art review

The art I would like to review is the Kirby on the second floor of the arts building in the corner near the stairs. Whoever made it, I give the props to. So life like. I was walking along, minding my own business, and then I saw it and nearly yelled. What the hell is Kirby doing here I woulda yelled. But then on closer inspection I found it to be an art piece. It was very well done, most likely made with paper Mache and wire to build the frame. It was well done, and different. You don’t really expect to see a Kirby, alone, in a corner of a building. No art around it, or a story to tell, or any special meaning that I can ascertain from its size, shape, color, position, or environment it is in. It’s really just a Kirby in a corner. It’s not supposed to make you ponder social change or inequality in the world. It’s purely art for the sake of being art and fun to look at it. All the art to make you open your eyes, that’s not art in my opinion, that’s someone’s opinion cleverly disguised to worm into you and influences you. A Kirby, that’s just someone making it to make another person laugh or enjoy. That’s the kind of art you need more of.

we have the right

We have the right to do a lot of things. We also have a responsibility to do a lot of things. Right and responsibility seem to go hand in hand most times. Some rights are overlooked, or curtailed, limited. Like the right to bear arms. Except we can’t really. Legally. Most laws in this case vary from state to state, but correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe you can carry one in Illinois. Or perhaps even have one in your home. Since there isn’t really hunting in the city of Chicago, I’m not sure how you would justify having a rifle in your house. I know you can have a shotgun in your house for home defense in some places. But the laws to which when you can use it and the legal ramifications if you fire it are so convoluted nowadays, I would never even bother to own one with the laws how they are today. I heard a story about an old woman who shot an intruder in her own home, at night. He broke in. The twist is after she shot him, HE sued HER. And won. What a world we live in. It’s a scary thought that could happen. The fact that someone could break in your house and sue you if you retaliate is upsetting. I saw one law was entitled “make my day” and detailed if someone is in your house, you have the right to use force to remove the threat. No one would burglarize homes then.

McCarthys birthday week

I am doing this blog entry a bit later than the actual birthday week, I know. But who can forget the good times we had. There were many jokes made at Mr. McCarthy’s expense, as per usual, and from the usual people. The most common being about his bathroom, heated floors, jets from the shower walls, his sauce making, his straps. Mr. McCarthy has become quite the figure recently. Most of jokes originate from one of two people usually, and some might say “hey, why we don’t change it up a bit.” Screw whoever said that. I don’t know who they are, but how dare they. No right. The jokes have been pretty funny, and the retaliation from McCarthy, mostly against..kennay? Not sure how to spell it. But those have been the most funny. The quotes on the board. Nonsensical ramblings ending with Mr. McCarthy just laughing at him. Too funny.

x is known

First thing that comes to mind, very first impression, math. I love math. Malcolm X is the next thing to come to mind. X is known…well obviously he is. Most people have a very different view on him. Some people view him as a violent rebel anarchist, using violence as a means to an end while other better received figures, Martin Luther King, used nonviolence to try to obtain the same thing. While other people view him as the best kind of leader, one who inspired change by any means necessary and wasn’t content to just politely ask for something they needed, but to go out and take it. And still yet, to others, “X” is not known. They don’t really know anything about him. My opinion and me “knowing X” changed after this class. I had never really studied him before, and I just heard about him in passing, and the things said were not nice. My opinion about him before and after the book and movie are two completely different things. I personally understand wanting change or something in general and willing to do anything to get it. Of course, my personal wants and needs are far outweighed by Malcolm X’s dedication to his goal. Even when his idol, the basis upon which he as a person was based, was shattered, he carried on. He still lived by his philosophy.

x marks the spot

X marks the spot. The first thing I think of is pirates. I would be suspicious of someone’s social development if the first thing they thought of was unrelated to buried treasure and pirates. They must have had a deprived childhood. I realize that that is most likely not what this blog title was meant to inspire, as we have not covered pirates in philosophy as of yet. This is probably referring to the man and legend Malcolm X, though as to the “marks the spot” I cannot really figure out how that relates to Malcolm X and NOT be a reference to pirates. Perhaps this is trying to get me to question if Malcolm X was in fact a pirate. I don’t see how he would have the time; perhaps he was a pirate of the mind. Not sure what that means. Some philosophical stuff in this blog entry. Perhaps this is also referring to how people always looked to Malcolm x for something they wanted. Like, if they were searching for meaning or a purpose they would look for him, much like a pirate would search for treasure. Malcolm X was the “X” marking the spot for some people trying to find some sense of purpose or meaning in their life. These blogs probably make me look too far into things. It probably was about pirates the WHOLE time and you were just trying to mess with me.

album review

An album to definitly listen to is the one entitled “recovery” by Eminem. Many people didn’t like his first reappearance album “relapse”, their favorite album still remaining his third studio album Marshall Mathers LP, which is also my favorite. But giving his old album a run for its money, “recovery” is an amazing work, a group of songs that are just beautiful to behold. Stan, one of Eminems best songs in my humble opinion, backed by the many fans who share the same view as me, will probably never be topped. But “beautiful” off of his new album is such a great song. If you haven’t checked out his new album yet, your probably not a fan of his anyway. Even if you’re not a fan, still check it out. This album has a completely different sound to it then his “relapse” album, which had a more sinister, gunshots and chainsaws kind of vibe to them. Most of his songs involved blood, rape, and dismemberment. “Recovery” carries almost none of that in it, going back to his older style, and his older style is why he is such a well known figure. The songs somehow carry less of a heavy weight top them like his previous album did, and he even addresses the difference in one of his songs claiming that in his last album he was still flushing the drugs out of his system. Overall, “recovery” is one of his great works and anyone who is a fan of his style of music should check it out.

i Know this means something

It seems it’s fairly easy to become desensitized in today’s society to emotions, such as horror at seeing a murder or awe at some momentous natural event like a volcano eruption. This is probably because of the media, and the way the information is given to us. Or perhaps it’s the games we play growing up, call of duty and dead space making us into emotionless beings. (Which I don’t agree with, one look at me and you can tell call of duty has a firm place in my weekend enjoyment routine) Whatever the reason, it would be debated into the ends of earth, so I won’t give a reason. What I will say is that it’s hard in modern society to see or hear something and say “that means something.” People rarely see a sight or hear a sentence and feel moved on a profound level, perhaps because there are less sights and great things said nowadays. Or maybe the people themselves have changed and are bloated entitled children who are never pleased or content and are always crying over something. Again, whatever the reason, the fact still remains that myself personally, have seen a lot and heard a lot of things, but I haven’t really been moved by anything. No event or scene or sentence has made me stop and examine what that means to the whole. Perhaps others may have something, a birth of a sibling, a cave they went into and found cave people or something. But it hasn’t happened to me, and I don’t really feel a loss to not have experienced something of that nature.

The Ultimate Recipe.

This recipe requires little work to make, but is the best food I could ever want. You could also make lots of it, and quickly. If you’re hungry for something great tasting RIGHT NOW, then this is for you. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with the crust cut off. Or, perhaps if you have the round flat bread, it has no crust already which cuts the production time in half. Add peanut butter to one side, enough to cover the bread, and jelly to the other, as much as you like. I prefer jelly over peanut butter so I adjust the ratio. Glass of milk on the side is a perfect compliment to the peanut butter. Don’t ask why, it just is. BUT. Pay attention. If you happen to have brownies, add it in. a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with brownie is the most glorious thing ever. You may need two glasses of milk now. And tissues, to wipe the tears of joy from your face as you eat the heavenly thing you have just created. Most people’s response to a PB&J with more B is that of disdain. I don’t like those people. They are sad, uniform; every day is just another day kinda people. Every day is NOT just another day when your day involves eating a special PB&J.

Good food review

Well. A review of good food is pretty easy. My favorite food happens to be a pb&j with the crust cut off, a breakfast club quote, but true nonetheless. I make this myself, so no restaurant review for that. My favorite restaurant will probably be Brazzaz. Its one of those brazilion steak houses where they walk around to your table with big ole cuts of meat. They ask you if you would like to try some ______ to which the polite and only response is “yes” and they carve a piece out and plop it on your plate. Repeat this step about a hundred times, and you are full. I love how it just comes endlessly until you admit defeat and surrender. You never even have to get up. I always hated that about buffets and all you can eat situations. I had to actually get up OUT of my seat to go fill my face with food. Bullhockey I say, bring the meats to ME. This is why I love brazzaz. They just UNDERSTAND me. They get it. The waiters are polite, and the atmosphere is very nice. if a cut of meat you want isn’t being presented to you at a high enough rate, you may also request cuts to be delivered to you. What else do you even need in life? They probably offer meat cutting and chewing services for you as well, though I have never tried them.

King still king?

If this refers to actual kings, I would hope so. If I king were no longer king, he must have been overthrown. Because although I am not completely sure, im fairly confident kings serve for life. If a king was no longer king, he would have to have been a terrible leader, or the victim of some cruel and uncalled for civil unrest that took away his king ship. The fact that he is still alive to be able to be not a king is also worth mentioning. Perhaps he wasn’t overthrown, maybe he stepped down and is peacefully living out his days in some Scottish countryside, watching the cows eat grass and the bagpipes play their little songs that they play. I have never heard of a king stepping down, so this is not very likely at all. Maybe he is still king, then the answer to the question would be yes, the king is still king. Maybe this is a common greeting in some places, or perhaps a sarcastic statement. Such as “did you take out the trash billy?” (sarcastically) billy-“is the king still king?” this would be such a good thing to say if we had a king! I would use it daily. Alas, we do not possess one, our king, which we never had, is not still king. That satirical statement remains forever barred from me and my using of it shunned, unless we adopt that kind of government.

Im a shoe

It would suck to be a shoe. Feet are naturally not very nice appendages of the body, but after walking around all day, they are less than nice. Their practically inhuman. And the SOLE (get it? Sole?) purpose of a shoe is to be stepped in. and perhaps you all are different, but I cast my shoes aside when I am done uncaringly and unlovingly. The shoes must feel so used and abused, so neglected, if they had the minds and the ability to form thought and move, im sure they would organize a revolt for the poor living and working conditions they endure day in and day out. Some get worn down so much they fall apart. Where do they go? Some sort of shoe retirement home? Nope. The garbage. Then they are replaced and forgotten, in shambles, alone in the trash bag until they disintegrate a millennia from now, back into the earth from whence they came. If I were a shoe, id be really angry, all the time. It would be difficult to hold a conversation with me because I would be so mad, and I would be a shoe. Next time your out walking, show a little love to your shoes. Give them a holler and a say hello. How is your day shoe? Tell it a joke perhaps.

Winter poem

Winter is quite cold
the cold is not very fun
winter is not fun

Globalization

I love it. I love the idea of being able to share ideas with other countries easily and quickly. I love the idea that ideas can be shared with everyone in the world very quickly. I also love how a specialized good developed in china, say, an xbox 7200, can be in my house for a very low price. Anyone who criticizes this glorious process is probably citing people, not the system itself. Hate the players, not the game itself. If globalism has drawbacks, it arises from the people, not the system itself. All those people who yell about the “big corporations” taking over the world. I look at them funny. I personally love big business. A business is able to become “big” by being successful. No company in the world exists to not be successful. But the ones that DO become successful, are then hailed as demons of the world. Just like people who support non mainstream artists who the second they make it big and finally become successful like they want to, the people hate them for “selling out”. I dislike those people, they are confused about how the world is and how it operates. The international connectivity between countries and the businesses therein is great for the world. If your country makes really crappy bread but great toasters, share your bread in exchange for another countries great toasters, and you have the best of both worlds now.

Sports in my life

Seeing as I don’t play any sports myself, besides the occasional casual football game with friends, sports aren’t a very big part of my life. I watch my favorite teams play football, their names being the chargers and bears, but after that brutal loss to the packers, the bears position on this list is looking quite precarious indeed. Some people, such as the people who posted videos of them burning cutler jerseys after the bears game, are deeply involved with sports, much more so than i. I cannot picture myself burning a sports jersey because I am upset a player I have never met in my life. I personally cannot perform anywhere NEAR a professionals level at football, so who am I to criticize someones playing during a game, however terrible it is. A hater, that’s who I would be. No one likes a hater. This holds true for other sports as well, but I cite football because it’s the one sport I know best. I don’t even remotely get into baseball or soccer games as much as I do good ole football. Football isn’t always on my mind, all I ever think about, and its not even a good protion of my life, I enjoy it, just like I enjoy movies and playing poker, and I guess it plays an equal, if not lesser role in my life than those activities do.

Thankful for a classmate

I am thankful for all of my classmates, as they make school not so unbearable as to discourage me from showing up. Some more than others obviously, and some much less than others. Imagine what school would be like WITHOUT class mates? Well, for one, you would be completely alone. One on one time with a teacher is already frightening, but that would be your life EVERYDAY for every class. No one to talk to about problems or something funny you saw on tv last night. No one to talk to at lunch or making silly jokes other people would just look at you weird and uncomprehendingly for making. No one to make plans with to go to the movies later or go paintballing this weekend. Thank the lord for classmates, what would I do without them? be extremely bored, that’s what. I cant really just pick out ONE person to be thankful for, that’s just plain cruel to ask. Theres so many people, in fact, almost all of them to be thankful for. Some people, a very small number, not thankful for. But that’s such a small number, its insignificant, a statistical anomaly barely worth mentioning but will be anyway. The one classmate I definitely am thankful for is my good friend nick. Other than that, there would be so many to name, I would surely forget some and feelings would be hurt.

Open letter to cormac mccarthy

If I could write a letter to cormac mccarthy, it would contain me gushing about ho much I loved the road. I read the book and had seen the movie prior to this class, and so when I found out we would be reading it, I was extremely pleased. The movie adds pictures to the some of the parts of the novel that you would have trouble picturing in your head, like the overall look of a complete wasteland, how skinny they actually were, etc. but the movie is not the main point. The book is where the personal conflict exists, where the details and little things that a movie cant service are. Cormac does a very good job writing, even by my spoiled standards I obtained from reading Stephen king novels, who is one of my favorite authors. Cormac does a great job at describing the horrific scenes in the novel so you could picture the whole book in your head as you read. When the father dies, you almost feel heartbroken yourself, which shows how deeply he has drawn you into the story of the boy and his father surviving the never named but always looming post apocalyptic wasteland. Such an amazing and descriptive novel, and it’s a shame I have enver read any of his other works. I hear that blood meridian is an excellent novel, though im not entirely sure what its about.

A direction the class needs

A classroom is a place for learning, but it doesn’t have to be a boring place for learning. The subject of philosophy is already an interesting one, and we have been watching movies and reading books like “the road” that are really well written and cause you to stop and think, so far, this class is very good. But other classes, like psychology where we haven’t learned any psychology at all because the teacher claims she got bored of teaching it and now wants to teach whatever she feels like, is not so much. Were learning statistics now in that class. I feel as though THAT class needs a new direction, or at least a direction at all. Perhaps one Mr. Mccarthy could give a little talking to on the finer points of actually teaching the class that someone signs up for. School isn’t like roulette, round and round it goes, what class you will be taught, nobody knows. As long as the next semester has interesting readings and perhaps a movie or two to spread the fun throughout the long readings, the class will remain quite enjoyable to be a part of. The road was such a good book, and candied was surprisingly good considering I thought it was going to be terrible, books like those are great.

Father and son, mother and son.

I cant really write about father and daughter, mother and daughter very well, because I don’t know about that relationship. I know from my ex gfs that you don’t mess with the father daughter relationship, and that’s all I really needed to know. A relationship between a father and son is quite different. My father is the open one, the one to say “go out and have fun, seeya when you get home”. Somehow, I think the conversation is quite different when a father talks to his daughter. My mother is the “who are you going with, how long are you staying, don’t do anything bad, call me” etc. if its like this for me, I imagine it’s the same for the daughters of the world. The mother daughter relationship must be similar to the father son relationship in which the parents encourage the child to have fun and to not worry about the other parent. Im not 100% sure, but it just seems right that this is how the family system is set up. If the same converse relationship is a standard, then the father in the daughter relationship must be the disciplinarian, while the mother is the last resort, tell her if you have to kind of punisher. In my family, the mother is the day to day, don’t do your chores get yelled at parent. But if something really bad happens, the father is brought in to back up the other parent. Its probably vice versa with a daughter.

How do I know what I know?

I know what I know because it was told to me. Or I discovered it for myself. I know a pan is hot when it has been heated by fire not because someone told me it was, although im sure sometime in my life someone has, but because I touched it. And it was most certainly hot. Other things that I cant possibly discover for myself, such as the earth is round and not just a flat surface in space and if I venture too far off one side, oops, I fall into the abyss that is space, I take on good faith. You have to base what you know on trust. This is true for all aspects of your life, but especially in this one. If you cant trust someone, than most of what you know becomes false. And you degrade into a hermit sitting alone questioning why a chair has four legs instead of three, and no one wants that. If a book that is given to me in school says that the earth is round, I have to take it on good faith to be a true statement. It doesn’t mean I have to believe EVERYTHING I am fed has to be true, you have to be your own judge on the matter. If a man on the street tells me the aliens are coming, I disregard this statement as false. Do I know for a fact they aren’t coming? No, but can I assume the man is crazy? You bet.