Brain..cells...leaving..........gone.

For a split second I thought it might be fun to irritate my U.S. Gov't teacher by pointing out flaws in what she was teaching.  Just for a second.

But then reality came flooding back in..

This class is 

so. 

bloody. 

useless.

brainless.

a waste.

Not only is the curriculum far, far, far below a high-school level, but the teacher is far, far, far below healthy brain capacity.  She is a zoobie through and through, which means she forgot a long time ago how to think for herself.  She has handed her mind over to anyone who wants to indoctrinate it.  And as such, it is impossible to hold an intelligent argument with her.  You can make as many valid points as you like but she merely brushes them aside and says, "Hmm, maybe.  But the book says..."

Unfortunately, she is the standard in our education system.  She teaches us the exact same things which were taught to her years earlier.  She regurgitates key phrases like "checks and balances" "We the People" "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".  

And do we learn anything from that?  No, of course not.  It merely makes us one more product of the education system.  Then we can grow up and regurgitate the same things to the next generation.

So basically I hate that the system perpetuates itself.  People become apathetically programmable and will believe anything they are taught.  They never question whether the newspapers are actually reporting fact or whether they're unbiased, they never question whether they should really vaccinate their child, they never question whether police actually have the interest of the people in mind.  They merely accept what is being fed to them.  I can't stand people who won't think for themselves, people who won't seek out alternatives to the mind-numbing regurgitation of media and mass education!

Gah!  Sorry for the rant....

I'm dropping that class and teaching myself.

edit:  Krystal pointed out to me that I make it sound as if I'm criminalizing everyone who vaccinates their child or trusts in the police system.  I'm not.  I merely wish that people would learn about topics well enough that they can arrive at their own well-educated conclusion.

HOPE! CHANGE! AMERICA!

Bloody Heavens!

Do you have any idea how sick I am of hearing about Obama's inaugural address?!

I watched it live.  I watched a recording.  I analyzed his rhetorical strategies.  I dissected the ways in which he appeals to rich, poor, white, black, atheist, and baptist.  I searched for his subtle references to past presidential speeches.  etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

It is really getting old.

I didn't examine his speech for fun.  No.  I was forced to 'ooh' and 'aah' over the whole affair because it was "an historical event", a "milestone in our history".  Because he is "such a skilled orator".   Well of course he is a skilled orator!  He is a skilled everything!  He pays people big money to make him that way.

It is almost ridiculous how effectively he has been marketed.  From the very beginning news channels and papers were pushing his image.  Even at his inaugural address he was strategically branded.  

Take the musical number for example, you've got an African-American, a French-born Chinese-American, a cripple from Tel Aviv, and a Venezuelan--We should all forget our differences.

Then there was the benediction (which was almost insulting) delivered by a civil-rights contemporary of MLK, Jr.--He recognizes his roots.

Obama's wife and daughters were decked out in bright, spring colors which were in striking contrast with his own somber attire--especially important because our nation is facing hard times.  While Obama's staff wore bright blue neckties he sported a dark crimson.  Heck, Obama doesn't even wear a necktie half of the time in order to promote a "working man" image, he shows that he isn't an "executive snob".

I could continue rambling, but I'm not going to.

I'm just sick of everyone fawning all over him just because he is a great orator.  Let me remind you that Hitler and Satan were both great orators.  Rhetorical skills don't mean you have peoples' best interest in mind.

Oh!  And I get to watch the Inaugural Address again tomorrow! yay!

Heart of Darkness

I finished reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness a while back.

I really enjoyed it, even though it was written in a style that I usually dislike.  I wouldn't go so far as to say it was a "page-turner", but the story was definitely compelling from beginning to end.

You want to know what's funny about it though?

Nothing happens.

Well, maybe not nothing, but the story itself is very simple:  

A man joins a company that gathers ivory out of Africa.  The man is charged with the job of retrieving Kurtz, an almost legendary ivory trader in the heart of Africa (hence Heart of Darkness).  So after many days piloting a steamboat up the river the man finally finds Kurtz, loads him on the boat and heads back down river.  Kurtz dies en route to Europe.   The End.

Soooo.. I'm pretty sure that I completely missed the message hidden in the story.  You should all read it and tell me what you think... because I'm a bit confused.

Ni !

am i Living, or merely Surviving?

"Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don't need to escape from."

I swiped this from the blog of Rex Vallis.  It is from Tribes by Seth Godin (which I now really want to read!).  Rex Vallis had other cool snippets from Tribes on his blog, but this particular one caught my eye.

This Christmas break was an amazing and much-needed vacation.  I have been able to stay up late, sleep in, and play with friends and family.  There was hardly a thing I needed to worry about.  Two solid weeks of nothing.  Nothing except things I enjoy.

But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Wait a minute!  Is that really true?

When I saw the quote above it made me wonder, "Why do I hate the life I live?  Why don't I enjoy it more?  Why do I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels?  Why don't I take time to do enjoyable things?"  I'm not talking about the staying up late and sleeping in.  I'm talking about painting for the sake of enjoyment and playing a game of Risk with my brothers just for fun.  I'm talking about going sledding with my friends because it is free, going to bed on time so I don't feel rushed in the mornings, visiting the art museum more often, and keeping my room clean so I can be comfortable in it.

I suppose what I am really talking about is simply getting a hold on my life.  

I hardly feel like I should be saying this, because I'm the King of procrastination.  But I feel that if I can just get on top of things I would find everything I do much more enjoyable.

So this year my goals are geared towards setting up a life that I don't need to escape from.  A life that is productive, creative, and enjoyable.