I guess what I am saying is that reality wouldn't be synthetical if there weren't distinct entities to be synthesized in the first place. Basically, I see traditional monism as a claim that reality is analystical (reductionistic rather than holistic), which I think is wrong. I'm not feeling too sharp at the moment, though, so I'm not sure if that came across correctly.
No, it came across just fine, and I think that there's some merit to it. An analogy might be the manner in which we define things like a nation, or a community, or a group. There's an intermeshing plurality there, by necessity, even when each of the constituent parts is an individual. Or call it a jigsaw puzzle, maybe.
Anyway, you've made your case well. I'll have to think about it some more.
Probably. There is likely some great variety among artists and the like. It may be that simple, "mundane" folk experience more inner peace in the long run because they interface with reality more directly, face to face, in a physical way, rather than seeing it through many lenses. It could also be the lack of internal conflict that comes with immaturity and closedness - and in fact I think it will be both or either depending on the person. Certainly, "enlightened" folk are not necessarily more likely to particularly aware, despite the implication otherwise. However, very aware people may be more likely to have both inner conflict and inner peace in turn; it's a process. So I doubt it'd be easy to tell.
Yes, there are complicating factors. I know that I've met some lower-class types who almost certainly would have been tortured aesthetes if only they'd had the time and money to languish. Instead they're just jerks.
Yes; and this, as well, is relative to the matter of identity. Would Nick still be Nick if he didn't write? Perhaps, but not exactly the same Nick. Is there more than one Nick? Assuredly, and they don't necessarily exist in disharmony. Are blue roses and red roses both roses?
I am legion, as that unhappy gentleman once said.
This is why I see relatively small entities as humans to be incomprehensibly expansive, ecosystems unto themselves.
It's a good approach.
Yes, I agree. Letting your mind manifest itself through the intercourse between characters and events is not unlike from learning your own mind through talking with others; you could even call it intercourse with oneself.
Exactly! And it's much less creepy than walking around arguing with yourself out loud. I've done this, and it is poorly received.
I'm a little surprised that you like Rasputina, but now that it occurs to me, I shouldn't be. This is another of those groups I listened to by proxy because I know people who did.
Well, proxy listening isn't so bad, unless you're just trying to suck up or barn or whatever the hip slang is.
I like this sound of this, a lot.
Well, download away. You won't be sorry.
Oh, very much so! Tragic, as well. A lot of good can come from tears, and yet people seem to be preternaturally afraid of them. Or they assume dishonesty and manipulation in shedding them, which is really vicious and paranoid. I do find that emotions tend to be frightening for folks; and this is condign, really, but it's much better just to face them head on, and embrace them, claim them. Usually, they never go away until one has done this (at least, that is what I find).
That's quite right. The literature on the disastrous results of repressing emotions is extensive and, I fear, quite accurate. I used to do this, but I won't anymore. This has led to complaints of me being too intense, but to hell with 'em. In Europe and the Middle East (and, really, every else but here), they are "intense" as a matter of course. Loud, vicious arguments are conducted to the amusement and intrigue of slowly-assembling crowds, only to have the arguers go off to have a drink together no matter the result. We can't have that here. It frightens us. It's sad.
I feel that putting shame upon crying, fear, trembling, weakness, and other less than pleasant aspects of being human is criminal, and is no doubt responsible for at least some of the evil that pervades a society.
Agreed. Nietzsche would agree too, in fact.
It is my belief that it is very important for a person to come to understand others. This may or may not include learning anything about psychology; one can be a brilliant student of psychology and still have little to no insight into either herself, or other people. Many of us try to function without having a clue as to what we are messing with, and we can cause damage that is sometimes close to irreconciliable. There is a certain to simply paying attention, humbly and watchfully, and taking heed of what is before you. Many times we get these ideas into our heads about the way things are - and it's no wonder we are more concerned with this than with what is plain to see, because most of us are not skilled in seeing what is plain.
I think we have modern literary and academic trends to blame for this, in part. Successive generations have now been trained to look for the theory (typically malicious) behind anything that is said or done, and to read a book with demands for "psychological realism" at the forefront. We balk at an inconsistent character in a book, though he is the most natural thing of all. Borges was very much against this, as an aside, and is worth reading on the subject.
Ah, I'm the same. I find that I like to engage in activities that require me to be receptive; I seem to be suited for these. Reading, watching, listening, are all surprisingly deep pleasures. Drawing is a bit different; much like you, I drew lot as a child but abandoned it. Recently I'm trying to start again, and I'm playing to my strengths by mimicking the styles of accomplished artists and teaching myself this way.
That latter skill is something I really wish I could manage. I saw an image recently on DeviantArt in which a gentleman had decided to reproduce Blake's "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun," but as if it were done by Gustave Dore. It blew my mind. If I could do things like that (specifically in the styles of Dore, Mucha and Chesterton [who was also an accomplished artist in addition to all of the other things he was awesome at]), you'd best believe I would.
Nick, there is much more you have said to which I would like to respond, but I will need to return later and finish this. In any case, it's a delight to see you back.
Thanks, Mamelon. It's good to be back. Sorry, once again, for the delays.
And there's more!
Oh, I'm the same. It's like a compulsion. I often narrate my life to myself. A while back, when I was really into D&D, I couldn't stop making up characters. Heck, I still can't, for any medium.
Maybe it keeps the mind sharp.
It may, but then, it might also be a dulling sort of thing, if one falls into a rut. This is why I've started putting my work on paper again, at long last. Now I'll stop being distracted, and I'll actually have something to show for it (most recent work available here).
I love a good conversation. Some of my friends and I have been known to go on for hours, even to the point of imprudence. I'm an introvert by nature, but I often crave the company of others.
This may explain, in part, why our post exchange is so very long.
Small groups of intimates are able to have the most fun, I feel.
I agree with this statement in most every venue, with the exception of religion.
I loved that you said this. I have always seen Russia as akin to some far off magical kingdom. I once worked with a Russian girl, and she tried to teach me something of the language. I have a bit of a perseveration with language, but Russian is the one tongue I have had the most trouble familiarizing myself with. I greatly hope someday to visit the place.
I used to want to visit the place myself, but now I worry that it would simply be an enormous disappointment. I've heard some real horror stories about what it's like there, now, and I don't think I could stand it.
And yes, Russian people are wonderful, for the most part. I've known a few, and they have always been quite rowdily genial.
It can often be more identifiable, anyway. The truth of it is, though, that I tend to like when joy and sorrow meet and blend together into something new and stunning. This is something I've always sought to understand, to reconcile myself with, and yet it eludes me.
I feel precisely the same. The best I've been able to do as far as describing the feeling is to say that it's what you feel when someone dies heroically. A geeky and maybe childish example (though I don't think so) is the climactic moment near the conclusion of Iron Giant, if you're familiar with that film.
I want you to know that I totally get this. I am frequently wondering if everyone else is in on some conspirational understanding, and I'm completely out of the loop.
If I may suppose, however, I often find that this is an indication that you do understand things, but beause you are so attentive, you are on the look-out for something escaping your notice.
That could certainly be true, though I doubt it will stop me worrying, unfortunately.
I believe that this is a lot more normal and natural than you may fear. Most people I have known are aware that others have independent existence on an intellectual level; but in terms of their motivations, how their recognition of others registers emotionally, they don't see them as real people, but as mobile images, characters. It wasn't until a few years ago that I was struck with insight that I was (as if all of a sudden) looking at other people in the same way I view myself: as something real. It's part of the maturational process, I believe, to come to personify others in this way, and is probably the first major step toward being a genuinely charitable person. This is also why I think that "subjectivity training" is important, since it lends itself to this personification phenomenon more than academic learning or adapting analytical skills tend to.
I'm glad to see I'm not alone in this, then. I worry about the merits of teaching people about this, though. They told me any number of times and ways in school that other people have hopes and dreams and feelings and that I ought to respect or at least not antagonize them, but it never actually seemed to me to be anything beyond rhetoric until it just clicked in my head of its own accord.
I love how you put this, and I think I know just what you mean. As for humility and charity - I feel that a spirit such as you describe, forged in the juxtaposition between fire and water, and at least superficialy vainglorious, is ultimately more suited to being humble and charitable than someone who is proper, yet impersonal and indifferent. To treasure one's desires is to eventually understand desire, and thus, those who have them. To treasure oneself is to eventually treasure all personhood, wherever it lurks.
Quite so. The great pagans of yesteryear had it right when they predicated their philosophy on the command to first know thyself. Polonius had it right too, and died for his troubles (well, not exactly; I just liked how that sounded).
The way you think is delightful.
You're not bad yourself.
I've never been able to truly manage apathy, though I've tried. The closest I seem to get is anhedonia, though I don't know if it's the same at all. I have loose heartstrings that are too easily pulled, and wind around any stray thing. In any case, I don't think it's much of a failure. Apathy is probably among the most ugly things imaginable, and yet entirely understandable and human. If my observations are correct, it seems to be bred into us at some point.
Well, it's almost a modern necessity. We live in a world where there is more information than ever before, but our capacity to process this information has not grown to meet it. We are therefore forced to shut a great many things out, and the more this becomes necessary, the less able we are to discern exactly what we ought to be shutting out and exactly what we ought to be letting in. This is a dubious skill, but as you say, it is essentially bred into us. We have no choice.
For my own part, I am a naturally curious person (not in the disgusting modern sexual sense of the word, though), so my need to shut things out has become less and less as the years have progressed. And yet, as we saw before, I have locked entire continents and fields of endeavour behind a tidy little door, perhaps never to be opened. I have to work on that.
I'm considering taking a year off to teach English in Japan between my MA and my PhD. That should go a long way towards rounding me out.
Yes, and inevitable, I should think. Why be here, if one must be perfect? Should I be filled before I eat, and be rested before I sleep? What would be the point?
I think you'd really like Rabelais. This is a very Pantagruel-ean sort of thought.
They should! They're like freaking martial artists, only with mightier discipline.
And they're generally prettier.
This is probably the very essence of my greatest problems with Christendom. I know too many people who are caught up in the fascination for some grand heroism off in the distance, when what is before them is really the more epic challenge. It is not hard to imagine someone being heroic when it is made easy for him; but what about during the everyday, the drear and drudgery? A bit harder, I think, to do what is small, but important, than do what is large and obvious.
Precisely. Men and women are not measured by their reaction to great and terrible circumstances, but by their ability to get through the average day without being ground down to nothing.
I think bureaucracy is a greater threat to the human race than war.
Yes! I should think that humility is achieved when someone sees oneself, no matter how great (perhaps very), as being only a part of an always greater whole, and never forgetting it.
There's some merit to that indeed. This is where I think the Emersonians, and those like them, were on to something with their idea of the Oversoul.
Anyway, before concluding, I have another question for you. You've said some things that indiciate that you have some training in the technical aspects of visual art, even if only as an amateur. Is this the case? Or are you just a fan?
==
In other news, it's Saturday night, which means I get to drown my sorrows in rum and Fiddler on the Roof. Wheeee
Private Mod Note
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Then loom'd his streaming majesty From out that wine-dark fog, And spake he unto all our crew: "Go forth, and read my blog."
Nick, I've been thinking a lot lately on what you said about not looking the gift universe in the mouth. Not to sound grandiose, but I feel that may be one of the "secrets" to having a happy life. I've felt my attitudes towards many things changing over the course of this year, and I feel more and more like I can appreciate small things, even things I would normally have been displeased with in the past. My life seems to be going better overall, but it seems to me that this is largely because I have come to welcome this, and assign more positivity to my everday experience.
I can't say how I got here, though, as it seems to have happened all on its own.
Quote from Furor »
No, it came across just fine, and I think that there's some merit to it. An analogy might be the manner in which we define things like a nation, or a community, or a group. There's an intermeshing plurality there, by necessity, even when each of the constituent parts is an individual. Or call it a jigsaw puzzle, maybe.
Anyway, you've made your case well. I'll have to think about it some more.
Yes, precisely.
Yes, there are complicating factors. I know that I've met some lower-class types who almost certainly would have been tortured aesthetes if only they'd had the time and money to languish. Instead they're just jerks.
It's funny to talk about, but when you look at it, it's kind of sad. I guess there's more than one facet to it. There's a balance, I suppose - with some, the rigor and of mundane life tempers them, and imparts the gift of being adjusted to the ebb and flow of that life; with others, perhaps they are trampled by forces they don't understand, and have little recourse readily accessible but bitterness. Some desparately need an outlet for their emotions, and are afforded none.
I am legion, as that unhappy gentleman once said.
Certainly, and so am I. As I have said before: who am I, that you have seen my face once, and say you know me?
It's a good approach.
Exactly! And it's much less creepy than walking around arguing with yourself out loud. I've done this, and it is poorly received.
Ha! Yes, it is, isn't it?
Well, proxy listening isn't so bad, unless you're just trying to suck up or barn or whatever the hip slang is.
In my case, it's usually that my friends and family get the pick of what music we all listen to, so I have quite a range of exposure.
That's quite right. The literature on the disastrous results of repressing emotions is extensive and, I fear, quite accurate. I used to do this, but I won't anymore. This has led to complaints of me being too intense, but to hell with 'em. In Europe and the Middle East (and, really, every else but here), they are "intense" as a matter of course. Loud, vicious arguments are conducted to the amusement and intrigue of slowly-assembling crowds, only to have the arguers go off to have a drink together no matter the result.
I vigorously agree! I see this repression as similar, in spirit, to suicide as we discussed earlier - would you scorn yourself so greatly as to say to your body "No, you cannot be ill"? Probably not, and it is the same with the psychological. If you are angry, sorrowful, wild, despairing, hungry, or bitter, there is certainly a reason.
However, unfettered self-indulgence is probably not the answer to it, as some believe, at least not all the time; I think that many believe that repression and indulgence exist on kind of a spectrum, in which the less you do of one, the more you necessarily do of the other. Lately, I feel that this is an error. Rather, there is a balanced third option. You do not necessarily need to abandon self control to avoid suppressing yourself; for instance, when I am angry, I often have certain things I turn to aside from getting into a fight or making nasty comments - sometimes talking about it with friends or in my own mind, or drawing extravagantly crazed-looking pictures are even more cathartic, and not at all dangerous or unhealthy.
We can't have that here. It frightens us. It's sad.
Yes. It is sad.
Agreed. Nietzsche would agree too, in fact.
Interesting. I never really read much about Nietzsche; I'm sure I will, though, in time.
I think we have modern literary and academic trends to blame for this, in part. Successive generations have now been trained to look for the theory (typically malicious) behind anything that is said or done, and to read a book with demands for "psychological realism" at the forefront. We balk at an inconsistent character in a book, though he is the most natural thing of all. Borges was very much against this, as an aside, and is worth reading on the subject.
Indeed. I think part of this is like what you were saying earlier, about how the workings of the human psyche are not something that can be dissected by rational means. However, we tend to try anyway, with grim results. I admit I see something of a megalomaniacal agenda behind it; "I want to have pefect insight." It's an echo of "I want to be master."
To reach for such, however, is to surely chase it away.
That latter skill is something I really wish I could manage. I saw an image recently on DeviantArt in which a gentleman had decided to reproduce Blake's "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun," but as if it were done by Gustave Dore. It blew my mind. If I could do things like that (specifically in the styles of Dore, Mucha and Chesterton [who was also an accomplished artist in addition to all of the other things he was awesome at]), you'd best believe I would.
Yeah, it takes a lot of practice, and practice is admittedly something I've never been very good at. Nonetheless, I'm trying to do my best now and see if I can improve on that, at least.
It may, but then, it might also be a dulling sort of thing, if one falls into a rut. This is why I've started putting my work on paper again, at long last. Now I'll stop being distracted, and I'll actually have something to show for it (most recent work available here).
Thank you! I should really start doing that, myself.
This may explain, in part, why our post exchange is so very long.
Yes. In other parts of this forum, like the Coffeehouse, I'm sort of known for really extended posts. I don't mind it if you don't, however.
I agree with this statement in most every venue, with the exception of religion.
What an interesting thing to say, and I'm not sure I know what you mean by it. I imagine you may be saying that a religion is best when it is widespread, rather than cloistered away within a small number of private bosoms. If that is so, I am inclined to agree, since it seems to be in accordance with the very goal of religion to unite together many, many minds and hearts.
I used to want to visit the place myself, but now I worry that it would simply be an enormous disappointment. I've heard some real horror stories about what it's like there, now, and I don't think I could stand it.
That may be so; I suppose it's true of any place. I've been reading some traveler's guides about places like St. Petersburg, and am rather enchanted by the idea. I may yet see it.
What are some of the places you have visited outside of your home?
I feel precisely the same. The best I've been able to do as far as describing the feeling is to say that it's what you feel when someone dies heroically. A geeky and maybe childish example (though I don't think so) is the climactic moment near the conclusion of Iron Giant, if you're familiar with that film.
I am, and that's a very good example (a great movie, by the way). Another I have is any scene that portrays the end of a world, but in a positive way.
It may strike some as odd that I tend to fantasize about the end of the world as being something beautiful and amazing, rather than terrifying or dreadful.
That could certainly be true, though I doubt it will stop me worrying, unfortunately.
Of course. Few things can really stop us from worrying, just like that. There may be a very good reason that you worry that cannot be addressed by simple reassurance.
I'm glad to see I'm not alone in this, then. I worry about the merits of teaching people about this, though. They told me any number of times and ways in school that other people have hopes and dreams and feelings and that I ought to respect or at least not antagonize them, but it never actually seemed to me to be anything beyond rhetoric until it just clicked in my head of its own accord.
You make a good point, and in truth, I don't believe it can be taught. It is not the kind of thing one understands by having the right knowledge, or having heard the right accounts; it's more comparable to a skill, that you must learn by doing, but even then it's greater, as it must first occur to you to take it up, which is probably the hardest part. It is like falling in love; you cannot contrive it, cannot capture it. It is born from the movements of the spirit. Theoretically, you cannot accelerate it any more than you can accelerate a baby's ability to walk, except through cultivating the right environment, and affording opportunities for growth. Even then, it is illusive.
Quite so. The great pagans of yesteryear had it right when they predicated their philosophy on the command to first know thyself. Polonius had it right too, and died for his troubles (well, not exactly; I just liked how that sounded).
Yes, I agree.
You're not bad yourself.
Well, it's almost a modern necessity. We live in a world where there is more information than ever before, but our capacity to process this information has not grown to meet it. We are therefore forced to shut a great many things out, and the more this becomes necessary, the less able we are to discern exactly what we ought to be shutting out and exactly what we ought to be letting in. This is a dubious skill, but as you say, it is essentially bred into us. We have no choice.
Ah, I think you are right about that. I know from experience that not being able to turn off to anything is exhausting, and at least just unmanageable. It is vitally important, as some have said, to be able to disconnect, rather than just connect; more important than we may give credit for.
It's apparently quite hard to find a balance. Most people seem either overextended, or sealed away, impenetrable. I understand; I feel that I oscillate between the two extremes in turn, and cannot say that I hold the answer, the key to equilibrium.
Equilibirum in this life may be the most difficult of all states to achieve.
For my own part, I am a naturally curious person (not in the disgusting modern sexual sense of the word, though), so my need to shut things out has become less and less as the years have progressed. And yet, as we saw before, I have locked entire continents and fields of endeavour behind a tidy little door, perhaps never to be opened. I have to work on that.
As you say, it's somewhat necessary, at least temporarily. It's very easy to be both overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Only so much energy can be afforded to so many things at once. We are only so great; it's important that we remember that.
I'm considering taking a year off to teach English in Japan between my MA and my PhD. That should go a long way towards rounding me out.
That sounds like a great idea, if you're up for it. I know of some people doing that, and it can be quite exciting. My friend tells me nothing refreshes your soul quite like a stay in another country.
I think you'd really like Rabelais. This is a very Pantagruel-ean sort of thought.
Really? Surely, then, I must discover what that means.
And they're generally prettier.
Yes, if they're lucky.
Precisely. Men and women are not measured by their reaction to great and terrible circumstances, but by their ability to get through the average day without being ground down to nothing.
I think bureaucracy is a greater threat to the human race than war.
As do I! Certainly a more pervasive threat. Its evils more easily escape notice, and that which they take are perhaps harder to rescue than what is lost to some epic violence. Not that I mean to make light of what is lost in a war.
There's some merit to that indeed. This is where I think the Emersonians, and those like them, were on to something with their idea of the Oversoul.
Yes. I believe in something of an "Oversoul," in the pluralistic sense I explained above. It's similar to the way I imagine a "spiritual ecosystem."
Anyway, before concluding, I have another question for you. You've said some things that indiciate that you have some training in the technical aspects of visual art, even if only as an amateur. Is this the case? Or are you just a fan?
I would love to give you some boldly intriguing answer, but unfortunately I must be truthful and say that I have no formal training, so I suppose I'm just a fan. Do you mean technical as in technique, or as in the process of rendering visual art outside of the basic drawing/inking/etc?
And may I ask which comments indicated this to you, just out of curiosity?
In other news, it's Saturday night, which means I get to drown my sorrows in rum and Fiddler on the Roof. Wheeee
Sounds brilliant. I've recently (very recently) been dipping my toes into the world of alcoholic beverages, and found more that I like than I expected. The first wine I tried, I detested. However, I've found a few kinds that are simply delectable. I've never had rum, though. Do you have a favorite alcoholic beverage?
Edit: About my earlier question, Nick:
Quote from Mamelon »
Also, Nick, I had intended to ask you, as I can't seem to figure it out myself. From where do you hail, on a national scale? I had tried to infer it based upon clues you left scattered about, but they ended up contradicting each other.
All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the light that you see. All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the peace that you feel. All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to fill your heart on my own.
But the rainbow is an image of hope for many reasons, as it is a brilliant sight coming out of oftimes dismal weather.
That's bullshit. You shoulda karate chopped the teacher's face off.
Oh, she got hers, don't you worry.
(Actually, she was rather the unpopular teacher. Rumor has it that one year, she discovered a used tampon in her coffee; but that's just hearsay.)
It's been over a month and a half, and I'm still consistently posting on my blog. That's unheard of for me. I've run three blogs thus far, and all of them have ended with perpetual inactivity. I'm glad.
(See what I did there? I pretended to share my thoughts with the clan while really just shamelessly plugging my blog.)
I finally picked up the first in the Ice and Fire series recently, and it's sitting on my shelf waiting. Since I've only just started on Foucault's Pendulum, though, it could be waiting a while.
Oh no.
Stop reading that now.
Not that I dislike it (I haven't even read it), but ASoIaF is just so dang good. srsly.
Quote from T2 »
(See what I did there? I pretended to share my thoughts with the clan while really just shamelessly plugging my blog.)
If hefner was a rich, gay, playboy and had hot steamy sex with hot guys would you choose him? Of course not, mainly because im a straight male and find that stuff gross.
Stand by my side should I fight
Strengthen my steel should I falter
Smite my back should I flee
Save my soul should I fall
Official Recovering World of Warcraft Addict of The Ivory Tower
Announcement: I will be giving up the internet, apart from the e-mail, instant messenging and facebook things that are vital for co-ordinating my academic life, until Easter rolls around. Guess why.
So, to Mamelon, sorry I haven't concluded our exchange, but you are of couse welcome to continue on AIM, or through e-mail, if you're so inclined.
To the rest of you, have a most dolorous Lent.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Then loom'd his streaming majesty From out that wine-dark fog, And spake he unto all our crew: "Go forth, and read my blog."
Announcement: I will be giving up the internet, apart from the e-mail, instant messenging and facebook things that are vital for co-ordinating my academic life, until Easter rolls around. Guess why.
So, to Mamelon, sorry I haven't concluded our exchange, but you are of couse welcome to continue on AIM, or through e-mail, if you're so inclined.
To the rest of you, have a most dolorous Lent.
You can wish me all the tidings (good or bad) that you want.
I felt he deserved it, but I suppose I can see how he might have taken it poorly.
EDIT OF EXTRAORDINARY IMPORTANCE:
Quote from "My Email" »
Dear Herbert Lee,
I am pleased to offer you admission into the Masters degree program in Bioinformatics at the University of California, Santa Cruz beginning in the fall 2007 quarter. As you may know, admission to graduate standing at UCSC is highly competitive; by accepting this invitation, you will be joining a select group of advanced students whose academic records evidence their potential for superior scholarly achievement.
I regret that I am unable to offer you any financial support at this time. Should you have questions about future financial support, please contact your department.
We encourage you to visit the UC Santa Cruz campus if you haven't already. Visit our website at http://www.ucsc.edu/about for directions and lodging information.
We must receive youracceptance of admission no later than April 16, 2007. Log on to the MyUCSC Student Portal at https://my.ucsc.edu to accept or decline your offer of admission.
I hope that you are planning to join our community of scholars at Santa Cruz. I look forward to meeting you at Graduate Orientation.
Sincerely,
Lisa C. Sloan
Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies
If hefner was a rich, gay, playboy and had hot steamy sex with hot guys would you choose him? Of course not, mainly because im a straight male and find that stuff gross.
Stand by my side should I fight
Strengthen my steel should I falter
Smite my back should I flee
Save my soul should I fall
Official Recovering World of Warcraft Addict of The Ivory Tower
Announcement: I will be giving up the internet, apart from the e-mail, instant messenging and facebook things that are vital for co-ordinating my academic life, until Easter rolls around. Guess why.
So, to Mamelon, sorry I haven't concluded our exchange, but you are of couse [sic] welcome to continue on AIM, or through e-mail, if you're so inclined.
To the rest of you, have a most dolorous Lent.
Sure thing; it's your choice, and it's your life. I will, however, continue to read that blog of yours.
Yes, of course, I shall have a most dolorous Lent (whatever that is - oh the sacrilege, you say!:rolleyes:).
I felt he deserved it, but I suppose I can see how he might have taken it poorly.
Well then, I hope you felt all warm and fuzzy inside, by doing so.
My condolences, and don't worry; it'll wear off soon enough.
EDIT OF EXTRAORDINARY IMPORTANCE:
...
YEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations.
While we're (somewhat) on the topic, how is it that one approach applying for American Ivy League colleges, in particular when the applicant is foreign?
Anyhow, I shall be off with the literary works of Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, and oh, of course, Mary Shelley, as I immerse myself in comparative studies; studying the wonders of physics, in particular quantum mechanics; and questioning the origin of life - and quite possibly, philosophy.
Adieu.
While we're (somewhat) on the topic, how is it that one approach applying for American Ivy League colleges, in particular when the applicant is foreign?
Depends on where you're from. The websites for each college should have stuff about foreign applicants.
I got accepted into a few universities already (as a junior), but nothing I'm actually considering. Just testing the waters.
And congratulations, Prizm. Where'd you do your undergrad work?
To stay on topic somewhat, I'm considering (belatedly) going to college. I really wasn't into the idea until I found the greatest school of all time. I'm thinking of applying for the Spring '08 semester in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I've not much incentive to stick around here, with the exception of my friends, whom I'll miss dearly.
Great job Prizm! It's enough to counteract the fact that your name is Herbert oooh cheap shot!
(And link to the GotG post...)
Low blow, man. Low blow.
msun: The beautiful urban campus of California State University, Los Angeles.
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Prizm is the key to the greatness of the US!
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If hefner was a rich, gay, playboy and had hot steamy sex with hot guys would you choose him? Of course not, mainly because im a straight male and find that stuff gross.
Stand by my side should I fight
Strengthen my steel should I falter
Smite my back should I flee
Save my soul should I fall
Official Recovering World of Warcraft Addict of The Ivory Tower
I'm going to El Paso, Texas, for a weekend in two and a half weeks. I get to visit an friend of mine who joined the Army, and I get to see Tool perform in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Sorry I've been away. It's too bad Furor gave up internet for Lent, but it's all well in the end, I suppose. Certainly not a bad thing to give up, as it can be habit forming. Perhaps I should take him up on his offer.
As for me, I've been doing fairly well lately, as I have a new job and it's much better than my previous one. Funny how much a difference that can make.
Denver, have you been to Texas before? I've heard mixed things about it.
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All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the light that you see. All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the peace that you feel. All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to fill your heart on my own.
But the rainbow is an image of hope for many reasons, as it is a brilliant sight coming out of oftimes dismal weather.
Denver, have you been to Texas before? I've heard mixed things about it.
No, I haven't.
But, I should be able to have fun fun fun.
As for me, I've been doing fairly well lately, as I have a new job and it's much better than my previous one. Funny how much a difference that can make.
Too true.
--
Also, anyone up for playing some mafia with a few of the other clans?
No, it came across just fine, and I think that there's some merit to it. An analogy might be the manner in which we define things like a nation, or a community, or a group. There's an intermeshing plurality there, by necessity, even when each of the constituent parts is an individual. Or call it a jigsaw puzzle, maybe.
Anyway, you've made your case well. I'll have to think about it some more.
Yes, there are complicating factors. I know that I've met some lower-class types who almost certainly would have been tortured aesthetes if only they'd had the time and money to languish. Instead they're just jerks.
I am legion, as that unhappy gentleman once said.
It's a good approach.
Exactly! And it's much less creepy than walking around arguing with yourself out loud. I've done this, and it is poorly received.
Well, proxy listening isn't so bad, unless you're just trying to suck up or barn or whatever the hip slang is.
Well, download away. You won't be sorry.
That's quite right. The literature on the disastrous results of repressing emotions is extensive and, I fear, quite accurate. I used to do this, but I won't anymore. This has led to complaints of me being too intense, but to hell with 'em. In Europe and the Middle East (and, really, every else but here), they are "intense" as a matter of course. Loud, vicious arguments are conducted to the amusement and intrigue of slowly-assembling crowds, only to have the arguers go off to have a drink together no matter the result. We can't have that here. It frightens us. It's sad.
Agreed. Nietzsche would agree too, in fact.
I think we have modern literary and academic trends to blame for this, in part. Successive generations have now been trained to look for the theory (typically malicious) behind anything that is said or done, and to read a book with demands for "psychological realism" at the forefront. We balk at an inconsistent character in a book, though he is the most natural thing of all. Borges was very much against this, as an aside, and is worth reading on the subject.
That latter skill is something I really wish I could manage. I saw an image recently on DeviantArt in which a gentleman had decided to reproduce Blake's "The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun," but as if it were done by Gustave Dore. It blew my mind. If I could do things like that (specifically in the styles of Dore, Mucha and Chesterton [who was also an accomplished artist in addition to all of the other things he was awesome at]), you'd best believe I would.
Thanks, Mamelon. It's good to be back. Sorry, once again, for the delays.
And there's more!
It may, but then, it might also be a dulling sort of thing, if one falls into a rut. This is why I've started putting my work on paper again, at long last. Now I'll stop being distracted, and I'll actually have something to show for it (most recent work available here).
This may explain, in part, why our post exchange is so very long.
I agree with this statement in most every venue, with the exception of religion.
I used to want to visit the place myself, but now I worry that it would simply be an enormous disappointment. I've heard some real horror stories about what it's like there, now, and I don't think I could stand it.
And yes, Russian people are wonderful, for the most part. I've known a few, and they have always been quite rowdily genial.
I feel precisely the same. The best I've been able to do as far as describing the feeling is to say that it's what you feel when someone dies heroically. A geeky and maybe childish example (though I don't think so) is the climactic moment near the conclusion of Iron Giant, if you're familiar with that film.
That could certainly be true, though I doubt it will stop me worrying, unfortunately.
I'm glad to see I'm not alone in this, then. I worry about the merits of teaching people about this, though. They told me any number of times and ways in school that other people have hopes and dreams and feelings and that I ought to respect or at least not antagonize them, but it never actually seemed to me to be anything beyond rhetoric until it just clicked in my head of its own accord.
Quite so. The great pagans of yesteryear had it right when they predicated their philosophy on the command to first know thyself. Polonius had it right too, and died for his troubles (well, not exactly; I just liked how that sounded).
You're not bad yourself.
Well, it's almost a modern necessity. We live in a world where there is more information than ever before, but our capacity to process this information has not grown to meet it. We are therefore forced to shut a great many things out, and the more this becomes necessary, the less able we are to discern exactly what we ought to be shutting out and exactly what we ought to be letting in. This is a dubious skill, but as you say, it is essentially bred into us. We have no choice.
For my own part, I am a naturally curious person (not in the disgusting modern sexual sense of the word, though), so my need to shut things out has become less and less as the years have progressed. And yet, as we saw before, I have locked entire continents and fields of endeavour behind a tidy little door, perhaps never to be opened. I have to work on that.
I'm considering taking a year off to teach English in Japan between my MA and my PhD. That should go a long way towards rounding me out.
I think you'd really like Rabelais. This is a very Pantagruel-ean sort of thought.
And they're generally prettier.
Precisely. Men and women are not measured by their reaction to great and terrible circumstances, but by their ability to get through the average day without being ground down to nothing.
I think bureaucracy is a greater threat to the human race than war.
There's some merit to that indeed. This is where I think the Emersonians, and those like them, were on to something with their idea of the Oversoul.
Anyway, before concluding, I have another question for you. You've said some things that indiciate that you have some training in the technical aspects of visual art, even if only as an amateur. Is this the case? Or are you just a fan?
==
In other news, it's Saturday night, which means I get to drown my sorrows in rum and Fiddler on the Roof. Wheeee
From out that wine-dark fog,
And spake he unto all our crew:
"Go forth, and read my blog."
Do we want to participate in this month's Clan Contest?
I can't say how I got here, though, as it seems to have happened all on its own.
Yes, precisely.
It's funny to talk about, but when you look at it, it's kind of sad. I guess there's more than one facet to it. There's a balance, I suppose - with some, the rigor and of mundane life tempers them, and imparts the gift of being adjusted to the ebb and flow of that life; with others, perhaps they are trampled by forces they don't understand, and have little recourse readily accessible but bitterness. Some desparately need an outlet for their emotions, and are afforded none.
Certainly, and so am I. As I have said before: who am I, that you have seen my face once, and say you know me?
Ha! Yes, it is, isn't it?
In my case, it's usually that my friends and family get the pick of what music we all listen to, so I have quite a range of exposure.
I vigorously agree! I see this repression as similar, in spirit, to suicide as we discussed earlier - would you scorn yourself so greatly as to say to your body "No, you cannot be ill"? Probably not, and it is the same with the psychological. If you are angry, sorrowful, wild, despairing, hungry, or bitter, there is certainly a reason.
However, unfettered self-indulgence is probably not the answer to it, as some believe, at least not all the time; I think that many believe that repression and indulgence exist on kind of a spectrum, in which the less you do of one, the more you necessarily do of the other. Lately, I feel that this is an error. Rather, there is a balanced third option. You do not necessarily need to abandon self control to avoid suppressing yourself; for instance, when I am angry, I often have certain things I turn to aside from getting into a fight or making nasty comments - sometimes talking about it with friends or in my own mind, or drawing extravagantly crazed-looking pictures are even more cathartic, and not at all dangerous or unhealthy.
Yes. It is sad.
Interesting. I never really read much about Nietzsche; I'm sure I will, though, in time.
Indeed. I think part of this is like what you were saying earlier, about how the workings of the human psyche are not something that can be dissected by rational means. However, we tend to try anyway, with grim results. I admit I see something of a megalomaniacal agenda behind it; "I want to have pefect insight." It's an echo of "I want to be master."
To reach for such, however, is to surely chase it away.
Yeah, it takes a lot of practice, and practice is admittedly something I've never been very good at. Nonetheless, I'm trying to do my best now and see if I can improve on that, at least.
Thank you! I should really start doing that, myself.
Yes. In other parts of this forum, like the Coffeehouse, I'm sort of known for really extended posts. I don't mind it if you don't, however.
What an interesting thing to say, and I'm not sure I know what you mean by it. I imagine you may be saying that a religion is best when it is widespread, rather than cloistered away within a small number of private bosoms. If that is so, I am inclined to agree, since it seems to be in accordance with the very goal of religion to unite together many, many minds and hearts.
That may be so; I suppose it's true of any place. I've been reading some traveler's guides about places like St. Petersburg, and am rather enchanted by the idea. I may yet see it.
What are some of the places you have visited outside of your home?
I am, and that's a very good example (a great movie, by the way). Another I have is any scene that portrays the end of a world, but in a positive way.
It may strike some as odd that I tend to fantasize about the end of the world as being something beautiful and amazing, rather than terrifying or dreadful.
Of course. Few things can really stop us from worrying, just like that. There may be a very good reason that you worry that cannot be addressed by simple reassurance.
You make a good point, and in truth, I don't believe it can be taught. It is not the kind of thing one understands by having the right knowledge, or having heard the right accounts; it's more comparable to a skill, that you must learn by doing, but even then it's greater, as it must first occur to you to take it up, which is probably the hardest part. It is like falling in love; you cannot contrive it, cannot capture it. It is born from the movements of the spirit. Theoretically, you cannot accelerate it any more than you can accelerate a baby's ability to walk, except through cultivating the right environment, and affording opportunities for growth. Even then, it is illusive.
Yes, I agree.
Ah, I think you are right about that. I know from experience that not being able to turn off to anything is exhausting, and at least just unmanageable. It is vitally important, as some have said, to be able to disconnect, rather than just connect; more important than we may give credit for.
It's apparently quite hard to find a balance. Most people seem either overextended, or sealed away, impenetrable. I understand; I feel that I oscillate between the two extremes in turn, and cannot say that I hold the answer, the key to equilibrium.
Equilibirum in this life may be the most difficult of all states to achieve.
As you say, it's somewhat necessary, at least temporarily. It's very easy to be both overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Only so much energy can be afforded to so many things at once. We are only so great; it's important that we remember that.
That sounds like a great idea, if you're up for it. I know of some people doing that, and it can be quite exciting. My friend tells me nothing refreshes your soul quite like a stay in another country.
Really? Surely, then, I must discover what that means.
Yes, if they're lucky.
As do I! Certainly a more pervasive threat. Its evils more easily escape notice, and that which they take are perhaps harder to rescue than what is lost to some epic violence. Not that I mean to make light of what is lost in a war.
Yes. I believe in something of an "Oversoul," in the pluralistic sense I explained above. It's similar to the way I imagine a "spiritual ecosystem."
I would love to give you some boldly intriguing answer, but unfortunately I must be truthful and say that I have no formal training, so I suppose I'm just a fan. Do you mean technical as in technique, or as in the process of rendering visual art outside of the basic drawing/inking/etc?
And may I ask which comments indicated this to you, just out of curiosity?
Sounds brilliant. I've recently (very recently) been dipping my toes into the world of alcoholic beverages, and found more that I like than I expected. The first wine I tried, I detested. However, I've found a few kinds that are simply delectable. I've never had rum, though. Do you have a favorite alcoholic beverage?
Edit: About my earlier question, Nick:
Is it meant to be a mystery?
All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the peace that you feel.
All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to fill your heart on my own.
Gaymers | Magic Coffeehouse | Little Jar of Mamelon | Natural 20
Somehow that seems unlikely, though it sounds cool.
I just discussed doing my Senior English Thesis on GRRM.
That's when you know you like an author too much.
(But it'd be so easy to do it.)
I've never read any of his work, but it looks interesting.
In highschool, I wanted to write my Junior Essay on Stephen King, but it wasn't approved.
It's less "magic and might" fantasy, and more "soap opera//political thriller" fantasy.
I like it.
That's bullshit. You shoulda karate chopped the teacher's face off.
Oh, she got hers, don't you worry.
(Actually, she was rather the unpopular teacher. Rumor has it that one year, she discovered a used tampon in her coffee; but that's just hearsay.)
It's been over a month and a half, and I'm still consistently posting on my blog. That's unheard of for me. I've run three blogs thus far, and all of them have ended with perpetual inactivity. I'm glad.
(See what I did there? I pretended to share my thoughts with the clan while really just shamelessly plugging my blog.)
Oh no.
Stop reading that now.
Not that I dislike it (I haven't even read it), but ASoIaF is just so dang good. srsly.
++
Strengthen my steel should I falter
Smite my back should I flee
Save my soul should I fall
Official Recovering World of Warcraft Addict of The Ivory Tower
So, to Mamelon, sorry I haven't concluded our exchange, but you are of couse welcome to continue on AIM, or through e-mail, if you're so inclined.
To the rest of you, have a most dolorous Lent.
From out that wine-dark fog,
And spake he unto all our crew:
"Go forth, and read my blog."
You can wish me all the tidings (good or bad) that you want.
I will take none of it.
I felt he deserved it, but I suppose I can see how he might have taken it poorly.
EDIT OF EXTRAORDINARY IMPORTANCE:
YEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Strengthen my steel should I falter
Smite my back should I flee
Save my soul should I fall
Official Recovering World of Warcraft Addict of The Ivory Tower
Sure thing; it's your choice, and it's your life. I will, however, continue to read that blog of yours.
Yes, of course, I shall have a most dolorous Lent (whatever that is - oh the sacrilege, you say!:rolleyes:).
Well then, I hope you felt all warm and fuzzy inside, by doing so.
My condolences, and don't worry; it'll wear off soon enough.
Congratulations.
While we're (somewhat) on the topic, how is it that one approach applying for American Ivy League colleges, in particular when the applicant is foreign?
Anyhow, I shall be off with the literary works of Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, and oh, of course, Mary Shelley, as I immerse myself in comparative studies; studying the wonders of physics, in particular quantum mechanics; and questioning the origin of life - and quite possibly, philosophy.
Adieu.
(And link to the GotG post...)
Well, it couldn't have been worse than this, could it?
Oh, here (somehow it didn't appear in the search, or more posts by Prizm, for that matter).
Hi Einsteinmonkey.:)
Back to work, then.
Ah, that...
This immediately sets off alarm bells.
Hi Magic Mage.:)
Depends on where you're from. The websites for each college should have stuff about foreign applicants.
I got accepted into a few universities already (as a junior), but nothing I'm actually considering. Just testing the waters.
And congratulations, Prizm. Where'd you do your undergrad work?
Also, Congrats, Prizm.
Low blow, man. Low blow.
msun: The beautiful urban campus of California State University, Los Angeles.
Strengthen my steel should I falter
Smite my back should I flee
Save my soul should I fall
Official Recovering World of Warcraft Addict of The Ivory Tower
Like this:
I'm going to El Paso, Texas, for a weekend in two and a half weeks. I get to visit an friend of mine who joined the Army, and I get to see Tool perform in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Sorry I've been away. It's too bad Furor gave up internet for Lent, but it's all well in the end, I suppose. Certainly not a bad thing to give up, as it can be habit forming. Perhaps I should take him up on his offer.
As for me, I've been doing fairly well lately, as I have a new job and it's much better than my previous one. Funny how much a difference that can make.
Denver, have you been to Texas before? I've heard mixed things about it.
All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to be the peace that you feel.
All that I yearn for, for richer or poorer, is to fill your heart on my own.
Gaymers | Magic Coffeehouse | Little Jar of Mamelon | Natural 20
No, I haven't.
But, I should be able to have fun fun fun.
Too true.
--
Also, anyone up for playing some mafia with a few of the other clans?