Monthly Archives: April 2010

Your headband reminds me of my childhood.

Aislyn 🙂

This used to be (I guess technically still is) my myspace background. The creativity of actually designing your page on myspace is pretty cool, vs. everyone’s looking the same on facebook. One of my best friends made this theme for me, and found this picture for me too.

We cling to music, to poems, to quotes, to writing, to art because we desperately do not want to be alone. We want to know we aren’t going crazy & someone else out there knows exactly how you’re feeling. We want someone to explain the things we can’t.

Anon (via fareenazahari) (via gowriey) (via anditslove)

and phrase the things we don’t know how to say

Philosophy has really been shaking my world view. Theories about invisible hands, the myth of the cave, the world of being vs. the world of becoming, who should rule, social contracts, subjective reality, monads, and the matrix, just for starting in reality and justice. I feel like the world is all cluttered with good intentions and bad intentions, but the outcomes are not always what you would expect. These words, like justice and dignity, that hold such powerful ideas keep cropping. I almost feel like I’m being brought from one reality, into a higher one, as in the myth of the cave. From the world of accepting, to the world of questioning, but it isn’t easy, I’m losing my footing and security along the way, the naive idea that everything must be right with the world. I’m not talking about conspiracies here, looming danger, but more about the injustices that go ignored, ideas formed by uninformed minds, and the human tendency to push things under the carpet – out of sight, out of mind. In a way I feel like I’m losing faith in the world, in humanity, but at the same time, I’m gaining it because of all these great thinkers, all the strong, empowered individuals I see asking questions, learning, creating. A short while ago I read the intro to The Reason For God online (I’m reading The God Delusion and want to be fair about seeing both sides). I remember scoffing at how the author, Timothy Keller, insisted that faith was growing and scepticism was growing at the same time, but now I think it might be a type of paradox. Maybe that’s only because I feel similar about my level of faith in humanity, it’s higher and lower than ever, because I am learning more of the horrible things humans have, and continue to do, and I’m discovering more and more people who are creative, wise, musical, kind and intelligent. I guess, I’m not quite sure what to think, but I feel optimistic, and a bit empowered, because at least I’m thinking about it, thinking about the world and what I believe in.

The Euclid Contest

I am happy that my Calculus teacher ‘forced’ us to take the Euclid. For those who don’t know, this is basically the hardest high school math test around. around 13-14 thousand people take it each year and almost half of them fail it. Keep in mind that this is voluntary participation for the most part, and mostly pretty bright kids. The thing is only 10 questions long but you get 3 hours to do it, I think I could have used a lot more time, seeing I didn’t even get around to questions 9 or 10. My whole class has been despairing about this for the last few weeks, and begging for it not to count for marks (we got a compromise, it’ll be marked on the curve.) This exam even has the audacity to make you feel like a fool after you’re through and the answers have come out, as the answers aren’t particularly hard to get, it’s just hard to find the way to get them (talk about ‘doh’ moments). I’m estimating I got somewhere in the 57-63% range, and will be happy with that if I’m correct. Anyways, I’m glad for this challenge, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have to, but after today’s psychology class focused on praise, effort, and achievement I’m especially appreciative of being pushed out of my intellectual comfort zone, so to speak.

Update (May 28. 2010): I got 66%! Highest in my class, and perhaps even my school district!

It’s an incredible con job when you think about it, to believe something now in exchange for something after death. Even corporations with their reward systems don’t try to make it posthumous.

Gloria Steinem

I was experimenting with actually styling my hair when I went outside and it was promptly blown every which way by the afternoon wind.

Pepper

It’s an incredible con job when you think about it, to believe something now in exchange for something after death. Even corporations with their reward systems don’t try to make it posthumous.

Gloria Steinem