WOAH WOAH...what?

So today snuck up on me like a bad case of hemorrhoids. I thought I'd have enough time to get my final project up and going but alas that did not happen. But fear not I will be posting a video shortly on here (hopefully 2 more days at the most).

From the Sidways book...

I was torn between a couple different areas in the book so I'll give a run down of them along with some quotes.

Dreams: I think most people are fascinated by what pops into their heads at night. This chapter gives examples of the various kinds of dreams we have.

The one example that struck me as interesting was a story of a particular lucid dream. Three people undergoing a dream study agreed to rendezvous in the dream world. They picked out a specific bench in a particular park at a certain time. Two of them "met" in the dream world while the third never showed up. Later he said he had forgotten to remind himself of the meeting place before going to bed. Now this story sounds all nice and neat, but we never learn how long it took for the two to actually find each other in their dreams (how many nights of sleep), nor do most people have complete control on what and when they dream. But I would not be the least bit surprised if it actually happened. Imagine the possibilities dreams would offer if we could willfully shape them and "meet" with anyone from around the world.

Fact - We spend about 25 years sleeping (some even more, like yours truly) and 7 % of that dreaming.


Synchronicity: This "chapter" is just fun to read. It deals with behaviors that are carried throughout a species using brain powers from the 10th DIMENSION! *wooooeeeeeooooooo*

The example the book gives (and what I've seen on a PBS program) is an instance where an isolated island off of Japan is introduced to sweet potatoes. The native wild monkeys in this area are unable to successfully eat these new vegetables without getting sand and dirt on them. Well one super smart simian decides to wash one off in the water and viola, now has an edible potato. Naturally the other monkeys learn from this and follow suit. However, monkeys on the mainland and in other isolated islands begin to do the same behavior (washing the potatoes) without ever being shown how. Without any sort of concrete evidence on why this happened, we are brought to the possibility of being linked together within the same species (mind wise). Although this could be written off as a coincidence. Which leads me to...

a similar example of the above mentioned situation on pg. 82 that deals with human behavior (I suggest checking it out).


Paradigms: Basically how you see the world through your lens.

One quote sums up this chapter:

'How delightfully the fishes are enjoying themselves', exclaimed Soshi.

'You are not a fish', commented his friend, 'how do you know that the fishes are enjoying themselves?'

'You are not myself', answered Soshi; 'how do you know, that I do not know, that the fishes are enjoying themselves?'

- Taoist dialogue

And something I stumbled across that deals with paradigms: http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/

Yes it's real. Am I the only one that feels like a genius right about now?

Breaking the Rules

If defiling The Mona Lisa isn't breaking the rules, then I don't know what is.

Connections

My friend code for Super Smash Bros. Brawl is: 4768-7860-7658 Hit me up anytime in the evening, usually on the weekends!

This is a way of connecting right?

Senseless Senses

I decided to give up on my sense of sight for 10 minutes today. To me, losing my sight would be one of the scariest and toughest things to encounter. Therefore I decided to give up this sense. Safe to say that I was totally thrown off and it was extremely difficult to navigate even my own house. I've heard that when sight is lost, hearing will naturally improve in order to pick up the "slack". I think that this is true to some extent but I think that it has more to do with the visually impared consciously picking up on subtle sounds that everyone can hear but don't take the time to actually "hear" or decipher. Ten minutes is obviously not enough time to give my hearing enough time to adjust to a new way of seeing, nor did I know what to listen for. So yea...I think the below picture explains what happened.

Midterm Questions

1. What has been the single best aspect of this class thus far?

I'm not going to lie. The single best aspect of this class is that I don't feel like I NEED to attend class every week, nor does it count against my grade, i.e. missing 3 classes is a letter grade off. Seriously wtf is that bullshit? I pay to go to class. If I can't/don't want to attend a class then that is MY business. Not showing up to a class already has implied consequences: Essentially I'm wasting my own money and the fact that I missed that days materials, I am that much more at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good grade. Why should I get slapped with another penalty of having my final letter grade lowered at the end of the semester? Did I just take a jump back to High School, for shits sake...

So thanks for treating us like adults, it is a nice feeling for once. I also like the flexible due dates for assignments. Sometimes things just don't come to me. I work a lot more efficiently under pressure :P.

1. What is the single most important thing you want to walk away with from this class?

Let's see...well I don't think I will initially walk away with anything after the last class. I might shed a few tears knowing that I will not be seeing my fellow students for awhile - not really. But I would like to think that a couple years from now I will remember a few instances that may just fit into a specific situation that I am currently in. That is what I would like - a gift from the past.

Onion Assignment

I'm sorry but I can't do this onion (shudders) assignment. You see I hate onions. I even hate saying that awful O-word. It's offensive to all 5 senses and sometimes the 6th one. If I were to complete this assignment then I would be condoning that onions are ok...but they're not.

Object Assignment (Fork)

Ok, so the very first week we were given a fork to love and to cherish. I gave all the love and time that I could to this fork, but it still wasn't enough. At the time of the due date I was too embarrassed to say that my fork had up and left me for better things, never to return...or so I thought.


It was very hard to cope with my loss but I pushed on, never looking back, and certainly never shedding a tear.


Well some time had passed and wouldn't you know my fork came back. But he wasn't the same fork as before. It turns out that my fork had traveled to the future in order to escape this world where forks were used merely as tools. Not only does he have a new look but he can also shoot lazer beams (pew pew). Oh, and did I mention he's pissed?

Play-Doh Caves

ZOMG I LUV MAKING PLAY-DOH CAVES! Sometimes the play-doh gets in my fingers and then I have to spend a lot of time washing them so that people don't think I'm dirty.


But in all seriousness, Plato's cave metaphor brings up an interesting premise, and to me contains an undeniable truth. I think that it is human nature to accept what you see as truth and it can become very difficult for a different paradigm to take place when something new or unexplained is introduced. I try to be as opened minded as I can in order to prevent dismissing ideas or thoughts that could otherwise benefit me or expand my thinking.

(I'm not sure why the picture has inverted colors.)

What Ifs...(FINALLY!)

What If...

a big red arrow appeared over your head every time you farted and lasted until the smell was gone?
cars were powered by farts?
Taco Bell and White Castle didn't make you fart?
Harlod and Kumar went to Taco Bell instead of White Castle?
I had super powers, would I be good, evil, anti-hero?
Moby wasn't bald, would he be as cool?
my parents loved me?
I loved my parents?
my thoughts could materialize?
the end of the world was tomorrow?
I was a wanted criminal?
everyone looked like Larry King (yes even women)?
no oxygen existed on earth starting.............NOW?!
I was the last man on earth?
the U.S. truly practiced freedom?
computers used humans to access the internet and play games?
pokemon were real?!?! I CHOOSE YOU PIKACHUUUU!
there was always a chance that wild spider-monkeys would chase you when you left the house? - wicked awesome
I could tell what the fuck women were thinking?
this assignment was 20 instead of 50 "What Ifs..."? - I'd be done by now
I didn't procrastinate from this point on in my life?
I was the last human on earth?
you didn't need to work to live comfortably, would society crumble?
I did turn into what I ate?
I had to "pass" what I ate without it being digested? yikes
ninjas and pirates ruled the earth?
Skrulls existed and our teacher was one of them?
blogs didn't exist, would our class have assignments?
I ran out of What Ifs?

JUST KIDDING

the prohibition hadn't failed?
we could use 100% of our brain's potential?
those stupid little croc shoes were created by Nancy Grace (spawn of satan) to capture your soul, would people still wear them?
higher education was actually affordable to everyone?
I could pick up the phone and dial God's number?
this person next to me took a shower every once and awhile? It really could do them some good.
you actually read all of these?
everything in the Bible was true/literal?
the earth was going through a global cooling?
sex was painful/unenjoyable (jokes aside)? Would we reproduce strictly based on the premise that we need to keep our species alive?
I had a bazillion-million-kajillion-infinity^10-ninety dollars?
my dog could talk to me?
cats were cool?
I HAD COMPLETE PEACE OF MIND?
this assignment was 44 instead of 50 "What Ifs..."? - I'd be done by now
your actions had no consequences?
I was Eddie Vedder, would you like me any better?
I had never been born at all?
my car was a TRANSFORMER! fawk yea!
I had no doubts?
this assignment was 50 instead of 50 "What Ifs..."? - I'd be done by...oh wait.

"What the Bleep Do We Know" thoughts

I had seen the movie before but not in it's entirety. I think a lot of being able to enjoy this movie is to have a very open mind, especially on matters that haven't even been touched on in school. It still hasn't sunk in completely and I'm writing this a month after seeing it so that goes to show you how abstract it can be.

I do agree with most things that were said in the film, for example, I think that the attitude that one carries with them truly affects all aspects of that persons life. The example of the water crystals showed this and really surprised me with the results.

I found the part with the wedding party particularly interesting. (Warning: Long Sentence Ahead) I knew we had a complex system of nerves and connections that we used to create emotions but I never really thought about how past experiences can create new connections while severing others which can create completely different reactions, most of which are undesired. Our bodies are amazing, especially the human psyche.

I didn't completely understand the small part about the atoms that repel each other (negative repelling positive, or something like that). What I got from it was that nothing really completely touches each other. They gave the example of the basketball "hitting" the pavement, when in actuality it gets repelled from the pavement's surface. Maybe I am reading that part completely wrong but I just didn't fully comprehend it. I mean, I know I can touch things because I can describe how they feel.

All in all it was a very interesting and entertaining movie. I hear there is a second one out and plan on watching that one as well.

The 2 hours + some of my own time...

I know this is a long time coming however I still remember what I did for the couple hours of my own time.

I went out to a bar with a friend to meet one of my other friend's parents, kinda weird huh? Not really.

I truly have never met parents like this - we shall name them D and S. I had been going to their house on a regular basis all 4 years of high school to chill with my friend. Every time we hung out at their house they made me feel utterly and completely welcomed, like a part of their family. I was at their house so often that they eventually left the door unlocked for me to come in (I'd knock first of course). They didn't treat just me like this though, we had a core group of about 4 other guys that they made just as welcomed. Through this time we celebrated birthdays, family gatherings, camping trips, cedar point vacations, and made countless films in their basement: astronaut, wild west, ninja - you know all the standard stuff.

Anyway getting to present time...We met D and S at a local bar and had many drinks and cheers to the "good ol' days". Lots of shared memories were had and tons of laughing. It was just a great way to relax and spend time with friends. So yea that's what I did for my "Do whatever the hell I want" time.