A Christmas Carol
(Advent is finally here! The following is a nice little poem to get us started on the right foot)
By G.K. Chesterton
The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)
The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown.
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
Keep Reading!
Hello imaginary readers! How are you doing? This is just a short post to let you know that I am currently swamped with ridiculous amounts of work for school and so I will not be blogging very much until next Friday; however, once that is over, I have a bunch of pretty good ideas stored up, so please come by and check them out. Of course, by "good" I mean repetitive and whinny, but you don't mind, do you? I mean, do you really ever do anything better with your time? I didn't think so... See you in a week then!
Get Yourself Some Air
Air: we all like it, we all need it, and now we can take it in through our ears. Listen to chill, quality music by Air and other bands at
Astralwerks. I highly recommend
Alpha Beta Gaga, which you can listen to by clicking
here. Enjoy!
My Addictions
I crave knowledge. I really do. You know how in high-school, when you were applying to college they sent you all these silly brochures telling you what a "stimulating, challenging environment" you would find? You know how they would always talk about how at whatever the particular school was, there you could find a place that would be apt for the pursuit of knowledge? You remember how in light of this you said "yeah right?" I do. I mean, not that I didn't care about learning, but I didn't
crave knowledge. Now I do. I wish I could take it all in faster, and I wish I was not so lazy about actually seeking it. These is SO MUCH TO LEARN OUT THERE. You have no idea. Really. It turns out that it really
is true that the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know anything. Seriously. I feel like a complete ignoramus. There will never be enough time in this life to take it all in. And that is just awesome, I think.
Who would have ever thought that I would really feel like this one day? I crave truth. I'm in love with it, in fact. But it always seems to stay one step ahead of me; that much I've figured out. When will I finally be able to grab on to wisdom? I see it, it's just ahead of me, but I can never quite reach it. And you know what? That's awesome too. I think its great that so many works, so many beauties of this world are still out there, waiting to be discovered. There is just
so much to learn that there is no way we can even begin to begin to comprehend it. I love that.
You know what else I crave? I crave love. I crave beauty. I can never seem to get enough of these. Not because I'm not surrounded by love and beauty a-plenty, but I think rather because I am. There are so many wonderful people and so many beautiful things that I know. But love and beauty are addictive. You really can't get some without wanting more. And you know want? Once again, that is simply great. Because love and beauty point us upwards, they remind us that we have souls. They work on our hearts like a hard (but lovely) slap across the face reminding us that we can never be reduced to set of particles, atoms and chemical reactions. Either that, or existence is a superstition. But then it is a glorious, grand, and mighty superstition. Terrible at times? Yes, no doubt. But what an amazing dream reality is. We haven't even begun to understand the mystery of a blade of grass.
Many people think that Heaven means of a bunch of people with wings playing harps on a cloud. I've heard that it means an eternal learning, an unending love affair, an interminable contemplation of the source of all love and truth and beauty and knowledge and wisdom. Nay, it means standing before love and truth and beauty and knowledge and wisdom themselves. Always. Forever.
I can barely wait. Good thing He came down here so that all this can start - now.
Pretty, huh?
Fall and Halloween at Penn. Enjoy!
Just Thought I'd Point It Out...
With all this controversy about embryonic stem cell research, some proponents have begun to saturate the media with their slogan of "LET SCIENTISTS DO SCIENCE." I wonder if any of them has stopped to realize that such a position is no less ridiculous than someone proposing to "LET MILITARY-MEN MAKE MILITARY POLICY."
Both of these ideas are, of course, lunacy. I really don't think I should need to argue this point. I hope you will agree.
Update: Well, it looks like some of you
do disagree. In the comments, the notorious Nighthawk Rock said that: "I disagree. 'Let scientists do science' is more equivalent to 'Let military-men do the fighting,' which is perfectly valid."
Allow me to counter-disagree with this idea. If the implication of "Let scientists do science" was to let them conduct experiments as opposed to Theater Arts majors doing so, I would agree. But what the statement really means is "LET SCIENTISTS DO WHAT THEY WANT," give them a free hand to conduct the type of research they think fit, and that is pretty much the same as letting military people decide what military adventures to engage in. Scientific research should be guided both by necessity and morality. Just like before engaging in a military campaign we ideally consider whether the war is just or not, morally contentious scientific research should be preceded by, or prevented through, earnest debate. My point here is not that any particular type of research is immoral (though I certainly have opinions on this topic), but that putting morality out of the picture is, simply put, silly. And that is exactly what people saying that we should "LET SCIENTISTS DO SCIENCE" intend. So once again I say that granting such power to scientists is hardly any less insane than giving a blank-check to military men.
I'm tempted to add that this campaign for unrestricted research may be rather telling of deeper currents beneath the surface. If this type of thought gains momentum, I wouldn't be surprised to see old abuses appearing under new "euphemized" names free from historical stigmas. For the moment, however, I encourage you to think twice about these catchy slogans.
Two Articles Every Democrat Should Read
"The Back Seat Philosopher" says:
Many Democrats think that our patience and understanding are our weakness. "We don't know how to fight like the Republicans," we all told ourselves after Florida 2000. "We have to be more like them: tougher, meaner." "We have to energize our base more."
Actually, no. Our error is that we Democrats are far less understanding than we think we are. Our version of understanding the other side is to look at them from a psychological point of view while being completely unwilling to take their arguments seriously. "Well, he can't help himself, he's a right-wing religious zealot, so of course he's going to think like that." "Republicans who never served in war are hypocrites to send young men to die. " "Republicans are homophobes, probably because they can't deal with their secret desires." Anything but actually listening and responding to the arguments being made.
I
strongly recommend you read the whole
article.
The second is a column that deals with more specifics and makes some very good points. Here's one:
Stop cozying up with the pro-choice agenda. Democrats almost have an image that they love the idea of abortion. What would be so wrong with Democratic candidates giving a plan to reduce abortions? Very few people would object, and the ground gained on moral issues would be significant.
But please go ahead and read
the whole thing.
By the Babe Unborn
by G.K. Chesterton
If trees were tall and grasses short,
As in some crazy tale,
If here and there a sea were blue
Beyond the breaking pale,
If a fixed fire hung in the air
To warm me one day through,
If deep green hair grew on great hills,
I know what I should do.
In dark I lie; dreaming that there
Are great eyes cold or kind,
And twisted streets and silent doors,
And living men behind.
Let storm clouds come: better an hour,
And leave to weep and fight,
Than all the ages I have ruled
The empires of the night.
I think that if they gave me leave
Within the world to stand,
I would be good through all the day
I spent in fairyland.
They should not hear a word from me
Of selfishness or scorn,
If only I could find the door,
If only I were born.
What if Dr. Seuss Wrote About the Elections?
This is what would happen:
One State, Two States, Red States, Blue States. Go check it out. Great post Joe!
Brief Thoughts on Pro-Life and the Elections
-This sound defeat should be a wake up call to the Democratic Party. Listen up Democrats, exit polls (though somewhat faulty) revealed that a HUGE number of people were voting yesterday with moral issues (to a large extent abortion, I suspect) as the foremost concern in their minds when choosing who to vote for. It's time to quit your NARAL Pro-Choice Fundamentalism and start giving some space within the party to people like Kristen Day and her
Democrats for Life. That is, if you
do like getting elected.
-Republicans need to understand that
many of us voted for them largely on pro-life grounds. Come the next elections, we want to see that some
significant action has been taken towards stopping the abortion holocaust. That doesn't just mean legislation restricting abortion, that means help for women in need of all kinds of support. I recommend that everyone who voted with pro-life concerns in mind, write letters to Republicans in the White House, the Senate and the House making it clear that we demand meaningful action in this respect and that their jobs depend on it.
-Those who would have voted for Democrats if they were pro-life should also write letters to them making it clear why it is that they didn't get your vote, thus losing one of the most important elections of the past decades.
-To those who fight for the right to life: There is yet a long and dangerous road ahead, but remeber that faith, hope and love endure forever. Not to mention truth and reason.
Whistling Your Way Through Life
In my time, I have heard many people say that it would be an awesome thing if they could have a soundtrack to their life - I couldn't agree more. Soundtracks tend to make things more exciting, since they can intensify any particular mood through what I can only call "musical emotions" (you know what I mean). Besides, by simply watching out for the onset of ominous notes, one could avoid such tragic actions as heading down specific alleyways/opening particular doors/befriending certain strangers that would be likely to lead to otherwise imminent catastrophes. This method, of course, would not be very helpful for those it's-a-lazy-summer-day-and-I-just-got-done-taking-a-long-crap-while-reading-the-Sunday-comic-strips-when-a-huge-freakin'-seven-eyed-dog-jumps-on-me-as-I-open-the-bathroom-door sort of frights, but come on, it would be better than nothing. Yes, a soundtrack to life could certainly come in handy. Indeed, since it would doubtless increase one's chances for survival, I am rather surprised (or even disappointed!) that it has not yet been developed through the process of natural selection.
Of course, since this type of soundtrack is currently somewhat of an impossibility, most people simply complain a bit and leave it at that. Blatant mediocrity, I say! If you can't have an automatic life-soundtrack, why don't you just make one up? I am a strong advocate of whistling your way through life (although humming, imitating instruments, or even singing, can be worthy alternatives). Whistling to yourself during long walks, when working out, or while procastinating in your dorm room can make the experience more than twice as enjoyable. You can even experiment with various genres to suit your particular mood. Whistling to yourself is a supremely enjoyable experience almost-guaranteed to lift up your spirits and add that elusive spring to your step.
Doubtless, at this point the naysayers must be thinking that, enjoyable as it may be, such a soundtrack could not compare to an automatic one, since it would be utterly devoid of any features likely to increase their safety. As is generally the case, however, these pessimists are the victims of uncreative thinking. Indeed, self-made life-soundtracks can serve as effective security devices, if properly used. Allow me to illustrate. Imagine, for example, that for some reason or other you find yourself lost in the middle of a dangerous ghetto at 2:35 a.m. If you had an automatic soundtrack, the music would start getting pretty ominous, pretty quickly. But what could you do in this case? Not much, except listening to the frightful theme and saying your prayers (or if you're not religious, converting). On the other hand, a self-made soundtrack would give you a chance at survival in this most dire of situations. Indeed, if you began frantically busting out the theme from Jaws (or other fearful sort of music) while scurrying around all over the place like a man persecuted by an invisible being, you would be much more likely to make it through the night. Seeing such an obvious lunatic on the street, even dangerous (yet sane) criminals would probably try to stay away, while some kind soul might even decide to call a mental hospital to pick you up (thus rescuing you from your current dilemma). Think about it in this way, would
you want to be anywhere near yourself in such a state? I think not my friend. Clearly, the self-made soundtrack can save you from perils that even the much-hyped automatic soundtrack cannot.
As we have seen, because of its pleasurable uses as well as its security applications, the self-made soundrack reigns supreme in the land of musical themes to life. Do yourself a favor and get one as soon as you can. Go ahead, whistle.
