C'maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan

Hey! You there! Why don’t you take a seat? Just take a seat right over there. Now that you’re relaxed, why not find something to do? Oh, but you don’t wanna get up, you’re so comfortable! But hey, you’ve got a laptop right in front of you! Why don’t you check out this blog? C’mon, it’s free! Not to mention entertaining! C’man! C’maaaaan! C’maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Did I persuade you to read this blog post about persuasion? No? Well, I wouldn’t say I’m the best at persuasion. I definitely wouldn’t make a great salesman. I think most of my persuasion consists of, “C’maan” and, “Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleeeeeeeaaase”.

And it don’t work none to well. Yeehaw. On the other foot, my friends are okay at persuasion. Or maybe I’m just passive sometimes.... Yeah it’s that second one. When it comes to where we go or what movie we see, I usually don’t care what the outcome is. Unless the movie’s terrible. Like, Bridge to Terabithia terrible. Yes I hated that movie, how could you not? It was all just their imagination, and then they [spoiler]kill off one of the main characters. What the mammoth?[/spoiler] If there were no other movies out there’d be no other options, but if there were I’d suggest something else, utilizing my, “C’maaaan,” technique. With luck it works. Now about the WHY. WHY do we need to convince others to do stuff that we want to do? That’s just it: because we want to do them. If we don’t want to do what our friend wants to do, why would we do it? Convincing them to do what you want is better for you, and let’s face it, people re selfish. Not always, and not extremely, but people will do whatever they can to get what they want. Saving money counts, too, so it’s not all bad. Anyway, HOW about we talk about the HOW aspect of persuasion (see what I did there?). Everyone uses a different technique, so it’s hard to say, really. Some, like myself use, “C’maaaan,” and, “Pleasepleaseplease....”. Others may use statistics and logic to persuade: “If we see (movie title), it’s better because blahblahblah”. And some use force: “FALCON-“ “Alright, we’ll see Twilight, just don’t kill me!!” And I guess that’s it then. UNTIL NEXT TIME, THIS IS BOB SILVERSTEIN SIGNING OFF. GOODNIGHT AMERICA. (Cue end music)

Quote-O-Rama (part 2)

“But ’tis a common proof that lowliness is young ambition’s ladder, whereto the climber upward turns his face; But when he once attains the upmost round, he then unto the ladder turns his back, looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees by which he did ascend. So Caesar may” (II.i.22-28).
Spoken by: Brutus
Spoken to: Himself
Context: Brutus is pondering what might happen if Caesar becomes king
Significance: Brutus is pretty much on board with the conspirers by now, as shown by the quote

“O, let us have him, for his silver hairs will purchase us a good opinion and buy men’s voices to commend our deeds” (II.i.156-158).
Spoken by: Metellus
Spoken to: Brutus, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, and Trebonius
Context: Metellus is suggesting that they (the conspirers) invite Cicero to join the conspiracy
Significance: If Cicero joined the conspiracy, many people would think that Caesar’s assassination was the right thing to do. This is because Cicero is slightly aged, and thus has experience and know-how. If a man who knows a bit about the way stuff works wants to kill Caesar, he’s probably right.

“And for Mark Antony, think not of him, for he can do no more than Caesar’s arm when Caesar’s head is off” (II.i.188-190).
Spoken by: Brutus
Spoken to: Metellus, Cassius, Casca, Decius, Cinna, and Trebonius
Context: Brutus convinces the conspirers not to kill Mark Antony
Significance: Brutus knows that when Caesar is dead, Antony will also lose power and not have the power to kill the conspirers.

“Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight. Thrice hath Calphurnia in her sleep cried out, ‘Help, ho! They murder Caesar!’” (I.ii.1-3).
Spoken by: Julius Caesar
Spoken to: Himself
Context: Caesar recalls the reckless night he’s been having
Significance: Calphurnia’s dream (in which Caesar is killed) foreshadows his doom later that day.

“And so near will I be that your best friends shall wish I had been further” (II.ii.123-126).
Spoken by: Trebonius
Spoken to: Himself (aside)
Context: Caesar asks Trebonius to stay near so that Caesar will remember to talk with him later
Significance: Trebonius means that he’ll be so close to Caesar that he can kill him, which he plans on, and Caesar’s friends will wish that Trebonius hadn’t been near Caesar at all.

Quote-O-Rama

“Beware the ides of March” (I.ii.21).
Spoken by: The Soothsayer.
Spoken to: Julius Caesar
Context: Caesar is talking to Antony when the Soothsayer says this suddenly.
Significance: This quote foreshadows Caesar’s death on the ides of March.

“Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous” (I.ii.204-205).
Spoken by: Julius Caesar
Spoken to: Mark Antony
Context: Cassius is trying to get Brutus to turn on Caesar when Caesar himself walks in with his train. Caesar looks at Cassius and conveys his feelings to Antony.
Significance: Caesar can tell that Cassius is a threat, and Cassius is a conspirer against Caesar.

“I will this night in several hands in at his windows throw, as if they came from several citizens, writings, all tending to the great opinion that Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely Caesar’s ambition shall be glanced at” (I.ii.327-332).
Spoken by: Cassius
Spoken to: Himself (about Brutus)
Context: Cassius devises a plan that will convince Brutus (who just left) to join the conspiracy against Caesar.
Significance: This plan is carried out and does convince Brutus to join the conspiracy.

“’Brutus’ will start a spirit as soon as ‘Caesar’” (I.ii.156).
Spoken by: Cassius
Spoken to: Brutus
Context: Cassius is discussing why he thinks that Brutus could be king instead of Caesar.
Significance: This conversation gets Brutus thinking about joining a conspiracy against Caesar.

“Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf” (I.ii.223)
Spoken by: Julius Caesar
Spoken to: Mark Antony
Context: Caesar and company have just walked in on Cassius and Brutus.
Significance: Caesar, even though he is loved by all, is not as great as he seems. His deafness is just one of several infirmities.

That One Neighbor...

Cassius doesn’t think that he should be worshiping Julius, especially because he’s just an average guy like himself. It’s like worshiping one of your neighbors. You know, not a neighbor that you’re chummy with, more like that neighbor you sorta know and have talked to a little bit but you don’t know him too well. He’s a nice guy and all, but you just wouldn’t worship him. That neighbor is Julius in Cassius’s eyes. He figures that if Julius can be king, why can’t, say, Brutus? Brutus is probably even stronger than Julius, because Cassius had to save Julius from drowning once (Can you say pathetic? Though, that seems like a problem I would have. I digress). Cassius describes Julius further, making him seem like that old neighbor who’s been sick for a while and everyone just feels sorry for him. Except the realtors, who want to sell his house when he’s dead. Anyway, Brutus is mainly worried about Julius messing up the government. I think that Cassius is right with this one. Would anyone want a disabled old guy who doesn’t have a lot left in him running the country? I certainly wouldn’t. Round one goes to Cassius. *ding*

Steroids? I hardly know 'er!

If my friend were to use steroids to enhance his performance on the baseball team, I would probably tell the coach about it. It’s one thing to use, say, growth hormones, but steroids? What the flying monkeys? Do you have any idea what those do to your balsamic vinegar? If I didn’t say anything and we ended up winning the championship, I would forever feel guilty about it. It’s simply not worth it. Plus, saving my friend’s life is more important than our friendship. If he were a true friend, he’d be thankful I stopped him. The fact that he uses steroids makes him sound like a jerk anyway. Using steroids is pretty low, and cheap. No, the steroids aren’t cheap, he probably got those on the street for, like, $200. It’s a cheap move, is what I’m saying. I think there was a vocabulary word for this but I forget and I’m too lazy to look it up now. What was I talking about? Oh right, the steroids. If the guy’s using steroids, then he doesn’t deserve to be on the team, quite frankly. I guess that’s it then. Nothing more to talk aboooouuuuuuttt.................................................................................................................How long is this so far? Lemme just zooom out here.............. Darn, still not half a page. Hm. I hear that Harry Potter 7 was good. I haven’t seen it, but....... I’ve heard things. Man, I hate America’s Funniest Home Videos. It’s just a bunch of people getting hurt. Is anyone still reading this? This is SUCH a long paaageeee...... Just gonna zoom out again....... Aaaaand that just about does it. G’night folks.

Drawing

         We all know that drawing’s kinda hard, right? I know it’s easier for some and comes naturally for others, but it still takes some amount of skill. Well, most of it does. Let me rephrase: QUALITY drawing takes skill. And, of course, practice. Thanks to a cold when I was 8 and Captain Underpants, drawing became a hobby for me. It looked pretty bad and was terribly unoriginal. But like I said, this stuff takes skill and practice. I may not have had skill back then, but luckily, skill comes from practice. And after 5 or 6 years, I was thoroughly skilled in the art of drawing stick people. But towards the end of 7^th grade, I realized that I needed to stop drawing stick people and draw better after I was told that I needed to stop drawing stick people and draw better. So that’s just what I did, and over the next 2 years I became way better than I was when I was 8. I had finally gained some skill. But if watching movies has taught me anything, it’s that with great power comes great responsibility. Reality taught me that drawing well is harder than it looks. More skill meant better drawings, better drawings meant quality, quality meant taking longer to draw a picture, taking longer to draw a picture meant me staying up until 1 in the morning drawing. It’s exhausting. Not to mention how much I erase. I constantly mess up, which is annoying when you’re trying to make a good drawing. Sometimes the lines don’t erase well and it ruins the drawing. But that doesn’t happen to often, so the drawing usually ends up looking awesome (for my standards). In the end, all the erasing is worth it, because I can always look at the finished product and think, “That went better than expected”. I guess the lesson here is to lower your expectations and everything you do will be the best ever. Well that’s not a very good lesson at all, now is it............