Thank You For Your Self-Sufficiency

This is my weekly Thursday drop

Exactly a year ago, on this date, I posted this excerpt from on facebook. A year later, while my views on happiness have slightly changed, the passage still pretty much resonates with my views on friendship.

"Look around at the people we've met, and how we've been taught to seek ourselves in others. Yet, no man can achieve the kind of absolute humility that would need no self-esteem in any form. He wouldn't survive. So after centuries of being pounded with the doctrine that altruism is the ultimate ideal, men have accepted it in the only way it could be accepted: by seeking self-esteem through others; by living second-hand. And it has opened way for ever kind of horror - and now, to cure a world perishing from 'selfishness', we're asked to destroy the self. Listen to what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You've wondered why we suffer, why we seek happiness and why we never find it. If any man stopped and asked himself whether he's ever held a truly personal desire, he'd find the answer. He'd see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions are motivated by others. He's not really struggling even for material wealth, he's struggling for the second-hander's delusion - prestige: A stamp of approval, not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has succeeded. He can't say about a single thing: 'This is what I wanted because I wanted it, not because it made my neighbours gape at me.' Then he wonders why he's unhappy. Every form of happiness is private. Most of our greatest moments are personal and self-motivated. The things which are sacred or precious to us are the things we withdraw from promiscuous sharing. But now we are taught to throw everything within us into public light and common pawing, to seek joy in collectivity[without the realization that happiness is an individual endeavour]. It's difficult to call it selfishness or egotism, because the words have been perverted. [A] cardinal 'evil' is that of placing your prime concern within other people.

I've always demanded a certain quality in the people I liked. I've always recognized it at once - and it's [one of the few] qualities I [truly] respect in someone. I choose my friends by it, and now I know what it is: A self-sufficient ego."

The reason it works so well is because self-sufficient friends shy away from direct help, and ask for advice. With the realization of self-sufficiency comes the consciousness of a different reality - a reality that insists on independence and helping the self, first and foremost. Friends are there for wisdom, guidance, discussion, and companionship...but at the end of the day, they've realized that everyone's ultimately responsible for solving their OWN problems. Everyone deals with their own crap, or finds a way to deal with their own crap. It works well is because people deal with their own "baggage", so other people aren't forced to.

Grade 12 onwards was a pretty big year in my life...I lost quite a number of current friends, but gained some new ones. Yet, I've never been happier. Upon realizing this, I spent a long time thinking about why that might be...and I realize that everyone had one thing in common - they were all relatively self-sufficient.

Ever since then, I've only had two criterion for picking friends: Intelligence and self-sufficiency. All it takes for an acquaintance to become a friend is intelligence, but all of my best friends are self-sufficient. As long as people have those two qualities, I frankly couldn't give a shit if they looked like Snooki with a giant cock attached to their forehead.

Self-sufficiency establishes a solid personal self. A self that truly doesn't care what people think of them. And it's a hard thing to do, so I've got nothing but respect for the people who have been able to make them happen, or are as close as they can get to making it happen.

Thanks to the bunch that always give me something to think about, challenge my perceptions, prove me wrong, and are constant influences in my life. I can only hope to be as close to as intelligent as some of you are, at some point in my life. I'll admit that I've been slippin' lately, and I do apologize for having small bouts of stupidity - the lack of reading (outside of university textbooks) has really taken away from my sharpness (or so I rationalize...)

So I guess this is the point where I raise my glass or tip my hat to the people that have been able to kick sessions with me and are responsible for the countless "mindfuck"s that I've received within the past 2 years. Sometimes, I do regret being so damn busy...but I don't think that I'd rather have it any other way.

Thanks, and keep doin' you.

Peace,

- knowledge

p.s. good luck to anyone dealing with mid-terms right now!

Toronto Star Article + Critical Thinking = Shocking Results!

As promised, here's another post to make up for my short Thursday drop. Here's an article that we analyzed in my critical thinking class:

Interestingly enough, Rick Anderson (the author), was a campaign director for the Reform party.

Imagine that this was delivered as a speech - it'd be much harder to analyze, and a lot more convincing. It's scary how he acknowledges that there probably weren't any weapons of mass destruction, yet dismisses it later on as if it's not a big deal (when it was the justification for the attack on Iraq to begin with!). 

This is politics, people. Some amazing stuff, isn't it? (No Sarcasm).

Peace,

- knowledge

Plane Crashed Into IRS Building + Amazing Suicide Note - Justified?

Long story short, a man who got royally screwed by "the system" decided to crash a plane into the Austin, Texas Internal Revenue Services building(the tax mans base).

Here's a bit of background information, if you're interested: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35460268/ns/us_news-life?GT1=43001#storyContinued (it's not necessary, though...my cole's notes version above is pretty much all you need to know.

He left an amazing suicide note. It's a bit of a read, but a very good one, in my opinion. 

Check it out: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/18/stack.letter.pdf

Was it justified? Discuss :D

Short post...I know. Don't worry, I'll post again some time this week.

Peace,

- knowledge

Giambrone For Mayor?

I know I said that I was gonna post the eye-opening video from my last post...but I had to push back a couple of posts just to post while this fiasco's still relevant.

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Refresher links in case you haven't been following or don't know what's up:

General Info: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/sto...e-affairs.html

His Trick: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/b...ten-lucas.aspx

Giambrone's sorry excuse of a campaign will be remembered in infamy.

I've been really interested in the TTC lately, so I've been following this closely.

He's long been hailed as Toronto's poster boy for THE up-and-coming prominent politician. At 32 years old, he's accomplished a lot... but I guess wise decisions & the ability to make good decisions based on experience isn't included in that. His list of accomplishments include (in this order): NDP youth wing affiliate by the time he was 15, Federal NDP president, Toronto Councillor, Commissioner of TTC, & Chair of TTC, before finally running for Mayor.

Mistake 1: Heading the TTC at a peak of customer dissatisfaction. Rider dissatisfaction has been building up over the years, with the steady increase in fair hikes, bad service, delays, irresponsible fiscal spending, etc. Unfortunately for him, he just happened to be the face to attack when the shit hit the fan - which I think would've been completely avoidable or minimized. If he planned his political career better, he could've resigned. Imagine how well the spin would've worked if he resigned and said it was because "he can't stand by and watch the TTC betray its customers/the city like that".

Mistake 2: the horrible excuse of a campaign video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOUupt2f9E&feature=related). The editing was horrible, the sound was garbage, and the writing of his script was horrible. If it was meant to be satirical, it was a bad attempt at that. If it was supposed to appeal to the younger audience, it appealed...but not in a good way (check any of his campaign videos & read the comments). Bottom line, Mr. Giambrone, is that corny humour only works if it's actually funny.

Mistake 3: having a mistress. Seriously? Was there any way that this could've gone well? It's like girls who send naked pictures of themselves to their dog of a boyfriend - I'm sure they're gonna keep that all to themselves...*insert eye-rolling smiley*.

& here's pics for you dogs (lol):

- Giambrone + partner both in his private & public life

- The alleged mistress

Mistake 4: Not admitting the truth, to begin with -by trying to deny the affair. First of all, if you TEXTED someone incriminative information, why would it be likely that they wouldn't keep it? The truth(or some distorted version of it) will only eventually come out, and you just screw yourself over even more. Second of all, wouldn't it make more sense to declare something that will eventually be leaked so you can beat them to punch & make it less effective when it inevitably DOES come out?

Mistake 5: Crying during a press conference. If we can look past the fact that he's a grown-ass man...why the hell would you cry during a press conference. Sure, life's stressful, your careers over, you just made the biggest mistake of your life (okay...now that I think about it, why wouldn't you...). But STILL, think of the image that this sends. A mayoral candidate cracks under pressure. It begs a voter to question how he would handle stress if elected for office.

Mistake 6: Dropping out of the mayoral race. Although it's probably a good ting that this guy isn't going to be running the city...from his point of view, he still had a chance. The elections are 6 months away; spin control's an amazing thing, these days; and dude was 2nd place in the race. It would only take a couple of months, a hundred apologies, and the majority of the public would eventually forget that this ever happened. What makes this even worse is that he couldn't do it himself - a representative had to walk into the room after he stormed out to announce that he was dropping out.

Let's open this up for discussion now:

- Was it wrong of her to exploit the situation?

- Besides how it hurt his image, isn't all this irrelevant to his platform? 

- Isn't his personal life his own business? 

- Or are they supposed to give up all rights to privacy when they take up a public position like that? 

- Should "skeletons in the closet" be forgotten or are they ALWAYS relevant?

Take a step back and think: should this REALLY affect what his political agenda is? Does it really take away from his character?

Personally, I'm not a fan of the guy (anti-motorcyclist lobbyists = not a good match for me)...but what he's been able to do with his political career is pretty commendable. I'll admit that it's easy to analyze all the "what if"s and point out what people do when you're on the outside looking in...so of course, nothing I just said holds any weight (except for the fact that it seems to make sense). I can't lie that I'd love to be Giambrone's Public Relations rep right now (no sarcasm). Not that I support his platform, but dude was well-recognized because of his media coverage from his TTC days -  he threw the towel in way too early. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to retract his dropping-out (remember where you heard it first!...hypothetically speaking)

Btw, this is the pre-curser to the "short-comings of Toronto" series: the TTC chapter.

Long post - I know. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Here's a funny .gif for being a trooper and reading the whole thing:

Figuratively speaking, guess which one's Giambrone & which one's Toronto? ;)

Peace,

- knowledge

Worst" Pick-Me-Up Note" EVER

I hate chain mail/messages. Especially when they're stupid:



"When you are feeling alone like no one cares, read this cuz its absolutely true Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep. At least fifteen people in this world love you. The only reason someone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you. There are at least two people in this world that would die for you. You mean the world to someone. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look. Always remember the compliments you've received. Forget the rude remarks. So if you are a loving person, send this to everyone on your list including the person who sent it too you Thank You for being my friend."

Do I even need to say anything? 

Yanni = A Mastermind

I'm up at 3:30 watching some classical music - and believe me, it's not a bad thing.


I've taken a liking to classical music. Violin's something that I've wanted to get into for years, but have pushed aside. I think I'm finally going to give it a try sometime this year. I've also been wanting to see a TSO performance (it's that glass building that you pass when you're walking on Queen St. from Eaton's). When I was younger, I used to skip through 96.3 (the classical station), but I find myself leaving the dial on that whenever I accidentally pass it.


The violin has got to be most beautiful-sounding instrument I've ever heard in my life. What makes it amazing is that it's only one part of an orchestra. Whoever figured to throw 30-100 musicians who have perfected their craft into one group was an absolute genius. 


That is all.


Oh yeah, and enjoy this video :D

Post up some classical vids in the comment section, if you want.

Peace,


- knowledge

Wanna Hear A Joke? Modern-Day Feminism.

Dear self-proclaimed feminists,

Feminism's a joke.

I can understand why the whole movement would start, and the nobility of the cause...but I feel bad for anyone who TRULY headed the preceding feminist movement.

Modern-day feminism isn't about equality...its become about superiority. It's not even about trying to fight for equal rights & being seen as an equal counterpart to males. Instead of trying to become equals, many modern-day feminists try to stress the inferiorities of the male.

Don't get me wrong...I'm all for equality. I love to see an independent chick who can hold her own...but I'm tired of seeing/talking to chicks that CLAIM they do, while their actions suggest otherwise. Examples? Don't tell me how you're "your own woman" and:

- expect dudes to pay for your dinner.

- expect dudes to hold the door open for you

- pull that whole "I don't call dudes, they have to call me" bullshit

- punch dudes because you know they won't hit a woman

- act like you need a dude to define who you are

- act like you're supposed to do alternate push-ups, instead of real ones

These are simple examples, and the problem with them is that that they come with a sense of entitlement. They're little traditional habits that need to be broken if you really do see yourself as an equal. I'm not saying that guys should have the right to punch girls...but If you wanna leave the cookie-cutter image of a woman behind, then help yourselves. Now I'd GLADLY pay for dinner...if we're actually dating. I'll also gladly hold the door open, but you gotta realize that these aren't things that you're absolutely ENTITLED to. These are things that you shouldn't be expecting if you really are trying to act as equals.

My thoughts? Although I've been known to crack lots of woman jokes & inappropriate misogynistic comments, I STRONGLY believe that men and women are equal. However, I'm personally disappointed in how few are able to show it.

I can think of countless examples of chicks who are all against video hoes and the objectification of women...yet define themselves by their sexuality - all while humour, intelligence, self-sufficiency, independence, ambition, and motivation take a back seat. You're disgusted by how society treats women, yet you feed the problem.

Now I'm not sayin' there's anything wrong with being sexually comfortable with who you are...in fact, I'm all for promiscuity. You wanna give multiple guys the goods, then good for you. I'm not gonna call you a slut. I'm sure as hell not gonna judge you...just don't let that define who you are.

I'm not saying to abandon femininity, but realize that you can't expect to be treated "like a woman" when it suits you and then complain that you're being treated like women when it comes to things that aren't in your favour.

Bigs ups to the ladies who do understand this.

Peace,

- knowledge

p.s. I've has been known for being indifferent to a lot of things...and for the first time in a long while, he's felt some sort of disgust from watching a video - but that's for another post. Check back next week!