Ruminations
I've got a couple topics swirling in my head today.
1. Why Is Swearing So *!@#% Common? - I still remember when I worked at my old place and one day I was completely exasperated by something and just said, "Fuck!" because I couldn't figure out how to fix what was going wrong. I vividly remember my co-worker putting his hand over his mouth and his eyes nearly popping out of his skull, not because I had said something vulgar, he swore all the time, but because the next words out of his mouth were, "You swore! I can't believe you just swore! I didn't think you ever swore... I've known you for 4 months and never heard you swear!" I hadn't really realized it, I swear outside of work, but I really do censor myself when I'm in a professional setting. I mean, it's unprofessional to be vulgar, so I usually avoid it. I just hadn't realized to the degree that I did so. There really is power behind words and the ones we choose. The power of communication and the spoken word is one of the most important things a person can have.
2. Through a Glass, Darkly: How the Christian right is reimagining U.S. history - After reading through the whole thing, I think I have a better understanding of what exactly to think of when describing "fundamentalists". Their logic, if you can call it that, makes more sense, at least, from an arguments standpoint. It's amazing what people will do in the name of religion, claiming it's faith. Then again, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what my definition of faith is.
3. Something to Consider: A Knight's Oath - Speaking of religion... I watched Kingdom of Heaven this evening and I really liked some of the ideology of the main character, Balian. Wanting to find his faith and atone for his sins, not even really understanding them. Being given the oath of a knight to live by, a firm set of principals to live by and sticking to them, even when they're not easy to do. I'm not even sure if he ever did find any sort of faith by the end of the movie, but he stood by his principals, and I can respect that. I have principals I try to live by, not knowing or understanding my faith just yet, but I wonder if I do hold them up as strongly as I would really like? Perhaps codifying them like the Knight's Oath would help have a stronger connection to them, but my problem is always making them flexible enough to affect a majority of my life, but not so flexible that I will not have a relatively easy answer when confronted with a difficult decision.
4. 25 Rules to Grow Rich By - I've heard a number of these before, but they're all pretty good ideas for what it says, growing rich. I actually plan to stick to a few more of these, once I'm fully gainfully employed again.
5. Radioseven.se - I've been listening to this station quite a bit lately... anthemic tekno/dance/house, good stuff, eh?
I think that's enough for tonight. Now I think I'm gonna go curl up with my big, fluffy blanket I got for Christmas (thanks Patrick!) and read some of my book before going to bed. Tomorrow is bright and early for more server and firewall work.
1. Why Is Swearing So *!@#% Common? - I still remember when I worked at my old place and one day I was completely exasperated by something and just said, "Fuck!" because I couldn't figure out how to fix what was going wrong. I vividly remember my co-worker putting his hand over his mouth and his eyes nearly popping out of his skull, not because I had said something vulgar, he swore all the time, but because the next words out of his mouth were, "You swore! I can't believe you just swore! I didn't think you ever swore... I've known you for 4 months and never heard you swear!" I hadn't really realized it, I swear outside of work, but I really do censor myself when I'm in a professional setting. I mean, it's unprofessional to be vulgar, so I usually avoid it. I just hadn't realized to the degree that I did so. There really is power behind words and the ones we choose. The power of communication and the spoken word is one of the most important things a person can have.
2. Through a Glass, Darkly: How the Christian right is reimagining U.S. history - After reading through the whole thing, I think I have a better understanding of what exactly to think of when describing "fundamentalists". Their logic, if you can call it that, makes more sense, at least, from an arguments standpoint. It's amazing what people will do in the name of religion, claiming it's faith. Then again, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what my definition of faith is.
3. Something to Consider: A Knight's Oath - Speaking of religion... I watched Kingdom of Heaven this evening and I really liked some of the ideology of the main character, Balian. Wanting to find his faith and atone for his sins, not even really understanding them. Being given the oath of a knight to live by, a firm set of principals to live by and sticking to them, even when they're not easy to do. I'm not even sure if he ever did find any sort of faith by the end of the movie, but he stood by his principals, and I can respect that. I have principals I try to live by, not knowing or understanding my faith just yet, but I wonder if I do hold them up as strongly as I would really like? Perhaps codifying them like the Knight's Oath would help have a stronger connection to them, but my problem is always making them flexible enough to affect a majority of my life, but not so flexible that I will not have a relatively easy answer when confronted with a difficult decision.
4. 25 Rules to Grow Rich By - I've heard a number of these before, but they're all pretty good ideas for what it says, growing rich. I actually plan to stick to a few more of these, once I'm fully gainfully employed again.
5. Radioseven.se - I've been listening to this station quite a bit lately... anthemic tekno/dance/house, good stuff, eh?
I think that's enough for tonight. Now I think I'm gonna go curl up with my big, fluffy blanket I got for Christmas (thanks Patrick!) and read some of my book before going to bed. Tomorrow is bright and early for more server and firewall work.