EXAM WEEK

Whats good GA? I feel like it's been awhile since I've posted anything; the whole end of the term thing naturally gets a little overwhelming. Seeing as this is a spur of the moment post I don't really have anything prepared in a formal way, like cute porcupine fables or things of that sort. Basically this is just a little piece of advice: finish the term strong. Am I following my own advice as I sit in study hall writing this? Probably not, but thats irrelevant. It may seem like the term is over and all we have to do is make it through finals week, but the last few days of this week are the ones that matter. This is the end of the road if you have missing work that teachers will still take, or maybe an overdue physics lab report, and even though it doesn't seem like much, having a bad last few days will hurt a GPA a lot more than anyone would like to think. So make yourself a list of what needs to be done before you go home, and cross it off as you go. Nothing feels better when you have a lot to take on than being able to see progress. Best of luck with the end of the term to everyone, winters right around the corner.

Live it Up..

C'mon Gould Academy.. lets live it up.

Public Service Announcement

Hey followers of The Cupola, I realized yesterday that the comment feature of our blog was extremely selective in terms of who could post replies so I changed some settings to allow anyone to be able to respond. We obviously encourage you to comment on our posts, it's how we'll figure out what you like to read/see, to keep The Cupola interesting. Please keep in mind that the administration does follow the blog, and especially in light of the recent internet issues on campus, it is definitely in your best interest if you respond to a post to keep it as appropriate as possible.

Feature Artist: Izzy Cohan

Happy Monday Gould Academy! Final week before exams, then vacation, so let's finish strong. My portion of this post will be minimal, as today I introduce to you The Cupola's first feature artist contributor: Izzy Cohan. Mr. Cohan is a senior here at the academy, and has submitted an interesting personal comment on self-image as well as a photographic representation of his words.

ARMOR

We hide underneath a facade of armor. The armor is built up of an image, an image we display because thats what society implies. Just like a photograph, our image is made up of pixels. Each pixel is something we believe to be acceptable by modern society. These pixels are built up of false identity that we steal, subconsciously, or consciously. It could be a new look, or it could be an attitude that is popular among the people our age. What ever makes up your pixels it is not you, it is the facade you use because you are scarred to come out from behind the armor and show your true self. 

Left or Right?

I challenge you all to find a person in the world today who hasn't ever been faced with the daunting task of making a hard decision. Choices have to be made everyday. Some are simple ones that our brains sort through effortlessly to the point of us hardly even noticing, but unfortunately, one day the deciding process won't be so simple. We will indefinitely find ourselves standing before a wall of discernment that seems impossible to navigate over. The common piece of advice given is usually the cliche, "just follow your heart." Although this may seem to be the better option, actually applying the principle is rather difficult. In the situation where one is faced with a difficult decision, following your heart may only lead to impulsivity, whereby mentally processing the situation, you can assess possibilities with as little internal bias as possible. Don't take this the wrong way and assume I'm telling you to become an emotionless robot, relying on mechanical processing to operate your life, your heart may, and often will, end up being the path you take. Ones heart can lead them in incredible directions, but I encourage you to step back from the issue, and weigh all possible options and scenarios. Assure yourself of the quality and stability of your choice before taking your next step forward in life.
DETERMINE FROM A DISTANCE.

Sometimes I Get a Good Feeling..

Good morning my friends at Gould Academy.. it's friday! Time for the weekend to begin, I hope you all make the most of it. I got a good feeling about this one, now help yourself wake up with the magical Pretty Lights.
Pretty Lights: Finally Moving by md9

Fable of the Porcupine

This post was inspired by an email sent to me this morning by my amazing grandmother. The pictures posted on the blog (the cupola and the winter shed) were photos she's taken and so I'd not only like to give the credit where it's due for the pictures but for this post as well.

THE FABLE OF THE PORCUPINE

So the story begins during the coldest winter in Maine that all the cute little forest animals were ever forced to endure. The creatures who had the most difficult time keeping warm were the porcupines. Watching many of their comrades fall victim to the biting frost, the porcupines realized that snuggling together in larger groups was far warmer than fighting the cold alone. Their plan was going well, except for one minor complexity; porcupines are prickly. Very prickly. By snuggling so close, the porcupines were poking and wounding all of their heat generating neighbors. They decided that the pokes were too much to cope with and returned back to independently freezing. After losing many more of their porcupine friends, the remaining creatures decided to brave the quills of others and return to the warm and prickly snugglefest. As a result, even with minor discomfort, they endured the harsh winter and survived.

The question now is: how exactly does that apply to us at Gould? Well, these cute little porcupines can teach us that the best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities. 

SET ASIDE DIFFERENCES. MUTUALLY RESPECT.

Crazy Creatures: Fainting Goat Kittens

Ahh.. so here begins the first crazy creatures post, where I will be periodically giving small doses of interesting information on all kinds of unknown animals. Searching the globe for animals that you have never heard about in the class room. Although today we will be starting with an creature you all know quite well, the felis catus (cats). Now you might be saying cats aren't crazy at all. But these cats are quite special, they are inflicted with the fainting goat disorder. This disorder is extremely rare, especially for cats. The fainting goat disorder causes the animal (usually a goat) to freeze their muscles into a rigid paralysis for roughly 10 seconds when the animal is startled. Even a pin dropping could startle these cats enough to shock them into this paralysis. Though painless, this generally results in the animal collapsing on its side. To get scientific, the characteristic is caused by a hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenita. Here is a video of these unbearably cute fainting goat kittens.

The Cupola: Day 2

What's good Gould Academy? Today marks the celebratory second day of the new student run blog; The Cupola. My partner and I  have been discussing the kinds of things we want to be able to share with you all, and we've managed to narrow our general purpose down into two groups, blogPAC will be handling multimedia information, i.e. videos, music, photography etc. and I will be handling more literary devices such as written poetry, stories, and interesting current event information. This is where you guys come in. Suggesting topics, submitting work, and inspiring us as the writers, is all in the hands of YOU.


As for today, I thought I would throw out an "inspirational" quote to you. Edward Lytton, a famous playwright and poet from England (of whom I have never heard of until now) once wrote,

To find what you seek in the road of life,
the best proverb of all is that which says:
"Leave no stone unturned."

I find this quote really interesting because it applies perfectly to life here at Gould. Whether we want to believe it or not, Gould provides opportunities to all of us that very few people will ever be exposed to. We're six miles from the some of the best skiing in New England and have art studios that most college experiences can't provide, like blacksmithing, silversmithing, and pottery. The four-point program with no added tuition to cover the cost, and weekend trips to experience parts of Maine that would be left unnoticed to most out of state students otherwise. I'd be lying if I said that I never sat in my room on a weekend and complained about having nothing to do, but having nothing to do was no ones fault but mine. Take a trip to do something you never have, whether you feel like you have an interest in it or not, and if you find yourself in a situation where you're sitting around complaining; get up and advocate for yourself. Find a faculty member and make a suggestion towards doing something. The faculty on weekend planning can't read minds, and if no one stands up and shares an idea, than you're leaving that stone unturned. You're missing out on the potential to experience something new, something that you may discover to love. I leave you with this; turn over a stone this weekend and INVESTIGATE SOMETHING NEW.

Getting Closer

As winter draws near and exams are approaching.. the academy can get pretty hectic. With all the noise, it's hard to take some time to relax and just breathe. It's a tuesday night here, and we're almost half way through the week. Sit back and take a load off with some Chiddy Bang.

The Naked & Famous – Young Blood (Chiddy Bang Remix) by Hypetrak

Wicked Funny Weekly: #1

Here begins the Wicked Funny Weekly, where we will be showcasing all kinds of wicked hilarious videos. If you attended Gould within the past couple years you'd recognize Chris Lee by his long flowing locks and have probably seen him shredding it up on the mountain. Well.. there's nothing better than seeing a kid being tossed in the air by a large exercise ball.

Willkommen!

So allow me to introduce to you: The Cupola. The idea for The Cupola was conceived in light of the roller-coaster of a year that Gould Academy has navigated in only the first few months of the 2010/2011 year. Basically, the whole point of this is to not only be able to communicate with the community, but more importantly to allow you to be able to communicate with us. This is a space that we hope will allow the creative talents of the students to be recognized by everyone around them, be it Trevor Pendleton and Jake Hall dropping massive tracks on the regular, Nate Kirsch and Pete Bullard capturing photographic moments at the academy in artistic originality, or the No-Shave November beard growing competition. We want to show everyone the REAL Gould Academy, delving way past the simple surface, into what life is really like for the students here. OUR passions, OUR interests, OUR academy.