"He's a genius, Monsieur."

I hate aptitude tests and the ITED's. They don't mean anything significant for students and will probably inflate the heads of the incometent and deminish the morale of overcompetent. (If that is a word.) I know plenty of people who gain 99% awards that don't deserve them and I know plenty of people who know WAY more than I could ever who will score at most "C" average on the tests.

The truth is that IQ tests, aptitude tests, and ITEDs can only measure certain types of intelligences. Besides that they only tell you how well a student can take that particular test. They can't say whether or not someone will be successful, if they can sing or paint, or if they have the strength of a horse. And these are all qualities that will give you great sucess in life.
And I can prove all this through the Phantom of the Opera and a little psychology. I will explain the strenghts and weaknesses according to Gardner's seven types of intelligences and will also show how these "smarts" can get you by just fine, something the IQ test would disagree with.

Our first victim is Maestrodecca or Signoir Reyer. He was interesting because he had an eye for beauty in the opear house. He had a visua and spatial talent that others did not. However his bodily and kinesthetic energy is what he lacked. What could you ask from an old guy? And still he moves on with great achievment.

Madame Giry is however a very advanced ballet instructor and dancer. Everybody knows that if you can lift 200 lb. you're good but if you can ballet dance on your toes with elegance you're AMAZING. She's actually quite the phenomenon if you ask me.

Andre and Firmin are mentioned as one person because they pretty much act as one throughout the movie. Interpersonally they are finese because they know exactly how to talk (or rather beg) to Carlotta and get her to play in Il Muto. However they don't know exactly care about their own self image throughout the play because they are willing to do just about anything for La Carlotta.

La Carlotta's weakness is easy to find. She absolutely, with no doubts whatsoever, hands down, is musically deficient. I mean have you heard that women sing. Her best quality is how she talks and dresses but since that is not a form of intelligence we can say that she is strong intrapersonally. She is sound with her self and recieving anything she really wants. I think that suits her well.

Christine is obvious too. She is (using the same lengthy adjectives as before) musically talented. Beauty can actually describe her singing event though it take no visual form. However, she kind of stares dumbly much throughout the play and doesn't say much. Verbally and linguistically she doesn't survive well.

The Phantom is obvious. He is powerful in many ways. In fact Madame Giry quotes him as a genius in the middle of a play. However she is only referring to the logical and mathematic side of him. Of cours the IQ test would love him, but he lacks something crucial. Interpersonal intelligence. He doesn't know how to talk and socialize to Christine and he ends up showing hate towards her when he doesn't know it. And that is what matters to him and because of that he loses all that he wants.

What is interesting is that Raoul is just the opposite. He knows exactly how to talk to Christine, calling her "little lotte" and saying he'll protect her. Of course Raoul is really stupid according to IQ tests. They would say that he doesn't have any chance at all because of the way he trys to capture the phantom several times. But he still ends up with exactly what he wants.

Everyone of this movie has some type intelligence and the majority of them can survive off that. So tell me. What does aptitude tests and ITEDs have to say about us when we have great evidence saying we can survive without any of it.

Decision #247: The Red Pill

Hero Music Video Link

So New Year's day was about 3 weeks ago and I am still talking about the resolutions. I know I'm a little late but I thought I would share. I was thinking about Superchic[k] the other day while watching a Rob Bell video and I started to think about my decisions lately. I began to start thinking about how all of our decisions are wathced by other people and we have to be careful of what we do.


It's funny how everything we do can really shape the lives of other people. I know that there are a whole lot worse troubles out there but there are people in our schools right now who actually have lives depending on us. Superchic[k] brought a couple of examples during they're song "Hero."


In their first verse they talked about a young boy who was made fun of and how our hurtful actions toward him could cause him to jump off the edge (literally and emotionally). Teenagers are really vurnerable, especially when they are just starting off they're social careers and to shatter any sense they had of the world is horrible. So not hurting people is a great thing to do and probably really easy to avoid. But there is more. In the second verse Superchic[k] talks about a young girl who cuts herself and starts taking drugs to relieve some sort of pain. Nobody does or says anything about it. And because nobody says anything to her she will continue inflicting pain on herself, so doing nothing is bad too. In fact, this may prove to be more difficult than just avoiding hurting others.

And none of this is fake either. You know that any high school you step into these days there are the silent type of people who end up hurting themselves and nobody is stopping them. I can't come up with a statistic, but I do know that they're are a lot of teen suicided and I can bet my money and my life that the majority of those could be saved if someone were to talk to them.


In the Red Pill Remix of this song Superchic[k] included a true story of a young boy who was constantly taunted by his classmates, and he is only in 8th grade thinking about suicide. Eventually one day he goes home and grabs his dad's gun and shoots himself. And that's it.


Except that's not it. Superchic[k] also stated that it was a bigger problem for all of us to just watch all of this happen and not even try to stop it. The book of James said that if we know about good and do not do it, it is sin. Well this is just like that. We can't just sit back and let these things happen we need to make a voice and stop this nonsense, no matter what the odds are.


The story does get better though. You remember that girl who cut herself? Well, she ends up finally taking a step up and she stops these hurtful action. That's the kind of decision that shows strength, courage, and confidence, and we label that person a hero.


Another person is also mentioned in this awesome song. He is the kind of person who makes the right decisions in a situation, who doesn't need his parent's guidence any longer but still takes it. He is the role model for his 9 yr old brother and everybody watches what he does. My favorite lyric is when they say "When he makes a choice he changes a nine-year-old's life." Because it's true we change people's lives with what we do. He is also a hero.


And I think that is my New Year's Resolution this year. I want to watch my decisions and also make postivie uplifting ones. I want to change someone else's life and I want to be a hero.

Jesus Was A Drama Queen?

These days people just don't get the Bible anymore. In fact there are more and more christians today who don't read the Bible anymore. Many people think it's irrelevant for todays problems. But why? How is what GOD said in anyway irrelevant? This is the saddest thing in the world. In order for you to truly have a relationship with your Savior you have to read His Word. That's what He wanted you to do, isn't it? When you're praying to God at night or before supper or anywere at all, and you're pouring your problems at Him and asking for His advice, how do you think he's going to respond.

This is where many people jump off. They don't see a response from God, but the truth is that there is one, they just aren't listening for it. They don't look for a response. This shouldn't be confused however but looking at every detail in your life and calling it divine intervention. It means you should pay attention to what's happening in church, listen to your pastor during Sunday School, and most importantly listening to what God has to say through His own Word.

But once again people don't see the Bible as relevant today as it was for Israel during the beginning of A.D. It doesn't have the dramatic effect as it used to have on us. I know when I'm reading my NKJV sometimes it feels like I'm reading ancient text, and when I think about that way it doesn't have the feeling in it and then I'm not taking anything out of God's word, and worst of all I'm not growing.

But that's changing. I have struck gold in the form of dramatic experience of God's word. Today we have new tools open for us to make the Bible impact our lives directly, because God has blessed us. At my church we have been watching a short video series every once and a while. It is created by a new Christian author, Rob Bell. He made these videos with great passion. He looks at the camera directly for the whole movie and makes it feel as if he is talking to you. And the great thing is that he presents the Word of God to us. He brings back the feeling and amazing powefulness of God's word. He also relates it to us today.

In one of my favorite Rob Bell vidoes, lump, he describes how his son had developed this really bad habit of lying and one day his mother caught him lying. His son promptly ran away to the upstairs bedroom and hid under the bed covers for hours. When Rob finally got home he went upstairs and told his son "There is nothing you could ever do that could make you love me less," and continued to repeat it to his son. And that is exactly what God tells us. With all the meaning a father has for his son.

Another great tool I came across is a new Bible that just came out that is called "Inspired by The Complete Bible Experience." It took a few years but Zondervan recorded the entire tNIV Bible onto 72 CD's. What's great about this is they took over 200 actors for the different voices of the Bible and added music and sounds to put in the background to emphasize the drama of the Bible during those times. And the whole Bible is read word for word with all the meaning that you could ask for today in America where feelings have been entirely desensitized. What a greater life it makes when you can have emotion in you evereday relationship with the Creator?

Rob Bell's Lump Clip

Nooma Site

Blog?

Well this is the first time I have probably ever written in a blog before. In fact for a long time I didn't even know what, exactly, a blog really was. Don't get me wrong I'm not technologically ignorant, I just never found myself interested enough. I knew they're purpose but not their definition. I would like to take a moment now and thank the person that introduced this to me. One of my best friends whom I miss...a lot.

WELL anyways, this is going to be quite the experience. I don't know if I want to reveal too much but I appreciate those who care enough to read this. If you would ask I have plenty of things to write and tell the world if the world would listen. How America should solve their "terrorist" problem, the reactions to Budda's assasination, the end to world hunger, why butter is SOOO good. You know, the basics. Ooooo, I'm quite exited,

Well I don't know if you are interested yet or waiting for me to shut-up. I don't know if I should care or not either. Not that I'm heartless or anything but can I really beg for attention from people I may never come into physical contact with. Who knows? People always say that "Don't do it! It's too dangerous to post things on the internet for Molly who is actually Lars from a motorcycle band ready to come and stalk you to your house, wait for you parents to leave then murder you and make off with you dog." And they say it all in one breath too. I'm really annoyed by how they are totally untrusting of me and the other millions of people on the internet who are harmless. Plus, it's not fair that they can say things like that without breathing, it's satanic or something.

There is one evil of the internet which overtakes more teenagers than gossip, drugs, and school education all combined. FACEBOOK. But I'll probably talk about that later. Hope you enjoyed a few minutes enduring me today. Gracias amigos. (y amigas.)

(On a side note some of the things I have said were horribly stereotypical and I apologize if they offended you but they were not for the serious use of offense or fact. Once again, I'm Sorry)