Congrats to everyone who moved on to ISEF!

^ What the title said. Congrats to LISEF winners, who should be getting excited for San Jose!

Science research is the best.

Also, on a similar note, here is Friedman’s take on Intel STS finalists. http://www.nytimes.com//2010/03/21/opinion/21friedman.html

TED Talk with Chef Dan Barber: “Can Organic Farming Save the World?” Seems like it.

Just stumbled across this awesome Q and A piece.  Clearly organic farming is the better choice =D

http://blog.ted.com/2010/03/qa_with_chef_da.php#more

Some major points:

-Conventional farming is on its way out, organic and alternative models (agroforestry, perennial wheat polycultures, etc) are here to stay
-Why conventional food tastes bland
-Conventional agriculture has a higher yield per crop, BUT organic and sustainable agriculture has greater crop diversity, leading to higher total caloric output and better crops
-Cost of getting from farm to marketplace: main issue for organic farmers
-By diversifying our diets and choosing sustainably grown food, we are voting for a healthier system with our dollars
-Two things we should be doing: buying from farmer’s markets and growing our own food. Also talking to your local supermarket manager can help

The actual piece goes over all of this in much more detail, and is definitely worth a read. Chef Barber’s restaurant Blue Hill in NYC also looks great, and it’s something I would love to try someday.

Enjoy!

From Life Optimizer: 50 Little Things You Can Do to Empower People

Awesome post they’ve got going over there. Some of my favorites (especially 42 =]):

8. Volunteer with local organizations. These can be community discussion groups or of a more volunteer-oriented nature.

21. Join a community farm or grocery coop. Working together to provide fresh, sustainable food for the community is one of the hot trends in some community organizations

26. Use public transportation. Not only is this better for the environment, but it gives you a chance to interact more with the community.

27. Organize recycling projects. This helps give back to the community and teaches people about the need to respect our natural environment, which is empowering for all.

33. Encourage social activities. Get new social activities planned within your group of friends, your family, or in a larger community sense.

41. Take walks to new areas of town. I’ve met some of my good friends by simply walking around in their neighborhood and having to ask for directions.

42. Spend time planting trees in the community. This helps improve the overall beauty and positive feelings in the city, instilling a sense of pride in other residents.

Writing a paper on Heart of Darkness and Impressionism

Will talk about haze/hidden nature of reality, delayed decoding, and Kurtz. Fun stuff.

So basically something like these:

http://assets.cambridge.org/97805217/91731/sample/9780521791731ws.pdf

http://tonightwillbefine.blogspot.com/2009/05/heart-of-darkness-impressionism-and.html

Random lists

What I should be doing now:
-Econ chapter outline
-Calculus homework
-Practicing guzheng
-Working out
-Tying the loose ends of my research project submission

What I want to be doing now
-Practicing guzheng
-Working out
-Reading
-Watching anime/reading manga
-Writing my novel (ha)
-Working on the garden already (damn snow)

What I want to read
-The Alchemist – Paul Coelho
-1984 – George Orwell
-Stuff by James Joyce
-Stuff by F. Scott Fitzgerald aside from Gatsby (<3)
-One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
-Monster and Pluto by Naoki Urasawa
… wait this should be in its own blog post. Will get to that later.

Possible Summer Jobs
-Working at organic farmer’s market (would love to do this, Grassroots is awesome!)
-Selling our junk on Ebay
-Blogging for money
-Ice cream store
-Waitress
-More ideas would be wonderful

P.S. Salvatore’s has the best pizza in Port Washington. =)

Just finished reading: Bokurano

If you’re reading this post , do me a favor and pick this story up. It’s a bit depressing but it’s truly amazing. I’m not quite sure how to describe it without giving it away, but it deals a lot with death and how far people will go to protect the ones they care about. There’s no shortage of deep, psychological, and powerful moments. Oh yeah, there are giant robots, but the story is really about the characters. Here’s a summary:

During a summer vacation, a group of 15 children discovered a mysterious man living in a seashore cave, along with his high-tech gadgets. The man claimed to be a game developer creating a video game with 15 giant robots defending Earth from alien invaders and asked those childs to test the game for him. The kids agreed happily at first, but soon they began to find the game horrifying, not only because of its realism but also for the first fatality among them happened right after their first victory. Worse yet, they had no idea how to stop or leave the “game.”

http://www.onemanga.com/bokurano/

To me, it’s reminiscent of Evangelion, and in some ways, The Hunger Games and Ender’s Game. Maybe you’ll get the same vibe if you read it.  Another maybe: perhaps I will write a legitimate reaction in the future.

Also, here is the beautiful opening song for the anime, which I’ve heard is completely different from the manga, but I’m starting it anyways.

Renewal, perhaps

Last post: April, 2009 (now private, though it’s nothing worth seeing). It’s been a while since I last updated this, but I’d like to restart the habit.  A lot has changed between now and then. 

-I am more certain, but discover new wells of uncertainty every day.  

-My love for fiction has expanded, perhaps excessively, but I am still firmly commited to improving reality.  Two new media, anime and manga, fascinated me starting last summer. I still believe that it’s a nerdy pasttime, but I love it. Many are philosophical and psychological, many characters are easily loveable, and many have gripping stories. Unfortunately, some stories are excessively gripping, and my lack of time management finesse has been a problem. Current favorites include: Kuroshitsuji, Code Geass, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, Pandora Hearts, Durarara, Cowboy Bebop, Spice and Wolf, and Evangelion. I’ve started writing a novel inspired by Kuroshitsuji, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Faustian contracts in general.  Here is an excerpt (will probably be heavily edited) from what I have so far:

Prologue:

White,
Crystalline blanket smothers the land.
Brown,
Matter decaying and asleep.
Pink,
Veins of an orchid nestled in hair.
Green,
Envious needles and eyes of a girl.
Ebony,
Drinking in pain. Dusk’s. Stain. Her tongue. The contract. Her soul. In shadows.  

-I’ve become more social, but lost many friends.  

-I’ve rekindled a love for gardening (or at least planning for it) in the most ambitious project Treehuggers has ever undertaken. Regarding this last point, if anyone has advice for starting up an organic school vegetable garden, especially in high schools, we would be very grateful. So far, we’re thinking raised beds along the side with peas, carrots, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries, and if possible, asparagus and apple trees. Any ideas?

Get on the Bus!!

We will be protesting:

-Gold mining industry in Guatemala and violation of indigenous rights/environment

-Military junta in Myanmar. We will call for freeing of political prisoners including students, buddhist monks, activists, etc

-Sri Lankan violence

-Arrest of Tibetan documentarymaker

http://gotb.org/

Earth Week

Hi everyone! So sorry about the nearly year-long absense of posting, I’ve been involved in a lot outside of cyberspace.

I’d like to share the activities that we will be having for our first annual Earth Week. Any suggestions, criticisms, or questions will be welcomed and appreciated.

Everyday:
-Recycling wars : A school-wide competition in which the grades duke it out for title of “Top Recycler!” The winning grade will receive a $150 donation to their class club. Note: only bottles and cans in the main lobby will be counted, and there will be penalties for unempty bottles/contamination (anything that is not #1/2 plastic or metal)
-Collection of ink cartridges and batteries! These are highly toxic and should NOT be thrown away, so we will take care of them for you.
-Question of the Day: The first person to answer a question on environmental science will receive a free bag!
-Music: Every day, we will feature eco-conscious musicians such as Jack Johnson, Guster, Dave Matthews Band, Eddie Vedder, etc and play their music during lunch.
-Pricing: Reusable bags $7, Reusable Water bottles $15
-Funraising is for Volunteers for Wildlife and Friends of the Earth

Monday: wear WHITE
-Themes: Alternative Energy, Climate Change
-Stuff to buy during 4-1/4-2: food (popcorn, fruit, etc), reusable bags

Tuesday: wear BROWN
-Themes: Agriculture/Food, Land
-Stuff to buy during 4-1/4-2: food (popcorn, fruit, etc), reusable bags
-After School: Cleanup/Bakesale (some free food for those participating in cleanup, gloves and bags will be provided)

Wednesday: wear BLUE
-Themes: Water, endangered species
-Stuff to buy during 4-1/4-2: Reusable Sigg bottles (blue and green, see http://reuseme.co.nr ), reusable bags, food (fruit, popcorn, etc).

Thursday: wear GREEN and live green!
-Themes: Trees, Individual and Community Action
-2nd Period: GUEST SPEAKER PATTI WOOD
-Stuff to buy 4-1/4-2: reusable bags, food (fruit, popcorn, etc)
-Also going on 4-1/4-2: Community service fair- we will be next to PW GREEN
-Judging of art contest, end of recycling wars

Also, this may be of interest:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/latest/green-tips-10-easiest?click=pp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/05/shell-saro-wiwa-execution-charges

Genocide Awareness Day

Today was Genocide Awareness Day at the high school, featuring speakers and survivors from various genocides, including the Armenian Genocide (not a survivor but nevertheless interesting), the Jewish Holocaust, and the Sudanese Genocide prior to the Darfur conflict. Personally, I thought that it was extremely important that we experience this, since we are the last generation who will be able to hear the words of a Holocaust survivor. And when that fades, who will stand up to the words of the denyers? Whether or not the Armenian genocide occured is still debated, and some people today doubt the existence of the massacre of 12 million people, 6 million of which were Jews.

Similarly to denial is apathy and ignorance. I feel as if few people are aware of the terrible deeds commited by human hands, and have no desire to halt any current or upcoming conflicts. For most of my life, I had only heard about the Holocaust, finding out recently about the genocides in Armenia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Darfur (though that is one of the relatively recent ones). Many consider the extermination of the Native Americans by the settlers, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Japanese invasion of China (more notably the Rape of Nanjing) genocides as well, and those are very rarely spoken of with the use of “the g word”.

We have to recognize that we as a race have commited terrible, brutal acts not only to this planet, but to our own kind. Before we do anything, we have to care. Then we can move forward. We have to accept differences. We have to abolish the hatred between each other, and transform it into anger for positive change. According to the back of a System of a Down album, “The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create. We have the power to stop and reverse the tides of time by making our awareness of abuse known to the powers of industry and their uncouth political arms. Only by raising this awareness and promoting personal peace within today’s self-defeatist society can we allow the planet a chance to avoid self-destruction.”

Its a bit more extreme/morbid than anything that could have come out of my mouth, but it is very powerful. Here’s another powerful snippit featuring this group, a preview of a film called “Screamers.”