Haven't written in a while. I guess I haven't really had anything to write about. That and I've been busy with work and the what-nots.
But now I have something to talk about.
Let's talk about the US postal service.
Sorry, I just gotta rant about this for a few minutes. It will accomplish nothing. But I want to do this anyways.
So I order a package, Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor for PS4, on Amazon on July 16th. It is now August 6th. I still don't have it.
I don't get my package, don't get my package, don't get my package, so I check the Amazon account and see that it has been forwarded and "may be delayed because of a problem with your shipping address." Ok, I was out of town and so I sent it to my parents place with my name on it. They get my mail all the time so I didn't think it would be a problem. And I'm not joking. We swap mail once a week because the post office has NO IDEA which of us lives at which address. Despite the fact we have contacted them three separate times to try and get it figured out.
So I try to contact the postal service. Wow...I would rather call Comcast. And again, I'm not joking. One of the people I finally talked to gave me some numbers to call and some people to talk to but said that trying to get this figured out would be like "slamming my head against the wall." This is the opinion of someone who works for the postal system about the system she works for. Awesome.
So, after calling a series of numbers I eventually hit the loop where everyone has no idea what's going on and just keeps repeating the exact same worthless information (your package has been forwarded to a different address because of a problem with the shipping address and or zip code) and keeps referring me to the same circle of people who also know nothing. There's about five different numbers to call. 3 of them are the same automated system. 1 is a fake number that asked me for my "external access code" (felt like Borne calling into treadstone). 1 is for the local shipping place that never answers the phone (litterally called them 17 times straight in a row and didn't get a hold of anyone at 11:00 on a Thursday morning) and their message machine is usually full so you can't leave a message. Got lucky today and was able to leave a message. We'll see if that works.
So the postal service keeps telling me my game was forwarded to a different address but they don't know/can't tell me what that other address is because 1) that's a local office thing and this is the national support number 2) they are contractually obligated to NOT give out relevant information to people who can't find their packages 3) apparently they can't read or something. Worth noting, the first two are legitimate reasons they gave me. I didn't make those up. I'm just speculating on the 3rd.
The automated system gives you the most generic possible information they have. And then when I hit the button to talk to customer service (it's a 0 by the way. I had to figure that one out. They don't bother telling you) it said that customer service wasn't available and rambled off a list of other useless automated options. It is now 11:30 same Thursday morning.
And this is the third day I have personally tried to do this. My dad tried and had the same issues two weeks ago.
So I called the company that sold the item through Amazon and they gave me some helpful info.
So here's what's up: The postal service found this one package that had my name at an address I used to live at (my parent's place). I had a different forwarding address from when I moved. But they can't forward there anymore because I moved over a year ago. They don't forward after a year. That's important. So they just have my package in the system as "forwarding" to a "different address" but either no one knows what that address is, they aren't allowed to tell me what it is, or they just won't answer the phone. I call the seller and they give me the address that it has been forwarded to. I did not give the seller any address other than the first one that failed. The postal service just threw it at them but kept me in the dark. Turns out it's being forwarded to, get this, my new address. Yes, that one they aren't supposed to forward it to but should have done two weeks ago.
Now someone trying to be reasonable would say, yes but they do this so they don't leave something important/expensive like a package at someone else's house. They want to get the package to the right owner. To that I would say, that's great but then how come my parents get my bills in their mail bow with my name on it. Bills are pretty gorram important (50 shiny points for the reference). Oh and another thing. I ordered a Playstation 4 the same day as the game. I had it sent to the same address. With the same name on it.
Sooooooooo, a 30$ game the post office be like, "Whoa! We can't have that going to the wrong house!!! Look here, it says he's moved. Quick, let's hide it in the 'forwarding' system and not tell him where it's going!"
But for a 400$ game console the post office be like, "Yes, that's the address. Best just to leave this outside and not ring the doorbell. It's in a box. It'll be safe."
Awesome...
Sigh. So there it is. My woes with the postal service. I guess they re-sent it to my actually address on July 31st which is great. But it apparently takes 3 TO 15 DAYS to ship a tiny package ACROSS TOWN!!!!!!!
Whatevs...
Til then, at least I have Bloodborne! But only cuz the postal service sent it back because of the same address issue the seller returned the money and I walked into a local Gamestop and bought a used copy for only 5$ more.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Politics (or - why I don't vote, yes I said I don't vote, yes I am an American, and I'm still upset about Firefly)
This is gonna bump people from all different angles...
Ok, so I'm going to put out my thoughts very systematically. Then I'm gonna soap box for a bit.
This may sound crazy to some people but, I don't vote. I did vote in the 2008 elections but was uninformed. I just voted Republican because I'm pro-life. That's really about it. I've thought about it since and I'm upset I didn't think it through before hand. I head every 4 years that voting is often just choosing the lesser of two evils. There is a third option though...not voting.
Here's my reasons.
1) I'm waiting for someone worth voting for.
If voting feels like choosing the lesser of two evils then I would rather not vote. I don't want to put someone in a position of power just because they are not-as-bad-an-option as the other guy. That's a pathetic excuse in my mind. I chose not to vote in the 2012 elections because I watched interviews and debates with both Obama and Romney. I chose to not vote for Obama because I did not like what he did the previous four years and didn't think it was going to get better. He also pushed a lot of his campaign giving sales pitches toward minorities. Now hear me out: I have nothing against minorities! What I do have a problem with is someone vying for a position of power by using sales pitches and sucking up to a specific people group. I don't want a president who is going to do what is best for minorities in the U.S. I want a president who is going to do what is best for everyone. And yes, they are two different things.
I didn't vote for Romney because of one sentence he said during one interview. Sound a bit extreme? Check this concept. Romney was asked during an interview what his stance was on the legalization of marijuana. It was a hot topic at that point. He interrupted the interviewer with an annoyed look on his face and replied, "do you have anything important to talk about?" I'm sorry, you're running for the president of the United States. Your job is to lead and you cannot lead without knowing or caring about the people you're leading. I do agree that at that time the legalization of marijuana was not the most important topic that could be discussed. But it was what a lot of American people wanted to hear. If the question is important to the people who live in the U.S. it should be important to the people leading it. Also, during a debate Romney was told you will have thirty seconds to answer the next question." He replied with, "I'll take more time than that." Where I respect honesty, something severely lacking in modern politics, I do not respect the arrogance. This is a debate setting and there are rules. If he isn't willing to follow the rules to get the job whose to say he will follow the rules once he gets the job?
2) I'm waiting for someone that doesn't serve their people. I don't want a president that will service a particular group of people. I don't want someone that tries to benefit rich people, poor people, minorities, big companies, private companies, republicans, democrats, sponsors with fat pocket books, etc... I don't want a president that wants to put their own agenda into effect. I want a president that wants what's best for the country. What's best for the country will not always be what is best for me. I understand that. But recently I have seen politicians throwing out sales pitches to a particular group. They think, "I can't please everyone so I'll focus on enough groups to get me the votes." That doesn't help. It perpetuates the ind of bigoted thinking that separates the American people culturally, racially, economically, and otherwise. It does not promote unity. And this isn't called the Divided States of America. Just sayin...
3) I don't think it really matters. Yes, I understand that presidents choose other people that swing power that get some laws made that affects people but for how long? At most, a president is in office for eight years. The established system simply does not allow for massively influential changes to happen that quickly. The system is designed to keep things as middle as possible. And I don't care if anyone reading this doesn't feel that way. It's true. yes it swings one way or the other every now and then but then it always swings back. Look back and look ahead. Get your head stuck out of this past weekend. Everything averages out. Things have come into play since Obama has been president that I do not agree with and I believe have been hurting the country. I give it another eight years before they are undone and something else is put into play. Everything bounces back. When it doesn't is when we will have a problem.
Side note.
To the people who were saying at the beginning of Obama's term (and to other people who have undoubtedly said similar things about other presidents at the beginning of their terms) that he should be given more power to do what he wants and that congress is mean for fighting against his ideas: I cannot put into words how profoundly ignorant that is. Seriously? Give one man more power so he can do what he wants? Just because you think it's a good idea? What if it was the other way around? Did you ever consider that? Did you forget entirely the reason the United States of America was founded? Do you honestly think that any one man is competent enough or caring enough to run an entire country, and an important world power at that, without being challenged? Granted, the game of politics is rude and people from one party will deny actions proposed by the other party for no other reason than the names of the people supporting it. That's unfair and childish. It's pathetic. But you really think the reasonable response to that is to eliminate opposition and just hand out more power?
Too much stupid...
End side note.
My end points are: what's going to happen is going to happen, I hate the game of politics and am tired of people who play it, and I don't have to vote. Voting is a privilege, not a requirement.
I said once that I didn't vote because I didn't really care who was president. Same difference to me. And the response that was thrown back at me was, "well what if everyone felt that way." My response is, "who cares if everyone feels that way?" Voting is for people who care. That's the point. Ever voted on what ind of pizza you wanted and you liked both options? Didn't like either option? Did you vote? Just sayin... I don't care who is in office. What's more, I don't want either person in office! So why would I vote? What sense does it make for me to vote when I don't want either person?
"Then why don't you vote before then for the Republican/Democratic party runner?"
Because I still don't care. And it requires more research and effort than I really want to put into it. My life is too busy too put the appropriate research into every person running for president. Especially in this age of information. Is it easier to get information now than it was? Yes. Is it easier than it used to be to lie and spew out revolting amounts of mindless propaganda to sway those of the populace waiting to be force fed a sales pitch that agrees with what they already think instead of challenging them to think? Also yes.
Was that harsh? Maybe. Was it honest? Definitely.
All the research to find someone I want as president only to see someone else within the next eight years. No thanks. I'd rather play Dark Souls.
(Dark Souls is an epic game of futility that makes you go through endless hours of trial and error just to kill you in a way you couldn't have predicted but is strangely fun so you keep playing it.)
Here's a few things to keep in mind during the upcoming voting season.
Any meme made about the opposing party could be made about yours. Neither party, Republican of Democrat, is exempt from stupid people. Don't bother pretending otherwise.
Liberal and conservative are relative terms. Everyone is a liberal to someone and a conservative to someone else. It's a flimsy label and should not be leaned on.
News stations are not concerned with telling the truth. The are concerned with telling some of the truth. And telling some of the truth for the purposes of swaying opinions or appeasing sponsors is no better than lying. The truth is not the truth until it is shared in its entirety. Don't bother trusting any one source of information. Double and triple check information before running with it. And don't check information from three different sources with the same political bent. That's also worthless. Check information from a more liberal source, from a more conservative source, and from a source that tries it's best to stay neutral. Whatever information intersects between those is the most plausible.
Also never listen to anything said on Fox. They canceled Firefly which makes them immortally stupid and untrustworthy.
I'm kind of kidding...
Don't take things out of context. Quotes make more sense and often have a completely different meaning when in context of the entire conversation.
All memes are taken out of context.
Memes are a REALLY BAD place to get your political information and statistics.
Political statistics are often bogus. Now, I know people who work with statistics and I don't want to offend what they do and make it seem unimportant or false. But most of the statistics you see going around political parties and supporting social ideas are a part of a whole and have been skewed to serve a purpose instead of telling the truth. It is very difficult to tell truth using statistics unless you are asking very specific questions. Any time you put the human equation into the mix it gums things up and bogs things down. You can see one of my earlier posts about racism and police brutality for examples of tweaked statistics.
Here's the thing. I'm cynical. I don't appreciate sales pitches and people who think I'm stupid enough to eat their sales pitch without confirming it. The way I see it, politicians are little better than salesmen. I just get irritated listening to political debates where people are asked questions and don't answer them then get this smug look on their face like, "yes, I am that awesome." Bleagh...
I'm not a republican and I'm not a democrat. (hopefully that's clear by now) I do not believe either party has everything figured out or that either party has more figured out than the other. Therefore, I do not associate with either.
I am pro-life. As a former fetus, I am pro-life. Honestly I could write an entirely separate post on just my thoughts about this but I'm going to simplify. If you get two people from opposite sides of this argument that are sensible enough to genuinely debate the topic it comes down to one issue. Is a fetus alive? From anything I've ever heard or read I believe the answer is yes. My personal convictions say that efforts should always be made to preserve life. Especially life that has not yet had a say whether or not it wants to exist. I do not believe we have the right to choose for someone else.
[The following is not as "nice" as usual. I will state beforehand that if you have a different opinion about the following topic and can explain to me who/how I am wrong I will gladly hear it and change my thinking! The following is my thoughts on the subject. They are thought through as best as I can. This is not ignorance speaking despite the fact it is posted on the internet.]
I am also pro-flat-taxes. (that's a word now) By that I mean I think it is ludicrous, short sighted, selfish, and downright mean to tax rich people more. I have yet to hear a good argument for it and my common sense and though experiments also fail to turn up anything good.
"They have more money and more taxes will do more." Let me introduce how percentages work. 10% of 10 is 1. 10% of 100 is 10. 10 is more than 1. The same percentage out of a higher number equals a higher number. You don't have to tax a higher percentage of people with more money to get more money out of them.
Why take money away from people who are making profit, and a lot of it, and give it to people who cannot keep a budget together? (that would be the U.S. government) What would the government need with the money? Make more jobs to stimulate the economy you say? Ah, yes. Because large corporations making significant profit usually do what they can to stay stagnant, not expand, and thereby limit the amount of jobs available.
That was sarcasm. If I'm to be honest, it was biting sarcasm.
Also, I am poor so I feel I have the freedom to say this stuff. If I was rich I wouldn't be able to talk because it would be "in my own interest." Well it isn't. So there. :P
Well now I have a headache. So I am going to get off and have some water and not think about elections of politics for the rest of the evening...until I get on Facebook. sigh...
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Cynic (or - complaining, baseless accusations, white rappers, and I'm still sore about Fox canceling Firefly...)
You know the feeling you get when you're walking through a used car lot and everyone you see is wearing a uniform with the name of the company selling said used cars? And they are all smiling at you. They are all trying to start up a conversation. But you don't really want to talk to any of them because you are pretty sure you don't want to hear what they want to say. But the reason you don't want to hear it is because you already don't believe it. They haven't said anything, but you already know you're not gonna buy anything that comes out of their face.
Or when you're at a kiosk in the mall and the guy is trying to sell you that little piece of plastic to go on your phone. Or the warranty on your microwave. Or the homemade off-brand of...whatever.
You just know there is some other reason behind what they are saying, behind what they are selling.
That's what it feels like to be a cynic.
Jeez, I phrased that like it's a medical condition...
Ok, being cynical is a choice. But that's not the point! I'm avoiding that point to make what I feel like is a better point because the point is pointed at me. I want to do the pointing. Pointing outward.
So here's the point...
Honestly, it's not as bad as all that. I, personally, do give people the benefit of the doubt when I don't know them. Unless they are literally a sales person. Or politician. Which is just like a sales person except they have the power to change the sales tax. More on that later...
However, it is difficult for me to take people seriously when they are trying to be nice to me. If it's just a casual nicety I just assume they are following social etiquette and trying not to be rude. Which I can appreciate. Rude is annoying. But punching rude people in the face is also rude and is proper grounds for a lawsuit which puts me in a pickle.
Being cynical is like pretending to have superpowers but without the actual ability of telepathy. It's like shaving my head, wearing a suit, and rolling around in a wheelchair talking like an old English guy for no apparent reason.
Me: "No, no, I can't actually read your minds. But it's fun to think I can and it makes me feel safe by keeping you at a distance based of baseless accusations."
Others: [confused stare]
Me: "Stop judging me."
Others: "I'm not."
Me: "I don't believe you!" [rolls away thinking "I can feel the judgement!"]
It's sad, really.
John Reuben in his song "Sales Pitch" off the album Boy Vs. the Cynic" phrased it very well.
"Everyone’s got a hidden agenda watch them push it on you
Everyone’s got a hidden agenda don’t pretend not to It’s a battle for your mind and a battle for your pocket book They’ll play on your emotions until your heart is hooked Reel them in tell them what’s your intent No mr. salesman you don’t have my confidence See I’m not sure if I can trust your heart So don’t feed me your lies disguised in sheep guard Everyone’s got an agenda can you tell me what for Everyone’s got an agenda can you tell me what’s yours From the liberal media to the conservative core From politics to the dude trying to play it cool on the dance floor Its human nature runs deep and reeks of secrets No matter how hard you try no man can keep it For a time maybe but one day you’re gonna have to face it And when that time comes you won’t be able to fake it"
This is how it feels. I don't reserve cynicism for Hollywood, or liberals, or conservatives, or musicians, or cooks, or neighbors. I'm an equal opportunist. :P
Honestly though, I don't just walk around judging everyone and disbelieving everything everyone tells me. Wanna take a sec and make that clear! I know a lot of wonderful people that I trust. I was much more cynical back in high school cuz...well...I was in high school. I mean, what can I say, right? My cynicism is largely directed toward organizations now instead of people. So don't feel bad if you're reading this! :D
And to be truly honest, I don't believe organizations. I don't believe slogans. I don't believe sales pitches. I do not believe companies that say, "Our number one goal is customer satisfaction." That's a great idea and it's a good way to get people to look at what you do as a company but it simply isn't true. The number one goal of every company that is currently functional is making profit. Unless, you know, it's a non-profit organization.
Customer service is a number two priority at best for any successful company. Having a boat full of happy customers will not keep your company from bankruptcy. Just saying...
I also do not trust politicians. I mean, seriously, have people really not figured out how it works? I mean that's like someone in retail walking up to you and saying, "Hey, if you sign up for a [clothing store] credit card I might win a 100$ bonus at the end of the month! Oh, and you can get cool stuff too I guess."
They don't know me. How could they really know and want what's best for me? They don't. I mean, they don't wish harm on me. They aren't evil. (close but technically not evil) But let's be honest, they don't really care. They want votes. They want what's best for their supporters so they can get more money to campaign and get a job. And not that all politicians are lackadaisical in the office. Lots of presidents have done good things for this country. But really, if you want to do good and make a difference in the country, being a president is one of the least effective positions you can work from. Just look at any of the last several presidents for examples!
As a side note, no one has room to rant about republicans vs. democrats and blocking what the others want in office. George Bush Sr got ripped off by democrats and Barack Obama got ripped off by republicans. It's a tie. Everyone sucks. Get over it.
Aaaaaaaand we're back!
I don't trust news agencies. News stations aren't concerned with telling people what's going on. They just want to tell people what they already know. People want to hear the same old garbage over and over again so the news agencies rush to get the newest recycled garbage out there. Newest rehash, increased ratings, increased paycheck, there you have it.
Also I don't trust Fox because they canceled Firefly.
Still sore about that...
I don't trust the Academy Awards. Those have been a joke for a long time. It's political. It is, and it's obvious.
I don't trust the Olympics. Anyone else watch the recent one in Russia. Just sayin...
I don't trust any company that gives out rebates. Anyone who has tried to cash in on a rebate will side with me on that.
And this is the saddest: I don't trust the American government. I do not believe that the government has my best interest in mind. I don't believe it even has the general public's best interest in mind. I don't have much reason to believe they have anyone in mind other than themselves. Trying to keep themselves clean and well paid.
Here's the funny thing though, I do not believe in most, if any, conspiracy theories.
I know! I don't get it either.
To be honest, I don't think you could get enough people smart enough or capable enough to pull off something as wide-spread as the Illuminati and get away with it. I just don't have enough faith in humanity to pull off a stunt that size.
So there's a little paradox to chew on.
I do not encourage cynicism. I do not believe it is healthy. It does make for some great short story material. And, if used correctly, can begin to resemble precaution. But it usually doesn't.
Anyway, it's late, I'm tired of negative vibe ranting, and my back is sore. I'm going to bed now.
Or when you're at a kiosk in the mall and the guy is trying to sell you that little piece of plastic to go on your phone. Or the warranty on your microwave. Or the homemade off-brand of...whatever.
You just know there is some other reason behind what they are saying, behind what they are selling.
That's what it feels like to be a cynic.
Jeez, I phrased that like it's a medical condition...
Ok, being cynical is a choice. But that's not the point! I'm avoiding that point to make what I feel like is a better point because the point is pointed at me. I want to do the pointing. Pointing outward.
So here's the point...
Honestly, it's not as bad as all that. I, personally, do give people the benefit of the doubt when I don't know them. Unless they are literally a sales person. Or politician. Which is just like a sales person except they have the power to change the sales tax. More on that later...
However, it is difficult for me to take people seriously when they are trying to be nice to me. If it's just a casual nicety I just assume they are following social etiquette and trying not to be rude. Which I can appreciate. Rude is annoying. But punching rude people in the face is also rude and is proper grounds for a lawsuit which puts me in a pickle.
Being cynical is like pretending to have superpowers but without the actual ability of telepathy. It's like shaving my head, wearing a suit, and rolling around in a wheelchair talking like an old English guy for no apparent reason.
Me: "No, no, I can't actually read your minds. But it's fun to think I can and it makes me feel safe by keeping you at a distance based of baseless accusations."
Others: [confused stare]
Me: "Stop judging me."
Others: "I'm not."
Me: "I don't believe you!" [rolls away thinking "I can feel the judgement!"]
It's sad, really.
John Reuben in his song "Sales Pitch" off the album Boy Vs. the Cynic" phrased it very well.
"Everyone’s got a hidden agenda watch them push it on you
Everyone’s got a hidden agenda don’t pretend not to It’s a battle for your mind and a battle for your pocket book They’ll play on your emotions until your heart is hooked Reel them in tell them what’s your intent No mr. salesman you don’t have my confidence See I’m not sure if I can trust your heart So don’t feed me your lies disguised in sheep guard Everyone’s got an agenda can you tell me what for Everyone’s got an agenda can you tell me what’s yours From the liberal media to the conservative core From politics to the dude trying to play it cool on the dance floor Its human nature runs deep and reeks of secrets No matter how hard you try no man can keep it For a time maybe but one day you’re gonna have to face it And when that time comes you won’t be able to fake it"
This is how it feels. I don't reserve cynicism for Hollywood, or liberals, or conservatives, or musicians, or cooks, or neighbors. I'm an equal opportunist. :P
Honestly though, I don't just walk around judging everyone and disbelieving everything everyone tells me. Wanna take a sec and make that clear! I know a lot of wonderful people that I trust. I was much more cynical back in high school cuz...well...I was in high school. I mean, what can I say, right? My cynicism is largely directed toward organizations now instead of people. So don't feel bad if you're reading this! :D
And to be truly honest, I don't believe organizations. I don't believe slogans. I don't believe sales pitches. I do not believe companies that say, "Our number one goal is customer satisfaction." That's a great idea and it's a good way to get people to look at what you do as a company but it simply isn't true. The number one goal of every company that is currently functional is making profit. Unless, you know, it's a non-profit organization.
Customer service is a number two priority at best for any successful company. Having a boat full of happy customers will not keep your company from bankruptcy. Just saying...
I also do not trust politicians. I mean, seriously, have people really not figured out how it works? I mean that's like someone in retail walking up to you and saying, "Hey, if you sign up for a [clothing store] credit card I might win a 100$ bonus at the end of the month! Oh, and you can get cool stuff too I guess."
They don't know me. How could they really know and want what's best for me? They don't. I mean, they don't wish harm on me. They aren't evil. (close but technically not evil) But let's be honest, they don't really care. They want votes. They want what's best for their supporters so they can get more money to campaign and get a job. And not that all politicians are lackadaisical in the office. Lots of presidents have done good things for this country. But really, if you want to do good and make a difference in the country, being a president is one of the least effective positions you can work from. Just look at any of the last several presidents for examples!
As a side note, no one has room to rant about republicans vs. democrats and blocking what the others want in office. George Bush Sr got ripped off by democrats and Barack Obama got ripped off by republicans. It's a tie. Everyone sucks. Get over it.
Aaaaaaaand we're back!
I don't trust news agencies. News stations aren't concerned with telling people what's going on. They just want to tell people what they already know. People want to hear the same old garbage over and over again so the news agencies rush to get the newest recycled garbage out there. Newest rehash, increased ratings, increased paycheck, there you have it.
Also I don't trust Fox because they canceled Firefly.
Still sore about that...
I don't trust the Academy Awards. Those have been a joke for a long time. It's political. It is, and it's obvious.
I don't trust the Olympics. Anyone else watch the recent one in Russia. Just sayin...
I don't trust any company that gives out rebates. Anyone who has tried to cash in on a rebate will side with me on that.
And this is the saddest: I don't trust the American government. I do not believe that the government has my best interest in mind. I don't believe it even has the general public's best interest in mind. I don't have much reason to believe they have anyone in mind other than themselves. Trying to keep themselves clean and well paid.
Here's the funny thing though, I do not believe in most, if any, conspiracy theories.
I know! I don't get it either.
To be honest, I don't think you could get enough people smart enough or capable enough to pull off something as wide-spread as the Illuminati and get away with it. I just don't have enough faith in humanity to pull off a stunt that size.
So there's a little paradox to chew on.
I do not encourage cynicism. I do not believe it is healthy. It does make for some great short story material. And, if used correctly, can begin to resemble precaution. But it usually doesn't.
Anyway, it's late, I'm tired of negative vibe ranting, and my back is sore. I'm going to bed now.
Point_of_it_all (or - =IF(X=BETTER_FOR_ALL_TRUE,"Love",=IF(X=BETTER_FOR_ALL_FALSE,"Not Love","Abyss")) )
People.
Flopping around on this little blue planet pretending like we know what we are doing.
Like the proverbial Darwin fish crawling out of the sludge of the beginning declaring, "Look how far I've come!" but failing to take in the expanse before it.
Beautiful, organic machines built to run off and respond to a million inputs a minute. Beautiful, sentient ghosts that can dream, live, and love.
We are the ghosts. We are the machines. We are our own entities.
Capable of writing our own segments of code. Capable of understanding the code of this expanse, this existence, this reality we call "universe". We can see the gears turning. We can hear the parts moving. We can sense the data flowing. Alive. Cohesive.
Yet we do nothing to understand its purpose or further its cause.
Capable of so much yet we give up the command keys to whoever will shut us off quietly and peacefully. But only the way we want.
But we want for nothing...
We allow ourselves to drop to our base base functions and slowly slide through this sad little instance of existence we call "life". Then it's gone.
With all our capabilities we try to dismiss the obvious and declare, "There is nothing!" We have lost the point of it all because we had it but we threw it out the window and turned around. We slapped our hands, still warm from the point of it all, and screamed to an empty room, "I don't know where it went!" or worse yet, "It was never here!"
Blasphemy!
No one writes code for it to float in the abyss and rot. Neither does code write itself to sit in the abyss. The abyss does not abide the pointless code. The abyss exists to be filled.
And it's bursting at the brim.
Nothing in our known reality exists without reason. Everything fits into the program, the machine, the system of everything. Reason is purpose. Purpose implies design. Design implies intelligence.
Man made machines. The machines cannot surpass man because man made them. Man is incapable of making its equal let alone its superior. We made the machines that are less than us yet mimic us. They can look like us. They can sound like us. They can do things we can do. But they cannot make themselves. What they make is less than them which is less than us.
Continue walking backward...
Man is the organic machine then who is the operator?
Man did not make man. Man cannot make man. Man makes lesser than man but man exists. Who is the Un-Man that put man into being? Like us but the greater still.
We can look like the Un-Man. We can sound like the Un-Man. We can do things like the Un-Man. But the Un-Man is beyond.
There is our purpose. There is the point of it all. Look out the window.
You can see it!
The point of it all!
Exist within the system of the universe. Co-exist with existence itself.
This begs a question. This demands thought. Inquiry. Processing. Learning. Adapting. Plotting. Planning. Executing. Striving.
How to exist with everything. Everything is a lot. Everything requires a lot of parameters.
Or does it?
Sometimes the most intricate designs have the simplest core concepts. Sometimes the most complex programs have the fewest rules to govern the variables.
To sum up the meaning of it all in a word. To simplify. To understand.
An attempt..."Love".
Not the 70s. Not flowers. Not LSD. Not sex. Not feelings. Not fuzzy feelings. Not kittens. Not cake.
Existing to better the existence of all.
Not existing for the betterment of others. This leads to selflessness which leads to self-spite. Altruism.
Fools.
I am me. Without me I am nothing. Nothing is not tolerated. The abyss was made to be inhabited by the things. I cannot be a nothing.
I am a part of everything. Within the everything lies me alongside all else.
Existing to better the existence of all.
Not existing for the betterment of myself. This leads to selfishness which leads to spiting others. Avarice.
Fools.
I am not all. If I was all there would be nothing else. I look out the window. I know I am not alone. All else lies alongside me within the everything.
Existing to better the existence of all.
What is it that betters the existence of all.
If X = better_for_all[TRUE] then [X = "love"]
If X = better_for_all[FALSE] then [X = "not love"]
We need to strive for love. Love is not what is better for you. Love is not what is better for me. Love is what is better for us.
Not what you want. Not what I want. But what is better.
This is the core of the universe.
This is the point of it all.
Flopping around on this little blue planet pretending like we know what we are doing.
Like the proverbial Darwin fish crawling out of the sludge of the beginning declaring, "Look how far I've come!" but failing to take in the expanse before it.
Beautiful, organic machines built to run off and respond to a million inputs a minute. Beautiful, sentient ghosts that can dream, live, and love.
We are the ghosts. We are the machines. We are our own entities.
Capable of writing our own segments of code. Capable of understanding the code of this expanse, this existence, this reality we call "universe". We can see the gears turning. We can hear the parts moving. We can sense the data flowing. Alive. Cohesive.
Yet we do nothing to understand its purpose or further its cause.
Capable of so much yet we give up the command keys to whoever will shut us off quietly and peacefully. But only the way we want.
But we want for nothing...
We allow ourselves to drop to our base base functions and slowly slide through this sad little instance of existence we call "life". Then it's gone.
With all our capabilities we try to dismiss the obvious and declare, "There is nothing!" We have lost the point of it all because we had it but we threw it out the window and turned around. We slapped our hands, still warm from the point of it all, and screamed to an empty room, "I don't know where it went!" or worse yet, "It was never here!"
Blasphemy!
No one writes code for it to float in the abyss and rot. Neither does code write itself to sit in the abyss. The abyss does not abide the pointless code. The abyss exists to be filled.
And it's bursting at the brim.
Nothing in our known reality exists without reason. Everything fits into the program, the machine, the system of everything. Reason is purpose. Purpose implies design. Design implies intelligence.
Man made machines. The machines cannot surpass man because man made them. Man is incapable of making its equal let alone its superior. We made the machines that are less than us yet mimic us. They can look like us. They can sound like us. They can do things we can do. But they cannot make themselves. What they make is less than them which is less than us.
Continue walking backward...
Man is the organic machine then who is the operator?
Man did not make man. Man cannot make man. Man makes lesser than man but man exists. Who is the Un-Man that put man into being? Like us but the greater still.
We can look like the Un-Man. We can sound like the Un-Man. We can do things like the Un-Man. But the Un-Man is beyond.
There is our purpose. There is the point of it all. Look out the window.
You can see it!
The point of it all!
Exist within the system of the universe. Co-exist with existence itself.
This begs a question. This demands thought. Inquiry. Processing. Learning. Adapting. Plotting. Planning. Executing. Striving.
How to exist with everything. Everything is a lot. Everything requires a lot of parameters.
Or does it?
Sometimes the most intricate designs have the simplest core concepts. Sometimes the most complex programs have the fewest rules to govern the variables.
To sum up the meaning of it all in a word. To simplify. To understand.
An attempt..."Love".
Not the 70s. Not flowers. Not LSD. Not sex. Not feelings. Not fuzzy feelings. Not kittens. Not cake.
Existing to better the existence of all.
Not existing for the betterment of others. This leads to selflessness which leads to self-spite. Altruism.
Fools.
I am me. Without me I am nothing. Nothing is not tolerated. The abyss was made to be inhabited by the things. I cannot be a nothing.
I am a part of everything. Within the everything lies me alongside all else.
Existing to better the existence of all.
Not existing for the betterment of myself. This leads to selfishness which leads to spiting others. Avarice.
Fools.
I am not all. If I was all there would be nothing else. I look out the window. I know I am not alone. All else lies alongside me within the everything.
Existing to better the existence of all.
What is it that betters the existence of all.
If X = better_for_all[TRUE] then [X = "love"]
If X = better_for_all[FALSE] then [X = "not love"]
We need to strive for love. Love is not what is better for you. Love is not what is better for me. Love is what is better for us.
Not what you want. Not what I want. But what is better.
This is the core of the universe.
This is the point of it all.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Freedom (or - homosexual marriage, a significant rant in both directions, calming down, and 2 Princess Bride quotes!)
So, the U.S. Supreme Court just decided that homosexual marriages are now legal across the country.
Ok.
What I have a hard time understanding is why people are having such a hard time with this decision. Like, did they not see this coming? This is an issue that has been coming for quite some time now.
I have several thoughts that go on both ends of the spectrum. I'm going to throw out my thoughts, issues, comments, etc... and then talk about what I really think about the whole thing in general.
1. "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Last I checked, (literally just now. Like not even 30 seconds ago) America was supposed to be a land of tolerance. If I may quote the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Yeah...ok...
So a couple things here. First of all, how about everyone quit throwing a fit now that we are treating homosexual marriages equal to heterosexual marriages in regards to the law. The law doesn't say it's morally right or anything. It's just the governments way of saying, "we're ok with that being a thing now." It doesn't change most people's daily lives. It gives homosexual couples a few legal breaks. That's all! (More on this later. So if it's still bothering you from a legal standpoint just hang in there.) And for that matter, hows 'bout people stop throwing a fit about allowing people from other countries into our borders. Hows 'bout stop throwing a fit about instructions being written in English and Spanish. Cuz you know what, you go to a lot of countries around the world and signs are in the primary language and usually one or two other languages as well. It's called being considerate. Other people live here other than middle class white people with English derived names. Just calm down.
Here's another thing on this thing. If America believes "...all men are created equal" how come it's just now a thing that gay marriage is the same legally as straight marriage? How come black people couldn't vote until 100 YEARS after the whole "...all men are created equal" bit was written? How come it was still super difficult for black people to vote until ANOTHER 100 YEARS after that? And I'm not even getting into women's rights, or Irish people, or Chinese people, or Mexican people, or basically anyone-trying-to-live-in-the-Americas-who-didn't-come-from-England people.
2. Common practice vs. Religion
So here's what's going to happen: gay couple wants to get married, church says, "no, we won't marry you," gay couple says, "ok, then we'll sue you because gay marriage is legal." Where does that leave us then? That leaves us at the crossroads of yes, the law says that gay marriage is legal and states cannot deny gay marriages but church's still have their own religious beliefs and convictions.
No, this may not be a problem right now but it will happen. American law has this obnoxious habit of treating a people group poorly, deciding that was a bad idea, and then giving them benefits beyond equality. This does not include the American people. We're jerks. I'm saying the law, the paperwork, does this. We've already got people suing christian bakeries (so what, do they only do unleavened cakes?) for not doing a gay wedding cake. We also have people in an uproar at Chik-fil-a because someone went out of their way to ask the owner about their stance on homosexuality. Really? You had to ask? And then people acted shocked to find out a Christian was against homosexuality!
How is this surprising?!?!
If we have this kind of nonsensicalness going on now then it won't be long until someone tries to sue a church they know won't marry them for not marrying them. So, does that mean I can walk up to the Mormon temple, ask to be married there, be denied (fyi I'm not Mormon), and then sue them for discriminating?
I hope not! Cuz that'd be stupid!
Someone is going to have to deal with this issue in the future. And I'm glad I'm not involved in law!
3. "Maawaaage. Mawage is wat bwings us togetha today..."
WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT CARE?!?!
What difference does it make whether the people living under this roof are straight or gay? (Or lesbian, I guess because, for some reason, we felt it necessary to give them their own label.) Seriously? Why?
Why not just give tax benefits and all that other stuff (I know you get more than tax benefits for marriage) to people living together at all? Like college roommates? Two people who want to save money on rent so they live together in a medium sized house? Three people who want to save money on rent so they live together in a slightly larger medium sized house? Too much paperwork? That can't be the case...IT'S THE GOVERNMENT!
On a side note: I think organizations feed off the amount of paperwork they have. The larger the organization the more paperwork necessary to keep it well fed and healthy.
The only argument I've heard as to why the government gives legal preference to married couples is to nurture a concept of a stable family to strengthen society.
Wow, if that isn't 1950s popular opinion propaganda I don't know what is.
Ok, I understand the concept and I can see where it comes from. But then why don't they give tax breaks to people who, let's say, don't cheat on their spouses? Don't watch porn? Don't gamble? Don't smoke indoors with their kids? Follow any other pick of randomly decided American social norms?
So sure, I figure if the government is gonna stick it's ideals into my marriage and my life, why not other people's too? I mean, just be consistent with it.
Or they could just not care (like they should) and continue on with more important things. Honestly, it would be cheaper to just not give anyone tax breaks and say, "here are the taxes...for everyone. Now pay them" and be done with it.
But that would require less paperwork and as we've discussed, I'm pretty sure the government entity would starve and die.
4. Where does it stop...
Homosexual marriage is now legal and equal in the eyes of the law to heterosexual marriage. Ok. What next?
How long before polygamy is accepted and legal? How long before marriage to 12 year old kids is legal? How long before marriage to animals is legal? How long before marriage to artificial humans is legal?
Now, I'm not saying that legalizing homosexual marriage is going to be the downfall of American civilization. And I think to say so is pretty outrageous. However, I do think it is showing a common trend in the American government and in American society as a whole.
This is going to be a bold statement. Some people will hate me for it and label me a traitor or whatever. (honestly...don't care) And others will see what I mean and run with it. Most will never read this post and they'll keep on living however they were living anyways.
America is no longer a country of freedom. In fact, as I've mentioned previously, I don't think it ever was. I think America wanted to be a country of freedom, but it never fully realized that idea. America today is a country of entitlement. And entitlement is different than freedom.
"...that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Life: "The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death."
Here in America you should be allowed to live unless, by your life and actions, you are threatening or ending the lives of others.
Unless you are an unborn child...
I'm not going to get into that right now, however, I will say that is it disgusting how often parents whose unborn children test positive for Down's Syndrome are advised to abort.
The child will live. The birth will not have complications. The mother is not a rape victim. You have no arguments. The parents are advised to abort.
Liberty: "the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views."
Here in America you should have certain liberties. Your way of life, behavior, and political views cannot (rather, should not) be restricted unless they are restricting the way of life, behavior, or political views of another.
Pursuit of happiness.
Here in America you should be able to pursue what makes you happy. Unless your happiness comes at the unwilling consent of another person or from another person's distress.
The way it works is similar in theory to Isaac Asimov's the three laws of robotics. Each of these things are true and acceptable as long as they do not hinder another person's access to these three things. These concepts work as long as they do not deny someone else these very same concepts. (not an exact match but a similar concept)
(only 5 kudo points for knowing where the titles for points 1 and 3 came from but a full plate of yummy imaginary cookies if you've seen the movie! And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to go watch The Princess Bride. Like...right now)
And now for my personal opinion on gay marriage and the whole thing.
[drum roll...]
I believe that homosexuality is a sin.
[cymbals clash...]
I do not simply believe this because I was taught to believe it or because it is convenient or because I'm a republican (which I'm not [more on that later]). I believe that because I looked up a bunch of verses in the Bible and that's what I believe it says.
Here's some searches for you to do on your own if you want.
Genesis 2:20-24. God made man. God then made a helper for man. God made a woman. He didn't make a woman and then another man and let Adam decide. It was pretty straightforward.
Mark 10:6-9. Talks a bit about the above verse.
Romans 1:21-27. Spells it out.
1 Corinthians 6:7-10. etc...
Leviticus 18:22. etc...
Leviticus 20:13. etc...
I'm sorry (only kinda) but people who say the Bible isn't clear on the issue of homosexuality just aren't paying attention. Or lying...but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.
That being said, I believe that there are A LOT of ways that people sin! Lying, stealing, being disrespectful, gossiping, murder, slander, idolatry, abuse, adultery, etc... And I also believe the verse that says, "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23). It doesn't say, "For the wages of some sins is death but others less so." Or, "For the wages of homosexuality is death but lying and cheating on your wife you can just say a prayer and you're ok."
HOWEVER, I do not have a problem with homosexual people. Well, you know, other than the ones who irritate my pet peeves, or cut me off in traffic, or insult my mom, or something. Ok, so I don't have problems with homosexual people any more than I have problems with other people in general.
Ok, how's this: homosexuality does not bother me. I don't see why people feel the need to pick on some sins more than others. Just...calm down.
I believe there are bigger problems with American society today than whether or not the Supreme Court legalizes homosexual marriage. Like a complete lack of a moral center (or any kind of philosophical center for that matter other than "don't pester loud people). The lack of concern for posterity. The complete disconnect between the American people and the politicians charged with running the country. The lack of concern with the well-being of the society as a whole and the obsession with ourselves and getting what we want when we want it the way we want it regardless of its cost and inconvenience to others. The dichotomy of a decreasing sense of objectification and the increase of labels and standardization. The confusion between and the words "want" and "need."
We're so busy popping pills trying to alleviate a headache that we've completely missed the tumor causing it.
We're medicating todlers instead of teaching them to behave. We're teaching high school students to pass tests instead of teaching them to learn. We're rewarding adults for laziness instead of helping them achieve.
And so many Christians think that everything would be ok if we would go back to our founding father's good Christian morals. That this is God's country and we're turning away from him and that's why all these evil laws are being passed and heathens are running rampant in the streets.
As if religion has it any better.
Last I looked there were pastors losing their jobs for sleeping with women in the congregation only to go to a different building and start a new church. There were churches being torn apart because some of the people can't stand that there's a woman standing in front of them leading the praise songs. There entire debates at meetings comprised of leaders from all across a geographic region about issues that should never have even been brought up because they are directly opposed to the Book of Church Order.
If America is supposed to be a country based of freedom then so be it. I like it here! I like what the Declaration of Independence says and I like what the Bill of Rights says. I just wish we'd follow them. That being said, some things are going to pass in the name of freedom that I don't agree with. And you know what? I'm ok with that. Because to me, it's worth living here.
You don't like the way something happened? Well, phooey. Just get used to it. This is life and it's gonna happen a lot.
So I guess the theme of this post would be...
And move on.
(and no. no kudo points for this reference. it is its own reference.)
Ok.
What I have a hard time understanding is why people are having such a hard time with this decision. Like, did they not see this coming? This is an issue that has been coming for quite some time now.
I have several thoughts that go on both ends of the spectrum. I'm going to throw out my thoughts, issues, comments, etc... and then talk about what I really think about the whole thing in general.
1. "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Last I checked, (literally just now. Like not even 30 seconds ago) America was supposed to be a land of tolerance. If I may quote the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Yeah...ok...
So a couple things here. First of all, how about everyone quit throwing a fit now that we are treating homosexual marriages equal to heterosexual marriages in regards to the law. The law doesn't say it's morally right or anything. It's just the governments way of saying, "we're ok with that being a thing now." It doesn't change most people's daily lives. It gives homosexual couples a few legal breaks. That's all! (More on this later. So if it's still bothering you from a legal standpoint just hang in there.) And for that matter, hows 'bout people stop throwing a fit about allowing people from other countries into our borders. Hows 'bout stop throwing a fit about instructions being written in English and Spanish. Cuz you know what, you go to a lot of countries around the world and signs are in the primary language and usually one or two other languages as well. It's called being considerate. Other people live here other than middle class white people with English derived names. Just calm down.
Here's another thing on this thing. If America believes "...all men are created equal" how come it's just now a thing that gay marriage is the same legally as straight marriage? How come black people couldn't vote until 100 YEARS after the whole "...all men are created equal" bit was written? How come it was still super difficult for black people to vote until ANOTHER 100 YEARS after that? And I'm not even getting into women's rights, or Irish people, or Chinese people, or Mexican people, or basically anyone-trying-to-live-in-the-Americas-who-didn't-come-from-England people.
2. Common practice vs. Religion
So here's what's going to happen: gay couple wants to get married, church says, "no, we won't marry you," gay couple says, "ok, then we'll sue you because gay marriage is legal." Where does that leave us then? That leaves us at the crossroads of yes, the law says that gay marriage is legal and states cannot deny gay marriages but church's still have their own religious beliefs and convictions.
No, this may not be a problem right now but it will happen. American law has this obnoxious habit of treating a people group poorly, deciding that was a bad idea, and then giving them benefits beyond equality. This does not include the American people. We're jerks. I'm saying the law, the paperwork, does this. We've already got people suing christian bakeries (so what, do they only do unleavened cakes?) for not doing a gay wedding cake. We also have people in an uproar at Chik-fil-a because someone went out of their way to ask the owner about their stance on homosexuality. Really? You had to ask? And then people acted shocked to find out a Christian was against homosexuality!
How is this surprising?!?!
If we have this kind of nonsensicalness going on now then it won't be long until someone tries to sue a church they know won't marry them for not marrying them. So, does that mean I can walk up to the Mormon temple, ask to be married there, be denied (fyi I'm not Mormon), and then sue them for discriminating?
I hope not! Cuz that'd be stupid!
Someone is going to have to deal with this issue in the future. And I'm glad I'm not involved in law!
3. "Maawaaage. Mawage is wat bwings us togetha today..."
WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT CARE?!?!
What difference does it make whether the people living under this roof are straight or gay? (Or lesbian, I guess because, for some reason, we felt it necessary to give them their own label.) Seriously? Why?
Why not just give tax benefits and all that other stuff (I know you get more than tax benefits for marriage) to people living together at all? Like college roommates? Two people who want to save money on rent so they live together in a medium sized house? Three people who want to save money on rent so they live together in a slightly larger medium sized house? Too much paperwork? That can't be the case...IT'S THE GOVERNMENT!
On a side note: I think organizations feed off the amount of paperwork they have. The larger the organization the more paperwork necessary to keep it well fed and healthy.
The only argument I've heard as to why the government gives legal preference to married couples is to nurture a concept of a stable family to strengthen society.
Wow, if that isn't 1950s popular opinion propaganda I don't know what is.
Ok, I understand the concept and I can see where it comes from. But then why don't they give tax breaks to people who, let's say, don't cheat on their spouses? Don't watch porn? Don't gamble? Don't smoke indoors with their kids? Follow any other pick of randomly decided American social norms?
So sure, I figure if the government is gonna stick it's ideals into my marriage and my life, why not other people's too? I mean, just be consistent with it.
Or they could just not care (like they should) and continue on with more important things. Honestly, it would be cheaper to just not give anyone tax breaks and say, "here are the taxes...for everyone. Now pay them" and be done with it.
But that would require less paperwork and as we've discussed, I'm pretty sure the government entity would starve and die.
4. Where does it stop...
Homosexual marriage is now legal and equal in the eyes of the law to heterosexual marriage. Ok. What next?
How long before polygamy is accepted and legal? How long before marriage to 12 year old kids is legal? How long before marriage to animals is legal? How long before marriage to artificial humans is legal?
Now, I'm not saying that legalizing homosexual marriage is going to be the downfall of American civilization. And I think to say so is pretty outrageous. However, I do think it is showing a common trend in the American government and in American society as a whole.
This is going to be a bold statement. Some people will hate me for it and label me a traitor or whatever. (honestly...don't care) And others will see what I mean and run with it. Most will never read this post and they'll keep on living however they were living anyways.
America is no longer a country of freedom. In fact, as I've mentioned previously, I don't think it ever was. I think America wanted to be a country of freedom, but it never fully realized that idea. America today is a country of entitlement. And entitlement is different than freedom.
"...that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
Life: "The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death."
Here in America you should be allowed to live unless, by your life and actions, you are threatening or ending the lives of others.
Unless you are an unborn child...
I'm not going to get into that right now, however, I will say that is it disgusting how often parents whose unborn children test positive for Down's Syndrome are advised to abort.
The child will live. The birth will not have complications. The mother is not a rape victim. You have no arguments. The parents are advised to abort.
Liberty: "the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views."
Here in America you should have certain liberties. Your way of life, behavior, and political views cannot (rather, should not) be restricted unless they are restricting the way of life, behavior, or political views of another.
Pursuit of happiness.
Here in America you should be able to pursue what makes you happy. Unless your happiness comes at the unwilling consent of another person or from another person's distress.
The way it works is similar in theory to Isaac Asimov's the three laws of robotics. Each of these things are true and acceptable as long as they do not hinder another person's access to these three things. These concepts work as long as they do not deny someone else these very same concepts. (not an exact match but a similar concept)
(only 5 kudo points for knowing where the titles for points 1 and 3 came from but a full plate of yummy imaginary cookies if you've seen the movie! And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to go watch The Princess Bride. Like...right now)
And now for my personal opinion on gay marriage and the whole thing.
[drum roll...]
I believe that homosexuality is a sin.
[cymbals clash...]
I do not simply believe this because I was taught to believe it or because it is convenient or because I'm a republican (which I'm not [more on that later]). I believe that because I looked up a bunch of verses in the Bible and that's what I believe it says.
Here's some searches for you to do on your own if you want.
Genesis 2:20-24. God made man. God then made a helper for man. God made a woman. He didn't make a woman and then another man and let Adam decide. It was pretty straightforward.
Mark 10:6-9. Talks a bit about the above verse.
Romans 1:21-27. Spells it out.
1 Corinthians 6:7-10. etc...
Leviticus 18:22. etc...
Leviticus 20:13. etc...
I'm sorry (only kinda) but people who say the Bible isn't clear on the issue of homosexuality just aren't paying attention. Or lying...but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.
That being said, I believe that there are A LOT of ways that people sin! Lying, stealing, being disrespectful, gossiping, murder, slander, idolatry, abuse, adultery, etc... And I also believe the verse that says, "For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23). It doesn't say, "For the wages of some sins is death but others less so." Or, "For the wages of homosexuality is death but lying and cheating on your wife you can just say a prayer and you're ok."
HOWEVER, I do not have a problem with homosexual people. Well, you know, other than the ones who irritate my pet peeves, or cut me off in traffic, or insult my mom, or something. Ok, so I don't have problems with homosexual people any more than I have problems with other people in general.
Ok, how's this: homosexuality does not bother me. I don't see why people feel the need to pick on some sins more than others. Just...calm down.
I believe there are bigger problems with American society today than whether or not the Supreme Court legalizes homosexual marriage. Like a complete lack of a moral center (or any kind of philosophical center for that matter other than "don't pester loud people). The lack of concern for posterity. The complete disconnect between the American people and the politicians charged with running the country. The lack of concern with the well-being of the society as a whole and the obsession with ourselves and getting what we want when we want it the way we want it regardless of its cost and inconvenience to others. The dichotomy of a decreasing sense of objectification and the increase of labels and standardization. The confusion between and the words "want" and "need."
We're so busy popping pills trying to alleviate a headache that we've completely missed the tumor causing it.
We're medicating todlers instead of teaching them to behave. We're teaching high school students to pass tests instead of teaching them to learn. We're rewarding adults for laziness instead of helping them achieve.
And so many Christians think that everything would be ok if we would go back to our founding father's good Christian morals. That this is God's country and we're turning away from him and that's why all these evil laws are being passed and heathens are running rampant in the streets.
As if religion has it any better.
Last I looked there were pastors losing their jobs for sleeping with women in the congregation only to go to a different building and start a new church. There were churches being torn apart because some of the people can't stand that there's a woman standing in front of them leading the praise songs. There entire debates at meetings comprised of leaders from all across a geographic region about issues that should never have even been brought up because they are directly opposed to the Book of Church Order.
If America is supposed to be a country based of freedom then so be it. I like it here! I like what the Declaration of Independence says and I like what the Bill of Rights says. I just wish we'd follow them. That being said, some things are going to pass in the name of freedom that I don't agree with. And you know what? I'm ok with that. Because to me, it's worth living here.
You don't like the way something happened? Well, phooey. Just get used to it. This is life and it's gonna happen a lot.
So I guess the theme of this post would be...
And move on.
(and no. no kudo points for this reference. it is its own reference.)
Friday, June 12, 2015
Disney (or - rants about past movies, rants about current movies, rants about future movies, and a lot of sequential dots)
So, this post is going to be about an opinion and will therefore be highly controversial.
Just sayin...
Ok, here it is.
...I don't like Disney.
Now if you're still reading this, let me explain: I like a lot of Disney movies. I don't like what the company has become post-Walt Disney's death. There was also the point when Disney was in kind of a rut (animation and voice acting-wise. basically anything from 1949 to 1985). Didn't really care for that either but I think it's better than what they've done recently.
Also, there have been a lot of great Disney movies after Walt died. Some of my favorites were made after 1966. However, some of the worst have also been made.
I don't know where it started, but from the company that brought you Aladdin, the Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast we also got Hannah Montana, Teacher's Pet (remember that one? No? there's a reason for that), and......John Carter......
Ugh...
And sequels! What is with Disney's obsession with terrible, superfluous sequels?!?! I guess they just get a cash cow and milk it til it dies.
Here are some of my highly opinionated examples of Disney sequels that should not have happened out of respect for the originals: Any sequel to the classic traditional animated movies. Cinderella 2, Little Mermaid 2, Jungle Book 2, Beauty and the Beast 2, Aladdin 2, Lion King 2, Bambi 2, etc... Any sequel to the newer but still good traditional animated movies. Mulan 2, Tarzan 2, Atlantis 2, etc... Any sequel to a Pixar movie post-2006 (when Disney bought Pixar in full) Cars 2 (and also Planes), Monster's University, and Toy Story 3.
Ok, now hold up, I liked Toy Story 3. I don't think it's a bad movie like...pretty much everything else I've listed so far. I just don't think it's up to par with the other two Toy Story movies. Just wanted to make that clear.
I don't think I need to go into detail on the Disney channel...
I also think they have seriously flopped with several of their live action films as well. And I'm gonna leave out a lot of the ones that no one really expected to do well (Pacifier, Old Dogs, Race to Witch Mountain, etc...). I'm talking about the ones they put a lot of money behind, should have worked, and yet failed. And by failed I don't mean they didn't make profit. If anything, Disney knows how to make something bigger than it is and trick people into seeing and even liking a movie they shouldn't. They make money, sure, but 2-3 weeks after release, no one is talking about it anymore.
Like these: Pirates of the Caribbean: Anything After the First One, The Chronicles of Narnia: Anything After the First One, Prince of Persia: Secondary Title Doesn't Matter, Tron: Way Too Late for a Sequel, The Lone Ranger, Maleficent, and.......sigh.........John Carter...
Ok, so I've watched a lot of REALLY bad movies and finished them out of a numb curiosity of how it finished. If you don't know what I mean, you should try watching Time Bandits or Troll 2. Except that you should never watch either of those movies. So when I tell you that I tried and could not watch a consecutive 10 minutes of John Carter, I want you to understand my full meaning. (and special shiny kudo points to anyone in the 'verse as can say where that reference came from)
Alright, now if I haven't fried your brain already then this will be the kicker. I'll probably be hunted down and burned alive for this (by a bunch of six-year-olds and a few moms) but here it goes...
I hate Frozen.
There I said it!
And I'm not just saying this to be a troll. I really, really don't like Frozen. But I do like Tangled. Let me explain (not that any of our opinions on any of this matter or that it makes a difference to anything whether I explain or not but I'm going to anyways cuz apparently I have nothing better to do).
I thought Tangled was cute. (and yes, despite the previous sentence I am, in fact, a man) It's a little dated and forced at times but in the end I liked it. [spoiler alert] I didn't see the selfless hair cutting thing at the end which I enjoyed for its dramaticle...ness. And I liked the music. Anyways!
Then there was Frozen. And to me it felt like a, "Hey, Tangled was good. So lets copy and paste the characters a couple times, come up with a good song, beef our special effects, give the horse some antlers, and call it a different movie!" I mean, I can't say it was a bad plan. They're still making ridiculous amounts of money from it. But they cut corners. They didn't do the best they could. The lines were forced, the jokes were kiddishly lame instead of clever, the story was inconsistent, the characters were redundant and/or superfluous (there's that word again), and, for the record, IT WAS NOT THE FIRST DISNEY FILM TO HAVE A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER THAT DIDN'T NEED THE MAN TO SAVE HER!!! Mulan!!! Seriously, Shang was kind of a doof when it came to the actual story. Nor was it the first Disney movie that displayed actual love between the characters instead of meaningless, cliche romance. Beauty and the Beast much?! Granted, a lot...ok, most Disney movies have the cliche dude who saves the girl, they met maybe 24 hours ago, but they are in love and live happily ever after. Even Aladdin (my favorite Disney movie) follows that and the dude is a vagrant and kind of a creeper to boot!
However, Frozen was not the first to break the mold. In fact, it didn't break any molds. It just kinda took all the other molds and threw them together. Even the main song "Let It Go" (I will admit it is very catchy and has a good main point) isn't original. It sounds like a broadway song. And EVERYTHING sounds like a broadway musical right now! It's just the trend for musicals right now apparently. And more specifically, it sounds like it would fit right into the Wicked soundtrack (which kinda epitomizes current broadway music). And no, it's not just because Idina Menzel sang it. I have a degree in music theory and composition and have already broken down "Let It Go" and most of the Wicked soundtrack theoretically and instrumentationally. They go together. I know what I'm talking about; I had a class. (check out this Youtube video if you don't know that reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVlaZfLlWQc) (Also, if you watch that video, don't judge! :D)
And with all that in mind, I don't think I have to spend long explaining that I am not looking forward to Disney attempting to remake all their good animated movies into live action movies. Just really not looking forward to that. At all.
However, I do remain cautiously optimistic for the upcoming Star Wars movies. I like what J.J. Abrams did with the Star Trek re-boot/alternate reality sequel thing. We will see... (worst case: it can't be any worse than the Lucas touched up versions of the original 3 right?)
Singing aliens, really bad CGI dewbacks, a different song at the end that has nothing in the soundtrack sounding like hitting stormtrooper helmets with sticks, visions of a younger slightly better looking version of Anakin Skywalker who Luke had never met which would have been confusing and would have ruined the whole dead jedi reunion thing...
HAN NOT SHOOTING FIRST!!!
Anyway...
Disney, like EA, seems to do alright when they just throw money at someone and say, "Go do your thing!" See the Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for an example of Disney giving money to Walden Media and play Dead Space as an example of EA giving money to Visceral Studios.
And in the mean time I'm just gonna sit here and wait for the next thing to come out that has Joss Whedon involved in pretty much any way. (Like Toy Story, Titan A.E., Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Firefly/Serenity, Dollhouse, the Buffy franchise, and the Avengers). Just sayin...
Just sayin...
Ok, here it is.
...I don't like Disney.
Now if you're still reading this, let me explain: I like a lot of Disney movies. I don't like what the company has become post-Walt Disney's death. There was also the point when Disney was in kind of a rut (animation and voice acting-wise. basically anything from 1949 to 1985). Didn't really care for that either but I think it's better than what they've done recently.
Also, there have been a lot of great Disney movies after Walt died. Some of my favorites were made after 1966. However, some of the worst have also been made.
I don't know where it started, but from the company that brought you Aladdin, the Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast we also got Hannah Montana, Teacher's Pet (remember that one? No? there's a reason for that), and......John Carter......
Ugh...
And sequels! What is with Disney's obsession with terrible, superfluous sequels?!?! I guess they just get a cash cow and milk it til it dies.
Here are some of my highly opinionated examples of Disney sequels that should not have happened out of respect for the originals: Any sequel to the classic traditional animated movies. Cinderella 2, Little Mermaid 2, Jungle Book 2, Beauty and the Beast 2, Aladdin 2, Lion King 2, Bambi 2, etc... Any sequel to the newer but still good traditional animated movies. Mulan 2, Tarzan 2, Atlantis 2, etc... Any sequel to a Pixar movie post-2006 (when Disney bought Pixar in full) Cars 2 (and also Planes), Monster's University, and Toy Story 3.
Ok, now hold up, I liked Toy Story 3. I don't think it's a bad movie like...pretty much everything else I've listed so far. I just don't think it's up to par with the other two Toy Story movies. Just wanted to make that clear.
I don't think I need to go into detail on the Disney channel...
I also think they have seriously flopped with several of their live action films as well. And I'm gonna leave out a lot of the ones that no one really expected to do well (Pacifier, Old Dogs, Race to Witch Mountain, etc...). I'm talking about the ones they put a lot of money behind, should have worked, and yet failed. And by failed I don't mean they didn't make profit. If anything, Disney knows how to make something bigger than it is and trick people into seeing and even liking a movie they shouldn't. They make money, sure, but 2-3 weeks after release, no one is talking about it anymore.
Like these: Pirates of the Caribbean: Anything After the First One, The Chronicles of Narnia: Anything After the First One, Prince of Persia: Secondary Title Doesn't Matter, Tron: Way Too Late for a Sequel, The Lone Ranger, Maleficent, and.......sigh.........John Carter...
Ok, so I've watched a lot of REALLY bad movies and finished them out of a numb curiosity of how it finished. If you don't know what I mean, you should try watching Time Bandits or Troll 2. Except that you should never watch either of those movies. So when I tell you that I tried and could not watch a consecutive 10 minutes of John Carter, I want you to understand my full meaning. (and special shiny kudo points to anyone in the 'verse as can say where that reference came from)
Alright, now if I haven't fried your brain already then this will be the kicker. I'll probably be hunted down and burned alive for this (by a bunch of six-year-olds and a few moms) but here it goes...
I hate Frozen.
There I said it!
And I'm not just saying this to be a troll. I really, really don't like Frozen. But I do like Tangled. Let me explain (not that any of our opinions on any of this matter or that it makes a difference to anything whether I explain or not but I'm going to anyways cuz apparently I have nothing better to do).
I thought Tangled was cute. (and yes, despite the previous sentence I am, in fact, a man) It's a little dated and forced at times but in the end I liked it. [spoiler alert] I didn't see the selfless hair cutting thing at the end which I enjoyed for its dramaticle...ness. And I liked the music. Anyways!
Then there was Frozen. And to me it felt like a, "Hey, Tangled was good. So lets copy and paste the characters a couple times, come up with a good song, beef our special effects, give the horse some antlers, and call it a different movie!" I mean, I can't say it was a bad plan. They're still making ridiculous amounts of money from it. But they cut corners. They didn't do the best they could. The lines were forced, the jokes were kiddishly lame instead of clever, the story was inconsistent, the characters were redundant and/or superfluous (there's that word again), and, for the record, IT WAS NOT THE FIRST DISNEY FILM TO HAVE A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER THAT DIDN'T NEED THE MAN TO SAVE HER!!! Mulan!!! Seriously, Shang was kind of a doof when it came to the actual story. Nor was it the first Disney movie that displayed actual love between the characters instead of meaningless, cliche romance. Beauty and the Beast much?! Granted, a lot...ok, most Disney movies have the cliche dude who saves the girl, they met maybe 24 hours ago, but they are in love and live happily ever after. Even Aladdin (my favorite Disney movie) follows that and the dude is a vagrant and kind of a creeper to boot!
However, Frozen was not the first to break the mold. In fact, it didn't break any molds. It just kinda took all the other molds and threw them together. Even the main song "Let It Go" (I will admit it is very catchy and has a good main point) isn't original. It sounds like a broadway song. And EVERYTHING sounds like a broadway musical right now! It's just the trend for musicals right now apparently. And more specifically, it sounds like it would fit right into the Wicked soundtrack (which kinda epitomizes current broadway music). And no, it's not just because Idina Menzel sang it. I have a degree in music theory and composition and have already broken down "Let It Go" and most of the Wicked soundtrack theoretically and instrumentationally. They go together. I know what I'm talking about; I had a class. (check out this Youtube video if you don't know that reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVlaZfLlWQc) (Also, if you watch that video, don't judge! :D)
And with all that in mind, I don't think I have to spend long explaining that I am not looking forward to Disney attempting to remake all their good animated movies into live action movies. Just really not looking forward to that. At all.
However, I do remain cautiously optimistic for the upcoming Star Wars movies. I like what J.J. Abrams did with the Star Trek re-boot/alternate reality sequel thing. We will see... (worst case: it can't be any worse than the Lucas touched up versions of the original 3 right?)
Singing aliens, really bad CGI dewbacks, a different song at the end that has nothing in the soundtrack sounding like hitting stormtrooper helmets with sticks, visions of a younger slightly better looking version of Anakin Skywalker who Luke had never met which would have been confusing and would have ruined the whole dead jedi reunion thing...
HAN NOT SHOOTING FIRST!!!
Anyway...
Disney, like EA, seems to do alright when they just throw money at someone and say, "Go do your thing!" See the Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for an example of Disney giving money to Walden Media and play Dead Space as an example of EA giving money to Visceral Studios.
And in the mean time I'm just gonna sit here and wait for the next thing to come out that has Joss Whedon involved in pretty much any way. (Like Toy Story, Titan A.E., Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Firefly/Serenity, Dollhouse, the Buffy franchise, and the Avengers). Just sayin...
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Faceless (or - my first attempt at free verse poetry, my thoughts on the internet's impact on society, wordsmithing, and spacing)
The Faceless
by Patrick Wood
What happens when people lose their faces?
Digital avatars.
Pixelated features.
Blank slates.
Anonymity.
If a fist hits a head but there's no face to show bruises,
Is anyone hurt?
What happens when people lose their faces?
Reckless rage.
Foundationless fury.
Pointless prosecution.
Erroneous excuses.
Pompous personalities.
Utterly unfiltered and ubiquitous untruths.
If a lie is told but no one's lips moved,
Is anyone wrong?
What happens when people lose their faces?
We pave intellectual highways with life, liberty, and common decency.
Spelling, vocabulary, and consideration of our fellow man drown with
yesterday's lunch.
People become animals.
Neighbors become pets.
Roles are forgotten.
Natural order is replaced with the cacophonous din of subjective morality
and debased purpose.
If a man wanders off alone into the masses and by doing so loses his face,
His identity,
His dignity,
His humanity,
Is he still a man?
Did he don a mask to cover up the lines, wrinkles, grimace, sweat, blood, and soul
that prove he is alive?
Or did he tear off the mask with its lines, wrinkles, grimace, sweat, blood, and soul
to prove he never was?
What happens when people lose their faces?
Thoughts are reduced to "yes" and "no."
Actions are reduced to tapping fingers.
Communication is reduced to "comments."
Repercussions are reduced to cheap pastries.
Souls are replaced with
line
upon line
of code
What happens when men become things,
And things become gods,
And gods become nothing,
And nothing is forbidden?
If a person loses their life to the world around them,
Dies
Due to torment, abuse, and unseemly realities,
But has no face...
What happens when people lose their faces?
by Patrick Wood
What happens when people lose their faces?
Digital avatars.
Pixelated features.
Blank slates.
Anonymity.
If a fist hits a head but there's no face to show bruises,
Is anyone hurt?
What happens when people lose their faces?
Reckless rage.
Foundationless fury.
Pointless prosecution.
Erroneous excuses.
Pompous personalities.
Utterly unfiltered and ubiquitous untruths.
If a lie is told but no one's lips moved,
Is anyone wrong?
What happens when people lose their faces?
We pave intellectual highways with life, liberty, and common decency.
Spelling, vocabulary, and consideration of our fellow man drown with
yesterday's lunch.
People become animals.
Neighbors become pets.
Roles are forgotten.
Natural order is replaced with the cacophonous din of subjective morality
and debased purpose.
If a man wanders off alone into the masses and by doing so loses his face,
His identity,
His dignity,
His humanity,
Is he still a man?
Did he don a mask to cover up the lines, wrinkles, grimace, sweat, blood, and soul
that prove he is alive?
Or did he tear off the mask with its lines, wrinkles, grimace, sweat, blood, and soul
to prove he never was?
What happens when people lose their faces?
Thoughts are reduced to "yes" and "no."
Actions are reduced to tapping fingers.
Communication is reduced to "comments."
Repercussions are reduced to cheap pastries.
Souls are replaced with
line
upon line
of code
What happens when men become things,
And things become gods,
And gods become nothing,
And nothing is forbidden?
If a person loses their life to the world around them,
Dies
Due to torment, abuse, and unseemly realities,
But has no face...
Does anyone care?
What happens when people lose their faces?
Saturday, May 30, 2015
The Game (or - societal norms, a movie, a tv show, and a cynical approach to life that doesn't really do much)
This is making up for last week and not writing.
Here is an interesting thought. You can use it as a writing prompt, comedy material, a new life outlook, a war-cry, whatever.
Society is a game.
Not just American society, ALL society. Any kind of human interaction involving two or more people is a game we are all agreeing to play. This game is complex and involves written rules like speed limits, dress codes, and copyright. It also involves unwritten rules like shaking hands, not peeing in a urinal adjacent to another man peeing in a urinal, and talking with your mouth full.
Many of these rules vary from place to place. There are individual rules varying from family to family, often between different combinations of people within the same family. Rules vary in different neighborhoods, counties, states, ethnic groups, regions, and countries. Granted, these rules are helpful. Total chaos never really gets anything done. However, most of the rules involved in this game are quite silly.
Take this scenario: You go to work at a new job and you are in an interview. Already you have followed several dozen rules: you put on pants that morning before you left the house. You are going to a good job so you put on a tie as well. You matched the color and design of your tie with your pants. You drove the speed limit to get to work (close enough anyway). You parked between two little lines painted on the ground. You maybe held the door open for someone leaving as you walked in. You smiled at the person at the front desk asking if they could help you. You said "please" and "thank you." While waiting, you sat in a chair. What is with all these rules? And most of them are utterly ridiculous!
Assuming you are like most people, you did these things not because they were your idea, but because they are rules for playing the Game. (Also the name of a movie from 1997 with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. Not bad. Worth checking out. Also also the name of an English TV show staring Tom Hughes and Brian Cox. Haven't seen it though.)
Now that you're at the interview you ask about what your job description is and how much you'll be paid. (LoLz)
Job description: We are assuming that this is a decent job and therefor(e) specialized. Ok. We are also assuming that you have to have a decent education to get said job. Awesome. So, you went to school for at least...16-17 years of your life if you were lucky in college. Now we are going to pay you to use a very small portion of what you were taught. Also, you're not allowed to use other things because we're only hired you to do this one thing.
...awesome!
Salary: They are paying you in digital numbers based of immaterial promises and statistics so that you can go to stores and trade numbers you never saw, touched, or really possessed for cars, suits, and homes; physical representations of the status and power those fictional numbers represent. (in a sarcastic, Glados voice) Congratulations, you are very good at this game.
One of the most powerful forms of informing the public of the rules is advertising. Advertising lets you know what everyone wants or already has. Advertising makes you aware of the need you didn't know you had and how to instantly resolve it. Advertising tells you what to buy and how to buy it. Advertising tells us who to associate with and who to avoid.
"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate you we can buy [stuff] we don't need." (500 points for not naming that reference)
And like any game, there are penalties for breaking the rules. Here you go to prison, or worst case you're executed. You are put in time out. You are sent to your room. However, your new room is a small concrete and metal cell sometimes shared with other people who didn't follow the rules. You have to wear an orange jump suit in your new room and your not allowed to go outside until you've learned your lesson. Or until the rest of us think you've learned your lesson.
Things like gangs and the mafia come up when they are tired of playing the game and what to play by different rules. They come up with their own rules and penalties. They play their own game while pretending to play like everyone else.
Now, I'm not advocating NOT playing the Game. The Game is very helpful in keeping things running. Like I said, chaos gets us nowhere. I just want to call to questions which of the rules are actually helpful.
HOAs: does the length of your grass really matter? New rule: you have to keep your grass one inch long. If you don't........you have to give us one hundred of your numbers!
And people judge their own worth based off how other people judge them based off how long their grass is. What?!?!
Sometimes it feels like there are a bunch of eight-year-old people running around making the rules for everyone. Seriously, let's try to actually think this through!
I follow the rules that keep myself out of prison. I also follow the rules that keep me from getting into major conflict with other players because I don't like conflict. It's awkward and I often don't know how to deal with it. I don't know how to interact with conflict. (500 points for that anime reference)
I could keep going but I think the thought is there. Anything else would just be redundant. That and I'm hungry...
Cynical? Yes. Helpful? Probably not. Blogging material? Definitely. Just a different perspective on things. Fun to think about I think.
Here is an interesting thought. You can use it as a writing prompt, comedy material, a new life outlook, a war-cry, whatever.
Society is a game.
Not just American society, ALL society. Any kind of human interaction involving two or more people is a game we are all agreeing to play. This game is complex and involves written rules like speed limits, dress codes, and copyright. It also involves unwritten rules like shaking hands, not peeing in a urinal adjacent to another man peeing in a urinal, and talking with your mouth full.
Many of these rules vary from place to place. There are individual rules varying from family to family, often between different combinations of people within the same family. Rules vary in different neighborhoods, counties, states, ethnic groups, regions, and countries. Granted, these rules are helpful. Total chaos never really gets anything done. However, most of the rules involved in this game are quite silly.
Take this scenario: You go to work at a new job and you are in an interview. Already you have followed several dozen rules: you put on pants that morning before you left the house. You are going to a good job so you put on a tie as well. You matched the color and design of your tie with your pants. You drove the speed limit to get to work (close enough anyway). You parked between two little lines painted on the ground. You maybe held the door open for someone leaving as you walked in. You smiled at the person at the front desk asking if they could help you. You said "please" and "thank you." While waiting, you sat in a chair. What is with all these rules? And most of them are utterly ridiculous!
Assuming you are like most people, you did these things not because they were your idea, but because they are rules for playing the Game. (Also the name of a movie from 1997 with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. Not bad. Worth checking out. Also also the name of an English TV show staring Tom Hughes and Brian Cox. Haven't seen it though.)
Now that you're at the interview you ask about what your job description is and how much you'll be paid. (LoLz)
Job description: We are assuming that this is a decent job and therefor(e) specialized. Ok. We are also assuming that you have to have a decent education to get said job. Awesome. So, you went to school for at least...16-17 years of your life if you were lucky in college. Now we are going to pay you to use a very small portion of what you were taught. Also, you're not allowed to use other things because we're only hired you to do this one thing.
...awesome!
Salary: They are paying you in digital numbers based of immaterial promises and statistics so that you can go to stores and trade numbers you never saw, touched, or really possessed for cars, suits, and homes; physical representations of the status and power those fictional numbers represent. (in a sarcastic, Glados voice) Congratulations, you are very good at this game.
One of the most powerful forms of informing the public of the rules is advertising. Advertising lets you know what everyone wants or already has. Advertising makes you aware of the need you didn't know you had and how to instantly resolve it. Advertising tells you what to buy and how to buy it. Advertising tells us who to associate with and who to avoid.
"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate you we can buy [stuff] we don't need." (500 points for not naming that reference)
And like any game, there are penalties for breaking the rules. Here you go to prison, or worst case you're executed. You are put in time out. You are sent to your room. However, your new room is a small concrete and metal cell sometimes shared with other people who didn't follow the rules. You have to wear an orange jump suit in your new room and your not allowed to go outside until you've learned your lesson. Or until the rest of us think you've learned your lesson.
Things like gangs and the mafia come up when they are tired of playing the game and what to play by different rules. They come up with their own rules and penalties. They play their own game while pretending to play like everyone else.
Now, I'm not advocating NOT playing the Game. The Game is very helpful in keeping things running. Like I said, chaos gets us nowhere. I just want to call to questions which of the rules are actually helpful.
HOAs: does the length of your grass really matter? New rule: you have to keep your grass one inch long. If you don't........you have to give us one hundred of your numbers!
And people judge their own worth based off how other people judge them based off how long their grass is. What?!?!
Sometimes it feels like there are a bunch of eight-year-old people running around making the rules for everyone. Seriously, let's try to actually think this through!
I follow the rules that keep myself out of prison. I also follow the rules that keep me from getting into major conflict with other players because I don't like conflict. It's awkward and I often don't know how to deal with it. I don't know how to interact with conflict. (500 points for that anime reference)
I could keep going but I think the thought is there. Anything else would just be redundant. That and I'm hungry...
Cynical? Yes. Helpful? Probably not. Blogging material? Definitely. Just a different perspective on things. Fun to think about I think.
Questions (or - why bad things happen, hell, thought experiments, and laundry detergent)
I have been slacking/procrastinating. More honestly, I've been avoiding writing. I've had thoughts and ideas but last time I said I would talk about something and I haven't wanted to.
I said I would talk about the concept of if God is love then why do bad things happen and why do some people go to hell. And I didn't want to write because I don't know the answer.
I wrote myself into a corner.
Now, I'm not trying to defend my God or Christianity or anything. I'm not a scholar. I don't have a degree in religion or anything. At best, I am a home-grown philosopher.
I don't claim to know why God does the things He does. I don't know His plan for my life let alone anyone else's life or the universe. I don't know and I can't know. But I do know a few things that help me cope with that concept and what happens in our lives.
1. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Cliche? Yes. True? Also yes. And I don't mean this as in "I ate a tablespoon of dishwasher detergent, went to the ER, didn't die, and now I'm a better/stronger person." No. If anything I would just know not to eat dishwasher detergent. Which I already know. I mean life. What doesn't kill me in life makes me stronger. I have been through some bad things in life. Given, my life is a lot better than a lot of people. My parents never got divorced, I was not abused, none of my close friends/family have died in my memorable lifetime, etc... But terrible things are relative. My life has been easier than a lot of other people's but I have been through tough times nonetheless. However, I do believe I have come out a better person because of it. And not just better for myself, but better for other people too.
Because of my time in my teens where I felt alone, discarded, and betrayed I have been able to talk to several of my friends and help them through similar situations. For one or two of these people I helped them avoid suicide. Because of what I went through I was able to be strong for other people and help them through a hard point in their life. Hypothetical: what if one of those people I talked to becomes a guidance counselor and helps thousands of teens across the world through suicide and on to better lives. How can I blame God for what happened to me if that is the outcome? As I talked about last time, I do believe God is love and therefore everything works out in the end. I believe in happy endings because God is love.
If the ending of the story ends well but I'm not around to read it, does is it still happy?
2. I have free will.
Why do people go to hell? That I also do not know. I just have to trust and believe that things are better that way. And I know from one angle at least that they are. Hypothetical: You are lonely in a world full of robots. You want a spouse so you ask the robots to make one million other humans so you can pick a spouse. You have two options for these created humans. 1: These humans can be programmed to love you. You can have your choice of one million people that all love you. They have no options but to love you! 2: These humans can be programmed to be real people and you have to find the ones that choose to love you. It isn't that they have to love you, they are surrounded by a million people and they chose to love you instead.
Would you want to be loved by people that have to love you or by someone that chose to love you?
Apparently, God doesn't want flocks of people that have to love Him. He wants people who have chosen to love Him. There is a choice. Some will choose yes. Some will choose no. That is all I know.
Is it an explanation? No. Does it help me make it through tough questions like these? A little.
I said I would talk about the concept of if God is love then why do bad things happen and why do some people go to hell. And I didn't want to write because I don't know the answer.
I wrote myself into a corner.
Now, I'm not trying to defend my God or Christianity or anything. I'm not a scholar. I don't have a degree in religion or anything. At best, I am a home-grown philosopher.
I don't claim to know why God does the things He does. I don't know His plan for my life let alone anyone else's life or the universe. I don't know and I can't know. But I do know a few things that help me cope with that concept and what happens in our lives.
1. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. Cliche? Yes. True? Also yes. And I don't mean this as in "I ate a tablespoon of dishwasher detergent, went to the ER, didn't die, and now I'm a better/stronger person." No. If anything I would just know not to eat dishwasher detergent. Which I already know. I mean life. What doesn't kill me in life makes me stronger. I have been through some bad things in life. Given, my life is a lot better than a lot of people. My parents never got divorced, I was not abused, none of my close friends/family have died in my memorable lifetime, etc... But terrible things are relative. My life has been easier than a lot of other people's but I have been through tough times nonetheless. However, I do believe I have come out a better person because of it. And not just better for myself, but better for other people too.
Because of my time in my teens where I felt alone, discarded, and betrayed I have been able to talk to several of my friends and help them through similar situations. For one or two of these people I helped them avoid suicide. Because of what I went through I was able to be strong for other people and help them through a hard point in their life. Hypothetical: what if one of those people I talked to becomes a guidance counselor and helps thousands of teens across the world through suicide and on to better lives. How can I blame God for what happened to me if that is the outcome? As I talked about last time, I do believe God is love and therefore everything works out in the end. I believe in happy endings because God is love.
If the ending of the story ends well but I'm not around to read it, does is it still happy?
2. I have free will.
Why do people go to hell? That I also do not know. I just have to trust and believe that things are better that way. And I know from one angle at least that they are. Hypothetical: You are lonely in a world full of robots. You want a spouse so you ask the robots to make one million other humans so you can pick a spouse. You have two options for these created humans. 1: These humans can be programmed to love you. You can have your choice of one million people that all love you. They have no options but to love you! 2: These humans can be programmed to be real people and you have to find the ones that choose to love you. It isn't that they have to love you, they are surrounded by a million people and they chose to love you instead.
Would you want to be loved by people that have to love you or by someone that chose to love you?
Apparently, God doesn't want flocks of people that have to love Him. He wants people who have chosen to love Him. There is a choice. Some will choose yes. Some will choose no. That is all I know.
Is it an explanation? No. Does it help me make it through tough questions like these? A little.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Existence (or - quad-dimensional living, the fundamental fabric of the universe, the essence of God, and hitchhiking)
I have had a few realizations lately that I am going to try to put into words. Digital words.
1: My place within the physical universe.
2: My relationship with the rest of the universe.
I had the realization the other day that I am a single being within a possibly infinite amount of space filled with a possibly infinite amount of other single beings. I am a singular being within the infinity of existence.
I realized I usually look at the world, I look at my life as a painting. I look at things through my eyes. Yes, I recognize the fact that there are three dimensions and that some things are closer to me than others, but that doesn't matter to that which is me. I am me and I am here. The distance between me and not me is irrelevant. But for a moment I realized that it wasn't.
I usually experience the world through my mind. I am the star in my sitcom of myself. I am the lead in the play of myself. I am the focal point of the portrait of myself. Even if no one else is observing. I am me and that is all. But it isn't.
You have a painting. Other than the paint which itself has thickness, the presentation is two-dimensional. You have holograms and 3D movies that present things with the illusion of three dimensions. You also have video games in which your character exists within a digitally represented three-dimensional space. But your experience and interaction are still two-dimensional. We, I interpret the world two-dimensionally. But for a moment the other day I was aware of more.
Let's take the three physical dimensions we are commonly aware of: height, depth, and width. I am a finite amount of physical matter within those three dimensions that can move and interact with other matter withing those three dimensions. I am a single being withing an unimaginably vast existence contained within those three dimensions. I move around from day to day from point A to B and back again. A and B do not exist around me. A and B exist. I exist. A, B, and I all exist equally and with the same significance. I simple interact with them...sometimes. They still exist without me. Places exist. They continue to exist. People exist just as much as I do. They experience just as much as I do. They are just as aware of themselves as I am aware of me. They are just as unaware of me as I am unaware of them. Yet I still exist. And they still exist.
I am not alone.
You are not alone.
The universe is so much more expansive and more real than what we experience at any given point in our lives.
Any given point...
Time. What about time? What if we take time as a fourth dimension as has been presented many times before by other people that think and exist just as much as you or me.
Time is the representation and calculable measurement of change and existence. I propose that time does not flow. We simply exist. Time is not a line. It is not a river. There is no such thing as time. Just as there is no such thing as a meter or a foot. The universe, within the three previously mentioned physical dimensions, does not know a foot. The universe does not exist in pre-determined twelve inch segments. Curious men decided to make these things to figure out how to physically represent the amount of space between two things. The universe does also not know seconds, minutes, or hours. Similar men designed these things to figure out how long we've been here or to measure the metaphorical distance between two experiences.
So, if we say time is our fourth dimension, I am a single instance in that dimension. I, in my consciousness, exist right now. So do many, many other people just as conscious and real as I am. The universe does not experience itself through my eyes like I do. Everything else exists in its entirety. I simple view minute portions of it.
So, with this realization that I am a singular being within a sea of other singular beings, how am I to interact with the rest of this three dimensional universe?
This is where I am going to skip a few things. For instance, I am skipping any thoughts I have on realization of the existence of God. For this entry, I am just going with the idea that God does exist. I am simply talking about His nature and how that affects the way I live/should live.
However, I do want to be clear. I am not talking about what most people will view as God. I have mentioned in previous posts that I am a Christian. That is going to bring up a lot of ideas in a lot of people's minds. Some of them good, some of them not. When I use the word "God" we will undoubtedly think of different things. I do not claim to fully understand God. However, do not picture any pre-conjured ideas about what you think God is or what you think I think God is. I am going with a very basic description for now. It is a true description with many different implications. I am just keeping it simple for now.
Look at the world. Look at the complexities. Look at the way everything works together. Look at the way everything has to work together. Ecosystems, societies, the solar system, the weather, the immune system, diets, the human eyeball. Nothing is solitary. Everything is connected and affects other things in some way. Things have to work together. Nothing can operate on its own if it wants to be successful. If I have to work together with other people, plants, animals, etc... within this three dimensional existence then I have to learn to love. If I am working only for myself to further myself and take care of myself I will fail. We see examples of it happening every day. People who act selfishly inevitably fail. They may have temporary facades of success but we all know and realize they fail in the end. And sometimes before the end. Acting in that way, a way that fails and is therefore futile, is selfish. The opposite of being selfish is loving.
What is love then? What if we say love is living for the betterment of someone/something else. This may mean that you are working at the betterment of someone else at your own expense. It doesn't always mean that, but it may occasionally. This does not mean that you do something nice for someone else so that they will do something nice for you. "I scratch your back so that eventually I can call it in and you can scratch mine." That doesn't work. It's not love when it leads back to me. Love has to be solely for the other person.
Altruism? No. Just because something is good for you or benefits you does not mean it is bad. You cannot deny yourself good things. If you did you wouldn't eat, drink, or sleep and the human population would make it about four days. That's just stupid.
Good things for myself do not equate bad. But that shouldn't be my focus. Everything in life has been designed to work in harmony with everything else and I should be a part of that system. That system is love.
I believe that is what being a Christian means. To be a loving person. And to be a loving person, like, always. In general. To everyone. Everything.
I believe that God created the universe. I have come to believe that the universe works in harmony with itself and all its respective pieces interact with all the other pieces because God is love. Not that God is a god of love like Mars is the god of war. I mean that God is love. It is His very nature. It defines His existence. And He created the universe. Therefore the basic moral and functional code of the universe is love.
I do not believe Christianity is following a bunch of rules. I do not believe that you have to follow "these" X number of steps or rules to find happiness or success. I do not believe you have do do X, Y, and Z to have a happy marriage. I believe that the answer to it all is love.
What is the meaning to life, the universe, and everything? (think deep for the 42 kudo points on this reference)
Love!
Why do we exist? To love!
What is the chief end of man? "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." K, what does that mean? "Glorify God." How do we do that? How do you suppose we could glorify a God of love? A God whose very existence is love?
Honestly...no idea...
DUH, love!
"But what about me? If I'm so concerned about loving everyone else, who will love me?"
That is a valid question! Everyone needs to be loved. That is true. And not just loved, but people need to know they are loved. It doesn't count to love someone from a distance and do nothing about it. K, to be honest, that's not really love.
And here's a complication: people cannot love 100%. Humans are broken. I love my wife, but not perfectly. Sometimes, I just suck... :( I try to love her the best I can, but I honestly fail...sometimes with epicness.
So what do we do.
Remember that whole God is love thing? God loves us. God loves me. God loves you. And God loves perfectly. So, if God loves perfectly, I don't have to worry about it. I can love other people as best I can because I know I am covered.
The Ten Commandments (other than being a REALLY long movie) is a list of what things should and will look like when you love. They are NOT a list of what you should do to be a good Christian. Your goal in life should not be to be happy. Your goal in life should be to love. Because God is a God of love and he created the universe. When you love you get closer to God. You get closer to the One who created the universe. And that is a happy place.
When you love, you are closer to the heart, the core of the universe. When your goal is to be closer to God you end up getting closer to the fundamental fabric of the universe. And that's a good thing!
There are other issues that arise and questions that people ask about all of this: then why do bad things happen? If God loves everyone then why do people go to hell?
These are fantastic questions that should be asked. Secrets don't help. However, this blog is already really long so I'm gonna call it a night for now and delve into my thinking about some of those later this week.
1: My place within the physical universe.
2: My relationship with the rest of the universe.
I had the realization the other day that I am a single being within a possibly infinite amount of space filled with a possibly infinite amount of other single beings. I am a singular being within the infinity of existence.
I realized I usually look at the world, I look at my life as a painting. I look at things through my eyes. Yes, I recognize the fact that there are three dimensions and that some things are closer to me than others, but that doesn't matter to that which is me. I am me and I am here. The distance between me and not me is irrelevant. But for a moment I realized that it wasn't.
I usually experience the world through my mind. I am the star in my sitcom of myself. I am the lead in the play of myself. I am the focal point of the portrait of myself. Even if no one else is observing. I am me and that is all. But it isn't.
You have a painting. Other than the paint which itself has thickness, the presentation is two-dimensional. You have holograms and 3D movies that present things with the illusion of three dimensions. You also have video games in which your character exists within a digitally represented three-dimensional space. But your experience and interaction are still two-dimensional. We, I interpret the world two-dimensionally. But for a moment the other day I was aware of more.
Let's take the three physical dimensions we are commonly aware of: height, depth, and width. I am a finite amount of physical matter within those three dimensions that can move and interact with other matter withing those three dimensions. I am a single being withing an unimaginably vast existence contained within those three dimensions. I move around from day to day from point A to B and back again. A and B do not exist around me. A and B exist. I exist. A, B, and I all exist equally and with the same significance. I simple interact with them...sometimes. They still exist without me. Places exist. They continue to exist. People exist just as much as I do. They experience just as much as I do. They are just as aware of themselves as I am aware of me. They are just as unaware of me as I am unaware of them. Yet I still exist. And they still exist.
I am not alone.
You are not alone.
The universe is so much more expansive and more real than what we experience at any given point in our lives.
Any given point...
Time. What about time? What if we take time as a fourth dimension as has been presented many times before by other people that think and exist just as much as you or me.
Time is the representation and calculable measurement of change and existence. I propose that time does not flow. We simply exist. Time is not a line. It is not a river. There is no such thing as time. Just as there is no such thing as a meter or a foot. The universe, within the three previously mentioned physical dimensions, does not know a foot. The universe does not exist in pre-determined twelve inch segments. Curious men decided to make these things to figure out how to physically represent the amount of space between two things. The universe does also not know seconds, minutes, or hours. Similar men designed these things to figure out how long we've been here or to measure the metaphorical distance between two experiences.
So, if we say time is our fourth dimension, I am a single instance in that dimension. I, in my consciousness, exist right now. So do many, many other people just as conscious and real as I am. The universe does not experience itself through my eyes like I do. Everything else exists in its entirety. I simple view minute portions of it.
So, with this realization that I am a singular being within a sea of other singular beings, how am I to interact with the rest of this three dimensional universe?
This is where I am going to skip a few things. For instance, I am skipping any thoughts I have on realization of the existence of God. For this entry, I am just going with the idea that God does exist. I am simply talking about His nature and how that affects the way I live/should live.
However, I do want to be clear. I am not talking about what most people will view as God. I have mentioned in previous posts that I am a Christian. That is going to bring up a lot of ideas in a lot of people's minds. Some of them good, some of them not. When I use the word "God" we will undoubtedly think of different things. I do not claim to fully understand God. However, do not picture any pre-conjured ideas about what you think God is or what you think I think God is. I am going with a very basic description for now. It is a true description with many different implications. I am just keeping it simple for now.
Look at the world. Look at the complexities. Look at the way everything works together. Look at the way everything has to work together. Ecosystems, societies, the solar system, the weather, the immune system, diets, the human eyeball. Nothing is solitary. Everything is connected and affects other things in some way. Things have to work together. Nothing can operate on its own if it wants to be successful. If I have to work together with other people, plants, animals, etc... within this three dimensional existence then I have to learn to love. If I am working only for myself to further myself and take care of myself I will fail. We see examples of it happening every day. People who act selfishly inevitably fail. They may have temporary facades of success but we all know and realize they fail in the end. And sometimes before the end. Acting in that way, a way that fails and is therefore futile, is selfish. The opposite of being selfish is loving.
What is love then? What if we say love is living for the betterment of someone/something else. This may mean that you are working at the betterment of someone else at your own expense. It doesn't always mean that, but it may occasionally. This does not mean that you do something nice for someone else so that they will do something nice for you. "I scratch your back so that eventually I can call it in and you can scratch mine." That doesn't work. It's not love when it leads back to me. Love has to be solely for the other person.
Altruism? No. Just because something is good for you or benefits you does not mean it is bad. You cannot deny yourself good things. If you did you wouldn't eat, drink, or sleep and the human population would make it about four days. That's just stupid.
Good things for myself do not equate bad. But that shouldn't be my focus. Everything in life has been designed to work in harmony with everything else and I should be a part of that system. That system is love.
I believe that is what being a Christian means. To be a loving person. And to be a loving person, like, always. In general. To everyone. Everything.
I believe that God created the universe. I have come to believe that the universe works in harmony with itself and all its respective pieces interact with all the other pieces because God is love. Not that God is a god of love like Mars is the god of war. I mean that God is love. It is His very nature. It defines His existence. And He created the universe. Therefore the basic moral and functional code of the universe is love.
I do not believe Christianity is following a bunch of rules. I do not believe that you have to follow "these" X number of steps or rules to find happiness or success. I do not believe you have do do X, Y, and Z to have a happy marriage. I believe that the answer to it all is love.
What is the meaning to life, the universe, and everything? (think deep for the 42 kudo points on this reference)
Love!
Why do we exist? To love!
What is the chief end of man? "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." K, what does that mean? "Glorify God." How do we do that? How do you suppose we could glorify a God of love? A God whose very existence is love?
Honestly...no idea...
DUH, love!
"But what about me? If I'm so concerned about loving everyone else, who will love me?"
That is a valid question! Everyone needs to be loved. That is true. And not just loved, but people need to know they are loved. It doesn't count to love someone from a distance and do nothing about it. K, to be honest, that's not really love.
And here's a complication: people cannot love 100%. Humans are broken. I love my wife, but not perfectly. Sometimes, I just suck... :( I try to love her the best I can, but I honestly fail...sometimes with epicness.
So what do we do.
Remember that whole God is love thing? God loves us. God loves me. God loves you. And God loves perfectly. So, if God loves perfectly, I don't have to worry about it. I can love other people as best I can because I know I am covered.
The Ten Commandments (other than being a REALLY long movie) is a list of what things should and will look like when you love. They are NOT a list of what you should do to be a good Christian. Your goal in life should not be to be happy. Your goal in life should be to love. Because God is a God of love and he created the universe. When you love you get closer to God. You get closer to the One who created the universe. And that is a happy place.
When you love, you are closer to the heart, the core of the universe. When your goal is to be closer to God you end up getting closer to the fundamental fabric of the universe. And that's a good thing!
There are other issues that arise and questions that people ask about all of this: then why do bad things happen? If God loves everyone then why do people go to hell?
These are fantastic questions that should be asked. Secrets don't help. However, this blog is already really long so I'm gonna call it a night for now and delve into my thinking about some of those later this week.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Darkly (or - the dream I just had, coping with metal processing, 4:51 AM, and confusing steampunk)
And I just had the second worst dream I can remember.
It's 4:51 AM and I just finished writing it down. It was really vivid and I remembered it clearly even after being awake for a while to try and really wake up.
I turned it into something of a short horror story. Something like what a young Poe or Lovecraft would have written. 'Cept with fewer and generally shorter words.
I added a little here and there for the flow of it and tagged a cliche ending onto the end to wrap it up but easily 90% of this is what I just dreamed less than an hour ago.
[WARNING: The following contains violent and disturbing content. Reader discretion is advised]
And there you have it. I don't know where that came from and I hope it stays away! There was other stuff too before that that I can remember.
I was on a large, floating city-scape similar to Columbia from Bioshock: Infinity. It was a large city and I felt like I had been there before in a dream. I definitely haven't though. It was just dream de-ja-vu. There was something about cars. Flying cars. The looked normal though. At least, normal from like, the 1950s or something. Everything had that Bioshock antiquity/steampunk vibe to it. I was in a car and ascending on a pully system into the clouds. The pully system became the rigging on a sailing ship. I was climbing under the ship to get to a specific door on the side and steal something from one of the crew's rooms. I punched a hole in the wall to peek inside. Sadly the outter wall of the ship was about 2mm thick so I don't think it would have done much good on open water but oh well. I went inside but was found before I got anything. I jumped out and one of the soldiers chased me. They were foreign but not really from anywhere. Dark skinned with weird, non-existant south-European accents. We swam away from the ship.......all the way to America?! I know this was from my head but I hadn't really thought through this part until just now. So it sounds pretty odd to me too. We went to my epic apartment where the soldier turned into the loud old fat guy from the remake Ocean's 11. ?!?! We had a pleasant chat and cleared things up from the ship raid. I apparently had a plot twist where I removed a face piece that helped me talk differently to reveal I was not Matt Damon but was actually Leonardo DiCaprio! But when I look in the mirror next to me I still looked like Matt Damon but really thin like Christian Bale from the Machinist. Then the guy left and that's when the trippy stuff started happening.
What?!?!?!?!
Idk, whatevs...
I'm feeling better now so I'm gonna try to get back to sleep. I'm off tomorrow...today so I'm gonna see if sleeping in works after this.
Sheesh...
It's 4:51 AM and I just finished writing it down. It was really vivid and I remembered it clearly even after being awake for a while to try and really wake up.
I turned it into something of a short horror story. Something like what a young Poe or Lovecraft would have written. 'Cept with fewer and generally shorter words.
I added a little here and there for the flow of it and tagged a cliche ending onto the end to wrap it up but easily 90% of this is what I just dreamed less than an hour ago.
[WARNING: The following contains violent and disturbing content. Reader discretion is advised]
I’m watching him go out the door.
I had a good time catching up with an old friend. It was a pleasant visit; I can feel the last
bit of a smile on the corners of my mouth.
A realization comes: it was an event on a timeline. But what comes next? Have I forgotten? It was important.
The door closes in front of me and I see myself in a dim reflection on
the patterned glass. I was staring at my
friend, watching him leave, waving “goodbye.”
Now I’m staring at myself, my smile is gone, but I’m still waving.
My wife walks up behind me smiling gently looking slightly up at me. For a moment our eyes meet in the door glass
and I can see the love in her gaze. Then
I feel a sharp pain in my left side just below my shoulder blade.
I remember!
Frantically, I turn around and see my wife standing there with a bloody
kitchen knife. The love on her face is
replaced with pure madness. I pull my
left arm back behind me for a moment and can see fresh blood on my elbow. It’s slowly getting harder to breathe.
This was it. This is what I was
supposed to remember: the twist, the next event on the timeline. How could I forget? How could I remember?...
She is laughing now. She sees I
remembered, but not in time. I grab her
hands to keep her from stabbing me again.
She resists…somewhat. She’s just
laughing.
I try to form a sentence. I’m in
pain. Every breath feels like she is
stabbing me again. I’m confused. My wife…
My blood…
She responds to the words I never say.
“The look, the look on your face?!” she gets out between her hysterics.
I finally force the knife out of her hand but she does nothing. She just falls to the ground giggling like a
school girl.
I don’t even recognize her any more.
“What?... But, how?...”
I don’t even know what to ask.
“You don’t really remember, do you?” she asks sardonically. “How could you forget? I’ve seen it already?”
She’s mocking me now. She wants me
to know.
I charge forward and her tone changes.
She replaces her smile with a confused grimace. I grab her with my empty hand and turn her
over face down on the ground. I’m
sitting on her now so she can’t react, or even move.
“What happens to me now?” I have
to know the next event!
She starts laughing again. It’s
sinister.
“Tell me!”
My wife turns her head and looks at me sideways.
“Now you die!” she says elated.
I can’t wrap my head around it. My wife just murdered me! Why couldn’t I remember? Now there’s nothing I can do. I’m already as good as dead.
This is not my wife…it can’t be…
I turn her over onto her side. She
looks fulfilled. She doesn’t seem to
care anymore.
Out of anger, confusion, and pity I stab the knife into her side. I shock myself and pull the knife back
out. It didn’t cut deep.
At first she is a little surprised but then relaxes. Her face calms as she accepts her fate.
“You’ll have to finish it now you know?” she tells me. She makes it sound like a sadistic dare.
She starts to fight back kicking and throwing herself around; like she’s
making this into a game. I stab her
again between the ribs into her left lung.
She gasps sharply and bends back.
She keeps fighting me but with less enthusiasm now. I stab her again in the right lung and again
she reacts.
So she does feel pain…
I grab her wrists to keep her from struggling.
“Oh just let me die!” she rebukes.
It’s like she’s talking to a child.
I let go, stand up, and step back just to watch. She is still lying belly down but bent
backwards in pain and facing forward.
She knew this was coming and did nothing. She is content now. She wants to die.
And I killed her. I stabbed
her. Three times.
Because she killed me.
I am dying.
I can’t breathe…
I wake up shaking in a cold sweat.
“What was that?”
Reality is starting to set in. It
was a dream. I’m awake now. I look beside me and see my wife lying there
peacefully asleep.
Then the dream sets in. A mix of
emotions washes over me as tears fall from my face. I get up and walk into the bathroom. I stand at the sink a minute and let the
dream wear off as I try to calm myself.
I wash my face with cold water and stare at myself in the mirror. I hear my wife stir from the bed and walk in
behind me.
“Are you alright?” she asks groggily.
I stand silently. I don’t know
what to say.
My wife walks up behind me smiling gently looking slightly up at me. For a moment our eyes meet in the door glass
and I can see the love in her gaze. Then
I feel a sharp pain in my left side just below my shoulder blade.
Had I forgotten?
I was on a large, floating city-scape similar to Columbia from Bioshock: Infinity. It was a large city and I felt like I had been there before in a dream. I definitely haven't though. It was just dream de-ja-vu. There was something about cars. Flying cars. The looked normal though. At least, normal from like, the 1950s or something. Everything had that Bioshock antiquity/steampunk vibe to it. I was in a car and ascending on a pully system into the clouds. The pully system became the rigging on a sailing ship. I was climbing under the ship to get to a specific door on the side and steal something from one of the crew's rooms. I punched a hole in the wall to peek inside. Sadly the outter wall of the ship was about 2mm thick so I don't think it would have done much good on open water but oh well. I went inside but was found before I got anything. I jumped out and one of the soldiers chased me. They were foreign but not really from anywhere. Dark skinned with weird, non-existant south-European accents. We swam away from the ship.......all the way to America?! I know this was from my head but I hadn't really thought through this part until just now. So it sounds pretty odd to me too. We went to my epic apartment where the soldier turned into the loud old fat guy from the remake Ocean's 11. ?!?! We had a pleasant chat and cleared things up from the ship raid. I apparently had a plot twist where I removed a face piece that helped me talk differently to reveal I was not Matt Damon but was actually Leonardo DiCaprio! But when I look in the mirror next to me I still looked like Matt Damon but really thin like Christian Bale from the Machinist. Then the guy left and that's when the trippy stuff started happening.
What?!?!?!?!
Idk, whatevs...
I'm feeling better now so I'm gonna try to get back to sleep. I'm off tomorrow...today so I'm gonna see if sleeping in works after this.
Sheesh...
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