Reading is by no means the most popular pastime of today's youth. To most who are not active readers, there is the perpetual notion that there isn't much to be gained by reading, or at least nothing that can outweigh many other activities like movies, video games, or other forms of entertaining media.
Well, it's sad but true that most are also sadly mistaken. A story is a story is a story is a story, right? Wrong.
While originality is a myth when it comes to stories and literature, real value and entertainment are not. You hear of the classics in school like Shakespeare, Lord of the Flies, Count of Monte Cristo, Dante's Inferno or Divine Comedy, Picture of Dorian Gray, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and countless others, but those titles and authors inevitably become synonymous with BORING.
Well, there are 3 keys to enjoying those classics of literature and getting some real entertainment and value out of your readings. These books don't have to be boring, in fact they can be life-changing when these simple keys are applied. Reading won't be a burden anymore, at very least it will be a pleasant pastime.
Key # 1:
Symbolism
This is probably the most important key to keep in mind when reading. It might even be handy to have a little literature symbolism dictionary around, like Ferber's Dictionary of Literary Symbols which I would personally recommend. But, even without a symbolism dictionary, just think about what possible meanings certain things that stand out could have.
For instance, once a friend came to me who was in a different English class, and was extremely excited about this book that her class was reading. So, I asked her to tell me what it was about.
The first thing she said was that it was the story of a girl who had Leukemia.
Now, I stopped her right there, and asked her what Leukemia was. She told me it was cancer of the blood.
So, I told her that I could tell the story was about a girl who had a disease that was going to tear her family apart. She stared at me, amazed. She asked how I knew that.
Well, it's quite simple really. Cancer is a disease, it makes the body eat away at itself. Blood is a symbol for family, as people who are family have the same blood, or the saying 'blood is thicker than water' attributed to familial relationships. So, she has a cancer that is affecting her blood = She has a disease that will eat away at her family or family relationships.
The book was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which personally I haven't read. But, applying the basic concept of symbolism to aspects of a story or character can shed a whole new light on what's really going on in the story.
Key # 2:
Recognizing Motifs
Motifs are recurring important ideas or images throughout a work. The way these can enhance the pleasure of fictional reading is the subtleties they convey.
For instance, let's take Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In Macbeth, blood is an outstanding motif. It appears in the story only when something important beneath the surface is taking place. More specifically,in Macbeth, blood appears when a character reaches a 'point of no return'.
It's important to pay attention to what is a motif in a work of literature. Because the reader recognizes blood as a motif, the reader can discover what that motif applies to, and it can shed a different light on whats happening in the story. In this case, the reader can recognize that when blood appears in the story, a character has reached a 'point of no return, and the reader can then understand in greater depth what causes the character to do the things they do in the rest of the story.
Key # 3:
Choose a Genre
Starting off trying to read the classics can be daunting. The third key to enjoying literature is to find a niche that sparks your interest. If a type of book bores you, find a different kind.
Literature is divided into genres as well as time periods. I had a Literature teacher once who could not stand Victorian literature (i.e. Jane Eyre, or anything by the Bronte sisters), because of the style of writing and morals portrayed, but she still taught a few of the works to us.
Personally, once upon a time I happened upon the Picture of Dorian Gray, and became infatuated with Decadent Literature or literature from the Aesthetic movement. From there I learned about similar types of literature, and came to enjoy many types of books.
So, just find a type of book or niche that might interest you, or something that is very popular like Clockwork Orange or Hitchhiker's Guide o the Galaxy that have had movies made based off of them.
It's okay though, if you don't like a book, even if you try and apply these keys. There are just some books that will have a flavor you like, and some that are hard to turn the page in. The third key to enjoying literature though, is to just find the right genre to start. Once you find one type that you like, you will naturally open up to more and more types that are similar, and soon enough you will find great pleasure and value in reading.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Distortion in Literature
How the use of distortion in literature can affect it's meaning and the way it is perceived by the readers, sometimes sparking vibrant cultural trends or movements
Literary realism can be the most drab way of analyzing or criticizing our human condition, so the wonderfully effective antidote is distortion. What makes distortion such a wonderful fix is that instead of pointing fingers and telling it like it is (which can flip the 'off' switch faster than it can make a lucid point) it is entertaining and can sometimes unconsciously have the reader empathizing with a point they might have otherwise found distasteful.
See, without distortion to make the truth of the matter clear, Alice (or the youths of the time) would still be spectating on irrational systems of conduct, unaware that they had a choice to even play croquet. Distortion in literature can hum the solid tune of societal change.
In the book Fear and Trembling, distortion of consciousness and mood within the story lead the reader unwittingly down a path that in common religious practices would lead straight to hell. The reader thinks that the narrator's rather harsh female boss is just hazing her new, awkward employee out of jealousy and sick humor, but this conception doesn't quite fit the actions. The narrator is forced to cleaning bathrooms (a janitor's work, not a secretary's), re-copying hundreds of files over and over, one by one, and her boss is still just so enchanting.
The reader sypmathizes with the narrator in her victimization, but by the end of the story the reader realizes they have just walked the path of a girl who falls in love with her sadistic lesbian boss. And you thought you could relate to her, didn't you? As the haze of distortion lifts and the reality of what has transpired throughout the plot (the hazing being a distorted form of the sexual, sadistic adventures of the two), a relationship commonly ignored and condemned in society has just been given very real and undeniable justification to the reader.
Another case of distortion in this text is the way Camus tells of the actions and at what point they occur. This is a very powerful tool, as the reader is never quite sure from at what point in the flow of events the narrator is speaking of how long this particular event actually lasts. This kind of distortion implies the irrelevancy of time, and allows the theme of the story to be applied to any time in history; in other words, it is therefore immediately applicable to the reader's point in time and point in life through the distortion of time in this novel. We don't know how long Mersault is in prison on trial, but frankly, we are led to not care. The time it happened or how long it took to pass doesn't matter, only that it happened: a major theme of existentialism.
Distortion is, as Flannery O'Connor once said, 'the only way to make people see'. Alice would be the first to testify that our perceptions of reality are always too big or too small, but with a little distortion (or chunks of giant mushroom) everything is just right and we can finally get into the garden wherein the root of our quest resides: an understanding of our human condition.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: A Religious Allegory
An insight into the religious allegory and symbolism contained in Tom Stoppard's work
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, by Tom Stoppard, is a vivid work that addresses humanity's need to believe in or follow a higher cause. It begs the question: Are we lost without a God?
The answer would be yes, if it were that 'a God' could be construed to mean any type of higher ideology as well as some sort of supreme being. Without something to devote ourselves to, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern demonstrate that we are lost and wandering, much like they, the protagonists of this play, are.
The story begins with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern flipping coins. No matter how many times they flip it, it always lands on the same side. They sit on a bench somewhere at some time of day in astonishment, just trying to fathom how this could truly be the case. This coin they are flipping represents the belief in a higher purpose. It is unclear whether or not there is an alternative side to this coin or not; much as there is no clarifying whether or not there is an alternative to the existence of a higher power. They try to reason that it is chance that the coin lands on the same side one hundred percent of the time, but even chance dictates that this could not be the case. One insists to the other that there are indeed two separate sides and that the coin is not weighted, so this puts them at a bit of an intellectual loss. The two fellows try to fathom what kind of forces could be making this phenomena occur, while at the same time it is becoming blatant to the reader that this scene is utterly pointless. This unexplainable event whispers the possibility of a force beyond their understanding; beyond our understanding, and it is not until the Tragedians (who represent the voice of a god, or the intimations of a higher purpose) happen upon the scene that the play takes a more meaningful turn.
The role of the Tragedians is relatively important to understanding the predicament of our main characters. They are seen and watched, but their words fall on deaf ears, so to speak. Their display is witnessed but seldom taken seriously, and the true meaning of what they say is lost on the people watching (there is an exception in Act III, but the actual "Murder of Gonzago" is not portrayed in Stoppard's play). This is related to the 'voice of God' in that what they are saying has an impeccable relevance to the situations of the onlookers, but they are dismissed as simple actors, whose words are meaningless. However, the topic of individuals being open to the influence of higher purposes is not a point of this discourse, so we continue on with the journey of the twins.
Eventually, (with the aid of the Tragedians, of course) the clueless pair stumble upon the twisted world of Hamlet. They are caught completely unawares of the true events going on that are the topic of Shakespeare‘s play. This represents the ambiguity people in general experience when they are confronted with religion, be it of varied definitions. There's no knowing exactly what happened in the beginning of time or, for that matter, even in the time of Jesus or Muhammad. There is no knowing the real validity of the sacred texts, and there is no knowing concrete answers to questions of faith. Nevertheless, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent on a mission to take Hamlet to a place far away. They are not fully aware of what their task means (and indeed this does fit the archetype of The Task quite well) and it is the display of their faith in their Jesus figure, Hamlet, that they carry out this task unquestioningly.
They do not question this task, for the task itself inspires a deep faith in them, and it gives them a purpose. The significance of this newfound purpose is that they were never previously told what to do, and thus their lives before the task seemed erratic and meaningless.
The irony of this newly found purpose is that once they are alone on the boat on their way to England, they begin to questions their mission. They ask each other where they are going, why they are going, and what they will do when they get there. They find each other at a loss for answers. The questions they ask all refer allegorically to rather Christian questions such as: Is there a heaven? How will I get there? What is beyond the Pearly Gates? They ask each other then why they believe in Hamlet (Jesus) and their simple answer is the root of Christianity: because they had grown up with it. Hamlet had supposedly known them since they were adolescents; because the bible says so, because God knew who we were before we were born.
There is no proof of a childhood with Hamlet, much as there is no proof of the validity of the Bible, or the Koran, or any such text or prophet. Their unquestioning faith begins to waver because there is no proof. Suddenly, some pirates come in their unwitting absence of faith and steal Hamlet from the ship. Naturally, they now forget where they are going. They wander aimlessly, once again.
When we lose our faith in a higher purpose, we begin to lose our reasons for doing the things we do. Be it a god or ideals, when their presence in our life is either no longer felt or is ignored, our efforts are utterly aimless. There are always two sides to a coin, but it is not only luck that determines the outcome of the toss. A certain accountability for the results lies in the factors of faith, and the presence of a belief. This is an implicit theme of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
The Outline Summary of the Hamlet
The Symbolism of Terrain in Tom Rob Smith's Child 44
An analysis of the meaning of terrain in Tom Rob Smith's Child 44.
In Child 44, Yuri is a devoted officer in the Russian military, and in many ways the cold, harsh Russian terrain symbolizes his family, his career, and his journey to self-realization.
Yuri starved as a child. His poor, diminished family was stuck living on the back-burners of a war-driven, communist country in a town all but forgotten by the government, where in the dead of winter people killed each other over a stray cat.
Out in the forest, in the snow, as a child he takes his younger brother to hunt said stray cat. The fact that they venture into this forest for the cat (which could be a symbol of survival, since this is what will supply their sustenance) foreshadows that he will lose his brother, and that is just what happens. The forest they venture into both foreshadows and symbolizes how they become lost as well as the loss of each other in the hunt or quest for survival. They take each other for dead in the cold night and as they emerge from the forest they are each forced out of their adolescence and into the darkness of the world. Yuri flees the town after the 'death' of his brother and becomes a stern officer in the KGB whose cold rationale perfectly matches that of the Russian winters. Coincidentally, his younger brother becomes cold to match the terrain of the land in a much different way. Seeing his successful brother on the cover of war posters and knowing that his high-ranking brother knows nothing of his existence, he is driven to gross serial murders to get his attention.
The way that these murders are carried out is of great importance given the early symbology of the forest and the cat. He takes his victims and feeds their stomach (an organ perhaps representing his ability to digest the circumstances of his life) to his pet cats and drags the bodies of the victims into the snowy forest. This is his way of trying to drag his brother back down into the cold darkness with him to realize he's there. It takes many, many murders to catch the attention of the KGB, but it works. Yuri is the officer delegated to investigate these murders.
The terrain then turns to represent the Russian government itself and the social prison Yuri begins to find himself in. When Yuri realizes there is a serial murderer, the government shuts him down, because under the communist rule, there is no crime, no fear, no one outside the rules. The snow (representing the cold blanket of lies and harshness) encases everyone. The government even goes so far as to arrest any person on the street who is slightly out of favor and charges them with the next murder and tortures them until they confess.
When Yuri has had enough and runs from his commander who begins to order these innocents to death, he runs through a forest (ironically) and across a white, snowy field until he falls into the river. After nearly freezing to death, he comes out of the nearly frozen river alive, no longer lost in the web of government lies. Everyone knows that being submerged in water and coming out means rebirth. He has been reborn into moral innocence.
Without a career, instead he has a new determination to find the truth about the murders, he is forced to live on the streets, running from the ruthless government while being surrounded by them constantly, like the snow in the villages. Without a home he feels the stinging bite of the winter, the bite of corruption more than ever. He realizes he used to be a part of this winter: ruthless and cold, covering everything with a blanket of white lies pretending to be an innocent truth.
As he slowly discovers the truth of what happened in the forest when he was a child, and the truth of the bodies found in the forest; that his brother is alive and is vengeful, the circumstances of the past are frozen as the present's reality. His brother is still dead to him, even though he is found to be alive. They say it's always winter in Russia.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Dialogue 'Self-Knowledge'
I have one last question for you, Sir.
Yes?
Who Are You?
Who Are You?
I am Joris.
You are a name? A sound, a mere utterance?
Well I am my memories, as well.
You are a vision of the past seen through an infinitely small peephole?
Well I am my body, I suppose.
Then why do you call it yours? Are you a possession of your self?
If I keep giving you answers, will you only reply with questions? How can I define myself? Can you give me a real answer?
He smiled. 'Who' is not the more pertinent question, indeed. You know very well who you are. Do not let you fool yourself. Your knowledge does not stretch only as far as you are able to define and put restrictions on an abstract something. Do not be daunted by having no definite answer, for one can only define the finite. You can never answer 'who' somebody is. Therefore, I cannot answer your question.
How shall I know you, then?
The way you know yourself.
Yes?
Who Are You?
Who Are You?
I am Joris.
You are a name? A sound, a mere utterance?
Well I am my memories, as well.
You are a vision of the past seen through an infinitely small peephole?
Well I am my body, I suppose.
Then why do you call it yours? Are you a possession of your self?
If I keep giving you answers, will you only reply with questions? How can I define myself? Can you give me a real answer?
He smiled. 'Who' is not the more pertinent question, indeed. You know very well who you are. Do not let you fool yourself. Your knowledge does not stretch only as far as you are able to define and put restrictions on an abstract something. Do not be daunted by having no definite answer, for one can only define the finite. You can never answer 'who' somebody is. Therefore, I cannot answer your question.
How shall I know you, then?
The way you know yourself.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
'Progress' of Civilization
Thanks Z and Pennilesscripple.
There's a Problem With Civilization. It's so easy to sing ourselves into some kind of nap where we can distract ourselves from what is really going on. It's not even wholly accurate to say it's only 'easy'. It's more habitual.
Ask questions. If you need specific examples of the processes of civilization destroying the planet and our humanity (as beings of the earth), they aren't hard to find. If the simple theory of civilization and its functions is enough to make you feel like there's something off, something that needs to be changed, then look for examples too. They're all around, and they're only affirming.
Like Derrick Jensen said in his book Endgame, Premise 16: "Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses."
We get all hyped-up on apocalypse theories and Armageddon estimates and it's amusing how we can come up with a load of extraneous examples of endings for our world.
It seems for the most part we don't consider the option that we (our culture, this path we've taken as manufacturing fulfillment) is going to crash down at some point. It won't last forever, it isn't sustainable. We can degrade any planet we can get to and deem habitable but in the end all we will be doing is degrading, taking from others that are not of our civilization, taking from the earth and the environment, and giving back destruction.
Do you think the electricity that powers your A/C unit makes the earth any cleaner or any cooler? It does just the opposite.
We live in a world where we can somehow shut out the earth and only take from it when we need it, when it can give us or save us money. It is absolutely imperative that this stops. I'm not proposing you start growing all your food or recycling, though those are indeed steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle (think about it: you cannot sustain your own life), I'm saying that we need to show more people what is really going on. Show them why they should care. We need to consider ways to extract ourselves from this situation. It won't be instant and it won't be pretty or convenient. I'm not Al Gore, but I do refuse to be just another complacent being on this planet.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Graduation
It's waking up in an empty house with the feeling that there's nowhere I need to be, no one to make casual conversation with, and no desire to change the thermostat even though I'm feeling a little cold.
It's looking at the hard copy manuscript thinkin to myself: 'damn that chapter is gonna be the hard one to clean up,' and not having the motivation to start the job.
It's standing in front of my pantry looking for some kind of unprocessed food to eat, and finding nothing quite adequate, but settling for ramen and cooking it on the stove and adding green onions just to make it seem better.
It's sitting on my bed because I have nowhere else to be, looking at the way the light hits the sheets I put on last night at 4 in the morning, and reminding myself to pick my sheets from the linen closet when I can actually see what I'm picking out.
It's stealing whatever sunshine I can get between the frequent rains, because swimming isn't much fun alone, and neither is soccer in the backyard or drinking green tea on the back porch.
It's singing any song that comes to mind, because if I was just talking out loud it would seem a little insane. The fact that it's a song somehow makes it better.
It's lookin at my bookshelf, browsing the books, thinkin: 'what captures my interest today?' and picking out four or five books that I know I won't read much of anyways.
It's doing laundry even though I only have half a load because my favorite shirt is dirty and I'd like to wear it again as soon as I can. And because I can't find any socks and I'm sure there's some in that dirty pile.
It's sitting in front of my piano for longer than is probably healthy, memorizing chord progressions because it's easy and playing anything and nothing at all because...well, that's easy too.
I's feeding the fish even though I know mama fed them just a few hours ago before she left, and not really caring if they bother to eat it.
It's standing in front of my impossibly cute polar bear calendar, lifting up the pages and looking at the days, and seeing BLANK SQUARES EVERYWHERE.
It's going through all my folders and notebooks, throwing away everything that I don't need to look back on anymore and leaving trash bags full of that stuff for my brother to take out when he gets home.
It's a distinct sense of uncertainty.
It's the flavor of sudden autonomy.
It's looking at the hard copy manuscript thinkin to myself: 'damn that chapter is gonna be the hard one to clean up,' and not having the motivation to start the job.
It's standing in front of my pantry looking for some kind of unprocessed food to eat, and finding nothing quite adequate, but settling for ramen and cooking it on the stove and adding green onions just to make it seem better.
It's sitting on my bed because I have nowhere else to be, looking at the way the light hits the sheets I put on last night at 4 in the morning, and reminding myself to pick my sheets from the linen closet when I can actually see what I'm picking out.
It's stealing whatever sunshine I can get between the frequent rains, because swimming isn't much fun alone, and neither is soccer in the backyard or drinking green tea on the back porch.
It's singing any song that comes to mind, because if I was just talking out loud it would seem a little insane. The fact that it's a song somehow makes it better.
It's doing laundry even though I only have half a load because my favorite shirt is dirty and I'd like to wear it again as soon as I can. And because I can't find any socks and I'm sure there's some in that dirty pile.
It's sitting in front of my piano for longer than is probably healthy, memorizing chord progressions because it's easy and playing anything and nothing at all because...well, that's easy too.
I's feeding the fish even though I know mama fed them just a few hours ago before she left, and not really caring if they bother to eat it.
It's standing in front of my impossibly cute polar bear calendar, lifting up the pages and looking at the days, and seeing BLANK SQUARES EVERYWHERE.
It's going through all my folders and notebooks, throwing away everything that I don't need to look back on anymore and leaving trash bags full of that stuff for my brother to take out when he gets home.
It's a distinct sense of uncertainty.
It's the flavor of sudden autonomy.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The M4+r1x
Reply to gogreen18 (Laci Green) on: Unlock Your Mind (Take the Red Pill)
The Matrix could very well be indicative of the effects of religion (or of no religion) on the human psyche as you said, but it also seems pertinent to put it in a more general sense, to elaborate the necessity to seriously consider the philosophy contained therein. For instance, rather than having the Matrix represent religion or no religion, put it instead as a representation of modern consumerist society, the result of industrialism. Say that perhaps humans created this Matrix, began manufacturing reality with the rise of factories and mass importation of resources.
Well, that would explain the barren wasteland of the 'real world' in The Matrix; a result of our destruction of the planet in the process of making or subscribing to this false reality to sedate our conscience (but of course we see the Earth as beautiful and wonderful, neglecting the everyday fact that we are destroying it behind the scenes).
"You've been living in a dream world, Neo" Morpheus says, violently shaking Neo out of his perceptions of the real world. Perhaps the Matrix is a statement on our societal and cultural values changing in a way that creates a false world that perhaps we created to put our minds at ease. "What is real? How do you define real?" he says, and we can take these questions and put them in a societal context, addressing a worldwide problem: What is contentment? How do you define contentment? Are we geared towards contentment in this society? Are we geared towards truth, or do we define contentment as a plausible truth, malleable and useful insofar as it gives us a peace of mind?
Maybe religion is that plausible truth. Maybe it's the lack of religion that puts a mind at ease, or maybe it's all contained in the type of culture we've evolved; making money to spend money, freedom epitomized in 'free' consumerism, pretty gears in a system where purpose is given freely if only you adhere to the rules and perform your function like individual chunks of code in a program.
We as humans have been integrated into a huge system that arguably rules (if not exists as) our culture and society. We work to make money. but we really work because the work needs to get done to keep the system in place. We are motivated by money, because money can give us a little freedom and a little fun for our free time. However, this is not so much serving ourselves as it is a larger system. We really need the money to keep the system in place, to buy the products that keep the system of society and economics running, but all of this is relatively under the surface, covered up by the illusion of satisfaction and personal 'contentment'. It's like a program running in the background that has the appearance of a fulfilling life, but is really rather self-serving, yet still gives us the illusion of a complete existence free of spiritual or existential depravity or incompleteness.
The irony of it is, everyone feels that depravity, masked or not. The system was created out of that depravity, that longing for purpose that we felt lost to, and thus we began manufacturing it. The machines that wage war with us in the 'real world' that so many are oblivious to (or are simply not 'ready' to see) is in fact, that very depravity. We created a false world to escape from that war, that pressure, that lack of real purpose (hence the machines representing a lack of full life) and it is up to those who know what's going on to give out the red pill and wage this war.
Where there are different views on what exactly the Matrix can represent to modern culture, be it the haze of religion, the environmental manifestation of material atheism, or the pretty blinds of complacency as a result of our modern industrialized society/culture, one point can be derived from the general philosophy: we need to wake up. We need to discontent ourselves with our prejudices and judgements and label them as both inadequate and destructive. It is too presumptuous to assume we have found the truth in any respect, because clearly the disparate truths are creating an elaborate falsehood that is muting our progression of mind.
There is a larger conflict behind the pixels, equations balancing and unblancing, programs destroying and creating, and as a whole we are too absorbed in what we want to see or what we tell ourselves we see to realize that the quality of life is being drained in our collective ingorance.
Regardless of what the Matrix really is, or what 'reality' really is, it's time to start handing out the red pill and find out, as a collective effort.
Maybe some new messiah will come and be 'the one' to end the war, but he/she won't be magically taken from the matrix. It would be up to the ones who've already taken the red pill to uncover it. It could be anyone. It could be everyone.
The Matrix could very well be indicative of the effects of religion (or of no religion) on the human psyche as you said, but it also seems pertinent to put it in a more general sense, to elaborate the necessity to seriously consider the philosophy contained therein. For instance, rather than having the Matrix represent religion or no religion, put it instead as a representation of modern consumerist society, the result of industrialism. Say that perhaps humans created this Matrix, began manufacturing reality with the rise of factories and mass importation of resources.
Well, that would explain the barren wasteland of the 'real world' in The Matrix; a result of our destruction of the planet in the process of making or subscribing to this false reality to sedate our conscience (but of course we see the Earth as beautiful and wonderful, neglecting the everyday fact that we are destroying it behind the scenes).
"You've been living in a dream world, Neo" Morpheus says, violently shaking Neo out of his perceptions of the real world. Perhaps the Matrix is a statement on our societal and cultural values changing in a way that creates a false world that perhaps we created to put our minds at ease. "What is real? How do you define real?" he says, and we can take these questions and put them in a societal context, addressing a worldwide problem: What is contentment? How do you define contentment? Are we geared towards contentment in this society? Are we geared towards truth, or do we define contentment as a plausible truth, malleable and useful insofar as it gives us a peace of mind?
Maybe religion is that plausible truth. Maybe it's the lack of religion that puts a mind at ease, or maybe it's all contained in the type of culture we've evolved; making money to spend money, freedom epitomized in 'free' consumerism, pretty gears in a system where purpose is given freely if only you adhere to the rules and perform your function like individual chunks of code in a program.
We as humans have been integrated into a huge system that arguably rules (if not exists as) our culture and society. We work to make money. but we really work because the work needs to get done to keep the system in place. We are motivated by money, because money can give us a little freedom and a little fun for our free time. However, this is not so much serving ourselves as it is a larger system. We really need the money to keep the system in place, to buy the products that keep the system of society and economics running, but all of this is relatively under the surface, covered up by the illusion of satisfaction and personal 'contentment'. It's like a program running in the background that has the appearance of a fulfilling life, but is really rather self-serving, yet still gives us the illusion of a complete existence free of spiritual or existential depravity or incompleteness.
The irony of it is, everyone feels that depravity, masked or not. The system was created out of that depravity, that longing for purpose that we felt lost to, and thus we began manufacturing it. The machines that wage war with us in the 'real world' that so many are oblivious to (or are simply not 'ready' to see) is in fact, that very depravity. We created a false world to escape from that war, that pressure, that lack of real purpose (hence the machines representing a lack of full life) and it is up to those who know what's going on to give out the red pill and wage this war.
Where there are different views on what exactly the Matrix can represent to modern culture, be it the haze of religion, the environmental manifestation of material atheism, or the pretty blinds of complacency as a result of our modern industrialized society/culture, one point can be derived from the general philosophy: we need to wake up. We need to discontent ourselves with our prejudices and judgements and label them as both inadequate and destructive. It is too presumptuous to assume we have found the truth in any respect, because clearly the disparate truths are creating an elaborate falsehood that is muting our progression of mind.
There is a larger conflict behind the pixels, equations balancing and unblancing, programs destroying and creating, and as a whole we are too absorbed in what we want to see or what we tell ourselves we see to realize that the quality of life is being drained in our collective ingorance.
Regardless of what the Matrix really is, or what 'reality' really is, it's time to start handing out the red pill and find out, as a collective effort.
Maybe some new messiah will come and be 'the one' to end the war, but he/she won't be magically taken from the matrix. It would be up to the ones who've already taken the red pill to uncover it. It could be anyone. It could be everyone.
Friday, October 9, 2009
A(Theism)
Okay, I wanna let you know:
Being a theist requires a bit of faith in any respect. Although, something that is kinda funny is that being an atheist ALSO implies that you have faith.
Let me explain.
It takes a certain degree of faith to 'believe' (and I say believe because religion or theism can't be disproved, despite an atheist's need for evidence to buy into a thought mode) but it takes a bit of faith to 'believe' that there is nothing that exists outside what can be proven to you. What you know to be true is in your little box of perception, and to me it seems foolish to think that what is true exists wholly in that perception, because what's a house to an ant? What's a planet to a cat? What's the universe to a human? We don't see all that is nor understand all that is outside our limited perception.
So, to say that nothing outside what can be proven sufficiently is true, you're essentially putting your truth in a little box that, by the way, is modified constantly. Perceptions change.
Tell me, how can all the truth there is, all the mysteries of life and the cosmos be contained in a box labeled 'evidence' when no person can even cohesively put all the evidence together?
It should be obvious that there is something external to our observational method that puts all the pieces into place.
I'm not being a proponent of God. I'm not a christian by ANY means, and I don't take scripture as fact. I don't believe in some God who has an active or inactive role in my life or even in the course of humanity. Don't get me wrong, I respect religious traditions and scriptures and the lessons therein, but still I do not call myself an atheist.
This is based on the conception that a human can KNOW something. Not having the necessity to be persuaded to any mode of thought by evidence, but having the ability to KNOW regardless of persuasion or conflicting evidence or critiques. To think and to know are very different things. An atheist can think anything of the world they want, but they do not KNOW, outside of an acquisition of enough evidence, anything.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Being a theist requires a bit of faith in any respect. Although, something that is kinda funny is that being an atheist ALSO implies that you have faith.
Let me explain.
It takes a certain degree of faith to 'believe' (and I say believe because religion or theism can't be disproved, despite an atheist's need for evidence to buy into a thought mode) but it takes a bit of faith to 'believe' that there is nothing that exists outside what can be proven to you. What you know to be true is in your little box of perception, and to me it seems foolish to think that what is true exists wholly in that perception, because what's a house to an ant? What's a planet to a cat? What's the universe to a human? We don't see all that is nor understand all that is outside our limited perception.
So, to say that nothing outside what can be proven sufficiently is true, you're essentially putting your truth in a little box that, by the way, is modified constantly. Perceptions change.
Tell me, how can all the truth there is, all the mysteries of life and the cosmos be contained in a box labeled 'evidence' when no person can even cohesively put all the evidence together?
It should be obvious that there is something external to our observational method that puts all the pieces into place.
I'm not being a proponent of God. I'm not a christian by ANY means, and I don't take scripture as fact. I don't believe in some God who has an active or inactive role in my life or even in the course of humanity. Don't get me wrong, I respect religious traditions and scriptures and the lessons therein, but still I do not call myself an atheist.
This is based on the conception that a human can KNOW something. Not having the necessity to be persuaded to any mode of thought by evidence, but having the ability to KNOW regardless of persuasion or conflicting evidence or critiques. To think and to know are very different things. An atheist can think anything of the world they want, but they do not KNOW, outside of an acquisition of enough evidence, anything.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Journal 1
Sometimes I feel that I am much too simple for this life. I lost time in all the obligatory things that I feel obliged to not because I want to, but because I 'should'. I don't want money. Money isn't freedom. I don't want a big house, that's not freedom either.I know though that the way does not flow along the banks of 'self' and 'society', it flows between the banks of 'self' and 'self'. Nothing in this world can obstruct me but myself and with that knowledge, the trivialities of this world seem so very small.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Coded Language - Saul Williams
Album: Amethyst Rock Star
Lyrics:
Whereas, breakbeats have been the missing link connecting the diasporic
community to its drum woven past
Whereas the quantised drum has allowed the whirling mathematicians to
calculate the ever changing distance between rock and stardom.
Whereas the velocity of the spinning vinyl, cross-faded, spun backwards, and
re-released at the same given moment of recorded history , yet at a
different moment in time's continuum has allowed history to catch up with
the present.
We do hereby declare reality unkempt by the changing standards of dialogue.
Statements, such as, "keep it real", especially when punctuating or
anticipating modes of ultra-violence inflicted psychologically or physically
or depicting an unchanging rule of events will hence forth be seen as
retro-active and not representative of the individually determined is.
Furthermore, as determined by the collective consciousness of this state of
being and the lessened distance between thought patterns and their secular
manifestations, the role of men as listening receptacles is to be increased
by a number no less than 70 percent of the current enlisted as vocal
aggressors.
Motherfuckers better realize, now is the time to self-actualize
We have found evidence that hip hops standard 85 rpm when increased by a
number as least half the rate of it's standard or decreased at ¾ of it's
speed may be a determining factor in heightening consciousness.
Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the
unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.
Equate rhyme with reason, Sun with season
Our cyclical relationship to phenomenon has encouraged scholars to erase the
centers of periods, thus symbolizing the non-linear character of cause and
effect
Reject mediocrity!
Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which as been given
for you to understand.
The current standard is the equivalent of an adolescent restricted to the
diet of an infant.
The rapidly changing body would acquire dysfunctional and deformative
symptoms and could not properly mature on a diet of apple sauce and crushed
pears
Light years are interchangeable with years of living in darkness.
The role of darkness is not to be seen as, or equated with, Ignorance, but
with the unknown, and the mysteries of the unseen.
Thus, in the name of:
ROBESON, GOD'S SON, HURSTON, AHKENATON, HATHSHEPUT, BLACKFOOT, HELEN,
LENNON, KHALO, KALI, THE THREE MARIAS, TARA, LILITHE, LOURDE, WHITMAN,
BALDWIN, GINSBERG, KAUFMAN, LUMUMBA, GHANDI, GIBRAN, SHABAZZ, SIDDHARTHA,
MEDUSA, GUEVARA, GUARDSIEFF, RAND, WRIGHT, BANNEKER, TUBMAN, HAMER, HOLIDAY,
DAVIS, COLTRANE, MORRISON, JOPLIN, DUBOIS, CLARKE, SHAKESPEARE, RACHMNINOV,
ELLINGTON, CARTER, GAYE, HATHOWAY, HENDRIX, KUTL, DICKERSON, RIPPERTON,
MARY, ISIS, THERESA, PLATH, RUMI, FELLINI, MICHAUX, NOSTRADAMUS, NEFERTITI,
LA ROCK, SHIVA, GANESHA, YEMAJA, OSHUN, OBATALA, OGUN, KENNEDY, KING, FOUR
LITTLE GIRLS, HIROSHIMA, NAGASAKI, KELLER, BIKO, PERONE, MARLEY, COSBY,
SHAKUR, THOSE STILL AFLAMED, AND THE COUNTLESS UNNAMED
We claim the present as the pre-sent, as the hereafter.
We are unraveling our navels so that we may ingest the sun.
We are not afraid of the darkness, we trust that the moon shall guide us.
We are determining the future at this very moment.
We now know that the heart is the philosophers' stone
Our music is our alchemy
We stand as the manifested equivalent of 3 buckets of water and a hand full
of minerals, thus realizing that those very buckets turned upside down
supply the percussion factor of forever.
If you must count to keep the beat then count.
Find you mantra and awaken your subconscious.
Curve you circles counterclockwise
Use your cipher to decipher, Coded Language, man made laws.
Climb waterfalls and trees, commune with nature, snakes and bees.
Let your children name themselves and claim themselves as the new day for
today we are determined to be the channelers of these changing frequencies
into songs, paintings, writings, dance, drama, photography, carpentry,
crafts, love, and love.
We enlist every instrument: Acoustic, electronic.
Every so-called race, gender, and sexual preference.
Every per-son as beings of sound to acknowledge their responsibility to
uplift the consciousness of the entire fucking World.
Any utterance will be un-aimed, will be disclaimed - two rappers slain
Any utterance will be un-aimed, will be disclaimed - two rappers slain
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Reconnecting With Life
It's about what you could do, what you should do. Not what you want to do. It's about what you could know, what you should know. Not what you want to know.
We don't make our own home. We don't make our own food. We don't even teach our own kids.
We are so dependent on external institutions that these basic necessities are no longer taken care of by ourselves. It's become increasingly customary to shove basic, crucial responsibilities onto institutions. Day Care, Schools, the Government, Corporations, Grocery Stores.
I suggest:
Put a little effort to provide for yourself. Do a home improvement project. Make a garment of clothing. Grow some food. Go fishing at eat what you catch. Teach your kids about something you know a lot about, or that they're interested in. Read to them. Build something of your own. Reconnect with life. Reclaim it.
Somethin you guys should check out, I love this dude:
We don't make our own home. We don't make our own food. We don't even teach our own kids.
We are so dependent on external institutions that these basic necessities are no longer taken care of by ourselves. It's become increasingly customary to shove basic, crucial responsibilities onto institutions. Day Care, Schools, the Government, Corporations, Grocery Stores.
I suggest:
Put a little effort to provide for yourself. Do a home improvement project. Make a garment of clothing. Grow some food. Go fishing at eat what you catch. Teach your kids about something you know a lot about, or that they're interested in. Read to them. Build something of your own. Reconnect with life. Reclaim it.
Somethin you guys should check out, I love this dude:
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Best Book Club Ever!
This is better than Oprah's Book Club. This can accomplish so much, with so little effort.
Ever feel like there's so much that needs to be done, and whatever is being done so far simply isn't adequate?
It's time to take your own step and do a little thing to spread knowledge or truth.
Think about it:
If there was any one book you could get any one person to read, what would it be? What book influenced you the most?
Well, how about actually giving that book to someone? It doesn't matter if you don't know who will appreciate it the most, or who will actually read it. Just write a little note in it to tell someone to pass it on, and literally give it to someone random, if not someone you know. Or, just leave it someplace like a grocery store or a park.
If you were walking along the beach and saw a book half-buried in the sand, would you pick it up? Anyone else would, too. Here's your chance to give someone else a gift that could change their lives, or even just their perspective.
Here's a Good Idea:
Ever feel like there's so much that needs to be done, and whatever is being done so far simply isn't adequate?
It's time to take your own step and do a little thing to spread knowledge or truth.
Think about it:
If there was any one book you could get any one person to read, what would it be? What book influenced you the most?
Well, how about actually giving that book to someone? It doesn't matter if you don't know who will appreciate it the most, or who will actually read it. Just write a little note in it to tell someone to pass it on, and literally give it to someone random, if not someone you know. Or, just leave it someplace like a grocery store or a park.
If you were walking along the beach and saw a book half-buried in the sand, would you pick it up? Anyone else would, too. Here's your chance to give someone else a gift that could change their lives, or even just their perspective.
Here's a Good Idea:
Pass it on.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Economy (Whut?)
Light It Up 2.0 prod. by Ratatat
thx Sleepynumberz!!
Lyrics:
if you hating on money, man, go on light your paper up
it's stupid funny how we fight over our wages, bro
we think we're gunning it but really we're just breaking stuff
you think you're dumb, after they stuck you with the fakest fluff
i feel it too, partner, seeping through my wallet pocket
we're in it too far to ever think we couldn't stop it
we struggle real hard, popping off and then re-stocking
we hit a real wall, now we gonna fucking drop it.
yeah
we're the illest cause we're sickened by the cash stacks
feeling like we're dealing with some acid-addled flash backs
if we backtrack, looking to the classics, issues facing us today like, shit i thought we passed that.
it's still a class act, governed by your assets
sure, they try to mask it but you know what your caste is
so make a fist like this, stop relaxing flat
i'm saying slavery, baby, now is you grasping that?
we've amassed the facts so we be blasting back
attacking wackness and the plastic plaque
as slackers slide into the rhyme slanging, time-changing education
i'm naming mind-states needing heavy elevation
yeah we're instigating definite investigation
data analyzed. what's the verdict?
fuck civilization.
ok. learn the mission - smoke the message up and pass it-
burn your currency, too - now where the crash at? (right here!)
light it up twice, brother, does you see the stakes is up?
its too frightening, trust i couldn't make this up
yeah we might die trying bringing justice, saving us
but if we fight to win it, first we must be waking up
that why i'm shouting loud, blazing like a fading rocket,
raising up amazing love, knocking hate, i know it's shocking
unlocking major topics, claiming that i heard the call -
i'm just disgusted by the stuff. i'm tryna burn it all.
do you have the guts to digest it?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
College Fulfillment
It's not all about financial aid and credit hours, you know. It's not about car insurance or meal plans, not even parties and study groups. It's not about reading or writing, and it isn't even about a degree.
What's a degree anyways? It's a piece of paper saying you spent time and money. Well, I don't know about you, but I don't need a paper to prove that. I do it every day, and I can learn just as much without that institution that gave me the paper, and without paying that institution to give it to me. I suppose a degree proves knowledge too, but only in the vaguest sense.
Some say a degree is a must-have for a successful life. Well, there's two assumptions there: 1) that hardly anyone has led a successful life without a college degree, and 2) that we define success the same way. Now I'm still young, but I know of a multitude of successful people who do not have a piece of paper with a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. written on it. End even then there are many who were simply awarded degrees because of their success.
A degree says nothing about YOU. It says nothing of who you are, what you want out of life, or what you've gotten out of life so far. It says nothing about your spiritual orientation or the ways you derive satisfaction from this consumerist society you're a part of. It doesn't even say where you want to place yourself in that society.
Funny thing is, aren't those the more pertinent questions you have to answer as you're looking for your place in the world? Having a degree does not answer those questions, so why spend tens of thousands of dollars to get that paper? Money can't buy happiness they say, so how would it buy a piece of paper that can give you happiness? I'll let you in on a secret, here. Money can't buy knowledge, either. It can't buy enlightenment, it can't buy love.
Maybe I'm just caught in the system, because here I am registered for 15 credit hours and taking out a couple thousand in student loans a year, taking on a part-time job to fill in the gaps, and I find all my time is taken up in pursuit of that piece of paper.
Thing is, there's no way out. What else can I do besides fighting against people who already have degrees for a night-time job at McDonald's? That's a career, right there. For those who don't have degrees anyways, and even for some who do.
What I want to know is, how come every option I have in life at this point does not lead to satisfaction or to fulfillment? Or even to a worthwhile spending of time?
What's a degree anyways? It's a piece of paper saying you spent time and money. Well, I don't know about you, but I don't need a paper to prove that. I do it every day, and I can learn just as much without that institution that gave me the paper, and without paying that institution to give it to me. I suppose a degree proves knowledge too, but only in the vaguest sense.
Some say a degree is a must-have for a successful life. Well, there's two assumptions there: 1) that hardly anyone has led a successful life without a college degree, and 2) that we define success the same way. Now I'm still young, but I know of a multitude of successful people who do not have a piece of paper with a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. written on it. End even then there are many who were simply awarded degrees because of their success.
A degree says nothing about YOU. It says nothing of who you are, what you want out of life, or what you've gotten out of life so far. It says nothing about your spiritual orientation or the ways you derive satisfaction from this consumerist society you're a part of. It doesn't even say where you want to place yourself in that society.
Funny thing is, aren't those the more pertinent questions you have to answer as you're looking for your place in the world? Having a degree does not answer those questions, so why spend tens of thousands of dollars to get that paper? Money can't buy happiness they say, so how would it buy a piece of paper that can give you happiness? I'll let you in on a secret, here. Money can't buy knowledge, either. It can't buy enlightenment, it can't buy love.
Maybe I'm just caught in the system, because here I am registered for 15 credit hours and taking out a couple thousand in student loans a year, taking on a part-time job to fill in the gaps, and I find all my time is taken up in pursuit of that piece of paper.
Thing is, there's no way out. What else can I do besides fighting against people who already have degrees for a night-time job at McDonald's? That's a career, right there. For those who don't have degrees anyways, and even for some who do.
What I want to know is, how come every option I have in life at this point does not lead to satisfaction or to fulfillment? Or even to a worthwhile spending of time?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Derrick Jensen's Endgame
Premises of Endgame (Vol. 1 The Problem of Civilization, Vol. 2 Resistance). Link to the book's site
"Premise One: Civilization is not and can never be sustainable. This is especially true for industrial civilization.
Premise Two: Traditional communities do not often voluntarily give up or sell the resources on which their communities are based until their communities have been destroyed. They also do not willingly allow their landbases to be damaged so that other resources—gold, oil, and so on—can be extracted. It follows that those who want the resources will do what they can to destroy traditional communities.
Premise Three: Our way of living—industrial civilization—is based on, requires, and would collapse very quickly without persistent and widespread violence.
Premise Four: Civilization is based on a clearly defined and widely accepted yet often unarticulated hierarchy. Violence done by those higher on the hierarchy to those lower is nearly always invisible, that is, unnoticed. When it is noticed, it is fully rationalized. Violence done by those lower on the hierarchy to those higher is unthinkable, and when it does occur is regarded with shock, horror, and the fetishization of the victims.
Premise Five: The property of those higher on the hierarchy is more valuable than the lives of those below. It is acceptable for those above to increase the amount of property they control—in everyday language, to make money—by destroying or taking the lives of those below. This is called production. If those below damage the property of those above, those above may kill or otherwise destroy the lives of those below. This is called justice.
Premise Six: Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses. The effects of this degradation will continue to harm humans and nonhumans for a very long time.
Premise Seven: The longer we wait for civilization to crash—or the longer we wait before we ourselves bring it down—the messier will be the crash, and the worse things will be for those humans and nonhumans who live during it, and for those who come after.
Premise Eight: The needs of the natural world are more important than the needs of the economic system.
Another way to put premise Eight: Any economic or social system that does not benefit the natural communities on which it is based is unsustainable, immoral, and stupid. Sustainability, morality, and intelligence (as well as justice) requires the dismantling of any such economic or social system, or at the very least disallowing it from damaging your landbase.
Premise Nine: Although there will clearly some day be far fewer humans than there are at present, there are many ways this reduction in population could occur (or be achieved, depending on the passivity or activity with which we choose to approach this transformation). Some of these ways would be characterized by extreme violence and privation: nuclear armageddon, for example, would reduce both population and consumption, yet do so horrifically; the same would be true for a continuation of overshoot, followed by crash. Other ways could be characterized by less violence. Given the current levels of violence by this culture against both humans and the natural world, however, it’s not possible to speak of reductions in population and consumption that do not involve violence and privation, not because the reductions themselves would necessarily involve violence, but because violence and privation have become the default. Yet some ways of reducing population and consumption, while still violent, would consist of decreasing the current levels of violence required, and caused by, the (often forced) movement of resources from the poor to the rich, and would of course be marked by a reduction in current violence against the natural world. Personally and collectively we may be able to both reduce the amount and soften the character of violence that occurs during this ongoing and perhaps longterm shift. Or we may not. But this much is certain: if we do not approach it actively—if we do not talk about our predicament and what we are going to do about it—the violence will almost undoubtedly be far more severe, the privation more extreme.
Premise Ten: The culture as a whole and most of its members are insane. The culture is driven by a death urge, an urge to destroy life.
Premise Eleven: From the beginning, this culture—civilization—has been a culture of occupation.
Premise Twelve: There are no rich people in the world, and there are no poor people. There are just people. The rich may have lots of pieces of green paper that many pretend are worth something—or their presumed riches may be even more abstract: numbers on hard drives at banks—and the poor may not. These “rich” claim they own land, and the “poor” are often denied the right to make that same claim. A primary purpose of the police is to enforce the delusions of those with lots of pieces of green paper. Those without the green papers generally buy into these delusions almost as quickly and completely as those with. These delusions carry with them extreme consequences in the real world.
Premise Thirteen: Those in power rule by force, and the sooner we break ourselves of illusions to the contrary, the sooner we can at least begin to make reasonable decisions about whether, when, and how we are going to resist.
Premise Fourteen: From birth on—and probably from conception, but I’m not sure how I’d make the case—we are individually and collectively enculturated to hate life, hate the natural world, hate the wild, hate wild animals, hate women, hate children, hate our bodies, hate and fear our emotions, hate ourselves. If we did not hate the world, we could not allow it to be destroyed before our eyes. If we did not hate ourselves, we could not allow our homes—and our bodies—to be poisoned.
Premise Fifteen: Love does not imply pacifism.
Premise Sixteen: The material world is primary. This does not mean that the spirit does not exist, nor that the material world is all there is. It means that spirit mixes with flesh. It means also that real world actions have real world consequences. It means we cannot rely on Jesus, Santa Claus, the Great Mother, or even the Easter Bunny to get us out of this mess. It means this mess really is a mess, and not just the movement of God’s eyebrows. It means we have to face this mess ourselves. It means that for the time we are here on Earth—whether or not we end up somewhere else after we die, and whether we are condemned or privileged to live here—the Earth is the point. It is primary. It is our home. It is everything. It is silly to think or act or be as though this world is not real and primary. It is silly and pathetic to not live our lives as though our lives are real.
Premise Seventeen: It is a mistake (or more likely, denial) to base our decisions on whether actions arising from these will or won’t frighten fence-sitters, or the mass of Americans.
Premise Eighteen: Our current sense of self is no more sustainable than our current use of energy or technology.
Premise Nineteen: The culture’s problem lies above all in the belief that controlling and abusing the natural world is justifiable.
Premise Twenty: Within this culture, economics—not community well-being, not morals, not ethics, not justice, not life itself—drives social decisions.
Modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the monetary fortunes of the decision-makers and those they serve.
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the power of the decision-makers and those they serve.
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are founded primarily (and often exclusively) on the almost entirely unexamined belief that the decision-makers and those they serve are entitled to magnify their power and/or financial fortunes at the expense of those below.
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: If you dig to the heart of it—if there were any heart left—you would find that social decisions are determined primarily on the basis of how well these decisions serve the ends of controlling or destroying wild nature."
If that doesn't make you think a bit...
"Premise One: Civilization is not and can never be sustainable. This is especially true for industrial civilization.
Premise Two: Traditional communities do not often voluntarily give up or sell the resources on which their communities are based until their communities have been destroyed. They also do not willingly allow their landbases to be damaged so that other resources—gold, oil, and so on—can be extracted. It follows that those who want the resources will do what they can to destroy traditional communities.
Premise Three: Our way of living—industrial civilization—is based on, requires, and would collapse very quickly without persistent and widespread violence.
Premise Four: Civilization is based on a clearly defined and widely accepted yet often unarticulated hierarchy. Violence done by those higher on the hierarchy to those lower is nearly always invisible, that is, unnoticed. When it is noticed, it is fully rationalized. Violence done by those lower on the hierarchy to those higher is unthinkable, and when it does occur is regarded with shock, horror, and the fetishization of the victims.
Premise Five: The property of those higher on the hierarchy is more valuable than the lives of those below. It is acceptable for those above to increase the amount of property they control—in everyday language, to make money—by destroying or taking the lives of those below. This is called production. If those below damage the property of those above, those above may kill or otherwise destroy the lives of those below. This is called justice.
Premise Six: Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses. The effects of this degradation will continue to harm humans and nonhumans for a very long time.
Premise Seven: The longer we wait for civilization to crash—or the longer we wait before we ourselves bring it down—the messier will be the crash, and the worse things will be for those humans and nonhumans who live during it, and for those who come after.
Premise Eight: The needs of the natural world are more important than the needs of the economic system.
Another way to put premise Eight: Any economic or social system that does not benefit the natural communities on which it is based is unsustainable, immoral, and stupid. Sustainability, morality, and intelligence (as well as justice) requires the dismantling of any such economic or social system, or at the very least disallowing it from damaging your landbase.
Premise Nine: Although there will clearly some day be far fewer humans than there are at present, there are many ways this reduction in population could occur (or be achieved, depending on the passivity or activity with which we choose to approach this transformation). Some of these ways would be characterized by extreme violence and privation: nuclear armageddon, for example, would reduce both population and consumption, yet do so horrifically; the same would be true for a continuation of overshoot, followed by crash. Other ways could be characterized by less violence. Given the current levels of violence by this culture against both humans and the natural world, however, it’s not possible to speak of reductions in population and consumption that do not involve violence and privation, not because the reductions themselves would necessarily involve violence, but because violence and privation have become the default. Yet some ways of reducing population and consumption, while still violent, would consist of decreasing the current levels of violence required, and caused by, the (often forced) movement of resources from the poor to the rich, and would of course be marked by a reduction in current violence against the natural world. Personally and collectively we may be able to both reduce the amount and soften the character of violence that occurs during this ongoing and perhaps longterm shift. Or we may not. But this much is certain: if we do not approach it actively—if we do not talk about our predicament and what we are going to do about it—the violence will almost undoubtedly be far more severe, the privation more extreme.
Premise Ten: The culture as a whole and most of its members are insane. The culture is driven by a death urge, an urge to destroy life.
Premise Eleven: From the beginning, this culture—civilization—has been a culture of occupation.
Premise Twelve: There are no rich people in the world, and there are no poor people. There are just people. The rich may have lots of pieces of green paper that many pretend are worth something—or their presumed riches may be even more abstract: numbers on hard drives at banks—and the poor may not. These “rich” claim they own land, and the “poor” are often denied the right to make that same claim. A primary purpose of the police is to enforce the delusions of those with lots of pieces of green paper. Those without the green papers generally buy into these delusions almost as quickly and completely as those with. These delusions carry with them extreme consequences in the real world.
Premise Thirteen: Those in power rule by force, and the sooner we break ourselves of illusions to the contrary, the sooner we can at least begin to make reasonable decisions about whether, when, and how we are going to resist.
Premise Fourteen: From birth on—and probably from conception, but I’m not sure how I’d make the case—we are individually and collectively enculturated to hate life, hate the natural world, hate the wild, hate wild animals, hate women, hate children, hate our bodies, hate and fear our emotions, hate ourselves. If we did not hate the world, we could not allow it to be destroyed before our eyes. If we did not hate ourselves, we could not allow our homes—and our bodies—to be poisoned.
Premise Fifteen: Love does not imply pacifism.
Premise Sixteen: The material world is primary. This does not mean that the spirit does not exist, nor that the material world is all there is. It means that spirit mixes with flesh. It means also that real world actions have real world consequences. It means we cannot rely on Jesus, Santa Claus, the Great Mother, or even the Easter Bunny to get us out of this mess. It means this mess really is a mess, and not just the movement of God’s eyebrows. It means we have to face this mess ourselves. It means that for the time we are here on Earth—whether or not we end up somewhere else after we die, and whether we are condemned or privileged to live here—the Earth is the point. It is primary. It is our home. It is everything. It is silly to think or act or be as though this world is not real and primary. It is silly and pathetic to not live our lives as though our lives are real.
Premise Seventeen: It is a mistake (or more likely, denial) to base our decisions on whether actions arising from these will or won’t frighten fence-sitters, or the mass of Americans.
Premise Eighteen: Our current sense of self is no more sustainable than our current use of energy or technology.
Premise Nineteen: The culture’s problem lies above all in the belief that controlling and abusing the natural world is justifiable.
Premise Twenty: Within this culture, economics—not community well-being, not morals, not ethics, not justice, not life itself—drives social decisions.
Modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the monetary fortunes of the decision-makers and those they serve.
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and often exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the power of the decision-makers and those they serve.
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are founded primarily (and often exclusively) on the almost entirely unexamined belief that the decision-makers and those they serve are entitled to magnify their power and/or financial fortunes at the expense of those below.
Re-modification of Premise Twenty: If you dig to the heart of it—if there were any heart left—you would find that social decisions are determined primarily on the basis of how well these decisions serve the ends of controlling or destroying wild nature."
If that doesn't make you think a bit...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
3 Keys To Enjoying Literature and Getting the Good Stuff Out of Reading
Reading is by no means the most popular pastime of today's youth. To most who are not active readers, there is the perpetual notion that there isn't much to be gained by reading, or at least nothing that can outweigh many other activities like movies, video games, or other forms of entertaining media.
Well, it's sad but true that most are also sadly mistaken. A story is a story is a story is a story, right? Wrong.
While originality is a myth when it comes to stories and literature, real value and entertainment are not. You hear of the classics in school like Shakespeare, Lord of the Flies, Count of Monte Cristo, Dante's Inferno or Divine Comedy, Picture of Dorian Gray, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and countless others, but those titles and authors inevitably become synonymous with BORING.
Well, there are 3 keys to enjoying those classics of literature and getting some real entertainment and value out of your readings. These books don't have to be boring, in fact they can be life-changing when these simple keys are applied. Reading won't be a burden anymore, at very least it will be a pleasant pastime.
Key # 1:
Symbolism
This is probably the most important key to keep in mind when reading. It might even be handy to have a little literature symbolism dictionary around, like Ferber's Dictionary of Literary Symbols which I would personally recommend. But, even without a symbolism dictionary, just think about what possible meanings certain things that stand out could have.
For instance, once a friend came to me who was in a different English class, and was extremely excited about this book that her class was reading. So, I asked her to tell me what it was about.
The first thing she said was that it was the story of a girl who had Leukemia.
Now, I stopped her right there, and asked her what Leukemia was. She told me it was cancer of the blood.
So, I told her that I could tell the story was about a girl who had a disease that was going to tear her family apart. She stared at me, amazed. She asked how I knew that.
Well, it's quite simple really. Cancer is a disease, it makes the body eat away at itself. Blood is a symbol for family, as people who are family have the same blood, or the saying 'blood is thicker than water' attributed to familial relationships. So, she has a cancer that is affecting her blood = She has a disease that will eat away at her family or family relationships.
The book was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which personally I haven't read. But, applying the basic concept of symbolism to aspects of a story or character can shed a whole new light on what's really going on in the story.
Key # 2:
Recognizing Motifs
Motifs are recurring important ideas or images throughout a work. The way these can enhance the pleasure of fictional reading is the subtleties they convey.
For instance, let's take Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In Macbeth, blood is an outstanding motif. It appears in the story only when something important beneath the surface is taking place. More specifically,in Macbeth, blood appears when a character reaches a 'point of no return'.
It's important to pay attention to what is a motif in a work of literature. Because the reader recognizes blood as a motif, the reader can discover what that motif applies to, and it can shed a different light on whats happening in the story. In this case, the reader can recognize that when blood appears in the story, a character has reached a 'point of no return, and the reader can then understand in greater depth what causes the character to do the things they do in the rest of the story.
Key # 3:
Choose a Genre
Starting off trying to read the classics can be daunting. The third key to enjoying literature is to find a niche that sparks your interest. If a type of book bores you, find a different kind.
Literature is divided into genres as well as time periods. I had a Literature teacher once who could not stand Victorian literature (i.e. Jane Eyre, or anything by the Bronte sisters), because of the style of writing and morals portrayed, but she still taught a few of the works to us.
Personally, once upon a time I happened upon the Picture of Dorian Gray, and became infatuated with Decadent Literature or literature from the Aesthetic movement. From there I learned about similar types of literature, and came to enjoy many types of books.
So, just find a type of book or niche that might interest you, or something that is very popular like Clockwork Orange or Hitchhiker's Guide o the Galaxy that have had movies made based off of them.
It's okay though, if you don't like a book, even if you try and apply these keys. There are just some books that will have a flavor you like, and some that are hard to turn the page in. The third key to enjoying literature though, is to just find the right genre to start. Once you find one type that you like, you will naturally open up to more and more types that are similar, and soon enough you will find great pleasure and value in reading.
Well, it's sad but true that most are also sadly mistaken. A story is a story is a story is a story, right? Wrong.
While originality is a myth when it comes to stories and literature, real value and entertainment are not. You hear of the classics in school like Shakespeare, Lord of the Flies, Count of Monte Cristo, Dante's Inferno or Divine Comedy, Picture of Dorian Gray, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and countless others, but those titles and authors inevitably become synonymous with BORING.
Well, there are 3 keys to enjoying those classics of literature and getting some real entertainment and value out of your readings. These books don't have to be boring, in fact they can be life-changing when these simple keys are applied. Reading won't be a burden anymore, at very least it will be a pleasant pastime.
Key # 1:
Symbolism
This is probably the most important key to keep in mind when reading. It might even be handy to have a little literature symbolism dictionary around, like Ferber's Dictionary of Literary Symbols which I would personally recommend. But, even without a symbolism dictionary, just think about what possible meanings certain things that stand out could have.
For instance, once a friend came to me who was in a different English class, and was extremely excited about this book that her class was reading. So, I asked her to tell me what it was about.
The first thing she said was that it was the story of a girl who had Leukemia.
Now, I stopped her right there, and asked her what Leukemia was. She told me it was cancer of the blood.
So, I told her that I could tell the story was about a girl who had a disease that was going to tear her family apart. She stared at me, amazed. She asked how I knew that.
Well, it's quite simple really. Cancer is a disease, it makes the body eat away at itself. Blood is a symbol for family, as people who are family have the same blood, or the saying 'blood is thicker than water' attributed to familial relationships. So, she has a cancer that is affecting her blood = She has a disease that will eat away at her family or family relationships.
The book was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which personally I haven't read. But, applying the basic concept of symbolism to aspects of a story or character can shed a whole new light on what's really going on in the story.
Key # 2:
Recognizing Motifs
Motifs are recurring important ideas or images throughout a work. The way these can enhance the pleasure of fictional reading is the subtleties they convey.
For instance, let's take Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In Macbeth, blood is an outstanding motif. It appears in the story only when something important beneath the surface is taking place. More specifically,in Macbeth, blood appears when a character reaches a 'point of no return'.
It's important to pay attention to what is a motif in a work of literature. Because the reader recognizes blood as a motif, the reader can discover what that motif applies to, and it can shed a different light on whats happening in the story. In this case, the reader can recognize that when blood appears in the story, a character has reached a 'point of no return, and the reader can then understand in greater depth what causes the character to do the things they do in the rest of the story.
Key # 3:
Choose a Genre
Starting off trying to read the classics can be daunting. The third key to enjoying literature is to find a niche that sparks your interest. If a type of book bores you, find a different kind.
Literature is divided into genres as well as time periods. I had a Literature teacher once who could not stand Victorian literature (i.e. Jane Eyre, or anything by the Bronte sisters), because of the style of writing and morals portrayed, but she still taught a few of the works to us.
Personally, once upon a time I happened upon the Picture of Dorian Gray, and became infatuated with Decadent Literature or literature from the Aesthetic movement. From there I learned about similar types of literature, and came to enjoy many types of books.
So, just find a type of book or niche that might interest you, or something that is very popular like Clockwork Orange or Hitchhiker's Guide o the Galaxy that have had movies made based off of them.
It's okay though, if you don't like a book, even if you try and apply these keys. There are just some books that will have a flavor you like, and some that are hard to turn the page in. The third key to enjoying literature though, is to just find the right genre to start. Once you find one type that you like, you will naturally open up to more and more types that are similar, and soon enough you will find great pleasure and value in reading.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
8 Practical Questions That Have No Answer
These are 8 very practical, simple questions that have no sensible answer.
1. Why do scientists call it "re"search when looking for something new?
2. Why do they call them apartments if they're all stuck together?
3. If pro is the opposite of con,then is progress the opposite of congress?
4. If vegetable oil's made of vegetables, and olive oil's made of olives...what's baby oil made of?
5. Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"?
6. Why does your feet smell, and your nose run?
7. Why do you park in a driveway, and drive in a parkway?
8. Why do they call it a building if it's already built?
2. Why do they call them apartments if they're all stuck together?
3. If pro is the opposite of con,then is progress the opposite of congress?
4. If vegetable oil's made of vegetables, and olive oil's made of olives...what's baby oil made of?
5. Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"?
6. Why does your feet smell, and your nose run?
7. Why do you park in a driveway, and drive in a parkway?
8. Why do they call it a building if it's already built?
Simple Quantum Theory
Quantum theory or quantum mechanics sounds like some topic only discussed between intellectuals and those with an already advanced understanding. Really though, the basic concepts are not all that hard to grasp for the average person.
Here I will attempt to give a very very simple and basic comprehension of what quantum mechanics is, and what it's basic applications are.
First off, what is Quantum Mechanics?
Well, think of it this way. We have basic scientific rules that we agree on for our everyday lives. Like gravity, kinetic and potential energy, friction, and other principles of physics.
But when we try to apply these principles on a very large scale (say, to stars, solar systems, galaxies, and 'empty' space), our laws are inadequate and ineffective. They do not necissarily apply. So, we come up with a different kind of theory to explain these things, and we call this Relativity. Most of you may have heard of Einstien's Theory of Relativity. Well, now you know what he's actually talking about! It's just a theory of how things work on a very very large scale.
Likewise, we must develop a different kind of theory for things that operate on an extremely SMALL scale. Like atoms, waves, and particles. This is called Quantum Mechanics. It is simply a theory for how things work on an extremely small scale.
The reason why the current understandings of quantum mechanics are seemingly so hard to understand is because in our everyday theory we have a large tendency to think of things as "this or that". It is a fruit, or a vegetable. Light is a wave, not a particle. Or light is a particle, not a wave.
Well, there was some debate about this, and in the relatively famous DOUBLE-SLIT experiment, a more modern theory came to suggest that it is both a wave AND a particle. This is an aspect of quantum theory called DUALITY. More specifically, Wave-Particle duality.
When it comes to quantum mechanics, it is also proposed that light is neither a wave nor a particle. This is where quantum theory can surpass our normal conceptions of the way things are. So, what is light then if it is not a wave or a particle? (A wave and a particle are the most base forms of matter/energy that we have discovered). Well, quantum theory proposes an answer to this question, but we won't go into that here.
Now you should have some basic idea of what quantum theory is all about! Not as difficult as you thought, huh?
Here I will attempt to give a very very simple and basic comprehension of what quantum mechanics is, and what it's basic applications are.
First off, what is Quantum Mechanics?
Well, think of it this way. We have basic scientific rules that we agree on for our everyday lives. Like gravity, kinetic and potential energy, friction, and other principles of physics.
But when we try to apply these principles on a very large scale (say, to stars, solar systems, galaxies, and 'empty' space), our laws are inadequate and ineffective. They do not necissarily apply. So, we come up with a different kind of theory to explain these things, and we call this Relativity. Most of you may have heard of Einstien's Theory of Relativity. Well, now you know what he's actually talking about! It's just a theory of how things work on a very very large scale.
Likewise, we must develop a different kind of theory for things that operate on an extremely SMALL scale. Like atoms, waves, and particles. This is called Quantum Mechanics. It is simply a theory for how things work on an extremely small scale.
The reason why the current understandings of quantum mechanics are seemingly so hard to understand is because in our everyday theory we have a large tendency to think of things as "this or that". It is a fruit, or a vegetable. Light is a wave, not a particle. Or light is a particle, not a wave.
Well, there was some debate about this, and in the relatively famous DOUBLE-SLIT experiment, a more modern theory came to suggest that it is both a wave AND a particle. This is an aspect of quantum theory called DUALITY. More specifically, Wave-Particle duality.
When it comes to quantum mechanics, it is also proposed that light is neither a wave nor a particle. This is where quantum theory can surpass our normal conceptions of the way things are. So, what is light then if it is not a wave or a particle? (A wave and a particle are the most base forms of matter/energy that we have discovered). Well, quantum theory proposes an answer to this question, but we won't go into that here.
Now you should have some basic idea of what quantum theory is all about! Not as difficult as you thought, huh?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Gay Bachelor Auction
Dallas Gay Bachelor Auction Set for March 15
Shared via AddThis
see more Political Pictures
Yay for liberals with balls.
Anyone wanna hit this guy up?
Sorry, only men plz.
Shared via AddThis
see more Political Pictures
Yay for liberals with balls.
Anyone wanna hit this guy up?
Sorry, only men plz.
No-Nonsense Psychology
So I found this site for a magazine called Anxiety Culture. It's pretty much the summation of the effects of consumerism and industrialism on our psyche, and there's an article here titled: Is Your Boss An Asshole?
I'm sure most of us don't have a problem answering that question (under non-self-incriminating circumstance).
"Phil Laut, author of Money is My Friend, gives a psychological explanation of why we hate our bosses: Our parents told us that we shouldn’t take money from friends, and that we shouldn’t take money (or sweets, or puppies, etc) from strangers. That leaves “known enemies” as the only people we can take money from – so our bosses become “known enemies” in our minds.
I find a sociological explanation more plausible: We hate our bosses because of Social Darwinism and the competitive market system. If we’re all at each other’s throats economically, then it’s not surprising that we feel resentful towards those with economic power over us.
An even simpler explanation is that we hate our bosses because they behave like assholes. It probably goes with the job."
Or, it could be just so simple as Boss man tells us what to do.
Since we've already hit puberty and took it upon ourselves (supposedly) to discover what is best for us and to lead our own lives, it still happens that a lot of us get stuck working at least 8 hours a day doing work we can't find the value in but do it anyways, because Boss-man says so. Boss man tells us what to do with our time, and we have to listen to him.
Maybe that's why he's an asshole.
There's your no-nonsense 'psychology' for ya.
Really guys, it's not necessary to dig so deep to find answers to such a simple question, when everyone really knows the answer anyways: Boss is asshole 'cuz boss tells us what to do.
I'm sure most of us don't have a problem answering that question (under non-self-incriminating circumstance).
I find a sociological explanation more plausible: We hate our bosses because of Social Darwinism and the competitive market system. If we’re all at each other’s throats economically, then it’s not surprising that we feel resentful towards those with economic power over us.
An even simpler explanation is that we hate our bosses because they behave like assholes. It probably goes with the job."
Or, it could be just so simple as Boss man tells us what to do.
Since we've already hit puberty and took it upon ourselves (supposedly) to discover what is best for us and to lead our own lives, it still happens that a lot of us get stuck working at least 8 hours a day doing work we can't find the value in but do it anyways, because Boss-man says so. Boss man tells us what to do with our time, and we have to listen to him.
Maybe that's why he's an asshole.
There's your no-nonsense 'psychology' for ya.
Really guys, it's not necessary to dig so deep to find answers to such a simple question, when everyone really knows the answer anyways: Boss is asshole 'cuz boss tells us what to do.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Your Heroes Are Not Perfect
Once upon a time there was a bird who could not fly. Like a chicken, she walked about on the ground, but she knew that some birds did fly. One day, she found an abandoned egg of a flying bird and decided to incubate it until it hatched.
In due time, the chick cracked open the egg and came to life. He was the chick of a bird capable of flight from the time he was in the egg. So, after he grew a little, he asked his adoptive mother, "When will I fly?"
The land-bound bird replied, "Persist in your attempts to fly, just like the others."
She did not know how to give the fledgling flying lessons, but the young bird did not realize this. His recognition of the situation was confused by the fact that he felt gratitude to the bird who had hatched him.
So, he said to himself, "Had my adoptive mother not incubated me, surely I would still be in the egg? Anyone who can hatch me, can surely teach me to fly. It must be just a matter of time. Suddenly, one day I will be carried to the next stage by her who has brought me this far."
Note: This old tale appears in Suhrawardi's 12th century book, "Gifts of Deep Knowledge."
-Zensufi Stories
One person cannot teach you all you must know.
In due time, the chick cracked open the egg and came to life. He was the chick of a bird capable of flight from the time he was in the egg. So, after he grew a little, he asked his adoptive mother, "When will I fly?"
She did not know how to give the fledgling flying lessons, but the young bird did not realize this. His recognition of the situation was confused by the fact that he felt gratitude to the bird who had hatched him.
So, he said to himself, "Had my adoptive mother not incubated me, surely I would still be in the egg? Anyone who can hatch me, can surely teach me to fly. It must be just a matter of time. Suddenly, one day I will be carried to the next stage by her who has brought me this far."
Note: This old tale appears in Suhrawardi's 12th century book, "Gifts of Deep Knowledge."
-Zensufi Stories
One person cannot teach you all you must know.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Conscious Diversion
we are a hidden identity
muted by t.v. screens
subdued by radio frequencies
our individuality
is lost in the pages of magazines
is cross-dressed and kept tight inside the seams
our mind is like the KGB
our intellect a secret police
our words appease authority
'cuz we think it's some sort of remedy
but what we really need,
the real vaccine,
is to free ourselves from this complacency
I put this up here so you will see.
Past Lives
Stumbleupon is such a cute little browser tool. I think it was invented solely to prevent boredom and as a result of this toolbar thing I have discovered who I was in my past life:
Find Out Your Past Life
Basically you enter in your birthday and it will tell you who you supposedly were in your past life. Now if you don't particularly believe in reincarnation (like me) this might seems a little baseless, but I'd actually be interested to know how all of these results were discovered, and what the theory (if there is any) is behind it. So here it is:
Your past life diagnosis:
I don't know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Austria around the year 1550. Your profession was that of a chemist, alchemist or poison manufacturer.
Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
You always liked to travel and to investigate. You could have been a detective or a spy.
The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
Your lesson is to conquer jealousy and anger in yourself and then in those who will select you as their guide. You should understand that these weaknesses are caused by fear and self-regret.
Do you remember now?
Actually, I think the last part may be freakishly accurate. Two things that I am very estranged from are jealousy and anger.
Hmm, take it and see for yourself if it's got any accuracy.
And let me know!
Find Out Your Past Life
Basically you enter in your birthday and it will tell you who you supposedly were in your past life. Now if you don't particularly believe in reincarnation (like me) this might seems a little baseless, but I'd actually be interested to know how all of these results were discovered, and what the theory (if there is any) is behind it. So here it is:
Your past life diagnosis:
I don't know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Austria around the year 1550. Your profession was that of a chemist, alchemist or poison manufacturer.
Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
You always liked to travel and to investigate. You could have been a detective or a spy.
The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
Your lesson is to conquer jealousy and anger in yourself and then in those who will select you as their guide. You should understand that these weaknesses are caused by fear and self-regret.
Do you remember now?
Actually, I think the last part may be freakishly accurate. Two things that I am very estranged from are jealousy and anger.
Hmm, take it and see for yourself if it's got any accuracy.
And let me know!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Oscar Wilde Obsession
I've got a kind of obsession with Oscar Wilde.
Aside from being my favorite social critic of all time and earning my resp
ect solely for being convicted of 'gross indecency' for his writings and his conduct, he was a rather loud bi-sexual and wrote one of the most amazing novels I have ever read.
But that's not all.
My man here also happens to be the self-proclaimed ruler of uncyclopedia:
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Oscar_wilde
If you think you know what morality is, think again. Picture of Dorian Gray will fuck your world up. Social conventions will have no definition to you by the end of that book.
"The people who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination. Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the intellect - simply a confession of failure!"
Aside from being my favorite social critic of all time and earning my resp
ect solely for being convicted of 'gross indecency' for his writings and his conduct, he was a rather loud bi-sexual and wrote one of the most amazing novels I have ever read.But that's not all.
My man here also happens to be the self-proclaimed ruler of uncyclopedia:
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Oscar_wilde
If you think you know what morality is, think again. Picture of Dorian Gray will fuck your world up. Social conventions will have no definition to you by the end of that book.
"The people who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination. Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the intellect - simply a confession of failure!"
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Vandal!
Honestly, I never thought at the beginning of this that there could be consequences for what I was doing.
When I realized that what I was doing was some mild form of vandalism, I was thankful that everything thus far had been anonymous. And I decided everything I was going to do would remain anonymous.
I actually considered not doing the THIS IS NOT AN EXIT one in the bathrooms, but I just decided to use dry-erase marker instead of the more poetic lipstick. This way, the janitor wouldn't be burdened as much with cleaning dat shyt up later.
Haha, it seemed so ironic to me that I could get punished for trying educate people and make them think at school, because this was exactly what the people punishing me were trying to do for these kids.
FYI I graduated a few months later. I had the impression that no one knew it was me. At least, until the very last day at the senior walk-through.
As I walk down the main hall, lookin around at a few little poster things I put up on the walls, I finally reach the end where you shake the principal's hand. He looked at me, and he smiled, and for some reason I got the feeling that he knew. And that he'd known for a long time. He pulled me in for a hug, and I walked away a little dazed, and a little more hopeful.
Boyfriend Popping Zits
It’s the weirdest thing, I swear, when your boyfriend insists on popping your zit. As if your self-confidence weren’t low enough already, he’s got to point out some bump on your face and try to pop it himself. No “Baby you should go pop that zit,” or even simply a “You’ve got a zit right there“, as he points to your forehead. Oh no, he puts his fingers on either side of that zit and SQUEEZES.
Imagine this, for instance:
Your boyfriend is pinning you down and trying to get to your face, as you make some futile efforts to defend yourself. Then after a long struggle and acts of defiance you start hearing taunts like: ‘Aw, wah wah wah. Call the wambulance, ‘cuz Sarah’s a scaredy cat!’.
A little excessive, I’d say, for popping a little zit. Nevertheless:
“I’ll let you pop one of mine, come on. Just let me do it!”
“Um, no. I have no desire to pop one of your zits baby.”
And resume struggle.
Is anyone else the victim of this strange behavior? Or is popping each other’s zits an act of intimacy I wasn’t really aware of…
Oh and if you’re one of those weird boyfriends who do this to a girl, please enlighten me.
Imagine this, for instance:
Your boyfriend is pinning you down and trying to get to your face, as you make some futile efforts to defend yourself. Then after a long struggle and acts of defiance you start hearing taunts like: ‘Aw, wah wah wah. Call the wambulance, ‘cuz Sarah’s a scaredy cat!’.
A little excessive, I’d say, for popping a little zit. Nevertheless:
“I’ll let you pop one of mine, come on. Just let me do it!”
“Um, no. I have no desire to pop one of your zits baby.”
And resume struggle.
Is anyone else the victim of this strange behavior? Or is popping each other’s zits an act of intimacy I wasn’t really aware of…
Oh and if you’re one of those weird boyfriends who do this to a girl, please enlighten me.
The Lowest Denominator
I wish there were some sort of rhetoric to make what I'm about to say sound like more than a hollow complaint, I really do. I just have such a problem with society at large.
Hold on, bear with me. I know more than some of you must have just almost hit the back button there, but hang in for a sec and think about this for me.
Everything we provide and create caters to the lowest denominator. Everything. From education to household appliances and technology to public laws/rules/regulations to what we put in our bodies to, sad as it is, modern literature and music.
The problem with catering to the lowest denominator like this is that society becomes factored by the lowest, most insignificant parts of us. Stupidity, ignorance, laziness, false comfort and hollow satiation, spiritual deficit and overall mindlessness; that's what's capitalized on and milked out of us by...get this: ourselves, our motivations/motivators, and our means of attaining contrived goals.
See, people who wonder why the world economy is sliding haven't looked deep enough into what exactly we're doing and what we've done. If you wonder why you had to pay $4.50 for a gallon of gas and contented yourself with the idea that some monopolizing asshole in the middle east upped the price just to milk money from the U.S., you're just trying to clear your conscience.
You paid $4.50 a gallon because you fucking had to. Because without your automobile running, your life as you know it stops, and you will pay whatever you have to to ignore your dependency. Yeah, our American corporations that we trust to run the economy upped their price too to keep their precious profit and that's why the price-per-gallon was $4.50, but that's not why we paid it.
Car companies being run into the ground isn't why you will have to pay extra money to the government for the rest of your life. You need those companies, you need them for your everday functioning life, and that's why you're gonna pay it till the day you and your children die. We all will willingly pay for our dependency and our laziness, and we will pay to keep our eyes closed.
We pay to be factored by the lowest denominator. We pay to be factored by the lowest denominator. And the price is astounding, while the products received are shoddy imitations of cultural achievement.We intentionally pay for that crap, and then we willingly pay for the negative repercussions rather than bother to haggle the price or renegotiate the deal.
I hope I didn't get too vague there.
But if that's not frustrating to some degree, you have too many cc's of complacency, friend.
Hold on, bear with me. I know more than some of you must have just almost hit the back button there, but hang in for a sec and think about this for me.
Everything we provide and create caters to the lowest denominator. Everything. From education to household appliances and technology to public laws/rules/regulations to what we put in our bodies to, sad as it is, modern literature and music.
The problem with catering to the lowest denominator like this is that society becomes factored by the lowest, most insignificant parts of us. Stupidity, ignorance, laziness, false comfort and hollow satiation, spiritual deficit and overall mindlessness; that's what's capitalized on and milked out of us by...get this: ourselves, our motivations/motivators, and our means of attaining contrived goals.
- Here I am in America complaining, and America has the best of this compared to the rest of the world.
See, people who wonder why the world economy is sliding haven't looked deep enough into what exactly we're doing and what we've done. If you wonder why you had to pay $4.50 for a gallon of gas and contented yourself with the idea that some monopolizing asshole in the middle east upped the price just to milk money from the U.S., you're just trying to clear your conscience.
You paid $4.50 a gallon because you fucking had to. Because without your automobile running, your life as you know it stops, and you will pay whatever you have to to ignore your dependency. Yeah, our American corporations that we trust to run the economy upped their price too to keep their precious profit and that's why the price-per-gallon was $4.50, but that's not why we paid it.
Car companies being run into the ground isn't why you will have to pay extra money to the government for the rest of your life. You need those companies, you need them for your everday functioning life, and that's why you're gonna pay it till the day you and your children die. We all will willingly pay for our dependency and our laziness, and we will pay to keep our eyes closed.
We pay to be factored by the lowest denominator. We pay to be factored by the lowest denominator. And the price is astounding, while the products received are shoddy imitations of cultural achievement.We intentionally pay for that crap, and then we willingly pay for the negative repercussions rather than bother to haggle the price or renegotiate the deal.
I hope I didn't get too vague there.
But if that's not frustrating to some degree, you have too many cc's of complacency, friend.
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