Doom, Gloom, Despair. These are the things that confront me as soon as I arrive on campus everyday. I've heard people talking about the stock market crashing, of Great Depression levels of unemployment, endless war, and even the destruction of the world.
And I'm tired of it. I'm sitting in my apartment, on my computer typing away, just like I was six months ago. Nobody I personally know has been affected by the sub-prime mortgage loan crash. My bank still runs like it always did, though it didn't invest nearly as heavily in something so stupid as the other banks did. My life has not been changed at all right now, and unless you were working for one of these companies that collapsed, or were in dire need of a loan or planning to start a new business than I'm guessing neither have you.
This isn't to say that people haven't been affected, certainly many lives have changed drastically because of these events, but I know for a fact that none of the young men and women I have talked to on my campus are among them. Yet they still proclaim that America is doomed.
I ask why?
What is this fascination of our youth to see the world in such an apocalyptic view; to claim depression and stress is making them contemplate suicide when they are having some of the most fun and stress-free times of their lives? Why are these young people afraid to be happy, to enjoy life?
Perhaps it's because I have several conditions that at the very least make me aware that my body is in pain at all times, or that I know that I've suffered far worse; but these youths all seem like wimpy children to me. I feel like I could make them divulge their deepest secrets with nothing more than an indian rug burn. Am I just that skinned, or are the young men and women of my generation really this unable to withstand the difficulties of life?
My current theory is that they didn't get enough of three vital things as children. One, not enough milk and dirt in their diet, yes dirt, it strengthens the immune system (also has iron and some other stuff at times). Two, not enough rough-housing. I blame that whole safe-parent culture that developed and decided that kids weren't allowed to hurt themselves anymore. Three, not enough saturday morning cartoons.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go study for a latin quiz while watching an old saturday morning cartoon, in this case Digimon.
P.S. It's not really an apocalyptic view because an apocalypse simply a prophecy of the future given by a divine being usually involving some sort of judgment and life after death, and an apocalyptic worldview... forget it, you get that idea.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Jumble of Topics
I've decided in my infinite wisdom that I shall no longer be making posts on Sunday, this of course applies retroactively so that I in fact did not forget to post yesterday, but instead carried out my schedule as normal.
Alright, I forgot about Sunday, but I am thinking about abandoning Sunday posts. My mind is just too scattered from the weekend to come up with anything coherent in the twenty-minutes-before-midnight-when-I-happen-to-remember-I-need-to-post-something (ah that was beautifully disgusting).
It seems that I can't avoid talking about the economic crisis that faces us as a nation today, so here's my big thought: When everyone get so fucking stupid?
I wince at typing the swear word, but its impact is necessary to fully convey how I feel about everyone involved in this whole fiasco. What idiot though that lending money to people who can't pay it back was a good idea? What morons thought that the idiot was onto something good? What retard didn't tell the morons that they were doing something incredibly foolish? What dunce forgot to look at what these companies were doing and step in?
I have slight compassion for those who actually took out these loans, but only because of their lack of income, though if they weren't dumbasses they would realize that they're taking out money that they couldn't possibly pay back, often for things they knew that they couldn't afford when there were more reasonable alternatives. Yes I know that this is a huge generalization on my part, and that this was not the case everywhere, but I've seen enough people living well beyond their means that I'm going to generalize like this.
Hell. I'm living beyond my means.
I have no source of income and am laden with more student debt than I would ever care to know. All this and I live in an apartment off campus that's costing me a good deal more than if I had stayed in the dorms.
I, however, have parents who are willing to back me financially throughout my undergraduate studies, and for their generosity (well beyond clothing, feeding, and raising me) I will be eternally grateful. I fully intend to spend the rest of my life paying my parents back for all that they have given me, and I know that I will never be able to pay back even a third of what they have given me.
People of The United States of America, you can live without a car, you can share a single room apartment amongst a family of four, you can live without a T.V., you don't even need a computer. Look at where you are, what you can afford and learn to get by with as little as you can, so that in the future you can have all of the things that you thought you needed.
Just, please, everyone stop saying that it's the end of the world, because every time you do say so, the end takes another step closer.
Alright, I forgot about Sunday, but I am thinking about abandoning Sunday posts. My mind is just too scattered from the weekend to come up with anything coherent in the twenty-minutes-before-midnight-when-I-happen-to-remember-I-need-to-post-something (ah that was beautifully disgusting).
It seems that I can't avoid talking about the economic crisis that faces us as a nation today, so here's my big thought: When everyone get so fucking stupid?
I wince at typing the swear word, but its impact is necessary to fully convey how I feel about everyone involved in this whole fiasco. What idiot though that lending money to people who can't pay it back was a good idea? What morons thought that the idiot was onto something good? What retard didn't tell the morons that they were doing something incredibly foolish? What dunce forgot to look at what these companies were doing and step in?
I have slight compassion for those who actually took out these loans, but only because of their lack of income, though if they weren't dumbasses they would realize that they're taking out money that they couldn't possibly pay back, often for things they knew that they couldn't afford when there were more reasonable alternatives. Yes I know that this is a huge generalization on my part, and that this was not the case everywhere, but I've seen enough people living well beyond their means that I'm going to generalize like this.
Hell. I'm living beyond my means.
I have no source of income and am laden with more student debt than I would ever care to know. All this and I live in an apartment off campus that's costing me a good deal more than if I had stayed in the dorms.
I, however, have parents who are willing to back me financially throughout my undergraduate studies, and for their generosity (well beyond clothing, feeding, and raising me) I will be eternally grateful. I fully intend to spend the rest of my life paying my parents back for all that they have given me, and I know that I will never be able to pay back even a third of what they have given me.
People of The United States of America, you can live without a car, you can share a single room apartment amongst a family of four, you can live without a T.V., you don't even need a computer. Look at where you are, what you can afford and learn to get by with as little as you can, so that in the future you can have all of the things that you thought you needed.
Just, please, everyone stop saying that it's the end of the world, because every time you do say so, the end takes another step closer.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
limburger Cheese
Woops, forgot to post last night, I blame brain fog filtering in from too much homework (well that and the new router I got freeing up my laptop in my apartment). There should be a post tonight, assuming I'm not too braindead from the extra homework I'll be doing since I have to stay on campus until... sometime...
P.S. Don't ask about the title, I don't know.
P.S. Don't ask about the title, I don't know.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Q'es'ion
I won't say much tonight, my brain is still reeling from discussing Maccabees 1+2 earlier today and I have to study for a latin exam tomorrow. However I wanted to mention my feelings on a particular topic, and perhaps even get some of your opinions on it as well. The topic in question being proper nouns with comma's in them.
You have all seen them, Shak'Ti, P'Telt'tar, Yd'rg'dr'sl, the last being a particularly fanciful spelling of Yggdrasil I once saw.
I hate them myself, whenever I see them in print I never rightly know how to pronounce them, and even when I do my mind seems to skip past them and invent some new phrase to say instead every time I come across it.
Yet when I hear them being spoken aloud they provide some of the most beautiful and powerful proper nouns that I've come across.
So, how do you feel about them?
You have all seen them, Shak'Ti, P'Telt'tar, Yd'rg'dr'sl, the last being a particularly fanciful spelling of Yggdrasil I once saw.
I hate them myself, whenever I see them in print I never rightly know how to pronounce them, and even when I do my mind seems to skip past them and invent some new phrase to say instead every time I come across it.
Yet when I hear them being spoken aloud they provide some of the most beautiful and powerful proper nouns that I've come across.
So, how do you feel about them?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday Statement
Yes there was no post on Thursday. No I didn't forget about it.
The reason there was no post on Thursday is three short words, "Old Man's War." Specifically I am referencing, John Scalzi's book, Old Man's War.
I don't go out and buy very many science-fiction novels, usually because they aren't worth the ink on the page, so my not catching onto this work for 3 years doesn't come as a surprise. What does come as a surprise is that I haven't yet purchased any more of Scalzi's books. Old Man's War was one of the best science-fiction novels I have read in years. The story and setting feels very much like "old-sci-fi", like the science-fiction novels I found while cleaning out my grandmother's house, but the clear and inventive writing turns this possible (I actually like many of those old sci-fi novels) con into a very positive pro. To top the cherry on the cake, it goes really well with the space stage in Spore, so I happened to read it at just the right time.
Go out and buy it, read it, it only takes a day if you put everything besides homework and classes off.
I'm not joking, go get it.
The reason there was no post on Thursday is three short words, "Old Man's War." Specifically I am referencing, John Scalzi's book, Old Man's War.
I don't go out and buy very many science-fiction novels, usually because they aren't worth the ink on the page, so my not catching onto this work for 3 years doesn't come as a surprise. What does come as a surprise is that I haven't yet purchased any more of Scalzi's books. Old Man's War was one of the best science-fiction novels I have read in years. The story and setting feels very much like "old-sci-fi", like the science-fiction novels I found while cleaning out my grandmother's house, but the clear and inventive writing turns this possible (I actually like many of those old sci-fi novels) con into a very positive pro. To top the cherry on the cake, it goes really well with the space stage in Spore, so I happened to read it at just the right time.
Go out and buy it, read it, it only takes a day if you put everything besides homework and classes off.
I'm not joking, go get it.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Will Wright's Greatest Success
Spore is without a doubt the best game I have played all year.
This is my conclusion after finally reaching the space stage (the last of the 5 stages in the game which act to separate the different game types within Spore) and dinking around a little bit.
I had fun with the first four stages. I enjoyed fighting for survival as a cell. I had a very good time watching the little beast I made evolve under my careful guidance in the creature stage. I felt a swell of pride as my little monsters united together and routed the other beasts from the continent in the tribal stage. I had a glorious time seeing my handcrafted empire take over the planet in the civilization stage.
In short I had a very good time with the first four stages of the game, and I would have felt my $50 purchase was worth the money I spent had the game ended there.
But then space stage came along.
In the hour that I have played the space stage, I have had more genuine fun than I've had in the last three weeks combined.
The way the galaxy is presented; how massive and ready-to-be-explored it feels. Combine this feeling of new discovery with a bond with my avatar stronger than any Final Fantasy could ever hope to accomplish. Well, let's just say it's a damn good time.
What excites me most of all is that this is a game my parents, or some little kids could play and get the same enjoyment out of. It's not complicated, at least not until the space stage, and each of the stages prepares you for the next. Top this off with the ability to create an avatar that emotionally invests the player to the game intrinsically, and these people who don't play games will find themselves losing track of time as they watch their little creation live out its destiny.
I recommend Spore to anyone and everyone, and encourage everyone who has it to show it off to as many people as possible.
This is my conclusion after finally reaching the space stage (the last of the 5 stages in the game which act to separate the different game types within Spore) and dinking around a little bit.
I had fun with the first four stages. I enjoyed fighting for survival as a cell. I had a very good time watching the little beast I made evolve under my careful guidance in the creature stage. I felt a swell of pride as my little monsters united together and routed the other beasts from the continent in the tribal stage. I had a glorious time seeing my handcrafted empire take over the planet in the civilization stage.
In short I had a very good time with the first four stages of the game, and I would have felt my $50 purchase was worth the money I spent had the game ended there.
But then space stage came along.
In the hour that I have played the space stage, I have had more genuine fun than I've had in the last three weeks combined.
The way the galaxy is presented; how massive and ready-to-be-explored it feels. Combine this feeling of new discovery with a bond with my avatar stronger than any Final Fantasy could ever hope to accomplish. Well, let's just say it's a damn good time.
What excites me most of all is that this is a game my parents, or some little kids could play and get the same enjoyment out of. It's not complicated, at least not until the space stage, and each of the stages prepares you for the next. Top this off with the ability to create an avatar that emotionally invests the player to the game intrinsically, and these people who don't play games will find themselves losing track of time as they watch their little creation live out its destiny.
I recommend Spore to anyone and everyone, and encourage everyone who has it to show it off to as many people as possible.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Not So Triumphant Return
I sorely apologize to any and all who read this blog, though I still despise that word. I took a very large break from writing on this site due to a large amount of difficulties that appeared in my life. Beyond this, I had fully intended to start writing posts regularly again this previous Sunday. My only two answers as to why I did not write Sunday and Monday are both single words: School and Spore.
I do not intend for this bad (re)start to influence the rest of my posts on this site, and you may fully expect to read my impressions on Spore before 11:59 P.M. tomorrow.
Until then Vale, Valete!
P.S. I hate apartment hunting as well as the setting up of utilities and networks.
I do not intend for this bad (re)start to influence the rest of my posts on this site, and you may fully expect to read my impressions on Spore before 11:59 P.M. tomorrow.
Until then Vale, Valete!
P.S. I hate apartment hunting as well as the setting up of utilities and networks.
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