Tornado

So yeah, on Sunday a tornado went through north Minneapolis!!! Man that is crazy. I am really grateful that it didn't go by my house, but it was only several blocks away. I remember during the storm it got pretty bad a couple of times, and we cleared out the shelter and everything, but nothing really happened. And since it was my brother's birthday, we went ahead and drove to Famous Dave's, not knowing what had happened. It wasn't until my commute to school this morning that I saw all the damage that had been done! After school I went back and biked around and was filled with awe. Just about every tree had been uprooted and of course many fell on houses and cars. It was absolute carnage. Well it looked a lot like a tornado had been there; you've seen the news. But this time I saw it in person. I also got a ton of pictures, but they're all on film so you will have to wait a while.

BBC to show "The King of Limbs - Live from the Basement"

AWWWW YEAAAAAH!!! Radiohead have signed a deal with the BBC to record a 55-minute special for their "From the Basement" show. It will feature them performing the entire album live for the first time in the Basement, with no audience. It is set to air sometime in late June or early July on BBC Worldwide. Now, if you do a bit of math, you will find that the show is actually longer than the album, which opens up the possibility of them playing some new songs as well as old favorites. I am very very very excited about this, especially since it's another first for a young Radiohead fan. I am also excited because the last Basement show they did was also amazing. You can watch it below:



OH WAIT nevermind because I can't get to the video to embed it because Safety Mode is active even though I am pretty sure they don't say any bad words in the whole one-hour show and even if they did SO WHAT!!!!!

here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8byXSML4bY

Using computers and related things in the classroom

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/education/13social.html?pagewanted=2&_r=3

This article talks about the growing trend of using technology and internet tools in the classroom. OMG!!!! Of course I am used to this, but it is a new thing for a lot of people. The article talks about a small but growing group of teachers that use social media such as Twitter to encourage class discussion. Of course there is the concern for distraction, but a lot of the teachers say that a lot more students are more engaged and inquisitive learners when they use social media. Often, the teachers set up "backchannels", which are alternative ways to "talk" during a discussion.

I think all this is pretty great, and another reason why more school need some of these coolio laptops. It matters to me a lot because, well, I think computers are pretty great. Which is an interesting thing to say because sometimes I consider myself a naturalist and a traditionalist. Everything in moderation.

Schindler's List so far...

Great. Although I have seen it before, that was a while ago and it's great to see it again. This time around I am really seeing how much of a well-made movie it is. From the performances to the cinematography, it's just a really great movie in general. As for the subject matter, it's heartbreaking of course. I think it does a really good job of conveying the atmosphere of the camps, though I was not in one, it is pretty realistic and it really sucks me into the story. I like to let this happen because it immerses me in the universe of the movie. On the outside I am sitting intently and quietly with very little external reaction. It is perhaps because of that behavior that I am confused and disheartened at some of the reactions the audience has been having, e.g. laughing. The "it's so ridiculous you can't help but laugh" excuse only goes so far...

Osama bin Laden

What else is there to say?

Well quite a bit, actually.
So in a big surprise, Barack Obama announced the other day that U.S. forces have killed Osama bin Laden. What, you didn't know that? Let me explain then. The other night, after months and months of careful planning, a small team of Navy SEALs flew into a large Pakistani compound by helicopter. In it they engaged in a firefight with the residents, which included Osama bin Laden, one of his adult sons, and a woman believed to be one of his wives. They all died. No Americans died. After 40 minutes, they left with the body, identified it with DNA, and buried it at sea.

Bin Laden had been hiding in this compound, complete with 8-foot high walls, for some time. However, the United States were careful and patient. The compound had no internet or telephone connections. Despite this, Bin Laden remained the military commander of Al-Qaeda up until his death; he used personal messengers to relay information around. The government found out about his location through one of these messengers. The whole operation took 40 minutes without the knowledge of the Pakistan government.

So, what does this mean? For now, it's too early to tell, but we can speculate. Personally, I think this is a big step in the right direction towards dissolving an organization such as Al-Qaeda. It is a movement led by an ideology, and according to U.S. intelligence, bin Laden was a charismatic leader. So hopefully this will create confusion and argument within the hierarchy. This will weaken the movement.

Of course, there are risks. Wikileaks leaked some documents from the CIA a few weeks ago. They pertained to the prison at Guantanamo Bay, specifically the population of the prison, the things people do there, and the information that the government has received. One prisoner, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, had said that if Osama bin Laden was killed or captured, a sleeper cell would detonate a nuclear device somewhere in Europe. Now, of course you have to take statements like that with a grain of salt, especially since torture has been a notoriously bad way of getting good information (Mohammed has been waterboarded at least 183 times). But that still scares me very much. And there could be other retaliation, from stepped up fighting in Afghanistan to coordinated terrorist attacks across the United States.

Of course, nothing could happen. The "War on Terror" could keep going on as usual, slow and steady.

Fire and explosives found at Colorado mall

I'm sure you have heard of this by now, but if you haven't, please refer to this article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/04/21/colorado.mall.incident/

So a fire started at this mall in Colorado on the 20th of April. What is significant about that date? If you guessed the Columbine massacre, then you guessed right. If you don't know what THAT is, you have a lot to learn. The fire, which caused zero deaths and the evacuation of the entire mall, was not very far from the high school, and investigators have said that they are not ignoring the correlation. Propane tanks and pipe bombs were found among the flames, but they didn't explode and no on was hurt.

But what does this mean? It is probably a message from someone that the world is not safe; that tragedy can strike in even the most sensitive areas, or rather, especially the most sensitive ares. This worries me greatly and my heart goes out to the students at Columbine. What does this have to do with school? I don't think I have to explain that. Kids are troubled, kids have always been troubled. But now days it's easier and easier for everyone to have a voice, and sometimes their message is one of violence...

A new quarter

A new quarter, a new subject: the Great War. I’m talking about World War 2 of course. I am pretty excited about studying it. Even though this particular war is a well-worn path in my mind, it is still an infinitely interesting topic. I am excited to explore the unexplored portions of the War. Two things came to mind when we were discussing what we wanted to learn: why Japan entered the war, and what role Africa played in it. Throughout my life, I have caught glimpses of some sort of conflict in northern Africa pertaining to the War, but I don;t know who was fighting and why. I think it has something to do with colonies. Another things is exactly why Japan entered the war. Why did they do it? I am curious about what benefits Japan saw in doing that, especially since at that point Germany seemed to have been fighting a losing battle.

Although I would like to learn about other things, from Ancient American civilizations to the rise of religion in Ancient Europe, WWII is always a welcome subject in my mind.