Lead On, Macduff

If I have to write ONE MORE stinking essay about why I shouldn’t have to pay thousands of dollars to go to college…

It would be easier if I could just reuse the same essay. But each college and scholarship wants something subtly different, just enough so that I have an entire folder on my computer with about 20 essays in it. And yet they all want the same thing: leadership. Readers who know me know that I am not a leader. And that just seemed to be fine and dandy until we started looking at scholarship opportunities that all wanted the overachievers who have done everything. Literally up until you start looking at college, EVERYONE emphasizes teamwork more than anything. But these guys seem to want everyone to be leaders. Every form has a space for times you’ve been a leader or held some sort of office like student president. If everyone was a leader, there would be no one left for them to lead, and where would that leave us? A bunch of obstinate, independent, overachieving people with high aspirations trying to get others to follow them.  When a group has too many leaders, and those leaders collide, heads will roll. It’s not pretty, and stuff definitely does not get done.

Maybe there could be a scholarship that rewards followership. When have you trusted someone to get you to the right place? What groups do you work or have you worked well in? It would show them how well students would get along at their college, since once you get there they probably value teamwork as much as they ever have.

Cat vs. Man

       [All spoilers will be struck through like this so people who haven't read that far in the series can easily skip over them] I'm a big fan of a series called Warriors.  For those of you who don't know it, it's a book series written by Erin Hunter about cats who live in the wild, in fairly organized groups called Clans.  There are four, and the main one written about is Thunderclan, in the forest.  Anyway, I was recently rereading this series.  Rereading is great.  You notice things you never notice before.  You think, "Oh, man, some of these cats are being really stupid about (insert plot point here)." Then you realize - this is what human societies (*cough* 'Murica *cough*) do too.  All the time.  At one point the leader of Thunderclan is betrayed by her deputy, and after a series of misfortunes declares war on Starclan (the equivalent of Christian heaven).  Anyone remember the war on Christmas?  She, and the leader of another clan, both find remains of prey in their territories while it is already low, with clear evidence of a dog loose in the woods. Thunderclan's leader, in her fairly addled state at the time, completely ignores all contrary evidence and blames the other clan, nearly starting a battle.  That seems somehow familiar... and human government people aren't even confused and despondent after a recent betrayal when we get into an unnecessary war after blames based on incomplete and circumstantial evidence. And when one cat falls in love with a cat from another clan, eventually joining that clan?  He almost immediately is shunned by both. It may not be as evident now, but that would have probably happened in the human world between certain countries a few decades ago.
       And I'm only 5 books into the series.  There are 24 books total, and clans are kicked out, there's migration, tons and tons of territory disputes, cats who stop believing (or never started) in Starclan, and more outside threats that get blamed on other clans.  Every challenge, tribulation, and even some traditions can be compared to American society.
       I'm definitely not complaining about the stupidity of the characters, though.  This is an amazing series and I would definitely recommend it to fantasy fans of any age.

This Picture is Redundant.

I made this in Minecraft in about an hour.  I know for a fact that it works.  It's made from quartz and obsidian.  I have a superflat world that I use for non-redstone builds.  If anyone reading this has a suggestion for what to build, let me know in comments, or on Facebook if you know me there.  I won't do much pixel art; I don't like it.  What I will do, I'll do with as little wool as possible.  If it's a redstone contraption, I'll use my other superflat world.  I may post stuff that was suggested on here at some point, if I like how I've done it.  Lifelight pyramid may get a picture here at some point!
Anyway, this QR code is a real code, and will take you to a website.  I'm going to let viewers figure out the site.

The Revenge of the Son of Sequels (Which Turns Into a Rant About Ben 10 and Tron)

Sequels suck.

Well, there are a few exceptions, like Catching Fire and at least half of any given really long series like Animorphs or something.  But for the most part, they suck, or at least aren’t as good as the first book/episode/movie.

The worst are the 4-part trilogies.  A 4-part trilogy is a series originally meant to be a trilogy, until the author decides he/she wants to make more money or is badgered into making another book by fans.  The 4^th book may have different main characters, and often takes place a few years or even a generation or two later.  The plot refers back to the rest of the series, but is often completely different anyway.  The best example of this is the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfield.  Some copies of Extras even have “The 4^th book in the trilogy” on the cover.

Books aren’t the only things with bad sequels.  TV often goes bad as well.  I know, you’re thinking, “But aren’t all TV series just a lot of sequels?”  Well, TV series can drag on way too long.  And I’m talking more about sequels to entire series, especially when they randomly change the entire animation style drastically.  Like Ben 10.  The first series was funny.  If you don’t like the fact that the Omnitrix rarely works right, then I’m sorry, but you are a perfectionist with no sense of humor.  The malfunctions made it interesting.  When he would get Ripjaws in the desert when he was trying for Diamondhead or something, and had to make it work, that was the good part.  When Alien Force came out, a whole new alien set appeared, completely replacing all the ones that fans knew and loved.  The Omnitrix failed much less often, even after Kevin messed with it.  In Ultimate Alien, even more aliens showed up or came back, but none of the old ones looked the same (except, oddly enough, Cannonbolt).  Now there’s Omniverse.  The animation has changed again, Ben looks weird, and he has even more new aliens (although Cannonbolt is still there and still looks exactly the same), including one that looks like it’s made out of Legos.  Ben 10 has just totally degraded.

And movies!  Yuck.  Most of the movie sequels I’ve seen have come from books, but some haven’t.  Some have gotten better.  Most haven’t.  The main movie sequel I hate is Tron: Legacy.  My friends all love it, and most say they get annoyed with the original Tron because of the animation.  I’ve seen worse animation on popular TV shows.  It’s not terrible; at the time it was really good animation.  Anyway, Legacy may have cool animation, but it’s not a good plot.  The whole thing with the isos or whatever – I dunno, it just seems cliché or something.  He’s not in the program for any good reason; he’s just looking for his dad, who (SPOILER ALERT) later dies anyway and then goes back to a sappy ending.  The rings look totally different, as does the entire world.  No helpful programs are met/befriended.  In the original, a skilled hacker has this adventure with a computer who is actually actively trying to do something evil, but he’s just trying to get a patent that belongs to him, back to him.  It’s more humorous, and my favorite minor character – a bit that starts following him around – turns into a tiny decoration on the mantel of a random fireplace in Legacy.  You have to be really observant to even see it.  Legacy is just repetitive and pointless.  I think it was only produced so they could have fun with the animation.

Don’t get me wrong, continuing a series is awesome.  There are many series that I wish didn’t end so soon.  Even one that’s 54 books long. But sometimes,

Sequels suck.

Elemental Underrepresentation

Every time you see a character with an Element (as in fire, water, earth, air, lightning, not Mendeleev’s elements) associated with them in a TV show or book/series, their Element is always either Fire or Lightning/Electricity.  Every single time.  Well, I can think of a couple exceptions, the most notable being the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, but most books have one or the other.  Even in the Percy Jackson sequel series, Heroes of Olympus, 2 of the 3 main characters have an Element.  One is Fire, the other – you guessed it – Lightning.  You look at most of the item-creature series (the ones, mostly Japanese, where a card/small object summons/releases/turns into/turns user into some interesting Elemental being) and they’re the same way.  The only ones I know, Pokémon, Bakugan, and Digimon, fit that profile exactly – in the first, Pikachu, an Electric-type; in the second, Drago, a Pyrus, the equivalent of a Fire-type.  The main character in Digimon has an Agumon, which I’m pretty sure is Fire-type too.  (Yes, I’m a total nerd.)  There's also Chaotic, where there are 2; one is fire, the other I have no idea.  The book series I read do that too, except, as I said earlier, the Percy Jackson series.  Witch and Wizard – focuses on Wisty’s fire abilities.  Any fan of the Hunger Games can guess what I’m gonna say there.  Even this slightly obscure series I’m reading now, the books of Pellinor, involve fire more than anything.  Any book with a dragon in it, for obvious reasons.  Actually, it’s mainly Fire, now that I look at my list.  I can’t think of a single thing where Earth/Ground/Stone/Plants/etc. is the main character’s Element.  Anyway, the next paragraph is going to be sort of a rant about Water, so the Ground line was sort of non sequitur, because I really don’t care about the Earth element much.

                Fire and Lightning can be incredibly destructive, but so can Water.  When a Fire or Lightning has to use the element to help in some way other than destroying stuff, they usually can’t.  I’m slightly obsessed with the Water element, as you may have noticed, and will advocate for it under any situation given.  Water is much underused as an Element, with flashy Fire and Lightning showing off next door.  Earth/Ground is way less flashy and dramatic than any of those.  I will admit, striking someone down with lightning is a bit more dramatic than trying to drown them, but there are other ways Water can triumph.  Ever seen a tsunami?  Pure Water power, baby.  Who needs the sky on their side?

KENL News From Around the World

Man, I haven't posted in like a month and a half.  My new "schedule" isn't working very well...
I know this is a bit long, but posting it one story at a time also wasn't working.

We will start our program tonight with a flood of poodles in Seattle, Washington.  The poodles came from far and wide, some even rumored to have come from Texas.  One in particular had a distinct Redneckistanian accent, but tried not to show it.  The poodles that came from the ocean decided to grow fish tails and live in the Everglades.  But the rest of the poodles seemed dazed, just hanging around until someone came to take them to a poodle shelter in Kansas.  The Kansans liked the poodles, and they soon had all found good homes.

Meanwhile, those in Southern Florida found polar bear fur on the teeth and scales of alligators in the Everglades.  The polar bears were thought to have escaped from the zoo, since there wasn’t anywhere else for polar bears to come from and survive the exposure to the heat.  However, it is unclear how the polar bears fell prey to the alligators, since it seems more likely the alligators would be eaten by the bears.  There is a suspect in the case, who is thought to have shot the bears down.  The man, Howard McGoo, will be arrested for bringing a gun into a national park and shooting animals that were obvious zoo property.  In a suspect lineup, the remaining polar bear recognized McGoo immediately as the man who shot the bear’s friends.  McGoo will be facing 10 years in jail: 5 for the gun, and 5 for the bears.

In Mongolia, all the cats ganged up and attacked a fire hydrant factory, so that the dogs would slowly die out.  However, the cats failed to remember the hundreds of hydrants around the city, and so failed in their quest to take over the world.  But really, who knows what their true quest is?  Maybe they also want the universe.  Or just want peace.  Either way, to them, dogs have apparently got to go.

Recently, all the jackals in South Africa were forced to the tip of the continent by angry farmers who were tired of the jackals stealing their livestock. The jackals have been caged on one side, with knowledge that the only escape would be to jump into the ocean.  And everyone knows that jackals can’t swim.  But it seems these jackals are trying to learn.  Yesterday, a boatman reported seeing one jackal pulling another out of the water.  The one in the water was waterlogged and unconscious.  Gates will now have to be put around the water side of the tip of Africa, but the funds will prevent this until someone sees a wet jackal crawling out of the ocean.

And now, it’s time for the weather.  Today was sunny and raining.  Yesterday was raining, but the rain was made out of tree sap.  This is thought to be the result of many trees exploding after being struck by lightning.  Tomorrow, it is expected to snow profusely, and the high will be around 70°.  The day after that, the high will be 16° and the low 45°.  The snow from the previous day will have frozen into ice, resulting in a slippery fun zone for the kids.  Time to break out the ice skates!

A pair of bears recently tried to raid a nudist colony.  No one was hurt, except this one girl who had her eyes closed and ran into a wall.  Everyone said they got a huge scare until they realized it was just a bear and not the weird neighbor across the street.  They were still scared, but not as much.  The reasons for the bear attacking were unclear, but it is thought that the bear simply couldn’t spell, and thought that there was another “bare” in the building.

In sports, the platypuses played basketball against the dolphins in the ocean around Indonesia.  The dolphins won, but maybe the platypuses would have won on their home court.  Also, hounds played ferals at wrestling in the forest around the Sahara.  Hounds won in 9 of the 10 matches.  In the 5^th match, the hound competing had to drop out of the competition for excessive pre-game injuries.  The hounds could not find a replacement on such short notice, so had to forfeit to the ferals.

Our last story is about a snake that terrorized townspeople in Prague.  This snake escaped from its holding pen that was rather stupidly placed next door to a nuclear reactor.  The reactor has been slowly feeding the snake for 11 years, and now the snake is the size of a 200-story building, and breathes fire.  I think it’s mad.  We are now attempting to find some way to tame this snake, without destroying the reactor.  So far, no conclusion has been reached, but we’ll think of something eventually!  We are working to keep the snake in Prague right now, so that it won’t terrorize the rest of the world.

That’s it for KENL news, so watch out for snakes and good night!

KENL News of Animals Around the World Pt. 1

(This is one story from a whole thing I wrote in 8th grade.  I will be posting further installments every so often for some time.)

        We will start our program tonight with a flood of poodles in Seattle, Washington.  The poodles came from far and wide, some even rumored to have come from Texas.  One in particular had a distinct Redneckistanian accent, but tried not to show it.  The poodles that came from the ocean decided to grow fish tails and live in the Everglades.  But the rest of the poodles seemed dazed, just hanging around until someone came to take them to a poodle shelter in Kansas.  The Kansans liked the poodles, and they soon had all found good homes.

More coming!

P.S. I won't be posting for about 3 weeks because I will be on vacation so don't bother checking back until the end of August. 

America the...

So, I don't know who agrees or doesn't, but I think America the Beautiful is better suited for our national anthem.  What would other countries think of a country whose anthem is about a war?  Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of countries have anthems about war.  But the majority of our country's people can't even sing the entire thing easily.  The average range of the human voice is about 2 octaves, and I'm pretty sure the Star-Spangled Banner is about 3.  America the Beautiful is a wonderful song about how lovely our country really is, and it was made after our country was fairly complete.  I know it's a little late to change an anthem, but it just seems best...

Update!

I know I’ve been a little irregular with my posts, like posting three in a week and then not posting for three months.  So I’ve decided to start posting a little more regularly.  I’ll try to set a particular day that I’ll post on every week or two.  I’ve almost always got something to write about, I just forget.  With a new system like this, I won’t forget to post this stuff.  So yeah, this update post will be like my shortest one ever, but there will be more to make up for it.  If you'rer a regular reader of my stuff, you're probably annoyed by my lack of posts.  I hope to change that.  Not everything I do will be its own post; one of the things I'll do is post Nakajet images.  But just check once every week or two and I'll probably have something new!

The Nakajet

Okay, I’m finally going to get this post up.  Unfortunately, I don’t have pix yet, but if I put the rest of the blog up I’m more likely to remember to get the pictures I need.

       This paper airplane design is one I thought up somewhere around a year ago.  For one reason or another, we didn’t have much to do in Band that day, so some of the percussion guys and I started making paper airplanes and throwing them at each other.  None of the designs they had made work very well if you just fling them, which is what the guys were doing, along with wondering why I could get the airplanes to go farther.  I knew exactly two designs: the really simple jet that everyone learns in elementary school (which we already had one of), and a really good airplane of a design that a lot of people learn in middle school.  Not many actually know what it’s called, but it’s a Nakamura Lock.  The latter is the one I like better, so I made one.  Turns out that it doesn’t like being flung.  It works best with a slowish throw.  I’m not exactly the most original/knowledgeable person when it comes to paper airplane design, so I decided to combine the two.  Whaddaya know, it worked.  And it goes really far with a really hard throw, as long as you don’t throw it at the ground, or straight up.  I think we eventually lost that one under a drum set or something, but I can still make one.  It’s super easy as long as you’re accurate with your folds.

       First, fold paper in half lengthwise and unfold. (Pretty standard for most airplanes)  Second, you fold the first two steps of the elementary jet. (fold 2 corners to center, do it again)  Then, fold the top half down so the point is at the bottom and along the crease you made in the first step.  Fold the top layer in half back so the point lies on the line at the top; then unfold.  Fold top two corners to the center line, NOT flush with the line, but instead so the corners match and the edges rest on, but not below, the ends of the crease you made by folding the point up.  Then, fold the point back up.  Fold in half so the point is out, then make the wings.  I can’t give exact sizes on the wings, but fold them so they’re level with or below the bottom of the plane.  Tweak it so when it’s resting in your hand the wings go slightly up.  Confusing? I’ll have pictures soon, I promise.  I might also have a paper with fold lines and order numbers you can print.

       I call this design a Nakajet (hence the title of this post).  The elementary plane doesn’t have a name, but it’s a jet.  Combine that with Nakamura, and you’ve got Nakajet!

Again, sorry about pix, they're coming eventually.

CtheC

       Everyone needs to see the ocean at some point in their life.  I mean actually see it, not just pictures.  Pictures are great and all, but with the ocean, pictures mean nothing.  Especially if they're pictures of all those pristine beaches in Mexico or Australia.  That's not how the sea is; that's how travel agencies want you to think the sea is.  Don't go anywhere like that, seriously.  The "pristine" beaches get crowded because of their "pristine"-ness.  If you want to play in the surf, go ahead.  But at some point in your life, go somewhere else.  Maybe somewhere with tide pools.  I can't tell you about East Coastline, but I can say that Northern California, at least, can show you what the sea is really like.  You can't see the ocean as itself at Waikiki.
       If you haven't been to a place where the ocean speaks, and no one is there to interrupt; where waves crash against rocks like they have for millennia; where whole worlds live at your feet; where the pristine blue ocean shows its true colors. . . find that place.
       Go.

Pumpkin Patch

       1040 pumpkins.  That's how many are at our church's annual pumpkin patch.  We (the youth group + a bunch of adults) had to unload these 1040 pumpkins last Saturday.  The giant truck containing them took up the length of our parking lot, and almost hit a silver VW bug backing in!  We had 3 wagons and a couple of wheelbarrows, but they were mainly for the small ($2 size or less) pumpkins.  Once we got to the big ones, we had to get a sort of bucket line going.  The really big ones were still transported by wagon, though.  The line disintegrated more than once, often when there was a delay of more than a few seconds between pumpkins.  They were placed all around the church steps and lawn, and this wooden trailer we get every year.  Once the trailer got there, the truck had to move around to the front of the church so that our line could get to the lawn.
       There were pumpkins of every shape and size.  Anyone who got a really heavy one had to warn the next person by saying, and I quote this directly, "Heavy!"  I started also saying "heavier than it looks!" because there are some green ones (I'm not sure if they're pumpkins or just gourds) that don't look heavy, but are solid or something.  A lot heavier than they look.
        We sell them by size - smallest are tiny, only 25 cents; the largest can be up to $20!  The $20 ones are the ones that were loaded onto the wagons.
        It can wear you out, passing pumpkin after pumpkin to a person, even in our zigzag bucket line (easier on your back than when everyone faces the same way).  Regardless of the fact that it's Monday and I'm still sore, it was really fun seeing all these pumpkins.

P.S. Apparently this computer won't let me upload images right now; when it does, I'll upload some pix of the patch that I took.  I didn't get any of the unloading day, anyway, though.

The Day Without Desks

Today my school did something called Day Without Desks to raise money for education in Haiti.  Basically all the desks and chairs are pushed to the side, and we either stand or sit on the floor.  They've been selling T-shirts and donations are possible too.  As you can see, I've bought a shirt.  Hey, it fits, it's an awfully good deal for a shirt, and the money goes to a good cause.  Why not buy one?  Anyway, it seemed pretty harmless.  Well, a lot of people didn't like it. (Mostly girls, I noticed. . .) I overheard one girl on Monday saying that she was planning on just ditching the day because she didn't want to sit on the floor.  I mean, come on!  It's probably better than the stupid chairs.  And it's not like it's going to kill you to see how the kids in Haiti live (because that was the point of not having desks - the kids there don't ever).  That's just being a weenie, and seriously selfish.  I mean, I don't even have a good back, and do you see me complaining about sitting on the floor?  A lot of people sat in chairs anyway, because it wasn't absolutely required to sit on the floor, which makes it even more stupid to ditch because of that.  It should be required to sit on the floor, or you should have to pay $1 for a chair and another dollar for a desk or something.  That would make even more money than the shirts.  I only saw 30 people out of our large school wearing the shirts.
       What would have been even better, but was disapproved by the board, would be Day Without Shoes.  There are so many slightly valid reasons to disapprove it, but it would still have been great.

Hey, I want a kids' menu, too!

Growing up is overrated.  All of the stuff you loved as a kid can no longer be enjoyed in public, or enjoyed period.  Playgrounds are too small, and schools above elementary school don't have them anyway.  Why not create a bigger playground for bigger kids?  And what about kids' menus?  Heck, I'm 14 and I can still get a kids' menu for kids 12 and under, but I'll bet my dad couldn't.  What if an adult wants a kids' menu for the smaller, cheaper meals and/or coloring pages?  There's only been one that I think is good: Red Robin's.  It says that the menu is for "kids, seniors, and those with small appetites".  I'm not exactly a kid, I'm definitely not a senior, but I do have a small appetite.
Okay, this idea is taken from Lauren Myracle's book l8r g8r, but it's still a great idea:  A national Kid Again day (called Pigtail Day in the book.)  where everyone wears their hair in pigtails and says, "to heck with being grown up!" for the day.  Or better yet, have a place where you can go to be a kid, even if you aren't one physically, anytime you need a break.
Most kids want to be tall when they grow up.  I say, it's overrated, too.  I'm not tall.  And I don't want to be.  I'd rather be able to get kid size shoes, and youth size clothing.  Not only are they more interesting/comfortable, they're usually cheaper.
Everyone just needs a break from the grown-up world of reality, go back to their childhood, and say, "Hey, I want a kids' menu, too!".

Salt of road

Road salt.  I hate road salt.  Well, I don’t hate it, but I certainly don’t like it.  It’s all over campus, in little piles by the sides of buildings where it’s been swept up.  It wouldn’t be as bad if they just used regular rock salt or whatever, but the substance they use is green.  Salt is not green.  It makes white icemarks on the sidewalk.  It doesn’t even always work.  There’s still a patch of ice between two of our campus buildings.  How do I know it’s even been salted? It’s pockmarked.  Like someone shot it with a mouse-sized machine gun.  It’s been heavily salted.  This ice won’t leave until March.

            Road salt also makes my backpack much harder to roll.  Although that isn’t a huge reason to give up road salt, seeing as I’m probably the only high-schooler in the region with a rolling backpack.  But, you might be saying, wouldn’t snow clog the wheels worse?  Yes, but it’s possible to avoid snow.  Also, snow melts when I go inside.

            Salting roads will eventually get that salt all over cars.  It’s horrible for the paint.  Which doesn’t affect me now, but will in a few years. 

            All I’m saying is, there must be a better way to get ice off of roads and sidewalks, even when the temperature is too low for the “salt” in the first place.  Something that won’t corrode paint and stain sidewalks, and isn’t some weird chemical that’s a color that no salt should ever be.

Goozack

I hate doors.  I really do.  They’re annoying, and they get in my way.  School doors may be the worst.  The double doors may have a post down the center.  Or they may not.  And they’re inconsistent, too.  So you may be walking through the center of one door, and then: Wham!  You hit the center post of the next.  The center posts also impede traffic by making people go around.  Often there’s space for a whole other column of people down the center.  And, with a rolling backpack and lots of stuff, I might have trouble opening most doors.  The doors in one of the campus buildings are very old and very heavy.

            Not that non-school double doors aren’t annoying.  I have hit my head on doors more than once.  I have hit my head on doorknobs at least twice.  One of the two doors to my room is either all the way open or latched shut.  There is no in-between.  Someone unlatches it, it slowly swings open.  The other door to my room is hard to latch.  My bathroom door doesn’t stay latched.  When our basement door is open, it’s like a whole new wall, blocking traffic.

            There is only one type of door that I like: the revolving door.  Not only is it fun, it works.  For the heavily burdened as much as those who have nothing; for the disabled as well as the strong.  It is the best type of door to possibly have.

            I don’t always like chairs, either, but that’s another blog.

Guns and Knives

Okay, the no weapons policies of schools and such are a good idea, but it can be taken a bit too far.  We have not been given plastic knives in the cafeteria since elementary school.  How are you going to hurt someone with a plastic butter knife?  You can barely hurt someone with a regular butter knife, and only if they let you saw at them for a while.  You run up to try to stab someone: “Die!” *snap* “Dang it!”

Some schools have even outlawed a gun-shaped hand motion.  You know, where you clasp your hands together, pointer fingers out and thumb up? Yeah, that.  What are you going to do, load your fingers?

I have heard tell of a girl who had to walk or get a ride to softball practice a couple miles away because the bus driver wouldn’t let her take her bat on the bus.  I guess that’s halfway reasonable, but what about suspending a Boy Scout for bringing his trusty Spork to school? Or a man in college who kept his grandfather's penknife in his car?  How did the school authorities find out about that one?

I will kill you with my plastic knife and gun hands!  “Bang!” *snap* “Darn it!”

Corn Sugar

Word is out that manufacturers are changing the name High Fructose Corn Syrup to simply Corn Sugar.  I read this in a kids’ newspaper called News for You.  The people lobbying to change the name say that “’Whether it’s corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can’t tell the difference.’”  And the article itself says that there’s “little scientific proof” for the statement that HFCS is more harmful than regular sugar.  I beg to differ!  There’s plenty of proof.  I’ve heard it.  Sure, there’s no evidence that a teaspoon of HFCS is worse than a teaspoon of table sugar (sucrose), but HFCS is everywhere.  It can only be metabolized by one organ, the liver.  Sucrose can be metabolized by any organ.  A teaspoon can be metabolized.  But it takes less to overload the liver than all the organs of the body combined.  And when something can’t be metabolized, it turns into fat.  Which is unhealthy.

            Back on the topic of renaming it – HFCS and corn sugar are the same thing.  Renaming it doesn’t make it any better.  The companies just do this so that they can keep using it.  Like when prunes were changed to dried plums.  That’s what prunes are.  It doesn’t change anything except reaction.  Corporations don’t care about people’s health unless their consumers care about people’s health. 

Here’s a thought.  If it’s in a newspaper that corn sugar is the same as HFCS, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of consumers not knowing?