So this is a short story I wrote last month.. enjoy!
The end of the world came as many had thought it would, with a meteor crashing into the planet and causing a mass extinction. When I say the end of the world, of course I meant for mankind. This rock we call Earth has stood the test of time against many collisions of similar magnitude. A silent fireball shot across the sky, then a bright light could be seen across the horizon. My hair on my arms stood erect as if to actually leap from my skin and run. I stood there silent, no whispering, not a gasp, not a murmur could be heard from those around me. And while I heard nothing, I am uncertain on there being utter silence. My mind had frozen, I was left blank.. Without thought. I couldn't think if I'd tried. I was terrified, glorified, mortified and mesmerized all in this instant. This instant when the skyline shone brighter than the brightest day I'd seen. The irony that while my eyes were filled with brightness I myself was bright eyed. I was also wide eyed and cross eyed - they had actually crossed when they had grown dry from mine not blinking. I felt mortality and immortality at the same time. For in the moment before one thinks they might die the world is very slow. If I could have thought, I would have been able to rethink every thought I'd ever thought and then some. But I couldn't... It was all so silent. Restless and unmoving.
Through the silence somehow I snapped back into reality, someone had grabbed my arm and I was pulled then through the metal hatch that would save my life. We were hiding underground. When I say we, I mean those of us that knew this was coming. The government had chosen twenty of us to be the sole survivors all based on various skills and we were split evenly, ten and ten by our gender. Thank god I hadn't been a homosexual I'd have been left out to dry. We were the chosen few to repopulate the world, well us and them of course. The president and his family, as well as some very well to do's were hiding out beneath ground elsewhere. We weren't to know the location of course and they had told us we would be informed "when it had passed." To which my thought was, "if it passes we won't have to worry about it though, it's if it hits that it's a big deal!" The biggest...
I was in charge of keeping these blasted computer's running after the hit. Like they really mattered I thought, "what good is the internet if there's no one online?" But of course they needed someone who could maybe rekindle a bit of familiar technology when we all emerged. So among us was one well versed in electrical engineering, a doctor, a botanist, a psychologist, so on and so forth. Each of us dealing with a field the government deemed necessary to "restart." The funny thing was while we were all very good at our trades we were by no means "the best." Some of us were professors, but not at ivy league schools. I, myself, taught at a community college and my only claim to fame was putting an end to a computer virus that had started spreading uncontrollably through a network that actually found its way into one of the Pentagon's servers.
Apparently, there were other groups similar to our own all over the world just in case a group was "lost." We were all gathered and placed in this protective underground vault which they dubbed the "cocoon." And our number, should we contact or be contacted was 013. The three digit number led me to believe that we were going to be in good company should this scheme to defy the gods work.
So here I am writing my own literature. They didn't even give me a chance to grab a good read. I'm stuck here Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and once you've read that, you've read it. I mean how am I supposed to be surprised about Henry getting his kneecap blown off more than once? It was the only thing I could grab though as they shuffled me out the door. I had no idea they would be carrying me away for a long period of time but I figured it would be long enough to where I'd need something to keep my mind occupied, so I snatched the book on my way out. There it was sitting on the stand I used to keep my mail on by the door. I'd set it there like you do anything you want people to notice, "Oh, you've read A Farewell to Arms?" "Why yes, yes I have," you say that right before sitting down in leather bound chairs and smoking on bubble pipes to talk politics - which is all just some kind of rouse to look like you have a brain anyway. Like any of that matters now that the freaking world is crashing down around us.
So I sit here with a book, a computer, and my thoughts. I wonder what lies ahead and in the most realistic since I know my life is already over. No I didn't physically die with everyone else, but I'm left knowing that I can never do the things I had aspired to do. I may never see another sunrise or sunset because only god knows how much longer the surface will cook. I may have a family, but there's hardly a choice. I'm left with the older one, the fat one, or the nerdy one (and everyone has dibs on her). My point being that none of them are my type and it all feels so strange when you're down here. I couldn't fathom falling in love right now.
Hell I'm lucky I don't have kids or wife. It seems that was one of the criteria in picking us for this. I mean I had friends and family that I'm absolutely torn up about, but no children. I'm really surprised they didn't pack us two psychologists for this shit though, hell even three. This is a rough stint were having to ride out down here in the darkness. And knowing that everything we've known and loved up there is all just gone now is terrifying in its own way. Imagine everything you've learned about over your entire lifetime being meaningless. I mean, who cares about history, or politics, or racial inequalities, or if there is or isn't a god? I mean, if there's a hell its directly above my head now.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Full Steam Ahead
I've been reading a lot of posts on other people's blogs similar to the one I myself am about to post.. It seems it's been a long time since I updated my blog and it's about time I got back into posting on this thing.. hence, "full steam ahead."
For those interested in my personal personal life and not my rants on mores and values - I recently was looking at all of my credits I have at school on my transcript and realized "hot damn! I have have damn near 70 credit hours at school!" Apparently this was from my flip/flopping around on my major. So with all these extra credit hours I have now it seems I am going to be able to graduate in May 2011 with a double major.. [drum roll, please] English & Literature / Social Work.. Both associates, but they go well with my broader goal of getting into a relief effort of some sort.
I looked into joining up with the Red Cross and found that many of their entry level positions center around degrees in Public Relations. SO! When I transfer to Memphis in the fall next year I will be pursuing a Bachelors in Public Relations.
Other than that, I'll say shortly.. I'm disappointed with America and the way they voted in the mid term elections, but I can't say I would've been much happier with blue. I would like to see red & blue removed from ballots, that way people have to read a little about who they are voting for before they hit the polls... and I think legislation should be an optional piece of the ballot.. I'm scared to think of the countless illiterate punching options on ballots and having no idea what they are voting for.
For those interested in my personal personal life and not my rants on mores and values - I recently was looking at all of my credits I have at school on my transcript and realized "hot damn! I have have damn near 70 credit hours at school!" Apparently this was from my flip/flopping around on my major. So with all these extra credit hours I have now it seems I am going to be able to graduate in May 2011 with a double major.. [drum roll, please] English & Literature / Social Work.. Both associates, but they go well with my broader goal of getting into a relief effort of some sort.
I looked into joining up with the Red Cross and found that many of their entry level positions center around degrees in Public Relations. SO! When I transfer to Memphis in the fall next year I will be pursuing a Bachelors in Public Relations.
Other than that, I'll say shortly.. I'm disappointed with America and the way they voted in the mid term elections, but I can't say I would've been much happier with blue. I would like to see red & blue removed from ballots, that way people have to read a little about who they are voting for before they hit the polls... and I think legislation should be an optional piece of the ballot.. I'm scared to think of the countless illiterate punching options on ballots and having no idea what they are voting for.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Stupid law
There has been a lot of talk about Memphis, its appearance, Memphian safety and our economy. These broad subjects have gotten people brainstorming on what has to be wrong whether it's race, the homelessness problem, the future generations education etc, etc. Recently a key issue is resting on alcohol.
Alcohol, a great American past-time. A binding sentiment. A heated topic. A sin?
Tennessee just this last year passed a law that granted permission to those with carry permits to tote their fire-arms into restaurants where alcohol is served under the conditions that the person(s) carrying the weapon do not consume any alcohol and the owner of the establishment has no postings forbidding the carry of fire-arms on the property.
This new law forgets that American bars are already littered with fire-arms that the general public aren't carrying - the owner and/or employees, security, and law enforcement - and places protection of the public in the public's hands directly.
"Criminals flourish in gun-free zones as evidenced by crimes associated with them. In fact, massacres involving multiple victims occur almost exclusively in gun free zones," said Senator Jackson of TN. So this is a safety issue, because there are so many fights break out in bars that security and bartenders - the sober ones - are incapable of handling on their own.
But no, it isn't about safety for us Tennesseans, this is about our rights as Americans! This is about their second amendment right to keep and bear arms. According to the NRA's Institute for legislative action "The Tennessee law, which takes effect Sept. 1, is the latest in a nationwide push by gun rights advocates to tear down the legal walls that have prevented permit holders from packing their weapons into previously forbidden territory. In May, Congress voted to allow guns in America's national parks. A number of similar bills were introduced in state legislatures this year to allow guns in parks, bars, college campuses and churches" (NRA-ILA: http://www.nraila.org/news/read/inthenews.aspx?ID=12664).
And in a value discussion I'd say my rights are being violated too. The rights of which I am speaking are not rights listed in the constitutional bill of rights, rather I speak on my rights as a human. I believe I have a right to receive protection from the laws imposed on me by my government, and I also believe that people should have a voice in their government. Upon review of the TN Supreme Court case I found no objections to the law before it was passed in presentation before the TN Supreme Court, and just in searching the internet briefly I found there was an overwhelming outcry against this bill. One in particular came from TN Governor Bredesen when he said " I still think I'm right,"[...]"I still think that guns in bars is a very bad idea. It's an invitation to a disaster." Bredesen was joined in protest by the chiefs of police stated clearly by Senator Jackson "The position of the chiefs of police association is not unique. We have seen it before. They opposed this bill last year."
Also when it comes to safety I'll remind you that just because an individual has a gun carry permit does not mean that they are incapable of breaking laws, and in my research I've found they have a terrible track record of breaking laws and losing their permits! "Of the roughly 218,000 handgun permit holders in Tennessee, 278 had their permits revoked last year, records show. Since 2005, state records shows nearly 1,200 people have lost their permits," says the Huffington Post. So what's to keep these gun toting lawbreakers from consuming alcohol and flying off the handle? Hopefully that security I mentioned earlier, but I'd still feel a larger sense of relief knowing they didn't have the gun in the first place.
What's mildly amusing about the whole thing is now Memphis lawmakers are now attempting to remove certain labels of beer and the amounts in which they can be served from store shelves because of a growing problem with panhandlers - and their big issue is that alcohol makes people act a little crazy. To show once again that if you target anything and you speak well enough you can make it look like a problem I'll end the paper with the market survey used to show panhandlers and their crazy alcoholic antics are a real problem here in Memphis.
QUESTION-WHY DO YOU NOT GO DOWNTOWN MORE OFTEN
I do go Downtown often 4.9%
Public Safety/Crime 34%
Parking is inconvenient 17.7%
Too far to drive 15.8%
Not interested in Downtown activities 12.5%
Parking is Expensive 11.4%
Don't know why I don't go/think of it 7.6%
Too Expensive "other than parking specifically" 7.1%
BOTHERED BY PANHANDLERS "Homeless,Street people.etc" 4.6%
No public Transportation available 3.8%
Cleanliness of Downtown 2.4%
Don't know what's happening downtown 2.2%
Other-traffic/navigation of the streets 3.0%
other-My health/age 3.0%
Other Not enough events/nothing to do there 3.0%
Other Too crowded 0.8%
Other-General single mentions 3.2%
This projection of 5% of people being bothered by panhandlers was placed in conjunction with Public Safety and Crime in the local media to make it look like Memphis had a real pandemic on their hands. While I'm not advocating that Memphis is safe or that we don't have our share of problems I am asking the people responsible for lawmaking to examine the rest of the list.
Alcohol, a great American past-time. A binding sentiment. A heated topic. A sin?
Tennessee just this last year passed a law that granted permission to those with carry permits to tote their fire-arms into restaurants where alcohol is served under the conditions that the person(s) carrying the weapon do not consume any alcohol and the owner of the establishment has no postings forbidding the carry of fire-arms on the property.
This new law forgets that American bars are already littered with fire-arms that the general public aren't carrying - the owner and/or employees, security, and law enforcement - and places protection of the public in the public's hands directly.
"Criminals flourish in gun-free zones as evidenced by crimes associated with them. In fact, massacres involving multiple victims occur almost exclusively in gun free zones," said Senator Jackson of TN. So this is a safety issue, because there are so many fights break out in bars that security and bartenders - the sober ones - are incapable of handling on their own.
But no, it isn't about safety for us Tennesseans, this is about our rights as Americans! This is about their second amendment right to keep and bear arms. According to the NRA's Institute for legislative action "The Tennessee law, which takes effect Sept. 1, is the latest in a nationwide push by gun rights advocates to tear down the legal walls that have prevented permit holders from packing their weapons into previously forbidden territory. In May, Congress voted to allow guns in America's national parks. A number of similar bills were introduced in state legislatures this year to allow guns in parks, bars, college campuses and churches" (NRA-ILA: http://www.nraila.org/news/read/inthenews.aspx?ID=12664).
And in a value discussion I'd say my rights are being violated too. The rights of which I am speaking are not rights listed in the constitutional bill of rights, rather I speak on my rights as a human. I believe I have a right to receive protection from the laws imposed on me by my government, and I also believe that people should have a voice in their government. Upon review of the TN Supreme Court case I found no objections to the law before it was passed in presentation before the TN Supreme Court, and just in searching the internet briefly I found there was an overwhelming outcry against this bill. One in particular came from TN Governor Bredesen when he said " I still think I'm right,"[...]"I still think that guns in bars is a very bad idea. It's an invitation to a disaster." Bredesen was joined in protest by the chiefs of police stated clearly by Senator Jackson "The position of the chiefs of police association is not unique. We have seen it before. They opposed this bill last year."
Also when it comes to safety I'll remind you that just because an individual has a gun carry permit does not mean that they are incapable of breaking laws, and in my research I've found they have a terrible track record of breaking laws and losing their permits! "Of the roughly 218,000 handgun permit holders in Tennessee, 278 had their permits revoked last year, records show. Since 2005, state records shows nearly 1,200 people have lost their permits," says the Huffington Post. So what's to keep these gun toting lawbreakers from consuming alcohol and flying off the handle? Hopefully that security I mentioned earlier, but I'd still feel a larger sense of relief knowing they didn't have the gun in the first place.
What's mildly amusing about the whole thing is now Memphis lawmakers are now attempting to remove certain labels of beer and the amounts in which they can be served from store shelves because of a growing problem with panhandlers - and their big issue is that alcohol makes people act a little crazy. To show once again that if you target anything and you speak well enough you can make it look like a problem I'll end the paper with the market survey used to show panhandlers and their crazy alcoholic antics are a real problem here in Memphis.
QUESTION-WHY DO YOU NOT GO DOWNTOWN MORE OFTEN
I do go Downtown often 4.9%
Public Safety/Crime 34%
Parking is inconvenient 17.7%
Too far to drive 15.8%
Not interested in Downtown activities 12.5%
Parking is Expensive 11.4%
Don't know why I don't go/think of it 7.6%
Too Expensive "other than parking specifically" 7.1%
BOTHERED BY PANHANDLERS "Homeless,Street people.etc" 4.6%
No public Transportation available 3.8%
Cleanliness of Downtown 2.4%
Don't know what's happening downtown 2.2%
Other-traffic/navigation of the streets 3.0%
other-My health/age 3.0%
Other Not enough events/nothing to do there 3.0%
Other Too crowded 0.8%
Other-General single mentions 3.2%
This projection of 5% of people being bothered by panhandlers was placed in conjunction with Public Safety and Crime in the local media to make it look like Memphis had a real pandemic on their hands. While I'm not advocating that Memphis is safe or that we don't have our share of problems I am asking the people responsible for lawmaking to examine the rest of the list.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
George Carlin: Rights and Priviledges
George Carlin was one of the greatest comedians that's ever walked the face of this green earth. He is my personal favorite because he shared his views - which were radical - and those views came across comedic even if they were heavy. George Carlin also wrote a series of books that were entertaining as well as informative. There are few comedians that can give you a history lesson and keep you laughing. I personally enjoy watching his stand-ups because I'm getting a piece of entertainment and I'm walking away learning something about myself and the world around me. If you've never watched his stand up, dig around on youtube, there are plenty of videos out there that are as entertaining and enlightening as this one.
George Carlin R.I.P. (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008)
George Carlin R.I.P. (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Mastodon: Crack the Skye
Wow! So I'm well aware I'm late on this one but I just got a chance to really sit down and listen to Mastodon's Crack the Skye album all the way thru. I'd heard "Divinations" and "Oblivion" which are unquestionably great songs and maybe borderline modern day masterpieces. Upon listening to the album in its entirety I was astonished first by its complexity and then by the melodies of music. These dudes definitely have an ear for music and I salute them on this experimental excursion away from what they are used to doing. Great great album!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The game
This year there have been a plethora of new releases in the video game world that are must plays. The reviewers gave credit to some and not nearly enough to others. There are a lot of choices for your buck and I'm starting to think game magazines such as Game Informer are rating toward the highest bidder. I'm grateful sometimes and disgruntled others with the recent influx of gamers hitting the market today. I will cover - briefly - some titles I loved this past year and explain the pro's and con's that came with the title discussed.
First and foremost I have been overly impressed with the Mass Effect series. This year Bioware released the second installment of the trilogy that is Mass Effect and the release was beautiful. There was a great attention to detail in the mechanics of the game and they cleaned up the few bugs that lay in the previous combat system. Bioware has definitely fine tuned this style they've been working on since the release of the first Knights of the Old Republic. The media praised this game and I back the praise. I would give it a firm 9/10 and the SERIES will probably stand to receive a 10 out of 10 in my opinion, but as is my gripe with nearly every game releasing in this new generation of consoles YOU BASTARD VIDEO GAME CORPORATIONS ARE TAKING AWAY WHAT MADE VIDEO GAMES GREAT.
When was the last time you weren't able to pick up a game play it through an entire weekend - dodging friends phone calls and attempts to hang out - and NOT beat the thing by Sunday afternoon? Us gamers miss hitting 99 hours on a game and still having plenty to do - you know when the time-clock ran out? Now we get 10 to 20 hours of game play and if it exceeds 20 hours the game developers split it up into parts to make an extra buck. I.E. Fallout 3 was fantastic but it had 5 expansions - COULD YOU GUYS NOT PUT THIS IN THE FULL GAME? Or in another example - and possibly the first to cash in on us desperate gamers - Half Life: 2! What's with the 3 extra parts? You guys couldn't have made them available and maybe.. just maybe pushed the release date back a bit? WE KNOW YOU HAVE EPISODE 3 READY FOR US! RELEASE IT ALREADY - I'm buying.
And now for my big gripe - still related to cash I'd imagine - Game Informer I'm out to get your ass. What in the world was up with that review of Aliens Vs. Predator? 5.75? That's a garbage rating, when I see anything under a 6 my mind jogs me to avoid that thing like it's the bubonic plague. But luckily I'd played the free demo released on XBOX: Live the week before. Sure the game had its bugs and I definitely wouldn't say it was the best thing since Bush had that shoe flung at his head but there was a lot of fun gameplay there, and the multiplayer was pretty unique with the alien and all. The best thing that game did was stay true to the previous AVP games and improve on it's previous glitches. IGN was fair with their review critiquing the bugs but admiring the good qualities when they gave it a 7/10. I'd say it's worth the buy - it's at least more worth it than the Halo: ODST, the game you gave a 9.25 to.
Halo: ODST was a scam by Bungie to get some more of our hard earned cash. This game would have made a good expansion pack, the gameplay was lacking and they pulled out and changed things that made Halo 3 great. But my disappointment has been with the new maps that were supposed to come with it. I'm not saying they aren't there but on the occasions I pop in the ODST disc, I'm still being matched up with people on the same 4 or 5 maps I've been playing for two years. Where is the map filter bungie? Where is the new super sweet game ODST was supposed to be? I think I missed something. And Game Informer I know you guys sold out when you gave it a 9.25 I haven't met a gamer yet that was satisfied dropping the 60 bucks on that game. If you rate anything more than an 8 us gamers need something we can be happy to spend our dough on you dolts.
I could rant some more but I'll save it for another blog.. I need a beer now.
First and foremost I have been overly impressed with the Mass Effect series. This year Bioware released the second installment of the trilogy that is Mass Effect and the release was beautiful. There was a great attention to detail in the mechanics of the game and they cleaned up the few bugs that lay in the previous combat system. Bioware has definitely fine tuned this style they've been working on since the release of the first Knights of the Old Republic. The media praised this game and I back the praise. I would give it a firm 9/10 and the SERIES will probably stand to receive a 10 out of 10 in my opinion, but as is my gripe with nearly every game releasing in this new generation of consoles YOU BASTARD VIDEO GAME CORPORATIONS ARE TAKING AWAY WHAT MADE VIDEO GAMES GREAT.
When was the last time you weren't able to pick up a game play it through an entire weekend - dodging friends phone calls and attempts to hang out - and NOT beat the thing by Sunday afternoon? Us gamers miss hitting 99 hours on a game and still having plenty to do - you know when the time-clock ran out? Now we get 10 to 20 hours of game play and if it exceeds 20 hours the game developers split it up into parts to make an extra buck. I.E. Fallout 3 was fantastic but it had 5 expansions - COULD YOU GUYS NOT PUT THIS IN THE FULL GAME? Or in another example - and possibly the first to cash in on us desperate gamers - Half Life: 2! What's with the 3 extra parts? You guys couldn't have made them available and maybe.. just maybe pushed the release date back a bit? WE KNOW YOU HAVE EPISODE 3 READY FOR US! RELEASE IT ALREADY - I'm buying.
And now for my big gripe - still related to cash I'd imagine - Game Informer I'm out to get your ass. What in the world was up with that review of Aliens Vs. Predator? 5.75? That's a garbage rating, when I see anything under a 6 my mind jogs me to avoid that thing like it's the bubonic plague. But luckily I'd played the free demo released on XBOX: Live the week before. Sure the game had its bugs and I definitely wouldn't say it was the best thing since Bush had that shoe flung at his head but there was a lot of fun gameplay there, and the multiplayer was pretty unique with the alien and all. The best thing that game did was stay true to the previous AVP games and improve on it's previous glitches. IGN was fair with their review critiquing the bugs but admiring the good qualities when they gave it a 7/10. I'd say it's worth the buy - it's at least more worth it than the Halo: ODST, the game you gave a 9.25 to.
Halo: ODST was a scam by Bungie to get some more of our hard earned cash. This game would have made a good expansion pack, the gameplay was lacking and they pulled out and changed things that made Halo 3 great. But my disappointment has been with the new maps that were supposed to come with it. I'm not saying they aren't there but on the occasions I pop in the ODST disc, I'm still being matched up with people on the same 4 or 5 maps I've been playing for two years. Where is the map filter bungie? Where is the new super sweet game ODST was supposed to be? I think I missed something. And Game Informer I know you guys sold out when you gave it a 9.25 I haven't met a gamer yet that was satisfied dropping the 60 bucks on that game. If you rate anything more than an 8 us gamers need something we can be happy to spend our dough on you dolts.
I could rant some more but I'll save it for another blog.. I need a beer now.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Universality
In thinking about life, the universe and our place in it all I stand perplexed without answer. I've gazed through my telescope at the specs of light surrounding our little planet. I've gazed at colors of red and blue - those other planets, Mars.. Venus. I've stared into the moons gaze and examined the sun through a camera on the viewfinder.
I can track the orbits, calculate sizes and imagine being on the surface, but no matter how far out I go into what I can see with my eyes it remains nothing too new or unusual. Even if life was somehow viewed it could only arouse more questions than it could answer.
The truth is that 97% of my universe is composed of something not one human can see, taste, smell, hear or touch. Some call it "dark matter" but they don't know it's "dark." A friend of mine recently told me he'd envisioned dark matter as maybe being a color or series of colors we can't see with our poorly developed eyesight.
This really got me thinking about dark matter as it could be anything; a color, a planet maybe.. a huge world? One that could never be understood with our small lenses and puny brains.
Trusting someone with a view that only pulls in 3% of what is out there in that great expanse of seemingly empty space - and mind you these people also claim to be absolutely sure what it is and out place in it all - is like trusting a blind man to guide you through oncoming interstate traffic while riding a bike.
For all we know we compose the molecular structure of a infinitely massive sexual organ. Yes! We are here for sex! Or, just maybe our universe is like a tree and what we know are the roots of this incredibly large extraterrestrial tree. The big bang could then have been the roots branching out into the dark ground. We would all then be a lifeblood to something much bigger than ourselves.. Not quite the geocentric view that was shared by us so long ago - oh wait.. people still believe all that jazz.
The truth is we don't know and can't. I won't attempt to fill in the gaps of knowledge with mindless assumptions and claim understanding because then true understanding can not be.. well.. understood. Einstein said it best "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
I can track the orbits, calculate sizes and imagine being on the surface, but no matter how far out I go into what I can see with my eyes it remains nothing too new or unusual. Even if life was somehow viewed it could only arouse more questions than it could answer.
The truth is that 97% of my universe is composed of something not one human can see, taste, smell, hear or touch. Some call it "dark matter" but they don't know it's "dark." A friend of mine recently told me he'd envisioned dark matter as maybe being a color or series of colors we can't see with our poorly developed eyesight.
This really got me thinking about dark matter as it could be anything; a color, a planet maybe.. a huge world? One that could never be understood with our small lenses and puny brains.
Trusting someone with a view that only pulls in 3% of what is out there in that great expanse of seemingly empty space - and mind you these people also claim to be absolutely sure what it is and out place in it all - is like trusting a blind man to guide you through oncoming interstate traffic while riding a bike.
For all we know we compose the molecular structure of a infinitely massive sexual organ. Yes! We are here for sex! Or, just maybe our universe is like a tree and what we know are the roots of this incredibly large extraterrestrial tree. The big bang could then have been the roots branching out into the dark ground. We would all then be a lifeblood to something much bigger than ourselves.. Not quite the geocentric view that was shared by us so long ago - oh wait.. people still believe all that jazz.
The truth is we don't know and can't. I won't attempt to fill in the gaps of knowledge with mindless assumptions and claim understanding because then true understanding can not be.. well.. understood. Einstein said it best "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
My moral theory.. for now
In trying to determine what a satisfactory moral theory might be like one must first confront the question 'what is right & what is wrong?' Morality is governed by what is right and what is wrong and one cannot construct a theory for morality without first answering this question. A philosophy professor at Northwestern University Chicago, IL by the name of Richard Kraut defines what is good or right as "what causes human beings to flourish." This idea would also help in determining what is wrong by simply flipping it to the opposite, something causing a detriment to human beings.
I want to first look at why anyone would perform a 'rightful' act? Unlike Thomas Hobbes idea that "without government to restrain people the 'state of nature' would be 'a war of every man against every man,'" (Morris 55) I will show that humans are fairly altruistic by comparing and contrasting man to the altruisms of the animal kingdom.
"In evolutionary biology, an organism is said to behave altruistically when its behavior benefits other organisms, at a cost to itself. The costs and benefits are measured in terms of reproductive fitness, or expected number of offspring. Altruistic behavior is common throughout the animal kingdom, particularly in species with complex social structures. For example, vampire bats regularly regurgitate blood and donate it to other members of their group who have failed to feed that night, ensuring they do not starve." (Samir Okasha, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Human beings show a plethora of altruistic behavior. In example: Communities & Societies divide duties amongst individuals in those communities and societies to establish the said community. Without an individual constructing the turbines to power the further constructed power grid that is maintained by further individuals our alarm clocks would not be active to scream in our ears every morning. And while some of us may wish that there wasn't someone to keep these objects of affection maintained every day, they do work, and they do better our communities. There are countless other examples such as running water, traffic lights, clothing lines for our extravagant linens or simply the humble employee's at your McDonald's there just to make sure you get to school on time and still fill your belly.
"humans are social by nature."
Wikipedia
According to William Patrick the author of the book Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection humans "[h]owever wealthy and technologically adept[,] are the same vulnerable creatures who huddled together against the terrors of thunderstorms sixty thousand years ago." (Cacioppo & Patrick 53) But then why do people deviate and engage in 'wrongful' acts?
There are several reasons, the first being ignorance of potential harm or situation. We've all heard the cliché "knowledge is power," if one does not understand what it is they are engaged in then it was probably not intentionally wrongful. This ignorance could be created and sustained through conditioning at an immature level and is also known as indoctrination of youth. A prime example of indoctrination could be given by looking at Hitler's youth where they "were told to study certain passages from Mein Kampf [and] would be questioned about them in the next session." (Williamson 37) Of course indoctrination is not limited to Hitler's youth. It always seems that children in a general since take on the characteristics and beliefs of those around them and as the old Jesuit philosophy goes "Give me a boy until he is seven, and I will give you the man." (the free library)
Another reason might be that the individual is experiencing a temporary or permanent mental disorder. Mental disorders place an individual in lapse of cognitive thought and "thinking enables us to direct our activities with foresight and to plan accord to ends-in-view." (Dewey 17) There is one disorder that attaches to my theory of humans being a social creature directly and that is the popular personality disorder known as being anti-social. This as well as Borderline, Histrionic and Narcissism all have symptoms involving "dramatic or erratic behaviors (counter-social behaviors)." (Medicinenet) These disorders can prevent a person from acting as a normally prudent person would act in everyday situations with other individuals.
The next question I asked myself after I wondered on what is right and what is wrong was "if I now understand what right and wrong might be, what is our real duty?" To this question the answer came simply as a flip side version of what right and wrong is according to Dr. Kraut. If right is "what causes human beings to flourish," then our real duty would be to encourage human beings to flourish.
That encouragement might be found in developing new ideas for society as Dr. Martin Luther King did not so long when he gave a real push towards real change in cohesion of people as a whole. A discouragement or detriment would be found in ideas that are unmoving, because if an idea cannot be moved society cannot move forward or backward, thus a detriment towards a forwarding of society. We as a people cannot let ourselves get stuck on traditional values and must always be open to new ideas or the society will not progress and that is an incomprehensible stagnant.
Of course this idea, or moral theory is just the first push towards mine understanding of things and I'm sure it will be altered continued or even discarded by myself at a later date as I learn more of the way we as a species have evolved and what makes us "tick."
I want to first look at why anyone would perform a 'rightful' act? Unlike Thomas Hobbes idea that "without government to restrain people the 'state of nature' would be 'a war of every man against every man,'" (Morris 55) I will show that humans are fairly altruistic by comparing and contrasting man to the altruisms of the animal kingdom.
"In evolutionary biology, an organism is said to behave altruistically when its behavior benefits other organisms, at a cost to itself. The costs and benefits are measured in terms of reproductive fitness, or expected number of offspring. Altruistic behavior is common throughout the animal kingdom, particularly in species with complex social structures. For example, vampire bats regularly regurgitate blood and donate it to other members of their group who have failed to feed that night, ensuring they do not starve." (Samir Okasha, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Human beings show a plethora of altruistic behavior. In example: Communities & Societies divide duties amongst individuals in those communities and societies to establish the said community. Without an individual constructing the turbines to power the further constructed power grid that is maintained by further individuals our alarm clocks would not be active to scream in our ears every morning. And while some of us may wish that there wasn't someone to keep these objects of affection maintained every day, they do work, and they do better our communities. There are countless other examples such as running water, traffic lights, clothing lines for our extravagant linens or simply the humble employee's at your McDonald's there just to make sure you get to school on time and still fill your belly.
"humans are social by nature."
Wikipedia
According to William Patrick the author of the book Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection humans "[h]owever wealthy and technologically adept[,] are the same vulnerable creatures who huddled together against the terrors of thunderstorms sixty thousand years ago." (Cacioppo & Patrick 53) But then why do people deviate and engage in 'wrongful' acts?
There are several reasons, the first being ignorance of potential harm or situation. We've all heard the cliché "knowledge is power," if one does not understand what it is they are engaged in then it was probably not intentionally wrongful. This ignorance could be created and sustained through conditioning at an immature level and is also known as indoctrination of youth. A prime example of indoctrination could be given by looking at Hitler's youth where they "were told to study certain passages from Mein Kampf [and] would be questioned about them in the next session." (Williamson 37) Of course indoctrination is not limited to Hitler's youth. It always seems that children in a general since take on the characteristics and beliefs of those around them and as the old Jesuit philosophy goes "Give me a boy until he is seven, and I will give you the man." (the free library)
Another reason might be that the individual is experiencing a temporary or permanent mental disorder. Mental disorders place an individual in lapse of cognitive thought and "thinking enables us to direct our activities with foresight and to plan accord to ends-in-view." (Dewey 17) There is one disorder that attaches to my theory of humans being a social creature directly and that is the popular personality disorder known as being anti-social. This as well as Borderline, Histrionic and Narcissism all have symptoms involving "dramatic or erratic behaviors (counter-social behaviors)." (Medicinenet) These disorders can prevent a person from acting as a normally prudent person would act in everyday situations with other individuals.
The next question I asked myself after I wondered on what is right and what is wrong was "if I now understand what right and wrong might be, what is our real duty?" To this question the answer came simply as a flip side version of what right and wrong is according to Dr. Kraut. If right is "what causes human beings to flourish," then our real duty would be to encourage human beings to flourish.
That encouragement might be found in developing new ideas for society as Dr. Martin Luther King did not so long when he gave a real push towards real change in cohesion of people as a whole. A discouragement or detriment would be found in ideas that are unmoving, because if an idea cannot be moved society cannot move forward or backward, thus a detriment towards a forwarding of society. We as a people cannot let ourselves get stuck on traditional values and must always be open to new ideas or the society will not progress and that is an incomprehensible stagnant.
Of course this idea, or moral theory is just the first push towards mine understanding of things and I'm sure it will be altered continued or even discarded by myself at a later date as I learn more of the way we as a species have evolved and what makes us "tick."
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