Tonight...I saw Star Wars Episode III.
Yeah yeah, make fun of me for posting about Star Wars if you will. But I thought it was pretty awesome. And there are a whole lot of points that I took out of it:
-this episode has the best light sabre battle ever seen
-you can be the best warriors in the galaxy, but if you don't know who the enemy is you're toast
-whenever the bad guys take over, it starts to rain
-the Force is strong in a very multicultural bunch of people
-even when she's pregnant and dead, Natalie Portman can still be pretty hot
So those are the minor points. But since Star Wars is all about the Force and the Dark Side, the main point to be taken is:
-Love, not anger, leads to the Dark Side
Now how the hell did I come up with that? Simple. Mr Skywalker there turned to the Dark Side because he loved his wife so much and wanted her to survive. And then she loved him so much that she went after him, and died because of it. So now we have a pissed off Darth Vader, a dead Padme, a destroyed race of heros and a Republic in ruins. All because of love. Maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be. If Anakin didn't love Padme so much, the Jedi would still be alive, she would probably still be alive, the evil Empire never would have been created, and the Chancellor/Emperor would have been taken down. Damn you, love, why must you lead to the Dark Side?!
If he would have just been committed to his job like a good civil servant, instead of to his wife, the galaxy would have been a better place...I think I will try to live my life in the way that would have saved the galaxy. I will dedicate myself 100% to my worthy and noble cause, and leave love to others.
One more thing...I hope one day to have half the cajones of a particular little green dude.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Intelligencism
Is intelligencism even a word? Not really. A colloquialism, perhaps.
Anyway, this is brought about by a particular individual that I interact with everyday in my french class. In addition to the fact that he slurps his coffee loudly throughout class time and pretends to know everything about exercise, he also thinks that the French language is stupid. He says so everyday, and is not hesitant to tell anyone that he should be allowed to "clean up" the language. It really makes him angry, and since we began he has clearly lost any initial interest in learning. This view is clearly ignorant, and probably would not be well received by the over 100 million people who use the language regularly. It could also be considered to be ethnocentric. So where does this intelligencism thing come in?
I can't stand this guy. I tell myself it's justified because he is arrogant and ignorant. But if he shouldn't be able to call French stupid, can I ever be justified in calling him stupid? Does he have a choice? Was he born with the brains that he has today, and are they too limited to allow him to see other viewpoints? Or is there something about it that he sees that I don't? Was he raised this way, and so does not have a choice? Am I supposed to be sorry for him for not having an open mind? Should I respect this opinion as any other? Is it right for me to dislike him because of his opinions, when I don't think it's right for him to dislike french? Is my way open-minded, or fence-sitting?
Obviously this is a "slippery slope" argument that could eventually end up at issues such as whether or not humans have free choice and nature versus nurture. So I will jump immediately to my (and therefore, on this soapbox, the most important) conclusion.
I think I am justified in condemning this opinion. Maybe I'm just lucky because I have been given an open mind and a decent serving of intelligence. Or maybe it is because I have always been taught and worked to understand both sides of an argument. Perhaps because I have limited experience in the world I don't have as many opinions ingrained in me. Or maybe it is because I grew up in a bubble of a suburb that I have a more difficult time seeing the folly of the way other people do things. No matter. Have your opinions, of course. But if they are ignorant of others...then I'm probably not going to like you.
"Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth, or the only truth."
--Charles A. Dana
Anyway, this is brought about by a particular individual that I interact with everyday in my french class. In addition to the fact that he slurps his coffee loudly throughout class time and pretends to know everything about exercise, he also thinks that the French language is stupid. He says so everyday, and is not hesitant to tell anyone that he should be allowed to "clean up" the language. It really makes him angry, and since we began he has clearly lost any initial interest in learning. This view is clearly ignorant, and probably would not be well received by the over 100 million people who use the language regularly. It could also be considered to be ethnocentric. So where does this intelligencism thing come in?
I can't stand this guy. I tell myself it's justified because he is arrogant and ignorant. But if he shouldn't be able to call French stupid, can I ever be justified in calling him stupid? Does he have a choice? Was he born with the brains that he has today, and are they too limited to allow him to see other viewpoints? Or is there something about it that he sees that I don't? Was he raised this way, and so does not have a choice? Am I supposed to be sorry for him for not having an open mind? Should I respect this opinion as any other? Is it right for me to dislike him because of his opinions, when I don't think it's right for him to dislike french? Is my way open-minded, or fence-sitting?
Obviously this is a "slippery slope" argument that could eventually end up at issues such as whether or not humans have free choice and nature versus nurture. So I will jump immediately to my (and therefore, on this soapbox, the most important) conclusion.
I think I am justified in condemning this opinion. Maybe I'm just lucky because I have been given an open mind and a decent serving of intelligence. Or maybe it is because I have always been taught and worked to understand both sides of an argument. Perhaps because I have limited experience in the world I don't have as many opinions ingrained in me. Or maybe it is because I grew up in a bubble of a suburb that I have a more difficult time seeing the folly of the way other people do things. No matter. Have your opinions, of course. But if they are ignorant of others...then I'm probably not going to like you.
"Fight for your opinions, but do not believe that they contain the whole truth, or the only truth."
--Charles A. Dana
Monday, June 27, 2005
Is that bad?
I haven't been the most upbeat person lately.
I broke up with my girlfriend. I am stuck in a little hole of a "house" that is regularly over 30 degrees. I learn French everyday. So I'm sure you don't blame me.
So last weekend was approaching, and I was trying to think of what could possibly raise my spirits. As luck would have it, a friend (named Strak) had rented out a cabin he claimed was nearby, but other friends had sold him out so now he was stuck with it. He was paying either way, so did I want to come? "What? You mean you're only asking me because your real friends ditched you? I'm IN!"
So off we go on Friday evening, dudes' weekend out with 3 of us. He told me this lake was a couple hours away. Turns out couple = 4. But we have all the food and snacks we could ask for, as well as some good tunes, so nobody's in a big rush. We get there close to midnight, and where do we head? Directly for the hot tub. Nothing like 3 men in a tub. But to make it bearable we brought a bit of beer. How much is a bit, you ask. 108, to be exact. Two 24's and two 30's. For 3 average sized human beings. For 2 days. So...we drank.
We managed to get quite a few of them downrange that night, largely because we stayed up until 5 am. The most interesting event, however, happened at just after 1. Strak's best friend and his wife rolled in around that time, passing through the area heading for a wedding the next day. So they hop in and start hitting their own beer stocks. Next thing you know, new best-friend guy is spitting off the balcony. Unfortunately, Strak's brand new car was there. So he told best-friend guy to stop. In response, friend spit again. Strak told him to stop or he would get him back. He spit one more time. Strak gave him a nice slow 10 second countdown before he would definitely get him back. Friend-guy was calling bluff. So Strak walked down to where the cars were, stood up on the hood of the guy's wife's car, and took a leak all over the windshield. Rather over the line, but hilarious nonetheless. Strak returns up to the balcony and tries to go inside. Wife goes CRAZY and is screaming and telling him he is never welcome at their house again. New-guy is feeling pretty damn stupid for not cleaning the car, since now he has two cars to clean. He does so after wife stomps inside and goes to a room, and they leave before I get up in the morning. Sweet.
Next day we went fishing. I just sat in the boat and drove us around while getting a sunburn. That night we ate more food than I have eaten in months, sat in the hot tub again until the wee hours of the morning, but only managed to finish 90 of the beer. Yes, a sad day, but a proud accomplishment nonetheless.
So if you're feeling down like me, I recommend a dudes' weekend at the lake. Nothing beats it, and since you swear off of beer and chips afterwards it can even save you a lot of money.
Until next time.
I broke up with my girlfriend. I am stuck in a little hole of a "house" that is regularly over 30 degrees. I learn French everyday. So I'm sure you don't blame me.
So last weekend was approaching, and I was trying to think of what could possibly raise my spirits. As luck would have it, a friend (named Strak) had rented out a cabin he claimed was nearby, but other friends had sold him out so now he was stuck with it. He was paying either way, so did I want to come? "What? You mean you're only asking me because your real friends ditched you? I'm IN!"
So off we go on Friday evening, dudes' weekend out with 3 of us. He told me this lake was a couple hours away. Turns out couple = 4. But we have all the food and snacks we could ask for, as well as some good tunes, so nobody's in a big rush. We get there close to midnight, and where do we head? Directly for the hot tub. Nothing like 3 men in a tub. But to make it bearable we brought a bit of beer. How much is a bit, you ask. 108, to be exact. Two 24's and two 30's. For 3 average sized human beings. For 2 days. So...we drank.
We managed to get quite a few of them downrange that night, largely because we stayed up until 5 am. The most interesting event, however, happened at just after 1. Strak's best friend and his wife rolled in around that time, passing through the area heading for a wedding the next day. So they hop in and start hitting their own beer stocks. Next thing you know, new best-friend guy is spitting off the balcony. Unfortunately, Strak's brand new car was there. So he told best-friend guy to stop. In response, friend spit again. Strak told him to stop or he would get him back. He spit one more time. Strak gave him a nice slow 10 second countdown before he would definitely get him back. Friend-guy was calling bluff. So Strak walked down to where the cars were, stood up on the hood of the guy's wife's car, and took a leak all over the windshield. Rather over the line, but hilarious nonetheless. Strak returns up to the balcony and tries to go inside. Wife goes CRAZY and is screaming and telling him he is never welcome at their house again. New-guy is feeling pretty damn stupid for not cleaning the car, since now he has two cars to clean. He does so after wife stomps inside and goes to a room, and they leave before I get up in the morning. Sweet.
Next day we went fishing. I just sat in the boat and drove us around while getting a sunburn. That night we ate more food than I have eaten in months, sat in the hot tub again until the wee hours of the morning, but only managed to finish 90 of the beer. Yes, a sad day, but a proud accomplishment nonetheless.
So if you're feeling down like me, I recommend a dudes' weekend at the lake. Nothing beats it, and since you swear off of beer and chips afterwards it can even save you a lot of money.Until next time.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Be gentle
It's my first time. All the kids are doing it, so I thought I would give it a try. And seeing as I have nobody to pretend to be interested in my stories and complaints anymore, I can fire them up on the internet and pretend everyone is reading them. Sounds like a win/lose deal to me. I win, you lose. See you soon with a real post.
Matt
Matt
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