Monday, 01 April 2013

  • Too Much Information?

    (Possible Trigger Warning: Bulimia)

    I took a wrong turn somewhere on my browsing journey about proper teeth cleaning etiquette and ended up on a pro-bulimia forum and it got me wondering.

    Before the internet and chat rooms and forums was this information passed along through notes in libraries or in the ex-lax aisle at the local drug store? Or was each individual trying out their own thing through trial and error?  Like, now all you gotta do is Google some keywords and, hey, swish around some baking soda after you purge to protect your chompers.

    I feel like I want to blame (“blame” may be too harsh a word) the internet in some way, but that’d be like saying the availability of condoms in school makes teens have sex--it's bullshit. It’s just… is there a such thing as too much information? Should some information be harder to access?

Sunday, 31 March 2013

  • I said my line is closed

    “I’m sorry, sir. My line is closed.”

    He holds up a can of peanuts. “But I only have one thing.”

    I look at the time on my register: 3:12. My break starts in three minutes. “My line is closed,” I repeat.

    Before Peanut Man can even get to another line, a woman steps up. "My line is closed," I inform her.

    She looks into her hands. “I only have these two items.”

    I began to repeat myself but something happens—words don’t come out of my mouth, just a loud, deep growl. I look to the ceiling and the growl magnifies. The building begins to shake, the lights overhead begin to spark. The woman’s eyes widen as the floor beneath us starts to crack. 

    I only growl louder.

    Merchandise is falling off the shelves. Glass is shattering everywhere. Parents clutch their children, terrified. From outside you can hear cars braking, then a collision. 

    I look at the clock on my register. 3:15. I close my mouth and the horror ends. I walk away and enjoy my 15 minute break.

    Moral: Cashiers don't care if you only have one item when they say their line is closed.

Saturday, 30 March 2013

  • Ah yes. The worst thing that can happen in our modern society is giving one man or woman the ability to legally marry another consenting man or woman.

    A shame that we live in such a time where these things are even being discussed! Marriage used to be about a man, a woman, a woman's family, and 14 sheep.

    Good ol' days, man.

Thursday, 24 May 2012

  • This semester has sucked.

    While in the shower today (where all great thinking takes place, of course) I realized that I’m not getting what I want out of college.  Initially, college was about getting a degree or an opening to work, but as time passed it has evolved to be about, well, learning.  It’s about feeling like I spent the last four or so months engaged and learning something about my world.  (Especially since I’m paying for this shit!)

    That has not happened this semester.

    This semester feels like a husk, like I’ve been fed bullshit nonsense instead of anything with substance.  From a totally inept, failure of a professor, to a lecturer who doesn’t have a lesson plan, I’ve spent my last few months in classes without profit.

    And I don’t know if I just hate this school (Stony Brook, I miss you so much!) or if I got really fucked with my professors.  Either way, this is not what I want out of my schooling.  Unlike so many other students, I love college, or more specifically, I love quality college.  I’ve transferred schools before so I know how badly that shit can wreck your degree progress and I’m not ready to do that to myself again.  But at the same time, I can’t stand to go another semester in these irrelevant classes with part-time shitty professors.

Saturday, 19 May 2012

  • Should business be English-only?

    I found this article, blog thing on dictionary.com.  Give it a once over.

    The Harvard Business Review recently reported that multinational corporations are encouraging—or mandating—their employees to speak English. Samsung, Airbus, Microsoft in Beijing and many others now enforce English as the language of their business. Even corporations that are based in foreign countries, like Renault in France and Rakuten in Japan, are mandating English communication for their employees. Back in 2010, Rakuten (Japan’s largest online retailer) became an English-only company, encouraging their employees to conduct all business in English: e-mails, memos, and verbal communication.

    In 1997, the International Civil Aviation Organization (which regulates all international air travel) reaffirmed the importance of English as the in-air language of communication. To reduce communication problems, all pilots who fly internationally must speak English. So when a plane is flying from Paris to Madrid, the pilots must speak English. In the air, communication is a matter of safety, and in offices, it’s a matter of efficiency.

    However in other realms, the standard language of communication has shifted away from English. As we discussed last year, the official language of space is now Russian. (Find out more here.)

    This all begs the question: if people communicate better in their native tongue, are you doing them a disservice by forcing them to use English? Will employees be less creative or innovative if they cannot talk or write in their native language?

    Do you think that businesses should be English-only? 

    Now, when we usually talk about something being English-only, we talk about America making it the official language.  That usually comes with some debate, but what about businesses?  Is it a good idea?

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

  • I downloaded Midnight Sun, (Edward's POV Twilight)

    So I downloaded Midnight Sun, (Edward's POV Twilight), right?

    And for shits and giggles I got the PDF to speak out loud for me.  Funniest fucking thing, I swear.

    But then when I asked it to stop, it wouldn’t.

    And now the program is stuck, reciting Edward’s words in that weird monotonous computer talk.

    And I’m fucking scared.

  • Check Your Privilege

    I don't really like social discussions as one of my problems is not having the patience to deal with people who don't recognize their privilege.  I think in order for there to be a leveled discussion about a social issue, the person in the majority must first "check their privilege".

    So (all of this in the context of American society) if the topic is race, white people must understand they come from a place of privilege.  If we're talking about queerness, someone who is heterosexual and/or cisgendered should know they come from a place of privilege.  The same is true for able-bodied people, upper-class (and sometimes middle-class) people, the religious--notably Christians, and even men.  

    Being apart of a majority--not being apart of a marginalized or discriminated group--means you have different experiences in our society.  This is not to say that it is wrong!  You cannot help having privilege.  But as a person coming from these groups, you must know that your life is inherently different than someone who has been negativity affected by our social structures, even if you've never actively seen your privilege at work.  Privilege works passively; it works through perceptions.

    All this is just to say: as a person in a majority, have empathy for those who are not.  Take a step back and understand where people come from, whether they are gay or trans* or poor or are of a racial minority.  Don't discredit their experiences, and understand that who we are and how we are perceived in our society means we live different lives.

  • I argue/read more about social issues on the internet than I do in school.

    In a way, that is a bit of a problem.

    Sure, Classical Literature or Ancient History has its merits, but what about current news like Trayvon or the importance of same-sex marriage and Amendment One?  How is it that none of my classes actively work to relate to today’s world?  Every class is spent in the textbook, in a previous life and not in the breathing world.

    I don’t know.  I’m just blabbering.

LyricallyCharged

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    • Name: Kristina
    • Birthday: 6/23/1989
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 8/3/2008
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