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Quote #1- Self-Pleasure
Sep 16, 2012
"Pleasure is essentially private, and the self is too small an object for perpetual
enthusiasm"
Whoa, so...This quote is telling me that I myself am not adequate enough to keep
myself happy. The self is too small of a container to hold a constant state of pleasure
(and to clarify, pleasure can be anything that we find pleasurable, not necessarily
something sexual).
This is what I get from this: eventually at some point in our lives we realize that
pleasure is not enough. You've all heard about the Freud's ideas on the Id and the
Ego, right? The Id is our primitive and unconscious drive to fulfill innate urges and
desires. Naturally, as human beings, we like food, we like sex, we like happiness and
contentment, etc. But after a certain point, also as humans, is appeasing our Idenough to SATISFY? I don't think so. I think in the end we all end up looking
for more. We need meaning for things, we need something to look forward to, we
just need more beyond trivial self-pleasures. The quote above comes from
my Religious Studies textbook. According to some religions, a faith is the "more" we
look for. This is not the same for everyone, though.
What do you guys think this "more" entails of?
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Quote #2 – Science vs. Religion?
Sep 28, 2012
"Science is explanatory, Religion is interpretive. The two are separate, they are
not in competition, they serve two different purposes." –Curtis Smith
I bet you're all thinking "HERE we go!" as the little person in your mind flings their
arms up in exasperation. Yes, this quote is about a topic that has almost been beaten
to death, but here is my take on it...
Basically, just what it says. RELIGION is something that is defined by the time &
place in which it was established. Let's ignore the biases and preconceived notions
we already have about these two subjects; without going into details of what
HUMANS do in the name of religion (good or bad), I think most people can agree
that at its core religion is just a way for some people to get more meaning out of life.Many people consider science to be the antithesis of religion, but I say that's just
poppycock (yea I giggled when I typed it too). Science is a way to explain and
explore our natural world, our natural surroundings, how things in the world work.
Religion is about exploration of the individual, human mind and
soul. Religion= internal/intrinsic, Science= external/extrinsic. They are both meant
for two different things, stop confusing them people. Stop setting them into conflict
with each other! You can put together a very convincing and very
solid argument about the horrible things that have happened in the past due to
religion. Absolutely, not arguing with you there...You can ALSO do the same thing
with science people...
So yes, people bombed buildings and raided and what-have-you in the name of
religion...people have also done that & are given the TOOLS to do so because of
science. But we don't hear such outraged responses to that as often do we? These
are things people do, do not persecute an entire idea because of the things people do
in their name. And do not pit two ideas against each other because the followers of
one idea have massed biases against the other. That is all
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Quote #3: Ever seen the movie "For Colored Girls?"
Oct 4, 2012
Well, there's this one quote that struck me as soon as I heard it the first time Iwatched the movie. One of the main actresses (Thandie Newton) said it as her
character Tangie during one of the climactic scenes...
"Being alive and being a woman is all I got, but being colored is a metaphysical
dilemma I haven't conquered yet " -Tangie
Anyone who's seen this movie knows what a MESS this character was. She was, as
the movie stresses, a colored girl going through worldly problems of her own. (To
make this blatant, she was a hoe bag. But she had her reasons, some deeper
problems gnawing on her psyche and what-not). Anyway, just the way she phrasedthis line caught my attention and touched a part of me that I thought had been
considered outdated since we supposedly "overcame" racism and sexism in the
United States. This quote makes me think about the mental and physical hardships
of women in a transformed, altered, and updated "men's world". This world has
been tailored towards men for hundreds of years, and we have only recently
modified this to cater to women's needs in this last 100. So, being a woman is, in and
of itself, a challenge to overcome in society, though it is a hidden,
muted challenge. Then she goes on the described being colored as another level of
difficulty completely, "metaphysical dilemma". That's quite powerful wording if you
ask me. Metaphysical is defined as "concerned with abstract thought or subjects, as
existence, causality, or truth" (and we all know what dilemma means). It is as if
being colored is another type of human altogether, a type infused with difficulties to
be overcome.
Sheesh, as if being born simply human isn't heavy enough. This movie brings to light
the experience and mind of what it is like to be a colored girl/woman in the world
today. It brings to light many things people who AREN'T born as colored women
would have never even considered.
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Quote #5: Mean What You Say
Oct 19, 2012
"A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to
please, or worse, to avoid trouble." -Mahatma Gandhi
This has always been one of my favorite quotes. Now, we all know Gandhi was a
brilliant, wise, and gentle man. Any quote written down by him is bound to teach
some essential life lesson spoken in a stoic voice with underlying meaning about
character and life and happiness and peace and butterflies and bunnies...(ok cut the
butterflies and bunnies out, that was my mind running rampant at 1:55 a.m.) But,
you get the idea. THIS QUOTE IN PARTICULAR has nothing to do with butterflies
NOR bunnies! This quote is about your conviction, your confidence, your true and
sincere belief. Saying "yes" or anything of the sort just to please others when deep
down you are really screaming "no!", well that's just cowardice. I get that some
people like to appease others, or want to avoid conflict, or what-have-you, but you
should never EVER let those reasons overpower your free will. You should speak
your thoughts and feelings with POWER, with CONVICTION, with dignified rigidness
against those trying to break down your confidence in order to get what they want
out of you. It may be against your common actions (to appease others, avoid conflict,
etc.), but later on you will feel better knowing that that person got a piece of the
REAL you, and you won't have those feelings of self-disappointment. Am I right?
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Quote #6: Who are you to judge?
Nov 2, 2012
"One may eat a cake with icing either straight or sidewise. It will taste sweet either way. As one can ascend to the top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo or a
staircase or a rope, so diverse are the ways and means to approach God, and every
religion in the world shows one of these ways"
-Ramakrishna
I will argue that whatever higher power there may be (people have just given it
different names and qualities. Let's use God or "he" as universal for now), he has
made different religions to suit different aspirations, times, countries, customs, &
belief tendencies. I've learned a great deal in my religious studies class and one of those things i've learned is that EVERY religion is defined by the TIME and PLACE in
which is arose. Yes, there are many religions seemingly so completely different from
one another, and yes humans twist and turn and edit their religion based on what
they think or want to do. But I believe that the core of each religion is based on the
same basic principle: to be consolation to us. There are many ways in which this
may manifest, but it's all the same in my eyes. How you reach God is not important,
it's why you choose to do so. I don't think people should persecute ANY religion.
Each one at it's core has purely good intentions, no matter how they show it. You
wouldn't judge a person because they like chocolate cake and you prefer vanilla,
why do the same with religion?
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Quote #7: We’re All Amateurs At Life
Nov 30, 2012
"Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it." -Christopher Morley
What does this quote make you think about?
Well, for me, it says that we are all inadequate at life. And...I agree. Living life for us
is like learning a language from our infancy on, we get plenty of lessons on how to
do so, and by a certain age we are convinced that we are fluent. When in reality we
flaunt our occupation of living life like we're pro's, but many people never really feel
like they have lived by the time they die. Of course there are many exceptions, many
people feel happy with their lives, but I feel like the majority spends their life
striving for the perfect dialect & never really master this "foreign language". I expect
that people will have opposing opinions and argue otherwise, but for my part I give
lots of credit to this quote. It allows for recognition of the flaws of man & the waywe live. It's getting recorded in my imaginary book of "Realest Quotes". :)
Passion Place #2 -Fjordlands National Park OF WONDROUS MAGICAL BEAUTY
Jan 5, 2013
Ok so the "OF WONDROUS MAGICAL BEAUTY" isn't actually a part of the title, I
added it. But with good reason! Feast your eyes...
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SO maybe I’m a little bit of a nature freak, but I don't see how anyone can simplyignore all of the beauty that nature has to offer us. If I could visit every beautiful,
natural place on this planet I would. But since I can't, I’ve narrowed it down and
good ole' Fjordlands National Parkaroo made my master list :) This place lies in the
South Islands of New Zealand and Rudyard Kipling declared it the 8th wonder of the
world :) It has some of the clearest waters & most astonishing mountains and
meadows I’ve ever seen. This is a place that I can go to and sit down on a large
blanket with a nice picnic basket and a camera to just RELAX & capture the moment.
Or, I could take a canoe out into those crystal mirroring waters & feel the cool
freshwater breeze running through my hair. Doesn't that just sound great?
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Passion Place #3: the 'Mazing Meteora Rock Formations
Jan 30, 2013
In the Greek peninsula you will find a dandy little placed called the Meteora Rock
Formations. These fog-shrouded steep peaks of Meteora take my breath away.
Why? Maybe I’m just weird because I totally dig fog, and these formations arealways shrouded in the lovely mysterious mist. Like, I love fog. And I love beautiful
places (obviously), so these formations make my list of places I absolutely must visit
some day.
Another cool little fun fact about this place is that nuns and monks have been living
in these peaks for centuries, making these breathtaking vistas with its peaks and
caverns actual monasteries. Hermits have scaled these peaks since the 10th century.
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Also, according to legend, "St. Athanasios Meteorites rode an eagle to the top in the
1300s to found Great Meteoron, the largest of the region's six secluded
monasteries".
These monasteries remain active to this day, though they are very isolated andsecluded. Until 1925, visitors could only reach one of the monasteries with rope
ladders and baskets, but today it has a 140-step staircase hewn into the rock. A
staircase I plan to climb some day!
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Civic Issue: So You're Telling Me There's No More Sports?
Jan 31, 2013
My title above is exactly what my response was when I heard that funding had been
drastically cut to education, and totally cut from sports in my home city of
Harrisburg, PA. Now, our sports are currently hanging on for dear life, but with thebudget cuts i'm not sure how much longer they'll last.
Let me provide a brief run-down of the budget cutting timeline in Harrisburg over
the last couple years. First, the district cut out music and art classes from all classes
and it became an after school, extracurricular thing. Then, they cut funding from
that all together. Next came some more budget cuts for education funding (mind
you, the school district of HBG has always been in pretty bad shape and kind of
poor), and the most recent change is more budget cuts and cut funding
from sports. After cutting funding for most other extracurricular activities, sports
was the only thing the students in our district looked forward to. We've always had
pride in our mighty Cougars, and when the Corbett Administration continued
cutting budgets (for education, schools, and for ALL sports), our entire student
population became outraged. Even kinder garden is cut from the system. You can
read more about it in this link below (it's a rather short and entertaining article in
my opinion)
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/06/harrisburg_school_budget_
cuts.html
Now, it doesn't really make sense to cut education from an already suffering school
district does it? Despite this obvious fact, the Corbett Administration continues with
their plans and it is infuriating everyone in Harrisburg who cares enough to pay
attention. Many parents took their kids out of the district and moved or tried to
move to a better school district. Also, I do not know for fact if there is any real
correlation between budget cuts for extracurricular activities and street violence,
BUT I will just point out that street violence among minors has risen
CONSIDERABLY in the past few years, with a
shooting occurring sometimes multiple times a month. In a city like Harrisburg,
students can't afford to have etracurriculars taken from them; things that kept them
busy and out of trouble at lease a little. I feel that it is very critical civic issue in the
state of Pennsylvania to have it's capital in such poor shape, and to worsen it insteadof trying to make it better.
FunFact: I personally know the people in these photos and I was at this event,
just not in the pictures!
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our Nitanny Lion also attended this event
These next few photos are of students and faculty boycotting the capital
downtown (where my highschool is)
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Other articles used: http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/07/penn-j26.html
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http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/poor_schools_hit_hardest_
by_bu.html
Passionly Passionate about this South African Spring Meadow (#7)
Mar 15, 2013
Encompassing around 170,000 square miles (a few thousand miles larger than the
state of California, think about that later on when you're done reading. It becomes a
stunning mind's image), my passion place is located across the borders of Namibia
and (predominantly) South Africa. Now, I specified spring meadow
because Namaqualand, South Africa isn't usually like ...THIS.
For most of the year Namaqualand looks like most of the desert regions, dry and
desolate. But , in spring it bursts with floral awesomeness & becomes something
completely mesmerizing. Hundreds of thousands of daisies bloom and renew the
parched, empty land into a place resembling a floral Candy Land :D
Here are some more lovely images, & there are plenty more on Google if you want to
see more of the colorful wonder of South Africa.
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Civic Issue: Does Spanking=Abuse?
Feb 28, 2013
I'm sure you've all heard about this topic at one point or another. In the last (I want to say decade), society has taken it upon themselves to criticize one of the age-old
ways of disciplining a child: spanking.
Now, as a black and white mixed child, I was brought up between two different
worlds. My moms side of the family. They have a typically white, time-out giving,
lecture giving, passive parenting style- and then there's my dads side of the family.
Down South- you already know how it went down. They had the stereotypically
black, no-BS, whoopin' delivering, go-get-a-switch-so-I-can-wear-that-a**-out type
parenting style. Here's what I have to say from personal experience, a good whack
on the behind is GOOD for discipline, HEALTHY even in SMALL quantities and forthe right situations. Almost EVERY child (including me) knew that we could do
whatever we wanted with a stereotypically white/passive parent, yet we were on
our utmost best behavior anywhere near a black/aggressive parent. The problem
occurs when the spanking becomes a beating, harder and excessive. This has
become so much of a concern in the last few year that there are even groups of
people dedicated to spreading the word about "Child Abuse" & urging it's
abolishment. check out this website:
http://www.stophitting.com/index.php?page=athome-
main&gclid=CNiDhsnX2rUCFalQOgodcGAAsw
Other then that, however, I’ve seen a larger majority of websites arguing that
spanking is nowhere near abuse unless it gets out of control on the parents side.
Most websites i've come across have the same answer. Is spanking child abuse?
A: No. Though a lot of people these days try and make it seem like it is. To me, this is
just a matter of opinion and it's the business of the family and the family ONLY of
how they choose to discipline their child. I don't believe the government or any type
of authority should come into a home and tell a parent how to raise their children
(though I want to make it clear that I mean this only with safe and stable
households. If there is an issue of actual abuse, then it's a different matter). What do
you guys think?
The responses people made to this question are particularly interesting on these two
websites, if you only want to browse one or two links i've provided i'd suggest these.
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http://thestir.cafemom.com/other/150284/spanking_child_abuse_are_not
http://www.sodahead.com/living/do-you-consider-spanking-child-
abuse/question-3390257/
Some other links: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/when-is-
spanking-child-abuse/
http://family-law.lawyers.com/child-abuse-and-neglect/Spare-the-Rod-Is-
Spanking-Child-Abuse.html
Civic Issue: Spanking vs. Abuse continued…
Apr 18, 2012
So I came across this nifty website: http://kidjacked.com/legal/spanking_law.asp
It gives the specific spanking laws for each state. However there is something that
i've noticed after skimming a few of them, and that is that they are all very vagueand broad. Most of the laws include words like "reasonable and appropriate" when
describing ways in which to physically discipline your child. I, for one, don't think
this is good enough. The extent to which one parent believes is "reasonable and
appropriate" can COMPLETELY differ from another parents. Say you have a parent
who has a child that shoplifts and this parent punishes them by smacks on the hand.
Now say you have another parent with another child who commits the same act of
shoplifting, but what they consider "reasonable and appropriate" is 50 whooping’s
on the bare behind of a child with a paddle. Heck, in some countries the penalty for
stealing is cutting off the person’s hand! Now, places like Arkansas and Florida (and
some others) are more detailed in explaining what is appropriate/moderate
punishment and what is not. These states give details that specify the limits oninjury of a child due to physical punishment like "willful acts that produce the
following specific injuries: sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage; bone or skull
fractures; brain or spinal cord damage; intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other
internal organs; asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning; injury resulting from the use
of a deadly weapon; burns or scalding; cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites;
permanent or temporary disfigurement; or permanent or temporary loss or
impairment of a body part or function."-Florida Spanking Law
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What I am emphasizing for this blog post is what the majority of the states are using
to define their laws. If you take a moment to scroll down the page of the website I’ve
provided you can see that most of the laws for the states are rather short and
underdeveloped. Then again, it is arguable that something like spanking vs. abuse is
a touchy subject because the line between spanking and abuse can be
misinterpreted very differently across peoples and cultures. What do you guysthink? Should there be one general, yet detailed and specifically outlined law on
spanking for the entire country rather than the separated state laws?