Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Friday, December 26, 2014
PHILOSOPHY WITH FRIENDS VOL. 1
"Just the act alone of America disbanding its military in an effort for world peace will cause a ripple effect across the world. In that completely defenseless state if another country were to attack us they would likely be attacked by the rest of the world. Even our founding fathers have said that the position of president is in essence the position of a king." - Sean Rebaldo
"DMT is like the key to another world: another world's gate. Once you're past those gates you don't just get to see it, you get to feel it. You are there on that journey five-hundred thousand years ago with those important beings close to you crossing that thousand mile ice bridge from the present day Russia to the present day Alaska on that heroic journey. Altering consciousness with foreign chemicals, yielding a chemical imbalance which sets you on the ship to hyperspace to meet your ancestors and yourself." - Aaron McFarland
I encourage conversation about Aaron and Sean's thoughts in the comments section.
"DMT is like the key to another world: another world's gate. Once you're past those gates you don't just get to see it, you get to feel it. You are there on that journey five-hundred thousand years ago with those important beings close to you crossing that thousand mile ice bridge from the present day Russia to the present day Alaska on that heroic journey. Altering consciousness with foreign chemicals, yielding a chemical imbalance which sets you on the ship to hyperspace to meet your ancestors and yourself." - Aaron McFarland
I encourage conversation about Aaron and Sean's thoughts in the comments section.
Monday, December 15, 2014
LITERATURE ANALYSIS #3
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy
1. The inciting incident in Child of God is the sale of Lester's house by the bank. He is cast out into the mountains, where he finds an abandoned house he makes his home. This novel is very exposition heavy. It is not about the plot, but the character.
2. The themes of Child of God include loneliness, humanity, and nature. Perhaps the most effective scene in the novel is when Lester stumbles upon two naked dead bodies and proceeds to have sex with the woman and drag her back to his abandoned house. This scene, while at first cringe worthy, is a representation of the animal- the child of nature- that each person is before a human being. Lester becomes dehumanized in a way- cast off and shunned from society. He lives on base instincts and primal urges.
3. McCarthy's tone is very deadpan and cynical. He presents the abnormal or that which is considered morally wrong by the public in the straightforward of ways. It becomes apparent soon that Lester is a disgusting person, but McCarthy addresses him with a casual and laid back tone.
4.
1. "I'll tell ye another thing he done one time." (Page 35). Here is an example of the change in McCarthy's diction as he places you into another character's outlook.
2. McCarthy's diction is much different when narrating, "Ballard descended by giant stone stairs to the dry floor of the quarry. The great rock walls with their cannelured faces and featherdrill holes composed about him an enormous amphitheatre." (Page 38).
3. "Ballard has come in from the dark dragging sheaves of snowclogged bracken and he has fallen to crushing up handfuls of this dried or frozen stuff and cramming it into the fireplace." (Page 66). McCarthy takes a turn in style here by writing in the present tense, which feels slightly abnormal since the rest is written in the past tense.
4. "You better stay away from here, called Ballard from the porch. He was shivering there in the cold. That's what you all better do." (Page 94). This expresses Ballard's isolationism- his complete removal from other human beings. This is due to his character- not only do people not want to be around him, but he doesn't want to be around people.
5. "He got a fire going in the hearth and with wooden fingers undid the frozen lacings of his shoes and levered them from the shank of his foot, banging the heels on the floor until they came off." (Page 101). Ballard's fingers are clearly not wooden, but cold to the point of stiffness.
6. "You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No, he said. I don't. I think people are the same from the day God first made one." (Page 168).
7. "A winter dreadful cold it was. He thought before it was over that he would look like one of the bitter spruces that grew slant downwind out of the shale and lichens on the hogback." (Page 136). This is an amazing instance of imagery, and really allows the reader to visualize the cold of the winter.
8. "As he whirled about there in the kitchen door the last thing he saw through the smoke was the idiot child. It sat watching him, berryeyed filthy and frightless among the pyramid flames." (Page 120). Context: Ballard has just shot the child's mother, and burns the house down with the child in it to hide the evidence. The reason Ballard took this woman's life was because she would not have sex with him. This scene is important, in that it that it develops Balard's character and gives the reader further insight into a sociopathic mind. Ballard doesn't care about who is hurt or killed, and insists he gets his way. He is like an adult toddler with a rifle in place of a rattle, except he understands what death is.
9. "He sounded like a man with a mouthful of marbles, articulating his goatbone underjaw laboriously, the original one having been shot away." (Page 46). A very Cormac McCarthy style image.
10. "Ballard crouched on his heels with the rifle between his knees. He told the snow to fall faster and it did." (Page 139).
(IN PROGRESS)
CHARACTERIZATION:
1. Lester Ballard does not like people. As the novel progresses, we see that this man is a sociopath, but he is also a simple product of nature, or "God." He is also a very proud person in that he hates to be looked down on. After he tries to negotiate the price of his groceries with the storekeeper, Ballard becomes extremely angry when he is told to put something back. "Ballard's face was twitching." (Page 126). Ultimately Ballard would rather pay and take everything, in order to prove a point. "I ain't puttin a goddamn thing back, said Ballard, laying out five dollars and slapping down the dime." (Page 126).
2. The change in McCarthy's diction when dialogue is introduced is frenetic.
3. Lester is a very round but static character. He does not change dramatically throughout the novel, but his character is well developed.
4. Lester Ballard feels like a real person. He is a portrait of a human person, albeit not a very nice one.
1. The inciting incident in Child of God is the sale of Lester's house by the bank. He is cast out into the mountains, where he finds an abandoned house he makes his home. This novel is very exposition heavy. It is not about the plot, but the character.
2. The themes of Child of God include loneliness, humanity, and nature. Perhaps the most effective scene in the novel is when Lester stumbles upon two naked dead bodies and proceeds to have sex with the woman and drag her back to his abandoned house. This scene, while at first cringe worthy, is a representation of the animal- the child of nature- that each person is before a human being. Lester becomes dehumanized in a way- cast off and shunned from society. He lives on base instincts and primal urges.
3. McCarthy's tone is very deadpan and cynical. He presents the abnormal or that which is considered morally wrong by the public in the straightforward of ways. It becomes apparent soon that Lester is a disgusting person, but McCarthy addresses him with a casual and laid back tone.
4.
1. "I'll tell ye another thing he done one time." (Page 35). Here is an example of the change in McCarthy's diction as he places you into another character's outlook.
2. McCarthy's diction is much different when narrating, "Ballard descended by giant stone stairs to the dry floor of the quarry. The great rock walls with their cannelured faces and featherdrill holes composed about him an enormous amphitheatre." (Page 38).
3. "Ballard has come in from the dark dragging sheaves of snowclogged bracken and he has fallen to crushing up handfuls of this dried or frozen stuff and cramming it into the fireplace." (Page 66). McCarthy takes a turn in style here by writing in the present tense, which feels slightly abnormal since the rest is written in the past tense.
4. "You better stay away from here, called Ballard from the porch. He was shivering there in the cold. That's what you all better do." (Page 94). This expresses Ballard's isolationism- his complete removal from other human beings. This is due to his character- not only do people not want to be around him, but he doesn't want to be around people.
5. "He got a fire going in the hearth and with wooden fingers undid the frozen lacings of his shoes and levered them from the shank of his foot, banging the heels on the floor until they came off." (Page 101). Ballard's fingers are clearly not wooden, but cold to the point of stiffness.
6. "You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No, he said. I don't. I think people are the same from the day God first made one." (Page 168).
7. "A winter dreadful cold it was. He thought before it was over that he would look like one of the bitter spruces that grew slant downwind out of the shale and lichens on the hogback." (Page 136). This is an amazing instance of imagery, and really allows the reader to visualize the cold of the winter.
8. "As he whirled about there in the kitchen door the last thing he saw through the smoke was the idiot child. It sat watching him, berryeyed filthy and frightless among the pyramid flames." (Page 120). Context: Ballard has just shot the child's mother, and burns the house down with the child in it to hide the evidence. The reason Ballard took this woman's life was because she would not have sex with him. This scene is important, in that it that it develops Balard's character and gives the reader further insight into a sociopathic mind. Ballard doesn't care about who is hurt or killed, and insists he gets his way. He is like an adult toddler with a rifle in place of a rattle, except he understands what death is.
9. "He sounded like a man with a mouthful of marbles, articulating his goatbone underjaw laboriously, the original one having been shot away." (Page 46). A very Cormac McCarthy style image.
10. "Ballard crouched on his heels with the rifle between his knees. He told the snow to fall faster and it did." (Page 139).
(IN PROGRESS)
CHARACTERIZATION:
1. Lester Ballard does not like people. As the novel progresses, we see that this man is a sociopath, but he is also a simple product of nature, or "God." He is also a very proud person in that he hates to be looked down on. After he tries to negotiate the price of his groceries with the storekeeper, Ballard becomes extremely angry when he is told to put something back. "Ballard's face was twitching." (Page 126). Ultimately Ballard would rather pay and take everything, in order to prove a point. "I ain't puttin a goddamn thing back, said Ballard, laying out five dollars and slapping down the dime." (Page 126).
2. The change in McCarthy's diction when dialogue is introduced is frenetic.
3. Lester is a very round but static character. He does not change dramatically throughout the novel, but his character is well developed.
4. Lester Ballard feels like a real person. He is a portrait of a human person, albeit not a very nice one.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Why the New UK Porn Laws Can Go Fuck Themselves
Certain sexual positions in pornography have been banned in the UK. The positions now banned include face sitting, spanking, and female ejaculation among many others. I find this misogynist new law set rather sickening; men can still ejaculate on camera and basically do whatever they want. The law aims at women, and what they can or can't do. This is another case of lawmakers controlling women sexually. These laws are offensive and a spit in the face of gender equality. They don't prevent citizens from watching videos that contain these acts- they only make it illegal for UK production companies or individuals to perform them and film them from here on out.
This is another case of the exponentially growing censorship of the internet as well as the disgusting suppression of the sexual freedoms of women. Rights that consenting adults have are being shuffled, picked and chosen from by the government. Everything the government has outlawed was consensual and between adults. While underage porn and violence against women have proven to be a huge problem in the industry that must be addressed, censorship of legal sexual acts is not a solution.
What the government has done to women with these laws is offensive. Women have been told yet again that their sexual freedom is secondhand to that of men, and this is not okay.
Banning face sitting and other acts depicting females receiving pleasure from legal online porn is kind of like a father forcing his daughter to wear a chastity belt.
1. "Porn protest: UK laws banning erotic acts should be annulled, Lib Dem MP says." O'Connor, Roisin. December 12, 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-porn-laws-banning-erotic-acts-should-be-annulled-lib-dem-mp-says-9920040.html
2. "The New UK Porn Laws Ban Facesitting, Spanking, and Female Ejaculation." Barrow, Jo. December 2, 2014. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jobarrow/the-new-uk-porn-laws-ban-facesitting-spanking-and-female-eja
This is another case of the exponentially growing censorship of the internet as well as the disgusting suppression of the sexual freedoms of women. Rights that consenting adults have are being shuffled, picked and chosen from by the government. Everything the government has outlawed was consensual and between adults. While underage porn and violence against women have proven to be a huge problem in the industry that must be addressed, censorship of legal sexual acts is not a solution.
What the government has done to women with these laws is offensive. Women have been told yet again that their sexual freedom is secondhand to that of men, and this is not okay.
Banning face sitting and other acts depicting females receiving pleasure from legal online porn is kind of like a father forcing his daughter to wear a chastity belt.
1. "Porn protest: UK laws banning erotic acts should be annulled, Lib Dem MP says." O'Connor, Roisin. December 12, 2014. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-porn-laws-banning-erotic-acts-should-be-annulled-lib-dem-mp-says-9920040.html
2. "The New UK Porn Laws Ban Facesitting, Spanking, and Female Ejaculation." Barrow, Jo. December 2, 2014. http://www.buzzfeed.com/jobarrow/the-new-uk-porn-laws-ban-facesitting-spanking-and-female-eja
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Poetry Essay
Edgar Allan Poe's "Alone" is a reflection of who Poe was as a person. It is a condensed outpouring of emotion designed to express to the reader feelings that would otherwise be impossible to understand. The power of poetry is its ability to express emotion more so than simple speech. Derek Mahon's "Everything is Going to be Alright" is another emotional outcry, albeit very different than Poe's.
While "Alone" is more negative and gloomy, "Everything is Going to be Alright" is hopeful and upbeat. Mahon's poem isn't so much an expression of his own emotion but a hopeful look towards the future. "How should I not be glad to contemplate the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window and a high tide reflected on the ceiling?" Mahon asks. Why pass up an opportunity to enjoy the little things?
Poe suffered through depression and other mental illness his entire life, and "Alone" is a physical representation of that. "From childhood’s hour I have not been as others were—I have not seen as others saw—I could not bring my passions from a common spring." Poe highlights how different he feels from others mentally; his depression has cut him off from the "Everything is Going to be Alright" members of society.
"There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that," Mahon says in his poem. Try as he might, Poe can't help but go into that and focus on the negative things.
"And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view."
This cloud represents Poe's depression. Though the rest of the sky is blue, his vision is focused on the demon-shaped cloud. It blocks the rest of his vision and locks him on a path that he can't get off of.
In some ways, "Alone" and "Everything is Going to be Alright" are polar opposites, but in other ways they are very similar. Both are expressions of thoughts and feelings, but "Alone" is negative while "Everything is Going to be Alright" is positive and upbeat.
Friday, December 5, 2014
"I can't even go to the bathroom without a work order. " - RHS janitor to RHS security
Just in case you thought students were the only ones getting fucked by the Righetti administrative staff and the goddamn school board.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Cop who choked Eric Garner to death NOT indicted
Medical officials ruled Garner's death a homicide when he was choked to death by police. No regular chokehold should completely cut off a person's airway. If you are holding onto someone so hard that they can't breathe, you are aware of how tight your hold is. Despite Garner's cries that he couldn't breathe, the officer did not loosen his grip. The officer who killed him just got away completely free, no repercussions.
Garner's "crime" was selling untaxed cigarettes, and he lost his life for it.
See more: http://www.vice.com/read/a-grand-jury-just-decided-not-to-indict-the-cop-who-put-eric-garner-in-a-lethal-chokehold-1203?utm_source=vicefbus
I call this murder. What about you?
Here is video of his death:
Garner's "crime" was selling untaxed cigarettes, and he lost his life for it.
See more: http://www.vice.com/read/a-grand-jury-just-decided-not-to-indict-the-cop-who-put-eric-garner-in-a-lethal-chokehold-1203?utm_source=vicefbus
I call this murder. What about you?
Here is video of his death:
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
INTRO TO POETRY
"Alone" by Edgar Allan Poe
1. The title "Alone" perfectly represents the tone and themes of the poem.
2. The tone of this poem is depressing and lonely.
3. My mood was the same as that of the poem.
4. There is a shift in technique but not really in theme. The first half of the poem details how the narrator since childhood has felt different from other people. The second half uses metaphors to represent his feelings.
5. The main themes of this poem are loneliness, being an outcast, and depression.
Here he express his difference compared to other people and how it has left him lonely.
"From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone."
1. The title "Alone" perfectly represents the tone and themes of the poem.
2. The tone of this poem is depressing and lonely.
3. My mood was the same as that of the poem.
4. There is a shift in technique but not really in theme. The first half of the poem details how the narrator since childhood has felt different from other people. The second half uses metaphors to represent his feelings.
5. The main themes of this poem are loneliness, being an outcast, and depression.
Here he express his difference compared to other people and how it has left him lonely.
"From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)