A Break

Hi readers- I'll be taking a break from writing for a short time. Personal matters are not allowing me to post right now. I will be back shortly.

This is a syndicated post from http://www.BrainGrit.com.

The Friendly Skies

Firstly, I am thankful for recent failure of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's in his attempt to take down Flight 253--And what a horrible failure it was. The man basically burned his balls. As an aside, I find that they called the bomb "anatomically congruent." Basically, the bomb looked like his penis.

Secondly, I've enjoyed watching the various cable news panels discussing the failures of airport security and screening procedures. I'm all for heightened security and preventing future loss of life, so I agree with many of the suggestions of the pundits.

However, I've not hear a single person admit publicly that we will never attain 100% safety.

Why is that so hard to accept? The US is comparatively new on the terrorism scene, and perhaps many Americans forget this. Many other countries have dealt with suicide attacks, assassinations, coup d'état, and general social unease for literally centuries. We will never be completely "safe" when flying.

In fact, smoking certainly causes thousands upon thousands more deaths than terrorism attacks ever have, or ever will. Why, then, are we not making a more concerted effort to curb smoking? Or automobile accidents? Or any of the other causes of death that impact our lives on a greater scale than bombs going off on planes?

Money. Fear of traveling impacts the bottom line of our economy in a major way. Oh no, public policy being guided by economic interest? Never!

We as a society will find freedom from terrorism only once we accept that terrorist actions have always been, and will always be, a part of our world. Yes, we should take efforts to minimize risk and damage, but only once our collective fear has abated will we truly triumph.

 

This is a syndicated post from http://www.BrainGrit.com.

MOTM: 12.27.09: Middle School Dating

There are a myriad of problems with dating in middle school. Chief among them is the fact that no lasting relationships are ever made. Therefore, all your doing is hurting yourself in the long run. 99% of the time, teens who date in middle school don't do it out of love for their girlfriend/boyfriend, but because they want to be loved and to conform. Usually this wouldn't be a problem, but sometimes teens take dating a little to seriously and when the inevitable break-up happens, they either become depressed, suicidal, or start self-hurting. That's extremely unhealthy, and will probably be damaging to anyone's social life, which in turn will probably end up depressing them further. Start dating in high school, or even later. Dating in middle school is just a mistake, plain and simple.

This is a syndicated post from http://www.BrainGrit.com.

Maslow & Me

You may recall a wonderful little tidbit from psychology called Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If not, it's the basic concept that people's motivations and needs are instinctively prioritized, from the most basic to the most complex. It places things such as breathing and eating before friendship and family, etc. Here's a pyramid diagram that sums it up:

Thank you WikiPedia, O Great Wellspring of Knowledge for your graphic.

It's interesting that sex is included in the basic Physiological needs. Note, however, that sexual intimacy is on the third tier.

So I was pondering this concept on Christmas day, trying to put into perspective my rather mundane and depressing holiday season. I thought about all the children with their new iPods and gaming consoles, toddlers with colorful rings that squeak, newlyweds with jewelry that sparkles when the light hits it just right . . . And then I turned my mind to the thousands that died that day from starvation, political prisoners being tortured for the sake of torture, the virtual caste system that results from a free-market economy . . .

I thought about how surreal all of this is. And how unfair it is. And again, how surreal it is.

And then I thought about how small our planet is in the vast expanse known as the universe, and beyond the universe, and all of existence; I am tiny compared to my house, compared to my state, to my world, and then to that universe. 

And then even the thousands that died of hunger are nothing when compared to all of existence.

And then suddenly I turned my mind's eye away from the subject of my thought and to the act of thinking itself, and realized I was suspended in that top blue tier of the pyramid. How depressing is it that I'm depressed about things within the blue pyramid? How selfish is it that I am lonely or desperate for validation or looking for meaning while others have no food or shelter.

During the holidays, homeless shelters are overwhelmed with people wanting to help feed those in need. Is this evidence of a collective guilt in which I share? Is it only called to mind during these holiday moments where excess is the norm; the other ten months of the year, most shelters struggle to find the funding and volunteers they need to stay in operation.

When people ask me why I'm feeling depressed, sometimes I have an easy answer. Sometimes I can say "I'm lonely," or "My friend hurt my feelings." Most of the time, though, I say "I don't know" even though I do. I say so because saying what's really on my mind would seem so obtuse or dramatic or disingenuous. Can I really say "I hate how capitalism defines people according to net worth" or "I am sad that people eat fast food and don't care about animal welfare" or "Life is too difficult when you're smart."

Even after putting things into a perspective and calling to mind the millions of humans that will live lives of complete despair, poverty, injustice, and pain both physical an emotional, I still want. I still want Tivo. I still pay for a cellphone. I still spend twenty dollars on a meal when I could have spent ten. Or five. Or gone without eating for a day to help someone eat for a week. And this behavior is ingrained, it's almost innate. It's not that I choose the wrong path, but that I so often fail to even glimpse another.

How, then, can there be any hope for my salvation?

That question goes in the blue part of the pyramid.

That's where I live.

This is a syndicated post from http://www.BrainGrit.com.

CNN FAILS, Behind the Curve

CNN's American Morning ran a feature this morning from Jeanne Moos featuring keyboard cat. Moos usually covers offbeat topics via a quirky and hip reporting style. To be truthful, I usually love her pieces and will almost always suffer through 20 minutes of other news and commercials waiting to see her latest.

This time, however, she's failed. Failed in an epic way. Here's the package:

In it Moos says, ". . . the latest web sensation. The Keyboard Cat has become a recurring theme."

First off, it's a meme, not a theme, but that's beside the point. Latest web sensation? Where has she been for the past few years? The original Keyboard Cat (as Charlie Schmidt's Cool Cat) was posted in 2007, and videos of "Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat" followed soon thereafter. CNN seems to be at least a year behind on this story. This is old news, plain and simple. Oh, by the way, Michael Jackson died.

Fail.

This highlights a larger problem, however. I remember years ago watching a program on "kitchen crank" and its rising popularity. It was touted as a new drug. I had watched people make kitchen crank literally years before. The same with ecstasy and other designer drugs. Somehow it was "breaking news" years later.

Even more hysterical was this news piece on FOX:

The epicness of this failure is beyond words! And that background music! I declare!

4chan was founded in 2003. Apparently it took FOX a few years to learn of their "secret website." I laughed and expelled cookie bits onto my keyboard when I typed "secret website" just then.

If you don't know what 4chan is, or any chan for that matter, or happened to not have heard of the keyboard cat, then shame on you. Acceptable excuses for being ignorant of such things include being 1)old, or 2)a Luddite. Regardless, it's safe to assume you're not a news correspondent, so you needn't feel too awfully bad (put down the knife, hun).

Lulz.

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This is a syndicated post from http://www.BrainGrit.com.