05/13/2008
Top Ten Nietzsche quotes
My Top Ten Favorite Nietzsche quotes:
10. And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.
Recently there have been a lot of days without dancing for me, mainly due to exams. And there have been a lot of truths that came without laughs, and I am sure when grades come out, there will be a lot more.
9. I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance.
Some people I know have a Shiva in their locker. Unfortunately, it is a regular Shiva, not the nataraja Shiva, so I guess I can't believe in it, or them. ;) Luckily for me, a lot of people in my life know how to dance, so I can believe in them instead.
8. The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
Lonely often, or alone often, or both? Hmm...
7. Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter.
Although, I could swear I've seen dogs laugh.
6. The irrationality of a thing is no argument against its existence, rather a condition of it.
This explains a lot of my life. Seriously.
5. Wit is the epitaph of an emotion.
But what if you are a Hindu and believe in cremation? Then you have no epitaphs! I guess you're safe then.
4. Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
Perhaps this is especially fitting for those in the legal profession?
3. Character is determined more by the lack of certain experiences than by those one has had.
This might actually be #1. I think about this a lot with people my age, and how many of us believe in the who "no [immediate] harm done, no foul" mentality. I have to believe, more than just the lack of engaging in openly harmful behavior, the choices people make to not engage in certain behaviors/lifestyles also says a lot about them. Like Rubin's vase, maybe character is about the negative space also. And also like a Rubin vase, maybe there are two equally valid interpretations. Or maybe, just like Rubin's vase, it actually is all black and white. Life = Rubin's vase? I think I may be onto something big here.
2. Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood.
Metaphorically speaking...
1. Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?
A question you may be asking yourself if you have read this far.
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05/07/2008
Bad advice
So I've been getting a lot of advice lately, and while I know it comes from people who are saying things to be nice, it's just made me think about how hollow some words are. This isn't a new thought, I'm pretty sure every 8th grade English teacher tells their students not to speak in idioms and stock phrases. And I think using these pre-fab ideas and sayings is a form of laziness, allowing you to get a basic point across, thereby getting the contour of your thought without having to make the effort to explain the nuances of what your really mean.
My friend broke up with her significant other recently, and I remember being very careful not to say things like "Well, all things happen for a reason" or "It's probably best this way". Instead, my buddy and I tried to cheer her up by talking about how a recent NYTimes article discussed how different reading patterns can be a reason to break up for people. I'm sure there was other inane conversation made in there, and now I wonder if this distraction method didn't come off as glib as these terrible sayings. So I'm making a list of five things I don't want to hear, and that I won't say from now on.
1. I don't want to hear "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's yours- otherwise it never was". There are many reasons I don't want to hear this. First of all, if you love someone, why would you let them go? How about, if you love someone, make the effort to make things right? Second, the whole "if it comes back to you" part is such nonsense. No one ever comes back after being let go. Or at least not in my experience. And maybe that means they never were mine, but I'd like to assume it has more to do with ego, and settling scores. Third, I'm not an 8th grade girl so since I no longer put hearts over my i's, and something this cheesy just makes me nauseous.
2. I will no longer say random things to make a situation more comfortable, just because I am more comfortable when someone is laughing. So no more ridiculous stories and no more making outrageous plans that I have no intent on carrying out just to get you to laugh.
This is a lie. I can't help it. I deal with sad, uncomfortable moments by making inappropriate jokes. If I were to use the medical information I got off of a recent Grey's Anatomy episode, this kind of behavior is symptomatic of a brain tumor.
3. I don't want to hear that time will heal things. I know that to be true, but saying it just sounds dismissive.
4. I will no longer try to immediately set my friends up with someone else after they break up. While I do think distractions are a great way to move on, it's unfair to the 3rd party, and probably to you too.
5. I don't want to hear anything that could be found on a Hallmark card. What I wouldn't mind is funny embroidery, like:
I'm a big fan of arts and crafts. Collages are also appreciated. ;)
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04/27/2008
Apparently anti-Duke feelings know no (religious) boundaries
Or Things That Make Me Laugh, Part II.
VCU Sports Fan poster, found on facebook:
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