“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I'm going to shamelessly rip off this entire post from butcept at My Two Cents. Hopefully she won't sue me. Somehow I get threatened with lawsuits rather often from writing group people (butcept being one of the two facilitators)-- and I haven't done anything to them.
I write this for two reasons. 1. I think it's interesting. 2. I'm trying not to look at Twitter to see all of the Deathly Hallows reactions. Stupid Twitter.
Anyways, last meeting she did a poll of our religious views. There were only six of us there, but here are the results:
1 atheist
1 apatheist (technically atheist but doesn't really care)
1 apathetic (really doesn't care at all)
3 agnostics (or perhaps not; we maintain that it's impossible to know)
And I'll go ahead and add three people who have come to a lot of meetings despite none of them being there Wednesday night:
1 more atheist
1 non-denominational
1 belonging to a Quaker Meeting that has absolutely no "requirements" regarding theology
And the only thing we have in common by default is a love for writing. Most of us have done some amount of acting (or want to). We all read a lot, of course. Most are musicians of some sort or another. And the average writer (according to a random website I saw, so don't necessarily give it too much credence) apparently has an IQ far higher than the average human. Oh, and one more thing: we're all awesome. ;)
Now, nine people isn't really an accurate survey, but...I don't know. Take what you want from it.
(Note in regard to fairness: there is another member who would come regularly and meets all of the other similarities, except her church's youth group meets on Wednesdays so she skips out on us. And I'm not sure about the rest of the members, so for all I know this is pure coincidence, even if the six of us are the ones who come more often.)
(Another note: And now I'm incredibly angry because it turns out my aunt would have given me a ride home from the movie theater after the midnight showing of Harry Potter because she's always up late anyway, and...I have a pretty freaking awesome aunt. Dangitdangitdangit. Oh well.)
Showing posts with label insight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insight. Show all posts
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Journey
“I think it’s important to like stuff. I think we spend a lot of time thinking about the stuff we don’t like, man. Whether it’s, y’know, the world ending or inequality or ‘Sex and the City,’ we often just accept the things that we like and complain a lot about the things that we don’t like. But if we could, like, intensely dwell upon the really great things in life the way that we intensely dwell on the negative things in life, I think that would be fantastic.” - Hank Green
Here is the post on spiritual journeys I mentioned when we first started reading Siddhartha. Honestly, the conversations we've been having on it are much more interesting than the book itself, and without my own life to relate it to, it would be even less enjoyable to read. Not that it isn't a good book in and of itself.
Here is the post on spiritual journeys I mentioned when we first started reading Siddhartha. Honestly, the conversations we've been having on it are much more interesting than the book itself, and without my own life to relate it to, it would be even less enjoyable to read. Not that it isn't a good book in and of itself.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
"Together"
Today is my street's recital, in which lots of us are playing. The title is "Together."
My old piano teacher's recitals always had a theme. Sometimes it was "chocolate," "ice cream," or "strawberries," but this time it was "One." Usually the food has to do with the theme, and we'd have to give mini-speeches about how our pieces fit in with the theme.
This isn't really a theme. It's a title that has meaning.
Luke (my student) and I have been learning together. He's been learning music, and I've been learning how to teach music. The program begins and ends with two people playing a song together. This event is all of us neighbors coming together to make something cool. In the first song he's playing, Luke worked on using both hands together.
But that's not all. I'm going to quote from the essay I wrote as part of getting my band letter.
"I once wrote an email to YA author John Green about how much I loved his book Paper Towns, and how much it means to me. As part of his reply, he wrote “I’ve always believed that books are a conversation, so my part of it is only half of the work. It doesn’t become real for me until you read it.” This applies to music and band as well. The composer writes the score, but it’s just ink on paper. It’s the shadow of the music, just like a cube’s shadow is a square. There’s an entire other dimension waiting in the wings, and in band, we get to see (hear) it."
Later on in the essay, I continue with that thought, saying "“Performance” can mean a concert or a show, but there’s other meanings as well. When I teach my neighbor Luke piano, I’m not passing on the music. I’m passing on the journey. I tell him some of the same things we’re told in band. We count together, and I teach him about the physics of music with a belt and a drum. His first recital is currently planned for the weekend after school lets out, and then it will be his turn to perform, and to share what he’s been doing with the rest of our cul-de-sac. Smiles, laughter, and yawns are contagious, and it turns out that so is music."
Within that thought, that music (or a novel) is a conversation, then it's something two or more people do together. The composer, the performer, the audience, the teacher, the inspirer- the conversation can be between any or all of these. Even if you write the music yourself and never play it for anyone, there's still the inspiration, whether you consider that to be a specific thing you saw while outside, God, or one of the Greek Muses.
Together, we're going to take part in a conversation this afternoon that's as old as humanity itself- older, if you want to think of string theory as music and also happen to subscribe to the theory.
I suppose I only wrote that out in this post so I can print it out for my speech later, but I hope you found it interesting.
My old piano teacher's recitals always had a theme. Sometimes it was "chocolate," "ice cream," or "strawberries," but this time it was "One." Usually the food has to do with the theme, and we'd have to give mini-speeches about how our pieces fit in with the theme.
This isn't really a theme. It's a title that has meaning.
Luke (my student) and I have been learning together. He's been learning music, and I've been learning how to teach music. The program begins and ends with two people playing a song together. This event is all of us neighbors coming together to make something cool. In the first song he's playing, Luke worked on using both hands together.
But that's not all. I'm going to quote from the essay I wrote as part of getting my band letter.
"I once wrote an email to YA author John Green about how much I loved his book Paper Towns, and how much it means to me. As part of his reply, he wrote “I’ve always believed that books are a conversation, so my part of it is only half of the work. It doesn’t become real for me until you read it.” This applies to music and band as well. The composer writes the score, but it’s just ink on paper. It’s the shadow of the music, just like a cube’s shadow is a square. There’s an entire other dimension waiting in the wings, and in band, we get to see (hear) it."
Later on in the essay, I continue with that thought, saying "“Performance” can mean a concert or a show, but there’s other meanings as well. When I teach my neighbor Luke piano, I’m not passing on the music. I’m passing on the journey. I tell him some of the same things we’re told in band. We count together, and I teach him about the physics of music with a belt and a drum. His first recital is currently planned for the weekend after school lets out, and then it will be his turn to perform, and to share what he’s been doing with the rest of our cul-de-sac. Smiles, laughter, and yawns are contagious, and it turns out that so is music."
Within that thought, that music (or a novel) is a conversation, then it's something two or more people do together. The composer, the performer, the audience, the teacher, the inspirer- the conversation can be between any or all of these. Even if you write the music yourself and never play it for anyone, there's still the inspiration, whether you consider that to be a specific thing you saw while outside, God, or one of the Greek Muses.
Together, we're going to take part in a conversation this afternoon that's as old as humanity itself- older, if you want to think of string theory as music and also happen to subscribe to the theory.
I suppose I only wrote that out in this post so I can print it out for my speech later, but I hope you found it interesting.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Meaning in Literature
Some books have loads of hidden meanings and messages. In some books, almost everything is a metaphor. Some people enjoy guessing at what they're metaphors for. These people are looking for meaning in literature beyond what the author intended for them to find. That's all fine and dandy. If you find something profound in a book that has a positive impact on your life, who cares whether or not it was supposed to be taken that way?
However, problems arise when you actually ask the author of said book(s) about it.
The following is from YA author Maureen Johnson's twitter page. The "John" is fellow YA author John Green, who I have mentioned several times in the past.
maureenjohnson
Q: "Why do cars feature so much in your books?" John: "Well, they're good ways of getting people around."#meaninginliterature
John is currently on tour with co-author David Levithan for their new book Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I read this book, and it is very excellent, and I recommend it to all of you, but that's not the point. Maureen joined them for a few events, and has been reporting on proceedings via Twitter.
People of the world: in the words of one of the Potter Pundits (a group of university scholars who specialize in the Harry Potter books and are featured on the podcast known as Pottercast), "sometimes a wand is just a wand," and sometimes a car is really only a car.
So when you ask me if I was poking fun of Twilight: no...but if you want to take it that way, that's fine by me.
As to what I actually meant...I don't think I'll tell you.
By the time we next meet, you will all have (hopefully) read chapters 21-37, and will therefore be almost halfway done with the book. At this rate, I'll be back to reading you short stories in only a month or two. :)
Tangent on WGWG:
Summary: John wrote the odd chapters, about one character named Will Grayson, and David Levithan wrote the even chapters, about a different character named Will Grayson. The characters meet about a third or so of the way through the book. John's Will Grayson grapples with being anti-relationship while helping his best friend Tiny produce the world's greatest high school musical, which happens to be a slightly fictionalized version of Tiny's life story.
A funny book, and insightful book, and in all, a very enjoyable book.
However, problems arise when you actually ask the author of said book(s) about it.
The following is from YA author Maureen Johnson's twitter page. The "John" is fellow YA author John Green, who I have mentioned several times in the past.
maureenjohnson
Q: "Why do cars feature so much in your books?" John: "Well, they're good ways of getting people around."#meaninginliterature
John is currently on tour with co-author David Levithan for their new book Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I read this book, and it is very excellent, and I recommend it to all of you, but that's not the point. Maureen joined them for a few events, and has been reporting on proceedings via Twitter.
People of the world: in the words of one of the Potter Pundits (a group of university scholars who specialize in the Harry Potter books and are featured on the podcast known as Pottercast), "sometimes a wand is just a wand," and sometimes a car is really only a car.
So when you ask me if I was poking fun of Twilight: no...but if you want to take it that way, that's fine by me.
As to what I actually meant...I don't think I'll tell you.
By the time we next meet, you will all have (hopefully) read chapters 21-37, and will therefore be almost halfway done with the book. At this rate, I'll be back to reading you short stories in only a month or two. :)
Tangent on WGWG:
Summary: John wrote the odd chapters, about one character named Will Grayson, and David Levithan wrote the even chapters, about a different character named Will Grayson. The characters meet about a third or so of the way through the book. John's Will Grayson grapples with being anti-relationship while helping his best friend Tiny produce the world's greatest high school musical, which happens to be a slightly fictionalized version of Tiny's life story.
A funny book, and insightful book, and in all, a very enjoyable book.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Caprica and America's Culturally Blank Children
The above is an ad for the new show on Syfy called Caprica, as you can tell. My dad was looking forward to it all week (it was on last night), and talking about the ad. When showing it to my sister (who is 13), he remarked on the apple and asked her if she knew what it symbolized and what it was a reference to.
My Sister: Umm, OH, TWILIGHT!
Me: That's pathetic.
Her: What?
Dad: (laughs)
Me: How could you not know what the apple represents?
Her: Ummm, Snow White?
Me: NO!
Dad: (laughs)
Me: Have you ever heard of this book called the Bible, (insert her name here, but she has requested that I don't mention it)?
Dad: Snow White was a fair guess.
Me: No it wasn't! Oh, come on, (name), Twilight? Are you serious?
Dad: (laughs)
Dad: Adam and Eve. Temptation. It represents a choice.Me: Well, I suppose Twilight is about a choice too, but still.
Her: Oh.
I might have been a bit hard on my sister, but really. What have we come to that people see the apple and think Twilight? The apple in Twilight was chosen as a reference to the story of the Fall. a might equal b, but b equals c, so let's follow it through to the natural conclusion that a=c. Transitive Property of equality (and I'm reviewing for math next semester [not really]).
Summary of the Episode: SPOILERS
Caprica itself was really cool. It's a spin-off from Battlestar Galactica (which I have never seen, but it sounds cool). It begins with a subtitle "58 years before the Fall." Cut to a virtual night-club. These were invented so teens can go and do stuff without suffering any consequences in the real world. It is entered through a Holo-Band. The three real people in the night clun, Zoe, Lacey, and Ben, are part of a secret terrorist organization of a monotheistic religion (they decline to tell us which one, but it could be any monotheistic religion. That's not the point. The point is that they're radicals because the rest of the worlds (yes, there are several) are all polytheistic). Zoe & Ben blow up a train while Lacey bails out. Zoe's dad, working on androids for the military, enters the nightclub and finds a version of Zoe living inside. Zoe created her and had been trying to get her into the real world. Zoe's dad begins working with the father of a girl who had been on the train to get the virtual version of Zoe into the robot body.
Tangent:
Something I thought was funny: Zoe's parents are yelling at her because she's never had to work for anything, always has stuff handed to her, has no idea what it is like to "build something".... and she says to her mother "I guess I'll just have to learn how to marry into money then."
End of tangent.
He also tries to create a virtual version of the other guy's daughter, but that doesn't work very well. Zoe did/knew something that he didn't. Her virtual self feels real, while the other girl knows she's fake and can't feel her heart beating. Zoe's digital self gets transfered into the robot. She's really pissed because she didn't want to leave the virtual world in the first place, and she definitely didn't want to be a robot. According to my dad, who has watched Battlestar Galatctica, her rebellious nature will cause the robots to rebel and form the Silon, which are apparently important in Battlestar.
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