The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins must be magic. I am convinced of it. Her and J.K. Rowling must have gone to Hogwarts. There is no other explanation how her books are so good. Her stories are thrilling, amazing, gripping, mindblowing, and  sensational. Reading her is like when I give Clara a piggyback. She holds on really tight, and it is hard for her to leave.

The Hunger Games is great. You finish and it is really awesome and you recommend it to all your friends. Catching Fire is better. You read it fast, and when you are done with it you get up and scream "WHERE IS THE NEXT BOOK??" Make sure you have it on hand, or you are in for some agonizing hours. And then comes Mockingjay. The reason I spent my whole Friday afternoon reading . And not reading it for the first time, reading it over. Why, even though I already knew what happened, could I not put it down? It is ten bazillion times amazing then you could ever imagine. You find yourself staring at the back cover when you finish. Thinking.. Thinking.. Thinking...

Finding Thoughts

When you get a good idea, you know it. Ideas aren't found. You don't say "Let's go find an idea!", and walk around looking in under furniture, in the pages of books, or in the back of your desk drawers. It just doesn't work that way. I'm sorry. Don't kill the messenger. It's not hide and seek. It's not easy. Ideas come when you least expect it, and when you don't particularly want them. You have to learn to deal with it. They come when you are deep in thought about something completely random. They find you. You don't find them.

That's why crazy people like me have ideas so often that our heads tend to explode from lack of space. That's why crazy people like me who get distracted and stare off into space for hours at a time have so many ideas. It's easier for them to find us.

J.K. Rowling describes first getting the inspiration for the Harry Potter books like this: "the idea... simply flew into my head." Now that fabled train ride is something of legend. This phenomenal was fueled only because one lady liked to daydream. But even an amazing idea like that takes time. It was 17 years from when the idea first flew into Joanne Rowling's head to when her last Harry book was published. Yikes! So, don't worry. Ideas take time. They fall and find, so be patient, and keep your mind open.

Our House

The most exciting time,
in the longest of days,
is when Pooh and his friends,
come out to play.

They come from the woods,
and walk down to my house,
Pooh leads the parade,
they all scream and shout.

The journey's not long,
but its of a different sort.
You can't take a train,
or a car or a boat.

Even though they live really quite far,
they can be here in the blink of an eye.
But why do they come to be and not you?
It's only because I chose for them too..

Like Poetry and Hums there not things to find,
They are things that come when you are around.
The only thing you can possibly do,
Is go to a place were they are bound to pass through.

I built my house on Pooh corner the other day,
And now they come by and tell me all they can say.
If you move to the corner called Pooh
You will be visited by Kanga and Roo.

Pooh will stop by because he can't miss a party,
And then you'll be visited by Piglet, Eeyore and Rabbit.
Owl and Tigger will stop by real soon,
And then you will have enough guests to fill every room.

What I am telling you is really quite true,
As long as you live at the corner called Pooh.
You will have friends through the whole day,
As long as you can listen to what they can say.

Two Sides

The problem with the world, and also one of it's greatest virtues, is that everyone is different. If everyone was the same, it would be bad and uninteresting, everyone knows that. But there are problems with being different too, because it creates problems.

Along with every story, there are many sides, but none of them are right. Everything is just misunderstanding. You think your right, but the other person thinks they are right. When you hear out the other persons side of the story, you can understand their point, but it makes you sound bad, so you usually dismiss it, because you believe yourself more than other people.But really, can you trust yourself? You don't know how other people are feeling.

This is one giant game that the world is playing with you, a game of perspective. You see some things, other people see something else. Nobody can win, nobody can lose. Unless, that is, you decide to tie. The only way to solve things is by both people admitting they were wrong. That doesn't happen a lot of the time, because who wants to be wrong? But hopefully if you admit that your wrong, the other person will too. If not, well, you've been the bigger person, so you've truly won.

Throwing Caution

"We are afraid of things we do not know, just because we do not know them." -Linda Sue Park A Single Shard

As a whole, we human beings are very quick to stereotype. We tend to assume things before we need to, which leads us to go into new things with a less than positive attitude. One lesson we all need to learn is that new doesn't necessarily mean bad, it only means unfamiliar. You need to get used to something before you judge it, don't judge a book by its cover. I'm not saying throw caution into the wind and go skipping into every new thing without a second thought, but you can throw caution around a little bit, as long as it is always within your grasp.

Columbus Day, or not?

Today if you ask any American kid who discovered America, most likely the vast majority of them would say Christopher Columbus. In school, we spend a lot of time learning about Christpher Columbus and his voyage. In Kindergarton, we even put on a play about him. They rarely give credit to the Vikings or the Chinese, who evidence says was there long before Columbus. But they almost never give credit to the real discoverers of America, the native Americans.

Almost every written document of people who ventured to America mention the natives. The natives had already created themselves a civilization long before any European set eyes on the Americas. They were there when all the explorers came, but they are never given credit. They are the true discoverers of America, and should be given credit for that.

Americans always give the credit to Europeans, even when the credit is not due. Americans are never truthful, especially when it comes to Native Americans\Europeans, and they should be. There is a federal holiday that we get the day off from school for. It is named after not the true discoverers of America, or even the first explorers to go there. It is named after the European who wasn't even one of the first ones to go there. I though we were supposed to learn the truth in school? I guess not.

Shoe Steps

It's something everyone tries to do, walk in somebody else's shoes. See from somebody else's point of view. It solves all your problems!, everybody thinks. Really though, thinking in someone else's shoes isn't quite different than actually walking in someone else's shoes. For those times you're going to do something quick, like grab something out of the car or turn of the garage light, and all you really need is something to cover your feet, you usually slip on the first shoes you see. They usually aren't your own, your mothers sneakers, your dads business shoes, or your little sisters boots. And when you put them on and are walking, maybe for only a few steps, it feels odd, different than what you are used to. They are too big or too small, and you have to walk extra slow to make sure you don't trip over your own two feet. It is like this when you look at somebody else's perspective. The world is shaken. It's dizzying. Suddenly, all the times something looked not as pleasant from other shoes beside your own come back to mind. You have to walk slower so you don't trip over your own two feet. But, your never quite sure if you are actually walking in someone else's shoes either, because people are different than what they seem. Is it better to stick to your own shoes? Maybe so.

Picture via Flickr