[god's.butt.smells]

being romantic...

2010-03-13T11:04:00.000-08:00

on certain music; i'm trying to get away from itunes. i just don't feel like i'm getting anything from them.

so on music that matters to me, i'm heading back to cds, and even lps. there's just much more there.

art work and images are the big things. i remember how i got into some bands back in the eighties, and it was due to the art work and images on their lps.

amitabha...

thinking...

2010-01-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

about getting back into the swing of things here.

so i'll see what happens, time, effort, topics and such...

amitabha...

integrity...

2009-07-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

is a difficult thing to have in this day and age. people tend to bend over backwards of others. in many ways. we either don't want to 'rock the boat', or we just don't want to piss anyone off. other times we are just 'passive aggressive' enough.

the email is a wonderful way to be passive aggressive. we are able to use different fonts, and bold our words without even talking to the person.

case in point...a place that i work has been sending me emails about some garbage paperwork that they want done. needless to say; i haven't done it, and will not be doing it. it is pointless. and frankly, i don't have the time.

however; the emails keep coming. mind you, no one has said anything to me personally. the last couple emails were in bold. so i guess that means that they are important. at least to them.

so i took my stand. i sent off my own email about my integrity. my beliefs. how pointless the corporate exercises are. that it is the instructor, and their love of the material that makes the class; not their paperwork.

so remember to stand up for your ideals. your beliefs. stand up to tyranny of any kind. not just to bitch, but because you really do have a point. and i could underline and bold the 'do' in that last sentence, but why bother...

amitabha...

as michelle...

2009-05-21T05:32:00.001-07:00

and i welcome our new edition to our family; one leaves us...

jake was our 'outside' cat that we took care of as a stray. he was a good cat, in every sense that a cat is able to be. kind and loving, and he also caught mice, and birds.

i found him the other day, and his one paw was ballooned up five times it's size. he must have gotten into a scrap with something that scraped back. i can only hope what he got into a scrap with is worst off.

he will be missed by us.

amitabha...

meditation...

2009-05-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

is a difficult thing. i have to admit that when i don't go to temple on a regular basis, i really don't 'sit' at home and meditate. although i try to meditate in everything that i do...a more of an 'active' meditation.

i started reading thich nhat hanh's book; buddha mind, buddha body. and in that he talks about, in essence, walking meditation. and again; outside of the temple i find this hard to do. to experience every inch of your foot touching the ground. to be mindful of every step.

he opens the first chapter with...'you can make a step and touch the earth in such a way that you establish yourself in the present moment, and you will arrive in the here and the now.' to touch the ground with your foot in a very mindful way. i understood what was being said, but i found it difficult to practice. it seems so simple, but is very difficult...just like many concepts i find in buddhism; the complexity in the simplicity.

that was until lydia came into our lives. i now spend hours walking with her. holding her. bouncing her with every step i take. she really enjoys when i walk up and down the stairs with her. these things calm her. however; i have to be very mindful of every step, every bounce; especially when i walk up and down the steps at all odd hours of the day. she has helped me achieve something that i would still be struggling with...mindful steps.

to be present in every step i take. to be mindful of every step i take. how i am making that step, and is it the right step to make...she lets me know.

i now have two sifus. one at the temple. one at home.

amitabha...

on tuesday...

2009-05-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

may fifth my wife and i welcomed our new edition to our family...

lydia poppy hamad

amitabha...

is all...

2009-04-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

'this' unethical?

by 'this' i mean the experience of the web. by unethical i mean damaging of the individual.

limiting it even more; all the 'social' sites...let's be honest; there is nothing social about it.

coming from a certain article on seed the idea that all this socializing that happens on these sites fulfills the quick little neurons in the brain that illicit pleasure. not a mill version of pleasure, or a concept of eudaimonia. rather that quick little pleasure that come about from the web. satisfying an 'urge'; if you will. the pleasure from eating a candy bar.

we 'engage' in this stuff, simply because of the pleasure it brings. quick little glimpses of happiness that do not last. it's not about getting information anymore. if it ever really was. rather some sort of self-edification; which is only concerned, or conscious of the self. and this is where unethical concepts/actions occur. is in dealing with the self. to be ethical means to, in some sense, have an idea of others. any theory that you hold has a theory of others. and what that means. what i mean is that ethics extends beyond the individual. to be unethical deals with selfish notions.

now...if this is the case; a consent seeking of pleasure fulfillment, how does that translate into 'real' social situations?

amitabha...

baby's room...

2009-04-13T07:41:00.001-07:00

baby's room...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

is just about done. all i have to do is hang some shelfs and pictures, and i think that will be it.

over the last couple months, re-did the floors, painted, new fan, re-did the ceiling. have been putting together quite a bit of baby stuff. organizing clothes.

just a couple of weeks now, or sooner. now, it's a waiting game.

amitabha...

i raised the...

2009-03-31T05:31:00.001-07:00

question in class yesterday, what if we are able to scientifically prove and understand everything in our universe, would god be needed?

a brave student said, no. that the only reason god is there to explain away the unexplainable.

that is exactly the 'god problem' (i guess i use quotes, because i wonder if there really is a problem, or if i'm just coining a phrase here). the question of the existence of god. and this is something that science and theology has to deal with.

as we gain/progress in our knowledge/understanding of the universe; where does god fit into all of this?

and this is where the theologians/religious get upset. and maybe they should be. science is in essence explaining away god. there doesn't become a need. nietzsche is right...god is dead, and we killed him (shout that one out in class and see the looks you get from students passing by the class...fun).

in the attempts to understand our existence, our universe comes the multiverse.

however; what i don't understand...is how and why some christians are 'o.k.' with this. robin collins looks at it like this; "imagines far-flung civilizations in the multiverse all in need of salvation and a multiplicity of Christs who would change forms to meet each universe’s redemptive needs." what?

if the bible is the 'be all, end all'; i do not remember reading anything in there about multiply universe theory.

my head is hurting from the contradictions at play.

anyway...the multiverse is a pretty cool idea; not sure i buy it, but cool none-the-less.

amitabha...

blessing...

2009-03-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

or a curse?

humanity, moves beyond humans...

amitabha...

after a few...

2009-03-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

adult beverages tonight, and some painting that needs to get done soon; i'm wondering why the music of today sucks a big fat baby's butt? really. why? why does it suck so bad? even the stuff that i listen to that has come out...say; in the last ten years, really isn't that good.

i'm listen to a bunch of queen stuff, and not the 'greatest hits' stuff...i'm just jumping around to songs and albums, and it's all good. and i really don't think that you are able to make an argument against the first two albums. at all. none.

the music. the passion of mercury. wow. amazing.

when musicians cared about making good music. passionate music. not the dollar...the music.

shit...what am i going to do with my daughter? i guess, i'll just have to raise her right; on a steady diet of slayer, queen, cash, who else...; but those are good starts...

amitabha...

wastebook...

2009-03-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

or as some call it, facebook...is a waste. i join, because of an 'evil' friend of mine tempted me to, and i did. i really don't do anything with it, but i figure that it will become good outlet for my philosophical counseling gig, as soon as that gets up and running some more. however; this brings me to my point...

through facebook the 'group' as been created for hamadphilosophy.com (this being the link for my website, not facebook group). now through this group i intend to convey information regarding my 'public' philosophy meetings, services, and just get some discussions going through the site (to use that as a forum page). some people have joined the group; which is great. i posted a date for a meeting, and i run into a friend of mine who is also a member of the group; and he asked me what this meeting thing was about. i asked...don't you read what the group is about? i go on to explain about what the group is for, and what i 'do', as it were.

so do people just join groups on facebook, and not read what they are about? just to 'join' something. to become a part of something.

this happens on the bike shop group too. i wanted to get a ride together at ray's. so i posted the idea, and just one person responds. a friend of mine, so we just talked about it amongst ourselves.

but what then becomes the purpose of these groups, if no one reads them, contributes to them, understands them? why bother? it's like people just join these things to satisfy their own egoistic intentions. 'what's on your mind?' oh...i've got to tell everybody this...i'm going to bed. who cares? is it important? no.

egoistic intentions. self-gratifying.

if it works the way that it is intended to work; then bravo. until then; i'm not so sure...

this parlays into an ethics idea that i've been playing with, but more on that at a later date...

amitabha...

creation...

2009-03-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

how? why? god vs. creationism. note: not darwinism. darwin believed in god. he wanted to figure out 'how' god worked. darwin's theory does not negate god. so all you atheist that put on your neat little sticker about no god and darwin...you're a walking contradiction. read a book.

to my point...why are these things debated in school on which to teach? our schools are there to teach what we are able to 'know' (let's not get on this point of knowledge); and the point is that we don't 'know'. god goes in the nice little religion category, and evolution is not a 'hard' absolute. should these things be offered as possibilities? yes. in grammar school? no. maybe in some high school class. now obviously; if your child attends a religious school, then have it.

while this debate continues...what we do know about creation is being lost in our schooling system. the creation of the human being. we cut sex eduction down to nothing. why? religion? well...shouldn't you know or at least have an idea of how the human body works? what happens when the sperm meets the egg? this stuff we know. why do we 'cut' this out of our educational system?

'let them fend for themselves' becomes the cry of the religious. ignorance is bliss. ignorance will get you into trouble. situations that you are not ready for. however; don't get the wrong idea here, i'm not for handing out condoms at school either. first, i believe in capitalism. let them go out and buy them themselves. second, knowledge is what i am for. for them to understand the consequences of their actions. (listen to me, talking about consequences...like a little utilitarian...um; that brings up an interesting question, is the virtue ethicist concerned with the consequences? another day, another post) instead the birth rate goes up among girls. babies having babies.

eduction. knowledge. consequences.

amitabha...

quick religious...

2009-03-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

question:

coming from a christian point of view...if we are born with 'original sin', and we are still 'paying' for that sin; getting baptized is a way of 'helping' with that, then in some way we are still paying for the sins of adam and eve. a sin that i, personally, had nothing to do with.

so then shouldn't the catholic church still be paying for their sins? forced conversion. the inquisition. the corruption.

coming from a catholic; the answer will be no. i've heard arguments that because that 'was in the past'...so was adam and eve. that the church is truly 'sorry'...well; so am i (provided i was part of this tradition). and didn't christ die for our sins?

so why do we 'pay' (again, coming from the catholic position) for the sins of the past? am i my brother's keeper?

man, there are a lot of quotes in this post.

amitabha...

images...

2009-03-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

have a huge affect on us. depending on the image it is able to invoke happiness, joy, sadness, anger, etc...

dealing specifically with religious images. i would say these are the most powerful images. often spurned by the overwhelming feeling that the religion brings. being overwhelmed by the 'spirit'; as they say.

anger. the anger that is invoked by the religious symbol not being 'treated' as the religious would prefer.

the 'desecration' of mohammad, christ; often upset the religious person. the naming of a teddy bear mohammad. the countless artistic images of christ that the christians protest against. their claim of disrespect. it is funny to me. funny in the sense that they take their religious ideology so seriously, that they believe other to do the same. however; i have one question...

what about the buddha? there are far more images of the buddha in a not so acceptable/appropriate/proper light. images that are not favorable in the buddhist tradition.

the bar in cleveland (if it is still around); the funky buddha. the buddha did not look favorable upon such behavior; getting drunk, and 'whoring' around. there is a bar in vegas that has three images of the buddha, one covering his eyes, another covering his ears, and last covering his mouth. see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. what happens in vegas mentality. once again...this is in direct contradiction of the buddhist beliefs.

why don't buddhist get angry about such images? as a buddhist...why don't i get angry? maybe it is the tradition that i accept. the lessons taught. the ideology that i accept as truth. i just shake my head, and say to myself...it's not for them to get, and they maybe never will.

and people think that there is something wrong with buddhist. i don't remember hearing anything about the buddhist starting a war, forced conversion (which brings up the validity of the religions that were 'spread' that way...are they valid, or is it just something that you've grown up with...another post, for another day). what's wrong with us? there is no violence in the tradition. no hatred. is that what is wrong with us? is this the fact that other people can't relate to?

so please accept my apologies for not hating you; starting a war with you; getting mad at your non-understanding of the tradition; getting angry when you mis-represent an image of my religious beliefs.

so from the 'fat happy guy' and myself...

amitabha...

i just want it...

2009-03-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

known...i am not a fan of red tape; 'corporate' ideology; all the crap that one has to go through just to do their job; which they enjoy.

i've been reading a lot charles sanders peirce's work, and his ideas are getting to me. he states: 'there is no royal road to logic, and really valuable ideas can only be had at the price of close attention. but i know that in the matter of ideas the public prefer the cheap and nasty...'

reason is out the window. thought has become secondary, or as he calls it decorative. '...if questions of conduct are alone to interest us. they, therefore, demand that it shall be plain and facile. if, in special cases, complicated reasoning is indispensable, they hire a specialist to preform it. the result of this state of thing is, of course, a rapid deterioration of intellectual vigour, very perceptible from one generation to the next. this is just what is taking place among us before our eyes; and to judge from the history of constantinople, it is likely to go on until the race comes to a despicable end.'

is there any hope?

as i type this, i am taking an 'harassment' 'course' for one of my teaching positions. i guess this is the face of corporate america. cover your ass. that becomes the name of the game. reason has left the building.

at other places...policies are changed without any knowledge of them. not due to anything on my part. just as i want to do something; which i've always done...it's become an 'oh, by the way...' scenario. thanks guys for the memo. no instead i get memos to look above my mailbox for packages.

this has gone on longer that i expected...i guess i ought to pay attention to my harassment 'training'...

amitabha...

compassion...

2009-02-27T04:33:00.000-08:00

what does it mean?

i brought up this topic in my religion class the other day. the religion is not important, because it is the concept that is. what does it mean to be compassionate?

to be kind? helpful? these were some concepts that came up. in my dictionary this is what was presented: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

a story was presented of a classmate who owns property, and rents out the houses. that sometimes people skip on their rent, take off, and with them the appliances in the house. the christian in her allows this. a helping of others. they must need it more than i attitude.

is this compassion?

i presented just the opposite concept...this is not compassion, but enabling, and being taken advantage of.

compassion is a dichotomy.

being taken advantage of in the name of compassion, enabling in the name of compassion is not compassion. doing the right thing by helping someone out to better themselves is compassion. if that means, in some perceived way, being mean to them...then that is compassion. if the above is the christian concept of compassion, then it is not wonder that i want no part of that.

coming from a buddhist perspective, it is a very difficult concept. a difficult moral decision. what becomes the compassionate route? compassion is difficult. however; i am then reminded of what nietzsche said about what is worth having...it is never easy...

amitabha...

my heart...

2009-02-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

hangs low.

i hear the news on the radio...and it seems on a weekly basis another child dies at the hands of their parent. for no reason. none.

recently; a woman gets put away for killing her children, and claims she hears voices in her head to do it. insanity plea. she gets put away in a psyche ward.

the most recent story was a father put a pillow over his child's face, because the baby was crying...the child suffocated and died.

i ask...how? why?

these are children. babies. who have done nothing wrong. who did not ask for existence. who are now just trying to exist. to live. no one said that children are easy.

as i mourn for the children, anger fills...against those who would commit such an act.

justice? there is none. you took an innocent life. innocent in every sense of the word. for these people there should be no trial. no excuse. just take them out back and put a bullet in the back of their head. there is no reason for what they have done. and now they get to live, because of some insanity plea...they get a fighting chance...what about their children? did they get one? do they get a voice? nope. however you do...how is that possible?

i can't find any compassion for them. none.

our system is weak.

amitabha...

please read...

2009-02-10T07:38:00.001-08:00

and take part...

national park action

we need this, we deserve this...

amitabha...

um...

2009-02-04T05:40:00.000-08:00

cool as hell...

Steve Brown - Proof Of Concept

amitabha...

track the president...

2009-01-27T07:28:00.000-08:00

and his campaign promises on the obameter, that has been set up by the st. petersburg times. i also put it as a link on the side...

amitabha...

my vaction hasn't been...

2009-01-19T05:50:00.001-08:00

yo yo factory's the mighty flea ultra-mini...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

filled with yo as much as i would have hoped that it would. however; i've noticed that since the beginning of the semester (last week), and my preparation for it; and the semesters to come (some other schools start this week, and then the next)...i've been picking up a yo more and more. i think it is becoming a meditative tool for me. just to let it all go, and focus on something else.

in my search for fun new meditative tools; i came across this little guy from yo yofactory. the quarter is for reference of size. it came with the blue bag, and in one of those cheap plastic 'balls' you get from a gum ball machine. it is a challenging yo.

since it is only the diameter of a quarter; i'm able to keep it in my pocket, and no one would be the wiser.

amitabha...

what is an...

2009-01-13T05:45:00.000-08:00

education? rather; what becomes the 'college's' best interest? your eduction? your advancement? do they care about your knowledge in a given subject?

no.

it is a business. a money maker. that's it.

at a recent college meeting...oh; i'm sorry, i didn't mean to type college; let me re-type that...at a recent company meeting (yes, company. and i use that word because a dean used it in the meeting...the company), i was told by somebody 'high up' about not only proving something for our students, rather i should say customers; because that is what companies have...customers. just like 'insert major cow mentality here'. so not only dealing with our current customers, but also the children of our customers, because those are our future customers.

i had to hear an hour long speech on 'authentic assessments'. the definition give: "simply testing an isolated skill or retained fact does not effectively measure a student's capabilities. to accurately evaluate what a person has learned, an assessment method must examine his or her collective abilities. this is what is meant by authentic assessment. authentic assessment presents students with real-world challenges that require them to apply their relevant skills and knowledge." it goes on to state: "'fairness' does not exist when assessment is uniform, standardized, impersonal, and absolute. rather, it exists when assessment is appropriate-in other words, when it's personalized, natural, and flexible; when it can be modified to pinpoint specific abilities and function at the relevant level of difficulty..."

what these bleeding hearts want to do is move away from our good old system of grading and evaluating students based on right or wrong. did you get the problem wrong? then it's wrong. rather 'they' (a word on them later) wants the instructor to use rubrics. now...i'd love to get into a long rant on what a rubric is, but i don't have the time or patience. the short view...it's another way of grading. of saying wrong. the standardization is replaced with another standardization. i had another talk of this at another 'company' meeting, and a bunch of people just walked out...me included. it's bullshit.

'they'. who are 'they'? who runs the (for idealist sake) the college? educators? nope. business men and women. not those who have your intellectual develop in mind, but only so far as your 'intellectual develop' keeps money coming into their company.

to educate (from the dictionary on my mac): give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to.

i was assaulted the other night with words like critical thinking, higher thought, to have the students go beyond...i teach philosophy...how much more am i able to go? well; maybe all that doesn't apply to me?

all hail the company...

amitabha...

it is the...

2009-01-12T05:13:00.000-08:00

case that morality is just in fact based on your surroundings/society? what then happens when no one is around?

scientists in the netherlands found out in a little experiment that they performed.

what would happen if you were left alone?

amitabha...

i believe my...

2008-12-31T17:47:00.000-08:00

struggle with 'novels' have ended. or maybe i should state; my struggles with reading.

as hume states in volume three of a 'treatise of human nature'...'in an age, wherein the greatest part of men seem agreed to convert reading into an amusement, and to reject every thing that requires any considerable degree of attention to be comprehended.'

amitabha...

and have a wonderful new year...i know i will...

the struggle with...

2008-12-31T05:37:00.001-08:00

novels continues.

it became my 'goal' to sit down and get into 'atlas shrugged'; and the attempt failed. i only got to about page one hundred, and i couldn't take it anymore. i didn't care about the characters, their development, the story. ayn rand just sucks.

some people say 'well...she is a difficult read.' no, i get what she's saying...she's just full of shit. her writing sucks. as she introduces a new character; she then proceeds to give a fifteen page 'back story' of the character...what the hell? do we really need this? i really think she had no idea what she was doing, and just needed to fill pages; because she was just 'buying time' in between her (to be nice) liaisons.

i told a friend of mine my dislike of the book, and he said for fun to check out the 'cliff notes' on the book. well...we were in half priced books, and i found a copy and checked it out. now; as you know (if you have attempted to read this) the opening line is 'who is john galt?' in the cliff notes it states that he (john galt) is the main character in the book that doesn't make an appearance until two-thirds of the way in (that's a long freaking way considering how long this thing is). and as i leaf further into the notes it states that john galt is unable to be defined, understood...well; what kind of 'main character' is that? how then is rand able to write about someone/something that is unable to be defined, unable to be understood?

i just get sick of these self-righteous writers who think that they have their finger on the pulse of existence...but it's un-definable. this seems to take place in the twentieth century more than before. sure, people have always claimed to 'know' such things, but at least they were able to convey what they were talking about. a philosopher once stated...if you are unable to convey your ideas, then you have no idea what you mean (this is paraphrased, but the idea comes across).

the search continues...

amitabha...

for those of you...

2008-12-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

that are of a literary background...i've got a question for you.

now most of you know i'm not a big novel guy. i'd rather 'curl' up with kant, carnap, russell, popper, etc. novels are very novel to me (like that?). i do have some that i'd like to read...a small stack by my bed, but they are not my main source of reading. so my question is this...

what to do if you are more than half way through a novel, and really don't care for it? is it o.k. to not finish it, and who cares? or should you at least finish it, like a bad movie that you've started? what is the etiquette for such a thing?

thanks...

amitabha...

what is needed...

2008-12-08T04:35:00.000-08:00

for a being to hold a 'moral status'?

in the december issue of seed magazine; there is an article by ed yong entitled 'of primates and personhood'. where it explains that countries are taking steps to protect great apes from experimentation. that the organization the great ape project (gap) is at the forefront of this movement. demanding a set of moral and legal rights for primates.

peter singer (philosopher and head of gap) states 'it's a historic breakthrough in reducing the barrier between humans and non-human animals.' he continues...'all creatures that can fell pain should have a basic moral status.'

there are already many countries that ban ape research altogether, and the u.s. looks like it is next. spain has ape rights already on the books, and switzerland has what is called 'dignity laws'.

now, philosophical; i could go on for a very long time (in fact i think i will elsewhere, and for other reasons), but i just want to make a few points:

first, where are we to draw the line or 'barrier' that singer speaks of? will it be the outcome that my cat will have the same 'moral status' that i? what about the countless deer that are hit on our highways on a daily basis? if the moral status is equal, then once you hit a deer; then it becomes the same as hitting a person. a simple hit and run. criminal charges then have the ability to be brought up against you.

second, right vs. morality. a right is something given to you by your government; as we speak of legal rights. now these are privileges, and not absolute guarantees. meaning they are able to be taken away from you. just like how the government takes away your 'right' to vote if you are a convicted felon. not like morality. as we question...'is this the right thing to do?' what do we mean? many answers here. many long answers here. but my quick basic question becomes...are you willing to allow morality to be a privilege? something to be taken away, or changed? 'what is the right thing to do?' now we have the ability to argue about the situational aspects of this, but at the heart or center or it is the concept of 'morality'.

third, does the feeling of 'pain' constitute morality? we, as humans, believe that we have the ability to perceive pain in other creatures. an an anthropomorphism, from my point of view. but; what does it mean to 'feel pain'? if we measure pain by a creatures reaction to something 'unpleasant' then all things feel pain. my cat as it gets its insulin shot to the amoeba that 'moves' away from a needle, or something else 'unpleasant'. how about the opposite of pain -pleasure. how do we use this as a measuring device? the tomato plant (or any plant for that matter, i'm just thinking about tomatoes right now) that moves towards the sun for nutrients. what if i were to move that plant away from the sun; am i then committing an immoral action? how are we to 'measure' these things?

these points may seem silly, but they illustrate my point in this short 'rant', if you will. if the points seem silly, it is only because my larger point that morality being extented to 'non-human' existents is silly, and holds a great many fallacies.

here's a quick question that i want you to ask yourself, if you disagree with me...where would we as humans be without experimentation on animals? let me re-phrase that...medical experimentation. because i'm not arguing for 'hey, lets cut it open, and see what happens' ideas. this is not a 'experimentation' free for all, but with a purpose, and a point. not pointlessness.

amitabha...

advancement...

2008-12-03T05:47:00.000-08:00

comes a long way in the technology field. we move from one technology to the next.

in music we had things like the seventy-eight, the thirty-five, the forty-five, the eight track, the cassette, the cd, to the mpthree player, the ipod.

photos have come a long way also. now i cannot go through such a list, simply because i do not have such a knowledge. however there are a lot out there.

we usually give up one technology for another. there are people who 'hang on', as it were, to phonograph players...in fact i need to pick one up.

mindlessness:

however, i do not want the music i have on my ipod to sound like a thirty-five. a thirty-five has it's own unique qualities. as does my ipod.

in camera world...if i want my given pictures to have a given quality i will stick to that medium. example...if i want my pictures to look like polaroids, then i'll use a polaroid camera. if i want digital pictures, then i'll use a digital camera.

well here you go...if you want your digital pictures to look like a polaroid all you need to do is go here, and then you are able to take your digital pictures, and make them look like polaroids. nice. thanks guys. because it's not cool to use a polaroid, but it's cool to make your digital pictures look like you do.

somewhere a philosopher cries.

amitabha...

george lucas...

2008-11-19T05:50:00.000-08:00

you suck!

i just finished the clone wars movie, and i can't believe i sat through that.

when i picked up the hellboy and hulk movies, i was going to pick that up too; but then i thought that since i never picked up any of the other star wars movies what's the point. and proceed to put my money towards gears of war two; which turned out to be a better waste of my money (yes, i said waste, but we don't need to get into that here; i do enjoy the game so far).

i guess i just have a huge problem still with all this prequel crap. i have a basic idea of what is going to happen, so what's the point? isn't the point of a show/movie/book whatever supposed to be the suspense in it? now i'm not saying you can't watch a movie 'into the ground'. you can. i have. i still get enjoyment out of that, but this prequel stuff has to stop.

and when is this movie supposed to be taking place? in between what crappy movie? and when is this series taking place too?

if i may reiterate...lucas; you suck!

amitabha...

mindlessness continues...

2008-11-18T05:31:00.000-08:00

as you know; at least if you've paid attention; i'm a new york giants fan. i make this preface, because i don't want that to influence you on what i'm about to write.

last sunday the bengals and eagles played to a tie for the first time in the nfl since two-thousand two. after the game, the eagles quarterback the 'great' mcnabb states, and i quote "I never even knew it was in the rule book." in reference to the tie. that there could be a tie in a football game. he goes on to rhetorically ask the question (paraphrasing) what if this was a play off game or the superbowl?

are you serious? this guy is an idiot. he doesn't even know the rules to his own game. his job. a tie is permitted in a regular season game. if such a thing would happen in a playoff game or the superbowl they'd play until there was a winner. dumb ass.

no wonder the eagles haven't won shit. this guy doesn't even know how the league is run. now, this is not a question of the 'finer' points of the game. but rather a basic point of the rules. like i've always said...mcnabb sucks. you will never win a superbowl with him. it's true.

more mindlessness...

did you hear about the woman that got four years in prison for beating her three children with the wooden handle of an ax? i tried to look for the story, but i couldn't find it with quick ease (i've got other shit to do), but anyway in her 'plea for mercy' she said that she's been off of her meds (i think she is bi-polar), and that she was on a thousand dollars worth of crack. nice. just what the judges wants to hear. that will help your case.

more mindlessness to come...

amitabha...

as some of...

2008-11-14T04:59:00.001-08:00

you know i hate technology. i'm not a big fan. the only technology that i really enjoy is my ipod. that's really it. and if i could sell off my tower at a reasonable price i probably would, and just stick to my lap top as a minimalist use. i'm not going to get into my philosophy about it now; however...

i picked up hellboy two and the hulk dvds the other day; in the three disc s.e. versions. after spending a chuck of change on them, i noticed the 'third' disc. where you are able to download the movie onto your computer/ipod/itunes (mac for me) at no additional charge. this is a great feature. after paying way too much for these, they (the companies) now allow you to download the movie onto your computer. nice touch. i was impressed. so now i have hellboy two and the hulk on my itunes, waiting to be put on my ipod. granted i may never watch them on my ipod, but i have the option. and it's a nice option after spending the money.

speaking about spending money...i also picked up gear of war two, and started playing that this morning. great game. i enjoyed the hell out of the first one, so i picked up this one. and yes, there are at least five games in my collection that i haven't played yet.

stay tuned for 'happenings'...

amitabha...

i haven't been...

2008-11-11T05:56:00.001-08:00

eight eight eight...
Originally uploaded by divine_gear

staying as true to my promise as much as i'd like; however i have been playing more. and that's a good thing.

my latest accomplishment was getting this little diddy to get back to me. you see, for those of you that don't know, a lot of the new yo's have a very low response (this means that they are able to 'sleep' for a long time) that they are difficult to return. and i finally got upset enough to seek help on the net. so now i am able to play with my low response yos more.

the eight eight eight is already a modern classic. i picked it up when it first came out (i'm not sure how long ago that was, two years maybe), and it is a joy.

as soon as i was able to return it, i was trying out 'finger grinds'; which is where you let the yo spin/rest on your finger. it's pretty sick. since i haven't been playing video games, i have a feeling though that this is how i'm going to spend my holiday break.

amitabha...

is she guilty...

2008-10-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

for killing an avatar? here's one for 'what is real?'

in tokyo a woman is jailed after she 'killed' her 'ex-husband's' (man i don't know how to put this), now this was her husband in the virtual world; avatar after their virtual divorce.

if it is 'real' then there are 'real' consequences for our actions.

do i need to resort to my mindlessness comments?

humanity is doomed.

amitabha...

stop it...

2008-10-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

stop thinking. stop conceiving. stop categorizing. stop understanding. they'll do it all for you.

‘for the consumer there is nothing left to classify, since the classification has already been preempted by the schematism of production.’ -horkheimer & adorno from their book dialectic of enlightenment.

free thought has gone the way of the dodo. you don't have to make the connections anymore. others will do it for you. you don't have to 'connect the dots', they'll do that for you. you don't have to make sense of the propositions; what they mean, what they say, what their intentions are...it has already been done for you. you are free to be original, as long as you conform to a given standard.

buckle up...i'm going on a ride...

fashion...girls are wearing snow boots in class, it's fifty degrees outside. i asked a student why? fashion. you look dumb. follow the heard cow. and can you image how their feet smell by being in those boots all day while its still semi-warm outside?

i attend a mandatory meeting at the start of the semester, and there is a guest speaker talking about the ills of standardized testing, and how critical thinking skills are gone; meanwhile she is promoting a standard for 'testing' this skill. although she didn't use these words. the word she used escapes now in my rage. i walked out.

on the television today there was a piece on the 'news' (because its not really news) about how we need to understand what old people are going through. so we put you in a class and show you what they are experiencing. this is done through the use of over sized gloves, funny glasses (which reproduces glaucoma). this is done because you are not smart enough to sit back and pay attention to what they are experiencing. the difficulty that they are having. i unfortunately, do not have my grandparents around anymore; however, when i did, i payed attention to what they were going through. what their life was like, and i saw the frustration. the pain. and at times the confusion. i don't need some fuck tard, some brainless fuck...telling me that what people go through as your body breaks down, changes...sucks. and especially if you are a nurse (and that's who these classes are geared to) you shouldn't need it either, and if you do...GET OUT. you shouldn't be taking care of anyone, not even a dog. you poor mindless bastard.

next story...the women's conference. just another name for sexism. yeah, i said it. because you know damn well that if i were to hold a men's conference i'd be called a sexist pig. here's your double standard. once you see and read the word 'women's' blank, this is code. code to promote the inequality between the sexes. not equality. which i am for. equality amongst people. this is the promotion that one sex is better than the other. i know i'd get the response 'you don't know what it's like to be a woman.' well, you don't know what it's like to be a bat. (this is in reference to thomas nagel's piece called 'what is it like to be a bat.)

culture, what culture? movies? suck. movies are safe. safe in regards to that they'll only be made that it is a sure thing to make money. movies are made after...best selling books. why? because they're best selling books. there is already a fan base. comic books. fan base. video games. fan based. where is the originality? gone. conform. movies the resemble 'real life'; just to make it that much harder to distinguish the two. to justify your existence. that others feel the same. go through the same thing. conform. [side note...i put cyclecross handlebars on my road bike. over the summer i loaned it to a guy, and he said that they were so comfortable (hence why i use them on everything i ride with a drop bar); and he goes to me, i'll have to put them on my cross bike. well, if they're so comfortable why not put them on your road bike too? conform jackass.] from here i won't even get into music...on ward...

last night i finally watched a documentary i had on the father of deconstructionism jacques derrida; and i learned something about myself...i don't want to be a famous philosopher. i watched and listened to how people treat him. just in awe of him. asking these pompous questions of his work. some people coming up to him after he gave a talk, that he just cleared so much up from some of his work. there are two mindless beings here. one; the person reading the work. if you can't make sense of it, maybe you shouldn't be reading it. two; derrida. pierce stated (i'm paraphrasing) that if you are unable to state your idea or proposition clearly, then you don't have a clear idea of what you are speaking about. don't try to confuse people with unclear rhetoric, just to make you look smart and intelligent. you are not. i however got a sense that he himself hated it. what was going on. and maybe he did. maybe after he dies there'll be a manuscript of how he was fucking with everyone. just because i saw glimpse of how in his daily life, he contradicts his philosophy. you could say, that's its just philosophy. but if you believe the universe to act or be such a way, then wouldn't you live by the way it is? understanding the lives of some philosophers...they have. integrity.

the other day i hear on the radio that certain people (which will remain nameless) are offended by the term 'black hole'. that 'devils food cake' is a racist term. what? you know what offends me? blatant ignorance. blatant mindlessness.

it's sad that i have to make 'rules' in my class, that i have to state that i do not want to see a cell phone in class. because students will just text away underneath their desk; during class. and honestly, i could care less if they fail or not (this is only because the ones that do, are); however i find it a blatant show of disrespect. to me. to the class. mindlessness.

this has become a culture of coddling. that's our culture. individualistic coddling. don't worry about anything, they'll take care of you. the culture. the leaders. the authority. they'll take care of you. now just go vote for the one that will take care of you. and don't worry. don't work, or put forth effort to achieve anything. let me provide the answers for you, to you. i often paraphrase nietzsche in my classes and state; that worth having is not easily gotten. and then i often get a glazed look (like that of a freshly killed turkey, or cow; yeah, lets go with the cow) of confusion. their 'mind' is trying to process what just came out of my mouth.

what does it mean to be human? in essence; what sets us apart from the animals? the mind reason. when that is not present, you're just a chuck of meat; a cow.

i've been reading my uncle's new book lately (i'm only a couple of chapters in), and you know...i haven't found a thing i disagree with. and i'm sure that is part of the reason for this long ideological rant.

in summary...do something to piss off the conformed. the mundane. a quick example...i rode my bike up to the bmv to get my tags, and the lady behind the counter was looking at me with suck contempt. was it because she is fat and lazy? and i'm not? maybe. i rode my bike to drop off my recycles. and a guy who was doing the same (dropping off his recycles) stated to me, you've got to admire a guy riding his bike to recycle. my response was, you've got to do what you can.

move away from the mundane. from conformity. from mindlessness.

amitabha...

since i run...

2008-10-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

on a mac, i do not have any 'entertainment' on my computer. all you pc users know what i'm talking about...the hours playing solitaire and the like. and i'm not one to go out and buy games for my computer.

well in my time of watching tv, i came across the usa network arcade for some down time of playing such games. and they want you to create an avatar. which in and of itself has an odd connotation for me. just getting into hinduism and the avatar's of vishnu; which represents 'real' forms of vishnu; and here we (as humans) create false images of ourselves, or at least how we perceive ourselves. which may or may not be a false reality. but what is real, but what affects us; then it is real. but then what happens when the two realities meet, or get blurred? whoa, sorry for the tangent...

anyway...this is the little guy i came up with over at wee world (which is the site they take you to to create this false image of yourself, and yes, i said false) yeah, i get bored sometimes...

amitabha...

the dream...

2008-10-03T05:11:00.001-07:00

that was believed to be true. ever have one of these? i don't want to sound like the opening chapter to descartes meditations, and i don't want to get all epistemological here; but rather point to something else.

i had a dream last night, where as the dream was proceeding, i was feeling guilty for what i was doing. i knew this was a dream. i knew it wasn't happening in the waking world. and i make this statement because we are then able to get into what constitutes 'real'. and to just touch base on this; real may be considered what affects you, and that doesn't necessarily have to be the 'waking world'. my favorite example (even though it is tiring on me) is star wars; a fictional movie, yet has 'influenced' so many in their beliefs. jedi is a legitimate religion in britain, i'm pretty sure.

back to it...however i was feeling guilt from a dream. for me this brings up the question; where does this guilt come from?

because if 'x' where to happen, there would be 'real' guilt. 'real' in the waking world. that it would effect and affect others.

so where then does this notion of right and wrong, good and bad, ethics 'bubble up' from? are notions of ethics innate? internal? objective? mind-independent?

because in my dream, i am under no social pressures. no external factors. so moral value coming from 'within', internal, objective, internalism. just the self.

because what was 'real' was the guilt. the feeling. the notion that a wrong was committed. without the 'judgment' of others.

amitabha...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

so do...

2008-09-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

you think this guy looked up?

the world's smallest man, pictured with the world's woman with the longest legs, according to guiness world record.

i would have...

amitabha...

just another...

2008-09-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

example of how we in the u.s. are getting screwed.

thanks guys...

amitabha...

what is in a...

2008-09-21T05:33:00.001-07:00

name?

a lot.

some time ago i went to a (let's say) food establishment that when you place your order they take your name, and then call out your name when the food is ready to be picked up. well this food establishment stopped that. i received a 'buzzer' to let me know that my food is ready. i didn't feel welcome. i often looked forward to giving my name, and having them call it out. it just made me feel welcome in their restaurant.

conversely; some time ago i went to a bar to meet a friend for some drinks. i started a tab, and the bartenders (i was there during a shift change) both called me by my name as i ordered drinks, and to just check in on me. i just really made me feel welcome at the bar. now granted this was during the week, so they weren't that busy, but still.

so if you're in business try and use the person's name as much as possible. needless to say i'm looking forward to going back to that bar, and not that food establishment.

amitabha...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

so as i sit...

2008-09-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

here in my office, and look around (never mind the grading that is piling up); but the knowledge, the thought, the ideas, the perspectives, the opinions, the enveloping aroma of the bean (coffee if you didn't get it)...

i wonder why i spend time on this thing...it's nothing, no substance, no virtue, meaninglessness.

if it wasn't for email (which for some reason i think i need for school) i wouldn't have one of these things...

so why am i still here?

i'm out...

amitabha...

album review...

2008-09-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

or at least half of an album review of metallica's death magnetic, because i was only able to get through half of it before i had to turn on some real metal.

i downloaded it off of itunes this weekend. michelle listened to it before i did, and she gave it a thumbs up.

i however...gave half of it a listen. upon initial view, ten songs all over six minutes except one. not that i care how long a song is; however this does play into my review/critique. let's answer the first question...is it better than saint anger? yes. heavier. the drums and bass are more 'together', and in sync with one another. although the bass doesn't stand out like on the black album or their earlier work. which is too bad, because robert is an awesome bassist. listen to his work with suicidal tendencies...amazing.

guitar wise...too 'riffy'. the riffs change and mutate for no apparent reason. it seems like they got bored during the writing of the song, came up with a new riff that sounded good with the song, and through it in, and the song expands in length. they're trying to cram too much into one song.

i am getting weary of jame's vocal style. it is getting repetitive. and lyrically...sub-par. i mean i know metal lyrics are sometime cheesy (hell i love manowar), but come on. some of the things coming out of jame's mouth, was like he's not even trying. and do we really need an unforgiven three?

b minus at best.

amitabha...

remember...

2008-09-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

what happened to the tower of babel?

amitabha...

i need help with the definition...

2008-08-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

of what it means for something to be 'grassroots'.

my conception of it is something like this...(and i'll put this in terms of bike races, because that's what i understand) let's say i want to put on a cross race (for those of you who are not familiar with the cycling terms i use...tough, look them up yourself or check out my other blog); so i pick out a possible course, i talk to the appropriate people that i need to get the o.k. from to do the race; usually this would consist of city people. set the date. maybe get support, endorsements and such. print up flyers/websites. legal stuff. entry fees...so forth and so on.

if all goes well, the race would be a success. and do it again next year. and it would grow in popularity, and i would still do it. simply. this would be grassroots.

now let's it became so big that a corporate sponsor wanted to buy the rights to it. let's say...trek (since we all are familiar with them as a bike company), and they took it to a mass marketed type of thing. tv. ads in world wide magazines. pretty lights. to the point where it becomes more of a show than a race. this would not be grassroots.

however; this is the word i'm hearing being thrown about at the dnc...it's grassroots. no it's not. it's in a freaking stadium. nationally televised. it seems to me more romanist (visions of caesar flash through my mind). more of a show than a grassroots presentation. entertainment over the issue/argument/future of my country.

i haven't heard one thing why i should vote for obama...other than he's not mccain. fuck i could run on that platform.

it has been my experience in life, when the show becomes bigger than the event...there isn't much to the event. it's like going to a magic show. what happens? they distract you from what they are doing to give you some sort of awe of what's going on. but when you really look at it...the magic is gone.

what's sad...people are falling for it. the show...

amitabha...

let's talk...

2008-08-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

politics for just one post.

it's a hot year for the election. obama or mccain? the dnc has started. and from what i've just been informed by my wife that is a wonderful acronym for a female procedure that i don't even want to really know.

other questions...are the hillary supporters going to sign into the obama camp? did you see how hot chelsea is? i mean...really...she's hot.

what are the hot topics? healthcare? the war? the economy? what ever else you may think is important.

now...that being said one question remains in my mind when voting time comes...do i really want to align myself with this guy?...

this little midget of a politician. a rejected leprechaun. what the hell has he done for cleveland? nothing. all he has done is raise a lot of money from a lot of rich actors, and keep it. there has been no political spending of that money...ever wonder why you never hear or see one of his ads? it's because he keeps the money, and i believe that once he retires then he will have access to it. i believe so.

i regret that i have done you a major disservice. i saw him once in public. it was at a church festival. and i'm not much of a church going guy, so it would not have bothered me, but i should have 'what for'. and told him to f-himself.

so the moral and ethical issue that is the real question...are you able, in good conscious, to align yourself with him? i mean really...are you? if it could be guaranteed that he would be voted out of office, i really don't think i would care as much...i mean really...we're f'd no matter who gets in.

how about that for a 'too much beer' post? you'll never believe how many times i had to hit the spell check or re-type something.

amitabha...

so i've been...

2008-08-26T11:27:00.001-07:00

hanging around on flickr recently, and i've noticed that i have let a hobby of mine to go the waist side (is that the correct term/phrase?)...anyway; i haven't been doing one of my hobbies recently. and because of my playing around on flickr...i'm going to get back into it.

the yo-yo.

the world's greatest toy, next to the ball.

about a year and a half ago, i really got into it. picking up yo-yo after yo-yo. and my collection is quite extensive, at least for the amount of time i don't spend playing. butterfly, spinning, one's with counter-weights, trying yo-yo's that were not attached to the string (yeah, watch out cat's); just all sorts of different things.

i would sit down and try to learn a trick a week. and i was having a good time with it. and when i get into a hobby i get into a hobby. understanding string (different styles of string will allow you to do different things), bearings, weight of the yo, thickness, size.

so here i am, stating publicly (or at least to those who read this); i'm going to pick up the yo again, and begin to re-learn what it is i know, and by next week get back to learning a trick a week, or become better at the tricks i already know. and maybe start taking some pics of the yo, and doing some tricks.

amitabha...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

so when...

2008-08-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

will society implode on itself?

it is early evening, and i'm trying to do some school work for the up coming semester, and all i hear out my office window is parents bitching at their kids. i was hanging out saturday late morning and i hear the 'f' bomb being dropped like water drops from niagara falls. so i listen closer, and it's the kids across the street. talking to their mother. and the mother talking back to the kids. these kids are under ten. i almost cried.

how are people 'o.k.' with their moral choices today? and i will say moral. you are able to say that it's just a word, but the relationship that that word is dealing with...child to parent...parent to child. it really becomes a lost of respect. now who is that child going to respect?

and the cycle of ignorance continues.

nobody tries. nobody tries to make it better. to make themselves better. they just bitch. and bitch. and the problems are still there. and they wonder why.

the cycle continues.

[amitabha...]

so i know...

2008-07-31T04:21:00.000-07:00

i've not posted here in a while, i have been concentrating on my other blog, since that is linked to the shop site, and i've felt a little more responsibility to post there (who, what a run on sentence). so my apologizes.

recently a few friends of mine found out that i used to play bass, and they want me to play with them. no matter that i'm really not that great. but i am able to follow directions. so why not? they tell me what to play, and i'll play it. so i nabbed a bass from my sister-in-law, and i've been messing around with it for a couple of days now. i used to have a couple basses, but since i stopped playing i sold them all. stupid. i should have kept one. lesson learned.

anyway...i've been looking for inspiration. and where else better to look than to manowar...the kings of metal. if you don't know manowar...you don't know metal. period. and then i stumbled upon these guys. they are like a conan soundtrack. man, the finnish kick ass. it makes you realize that american metal really does suck. granted there are a few, and yes, technically manowar is from n.y., but their home is in europe...but the metal that comes out of finland, sweden, and other countries like that are just so intense.

death to false metal....

amitabha....

as i've been riding...

2008-07-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

my bike to more places, and not just going for a ride, i feel safer on my bike than i do driving my car.

the other day i was in my car, and i was stopped at a light. i was making a right hand turn. the lanes to the left of me were full. meaning that there were cars there that were planning on going straight. the traffic straight across had the right of way to make their left hand turn. so common sense dictates (and so does the law) that they have the right of way before i am able to make my right hand turn, on red. now from here on in, i'm going to be nice...a gentleman on a motor bike decides that both laws (the law of common sense and the legal law) do not apply to him. and he decides to pass me on the left, and cut me off and make a right hand turn. i'll give some time to let that sink in...

yes, 'pass' me on the left and make a right hand turn. just like something out of grand theft auto. i am able to catch up to him at the next light. i shrugged my shoulders and give a 'w.t.f.'? and he starts bitching at me. at me! i'm not the one who cut anyone off. i'm not the one who broke any laws. i wasn't a ass. but he starts bitching at me. for doing nothing. i could have argued. i could have bitched right back. but two things popped into my head: one this guy is always going to be a jerk, and nothing that i say is going to change that; two, my wife reminds me these people might be packing, and you never know. so i moved on.

but it keeps going through my head...why would that guy be pissed with me? why? i didn't do anything. i wasn't wrong. then i remember the 'philosophy' that has taken over the american people...subjectivism. relativism. my truth is the only truth. my right is the only right. me. me. me.

i wanted to stop driving. i feel safer on my bike. more control. cars seem to be more aware of me, and want to avoid me. to get away from me. my wife thinks i'm nuts for saying this, but then i remind her she doesn't know what i experience out on the street on the bike like i do.

cars have become too safe. and with this safety people forget, or don't care as much about their driving, and what they're doing. they just don't pay attention to what is going on. cars that now alert you if you are too close to another car. what? multitasking while driving. no. just drive. that's all that you have to do.

anyway...be safe out there.

[amitabha...]

reply to the...

2008-06-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

observation again...

my comment got too long. sorry...

is their motivation compassion though? let's look at this small scale...cleveland. this city has been run by democratic party for years, and yet this city is going down the drain. where's the compassion if the job's are leaving, taxes are going higher for something that may or may not be happening (that medical mart), and people keep on voting for good o' denise who keeps lining his pockets with millions from the movie stars, and then will be able to collect that when he gets out of politics. compassion...mayor jackson doesn't want to work with the police force so that they are able to do their job effectively.

also, i never said i was voting republican.

do i want to be governed by the christian conservative? no.

do i want to be governed by the liberal bleeding heart tree-huggers? no.

the problem with both is that they both will deal in legislating morality. and that is what i am totally against. morals should not be politicized. period.

however; at least i know where the christian conservative stands. i understand where they are coming from and where they are going. again not a train that i want to ride.

but i have no idea where the tree-huggers are going, and no idea where they are coming from. i am also not about this whole idea that 'i'm o.k. and you're o.k.' subjectivist point of view.

i feel like that girl who keeps picking jerks in her life, and she wonders why all her boy-friends have been jerks. i'm a romantic. i guess i'm waiting for that person who will step up to the plate and actually care for the society, and not just his pockets and legacy. i think i said this before...we need to stop electing lawyers. i don't want a lawyer to lead me anywhere, except in a courtroom. a leader of men should know and understand what a man is, first. then move from there...like i said; i'm a romantic...

[amitabha...]

reply...

2008-06-20T05:25:00.000-07:00

to what's been said in a observation:

first point: are they 'appeasing' all the share holders? no.

second: define 'social change'. is it to make it easier for poor people to get a house, and then when interest rates change, and they can't afford it to foreclose? chalk that one up to good 'o bill.

is 'social change' to tax the hell out of everybody so we are all on an 'equal playing field'?

'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness'

i can't smoke in a public areas anymore. why?

food with saturated fat is being taken away. why?

these things are deemed un-healthy, so now we make laws against them.

where's my choice to choose?

we are unable to drill for oil, because we might upset a bear. meanwhile gas prices are on the rise [in reference to my first point...are you o.k. with the shareholders of the oil companies? that's business.]

we have a politician telling us that the 'planet has a fever.' a politician. i don't trust anything a politician tells me...do you? [hey did you know that gullible isn't in the dictionary?]

'equal playing field' -what do i mean...well...we are born into this society. this capitalistic society. there is wealth out there...go get it. adam smith and the 'wealth of nations'.

or do you prefer a different 'equal playing field'? one where my money (which i have worked hard for) goes to some lazy bastard who doesn't want to work. who believes that everybody in the world owes him something? maybe you'd prefer a different book. where everybody is 'equal'. where everybody has the same. where the government takes away all private utilities. where the government runs everything, and you don't have to worry. you don't have to make a choice, because there is no choice to be had. try this for a read; because this is what the democratic party is preaching. just listen.

i believe in the constitution. i don't believe that the government is there to wipe my ass when i can't reach it. i do believe the government is there to protect me, as a citizen. to allow me my freedoms. lassie fair.

maybe you want to be your brothers keeper. not me. i am no one's moral police.

[amitabha...]

why is it...

2008-06-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

that the democratic party is against 'big business', but yet they want to sink more money into the business of government? thus making government bigger, and at the same time take away our liberties and our freedom of choice?

[amitabha...]

public announcement...

2008-06-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

about myself...i am not muslim. i am not against it; i am just not part of that religion.

you maybe asking yourself; 'why does he bring this up?'

well let me tell you...

the other day i took a trip to my mailbox and found this amongst my mail. i asked my wife if her mother signed me up for this magazine, and she said no (her mother knows that i'm interested in religion and the current climate of such). the magazine focuses on being muslim in a modern world and such. as i'm sure there are difficulties that muslim face (art, being gay, etc.)...i'm not interested.

and this is what pisses me off...just because of my last name i get all sorts of this shit sent to me. it happens in my school mailbox, and now at home. great.

the last name is lebanese, correct. however...a little family tree history: i am also part polish, hungarian, english, irish. i was born in america. i am an american. i have no interest in 'family roots' in the old country. why don't i get invites to join the i.r.a.?

a few stories:

i worked at a pharmacy through college, and i once worked with a pharmacist a couple times who was lebanese (straight from the 'old country'), and when he found out my last name, he acted like we were long lost brothers. saying that i should go to the 'old country' sometime. what are you nuts? they're killing each other over there. i ain't going. besides...i'm an american.

i taught a world religions class once. and the students wanted to know what my religion was. i never tell. for a lot of reasons. but one student said i was muslim (i heard this from another student). i asked why this other student thought so, and this student told me, it was because of my last name. and that's it.

so, in this 'post nine eleven' world i too feel the stigma. i'm not being a 'baby' about it, because in some sense i accept it. i don't do anything 'odd', or that would warrant a 'check-up'; but i am aware. this often happens on my trips up north. often getting pulled over, or asked really odd questions from the boarder patrol. but it's their job. don't be a fuck, and everything will be o.k.

and for the record...a couple of weeks ago i took my five precepts in buddhism; therefore i am a buddhist. that is my religion. not muslim.

with palms together...amitabha...

in this post...

2008-06-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

i am going to swear...so i apologizes now....

what the fuck does puerto rico have to do with our elections? i'm serious!!!

i saw this in the news a couple days ago.

they are not even a fucking state. why do they get a say in how this country is run? who the fuck are they? so u.s. territories are able to vote in our elections, but we can't/won't/don't govern them? what the hell is that?

my feeling is if they want to vote, let's put another star on our flag, and call 'em a state. case closed.

it has become my feeling that obama only did well there because he said he's been to fifty-seven states, and what the hell does puerto rico know about the united states?

i've got to tell you...this is bullshit. why do u.s. territories get a say? can anybody tell me?

[shalom...]

long time since...

2008-05-29T04:51:00.000-07:00

i've been here, but what you going to do?

i've been playing gta iv for the last couple of weeks, and i'm really not sure.

i mean; yes, it's a fun game. but how many have there been now? and it's the same thing over and over. come to liberty city, and new guy, no money, no friends; pick up odd 'jobs', kill people, get betrayed by the person you are working for, find someone else to work for, get a girlfriend (in this one, you don't even need to make her happy, per say), and i'm just waiting for her to 'turn' on me [to be like an agent of some kind (i've either been playing video games way too long, or i'm just good at listening to what is being said in the game)].

so i have to say that i'm really kind of bored with it. and i don't know if i should 'struggle' through it, or put it down for a while and play one of the many other games that i have.

on another note...

mario kart is a blast. i've been having fun on this one. it's just a fun game. period.

so that's what i've been up to on the game front...that and trying to ride my ass off.

[shalom...]

just a quick...

2008-04-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

note of anger.

as i sit here and do some grading on this beautiful sunny saturday, i am checking students work cited pages on their papers. the long and short of it is this...i come across this site called ethical atheist in a work cited page, and they have a pic of darwin on their site.

ladies and gentlemen; darwin was NOT an atheist. he never spoke out against the existence of god, but rather wanted to know how god 'worked'. he never denied his existence. the notion of evolution does not equal atheism. the only thing that it does is through question to creationism.

ignorance is not bliss.

[shalom...]

so, i was...

2008-04-26T05:30:00.001-07:00

at the game store yesterday just checking what was coming out soon, because i know i have a few things on pre-order; and i wanted to pick up a charger for my wii controls.

as far as games go for the wii, i want them to be 'fun' games. games that you could just hang out and play. whereas for the three sixty, more intense games. so i'm checking for some fun games and i came across furu furu park; an interesting looking japanese game collection. now you know if it is more japanese inspired, it's going to be fun and interesting. and it is.

i put it in this morning, and just played around with it for a little bit, and it's a blast. it has thirty mini-games all from puzzle, fighting, skateborading, flying...just good clean fun. one game; you're a huge robot, and you need to punch meteors away from the earth, and that's all you do. you rotate in a circle, and punch. great. physically punch. what could be more fun than that?

so if you're looking for a fun/interesting game for the wii, i recommend furu furu park. play on...

[shalom...]

i've been meaning...

2008-04-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

to put this up, but since wa is demanding it now.

i was lucky enough to go to the otep show at peabody's last week. i arrived late, because i knew i didn't want to sit through bad metal bands as openers. so i missed most of them. i grabbed a bad beer at the main bar. and i knew it was bad. i just didn't have the heart to tell her. i thought i would be able to stomach it, but no. tossed that.

as i was waiting around, i made my way to the pirate's cove, where a band called 'metal lord's' or 'lord's of metal' were playing. anyway, they were from youngstown. i hung out back there, because as cheesy as they were (and they were cheesy), the guitar's kicked some ass. he was playing the quintessential b.c. rich metal guitar. funky cut out shape that b.c. rich is known for. however he played metal.

as i grew tired of them, i headed out to the main stage, with a new beer (bottle) in hand to hear the end of some crappy band. i believe they were called 'revolution' or something. anyway...not impressed. the bassist was too busy pointing at the crowd to actually play his bass. the singer did the 'i'm the singer, but yet i want to play guitar' thing. where he would play a couple of chords, and then take off the guitar. not impressed. play it. or not. make up your mind.

time for the good stuff. otep came on ripping through possession. they played for a good hour and a half. i'm not familiar with all the songs names, so i won't show my ignorance by trying to put down a play list. as they gave an intro to 'breed' otep shamaya gave her tribute to curt, and the crowd went nuts. one of the last songs they played was 'war head'; which is a political song. i was afraid that there was going to be america bashing, but it was rather directed at our leaders, and not at america itself; which i loved. she came out draped in an american flag, and spoke at how messed up our leaders really are.

one of my favorite things about the show was that the band kept playing in between songs. there was never really a quite moment. and the band knows how to play.

the crowd was really weird though. i became that 'old guy'. i'm not really sure there was a pit, in my thrash metal sense of the word. no stage diving. no crowd surfing. a guy kept shining a light on the crowd, and i'm not sure what that meant. stop 'moshing' or someone was down. a couple of people got thrown out, i know that much. there was also that same problem at the horrorpops show, where shamaya had to repeat herself to get the crowd's reaction, so i'm guessing that it is a young person thing. that they have to be told more than once. there were a few kids there playing on their phones while the show was going on. i wanted to smack the things out of their hands. dumb asses.

but otep's energy was high, and intense. well worth it. i have been kicking my self in the ass since i missed them in december, because of finals, and a cold. but i'm really happy i made this one.

[shalom...]

stereotypes...

2008-03-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

come up often. with the cover of vogue & lebron; which i find interesting that it is under the sports section, but anyway...this is just proving my point that i wanted to make...

this week i watched two horror movies (the hills have eye ii, and resident evil extinction); and in both movies the black man died, and the hot white chick made it out 'alive'. i put that in quotes, because we are able to make the comparison to the original texas chainsaw, where the woman (i forgot her name, but she always leaves an impression on me for obvious reason, but not to be mentioned here) gets away, but she is mentally messed up.

and we as americans enjoy this ending much more. in reference to these movies, where the woman gets out, but she is mentally scared for life. in the 'hills have eyes ii' the one of the women that got out was raped by one of the cannibals. this then becomes my question...what if she is with child from the cannibal that raped her? what is that going to do to her?

a counter point to this is the movie 'the descent' (if you haven't seen it, it is a must see). i watched the directors cut, and the directors commentary, and for the american audience they (the american audience) preferred the ending of the woman getting away too, even after such horrific experiences happening to her. the ending he (the director) wanted, and did shoot for the european audiences is that the woman stayed trapped, but was in a sense, at peace with it. she knew she was going to die, but still had her mind about the whole thing; which i believe to be a much more 'solid' ending, than the woman who gets away, and is messed up for the rest of her life.

so what's the point of all this? let the black man live, and let the hot white woman keep her mind. this just tells you something about the audience watching public.

[shalom...]

olympic protests...

2008-03-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

are happening during the lighting ceremony of the torch. also, from what i understand (although i couldn't find a page on it) is that they are closing the himalayan mountains to climbers, because of possible protest of the games. his holiness the dalai lama is threatening to resign if the violence continues in tibet. the violence that the tibetan people are using against the chinese occupation.

what the hell is happening? i can't help but wonder if all this is coming to a head, because of the up coming olympics. simple because of communist beijing. i don't remember, but did any of this type of stuff happen during the olympic games in communist russia?

side notes...

pelosi talked with the dalai lama about our (americans) recognizing the oppression of the tibetan people from the chinese, and how we ought to do something, for if we do not then how are we able to speak of freedom.

we also hear that we ought to do something about darfur and the genocide that is happening there.

however we as americans (and americans) get criticized about what is happening in the middle east.

if we are not fighting evil in the middle east, then what would we be doing in darfur and tibet? would we not be fighting evil? the liberals of america believe that we should not impose our will on other countries; however isn't that just what we would be doing if we went to darfur and tibet? don't get me wrong, i'm not saying that we should not help, but lets call a spade a spade, and move on with it.

man, i did not intend to go this route...

i digress; is the only reason to protest because beijing is going to be in the international spotlight? to 'get the word out' as it were? is this also the only reason for the escalation of violence, now? if the dalai lama does step down, what would that mean to tibetan buddhism? they would have no leader. at all. i don't need to/want to get into the dalai lama as a figure/person, and what he means to tibetan buddhism, but that would be huge. it's not like, if the pope said 'i'm done', and we just elected another one, and move on. totally different here.

this doesn't sit well.

with palms together...

[shalom...]

be aware...

2008-03-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

shalom...

i remember...

2008-03-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

method of destruction (m.o.d.) back in the day. when they first came out with u.s.a. for m.o.d.; a classic metal/punk album. billy milano has always told it how it was. their work is a must in any collection of metal. 'rhythm of fear', 'devolution', and if you are able to get your hands on it 'surfin m.o.d.' are must listen. once i get a turn table...surfin isn't coming off.

this is a song off of their album 'the rebel you love to hate'...enjoy...

shalom...

celebrate it...

2008-03-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

and wa has it right...stay away from green beer. rather celebrate a true national holiday.

evacuation day; which celebrates the day in seventeen seventy-six when the british left boston.

a major stepping stone in our nations history.

i am not an immigrate. i am an american.

so raise a sam adams, and make a toast to those who fought for the independence of our nation. if it was not for them; how would you be living?

happy evacuation day.

shalom...

new sin has been...

2008-03-13T04:55:00.000-07:00

added. the other day the vatican as added new sins for us. they added the polluting of the earth as one, and genetic manipulation.

i love how the vatican is able to just change the rules of the game mid stream. as if god himself said, say eight thousand years later, 'oh, i forgot to mention...'

what am i able to 'buy' are the ten commandments. right from god. great. fine. i am also able to buy into the two 'new' ones that jesus gave us. hey, that's the son of god. i can buy that too. but this i cannot buy.

speaking philosophically this all just goes back to plato's euthyphro.

the environment fine. whatever. god said in the bible that the earth is for man to do what he wants. so now we can't? nice. just another contradiction within the catholic church. it's not like this is something new.

however this 'genetic manipulation' thing. how far or short does this go? what is genetic manipulation? are they just trying to stay away from stem cells here? even though this research is able to help humanity, or just allow use to 'rot' in our misery. is it to stay away from cloning? which i really don't care about cloning to begin with. however; what i do care about is possible 'manufacturing' of organs. i believe that is a tremendous step in biomedical research. to 'harvest' parts for those who need them. kidneys. lungs. hell, even hearts. can you image what that would do for organ transplant recipients? wow.

are they trying to keep away from 'playing god'?

now on the 'short' side of things...is taking blood pressure medication 'genetic manipulation'? is this not a form of 'playing god'? manipulating my own biological make-up.

how far is the vatican willing to go with this? shouldn't we be concerned with helping humanity, and do whatever it takes to elevate suffering in the world? if i have the ability to elevate such a thing, then i believe it becomes my moral duty to do such a thing.

[god's.butt.smells]

shalom...

rebate...

2008-02-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

to spend or save that is the question...

personally?

i pick save...

[shalom...]

what makes a 'civil' society 'civil'?

2008-02-04T14:49:00.001-08:00

is it the laws? or is it the people in the society?

if the latter is the case, then would we even need laws to begin with? meaning regardless of the laws, we would still be a civil society. given laws would be set up in such a way that they would be meaningless. let's just say a law was enacted, jaywalking, well no one has ever jaywalked before, but now we have a law that says we can't. well, what do we need that law for? no one did it in the first place.

if it is the laws, then people would act civil within those laws. be restricted within the laws.

let's take us (the u.s.) for example. don't we believe to have civil laws? that these laws have built a civil society? that ours are just laws (sure, there may be some problems, but for the most part). for us there is a law against jaywalking. we jaywalk all over the place. however this law is in place so we don't get killed. so we cross where and when we should do so.

well...according to human nature (and i take more of an hobbesian stand point), we need these laws to be civil. 'covenants without the sword are but words, and of no strength to secure a man at all.' but are we?

my answer is...no.

people left to their own devices are not civil. our sword has gotten weak.

within this past week; how many fights, oh i'm sorry, riots have broken out in cleveland public schools? and then the kids are set home to their parents. i believe that one parent didn't even come and pick up their kid. these are riots, not the undeniable food fight. a riot.

so the question remains...are we a civil society?

a society is only as good as its laws.

[shalom...]

let me just get this out of the way...

2008-02-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

i told you so.....

i could say many things about this amazing game, but in the end...the giants won, the patriots lost. the fifth seed underdog took out the top ranked afc team. they put brady were he belongs...on his ass, and kept him there. i can't say how happy i am right now...i just have a huge grin on my face typing this. so i'll stop....

[shalom...]

all that i'm going to say...

2008-01-21T06:01:00.000-08:00

is that the underdog rises again, go giants...

[shalom...]

here is another ode...

2008-01-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

to the bumper sticker:

dear miss, who has the bumper sticker that reads 'next time you think that you are perfect, try walking on water.'

i assume that you are making some reference to christ. with that in mind...

what is perfection? some sort of actuality of existence, maybe? let's go with your assumption that christ did/does exist.

i am able, as a human being, to only attain a certain amount of existence. and once i attain that...i am perfect. i am unable to move beyond that. you might as well be saying...if you think that you are perfect, turn into an elm tree. meaning, that it is not in my nature to 'walk on water.'

so with the nature that i am given, i am unable to attain that. i am unable to move beyond. to defy my nature. so it is in christ's nature to 'walk on water.' what if he didn't do that? would he be defying his nature? and what if he did defy his nature? wow. that's a heavy one.

and to all the 'christ sticker' fans out there...you know who you are. the ones with all the christ stickers. the ones with the christ vanity plates (who i hate the most)...i'm not going to find salvation from being behind you in traffic, and reading your freaking stickers. so stop. i don't care that you're a jesus freak, because that is what you are saying. and if you are able to simplify your deepest beliefs, the core of your beliefs, the core of who you are...to a simple bumper sticker of a few words...you are pathetic, in the deepest sense.

by the way...i am perfect...but what is perfection?

[shalom...]

this is an open letter to...

2008-01-18T05:02:00.000-08:00

the guy that has the bumper sticker on his car that reads 'don't put my flag on your foreign car'.

dear sir,
forgive my ignorance, but have you ever heard the phrase 'free market economy'. this is where i have the freedom (you do know what that means?) to buy and purchase goods and services. the other thing that helps out this idea, is that we live in a capitalistic economy. again that whole freedom thing of buying and selling goods comes into play. basically...if i have a good or service to provide, i am able to sell that product to the buying public. they are then free to buy it, or not.

this is because the purchaser as the right to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' it is also, because of this notion, that if the purchaser believes that my product will make them happy, they are free (oops, there's that word again) to buy my product.

so as i begin to research products that i would like to buy (in this case a car), i am looking for a car that will benefit me the most. what becomes the most utilitous object of my purchase. i do a lot of driving so an suv will not work for me. so i find a car that gets the most gas milage. and it so happens to be the vw jetta with the tdi. therefore i have made a purchase that has made me the happiest out of all other purchases (as far as cars go).

it just so happens that it comes from germany. it's not that i was looking for a german car (although they all are pretty sweet). now if there was an american car company that came out with something close in quality, milage; i might have looked at it. however that is not the case. i know that i don't have to worry about the engine for, about, two hundred thousand miles. i get damn good milage, for the driving that i do. now, my question to you...what american car does that?

so if anything...maybe i am more 'american' (whatever that means) than you. because i practice my freedom, as opposed to being led around like a blind pig.

so i will now pick up an american flag, put it on my car; and then when i see you again, i'm going to get in front of you, and then slow down a little just to make sure you are able to see it.

thank you.

[shalom...]

go Giants...

2008-01-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

that's it...

2008-01-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

i have to write a textbook. and make sure somehow that my textbook is able to be used in many different universities and colleges. that's a money maker. oh, no, i don't want to do it for the 'advancement of knowledge'. but money.

two examples:

first: i teach a logic course, and at all the places of higher learning that i have taught at all use the same logic book. now every, say, five or so years, a new edition comes out. now this is an 'entry' level book. so what has changed? nothing. the author changes some logic problems. maybe a few words. and bam. cash flow.

second: i'm teaching a comparative world religion class this semester. now i haven't taught it in about a year and a half. i was informed that there is a new edition out. i begin to go through it to check the new edition versus the old, and consequently my notes; and what do i notice? in the previous edition chapter two is labeled 'oral religions', and in the new one 'indigenous religions'. so the author goes through chapter two, and changes the word 'oral' to 'indigenous', and bam. new edition. cash flow. now there maybe other changes, but that is a far as i have gotten; but still...

however; i even tell students that if you are able to get your hands on the last edition...go for it.

[shalom...]

as some...

2008-01-11T04:39:00.000-08:00

of you know; i am (in simplest terms) a philosophical practitioner, and for those that don't know...

a quick description of this is using philosophy to counsel people with philosophical issues. as prof. marinoff states 'therapy for the sane.' if you will. to use philosophy to work through issues that come up in life. there has become a void in therapy that psychology has a hard time filling. such things as questions of morals, ethics, belief systems. these are things that philosophers are trained in, and understand. we understand the structures of arguments. we understand these types of problems. hell, we understand the structures of problems. just look at the stuff we read. so we are able to deconstruct problems, and find solutions, ways of looking at problems, etc.

well, it has been in the back of my mind, for the past year now, to promote myself this way. to add this as an aspect of my life, meaning to 'put a sign out' as it were, and promote myself as such. website. business cards. the whole deal. i've just never have gotten around to it. time. strategy. promotion. sell your self type of thing, and a salesman i am not.

i've also been wondering what to call myself. i have settled with the term philosophical practitioner. i say this, because i am not able to call myself a philosophical therapist. legally i am unable to call it therapy. or even philosophical counseling. for these words are 'legally binded' by their respective 'certifications'.

so i hear the phrase life coach; which seems pretty popular on the west coast; so why not a philosophical life coach? but the term 'life coach' seems too hokey to me.

so i am hoping, some time, to get this started. maybe find some people to help me along with this.

[shalom...]

lord, mr. ford...

2008-01-10T05:16:00.000-08:00

what have you done?

'well, i'm not a man appointed judge
to bear ill-will and hold a grudge
but i think it's time i said me a few choice words
all about that demon automobile
a metal box with the polyglass wheel
the end result to the dream of henry ford'

as the 'environmental' war wages...a motor company in india has come out with this little number. i would say that this car goes back to the dream of mr. ford. an affordable car for everyone.

the car makes sense, however it wouldn't go over in america; because the base model doesn't come with a radio, or air conditioning. and again it comes back to that whole concept of americans believing that they are owed something, without working for it. anyway...

the mileage is great, around fifty miles per gallon. what other car gets that?

oh, right...the tdi in my driveway.

in this fuel conscious market, the car manufactures are boosting up numbers of late twenties or early thirties; however there are cars that do more. hybrid cars do not do more. are not better. are not 'helping' the problem. these cars are only good for quick city driving when you are running under or around twenty-five miles per hour, for when it is working off of the battery. other than that, highway, over thirty miles per hour...you're running gasoline. just like others. with shitty mileage.

speaking of mileage...this little vehicle gets a reportedly seventy miles per gallon. i'll give you a minute to absorb that...

yes, seventy. miles. per. gallon.

here's a solution. here's your answer to miles per gallon. now if you notice that this link was to vw in the u.k. so what does that tell you...it's not available in the u.s. why? the only thing i am able to think of is the diesel fuel itself. i'm not sure if diesel fuel is different here than it is across the pond. if this is not an issue...i want this car. i just hope that when my tdi 'dies' it will be available here. if not, i wonder if i would be able to get one set over?

people who complain about fuel mileage do not take a look at diesel fuel. it's a cleaner burning fuel. more efficient. my engine will probably go for over two hundred thousand miles. now what other car is able to do that without worry?

i am one...

2008-01-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

of those guys (though i rarely admit it) that will follow the work of a given artist, mostly music. one artist in particular, that i have followed since, shit, eighty-nine; and that would be mike patton.

i came across patton back in the day when his then band, faith no more, second album came out the real thing. i read a review of it, and picked it up, and this was before the video's. and i've followed his work ever since. all his bands...fantomas, tomahawk, peeping tom, his work with kaada, with dillinger escape plan, maldoror, and even his voice work that he has done.

so it's no wonder that i find a lot of good stuff from his label ipecac, and keeping up with what his is doing in the movies with scores and voice overs. nice.

patton is one of those people that i consider to be a true artist. i know that sounds 'corny' coming from me, but his stuff is alway original and different from what he put out before, and he is constantly re-inventing himself. so if you're looking for some new/different music (and i know that annette is) check out ipecac records for something new and different.

[shalom...]

as the election...

2008-01-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

draws near, i have come across a quote from plato:

'there will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers.'

i have said this before in a sense. now i'm not advocating that i, as a philosopher, ought to rule. rather what i argue for, or at least have examined, is that the majority of the candidates have all gotten degrees in law, and now i am noticing that there is at least one (that i know of) that is a minister in some way (but that's not what i want to speak of now). however in dealing with these lawyers; what is the lawyers goal?

to win the case. to argue for their point of view. not what the truth may be. but rather what will benefit them. to win the case. or in this sense to get re-elected. to 'spin' the truth in a way that will benefit them. to find loop holes in things. to get around the truth.

in hobbes' opus the leviathan, which is mostly a political work, he begins with an understanding of what the governing govern...man. to begin with an understanding of the nature of man. ask a politician what they govern, and what is the nature of that. that would be fun, to hear that answer.

[shalom...]

best game of the season...

2007-12-30T06:10:00.000-08:00

and i mean it. the giants may have been the only team all year to give the pats a run for their money, in their thirty-eight to thirty-five lost last night. the game was amazing. also, it's the first night game all year that i didn't pass out during. so that must mean that i really enjoyed it.

both sides played well. near perfect. brady showed me that he can't put the ball wherever he wants, with a couple of missed balls. manning played better than i have ever seen him.

the pats came out and did what they needed to do, and that was stop the running game. all else was in the hands of manning. and the only mistake that he made...the one int. that was it.

the giants showed up last night to win. it sucks that they didn't, but i think they gave new england a run. and if they are able to play like that in the playoffs...who knows?

[shalom...]

why can't these...

2007-12-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

baseball players just admit it? i hear on the radio that one after another is denying the mitchell report. just admit it already. this is why european athletes, and more specific cycling; has more integrity, because they do something about.

during this past year's tour de france...the leader in yellow lied to the team about his whereabouts. out. the team dumped him. just for lying. sure he might have been doing something 'illegal', but we don't know that. cyclist caught doping. out. two years. we don't want to see your face. and they admit it. and maybe in two years you'll see them on the pro circuit. if you do...they often talk about how they messed up, and cheated. we often get cases in cycling like that of landis. who was called out for a form of cheating, and he took it to court. he lost, but he challenged it.

which brings me to my next point...why don't these guys challenge it? why don't they take these people who put together this report to court for defamation of character? all they do is hold press reports, and say that they didn't do it.

two years ago at the tour a similar report came out, and guess what? any name in that report was kicked out of the tour. no one was found guilty at that time, but if your name was on the list...out. granted some never returned to cycling, because of that report; because they probably were guilty of doping.

all i hear from the mlb, is that they are going to do something about the steroid issue in the sport. well? i've seen nothing done. do i really care? not so much. if you want to 'cheat', and take steroids go for it. destroy your body. if winning means that much that you are willing to risk your life for it...do it. do i agree with it? would i allow my child cheat, in any way? would i do it? the answer to all of these is no. if i had a child that did that, and i found out...i'd probably beat him within an inch of his/her life. for the simple fact...it's not worth it.

all i'm saying is that if the mlb has such a problem with it...do something about it. take action. suspend all the players on that list for however long. tell the players...if you cheat in any way shape or form...you can't play. that's it. take a stand. i remember hearing the 'penalty' for getting caught (i can't remember it exactly), but it wasn't much. something like being suspended for a couple of games. big whoop.

step up and do something about, or shut up about the whole thing. let them take steroids, and be done with it. accept it. or take action against it. either one. i'm just getting sick of hearing about it, and nothing being done about it.

extra...i'm going to start putting a 'lyric of the day' at the end of each post. just because i've come across some pretty good lines in the music that i've been listening to recently. so here we go...

lyric of the day...
'baby quick your crying put the clown britches on.
the wheels keep rolling
and another mile post gone
all along the road behind
can't you hear me calling
just like the sad whale song
i'm on that road behind.'

[shalom...]

since i've...

2007-12-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

been on holiday; i have put assassin's creed in the three sixty. in the beginning i was amazed. the graphs. the play. the game play itself won me over. the buttons are easy to use, and quick to memorize. they keep alot of it in the hud. running. jumping. sprinting all done with the same combo of buttons. it provides a real user friendly interface.

if you need a lesson in patience...play this game. i don't mean that it is slow...you just need patience to play. like the title states...assassin's creed. the key word...assassin.

however (here comes my critique)...the story is a bit redundant. do side missions (which are the same each time), get information, and kill someone. then report back to you 'master'; where upon he gives you another assignment, and a new weapon or skill. i would say that i'm about half way through the game, and i finally learned the skill of 'side-stepping' an attack. my question becomes...i didn't know that before? i had to be rewarded with that? where the move before that is much cooler, and i would think would come after. but no.

as i play along, and i don't mean to ruin anything, but i don't think i will...i get the feeling that in the end my 'master' is going to turn against me, and everything that i have fought for. just like some other games i have played just recently. if that's the case, that will suck big baby butt. i'm sick of those types of endings. my january issue of the xbox magazine even bitches about the ending. they don't give it away, but they bitch about it.

i do recommend it, for the graphics, the play, the interaction with the city, and people...it just gets a little redundant.

[shalom...]

i heard a...

2007-12-19T05:46:00.000-08:00

very disturbing stat today on the radio. that there have been sixty different starting quarterbacks this season alone. sixty. the browns have had two in fry and anderson.

this fact tells me something about the state of the nfl, and that is...it sucks. the quality has gone way down. i hate to sound like an old fart, but the game is not what it used to be, and i'm only talking ten years ago.

i'll focus on quarterbacks since that is the stat that i'm referring to. they are not what they used to be. it used to be that if you had a great quarterback, and a damn good running game, you were in the playoffs. now what? think of the 'great' quarterbacks of today. who comes to mind? brady? valid case. look at what he as done with new england. he is number one in the league right now, followed by favre (another good case, but more on him in a little bit), romo (you're kidding), brees [as of right now the saints are seven and seven(man i haven't had one of those in a while), and what kind of record is that?]; next comes kitna (and have you seen detroit play?). that rounds out the top five.

peyton manning coming in at seven. not a great quarterback. for all his hype, the colts ought to be at the big show every year. but they're not, and for good reason. his little brother eli is number eleven. i love the giants, but come on. he has a hard time being a leader. he lives in his brother's shadow. it's no wonder that he has a hard time. but when he does complete a pass, he puts up good numbers. kurt warner is washed up, yet he is above mcnabb. and mcnabb has always had too much hype around him. i never liked him. he never produced. yet everybody loves him. he's classified as one of the 'greats'; was limbaugh right? ouch. sorry. won't get into that.

my point these guys are not that good. i believe that favre is just sticking around because of the numbers. sure the packers are in the playoffs, and he's having a really good year; but i just think it's time to retire. especially if they do not go to the big show.

now the moment of truth...who was the last great quarterback (in my eyes)...number seven...elway. the man that could pass like a monster, and still take a hit, and get back up and ask for more. no one has come around like him. how about warren moon. remember him? phil simms. or how about this man. that's right kelly. he many never have won the big game, but he was there constantly over how many years?

these are some of the great quarterbacks of the nfl. not what we see, and have to put up with today. because of this occurrence within the nfl...one aspect of the game has gotten better. and that is the wide receiver. only because they are the ones that have to catch these crappy passes.

[shalom..]

the snow...

2007-12-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

was even a factor after the game.

the bills just couldn't get out of cleveland. after the snow during the game, it effected them trying to get home. they had to spend the night in cleveland, and then take a bus home to buffalo.

[shalom...]

do you remember the 'good old days'...

2007-12-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

when guitar players would know how to play the guitar? i do, and this above is proof. frehley is one of the greatest guitar players in all of music history. bold statement? nope. just listen. he single handily influenced a generation of musicians. single handily. not the group of kiss, but rather frehley himself, and his playing.

the music of today is missing something. and i've been talking about this with other music lovers. one thing that the music of today is missing is the solo. rock. metal, oops, sorry...american metal/radio metal. missing the guitar solo. the ancient art.

now there are bands from europe that remember this art. and it is still within their music today. in flames is one of them.

well, i think i'm going on way too much already. i think i'll just wrap it up with these final words...remember the solo.

now if you'll excuse me...i'm going to blast some real music, and remember the 'good old days'...

[shalom...]

i am under the belief...

2007-12-14T05:48:00.000-08:00

that philosophy, as a whole, permeates everything we do. and the greatest tool that we use for this is logic; the laws of reasoning if you will. the Form of language. the Form of relationships. the study of relationships. what kind of effect has logic had? well, we are still using the works of aristotle some two thousand years ago. we still use his original studies in class today. he was the first to write on and about logic. the laws of logic.

throughout its time, logic was seen as more of a study of mathematics. throughout history, as some of the great mathematicians got on in years, they turned to philosophy. too many to begin to drop names, so i will not. well, durning the nineteenth century approached a mathematician by the name of boole; who came up with boolean algebra, and really since this logic was seen as an 'outgrowth' of mathematics. now in the early nineteen hundreds, two philosophers by the names of russell, and whitehead wrote a small book called; principia mathematica. and in this book they proceed to show that mathematics stems from logic, and not the other way around.

a small example...how are we able to have an understanding of the relationship between two and three, if we do not have understand of what it means for something to be 'greater than' something else? it is this relationship that has nothing to do with mathematics. this is more of a relationship of language. a Form of a given thing to another given thing.

so why this rant/background? well i'm reading my current issue of the bulletin of symbolic logic, and the writers use a lot of mathematics to try and prove given logic equations.

my question becomes...if, since russell and whitehead, mathematics owns, in a sense, its existence to logic, then are we able to use it to 'prove' logical theorems? how to use mathematics to 'solve' logic? or should i ask 'why'? what is mathematics without logic? however...isn't logic able to be without math? meaning logic covers much more than math does. mathematics is not used as a device in language in the sense that logic is.

just to prove my point...the journals are sent from the ams; rather than some philosophy society, or symbolic logic society.

kant once said (and i'm sorry that i can't find the exact quote but,) that no one takes the study of logic seriously, because no one deems themselves illogical.

[shalom..]

fine...

2007-12-14T04:39:00.000-08:00

i admit it. i have a crush on tina fey. i never really noticed her on snl, in fact i really don't care for snl (maybe that's why i never noticed her on snl). but i've been watching thirty rock since it has aired, and i enjoy the hell out of it. it's funny has hell, and fey is just so damn adorable, and witty.

so there.

[shalom...]

this is something...

2007-12-10T08:17:00.001-08:00

that i will have to 'deal' with next semester, and that is distance learning. it is something that hubert dreyfus speaks out against, especially in dealings with philosophy. as a link from warbuton's blog, the l.a. times wrote an article about lecture's and ipods.

so the question becomes...how am i able to lecture philosophy to a distant learning class? part of the problem is that i do not like to lecture philosophy, rather i want to discuss philosophy through the readings. but now next semester i have a intro. class where not only am i in front of a class, but also being televised to a group of students who will watch the lecture at home. so as dreyfus argues...where is the 'face-to-face'? where is the discussion?

because i like discussion, i now have to 'dive' into the technology aspect; which i am not a big fan of. and that being the discussion board. i will set up a discussion board for the class; where then they will be able to ask questions, talk with other students, and more importantly myself. and i'm not a big fan of discussion boards. for various reasons. have you ever tried to follow a discussion on one of those? i have had a couple of 'on-line courses', and often had a hard time following what was being said, especially if the 'strand' goes on for a while.

now as far as the ipod thing...i do listen to podcasts that deal with philosophy. however; these are for my own enjoyment, and 'professional' enjoyment. often listening to relevant ones before a lecture, to get the 'mind set', or pose new questions to the students. i was even vindicated by one of them. [the short story is that i disagreed with a professor of mine, and she said i was wrong, but never really gave me a reason for my mistake (nice thing to do in philosophy class), but now years later one of the podcast proved me right by someone who (as i would hold) is more 'steeped' in the tradition that we were discussing.] so there is a benefit to the podcasts; however no interaction. i am unable to ask given questions, and hope that the 'interview' (because that is all that they really are) is complete, in a sense the understanding that i get. also, the understanding that the podcast is only going to cover a given amount of the topic.

so as i type this...my itunes has just finished downloading dreyfus' podcasts on heidegger...let's hear what there is to learn.

[shalom...]

so i thought...

2007-12-07T06:08:00.000-08:00

that i'd do a little more work on my myspace page. check out music, and such. anyway...it seems everyday that i get messages in my mail that i have a new message in my in-box. so i check it out, and it turns out to be shit like this; who happens to be moving to 'my area', and 'WONT KNOW ANYBODY WHEN I MOVE!! :( ' (her words not mine) poor baby...i don't think she'll have a hard time finding somebody.

i also love the fact that in the message she states that 'whats up cutie... ' (again her words not mine), the funny thing is...is that there are no pics of me on the page.

it's like i've always said...the advancement of technology is also the advancement of porn. i think i kind of miss the days of going into shady places, and picking up some skeezy publication. in fact, come to think of it, how are porn shops still in business? the physical places that is.

i now wonder what this will do to my 'reading level' of the blog?

[shalom...]

happy repeal day...

2007-12-05T16:20:00.001-08:00

stay wet...

[shalom...]

how metal are you?

2007-12-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

i just got...

2007-12-05T05:59:00.000-08:00

finished watching the first three star wars movies, for the second time. i haven't seen them since they first came out. so i thought i'd give them a second chance, i'm sorry that i did. my first impression is still valid...they suck. the acting is terrible. the story itself, is terrible. i regret watching them, again...and probably will not watch them again. (i type this while my cat is sitting next to me watching you tube i put on some cat videos, and he just sits here and watches them)...anyway...the only 'cool' scene in all of them was the whole yoda fight scene at the end of two. why do people still 'suck off' lucas? a monthly magazine? why? who cares that much? screw star wars...

[shalom...]

me having too much time on my hands on a saturday...

2007-12-01T09:20:00.001-08:00

thanks...

2007-11-28T06:15:00.000-08:00

guys (joe and ben), now i just don't know how to feel about myself. my only consolation is that at least i teach undergrads.

i know...

2007-11-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

that we just got done with thanksgiving. hope all had a good turkey day. however; we've got another holiday to get ready for. i'm not talking about christ-mas. i am talking about a day to celebrate your right as an american. and that day to celebrate is the fifth of december.

the fifth of december is repeal day; the day when prohibition ended. the day that the eighteenth amendment was repealed. the day that the twenty-first amendment was ratified, and we were able to consume alcohol legally.

so be sure to grab a drink, and raise a glass (or two), for this day in american history. i guess this is part of a reason why smokers have no rights, and drinkers do? nice.

anybody want to get together and celebrate?

[shalom...]

call your philosopher...

2007-11-16T04:52:00.000-08:00

because november seventeenth is world philosophy day. brought to you by your good friends at the unesco. so take some time and crack a book that makes you contemplate things. look deeper into the nature of things. look at things from a different perspective. examine. but most important...raise the question...

[shalom...]

so a friend...

2007-11-15T04:57:00.000-08:00

of mine reminded me about the boondocks. that is on adult swim. i used to watch it when i was 'younger' -meaning when i was able to stay up past twelve. but now that i've got a dvr, i'm recording it, and i'm back in love with this show. the humor is great. how they tease the culture. i laugh my ass off. hell, i may even pick up the dvd's.

[shalom...]

with all that...

2007-11-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

we've done...are we any better? have we made any advancements? have we moved forward, or closer? closer to what? closer to any understanding?

as we look out into the world, we are able to see all these new and wonderful technologies. a device that is able to hold more music than any one person is able to listen to. things to get on the internet. things that make our lives easier. easier in the sense of what ever makes your life easier. the diesel engine in my car has made my life easier. i don't have to fill up the tank as much. i get further on a tank. it saves me some money...that goes other places, but at least not into my tank. so i'm running the whole gambit.

advances in science. knowing that a planet is orbiting a star. or that the universe is 'slimmer' than previously thought. are these advances?

while we are still killing each other over anything. we are still dealing with questions of ethics. no one is right or wrong. however some believe that they are right, and thus the state of the world today. what makes one view better than another. expanding into a political view. what makes one politic better than another. or more right than another. have there been any advancements? or are we just apes with opposable thumbs still living in an hobbesian state of nature...we just have political boundaries? what makes the world of today better than the world of the romans?

nothing. we have not advanced. we have not moved forward. just because i am able to have a 'phone' that is able to do everything but wipe my ass doesn't mean that i am a better person. or the fact that i have an understanding of what it means to be a person. much less the fact of your 'personhood.'

ignorance is bliss. is this even accurate? the word ignorance implies that there is knowledge.

what is the starting point? what then becomes the razor; ockham's razor?

[shalom...]

so yesterday...

2007-11-08T05:49:00.000-08:00

i went to the game store i am always going to out in avon. sure i've got a game store closer to me, but they're not as nice. i'm sure it has something to do with the area.

so the last couple of times i was in there, the manager kept bugging me to pick up call of duty four; but i didn't bite. something about realistic first person shooter games just don't mesh with me. i went in there on halloween to pick up the simpsons game; which is an o.k. game, and he asked if i wanted to put c.o.d. on reserve. i just looked at him, and he started to laugh. so yesterday i went in there it pick up time shift, and he asked again if i wanted to pick up c.o.d. (joking). so i said let me see it. then he tells me 'if i don't like it, he'll let me return it.' well, how could i pass that up? but it also made me take it home and play it. this is odd for me; because i still haven't played halo three yet. i know. i know.

so i got home, and put this thing in, and holy shit. i couldn't stop playing. the only reason i stopped last night was because michelle got home, and she's not into watching me play games. i played for about an hour and a half this morning already, and if i didn't have to go to work...i'd still be playing.

thanks video game guy...

[shalom...]

o.k....let me preface this...

2007-11-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

i'm not being racist, but why is it that most of the 'human abnormalities' from birth are from the other side of the globe? in my ever continuing quest for reliable news, i turn to yahoo, and i found this. the surgery of an eight limbed girl. eight freaking limbs.

it just seems that there are always these biological 'mishaps' from asia. why? or is it all just a coincidence? something in the water. and i just couldn't help but think of ganesha, and i know that is wrong of me.

i often read or see these news stories of these surgeries on these children dealing with these birth 'defects', and i'm not sure it is because of where i live, having the world renowned cleveland clinic, and university hospital down the road, and they are dealing with a lot these surgeries. so i don't know if i am aware of it, because it is in my back yard, or is it something that just 'happens' and we as a society become 'aware' and put it out there?

[shalom...]

say it isn't so...

2007-11-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

what are we going to do now? how can we get by without the writing? without watching our shows!!! no jay. no letterman. (hey wait a minute...didn't those guys use to write their own stuff anyway?) are my 'reality' (pun intended from last post) on hold?

oh, wait...i've got a stack of books to read, and a three sixty (i still haven't put in halo three), and a basement full of bikes to ride. screw the writers.

[shalom...]

imprisonment of what...

2007-11-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

john locke states that we are never 'free', i.e. having of free will. that we are immersed in a world that wants attention. that once we achieve one thing, another thing presents itself; and we desire that next thing.

my question is 'what world'?

there is a dualism of worlds. we have the created one, and the one that we have created. the world made by us and for us -does it want attention or do we 'want' to give it attention; this then is the question.

the world that we are in, does not want attention. it doesn't crave our attention. the tree outside my window does not care if i give it attention or not.

we have created a world of mass marketing. this is what you want. this is what you need. the definition between these words, at best, has become blurred. at worst they mean the same thing. this is control. this is how we control ourselves. this is the matrix.

here we have two evils. the marketing juggernaut of the world/mass media, and then the anti-media media -adbusters; which is an "anti-consumerist" (their words not mine) group; which allows you to consume their stuff. this group is littered with anti-media media.

another point i love is when media takes the 'blame' for given problems or issues. for over exposure, but not stopping the exposure -begging for attention. asking to control you. and we oblige them. so it's not a question of 'going against the machine' -just which machine do you prefer to be controlled by.

however...is there a third option?

it can't be an absolute freedom. because what is absolute? we are, at least, a body. a physical thing. a physical thing that, again at least, desires to survive (in the words of thomas hobbes). this desire to 'go on'. of self-preservation.

so maybe then we are able to recognize the dualism. one is crap, and as long as we don't 'feed' into it we'll be fine. in the words of chuck d 'don't believe the hype'.

i'll go one further...'don't believe it.'

[shalom...]

i don't need...

2007-10-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

to put any links, or anything about the shooting that happened in cleveland about a week ago. we all know. it was and is a bad situation. this problem is not going away anytime soon. during the week of the shooting i was listening to a couple of local talk show host (which will remain nameless), and they gave their 'possible' solutions.

one..."let the teachers have guns." since this is my profession...this thought has gone through my head. do i like it? no. not one bit. i should not have to wonder which kid is going to loose it in class, and that i'll have to 'take 'em out'. i should just teach.

two..."get the guns out of the hands of the kids." how? guns will be made. they will be sold on the street. the only thing that will change will be the price. supply and demand. the price will go up. if the kid wants a gun, he'll get a gun. period.

to solve this problem, we need to look at the cause of the problem. not the effect. to this others argue that in these situations there was no father/father figure. some say that we need to 'keep the family intact.' well...sometime people fuck, and have kids. there are many more cases of single parents raising children...successfully. obviously there are situations that the kids really are not wanted, or loved by the parent/parents, and the kid just repeats the past. in this case the child does need a figure to look up to. be it a teacher. a person of the cloth. or whom ever. however this is not the road i want to go down here.

back to what i want to say here...you have to stop it before it becomes a problem. you didn't have these things happening fifteen years ago. why? i would argue that it is the psychology that the children are being brought up to 'believe.' the psychology that states that 'you're a winner, no matter what.' the psychology that states at a little league game 'that you can have as many swings at the ball until you get a hit.' the psychology that states 'you get a time out.'

none of this is working. this type of thinking is turning the kids into anti-social members of society. that once they meet that person that states 'you're not a winner'; they don't know how to deal with that. the person that states 'hey, jackass, three strikes, and you're out.' what? 'i didn't hit the ball yet?' the one who states 'you're fired.'

the kids have grown up to believe one thing, and now their 'worldview' is being rejected by everybody else. what does this do to not only a kid, but anybody? their comes a psychological breakdown. they either start racking up the therapy bills, and prescription bills; or they go off on the ones who are rejecting them.

the psychology that parents instill into their kids minds needs to change. i was taught at a very young age by my father that 'everybody else is an asshole.' basically don't listen to all these other people, and what they say. don't let it affect you. another great one from dad was that 'opinions are just like assholes...everybody's got one.'

and this is just one asshole to another...something has to change in this culture's psychology. tell your kid that they've done a shitty job. that they need to do better. spank their ass, when they fuck up. not beat. i got my ass smack once. once. that's all it takes.

i don't have kids, so you may be saying 'what the hell do you know?' well i know that when sculpting clay, you can't go back and 're-shape' the base once it is out of the oven. the same applies to kids. you can't 're-mold' a child once they are past a certain stage in life. you have to start when they are able to be molded. i've seen way too many parents trying to discipline their kids way after the fact. and it doesn't work.

i firmly believe that the child is a product of what you put into it. and how you put it in. childern are beautiful little sponges, that soak up everything they perceive. the product is as only good as to what you put in.

with palms together...

[shalom...]