Protesting....What good does it do?

I've been trying to say for quite some time that peaceful protests are useless. They have never really propagated any real change unless they backed by violent uprisings. People often like to reference Ghandi and Martin Luther King as examples of peace bringing about change. However, at the same time that they were starving themselves (I never really understood how hunger strikes actually help...) and marching on Washington, violence was another factor in inciting change.

In India, there were a multitude of violent outbreaks that help incite Indian independence including the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar.

During the civil rights era, the Black Panthers were a group that incited violence as a way of change.

The Vietnam War did not end because of pressure from protests. It went on for at least 16 years despite protests for about 13 years. I really don't think that 13 years of protest really had that much effect on the decision to remain in Vietnam. The reason they evacuated was more likely because they had been there too long and oil prices were too high to continue to fight a lost cause.

And then I turn to the current example. Through 8 years people have been protesting against George Bush but what has come of that? He was re-elected (and I don't care whether you think its legit or not, he's been in power there is no reason to squabble over how he got there) despite protest and God forbid that people keep thinking that protests are going to work if McCain gets elected.

And let's not forget the greatest example of all! (TANGENT: And this is where a lot of people are hypocritical. It's hilarious to see a peaceful protester exalt the likes of Che Guevara, whose very core was inciting violence around Latin America and eventually the Congo.) Cuba! Where the whole idea of change was violence. You march into town, blow up a few buildings, kill the right men, and the world (or at least Cuba) is a better place for it. (Let's just be clear I don't want to quibble over whether Castro and Che actually helped Cuba, I have my opinion and nothing is really going to change that. This is a piece about violence and protests--argue about that.)

I just want to make it clear that I am not inciting anyone to violence. I just wanted to point out something that I've been thinking a lot about. The reason I believe people protest is similar to the reason people donate to charities: it makes them feel like they are actually doing something. I've said over and over again that boycotts don't work. They just end up hurting the workers. We get angry at corporations for belittling people but we belittle them even further by suggesting that we have the solution to their problems. On top of that, we do not know the history of what these people have been through; it is very presumptuous to assume that we know what is right for them when all we really know is a tiny snippet of what is going on in their whole life. The histories of Latin America, of Africa, are far more complex than any regular Joe Shmoe could understand. I've been studying Latin America for 4 years and I have only begun to scratch the surface of what is a really wide and deep problem that a few protests and boycotts only enable. I've heard it said that "Compassion is just a nicer way of looking down your nose" (lyrics found in OKGo's What to Do) and I believe that is totally true.

-girl behind the curtain

p.s. I'm bitter, no hiding it, but don't disclaim my opinions because of that.

I challenge all of you to give me one example whereby a peaceful protest (by itself) has helped stop something (child labour, work camps, slavery, sweat shops, wars, etc). I would really like to hear an example so that I won't be so very bitter about all of this.

More of Nothing

I've been trying my darnedest to write a really eloquent piece about how science fiction is all about what it means to be human. But I keep making references that I'm sure people won't get. I'm not trying to sound pretentious but how many of you have watched Stargate Atlantis and how many of you have read Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. My whole little piece would be bogged down with explaining episodes of SGA where wraiths challenge the meaning of being human. I think I'm coming to a slow conclusion that science fiction is a very elitist genre. If you haven't read it, watched it, or heard of it, then you don't belong in our little clique! Our brand of humour is only accessible to those who know the various references. Maybe that's why I like it. We all like belonging to an exclusive group, even if you deny it you are part of an exclusive group. There's no escaping it.

Anyways, I was just looking at my past postings and reading other people's blogs while loading Sanctuary episodes 2 & 3 as well as episodes of the Smoggies! What I'm trying to say is that I got bored and thought I'd write a little something here.

I'm under the belief that my computer is exhuming an addictive fume because I'm dreadfully bored of the internet and have a million other things to do but I can't seem to detach myself. I'm kind of torn as to whether the internet helps the world or if its just going to end up screwing us over. On the one hand we can get more access to news stories from around the world, which educates us as well as allows us to educate others, hopefully. But, and I don't mean to sound condescending (when really I do mean to be mean because apathy sucks), most people I know (looking at you facebook) don't use the Internet for anything but personal entertainment. Now, playing games, looking at hilarious pictures, and pirating are all great but there is a whole lot more out there.

The Internet has the capacity to erase apathy and ignorance and slowly we are losing it to the government who fears that we are going to learn about the world and get off our butts and do something about it. No one really cares about pirating (except those that pirate and the RIAA), they care about what access we can gain to knowledge. Yet, this wide access to knowledge, to ideas, to actual ways to change the world is not being used. Revolutions were fought before the Internet when the only way to spread news of injustices was by mouth and pamphlet if someone owned a printing press. Now people are too apathetic and lazy to even participate in a democratic way. It's very disappointing.

Wow, from science fiction to a rant on revolutions....

I was going to include a personal update but I very likely turned you all off. So return to your World of Warcraft, your "itunes", or go read a book!

xoxo
-girl behind the curtain


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Now playing: Fall Out Boy - Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet
via FoxyTunes

Now Here I Am...

Now here I am, the sum of my experiences, my beliefs and convictions, my hopes for the future.
Where was I years ago?

10 years ago...
I was 12, grade 8. I was angry, those who knew me can attest to that.

5 years ago...
I was 17, grade 12. I knew who I was; I had the answers to all the world's problems. I was immature.

Today...
I am almost 22, 5th year of university. I know more...

xoxo
-girl behind the curtain

Up to Date

Wow, life seems to go by fast when you actually get some time to just sit and think about it.

Where am I right now?

Well, I was just looking for a piece of paper with some data on it but I can't seem to find it. My room is a total mess. I have time to clean it, I just rather wouldn't. I feel like I'm in the need for more posters or artwork or something to decorate my room. It feels very sterile and impersonal. Maybe that's why I can't sleep. The zombies don't help either.

I dye grass...

So I'm in school, at U of T. My thoughts on Toronto? Hm. I love that its always busy; there's always someone out on the street. There's lots of new things to look at, somethings that I never thought I'd see anywhere but the internet. But apparently the internet has laid its bestial hands on Toronto. There's street art, public chess boards, giant statues, pubs. That is the third time the street cleaner has passed my window tonight. Toronto, for all its artsy and busy-ness, is actually quite predictable. Every night at 1015-10:30 the street cleaner comes by my window. Somewhere between 11:00 and 11:30 sirens pass. Then at around 12:45 a street racer zooms by. It would be a strange night when I don't hear those things. The windows and walls are not very capable of keeping noises outside. I never really feel silent. Restlessness of the soul, the ears, the body. I don't think I'd be able to live in Toronto. I need to take a breather every once in a while.

By the way, I'm the queen of digressions tonight.

The bags under my eyes are getting too heavy to carry but I'm not tired. I feel that I could stay up all week and still not feel tired.

Classes are okay. I feel like I'm in elementary school again. Never have I had teachers in high school or university that treated the students like little kids. I'm filling out charts and reading little anecdotes, getting off my butt and having digressive conversations. Better than aggressive conversations I guess.

I've become more confrontational with people. I can see why I used to not be keen on people. It's not necessarily there fault either. I believe I'm just argumentative by nature. My knee jerk reaction to most things is to disagree and that comes to people as well. I think I'm also a bit of a control freak.

I haven't exactly felt physically well since I've been at school again. Is it the Toronto air? Is it the thought of the impending future? Or is it the flu?

My fingers want to type more self-centered sentences. I'll hopefully be more coherent in the morning.

G'night!

-c.s.

Some Thoughts From Our Dear Friend Kurt Vonnegut

"Oh, I have what a lot of people would call communistic thoughts", said Eliot artlessly, "but for heaven's sakes, Father, nobody can work with the poor and not fall over Karl Marx from time to time--or just fall over the Bible as far as that goes. I think it's terrible the way people don't share things in this country. I think it's a heartless government that will let one baby be born owning a big piece of country, the way I was born, and let another baby be born without owning anything. The least a government could do, it seems to me, is to divide things up fairly among the babies. Life is hard enough, without people having to worry themselves sick about money, too. There's plenty for everybody in this country, if we'll only share more".

"And just what do you think that would do to incentive?"

"You mean fright about not getting enough to eat, about not being able to pay the doctor, about not being able to give your family nice clothes, a safe, cheerful, comfortable place to live, a decent education, and a few good times?"

-From God Bless You Mr Rosewater

This book is about a man who decides to love people unconditionally (unless of course they call him on the fire dept line). It is about the people who believe he is insane for this love. It is a very interesting treatise on American society and what the alternatives are.

-C.S.

The Catholic Church and Artificial Insemination

In between classes, I decided to grab a bite to eat and flip through one of my many textbooks. I decided to pick up a book called Twelve Tough Issues. It's by an Archbishop and discusses the Catholic policy on, you guessed it, 12 tough issues. Abortion, divorce, homosexuality, women, celibacy, all the things that you would expect to find in a book on religion and controversial issues are covered. But then I saw something interesting: a chapter on artificial conception. My first reasoning for this chapter being present before even reading it was that it was going to take about cloning. So I open to page 13 and read: "The insemination of a woman with the sperm of a man other than her husband is tantamount to adultery, even if both she and her husband consent to the procedure". He goes on to justify his moral objection: "To permit or procure anything else reduces the marriage partners to the status of consumers and the offspring to the level of a product". Even now I am trying to fight back the tears of anger. How Dare He!, my insides scream. With no Biblical backing he commits a hypocritical crime, reducing children of the world to commodities. I looked up the Catechism that backed this and found that reproducing via artificial insemination is found morally abject because it takes away the meaning of sex. Well I have a few things to say in my defense.

First of all, nothing in the Bible (to my knowledge) supports this outrageous statement. I know my Bible pretty well and unless there is some obscure reference to an Old Testament passage about artificial insemination then I don't believe there is anything. In fact, when I rack through my mind about relevant Bible passages, I can think only of ones that would support artificial insemination. I quote from the Message because it is in plain English but I have checked it against the NIV. Jesus says to his disciples: "Marriage isn't for everyone. Some from birth seemingly never give marriage a thought." (Matthew 19:11). As some of you may or may not know, I identify as asexual. I do not desire marriage; it's not in my life plans. Jesus seems to have hit the nail right on, some people want to marry, some people don't. Is it a coincidence that just 3 passages later Jesus says: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14). Isn't considering artificial insemination hindering the children? People often cite this passage in the fight against abortion, so why can't the same beside in the fight to have children via artificial insemination?

Not only does this ideology of the church upset me religiously and personally but I can't believe they would reduce children to products. The feeling that I get from reading the chapter and the Catechism is that the church does not look favourably upon children born in this method, as if there was something wrong or inferior about these children. I don't see how any religion could shun the people that Jesus told us we must be like in order to enter the gates of heaven. The dignity of the human being and human life is shattered in artificial insemination according the church and Pope John Paul I's Donum Vitae. However, I believe the dignity of the human being is shattered, not by artificial insemination, but by such untutored, unfair, and unfounded statements. The article mentioned, Donum Vitae, was written only after the pope JPI met Louise Brown, the first baby born by in vitro. I see that as a personal attack not only on Louise, who was then just an infant, but on all subsequent children who were brought into this world, into the heart of Jesus, into the heaven of God through artificial insemination.

-C.S.

CHANGE

Obama says we need change. I think its time we listened. People are still cracking jokes at Bush and I think the time has come to stop.

I'm not going to deny the power of humour. But there is an essential difference between cracking a joke to get a laugh and cracking a joke to raise a point. It is too late in the career of George W. Bush to laugh at his mistakes. What he has done is no laughing matter! He has taken human lifes; he has made a mockery of Christ; he has ravished the world for his own gain and all we can do is laugh.

What do you think allowed him to stay in power as long as he did? Your psuedo-political views; you hoping on the bandwagon of "let's make a laughing stock of Bush"; when it all boils down to it--your apathy is to blame. I am sick of people who don't have opinions; who don't believe that politics affect them. I want you to stop for just one second. Stop laughing, stop partying, stop! Look around you. Everyday people are dying of starvation, of easily curable diseases, from bombs being dropped on their houses, from stepping on land-mines. People are being born into starvation, poverty, refugee situations. How can you just sit around while this is happening and say that you don't have an opinion!?

How many of you are in university? How many of you consider yourself intelligent? How many of you are aware of what is happening outside of your front door? How many of you care?

I read all this junk in your profiles about how "you should be the change you wish to see in the world" or about how you really care about world issues. But these are just words. Do you really believe it? If you really want to make a difference you can't just sit on your butt and laugh at (or make) jokes about serious issues. Ask yourself why the joke was made. Was it made just to get a momentary giggle? to fodder some lame comedian's gig? or was it made to inspire you? to show you that something is wrong?

Please get off your butt and do something. Educate yourself. Stop and talk to the people passing out flyers. Use Google for God's sake.

The world is at your finger tips and the sole purpose of the internet is not just to entertain you but to inform you!!

Get with it!

-C.S.

Work...'nuff said!

I love my job. For those of you who don't know: I work in group homes for the mentally disabled. I love the people I work with; they are all great! But sometimes the workers and managers get on my nerves.

First of all, none of the managers have ever worked in the homes so they really have no idea how things are actually done even though they like to tell us how to do our jobs but that's not a big problem. I don't talk to them, they don't talk to me, everyone does what they think is best and it works itself out in the end. What sucks is when managers forget that I do not possess the ability to bilocate. I am human and can only be in one place at a time. Let me tell you a few stories.

My orientation at House A was cancelled and the only time we both had free was a Sunday. So I show up at 8:30 begin orientating, go home at 12:30 and call it a day. The next Friday I go to House B and they tell me that I was supposed to work there on Sunday. I get home, all worried, triple check my emails and ask everyone if anyone phoned. It turns out that even though I was given no notification I was suppose to work that Sunday. So the manager screwed up once.

Yesterday morning, I'm sleeping in because I don't have to go to House B until 1:00. The phone rings at 8:30 and the managers on the other line asking me why I'm not at House A. I tell her I'm working at Aspen and say screw it, I don't want to deal with your screw ups. Check my emails, ask everyone in the house, and again no notification. So the manager screwed up twice.

That's not all though. I wake up and get to House A at 7:50 today, 10 minutes before my shifts starts. I got all the information from the night worker who also told me that the main worker would be in early. 5 minutes later, another worker walks in and I ask her if she's replacing the main worker and she says she's working the 8-3 shift, the same one I was scheduled to work. About an hour later we finally get it worked out that even though I took the shift in the middle of June, and the second worker took it on Thursday, she somehow got the shift ahead of me. But that's okay, they need extra help up at House B. So the manager screwed up three times within the span of a week. This is going to be a fun summer.

-c.s.

abcdefg...

My brothers and Mom have gone camping leaving my Dad and I at home. So we had a father-daughter day--went to go see Wanted and then got pizza! It was great. I don't get to spend a lot of time with my Dad because I'm either at school all week from Fall to Spring or we're working opposite hours. I've been wanted to see Wanted for a long time and it lived up to all the excitement. I gasped and laughed (perhaps not at the most appropriate times) and even jumped in my seat. I can't believe how well James McAvoy pulled off an American accent. The only reason I noticed is because his accent is very pronounced; usually I don't hear accents.

Aside from today's events, not too much has been happening. I have finally categorized all my movies. I have 285 movies and I've seen 196 of them. It doesn't help that I've already picked up two more DVD collections. Wal-mart has a great selection (sounds like a commercial) of old movies in sets. I have the Fright Night (old horror movies with actors like Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price), Samurai (old Asian movies like the Fists of Bruce Lee played by Bruce Li, not Bruce Lee), Classic Romance, and an Abbot and Costello collection. They're great.

Most of my movies are VHS so Dad suggested that I go out and buy another VCR and keep it boxed so that I can have it in the years to come. Well, I went to Wal-mart and bought a VCR/DVD player. I'm going to set it up in my room, so I can finally watch my DVD's, and put away the old VCR. That way...hmm hmm...avert your eyes...I can rent DVD's I like and tape them...

Aside from movies I also went out and bought a new game for my DS and I played it for almost 20 hours straight and I still have a way to go. It's called Professor Layton and the Curious Village. It's a puzzle game with a storyline. It's really cool and a whole lot easier than the Pokemon game I had.

It seems like I've had a lot of time to do nothing but all of the above was just 3 days. I went to the movies today, I organized my movies another day, and I played my DS another day. That's 3 days out of the past 3 weeks that I've been able to do whatever. I'm back at work, full time, over time, whatever they need. I love my job, I love my pay, but I don't like the time it takes. I have to do an orientation tomorrow from 3-9 and then a 13 hour day after that. The next day I have off is the 12th... This is my last year for working here though. And it's my last year at school. I can't wait to be a teacher. I am so ready for this!

I don't know why I'm in such a rush to grow up all of a sudden. I can't wait to have my own place, to have kids, to have a job. I have so many plans and i'ts so strange that it's coming so soon!


Well, what an entry!

I'll end it here...

-c.s.

ever see those bumper stickers that say...

...out of a job yet? keep buying foreign!

Those annoy me for many reasons.
1. (Stolen from one guy)

"On top of that, the disdain for my foreign car was becoming very apparent now. Which was also irritating. My bet is that neither of these people knew that while their own American cars were built by foreign workers for next-to-nothing wages, all of my Honda Civic (with the exception of the engine) was assembled in Ohio by well paid, and highly skilled Americans.

The parts were also produced in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, once again, by American workers."

2. Domestic cars suck. My Dad's Toyota has only been to the shop once to fix a dent in the hood. My Honda has never had anything wrong with yet. But our Chrysler van sucks and has already had much replaced in it. (Forgive my lack of car knowledge I can't remember exactly what goes wrong everytime it happens!)

3. Bumper stickers should be funny! (JK)

-c.s.

Legal Ages

A solution!

I've heard some people complain that they if they can vote at 18, then why can't they drink at 18. And then I complain that not enough young people vote. Here's a solution. You need a license to drink alcohol and it has to be renewed every four years when there is an election. You don't vote; you don't get a license to drink. Fair?

(Yes, I am well aware of the ways around this but it would provide an incentive don't you think?)

-c.s.

I've never...I have...

1. I've never listened to an Eric Clapton album start to finish.
2. I've never seen an opera.
3. I've never been to Europe.
4. I've never done a semester at Bologna University.
5. I've never seen Citizen Kane (although I do own it).
6. I've never skateboarded across town.
7. I've never kissed someone in the rain.
8. I've never swam in an ocean.
9. I've never partied all night in Miami.
10. I've never donated bone marrow.
11. I've never been to Chicago.
12. I've never gotten 100% on Guitar Hero.
13. I've never painted my room red.
14. I've never had pistachio ice cream.
15. I've never had a goldfish for longer than a year.
16. I've never learned how to speak Japanese.
17. I've never counted to 1000 in Spanish.
18. I've never been sailing.
19. I've never caught a fish and ate it for supper.
20. I've never hiked the Bruce Trail in one stretch.
21. I've never drove to Newfoundland.
22. I've never been surfing in New Zealand.
23. I've never been to the Australia Zoo.
24. I've never had a flat in Paris.
25. I've never been to an art gallery.
26. I've never seen a musical on stage.
27. I've never rode on a motorcycle.
28. I've never had a pedicure.
29. I've never broken a bone.
30. I've never ridden a camel across a desert.
31. I've never been arrested.
32. I've never been horseback riding.
33. I've never jumped out of a plane.
34. I've never recited poetry in front of people.
35. I've never sent flowers to myself.
36. I've never written a letter longer than 1 page.
37. I've never celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
38. I've never had a picnic by myself.
39. I've never had spaghetti and meatballs that wasn't from a can.
40. I've never slept directly (without a tent) slept under the stars.
41. I've never ate a whole bag of cookies in one sitting.
42. I've never been screeched.
43. I've never gotten a tattoo.
44. I've never had dance lessons.
45. I've never done the Soulja Boy dance in public.
46. I've never read an entire manga series.
47. I've never downloaded and installed Linux.
48. I've never stolen a letter from a sign.
49. I've never climbed up a water tower and watched the sun set/rise.
50. I've never slapped anyone with a fish.

1. I have slept through a thunderstorm.
2. I have completed 4 years of university on the Dean's honour list.
3. I have flown in a plane.
4. I have built a bookcase.
5. I have read quite a few books all in one sitting.
6. I have played with my Barbie's until I was 18.
7. I have spent an entire day online.
8. I have chugged a can of Orange Crush in under 10 seconds.
9. I have eaten mentos and diet coke at the same time.
10. I have been to Nicaragua.
11. I have influenced others to go to Nicaragua.
12. I have cried about the world.
13. I have memorized Ace Ventura 2.
14. I have quoted lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
15. I have dyed my hair purple.
16. I have fainted and woke up laughing.
17. I have read the first Harry Potter book at least 20 times.
18. I have seen all Star War films.
19. I have read Ulysses.
20. I have lost 30 pounds then gained it all back.
21. I have watched the entire series of 21 Jump Street.
22. I have wished upon a star.
23. I have been told I smelt like "updog" (whatever that means).
24. I have pretended to date Orlando Bloom online.
25. I have named all 151 original Pokemon by memory.
26. I have made many youtube videos.
27. I have downloaded most of my music, illegaly.
28. I have melted a harddrive by downloading too many movies.
29. I have been bitten by a dog.
30. I have bitten a person until they bled (sorry Stephen).
31. I have raced office chairs down the road.
32. I have ran an ATV into a tree, and a tractor.
33. I have had stitches in my head three times.
34. I have cracked my head open so wide they couldn't use stitches.
35. I have jumped off a 20 foot cliff...into water.
36. I have won the same pair of jeans for 2 weeks straight without washing them.
37. I have seen HIM, Rufus Wainwright, Deep Purple, and the Backstreet Boys live.
38. I have made a Facebook account for my dog.
39. I have gotten lost in a mall...more than once.
40. I have failed grade 8 art.
41. I have had an imaginary friend named Momo.
42. I have moved 6 times in one town.
43. I have eaten so much sugar I blacked out.
44. I have played hide and go seek in the dark.
45. I have convinced myself that raptors still exist.
46. I have eaten anchovie past and threw up afterwards.
47. I have pet an emu and a llama.
48. I have believed and created conspiracy theories.
49. I have peed my pants.
50. I have waved hola to a guard

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Now playing: Empires - Valmont
via FoxyTunes

Update!

Well, it's been a while since I last sat down and took the time to explain things. So much has been happening that I haven't had time to do much of anything. I'm volunteering at Hall, my old high school while also trying to coordinate orientations at different group homes for my summer job. Then there's school. Yes, York is over and done with and now I have to worry about having everything ready for U of T. I'm really excited about moving downtown, especially for Kensington Market!!

Aside from just the general volunteer, work, and school lots has been happening. I'll start with the most recent and work backwards because somehow it makes more sense that way!

1. My nose ring has become infected, more than it ever has! There's yellow pus, something I've never seen come out of my nose before, plus it hurts. :( I'm not going to take out the piercing though because it cost me $60 and I want to get a few more years out of it before I take it out and have done with it. Although I am very tempted to just say "screw it" now!

2. Tanner and Jeremy are gay lovers! I have the pictures to prove it!

3. Rockband rocks! (Check out the pictures to see!)

4. MOVIES! I have picked up at least 100 new VHS movies! I keep finding such great classics at garage sales. It has become my new obsession. I feel that I already have all the books that I need right now and have shifted my focus to collecting all the movies I feel I need to watch!

5. Life in general. I'm always on the go it seems!!

I'm fading, tired, and infected.

Goodnight!

-c.s.

Being a Friend

Being a friend is hard sometimes. You feel really terrible when you let someone down and, despite how selfish it is, you feel even worse when you are let down, left out, or just plain ignored. I have purged quite a bit from my life, deciding what to keep and what to toss. A lot of stuff I have very fond memories of and I have a story for everything in my room and everything that I have held onto for all these years. But now looking at some of the stuff I still have in my room makes me sad and just a bit angry. After years of friendship things can just all of a sudden stop and you don't realize how fast they stop. You try so hard to hang on to the past when sometimes you just have to let go and move on. Promises of being friends forever now seems like childish wishes. Nothing gold can stay, or so the saying goes. So despite trying to hold on to something that has vanished years ago it is time to let go and let be. Say hi to me in the store, wave to me across the street, and ask me how life is without really caring. Make more empty promises of getting together like strangers meeting for the first time. Who I was is not who I am and I have got to stop pretending that I am anyone else I am not. I no longer know your favourite colour, your boyfriend's name, or the colour of your eyes. Memories will remain as the future fades away and I will laugh and cry as I visit each one. I will laugh for what we were and I will cry for what we were not able to continue being. May you continue to make new memories with new friends. Gather new friends but remember the old; for one of them's silver and the other is gold...nothing gold can stay...




-c.s.

Palestine > Israel

A 2000 year old dream became a nightmarish reality 60 years ago for the people of Palestine. The abuse that I have heard of and seen pictures of is incredible. I cannot believe how we can turn a blind eye to the devestation that the State of Israel has caused for Palestine. But when we take a stand against Israel we are called anti-semites. We should be ashamed that we would be bullied into being afraid to stand up for human rights and an entire soveriegn nation.

-c.s.

Finnegan's Wake: Book a Minute

James Joyce

I have created my own language to tell the cyclical history of humanity.

Reader #1

Brilliance!

Reader #2

(dies)

THE END

http://www.rinkworks.com/bookaminute/b/joyce.finnegans.shtml

-c.s.

Taken from The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria

American anxiety springs from something much deeper, a sense that large and disruptive forces are coursing through the world. In almost every industry, in every aspect of life, it feels like the patterns of the past are being scrambled. [...] for the first time in living memory—the United States does not seem to be leading the charge. Americans see that a new world is coming into being, but fear it is one being shaped in distant lands and by foreign people.

Look around. The world's tallest building is in Taipei, and will soon be in Dubai. Its largest publicly traded company is in Beijing. Its biggest refinery is being constructed in India. Its largest passenger airplane is built in Europe. The largest investment fund on the planet is in Abu Dhabi; the biggest movie industry is Bollywood, not Hollywood. Once quintessentially American icons have been usurped by the natives. The largest Ferris wheel is in Singapore. The largest casino is in Macao, which overtook Las Vegas in gambling revenues last year. America no longer dominates even its favorite sport, shopping. The Mall of America in Minnesota once boasted that it was the largest shopping mall in the world. Today it wouldn't make the top ten. In the most recent rankings, only two of the world's ten richest people are American. These lists are arbitrary and a bit silly, but consider that only ten years ago, the United States would have serenely topped almost every one of these categories.

These factoids reflect a seismic shift in power and attitudes. It is one that I sense when I travel around the world. In America, we are still debating the nature and extent of anti-Americanism. One side says that the problem is real and worrying and that we must woo the world back. The other says this is the inevitable price of power and that many of these countries are envious—and vaguely French—so we can safely ignore their griping. But while we argue over why they hate us, "they" have moved on, and are now far more interested in other, more dynamic parts of the globe. The world has shifted from anti-Americanism to post-Americanism.

Favourite Movie Quotes

(I stole this from Dani...)

Try and guess which movies these quotations are taken from! (Some are really long, sorry!)

1. Allow me to be frank at the commencement. You will not like me. The gentlemen will be envious and the ladies will be repelled. You will not like me now and you will like me a good deal less as we go on. Ladies, an announcement: I am up for it, all the time. That is not a boast or an opinion, it is bone hard medical fact. I put it round you know. And you will watch me putting it round and sigh for it. Don't. It is a deal of trouble for you and you are better off watching and drawing your conclusions from a distance than you would be if I got my tarse up your petticoats. Gentlemen. Do not despair, I am up for that as well. And the same warning applies. Still your cheesy erections till I have had my say. But later when you shag - and later you will shag, I shall expect it of you and I will know if you have let me down - I wish you to shag with my homuncular image rattling in your gonads. Feel how it was for me, how it is for me and ponder. 'Was that shudder the same shudder he sensed? Did he know something more profound? Or is there some wall of wretchedness that we all batter with our heads at that shining, livelong moment. That is it. That is my prologue, nothing in rhyme, no protestations of modesty, you were not expecting that I hope. I am John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester and I do not want you to like me.

2. 'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems in a place perhaps you've seen in your dreams. For the story you're about to be told began with the holiday worlds of auld. Now you've probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven't I'd say it's time you begun.

3. Beloved reader, I leave you now with a tale penned by the Abbe du Coulmier, a man who found freedom, in the most unlikeliest of places: at the bottom of an inkwell, on the tip of a quill. However, be forewarned, it's plot is blood-soaked, it's characters depraved, and it's themes... unwholesome at best. But in order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the full measure of man. So come... I Dare you... Turn the page...

4. From now on we are enemies, You and I. Because You choose for Your instrument a boastful, lustful, smutty, infantile boy and give me for reward only the ability to recognize the incarnation. Because You are unjust, unfair, unkind, I will block You, I swear it. I will hinder and harm Your creature on earth as far as I am able.

5. Ahhh! Woooh! What's happening? Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I? Okay okay, calm down calm down get a grip now. Ooh, this is an interesting sensation. What is it? Its a sort of tingling in my... well I suppose I better start finding names for things. Lets call it a... tail! Yeah! Tail! And hey, what's this roaring sound, whooshing past what I'm suddenly gonna call my head? Wind! Is that a good name? It'll do. Yeah, this is really exciting. I'm dizzy with anticipation! Or is it the wind? There's an awful lot of that now isn't it? And what's this thing coming toward me very fast? So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like 'Ow', 'Ownge', 'Round', 'Ground'! That's it! Ground! Ha! I wonder if it'll be friends with me? Hello Ground!

6. M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations. And, finally, here are some completely gratuitous pictures of penises to annoy the censors and to hopefully spark some sort of controversy, which, it seems, is the only way, these days, to get the jaded, video-sated public off their fucking arses and back in the sodding cinema. Family entertainment? Bollocks. What they want is filth: people doing things to each other with chainsaws during tupperware parties, babysitters being stabbed with knitting needles by gay presidential candidates, vigilante groups strangling chickens, armed bands of theatre critics exterminating mutant goats. Where's the fun in pictures? Oh, well, there we are. Here's the theme music. Goodnight.

7. Oh, it's the truth you want is it? Okay here's some. If you want to be equal, then you have to show people the SAME respect that you demand of them! In the real world, if you INSULT some guy in a pub, you EXPECT to get hammered! If you come home in the middle of the night, you dont EXPECT to find the help waiting in and if a woman says no to you, you accept that maybe you're NOT the right man for her. You dont ASSUME you have an automatic right to love because you're in a wheelchair!

8. In the first years of the 21st century, a third World War broke out. Those of us who survived knew mankind could never survive a fourth; that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked. So we have created a new arm of the law: The Grammaton Cleric, whose sole task it is to seek out and eradicate the true source of man's inhumanity to man - his ability to feel.

9. Worry not, my brother. For I will be as a fly on the wall - a grain of salt in the ocean. I will move amongst them like a transparent... *thing*.

10. Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could they didn't stop to think if they should.

Have fun! If you name at least 1 you will get a hug next time I see you...

Lots of love,
c.s.

R271 update

Unlike 20,000 other stories that I began and never finished, I am 100% (maybe 98%) serious about completing R271. Now that I am out of school and on my way to becoming what I want to become (career wise at least), I've begun worrying about my future. I'm going crazy thinking about adoption fees, how long it takes to adopt (2 years from China :s), mortgages, and bank accounts. Having a book written and published would definitely help me with some of my woes and it has been on my to do list as long as I've been making to do lists. In honor of R271 I'd like to pay tribute to the fallen stories of lore (ie stories I failed to complete)...

A Shred of Truth *gun shot*
-about an ancient tribe that has to be saved every 5000 years

A Kiss from a King *gun shot*
-about a girl seduced by the King of France

Ishisama and Friends *gun shot*
-a family in modern day Japan dealing with everyday issues

Natural *gun shot*
-a girl from England falls in love with a Native Canadian and then has to leave

These stories are not necessarily dead; more so they are put on reserve when I feel like writing a different story...



----------------
Now playing: The Academy Is... - You Might Have Noticed
via FoxyTunes

-c.s.

11 days...must be a record!

I usually pride myself on being able to sympathize with people or at least understand why they feel a certain way or why they did something that seems a little strange. However there is just one thing that I can't comprehend and that is when people can't be happy.

I'm not suggesting that everyone goes around giggling all the time (my mother thinks I'm annoying). There are legitimate reasons to be upset such as a recent death of a loved one or clinical depression but overall there are very little reasons to be sad. I'll use my Mom as an example. If anybody should be depressed it is here. She has battled breast cancer, cervical/uteran cancer, chrons, anorexia/bulimia, being deaf amongst other things that I can't remember the name for. Yet through it all she has remained positive and never let it get her down. Then people go on saying that life is hard. You know what, life is what you make it and if you would rather be miserable and insist life is hard then get on with it.

There was a song out last year by Three Days Grace that had the line: "'Cause I'd rather feel pain then nothing at all". I got so upset by this because it was the time that my Opa was in the hospital dying of severe internal bleeding which I can only imagine to be painful. I'm 100% positive that my Opa would rather have felt nothing then pain for the 5 months that he was hospitalized. I would rather feel nothing then pain.

I hate to sound cliche but it is true. There are always people worse off than you. Get off your high horse; stop believing that life is hard. There are people who are starving, who have no place to spend the night, who are being abducted and forced to murder their families, who live in garbage dumps. I know I've seen it. My life is bliss compared to their's. Your life is not hard!

People are fond of saying that there are no absolute truths in life. I believe they are wrong. There are two absolute truths about human nature:
1. The only thing that stays consistent is change.
2. No matter what happens, we keep on living.

I don't understand why people choose to be miserable. And it is a choice! You may not be able to control what happens around you but you have a choice of how to react. You can either brush it off and be happy. Or let it bother you until you die of a stress-induced heart attack. The choice is yours!

Choose to be happy! :D






-c.s.

Being Home: Updates

I'm home! I have one last exam on the ninth and then I am done with York. WOOHOO!!

I've noticed a big difference between being at home and being at school. I spend a lot less time on the computer when I'm at home so there are going to be less rants, less pictures, and less randomness. And a lot more life.

I have been accepted for teacher's college at Nipissing and U of T. I accepted the U of T offer because it is closer to home. I have my resume all done for my summer job and just heard back for my April to June placement at Hall! Woot for Hall!!

I now have more time to work on my giant colouring poster, chapter outlines for R271, and organizing my room.

I feel so productive and I believe that I am truly happy and content with my life right now.

:D

-c.s.

Guerrilla Terrorism

Are Latin American Guerrilla soldiers terrorists? They are just as much terrorists as the American army is terrorist. The answer is yes! *inserts shock of surprise*

Guerrillas, especially those that follow Che Guevara's foco theory, are terrorists. They engage in selected acts of terrorism in order to show people that the government can be hurt. The result being that the people take charge of their country. Now that is democracy in action. When people take up arms against their government that is democracy, that is the voice of the people, and dare I say that is what the founding fathers of America would applaud.

The means justify the ends--what is so bad about that?

-Courtney

Really??

UN rejects water as basic human right

OTTAWA - The Harper government can declare victory after a United Nations meeting rejected calls for water to be recognized as a basic human right.

Instead, a special resolution proposed by Germany and Spain at the UN human rights council was stripped of references that recognized access to water as a human right. The countries also chose to scrap the idea of creating an international watchdog to investigate the issue, choosing instead to appoint a new consultant that would make recommendations over the next three years.

Federal officials in Canada said last week that the government wanted to ensure the meeting's outcome reflected the fact that access to water is not formally recognized as a human right in international law. But a social advocacy group said that the position was designed to protect the right to sell water under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"Clearly (the Harper government is) happy with the status quo: They're not going to be an agent for change, and they're not going to support the right to water," said Maude Barlow, chair of the Council of Canadians. "About every eight seconds, a child somewhere in the world is dying from dirty water, and it's just shocking that our government has taken this position."

The opposition Liberals supported the government's position last week, arguing that the original UN resolution could open the door to bulk water exports to the U.S. because of NAFTA. Liberal water critic Francis Scarpaleggia said he planned to introduce a private member's bill to restrict large transfers of water within Canada to ensure that bulk exports abroad would also be forbidden.

The UN's high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, said last week that the position doesn't reflect Canada's traditional role on the international stage.

"Canada is taking a position that is not the more classic perceived, Canada as the kind of the bridge builder, peacemaker, consensus maker," Arbour told the CBC.

Meantime, Barlow denied that the resolution would require Canada to make bulk water exports to the U.S.

"The requirement in the United States would be for them to conserve first," said Barlow. "There's no requirement as a human right for us to provide water for swimming pools and golf courses and fountains in Las Vegas."

A spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Department said in an e-mail that there was "no consensus among states regarding the existence, scope or content of such a right."

mdesouza@canwest.com

Just a sample

Panic at the Disco: She's a Handsome Woman

Innocence.
Sunk the glow and drowned in covers,
Send for all your absent lovers things.

Sheepish Wolves.
Looking lived in eating buttons,
Wink, just don`t put your teeth on me.

Accidents.
Let the evening in the backdoor,
filled the room ceiling to the floor.

Beat backbones.
Grazed the poem and made it strange,
I wasn't born to be a skeleton.

Go on,
Grab your hat and fetch a camera.
Go on, film the world before it happens.

Jealous orchard.
The sky is falling off the ceiling
While I`m tucking fibs into a cookie jar.

Bombed reverie.
It`s useless searching in the cupboards
When everything you have is on your back.

-c.s.

lets bake a fake! (conclusive evidence for the contrary)

filled with youthful cynicism
you stomp about self important
chest out, shoulders back
protesting this and that

stuffed with mindless wits
you shout about freedom of choice
warped minds, devoted hearts
loving this and that

clogged with eager emotions
you feel so d*** blue
slit wrists, empty stomach
hating this and that

shown the truth
you look around
world, people
this and that

just what it is

-c.s.

I'm Not There Review

I just watched an hour of the Bob Dylan movie: I'm Not There and I'm going to have to say that it is one of the worst films I have ever seen. It could've been put together a whole lot better but the way it is feels very jumbled, nonsensical, uninteresting, and to be quite frank amateur! I had no invested interest in the movie which is why I didn't finish watching it. I feel it would have been better if it was edited into a chronological sequence instead of jumping every which way which could have worked but actually ended up screwing up the movie. It tries to be a Ulysses but ends up as some cheap drug-store paperback. Some hail it as a great work of art but in my opinion I think it was horrible.

Despite all that however, the acting is great, except for Cate Blanchett who just didn't seem to fit into the role. I especially liked Christian Bale's portrayal.

What other critics say:

"There are those who will applaud what Haynes and his actors have accomplished, and I can understand its appeal on an intellectual level. But I am not a supporter of film without form or art without structure."

"Even with new information provided in the film, however, his personality remains not so much elusive as cantankerous, particularly in contrast with the expansiveness of his songs. That gap gives I'm Not There something of a hollow centre."

"It's not nearly as enjoyable as one of his rambling, meditative songs, though perhaps it is aspiring to be the cinematic equivalent. Give me "Tangled Up in Blue" any day over this incoherent, tangled trip."

"Too often, it’s the MOVIE that isn’t there. What’s meant to be archetypal comes across as superficial."

"It doesn't work. It is just a mess -- though the sound track, full of Dylan songs is, of course, good to hear."

-c.s.

Life Rolling into a Huge Ball

After a long list of things going wrong something finally goes right. Pretty. Odd. has leaked onto the album and although I was planning on buying the album I downloaded it! :D

It is an amazing album. I'm listening to it right now: see:

----------------
Now playing: Panic At The Disco - When the Day Met The Night
via FoxyTunes

WOW!!!

I have only a few more days left of school. This week is my last full week and then I have 2 days the week after and an exam the week after that. Then I'm finished!!


DONE!!!! I can't wait!

And on April 3rd I can find out if I'm off to teacher's college next year or if I have to take the suicide route...just kidding!

I've eaten nothing but chocolate all day. :S

Well, what an interesting post eh?

I plan on getting my chapter outlines for R271 done when I have a week off before volunteering at Hall again. And after Hall is work and after work is school and after school is more work!!!

I never get a break! LOL!!!!!

Well, I'm going to listen to Pretty Odd some more!!



----------------
Now playing: Panic At The Disco - The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know
via FoxyTunes


-c.s.

In Response to Stephen:

My cousin, Stephen, wrote a note that inspired me to write my own.

You can read his note here!

Without further ado...

I believe in liberal principles of morality. I believe in extended government influence on economy, education, and industry. I don't believe in capitalism or privatized corporations. I believe that Christ's teachings lead us to be more liberal and concerned with world-wide humanity over private interests.

I believe in unlimited free speech because the government and its people need to be constantly challenged.

I do not believe that electoral democracy is the best form of institutional regimes because of its flaws but I do believe that people should control the government.

I believe we should not judge other countries on their economic value to us but that if they require our help or our punishment we should step up and lead the way.

I believe in universal healthcare, free education, and opportunity for everyone. I believe it is our own duty whether we be Christian, Muslim, Jew, or Atheist to help those in need.

I leave you with this quotation from Thomas Jefferson:

When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.
When the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-c.s.

Shtuff!

I'm just bored and felt like giving a little update.

I took a nap today---a really long nap. I really enjoy sleeping when I'm sleeping but when I'm awake I feel guilty about all the time I've wasted. How many of you feel like that? I think it has to do with dreaming. I just have really good dreams. I find it a lot easier to get out of bed if I've had a bad dream or a nightmare then if I had a really good dream. The best dreams are flying dreams, even if I am lost in the dream or flying away from something it is still an amazing feeling. And I try to explain to others in my dream how to fly but no one ever listens. It's just like swimming. You push yourself into the air and then kick---yes it requires effort but gah! you're FLYING!!!! The strangest flying dream I've ever had was after watching Death to Smoochy. The whole world was comprised of people in dinosaur costumes, the girls wore pink and the boys wore green. All the girls were related--they were princesses---and only the girls could fly! So we had to build this giant tower. I don't remember much else detail; it was about 4 or 5 years ago.

The days do not seem to be passing by. Two weeks ago, I had 30 days left of school, and now I have 27 days left of school. What's up with that? I must have counted funny or rounded up or something. It just doesn't make any sense. Either way, I'm glad for this week. I don't have anything due but I still plan on working on some stuff to alleviate myself in the coming weeks. I have two essays and three exams! I'll be done on April 9th and on April 3rd I can find out if I got accepted to any of the schools I applied to for teacher's college!

I completely cleaned by room on the weekend and found all of my assignments from last year. I knew I was hoarding them somewhere. I can't wait until I can move everything back home and set up my room. I don't think I'm going to have enough space for everything. I have way too many books but I don't want to give any away--correction, I can't give any away. It would be physically impossible for me to part with any of my books. You know, as soon as you give it away or throw it out you need it-->CONFESSIONS OF A PACK RAT!!

I have a ton of things on my to do list for this summer. I want to first finish R271 and then work on some lyrics for my imaginary band based on Ulysses called the Mollycoddles. I don't have the time to be in a band but if you want my lyrics you're more than welcome to help yourself to them. The only stipulation is that if you happen to become semi-famous or even famous, you must credit me for the writing. I don't ask for money, royalties, or anything except credit and maybe a hug and a glass of milk! Life would be a lot easier if we could pay off debts with hugs and cookies. I'd become a professional baker!!

My bed is seductively calling my name even though my eyes are not yet drooping. Off I must to read and dream. A sweet night's dream to you and your all!

-c.s.

batman

nananananananananananana BATMAN!! BATMAN!!! BATMAN!!!!

I just finished watching Batman Begins and although some of the dialogue was really cheesy, I felt that it was completely awesome! I can't wait for Dark Knight. It's going to be really cool to see what they do with it.

I really felt the movie combined different elements from all the other movies but still maintained its own "personality". I'm anything but a purist when it comes to adapting comics into movies or anything into movies (as long as the author didn't expressly say, "don't do it") so all this nonsense about sticking to the comic is, to me, just pretentious show-offs saying "I know the comics!"

Anywho, that's it. Just felt like writing something since I haven't written in a while and I really enjoyed Batman Begins.

Now excuse me while I catch up on some sleep!!!

-c.s.

p.s. Christian Bale is an amazing actor!

The light...

keeps going on and off!


I have so many ideas. I want to write a screenplay for Ulysses. I don't want to give too much away but I already have the Molly situation figured out for the movie and if ever I get to it, it's going to be a surprise.

I only have three weeks left and then I can really devote my time to R271 which I really want to get done before anything else.

I don't have much else to say except that I've noticed that I've started all my sentences with "I"...

-c.s.

Life

"Cash for life", "prison for life"

Actually the "life" in these phrases mean 25 years. Since when did 25 years come to mean life? Does that mean that my life is almost over? Does this mean that my parents are zombies?

I need some answers!!


-c.s.

Conversation about the military

This is a conversation I had with TJ. Just thought I'd share it because it might explain a bit more about my ideals.

TJ (3:26 PM):

32MILLION CANADIANS PROTEST ON CANADA DAY AGAINST THERE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT

Courtney (3:27 PM):

did you see what I wrote on the wall for that group?

TJ (3:27 PM):

no

TJ (3:27 PM):

what did u write ?

Courtney (3:27 PM):

that it was groups like that that prevent the right from taking us seriously what with all the caplocks, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors

TJ (3:28 PM):

lol they did comment back to that.

TJ (3:28 PM):

The people who run this site are just as authoritarian and deceitful as our so called "Corrupt Government." I posted some notes disagreeing with that they said, and they deleted my comments. They did not even try to disprove what I had to see, they merely deleted it. So hypocritical. Go on deleted these comments too. I will keep posting. Continue to prove that you are not really interested in just

TJ (3:29 PM):

"It bugs me when SOME RUDE people that i had to delete their posts focus more on the problems of spelling and of the wright, anyway thank you to all the Supports that focus on the real problems and look past the little things."

Courtney (3:29 PM):

yes, i got a private message that was very insulting saying i should start my own group if i knew what i was doing and stuff like that, i'd rather not associate with those people

Courtney (3:29 PM):

i read that

TJ (3:29 PM):

lol.

Courtney (3:31 PM):

it really is people like that that prevent people from taking our message seriously though, you know how many conservatives are on the internet posting pictures of protestors with misspelt banners and dressed like hippies! they are just inviting people to ridicule our fight

TJ (3:31 PM):

well then u should have just told them u will help them out with there spelling n shit and u could have corrected it ..

Courtney (3:33 PM):

i tried but they are a bunch of, no offense, high school students who will believe anything you tell them if it goes against the government; they are just like the people they are fighting, they refuse to educate themselves about what they are fighting against and it just gets me so angry, don't bother inviting me to those groups anymore

Courtney (3:33 PM):

its not like facebook groups are going to make a difference in the world anyways

TJ (3:34 PM):

lol.

TJ (3:34 PM):

well this group has 1 lady in it whos not around right now but she hosts most major protests in toronto.

Courtney (3:35 PM):

i hope she spells better on her placards

Courtney (3:35 PM):

protests don't do anything, when are we going to learn that too

Courtney (3:36 PM):

it didn't help for vietnam, it didn't help for iraq, its not going to help for anything

Courtney (3:36 PM):

the government doesn't care, you already elected them into power, there's nothing you can do about it

Funny...

...not really!

There's a military recruiter outside of my dorm right now. I'm confused as to why he is here. Why would people in university want to join the army? I mean their education is likely paid for by OSAP or their parents. They already have a bright future in whatever field they are studying in. And this is a left-leaning institution.



Now you know what is funny!

A good British comedy. Black Books is really funny and I love Dylan Moran's accent. I love it when people say "I tink" or "I tought". It makes me giggle like a school girl!

You know what's even more funny!

I'm just writing all this nonsense to further procrastinate working on my essay. There's no reason for my procrastination. I practically have the thing written in point form. I just need to put in a "the", "however", and a "heretofore" every now and again to be finished. Maybe it's just the fact that it is so boring and pointless that I don't want to do it.



I'd rather be outside ranting about the military then anything else right now. Or maybe I'd rather be sleeping...




Aside from this essay, a three-day migraine, and burning my lip (yes I have a blister) on a piece of pasta, there's not much else going on.

I only have 22 days left of school including weekends; that's only 12 days of classes left! I can't wait to be out of here!!!!!!!!

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!

Here's a picture of Dylan Moran to keep us all satisfied until then!

Superheros meet Classical Art

-c.s.

School

You know what's difficult! Trying to write a stupid essay (and I'm not using stupid as a throw-away diss here) when you have a migraine. For three days I have been thrown into an apathetic state because I can't concentrate long enough to care. This essay is completely pointless, moreso this class is completely pointless. All we ever do is talk about what it means to be homosexual. That's 24 weeks on the same topic. Well, I've completely lost interest in this blog entry so here's a picture:




-c.s.

according to google:

number of horns on a unicorn acre = 7.76750034 × 10²⁴ US teaspoons per light year

-C.S.

...

Being anti-war...where do we draw the line?

It is easy for us, as privileged North Americans, to be anti-war. We can say that killing people is bad and that we shouldn't do it. We are indoctrinated with anti-war sentiments from bumper stickers to songs. (Side rant: I hate John Lennon. "Wars over if you want it" is not a feasible solution. Sometimes people don't want the war to be over: see below.)

In less-privileged countries, the inclination towards violence and warfare is much much higher. When you are oppressed, when your attempts at diplomacy fail, the only solution is revolution--the only solution is war, violence, death! Most revolutions are sparked when the CIA steps in removes a democratically elected head of state (or a head of state that is 'beloved' among the people) and institutes a dictator. These people have seen diplomacy and know that it doesn't work!

The reason for going to war, not the war itself is what should be scrutinized. The military and their training is what should be examined.

This is just another example of unthinking devotion; another example of why the right laughs at the left. Don't let this happen. Be what you preach! THINK!

-C.S.

*untitled*

"witnessing"--why i don't

Anyone who has broached the subject of Christianity with me knows that I am four-square against "witnessing". For those of you who haven't let me explain.

Witnessing is when a Christian goes up to a person and tries to convert them to Christianity. Some of the techniques include "Is Jesus in charge of your life?" or the more hands-on scare-tactic "Have you ever told a lie?". In the second approach, employed by the likes of Kirk Cameron and his partner Ray Comfort, an evangelical (a Christian who wants to convert others to Christianity is my loose definition) approaches a person and argues that if you ever told a simple white lie that you are going to burn in hell for eternity unless you turn to Jesus. This is the evangelicalism with which I have a major problem.

On the one hand, a simple white lie is not prohibited by the commandments and you won't go to hell for telling your wife that she looks great in that dress. The commandment is Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour not the misinterpreted Thou shalt not lie. The commandment prohibits a specific, limited, and despicable sort of lie--a lie told in court. But there is no Biblical rule forbidding simple untruth. So evangelists who use this approach would be better off telling the people that if they had committed murder and not asked for forgiveness they would go to hell which would probably make evangelism a lot more dangerous!

The second problem I have has to do with the above as well--scare tactics! Don't go up to a person and say that they are going to hell because they are horrible people--it doesn't work. People don't believe in Hell anymore (more about this later). You have to show them the positive sides of being a Christian, such as involvement in social justice. (Note: Don't use the aphorism: God is Love. This is too sentimental for atheists and the like.) I have come across this passage that I would like to share: "The most I could possibly do would be to urge her to seek salvation. But I would have to do it most carefully. One does not persuade a butterfly to light on one's hand by brandishing a sword". That is an amazing epigram for what I'm trying to say here.

One thing that I think some Christians can't grasp is that atheists do not believe in the Bible. That is why they laugh at you and tear you to shreds if you draw all your proof from the Bible.
This really bothers me when I watch a debate between atheists and Christians and the Christian debater argues that it is so because it says so in the Bible. I know what it is like to be an atheist. The Bible is just another piece of fiction to atheists. They don't believe in it and therefore attempting to argue from it is pointless! POINTLESS!!!!! When you are trying to argue for the existence of God do not look to the Bible! (Blasphemy you say! Nay say I!) St. Augustine did not philosophize just for something to do (okay maybe he did or maybe he didn't, either way we can benefit from his work). He created something called the Five Proofs of God found in his Summa Theologica Part I. These are incredible and are one part of the reason for my conversion. I won't detail them here as they are quite lengthy (another post, another day) but you can find the full version here or the wikipedia version here. Another great logical conversion is that of C.S. Lewis. He argued this: Men (all humans) crave things and those cravings are satisfied. If a man is thirsty, his craving is satisfied with water. If a man is hungry, his craving is satisfied with food. If a pregnant woman craves, she can be satisfied with pickles and ice cream! If man craves for a higher spiritual being, the logical conclusion is that there must be one. Tada!

Lastly, the reason why I don't evangelize is found in the Bible itself. First let me clarify that I do not believe in any of the books following the Gospel of John, including all letters, the book of Acts, and Revelations because (and I won't get into detail, another day, another post) they basically contradict what Jesus says in the Gospels. The passage I refer to when arguing about evangilism is Luke 6:41-42. It reads: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." I do not have the arrogance nor the audacity to assume that I am cleansed enough to tell others that they are going to go to Hell. No one can be certain about Heaven or Hell, Jesus said so. No one knows except God (and in that I include the Holy Ghost and Jesus) what it is like and who will go where so don't be so arrogant as to assume that you are going to Heaven because you don't know!

Well, that's enough out of me for one day. I have an essay to finish. I just wanted to clarify a few things out there.

And just in case you didn't catch it, I am Christian. I believe in the Bible but I also know what it is like to be a non-believer.

-C.S. (Lewis?? lol, jk)

fun with photos

Just two things!

First: Read this story
(link: http://diannesylvan.typepad.com/dancing_down_the_moon/2008/02/for-racu-an-ane.html)

Excerpt: "If you walk up to a black man and call him that dreaded "n word" or tell him he should be tap dancing and eating fried chicken, you'll be thought of as a bigot, but if you insult someone's appearance to their faces in public or tell a fat woman she should be on Atkins, it's considered "helpful advice." You don't know this woman, why she's fat, or anything about her life, but it's okay to be cruel, because obviously she's lazy and self-indulgent and you, as a skinny evangelist, have the right to say whatever you want if you think it's for her own good. People don't believe this kind of shit happens, but it happens every day."

and secondly this picture:


I think you get what "side" I'm on here. This is wrong, wrong, wrong! Give Palestine their land back!

-C.S.

Leaked Torture List

Not what you thought! I don't know how real this is suppose to be but apparently this is a leaked playlist of songs played while the U.S. military tortures people or something along those lines. Take a good look at some of those songs!!



Barney?

-C.S.

Done

ah, the joy of being done.


however...




-c.s.

sleepless in university

I'm pretty tired right now. I'm trying to get a detailed outline done for my essay due on Wednesday. I've just looked at my calendar and realized that I shouldn't be allowed to go home or relax at all because of all that I have due. One/two things a week. And I thought November was rough!

There is one thing that keeps me going during these stressful weeks. I have less than 40 days to go before I am done with my BA! (I'm praying to God that the Bachelor of Education doesn't involve this amount of stress. I'm honestly hoping that I can BS my way through it.)

If the BEd turns out to be more stressful than I think I can always fall back on this profession:




-C.S.