A new perspective.

This is good news I guess. We're all fairly intellectual 'round here. Tomas Kalnoky and his wicked gang have shelled out yet another masterpiece. Seriously. I know it's ska, but, have a listen, give the lyrics a read-through, and your life will be seriously altered. You'll see things from a different vantage point. Yes, the album is pessimistic, however, you will encounter your optimism. This album has seriously made me take a minute and look at life. They band is not against downloading music, so go ahead and limewire it, or I can give it to you. This is good news I hope.

-Nick

hardwired for happiness

"Scientists Spot 'Optimism' in Brain"

By Associated Press
SETH BORENSTEIN
Updated: 10/25/2007
WASHINGTON

A person's optimism in the future seems to be controlled by a small front part of the mid-brain, according to a study that used brain imaging.

That area deep behind the eyes activates when people think good thoughts about what might happen in the future. The more optimistic a person is, the brighter the area showed up in brain scans, the scientists reported in a small study published online Thursday in the journal Nature.

That same part of the brain, called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), seems to malfunction in people suffering depression, said the study co-authors, Elizabeth Phelps of New York University and Tali Sharot of University College London.

Researchers gave 15 people functional magnetic resonance imaging scans while they thought about future possibilities. When the participants thought about good events both the rACC and amygdala, which is involved in emotional responses including fear, were activated. But the correlation with optimism was biggest with the cingulate cortex.

The same study also found that people tended to think that happier events were closer in time and more vivid than the bad ones, even if they had no reason to believe it, Phelps said.

Psychologists have long known people have an ''optimism bias,'' but the new study offers new details.

When researchers asked the subjects to think about 80 different future events that could be good, bad or neutral, they had a hard time getting people to think negatively, or even neutrally, about the future. For example, when people were asked to ponder a future haircut, they imagined getting the best haircut of their lives, instead of just an ordinary trim, Phelps said.

The study makes sense and pulls together new and different parts of research on optimism and the brain, said Dan Schacter, a professor of psychology at Harvard University who wasn't part of the research.

Having our brains wired to optimism is generally a good thing because ''if you were pessimistic about the future you would not be motivated to take a lot of action,'' Phelps said.

Even on the most stressful days, it always seems easier to slip into happiness than to stay upset.
Be happy!

Talking to People is Really Depressing

So life has been going pretty well lately. My stress week has finally past, and my car wash made $150 (!!) and I finally lost some weight!! Woot for life. And the other day, I got my ACT scores back (finally), I got a 32!!, which doesn’t sound impressive, but since I am in the top one percentile and the top score is 36, I’d say I did pretty good. I was feeling pretty good about myself, until I talked to a couple of my friends. One friend told me that he got a 35 on his ACT, and that his lowest subject score was the same as my top subject score. (The ACT has four separate scores that are then used to find the composite score. The highest score for all of them is 36.) My other friend said that she had lost ten pounds and still wanted to lose more (and she is skinny!). Another one tells me that $150 dollars is only a fourth of what we need and another reminds me that I still have my Extended Essay (an IB thing), IB winter commentaries, SAT subject tests, and All Region to prepare for. So that elation I had been feeling was destroyed in like a day. But I guess that’s a good thing, otherwise I wouldn’t be worrying about practicing, studying, reading, researching, or even working out right now. So even though talking to people can really deflate one’s mood, I guess it’s necessary for us to function properly.

If knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss…

Then are the weak happy?

A Brighter Day

Stories like these help me feel better about the universe.*

Last month in a League Cup match in England , Leicester defender Clive Clarke collapsed on the field from a heart attack (he luckily survived). The game was near half time and immediately called off with opponents Nottingham on top 1-0. Last night the match was replayed, and in a show of sportsmanship the Leicester team allowed Nottingham to start the match by walking down the field and scoring untouched to bring the score back to where it hand been in the initial match. Leicester said they allowed Nottingham to do that because even though the first match was abandon, it was the score in the first game and it was the right thing to do. Kind of amazing really. Incidentally Leicester came back to win the game.

* Thanks for this Jamie!

If only we could all fail so awesomely at scat singing.

After a particularly bad day, I opened up my email and found this from Emily (the yearbook advisor). As meaningless as the video may be, it finally brought a smile to my face after a day full of headaches and stress and lactose intolerance and just unkindness.

Yup, this still makes me laugh after seeing it for the millionth time. It just reminds that even if you're reallyreally bad at something, just keep doing if it makes you happy. Bip Bipadotta is totally into his scat singing, even if the Snowths totally hate it.

Anyway, I'll end with one of my favorite quotes to tie this all together.
"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men" ~ Roald Dahl

Stay silly!

Hope!

I don't know if this really qualifies as good news, but it's great news to me. I am planning a trip to HK, China, as you all know. I also plan to be a professional photographer.

Today I made 120 dollars off of my skill. It became apparent to me today that I will be making it in the realm of photography. I have seen that I can make myself achieve things with a hobby that I enjoy, and I fully intend on doing so in the future. It's just real now.

I am going to make something of myself.

I'm not even scared of college anymore.

-Nick

Walken and Talken!

Everyone said your junior year is the hardest. The main reason is because this is the beginning of every one's dream. Mine, an Oscar for dusty shelf from a film that will start a whole new generation. This year is going to be remembered like no other. It will be the high school orgasm. Not just for me. For everyone. Our team on Lit mag is beautiful. Everyone has so much that they can offer. They make us look so yummy. I mean who can top a robot red wagon. Our t-shirts are art that will hypnotises you into falling in love with us. Everyone wants to be a superhero. Lucky for us we have our favorite part of our super hero. The cape it flies all over the walls in our school with new ideas for each student to be able to come alive. Our design team is going to blow every ones minds away. Everyone is so smart and have amazing taste. Its a dream come true just to be surrounded by such creative people. You don't see that every day. Our money man keeps us in line with responsibility that will help us later on in life. We all know one day in college we will be paying gas with a bag of Penny's. Our teacher with such great respect and helpful ideas that we will always carry with us in our pockets. All of our editors are brilliant in making our class feel like a family. Okay, enough talking about our group. My check list for the year.
1.become a robot (OH YEAH) done
2.Learn everything
3.Make people bow done to me for the beautiful spreads I made. hehe
4.The fall magazine to be amazing.
5.Have the best costume for Halloween.
6.The poetry readings to be soo packed that we wont be able to breath.
7.The spring to be a new breath of fresh air.
8.WIN THE FILM FEST!!! (and have more films submitted)
9. Let this be the best year.
People don't know what they are missing. Poor souls.
Peace lovely ones
HaleyTron

Equal Does It

This is a test to see if Communitas works. Hopefully LoaD can help the aesthetics of this site so that you take ownership of it. If all goes as planned, you literary ninja scalawags will be posting the good news, complete with stick figure dinosaurs, before long.
Communitas!