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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Stephen's Blurty:
- Reality Benders cannot predict the future and can be taken by surprise.
- Reality Benders have limited range and cannot affect what they cannot percieve.
- Reality Benders cannot impose their will on anything if they have no will to impose.
- Reality Benders have human foibles and can be manipulated emotionally and/or rationally.
| Thursday, November 5th, 2009 | |
| 6:19 pm | Change of Style, But Not. Also, You All Suck. Really, when I look back at entries around summer 2008, it turns out I've always done these sorts of posts. It must be some sort of existential funk* that's causing me to think I'm cutting down on delivered content by simply posting links every damn entry. It does occur to me that I should use this thing to write about my life. Its premise is that of an online journal after all. However, I get around to thinking about what I would write, and then I become disappointed at the lack of interesting things happening. Well, it's not that my life lacks interest. I think it has more to do with less things being interesting to me, and that carries over to what occurs on this here webspace. There's another part of me that rages, "But of course, they want to read every miniscule detail of your life!" Then I remember that's why sites like Myspace and Facebook exist: to indulge in every mind-numbing minute occurrence of someone else's life to for but a brief moment escape your own. This is why you'll rarely see me update my status: I don't subscribe to the view that my hijinks are worth bothering people about. If I were a more arrogant man, I'd say my lack of status updates is more to do with not wanting to indulge others' passive, naïve curiosity. However, this leads to other problems. The art of conversation is dying.** In a typical gathering, people seem more likely to indulge in whatever piece of attention-grabbing technology is in front of them rather than talk to each other. To put it diplomatically, you are more likely to fool around with your iPhone than talk to the person next to you. This leads to something very odd: people coming together to hang out, except they don't really interact that much. It's as if they are locating themselves in one place so that they can share circumstances rather than socialities. For example, if someone goes out to eat, hey, free ride and company! This is not people being selfish: this is people requiring an excuse. Some activities by their very nature are passive ones (e.g. pretty much anything that isn't a sport).*** However, we're getting into this new period of social isolation in which we all occupy the same room but aren't talking, or if we are, it's only to exchange the odd quip and attempt to make ourselves look witty. If you've ever wondered about the trend that has happened to my quote posts (that every single one seems to revolve around a D&D game now), this is the main reason why. This is why I haven't posted the large amount I've gathered; I'm waiting for the everyday situation to churn something out other than people breathing and the sound of them staring at computer screens. I imagine some of this goes along with a few of the splits that occurred in this group. In fact, one Cracked article nails some of it down, especially the bit about having to endure annoying friends.**** "So," you might begin, "why haven't you voiced this before now?" Well, for one, I've been caught up in posting links to Things Of Amusement and not really paying attention. For two, I do this sort of post way too often, even if "way too often" is once every year or couple of years. It makes me feel too vainglorious when I write these things since I'm essentially prescribing social ills without much more than observation and intuition. For three, I won't be seeing anybody this weekend due to a wedding, so people can simmer on it. For four, because of one, no one will see this coming. You may now mentally demerit me as you wish. Or physically do so in the comments. * If you haven't noticed by now, I really love that phrase. ** The art of endnotes, however, is thriving. And yes, I know this is an opinion. All of this is opinion. *** Speaking of, multiplayer gaming has mostly died out as well in this group since some people can't seem to relax and just play the game without getting emotionally worked up. For example, Dan and Jon. I decided to name names since, well, I don't think being polite is the way to go here. This really became apparent to me when I played Halo 3 with Jason and Robert, and got my ass kicked, and no one ended up shouting angrily at anyone else, or storming off in a huff. **** As it turns out, people that annoy you? They get less annoying the more time you spend with them. This is because of monkey-see, monkey-do: you take on some of their qualities, and they take on some of yours. Also, let's all reason like Bayes! Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: "Generic Horror Atmosphere #1" ~ Maindrian |
| Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 | |
| 1:09 am | Alan Grayson I saw this guy on Bill Maher's show, and I immediately liked him. |
| Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | |
| 5:40 pm | This is the Internet This is what it is. There is no shame in this. Also, Canadians have yet to master political insulting, if that's anything to go off of. Really, I should write some sort of loquacious rant about how ridiculous that link's contents are, but I'm laughing too much to do so. Honest. A nice essay, not very long either. Current Music: "99 Luftballoons" ~ Nena |
| Saturday, October 31st, 2009 | |
| 2:24 pm | Healthcare & Terrorism & Comedy "It seems like the Senate is where progress goes to die, and I'm wondering; Thomas Jefferson didn't think we needed the Senate. He thought a singular legislative body was fine. I don't think we need the Senate either, I'd like to get rid of it. I think we should get rid of it." - Bill Maher "Well, y'know there are a lot of members of the House who feel that way." - Rep. Marcy Kaptur, (D) Ohio "Another part of this is also a deep sense -- goes back to the religion thing -- these young men are raised with the view that they have the most, that Islam -- this is not a criticism -- Islam sees itself as the most perfect expression of God's monotheistic message. If I were to put it in computer terms, it sees itself as God 3.0. It sees Christianity is God 2.0. It sees Judaism is God 1.0, and Hinduism is God 0.0. And I think part of the dissonance is when they come here or in Europe, in their identity they have the most perfect system, but in real life, their countries are economically behind. In terms of education, behind, and there's a real dissonance. If I have the most perfect operating system, why am I behind?" - Thomas Friedman "But before I go, I'd like to go back to the beginning of the year to remind everyone that when Barack Obama, an actual college professor, replaced George Bush, an actual chimp, commentators announced that comedians would be out of a job. Well, they were wrong: everyone is out of a job. So yes, Bush was a sweet target, but it turns out there were plenty of ridiculous Republicans behind him that we just couldn't see. His stupid star doth shone too brightly." - Bill Maher |
| Thursday, October 29th, 2009 | |
| 1:23 pm | Blogger Beware Did you read Goosebumps books as a child? Would you like to read someone summarizing each book along with snarky commentary? Well, here you go. From "Monster Blood": "The next day, Evan helps Andy rescue a cat from a tree. And by help I mean he does what he does throughout the novel, stand around while someone else does something. He also spouts very credible dialog, suggesting they should call the "ASPCA"-- because twelve year olds often drop that particular acronym in casual conversation. After Stine finishes cribbing from childhood story-lines that make Denis the Menace look fresh, the kids abandon the cat and go back to Evan's to play with the Monster Blood some more. Oh good! More pages of kids playing with stuff! They discover the tin of Monster Blood is now overflowing with the green goop. Also, the gelatinous substance is no longer cool to the touch, but instead feels disturbingly warm. This is not enough however to discourage the kids from having a Monster Blood fight. The two fling Monster Blood at each other inside Evan's room. I can see how this book inspired three sequels. After their fight, which is described as "hilarious" in the book, the two start to clean up their mess when they hear a horrifying howl from down below. Evan rushes to the window with Andy right behind him. Andy points out that Evan's dog has doubled in size and indeed he has. The dog, who is now the size of a pony, rushes out of the backyard. Evan and Andy try to run after it, but they don't get very far before Trigger turns into a horrible monster. And then Evan wakes up. Now, I know that's a pretty insulting dream sequence, but it looks like Spellbound compared to what comes next. Evan wakes up from the dream and realizes that the bed he's in is too small. He's a giant monster or something! Then he wakes up again. Now, not to get all Primer on you, but I have a hard time figuring out whether what came before the earlier dream sequence was a dream or not, and at what point reality ceased-- because the cat in the tree adventure was not what I'd call a phantasmagoric sequence of events. I read so many terrible dream sequences in these books that I thought it only fair to add a dream sequence to this blog entry. BLOGGER BEWARE DREAM SEQUENCE Evan wakes up and tells Andy he's moving to Georgia. He hands her the Monster Blood and says, "I'm going away forever to be passive and whiny in another state. Here, since you're the best character in Goosebumps history, you take over the book and the three that come after it-- readers will like you a lot more than they like me, some annoying wuss." Then the car he leaves in explodes. As his spirit leaves his body and ascends into Heaven, Heaven explodes, ensuring that Evan can never, ever appear in another Goosebumps book. BUT THEN IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM" |
| 1:45 am | Sounds Familiar I think I've already explored this before, but hey, the SCP Foundation is good at summing it up: "Reality Benders (Type Greens) have a certain mystique among GOC operatives. They have been attributed a variety of powers, from immortality to mind control. Some operatives even argue that it is impossible to silence a Type Green, and it is suicide to even try. Bollocks. The truth is, Reality Benders are human, and they have human flaws. Consider the following: |
| Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 | |
| 2:51 pm | The Plot Thickens Save money or save lives? Some people would call that a false dilemma, except I'm not arguing anything and am, in fact, trying to rope you into reading it. It's a sales pitch more than an argument; you could argue it's an argument for you to read something, but then we're just parsing without reducing. Anyway, can anyone figure out what a 0.2 percent increase in the mortality rate equals in terms of body count? Current Music: "The Eraser" ~ Thom Yorke |
| Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 | |
| 4:20 pm | Placebo Response Fascinating. Of ethical concern: "One recent afternoon in his lab, a young soccer player grimaced with exertion while doing leg curls on a weight machine. Benedetti and his colleagues were exploring the potential of using Pavlovian conditioning to give athletes a competitive edge undetectable by anti-doping authorities. A player would receive doses of a performance-enhancing drug for weeks and then a jolt of placebo just before competition." Well, sports ethics anyway. |
| Friday, October 9th, 2009 | |
| 8:43 am | Nobel Peace Prize '09 What? Does anyone else hear "Ave Satani" playing around the corner? |
| Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 | |
| 1:49 am | Bright in the Screen I tried to sleep, but then I started playing this. |
| Thursday, September 24th, 2009 | |
| 4:19 pm | |
| Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 | |
| 7:21 pm | Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Hey-oh! Current Music: "Wall of Defense" ~ Ogre Battle OST |
| Thursday, September 10th, 2009 | |
| 6:47 pm | Meditations on Internet, Driving, Flavoring of the Crowd My parents don't like the way I scavenge. They don't appreciate that kind of cunning, and it's probably for different reasons. My mother just thinks it's lowly and improper, but my father probably appreciates it on some deep level, but agrees with my mother. Oh! Maybe I should explain. My apartment hasn't had internet since I moved into it, and I've been using the university's library's student internet to access any. If you've seen the South Park episode which parodies The Grapes of Wrath, I was starting to talk in a similar way: "There's mighty fine internet in this here aisle," "Ahh, we getting good internet here. Internet we can live on," "The Internet's dried up. There's nowhere else to go." This anarchic system bothered me, but only about as much as anything else bothers me. It's weird, but adopting a taoist/stoic outlook (and they are pretty similar) does terrible things to you. You learn/condition yourself into laying back and observing, occasionally interacting, and when you try to force something you come into greater and greater conflict. I'll take driving as an example. If, for one reason or another, I'm pressed for time in driving between Wilmington and Raleigh, I'll go very fast and encounter more drivers that piss me off. If, however, I have no issue and drive normally, I have almost no problems at all with other drivers, instead empathizing or taking pity in some cases. Yes, pity, I pity other drivers their inability to drive correctly, it's almost too self-righteous and horrifying to think about. I like to think it's a very minor pity. Driving tangent aside, the adaptability of the human mind is astounding, its response to context especially. The internet-less apartment is one such example, but another is any sort of social gathering and the change of mood, no, not mood, state of being. Aristotle had a word for this in Greek which eludes me at the moment, but it goes farther than just what "mood" would suggest. Around different people, a person begins to think differently in line with the other person's presence. This change is far more profound than some realize. If you've never noticed, I only seem to be around if there are two others, and when confined to just interacting with one person I become quite non-committal (or maybe I just ask a bunch of questions). This is because I learned this change of mood very young when I had two different friends over one day, and in the midst of the meeting I was very confused. I didn't know how to act because I behaved very differently around the two. Sure, there was a baseline of behavior I adhered to, but that meeting showed me the baseline was very small, mostly limited to societal conventions (though my eight-year-old self couldn't have told you it was that). I propose this is nothing new or insightful to consider, and there's even a maxim for it already, but you begin to act a bit like the person you're around. Interact with them enough, and you start copying their habits and their mannerisms. You develop formulaic conversational responses, you select a very fine idiolect based on what you perceive to like or find clever. (Side question: is it condescending that I linked the word's definition?) The mystifying thing about this process is as you loan fragments of personality from one person, they are also loaning fragments as well, doing the exact same thing. I've found this process at once far more difficult to engage in in a group setting, and also far easier. In a group setting, there is collective judgment undertaken, and especially with self-recursive/aware trends abounding people love to comment about it, having their own meta-conversations (I do it all the time on this very blurty). This makes fragments harder to adopt just because they are being critiqued by a group (ooh peer pressure) and possibly even analyzed openly. On the other hand a group becomes closer over time, and that allows certain fragments to spread easier. So, if my hermitage disturbs you, it's because I pride myself on being keenly aware of these effects, and there is something to be said for solitude in doses. Current Music: "Golden Age" ~ TV on the Radio |
| Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 | |
| 8:49 pm | Flings in Office On a political note, I'm actually glad there's this trend for politicians who commit adultery of one form or another while in office to not leave office just based on the moral outrage of some special interests. Granted, it's really funny when it turns out the adulterous officeholder was one of those people who promote "family values" or called for the resignation of other politicians in their current place (the common one being Bill Clinton), but I still don't think this impacts the office they hold. It might impact their ability to get re-elected, but that's a side issue. The big thing here is pithy moral outrage being a reason to leave office. My unformed brain during the Clinton impeachment marvelled at the idea of a guy being forced to resign because he had a private indiscretion, and while I cackle with glee (not literally, as I'm incapable of feeling glee) any time a hypocrite goes down in a hilariously ironic way, the serious, nonvindictive side of me always thinks it's quite a shame that this is how we judge our leaders. Now, if the marital indiscretions involve using state money or misallocating funds in some way, yeah, that's corruption. Fry the bastard. If it was mostly harmless to the state besides an image problem, I don't see the fuss. That's the problem: it's about image and appearance more than merit and achievement. Also, I have to wonder aloud here: is there such a thing as an unmarried elected official in a suitably popular (as in, known to most of the relevant people who vote) position nowadays? Do we have any bachelor or bachelorette senators, for instance? |
| 6:22 pm | The Time Has Come! Ahh! Stretch them typing fingers! It's been a long time! What can I say? I have had neither deep ponderings, keepings up with the news, nor interesting reading in the past month. Not to mention the insidious influence of Facebook. My perception of how many people check this thing has dwindled a bit, seeing as how Facebook can constantly update you as to the most recent puerile meanderings of your not-even-friendly associates, all at one location, with these nice software doohickeys to boot. It's enough barely-useful technology to drown someone in mediocrity. If I'm coming off as a bit agitated (and I might be), it's because I have had thoughts brewing in the back of my head despite the onrush of other interests that have sapped my attention. They'd bubble up every once and a while, demanding to be listened to, and I'd say, "Hush now, I'm watching Merlin and being entertained. No time to be thinking." Thinking's not a very entertaining thing to do unless you have somebody around to think with, and the with part cannot be underestimated here. Not someone who's around but uninterested in thinking with you: this sort of belabored thinking just frustrates one and irritates the other. You have to have participation. Sadly, I haven't had much participation from others, but this isn't their fault. It's actually mine, because I haven't been trying to think much either. There are a lot of glittering, shiny things to distract one from life and the business of living it. Little toys both corporeal and not, which serve to further distract more often than replicate. If you've never heard the phrase "mediated living," I don't blame you. In fact if you search it you tend to get a lot of science-related results as opposed to anything close to what I'm getting on about. The gist is this: books, magazines, television, the Internet and social networking, film, even maybe plays and theater; these are all forms of mediated living. Essentially, living that is not done personally, by you, but through mediators. A mediator can be anything that replaces having a personal experience with something else a degree removed from that possible experience. At its very basic, storytelling itself is a form of mediated living. A good way to illustrate the concept is to compare building a house to building a house in The Sims. I don't know why, but this has been bothering me for some time. Even what I'm doing right now is a form of mediated living in that I'm communicating with you through something other than face-to-face contact. That might be taking the concept too far (and it probably is), but you can see how it would be done. Unfortunately, like many things I've posted here, the idea is undeveloped in my head. It's originally from some anarchist ramblings on the Internet about how the powers that be use mediated living to control populations and keep them from achieving true anarchy. Like most things, the idea itself is fascinating, if not its implementation in its original context. Perhaps later I'll have something further to say on the subject. Anyway, ignoring everything I've just posted, on to talking about books. I've stopped reading Gravity's Rainbow: the two weeks I spent away from the book have made it impossible for me to pick up again, and I've started to lose interest in the plot. Last I recall, Slothrop had escaped from P.I.S.C.E.S. and was doing some footwork to figure out how he was led there and just how much of a conspiracy surrounded his life, but hey, when you lose interest best not to fake it. In the interim, I picked up a Michael Chabon book called Gentlemen of the Road, which I heartily recommend. It's quick (208 pages) and leaves an impression, not like the fantasy Doorstoppers that seem so popular. Now a good, long book is a fine thing, but a good, short book is probably even better. One of those "quality over quantity" things. I don't excuse War and Peace from this criticism: the book becomes more of a philosophy of history essay as it goes on, and while I found it fascinating, I doubt many people do. Cut out the obnoxiously unnecessary philosophy bits out of the book and you'd cut it at least by a 100 pages. Plus, Michael Chabon originally wanted to call the book "Jews with Swords." How can you pass that up? You still haven't read The Yiddish Policemen's Union, have you? Anyway, I picked up The Master and Margarita today, finally intending to read it. It's a book by Mikhail Bulgakov (don't worry, that's not a name that you're supposed to recognize; I don't recognize it either) set in 1930s Moscow, in which Satan visits and has a grand old time. My impression from the first 40ish pages is very favorable: it's got elements of magical realism to it such as a cat trying to get on a streetcar and pay the fare, which, as the character chasing the cat remarks, no one seemed to think any of it ludicrous that the cat had money to pay or even that the cat was trying to pay. It's quite interesting in its take on Christianity too, especially as contrasted with the state atheism of the Soviet Union. Let's see, what else about my mediated livings can I bring up? I saw Primer with my brother some weeks ago. It has the most realistic dialogue I've ever heard in a movie before, so realistic it's kinda hard to make out what some people are saying during group conversations. Also, great plot, best use of time travel I've ever seen. I recommend watching it if you get the chance. That's all for now. Current Mood: stretchy Current Music: "DLZ" ~ TV on the Radio |
| Monday, July 27th, 2009 | |
| 9:45 pm | CFPA What would a Consumer Financial Protection Agency do? |
| Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 | |
| 8:12 pm | Permanent Campaign There were a lot of books that came out in the denouement of the Bush administration. I recall former Press Secretary Scott McClellan's book was particularly damning. He had a passage constantly repeated in the media, the idea that the Bush administration was in a "permanent campaign." As McClellan explained, this meant the administration was more concerned with pushing image over substance and molding debates instead of taking decisive action. If you watch some of Obama's press conferences (including the one currently on air), one wonders if "permanent campaign" isn't a fact of life instead of a point to condemn with. To some extent, all political figures manage their image, yes, but one still wonders. |
| Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 | |
| 3:11 pm | Hundred Manly Movies Okay, a hundred movies every man should see. Let's see...I've seen about 25 of these movies. Funny. They count some entries as entire series, and for those I haven't seen completely I didn't include in my tally. |
| Monday, July 20th, 2009 | |
| 2:33 pm | "Some 50 years ago, a close friend and mentor advised me to read War & Peace once every five years. Why, I asked. Because, he said, after each five-year interval, war will be different, peace will be different, and you will be different. I took his advice and was never disappointed." - Frank Cummings |
| Monday, July 13th, 2009 | |
| 5:54 pm | |