My Literary Hero

                Ever since the beginning of time there has been corruption and greed. Although there has been the occasional, optimistic age of peace and prosperity, most of the past has been dark; hence the Dark Ages.  Heroes with answers and solutions to problems in the gloomy societies often rose, yet quickly fell to their doom.  The most fascinating hero in my opinion is Robin Hood. Also known as Earl of Locksley, Robin was a skillful, generous, determined man.  He set his whole life on a path of reaching outward and helping others, especially the less fortunate. He is my literary hero.

                Robin had what some could say, a very rough childhood. Relatively speaking, Robin’s life growing up was much more brutal than any modern kid who is fairly well off.  His father’s head was literally “offed” when Robin was a small boy, possibly around 6 years old.  When he had an epiphany, he realized the true nature of mankind is greed, evil, and corruption.  He set his life purpose to avoiding this evil hole that so many people fall into.  He set out with a several close companions in search of justice and heroic opportunities.

                He grew up to have strong moral values and a skillful eye at along the shaft of the arrow. Some could say he was an inconsistent traveler, a low life, a castaway. But he was much more.  He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, providing the unfortunate with the excess of riches the greedy bastard kings had.  His getaways were easily pulled off by his amazingly accurate bowman ship, which was essential to his success and survival.

                His generosity, his fight for justice and liberty, and his various skills made him one of the most influential heroes of all time. They definitely make him the coolest hero ever, to me. :D

My Utopia

the crystal clear water is lapping around my ankles... it is nearing Christmas of our junior year in highschool, and we are spending our days relaxing on the beach.  fairy terns fly overhead, and golden white-eyes play in the palm fronds, singing minute melodies for the world.  the waves are rolling in towards the beach and we grab our surfboards and go out for a surf.  what in the world could possibly be better.. to be surround by your closest friends, on a pristine beach with clear skies and aquamarine water, jubilant singsong birds in the trees, a fresh coconut, some sashimi from a wahu catch, and going out for a surf... honestly i find this to be one of the best dreams in the world. also the love of my life would have to be there, and it would just be absolutely amazing. I would have my guitar on the beach, not just any guitar, but a Gibson Hummingbird True Vintage VOS Acoustic Guitar. The guitar of my dreams... "The Gibson Hummingbird True Vintage VOS Acoustic takes us back to the subtle glamour of the original 1960 guitar. Enhancements include split-parallelogram, mother-of-pearl fingerboard inlays; crown headstock inlay; and an elaborate 3-point tortoise pickguard with engraved hummingbird motif.  The Hummingbird captures a measure of the pastoral whimsy and brave new horizons of the 1960s—along with a solid chunk of woody acoustic tone." quite stunning really.
anyways, there would be music on that beach, vibrating from my VOS Gibson Hummingbird.. the sky would be a brilliant blue, the trees an earthy green, and the air filled with scents of lavender and thyme.

Living on Mars

Living on Mars

By: Kai Staal

Yahoo news has a great headline: “Scientists propose one-way trips to Mars.” We have the technology, yet all we need is an “eccentric billionaire,” and some people who don't mind spending the rest of their lives in the exploration of Mars. You may ask, why only a one-way trip? Don't we want to see these people come back to our home planet?   The answer is yes, of course we want our astronauts to come home, however, a one way trip would cut costs by 80 percent! The author compares the early settlers who came to North America, not expecting to see their home ever again, with how astronauts should behave.  The colonization of Mars is quite within reach, and scientists believe it is imperative that we explore the new planet, ultimately to create a “lifeboat” for humanity if our home planet one day became uninhabitable.

            Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a Washington State University professor, is the mastermind behind this seemingly preposterous idea. Ed Mitchell of Apollo 14 commented that the proposed trip is premature, and that “we aren’t ready for this yet.” Barak Obama is on board, but his plan sets the exploration date in the mid 2030s, and has the idea that the astronauts will definitely return home. "We want our people back," NASA spokesman Michael Braukus said.  Many scientists around the world are agreeing that humans must begin colonizing another planet, in order to save the human species from becoming extinct by a catastrophe on earth.  Now all this sounds a little pessimistic. Earth ending, death, extinction, unknown worlds… yet it is such a fascinating topic, and the fact that we are so close to achieving this goal makes it so real. Living on another planet has always been in space-age movies such as Star Wars, or Star Trek, but to come to the realization that those movies might actually be us in several decades is astonishing.

            The trip to mars would take 6 months, and once exposure to radiation and a lack of medical care set in, the person’s lifespan would be reduced.  This is a little oppressive; however, once they set up living quarters near a large ice cave, which would provide shelter from radiation, water, and oxygen, things would be okay.  Mars has surface gravity, a thin atmosphere, frozen water, carbon dioxide, and essential minerals. "The astronauts would go to Mars with the intention of staying for the rest of their lives, as trailblazers of a permanent human Mars colony," Shulze-Makuch writes. He and other scientists believe that Mars has enough abundant resources to help the colonists become self-sufficient over time. "We are on a vulnerable planet," Schulze-Makuch said. "Asteroid impact can threaten us, or a supernova explosion. If we want to survive as a species, we have to expand into the solar system and likely beyond."

            These are the thoughts of the 21^st century.  It is time to explore the universe and truly find out what is out there.  It can be terrifying, looking up there at black emptiness, yet there is so much we don’t know and so much we need to find out. Someday, maybe even during our lifetime, we will be able to witness the extraordinary event of living on Mars.

Who would you bring back to life and what would you serve for dinner

        If I had a choice, I would bring Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (Brudda Iz) back to life.  He is one of the most famous and popular Hawaiian musicians, and did not deserve to die at such a young age of 38 by a heart attack.  Tom Moffatt, a Hawaiian promoter, once said, "His whole life was music, and love for the people of Hawaii". He was surrounded by music throughout his entire childhood, growing up on Oahu, where the ukulele flourished. His first performance happened when he was eleven years old.  I would bring him back to life because he is such an inspirational musician that I would love to have even the slightest minute interviewing and learning from him. Throughout his last years, Iz suffered from severe obesity, at one point carried 769 pounds (350 kg).  This made his performances quite the spectacle. Picture a giant with a miniature guitar, this is what Israel looked like, and caught the audience in a river of melodies and beautiful sounds.

        For dinner I would serve him a small plate prawns.  I know that to give him a buffet would only serve to undermine his efforts to lose weight, so I would find the most delicious caviar and prawns, spend hours preparing this meager meal, and give it to him in the candlelight of a fire on the beach.  Then we would relax, sit down, and play ukulele together.

Page 110 of my 400 page autobiography

           I was ten years old when I finished 6th grade.  That was a great year for me.  I was finally coming into my own, understanding myself and my friends. My friendships became stronger till the bond became unbreakable. That was the year that I learned the capitol of every state in the US.  I would play games with my grandpa in the summertime seeing who could get more state-capitol questions correct.  Of course I would always win, for I had memorized each of the 50 capitols by heart.  I took much pride in myself for doing this. Nevertheless, when the next year came by, all but several capitols were gone from my memory. That summer I spent at my family's lake house in Oregon with my cousins.  It was a time where you didn't have to worry about schoolwork, or other responsibilities.  It was a summer of fun under the sun, where pure joy and happiness of young kids pierced the hearts of businessmen, men with no freedom.  I knew from seeing these men envy our play that I would never get a job like that.  No, my job would be one on the ocean, or out in the wild examining animals.  Or it would be building bridges across great mountains or even conducting a team to create an underground tunnel.
         That summer my cousins and I entered a go carting race. We built our car out of scrap plywood, two by fours, nails, axles and tires from the dump.  My grandfather helped us build it, thats probably why we won the race.  He was once a professional race car driver, so he was very intelligible on the aspects and fundamentals of car building. The race happened on a sunny day above the lake. Our course was to race down the hill, weave through cones, and go off a small ramp into the water.  For this last thing, our car had to be a boat at the same time, which we created from an old bit of fiberglass.  My cousins and I zoomed down the hill, flew through the air, and glided onto the calm surface of the lake.  Rejoicing our win, we all ran back to the lake house for a celebratory meal of roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a big salad of fresh greens, which at that time none of us kids liked.  After that, we all went for a swim in the refreshing waters and went home to our beds, snuggly, warm, and content with our lives.

Tokyo Life

Tokyo, Japan

           We are amidst the chaotic hustle and bustle of Japanese life in Tokyo. In the underground train station, several thousand people pass by at a quick pace, always needing to be somewhere at a certain time. Businessmen in suits, couples, parents with their children, and groups of school kids headed to their destination with no distractions. This is one of the most descriptive ways to describe the Japanese people: an infinite loyalty, a strong mentality, and most of all, a dependable personality.
          As I watch what seem to me an overcrowded station, and an outburst of people walking in every direction, I come to realize that this is normal.  I tried to picture myself in this lifestyle. I see myself with stylized hair, a premeditated outfit, yet a bit garish for my taste, consisting of several specifically designed layers of clothing, friskily on my way someplace. In each direction looming buildings block my view of the sky, which is nonetheless cloudy most of the time. It is obvious to me that I could never live a life working in a cubicle of an office, hurrying to and fro, and at the same time it empowers me to work harder realizing there are half a million people doing that every day.
          However, there is also a feeling of Zen and peacefulness among the people.  Once you step out into the countryside you're entire view of Japan changes.  The artistic gardens, the steep, tiled roofs of temples, the walkways through trees, and the serene ponds running through it all creating this amazing land. The hillsides are filled with life among flowers in the springtime, and are still when the snows come. I am sure I could live in this beauty.  Being from the islands gives you this lifestyle which is so easygoing and calm you don't have to worry about offices and luminescent lights. Nevertheless, Japan is an incredible place.

Private Spaceship for Tourists

Yahoo News reports that the first shuttle to take tourists into space is built and will soon be ready for customers. Its specific purpose is to take those curious people with an extra $200,000 floating around in their pockets on an ephemeral, yet magnificent journey to into space. The private spaceship is built and owned by Virgin Galactic, a reliable airline company.

Last Sunday the company completed its first solo flight with the rocket SpaceShipTwo designed for private passage into space. It achieved safe entry through the stratosphere and into the mesosphere, the second and third major layers of the earth’s atmosphere. In doing this, Virgin Galactic is one step closer to fly its paying passengers. This major milestone will make the program to become the world’s first manned commercial space vehicle.

SpaceShipTwo is carried to an altitude of 45,000 feet by its “mothership,” a larger plane, and is then released. After its separation, SpaceShipTwo will use rocket boosters to fly into space. It is manned by two pilots, and can fit six passengers. The spacecraft will glide back to earth for a safe landing. At $200,000 a ticket, several hundred people are interested and can’t wait the day for liftoff. Even though it is still undergoing rigorous testing, there is already a long list of 370 paid customers with a total deposit of $50 million awaiting the day to experience space not through television, internet, or telescopes, but through their very own eyes. Imagine 40 years ago, a street vender looking up into the heavens. He would never think that he himself could be up there viewing the enigma of space. Of course he might have to obtain a higher income, but eventually he might make it there. It is an amazing journey and an incredible step into the modern world of humankind.

Yahoo news story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20101011/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_space_tourism_1