ok, so recently i've decided to help the world, which means i'm going to sell myself. which might be the one thing i hate most in the entire world. (all my friends, please look the other way).
so i believe what separates me is my intellect and my compassion.
anyways, here is one example of my intellect that hopefully will entice everyone to pay attention to me. (my friends have already heard this one. )
so in an astronomy class that I took at cu (black holes) we saw this 2-d model of the universe, over a time span of millions of years, compressed into a span of 5 seconds. it evolved the way you would expect it to with stars being loosely spread out initially, until the theory of relativity kicked in and the stars bunched together like limbs on a tree. anyways, a couple of months after that, i was playing cards with my brother, and was drinking a glass of water, when i noticed that the condensation on the glass behaved the same as the universe. it was really cool to think that something as large as the universe (which i believe is the only thing to fall under the category "largest") and something as small as a glass of water behaved similarly, albeit on different scales of space and time.
ok
the next point i wanted to make is a point about society. (this will probably sound really cookie-cutter)
Society is stuck. America seems indifferent. Social change, if it has occurred, has not happened fast enough compared to the rate at which we are consuming. (sidenote-if you have read any part of hot, flat, and crowded and have any neurons firing in your brain at all, it's scary to see how much trouble the earth is in.)
Anyways, so what the earth needs is the pebble that starts the rockslide. Basically, i want to be that pebble. The sooner we bite the bullet, the sooner we can start instilling actual hope for people everywhere. There needs to be a paradigm shift. And the best part is that the paradigm shift that takes place is the shift where we learn that by helping others, we inherently help ourselves. That is about as awesome as it gets. Please get excited. And don't hate.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
right now, i'm in some safeway in novato california staring at some colgate thats on sale for 3.49 (normal cost 4.49)
so here's whats going on
monday
I left spokane around 11, originally heading west towards seattle, until i decided to veer southwest towards the columbia river. overall it was a pretty uneventful day. I did hike for a while at this place called Frenchman Coulee. You should google it. My first hike was along this lake. The second one was on top of this plateau that forms a bunch of interconnected paths to hike on. Anyways, right now I don't feel very inspired to translate the awesomeness of this place into words but... blah blah blah it was really picturesque and blah blah blah you really had to be there and blah blah blah on either sides of the plateau were 100 foot cliffs and blah blah blah god bless america.
so after that i went and got some chinese food at the dalles oregon and then slept in my car for the first time ever.
hokay.
veering slightly off topic, on my last day in spokane, mike and i were talking about all the little moments that get lost, whether because you're alone or because they are so fleeting that they appear unworthy of sharing or become forgotten.
here are some of those moments.
A semi truck merging into my lane without being clear of my subaru. i thought that he was merging out of necessity but upon finding out that he had the option to wait and make a safe lane change, my empathy instantly turned to outrage and as a result, an appropriate response was given. which only i heard.
crying at radioheads"pyramid song."
listening to censored colors by portugal. the man and driving continuously throughout all of it, except for stopping to take a piss when intermission came on. it was unplanned. which is why im fucking writing about it. (that one is for the haters)
getting a ticket for going 99 in a 75 mph zone in between bozeman and missoula. the cop was really friendly.
passing 3 semi trucks in one go on a 2 lane road. stopping to pull over and take a piss on the side of the road and getting passed by all three again.
Monday, April 4, 2011
today after lunch, i got sick and blew chunks all over my new shoes in the lot behind whole foods-why-alopecia
Here's what I've been up to the last couple of days.
Thursday
Woke up late. Had lunch with Kurt at this place called Food for Thought. Around 2, I went on a hike up this mountain that overlooks Missoula. Halfway up the mountain is this big M that stands for melodramatic.
Anyways, in yet another impressive display of mountaineering know how, I decided to take my North Face off halfway up and wrap it around some bench so that the only thing I was wearing was a long sleeve U-Bikes t-shirt. So, I got to the top around 2:45, which was great and all, except that the actual summit was still in the distance. So off I went following this dirt road until I eventually bailed and decided to head straight up the mountain off-trail like a man. I got to the top and it was good until I saw that this summit was just another poser and the actual summit was still in the distance and better yet, there were all these satellite dishes and scientific instruments on top of it. So, after hiking through some snowdrifts that once again soaked my feet, I arrived at the top around 3:30 and after checking around, found this metal box that people had carved their names/messages into. I carved Thag Simmons into it (from the Far Side. The thagomizer.) and started the journey back. On the way back, I was inspired by not being anywhere near society and ended up ripping the sleeve off my t-shirt and making a belt out of it. It was pretty soulful. (and functional, my corduroys would not stay up.) Anyways, I arrived back at the parking lot at 4:50 and saw that some University of Montana parking lot gestapo had decided to counter my parking insubordination by granting me the opportunity to donate $25 to the I Know You Were Just Doing Your Job But Anyone Who Does Jobs Like Yours Has To Be A Dick To A Certain Degree Foundation.
Anyways, after that I drove to Spokane where my friend Mike lives. I got there around 10:30 and went to sleep around 5 after watching some Bo Burnham and between two ferns. Thuglife.
Friday
Woke up at 8 and went snowboarding at this local resort callled 49 North. It was my first taste of Northwest riding and it was really chill. All we did was ride this same run over and over again and I would not have had it any other way. The run included this laidback park which had a really fun hip and this late 80's early 90's style halfpipe. Anyways, I was really happy because I borrowed a board, boots, and bindings and still managed to have a good time. Seriously, any snowboarder will tell you that using someone else's stuff and not your own is like going against a deep, ancient Aztecan blood oath that, if you break it, causes you to vomit up all 20 feet of your intestines, which then come alive and strangle your nuts until you pass out in a pool of your own vomit. Anyways, I lucked out because I was borrowing a Dinosaurs Will Die board that rode really well. After riding, Mike and I had sushi with his girlfriend and a bunch of other girls and then picked up some beer at a gas station, got some coldstone, went to Mike's friend Briannes and chilled out there and had a good time. Then we went to sleep.
Saturday
We woke up around 10. Went to Mike's girlfriends Tera's track meet til 1. Then Mike, Troy, Eric and me went to Ihop. I got some chicken fingers, fries, and garlic bread. The garlic bread was unexpected, but not unwelcome. After Ihop, we took some Splenda and a half a piece of toast (with a bite already taken out of it) to Deatri (Mike's friend who works at American Eagle). I thought that was pretty funny. Then Mike, Austin (Mike's friend again.) and I all went skating at this skatepark in Spokane which was built last year. It had a really good setup. Afterwards, we came back home, watched part of Stay Gold, took a nap, ate a Turkey burger, went to a party, came home around 1:25, and watched Black Dynamite (movie of the century) to finish the night.
Thursday
Woke up late. Had lunch with Kurt at this place called Food for Thought. Around 2, I went on a hike up this mountain that overlooks Missoula. Halfway up the mountain is this big M that stands for melodramatic.
Anyways, in yet another impressive display of mountaineering know how, I decided to take my North Face off halfway up and wrap it around some bench so that the only thing I was wearing was a long sleeve U-Bikes t-shirt. So, I got to the top around 2:45, which was great and all, except that the actual summit was still in the distance. So off I went following this dirt road until I eventually bailed and decided to head straight up the mountain off-trail like a man. I got to the top and it was good until I saw that this summit was just another poser and the actual summit was still in the distance and better yet, there were all these satellite dishes and scientific instruments on top of it. So, after hiking through some snowdrifts that once again soaked my feet, I arrived at the top around 3:30 and after checking around, found this metal box that people had carved their names/messages into. I carved Thag Simmons into it (from the Far Side. The thagomizer.) and started the journey back. On the way back, I was inspired by not being anywhere near society and ended up ripping the sleeve off my t-shirt and making a belt out of it. It was pretty soulful. (and functional, my corduroys would not stay up.) Anyways, I arrived back at the parking lot at 4:50 and saw that some University of Montana parking lot gestapo had decided to counter my parking insubordination by granting me the opportunity to donate $25 to the I Know You Were Just Doing Your Job But Anyone Who Does Jobs Like Yours Has To Be A Dick To A Certain Degree Foundation.
Anyways, after that I drove to Spokane where my friend Mike lives. I got there around 10:30 and went to sleep around 5 after watching some Bo Burnham and between two ferns. Thuglife.
Friday
Woke up at 8 and went snowboarding at this local resort callled 49 North. It was my first taste of Northwest riding and it was really chill. All we did was ride this same run over and over again and I would not have had it any other way. The run included this laidback park which had a really fun hip and this late 80's early 90's style halfpipe. Anyways, I was really happy because I borrowed a board, boots, and bindings and still managed to have a good time. Seriously, any snowboarder will tell you that using someone else's stuff and not your own is like going against a deep, ancient Aztecan blood oath that, if you break it, causes you to vomit up all 20 feet of your intestines, which then come alive and strangle your nuts until you pass out in a pool of your own vomit. Anyways, I lucked out because I was borrowing a Dinosaurs Will Die board that rode really well. After riding, Mike and I had sushi with his girlfriend and a bunch of other girls and then picked up some beer at a gas station, got some coldstone, went to Mike's friend Briannes and chilled out there and had a good time. Then we went to sleep.
Saturday
We woke up around 10. Went to Mike's girlfriends Tera's track meet til 1. Then Mike, Troy, Eric and me went to Ihop. I got some chicken fingers, fries, and garlic bread. The garlic bread was unexpected, but not unwelcome. After Ihop, we took some Splenda and a half a piece of toast (with a bite already taken out of it) to Deatri (Mike's friend who works at American Eagle). I thought that was pretty funny. Then Mike, Austin (Mike's friend again.) and I all went skating at this skatepark in Spokane which was built last year. It had a really good setup. Afterwards, we came back home, watched part of Stay Gold, took a nap, ate a Turkey burger, went to a party, came home around 1:25, and watched Black Dynamite (movie of the century) to finish the night.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
so something really funny just happened.
ok. so i haven't been updating what i've been doing the past couple of days but unfortunately i have to, so everyone can share in this very common situational humor that probably won't even make anyone laugh.
anyways, for those unfamiliar with the scintillating plot of my roadtrip, here's what you need to know. I have been staying in Spokane with my friend Mike since Thursday. Before that, I had been staying in Missoula with my uncle Kurt. Anyways, I was going to leave spokane today and head for seattle but upon my departure, realized that I had left my hiking boots back in missoula (200 miles from spokane). So today I drove back to missoula, got to the house, got my hiking boots, took a nap, posted the previous blog, and got ready to leave. Now, here's the kicker. The house where Kurt and I were staying at (the one I had to go back to) had two back doors which was where Kurt and I would enter the house. These two doors formed a room whose main function was a place for people to hang their coats. Pay close attention, because therein lies the simple genius of successfully breaking and entering into the house without actually breaking anything. Anyways, one backdoor was always unlocked, while the one leading into the house was always locked. There was a key left in one of the pockets of the coats that was hanging up, and you could use it to open up the door to get into the rest of the house. The only thing you had to remember was to place the key back into the coat pocket, and not take it into the house and then forget the key and leave. Which is exactly what I did.
I ended up asking a neighbor for help and he gave me a ladder that I used to get up to their second story porch. thankfully that door was open and I was able to get in. Big thanks to that neighbor.
Anyways, it was just really funny how I confidently finished off that last blog post, strolled out the door, and was like shit one second later.
(my computer, phone, and wallet were all still inside)
anyways, for those unfamiliar with the scintillating plot of my roadtrip, here's what you need to know. I have been staying in Spokane with my friend Mike since Thursday. Before that, I had been staying in Missoula with my uncle Kurt. Anyways, I was going to leave spokane today and head for seattle but upon my departure, realized that I had left my hiking boots back in missoula (200 miles from spokane). So today I drove back to missoula, got to the house, got my hiking boots, took a nap, posted the previous blog, and got ready to leave. Now, here's the kicker. The house where Kurt and I were staying at (the one I had to go back to) had two back doors which was where Kurt and I would enter the house. These two doors formed a room whose main function was a place for people to hang their coats. Pay close attention, because therein lies the simple genius of successfully breaking and entering into the house without actually breaking anything. Anyways, one backdoor was always unlocked, while the one leading into the house was always locked. There was a key left in one of the pockets of the coats that was hanging up, and you could use it to open up the door to get into the rest of the house. The only thing you had to remember was to place the key back into the coat pocket, and not take it into the house and then forget the key and leave. Which is exactly what I did.
I ended up asking a neighbor for help and he gave me a ladder that I used to get up to their second story porch. thankfully that door was open and I was able to get in. Big thanks to that neighbor.
Anyways, it was just really funny how I confidently finished off that last blog post, strolled out the door, and was like shit one second later.
(my computer, phone, and wallet were all still inside)
i'm not saying if you gave me $1 billion dollars, I would donate $999 million. But i'm typing it. Haha seriously, someone needs to step up their game.
So yea, the reason I also am starting this blog is to blog about intellectualism. (interesting piece of intellectualism. ahem. usually, for that opening sentence I would have used "intellectual shit" but apparently intellectualism occupies some sort of shit-free zone in my mind. Yeh know, the need to not feel like a monkey.) Anyways, lately, I've been trying to think about things on their most basic level and taking statements for what they actually mean. Basically, actual comprehension. I've been trying to take this attempt at actual comprehension and apply it logically. For example, (and i've used this example with my friends) I recently asked my Dad if he was tired when he went to sleep and he said no. So yea, it's like wait what. why sleep?
anyways.
Sometimes it seems incredible the amount of knowledge that humans have accumulated (like understanding quantum mechanics! What! That's nuts.) But I think all this knowledge does is emphasize the lack of progress in certain areas of our society and the lack of compassion we have for our fellow human beings. I mean, to understand that light behaves as both a wave and a particle, and then to have the majority of the world (yea yea yea I don't have any official stats) still living in poverty just sounds like some big, intricate Far Side cartoon.
Anyways, here's a very basic line of reasoning that I think makes sense.
Why is oxygen important? Water is the source of life. It's incredibly rare based on all of humanity's previous research into the subject. The chemical make-up of water is hydrogen and oxygen. The universe is 3/4 hydrogen (and 1/4 helium) estimated. This logically points to oxygen as being something unbelievably important (read: breathing) as well as water. Now, we just have to use this knowledge for our benefit. (And blah blah now we get to the part about society having gone in completely the wrong direction and how no real change is actually occurring.)
Anyways here are some more thoughts.
Be wary of power. People are barely fit to make decisions that impact their own lives let alone the lives of others.
ignorance is the inability to change your opinion. wait! the caveat, as my dad wisely pointed out, is that someone is not necessarily ignorant just because they refuse to change their opinion. instead, that opinion may just be a belief they hold. (but I mean, I think any level headed nincompoop can agree that the first conjecture about ignorance holds true for a large part of the world today)
more thinking.
whenever someone tries to limit a statement, it's most likely just some manifestation of discouragement based on their illusion of reality. (ha, see how i used illusion instead of perception. apparently this is a put down zone. this ain't no middle school assembly. )
So, this is an example that everyone has probably experienced at some point in their life, and I hope everyone sees the point of view I'm striving for and more importantly, belief in that point of view.
So, the example is this. in any general philosophical discussion, a thought that usually surfaces is the thought that peace is something that would be mutually beneficial for everyone. And then infallibly, the next thing that is said is something to the effect that ideally, yes, peace is something that would be mutually beneficial for everyone, but realistically, it is just probably just not going to happen.
Yea fuck that. Don't bother with losers. Be an optimist prime! not a negatron! (that's something I stumbled across)
Ok last thought, the line "peace is something mutually beneficial for everyone." Now, it's like hands up class. Who thinks that?... Good. Now meditate on that and and meditate on taking statements for their real meaning. (God I sound like a douche. )
anyways.
Sometimes it seems incredible the amount of knowledge that humans have accumulated (like understanding quantum mechanics! What! That's nuts.) But I think all this knowledge does is emphasize the lack of progress in certain areas of our society and the lack of compassion we have for our fellow human beings. I mean, to understand that light behaves as both a wave and a particle, and then to have the majority of the world (yea yea yea I don't have any official stats) still living in poverty just sounds like some big, intricate Far Side cartoon.
Anyways, here's a very basic line of reasoning that I think makes sense.
Why is oxygen important? Water is the source of life. It's incredibly rare based on all of humanity's previous research into the subject. The chemical make-up of water is hydrogen and oxygen. The universe is 3/4 hydrogen (and 1/4 helium) estimated. This logically points to oxygen as being something unbelievably important (read: breathing) as well as water. Now, we just have to use this knowledge for our benefit. (And blah blah now we get to the part about society having gone in completely the wrong direction and how no real change is actually occurring.)
Anyways here are some more thoughts.
Be wary of power. People are barely fit to make decisions that impact their own lives let alone the lives of others.
ignorance is the inability to change your opinion. wait! the caveat, as my dad wisely pointed out, is that someone is not necessarily ignorant just because they refuse to change their opinion. instead, that opinion may just be a belief they hold. (but I mean, I think any level headed nincompoop can agree that the first conjecture about ignorance holds true for a large part of the world today)
more thinking.
whenever someone tries to limit a statement, it's most likely just some manifestation of discouragement based on their illusion of reality. (ha, see how i used illusion instead of perception. apparently this is a put down zone. this ain't no middle school assembly. )
So, this is an example that everyone has probably experienced at some point in their life, and I hope everyone sees the point of view I'm striving for and more importantly, belief in that point of view.
So, the example is this. in any general philosophical discussion, a thought that usually surfaces is the thought that peace is something that would be mutually beneficial for everyone. And then infallibly, the next thing that is said is something to the effect that ideally, yes, peace is something that would be mutually beneficial for everyone, but realistically, it is just probably just not going to happen.
Yea fuck that. Don't bother with losers. Be an optimist prime! not a negatron! (that's something I stumbled across)
Ok last thought, the line "peace is something mutually beneficial for everyone." Now, it's like hands up class. Who thinks that?... Good. Now meditate on that and and meditate on taking statements for their real meaning. (God I sound like a douche. )
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