Merry What's-its-name

Merry Something something, one and all!

I had a delightful conversation with a loquacious one-legged black pigeon yesterday, and he was very insightful. He said "Why don't you feed me, you mopey bastard?"

We

We are, above all, children. We come from different breeds, different backgrounds, different ethnicities, but regardless, we remain children. We are molded and shaped by what we experience, either beaten to a disfigured pulp or sculpted into paragons, but we will always be children. We can feign adulthood by dressing ourselves up in expensive clothes and insisting on sagacity, but we will almost always find fart jokes funny. That is both the beauty and terror of humanity: that we maintain a level of perpetual childhood within us.

It is beautiful because, what is a child if not curious? If not adventurous? A child can ask simple yet complex questions, such as "what is light made of," and work all his/her life in search of that answer, because that childhood yearning for knowledge will always remain. Children are the most miraculous of creatures because they will always find fun and wonder in the simplest of activities.

But childhood presents a two-faced portrait, because while a child can be exceptional, he/she can also be terrible. All children have wants, throw tantrums, demand attention, and act in various ways that might not be socially acceptable; it is up to the parent to teach the child. After all, we all start as blank palettes upon which our parents paint; if our parents demonstrate a particular dexterity with painting, teaching us how to be good people not just in our own interest but in the interest of others, we should grow to be respectable, friendly people. Contrarily, if a parent paints a picture of supremacy or cannot imbue some sense of empathy to their child, then that child is likely to view anyone different from them as unworthy. If the parent does not bother with the child, then the child will never know what it is to be a good person; the same goes for abusive parents.

There are too many bent and broken children, either due to their parents or their peers. Some end up labeling these children as "crazy" or "insane" or a plethora of definitions to explain their behavior, but nothing will ever be as accurate as "broken" or "unloved". It is a hollow, gut-wrenching, shred-your-insides feeling to be this way, because all these children want is love and friendship.

So before you call someone "weird" because they are alone, or dress in a different way, or do something differently, ask them why. Ask them why, not because you're offended or trying to offend them, but because you're genuinely curious. We are all children, after all, and our curiosity knows no bounds.

That's all for now, 
Das Flüg

Ramble bramble

I solemnly believe, with every fiber of my being, that if you look back upon all my posts and trace some kind of common variable throughout them all, you'd find that I'm gradually descending into a macabre and isolated insanity. That, or I just realized that I am actually growing up and that I am not really qualified to work, well, almost anywhere.
Because honestly, what does a B.A. in Political Science bring you aside from unemployment? Unless there are some great connections you have, or you somehow stand out from the other several hundred Political Science students, then congratulations, you have joined me in the 99% of Political Science students who will end up working in a job they never intended. It might be sales, it might be investments, it might even be landscaping, but regardless, we'll most likely not end up working somewhere we ever expected.
Does that mean we'll hate the job? Not necessarily, no, but it's a large kick in the shins to what we once expected ourselves to do. So, how is it possible to stand out from the hoi polloi of those of us with a really expensive (and useless) piece of paper that qualifies us for "political science"?

• Learn another language. Learn three. Learn six. 
• Do research. Do lots and lots of research.
• Be assiduous.
• Be multifaceted. Join organizations that might be polar opposites. Show a wide range of interests.
• Get a good job/internship, be gregarious, make connections.
• Don't be arrogant. Don't be presumptuous. Never contend that you "know how the world works," because that's something that has been debated since, well, probably Thucydides.
• Get five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. This is more for general health than anything else.

In other words, don't do a degree just because you have no clue what else to do.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Falling behind

Well, Obama won. Yeah, old news, I know, but I haven't posted in a while, so be patient with me. Actually, there are some allegations that there were some machinations set in place by Karl Rove (and his various peeps) to rig the election in Ohio that were nixed by...someone. I don't know much about it, so I'm not going to talk my ass off about it. It is an interesting postulation, but, as always, take it with a grain of salt, as you should do for everything.

Anyway, the other big event occurring is the current clash between Palestine and Israel. To take sides on such a thing is a divisive action among friends, because attitudes for both sides are largely entrenched in upbringing, religion, and personal values. To some, there can only ever be the two sides diametrically opposed with no middle ground, which leaves little hope for a peaceful solution. In order to truly understand the conflict, one must look into the history of the area, and that is certainly a storied one by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, ancient history can only go so far to provide reasoning for a present context.

To understand the present context, one must start with the end of WWII and the partition of Palestine. I'm not going to go into it all since there is a large amount of literature on it; learning that is up to you. But, just know that, at the time, there were millions of displaced Jews across Europe with nowhere to go, and the UN partitioned Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, leading to a civil war with an eventual victory for the Jewish state of Israel. Fast forward through several wars to the present day (apologies for this, but again, the history is too long for me to go into), and Israel has Gaza, the largest city in the Palestinian Territories, under blockade. There are health and sanitation issues in the city because of the blockade, so naturally an anti-Israel party (Hamas) wins the election for the city. The conflict has thus evolved from there.

Here is a video explaining one viewpoint.

Here is another interesting video. I highly recommend watching it.

That's all, honestly. Voicing an opinion is likely to elicit extremes, anger, insults, etc. I don't care for any of that; if you can't be civil and constructive in a discussion then you have no place in that discussion at all.

Divide

A tale of two lovers is bereft a smile,
but never completely of happiness;
a tale of two lovers is a switch or a dial,
turned with capricious scarcity.

Two lovers meet just as they always do,
as two pawns on a chessboard cross paths;
one takes the other, or they take each other,
but that small spark cannot last.

Separated by distance and desire,
they yearn to return to the board; 
so that they might cross paths again
and feel that spark once more.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, so they say,
 but that is certainly not true;
distance makes the heart tremble with isolation,
and wish for nothing else but you.

Distance is anathema to the two lovers,
and that they certainly know;
they want to bridge the distance by any means,
but the distance separates them even more.

Soon they realize their problem,
and resign to their local lives once more;
the lovers forget the loved,
but the mind weighhs heavily against the heart.

An idle mind is man's greatest treasure,
but for a lover it is a poison;
his mind will wander away from life as it is,
and resign itself into her embrace.

The mind will always know its desires
even when the heart does not;
and his mind will always desire her,
but his heart will beat reluctance.

The two lovers, separated by distance
are destined to meet once more?
They should say no, no, not once more,
because once will never be enough.

London Bridge

Graduate school. If you want to go to graduate school, prepare to read more than you ever have about things you most likely will forget a week after you read them. It's actually ludicrous how much reading I have assigned to me each week (a reading list a page long or more for each class per week), so I advise you, if you are considering going to get a Master's or a PhD, please consider what the hell you're getting that degree in. A hard science? You won't have to read much, most likely. Liberal arts? Prepare your sleeping bags for a library sleepover.

Aside from my Graduate's Lament, I finished my book and sent it off to Harper. Of course, I then read through it and realized that it should have had some editing done. So, now I just wait for three months or so to hear from them. If I do hear from them, there will probably be news reports of a man flying around London without any wings or aid. If I don't hear from them, there will probably be news reports of a man who jumped out of his window and landed on the street below.

Well, no, I probably won't commit suicide if it's not accepted, because thankfully there are other options in this new high-tech, internet-ty, Amazonian market world: self-publishing through Amazon. Now I just need to find someone to do some cover art. Any takers? Please? I don't want to end up making my own crappy covers in Microsoft Paint. Granted, I will try to only use the most symmetrical shapes, but I somehow doubt it would be as nice as someone who actually knows graphic design.

Oh, and US politics is the greatest comedy enacted on mankind.

That be all for this hour of the day,
Das Flüg

A Debate in 8 Pictures

A friendly debate between me and a friend. I'm in the blue, not because I'm a democrat, but because blue is my favorite color.