Foursquare--the internet version

So apparently a new Internet thing is up. It's called foursquare, and it has NO resemblance at all to the beloved childhood blacktop game (unfortunately). Basically, the main idea is to broadcast where you are to the internet (or Facebook and twitter, at least) on your phone (with either texts or Internet, if your phone has it). You can find out more on their website (just Google it! Or, fine, the link is here).

I just wanted to talk about it a little (seeing as I am a citizen of the Internet, what with this blog and everything), especially after I read an article about it in my dad's Time magazine (I don't usually read it much, except for when there's something in it about new internet/techy stuffs [yeah geek wannabes FTW]). I guess I've been expecting something like this to happen, eventually? Like the idea of combining "real life", so to speak, with the Internet. So, voila! Foursquare is invented! The more you go to certain places (in real life, please, not just sitting on your couch and pretending to be at the local grocery store, or something), the more "badges" and potentially cool/free stuff you'll get! (Assuming the places you go to know about foursquare, of course.)

Now, to be even more review-like, a list of pros and cons! (as I see them):

PROS:

• It encourages people to actually get out more, and physically go to places they won't usually go to (such as the gym, quirky little cafes, etc.). Motivation: special foursquare "badges" and (if the places you go to know about foursquare) free/discounted stuff/special offers to foursquare users.
• Another social networking site! Wait, or should that be a con?
• You can get insider information on places near you/your city via other foursquare patrons. Akin to the idea of asking your friend about that new store/deli/yoga place before actually going there. And you can offer your own tips too!

CONS:

• It lets other people know THINGS about you (people that you might not want to disclose every detail of your life with). Especially if you do lots of checking in from your house. And are paranoid.
• Another social networking site! Still not sure about this one.
• Not for spies. Unless they're trying to throw someone OFF of a trail (that would be interesting). But I suppose real spies and secret agents wouldn't have an online profile anyway!

It's also one of those techy things that boldly proclaim: THE FUTURE IS HERE AND YOU BETTER BE PREPARED, BUCKO. Mainly with the fact that it's a mix of "real life" and "virtual life" on the internet. And yes, they do have cool features that allow you to satisfy your need for privacy while also enjoying foursquare, but something about the reward system makes my brain go on HIGH ALERT.

What makes me stop and think about this new phenom is the very fact that it is trying to make real life a game, but one without punishments. I suppose the "no bad side" is because it's more of a social networking site, but it's much too close to the idea of being a game in real life to be comfortable. And this might just be my over-voracious science fiction reading habit talking, but something ominous always lurks behind the sunny, paradise-like forefront of new technology.

But hey--people have been wrong about doomsdays before. 

More listage!

School is commencing in a matter of days. Single digit days, to be exact (bleh). And so I've been reminded (by the dear old companion known commonly as the "calendar") that I haven't exactly done anything to get ready for school, except for get a new backpack and get my schedule. Which leads us to...

THINGS I MUST DO BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS

1. Get all school supplies ready (i.e., notebooks, writing utensils, writing utensil holders, calculator, file folder thingy, etc.).

2. Go "back to school" shopping. If there's time.

3. Finish reading The Fellowship of the Ring. By Friday, preferably.

4. Finish reading Out of the Silent Planet, by C.S. Lewis. I'm so close! I can taste it! (erm...)

5. Finish reading Twelfth Night, by our favourite Bard, William Shakespeare (no idea why I decided to go all British there).

6. Finish reading The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Or at least get halfway through.

7. Read an Anton Chekhov short story. Or five.

Yeah...so half of it is the remainder of my summer reading list (assigned by me), and the first two are really the only ones that are consequential to the purpose of that list. Hmmm.. (NTS: stop making lists of things that have nothing to do with the list title!)

Relaaaaaax

Schedule change pending. Sometimes I wish that I didn't go to such a big school. Well, relatively big. And that our school had enough money to continue everything, every year, and budget cuts were a thing of the past. But no. It's the present and near future. I just hope that the new school board has some sensible people on it.

But God has everything under His control! Who am I to worry about things that are way beyond my control? I've been trying to let Him handle everything, but I still worry and fret about useless things sometimes. For "faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it". And I want to be more faithful to God this year, and forever.

Oh, and in response to my template background: why yes, 1+1 does INDEED equal pencil. Why didn't I see it before?!?!

Rite(s) of Passage, Spring, etc. etc.

Got my permit today!! Aaaahhh!!!!! Watch out roads, here I come! Sort of. Not sure yet if I'm completely ready to drive yet. But it's a skill that's practically necessary for everyday life here, and I don't want to burden my parents by having them drag me everywhere. But I'm in no hurry to be "independent". I guess I already am, in a way. I haven't got any brothers or sisters, and I usually am home alone right after school in the school year. But I still get into disputes with my mom about what I want to wear, which is SO STUPID. Almost makes me wish I don't really care about clothes, like when I was little. But, unfortunately, I do, a little. I'm interested in clothes as an art form (this is a great example--don't judge it, just watch), not those garments displayed in those "junior's" sections of department stores.

But that is another post for another blog, another time. Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" is a lot weirder than I thought it would be, but I suppose that depends on what the definition of weird is. And I am rambling because I had a late lunch and need to go knit.

Farewell until later,
The Blogger

RESOLUTIONS and Back to School-centric posting!

Methinks the going-back-to-class process has already started. We're picking up our schedules (and thus getting our pictures taken for our school I.D.s) tomorrow, and today was the first day of school tennis practice. Ugh, I'm quite out of shape for tennis. Not too bad, but not really good, either. Doesn't help that the JV coach this year is also the girl's track coach. Sigh... must get used to running. Running can be fun, I suppose, but I personally prefer biking better. Maybe because I'm a terrible distance runner? And can only do sprints? Ja?

I suppose this calls for a back-to-school resolution list. Yes! I will do that. And then go choose what to wear for picture day tomorrow. Procrastination is not helpful. At all.

School Year Resolutions, 2010-2011:

1. Be faithful and diligent in my Quiet Times (basically daily Bible studying).

2. Do Quiet Times in the morning, every day (we'll see how this goes).

3. DO NOT procrastinate. Especially on projects involving gluing things to a poster board.

4. To finish my story, if not finished by first day of school.

5. Journal more often (no, blogging doesn't count).

6. Practice more piano. And violin.

7. Blog wisely.

There, I think seven's a good number. I hope that I'll be able to remember these. Well, have a happy August! I hope that you've all had a good or passable summer, and wish you luck on adjusting from summer to school. In the meantime, live summer out to the fullest while you still can! So cheesy, but most cheesy things are mostly true.

Cultured

Caution: quasi-philisophical post ahead. Read on at your own peril.

America has its own unique culture, even though the country itself is only a few centuries old (a young lad, he is!). In the 1900s, each decade had its own identity, something that sets apart the '20s from the '50s and '90s and so forth (and the aughties? I think not. I'll still call the past decade the 0s, pronounced the "Oh"s, thankyouverymuch). Each generation has their own worldly experiences that seem completely alien to their children. Each generation also has the option to pass down their culture to the next, whether it be in old records, ancient scrapbooks, or musty books that were the Harry Potters and Redwalls of their childhood (hey, I like those books!).

Because America is also known as a "melting pot" of all the different immigrants who've arrived here, there are also cultures from all around the world mingling here, in this common land of freedom.

I started out this post wanting to rant about how the Cultural Revolution of China has left me little for learning about my parent's cultures, but I see now how wrong I would be if I decided to complain about that. I remember the ancient days of Greece and Rome, where songs and tales (both epic and ordinary) were spread by songs, or storytellers, not books and other tangible things. Cultures and customs stayed alive because the next generations remembered the tales of old, and honored those memories.

Because, those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it. History repeats itself. There is nothing new under the sun. We have to learn about the past in order to not repeat its mistakes.

And our parents, no matter how annoying they may seem to be at times, each have their own unique stories to tell. If only you ask.