Lately I’ve been struggling with my career path. Not with whether or not I want to be a marine conservation ecologist, because I do. I’ve been struggling with the issue of whether science takes away from or adds to the beauty of the universe. I came to the obvious conclusion that the scientist is actually able to see much more beauty in nature than the average person. Take the ocean for example. The ocean goes through tons of complex processes. From microscopic processes like the photosynthesis that occurs in phytoplankton to large scale processes like the oceanic current systems. These processes have a beauty to them that is more easily available to and appreciated by the scientist than to someone with no scientific background. Understanding the world adds just as much beauty as mystery does. But although science can actually add to the aesthetic quality of nature, sometimes, I feel like it can also reduce something as beautiful as the ocean into mere data and scientific journals. Think about it, in reality, what is the ocean? It is not facts, statistics, or scientific journals. It is not classified, defined, or explained. The ocean is wonder. It is awe, mystery, magic. It is the white waves that rush over your skin, the ones that look like liquid clouds. It is the salty sea spray that engulfs your lungs. It is the moving kelp forests under the rhythm of the tides. The ocean is life. Every scientist has to deal with the dilemma of going from being completely immersed in the awe-inspiring part of our field, to tediously processing data in the lab. I know that scientific journals are needed, and that they are for the purposes of knowledge and not aesthetics, but I was reading a few yesterday and I couldn’t help but to think to myself: ‘The wonder, the awe… it isn’t here. It’s gotten lost in these pages of data and formulas.’ Today I’m going to recapture that wonder by spending my afternoon in the ocean.
by Chris Hedges, Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System
Richard Linklater’s ‘Waking Life’ explores different philosophical themes such as: existentialism, consciousness, reality, free will, dream psychology, connecting with another human being, perception, politics, and consumerism. It isn’t a very plot driven film, it’s more like you’re dropping in on different conversations about those topics. The main character actually experiences these themes through the discussions of the people in his lucid dreams. I thought it was great and very intellectually stimulating. The entire thing is on youtube, check it out.
For as long as I can remember, my mother’s told me that I’m a spiritual person. My mom’s always been a little crazy, so I never really pay much attention to what she says… but in this case she was right. I used to think that a ‘spiritual person’ was someone who goes to church/mosque/temple, follows doctrines, prays/worships, and does all that other ritualistic stuff that comes along with organized religion. Since I was an atheist at the time and didn’t abide by any of those things, I definitely did not consider myself to be spiritual. After learning and experiencing different points of view, I gradually went from being an atheist to an agnostic-atheist, to an agnostic-theist, and to whatever it is that I am now. I believe in a higher state of being, but not in the existence of any gods. I don’t know if there’s any name for that, maybe it’s still just agnostic-theism. I see things differently now though. A spiritual person does not necessarily have to believe in religion or any sort of deity, but is rather someone who cares about the well-being of people, animals, and the planet. A spiritual person knows that we are all one and consciously attempts to honor that through kindness, understanding, and compassion. A spiritual person actively tries to break the control that their ego has on them. Lately, I’ve been exploring the philosophies of Zen-Buddhism and Taoism. Now, I would never completely devote myself to any religion because I believe that they all have flaws. I’m merely hoping to apply as much as I can from Zen-Buddhism and Taoism into my life and belief system. I agree with a lot of what they teach, but not all of it; and that’s alright because my belief system is a personal one. These beliefs work for me. They are part of my path in life. And honestly, unless you’re causing harm to others, there isn’t really such a thing as a wrong path or a right path, there is only your path.
Some dudes with a camera asked Bill Murray for an autograph, and instead of giving them one he offered to shoot a Wes Anderson-style slow motion walk with them.
“Wes wears his pants very short; so he likes everyone in his films to wear their pants really short to look just a little bit like the kind of person you’d like to mug.”- Bill Murray
I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a rhinoceros who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows an aardvark who knows what really happened at the end of ‘Inception’.
I’ve been wanting to take my dog to the beach, but there’s been some crazy winds and hardcore rain by my house lately.
BORN TO KING PRIAM AND QUEEN HECUBA OF TROY, CASSANDRA WAS SAID TO BE THE SECOND MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD. HER BEAUTY WAS COMPARED TO APHRODITE AND HELEN OF TROY. AS SHE MATURED, APOLLO TOOK NOTICE OF HER. HE BECAME ENAMORED AND EVENTUALLY GAVE HER THE ABILITY TO FORESEE THE FUTURE. IN ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS, CASSANDRA SPENT A NIGHT IN APOLLO’S TEMPLE WHERE THE TEMPLE SNAKES LICKED HER EARS CLEAN SO SHE WAS ABLE TO HEAR THE FUTURE. HOWEVER IN ALL ACCOUNTS OF THE STORIES, CASSANDRA NEVER RETURNED APOLLO’S LOVE. IN TURN, APOLLO CURSED HER. HE ALLOWED HER TO KEEP HER GIFT OF PROPHECY BUT MADE IT SO NO ONE WOULD EVER BELIEVE HER. EVENTUALLY, THIS DROVE HER MAD. CASSANDRA WAS THE GREEK EMBODIMENT OF IRONY BECAUSE OF HER DEEP UNDERSTANDING FOR THE FUTURE AND POWERLESSNESS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
by Alan Watts, The Joyous Cosmology
I watched ‘The Grey’ last night. I thought it was a great attempt to give a little more thought provocation to an otherwise narrow-minded genre: the modern day action/thriller movie. ‘The Grey’ loosely explores themes of fear and acceptance of death, which makes it more than just a movie for action junkies, but not quite enough to be considered an extremely profound film. I thought it was a good blend of contemplation and action. As much as I enjoyed the movie and it’s themes (and I’m not trying to come across as an extremist tree-hugger here), the way wolves were portrayed in the film bothered me. The wolves came across as malevolent beasts with an almost mythological aspect to them… it was kinda like ‘Jaws’ for canines. Due to misconceptions, wolves have been hunted to dwindling populations up until the 1990’s, where a movement began to reintroduce them into North America. After only recently being taken off the Endangered Species List, I don’t think the wolf is being portrayed in the best light here. I get that ‘man vs nature’ (along with ‘man vs himself’) is one of the conflicts of the film, but I think I’m just too big of an animal lover to overlook that factor. Overall though, ‘The Grey’ was a very enjoyable film. Why did I decide to write a movie review?… I don’t know, maybe I thought if I mentioned fun facts on wolves it would help me in my career as a conservation-ecologist, maybe I thought if I bashed modern day action movies it would be a step towards my new career as a pretentious art-house film critic, maybe I was just bored, maybe you should go fuck yourself.
Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell by The Flaming Lips. "To derive one's happiness from only specific moments in time is to miss out on the cosmic accident that is all of life's moments."- Wayne Coyne
“Bitch I ain’t even tryin’ to hear that bullshit, about what your hoe ass don’t suck and what your ass don’t lick. So you can get your knees dirty hoe, or either get your ratchet ass out my fuckin’ door. Cause I’m Slick Bill, I put a bitch in her place. Get down on your knees, I put my dick in your face. Then I’ll feel on that big fat fanny, pull out the jammy, and kill the punani.”- William Jefferson ‘Bill’ Clinton
“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.”- Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone (1959)
Lately, I’ve been experiencing hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations frequently. Last night before I fell asleep, my hallucination led me to believe that everything I knew and perceived did not really exist. Me, my friends, my family, my life, and basically the entire universe were just manifestations of someone else’s mind. For a few moments, I sincerely believed that I didn’t physically exist and was just a figment of somebody’s imagination. And this wasn’t just a momentary lapse of reason that made me borderline stupid for a little while, this was something I was actually perceiving without any real stimuli. I felt as if nothing I had ever done mattered, because after all, my existence was merely a thought… it was like some trippy-ass twilight-zone shit holmes. Even though it was all just a false sense of awareness, it was still surprisingly relieving. I have an idea of what the cause for these hallucinations is, but I’m not entirely sure. On a somewhat relevant note, to any of my 43,729 followers who are science fiction lovers and have never seen the original twilight zone series, watch it. The influence ‘The Twilight Zone’ had on ‘Lost’, ‘The Shining’, ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘The X-Files’ is really noticeable. The show is just the perfect blend of science fiction, horror, and psychological thriller… it’s good… THOROUGHLY GOOD.
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain… Time to die.”- Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982)
Our memories are like our own personal journal that we always carry around with us. Once we die they’ll all be gone. And after a generation or two has passed, we’ll be forgotten and it’ll be as if we never even existed. That used to make me feel really insignificant. But as depressing as that sounds, it now actually makes me cherish my memories even more. Of all the people who will live, die, and be forgotten, none of them will ever have the same exact experiences as me. Similar maybe, but never exactly the same. Your journal of memories is unique to your consciousness alone. And besides, once the world ends and there are no traces left that a planet called ‘earth’ ever even existed, everybody’s personal moments will be lost in time forever… So yea, live life to the fullest cuz we’re all gonna die n’ shit.
