Nobody's Fault But Mine

I think I am done with church for now. I get more mental, spiritual, and moral stimulation from reading by myself than I do from listening to a middle-aged man read a sermon. And I don't have any desire to find myself a new church at this point in time. This doesn't particularly bother me in any significant way. I will miss chatting with my great-aunt Marilyn and reading the bible during the sermon, but I am quite capable of doing at least one of those things while sitting in the basement, and the other can be done when I am landscaping for her this summer.
Glad to have that issue resolved.

I have four finals, two written assignments, and one twenty minute video to splice together during this last week of the school year. That doesn't seem to be a daunting task, and I am glad to be getting done a few weeks before all of my other college-aged breathren. This means that I will get to do a couple of visits.
This end of school will also allow me to get back to training for fighting. At least that activity is capable of distracting my constantly churning mind for short periods. I don't think I value the violence so much as I enjoy the physical exertion. I get a lot of the same feeling from running with deer in the woods, but the opportunities for deer-human running partnerships are few and far between. Plus, the woods will be overly hot and sticky soon enough, and fighting can supplement my income while helping me to make connections for other opportunities as well.

I am in the midst of a splendid biography of Whitman. I really should be doing some of my reading to prepare for my various finals, but my growth from this experience is likely to be more noteworthy than anything my moderism and postmodernism course has left to teach me.

Back to Weezer, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, The Sounds, Johnny, and Marving Gaye (I guess those are my music endorsements for the day).

Peace.

America is "Special"

We have to be taught how to do anything. My brothers used to claim that I had no common sense, but I would now contend that even then (I still claim that I just chose not to use the common sense that I had) I was better off that most of us in America. I was watching the Weather Channel today (well, scanning through), and there was some sort of home improvement show on. On the segment I caught, we were being taught how to USE A LADDER. Yep, complete with readings of the warning stickers and an explanation of why not to go above the step marked "do not stand on this step." Going beyond the fact that they put in full steps and then tell you not to stand on them, did any of you not know how to use a ladder before this?

Darn it, the Gangs of New York is now on television, and I really want to go to Great River Bluffs State Park. Oh, and I need to read End Game by Beckett sometime today. I should finish up Love Medicine as well. It seems like there was something to do for a couple of other classes as well. I'll have to look into whatever assignments those were. My, this is a good movie.

Red Vines are probably the best licorice ever.

Henry Weinhard's is still the best Root Beer in the world.

Captain Morgan is the best booze ever.

Water is the best liquid ever.

So....drink lots and have a merry day.

Peace.

R.I.P. DJ Proof

Dead at 32 from a gunshot wound to the head after an altercation in a night club. Survived by his wife and five children.

For those not in the know, Proof was a member of D12, a solo artist, and Eminem's best friend.

Now, I am not saying that making music that glorifies violence (Proof was actually better about not doing this than most) is the worst thing a person can do, but I don't remember the last time a member of a boy band got murdered. Or a country singer.

Peace.

Another Week Down

I am nearing the end of my school year. Me happy. My gardening season has started and it is tough to not let my number one priority make my number six priority lose all of its limited time allotment.

Crud...I forgot this post and now it is my bedtime (that post time is about two hours early). Umm...short version:

I went to Eau Claire this Friday, pretended to work Sunday, and fell asleep in my clothes from tiredness in my Eyota bed early on Saturday night.

I am introducing Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance to a class of juniors tomorrow. I don't feel qualified, and I should probably get some more background knowledge before 11:30 AM tomorrow. Still have to pick out the poems to study. Trouble trouble (that is double trouble).

This is my favorite reading quotation for the week:
"That the world I was in could be soft, lovely, and nourishing was more than I could bear, and so I stood there and wept, for I didn't want to love one more thing in my life, didn't want one more thing that could make my heart break into a million little pieces at my feet. But all the same, there it was, and I could not do much about it..."

Peace.

Sidetrack From My Real Work

Rant inspired by Abe Lincoln and some reading.

Lincoln: "The theory of our government is universal freedom.

But on the idea of freedom (and older N.A. gent):
"The white world puts all the power at the top [...] when someone gets to the top, they have the power to take your freedom. When your people first came to our land they were trying to get away from those people at the top. But they still thought the same, and soon there were new people at the top in the new country. It is just the way you were taught to think.
In your churches there is someone at the top. In your schools, too. In your government. In your business. There is always someone at the top and that person has the right to say whether you are good or bad. They own you.
No wonder Americans always worr about freedom. You have so damn little of it. If you don't protect it, someone will take it away from you. You have to guard it every second, like a dog guards a bone."

So, what I am saying is that I disagree with Lincoln. The earliest theory of our government, not to mention the first applications of that government, was not universal freedom. But I think that Lincoln, a man of many contradictions, understood this. The continuation of too many situations and actions proved this statement to be false.
We have no understanding of what true freedom is and neither did Lincoln. Our government is not about freedom, especially not today, and not at any time in our history. It may be necessary and good, but it is not based on universal freedom.
Our principles that guide our actions and judgments are based more in personal ownership and majority rule rather than universal freedom, which, by definition, conflicts with both of those ideas.
Even when applied over the long run, these central precepts of our government still conflict with that ideal. Also over the long run, we are so far removed from true freedom that it is nearly inconceivable.

Maybe all of this writing will inspire me to get my other mindless writings done.

Peace.

Can't Stand The Schoolin'

Yeah. I done gots lots o' work to be doin'. Had to get an extension on a paper, so I still have that one to get done for tomorrow. And two more, 12 pages worth of high quality analytical stuff, for Thursday. A couple more quizzes and I think a test will lead me to a poopy week.
I gave an excellent explanation of why school is silly for me last night. I should have saved it. It even gave a justification for the acceptance of "poor" grades. I'll have to ask Esther to relate it back to me, if she remembers.

I had a good fill of the testosterone-charged college males on Friday night. And I managed to not even knock anyone out. That was nice.

Oh, the worst part of this school thing is that it is now taking me away from my training. This, however, highlights one of the best parts of my job. I can choose my hours and disapear for a week or two if I have to. But that is something I do not enjoy doing. Hopefully, I will find the time to meet up with the fighters down in Winona as least one day this week.
School also keeps me from gardening, but it is quite wet out anyway, so it is okay that I am not getting there too much. I would like to have taken down some trees this weekend though, as the grandparents are in Cali forn i a.

Back to schoolwork.

Peace.