Situation: So when I was a little kid, I had this imaginary friend named Mindy Jake. (That was her last name. I didn’t know a lot of names back then, so it was all I could come up with). Mindy was 17. Always. She was like a baby-sitter or a mentor; someone much older than me who could still understand me and relate to me. I think I really just needed someone mature to be my friend; little kids weren’t always fun to talk to. I think at one point when I was like twelve I considered giving her a birthday and letting her finally be an adult, but then I decided there was no point after she’d been seventeen for so long. She would just end up being 18 forever instead.

Anyway, I really didn’t want to turn seventeen. I caught up with my imaginary friend! That was never supposed to happen! Of course, had I been responsible and actually given her a birthday, it never would’ve happened, but for whatever reason I felt like I wanted her to stay close to my age so she could remember how to help me through the teenage years. Now I’ve caught up, though, and she can’t prepare me for anything else. I’m all on my own now…

I remember talking to my friends once in elemntary school about our favorite numbers and what age we were really looking forward to. My friend Amy said she wanted to be sixteen so she could drive. Guess what? She’s sixteen! Guess what else? She won’t be for long! I mean, what do you do when you pass a goal? What if you run out of fantasies and you don’t know what to do next? I don’t want to be seventeen! This is the last year I have fantasies for! I never wanted to be an adult anyway. I didn’t even want to be sixteen. I was never looking forward to driving. Not even when I was a little kid.

I guess it’s time for me to move on and find some new fantasies, extend some dreams.

Important Lyrics: Never thought it would be me,

Living in a shattered dream.

Could this be the end for me?

What I wouldn’t give to have, a life to live, a day to plan,

Instead I’ll be forever seventeen.

Could’ve lived up every dream, I could’ve been most anything…

Can someone wake me up? I haven’t lived yet; I’m only seventeen.

God did you forget? I’m just a baby, and I don’t want to be, forever seventeen.

First Time I Heard It: Back when I was still close friends with Mindy Jake. It’s an old song.

If I Were To Put It Somewhere Else: I wouldn’t. It belongs on the day of my seventeenth birthday, (saddest birthday of my life, so far), or at the very least sometime this year.

Credit Worthy? Nope. I’ve got a lot more life to live. I won’t be seventeen forever.

Piccadilly, Manchester M1

One of the best modern pub signs, proving that the art of creating such beautiful designs has not been entirely forgotten.

The sign captures neatly, with a hint of surrealism and humour, the three ages of tram-transportation in the city of Manchester.
A horse-drawn tram. A 1930’s double decker electric tram, and the ultra-modern Metrolink tram, stand side by side, as though about to take part in a race.

There are nice touches in the colour, shadow, and attention to details like the breeze rustling the horse-drawn driver’s Victorian clothes. However, the tram tracks so essential to the motion of the non-horse drawn tram are not depicted. (its overhead electrical cables are). A trackline can be seen for the Metrolink.

The pub itself has changed hands and names many times, having once been known as The Goose On Piccadilly. The sign demonstrates the current venue’s pride in its place in Manchester’s past, present and future. The trams have always passed close by the pub, bringing trade to the area, and delight to anyone seeing them go by.

 
It is such a pleasure to see the creation of a good new inn sign like this, and such a shame that so few other new pubs and bars have failed to follow the example set by The Piccadilly.

Arthur Chappell

To me, each character represents a different milestone in Native American history. Nanapush consistently reminisced about old Indian traditions, and strived to keep those traditions alive through Lulu. Proceeding Nanapush are Pauline and Fleur. They are the characters who are caught between old Native traditions and the emergence of American colonization. Fleur managed to keep her Indian identity while working in Argus, yet Pauline rejected her heritage even as a young girl. She stated, “I wanted to be like my mother, who showed her half-white. That was because even as a child I saw that to hang back was to perish” (14). After these rejections, her newly adopted religious views became heavily manipulated, therefore isolating her from both communities. Finally, Lulu is the character who lived after the crossroad between cultures, and is Nanapush’s only hope for the survival of Indian traditions. Nanapush’s last resort was writing this story to Lulu, so she would understand why she was sent away, because “there would be no place for you, no safety on this reservation, no hiding from government papers, or from Morrisseys…” (219). Although the story does not have a definite ending, the last chapter led me to believe that Lulu is going to marry a Morrissey, and Indian tradition will continue to rapidly decline, as it has since Europeans arrived.

Rain is something I find very effective, and there are several videos on YouTube which give you the pitter-patter of rain free of charge. You can find plenty of similar tracks downloadable on the web. Speaking from experience, if you’re the kind of person who procrastinates and gets sidetracked a lot when there’s work to be done, the sound of rain may be just what you need to wind down and focus on a task like homework. It also works wonders if you have trouble getting some shut-eye. In our fast-paced lifestyle, we often find ourselves bogged down with this and that. Memorization and organization are far easier if you shift down the gear and focus on one thing at a time. A vicious cycle can occur if you linger on the expanse of issues that are stressing you out. You’re mind can obsess over and even exaggerate them. But relaxation tapes drown out nagging thoughts and allow you to “hear yourself think” if you get my point.

Studies indicate that listening to music will increase your endurance while exercising, but we’ve also discovered that music has a genuinely positive effect on your health. It comes as no surprise that listening to natural sounds can have a similar effect when it comes to relaxation. But how are we tranquilized by the rolling rumble of beaches or the breezes and birdcalls of the Amazon? It may simply be because the sounds distract you and create the impression of solitude where you can be alone with your thoughts. Bear in mind that earphones and even headsets can cause long-term damage to the eardrums, so if you’re in the proper environment, it’s usually best to find a CD of natural sounds and listen to it on speakers. Take my advice- if you find your head spinning from a long day or long to-do list, an hour of rainstorm ambience could be just what you need.