Marking Life

You see . . . . . The wall . . . . . The door
thedoorcomescrashingdownoutoftheblue!
In*comes*your D R E A M L I F E
Suprised/scared/excited, you smile :-)
---- IT SLAPS YOU IN THE FACE--

Silence

Replacing "A" For The

After finishing A Simple Soul by Gustave Flaubert, I couldn't get one part out of my mind. I don't know why, but I always remember the beginning very well. “Her face was thin and her voice shrill. When she was twenty-five, she looked forty. After she had passed fifty, nobody could tell her age; erect and silent always, she resembled a wooden figure working automatically.” He paints quite a picture doesn’t he?
I imagine a rotting woman, much like I imagine an extremely old and senile person. The half- alive or half-dead (depends on how optimistic you consider yourself to be). In other words this woman was dying, or at least her soul was dying. This reminds me of a birthday card I once bought:

Unfortunately, our society doesn’t agree; otherwise, there wouldn’t exist botox. We too cannot tell someone’s age past fifty because of this botox.

Anyways, Felicity’s soul is dying faster than she is. This reflects her unhappiness. Flaubert portraying her face as thin and her voice shrill reconfirms that her emotional health reflects in her unhealthy apperance. His description of her being a “wooden figure working automatically” shows that she leads a simple life: One monotonous and unexciting. She has nothing to look forward to, no fun memories to look back on. She’s somewhat of a blah point in time. Worthless, insignificant, simple.

THE Simple Soul.

The Immortality Of Words

As I read The Sentence Is a Lonely Place, I saw that Lutz's meticulous and somewhat irrational eye for detail pointed to things inside the book. “Instead, I liked how anything small (a pretzel crumb, perhaps) that fell into the gutter of the book—that troughlike place where facing pages meet—stayed in there and was preserved.” This reminded me of the many things I have found in books: crumbs, stains, highlights, hair(gross), plastic wrappings, tearing, bookmarks and notes along with some poetry. These are just simple reminders that someone else read (or at least had) the book before you. You don’t know what conditions they were in or why they read/had it but you can have the absolute certainty that they existed.
I guess that’s the purpose of time capsules. I think. You put stuff in, wait a few years and re-open it to find what you may have left behind, how you improved or to remind you of a time in your life. You see, next to the bookstore there’s a time capsule that’s supposed to open in 2013; however, I’m certain that the people who put whatever is in there aren’t in school anymore. Whatever they left is their legacy for someone else to find.
This brings me back to the point I made earlier about the books and how other readers existed. But what Lutz failed to reveal, is that the book as a whole is a legacy. That not only the load of physical crap that may be hidden inside but the words, the chapters, the meaning of the book are what are left behind on purpose. The message that matters. Word’s are everybody’s legacy, regardless if you don’t mean what you write, it’s out there and as long as it’s physically written or read by someone, it will remain out there. Words don’t die or deteriorate they get the message through and evoke feelings or thoughts. I guess they’re the smallest possible time capsule. Now you’re thinking that journals, or diaries, or logs may do the same but here’s where you’re wrong without each letter there is no sentence, therefore, no meaning. Now you have to apply all your learning’s from Lutz’s piece: pay attention to detail but not too much as to where it can’t flow. See the whole and appreciate its details.

The Subtleties To Your Carpe Diem

Yet again we start a new book. I was surprised as I saw: Seize The Day by Saul Bellows the new title. At first I thought of something very positive and optimistic, but then I remembered that in this class, as in life you can't assume something at first glance which directly links to the common saying: don't judge a book by its cover. In order to get it, I have to read it.

As I read this optimistic-looking book I got to thinking what Seize The Day implies. I guess it means live your life to the fullest. How do you live your life to the fullest. Is it just one day? A Moment? A chance? I left these and other uncertainties in the back of my mind and focused on the chapter.

As I read chapter one, I noticed that Bellows describes very thoroughly what the situation is. He paints a mental picture with just the right amount of information. As he - almost meticulously - portrays what’s going on, he shows us how the day is happening and why each thing is important by giving value to any and all details to Wilhem's day. He is showing us how these details are a part of his life and in the end to enjoy them.

This topic is no stranger to us as a society (as seen in many motion pictures such as the bucket list). As a matter of fact, it's linked back to a latin poem by Hoarce which dictates to enjoy or make use of your life (carpe diem) but is loosely translated as seize the day. Some seem to think that this means to be ready for the unexpected. Others think it's to expect nothing at all. Regardless of the many ways to look at it, we never seem to get it. Maybe it's what each of us thinks.

According to wikipedia, the whole phrase is, 'Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future." ' The only way that I can possibly think of living completely in the present is every second, the details as shown by Bellows. In the end he is showing us how so seize the day by his way of writing.

It Doesn't Really Matter

As humans, it's common to constantly ask ourselves: Who am I?
Are you yourself? Or are you who others think you should be? This means that either you follow the main stream; therefore, people are ultimately questioning the strength of your character.
Most people consider pop culture to set a trend and expect people to follow it. But for simplicity's sake, I'm going to separate it into two big groups.
Of course one is what most people think it is. A powerful arrangement in which hierarchy is set by social interaction which of course has a certain impact on who you become. In order to stay in a certain spot you have to "stick to the status quo" as sang in the major motion picture, High School Musical. (By the way, Disney is a major promoter of this side of pop culture.)
The other big part is when pop culture tells us to "be yourself." But in order to prove that you are in fact doing things for yourself and not for others, you stop yourself from doing what the others do. Ironically, this one gets more promoted than the other by this creating the significant difference between the two: advertising. As a matter of fact, just today I heard a lot of advertizing but only a couple stuck in my head. An Absolut Vodka campaign and Oscar Wilde’s maxim: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that by trying not to be part of the crowd, you become part of another crowd that doesn’t want to be part of the crowd. There is no way to prove that you are you for yourself because you could easily be what we think is a bubblegum/cookie cutter person as much as you could also have an 100% out-of-the-box personality.

A Whole New Way Of Viewing Bumper Stickers

Sometimes you just have to look at someone else's work to justify your conclusions. Of course, this happened to me. You see, irony is a hugely important part of my life and I love how mocking people (whether it be their lifestyle, physical appearance etc.) has become part of our every-day life. As I read through Alejandra’s blog and skimmed through Mariana’s, I underwent anagnorisis. I had en epiphany.
We make fun of so many things, that in the end we take irony in all its magnificence for granted. It’s not even funny. Any type of drama/ soap-opera uses satire. As a matter of fact almost all hit TV shows display an amplification of a stereotype. (Again pointing us towards satire) And what is irony if not the essence of current comedy.
Maybe that’s why we are so hard to please. If we have an overly-exaggerated perception of how people act, in the actual circumstances we find it sort of bland.
While I narrate this in my head, I go con facebook to find a satirical bumpersticker hoping to find a really clever one. To tell you the truth, as soon as I opened the bumpersicker page, I let out a chuckle. I guess it wasn’t that hard.

See what I mean? Think about it: is what "laugh out loud" about still really that funny?

Focus

So, today I was in class. We had to draw blood on a poster. I like the smell of markers in the afternoon. I had never noticed that rain has little droplets around the big brop. Like baby drops hovering around the warrior drop that attacks the people below. I don't think I could ever go to war. Why do people lie? I know why never mind. But why do they want to get away with the easy way? Losers. Someday I want to go to a mental institution (not because I need it). I was watching the "dirty little secret" music video and saw a secret that got me thinking. Something like:

I thought I had one at some point. Just kidding. That would suck. "I have CDO, it's the same thing as OCD but the letters are in alphabetical order"- Facebook Bumpersticker.

Are you spposed to quote a bumper sticker? Say what you mean and mean what you say you cowards! People become hypocrites over time. *cough cough* (Thomas Jefferson... I thought you were against slavery...200 salves? what's up with that?)

Pick a side or pick your nose. Why are madhouses called "Looney Bin"? Were Looney Toons created in a bin? These and more unanswered questions later on folks! Can you in fact slam a revolving door? Try it. Invent a new word. Use them wisely. Bipolar- Polar Bears? Did you know that on average a four year old askes 427 per day?

How do you spell ritalin?

ADD Or Substances?

So you're reading different books and they have to be somehow related. It turns out that so far I have read: Candide, A Clockwork Orange, A selfish gene, Slaughterhouse-Five, Dante's Inferno and I am now reading The Crying Of Lot 49. For now the main connection I find is that they all happen to have a twist at some point.

Slaughterhouse-Five and The Crying Of Lot 49 jump all over the place so you have to be really sure you understand what's happening. To be honest, at first as I read this new book I thought the female narrator had ADD. Today in class Mr. Tangen insinuated that she was high. DUH! It's the 60's (hippies wink wink nudge nudge), OF COURSE SHE'S HIGH! I guess I was wrong.
I wish I had ADD for a day and I could record all that I did. That way I could use all this potential creative material of my lack of attention.

*ADD= Attention Deficit Disorder

Value

Dog Doesn't Want To Risk His Survival At The Cost Of The Other Dog

Throughout my whole I life I have been told that I need to give the best of me in order to succeed. But why the best of me? Isn't just the normal amount of energy enough? NO.
Why you ask? Because all living things are naturally competitive but mostly with their kind because they need the same tools and resources such as mates, living space, and food to survive. Our current key to survival is money. That's why everybody wants to be the best in what they do. Because of this uring for money, we have created corruption and distrust.

Ok so that's it for us, but as animals,why don't we simply kill each other? According to The Selfish Gene it's because it wastes too much energy and time to kill one of your own. But wait, weren’t we talking about the selfish here?

Yes, we do it so the species won’t be weak in front of others so the species gene can survive.
So I guess it’s not dog eat dog after all.

Rant.

In chapter 4, Richard Dawkins introduces us with anthropology (the study of the origin or human behavior). This study was started with the simple question of: Why do we do what we do? According to Dawkins, our lives revolve around survival. I guess he’s right. We do things according to our memories. What we remember of each determined situation. Does this finally go to your subconscious and become unconscious actions? He then compares this to the programming of a computer and how it’s still limited.
Our society is now revolving around technology, which suggests it’s a big part of our life. How computers are taking place f what used to be.

Build-A-Baby

As I sat in the gym reading chapter three of The Selfish Gene, I couldn't help but think about my children. How will they look? I hope they have my eyes but lighter. Oh! and they should be really pretty. If it's a boy I want him to be ripped by the time he's 16..... I want him to be happy. If she's a girl I don't want her to be fat.... I want her to be happy. Of course all of this isn't up to me. It's up to this so-called "Selfish Gene". I guess I now understand son-to-be parents when they say that all they want is for it to be a healthy baby. (Of course they also mean that it’s product of their love but whatever…)

We all know that we inherit certain things from our parents. This whole heredity process is described from pages 27 to 32. Right away this reminded me of something I’d heard about manipulating genetics. Everything from eye color, type and color of hair, to height in embryos. In the process of looking for said (ABC) article, I came across a (CBS) article about ultimately choosing the sex of your baby. Think about it, if you had the choice of how your baby would turn out, would you?

This immediately makes me think of Build-A-Bear. I know, how can I possibly compare a stuffed animal with a baby? Well, let’s see: you would be choosing their physical appearance, their name, and their clothes which will eventually lead to the building of their character. At the end of the day, you’re building something. It takes all the randomness and surprise out of it. An inorganic person. It’s simply immoral!

Of course choosing your child has its advantages. For one, you can assure it will be healthy. I understand that some new parents that now have a child with a deformity or born with a disease, would’ve loved this opportunity but if we all chose our children, all diversity would be terminated.

The value of beauty changes with time therefore we would make babies that are beautiful to us at the time so in the future we would end up with ugly robots.
If you are interested in making a kid like you want, please make kids online!

Choice vs. Will

If you haven't noticed by now, I hate when people aren't coherent and I love to find people contradicting themselves. In other words, saying something stupid. You might be thinking: So what is the difference? To me, when people aren't coherent they say something and do something different. To contradict is to take it one step further, you do or say the exact opposite. For example, when people use their words erroneously. (I know I probably do the same in fact, everyone does.)
Something that I’m very aware of almost all the time is how people limit themselves. “I can’t” and “I’m not allowed” mean very different things. When you are given an order, you feel limited. Think about it… can you do it? Whether you should do it is a different matter. A perfect example of this is when you’re young and you need to go to the bathroom or something and ask, “Can I go to the bathroom?” and your teacher responds “I don’t know, can you?” I’m sure you probably hated when people did this to you but I’m afraid to tell you that they’re right.
We see this in Candide in pg. 24 when Candide “took into his head to decamp and walked straight off, thinking it a privilege common to man and beast to use his legs when he wanted.” Literally speaking, he could walk off whenever he wanted. As a matter of fact anyone could. Most don’t because they clearly shouldn’t because they will face terrible repercussions like Candide who then got whipped.
According to definitions, most people are using words incorrectly. You don’t do stuff not because you can’t, but because youdon’t want to face the consequences. So the next time a person calls you out on your speaking habits remember : They are encouraging you to use your words properly. (Anyway,all of the cool kids are doing it!)

Dude, Seriously?!

I find it funny how people contradict themselves and what they (supposedly) support. How hypocrites listen to songs and support what they state, all of a sudden don't care anymore than the people who they criticize. You see, a lot of people are obsessed with the environmental problem and how the world will end. Because we are so used to thinking about ourselves we assume that when we die the world has to die with us. I wish I could shake them down and yell, "snap out of it!" We have only been on the earth a couple billions of years when it had clearly been fine without us. As a matter of fact, it was better off without us cutting down its trees and killing its animals not because we need them but because we feel like it.
Now, on another note, I have always questioned why people feel the necessity to have a purpose in life. Today, I had an epiphany. If you keep yourself busy, you no longer focus on death. Death simply takes everything away from you; Your material things, your carnal relationships and sometimes all you stood for. We simply can’t wrap our minds around the idea that we are here just because. Life is an experience. That it flat out is what it is; No beating around the bush. People have to justify their life. That’s why until we discover what we want to do with our lives, we create god (or a divine authority). It takes away all skepticism of “why?”, “So, what now?” etc.
Here goes the part that makes me chuckle: if extremely religious people have a god, then why are most focused on “the end”? Why do they have to do something about it? Can’t they just ask God to help? If he did in fact make of the world what he wanted, why make it flawed? And for the other people, the ones focused on global warming: how do you plan to solve it? Every solution leads to another problem. Simply live your life because sooner or later it’s going to end. I mean, dude come on! Seriously, be coherent with what you say, how you act, and what you mean!

What's Wrong With This List?

To do:
- wake up
- jog
- shower/get dressed
- go to school/class
- in break study for my math exam
- help out in lunch-a-month and then run back to the next class
- afterschool go to soccer, leadership, english,s cience, go to audition for "Metamorphosis", study for my science test tomorrow, go to choir
- go home, eat and do homework
- call up my friend (who didn't go to school today) and see if she's feeling better.

How would Mr.Tangen put this? I thought. I guess something along the lines of:
“Now, there is a pattern, what is it?”
If you couldn’t answer this, you’re probably not that bright and will be in disbelief by the time you’re done reading . I’ll give you a hint: Epictetus uses it in his handbook. Still no clue? What happens when you try to say two words at the same time? They STICK together…. sort of.
At the beginning of the handbook, Epictetus tells us things clearly and concisely. Follow the steps and you will succeed in life.
Think about it, how is it possible that life is set by points?
You get it now? No? well It’s not possible. Life doesn’t stop every time you achieve something. That’s what Epictetus shows us in the way he wrote The Handbook.
As you carry on reading, the “tips” that would have clearly been separate sections mesh together.
I can’t make it any clearer. If you still don’t get it, don’t worry you’ll get it in a while. Meanwhile, why don’t you run for president?

Oh, That... Just Because

As far as I can tell, Epictetus states what seems to be the obvious that we have somehow managed to miss. Our everyday actions and how things don’t just happen, it’s how we act and react. According to My Ishmael, we (the takers) have decided that what we do is “human nature” and we can’t do anything about it. In other words, it’s not our fault. That we are incapable of acting any other way.

I’ve also heard people suggest everything bad is our fault and we as a society have to assume responsibility. The theory that we are born pure and are corrupted with time is not foreign to us. “ Just as a target is not set up to be missed, in the same way nothing bad by nature happens in the world.” (Section 25) As far as I understand, we aim for what we do in order to make sure that bad things happen. But why would we do such a thing? Why bring badness (you might even say evil)into our lives?

I have asked myself this question many times and I finally concluded that it’s easy; to create sympathy and to make things interesting. Imagine a life without fear. Adrenaline wouldn’t exist and there would be no urge to do things. It was made with a specific purpose, whether we know what that is, is a whole other question.

Temptation

"Which do you want more, money or a self-respecting and trustworthy friend?"(Handbook of Etpictetus section 24)This is a question that most wealthy people have to ask themselves. Which eventually leads to: Does he/she really want me for me, or for my money? Why wouldn’t someone want you for your money? As far as I know money has always been a strong variable to bend morals. Money is temptation. The everlasting curse of wanting what you can’t have. (Or at least shouldn’t have.)
I find it funny how some people say that temptation and longing what you can’t have is taught to us by society thereby corrupting our pure beings. I think it’s purely carnal. For example this test that was done to kinder gardeners.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWW1vpz1ybo They all contemplated the idea of going against what they were told. Challenging authority to get what they want.
Anyway, going back to the original statement. Epictetus implys the importance of friendship or a relationship. I find it interesting how he writes this section. Like a dialogue (between friends). I'm not sure if this is him using metafiction but it is surely no coincidence that he talks about frienship to us through a friendly dialogue.

P.S.

On a side-note I would like to add my conclusions thusfar. As far as I can tell (for now anyways) the Handbook of Epictetus talks about how to be in harmony with life, what you can do to make this happen, and to embrace what isn't up to you. This "peace and harmony" with life seems oddly fammiliar. Maybe something like the Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu which refers to balancing life and harmonizing.

Bailiff

Honestly, I would love to see a parent read and explain to his their very impressionable child. Why? Well, throughout the Handbook Epictetus questions our competence to judge. Or our judgments themselves. We have been taught very little about judgment and how to judge in a direct manner. (Off the top of my head) we have been told upfront not to judge a book by its cover. In other words, things aren’t always what they seem to be. Indirectly (as a life lesson) we have learned how to judge character by looking at someone. Don’t you just love how society contradicts itself? We’re told to know before we judge but then we judge people by appearance in order to judge their character.
To judge character you need to detail the person. Their body gestures, their speech and interaction with others. This just enforces stereotypes. When you make a decision about the person, you then classify them or connect them to some other person in your life. For a moment lets just say that this is terrible and it shouldn’t be done. In order to judge the person you have to get know them better. I’m going to extremes by saying that this might put your life in danger, but that’s what it is.
This lack of knowing how to judge is what has our society like it is. Unstable, greedy and broken up into pieces. I’m not suggesting that I know how to judge, but I’m proposing that we consider other ways to judge.

Crashing Conclusions

Today in class we were asked: "Do we have free will?"
After pondering for a while about what this really meant, I answered yes. I mean why not? We are to do what we like even if we are ordered to no one is making us do anything. For example today in ethics I was told I couldn’t say something. I replied, “I can say it, whether I should say is different.
Upon sitting down, we were told to listen closely. It was a radio recording discussing the matter. Apparently, these people conducted a “Magic Number” experiment. The volunteers were to memorize number, walk down the hall to another room and say the number. They were intercepted in the hall by a woman offering goodies as a thank you for helping with the experiment. People dealing with 7 digit numbers chose the chocolate cake whereas the fewer-digit volunteers chose the fruit cup. According to these people, since the rational part of the brain was occupied by the number, the emotional part of the brain takes over and chooses the sweet. They proved this point over and over with cases such as choosing types of apples in the supermarket and a student choosing what to do with their life after graduation.
Now, this seems like a very reasonable conclusion. I was reluctant to accept it because I don’t like to be proved wrong. As I finally accepted the theory which then brought forth many more questions.
For example if the brain plays tricks on us, can the rest of your body do that also? Let me paint you a picture:
A six year old child is faced with a plate full of fish sticks and fries. He likes fries because he has tried them before. He doesn’t know so much about the fish. He has no pre-established ideals for what this unusual, crunchy stick-like thing will taste like. After his first mouthful, he tastes sea water, salt and bitterness. He spits it out.
Likes and dislikes aren’t up to you, they’re up to you body. Which leads me to my next question. Are we separate from out body as Epictetus suggests in section 9?"Illness interferes with the body, not with one's faculty of choice."(14 Handbook of Epictetus PDF file) Is it a constant battle? Mind vs. Brain? Emotion vs. Reason? Body vs. Faculty of choice?

Tralfalma.. What?

1. What do they know that we don't? (4D)
2. Why billy? Why anyone for that matter?
3. Are the trafalmadorians paralell to us? (They explore other planets, have literature and zoo's)
4. What do they represent?
5. What connection do Tralfamadorians have with war?
6. Why aliens and not something else?
7. Why at his daughter's wedding?
8. Why is he interested in their society'
9. what relevance to the five "fingers" have in regards to the five sexes?
10. WHy are they afraid of ignorance?

Had House

I guess I can relate to vegetarians. Sort of. I mean, thinking about the torture, terrible conditions, and unhealthy plans the animals are put through you lose your appetite. If your reasoning is if i stop eating, the demand will decrease therefore less animals will suffer and be slaughtered.

Slaughter: often associated with animals, bloodbaths, butchery and gore. Now, in order to use this word as an adjective for a human you’d have to degrade them to a point that they are not only classified as humans but their lives are worth so little that they don’t matter.

Inerestingly enough, this feeling of worthlessness is not there at the end of chapter six and beginning in chapter seven when billy is being introduced to Dresden. “Billy thought the golliwog had something to do with the Second World War, and he whispered to him his address: 'Schlachthöf-funf.'”(PDF file) which traduces to slaughterhouse. The house in which lives are worthless pieces of shit.

The Sides To Balance

BLACK
Oh please, make up your mind. Are clichés in fact clichés? As I see it, clichés are clichés for a reason. (Ironic, isn’t it?) When people do something non-stop, it becomes a cliché. Now, why would we want to repeat something over and over again having heard it so many times before? Because it’s good material, good stuff. So we now know what clichés are and how they are created. But when they become clichés, most people try not to use them because they want to claim that they have originality. That they have some new perspective that no one has ever seen before when as a matter of fact they don’t. They just say the same thing but put it in different (everyday) words that don’t sound as cool. They basically go straight to the point.

DCBLOG is a perfect example of what I define as someone trying hard to avoid clichés. Yes, I understand that he is an English professor therefore hates clichés because they make literature almost tacky. But without using ANY and having such a serious tone, it becomes tedious and boring. I mean dude, make it colorful!

WHITE
DCBLOG is almost like the movie The Warrior. By focusing on the little details of life, you can make an attempt to question and improve the quality of life. It’s all about the details. Being that this man can discuss deeply the word many, he shows us that details are what matter. His entries, “On many” and “On the world in which we live in” discuss the importance of word choice. By showing us how the simple altering of a word changes the profoundness, tone and sentimental reaction of the reader, he demonstrates how detail is a part of literature and for that matter, our life.

Problems

Yes, I had heard at some point or another that veterans suffer from mental problems after they come back. It seems completely logical being that they are put in an environment that nobody is used to. Think about it, the panorama is filled with violence, sharp noises, loudness and gore up to a point that it forces itself into your mind in spite of you trying to block it. Of course you’re going to have trauma!

I hadn’t thought much of it until I read Slaughterhouse- Five. Let me rephrase that. I had thought of it being a very serious matter but hadn’t completely thought about how hard it must be to express something like this until is Mr. Tangen enlightened us in class. How Billy only starts traveling throughout time when something death- related or traumatic happens in his life. It’s like when an old man is telling you a story and because he can’t handle the grief that that specific memory entails that he jumps you to another one. Unfortunately that’s not what happens to most veterans; they come home with memories that will stay in their mind forever. “What is seen cannot be un-seen”- Andrew Bravener. It sounds obvious but it’s actually not because we aren’t that picky about what we watch.

The soldiers have no choice. We hadn’t thought of it to be a mental condition and didn’t name it until 1985. “Post-traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating condition that often follows a terrifying physical or emotional event. It causes the person who survived the event to have persistent, frightening thoughts and memories, or flashbacks, of the ordeal. Symptoms include emotional numbing, sleep problems, irritability, hyper vigilance, depression, anxiety and poor concentration.” (http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0301-06.htm)

So if this happens to all “war members” (even our guys) then why do we keep on torturing them by sending them off to combat? It’s not like this is an international secret because we have seen this condition present in some TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy. Maybe it’s that we have one too many problems and one more just adds to the list. I say, FIND A NEW WAY TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS.

Sweet Trafalmadorian Books

What if books were like dreams? Careless, light images that you presence and embrace without any questions or concerns. Tralfamadorians read like that. Apparently their books are very short, almost like telegrams. Wait, that doesn’t even qualify as reading because according to the Free Online Dictionary it means: “To examine and grasp the meaning of (written or printed characters, words, or sentences).” Now that I think about it, you actually can but not in the way that most people think. Technically they are characters and by looking at them and creating this image in your head you are “grasping the meaning” of it. Although, because Tralfamadorians see in four dimensions, they probably have a different experience reading therefore have a different definition.

Anyway, what I understood is that their books are so concise that you end up with an image, a scene or better yet said, a situation in which life is “beautiful and surprising and deep. There is no beginning, no middle, and no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our book are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time.” (Slaughterhouse-Five Pg.88) I take this to be a sort of ecstasy-filled chaos in which you can succumb to all your temptations and desires. A place in which there are no consequences and there is nothing that can take away your free will.I can’t seem to find anything else that relates to this experience other than dreams. I considered heaven and hell. I thought it could be hell because it states that there is no moral but by saying “marvelous” it is entitled to be good. But in order to be heavenly it has to be hallow which it is clearly not.

If I read this I would find it funny, almost awkward that someone wrote about the first two pages of the chapter but I wonder if we could read like Tralfamadorians, what would be the point in having a social life, stealing, spending and receiving money etc.? Think about it, if you could be in a mental state of mind that provides you happiness and tranquility, why on earth would you stop? In which case if nobody stopped there would be no communication which would eventually end up in the crumbling of our economies and societies in general. It would become the ultimate weapon. You could make someone do whatever you want and instead of torture you could use the most effective bribe. Endless happiness. So if you could write a Tralfamadorian book, how would it go?

On a side note, I think we all should say sweet tralfamadorian readings instead of sweet dreams. We could start a trend.

Pieces

Books. It never comes to our mind that a book (any kind of book for that matter) is only part of that specific story; especially war-based books. They only talk about the tragedy that is the war and what they went through. It never talks about the happy(er) parts such as: life after they got rescued, who they met up with, their first meal as free people or just the ride on the way back from where they had been captive.
Maybe that’s how the unfortunate people who are affected by the war, the targets, lived. Maybe, half of them don’t really know what’s going on in the war as a whole, but more so what they see on a day to day basis. Being that this character had to look for information on a war that he had been victim of and had presenced first hand gives us an insight of how much information they really got. Maybe the fear was just ignorance in disguise.

“My name is Yon Yonson,
I work in Wisconsin,
I work in a lumbermill there.
The people I meet when I walk down the street,
They say, “what’s your name?”
And I say,
My name is Yon Yonson,
I work in Wisconsin…”
I think he mentions this song various times because the information is limited and what is the question seems to be the answer. by that making a circle leaving you just as ignorant as before.That's the way war's work: keeping the victims ignorant.
That’s also why the main character constantly repeats the name of his friend, Bernard V. O’Hare. To make sure you don’t out on miss anything. That you’re in on every joke and know every detail.

Perfection

In that place of which I dream of, someday you'll see
we will live without agression. Respect
will be the word; like I you, and you me.
Everyone will know what is correct,
and technology won't be bad for us.
It will do what we don't like, as an effect
there will be no further fuss
over things like money or things that with it go.
Because in Respeland we don't duscuss
things like money or trust. Here it flows.

The Past Is Now The Future

After what may have been years of war, only two people are left: a man and a woman. They were from opposing armies. I think this represents poetic justice because most wars arise over physical things such as territory or economic conflicts. Something physical, shallow, you might even say material. The material lifestyle has been imposed to them through brainwashing posters such as the ones in the recruitment office. By taking part in the war of claiming material things, the couple (or Two as the title suggests) have established that they too are material beings. They reinforce this statement as they carry one with this apparent uncontainable urge to end up in front of the dress, especially the woman. Even though she thinks she's alone, she still longs the dress to look pretty (which reiterates the shallowness).
Being that the war has ended, they have nothing left to fight for. So in conclusion, because they fought for a material way of life, they are forced to live a life without material goods with reminders and temptations of the material life they have left in their past. (The blade for shaving and the dress.)

Sarcasm

IceCreamLover234 says:
Hi, missed you at practice today. Where were you?

Soccer_Maniac says:
Yeah I know, sorry about that. I had to go to Mr. Tangen's class because I was "late".

IceCreamLover234 says:
Wow, that sucks.

Soccer_Maniac says:
I know, but it wasn't too bad because he and Mr.Hickey talked the whole time. (About something ironic or sarcastic I'm sure.)

IceCreamLover234 says:
LOL (Laugh Out Loud) good one.

IceCreamLover234 says:
So, are we good for tomorrow? ;)

Soccer_Maniac says:
I think so...

IceCreamLover234 says:
Ok, I really have to go.

Soccer_Maniac says:
No worries, TTYL (Talk To You Later)

FCUK YOU!

Titles like this are what you would regularly find on blogs these days. Something bold, that attracts attention. But why? Easy, recognition. Nowadays, people generally look for fame and fortune and they do it the "easy" way. They make their account a hobby expecting to get some sort of contract. What I don't think actually goes through their heads is that there are over 10 million blogs worldwide. When did this happen? How did we get to such a point in evolution in which over 10 million people can be connected by text?

It's incredible how far we (humanity) have come technology-wise. Computers, cell phones, nintendo, play station, ipods, laptops and finally wii. I find it astonishing that I've been alive for the release of most of these and I'm only 15 years old. By creating the internet we were presented with millions of opportunities to communicate.

Being that we first communicated orally and everything was passed down, distance became an obstacle and everyone heard a simmilar story but never heard the original one. With the written word, some things improved but things like time and space also became some obstacles. With the internet, you can find the original and make you own opinion without having someone filter your information.

Don't get me wrong, there will always be rumors, and with the internet they spread faster but you can always look for more information to back it up. As far as blogs go, it's understood that most are just some random person's opinion on news, music, videos, topics, problems, etc. They very well may include pictures, videos, other links, or simply recommend other people's blogs or sites; making it impossible to change it into a book. You wouldn't be able to include the assorted media and the same tone and the same effect that a blog would simply beacuse it's a book. It would be the protrayal of taking one step foreward two steps back. (technology-wise)
I expect books, newspapers, notebooks, magazines and other literay sources to become obsolete in the future.
By that raising another question which is fairly discussed these days:
How will it affect global waarming? (more use of energy but less paper?)