Exhausted

I'm telling ya, I must be the weirdest person on earth.

It is generally noted that whenever someone is very tired, the take a break, so that they can recharge their body and become more capable of accomplishing their various tasks.

I have recently realized that (as many have already deemed to be true) I am weird.

Whenever I go on a vacation, I usually end up being even more tired that I was before the vacation started. During this wonderful "holiday vacation" or whatever it is called, I have become increasingly more exhausted as the days go by. I went to bed at like 11:30 last night, and then got up at nine AM to run an errand. After returning home an hour later, I sunk back into bed and didn't get up until 3 PM, at which I did chores and then took a nap until 4, when I went to work.

Something is wrong with me....I shouldn't be this tired...should I?

I'll have to sleep on this idea, for my body is telling me that I am STILL stinkin tired.

I'm done with this vacation. I want to come back to school, where my brain will actually be of use to me.

Stuck in my head :)

"Signs"
The 5 Man Electrical Band

And the sign said "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said "You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that. Huh! Me workin' for you!"
Whoa-oh-oh

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

And the sign said anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house, "Hey! What gives you
the
right?"
"To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in"
"If God was here he'd tell you to your face, Man, you're some kinda sinner"

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Now, hey you, mister, can't you read?
You've got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can't even watch, no you can't eat
You ain't supposed to be here
The sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside
Ugh!

------ lead guitar ------

And the sign said, "Everybody welcome. Come in, kneel down and pray"
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all, I didn't have a
penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me. I'm alive and doin' fine."
Wooo!

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Sign
Sign, sign

Yurp

Mommy, why do you hate me?

You make me very sad.

The Saddam Hussein Trial

BBC News
NPR Trial
NPR Timeline
CTV
MSNBC
CNN
CBC
Map Report

The above sites were all used to complete the following assignment.

I chose to describe the happenings of the Saddam Hussein trial by using a timeline.

10/19/05

-The trial begins.
-Saddam claimed that he was still the president of Iraq.
-Saddam questions whether or not the court is legitimate.
-Saddam and his seven co-defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of ordering the killing of 148 Shias (Shiite Muslims) from the village of Dujail in 1982.
-Three hours pass, until the adjourned until the 28th of November. This is because many witnesses had not shown up to the trial.

10/20/05

-A defense attorney for one of Saddam's co-defendants is kidnapped and killed.

10/22/05

-Lawyers for Saddam Hussein and seven codefendants reject an offer of protection from Iraq's Interior Ministry.
-It is wondered how security will affect the court proceedings.

11/8/05

-Another defense attorney for a co-defendant is killed, this time in an ambush.

11/27/05

-An international monitor voices concern about the legality and fairness of the proceedings.

11/28/05

-The trial heard its first witness testimony, from a former Iraqi intelligence officer who investigated the 1982 assassination attempt which triggered the alleged massacre in Dujail.
-Saddam Hussein complained that his foreign guards had taken his pen away, rendering him unable to sign court papers.
-Saddam referred to police guards at the trial as "conquerors and occupiers."
-At least four defence lawyers failed to turn up .
-The trial was adjourned until 5 December so the defence team could replace three lawyers.

12/4/05

-Saddam Hussein's newest defense lawyer is former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark.
-Clark's supporters say he's fighting for justice.

12/5/05

-The first witness to appear in person at the trial gave evidence.
-Saddam and his half brother interrupted the witness.
-Saddam told the court he wasn’t afraid of execution.
-The trial was suspended for more than an hour because of a walkout by defence lawyers protesting the refusal of the chief judge to let them challenge the legitimacy of the process in open court.
-Ahmed Hassan Mohammed gave a moving account of torture at the hands of the Iraqi security services.
-Two witnesses from the Shiite town of Dujail testify.

12/6/05

-The trial heard evidence from three witnesses from the town of Dujail.
-The witnesses were allowed to retain their anonymity and gave evidence behind a curtain.
-The judge declared that the trial would continue on Wednesday.
-Saddam says that he is exhausted, and tells the judge to go to *h-e-double-hockey-sticks*.
-Hussein announces that he will not return to the “unjust” court.

12/7/05

-As threatened, Saddam does not show up to court today.
-Hours passed as it was debated on how to go on without him.
-Eventually, trial was resumed.
-Two more witnesses testified.
-The trial was adjourned until December 21st.

And now, to answer the questions...

a. What former US Attorney General is now a member of Hussein's defense team?
-Ramsey Clark
b. Why did the defense team most recently walk out?
-The chief judge did not allow the defense team to challenge the legitimacy of the process in open court.
c. What is Hussein being tried for in THIS particular trial (there will be others.)?
-He is being tried on the charges of ordering the killing of 148 Shias (Shiite Muslims) from the village of Dujail in 1982. There will be 12 trials in all.
d. Who is planning to attack the location of Hussein's trial, and why are they doing so?
-A Sunni Arab insurgent group planned to fire rockets at the court building during Monday‘s court session. It was a group called the 1920 Revolution Brigades. As of now, no more details have been released.

District Band Schmand

Well, today was the long awaited (but not very much anticipated) District Band day. We played. We went home. It was not worth the trip. Then again, since this was my third year to go, I really didn't expect to have a great time. I knew it would be boring, so I had no right to think that it could have possibly been an entertaining day.

The band did okay, but we played beginning band pieces that I have LITERALLY played in sixth grade. It was positively not high school band material.

The choir did great, and I especially enjoyed the last song that they sang, because it was a swing style. Too bad I can't swing dance.

The low part of the day would have to have been listening to the orchestra's portion of the concert. Usually, I love orchestras, but this was a definate exception. They played not one, but TWO versions of Happy Birthday, and a repetitive version of Yankee Doodle. Along with these INCREDIBLY dull, redundant, elementary stinkin DITTIES, I distinctly heard them play the "shave and a haircut, six pence" song about forty gazillion times.

I feel sorry for the poor musicians who had to play those dumb songs all day.

I'm glad to be home.