“Everything you do is a combination of success and failure. There is no absolute success and failure. There is no moment in which you complete the mission and say, “Ah! I am done! Thank you,” because the mission is never complete because the mission is your life and it only completes when you die.” - Hank Green
“True love will triumph in the end. Which may or may not be true, but if it’s a lie, it’s the most beautiful lie we have.” -John Green
Well, my NaNo morale is heading downhill fast. This book sucks. I'm inadvertently skipping over all of the interesting parts people actually want to hear about and I actually want to write about in favor of moving the plot along, since I've got a good bit of story left and don't want it to end up too long.
This is one thing I am not looking forward to editing.
So once again, I am writing a blog post instead of writing or working on homework.
Example: Yesterday, I would write about a hundred words, enter the new number into my spreadsheet, play a round of a word game on Facebook, and then repeat the cycle. Needless to say, it took a very long time to get the 1667 done for the day.
17 days, 18,000 words left.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Some Interesting Existentialist Concepts
"The past isn't past: it's still shaping the present." - John Green
It's useful for my quoting of him that I get 1-2 new videos each week from which to quote.
Now I would like to share with you two concepts within existentialism: anguish and facticity.
First, facticity, as it relates to the quote. Facticity is the collection of pre-defined things that shape our current essence (as, within existentialism, existence precedes essence). Our past, our environment's past...stuff like that. We decide exactly how much our facticity affects us. In the words of "Snape vs. Snape" by Ministry of Magic, "People can change." Our past is constantly shaping us, but the idea is for us to learn from it.
Existentialist anguish isn't the same as normal anguish, but in order to explain the difference to you I must give some definitions.
Fear: An aversion to a specific thing, situation, concept, etc. do to the harm it may cause to the fearer. Key: specific
Existentialism: A school of philosophy in which nothing has any inherent meaning. A given thing has only the meaning we as an individual or as a race ascribe to it.
Freedom: Due to the lack of objective meaning or moral codes within existentialism, there is no such thing as pre-destination and therefore we are free to do whatever we want (although there are some interesting arguments as to why we shouldn't).
So anguish is the aversion to the freedom given by existentialism.
Example: An existentialist stands on the edge of the cliff. He or she fears the possibility that he/she will fall off, but he or she feels anguish at the knowledge that he/she is capable of choosing to jump.
A longer post of this stuff might be boring and/or intimidating and/or you don't feel like reading it right now, so I'll write about some of the other concepts later. I hope you find this as interesting as I do, but if not, well, whatever. To each their own.
It's useful for my quoting of him that I get 1-2 new videos each week from which to quote.
Now I would like to share with you two concepts within existentialism: anguish and facticity.
First, facticity, as it relates to the quote. Facticity is the collection of pre-defined things that shape our current essence (as, within existentialism, existence precedes essence). Our past, our environment's past...stuff like that. We decide exactly how much our facticity affects us. In the words of "Snape vs. Snape" by Ministry of Magic, "People can change." Our past is constantly shaping us, but the idea is for us to learn from it.
Existentialist anguish isn't the same as normal anguish, but in order to explain the difference to you I must give some definitions.
Fear: An aversion to a specific thing, situation, concept, etc. do to the harm it may cause to the fearer. Key: specific
Existentialism: A school of philosophy in which nothing has any inherent meaning. A given thing has only the meaning we as an individual or as a race ascribe to it.
Freedom: Due to the lack of objective meaning or moral codes within existentialism, there is no such thing as pre-destination and therefore we are free to do whatever we want (although there are some interesting arguments as to why we shouldn't).
So anguish is the aversion to the freedom given by existentialism.
Example: An existentialist stands on the edge of the cliff. He or she fears the possibility that he/she will fall off, but he or she feels anguish at the knowledge that he/she is capable of choosing to jump.
A longer post of this stuff might be boring and/or intimidating and/or you don't feel like reading it right now, so I'll write about some of the other concepts later. I hope you find this as interesting as I do, but if not, well, whatever. To each their own.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Another Quote
“Maybe each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And these things happen-these people leave us, or don’t love us, or don’t get us, or we don’t get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack open in places. And I mean, yeah, once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable. But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open and when we finally fall apart. And it’s only in that time that we can see one another, because we see out of ourselves through the cracks and into others through theirs. When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.” - John Green, Paper Towns
You don't get to see the post I wrote earlier, simply because I don't really want the contents out in the world, but I wanted to write them down. Therefore, you get yet another John Green quote instead.
I'm writing an essay regarding Existentialism in relation to the book we're reading in English. Well, sort of. I haven't actually started writing it yet. As you can see, I'm writing a blog post.
My mom talked with one of Sarah's teachers today. The teacher said Sarah was a big influence on her. I was very proud of this statement, as I firmly believe in teaching as an endeavor that should theoretically be two-way, and if Sarah's helping that become more than theoretical, I am pleased. Plus, as she would be quick to tell you, my little sister can be kind of awesome sometimes.
Another thing that makes me pleased is the fact that there isn't any school tomorrow.
Don't you love the posts I write just because I have a quote to share?
You don't get to see the post I wrote earlier, simply because I don't really want the contents out in the world, but I wanted to write them down. Therefore, you get yet another John Green quote instead.
I'm writing an essay regarding Existentialism in relation to the book we're reading in English. Well, sort of. I haven't actually started writing it yet. As you can see, I'm writing a blog post.
My mom talked with one of Sarah's teachers today. The teacher said Sarah was a big influence on her. I was very proud of this statement, as I firmly believe in teaching as an endeavor that should theoretically be two-way, and if Sarah's helping that become more than theoretical, I am pleased. Plus, as she would be quick to tell you, my little sister can be kind of awesome sometimes.
Another thing that makes me pleased is the fact that there isn't any school tomorrow.
Don't you love the posts I write just because I have a quote to share?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
An Existentialist in Distress
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." -Dr. Seuss
I love that.
Okay, so writing this post is mainly for procrastination purposes.
Today I realized one of my biggest fears (among them being suffocation/drowning and bees).
Most people are forgotten. Their children and a few generations after that will remember them in theory if not actually, but eventually it becomes "Oh, yeah, she's my 3x great grandma. Even my mom, by definition, is My Mom, and not herself. Our roles in each other's lives are often what we are valued for-- not ourselves.
Some people live on in their accomplishments, like the Greek heroes, regardless of whether or not their stories are true.
But how many of them are remembered as people? Real people with thoughts and fears and dreams and blogs on which they procrastinate?
Precious few. I can't think of any, except for maybe Anne Frank. However, her story is distorted by the fact that it closely involves the Holocaust. She's still "that Jewish girl who wrote a diary." She's still just famous for her diary- not herself.
So it follows that I will join them-- one of the billions of people who will never be remembered as the person they were.
The fact that I exist is understandably the most important truth to me. Therefore, the fact that I will one day cease to exist and be forgotten is a rather terrifying one.
So what do I do about it? Well, I blog, for one thing. I journal. I write letters to no one during math class. I save halves of folders from kindergarten (although I threw that out) that I colored on. I exist, and more than that- I'm a person, and I don't want my person-hood to be lost to the ages.
Even though it will be, eventually, of course.
I don't want my journals published for all to see. I just want my 3X great grandchildren or whatever to read what I've written and realize that I was once a person just like them.
I want to be retroactively imagined complexly, I guess, in addition to being imagined as such in the present.
When my Debate Team coach read the poem that I wrote that I am going to be performing for my event, he said "This is kind of an existentialist poem, isn't it?"
Here is how Wikipedia defines it:
So yeah, it looks like I'm a bit of an existentialist, and the poem in question, while centered more on fear and the inevitability of suffering and death (which sounds really morbid when I put it like that), matches that definition fairly well.
Only the problem is that I'm currently (as in, mainly starting today) facing the issue of my own mortality and insignificant place in the world, which I believe falls under "despair" and "absurdity," the latter of which refers to the human desire to find objective meaning and the human inability to succeed in that endeavor.
I love that.
Okay, so writing this post is mainly for procrastination purposes.
Today I realized one of my biggest fears (among them being suffocation/drowning and bees).
Most people are forgotten. Their children and a few generations after that will remember them in theory if not actually, but eventually it becomes "Oh, yeah, she's my 3x great grandma. Even my mom, by definition, is My Mom, and not herself. Our roles in each other's lives are often what we are valued for-- not ourselves.
Some people live on in their accomplishments, like the Greek heroes, regardless of whether or not their stories are true.
But how many of them are remembered as people? Real people with thoughts and fears and dreams and blogs on which they procrastinate?
Precious few. I can't think of any, except for maybe Anne Frank. However, her story is distorted by the fact that it closely involves the Holocaust. She's still "that Jewish girl who wrote a diary." She's still just famous for her diary- not herself.
So it follows that I will join them-- one of the billions of people who will never be remembered as the person they were.
The fact that I exist is understandably the most important truth to me. Therefore, the fact that I will one day cease to exist and be forgotten is a rather terrifying one.
So what do I do about it? Well, I blog, for one thing. I journal. I write letters to no one during math class. I save halves of folders from kindergarten (although I threw that out) that I colored on. I exist, and more than that- I'm a person, and I don't want my person-hood to be lost to the ages.
Even though it will be, eventually, of course.
I don't want my journals published for all to see. I just want my 3X great grandchildren or whatever to read what I've written and realize that I was once a person just like them.
I want to be retroactively imagined complexly, I guess, in addition to being imagined as such in the present.
When my Debate Team coach read the poem that I wrote that I am going to be performing for my event, he said "This is kind of an existentialist poem, isn't it?"
Here is how Wikipedia defines it:
Existentialism is a term applied to the work of a number of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences,[1][2] generally held that the focus of philosophical thought should be to deal with the conditions of existence of the individual person and his or her emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts.[3][4] The early 19th century philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, posthumously regarded as the father of existentialism,[5][6] maintained that the individual is solely responsible for giving his or her own life meaning and for living that life passionately and sincerely,[7][8] in spite of many existential obstacles and distractions including despair, angst, absurdity, alienation, and boredom.[9]
So yeah, it looks like I'm a bit of an existentialist, and the poem in question, while centered more on fear and the inevitability of suffering and death (which sounds really morbid when I put it like that), matches that definition fairly well.
Only the problem is that I'm currently (as in, mainly starting today) facing the issue of my own mortality and insignificant place in the world, which I believe falls under "despair" and "absurdity," the latter of which refers to the human desire to find objective meaning and the human inability to succeed in that endeavor.
Friday, November 5, 2010
A Quote. JUST A Quote.
"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." ~James Bryce
I love that.
I love that.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood
It's time to take a trip back to the old August-style posts when I ramble on and on about some random philosophical thought I've been having.
Note: Some subjects are capitalized because they are just that- subjects in school, while others are not because while they are taught in school, I am referring to them more as professional fields instead of school-related things.
A friend (who I am sending this to- hi!) and I were discussing the point of English class last week, which was rather difficult to do well because his class is considerably different (in a bad way) from mine.
I said that English classes of the type I'm in (although on paper it's the same as his) are designed to help us understand people. He said that was what psychology was for, which I couldn't really argue with at the time.
Now I can.
Psychology is the basic (in relative terms), most science-y way to understand people. It's all about chemicals causing emotions and the cause and effects of the actions of other people. From my limited knowledge about the field, that is, since I've only read the For Dummies book on the subject and haven't taken it in school.
Compare that with math: the most basic, logical rules of the universe.
Both of them explain primary principles about the way people/the universe work.
Now let's move up a level.
Meet English class, in which books are read and discussions are held on both the books and on other things. All other things done in the class are irrelevant to this topic. The primary principles laid out in psychology are applied in ways that form INTERESTING things/phenomena/ideas/what-have-you that can be taken as both LARGE, ABSTRACT CONCEPTS and DAILY LIFE.
In the next lane, we have Physics. Once again, the primary principles laid out in math are applied to data to create INTERESTING theories/ideas/phenomena/what-have-you that can be LARGE, ABSTRACT CONCEPTS (Hi, String Theory!) and DAILY LIFE (computers function via quantum mechanics, plus there's even more obvious stuff like gravity).
Move up another level.
Rising above English is Social Studies-- a broad field full of subsidiary disciplines that focus on using the things discovered in English to fuel the machine of the human race (economics, for example). Psychology= existence, English = thought, and Social Studies = civilization.
From physics we get engineering-- a broad field full of subsidiary disciplines that focus on using the things discovered in physics to more literally fuel/build the machine of the human race. Math = existence, physics = thought, engineering = civilization.
On an existence-level, we need math and psychology. On an personal level, we need English and physics, and on a global level, we need Social Studies and engineering.
So you see, friend who may or may not want his name mentioned here and therefore I am not mentioning it, we are not so very different after all, just because I enjoy my English class and you hate yours. (Side note: I would hate yours as well, rest assured. I'm not that crazy.)
We're just getting to the same place on different paths.
Note: Some subjects are capitalized because they are just that- subjects in school, while others are not because while they are taught in school, I am referring to them more as professional fields instead of school-related things.
A friend (who I am sending this to- hi!) and I were discussing the point of English class last week, which was rather difficult to do well because his class is considerably different (in a bad way) from mine.
I said that English classes of the type I'm in (although on paper it's the same as his) are designed to help us understand people. He said that was what psychology was for, which I couldn't really argue with at the time.
Now I can.
Psychology is the basic (in relative terms), most science-y way to understand people. It's all about chemicals causing emotions and the cause and effects of the actions of other people. From my limited knowledge about the field, that is, since I've only read the For Dummies book on the subject and haven't taken it in school.
Compare that with math: the most basic, logical rules of the universe.
Both of them explain primary principles about the way people/the universe work.
Now let's move up a level.
Meet English class, in which books are read and discussions are held on both the books and on other things. All other things done in the class are irrelevant to this topic. The primary principles laid out in psychology are applied in ways that form INTERESTING things/phenomena/ideas/what-have-you that can be taken as both LARGE, ABSTRACT CONCEPTS and DAILY LIFE.
In the next lane, we have Physics. Once again, the primary principles laid out in math are applied to data to create INTERESTING theories/ideas/phenomena/what-have-you that can be LARGE, ABSTRACT CONCEPTS (Hi, String Theory!) and DAILY LIFE (computers function via quantum mechanics, plus there's even more obvious stuff like gravity).
Move up another level.
Rising above English is Social Studies-- a broad field full of subsidiary disciplines that focus on using the things discovered in English to fuel the machine of the human race (economics, for example). Psychology= existence, English = thought, and Social Studies = civilization.
From physics we get engineering-- a broad field full of subsidiary disciplines that focus on using the things discovered in physics to more literally fuel/build the machine of the human race. Math = existence, physics = thought, engineering = civilization.
On an existence-level, we need math and psychology. On an personal level, we need English and physics, and on a global level, we need Social Studies and engineering.
So you see, friend who may or may not want his name mentioned here and therefore I am not mentioning it, we are not so very different after all, just because I enjoy my English class and you hate yours. (Side note: I would hate yours as well, rest assured. I'm not that crazy.)
We're just getting to the same place on different paths.
A Succession of Worthwhile NaNo Links
Kristina Horner posted an excerpt from her NaNoWriMo novel today. It's hilarious.
http://italktosnakes.blogspot.com/2010/11/novel-excerpt-1.html
An agent whose blog I follow (the one who critiqued my query letter for me), tweeted this next link to "The Fantasy Novelist's Exam," detailing all of the things aspiring fantasy writers should avoid. While I knew most of them already, it still amused me greatly. Especially the last two questions and the one about Robert Jordan.
http://www.rinkworks.com/fnovel/
Last and MOST DEFINITELY NOT least, is the Office of Letter's and Light (those behind NaNoWriMo)'s post about...me. Yes, me. I opened up Google Reader and saw my own name staring back at me. Awesome.
http://blog.lettersandlight.org/post/1481338441/letters-and-light-around-the-world-olivia-wood
So I have about 800 words minimum to write for today...
http://italktosnakes.blogspot.com/2010/11/novel-excerpt-1.html
An agent whose blog I follow (the one who critiqued my query letter for me), tweeted this next link to "The Fantasy Novelist's Exam," detailing all of the things aspiring fantasy writers should avoid. While I knew most of them already, it still amused me greatly. Especially the last two questions and the one about Robert Jordan.
http://www.rinkworks.com/fnovel/
Last and MOST DEFINITELY NOT least, is the Office of Letter's and Light (those behind NaNoWriMo)'s post about...me. Yes, me. I opened up Google Reader and saw my own name staring back at me. Awesome.
http://blog.lettersandlight.org/post/1481338441/letters-and-light-around-the-world-olivia-wood
So I have about 800 words minimum to write for today...
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The NaNoWriMo Cult
Hoping to make it to 10,000 by the end of the night. That probably means I should quit blogging and start writing. On the plus side, I drew a picture today of the scene I'm in the midst of.
For those of you who don't read The Procrastination Station on the NaNo website...there was a link to this: "Reasons Why NaNoWriMo is a Cult." So funny. The best part is "Pope's hat: the Viking Helmet"
For those of you who don't read The Procrastination Station on the NaNo website...there was a link to this: "Reasons Why NaNoWriMo is a Cult." So funny. The best part is "Pope's hat: the Viking Helmet"
Chris Baty = the messiah
Ritual writing exercises
Set of understood and upheld rules and goals
Creepy recruitment strategies: come on, who hasn't tried to lure a friend or family member in? And the community rejoices at every new member
No Plot, No Problem = the good book
Strong sense of community
Festivals and celebrations on specific days (Nov 1, 15, Dec 1)
3rd Sunday of the month=Night of Writing Dangerously= pilgrimage to San Fransisco
It has spread the WORLD
ML-cardinals, sent to bring together adherents in regions across the world
website is a holy site
regions are warring denominations
donations are integral and donors are marked as angelic
Young Indocrination programs...I mean Young writer Programs....
Community outreach programs like the YWP and the book drive
Running man as the symbol of the traditionalist Nanoer
Definitive path to be followed with specific checkpoints towards success
Pep Talks? Don't you mean sermons?
Our own set of vocabulary: nanoisms, pansting, nanowrimo, word war
Paraphernalia: wine and wafer? More like coffee and paper!
Widely known and venerated origin story, complete with a change in dates of the actual events to the date that event is celebrated; as March became December, July became November
A published Nano author is revered as a saint, and their published Nano writing is lovingly preserved at HQ
Outward signs of the writer: a laptop and a pen, and a tired, wild eyed stare
Sunday socials with food as an integral element
One can be a lapsed, or even a reborn, nanoer.
Mini-bosses (Vancouver-specific) are priests, sent to subsections of the region
We hear voices in our heads and do what they tell us to
Christening: signing up at the site and giving yourself your nano name (username)
Baptism/Confirmation: getting a certificate when you've won
Old merchandise? More like early artifacts.
The Pope's hat: the Viking Helmet
Dead Sea Scrolls: first nanos; impossible to find and very precious
Validating word count: a significant ceremony that must be completed by a certain time
Forbidden actions: deletion and white out, punishable by discommunication or evisceration in fiction (as the pen is mightier than the sword)
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Phantom of November
Ignore that last post. This is the one you should be looking at. This is the culmination of the most complicated, time-consuming project I've ever worked on since NaNoWriMo last year.
Followers of Elf Army Writes, meet my music video: "The Phantom of November."
The music is written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, played by my mother, and sung by the entirety of my family.
The video stars me, Sarah, my parents, and my best friend. I filmed it, I directed it, I wrote the words, and I edited it. There are the credits I forgot to include.
Enjoy.
Followers of Elf Army Writes, meet my music video: "The Phantom of November."
The music is written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, played by my mother, and sung by the entirety of my family.
The video stars me, Sarah, my parents, and my best friend. I filmed it, I directed it, I wrote the words, and I edited it. There are the credits I forgot to include.
Enjoy.
NaNoWriMo: It Begins
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I said I wasn't going to post much in November, and here I am on the first of the month writing to you.
From the looks of my Buddies page, most of you are either doing fairly well so far or haven't been able to get online to update your counts. If you don't fall into either of those categories, it's not like you're ridiculously behind.
I am loving those new Stat features on the NaNoWriMo website, but what's even cooler is a spreadsheet I downloaded called the "NaNoWriMo Report Card." It even tells me the date I'm expected to finish if I keep up the rate I'm at now. Which I won't. But it tells me I'm due to finish prior to the 15th, which is encouraging. Yeah, I churned out almost 4,000 words today. But trust me, that's not normal. First day hype.
It does help that our Debate Team competition was cancelled, though. That's another weekend day to write.
I'm going to try to get a widget for this blog so I won't be talking about whether or not I've met my goals because you'll be able to tell. Unfortunately, site traffic is RIDICULOUS right now, so that won't be happening this week, probably.
Somehow I managed to write that much, go disc golfing, and watch an hour and a half of TV (okay, so I was writing during the TV).
I am pleased. But now I'll shut up about it, because you all don't want to hear it.
I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday about a guy in one of her classes who says that people who blog and tweet are full of themselves. This, considering how much I blog, is and has been for a long time a concern of mine.
I have come to the conclusion that people like to share themselves with the world. We like to think that you people care, because all I see is the follower count and the viewing demographics. I don't know if you skimmed or didn't even read it. And I don't really care. I may be deluding myself, but I understand that that may be the case, and therefore I think it's okay that I may be.
From the looks of my Buddies page, most of you are either doing fairly well so far or haven't been able to get online to update your counts. If you don't fall into either of those categories, it's not like you're ridiculously behind.
I am loving those new Stat features on the NaNoWriMo website, but what's even cooler is a spreadsheet I downloaded called the "NaNoWriMo Report Card." It even tells me the date I'm expected to finish if I keep up the rate I'm at now. Which I won't. But it tells me I'm due to finish prior to the 15th, which is encouraging. Yeah, I churned out almost 4,000 words today. But trust me, that's not normal. First day hype.
It does help that our Debate Team competition was cancelled, though. That's another weekend day to write.
I'm going to try to get a widget for this blog so I won't be talking about whether or not I've met my goals because you'll be able to tell. Unfortunately, site traffic is RIDICULOUS right now, so that won't be happening this week, probably.
Somehow I managed to write that much, go disc golfing, and watch an hour and a half of TV (okay, so I was writing during the TV).
I am pleased. But now I'll shut up about it, because you all don't want to hear it.
I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday about a guy in one of her classes who says that people who blog and tweet are full of themselves. This, considering how much I blog, is and has been for a long time a concern of mine.
I have come to the conclusion that people like to share themselves with the world. We like to think that you people care, because all I see is the follower count and the viewing demographics. I don't know if you skimmed or didn't even read it. And I don't really care. I may be deluding myself, but I understand that that may be the case, and therefore I think it's okay that I may be.
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