Pointless, Unintelligent Arguing (Story 1)

     I argue a lot with my younger brother. Most of the time the arguments are fairly pointless. I normally try to end the argument if it is wasting too much of my time and is unimportant. I also try to end the argument when it digresses to flinging insults at each other.

     I have decided to try to reduce the number of pointless and unimportant arguments I have with my brother. I will try to forgo these arguments altogether. I will not try to stop all arguments with him because I think that intelligent arguments help keep your wit sharp.

A Weekend

     I mostly relaxed this weekend. I watched some funny videos and played video games for a while. It wasn't a very exciting weekend, but I wasn't board either.

     I went out to eat Saturday with my family. I ordered some shrimp and a grilled chicken breast. The food was pretty good. I vegetated the rest of the weekend after that.

School Uniforms

     Some schools have uniforms and some don't. Having them has their benefits and downsides. School uniforms are good for some schools and not for others. It is good for military schools to have uniforms, but not for most public schools. Uniforms are mostly not needed.

     School uniforms cost the school money and funding that should go to the students' education. Sometimes the parents of the students or the students themselves have to pay a fee for the uniforms. It is an unnecessary use of money and that is what it boils down to.

A Current Event

     Five people were killed on the roads in northeastern U.S. after freezing rain and snow caused unsafe road conditions. Four people died in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland. I don't remember this many car crashes during winter before.

     This made me wonder what is the deadliest season of the year. Is it winter with the bitter cold and sheet of ice on ground? I believe there is flooding during spring and tornadoes during fall. Or is it summer with its intense heat.

The Meaning of Utlanning (Free Write 1)

      I figured that the first post should explain the title of this blog. The term utlanning comes from the science fiction book Speaker of the Dead by Orson Scott Card. It is explained in Demosthenes' Hierarchy of Foreigness. It classifies how "alien" someone or something is.

     Utlanning is someone of the same species and are from a different region, city, or country. They have the same culture though. Framling is of the same species, but from another world. Their culture and manners may be different. Raman is sentient and is of another species, but communication with them is possible. Varelse is the alien that we think of. They are sentient and communication with them is not possible. Finally, djur is the wild beast that is not sentient.

Here is a link to another site explaining Demosthenes' Hierarchy of Foreignness.
ansible.wikia.com/wiki/Hierarchy_of_Foreignness