I kind of like Abstract Art. I really do.. 

In fact, this is my personal attempt to produce Abstract Art: 

See, with Abstract Art, the artist is exploring ways to paint/draw shapes to end up with an aesthetically pleasing composition, even if the shapes are not representational of very real-life complex objects. Sometimes, the artist lets the shapes define their emotions regarding a particular idea... For example, my abstraction up there is part of my Modern Literature & Arts course project, where I have to draw an object in several different ways that represent the techniques used by artists of different Modern Art movements... The object I chose is a windchime:

It's that blue/yellow thing in center/leftish area. Anyway. 

Abstract art makes sense to me, it really does. It's art without representationalism, and it attempts to achieve good composition. Modern Art is pretty cool.

Then, there's Modern Music. That crap makes NO SENSE to me at all. 

Let me make it clear, just in case.

I'm not being judgmental. I have listened to serialist, indeterminanist/chance, minimalist, and other odd Modern Music forms... Expressive, Impressionist music are just fine.

But the attempts to do unto music what abstractionism/minimalism does unto painting... DO NOT WORK. 

MODERN MUSIC is FOR THE MOST PART PRETTY STUPID.

Hmph.

I mean, honestly, music is abstract enough. There is no real representationalism going on. You can't exactly imitate the waves rippling or the bumblebee humming without employing expressive techniques or abstractionist ideas. 

So what's up with the random people trying to get rid of the composition/organization in music that makes it so interesting for the ears... and make it into something that makes people wish they were DEAF instead?!?!

I mean, honestly... rolling dice to figure out which note of the scale to play? Or, better yet... not playing any music at all... Just letting people listen to their own breathing and coughing spasms? 

HAHA great job, musical composers. You're totally teaching us something about our society... about human tendencies...

What you are showing us, is that we place too much importance on organization and making sense of things. We place too much importance on ideas/concepts beyond practical application in the real world.

But we don't want to be animals. We want to be something more, see something more, hear something more. Stop trying to prove to us that we're lamer than we think we are. Honestly.

We like our eye candy, our ear candy.

Just let us have it, already. 

Snippets of a Day Plus Insight Woohoo!

So I've realized that something that makes me extremely happy...

- is not getting good grades

- is not seeing myself in the newspaper

- is not receiving compliments

- is not admiration from others

...

I actually feel really happy when I can sit with someone, who stares back at me with curious eyes, longing for a way to understand and accomplish a goal in life. Someone, who says, "I don't want to be stupid.. I just want to do well, but I'm so distracted, and I bite my nails, please help me." 
I mean, I should rephrase. I don't feel happy for this person. I don't really feel sorry either. I just want to hug this person and let him know that I am going to work so hard so that he does not have to worry.

I really love teaching students.

Today, I taught the li'l li'l freshman about heat v. temperature, the nature of air masses, the interactions between air molecules at a weather front, the causes of precipitation. I used my hands, my eyes, my smile to try my best to let him know that I wanted him to understand more than anything else during that time I was spending with him in the library. I wanted him to feel safe. I spat out analogies, utilizing the concepts of my pencil bag's heat and my pen's temperature, the members of an overcrowded house wanting to spill into the next-door neighbor's residence, the army pushing a wall quicker than the general, a balloon staying inflated.. 

And I didn't even feel that smart. I just felt aware. Aware of the fact that there is more to learning than just memorizing. There is more to learning than just recopying notes. There is more to learning than asking questions. There is a huge huge huge prerequisite of time-spent-trying-to-understand before any learning can be done. 
And I'm trying to use that prerequisite of learning to study for this AP Physics Electricity & Magnetism test. Hopefully I've already learned the skills necessary for AP Psycology Ha Ha. 

I replayed the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer #3 on YouTube.com over 10 times yesterday because that trailer made me want to live a little more.

I know it's somewhat shallow, but I REALLY love the Harry Potter series.. 

Someone told me today that I should not worry about the intense grade deflation at MIT: "you of all people, Nikki, have no reason whatsoever to worry.. you would put more effort than the five of us [him, four of his friends sitting next to him at the time] combined". Aww. That basically made my day.

And then, one of my friends decided it would be a good idea to invite me over to his friend's barbeque party... He said that as he is my best friend (no totally not putting words in my mouth), I should go.. I told him I have better things to do on my birthday :-o