Few things in this world impact everyone. That is to say, there aren't a lot of events or things in life where almost every single person can say "I know someone who..." Cancer is one of those things. Almost everyone knows someone who has or had cancer, and it has impacted their life and the lives around them. It is a tragic, life-changing experience to be diagnosed with cancer, and the subsequent years are a continuous battle. However, no one has to be alone in this battle. No one has to be alone in any battle for that matter, which is what the point of this post is. I'm not asking you for money. I'm asking that you be there for that person. Be supportive by their side, comfort them, do whatever it takes to bring joy into that person's life.
Everyone can do so much more than this, however. We can be by the sides of strangers, and people we do not know or cannot see. Cancer has a minimal impact on me as I do not know dozens of people with it, or anyone very close to me, but I am aware that it exists and is troubling the lives of millions of people. We can't stop this overnight, but we can definitely take it one step at a time.
One of these steps is the Relay for Life, which is an overnight event whose primary objective is to raise money for the American Cancer Society, which helps with cancer research. I won't give you all of the details, because I want you to find out for yourself. Here is the Relay for Life website, where you can donate to teams, or make your own team. Like I said before, I'm not asking that you donate to me or to my team specifically (although if you would like to, here is where you would do it). My hope is that in reading this post, you will be moved enough to the point where you want to donate and help end the battle with cancer.
Relay for Life's message is simple. "Celebrate. Remember. Fight back." That's all it takes.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Relatively Real
Man, is philosophy awesome.
I wish philosophy was my second of two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, instead of Psych. While I will say that the alliterative reminder of my schedule (Philosophy first, Psych second) is awesome, my mind is always running a hundred miles an hour after philosophy. In class today we talked about the concepts of moral realism vs. moral relativism, in terms of objective truth. Moral realism (which will be considered just as realism for the purposes of this blog post) is the idea that statements are true or false, regardless of anyone believes, and relativism is the contradiction that there is no objective truth, and everything is rather a matter of everyone's differing opinion. Before class today, I had the preconceived notion that matters of fact were simply fact - 1 plus 1 is always 2, regardless of what you tell me. This is an objective truth, but I didn't consider it to be part of my argument, since it wasn't a matter of morality. Turns out that didn't matter.
One point that was brought up was that there are disagreements even about realism and relativism. This created a perfect opportunity for me to create some paradoxical answer that would make me feel like House after he comes up with a cool diagnosis that fits all of the patient's symptoms. I offered that the idea that people disagreed about things, in our case realism vs. relativism, was in and of itself relativism, because the answer to the question "Is realism or relativism right?," in my view, is "It's up to what you want to believe." That would point towards relativism, non? The fact that some people couldn't agree about it makes it relativism. Ah, but there's something new - facts. Facts threw everything off, as our class discussed what would happen if 1 plus 1 were 10, if the Earth were flat, and if slavery still existed. I wish I had a photographic memory of today's class, but my chicken-scratch notes will have to suffice for now:
"fact. people disagree." I wrote this in the "realism" column, because this is a fact of life. People will disagree about things. Alright, so that's in the realism column. But the fact itself is that people disagree. Implying that there are differing opinions - well that would bring it over to the relativism column. Paradoxes rule.
"I'm trying to prove this. Couldn't that contradict all this?" This has an arrow to essentially everything above it I wrote, which is basically the entire class debate up to that point. But let's consider this. Let's say I successfully prove to everyone in class that relativism is the way to go. All 25 of us agree on this - wouldn't that make it a fact? An objective truth? Wouldn't the fact that my end result would be proof bring this back over to the realism column?
"is 1+1=2? If enough people say that 1+1=10, is 1+1=10? What are the implications?" That last question was in my mind for the last 15 or so minutes of class. Sure, everyone thought slavery was wonderful while they had it, but someone realized that slavery is immoral and shouldn't happen. Everyone eventually accepted this as what was right, and went along with it. If enough people agree on something, does it make it true? What if it's not true? What are the implications of what we assume to be true?
"is my major a lie? :(" Very briefly did I ponder the reality and/or relativity of mathematics on its own. How would things be different if people did accept the sum of two ones to be 10?
"the truth is that there's no truth" There's my paradoxical contradictory conclusion. The truth is that there's no truth. That isn't to say that moral relativism is the right way to go. The "no truth" at the end is a play on Candide, where Candide finally realizes that philosophizing may be fun, but it's not practical and we should just go cultivate our garden. "No truth" means that there's no definitive answer. There are supporting arguments for each side, but it's still nagging at me that the evidence of arguments, debates, and opinions would point to relativism. I believe that everything is what you believe, unless it's fact. There it is again. You can think that one and one is three, but you're wrong, because it's been proven to be two. So maybe everything isn't as relative as I may think it to be. In the end, what has this distillation of my convoluted notes created? Maybe you will read this and undergo your own internal debate and distill your own convoluted notes. Because while it is important to cultivate our garden...this is too fun to pass up. Leave a comment if you have something to say, as I'm always open to discuss ideas.
I wish philosophy was my second of two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, instead of Psych. While I will say that the alliterative reminder of my schedule (Philosophy first, Psych second) is awesome, my mind is always running a hundred miles an hour after philosophy. In class today we talked about the concepts of moral realism vs. moral relativism, in terms of objective truth. Moral realism (which will be considered just as realism for the purposes of this blog post) is the idea that statements are true or false, regardless of anyone believes, and relativism is the contradiction that there is no objective truth, and everything is rather a matter of everyone's differing opinion. Before class today, I had the preconceived notion that matters of fact were simply fact - 1 plus 1 is always 2, regardless of what you tell me. This is an objective truth, but I didn't consider it to be part of my argument, since it wasn't a matter of morality. Turns out that didn't matter.
One point that was brought up was that there are disagreements even about realism and relativism. This created a perfect opportunity for me to create some paradoxical answer that would make me feel like House after he comes up with a cool diagnosis that fits all of the patient's symptoms. I offered that the idea that people disagreed about things, in our case realism vs. relativism, was in and of itself relativism, because the answer to the question "Is realism or relativism right?," in my view, is "It's up to what you want to believe." That would point towards relativism, non? The fact that some people couldn't agree about it makes it relativism. Ah, but there's something new - facts. Facts threw everything off, as our class discussed what would happen if 1 plus 1 were 10, if the Earth were flat, and if slavery still existed. I wish I had a photographic memory of today's class, but my chicken-scratch notes will have to suffice for now:
"fact. people disagree." I wrote this in the "realism" column, because this is a fact of life. People will disagree about things. Alright, so that's in the realism column. But the fact itself is that people disagree. Implying that there are differing opinions - well that would bring it over to the relativism column. Paradoxes rule.
"I'm trying to prove this. Couldn't that contradict all this?" This has an arrow to essentially everything above it I wrote, which is basically the entire class debate up to that point. But let's consider this. Let's say I successfully prove to everyone in class that relativism is the way to go. All 25 of us agree on this - wouldn't that make it a fact? An objective truth? Wouldn't the fact that my end result would be proof bring this back over to the realism column?
"is 1+1=2? If enough people say that 1+1=10, is 1+1=10? What are the implications?" That last question was in my mind for the last 15 or so minutes of class. Sure, everyone thought slavery was wonderful while they had it, but someone realized that slavery is immoral and shouldn't happen. Everyone eventually accepted this as what was right, and went along with it. If enough people agree on something, does it make it true? What if it's not true? What are the implications of what we assume to be true?
"is my major a lie? :(" Very briefly did I ponder the reality and/or relativity of mathematics on its own. How would things be different if people did accept the sum of two ones to be 10?
"the truth is that there's no truth" There's my paradoxical contradictory conclusion. The truth is that there's no truth. That isn't to say that moral relativism is the right way to go. The "no truth" at the end is a play on Candide, where Candide finally realizes that philosophizing may be fun, but it's not practical and we should just go cultivate our garden. "No truth" means that there's no definitive answer. There are supporting arguments for each side, but it's still nagging at me that the evidence of arguments, debates, and opinions would point to relativism. I believe that everything is what you believe, unless it's fact. There it is again. You can think that one and one is three, but you're wrong, because it's been proven to be two. So maybe everything isn't as relative as I may think it to be. In the end, what has this distillation of my convoluted notes created? Maybe you will read this and undergo your own internal debate and distill your own convoluted notes. Because while it is important to cultivate our garden...this is too fun to pass up. Leave a comment if you have something to say, as I'm always open to discuss ideas.
Working for the Weekend
This is my first blog post where I don't yet have a title in mind. I have a theme, which you will read about soon, but no title. So hopefully I find one in these next words.
Today, Stonehill is on a 2 hour delay, meaning that the College does not open until 10am, and that there are no classes before that. I would normally be excited about this, if not for the fact that my first class isn't until 11:30am today. So this delay is essentially nonexistent for me...terrific.
You may be thinking to yourself why I am awake at 9am if my first class is at 11:30. Well...I don't know. During Christmas break, I routinely woke up to see that it was after 10, but I can't seem to sleep past even 9 at school, even on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I start late. But that's alright, because I do have work to do today. And every day, it seems. And I haven't exactly been on top of everything as well as I could/should be. But that's nothing a planning-out-my-day shower can't fix. I just need it to be the weekend. All the time in the world to do what I need to...until it's Monday again. But hey...one day, one room.
Today, Stonehill is on a 2 hour delay, meaning that the College does not open until 10am, and that there are no classes before that. I would normally be excited about this, if not for the fact that my first class isn't until 11:30am today. So this delay is essentially nonexistent for me...terrific.
You may be thinking to yourself why I am awake at 9am if my first class is at 11:30. Well...I don't know. During Christmas break, I routinely woke up to see that it was after 10, but I can't seem to sleep past even 9 at school, even on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I start late. But that's alright, because I do have work to do today. And every day, it seems. And I haven't exactly been on top of everything as well as I could/should be. But that's nothing a planning-out-my-day shower can't fix. I just need it to be the weekend. All the time in the world to do what I need to...until it's Monday again. But hey...one day, one room.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
10 Awesome Covers
So I was on Pandora Radio last week (Internet contribution #1), and came across a cover of OneRepublic's "Apologize," sung by Silverstein. I went to YouTube (Internet contribution #2) to copy the URL into a video to mp3 converter (Internet contribution #3) (and come to think of it...maybe I shouldn't be saying this...), and put it on my iPod. I noticed that the cover was from an album called Punk Goes Pop, and learned that Punk went other things, as well. Wikipedia (Internet contribution #4) informed me of all of the genres that Punk Goes... covered, and I looked up each album and its songs, downloading songs I liked. Lather, rinse, repeat. So now I have been inspired to share some of my favorite covers with you. In no particular order...
1. Apologize - Silverstein. A cover of OneRepublic, there's not many things in music better than loudness and heavy guitars. Before you tell me about the screaming part, allow me to tell you that this singer actually has a good voice and this is a well performed song.
2. We Are the Champions - Mayday Parade. A cover of the Queen classic, this might be one of the closest covers to the original in the list. If Queen were around today, I bet this is what they would sound like.
3. The Boys of Summer - The Ataris. I would probably put this in my "10 Awesome Songs" blog post if I had one - this song is just way too awesome to not be in any playlist of awesome things.
4. Jumper - Bedlight for Blue Eyes. This song gets progressively louder and fuller - it's just a guitar and vocals in the beginning, but ends up doing justice to Third Eye Blind's hit. And I'm always a sucker when there is piano in a song.
5. Free Fallin' - The Almost. If you hear the words "Free Fallin'" and "cover," your mind will probably go right to John Mayer. Another product of Punk Goes Classic Rock, this cover is better than John Mayer's version, and depending on your taste, better than Tom Petty's classic rock hit too. Like I said...loudness and heavy guitars.
6. Enjoy the Silence - Anberlin. This song is eerily similar to the original, performed by Depeche Mode. I love Anberlin's lead singer's voice, and this is an overall solid cover.
7. Wanted Dead or Alive - Daughtry. I love how every Daughtry song sounds, and I also love acoustic strumming backing up vocals, so I mean...I kinda have to put this song on here. And off the topic of covers for a minute...I continue to maintain that Daughtry is arguably the best thing to happen to American Idol. Yes, Kelly Clarkon was huge, but in her own genre, and Carrie Underwood is huge, but in her own genre. Daughtry is huge in his genre, and deserved way better than a 4th place finish. Eliot Yamin, Kat McPhee, and Taylor Hicks have collectively produced maybe two good songs. Daughtry has two good albums. Congratulations, America. You were wrong.
8. Live and Let Die - Guns 'n' Roses. In perhaps another controversial, off-topic remark...I'm not a huge fan of the Beatles. Their style just doesn't do it for me. Guns 'n' Roses however, sometimes do. If you disagree and think that Paul McCartney's version is better, well, sucks to Paul McCartney's version. And ass-mar.
9 (tie). Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley and Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright. I do personally think that each of these covers is better than the original by Leonard Cohen, and the version sung by those 4 Norwegian guys on Youtube. But I can't decide which version is better than the other. Each has its own beauty about it...Jeff Buckley's version is slower and more dramatic, while Rufus Wainwright's version (featured in Shrek) is more straightforward and neat. My one gripe with Wainwright's version is that he plays an E minor in the second to last chord before the chorus, while Buckley plays the much better-sounding E major. Regardless, these are both very good covers.
10. Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. This is a cover of a couple of different songs - Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and What a Wonderful World. This is easily the best feel-good song on this playlist, and while it's not an exact cover of any particular song, it's awesome. So that's why I end with this song.
Covers that didn't make the cut:
Time After Time - Quietdrive
Hey Ya - Obadiah Parker
Here Comes the Sun - Yo-Yo Ma & James Taylor
Bittersweet Symphony - Ace Enders & Others
Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Back to School
Currently I'm sitting in the library because my first history class in two years was canceled, much to my non-chagrin. (Why isn't there an opposite to chagrin? There should be.) So I came here to do some homework and effectively kill off an hour before Calculus. I literally have no theme for this post...I know it's called "Back to School", but that's because this is like my third attempt at writing a post called "Back to School."
I wonder if the person behind me can see me typing this. I wonder if she'll say something if she can - no voices yet so she's probably not paying attention.
I wish my thoughts were being voiced out loud right now, as in the same fashion Mark Zuckerburg was blogging during The Social Network (which was a fantastic movie, by the way). There's just something cool about typing something and reading it while listening to it at the same time. Maybe that's what I'm trying to do in these last two paragraphs. Who knows. I certainly don't, since my mind is like an old vehicle right now, sputtering around. See? I can't even make a good metaphor because I'm not school-ready yet. But not to worry. Soon enough we get to go over areas between curves.
I wonder if the person behind me can see me typing this. I wonder if she'll say something if she can - no voices yet so she's probably not paying attention.
I wish my thoughts were being voiced out loud right now, as in the same fashion Mark Zuckerburg was blogging during The Social Network (which was a fantastic movie, by the way). There's just something cool about typing something and reading it while listening to it at the same time. Maybe that's what I'm trying to do in these last two paragraphs. Who knows. I certainly don't, since my mind is like an old vehicle right now, sputtering around. See? I can't even make a good metaphor because I'm not school-ready yet. But not to worry. Soon enough we get to go over areas between curves.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wet and Naked
So I've known something for quite some time now - I know where I do my best thinking...in the shower. Something about being wet and naked just makes me think a lot clearer than I do in any other setting. Seriously...I don't know what it is, but I plan my entire day out in the shower. What to do, when to do it, how to do it, what to do after that, when I can relax for a few minutes, etc. And it works! Despite the fact that 40% of what was on my floor is now on my bed, my room is the cleanest it has been since I got home for winter break. This wouldn't have happened if not for my epic planning skills in the shower.
Ever eager to know why things are they way they are, I went to the almighty Google. People's suggestions were that you're cleaner in the shower (which came as no surprise to me), so it's easier for oxygen to go to your brain. Actually now that I think about that, that doesn't really make a ton of sense. I mean I'm in an enclosed space (sliding doors) with hot water and steam...how can biology do anything to me?
Now that I once again have no sufficient answer, I'll make up my own. Everything seems to just go away in the shower. I can't hear anything, no one can hear me (I hope...), so it's just me and my thoughts. But what separates the shower from any other time that I'm alone with my thoughts? Which brings me back around to the title of this post...wet and naked. Maybe that's the condition in which I think best, not necessarily in the shower...in any case, I'm not going to continue questioning what works. Maybe I'll find out the answer tomorrow morning. By which I mean like 12:30pm...because, you know...it's winter break and the morning for me is the afternoon for the rest of the world.
Ever eager to know why things are they way they are, I went to the almighty Google. People's suggestions were that you're cleaner in the shower (which came as no surprise to me), so it's easier for oxygen to go to your brain. Actually now that I think about that, that doesn't really make a ton of sense. I mean I'm in an enclosed space (sliding doors) with hot water and steam...how can biology do anything to me?
Now that I once again have no sufficient answer, I'll make up my own. Everything seems to just go away in the shower. I can't hear anything, no one can hear me (I hope...), so it's just me and my thoughts. But what separates the shower from any other time that I'm alone with my thoughts? Which brings me back around to the title of this post...wet and naked. Maybe that's the condition in which I think best, not necessarily in the shower...in any case, I'm not going to continue questioning what works. Maybe I'll find out the answer tomorrow morning. By which I mean like 12:30pm...because, you know...it's winter break and the morning for me is the afternoon for the rest of the world.
Monday, January 10, 2011
What It's Like to Do Nothing With My Life
When I woke up on Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010, it was about 7:45am. I hopped out of my bunk bed in my room at Stonehill, showered, changed, ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, and kicked my French final's ass.
When I woke up on Monday, January 10th, 2011, it was about 11:45am. I thought it was Tuesday. I tossed around in bed for about ten minutes before realizing my mom was going shopping, and I needed to tell her what to buy me for school. After I did that, I went back upstairs to bed and laid in bed for another ten minutes. It was only after a shower that I decided I would be somewhat productive today.
But c'mon...how productive is "somewhat productive" in the middle of winter break? Let me tell you...I sent out a few emails that I had planned to send out days ago, bookmarked a few songs on YouTube that I was planning on downloading but was too lazy to download at that moment, ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast at 12:30, and whatever happened between then and right now is white space. As in whatever I did for the last 3 or so hours clearly wasn't important enough for my memory to bother with. I watched some of The Office, and some Sportscenter...that I do remember...
The days seem so long, and this is because I do nothing with the days at my disposal. But what would I even do? I have no motivation to like...do anything. I mope back and forth between my TV and my laptop, picking up the guitar every once in a while. I said this at the end of every summer in high school, and at the end of every December, February, and April vacation - I'll be looking forward to be going back to school, since I'll actually have something to do. When I get back from Stonehill in the middle of May, my goal is to watch all 6 seasons of Lost before high school gets out at the end of June, because I know I'll have that much free time on my hands. (For you mega-Lost fans, don't praise me. I'm watching it all one final time to ultimately be done with it. I continue to maintain to this day that Lost was simultaneously the greatest and worst TV show ever.)
I can even tell that my blog post is going nowhere...I've been talking about doing nothing for 3 paragraphs now, but I feel as though this isn't a productive blog post. Although isn't that the point of this? To show that I've done nothing for the last 2 weeks? I suppose a blog post about doing nothing is the best way to effectively describe how I've done essentially nothing.
A piece of advice to people who are in the same lethargic state of mind as me: Get out as fast as you can.
When I woke up on Monday, January 10th, 2011, it was about 11:45am. I thought it was Tuesday. I tossed around in bed for about ten minutes before realizing my mom was going shopping, and I needed to tell her what to buy me for school. After I did that, I went back upstairs to bed and laid in bed for another ten minutes. It was only after a shower that I decided I would be somewhat productive today.
But c'mon...how productive is "somewhat productive" in the middle of winter break? Let me tell you...I sent out a few emails that I had planned to send out days ago, bookmarked a few songs on YouTube that I was planning on downloading but was too lazy to download at that moment, ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast at 12:30, and whatever happened between then and right now is white space. As in whatever I did for the last 3 or so hours clearly wasn't important enough for my memory to bother with. I watched some of The Office, and some Sportscenter...that I do remember...
The days seem so long, and this is because I do nothing with the days at my disposal. But what would I even do? I have no motivation to like...do anything. I mope back and forth between my TV and my laptop, picking up the guitar every once in a while. I said this at the end of every summer in high school, and at the end of every December, February, and April vacation - I'll be looking forward to be going back to school, since I'll actually have something to do. When I get back from Stonehill in the middle of May, my goal is to watch all 6 seasons of Lost before high school gets out at the end of June, because I know I'll have that much free time on my hands. (For you mega-Lost fans, don't praise me. I'm watching it all one final time to ultimately be done with it. I continue to maintain to this day that Lost was simultaneously the greatest and worst TV show ever.)
I can even tell that my blog post is going nowhere...I've been talking about doing nothing for 3 paragraphs now, but I feel as though this isn't a productive blog post. Although isn't that the point of this? To show that I've done nothing for the last 2 weeks? I suppose a blog post about doing nothing is the best way to effectively describe how I've done essentially nothing.
A piece of advice to people who are in the same lethargic state of mind as me: Get out as fast as you can.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
10 Awesome People in Commercials
With the Super Bowl almost upon us, I found it prudent to list some of my favorite commercials and my favorite people in commercials. Actually, the impending Super Bowl has literally nothing to do with the impetus for this blog post. I just like to laugh.
1. Andres Cantor. The fact that I don't understand anything he says besides "goal" makes this way more funny.
2. Terry Crews. I wish I was large enough to yell whatever I want and have people admire me.
3. The Most Interesting Man in the World. The man knows his rollerblading.
4. Yogi Berra. Despite what you may think, Yogi Berra is not the face of Aflac. Maybe he should be.
5. The eTrade Baby. Because this baby knows way more about stock exchange than I do.
6. Isaiah Mustafa. I'm not sure what's more impressive - the things he does, or how fast he talks.
7. Ray Lewis. You would think that with 3 guys from Old Spice in this list, that I would use Old Spice...
8. Billy Mays. He loves yelling things. And selling things I've never heard of. And cocaine. Too soon? RIP, Billy.
9. Peyton Manning. So what if the Patriots' arch nemesis is in this list? Face it...Tom Brady's commercials suck.
10. The Mayhem Guy. Because this guy makes me want to buy car insurance way more than Dennis Haysbert. I mean if buying car insurance was something I needed to do. Which I may or may not need to do. Not really sure...
Honorable Mention: The Nintendo 64 Kid. While I don't think this may have ever been an actual commercial...this kid is awesome.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year, Same Goals
With the new year comes new resolutions, whatever they may be. Every January 1st, people all around the world set goals for themselves for the upcoming year. And while I haven't conducted any research, I think it's a fair assumption to say that not many of these goals are met. My problem with this is twofold. First, you're setting a goal for an entire year - that seems too daunting - set a goal one day at a time and work little by little to achieve your goal. Speaking of one day at a time, that is my second problem with New Year's Resolutions. Why do we set resolutions on only one day of the year? As I was watching the New Year's Celebration last night on NBC, around 11:56, Taio Cruz started singing John Lennon's "Imagine," which the playing of has been a tradition in Times Square. And Carson Daly was saying how the mood was turning a little somber, but that's because of the lyrical power and beauty of the song, and how it makes you think about life and what's going on in our world today. Here's the thing...we can't be thinking about the world once a year. We can't be thinking about our lives once a year. This has to happen every day. Every day has to be an opportunity to work towards fulfilling your life. It will improve your life, the lives of the ones around you, and ultimately, the lives of everyone, if you think about your life each day.
And the world will live as one.
And the world will live as one.
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