Ethnography? Oh dear...

Well dear readers (all three of you...), it seems as though I will soon be delving into the world of Homestuck.... a web-comic of dubious origins and murky content. Though fandom and being a fan of a literary work of some sort is not a new concept to me, I would be proud to count myself among the legion of Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, Lord of the Rings (LotR) and random anime fans, a fan of a web comic I am not. Considering the plethora of friends and acquaintances that have been sucked into Homestuck addiction, it seems an easy choice (the other option being My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP) though I fear I have had too much exposure to that particular sub-culture to be completely unaffected). So this Spring Break I will commence with the reading of at least the first three acts in the Homestuck saga... If my brain still exists at the end of break I will report some of what I'll have found out!

Harlow's experiments: Cruel or necessary?

I think that everyone will agree that taking a baby monkey away from their mom and subjecting it to scary things is cruel but then again, it is also very important to the study how humans react to such things. While using a human is out of the question why is it okay for another type of primate to suffer instead? While curing depression and figuring out how environment effects development could help our species, is it worth the sacrifice of all those monkey babies that grew up with wire mothers? I guess the main point of this blog is really to answer the simple question of whether years of animal suffering now worth a future without these problems in our societies future? And where is the line that separates justifiable from unforgivable? Or is there even one? The jury is still out for me so far, while I agree that it is cruel and something that is nowhere near the 'good' end of the moral scale, the research itself can be very beneficial in the future and I'm not sure where a line can be draw if there even is one.

The not-so-poor Kids

          Watching Poor Kids has really made me think about myself and my peers in general. I don't know about you all but the only times I've went hungry are... well almost nonexistent. It shocks and scares me how the families of these kids have so little and the way they are forced to live is just sad. It's not fair for a single mother to have to raise two kids as well as support them herself. Of course life is just that: not fair. It also makes me think of how I really don't want to end up in a similar situation. There is a Chinese saying about how good fortune and money and stuff won't stay for more than three generation. My family has worked hard and is pretty successful. Now it's my turn. How will I get a job? Keep a job? Find a place to live? If experienced adults can't do it, than how can I? How can we, we as in this generation, prevent ourselves from falling into the spike-lined pit of poverty? And how can we help those who have fallen in out? The Chinese reasoning why prosperity won't more than three generations is because by that point, all those who remember the hardship of reaching this point all have passes on and those who remain won't realize the value of what they have and will value it accordingly. And as all the hard earned money and other access are spent unwisely, the family is back at the bottom again. This sort-of worries me because now the eyes of my family will be on me to be successful and not setting the family into decline and I don't know if I'm up for the task. I don't want to sound like I don't care for those with less, but I'm worried for myself as well.

Future Voters.... Oh Boy....

I am concerned over the future of our government. Talking to some of my classmate I discovered a rather alarming trend. While they spouted the dogma of their parents well, they could not explain any details nor, in the more extreme cases, could they even tell me who the head of the executive branch was.
After an impromptu explanation of what the various functions of government are, I realized that if in the two or three years that these individuals are not taught right, we will have a problem. People who are uneducated about government are just scary to think about at the ballot box.
I know that there is a requirement for schools to teach about the government and stuff but still, are these classes really enough? This is the future of our government we're putting at risk! We have a system of classes that clearly are too difficult or just too boring for a vast number of kids and does not stress enough the importance of political education? Can we really afford to keep such a system?

Music...

I play the violin and am proud of it! I feel however that violins and other stringed instruments, and music in general, are both underestimated and undervalued in our culture starting in the schools. Fremd has a great music program and we have consistently sent people to IMEA (the musical equivalent of IHSA) for the past several years. This year the concertmaster of the regional IMEA orchestra for our district was from Fremd yet ask any non-music student in the building and they won't even know what IMEA is! If a team or person of a sport is sent to state and places high you can be sure that the school will know even if it's only through the pep assemblies thrown in their honor yet for a music department triumph and not a peep. Mainstream students don't know or hear about the long hours of devotion spent to mastering and instrument and don't appreciate the dedication it takes.This thinking of musicians as wimpy, unless they're playing the guitar, bass or drums of course, just keeps continuing in adult life. People don't seem to realize that you can hook an electric violin up to an amp and it will be amazing. Violins can play things other than pure classical music and can the same with all the other string instruments. People don't seem to be able to see the possibilities of different instruments because in school and in other places they feel that their peers don't value it highly. Today I saw a group called String Fusion. it was amazing and the played everything from country to Hendrix. Guess what, their lead musician played on the electric violin! Yet somehow this awesome group that came in to our school to play for free didn't manage to gather a audience the same size as the one during writer's week during the student poetry hour. And even some of the people that did show up decided that their cellphones were more important that the people preforming for them. musicians are underrated in our culture and as a musician I feel our culture and artistic history is slowly slipping away except in the small groups that try to keep it alive.

Discworld (and maybe some Good Omens)

It has recently come to my attention that I love Sir Terry Pratchett! I know that that may sound really weird and perhaps overdone but I honestly didn't know the extent of my mania toward Discworld till I found myself reading quotes form the books at four in the morning. But seriously, if you were reading them, you wouldn't be able to tear yourself away either. I'm not sure if it's his style of writing, the targets of his satire, or just how he combines all these elements into a plot with interesting and likable characters but something about Discworld just draws me in.

And not to keep you all up till four in the morning too... here are some quotes from both the Discworld books as well as Good Omens (written by Sir Pratchett as well as Neil Gaiman):


"Real children don't go hoppity-skip unless they are on drugs."
           -- Susan, the ultimate sensible governess (Terry Pratchett, Hogfather)

"Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time."
           -- Bursar 1 - Hex 0 (Terry Pratchett, Hogfather)

A number of religions in Ankh-Morpork still practiced human sacrifice, except that they didn't really need to practice any more because they had got so good at it.
           -- (Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!)

The shortest unit of time in the multiverse is the New York Second, defined as the period of time between the traffic lights turning green and the cab behind you honking.
           -- (Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies)

The Monks of Cool, whose tiny and exclusive monastery is hidden in a really cool and laid-back valley in the lower Ramtops, have a passing-out test for a novice. He is taken into a room full of all types of clothing and asked: Yo, my son, which of these is the most stylish thing to wear? And the correct answer is: Hey, whatever I select.
           -- (Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies)

Tourist, Rincewind decided, meant "idiot".
           -- (Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic)

Sister Mary headed through the night-time hospital with the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan and Lord of Darkness safely in her arms. She found a bassinet and laid him down in it. He gurgled. She gave him a tickle.
           -- The antichrist is born (Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens)



I'm not sure how he specifically relates to goverment and economics but this does... sort-of...
Stock... Futures... Pork? 


"Pork Futures Warehouse was…one of those things, the sort that you get in a city that has lived with magic for too long. The occult reasoning, if such it could be called, was this: pork was an important commodity in the city. Future pork, possibly even pork as yet unborn, was routinely traded by the merchants. Therefore, it had to exist somewhere. And the Pork Futures Warehouse came into existence, icy cold within as the pork drifted backwards in time"
           -- (Terry Pratchett, Thud)



My source and possably yours as well: http://www.lspace.org/books/pqf/index.html

Why do people post idiotic videos and comments?

I can understand if people want to express their opinions, however, there should be a line between opinions and insults. When people post insults the only thing they're doing is showing how judgmental and narrow they they are. The video that sparked the protesting in the Middle East, for example, it is responsible for the death of at least four people. Paraphrasing my friend, the people who made the video should be charged with third degree murder because while they didn't intend for people to die over their video... well you know what the road to hell is paved with. Also, while I fully support freedom of speech, there is also a responsibility that comes with any right, privilege, or freedom people have. In this case it is to know when opinions should be aired while doing so appropriately and to take responsibility for what one does just as you are suppose to take responsibility for ones actions. If someone can't follow this simple rule, they clearly can't handle living in America and don't get the concept of living in a community and should leave. The sooner the better! *hint hint*