Nuggets of Wisdom

Tomorrow I will post an answer to an email from a reader in Malaysia and my comment regarding the Presidential Debate (tonight so watch!), so today I will just post some excerpts from forum posts and comments from other blogs. Sometimes I surprise myself with little bits of spontaneous... hmm... "wisdom" is a strong word. Just read on.


On typos being a pet peeve (from an INTP forum):

"Even great authors need a peon copy editor; even Einstein needed an assistant to check his math."

"INTP's look at the big picture, often neglecting details."

"My pet peeves are menial tasks, mediocre intelligence, and intolerance. My dislike of intolerance predisposes me to forgive the other trespasses, as I try not to be hypocritically intolerant... if that even makes sense. I can handle a feww typoes. Its driving you nuts, huh?"

On cohesion in the conservative camp (comment I posted in a "liberal" blog):

"Many people would agree that the "conservative" camp inherently has uniformity and from a PR standpoint, a perceived monopoly on family values, giving them some advantage, where as "liberals" inherently have a wider range of beliefs, because they think independently. However, in my view point, there is also a wide range of beliefs in the so called "conservative" camp from Andrew Sulliven to Bill O'Riley to Bush's minions, a fact that should be explored. In fact, most "conservatives" seek to conserve nothing other than greed and unchecked corporate power and should be justly called "neo-liberals." Refusing to play on their turf and arguing the validity of their use of the word "conservative" would be a wise step towards real debate, in my view, because it would remove the connotational upperhand of terms like "right" and "conservative". As for "liberals," some may best believe this term describes them, but I insist this is using the neo-liberal frame and instead I prefer "progressive" as progress is always a good thing, change is not. Being progressive while preserving the best of what our predecessors valued is the truest way and many "liberals" need to think about synthesis not just analysis."

On George Bush's "hometown" paper, The Lone Star Iconclast, endorsing Kerry (comment made on this blog):

"I still think it is cool for a little paper in Texas, in a little town that has been known to take issues with anti-W protestors, to make a stand.

Iconoclast? THAT is a great name for a newspaper.

Here is a Wikipedia definition:
"The more common meaning in current usage is that an iconoclast is a person who carries out symbolic or quixotic acts of protest against authority figures."

Appropriately named, no?

Texas and this country were founded by seemingly quixotic acts, so this warms my heart a bit.

Thanks, Kari for the inspiration.

"One man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world was better for this." -Don Quixote

Be sure to watch the debates tonight. Oh, and I tried spell check and it wanted to replace "INTP" with "windbag." Serves me right.

Have a wonderful day,

S-

Three Good Guys

If you are in the mood for political commentary, check out these guys. I am getting too frustrated to write about politics, so I have been burying my nose in "The Quantum Brain," in INTP forums, and reading up on early American History.

Have a good day,

S.

Craziest - A short story by Liz Dubelman

Someone posted this link in an INTP forum. This is truely awesome, so click the link and watch it:


VidLit� - Craziest - A short story by Liz Dubelman

The world according to me

There are some days when the news or other daily events do not provide me the inspiration to write. My writing tends to depend on the art of persuasion rather than pure entertainment. Well, at least based normal people's ideas of entertainment. I love writing and it is as necessary as breathing for me, but flowery romantic writing is not my forte and neither is comedy. I prefer the Dostoevsky's of the world, with all of their rawness, insight, and passion. A forum is sometimes a good outlet for me to use my grey matter at besides boring my family and neighbors to death.

"Listen" in on some of my forum (sorta) nirvana moments--unproofed and raw:

On aging:

All I ask is for my thoughts and memory to outlive me, rather than outlive my own memory and thoughts.

On the existence of God:

"Switch your brains to synthesis and off of analysis for a second like only a true INTP can, folks.

If we create life from the nonliving, then we are a creator. This still does not disprove or prove we were created by a creator, divine or otherwise. Remember, I am not proving or disproving god, I am merely give a "nod" to limitations of science, technology, and human reasoning to know an answer either way (thus leaving the possibility open). A more complex question to ask me would have been whether absolute truths actually exist? Let's assume there are absolute truths:

The "P" in INTP makes me want to be able to change horses in midstream and keep my options open. If I was a J maybe I would be happy to say yes there IS or is NOT a god and call it law, whether or not it is the absolute truth. "I dunno" and "there IS a possibility" are not exactly equal and I can assure you that almost anything I think (much less, Einstein's) is not the product of a "lazy mind." Einstein was hardly a lazy mind, when he asserted that electrons could have orbits, though he could not observe it. The Intuitive nature of someone like Einstein, a model of INTP-ness, simply acknowledges that one cannot wisely assume something does not exist or occur, because it is not observed. Science is constantly recanting its "truths," so were those truths ever really truths? I am simply arguing that unless there is absolute disproof, the truth is still out there... whatever that may be. Atheism and religion both hold a belief in an absolute "truth"; yea or nay one way or another.

You can know faith and you can believe in knowledge, but they are not exactly the same concept. Remember "facts" only seem set in stone, but beliefs often really are, but that does not make beliefs absolute truth. Believe what you like and take solace in whatever that may be, because likely that will be the closest to absoluteness you will ever get.

Good times, gentleman."


From a previous existence of god post:

"Regardless, if there is or is not a divine, the burden of proof is on us."


On the internal visual environment of my mind (this was a creative thread):

"When I dream, I am often in my childhood home. There is never any furniture, except for the built in bookcases filled with books, and there is always mid-morning sunlight pouring in through the windows onto gleaming wood floors. Lovely."



To those from the forum, this post may be redundant, but for others this may be of some interest. It is to me anyhow.


Have a lovely night,

Aren't Weekends fun?

Have a read.

I promise to add to this post (but on another topic) after this Tecate.

Update:

...Okay, so I was a little late getting back to posting, but traffic slowed last night anyway.

I thought I would give a little bit of a personal touch to this post, letting people get an idea of who I really am. I don't mean my real name, what I look like or any other superficial details, but rather a bit of insight into my intentions and thought processes. Allow to me to indulge in my self-centered musings. If you haven't already taken a Myers-Briggs or enneagram test, consider it, but keep in mind these tests and people are fallible. Sometimes people are not in touch with who they really are in the first place, making identification far more difficult. With personality tests, you will need to keep an open mind, answer honestly, and read the personality description and confirm if this indeed sounds you. Anyway, hit the links with me.

I am a "textbook" INTP.
My enneagram is a "balanced" five, so I do not have the so called "wings". I am always 'tween something, hence I call myself a "tweener." I am neither left nor right brain dominant and until I was about 8, I could write just as easily with my left hand as I could my right. I was born between generations and cultures. Even my masculine and feminine sides are well balanced. My learning style test results are fairly balanced,too. I have some difficulty with tests, because I constantly question the questions and explore the possibilities. In high school, I remember finding an error in a question on a standardized test and it plagued me for the remaining portion of the timed test.

I used to think that I was unusual... and well, I was right. I am unusual, but at least now I understand that it is okay to be different and that I should celebrate my quirks, using them to my advantage. For years and years I struggled against who I was born to be. I desperately wanted to be normal, even trying to act out some other personality types. I am tired of trying to be something I am not, I just want to look and be like me. I think personal discovery is so vital to maximizing potential and I am glad I realized this before my youth is exhausted. One of my best friends, a supreme nerd, told me that "life will be easier once you admit you are a geek." Dave was right. Life is much easier now.

The word holistic could easily be my mantra.

Happy reading and testing.



"One's own self is well hidden from one's own self: of all mines of treasure, one's own is the last to be mined."
-Nietzsche

Philippic tirades and games on a global bulletin board system

"We may be young, but we're not powerless. We play by their rules long enough and it becomes our game."

- Valentine

Play along and hit the links with me, just promise to come back later tonight:

An old friend of mine read my blog yesterday and in his chat window he mentioned I reminded him a character from the book, Ender's Game, named Valentine. Now, Valentine's pseudonym on her blog, if you will, is Demosthenes. If you google Demosthenes, the second search result is a blog, whose title gives a nod to Valentine's orator alter ego. I'll leave off the link, since he never wrote me back.

Yea, Valentine's cool. Thanks, Joe.

Russia to end direct elections; bad presidents and precedents

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage

I have said it in previous posts and I will say it again: the world has been watching the US and we have set a precedent of neither respecting voters nor the wishes of the world. We did not seek a "permission slip" for the war and neither will any other country seek one from us regarding their own affairs. The effect our policies have on world affairs and democracy itself is profound. The romantic notion of spreading democracy has been tainted by the blood of those lost for pride, greed, and power. This news from Russia is tucked in the world section most Americans will ignore over coffee. Our leaders understate the chaos, insulting our intelligence. Let us ignore the Russias of the world, if they are to be our allies in the oxymoronic War on Terror. After all, Stalin was our ally and he was one of the "good guys," right? Oh, the American only has time for soundbites and everyday life woes, but if we ignore the news, will it make the world go away? This reminds me of the quote Barbara Bush gave to Diane Sawyer regarding watching the news.

"I watch none. He sits and listens and I read books, because I know perfectly well that, don't take offense, that 90 percent of what I hear on television is supposition, when we're talking about the news. And he's not, not as understanding of my pettiness about that. But why should we hear about body bags, and deaths, and how many, what day it's gonna happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it's, it's not relevant. So, why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that. And watch him suffer."

March 18, 2003

Why bother our "beautiful mind," you ask? It is simply our duty, like a loving spouse, to ask questions and have a positive discourse. If you do not need to be bothered with the affairs of the country, then you should be ashamed to call yourself an American. This country was not founded by cattle, but by people. We are the government for the people, by the people, and it is time the people awake from their gluttonous nap.

North Korea Explosion, Nukes; Iraq Death toll

"US Wonders if North Korea is Preparing for a Nuclear Test"

And the answer is:

Blast Reported LAST WEEK. Now, let's hear everyone explain it could have been a forest fire or something. The fact that out leaders do not exactly know is very scary. The timing of the blast correlated with a major North Korean holiday. I am not one for conspiracy theories, but this is weird...

Let us not forget we are looking at Iran right now.

Meanwhile back in Afghanistan, pre-election unrest.

American Death toll in Iraq.

We simply need stronger leadership, so be sure to vote wisely.

Sleep tight.