In no particular order:
* It hit me the other day why "God Bless America," out of all the trite phrases used in this war, makes me a bit uneasy. Perhaps this is me pulling things out of proportion, but, to me, that phrase seems like some people are trying to make this out to be a "holy war." I've never understood how anyone could equate war with religion. Secular defense necessities, yes. Holy war, no.
* My priest back home, apparently, went on a tirade about the evilness of Harry Potter, on the premise that it talks about witchcraft. Perhaps I've always been a bit odd, but I used to read lots of fiction that dealt with the supernatural, with some hints of witchcraft. Not once did I ever consider any of it to be real. In fact, I didn't know people were still "witches" until I hit college. Likewise, I once met a girl, who told me that she thought the Bible was fiction and that Church was a weekly stage play until she hit college. I did find that to be a bit odd, but I guess it shows you that most people really don't take what they read seriously.
However, I did find my priest's reactionary hysteria to Harry Potter a bit disconcerting, further turning me off to organized Christianity. And, silly me, I thought the book/film bannings went away with Vatican II. I guess some habits die hard.
* I took a vacation from the forum, and I realized that I didn't miss it once. I'm sure some, perhaps, noticed my absence, and I'm considering making it permanent. There was something refreshing about living in a world without the internet, and, perhaps still, I'm happier without it. Regardless, I notoriously change my mind, and, even if I did decide to leave one day, I doubt I'd tell anyone, if only because I would be more tempted to return as a result.
* I realized, one day, that I'm really tired of being smart. Unfortunately, the problem with that is that once knowledge goes in, it's a hell of a time trying to forget it. In fact, with all the education I've received, I really want to pursue two jobs unrelated to my degree: modeling and screenwriting. Perhaps it is silly, but I almost think that I enjoy intellectualism as a hobby over a profession. Is it wrong to find pleasure in the silly things of life, when, within your mind, you, potentially, have the recipes to change the world?
* I really love photography at a philosophical and artistic level. I love capturing moments in time, and nothing pleases me more than capturing the human figure in action. I took 152 pictures of wrestling the other weekend, and I'm almost astounded how these tiny fractions of a second permanently burned on film have turned out so beautiful. It was quite chaotic in person, but a graceful tribute to man in film. Funny how things change via different media.
Melon
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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
* It hit me the other day why "God Bless America," out of all the trite phrases used in this war, makes me a bit uneasy. Perhaps this is me pulling things out of proportion, but, to me, that phrase seems like some people are trying to make this out to be a "holy war." I've never understood how anyone could equate war with religion. Secular defense necessities, yes. Holy war, no.
* My priest back home, apparently, went on a tirade about the evilness of Harry Potter, on the premise that it talks about witchcraft. Perhaps I've always been a bit odd, but I used to read lots of fiction that dealt with the supernatural, with some hints of witchcraft. Not once did I ever consider any of it to be real. In fact, I didn't know people were still "witches" until I hit college. Likewise, I once met a girl, who told me that she thought the Bible was fiction and that Church was a weekly stage play until she hit college. I did find that to be a bit odd, but I guess it shows you that most people really don't take what they read seriously.
However, I did find my priest's reactionary hysteria to Harry Potter a bit disconcerting, further turning me off to organized Christianity. And, silly me, I thought the book/film bannings went away with Vatican II. I guess some habits die hard.
* I took a vacation from the forum, and I realized that I didn't miss it once. I'm sure some, perhaps, noticed my absence, and I'm considering making it permanent. There was something refreshing about living in a world without the internet, and, perhaps still, I'm happier without it. Regardless, I notoriously change my mind, and, even if I did decide to leave one day, I doubt I'd tell anyone, if only because I would be more tempted to return as a result.
* I realized, one day, that I'm really tired of being smart. Unfortunately, the problem with that is that once knowledge goes in, it's a hell of a time trying to forget it. In fact, with all the education I've received, I really want to pursue two jobs unrelated to my degree: modeling and screenwriting. Perhaps it is silly, but I almost think that I enjoy intellectualism as a hobby over a profession. Is it wrong to find pleasure in the silly things of life, when, within your mind, you, potentially, have the recipes to change the world?
* I really love photography at a philosophical and artistic level. I love capturing moments in time, and nothing pleases me more than capturing the human figure in action. I took 152 pictures of wrestling the other weekend, and I'm almost astounded how these tiny fractions of a second permanently burned on film have turned out so beautiful. It was quite chaotic in person, but a graceful tribute to man in film. Funny how things change via different media.
Melon
------------------
"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
