....Sarah Palin may be edging closer to a 2012 presidential run, telling Fox News "I would give it a shot" if the American people think she's "the one"....
Shes not.
I know that there was lots of insincere joking about this if Bush got elected, but let me make it clear that I am very very serious. I swear that if Sarah Palin becomes President of the United States of America, I will leave for some other place.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Be Nice
It really makes sense to be nice.
Yes, I admit that being crude or snobby or cruel or gossipy or snide or irreverent can earn you a cheap laugh and affirming sneer-smiles of your friends who are also in on the joke. But that doesn't mean its the right way to be.
Being nice is hard sometimes (especially in comparison to how easy it is to be mean) but there are two very good reasons for it. The first is that you have your own flaws. By harping on those of others you are inviting attacks on yourself. Perhaps one reason people feel it is OK to make fun of others is that they are not in tune with their own failings; imagine you and your secret inadequacies are the brunt of joke. Secondly, being nice even though crassness would seem to fit builds a culture of trust, openness and respect. You there, the 23 year old! You may not care about those values now, but I've been to the future and you are sorely mistaken.
So the next time a good zinger pops into your head, put down the fastball and throw a complement instead.
Yes, I admit that being crude or snobby or cruel or gossipy or snide or irreverent can earn you a cheap laugh and affirming sneer-smiles of your friends who are also in on the joke. But that doesn't mean its the right way to be.
Being nice is hard sometimes (especially in comparison to how easy it is to be mean) but there are two very good reasons for it. The first is that you have your own flaws. By harping on those of others you are inviting attacks on yourself. Perhaps one reason people feel it is OK to make fun of others is that they are not in tune with their own failings; imagine you and your secret inadequacies are the brunt of joke. Secondly, being nice even though crassness would seem to fit builds a culture of trust, openness and respect. You there, the 23 year old! You may not care about those values now, but I've been to the future and you are sorely mistaken.
So the next time a good zinger pops into your head, put down the fastball and throw a complement instead.
Realizing Greatness While It Is Happening
One of the most important perceptual skills is the ability to recognize greatness while it is happening.
Comprehending beauty during its appearance, not after. Appreciating the sublime in the moment.
I notice how this is so important because the lack of this skill is something I dont like about myself when I see it. The standard story of college was I would show up to the first day of class excited, let the quarter pass me by, and then spend finals week cramming but also morning the end of what I realized was a great class. I don't think I forgo talking with professors until the end is near because I am lazy so much as I only realize how much I actually do love learning from them when they are about to be done.
With the realization that you are in the presence of greatness comes responsibility. If you are on a mediocre team, there is no reason to put in extra work outside of practice but you see that you are a part of an amazing group, then it is obvious that you should try extra hard to earn your roster spot.
The qunticential phrasing of this idea is the often heard:
...You had the uncharted world laid out before you. All you saw was infinite possibility, and yet you took it all for granted because that was all you knew...
Oh how we cherish the idea of our past youth, kicking ourselves for not appreciating it. But if this cliche is true, shouldn't it also be true that:
I don't think its necessarily true that we are destined to always fail in appreciating the wonder at hand but I know that it is a constant challenge.
Comprehending beauty during its appearance, not after. Appreciating the sublime in the moment.
I notice how this is so important because the lack of this skill is something I dont like about myself when I see it. The standard story of college was I would show up to the first day of class excited, let the quarter pass me by, and then spend finals week cramming but also morning the end of what I realized was a great class. I don't think I forgo talking with professors until the end is near because I am lazy so much as I only realize how much I actually do love learning from them when they are about to be done.
With the realization that you are in the presence of greatness comes responsibility. If you are on a mediocre team, there is no reason to put in extra work outside of practice but you see that you are a part of an amazing group, then it is obvious that you should try extra hard to earn your roster spot.
The qunticential phrasing of this idea is the often heard:
"Youth is wasted on the young."
...You had the uncharted world laid out before you. All you saw was infinite possibility, and yet you took it all for granted because that was all you knew...
Oh how we cherish the idea of our past youth, kicking ourselves for not appreciating it. But if this cliche is true, shouldn't it also be true that:
"Life is wasted on the living?"
I don't think its necessarily true that we are destined to always fail in appreciating the wonder at hand but I know that it is a constant challenge.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Hi Again, Finally Being in Their Shoes
I'm going to try to pick these up again and HOPEFULLY write about non-Ultimate things; I do enough of that as it is. I'll start with a general one:
I realize that as much as I am "learning about myself", I am constantly learning about other's "selve's". This is not the same as learning about people, but finally experiencing what they might experience and realizing that the thing they did which seemed so weird at the time is actually a very reasonable response to the situation they were in.
More and more I am seeing all the human conditions which seemed weird before, now appear normal because I have acted them out. Whenever you just can't understand why someone is acting so strange, have some empathy - you may very well do the same if you are in their shoes.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
E=MC^2 is a Liberal Conspiracy
Faceplam
Wow, it is scary to think that I share a representative government with people like that. More so that I share highways with people like that! In both, I put my well-being partially in the hands of strangers assuming that they are not totally crazy and will look out for me. People that out of touch with reality freak me out.
Wow, it is scary to think that I share a representative government with people like that. More so that I share highways with people like that! In both, I put my well-being partially in the hands of strangers assuming that they are not totally crazy and will look out for me. People that out of touch with reality freak me out.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Advice
The workout you dread the most is probably the one you need the most. Embrace the pain.
Elite athletes are not defined by their miles times or bench press PRs, but when their mid-workout, glazed over 1,000yd stare fades and sharpens to a 3-inch glare. A 3-inch glare straight into the eyes of the beast, for now they stand nose-to-nose, toe-to-toe with their limits and are not backing down.
Elite athletes are not defined by their miles times or bench press PRs, but when their mid-workout, glazed over 1,000yd stare fades and sharpens to a 3-inch glare. A 3-inch glare straight into the eyes of the beast, for now they stand nose-to-nose, toe-to-toe with their limits and are not backing down.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tragedy
Tragedy is not the conflict between right and wrong, but the conflict between two rights.
Its is a eventually painfully shattered childhood myth that if only all the wrong in the world could be defeated we'd all be fine and dandy. Woe is the man confronted by his enemy Truth when his weapon is the same.
Its is a eventually painfully shattered childhood myth that if only all the wrong in the world could be defeated we'd all be fine and dandy. Woe is the man confronted by his enemy Truth when his weapon is the same.
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