BeadPrincessK's Xanga

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:05:28 GMT

I'm selling some of my beads, displays and boxes on eBay right now if ya'll are interested.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZkathrynQ2askreations

Passive Communication is for Savage Cavemen

Mon, 28 May 2007 04:40:25 GMT

lol, I wrote this during winter finals, and just found it when I was cleaning out my drawers... this is what my graphic design teacher gets for making me read Marshall McLuhan.

I'm in revolt against passive communication right now. The fact is that announcing to the world what I had for breakfast this morning isn't accomplishing anything, even if the world cared.
Two people can keep up with the minute details of each others lives on Xanga for years... and yet not really know each other at all. It's communication on the level of tuning into today's soap opera episode.
Passive communication is great for communication ideas, visions and positions to the world. But personal communication doesn't really exist unless it is active. The very definition of passive communication prevents it from being personal.
Facebook, while perhaps less "personal" according to some, is more conducive to active communication. You can still broadcast your breakfast choice to the world using Notes, of course. But wall posts and messages and distinctly to and from individuals–active communication.
Profiles allow for a sort of very succinct update of the basic details of a persons life as conversation starters. So if Jane Brown changes her favorite breakfast food from french toast to fruity pebbles, we can immediately begin pleading with her to mend the error of her ways.
Marshall McLuhan, while incapable of composing a comprehendible sentence (I'm still trying to make sense out of "The electric light is pure information") puts passiveness on the same list as savage and cavemen. Interestingly, it also includes the visual and sporadic, two of today's favorite things. Which goes to show that maybe the man wasn't entirely mad, and should be quite alarming to the rest of civilization.
Yes, thanks to the Geico commercials, we all know cavemen aren't stupid. But there you have it: more than you ever wanted to know about why i haven't updated my Xanga lately, and a little media theory on the side.

The U.N. saves the world!

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 03:52:41 GMT

Scientists reported this week that on April 13, 2036, an asteroid has a 1 in 45,000 chance of hitting Earth. The good news: No Tax Day, 2036. The bad news: An entire city or region could bite the dust.

"We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue," explains former astronaut Rusty Schweickart. To that end, scientists are calling on the United Nations to take action. The Association of Space Engineers will present a plan to the UN in 2009 involving the construction of a "Gravity Tractor," which would alter the course of potentially threatening asteroids.

You can just imagine what the UN member states will have to say about this idea.

IRAN: "Space is a decadent Western lie. It does not exist. Asteroids are no more real than the Zionist Entity. It is possible, however, that the 12th imam is riding this so-called space rock. In that case, we can only hope that he steers it into a large building in a major American city."

CHINA: "Such use of space simply escalates the global arms race. Who is to say that America will not construct such a 'Gravity Tractor' in an attempt to nullify our missile capabilities? Of course, we were never thinking of using such missiles anyway, but it's the principle of the thing!"

VENEZUELA: "This is a plot by the Bush administration to escape culpability for America's part in the global warming crisis. Satan W. Bush is deflecting attention from the fact that America is heating Earth up like a giant microwave. Bush is hoping that the asteroid hits Venezuela, ending the global warming crisis by blotting out the sun."

NORTH KOREA: "Kim Jong Il is the Lode Star of the 21st Century, the Master of the Computer Who Surprised the World, Power Incarnate with Endless Creativity, Guardian Deity of the Planet. Fear not, Earthlings! Kim Jong Il will save us yet. By the way, will saving Earth get Kim Jong Il a headline? He'd really like one."

SAUDI ARABIA: "This all stems from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will be proposing a seven-point plan designed to create a Palestinian state."

MEXICO: "All we ask is that the prospective inhabitants of this asteroid be allowed free emergency medical care in the United States."

FRANCE: "There is nothing to worry about. When the asteroid shows up, we will provide token resistance before allowing it to roll down the Champs-Elysees. Wait, are you saying that this thing could hit the Louvre?"

CUBA: "This asteroid represents the impending victory of international communism. The exploitation of the bourgeoisie has created an underclass that will rise up in the aftermath of this glorious strike against capitalist society."

RUSSIA: "Is there any way we can sell pieces of this rock? Anybody?"

SWITZERLAND: "We will do everything in our power to prevent this asteroid from hitting Earth. Unless that means doing something. In that case, we'd prefer to stay out of it."

On September 21, 1987, President Ronald Reagan spoke before the United Nations. "Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize this common bond," he said. "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?"

It was a nice sentiment, but Reagan was mistaken. The UN would not be able to get together over something as simple and universal as the threat of an asteroid striking our planet. They would quarrel and babble; they might send a slightly perturbed radio message to the asteroid. And, in the end, the asteroid would nail us.

What hope, then, for the UN actually coming together to mitigate the threat of war by hemming in aggressive and hostile countries like Iran and Syria? The probability that one of the two nations will foment major acts of terrorism is far higher than 1 in 45,000. Yet the UN will do nothing.

The good news: We have 29 more years before we have to worry about the asteroid. The bad news: We don't have anywhere near that kind of time with our earthly foes.

Ben Shapiro, 22, is a graduate of UCLA and a third-year student at Harvard Law School. He is also the author of the recently published Porn Generation: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future as well as the national best seller Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth.

Snowy Savannah...

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 04:38:20 GMT

Sooooo there wasn't really any actual snow... just a whole lot of rain. It was freezing cold though! Emphasis on freezing, indeed. It sleeted, and people's windshields froze over. If we had had actual snow, that pretty much would have made it the best quarter ever! I would have refused to leave it though. They would have just had to let me stay.
Hopefully this means it is going to be a really cold winter! and if it is this cold in Novemeber, it is soooo going to snow in Feburary. Thats right.
Anyways, finals are over! yay! I need to go finish packing... instead of rambling on about non-exsistant snow... lol its back to Florida tomorrow! Intrestingly enough you can now take a pair of knitting needles on a plane but not a bottle of water. Or more than 3 oz. of any liquid or gel. Personally, I think the knitting needles are slightly more dangerous.

Immigration: A letter to the editor

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:42:23 GMT

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan, for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis< /SPAN> Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground.

They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved goodbye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.

When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German-American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only, they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

-Rosemary LaBonte

SCAD Transportation Issues

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:53:44 GMT

Lets look at some things that have happened recently:

â€¢ Five shootings on Monday

â€¢ A girl was mugged right outside Pulaski House on Sunday night at 10:30pm. She was literally right across the street from Pulaski when two guys ran up and grabbed her purse and cell phone.

â€¢ Inspite of this, we can only get a bus every 3 hours until 11pm because they are still on "academic run"

For example, the North bus only runs in the evenings at 5, 8 and 11pm. People who have class from 5-7:30 and then need to go out to Fahm, Hamilton or Alexander to do work have to run to catch the 8pm bus or walk in the dark to buildings that are literally across from the projects. I'm sure that there are many other similar situations that occur with other bus lines.
This is not a safe situation! Please call or send e-mails to Falisha Wilson, Director of Transportation (fnwilson@scad.edu), Gene Friedman, Director of College Security (security@scad.edu) and Trey Reckling, Ombudsman (ombuds@scad.edu) asking them to start the late night shuttle service at 8pm (when it is getting dark) OR at least circulate the academic run buses every 30 minutes like they have done previously.
Please mention specific situations (if possible) where you or your friends have been in unsafe situations because of the new bus schedule. Also if you can get your parents to e-mail them as well, it will probably have more impact.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 21:07:25 GMT

Smokers Style PSA

My business book was written by teletubbies...

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:31:52 GMT

No seriously! Listen to this:
Page 9: "Go to class: It is often tempting to cut class on a nice day or when there are other things to do..."
Page 11: "Get plenty of sleep and a good meal" "Read the directions on the exam carefully"
Page 17: "What is the Internet?"
Page 19: "What do I need to get on the web?"
Page 21: "Where do I go when I click on something?"
Page 22: "Why would I want to surf the Internet?"
and the best one ever:
"Do I have to be a Computer Major to surf the web?

It goes on to advise that is not generally good to have wrinkled shirttails hanging out of your pants.
And it was published in 2005.

sooo yeah I am taking Business Management Practices, Intro to Metal and Jewelry and Intro to Advertising this quarter. My advertising class is really small, we only have 6 people. Its pretty basic so far.
Metals and Jewelry is going to be a lot of fun, lol, inspite or maybe because of all the very large scary machinery. Today we used the stomp shear, which you stomp on and it cuts sheet metal. We also drilled a lot of small holes and broke a lot of sawblades.
We had homework, so I stayed after class to work on some stuff... Then the lovely bus people decided I couldn't have a bus until the next class got out... in an HOUR. Let us just say that I was not a happy person, especially since it was 4pm, and I hadn't had lunch yet, and the building is right across from the projects. yeah. Falisha and I are going to be having another one of our "discussions" very soon.

A lot of my favorite people are living in Pulaski this year, so that is pretty awesome!
Candi, Lo, Lelia, Celia, Erik, Mimi, Marie and I (and a bunch of other people we collected along the way) went to Fall Fest in the park on Saturday... the band was alright, the opening people were totally better but nobody knows who they were... lol we got up in the middle and went to Kroger to get something to drink but mostly just because we could.
I also finally saw POTC2! It wasn't as good as the first one... sequels never are... but it was still good. I can't believe they are going back for Jack though. Loser! I'm a very loyal person, but Jack deserves to be beat over the head.

I'm going to go now before I get killed.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 02:20:39 GMT

I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Please vote for my design!

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:31:44 GMT

Please vote for my design on Fossil!
Click on "Gallery", and it should be one of the first ones under "Newest". My user name is KCDesign, and its a vintage beach design.
The top 30 rated designs on the website will go before a panel of judges to select the winners. The top 4 designs get produced!

Plus you get a chance to win a watch

Thank you!!