Survival of the Deepest.

How cool is this Los Angeles Times article? Apparently, people who are associated with deep confersations (I like that word better with an F) also tend to be happier. To everyone who ever whined about conversations that required sizable thought, TAKE THAT! I hereby condemn you to the lamer statistic; the boo hooers! Hehe. Speaking of "everyone who ever..." I kinda feel like I should put together a post saying all the things to all the people I never got to say "that one thing" to (note to self).

Okay on a more serious note. I liken this to a cat playing with all the wigglys out there. That is, a Cat has one thing it was well designed for: hunting. So naturally, even our domesticated ones love playing games that involve reflexes. They see something twitch, and BAM! Gotcha. People aren't too different. For many of us, enjoyment comes from doing something that requires skill to be good at, and of course different strokes will satisfy different folks: Fischer loved chess; Einstein had a thing for physics; and Achilles was great at..."wigglys."

Now, for the average person who can't go around being a one man army or paving the way to another dimension, engaging in the simple act of meaningful conversation is the least that can be done to exercise "purpose." Among the things I thrive off of are debate/conversation (the second being a less "intense" form of the first), and analyzing people/situations. It's fun. It's great to pick apart things and deconstruct. Of course, because most people don't enjoy participating in such things, I'm defaulted to doing my best work (analysis/deconstruction) alone *cough* blog *cough*. But when the chance comes for interaction of this kind, I pounce like a cat, because a degree of competition makes it all the sweeter.

I can only conclude by saying, I feel bad for all the cats in the world who have no wiggly prey to toy with.

Many Nights DTC!

Addison

What to do with Hypocracy?

The Los Angeles Times article I'm referring to is here.

I look around and see a group of people so twisted in their beliefs, that I'm torn between methods of handling the matters: do I view them derisively, or with humility? Deep down I know the answer is going to vary depending on a few factors. Some people respond differently to different forms of stimulation.

But seriously, how stupid is it to have people who, on the same sign are protesting against big government, and yet want the same government to work on getting them jobs? Are they really that dense? Can they not see the hypocrisy in such a demand? Of course they can't. They want their cake and to eat it too.

But my question is, how should I compose myself when considering these matters? These people are arguers of two minds, and are exactly why this country can't get its shit straight. While these folks go around protesting paradoxes, their Politicians are CRUSHING the people. I'm caught between wanting to hate them, and feeling bad for them. They are fucking me over after all too.

Where's my mistake? What am I doing wrong? Am I doing something wrong? I don't know, but I want to.

Many Nights DTC,

Addison.

Am I Losing Sight?

Sooo much to write on today, yet so little time. Although the news provides plenty, I'm going to go it old school and just talk about something that's recently crossed my mind.

Irish writer, and poet, Oscar Wilde's last words were, "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do." I always loved the passion behind these words, but never knew ('til now) the kind of circumstances that would encourage such whims.

Daily, I find myself surrounded by a roomscape of white, beige, and pale green walls. Looking around, I feel a hunger for texture as virtually all shapes are carved by straight, smooth lines. Squares and rectangles galore. The people are genuinely great, but I sometimes don't believe they exist here when even the oxygen seems to enough air. Were it not for a few potted plants, a faux fur jacket, and the occasional stack of inky paper, this would be purgatory.

The minds whose thoughts I most look up to cherished one thing above all in life; I'm going to short sell this precious notion by calling it variance. Understanding mutability for it's value echoes the spiritual equivalent of the Theory of Special Relativity. This is to say that we understand who we are, and what we are worth by observing our relation to the things in or life. If no change is present, than we get into some issues.

Which brings me to my current predicament. I am in the middle of a transitional phase in my life. Things were utterly crazy and for this reason super lively back in college. Once I left, I saw a lot of freedom lost: I had to hole my self into my room for 7 months while I looked for a job barely getting out; now I'm two jobs into this economy and well, and things have hardly changed. Alas, I have bitten more than I can chew, and have been left with inflexibility as a punishment. Oh, how I miss the days of irresponsibility.

So now I have all this time, to ponder at the many different states of life I've currently forfeited, and received. Starting with the office culture I am currently criticizing, of course. My biggest fear? Getting to the point where none of this bugs me. How many of the people around me thought the same way I do when they were my age? Will this progress? Can I be ever-vigilant? I guess these "professional" aesthetics are the design requirements for streamlined efficiency. What a cost we pay to be well fed.

A New Face for Terror: Facelessness

Los Angeles Times article on "JihadJane" covers an event that reflects the coming of a much needed realization for the United States public as well as its leadership.

For years now the U.S. as a whole has been swayed into gearing its fear of, and anger for "Terror" (I hope that irony calls to mind a timeless quote) towards a specific profile: Islamic Extremists.

However there are two inherent problems with trying to profile a Terrorist. First is the public's inclination for oversimplifying matters as complex as Terrorism; second is the fact that you can't physically measure someone's beliefs by the way they look.

As a result of our attempt to profile Terrorists, a public fear of Islam, as well as those typically associated with Islam (people of Middle Eastern descent) was sparked and fanned, then later used to encourage the onstart of two wars, one of which basically had nothing to do with Terrorism.

There are at least two things fundamentally wrong with this. The first, and possibly most important, thing wrong here is that living in fear spits on the sacrifice of every American soldier who fought/fights for our freedom. They fight, and some die so that we can be free, and live our lives in peace. To be ever-fearful of the next attack undermines their every hardship. In order to best support the troops, we the people need to keep our heads cool and rational, so that we may best guide their hands.

The second issue here was the downright un-American act of judging folks by the way they look. Decades of civil rights movements have fought to wash away such dirty regressivism. Alas, sometimes reality does more for an ideal than the ideal could ever do for itself. This, JihadJane character is just another in a growing line of atypical terrorist profiles acting out against U.S. best interests.

What we are being forced to see now, is that Terrorism has no country, no religion, and no genetic makeup. We must see the root of such radicalism for what it is, and definitely for what it is not. It exists in the extremes of human society but we must tread very carefully in directing our fist before we end up punching ourselves in the face. Terrorism is about as defeatable as war itself. After all, what is terrorism but specific kind of war?

If you ask me, trying to stomp out terrorism with force is like trying to step on a bar of soap in the shower, or like trying to cut water with a knife. The best way to "kill" it is to eliminate the conditions that encourage it, and to teach those prone to its system of beliefs out of being terrorists. I'm not a fool though; where it must be fought, it must be fought. However, we cannot depend on fighting alone to fix this problem.

They're Dying to Disproove Global Warming.

Let me precede this blog by saying it actually has much less to do with "global warming" per se as it does "the globe.

I've been meaning to write on this matter for a few days now, but I lacked the proper motivation for some reason. Alas, the subject as resurfaced and thus given me the spark I was looking for. The Los Angeles Times Article is here.

I'm not even going to bother arguing my view on Global Warming because it would be a waste for me, and this blog, in so many different ways. Instead I'm just going to spew forth my thoughts on the nature of this debate's existence.

What it all boils down to is money. Now that's a notion I never get tired of hearing, but it's true. In a reality where enough "world" still remains to provide a habitable existence, the only reason this "debate" still exists is because of the economic repercussions of a decision that's made in either direction. It's hard to say all of what I mean in the few sentences I've managed so far, so let me elaborate.

Those folks who try to pretend nothing is happening, or that we have no impact on our environment really reflect something deeper than a stubbornness for ignoring long-term scientific evidence; it also really shows is an inability to find ways of making money that don't involve processing raw natural resources, whether we're referring to the Amazon Rain Forest's trees, any amount of undeveloped land, crude oil deep within our Momma's surface, or even the animal's we "share" the Earth with. It's a terribly bad habit, really. One, I reckon, that will eventually sign Humanity's death warrant if greed/laziness continues to thrive unchecked.

Now, I said laziness because we already possess all the technology required to live a more harmonious existence with our planet, yet there are fat cats out there who still want their stake in a pie, and so will pillage every last resource as long as it will make them the buck. Because they can. Maybe more importantly because they are too lazy to find a better way to make money. Who cares about passing on a ravaged planet to younger generations?

Maybe the flaw here is that we never think about anything further down the line than the immediately tangible generations (selves, kids, and grand kids), and what's more important to the "tangible" generations than money?

I sympathize with all the people who depend on such industries for employment, recalling an anecdote about a Logger who said something to the extent of, "I know cutting down trees is bad, but I have a family to feed." But herein lies another possible problem: people are having because they know in the back of their minds that there will always be a tree to cut down to support said family member's mouths; and as long as a population keeps growing, there'll always be more need to expand because expansion is just another form of economic growth. You see the shame isn't that we're having kids, or even cutting down trees; the shame is partially in the fact that we do both of these things unchecked, and unmindful of the consequences, and partially in the fact the doing either, encourages the other. It all reminds me of the ol' snake with its tail in its mouth.

To avoid from sounding like a selfish, unsympathetic hypocrite, let it be known that these points, and my commitment to the ideal that is their solution has led me to very seriously look at whether or not I would ever have a kid of my own. The options on my table are adopting, or only one kid (since it would still contribute to a population decrease); at the moment my favor lies with adoption. Obviously though, at 23 and barely working, that's just an abstract pondering. Anyway...

OKay, it's time to wind this article back to its point. We live in a crazy world when an entire political party thrives on any shred of evidence that capitalizes on the short sightedness of their constituents in order to enact short-term economic practices that will invariably hurt even themselves in the end. Although I guess my fault is in expecting too much from a party that is aware of its uglier necessities.

Many Nights DTC.

Addison.

P.S. One more Link on the issue.

Entrepreneurship Innate?

I heard this article on the NPR today covering a study on whether or not an inclination for Entrepreneurship could be found in the genes. Let me just start off by saying, I'm already opposed to the idea that one notion, either nature or nurture, plays a bigger role than the other in who we become; I think the impact of each is equal.

In addition to my stance on the matter, the fact that they were using really vague terms and phrases in their conclusions (at least some, cannot be guarunteed, may account for up to one third of, etc.) gives me all the reason I need to chuck the entire study up to a fat waste of money for the University granting it. To the researchers engaged in the study I have only one question: have you no dignity?

Okay, I have to confess I also harbor a little personal anger here too, if you haven't noticed. I mean, the very existence of the study is an insult to those whose parents aren't entrepreneurs and who themselves want to be one. Why? Because what the study tries to prove, is that they are likely to fail. Studies like this serve one purpose, and that's to formulate an outcome predictor for investors to buy into--and maybe to make the jerk who tries to prove it famous.

There's no end to the number of ridiculous interpretations such a study will lend itself to. What it is, is an insult to the human spirit, and I say, "Fuck it. Take your inconclusive postulations and shove them up your statistically insignificant asses." If any of those researchers ever read this, I'd owe them an apology, because I don't really mean to turn this into a personal attack on them; luckily there's no fear of that since no one really reads this anyway.

Anyway, Many Nights DTC

Addison.

Reality Reminds Me

To bite what I can chew, and to chew what I've bit.

With sooo many things I want to do, and such an A.D.D. personality, my actions must be reigned in if I'm ever going to get what I want done. They say patience is a virtue, and I really need to heed that snippet of wisdom. Focus is what I lack at this point of life; if I can focus, then I can move on to the next things in line. Here's a quick list of my goals, short and long term and in chronological order:

Get a job (semi-done);
Finish ds411 web project (asap);
Help Dad with his websites;
Finish my novel (took the back burner);
Reconnect with many of my out of touch friends (I miss them all);
Volunteer (too many prospects to delve into here);
Resume reading where I left on (too many prospects here too);
Re-learn Spanish (for the third time);
Re-enter the sciences through education (I miss the more purely mathematical aspects of life);
Investigate my life;

The last being my way of quickly ending a list that would take ridiculously long to construct accurately. I can't specify much because I have to work, but can you see my dilemma?

Many nights DTC

Addison.