This is an email that I wrote/sent in 2005 to some friends and family:
I LOVE surveys! Probably because I LOVE asking questions (and being asked them, or answering them even if I'm not asked). This article has many good questions.
However, I don't know that I've ever met anyone who likes questions quite as much as I do, and more than a few people seem to find questions, specifically MY questions, downright annoying! I thought this article had a good description of those people (though most people give less thoughtful replies - something more along the lines of a groan, not even an answer):
Walters recalls the time she asked Prince Philip of Great Britain if, in the event England elected a president, he would have enjoyed being a politician. Philip replied, without warmth, that this was a hypothetical question, which he normally didn't answer.
"I was crushed," says Walters, "but I learned a valuable lesson about talking to people in very high places: avoid the hypothetical question, of the sort that usually begins 'What if . . .' and then departs into some fanciful situation that never happened and never will. That type of question can be asked of creative people, for whom imaginary situations are intriguing, but practical, crisp people dismiss it as a waste of time."
Well, I guess I am an imaginative, creative person. However, I have often given a similar answer to the question (one of those discussed in the article) of: Would you change anything if you could live your life over again? I usually say that since I never will live my life over again, I don't see the point of searching for regrets. Furthermore, my past has shaped who I am, and if I changed my past I might become a different person who would make a different decision about changing my past, and the process would become an endless loop. Still, at least that's an answer. Saying "That's a stupid question" is not an answer - even if it is a stupid question. I guess it's because I REALLY like questions. So, although it may be a stupid question, I've always got a back-up question to any answer on the tip of my tongue: Why?
Maybe that's why I also liked the description of the other guy, who gave a REAL answer to that "stupid" question:
When the subject is inventive and in the mood, however, hypothetical questions are fecund. Kenneth Tynan asked Richard Burton, "If you had your life to live, over again, would you change anything?" - a question that is as worn out as vaudeville. But Burton's reply was fresh and revealing, "I'd like to be born the son of a duke with 90,000 pounds a year, on an enormous estate.... And I'd like to have the most enormous library, and I'd like to think that I could read those books forever and forever, and die unlamented, unknown, unsung, unhonored - and packed with information."
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Cookie Principle
OK - so I should've posted this here ages ago, but for some reason I just thought of it. Allow me to introduce you to what was the guiding principle of my life up until, probably about age 17 or 18 - after that my attachment to this principle has been somewhat obscured, though I struggle to maintain it. Without further ado, I give you:
The Cookie Principle
The Cookie Principle
Friday, October 17, 2008
Am I Crunchy???
I just found out about this new wing of the right-wing:
What is a Crunchy Conservative? (I like the audio link)
Crunchy Culture
...anyway, in answer to my own questions, I think that I think crunchy, but maybe I don't actually live crunchy enough.
What is a Crunchy Conservative? (I like the audio link)
Crunchy Culture
...anyway, in answer to my own questions, I think that I think crunchy, but maybe I don't actually live crunchy enough.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
JTG New Book Commemorative Blog
I just found out that John Taylor Gatto wrote a new book, Weapons of Mass Instruction (...did he steal that phrase from Huckabee?? Though, I'm sure Huck had the naive intention to actually use such weapons, whereas Gatto wants only to expose and destroy them.). Apparently it will be available on Halloween. Scary stuff. Anyway, it just got me to thinking about some of the things I've learned thanks to Gatto.
A footnote in The Underground History of American Education alerted me to the fact that both John Kerry and George Bush were members of the secret society of Skull & Bones (see notes at the end for correction on the dramatic reference to Moloch). That piqued my curiosity enough to get me to the library, and a book on the organization made the claim (or was it Gatto again? Now I'm getting all confused) that a Supreme Justice and S&B member had declared corporations equivalent to persons without argument. Wikipedia backs up that claim, and I quote:
"The court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does."
- Justice Morrison Waite (though Wikipedia does not seem to ackowledge his involvement with S&B, though it can be verified elsewhere - see the first link posted here on S&B), Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 1886
Another point of interest, is that corporations as we know them are a relatively new historic development. To quote Wikipedia again, on the history of corporations:
"In the United States, government chartering began to fall out of vogue in the mid-1800s. Corporate law at the time was focused on protection of the public interest, and not on the interests of corporate shareholders. Corporate charters were closely regulated by the states. Forming a corporation usually required an act of legislature. Investors generally had to be given an equal say in corporate governance, and corporations were required to comply with the purposes expressed in their charters." (emphasis mine - and I believe the corporate charters had to be periodically renewed with the consent of the legislature)
Again from the first article linked here, let me give this moving quote from Samuel Adams:
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
The emphasized part reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Eowyn in Lord of the Rings:
(in response to the question of what she fears) "A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire."
Sometimes I compare myself to this. I was talking to my mom a couple months ago, and recounting that with the exception of babysitting and a few months spent working for Name Brand Clothing (a reduced price clothing store in Tulsa), all the jobs in my life have been either for government, or a government contractor, or a multinational corporation (Wal-Mart and Microsoft, specifically). She keeps telling me "Jennifer, if you ever did something that you really believed in, you'd be dangerous." Part of me automatically dismisses this as nothing more than motherly pride - but another part of me keeps wondering if it might be true.
What alternatives are there? Be a stay-at-home-homeschool-mom? That requires kids, which I do not currently have. Follow the Atlas Shrugged model and forsake what I value in order to protect what I value? I think I was never able to fully embrace that logic (Which is why "proving" homeschool through traditional academic success always seemed weird to me). Well, a few days ago I was talking to my mom again, and telling her about an invention/business idea that I had as a teenager. I won't go into the details here (lest someone on the internet steal my idea). Perhaps it will never work - but maybe I'm ready to try... otherwise I might spend my life in Eowyn's so-called cage.
Well, Yom Kippur begins at sundown, I believe (if you use the "traditional" calendar, rather than the sighting of the moon). Happy Fasting, All :)
A footnote in The Underground History of American Education alerted me to the fact that both John Kerry and George Bush were members of the secret society of Skull & Bones (see notes at the end for correction on the dramatic reference to Moloch). That piqued my curiosity enough to get me to the library, and a book on the organization made the claim (or was it Gatto again? Now I'm getting all confused) that a Supreme Justice and S&B member had declared corporations equivalent to persons without argument. Wikipedia backs up that claim, and I quote:
"The court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does."
- Justice Morrison Waite (though Wikipedia does not seem to ackowledge his involvement with S&B, though it can be verified elsewhere - see the first link posted here on S&B), Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 1886
Another point of interest, is that corporations as we know them are a relatively new historic development. To quote Wikipedia again, on the history of corporations:
"In the United States, government chartering began to fall out of vogue in the mid-1800s. Corporate law at the time was focused on protection of the public interest, and not on the interests of corporate shareholders. Corporate charters were closely regulated by the states. Forming a corporation usually required an act of legislature. Investors generally had to be given an equal say in corporate governance, and corporations were required to comply with the purposes expressed in their charters." (emphasis mine - and I believe the corporate charters had to be periodically renewed with the consent of the legislature)
Again from the first article linked here, let me give this moving quote from Samuel Adams:
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
The emphasized part reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Eowyn in Lord of the Rings:
(in response to the question of what she fears) "A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire."
Sometimes I compare myself to this. I was talking to my mom a couple months ago, and recounting that with the exception of babysitting and a few months spent working for Name Brand Clothing (a reduced price clothing store in Tulsa), all the jobs in my life have been either for government, or a government contractor, or a multinational corporation (Wal-Mart and Microsoft, specifically). She keeps telling me "Jennifer, if you ever did something that you really believed in, you'd be dangerous." Part of me automatically dismisses this as nothing more than motherly pride - but another part of me keeps wondering if it might be true.
What alternatives are there? Be a stay-at-home-homeschool-mom? That requires kids, which I do not currently have. Follow the Atlas Shrugged model and forsake what I value in order to protect what I value? I think I was never able to fully embrace that logic (Which is why "proving" homeschool through traditional academic success always seemed weird to me). Well, a few days ago I was talking to my mom again, and telling her about an invention/business idea that I had as a teenager. I won't go into the details here (lest someone on the internet steal my idea). Perhaps it will never work - but maybe I'm ready to try... otherwise I might spend my life in Eowyn's so-called cage.
Well, Yom Kippur begins at sundown, I believe (if you use the "traditional" calendar, rather than the sighting of the moon). Happy Fasting, All :)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
My Debut
I went over to my parents house, and into my Dad's basement recording studio, and belted out Black Velvet... or rather, tried to, since the headphone extension cord was broken and I couldn't make it to a standing position without unplugging my "monitor." Fortunately, I was able to find a kneeling position that didn't force me to cramp my diaphragm.
After recording the main track, my Dad taught me the background vocals (because, of course, I never notice those kind of details on my own), and we did several takes. Then, he played around with the mixing for a few weeks, and added some background takes of his own, and I got this in my inbox earlier this week. My Dad is so cool!
PS - Luna is in the "hospital" today. Apparently, another cat in the neighborhood bit her (the vet says probably 5 days ago). This morning I found her licking a big, oozing abscess on her hindquarters. So, right now she's still waking up from the anesthetic, and I'll go pick her up in a couple more hours. :(
PPS - I finally received the remainder all of my plants orders for this year, so today and tomorrow is planting day.
After recording the main track, my Dad taught me the background vocals (because, of course, I never notice those kind of details on my own), and we did several takes. Then, he played around with the mixing for a few weeks, and added some background takes of his own, and I got this in my inbox earlier this week. My Dad is so cool!
PS - Luna is in the "hospital" today. Apparently, another cat in the neighborhood bit her (the vet says probably 5 days ago). This morning I found her licking a big, oozing abscess on her hindquarters. So, right now she's still waking up from the anesthetic, and I'll go pick her up in a couple more hours. :(
PPS - I finally received the remainder all of my plants orders for this year, so today and tomorrow is planting day.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Pretend to Be Nice
I don't have to work today. I think it's because a large portion of New York celebrates Rosh Hashanah. Anyway, I will preface this post with an excerpt from G.K. Chesterson's Orthodoxy:
"All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance. This is a fallacy even in relation to known fact. For the variation in human affairs is generally brought into them, not by life, but by death; by the dying down or breaking off of their strength or desire. A man varies his movements because of some slight element of failure or fatigue. He gets into an omnibus because he is tired of walking; or he walks because he is tired of sitting still. But if his life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of going to Islington, he might go to Islington as regularly as the Thames goes to Sheerness. The very speed and ecstasy of his life would have the stillness of death. The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE. Heaven may ENCORE the bird who laid an egg. If the human being conceives and brings forth a human child instead of bringing forth a fish, or a bat, or a griffin, the reason may not be that we are fixed in an animal fate without life or purpose. It may be that our little tragedy has touched the gods, that they admire it from their starry galleries, and that at the end of every human drama man is called again and again before the curtain. Repetition may go on for millions of years, by mere choice, and at any instant it may stop. Man may stand on the earth generation after generation, and yet each birth be his positively last appearance."
Anyway, here's yet another instance of my current pre-occupation:
Directions:
1. Put your iPod, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Nocturne in Eb
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
I Saved the World Today
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Stray Cat Strut
Well, that's always a plus ;)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Figlio Perduto
Elvish??
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Eye of the Tiger
Hmmm... (Yo, Adrian...)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Anything
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Fantasy Impromptu
Haha! Probably.
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Pure Energy
Well, there was a time...
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Holiday
Yep - Everybody's Working for the Weekend
WHAT IS 2 + 2?
How Much Is the Fish?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
She Blinded Me With Science
Well, if I'm schizophrenic, I guess my best friend could be myself, and that side of me is in remission...
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Head Over Heels
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Gloomy Sunday
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Be My Baby
Is that kind of like the "Be My Own Grampa" song?
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Don't Turn Around
(...because I'll trip on my train)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Maniac
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Utopia
...or, at least, people trying to create Utopia and making things worse.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Scene d'Amour
Oooh la la!
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
I'm Not in Love
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Pretend to be Nice
"All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance. This is a fallacy even in relation to known fact. For the variation in human affairs is generally brought into them, not by life, but by death; by the dying down or breaking off of their strength or desire. A man varies his movements because of some slight element of failure or fatigue. He gets into an omnibus because he is tired of walking; or he walks because he is tired of sitting still. But if his life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of going to Islington, he might go to Islington as regularly as the Thames goes to Sheerness. The very speed and ecstasy of his life would have the stillness of death. The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE. Heaven may ENCORE the bird who laid an egg. If the human being conceives and brings forth a human child instead of bringing forth a fish, or a bat, or a griffin, the reason may not be that we are fixed in an animal fate without life or purpose. It may be that our little tragedy has touched the gods, that they admire it from their starry galleries, and that at the end of every human drama man is called again and again before the curtain. Repetition may go on for millions of years, by mere choice, and at any instant it may stop. Man may stand on the earth generation after generation, and yet each birth be his positively last appearance."
Anyway, here's yet another instance of my current pre-occupation:
Directions:
1. Put your iPod, iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Nocturne in Eb
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
I Saved the World Today
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Stray Cat Strut
Well, that's always a plus ;)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Figlio Perduto
Elvish??
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Eye of the Tiger
Hmmm... (Yo, Adrian...)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Anything
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Fantasy Impromptu
Haha! Probably.
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Pure Energy
Well, there was a time...
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Holiday
Yep - Everybody's Working for the Weekend
WHAT IS 2 + 2?
How Much Is the Fish?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
She Blinded Me With Science
Well, if I'm schizophrenic, I guess my best friend could be myself, and that side of me is in remission...
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Head Over Heels
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Gloomy Sunday
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Be My Baby
Is that kind of like the "Be My Own Grampa" song?
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Don't Turn Around
(...because I'll trip on my train)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Maniac
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Utopia
...or, at least, people trying to create Utopia and making things worse.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Scene d'Amour
Oooh la la!
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
I'm Not in Love
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Pretend to be Nice
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