intellectual conversations

good question.. have you ever wondered why society is the way it is? espically in high school

thats a really good question. i think theres lots of reasons but most likely most of them are based off of ones own insecurity. can you imagine if everyone acted like three year olds, completely uncaring of everything and everyone!

too many people are way too ignorant these days. They don't focus on the real problems... like the fact that our country's economy is crumbling, or that hundreds of thousands of people are going hungry each day, or that millions of people die each year from preventable causes.... all this stupid squabble about immigration, or iraq, or gays, or abortion, or crap like that! we should focus on the important things!
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer

That is exactaly what I think... mabye some of us never evolved from apes

aaaah i can't agree more, maybe we'd be better off though if none of us evolved from apes

that's right :P

thats why I refuse to believe in that aspect of evolution.

I am confident that man did not evolve from apes... as I am sure that we all have our own hierarchal destinies to fulfill in this life...

why can't people believe that BOTH science AND God exist.... sigh

its so hard sometimes to be one of the only people to have faith in something...
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer

goodbye
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer

i think that both sides go way to far with religious fanatics and obsessed scientists, but what i don't understand is most religions are "peace" based yet extremely religious people have, throughout history, and still do kill people in the name of their god. really it makes both scientists and religious people seem self righteous to believe they know so much about the worlds creation (including animals etc.)i think people should stop worrying about that and start focusing on the real problems that exist right NOW! *sigh sigh sigh* ;)

"jump at de sun, you might never get there, but at least you'll get off de ground." Lucy Anne Potts Hurston (mother of Zora Neale Hurston)

don't be so quick to group religious people in the same category as the overzealous extremists and crusaders... Islam is one of the most peacable, moralized, and structured religions in the world... yet fundamental extremists give muslims a bad name. Im not muslim, but I see that they are stereotyped. Its like how Hitler gave a bad rap to ALL Germans...

we can take action of the problems of right now... but it is still nice to touch on issues that often get shunned or refuted, like religion.... I don't understand why so many people rebuke religion like a plague. I say that God is just as real as evolution. Why must Ideas contrast so. I know my science very well. I still realize that many people spend too much time trying to disprove religion, then even rationalizing why God could still exist. sorry if I am sounding like a preacher, or just plain boring... but I get shunned and discreditted just because I believe in something a lot of people refuse to believe in.
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer

That was a lotta info for my brain...but as i read it, it all makes sense.. i don't really know where i stand on the opinion of evolution... It confuses me when i think of the big picture..

What some short stories?? I just read the scarlet ibis.. it is so sad :( but if you haven't read it you certanily should.

oh wow i don't want you to think im categorizing all religious people as violent extremists or scientists as stuck up, i think its really sad that people get so angry at people who believe strongly in a religion and think they are extremist (and vise-versa.) all im saying is that, though of course not all of them are, there are always extremists on both sides of an argument, and like all arguments, there are extremists on both sides of the argument of evolution. and many wars are fought because one religion thinks theirs is better than another. i just wish all people could be free to believe in whatever they wanted and not be discriminated against because of it, whether their Christian, Muslim, Hindu , Jewish, Pagan, even if someone decides to believe in the Norse Gods!

"jump at de sun, you might never get there, but at least you'll get off de ground." Lucy Anne Potts Hurston (mother of Zora Neale Hurston)

Scarlet Ibis was amazingly powerful... and horribly sad too....

ya... sorry for the right-up counter argument... oh well... none of us meant any offense... and its cool how people can talk about religion without feeling pressured or offended.

About evolution.... My personally inner-rationallized philosophical scientifical religious opinion developed from many a long night trying to mull the whole mess over in my brain... (voiding many much needed hours of sleep) is that God created the cosmos through natural means. big bang... whatever... but more localized, He made sure that Earth developed into a suitable livable planet. God "placed" creatures on the Earth... and that could mean starting life and let it evolve or adapt as He seemed fit. I do not believe that men descended from apes.

I believe Adam and Eve first appeared on earth at around 4000 bc. Noah at about 2000 bc. and palientologists have ACTUALLY found Noahs Ark on top of a mountain... with all the old animal leftovers included. The quandry comes from the doubt that Adam and Eve appeared (left the garden) 4000 bc. Maybe God led some to believe and provided signs for the theory that we evolved from apes... trial of our faith? maybe fossil dating is messed up and we don't know it yet. or maybe some apes did start to look like humans, but died off in an extinction event while Adam and Eve were still in the garden...

Im done now, guys... wake up...
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer

Woah... I just finished studing for the history of the english language all the way untill 1066 when the norman invasion happened... Apparently the english language first started with latin roots that led to a whole lots of more languages

english is a crude mixture between Germanic languages and early latin-based French.... like someone shuffled and dealt the language cards...
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer

hoo... i am tired.. what time do you guys have to get up for school

4:30 in the morning.... and no joke....

waking up early is supposed to be healthy for you, but when I get up the stairs to the kitchen, and I still can't get my eyes to focus... something is amiss.
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when life gives you lemons... order a root beer

you know the study that says teens do best when they get more sleep??? So why do we have to get up early if they know we won't do well on state tests??

OK folks... lets all wake up at 5:30 in the morning to drive you down to Hardwick to take ACT's while your brain is still oozing back into your skull in the early hours of the morning..... makes no sense at all. I like the South American system... go to school at like 8:00, work for a few hours, go HOME for lunch for an hour or so.... then return, work for some more hours, then get out at 4-5 in the afternoon... sounds much less stressful... and having been there, the kids are really happy down there!
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

Are you a junior or senior.. we don't get to leave for lunch(freshies)AAHHH ACT's scare the crap out of me..

unfortunately, yes, I am a senior.... hermph... oh well...

that was what happened to me for the ACT's... plus the fact that I had to drive up to hardwick in a blizzard... because neither snow nor rain will stop the ACT's (*sarcasm*) but really, the ACT's and SAT's aren't that bad at all... just really long...
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

I am taking latin this semester to help me with the SAT's but... ok so explain... what are the act's as opposed to the Sat's ??? we don't have to take the sat's to graduate in brattleboro.. but we do take them for college refrence...

SAT has like 6 20-30-min sections that alternate between 3 subjects, i think... 2 math, two reading comp, two language skills... im not sure what else.... but there is an essay that you have to do... maybe for 30 min's to work on... lots of different prompts... mine was about materialism.

ACT you have 4 sections Math, Science, Reading, and Social Studies (analyzing people and events) There is also an optional writing (essay) portion that you can sign up for... helpful if you are a strong writer.

Things I HIGHLY SUGGEST:

take the PSAT's if your school offers them. you will get a good idea of how to be better for the SAT's.

take the practice SAT and ACT tests... they are pamphlets that your school's guidance department should have. ACT science section is tricky... so be ready.

and.... TAKE BOTH TESTS. sometimes you might not do so well in one as you will in another. besides, both tests are different, and some colleges like looking at both.

finally... STUDY LIKE A BOOK WORM FOR DAYS ON END... I mean studying what kinds of questions will be asked (they should have booklets to help you) I messed up on ACT science because I didn't know what kind of questions they would be asking.... and GET PLENTY OF SLEEP!!!!
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

anyway, tests are so annoying sometimes....

I sometimes think that I have plenty of time to do my homework, but it always takes three hours longer than i thought....

then I never get enough sleep!!!!
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

it stinks but the admin dosen't let us sleep!!! My strong point in school is definitely english, i really struggle in math and science... social studies is really easy... thatnks for the test tips... also eat healthy is another good tip because if you don't eat breakfast there is no brain food!!! do you think those SAT test prep books and CD's work? and when can you take the ACT's? SAT's

I know that SAT dates are only two left this year, I think...

should register before March 31.... i think

go to collegeboard.com for SAT homepage and info...

go to ACT.com i think for ACT info...

the practice SAT pamphlets and ACT pamphlets were SOOO helpful in helping me understand the test format!

look for "practice test" when selecting a prep pamphlet
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

I know i am going to have to take it sometime soon but i really don't want to! I have the problem of always thinking that the test is a test making me self consious that i am taking a test...

sounds bad... my advice, take it when you feel ready, but don't put it off.
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

maybe Im not what norms would call insane, but I have yet to meet someone who thinks like I do. I am kindoff isolated in that area, and have been dubbed "unique" and "special" by some of my acquaintances. It is so cool to be so different from everybody. I get all the wierd looks from everybody. Like when I masking-taped my friend's jacket to a chair with out him noticing.... good times...
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

nice one... I have took a chalk eraser and pounded it on a chair, then I had someone un-expectedly sit down and they walked around all day with a yellow chalk mark on their butt! what other practical jokes have you guys done?

thats such an amazing idea!!!!!!

especially after that same friend of mine framed me for throwing food at lunch... which I didn't do... so I am going nail him back with this one!!!

MUAHAHAHAHA
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

what did you do for april fools??? I totally forgot about it!

not much this year...

my trade-mark move is to put a rubber band around the sink spray nozzle, so it sprays the person right when they turn it on.... many a shirt has been soaked in my house. Others... soap in toothbrush is a classic. Oh, and my grand finale... I called up my mom, and said I got into an accident... she freaked out. I said I needed her to come get me. She asked where I was, I laughed, and and said at the bottom of our driveway... she smacked me sore for that one!
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

nice... I usually just switched the salt and sugar shakers, but my parents don't put sugar in their coffee anymore :(

thats a good one!
the other day, I got my brother back real good. In our dining room chairs, the seat of the chairs are indented downward, which means they hold water... and a good deal of water. He was talking to me as he sat down, but when he did, he froze.... and stared daggers at me!
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

I told a friend the other day i was looking daggers at them and they didn't get it. They said wouldnt that hurt?! :)

there was this wierd book I read once, it was about ghosts, and mentioned that in the spirit world, you could very litterally "shoot a glare" at someone... and said it was like squirting hot sticky acid at the person...
"The Wish List" by Eoin Colfer... i think
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

Now that we have brought up books... whomever has not read a great and terrible beuaty.. you NEED to read it it is so good! Umm but a warning to all of you people randomly reading this..., the themes are really scary.. even for me, a 14 year old. so i would recommend it to teens

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Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing,

i still have to read catcher in the rye....
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

I heard that lots of teachers have their kids read that.. what grade are you in?? we just finished reading the odyssey and romeo and juliet is next... here is a really cool website. If your guys's library has a account on it, you can download audiobooks for free! (legally)

what website???

Im a senior... and reading is a hobby... my favorite book in the world is still To Kill A Mockingbird.

my english teacher loves catcher in the rye.
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

forgot the link...http://www.listenupvermont.org it allows you to listen to books on tape for free! I love to kill a mockingbird... and we read midsummers' night dream, which was okay..

im gonnatalk to my librarian to see if our library can do that... it would be so sweet to listen to some books...
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A thousand tears rolling down your cheek are healed by a single tear on the shoulder of a friend.

Unfortunately, you can only rent the books for like a week... some can't be transfered onto mp3.. most can be put on disk..