of evidence, and reasoning to back it up, but when push comes to shove, this is only a paper based on what others say or heard or experienced. This was a very interesting project, and I had fun researching, but I don’t think I learned anything about myself that I didn’t already know. I learned I’m eccentric- but I already knew that. I learned I’m obsessive- not anything new there. But honestly, I’m really sad to say goodbye to this piece of writing. It was like my best friend. I could argue with it and not have to deal with snarky comments back. I could write things in the most bizarre ways and not be judged by it. I could even share everything I knew without having it tell me to shut up. So yes, sadly, this project has influenced my life. It has actually touched my heart in many ways, and it pains me to say that I’m sorry to see it go. But life must go on, so here I sit writing my farewells. Oh, right, you want me to write my conclusion as well. Okay ::sniffle::, just let me compose myself….
After many tears of frustration shed, I have indeed come up with an answer to my question, ‘What are the Odds of Life on other Planets?’. Truthfully, my answer is that it should (and shall) remain in the realm of the unknown. As I stated before, my reasoning is based on nothing more than claims of believers and non believers. However, I hope that my I-Search has shed a new light on aliens and such. I tried to capture both sides of the arguments in my paper, but I have the feeling that my sci-fi side got in the way sometimes. What can I say? I am just so passionate about this topic I find it hard to control myself. This is another reason why I can’t bring myself to answer my overall question. I gave you the information and a different point of view on things. Now you make the choice; are those lights in the sky UFO headlights, or nothing more than stars? Are those footprints from a bear, or something not from around here? Am I an alien in disguise, or nothing more than a 7th grade student with an odd name and strange attitude?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There you have it! Of course, the printed version (which was double spaced) was exactly 15 pages! How awesome is that? I hope you all enjoyed!
~Kajsa
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
To those who complain...
Not to name names but certain people
(A small voice from the background calls out 'Sarah...')
have been complaining
(Many people in unison loudly say 'Sarah!')
about me not updating my blog enough.
(All voices SCREAM together 'SARAH!!')
YOU IN THE BACK! STOP INTERRUPTING ME!
And so, I bring to you an entry. I am not yet sure what it's going to be about, but I think I'll just go over a few things.
1. On the old poll (I say potato, you say...) most people actually didn't understand what I mean. Don't you all know, 'potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto'? I thought that was something everyone learned. Maybe it's just me?
2. I don't know if you all remember my 'I am' poem, but I have some good news! I had entered a poetry competition, using that poem, just for extra credit. A few weeks ago, I got a note in the mail saying 'Congratulations! Your poem has been chosen to be published in our anthology!'. As you can imagine, I was shocked, but VERY happy.
3. Valentines day is coming up... I'm going to change my background to be a bit more... festive. Just wondering, what are your all's thoughts on Valentines day? Love it? Hate it? Be sure to comment. I really do enjoy reading all of your comments.
4. Alright, as you can see, I have been trying in vain to get a decent 2nd tense story written. You have to admit, my second try was pretty good. If you disagree...
(The same small voice says 'Sarah...')
YOU IN THE BACK! I SAID QUIET!
...Anyways, as I was saying, if you disagree, be sure to voice your opinion by either voting on my poll, or leaving a comment. I thrive off feedback.
And there you have it. I hope this satisfied those of you who have wanted to hear from me more. Honestly though, I've made like 3 posts in 1 month. That is an all time high for me. Any more, and I'd be overdoing it. Right?!
Alright. Rant over.
Aurevoir mon amie (or ami, depending on if you're a boy or girl :P)
Kajsa*
(A small voice from the background calls out 'Sarah...')
have been complaining
(Many people in unison loudly say 'Sarah!')
about me not updating my blog enough.
(All voices SCREAM together 'SARAH!!')
YOU IN THE BACK! STOP INTERRUPTING ME!
And so, I bring to you an entry. I am not yet sure what it's going to be about, but I think I'll just go over a few things.
1. On the old poll (I say potato, you say...) most people actually didn't understand what I mean. Don't you all know, 'potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto'? I thought that was something everyone learned. Maybe it's just me?
2. I don't know if you all remember my 'I am' poem, but I have some good news! I had entered a poetry competition, using that poem, just for extra credit. A few weeks ago, I got a note in the mail saying 'Congratulations! Your poem has been chosen to be published in our anthology!'. As you can imagine, I was shocked, but VERY happy.
3. Valentines day is coming up... I'm going to change my background to be a bit more... festive. Just wondering, what are your all's thoughts on Valentines day? Love it? Hate it? Be sure to comment. I really do enjoy reading all of your comments.
4. Alright, as you can see, I have been trying in vain to get a decent 2nd tense story written. You have to admit, my second try was pretty good. If you disagree...
(The same small voice says 'Sarah...')
YOU IN THE BACK! I SAID QUIET!
...Anyways, as I was saying, if you disagree, be sure to voice your opinion by either voting on my poll, or leaving a comment. I thrive off feedback.
And there you have it. I hope this satisfied those of you who have wanted to hear from me more. Honestly though, I've made like 3 posts in 1 month. That is an all time high for me. Any more, and I'd be overdoing it. Right?!
Alright. Rant over.
Aurevoir mon amie (or ami, depending on if you're a boy or girl :P)
Kajsa*
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
2nd Try at 2nd Tense
A dim, orange light filled the room. You are partially reminded of the tea you are drinking, the tea that is specially infused with oranges and raspberries. You slowly settle down into your big, fluffy armchair and let out a sight of relief. Yes, the day has been boring, but you know that it’s better than being depressing. You’re about to turn in, since you are tired, after all, when you hear your old vintage telephone ring. You trudge over, quite annoyed really, but answer the phone nonetheless. It was Sally. Sally was a horrible friend of yours; the type that rubs her good fortune in your face any time she gets the chance. So, of course, you act pleased to hear from her. Maybe if you act interested, she’ll leave you alone. You engage in a nice little chat, talking about the weather and other things, when she brings up her ‘good fortune’”. Oh Angelica darling” she says “I forgot to tell you! I am inviting you to my wedding!”. You stand, shocked, wondering how in the world this has happened without you hearing about every second of it. She says "Yes! It was sort of a quick thing- but I didn't want to miss my chance with Rick!". Your jaw dropped to the floor. Rick? Your best friend Rick? The person you've been in love with for years Rick? You roll you eyes, thinkning 'this could be interesting'.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Confession
Alright everyone. I have a confession. I have been attempting to work on my story, "River of Dreams". However, I was pulled away. I found an awesome new way of writing! Two words; second person. Genius right? So, I started a little story in that tense, and I would like to share it with you.
Chapter 1:The Light
You walk in the door, nearly blinded by the sudden bright light. You try to raise your hand, to block the rays, but you can’t. Your whole body is completely paralyzed. Your eyes, the only thing able to move, twitch back and forth. You’re starting to get very worried when you hear a deep voice say “Welcome, welcome! I trust you and your family are well?” You try to scream, or make some sort of protesting noise, but it feels as if your voice box was frozen. Your family was murdered a week ago, and you had been searching long and hard to find the culprit. “Oh dear, are you trying to say something? Perhaps you wish to see your captor? Very well; I shall oblige”. A dark, hooded somewhat gangly figure appeared, shattering the bright light. You immediately recognize him. Suddenly, a wave of warmth washes over you. You can move again! You look the man straight in his deep, dark eyes. Finally, you do what you have been waiting to do for a week. You spit in his face. “Arghhh!” He screams. Your saliva appears to be burning his flesh! You have to admit; you are a bit shocked (the spit had only been planned to be a distraction) but you are pleased with yourself none the less. In the murderer’s final seconds of life, he looks up at you, a scowl permanently etched into his face. “This is not the end; you should know I do not act alone. You have only cut of one head of Hydra. Prepare for the wrath of two more!” His eyes close. You gulp. And then you run.
Thats it folks!
Now I must go. Writing is calling me.
Kajsa*
Chapter 1:The Light
You walk in the door, nearly blinded by the sudden bright light. You try to raise your hand, to block the rays, but you can’t. Your whole body is completely paralyzed. Your eyes, the only thing able to move, twitch back and forth. You’re starting to get very worried when you hear a deep voice say “Welcome, welcome! I trust you and your family are well?” You try to scream, or make some sort of protesting noise, but it feels as if your voice box was frozen. Your family was murdered a week ago, and you had been searching long and hard to find the culprit. “Oh dear, are you trying to say something? Perhaps you wish to see your captor? Very well; I shall oblige”. A dark, hooded somewhat gangly figure appeared, shattering the bright light. You immediately recognize him. Suddenly, a wave of warmth washes over you. You can move again! You look the man straight in his deep, dark eyes. Finally, you do what you have been waiting to do for a week. You spit in his face. “Arghhh!” He screams. Your saliva appears to be burning his flesh! You have to admit; you are a bit shocked (the spit had only been planned to be a distraction) but you are pleased with yourself none the less. In the murderer’s final seconds of life, he looks up at you, a scowl permanently etched into his face. “This is not the end; you should know I do not act alone. You have only cut of one head of Hydra. Prepare for the wrath of two more!” His eyes close. You gulp. And then you run.
Thats it folks!
Now I must go. Writing is calling me.
Kajsa*
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!!
It's the New Year!! Happy New Year!! I have a story for you guys already! I thought I would celebrate 2010, so I fired a party popper. It's contents immediately blew into my face. I thought I had to redeem myself, so I ran inside and grabbed another. I fired it, and there was nothing in it -_-.
~Sigh~
Is this a sign of what is to come in 2010? Only time will tell!
Oh well. Happy New Year ^.^!
Kajsa*
~Sigh~
Is this a sign of what is to come in 2010? Only time will tell!
Oh well. Happy New Year ^.^!
Kajsa*
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