Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Internet isn't here for your Problems

Usually I pick topics to write about that have nothing to do with anything of importance. Today is no exception to that rule, however, unlike on usual days in which I would write about some random article I found or some pathetic conversation I overheard, todays topic is about something more directly related to me. I say to me, but in truth, you all know someone who does just this. So, in a way, I suppose this blog is directly related to all of us.

We all have that friend who lives their life as if it's an emotional roller coaster. They fuck, they drink, they yell, they bitch, they complain, they cry (excessively), and they talk a lot of shit. In the end, they are usually the most fragile people on the face of the planet, acting tough to seem big when in truth they are so soft that one wrong word leads them to cry their eyes out in the confines of their bedroom. Really, if you think about it, it's sort of sad. But then, these types of people always bring what I'm about to say on themselves.

They have this obsession with letting everyone else know when they are pissed. They do it constantly, when they are in person they yell and pick fights, when they have friends around they talk shit behind peoples backs, and when no one is there to listen, they do the most pathetic thing of all and post their constant status on the internet. From away messages, to face book status changes, they are constantly updating their emotions, be it: "Pissed off" or "Hating you so much right now for what you did", they for some reason believe that the rest of the world cares even the slightest about their issues.

In truth, if they would just stop bitching for five minutes, maybe people would start caring. The reality of the situation is that even their closest friends end up rejecting their calls just to avoid another conversation about how their lives aren't perfect and why so-and-so did something that pissed them off.

If you are one of these people, or know one of these people, do the world a favour. Tell them to stop being who they are. The Internet is not a place for your problems, and more importantly, no one cares about them anyway.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Upcoming Electainment

I find it hard to believe that the current generation of educated individuals hold the electoral process in high regard. It seems that, with all the media attention, that it has far surpassed the point of legitimate politics. What with televised coverage of every action the candidates make and recorded evidence of every word they speak, it has become more of a reality TV show than a campaign trail.

This election in particular has really brought this to the surface. It just feels like I am watching low-quality entertainment. The sad thing is, this is real life. This isn't reality tv where people throw chairs and get drunk and have jobs pretending to be actors while living a house or trying to find out if their ex is cheating on them by going to a scripted hotel. This is real life. This is an election.

But just look at what is happening here. It's the most fantastic and dramatic circle of back stabbing, betrayal, and ignorance the world has ever seen! Let me break down the candidates for you how I see them:

President:

Obama: Is he black? Is he Muslim? Does he even like America? Who knows, and quite frankly, who cares! He's different, he's quiet, he seems to know a lot about something, though for the life of me I can't figure out what it is. But hey, he's nice, and that's what counts, especially in a world where everyone is trying to kill one-another.

McCain: A man so old that the silver in his fillings was brewed in the earth shortly after he was conceived. He is running for president with the one slogan that could ruin any man: "I support Bush". What with Bush's political support ratings currently less than Nixon's during his impeachment proceedings, it makes you wonder why a man would sell his career down the drain before it even begins.

Vice-President:

Hillary: A guaranteed victor in this role of "second-best", Hillary is known for her amazing ability to manipulate the world with her mind controlling abilities. It is believed that if you stare directly into her eyes, she will steal your soul from your body, and make you her mindless slave. She is the only one with any real intelligence, playing the cards to her total advantage. She has realized that, with Obama being the most likely President to be assassinated in the history of the United States, and McCain being almost 7,000 years old, she sees the opportunity to be President without even needing to put forth any effort.

I'm sorry, but it's completely undeniable that this election is purely for the entertainment of the viewers. It goes from comedy, to drama, to romance, to... anything before you even have time to judge it.

So welcome, to Electainment TV!

No Gun Laws

Today in Psychology of Health, we were separated into groups to discuss the different forms of stimuli involved in particular scenarios. So, as people do when they are placed into groups, we began talking about something completely off topic. Today I was fortunate enough to be paired with my friend Kate, who I have known for a good five years at this point, and some random person guy who was once a member of the Army. He was a grunt, and like almost every service man who signs his soul away, he came back from war hating his country, his government, and everything he once believed he stood for.

I want to make a side note here: I have in recent months made friends with a great many former servicemen. There seems to be an epidemic in the making here on a psychological level for many of our soldiers. It seems that a Vietnam-like response is happening with the war on terror. Everyone knows that when soldiers came back from Vietnam, the public ridiculed them and made their lives hell. Now it seems that instead of the public beating up the soldiers, the soldiers do it to themselves. I don't know a single grunt,or officer come to think of it(of which I will admit that I only know two), who has come back from Iraq and not hated everything about himself.

Odd really.

Back to the point, though. This guy in front of me started talking about how much he hated America. I'm fine with that, because honestly, I hate this place too. Apparently, we hated it for different reasons. I'm a big fan of taking matters into my own hands. I don't trust anyone, nor do I enjoy putting faith in others. It makes me uncomfortable. This goes for everyone; friends, family, police, etc. Well, this guy started telling me how America was all screwed up because of the fact that anyone can carry a gun.

I'm sorry, but that is one of America's saving graces. The guy started telling me how much safer Europe was than the states. I couldn't help but laugh at his misfortune. He was arguing with me, an Englishman with a great deal of personal experience with English life, about how England is safer than America. Let me explain just how wrong he was:

America grants citizens the right to carry a weapon. Granted, it runs the risk of putting registered firearms into the hands of bad people. It also gives good people the chance to carry exactly the same firepower as their enemies. Let's face it, police officers aren't always there. In fact, issues involving civilians quarrels aren't even high on their list of priorities. If someone were to pull out a gun and threaten to kill me, I would like to have the same luxury of drawing a weapon on him. Fighting fire with fire can be extremely useful at times.

England, however, doesn't have that luxury. In the UK, if you want to get a gun, you can. It's illegal, and you have to go through some shady ass people, but it's possible to do. This limits the possession of firearms to bad people. Cops don't even carry guns in the UK. It's considered "unsafe". Think about that for a minute. If a guy draws a gun on you in England, your options are as follows: give him everything you own and beg for you life, or try to punch him- hard- hard enough that he'll go down in one hit, or you're dead.

I'm sorry, but gun control is a terrible idea. Bad people will always find a way to get weapons. I would like a fighting chance if I find myself being held at gunpoint. But hey, that's just me.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

ESP or Evolution?

I was reading my Philosophy of Learning book when I came across this little tidbit of information. Apparently, it has been examined and studied, rather closely, that "more people believe in ESP, a collection of phenomena that science has not been able to verify, than believe in evolution, a theory that has received enormous scientific support." (Lefrancois 13)

Don't get me wrong, I've always known that evolution has been argued by the blind. I mean, it's hard for the ignorant to understand science. Knowledge scares them. I think their reaction to education is similar to the reaction of cavemen to fire. It's scary, it's dangerous, and quite frankly, it hurts them. For even an ignorant idiot to stand up and say "I'm telling you, my sister can read my mind, one time she passed me a bag of chips when I hadn't even asked for them. But that there fossil aint no proof of nothing! I don't care if there's clear and obvious connections to modern day mammals, that there rat is clearly just a retarded rat!

But hey, now that I've clearly stated my opinion, what do you think? Do you believe in evolution? Do you believe the Earth is the third planet from the sun? Do you believe in gravity? Do you believe in ESP? If your answers were anything other than yes, yes, yes, no, then I propose this question for you to sit down and think about: What is wrong with you?

Works Cited:

Lefrancois, Guy. Theories of Human Learning: What the Old Woman Said. 5th ed. Thomas Wadsworth, Belmont CA 2006.