A thought occurred to me today, and I am certain that I am not the first to have this thought, but it was mine nonetheless. The thought was of the what lies ahead in the future of our world Earth, but most specifically, the nation that I call home - the United States of America. Just as a warning, the proceeding is not a communist rant, nor an article bashing my country. Well, now that the disclaimer is done, on with the show!
As history has exhibited for those who care to pay attention, the history of mankind has been one filled with triumph, loss, sacrifice, joy, hardships; of conquering, submission, empires building to the heavens, and those very empires falling to the dust of history. However, much of humanities' focus, as a collective populous, has for the most part, been focused on the future--forward facing toward the great accomplishments of humanity to come. However, a view into the past is a valuable view at that, and that particular view is what I wish to explore here.
When one thinks of great rulers and empires throughout time there are many names and countries that come to mind--early Greek democracies, Roman empires, the dynasty clans of China, the Shogunate of Japan, feudal monarchies of Europe, the Aztec, the Maya--all of these nations and empires have left lasting impressions upon the race of man. But, for all their greatness, they are no longer in existence (save for mentions in history books and the like). I guess the subject of this is permanence--or a lack of, for that matter.
All things come into existence, and then after a time, go out of existence. This is what Disney calls "the circle of life" in the film Lion King. This progression is a natural part of all beings and things. However, it seems to be human desire to go against their nature and fight against the impending mortality.
This fight against nature has been an, ironically enough, everlasting theme in human beings. This strife against mortality is evidenced in the ancient Greeks, portrayed by the great hero Achilles, who wanted to fight so that his name would never leave the history books. The first Emperor of China took doses of mercury daily in an attempt to ward of death. Even today we as a populous are bombarded with commercials of products meant to revitalize our health--to make us feel younger.
Now, to the point about my country. I have no doubt in my mind that the country we know as the United States of America will one day fall.
It is only natural. In fact, our whole species will probably become extinct some day. And here is the part that might get a few people: the world will go on without humans. All that will remain of everything that you know, everyone that you love, all that you hold dear and all that you hate, everything that will prove we existed as a species will one day be gone. That thought sure makes you feel insignificant huh?
However, that's the beauty of our life. From the moment we are born, there are an infinite number of paths which we can follow. We have an infinite number of choices that we can make. With the knowledge that ones actions might not live past them, the choices we make are all that we have.
Stand up and make your choice--make your life. And then be ready to have the dust and dirt carry you into oblivion.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Religion Explained in the most Brutal Way Possible
The extremely popular time block on Cartoon Network known as [adult swim] has produced many great shows such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, without mentioning the reruns of Futurama and Family Guy. However, a more recent show called Metalocalypse has caught my attention. The show has produced a fantastic view of religion as shown in the following YouTube clips. Enjoy!
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Star Wars Legacy Comics
Two words can sum up what I've read of this series so far: Holy crap. This series is freaking crazy! It takes place over 130 years after the Battle of Yavin and revolves around the Sith returning to control of the galaxy. Not much is known about how the Sith came about again, although it won't be hard to imagine is has something to do with the fall of Jacen Solo in the forth coming Star Wars novels. Back to the comics though.
The Sith are headed by a rather large fellow named Darth Krayt, who wears Yuuzhan Vong armor. Krayt has dethroned the Emperor of the Galaxy Roan Fel (notice the surname Fel-possible descendant of Jaged Fel?) and is seeking out the last remaining Jedi. One character of interest is Cade Skywalker. Cade has forsaken his Jedi training and heritage.
I can't wait to keep reading this series. I suggest that everyone go out and read it as well.
As an end note - Star Wars fucking owns.
The Sith are headed by a rather large fellow named Darth Krayt, who wears Yuuzhan Vong armor. Krayt has dethroned the Emperor of the Galaxy Roan Fel (notice the surname Fel-possible descendant of Jaged Fel?) and is seeking out the last remaining Jedi. One character of interest is Cade Skywalker. Cade has forsaken his Jedi training and heritage.
I can't wait to keep reading this series. I suggest that everyone go out and read it as well.
As an end note - Star Wars fucking owns.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
State of the Union Address 2007 -or- Stand-up-and-clap-apalooza
President George Walker Bush gave his annual address to the nation this evening. This was his first address to a Congress which is not controlled by his Republican party (I emphasize his Republican party because that party has not been the traditional fiscally responsible, small-government-wanting, party that freed the slaves, but is instead being hijacked by far right religious zealots to push for a pro-Catholic government). It was on every channel of news significance; on a side note, Fox and CBS' coverage was a second or so behind CNN/NBC's coverage). For a transcript of the speech, see CNN.
The prez started out congratulating the Democrats on their majority winnings last year, and made sure to point out the fact that he was the first president to say "Madam Speaker" (much to the groans of old-white men everywhere, I'm sure).
Bush wasted no time and jumped right into speaking on the economy of the nation. He mentioned the minimum wage hike. He stated that we are "n the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth -- in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs" and that unemployment and inflation were both low. So far so good for Mr. Bush. Continuing in the economic realm, Bush proposed to eliminate the Budge Deficit within five years. Finally, a little fiscal responsibility from what has traditionally been an administration with deficit spending seemingly at the forefront of economic policy. Bush also proposed to work on Social Security and Medicare in order to save "the children" (read my generation) from huge taxes, huge deficits, huge cuts in quality of service, plague, pestilence, and Godzilla. But in all seriousness, it's about freaking time. Finally, it sounds like Bush is a true Republican.
Bush's next topic was education, and he brought up his controversial program of No Child Left Behind. He claimed that this program was working, and wanted Congress to renew the program. Bush also briefly mentioned the following, "giving families with children stuck in failing schools the right to choose something better." I personally was caught off guard by this comment. Was Bush advocating the voucher program, or just re-emphasizing the ability for parents to change their children's school? NCLB has been strongly opposed by teachers and their unions as unfair, under-funded and unrealistic. There seems to be no clear evidence of NCLB's true effectivness.
Bush then proceeded to propose two initiatives regarding health care. Prefacing these two initiatives was the comment that "when it comes to health care, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled, and poor children. We will meet those responsibilities. For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs." So, if you're not old, crippled, or a poor kid, you're on your own for health care essentially. His initiatives were (1) to help people afford their own health care by giving tax credits and (2) to give local governments more funds to help support its citizens who are uninsured. Personally, I think we should nationalize our health system like in Canada, Cuba, or many other Industrialized nations. The one thing holding many people back from this idea is, by my guess, homosexuals and others who are infected with the AIDs virus. If you nationalize health care, the government starts to pick up the check for all of those expensive AIDs treatments. That will hurt the pocketbook for certain (or fo' sho' for all you kids out there).
Our president then brought up the subject of immigration, but I decided to pay attention to something else. I'm guessing though that his policy is walls, fences, tags, etc.
More to come tomorrow on President Bush's speech.
The prez started out congratulating the Democrats on their majority winnings last year, and made sure to point out the fact that he was the first president to say "Madam Speaker" (much to the groans of old-white men everywhere, I'm sure).
Bush wasted no time and jumped right into speaking on the economy of the nation. He mentioned the minimum wage hike. He stated that we are "n the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth -- in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs" and that unemployment and inflation were both low. So far so good for Mr. Bush. Continuing in the economic realm, Bush proposed to eliminate the Budge Deficit within five years. Finally, a little fiscal responsibility from what has traditionally been an administration with deficit spending seemingly at the forefront of economic policy. Bush also proposed to work on Social Security and Medicare in order to save "the children" (read my generation) from huge taxes, huge deficits, huge cuts in quality of service, plague, pestilence, and Godzilla. But in all seriousness, it's about freaking time. Finally, it sounds like Bush is a true Republican.
Bush's next topic was education, and he brought up his controversial program of No Child Left Behind. He claimed that this program was working, and wanted Congress to renew the program. Bush also briefly mentioned the following, "giving families with children stuck in failing schools the right to choose something better." I personally was caught off guard by this comment. Was Bush advocating the voucher program, or just re-emphasizing the ability for parents to change their children's school? NCLB has been strongly opposed by teachers and their unions as unfair, under-funded and unrealistic. There seems to be no clear evidence of NCLB's true effectivness.
Bush then proceeded to propose two initiatives regarding health care. Prefacing these two initiatives was the comment that "when it comes to health care, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled, and poor children. We will meet those responsibilities. For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs." So, if you're not old, crippled, or a poor kid, you're on your own for health care essentially. His initiatives were (1) to help people afford their own health care by giving tax credits and (2) to give local governments more funds to help support its citizens who are uninsured. Personally, I think we should nationalize our health system like in Canada, Cuba, or many other Industrialized nations. The one thing holding many people back from this idea is, by my guess, homosexuals and others who are infected with the AIDs virus. If you nationalize health care, the government starts to pick up the check for all of those expensive AIDs treatments. That will hurt the pocketbook for certain (or fo' sho' for all you kids out there).
Our president then brought up the subject of immigration, but I decided to pay attention to something else. I'm guessing though that his policy is walls, fences, tags, etc.
More to come tomorrow on President Bush's speech.
Blu-ray DRM pwn3d!
As if poor Playstation 3 sales numbers weren't enough.... In more bad news for super corporation Sony, the Digital Rights Management software encoded into Blu-ray discs, Sony's next-gen DVD, was hacked by the same fellow, known as muslix64, that cracked open the DRM in competitor HD-DVD. The hits just keep on coming for the giant corporation.
In a personal note, Sony blows balls for how they've been behaving the last year or so. First it was the root-kit fiasco with CD's, then exploding Sony batteries in Dell laptops, then the fumbled PS3 launch and subsequent lack of demand for the overpriced grill. In summation Sony, screw off or make better product. Of course my rant is subject to change once Final Fantasy XIII comes out...
Via Theregister.co.uk
In a personal note, Sony blows balls for how they've been behaving the last year or so. First it was the root-kit fiasco with CD's, then exploding Sony batteries in Dell laptops, then the fumbled PS3 launch and subsequent lack of demand for the overpriced grill. In summation Sony, screw off or make better product. Of course my rant is subject to change once Final Fantasy XIII comes out...
Via Theregister.co.uk
Windows Genuine (Dis)Advantage
Not the most original title, I'm sure but if you don't like it then just saunter out of here. Anyways, Microsoft released some figures gathered by their controversial software, Windows Genuine Advantage, which was released mid 2005. This bit of software ran certain checks to verify the validity of a Windows install. This move was prompted by Microsoft's crusade against software piracy. The figures gathered stated that 22% of all Windows machines are not running valid copies of the OS.
From betanews.com
So, by my math (as unreliable as that is), that means that 112,640,000 copies of Windows is counterfeit. All I can say is, "Wow".
Via Betanews.com
From betanews.com
Since WGA launched in July 2005, over 512 million users have attempted to validate their copy of Windows, Microsoft said. Of those, the non-genuine rate was 22.3 percent. 56,000 reports have been made by customers of counterfeit software, which grants that user a free replacement copy of Windows.
So, by my math (as unreliable as that is), that means that 112,640,000 copies of Windows is counterfeit. All I can say is, "Wow".
Via Betanews.com
Are All Men A Little Gay? According to this Guy, Yeah...
Sticky Butter has a little post up about his ideas regarding hidden homosexuality in all guys. Here's a preview:
Crappy preview, I know. But Sticky Butter's article allows one to consider the debate of homosexuality being a choice or a genetic predisposition.
It is my opinion that homosexuality is not merely a choice, but is due to genetics. My reasoning is based upon studies regarding how homosexual males and heterosexual females respond to pheromones given off by attractive men (can't find the article stating this, but it was published awhile ago). Now, homosexuality can be a choice as well but a choice chosen for pleasures sake. Still nothing definitive though. Interesting subject though, to say the least.
I would like to start off by saying the opinions expressed in this post are not the opinions of all men. Probably not the opinions of all women either. It is however, the bold opinion of the man writing this post, me. Now why in hell would I be thinking such…I’ll say nonsense for argument sake, in the first place. The answer…I really don’t have one. Not one that would make reasonable sense.
Crappy preview, I know. But Sticky Butter's article allows one to consider the debate of homosexuality being a choice or a genetic predisposition.
It is my opinion that homosexuality is not merely a choice, but is due to genetics. My reasoning is based upon studies regarding how homosexual males and heterosexual females respond to pheromones given off by attractive men (can't find the article stating this, but it was published awhile ago). Now, homosexuality can be a choice as well but a choice chosen for pleasures sake. Still nothing definitive though. Interesting subject though, to say the least.
Comic Books -or- How Nerds Spend Their Money
I discovered a comic book store on the Hill (23rd and College Street, Cedar Falls, IA) the other day and decided to visit it when it was open. Well, that day was today and let me tell you--it was awesome. The store is called "Limited Edition Comics and Collectibles" and is operated by a fellow named Rob. The shop (actually, the shop is the adorning room of Rob's other place of business, a hair salon) is really pretty slick. He has a ton of comics (DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, etc) as well as Star Trek and Star Wars collectibles for sale. The best part is that his collectibles are priced to move. For example, a .45 scale Master Replica Lightsaber marked 10 bucks off the retail price. Pretty sweet deals to be found. I personally went in search of Star Wars: Legacy comics. Awesome find (more on Legacy to come).
So, if anyone in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area wants a cool little comic book shop made a collector, for collectors, head over to Limited Edition (225 College Street).
So, if anyone in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area wants a cool little comic book shop made a collector, for collectors, head over to Limited Edition (225 College Street).
Monday, January 22, 2007
Cool Half Life: 2 Mod
Since introduced to the architectural style of Frank Lloyd Wright from my Aesthetics class (about the only good thing to come from that class) I've looked at architecture in a different light. Since introduced to the wonderful first person shooter Half Life (specifically the physics engine from the sequel), I have been exposed to some sweet videos of Rude Goldberg Machines and other hilarity from that very engine. So, a combination of the two would be pretty sweet huh? Well, it is. And here's the proof:
Pretty sweet to see what someone with waaay to much time can do.
Via Kotaku
Pretty sweet to see what someone with waaay to much time can do.
Via Kotaku
Fir57!!!!!11111
Well, here's the first post of a hopefully fruitful venture. I figure that I'll provide a bit of background on myself, my goals for this blog, and some other stuff I plan to figure out halfway through this post.
My name is Adam, and I am a 20 year old philosophy and ethics student living in Iowa. In this blog I plan to talk about things of interest currently in my life (whether or not you find them interesting is not my prerogative). For example, I plan to post about rugby, philosophy, video gaming, anime, school, work, etc. Basically anything and everything of interest to me.
Most posts will probably be links to other blog posts or news articles with my own editorial comments preluding them. Some will be completely original. Others may be just rants about whatever.
Overall, welcome and check back periodically.
Cheers
adam
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