I never last long in a game of Mafia regardless of my position. I can be a detective or citizen and I will still be promptly accused of being a mafia member. Why is this- because according to friends I just look guilty. So I'm always dead, usually quite soon. In a round of BS, I have the opposite situation. I easily get away with playing a lie and am often called out when being completely honest. A friend claimed this was because he "can't tell the difference between [my] lying face and [my] fake lying face." Notice, neither of those are my not-lying-face, apparently I don't have one. Point being- I got thinking about what causes me to look guilty even when completely innocent. I have come up with this (somewhat prideful) theory- it's because I'm smart... let me explain.
My roommates, along with much of America, are a little obsessed with today's surge of superhero movies. We learn to trust Mr. Incredible and distrust Syndrome. Through comics and movies, we come to idealize Superman and fear Lex Luther. Our list of heroes continues: Human-torch, Wolverine, Captain America, Hercules, Spider-man, and even Metro-man. Individuals who are born with or have brilliant powers bestowed upon them. Now, I do not believe that these individual are idiots, but they are not considered to be brilliant. Their status as a superhero is linked only to their morality and their super-strength (or other such skills).
In contrast, let's look at our villains. Lex Luther is described as an evil genius. Syndrome used his intelligence to make his own "superpowers" and machines to attack America. Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin both have brilliant experiments go wrong, causing them to go mad and become evil. The world is full of villains without extra-ordinary powers. They are instead highly intelligent individuals who choose to use their knowledge for evil. Is modern media teaching us to fear knowledge? Are we being trained to rely on the strong and shy away from the creative genius? And ultimately, do those I associate with distrust me because of my intelligence?
To argue against my own theory- I recognize that our collection of villains is more heterogeneous than I portray above. We have many villains such as Loki, Doctor Doom, and Venom who also have great powers and choose to fight against good instead of for it. Not all villains are brilliant.
Our heroes aren't as well balanced. Where villains are a fairly even mix of average-Joes and potential Einsteins, very few heroes are highly intelligent. And how do we treat them? Batman is distrusted by law-enforcement and considered a villain by many. Iron-man is also portrayed as a play-boy who might just go blow something up because he's bored. Dr. Banner is a perfectly good individual as a human, but is hated as the Hulk because he is only against whomever is more entertaining to crush, be that the good guys or the bad guys. Lastly, we must keep in mind our beloved Mega Mind began as a bad guy and only became the good guy when his attempt to make a good guy backfired on him (which I suppose could be an additional argument against his intelligence).
So basically- my fun, slightly prideful theory is that everyone thinks I'm guilty because I'm smart. The world is trained to distrust genius and rely on those with strength and power. Now I just need to figure out how to get this guilty look off my face.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
I'm Ready!
Dear 2013,
We have only just met, yet we have already shared special experiences. We have already had a chance to stay up till 4 a.m. and have also had the chance to wake up far earlier than I desired. We've gone shopping, visited the doctor, and even had a hair appointment. I feel we shall soon be good friends.
Yet I foresee the journey will not always be so easy. I wonder what you have in store for me. You have prepared miracles for me. There is adventure, excitement, and magic awaiting us as this friendship develops. But this isn't all, is it? I fear what else lies in wait. If I could see it all now, I probably would strive (admittedly in vain) to end our friendship immediately. There will be pain and sadness. Some adventures we face will be filled with loneliness and misunderstanding. Can you deny this? You know it as well as I.
But I am not afraid. You and I- we'll make it through. I see this friendship lasting a long time. Regardless of what lies ahead, and mostly because of it, I will become a better person. One who will look back with gratitude for the time we had together. That which is ahead of us will be difficult, wonderful, and life changing.
I'm ready!
We have only just met, yet we have already shared special experiences. We have already had a chance to stay up till 4 a.m. and have also had the chance to wake up far earlier than I desired. We've gone shopping, visited the doctor, and even had a hair appointment. I feel we shall soon be good friends.
Yet I foresee the journey will not always be so easy. I wonder what you have in store for me. You have prepared miracles for me. There is adventure, excitement, and magic awaiting us as this friendship develops. But this isn't all, is it? I fear what else lies in wait. If I could see it all now, I probably would strive (admittedly in vain) to end our friendship immediately. There will be pain and sadness. Some adventures we face will be filled with loneliness and misunderstanding. Can you deny this? You know it as well as I.
But I am not afraid. You and I- we'll make it through. I see this friendship lasting a long time. Regardless of what lies ahead, and mostly because of it, I will become a better person. One who will look back with gratitude for the time we had together. That which is ahead of us will be difficult, wonderful, and life changing.
I'm ready!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Essence
For my world literature final, we were asked to present the essence of one of the works which we had read during the semester. Basically, we were to come up with something that we felt captured the entirety of the work and allow others to find meaning through it. My group chose to do The Odyssey, and this was what we had far to much fun discovering. (it should be noted, only the first 5 minutes of the video where shown in class.
And here is our write-up. It probably doesn't appear all that funny, but we had fun writing it anyways, so I hope you enjoy at least learning of The Odyssey from it.
The essence of The Odyssey is found in the ocean. The ocean represents a consistent inconsistency found in both Odysseus and Homer’s outlook on human nature. Odysseus stays consistent in his purpose of returning home to Penelope and Telemachus. However, his promptness varies like the waves of the sea. For example, he has a desire to get home, but when he approaches the island of the kyklops the adventure delays his primary purpose. Other examples of consistent inconsistency are his love for Penelope compared to his lust for other women and the thrill of travel compared to the stability of the islands. The different islands, as part of the ocean, are representative of stages in life discovered in the different parts of the journey. They can also signify the situational inconsistency of human beings despite their consistent personality traits. The journey through the ocean symbolizes development. This is seen in comparing Telemachus and Penelope. Penelope, living on land, embodies the very idea of stability by showing little development throughout The Odyssey. Telemachus is initially stable, yet he experiences growth as he starts his journey on the ocean. Athena tells him to “go abroad for news of your lost father…you are a child no longer” to encourage him to make his journey so that he can grow and develop (193-194). However, extended development on the ocean leads to the stormy, wild personality that we see in Odysseus when he returns home. This can be contrasted to Penelope’s calm demeanor developed while on land. The ocean therefore is the essence of character development throughout The Odyssey and the consistent inconsistency found within it demonstrates Homer’s outlook on human nature.
And here is our write-up. It probably doesn't appear all that funny, but we had fun writing it anyways, so I hope you enjoy at least learning of The Odyssey from it.
The essence of The Odyssey is found in the ocean. The ocean represents a consistent inconsistency found in both Odysseus and Homer’s outlook on human nature. Odysseus stays consistent in his purpose of returning home to Penelope and Telemachus. However, his promptness varies like the waves of the sea. For example, he has a desire to get home, but when he approaches the island of the kyklops the adventure delays his primary purpose. Other examples of consistent inconsistency are his love for Penelope compared to his lust for other women and the thrill of travel compared to the stability of the islands. The different islands, as part of the ocean, are representative of stages in life discovered in the different parts of the journey. They can also signify the situational inconsistency of human beings despite their consistent personality traits. The journey through the ocean symbolizes development. This is seen in comparing Telemachus and Penelope. Penelope, living on land, embodies the very idea of stability by showing little development throughout The Odyssey. Telemachus is initially stable, yet he experiences growth as he starts his journey on the ocean. Athena tells him to “go abroad for news of your lost father…you are a child no longer” to encourage him to make his journey so that he can grow and develop (193-194). However, extended development on the ocean leads to the stormy, wild personality that we see in Odysseus when he returns home. This can be contrasted to Penelope’s calm demeanor developed while on land. The ocean therefore is the essence of character development throughout The Odyssey and the consistent inconsistency found within it demonstrates Homer’s outlook on human nature.
Names for Remembering
For readers from other countries: On December 14th, 2012, a gunman walked into an elementary school and killed 26 individuals, mostly children 6 or 7 years old. Stories have covered the news across the nation of their massacre. The evil of the world has once again seeped into the sun-lite lives of children, cutting them short. But at this time, we can remember: the candle seems brightest during the dark of night. For those filled with fear and sorrow, feeling the darkness of the world is engulfing you, I promise you that candles still light this world, showing us where goodness can be found. Light your own candle, for where the light is, darkness cannot remain.
I do not know the name of the gunman, I have not taken the time to look it up and remember. One does not deserve to be remembered for such acts. Click here for the names worth remembering, them and their families. Remember them, even if it is just one, and remember that there is good in this world if we will stand for it.
I do not know the name of the gunman, I have not taken the time to look it up and remember. One does not deserve to be remembered for such acts. Click here for the names worth remembering, them and their families. Remember them, even if it is just one, and remember that there is good in this world if we will stand for it.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Friends are like...
...sunshine, they warm your life.
...potatoes, if you eat them, they die.
...colored pencils, they help you complete the picture.
...four leaf clovers, hard to find and lucky to have.
...stars, you can't always see them, but you know they are always there
...snowflakes, each one is unique.
And I'm sure the list can go on and on. The point is, friends are important. The value of friendship has resulted in an endless collection of friendship jewelry, literature on how to make and keep friends, and decorative doodads for hanging on walls reminding you of everything friends are like. Friends matter.
But as brilliant as all the quotes are, not one truly describes what my friends mean to me. Analogies just aren't sufficient for including all the detail. At least, no analogy I can think of. This is what my friends are like, and if you can think of an analogy, feel free to comment.
Friends aren't like, they just are...
...those people who will stay up till 4 am with me just to watch Doctor Who.
...individuals who realize that star-less nights are stormy, so they make sure they can still be seen when the clouds roll in.
...those who know me well enough to know that Filipino food makes me forget all my problems.
...people who laugh at my physics jokes, either because they have no idea what I said and are just humoring me, or because they understood it perfectly and it really was that funny. (spherical trig is like a piece of a jaw-breaker).
...those who ask how my day is and then really listen to the answer.
...potatoes, if you eat them, they die.
...colored pencils, they help you complete the picture.
...four leaf clovers, hard to find and lucky to have.
...stars, you can't always see them, but you know they are always there
...snowflakes, each one is unique.
And I'm sure the list can go on and on. The point is, friends are important. The value of friendship has resulted in an endless collection of friendship jewelry, literature on how to make and keep friends, and decorative doodads for hanging on walls reminding you of everything friends are like. Friends matter.
But as brilliant as all the quotes are, not one truly describes what my friends mean to me. Analogies just aren't sufficient for including all the detail. At least, no analogy I can think of. This is what my friends are like, and if you can think of an analogy, feel free to comment.
Friends aren't like, they just are...
...those people who will stay up till 4 am with me just to watch Doctor Who.
...individuals who realize that star-less nights are stormy, so they make sure they can still be seen when the clouds roll in.
...those who know me well enough to know that Filipino food makes me forget all my problems.
...people who laugh at my physics jokes, either because they have no idea what I said and are just humoring me, or because they understood it perfectly and it really was that funny. (spherical trig is like a piece of a jaw-breaker).
...those who ask how my day is and then really listen to the answer.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Red Hair
Today was one of those really difficult sort of days. (Counting today as the past 24 hours, since I still haven't gone to bed). I woke up just not in the mood to go to school. I got a really bad headache. I've dealt with a myriad of computer problems while trying to use my computer to do homework. And the list could go on.
As I came home for my lunch break, I ran into a good friend who spent the time with me just listening to everything that needed to be said. He then taught me a very important lesson on perspective. After hearing out my long list of problems, he responded, "Sounds like you've had a pretty rough day, but it's okay cuz you have red hair." (for those of you unaware, I dyed my hair red for Halloween and it hasn't washed out yet). I laughed at his remark, wondering what red hair had to do with anything.
Several hours (and several problems) later, the lesson finally sunk in. What does red hair have to do with anything? It doesn't! And in the long run, neither does homework or computer problems or bad days. To those who have asked, I've described my day as being "pretty good," figuring pretty good covers those days where not everything has gone wrong, but today really was pretty good. I made it to all my classes, got all my homework done (even if not till 4 in the morning), watched Sherlock, ate Filipino food for lunch, had a chance to talk with really good friends, and I have red hair.
As I came home for my lunch break, I ran into a good friend who spent the time with me just listening to everything that needed to be said. He then taught me a very important lesson on perspective. After hearing out my long list of problems, he responded, "Sounds like you've had a pretty rough day, but it's okay cuz you have red hair." (for those of you unaware, I dyed my hair red for Halloween and it hasn't washed out yet). I laughed at his remark, wondering what red hair had to do with anything.
Several hours (and several problems) later, the lesson finally sunk in. What does red hair have to do with anything? It doesn't! And in the long run, neither does homework or computer problems or bad days. To those who have asked, I've described my day as being "pretty good," figuring pretty good covers those days where not everything has gone wrong, but today really was pretty good. I made it to all my classes, got all my homework done (even if not till 4 in the morning), watched Sherlock, ate Filipino food for lunch, had a chance to talk with really good friends, and I have red hair.
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