What is in a name?

Lately I've been thinking a lot into the power of a name. This is given to you at birth by your parents/guardians, and stays with you the rest of your life...unless, of course, you have it legally changed. But who does that anymore? Anywho, I can't sleep this night because of a migraine, so I figured I would throw my thoughts on names on the table, and you can add your input as you see fit.

So, the question resides. What IS in a name? In the days before these days, names were passed down through the family. You would have Anthony Sr., Anthony Jr., Anthony III, and so on and so forth. It makes perfect sense. In those days, keeping your last name wasn't enough. You had to keep ALL OF IT!! Can you imagine what would happen if our names were the same as our great-great-great-great-great grandparents? I don't know what my great X5 grandfather's name was, but I imagine myself being named Joseph Scott Helmsly Fitch XLI, or something ridiculous like that. So what made our nation change?

Don't ask me. I don't know. I have my opinions, however. If you look into our culture today, you find that your name carries a lot of weight. You must have a valid drivers license with your name on it. You must sign documents with your name. Jobs will not accept you. We don't refer to our positions as "stable boy", "paige" or "cleric" these days. We use a name.

I am also a frequent blood donor. I have to verbally speak my name 3 times, along with signing twice. Who says names aren't powerful? Money speaks of this power. Who do you know that writes a check with no name? You can't. Plus, when you looked at a bill, if those men of might had no name, we would call them 'man with big nose' and 'curly haired white man'. Such an idea is preposterous.

I hope this made you think. I could go on for a long while. Maybe there will be a sequel. But chew this over first. You may find your thoughts wandering at 2 in the morning like I did...

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-David

It's Not About Faith - It's About Principle

How many people out there can testify to the fact that you simply can't watch the newest movies and TV shows as a family, anymore, because of the extraordinary amount of language and sex? David and I have been discussing this, recently. There are, of course, religious reasons for not liking these things, but even non Christians would agree that the amount of inappropriate content in the media has become ridiculous. Can we remember back to when the phrase in "Gone With the Wind," which contained only ONE curse word, and one that could be considered very mild, shocked and appalled thousands? These days, watching a movie with a language-guardian results in an almost completely silent movie. The sexual content is also becoming something that is no longer out of the ordinary; even if it isn't explicit, the innuendo and bodily gestures/movement leave us in no doubt that the standards for what would be considered an R or PG-13 movie has been shockingly skewed.

So what is the problem with Hollywood? When have things like this become 'necessary' for a 'good' movie? If I remember correctly, it seems like the movies that often win awards for being the best are family appropriate, for the most part. We know it has been taken too far when we have to preview movies before watching them as a family. It seems improbable that there would be a way to fix this problem, and people have become lenient with what their children watch as a result. The standards have been lowered dramatically, and Hollywood is not recognizing the fact that the movies which are still considered the best are the old ones like "Star Wars," and the newer ones that are considered state-of-the-art, like "Lord of the Rings," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and "National Treasure," are almost completely free of sexual content and language. We think Hollywood should consider this. What do you think?

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Science Teacher, or ALIEN?!?!

Sarah and I have been discussing matters of...science. We have come to the decision that a science teacher in our midst may possibly be an alien. Now you might think that we are crazy, deranged, or hysterical. But heed my words. There may be aliens in our midst.

For all intensive purposes, I shall be calling teacher in question "IT". Now, it is a professor in a school here in Galesburg. No one really can stand IT (IT sill being professor in question). So, my first piece of evidence: IT has no soul. IT seems to want students to fail; to not succeed in her class of lairs and hypocrisy. IT admits to wanting to help students, but then fails them on test after test. IT tries to give help, but the help IT gives (namely online study guides) are detrimental to your success as a student. My GPA has suffered, as have many of my colleagues (Anthony).

Evidence number 2: IT hit a deer on the way to class one morning. Now, it is fairly common to hit a deer. But is it common to CONTROL THE MINDS OF OTHER PROFESSORS?? IT was running late, and another teacher came into the classroom and wrote how much time we were to be waiting for IT. The teacher was obviously being controlled, for she didn't speak, look up, or walk straight. Also, the time that the teacher wrote on the board was exact to the second! A lucky guess, you may say. Well, I don't think so.

Evidence number 3: IT's quizzes have been getting strange. She may have lost contact with her human body, because she gave a quiz where every answer was B. Coincidence? I think not. She may have been contacting the home-planet, deciding on who to eat next. Every answer was B, and each B was highlighted. I didn't fall for the trick. Maybe that's why I'm still alive!

Evidence number 4: The decreasing number of students in IT's classes is quite obvious. Some may pretend that these students have simply dropped the class. But are they ever heard from again? Maybe from inside the alien's stomach! I have reason to believe that IT eats students for lunch. I have known many a good kid who took this class, and then one day just... disappeared. It is all so sad.

So what do we do? RUN! Run while you can. IT shall get progressively hungrier; digress from human form. When that day comes, I pity the person standing in the way of the alien's wrath. Consider this your fair warning....

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"Shutter" Stalking

If ya'll have not yet seen "Shutter Island," yet, consider it your next movie out. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, "Shutter Island" takes you to a far off place where everything is new and yet oddly familiar at the same time. I will try not to give anything away, here, but David and I are planning to collaborate and discuss ways in which this movie can influence our own stalker habits.

My first thought: Some of the best crimes/stalking moments that have ever taken place were elaborate plans that were discussed and planned for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. Sure, we all have fun pulling a quick one, and those can be pretty elaborate in themselves (The famous 'Amy' stalk, for instance), but do you think it would be worth it to plan one?

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"Keep the Change"

Today, it's time to address the subject of sharing. David and I, after some very heavy discussion, have come to the conclusion that the world has become significantly less generous. "People are so unjustly cruel, now-a-days, and don't share," David so kindly confided.

Now, am I talking about sharing your McDonald's (Like any decent, just human being would)? No. You can get even more simple than that. It is as easy as: "Keep the change." I mean, seriously, what is wrong with that? You might say: "Well, Sarah, it's not like I'm one of the richest people in the world." I would never expect you to be... But if you are going out to eat, obviously you must have some money to spare!

Here is my challenge: Next time you go out to eat, show your thanks for a person's service. "Keep the change!" - And make it a $50.

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Stalking: Its not creepy. Its an art.

So, everyone always freaks out when you tell them what they are doing at that moment in time. But how is this creepy? I must say that the art of being a stalker is a difficult one, and one that is highly under-appreciated. It does take incredible time, patience, and good contacts. What do you think? Do you find it overly creepy or oddly interesting?

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Introductions - Sarah

Hi! My name is Sarah, but you can call me Anthony. I am one of the contributors to the blog. It has been a fun collaboration that led to this, and I'm hoping that those who read it are entertained. The whole idea started because myself and my friend, David, who is the coolest ever, decided that it would be a lot of fun to stalk people - so we did. Hooray! This blog will be a place for us to share our stories, among other things, and I hope you enjoy the stories as much as we have.

Sarah D.

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P.S. We really might follow you! :)

Welcome - Who We Are

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