Monday, May 2, 2011
Philosophy
Philosophy: We are all human, no one was created any better than any other. We all have a given amount of time here, and if you were born, you're going to eventually die. So whether you believe in a god or not, you get the same breaks, the same world as everyone else. Why sacrifice your one life on something as assinine as worship, when it's logical that you shouldn't be shooting for the hereafter, but for the here and now. Thousands of years now have seen the peasants still trying to get to heaven, while their masters and academics are finding pleasure in other....pursuits. Why waste time "believing," when there is no time to waste?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
100 years ago, a petty man was born.
He had an enormous ego, though, and he had some general good looks, but there really wasn't a terribly large muscle in his head, so he learned to use his voice, a smattering of rhetorical skills, and some charisma to move himself up in the political branch of the world of entertainment, since he knew instinctively that he was not really good at acting, other than reading lines, sometimes so obviously that his producer bosses cringed.
Because his inherent skills taught him that looking someone in the eyes, pretending to give a shit, and honing dramatic cues for more than just reading those stupid lines made him a lot more powerful in the long run, he had no problem in learning to be a grifter--all politicians are grifters, some worse than others.
He found being a politician was actually something he felt good at. He had all the fame and adulation he wanted, so now he started to bank on his power, and see how far to the top he could go. And go to the top he did. And millions of Americans were brainwashed into believing that this actor, this travesty of a human being, this truly apathetic asshole had changed the landscape of the USA, and brought people like James Dobson, Karl Rove, and their ilk out of the woodwork, raping the country, and selling us all down the river for a long time to come.
Hoping you're not resting in peace, mofo.
(And this is the fucker they want to put on a dime?)
And this post follows the first, after someone said Reagan wasn't ALL bad:
People are always prone to take the easiest way out of any situation. They fail the test of humility, and become drawn to things which distance themselves from the general populace. They become greedy, apathetic, hard, cold. They no longer have the ability to empathize or care. They justify their new nature as a "sacrifice" of a sort. Money means more to them than people. They can't fail, because failure means going all the way back to the beginning, and the struggle and pain in their lives. They no longer have the choice to change their ways, because the person they are in the end is all that they know anymore. In faith-based vernacular, they have sold their soul to the devil. In reality, they have had the taste of power, and it is a heady feeling. They will do anything which keeps that sense of exhilaration, of commanding the actions of life or death.
In life, they have chosen the oldest path--that which requires the least amount of actual work. They are not unique at all--this path is one which most people do, but some are just able to grasp the brass rings they find along the way. Extraordinary people always follow the more difficult path, the road less traveled, as Robert Frost said. Most of us have found that path, tried it for a short while and diverted back to the path of least resistance. It's okay--we're not all capable of the hardness, the racing in the wind or swimming against the tide. Humans rarely are able to finish that path because it's more difficult to find all the conditions which favor it. It's against human nature in general to accept the inevitable losses which come with heroism and complete self-sacrifice. But in life, we can recognize some of those people as true leaders--Gandhi, Mandela, Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, Jimmy Carter.
Human beings are not wired all the way to exercise the best of intentions all the time. Very few have the ability to ignore their own needs and put the needs of others ahead of them.
But Reagan was not a hero and never a man of the people. His own selfishness and desire for power were fueled by his ego and his overwhelming desire for power. The more power he had, the less of a human being he became.
Anyone who eulogizes Reagan needs to step back and look at the whole picture, of the horrible things he did while he was in office--things he did to satisfy his own ego, and for essentially "photo ops" for the history books.
Because his inherent skills taught him that looking someone in the eyes, pretending to give a shit, and honing dramatic cues for more than just reading those stupid lines made him a lot more powerful in the long run, he had no problem in learning to be a grifter--all politicians are grifters, some worse than others.
He found being a politician was actually something he felt good at. He had all the fame and adulation he wanted, so now he started to bank on his power, and see how far to the top he could go. And go to the top he did. And millions of Americans were brainwashed into believing that this actor, this travesty of a human being, this truly apathetic asshole had changed the landscape of the USA, and brought people like James Dobson, Karl Rove, and their ilk out of the woodwork, raping the country, and selling us all down the river for a long time to come.
Hoping you're not resting in peace, mofo.
(And this is the fucker they want to put on a dime?)
And this post follows the first, after someone said Reagan wasn't ALL bad:
People are always prone to take the easiest way out of any situation. They fail the test of humility, and become drawn to things which distance themselves from the general populace. They become greedy, apathetic, hard, cold. They no longer have the ability to empathize or care. They justify their new nature as a "sacrifice" of a sort. Money means more to them than people. They can't fail, because failure means going all the way back to the beginning, and the struggle and pain in their lives. They no longer have the choice to change their ways, because the person they are in the end is all that they know anymore. In faith-based vernacular, they have sold their soul to the devil. In reality, they have had the taste of power, and it is a heady feeling. They will do anything which keeps that sense of exhilaration, of commanding the actions of life or death.
In life, they have chosen the oldest path--that which requires the least amount of actual work. They are not unique at all--this path is one which most people do, but some are just able to grasp the brass rings they find along the way. Extraordinary people always follow the more difficult path, the road less traveled, as Robert Frost said. Most of us have found that path, tried it for a short while and diverted back to the path of least resistance. It's okay--we're not all capable of the hardness, the racing in the wind or swimming against the tide. Humans rarely are able to finish that path because it's more difficult to find all the conditions which favor it. It's against human nature in general to accept the inevitable losses which come with heroism and complete self-sacrifice. But in life, we can recognize some of those people as true leaders--Gandhi, Mandela, Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, Jimmy Carter.
Human beings are not wired all the way to exercise the best of intentions all the time. Very few have the ability to ignore their own needs and put the needs of others ahead of them.
But Reagan was not a hero and never a man of the people. His own selfishness and desire for power were fueled by his ego and his overwhelming desire for power. The more power he had, the less of a human being he became.
Anyone who eulogizes Reagan needs to step back and look at the whole picture, of the horrible things he did while he was in office--things he did to satisfy his own ego, and for essentially "photo ops" for the history books.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Cold and miserable
If anyone is looking for me, I'm still here. Between last week and this week, though, I caught a real-life cold, with sore throat and everything, and so I've slept a lot since I got this "wonderful" gift, and I been been on my fat ass since I took Delenn to the vets last week. Steve has been kind enough to get me cat food and milk, the only two things I've needed. I can live out of boxes (macaroni and cheese, anyone?) until I'm feeling better, which should be as soon the Invisible Purple Unicorn gets back to our neck of the woods--er, space. Or at least until the spring, which ever comes first. I'm betting neither makes it here, and that the average cold runs from 5 days to 10 days, so talk to me after this weekend.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
My Holiday Greeting for Everyone
Listen up, peeps!
I got extra lazy this past year in not getting some of my holiday stuff taken care of, so I thought it might be a good idea to be even more lazy and send out a general holiday greeting to everyone. This means that no matter what branch of the tree of life that you want to be on, I wish you a happy, healthy, safe, and memorable holiday, with good food, good friends and good conversations!
I hope that the coming year will be an excellent one, but one easily forgotten--the sad thing is, the less we remember a year, the chances are it was one in which disasters never happened! Let's achieve our overall goals, and hope that the vicious and wicked sleep on beds of thorns and needles, and the impoverished sleep on beds of flowers.
Let us look with kindness to those worse off than ourselves, and do one good thing every day, just to keep in practice! If we can't say something nice about someone, we should either keep silent, or make sure we have proof before we say anything! (heh, heh)
Treat animals and children with care and love, never forget that we aren't alone in the multi-verse, and that home cooked food is better than TV dinners!
That's my speech for the holidays, and now I shall simply go and be on my merry way until....whatever time comes that I have something further to say.
May all your dreams come true.
Mary
I got extra lazy this past year in not getting some of my holiday stuff taken care of, so I thought it might be a good idea to be even more lazy and send out a general holiday greeting to everyone. This means that no matter what branch of the tree of life that you want to be on, I wish you a happy, healthy, safe, and memorable holiday, with good food, good friends and good conversations!
I hope that the coming year will be an excellent one, but one easily forgotten--the sad thing is, the less we remember a year, the chances are it was one in which disasters never happened! Let's achieve our overall goals, and hope that the vicious and wicked sleep on beds of thorns and needles, and the impoverished sleep on beds of flowers.
Let us look with kindness to those worse off than ourselves, and do one good thing every day, just to keep in practice! If we can't say something nice about someone, we should either keep silent, or make sure we have proof before we say anything! (heh, heh)
Treat animals and children with care and love, never forget that we aren't alone in the multi-verse, and that home cooked food is better than TV dinners!
That's my speech for the holidays, and now I shall simply go and be on my merry way until....whatever time comes that I have something further to say.
May all your dreams come true.
Mary
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
My mom
is 82, and counting now, and something slightly disturbing happened last night.
Mom is nearly blind, is unable to care for herself, doesn't watch TV. Essentially, she is isolated in a small, growing smaller, world.
She used to be on top of debates and news, and used to read newspapers and was well aware of the world at large, at once capable of arguing local news stories and larger stories with most anyone. She has always been a bit of a woman's libber, and an inspiration to me as I was growing up. It's always been a part of me to be a strong Boston liberal because of her.
Last night, I found out that she didn't know who the president was.
How do you explain to someone all the events of the last 2+ years in a few minutes over the phone? You can't.
I told her about Obama as much as I could. I mentioned Joe Biden as VP, and I tried to explain about John McCain, and him she knew about. I mentioned Sarah Palin in as brief a fashion as I could. But two, three years? I will just have to wing it.
Does anyone else have to deal with someone so isolated? It's a difficult world out there, and we need to find ways to cope with the daily dealings, trying to keep from falling into the abyss. And knowing that some people are ignorant, not because they want to be, but because that's just how it is for them, is just a fact that we can't change.
It doesn't mean a whole lot in the real world. These people are not among the likely population that vote, debate or participate in the democratic sphere. They have limitations that makes life in general more difficult. They are among the voters who are often touted as the "non-voters" on election day--the ones who are assumed to not give a crap and just won't "show up" for voting. No one takes into account that they can't show up--they aren't capable of showing up.
We would all like to see everyone vote and take part in the process. But if we realize that some people just can't, we won't rely on their vote--if they do, it's a bonus.
Just think of all the people who are in situations where they can no longer perform their civic duty. We can't force them to vote. And even if we "help" them vote, what good is a vote when there is no thinking involved in it? We've seen people vote for something on a strictly visceral level--we are reminded of all the voters who went for Bush in 2000 because he was "just like" them--the one that they felt they could "share a drink" with them and be a "regular" guy. Telling people how they should vote is not a good way to earn a democratic win--it's a cheat. And yeah, it happens. And we've seen how it works in action, and it's unfair--completely unfair. But I'd rather see a loss honestly than a win undeserved.
My mom should now know who Barack Obama is. While she forgets things easily, I mentioned his name often enough to perhaps stick with her. When I vote, I keep her in mind when I decide who I want to represent the both of us. Even if she isn't voting, I am, and while my vote isn't two votes, I do try to make it count for more than myself.
Mom is nearly blind, is unable to care for herself, doesn't watch TV. Essentially, she is isolated in a small, growing smaller, world.
She used to be on top of debates and news, and used to read newspapers and was well aware of the world at large, at once capable of arguing local news stories and larger stories with most anyone. She has always been a bit of a woman's libber, and an inspiration to me as I was growing up. It's always been a part of me to be a strong Boston liberal because of her.
Last night, I found out that she didn't know who the president was.
How do you explain to someone all the events of the last 2+ years in a few minutes over the phone? You can't.
I told her about Obama as much as I could. I mentioned Joe Biden as VP, and I tried to explain about John McCain, and him she knew about. I mentioned Sarah Palin in as brief a fashion as I could. But two, three years? I will just have to wing it.
Does anyone else have to deal with someone so isolated? It's a difficult world out there, and we need to find ways to cope with the daily dealings, trying to keep from falling into the abyss. And knowing that some people are ignorant, not because they want to be, but because that's just how it is for them, is just a fact that we can't change.
It doesn't mean a whole lot in the real world. These people are not among the likely population that vote, debate or participate in the democratic sphere. They have limitations that makes life in general more difficult. They are among the voters who are often touted as the "non-voters" on election day--the ones who are assumed to not give a crap and just won't "show up" for voting. No one takes into account that they can't show up--they aren't capable of showing up.
We would all like to see everyone vote and take part in the process. But if we realize that some people just can't, we won't rely on their vote--if they do, it's a bonus.
Just think of all the people who are in situations where they can no longer perform their civic duty. We can't force them to vote. And even if we "help" them vote, what good is a vote when there is no thinking involved in it? We've seen people vote for something on a strictly visceral level--we are reminded of all the voters who went for Bush in 2000 because he was "just like" them--the one that they felt they could "share a drink" with them and be a "regular" guy. Telling people how they should vote is not a good way to earn a democratic win--it's a cheat. And yeah, it happens. And we've seen how it works in action, and it's unfair--completely unfair. But I'd rather see a loss honestly than a win undeserved.
My mom should now know who Barack Obama is. While she forgets things easily, I mentioned his name often enough to perhaps stick with her. When I vote, I keep her in mind when I decide who I want to represent the both of us. Even if she isn't voting, I am, and while my vote isn't two votes, I do try to make it count for more than myself.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Alcoholism
A question: why are so many alcoholics so goddamned selfish? It's always about "me, me, me," and no one else. They act like martyrs when they're the ones who are acting like assholes, and if you don't immediately give in to their demands, too fucking bad...for you.
And even when you discount all of that emotional baggage, they track on a different one--the one where they act out like children because they never learned how to grow up and take on responsibility. Their level of maturity is about equal to the proof of their favorite libation.
I have reached the end of my tolerance level when it comes to these crybabies. And I wish I knew how to change things to make everything better, but that's just my inner child trying to smack me upside the head and know that, for the most part, the only solution is to get rid of them from your life. Wish I could.
And even when you discount all of that emotional baggage, they track on a different one--the one where they act out like children because they never learned how to grow up and take on responsibility. Their level of maturity is about equal to the proof of their favorite libation.
I have reached the end of my tolerance level when it comes to these crybabies. And I wish I knew how to change things to make everything better, but that's just my inner child trying to smack me upside the head and know that, for the most part, the only solution is to get rid of them from your life. Wish I could.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
A 12 hour period spent in hell (Or, Why I Feel Like Crap After a Sleep Study)
Ugh. I'm lucky I'm here today, as Tuesday night, I spent about 12 hours in hell, part of a "sleep study." It's definitely not something I'd be happy about doing again. According to the tech, I "met the criteria" for using a CPAP machine, but I don't think the test is an objective tool at all--not with all the crappy wires, leads, straps or anything else they put on you, or even as they try to make the atmosphere more acceptable, it's not very inviting. I ended up sleeping on my back which was quite uncomfortable, and that alone is a result of the extra 20 lbs they pile on you with equipment. Tell me how you're supposed to turn on your side with all that stuff?
As it's already 4 am, and as I am still awake and working online (though I am finally getting a bit more drowsy), it's difficult for me to think that falling asleep around 11:30 at night is natural to me. I night have an episode or two of early sleep, but 95% of the time, I don't sleep that early at all. It's only when people challenge the status quo that we have a more rounded world--when I worked many moons ago as a nurse's aide, I worked graveyard shift, and staying up all night was my usual routine. Some people are just born with the propensity to tolerate different sleep patterns.
In the mean time, I will continue to protest the tests and the unfunny and claustrophobic face mask until I get some greater idea of why I should tolerate it all longer.
As it's already 4 am, and as I am still awake and working online (though I am finally getting a bit more drowsy), it's difficult for me to think that falling asleep around 11:30 at night is natural to me. I night have an episode or two of early sleep, but 95% of the time, I don't sleep that early at all. It's only when people challenge the status quo that we have a more rounded world--when I worked many moons ago as a nurse's aide, I worked graveyard shift, and staying up all night was my usual routine. Some people are just born with the propensity to tolerate different sleep patterns.
In the mean time, I will continue to protest the tests and the unfunny and claustrophobic face mask until I get some greater idea of why I should tolerate it all longer.
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