Raise the tempest
To start matters off, I was editing one of my older power points from high school, presumably for health or the likely matter since it was concerning itself about abortion, which usually isn’t a subject that I venture on in normal standards. The interesting part was that I guess I had to argue for it, since I was taking the position that by being pregnant meant that the mother couldn’t have an abortion, since the fetus was alive and thus a citizen of the country and likewise, bound under the protection of the government.
Which in itself, I don’t care very much about, but the idea of having a government contract with the unborn child is an interesting one. When you think about, the abortion debate really boils down to the question of how far does the contractual agreement with the government goes in the case of the mother- does the mother, by consigning to be a citizen of the state sign away her right to have an abortion since the child is in essence a plausible citizen? Of course, this is assuming that the whole debate about when the fetus is alive is settled. But it is a fascinating question: how far does the social contract extend? Under the social contract, the government has to protect its citizens in order to maintain a valid existence. The problem with this, unfortunately, is that the definition of ‘protect’ is absurdly tricky. Under the extreme definition, any government would have to preempt a perceived possibility of a threat in order to ensure that it was still valid, leading to a possible contradiction in the intended purpose of the action. Look at Mistborn and Elend’s New Empire, for example. The governmental structure closely resembles that of a classical governing body as proposed by Rousseau- Elend even has the selfsame motivations when he goes to war and engages in skirmishes, even preemptively. It simply becomes a question of how far does the justification travel along the line of causation.
On a lighter note, Sanderson has a new annotation out. Go read it.
This one doesn’t say much in of itself, other than pointing out the pink fluff ball Allrianne is amusing. It was interesting being inside her head, though- a lot like Breeze. Rioters and Soothers are interesting people to see the world from, considering they feel the feelings of those around them and can nudge and push emotions in careful, controlled amounts. Other than that, we see that Sazed was getting some insecurities creeping in on him early on, not knowing who he really was and where he fit in with the grand plan. Poor guy.
Oh, and to possibly seal in another connection between worlds, one of the religion Sazed preaches found itself as the basis of Warbreaker…Huh. Speculation is abount.
Chemistry. Is. Horrible. More specifically, the specifics of chemical bonds, such in the case of valance bonding theory. Which is giving me a nightmare beyond reason. For some reason or another, I can't picture the hybrid orbitals well, and it doesn't help that I can't fall back on my old system of logically reasoning it out since it just doesn't make any sense to me. The same goes for molecular orbital theory. I mean, can grasp the basics of it, but beyond that? Absolutely nothing. Nothing is clicking. No mechanisms of cause and effect are turning, and nothing is linking. I may have to resort to making up some system involving ripping electrons from the lower orbitals to get it to work...
The only reason why this worries me a bit is because I've peeked at the Orgo Chem textbook, and encountered a bit of it in the lab and it seems that almost all of it boils down to electrons repelling and attracting each other.
Great.
I managed to dredge out of the abyss of the recycle bin some Suzanne Vega songs, which means I'm not completely deprived. Funny part was the songs that somehow avoided deletion- Left of Center, In Liverpool and As Girls Go. Two of which are pretty, one of which I never paid much attention to till now and oddly enough, is stuck in my head. Quite a fitting song, I might say.
You make a really good girl
As girls go
Still kind of look like a guy
I never thought to wonder why
If I could pull this off
Would I know for certain
The real situation
Behind the curtain
So beautiful
Damsel in distress
Not exactly natural
Stunning none the less
What happened to you?
To make you more girl than girls are
Would you ever show or tell
Cause you're so good so far
You make a really good girl
As girls go
As girls go
As girls go
As girls go
As girls go
Let's chronicle
The dark side of the life
Did you ever keep the date
With the steel side of the knife
Doesn't matter to me
Which side of the line
You happen to be
At any given time
You make a really good girl
As girls go
As girls go
As girls go
As girls go
As girls go
On the awkward note of the day, one of my suitemates apparently had all the way through the Hilton Head pictures (good memories) for some reason that I can't feasibly discern other than expressed boredom and commented on that either you, Gettings, or Annie was 'really hot'. Oh, and Ariana now wants the story of how I got nail polish on my feet, which may require some tricky evasiveness unless I want anyone finding out about Snow White and etc.
Oh, and on a final note, late happy birthday to my sister.
Now to resume studying. And editing Savvy’s paper.