Newsletter #00045

So as you all know, Monday is Brad's night for newsletters (and yes I know this is late Tuesday night, not even Monday). This week however, he asked me to switch with him and I agreed, so watch out for a newsletter from Brad coming to you all on Friday. Anyways, I was thinking of things to write, and sort of drawing a blank on such short notice, and then I had an idea. So this is going to be something kinda (ok totally) new, and even Brad didn't know it was going to be happening.

To go along with my previous steampunk-inspired post way back when, I have a special guest writer here for you tonight. Please welcome Lauren Piantedosi! I decided that it might be kinda cool to have someone other than myself write something for you guys, as sort of an elaboration on a topic I brought up before. So tonight she is gonna show you some of the ways in which steampunk has inspired her.

Its cool- promise.

(Note from Kasey: below the pictures I've added the original website links so you can visit them and make the pictures bigger.)

Hi I’m Lauren, a friend of Kasey, a reader of the newsletters, and most importantly for this night’s letter, an avid steampunk -appreciator. It was some months ago, that while on one of my countless journeys through the many areas of Deviantart.com, I stumbled upon something miraculous. Now, this is not a rare occurrence in the land of Deviantart because it is more or less magical there. Still, this was special. I’m not quite sure how I ended up there but I can only believe that it was through divine intervention. With my own eyes, I beheld one of the universe’s most sacred marriages: watch parts and beads.

Can you hear an orchestra playing when you look at this? Don’t be scared, we all do.

http://gweyeni.deviantart.com/art/Rose-Garden-115532730

This beautiful piece that you have the pleasure to be viewing is one of the many works of the talented Gweyeni of Deviantart.com fame. Entitled, Rose Garden, this necklace is what convinced me that I needed to learn how to create steampunk jewelry. For if I could not, life would never be complete.
In addition to Rose Garden I was equally inspired by some of her other works.

http://gweyeni.deviantart.com/art/Aqua-Daisy-117640506

Absolutely breathtaking right? Well, I, at least, was blown away.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21631861

So swept up was I in this new dream to learn this awesome art, I immediately started searching for watch gears, plates, and parts. At first I felt like I should crack open a couple of watches, myself, to see what would happen. However, I had mildly forgotten that watches are no longer made with gears and instead use a very efficient and durable, though rather uninteresting, electronic chip. So I went to other sources until the day came when I finally acquired my very own watch gears. Next stop in my quest would be in retrieving beads.

I don’t think the majority of people are aware at how great beads really are, and believe me they are. For starters, there is a world of ‘beaders’ out there with enormous talent. There are also more beads and types of beads than the mind can possibly comprehend. Well maybe it can, but I wouldn’t try it. To fully grasp how crazily cool the world of beads can be, I recommend looking up bead creations and checking out websites like artbeads.com and fusionbeads.com. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. Wires and weaves and loops and clasps! There is so much out there!

But I am getting off track (as I did in real life for that matter.) The point of this quest of mine was not beads, although they are very much quest-worthy. The point was steampunk creations. So I will leave you tonight with this segment from the illustrious Steampunk Magazine, and hopefully it will get you in the proper mood to make some steampunk-magic of your own.

“BEFORE THE age of homogenization and micro-machinery, before the tyrannous efficiency of internal combustion and the domestication of electricity, lived beautiful, monstrous machines that lived and breathed and exploded unexpectedly at inconvenient moments. It was a time where art and craft were united, where unique wonders were invented and forgotten, and punks roamed the streets, living in squats and fighting against despotic governance through wit, will and wile.
Even if we had to make it all up.”

Alright guys, Kasey again. Hope you all enjoyed that, because I definitely did. I'm not as artistic in the physical, making jewelry and art type of way that Lauren is so I thought it would be cool to get someone else's perspective on something I think is extremely cool. Anyways, that's all for this week. Comment and show Lauren some love!

June 23-2009
-By Lauren Piantedosi

Newsletter #00044

So this newsletter is going to be slightly different today, something I've decided to do for a few reasons. 1) Finals. Finals, (despite only having taken one so far) have deterred my creativity, and as such, I don't have much in mind to talk about. Also, after having a conversation w/ Alex earlier he encouraged me to try and write the shortest newsletter ever. Since I can't write short he told me I would have trouble on Twitter where you can only tweet messages of 140 characters or less. So here is my attempt at shortest newsletter, through twitter-length messages.

Kasey 1 Final down, 2 more to go! Yay! = )
Kasey Inspiration quote of the day: "I like the word 'indolence.' It makes my laziness seem classy." ~Bern Williams
Kasey What's cooler than a dance about crash test dummies? Nothing, that's what. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv3YNqs2OqY
Kasey Josiah Leming is my new musical obsession. Listen to this song he wrote. It has great lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQX0yhb-kUc
Kasey So excited for summer! I'm going to the American Idol Concert in August and want to see Rent in Boston. Hopefully. What about you all?
Kasey Thanks for reading! (This twitter thing is kinda addicting...)
Kasey Edited to add this video. Cheeks on Things You'd NEVER Twitter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuReGJlpdns

There. It's official. I believe I now have the shortest newsletter to date.

June 19-2009
-By Kasey

Newsletter #00043

Ok. So, this is kinda my first newseltter in about..... 2 weeks or so. Um, sorry. Next week I don't have a final, so I have no excuse for not putting one out then. Right now I really should be studying for my history final, so I'm going to be typing this quickly, so forgive me if I have any typos/grammatical errors.

Now on to the actual Newsletter.

Something that I thought about in English today was that the past really doesn't exist, only our interpretation of it. There is no way to actually prove that the past existed, only our memories show that it did. And, I think it was in the dualism newseltter, Brad mentioned how our memories can be constantly changing, so there is no way to know for certain that our memories are 100% accurate. This ties in with our ideas on the past/present/future kind of thing, where the past may not be real, the present is so small it barely exists, and it's actually possible to predict the future. Sounds kinda like a fantasy world, but it's true.

While doing the dishes today (doesn't it seem like most of our ideas come from the random things that me, Kasey, and Brad happen to be doing? Well, for me at least that's where I get my ideas =P), I started to listen to things. Not just hearing, but actually listening. Listening to the way each thing makes a sound. The sound of the water, the sound of dishes in the sink, the sound of the sponge squishing, and my brother's music playing in the background. Not focusing on what I was doing, but listening intently to what was going on. Sounds are actually really cool to listen to. A sound is a really complicated thing, even though it may sound simplified. Of course, I couldn't focus on listening for long, seeing as I was supposed to be doing the dishes...

Summer vacation is almost here.. Today was our last "real-ish" day of school. Technically Monday was the last "real" day, because this week there were no double blocks. Just a random tid-bit for those who are not in Gardner.


Ok, I must be psychic. I clicked below Save as Draft, because I had the feeling someting might happen and I'd lose all I wrote. Less than a minute later, my brother unplugs the cord for the laptop I'm on and it immediately shuts down, but I saved this as a draft, so I didn't lose it. I am realllllllly lucky...

Hmmm... I'm out of topics for now. Time for studying... =P


Word: Pedagogue: a teacher

Question: Know any good study techniques?
Question: First thing that comes to mind when you think of salam?

Quote: A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
- Ghandi

I really like Ghandi, so I think I'm going to do a little bio of him for my next newsletter. That's something else we could possibly start doing.. bios.. hmm... still open to ideas if anyone has them.


Well, that's it. Bon soir mes amis!

June 18-2009
-By Josh

Newsletter #00042

congratulations to the newly elected student council officers as well as the new band officers. including our new drum majors anna and gabby!

so, today, i would like to announce that i am really excited for this newsletter, for i have something substantial to write about, so please, sit back and try to enjoy.

On relationships:
It has been brought to me recently that there is an entirely different part of a relationship. Now, this could be anything form a normal friendship to a marriage, in each the same resides. Every relationship has one thing in it that fuels the relationship, that keeps it going, and possibly even started it. This being the one item or activity that is quite characteristic of it. this i see to be a part of every thriving, flourishing, and well-deserved relationship.
Now, my inspiration to this notion is not my own thoughts for once, it came from a lecture of a friend of mine, who will be reffered to as bp. bp explained their thoughts very well, and related their words to a boyfriend/girlfriend type situation. they said:

Maybe your one things is sharing an apple, the first thing you did together, no matter how ridicuoous it sounds. this is the thing that sustains the relationship when things get rocky. you can say "oh, well, that's okay, we can talk about it over an apple" or whatever your "thing" is. but the thing is always where company is enjoyed and laughs are shared

My turn now, I am going to fill in where i feel bp left off. this fact applies to friendships just as much as any other kind of realtionship. Take josh and I as an example, our one thing is getting in overly ridiculously illogical arguments, and it holds us together and helps us through things. for example, when one of us is having a rough time, we talk, knowing that we will have a good conversation about something, and it makes us feel good.

alright, today i was asked a question. "is smell physical or emotional?" and my educated answer is that smell is both. it is physical because for us to smell things at all, atoms (physical objects) need to get into our nostrils and travel to our brains receptors which identifies the substance, and lets our body experience the distinct "smell"
it is emotional because of this: two years ago for the science fair, my friends hillary and jessica did a report on how smell is linked to memory. this experiment included taking what i think was three scents, and letting blindfolded subjects smell them in a random order, and telling them the first thing they think of whenthey smell it. ne of the scents was mint, to which most of the tests replied "christmas". another was the smell of coffee, to which many tests came back saying "morning". so not only is smell emotional, but it can trigger a response or a memory.

though this newsletter seems short, i'm happy with it.

question- we will begin our reviews after finals. what should we review for the first attempt?

quote-If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.

June 16-2009
-By Brad

Newsletter #00041

i would like to take this oppurtunity to congradulate all the seniors, and say good luck with what the future may hold.

now, last week, i went way off on a hugely giagantic (more big words meaning big) tangent from what i meant to write about. now what it was i meant to write about i can't remember for the life of me, so i will try to remember, and if i can't, you will have to read the fruits of my attempt.

time.
time is an interesting thing. for it niether exists nor does not exist. i say that it does not exist because time is something that cannot be defined by man, though we give it a name, we cannot tell what it is. we see things happening, which means we cannot be stuck in a perpetual moment, but then again, what is a moment? i say that it does exist because things happen, with no time passing, nothing would ever happen ever. which brings up another point. for all we know, time just stopped for what we would consider to be a million years, but we didn't notice it, because for our bodies to detect it, we would need what? yes. time.

another thing josh and i argue about randomly once in awhile is this: is there a present or a now?
and my answer is yes, except that it is something that is infintessimately small, an amount f time is something you can always divinde in half, so if you were to say, "i read this sentence now" by the time you finished aying now, now would already be gone, so you would be lying, in a way, but people compensate for this because now seems to have a broad range of possible times to be in (by definition by humans)

hmmm, i sit here at the computer, trying to think of what to go on about next, and i realize that i have a pattern i follow every time i go to think of something. i always put my hand on my chin, after about a minute, i look at the printer next to me, at the button that says "ok". then, slowly my gaze falls down to where the memory chip slots are, then i wake up and eventually start the process over again. i thought you minght be interested, and it just happened like four times, so i felt as if was a part of this newsletter forever.

well, i suppose i am rather dry and out of ideas for tonight, so i leave you first with some news. soon, josh kasey and i plan on writing reviews. no this review can be on anything, like a book a movie, a magazine, and alot of other things i'm sure. this things doesn't have to be recent either, like we could all watch frankenstien and rate that or something.
the way it would work, is say for a movie, we would all watch the movie, and throughout a week, each of us would post a separate rebiew in our newsletters, giving you three opinions.

so there you have it, the news with newsletters
-ideas, comments, suggestions? please forward them to JKBNewsletters@gmail.com

question- what are you looking forward to most this summer?

quote- Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though 'twere his own.

June 8-2009
-By Brad

Newsletter #00040

So I am going to put out this newsletter before I go to graduation, in case I forget to do one tonight. I wouldn't want Brad the Newsletter Nazi to yell at me. (haha, jk Brad! =P) Oh, and I've added a few more people to the list of who I'm tagging in these newsletters based on who has joined our newsletter group, so if you don't want to be tagged, just let me know.

Before I get to what I really want to put in this newsletter, I want to talk a bit about humor. Obviously we all find different things funny. Some people like gross humor, some like stupid humor (think Superbad...) and others, like me, enjoy humor that makes you think. (yes I know, most of you probably don't like to think when you're laughing, you just enjoy laughing).

Anyways, last week if you read my newsletter I addressed gay marriage and promised Alex I would do another newsletter on it. I still intend to do it, but probably not for awhile since I don't want it to be overkill. However, I recently became a huge fan of this guy from California who goes by the name of Cheeks. He is a gay man, and he makes hilarious videos. Some are kinda political and others are just funny. But there is one I really think you should all watch and I am going to post a link to it here. (BTW, if anyone knows/ can figure out a way to embed the video in this note, that would be great).

Basically this video is in response to the Ms. California controversy (for those of you uninformed, Perez Hilton asked her at the pageant if all states should follow Vermont's example and legalize gay marriage). This video isn't really addressing her own personal beliefs so much as what else she said. Its incredibly funny and I've watched it like a million times so you should all watch it too. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWH2NXdZ7O8

Like humor that makes you think, I also love anything at all that really gets you thinking or inspired. For example, I was watching The Dead Poet's Society movie last night, and that was a movie that really gets you inspired I think. Robin William's character emphasizes to his students the phrase Carpe Diem, or seize the day.

That has actually always been one of my favorite quotes, or sayings or whatever you will call it. Recently I've realized that much of what I do in life, in school and outside of it, isn't anything I enjoy doing. I want to live a life that has meaning to it, whether I find it through creating something with my writing, or helping somebody out. I really think that's one of the reasons I enjoy doing this newsletter so much- even if no one is reading it, I can express my opinions and hopefully influence those of you who are reading this to think about things you don't normally think about, or perhaps introduce you to something you've never seen, or read, or heard about before.

This goes for me too. I know that I hope you all watch the video I posted, and maybe even watch the rest of Cheeks' videos if you are a fan. Just as I hope that some of you will like steampunk since I wrote about it, or read Cory Doctorow's book Little Brother since I talked about that too. But just as I write these suggestions of things for you all, I would love to hear any suggestions from you. If you come across a video, or a story that makes you think, or laugh, or just appreciate life, I'd love to hear about it, because I'm always up for new stuff like that.

And while I'm on a role, here's some other stuff I think you should all check out:

1) Mental- alright, so if you are a fan of House, this show is for you. If you aren't, well, check it out anyways. Mental is a new summer show (Tuesday nights on FOX at 9 pm) that is about a very unconvential doctor in a mental hospital. It's funny, its creative, and I can't get enough of it. Plus, if you feel the desire to start watching it, you can check out the first two episodes on Hulu.com.

2) Givesmehope.com- This site is kinda like Fmylife.com, except that its for inspirational, happy, uplifting stories. Check it out if you wish, its kinda cool and some of the stories are really touching, like this one:

"A girl I went to high school with was diagnosed with Leukemia her Junior year. She lost all of her hair due to the chemotherapy and was pretty upset about it. One day, eight of her closest friends came to school with shaved heads, saying it was just hair and who cared- bald is the new in."

3) My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult- I just had to throw this one in here since the movie based off of this book is coming to theaters June 26. For those of you who haven't ever read anything by Jodi Picoult, she writes books with sensitive topics, usually things that make you think. I've only read a few of her books, but this one is my favorite so far. Basically it is the story of a girl Anna, who was created with specific DNA so that she would be the perfect donor for her sister with Leukemia. For years she donates bone marrow and organs and whatever else to her terminally ill sister, until the day she decides she's had enough and decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.

This book is a touching story about a family torn apart from their love of a child with cancer, and their love for their other child who just wants the choice of whether or not to donate organs. This book is an amazing book, that I highly recommend you all check out, or at least watch the movie when it comes into theaters, because the previews look great so far.

Ok, well that's all I've got for today. Sorry about the lack of an actual topic. I hope whoever reads this checks out at least one of the things I've mentioned today because they're all pretty cool. And if any of you have any suggestions for me of things I should check out, feel free to post them in your comments.

June 6-2009
-By Kasey

Newsletter #00039

friends, subscribers, readers, lend me your eyes, i come to make up the news not to tell it, so sit back while the development of my thoughts continues to influence your very minds

so, as the days dwindle toward the end of yet another school year, we look back, what is it this year that we have accomplished? was it what we wanted? was it even close? were events foreseen? or was it a new experience altogether? did we learn something? better yet, did we learn something about ourselves? did we learn something about each other? did we make mistakes? did we learn to fix them? have we thought? have we been open to experience? have we been forgiving? have we accepted facts? have we discovered our own truths? have we experienced happiness? desperation? have we dicovered our true friends? have we been true friends?

and in light of all these questions, i have but a few more, more abstract than anything, so answers are not needed, and appreciated to be left to the beholder. so please.

was it worth it?
would you redo it?
are you happy with it?
do you hold regrets?

as some may have guessed, these questions refer to some of my experiences, and many of these questions still circulate around in my head. though i feel that it applies to many of you, in many more ways than we may see or think. something we reflect on, in something we are searching for. so, maybe one of these days you should look on it, really think, dwell in the thought, let it consume you, maybe even set aside a time, and at the end, i pray that slowly, a smile comes to your face, in light of the amazing things you have accomplished, or if not, learned, experienced, and where it has taken you, for these are the ultimate questions

what is life?
where are we going?
where have we been?

life is one of the world's most amazing works, and it is as i have stated it, a work. and as it is with works, whether it be a beautiful concerto, or a masterful painting, the work and the crafter are in ultimate and unending correspondace. the creator makes the work, trys different things, learns, takes in, and replicates the good, whilst eliminating the bad. and thus is it with life, how does one know where to go without direction, where does one get direction? well, some would say ask another, some would say experience. then, there are those who take a shot in the dark and hope to end where they may be greeted by a soft landing, with softer surroundings, to me, these people define life, they are the defining features of a painting, maybe not the brilliant colors as those with the direction, or those in the background, made to support the rest of the picture, but to see what is really, really happening, you must have these, you must look into them, you must accept them, you must inteperet them, maybe then, and only then will you gain the understanding that things are not entirely what they are up front, and the brighter the forward colors, the harder definition is to find, but knowledge is dealt to those who do, in fact, search. and congratulations to them, for they have seen the image within the image, they have bypassed the accepted optical illusion, they have seen past the masking features and discovered the image within the painting, and will flourish. but to those who do define the hard truth of the painting, do you know where you are going? have you a goal, or are you living the way that we all should? and those bright colors, maybe you should look at the background, to be able to find the first imperfection is to begin a shift, a shift in what? you define it from here, interperet it as you will, i have not read what i just wrote, i do not know what i said, i will not read it again, so say, think what you will, but do me a favor, and take something from it, it has.......... ended to a certain extent my contemplation for the night.

so, as mentioned before, summer is coming, and it is a new beginning, for everyone, so where will you start yours? and where will you end it? where will we all end up?

June 1-2009
-By Brad

Newsletter #00038

Sorry it's so late, and now Brad will be angry with me because I didn't put it out yesterday, or Friday. Anyways, here it is. (Oh, and thank you Kasey for doing it on Wednesday.)

Honestly, I have no idea on what to write about, so I will be just randomly typing things until something productive comes out.


I recently found a very interesting conspiracy website while on my quest to become a telekinetic. The name of the website is http://www.mysticalblaze.com/ . It is just for laughs, some of things are amusing. So, if you are bored and want to have something to read, that is a good website.

An interesting fact that I noticed is that 1 is the only singular number. Even zero gets pluralized. I have 1 dollar. I have 2 dollars. I have 0 dollars. Even the negatives are pluralized. I am in debt negative 25 dollars. I am at negative 1 dollars. Another one of my random observations.

If you want to grown an apple tree, there are some tips that you might want to follow. If you start from a seedling, it can take several years for it to turn into a sprout. So, it is adviseable to get a sapling that has already started to grow from a nursery, and then transplant it into your yard. Dig a hole, fill it with fertizlizer, and then let it grow. Make sure that where it is planted is a spot where it will receive full sunlight. It may take a couple years for the tree to start producing fruit. An apple tree also needs care, so do not plant one unless you are ready for the upkeep of it once it does start to grow big.

Gardening is something that I find mildly interesting, probably something that I will have when I get my own house, but not something that is really captivating for me. When I get my own house, I'd like to have a vegetable/herb garden. It'd be nice to have fresh food grown in my backyard, and plus it always tastes better. Also, it's good for the environment, which is always a plus. =D

Something that I also enjoy doing is baking. Making cakes, brownies, cookies, etc. It may seem wierd, but they taste reallllllly good. My sweet tooth is mostly always satisfied. Yummm.....

A good movie to watch is called an Inconvient Truth. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnjx6KETmi4&feature=PlayList&p=3F3A18133D305191&index=0 for thetrailer. The full movie is really good as well.

Throughout this note, I somehow started on a green type of way, with the environment and all that. I actually believe global warming is real, and people who say it is all political agenda and such really get me angry. We have done this to our planet. Mass production and the burning of oil, coal, and other greenhouse gases all raise the temperature of our planet. I am not the greenest person, and I'm not saying that I am. But I am pushing my family to recycle more than just cans, and I shut off lights when I'm not using them. And when I get my own car, I do want it to be a hybrid or pure electric. If I get a good job, then I would get solar panels for my house. I do want to do more green things, but being only 16, I'm limited to what I can do. However, there are things that even anyone can do to help.

• Shut off lights when you're not using them.
• Walk to places that are a short distance instead of driving/being driven.
• Recycle cans, plastic bottles, paper, etc.
• Unplug appliances that are not being used.
• Use less water when showering, or cold water when washing clothes.
• Carpool to places.

There's more to do, and it's all easy stuff. Though you don't see a difference, there is a difference being made.

One more thing. There's an application on facebook that is actually designed to save rainforest area. I would advise you all to add it and at least try it. The link is http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=7629233915 .

And thus this ends my newsletter.

Quote:
It's like poker. You need to deal with the cards you've been dealt.
- Mr. Crowley during our town hall meeting.

May 31-2009
-By Josh

Newsletter #00037

Alright everyone. As most of you know, this is not my night for newsletters, but since Josh is grounded from the computer, Brad has asked me to fill in. On very very short notice. So if my newsletter is shorter than usual that is why.

So a few minutes ago when Brad IM'ed me, I was in the middle of reading an article about Levi (the company), showing their support for gay marriage through their white knot program. (More on that in a bit). In the wake of California's decision to uphold Proposition 8, I thought I would address gay rights today and why I believe gays should have the right to marry.

For every generation, or for every time in this country that a major civil rights topic comes into the national spotlight, there are people for change, and people against. Time and time again we have seen this, whether it be for black's rights or women's rights. With both these battles came victories in the form of change. Black's gained their freedom, the right to vote and their equality. The Supreme Court case ruling separate but equal was overturned in Brown v. Board of Education because separate but equal is most certainly not equal. Women today too have all the same rights as men. While gender discrimination in the workplace and in other places still exists, we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were just 100 years ago.

Every time change has come about, and new generations have been born, they have become more and more tolerant of those past changes. Today, the percentage of whites who feel they are superior to, or deserve more rights than another race based off of skin color is only a tiny percentage of what it once was, and even the most conservative Americans believe in racial equality. The same holds true for equality with women. And yet, when we find ourselves in the midst of yet another huge civil debate, the debate regarding letting gay people do something as simple as marry who they love, there are still two sides to the debate.

There are always two sides to these debates, and yet it never ceases to amaze me that their can be. If you can support gender equality, once a big issue, or racial equality, also once a major issue, then why must you stand in the way of somebody else's right to love?

I think one of the major factors contributing to people's beliefs is religion. While I am not saying that every religious person is anti-gay marriage, or that every non-religious person is pro-gay marriage, religion thus far has proved to be a leading factor in people's opinions regarding this topic and because of that, our laws across this country have been affected.

We are a country with a separation of church and state. If we continue to let this remain something true only in theory and not in context, our country cannot hope to promote equality for all. We have already determined once in this country that separate but equal is not equal, so if our own government, and our Supreme Court can not see that we have come to a point where that decision must again be taken into consideration, and applied beyond its original boundaries, then we cannot hope to be a world leader in a time when other countries are already taking the initiative.

Slowly but surely I believe we are making progress, even if decisions like California's Proposition 8 seem retroactive. Someday when the entire country has embraced true equality for all, I hope that people who are currently anti-gay marriage will look back and realize just how much their stance mimics that of the slaveholders back in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Having finished my little speech there, there is something else on the issue which I would like to readdress and that is Levi's White Knot program. This is a program that encourages people to wear a knotted white ribbon on their clothing to support gay marriage and I think it is a wonderful idea. Here is a picture of what the ribbon looks like on a mannequin:

I really support gay rights and gay marriage as you can probably tell. If you want more information on this program visit WhiteKnot.org.

Before I go there is one more thing I would like to try. According to the website, you can get a free white knot by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to

White Knot for Equality
PO Box 691517
West Hollywood, CA 90069

I am most likely going to do this and show my support for gay marriage by wearing the white knot on my clothing. I would really like to spread the word about this and for any of you who are also pro gay marriage to do the same. I think it would be really cool to get a lot of people to show their support, especially in the wake of California's decision to uphold Proposition 8.

Anyways, thats all for today! Thanks for reading!

May 27-2009
-By Kasey

Newsletter #00036

so, seeing as my other two halves seemed to have skimped on thier newsletter duties last week, i guess i am going to publish 36, instead of 38, haha, i'm just kidding of course, they both wound up busy, so what happened happened

well, today is memorial day, and the parade today went well i would say, things went somewhat quickly, and it wasn't to overbearingly hot. (though some may disagree) nevertheless, it was cooler than last year, so that is always welcome.

so, in light of memorial day, i have decided to assult your minds with some history, though i myself am not a fan of history, i have deemed it quite fit to devote a part of a newsletter to our veterans and serving officers

so, memorial day was origionally started in light of the tragedy of the civil war, the bloodiest war in american history. approximately 620,000 americans were killed. many of the communities of that time began to hold ceremonies and remembrace meetings for the locals that were killed, both in the north and south. after this, a tradition came about of decorating the graves of veterans of the civil war, mostly by the women of the community. then, in 1866, women layed down flowers on union and confederate graves, while veterans marched through the street to a ceremony, which was the first organized recognition of the diceased veterans of the war. waterloo new york on may 5th of 1866 is now known as the "birthplace of memorial day" for being the first place to hold a formally recognized ceremony for the veterans.

and that, my friends, is the history (shortened obviously) of memorial day

so, now i'm going to go on about something i've been doing lately, then end in my newly-established traditional way

i, lately, have been trying to figure out what kind of a personality i have, without using those test things, i just don't trust those, people cannot be held responsible for telling you that trough a multiple choice test, in a way, that is steriotyping. but anyways, i have deemed it impossible, i feel that you yourself cannot decide what kind of personality you have, you can work at changing it, but you cannot name or classify it. my next method i believe would be to ask friends who know me well, but it is another one of those "only human" cases, ganted i would trust my friends with my life, and it is no multiple choice quiz, i just can't see myself accepting things that they would say for the most part.

i feel that that was a highly unproductive paragraph, but if it helped or interested anyone i have accomplished something

question- if you could make any kind of holiday, what would it be? what would it be called? what time of year would it be?

Quote- the truth of a thing is the feel of it, not the think of it






urrrgh, another short one, sorry

May 25-2009
-By Brad