Posts by Alexander Hernandez32

Arthur Garcia59 said:there aren't actually that many—aside from the occasional "heavy hitter" like Bernardo Bertolucci or Pier Paolo Pasolini—so they tend to pile up, but things got pretty heated at the panel today.

I noticed that too.

Yesterday was absolutely packed at Theorem, though some people ended up giving up halfway through (the film was running a full 50 minutes late 😠), so it felt a bit easier to breathe after that. 🙂

Kimberly Davis52 said:Wait, how does a yeast infection turn into kidney inflammation? 😁

Listen, Alex, where exactly did you see a clear diagnosis being made here? Her gynecologist—who, honestly, needs to be replaced ASAP—hasn't even examined her yet, let alone ordered any follow-up tests to figure out what's actually going on.

Right now, it could be anything. I specifically mentioned a UTI or kidney issues as possible consequences of the initial problem. My point is—it doesn't even have to be a yeast infection; it could just be some bacteria in her urine causing all that pain and stinging.

Or maybe you're a mind reader just like her doctor, where you can just jump straight to a conclusion without any proof? 😉

Hannah Bishop said:Okay, I'll go—but I just scheduled an appointment for the 14th or 15th, which is driving me crazy.

Look, honey, I don't want to scare you, but who knows if you'll even make it to the 14th or 15th? 🙄

Fungal infections or whatever else is going on with your vaginal or urinary tract is not something to mess around with. If you really want to avoid complications in such sensitive areas—like a nasty kidney infection—you should probably browse the gynecologist thread and find someone who can squeeze you in sooner. Even if it costs a bit more, this is one of those things where it is absolutely worth the investment. It’s your health we're talking about, and honestly, how are you planning to deal with that "pain and burning" for the next two weeks? Not to mention all the other potential issues that could pop up.

Use your head and get to a gynecologist! Either that, or wait until you start seeing blood when you pee. 🙄

Sophia Barnes73 said:Try to find some time—honestly, those tablets used to absolutely wreck my stomach back in the day.

And honestly, they just wreck your teeth in general—not to mention leaving them with this really unflattering yellow tint. 🙄

Sophia Barnes73 said:Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I’d definitely give the juice thing a shot—even if it's just for a day or a month—just to see if it actually makes a difference for you. If it works, it might be worth the temporary sacrifice until your iron levels are back up. Once you're feeling better, you could always maintain those levels by loading up on things like beets and blueberries... you know, just keeping that momentum going.

I’d also suggest adding some young nettles to the mix. You can find them everywhere this time of year—they're basically free if you know where to look—and you prep them exactly like you would spinach or Swiss chard. Honestly, they are an absolute iron powerhouse. I’ve tried it myself, and it's such a great way to boost things up naturally without spending a dime. It’s definitely worth a shot. 👍

Larry Cooper40 said:Has the lineup already started getting filled up with just local acts? ☕

That's exactly what I'm worried about. 😂

silverfalcon7 said:The first two movies aren't even related—and I haven't actually seen the third one yet.☕

What do you mean they aren't? They both send the exact same message: no regrets after you get laid. 😁

wearytinker8 said:Jeepers Creepers (2001)

The movie kicks off as this intense mashup of duel and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre tailored for the new millennium—just two kids messing with a black van driven by some guy in a hat.
Then, right at the halfway point, that mysterious guy gets crushed by a car, only to bounce back, morph into this massive, winged monster, and take to the skies.
I want my money back.

I actually thought the beginning was pretty solid. That music? Seriously creepy. But once they head over to the police station, everything just kind of falls apart—and that old lady was easily the worst part of an already bad experience. The ending wasn't just bad; it was laughably terrible. And don't even get me started on those eye sockets. 🙄

brisksailor3 said:I'm not sure how much this will interest you all, but after watching the movie Grim Reaper, I wanted to get your take on films—or even stories—that start off strong but then just sort of lose steam along the way? You know, the ones where they feel unfinished or the ending just doesn't live up to the setup.

For me, that was definitely Grim Reaper. It starts out so well... you have this terrifying murder right at the beginning, an isolated college campus setting, and everything is building toward something even darker and more bizarre—but then it just kind of fizzles out toward the end.

Instead of a standard murder mystery where some unthinkable crime is lurking behind the scenes (think something like Se7en), it actually ends up being the exact opposite.

I'm right there with you. I had that exact same feeling when the credits rolled. Like, what the heck? It started off so good—tense, mysterious, really pulling you in. But the ending felt like such a letdown, just a weak little story about why the protagonist is afraid of a dog. 🙄

By the way, I really dig your username. 😍

Anyway... since we're all gathered here and the topic is already live, it might be a good idea to make the most of this thread while we have the chance.

I’d love to see everyone jump in and contribute—whether you're one of the competitors, someone with some feedback to share, or just want to drop a bit of advice for the group.

Come on, folks, let's get moving! We don't want to miss the window on this. 🙂

Alexander Hernandez32 said:Look, my memory is actually pretty reliable. I agree that there was a regional competition a month prior. But what happened was that a few days after the potential topics were announced—there were five of them—one was drawn during the actual competition. It was the same with those 20 questions from the "theory" section; out of 60 possible questions, they were assigned ahead of time.

This happened five years ago. I was right there, so there isn't really any room for misunderstanding here. And, just for the record—I didn't forget, I'm just a woman. 😛

I can't say for certain on this one, though. It’s entirely possible there were actually 10 terms used during the competition. I can double-check if it’s really that big of a deal. 🙂

wanderingorca80 said:Walpurgis, you’re misremembering. A month prior to the national finals, there was the regional competition—not the announcement of the national prompts. Even then, they picked one from a set of five. The topics weren't released beforehand; they were decided right there at the contest. It worked the exact same way for the nationals. They’d pull one topic from a pool of five that nobody had seen coming.

If the judges actually stick to the rubric, there's no way a student can just dump a pre-packaged essay prepared by their mentor into the slot—the essay has to actually address the specific prompt provided. Besides, the prompts and instructions have become significantly more sophisticated in recent years, which makes that kind of cheating even harder. You can't just wing it anymore; they expect you to meet the specific requirements of the task, at least based on how things have been handled lately.

Look, my memory is actually pretty reliable. I agree that there was a regional competition a month prior. But what happened was that a few days after the potential topics were announced—there were five of them—one was drawn during the actual competition. It was the same with those 20 questions from the "theory" section; out of 60 possible questions, they were assigned ahead of time.

This happened five years ago. I was right there, so there isn't really any room for misunderstanding here. And, just for the record—I didn't forget, I'm just a woman. 😛

nimbletinker said:**it was like this last year, and it's like this this year... what sucks most is you finish the competition and the rankings, and you think maybe you'll find someone to actually debate philosophy with... but nope... like I said: out of 50 people, there's three of us... and in the end, you're just the freak sitting there, drinking and talking to people in their 50s, because the rest of the philosophical youth are busy looking for the club... =P gross!!!!!!!!!

*I'm rooting for a symposium for young people, obviously something less formal**

It isn't really like that now, though, is it? Don't students pick their own topics on the spot?? I think only that Luciano guy from some high school in New York City knows about that, if I remember correctly... wasn't he the one who used to draft everything or something...??!???

We used to hang out at the beach. Our professor would lose it if we even tried to review anything there—his whole theory was that we were just there to have fun. Usually, he ended up being more wasted than the rest of us combined. 😍

nimbletinker said:**it was like this last year, and it's like this this year... what sucks most is you finish the competition and the rankings, and you think maybe you'll find someone to actually debate philosophy with... but nope... like I said: out of 50 people, there's three of us... and in the end, you're just the freak sitting there, drinking and talking to people in their 50s, because the rest of the philosophical youth are busy looking for the club... =P gross!!!!!!!!!

*I'm rooting for a symposium for young people, obviously something less formal**

It isn't really like that now, though, is it? Don't students pick their own topics on the spot?? I think only that Luciano guy from some high school in New York City knows about that, if I remember correctly... wasn't he the one who used to draft everything or something...??!???

Back then, they gave us five potential topics ahead of time—about a month in advance. Those were the only ones that mattered. At the actual competition, you'd draw one of those five on the spot and write about it. That specific year, this was the one pulled:

"History is not devoid of religion or prophets, nor of gods." Albert Camus. Analyze the implications of this thesis.

Anonymous said:I wanted to jump in here and share some personal insight from my experience competing in this year’s National Philosophy Championship. I think there are a few points already mentioned that really resonate with what I went through on the circuit.

First off, we have to ask ourselves: does a philosophy competition even make sense? If we’re going to hold one, what’s actually the best way to test a young person's grasp of the subject without turning it into a mindless memory test? The goal should be to spark genuine critical thinking and push them to actually develop their own unique ideas. Right now, though, the way these competitions are being run is a far cry from that ideal. Honestly, the current setup is pretty absurd—it’s not just ineffective, it’s actively counterproductive.

First, you’re handed a list of terms you’re expected to have mastered beforehand. You’ve got to grind through the assigned reading just to wrap your head around five additional concepts they throw at you last minute. Here’s the kicker: you have exactly 30 minutes to write out all ten definitions. It essentially turns into a high-stakes memory test where you’re just praying nobody else has faster handwriting than you. I mean, what kind of "intellectual depth" can you actually demonstrate when you only have three minutes to explain complex philosophical ideas like freedom, existentialism, or the philosophy of history? It isn't a test of how much you understand philosophy; it’s a glorified speed-writing competition. You’d think this would be the most objective part of the exam—the part with fixed criteria that your answers actually need to meet. But nope. Different professors grade different terms, so your scores are all over the place. To make matters worse, there’s zero transparency. You can't even see how they graded individual concepts because the professors just scribble everything down on their own private grading sheets.

Regarding the essay portion, I honestly feel like we aren't being given nearly enough time. Trying to brainstorm a concept, map out the content, and build a solid structure for a high-quality philosophy paper in just 90 minutes feels impossible—especially when you consider that students at the National Philosophy Olympiad get four full hours to work. Then there’s the issue of grading subjectivity, which we've already debated on this forum. It makes zero sense that one grader can give an essay a 6 while another gives that exact same paper a 36 out of 50. When those kinds of massive discrepancies happen, the essay gets sent for a third reading, which then results in some arbitrary score—say, a 10. Then they take the average of that 10 and the 36, leaving the student with a final grade of 8. It begs the question: if the process is inherently subjective anyway, why are we tossing out a grader's opinion just because it doesn't align with the other two? Wouldn't it be much more logical and fair to have every single essay read three times and simply take the arithmetic mean of all three scores?

I also have to mention the absolute nonsense on this year’s reading list. We’ve got one piece by Nietzsche—which is actually decent enough—but then there are two by Heidegger. Seriously?! I know there are people out there who worship the ground he walks on and swear his work is the absolute pinnacle of philosophy, but honestly? Aside from the fact that I find his whole "truth-setting-itself-through-art" shtick to be a massive distraction from what actually matters, I think most people would agree that he's just way too dense for someone just starting their journey into philosophy. He's definitely not exactly "inspiring" material for a beginner.

Honestly, the absolute worst part about the philosophy competition wasn't even the exams—it was the total lack of organization. It was amateur hour from start to finish. They were being stingy with everything, down to the literal sheets of paper. We spent five hours there without so much as a glass of water, let alone a sandwich or a soda. Then there was the complete chaos regarding the rules. Nobody realized until the last minute that you were actually allowed to write your essay in a foreign language using a dictionary. Because of that oversight, at the national level here in the States, they wouldn't let us use a dictionary for the one-hour essay, yet at the international Olympiad, where you get four hours, it’s perfectly fine. Talk about inconsistent. But the icing on the cake? The grading and the results. The math was just straight-up broken. I saw someone's score published as 16.5 + 22 = 48.5 on the official list. Are you kidding me? On top of that, the results were supposed to be out in 17 hours, but they didn't post anything until 9:00 PM. Then we had to wait until 9:00 AM the next morning just to see the list, and we didn't get the final scores after all the appeals until 2:00 PM while we were sitting on the bus heading home. At this point, I’m convinced one single person read all 44 essays by themselves. It would have been faster that way, and honestly, probably a lot fairer. Besides, it feels like one guy is basically running the whole show anyway.

To put it bluntly: it’s a total mess—chaotic, disjointed, and completely pointless. 👎

Yeah, it was exactly like this five years ago too. The absolute dumbest part is that they assign the terms ahead of time. It turns into this mindless rote memorization where nobody is actually thinking. There was a girl sitting right in front of me, frantically repeating the definition of freedom under her breath just seconds before the exam started. 🤣

Anonymous said:I wanted to jump in here and share some personal insight from my experience competing in this year’s National Philosophy Championship. I think there are a few points already mentioned that really resonate with what I went through on the circuit.

First off, we have to ask ourselves: does a philosophy competition even make sense? If we’re going to hold one, what’s actually the best way to test a young person's grasp of the subject without turning it into a mindless memory test? The goal should be to spark genuine critical thinking and push them to actually develop their own unique ideas. Right now, though, the way these competitions are being run is a far cry from that ideal. Honestly, the current setup is pretty absurd—it’s not just ineffective, it’s actively counterproductive.

First, you’re handed a list of terms you’re expected to have mastered beforehand. You’ve got to grind through the assigned reading just to wrap your head around five additional concepts they throw at you last minute. Here’s the kicker: you have exactly 30 minutes to write out all ten definitions. It essentially turns into a high-stakes memory test where you’re just praying nobody else has faster handwriting than you. I mean, what kind of "intellectual depth" can you actually demonstrate when you only have three minutes to explain complex philosophical ideas like freedom, existentialism, or the philosophy of history? It isn't a test of how much you understand philosophy; it’s a glorified speed-writing competition. You’d think this would be the most objective part of the exam—the part with fixed criteria that your answers actually need to meet. But nope. Different professors grade different terms, so your scores are all over the place. To make matters worse, there’s zero transparency. You can't even see how they graded individual concepts because the professors just scribble everything down on their own private grading sheets.

Regarding the essay portion, I honestly feel like we aren't being given nearly enough time. Trying to brainstorm a concept, map out the content, and build a solid structure for a high-quality philosophy paper in just 90 minutes feels impossible—especially when you consider that students at the National Philosophy Olympiad get four full hours to work. Then there’s the issue of grading subjectivity, which we've already debated on this forum. It makes zero sense that one grader can give an essay a 6 while another gives that exact same paper a 36 out of 50. When those kinds of massive discrepancies happen, the essay gets sent for a third reading, which then results in some arbitrary score—say, a 10. Then they take the average of that 10 and the 36, leaving the student with a final grade of 8. It begs the question: if the process is inherently subjective anyway, why are we tossing out a grader's opinion just because it doesn't align with the other two? Wouldn't it be much more logical and fair to have every single essay read three times and simply take the arithmetic mean of all three scores?

I also have to mention the absolute nonsense on this year’s reading list. We’ve got one piece by Nietzsche—which is actually decent enough—but then there are two by Heidegger. Seriously?! I know there are people out there who worship the ground he walks on and swear his work is the absolute pinnacle of philosophy, but honestly? Aside from the fact that I find his whole "truth-setting-itself-through-art" shtick to be a massive distraction from what actually matters, I think most people would agree that he's just way too dense for someone just starting their journey into philosophy. He's definitely not exactly "inspiring" material for a beginner.

Honestly, the absolute worst part about the philosophy competition wasn't even the exams—it was the total lack of organization. It was amateur hour from start to finish. They were being stingy with everything, down to the literal sheets of paper. We spent five hours there without so much as a glass of water, let alone a sandwich or a soda. Then there was the complete chaos regarding the rules. Nobody realized until the last minute that you were actually allowed to write your essay in a foreign language using a dictionary. Because of that oversight, at the national level here in the States, they wouldn't let us use a dictionary for the one-hour essay, yet at the international Olympiad, where you get four hours, it’s perfectly fine. Talk about inconsistent. But the icing on the cake? The grading and the results. The math was just straight-up broken. I saw someone's score published as 16.5 + 22 = 48.5 on the official list. Are you kidding me? On top of that, the results were supposed to be out in 17 hours, but they didn't post anything until 9:00 PM. Then we had to wait until 9:00 AM the next morning just to see the list, and we didn't get the final scores after all the appeals until 2:00 PM while we were sitting on the bus heading home. At this point, I’m convinced one single person read all 44 essays by themselves. It would have been faster that way, and honestly, probably a lot fairer. Besides, it feels like one guy is basically running the whole show anyway.

To put it bluntly: it’s a total mess—chaotic, disjointed, and completely pointless. 👎

Back in the day, Camus was the big name here. 😁 And Marx. 🤣
But honestly, even more ridiculous was the fact that the essay topics were assigned in advance. And—surprise, surprise—there were students who had the professors practically hand them a cheat sheet with everything written down, which they then just memorized. A complete disaster.😁

Jose Lewis69 said:So, like, where can I actually go to sign up and donate blood for the registry? And does anyone happen to know if there's an event coming up soon?

This schedule was announced for organized sample collection

March 11th – Malibu - Promenade

March 12th – Makarska – from 10 AM to 4 PM

March 15th – Savannah – from 10 AM to 4 PM

March 16th – Charleston – from 10 AM to 4 PM

March 17th – San Diego – from 10 AM to 4 PM

March 18th – Monterey, Martha's Vineyard, Palm Springs – from 10 AM to 2 PM

March 24th – Mall of America – from 10 AM to 6 PM (?)

March 25th – Marathon at Central Park

March 28th – Indianapolis – concert – ANIN BIRTHDAY!!

March 30th – Des Moines

March 31st – Des Moines – from 10 AM to 2 PM

April 12th – Des Moines - concert – Des Moines Tamburash

April 13th – Columbus

April 14th - Memphis

April 19th – Boise

April 20th – Health Festival – Community Center

April 26th – Pušća – Pušća Cultural Center, from 1 PM to 7 PM

April 27th – Dug Sela

April 28th – Springfield

May 3rd – Key West

May 4th – Key West

May 5th – Key West, Key West

May 9th – Elka

May 12th – Pittsburgh

May 14th-16th – Seattle – universities

May 19th – Boy Scouts of America (celebrating 100 years!)

June 2nd – Pitomača

June 9th - Daruvar

If you happen to be in Washington, D.C., you can always head over to the Mayo Clinic Tissue Center at 12 Kishpati Street between 8 AM and 4 PM—or just give them a call to check first. If I remember correctly, they take samples daily from 8 to 11 AM...

brisknomad6 said:So, I guess we both totally misread the situation 🙂

thanks for the heads up 🙂

No worries at all. 😘

If there are any more misunderstandings—just ask, okay? Even if I don't have the answer myself, I'll pass the question along to someone who does. 🙂

A doctor over at the Mayo Clinic—the one heading up this whole initiative—confirmed that you won't be receiving anything in the mail. So, just take a deep breath and try to relax. 😁

brisknomad6 said:Ugh, look... with how crazy things are right now, they probably haven't even had a chance to make copies yet. We didn't get that paperwork either, and we're still waiting on it to show up at our place via USPS...

That's basically what we're talking about here 🙂

If you want, I can go ahead and ask more questions.

But, from what I understand, it wasn't actually because of the crowds (they could have easily used carbon paper, for example)—it's more that I have a feeling it isn't even standard procedure for us to get our own copy.

They need our information so they can contact us, right? But we already know our own details, don't we? It’s all right there on the first page.

As for the back of the form and that whole potential consent issue—that part is still a bit of a question mark. We agree to be added to the registry, but if we didn't agree to that, we wouldn't have shown up in the first place, so that seems obvious. Then there are other points like, "I consent to being contacted for renewed consent." This isn't some formal contract or legal document. If you actually become a donor, then further procedures follow. Honestly, I'm not really sure how this expanded edition would even work, considering there are already 13,000 people involved.

Nothing gets sent back home. What are you guys even talking about??

The only time they actually reach out is if they find someone sick who needs a match specifically like you. That’s when you give your consent again and move on to the extra testing.

Jose Miller3 said:I just really hope the organizers have the drive, the heart, and the logistical strength to keep this movement going and continue filling up the registry.

Over fifteen hundred people showed up. 🎉 🎉 🎉

There's a very high chance they'll run this again next week—the 27th, 28th, and 29th. 🙂

Plus, if they start doing this regularly at least once a month, it’s honestly something worth celebrating. 👍

I just hope there will be enough funding to make sure everything we're aiming for actually happens... 🙂

copperwalker21 said:Guys...
I'm volunteering on December 21st for this drive... there will be booths set up at Times Square and May Square that day where you can ask anything you want and donate blood right then and there... it's how you get added to the potential donor database...
Everyone is invited, and there's even a huge humanitarian concert at the Square afterward...
Keep in mind there will also be some smaller scale events happening at the Square on December 16th
Please come out...
The program runs from 10 AM to midnight

Also, if anyone feels like being a volunteer that day (selling badges, helping people find the booths, education, etc.), please send me a PM so we can coordinate..
Thanks!

December 16th has already passed (unfortunately, I didn't see this earlier), but I was wondering—do you still need volunteers for December 21st? I'd love to help out...