Philoso-FIN (see what I did there? Mixed subjects here), and many other quandaries.

Well. I got my first quiz back in Philosophy. As soon as I saw it, I dreaded telling my mother...I knew she'd manage to make a point on how she told me I should have taken a math class instead.

I was TOLD by my advisor that art students could take Intro to Moral Philosophy as a math credit. It sounded so simple; so easy. I figured I would just learn the material and tune out for the most part, as I generally disagree with most of the opinions stated anyway...

Math for art students. PFT. I had forgotten that half of my brain even worked...

I've also decided that it's weird when people say you're acting like an animal. Urban dictionary defines the term "animalistic" as:

acting like an animal or beast. acting crazy. But I ask you this: do animals kill their own? No. Animals are instinctive creatures. They do exactly what they were made to do. They take care of their own. If anything, we should be saying "you're being humanistic." Or "peopleistic".  How crazy is crazy, anyway? I've seen some pretty crazy people... I also want to know why Police radar detectors (that you can buy pretty easily) are not illegal. Riddle me this. Have you ever had that awkward moment when you see someone you know and you wave but they don't wave back? Or when you both have obviously seen each other, but you avoid eye contact and pretend to texts whilst the other does the same? Or...you say the same thing at the same time? "Hey how's it going?" Did that today. Exact same time. On a scale of one to awkward I'd give it a 62.786. Today, a grasshopper attacked my face in my car while I was driving. Needless to say, I was NOT happy with it. I pulled over and when it finally flew outside I prayed that a car would run it over and it would melt to death. I've been off coffee for a week now, and I already feel like I'm detoxing. I need it. I crave it.  Yes, I think abortion is wrong. Yes, I still sometimes catch myself thinking they're saying "Youth-in-Asia". No, I have no concept of politics and don't really intend to start studying such things at a scholarly level. Yes, my professor reminds me of Mr. Frederickson from "UP". There. "And that's my new philosophy!" You're welcome for that reference. Have you ever stared at a word for so long that it starts looking really weird? And you keep saying it over and over again, then all of a sudden the feeling's gone. And it's just a word again. Like, deja word. A writer on crack might know what I'm talking about.  I really, really need some coffee.

Youth in Asia and such savory concepts.

I had forgotten my password; it's been that long since I've blogged.

This semester I am taking French I, Concert Choir, Philosophy and Photography.  One week down, approximately 12,346.49 more to go.

I am also considering learning to cook, among other great scholarly pursuits. Now, my idea of learning to cook would be different than yours. MY idea of learning would be not burning Ramen Noodles. My mom denies it to my face in order to protect my feelings, but she, as well as the part of the house that still has functioning nostrils, knows that I cannot cook. "I have a disconnect of the-brain-to-the-hands" is my personal belief. Perhaps a disconnect of the brain to the brain.

Speaking of brain disconnection...

The other day in Philosophy, my professor was going over the topics we would be discussing over the semester, one of them being Euthanasia. Now. I have heard of this awful thing before...however, I had never really heard exactly what Euthanasia was. So for about a year, I had thought people were saying "Youth in Asia". I couldn't understand why such a noble cause was such a big controversy, and why many wanted young Asian children to be neglected.

...

I really honestly believe God gets a chuckle out of watching us pathetic humans attempt to be geniuses.

Celebrating mediocrity with Dora.

As I was babysitting the other night, I reflected on the ingenuity of Dora the Explorer. The girls were absolutely enthralled. I, on the other hand, was rather skeptical. I'm just going to lay it out here for you. 


1. The Map. As far as creative theme songs go, I think someone was a little lazy in the idea room. In case you haven't heard the Map song, here's how it goes. It gets a little tricky in the bridge, so watch out for that.


"I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm  the map, I'M THE MAP!!!!"


Poets couldn't have lyricized this any better. But in all sarcasm, I felt like I had heard the second line of the song before. And the third. It was like deja vu...about deja vu. Or Inception of a song. I don't care how you want to look at it. It was just...wrong.
After the Map(in case you didn't get his name from the first verse...or was it the chorus?) goes over the places Dora will go in order to save some poor animal about a gazillion times, Dora decides to reiterate it a few more times for you. I don't know if you've heard Brian Regan do this bit, but after watching it, I realized just how true it was. Mediocrity at its best.


Here's the deal.


I want the Map. Not just a Map. THE Map. Except instead of telling me exactly how to get somewhere in the course of just a few landmarks-though doubling as a GPS system would be rather handy-it would tell me what to do in life. This is all strictly hypothetical, of course. God is your GPS. 


2. Dora the Explorer doesn't rhyme. And since it's all about Spanish...wouldn't it make more sense to make her name Dora the Explora?!! Killing two pickles with one turtle, I always say.


3. Okay here's a positive. Teaching the ninos how to speak some espanol. When Dora would excitedly exclaim, "Donde esta?!" I found myself yelling "Es alli!!!!!!!" (I barely pulled through with an A in Spanish class. The only word I really understood and related with was siesta. And fiesta. And nachos). 


4. Swiper. I wish that every robber and villian could be stopped by simply saying, "Robber no robbing!" And he would just snap and say, "aw man!" And walk away. Sadly, this is the culture that is being ingrained into children's minds. 


5. Dora gets to go freaking everywhere. I want adventures like her.


6. Diego. I don't...really know what to say about this kid. He talks to animals. It's like this show is Maya and Miguel in the pre-adolescent stages. (And if you don't know who these wonderful twins are...you are missing some high quality television).


7. Backpack. Refer to #1.


All biting wit and sarcasm aside...it's a great show. I suppose I'm just too literal a person to take Dora the ExplorA seriously. Now...to find the Map...

What I've learned.

At request, I am going to write a post about what I have learned from the Facebook quarantine. 


1. I am so much more productive. It was crazy how much more I was able to get done during the hour/s I would have spent surfing through hundreds of pictures and thinking of seemingly brilliant statuses. I was tempted once or twice to go to Facebook, but I would instead check my email or try to get a task done that was menial but I felt so much better once it was done.


2. I didn't know what was going on sometimes...but I was okay with it. It amazes me how much Facebook has affected the way we communicate. I would find myself in a normal conversation, and then something would pop in unexpectedly. "Did you see that so and so are in a relationship?!!! Oh...you haven't? Well it's on Facebook." I've realized that I sometimes prefer anonymity. Sometimes, I just like to keep my business to myself; to surf the wave of obscurity. I'm sure the same goes for other people. 


3. I wrote some letters. And it felt GOOD. Handwritten letters are a lost art form. Enough said.


4. Facebook has affected the way we perceive others and ourselves. Facebook was created to make networks. Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, was recently named the TIME person of the year (2010). I skimmed this article in TIME (a gatrillion pages long. I had better things to do...like check Facebook). In the article, he states his purpose for Facebook. 


"We're trying to map out what exists in the world," he says. "In the world, there's trust. I think as humans we fundamentally parse the world through the people and relationships we have around us. So at its core, what we're trying to do is map out all of those trust relationships, which you can call, colloquially, most of the time, friendships."


First of all..."colloquially"? I don't quite know what to do with myself. I don't think I'm intelligent enough to even begin to describe the cosmic adventure within that word.


I think that Mark had a beautiful idea. I really do. But sometimes I wonder if we've lost sight of that. Are we really striving to build a community based on trust and a mapping of friendships, or have we fallen into a commercial idea of creating a false image of ourselves? Am I making any semblance of sense? Probably not. But I just feel that we have lost the point in it. It's about connectivity with those we know and love, not trying to build an "empire" of photos and friends.


What have I learned? That a one-on-one conversation with a best friend in a small coffee shop beats a wall post any day. That pictures are beautiful, but the memories within the pictures are even better. And spending hours singing off-key with your best friend in a car is better than hours spent on a chat trying to spew a witty repertoire of...wit. And that maybe Mark Zuckerberg, the analytical mind that is worth millions, can write codes all day...but it will never come close to personal, joyful, sorrowful, expressible, human interaction.