A post partially in french, as the book I am reading (Asiles de fous) is in french... So here are a couple of quotes that I find interesting:
This one is about a guy who sends his dad to break up with his girlfriend:
Quand on sonnait à la porte je me disais qu'il avait la clé, et qu'après tout ce que m'avait dit son père, sa mère, après tout ce que lui n'avait pas eu le courage de me dire et qu'il m'avait fait cracher au visage par les bouches de ses géniteurs, je n'allais pas me précipiter pour lui ouvrir nue sous un tablier noir comme une soubrette de bordel.
This one is about the fact that all women naturally masturbate:
Toute femme est par nature onaniste, celles qui cherchent désespérément leur plaisir auprès des mâles sont des maladroites qui ne méritent pas leurs doigts.
28 April 2006
21 April 2006
Compassion: what are your reasons?
A couple of days ago, I had a very intense discussion about the concept of Good and Evil... I said that I believed in basic human nature and its basic goodness, he said, without his fear of God (and punishment) he did not see why he would not kill whomever he wanted. Basically, he advanced Heliodore's comment regarding "La loi du plus fort" or "The rule of the strong".
I don't agree. But that's an entire other entry. The point of this blog is compassion, which without basic goodness cannot be. I do strongly believe that we can (and do) do things without expectation of reward (be it on Earth or in the Heavens). My belief (and perhaps I am naive) is that we behave sometimes out of pure desire to help someone in need of our help. We do volunteer work because we want to feed the homeless or remove the plastic bottles from the beach, not because we believe in God and that our "good" actions will get us in the door.
We see misery and hunger and we want to alleviate it because of a need, a basic human nature need, to nurture, to help, to offer one's hand. I do this because I can, because I want to, and at some level, because it is my duty as a human to help another one if I can (or help out an animal in distress)...
So, is the theory of compassion in a godless word possible or not? Share you thoughts and your potential cynicism... I'm all ears.
I don't agree. But that's an entire other entry. The point of this blog is compassion, which without basic goodness cannot be. I do strongly believe that we can (and do) do things without expectation of reward (be it on Earth or in the Heavens). My belief (and perhaps I am naive) is that we behave sometimes out of pure desire to help someone in need of our help. We do volunteer work because we want to feed the homeless or remove the plastic bottles from the beach, not because we believe in God and that our "good" actions will get us in the door.
We see misery and hunger and we want to alleviate it because of a need, a basic human nature need, to nurture, to help, to offer one's hand. I do this because I can, because I want to, and at some level, because it is my duty as a human to help another one if I can (or help out an animal in distress)...
So, is the theory of compassion in a godless word possible or not? Share you thoughts and your potential cynicism... I'm all ears.
18 April 2006
The concept of fairness (or lack thereof)
Due in great part to my upbringing and to my perspective of life, I very much value the concept of fairness, be it related to politics, gender, pay, treatment, or any other thing really. The reason is that I am a strong believer in balance and equilibrium, and I do feel that one who leads a moderate life (overall, you can't be moderate on everything... you'll stop having opinions, and stop being interesting in my eyes) will have a healthy lifestyle.
You can't eat cake everyday and keep your figure, just as you can't occupy a country of years and not expect retaliation and regular explosions. Of course, the real question is "what is fairness?". Defining such a term is very difficult, and shall bring forth lots of discussion, but let's give it a shot. Fairness implies impartiality, and lack of prejudice or favoritism. It means that you will not think of your own interest, and that you will do your best to be objective and do things the way they need to be.
So why am I writing about fairness? Because I have been noticing less and less of it every day. Egocentrism and self-importance are taking over, and most people think that they are the wheel on which everything is turning. Not only is it at the individual level, but also at group levels. There are many many examples of the groups : a particular religious group that will be prejudiced and try to eliminate another group due to ignorance (Inquisition anyone?), or a government that will force its rule on another (colonisation in all its forms)...
Perhaps if we, at the individual level, make an effort, albeit minimal, we might try to make a dent somewhere that will have its repercussions.
This is not utopia.
This is not paradise.
This is a possibility that requires of us to make a sacrifice.
This is a reality to requires us to speak up when we notice such unfairness.
This is a duty that we all have to ameliorate our selves.
Because in the end, that is all that we have.
You can't eat cake everyday and keep your figure, just as you can't occupy a country of years and not expect retaliation and regular explosions. Of course, the real question is "what is fairness?". Defining such a term is very difficult, and shall bring forth lots of discussion, but let's give it a shot. Fairness implies impartiality, and lack of prejudice or favoritism. It means that you will not think of your own interest, and that you will do your best to be objective and do things the way they need to be.
So why am I writing about fairness? Because I have been noticing less and less of it every day. Egocentrism and self-importance are taking over, and most people think that they are the wheel on which everything is turning. Not only is it at the individual level, but also at group levels. There are many many examples of the groups : a particular religious group that will be prejudiced and try to eliminate another group due to ignorance (Inquisition anyone?), or a government that will force its rule on another (colonisation in all its forms)...
Perhaps if we, at the individual level, make an effort, albeit minimal, we might try to make a dent somewhere that will have its repercussions.
This is not utopia.
This is not paradise.
This is a possibility that requires of us to make a sacrifice.
This is a reality to requires us to speak up when we notice such unfairness.
This is a duty that we all have to ameliorate our selves.
Because in the end, that is all that we have.
14 April 2006
The art of covering one's ass...
You live you learn... what does not kill you makes you stronger... etc, etc... All the BS that you've heard a million times. Those are some of the clichés I've been telling myself in the past couple of days, because it seems that I need to rationalize and understand the situation.
It seems that good faith will get you no where and at the first chance anyone (pretty much really) gets, they will fuck you over. Why do I say that? Because nobody wants to assume the responsibility of what they are doing or supposed to be doing... because, as I was told yesterday, "après moi le déluge" and "Akhta rassi we adhreb" which means "the floods after me" and "spare my head and hit"... which is really an attitude that I find deplorable and sad and just pitiful.
It got me thiking about all the creatures that do not think and that do the same task over and over again, without question, without worry, without thought, and how they seemingly seemed content with this type of life. If they only knew the possibilities out there... the knowledge to be discovered, the things to see, the foods to eat, the art to be appreciated, etc...
But then again, to each his own... spare my head and dwell in your "world"...
It seems that good faith will get you no where and at the first chance anyone (pretty much really) gets, they will fuck you over. Why do I say that? Because nobody wants to assume the responsibility of what they are doing or supposed to be doing... because, as I was told yesterday, "après moi le déluge" and "Akhta rassi we adhreb" which means "the floods after me" and "spare my head and hit"... which is really an attitude that I find deplorable and sad and just pitiful.
It got me thiking about all the creatures that do not think and that do the same task over and over again, without question, without worry, without thought, and how they seemingly seemed content with this type of life. If they only knew the possibilities out there... the knowledge to be discovered, the things to see, the foods to eat, the art to be appreciated, etc...
But then again, to each his own... spare my head and dwell in your "world"...
12 April 2006
Robert Plant rocks
A couple of you guys asked me about the Robert Plant ticket… I did write about it twice (link) but never followed up on what happened… I never did find that ticket! And still can’t for that matter. Thankfully, a friend’s friend got sick and had to sell her ticket… So one person’s misery makes another’s happiness. I forked over more cash, but hey, it is not every day that one sees Robert Plant. And let’s face it, I am not taking any chances in Tunisia… Decent concerts are only every other (who knows how long)…
The entire event was fantastic. Had I known I could take pictures, I’d have brought my camera. In the states, it’s absolutely forbidden… I should have known that it was possible here though… In any case, I got there around 8pm or so, and caught a metal French band, Adagio. They are very heavy metal, so you could see a lot of teens banging their heads with the music and screaming the lyrics. It was frankly heart warming. I am a sucker for concerts and to see so many people completely involved is close to being enchanting.
Robert Plant came out around 10pm or so, and the man ROCKS. He’s truly fantastic. There’s no doubt when listening to him, how this man reached the status he has. The great thing is that he did not disappoint the spectators… This means that he played lots of Led Zeppelin songs. He did not do “Stairway to Heaven” or “Kashmir” (post Led Zeppelin but with Jimmy Page), but played Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop (from IV), Whole Lotta Love (II), and many more. I was so very intoxicated that I don’t really remember all of the LZ songs he played.
Since he started up a new group himself, he (of course and one should hope so) played a couple of the songs. The Led Zeppelin songs he performed were slightly different in their sound; he added a touch of his flavor, with a heavy dose of North African tone. I suppose that he’s still under the influence.
The thing lasted over an hour and a half, and made my week… I hope he comes back and takes us to the stairway to heaven…
The entire event was fantastic. Had I known I could take pictures, I’d have brought my camera. In the states, it’s absolutely forbidden… I should have known that it was possible here though… In any case, I got there around 8pm or so, and caught a metal French band, Adagio. They are very heavy metal, so you could see a lot of teens banging their heads with the music and screaming the lyrics. It was frankly heart warming. I am a sucker for concerts and to see so many people completely involved is close to being enchanting.
Robert Plant came out around 10pm or so, and the man ROCKS. He’s truly fantastic. There’s no doubt when listening to him, how this man reached the status he has. The great thing is that he did not disappoint the spectators… This means that he played lots of Led Zeppelin songs. He did not do “Stairway to Heaven” or “Kashmir” (post Led Zeppelin but with Jimmy Page), but played Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop (from IV), Whole Lotta Love (II), and many more. I was so very intoxicated that I don’t really remember all of the LZ songs he played.
Since he started up a new group himself, he (of course and one should hope so) played a couple of the songs. The Led Zeppelin songs he performed were slightly different in their sound; he added a touch of his flavor, with a heavy dose of North African tone. I suppose that he’s still under the influence.
The thing lasted over an hour and a half, and made my week… I hope he comes back and takes us to the stairway to heaven…
10 April 2006
In need of some light...
So the week-end was mostly relaxing, said good-bye to a cousin whoÂ’s trying his luck and migratingÂ… Comforted my aunt who could not believe her only child was taking such a huge leap of faith, chilled, watched some TV, and a couple of moviesÂ…
In the meantime, as some of my readers know, went through my regular existential, once-every- 8-weeks, crisis. Wondering what itÂ’s all aboutWonderingring about what is important and what is not, the point of it all, the true meaning of faith, the beauty in wonderment, why are we the way we are, is there possibility to change, am I on the right path and when will I know if I am wrong, can I be a sheep disguised as a wolf or must I turn into one to make it, the beauty of body language, the theory of relativity, and how much it must suck to be an ant.
I need to delve more into reading to empty my head. I donÂ’t know if itÂ’s reading some Socrates right now that is filling my head with questions, or whatÂ… Or that time of the year, questioning everythingÂ…
In the meantime, have started reading “Asiles de fous” which seems pretty good. I hope it will bring some enlightenment...
In the meantime, as some of my readers know, went through my regular existential, once-every- 8-weeks, crisis. Wondering what itÂ’s all aboutWonderingring about what is important and what is not, the point of it all, the true meaning of faith, the beauty in wonderment, why are we the way we are, is there possibility to change, am I on the right path and when will I know if I am wrong, can I be a sheep disguised as a wolf or must I turn into one to make it, the beauty of body language, the theory of relativity, and how much it must suck to be an ant.
I need to delve more into reading to empty my head. I donÂ’t know if itÂ’s reading some Socrates right now that is filling my head with questions, or whatÂ… Or that time of the year, questioning everythingÂ…
In the meantime, have started reading “Asiles de fous” which seems pretty good. I hope it will bring some enlightenment...
07 April 2006
Friendship
The ever resourceful Conan sent me a link of a little video that highlights the friendship between a kitten and a rooster. They play together (more like the cat plays and the rooster does not do anything) and they sleep together (not shag, just sleep). What is interesting is that the cat actually seeks the rooster. It makes the effort to hang out with the poultry.
It got me thinking about human friendships, and how they are sometimes difficult. Is it because we are inherently selfish and only think of what this relation will bring us? Is it because we think too much about strategy and how we should evolve within this relationship? Is it perhaps that we are just too sensitive as creatures? Is it a trust thing? What is it exactly that complicates our interactions?
Can't we just hang out, eat, and just chill? Do we really have to think that some have ulterior motives? Why can't we just be like the cat and the rooster? Is our consciousness (in a way) killing us to the point that we are unable to just be? Is that why only children have decent friendships? And past age 10 or 11, it all just goes to hell?
Am I being too cynical here or am I justified in thinking that humans unnecessarily complicate their existence?
It got me thinking about human friendships, and how they are sometimes difficult. Is it because we are inherently selfish and only think of what this relation will bring us? Is it because we think too much about strategy and how we should evolve within this relationship? Is it perhaps that we are just too sensitive as creatures? Is it a trust thing? What is it exactly that complicates our interactions?
Can't we just hang out, eat, and just chill? Do we really have to think that some have ulterior motives? Why can't we just be like the cat and the rooster? Is our consciousness (in a way) killing us to the point that we are unable to just be? Is that why only children have decent friendships? And past age 10 or 11, it all just goes to hell?
Am I being too cynical here or am I justified in thinking that humans unnecessarily complicate their existence?
05 April 2006
Just to be clear...
I am not addicted to drugs or whatever... I am simply wondering about that point of no return, from habit to addiction...
Work has been interesting in these past couple of days. I don't usually talk about work in itself, except to complain perhaps about some bathroom issues... But lately, the situation pretty much requires that i write about it or i will go nuts. It has started to eat me up, and frankly, it ain't healthy to be pissed off at work. I am finding myself stuck. The environment is totally polluted as everyone is looking to discharge oneself from their duties, or to do a transference of their state of anger (even cold rage) on someone else... I find myself soaking up some of this negative energy, and worst of all, I find myself being angry, pissed, and just in an overall bad mood.
So I just went and relieved my soul to management, and I feel better. I don't know if much will come of it (I will wait one week and push again), but at least, they are aware of the situation.
Meanwhile, I am almost done with The Autograph Man. It took me some time to finish this book, and it's not for lack of enthusiam or anything, but just not reading fast enough (or exhaustion in general)... And that's it for me...
Oh yeah, one last thing, got another toy! I am the proud owner of an HP pavilion dv5036EA. There is now at home, a grand total of 3 laptops. Can you say geek?
Work has been interesting in these past couple of days. I don't usually talk about work in itself, except to complain perhaps about some bathroom issues... But lately, the situation pretty much requires that i write about it or i will go nuts. It has started to eat me up, and frankly, it ain't healthy to be pissed off at work. I am finding myself stuck. The environment is totally polluted as everyone is looking to discharge oneself from their duties, or to do a transference of their state of anger (even cold rage) on someone else... I find myself soaking up some of this negative energy, and worst of all, I find myself being angry, pissed, and just in an overall bad mood.
So I just went and relieved my soul to management, and I feel better. I don't know if much will come of it (I will wait one week and push again), but at least, they are aware of the situation.
Meanwhile, I am almost done with The Autograph Man. It took me some time to finish this book, and it's not for lack of enthusiam or anything, but just not reading fast enough (or exhaustion in general)... And that's it for me...
Oh yeah, one last thing, got another toy! I am the proud owner of an HP pavilion dv5036EA. There is now at home, a grand total of 3 laptops. Can you say geek?
03 April 2006
Habit and Addiction
I am writing again about habit and addiction because it is a subject that I’ve been thinking about often lately. I was actually wondering how the switch comes to be from habit to an actual full-fledged addiction.
Because let’s face it, the definition of habit is in a way comforting, but even hearing the word addiction worries you. You know it is a bad thing. Addiction implies an obsessive behavior, a behavior that is negative. Per its definition, addiction means "to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively" (www.m-w.com).So how does the switch happen? Is it an incapacity to control a particular behavior? Is it something so good that It pushes to an excess?
One can be addicted to all kinds of things… a person, a star, an author, a concept, a belief, a substance… I suppose that as humans we are weak. We tend to succumb to one thing or another. We’d like to extend the feeling of pleasure that we experience thanks to this addiction. We don’t want to let go of this feeling because it’s like a ray of sun on a gray and dark day. It brings us joy, hope, and a feeling of ease.
Addiction does however have its dark sides, as it pushes us to behave stupidly, to ruin ourselves (be it mental, physical, or financial), and ultimately to lose who we are… All we end up thinking about is that ray. We forget that the storm always comes to an end, and that the weather ultimately changes.
Because let’s face it, the definition of habit is in a way comforting, but even hearing the word addiction worries you. You know it is a bad thing. Addiction implies an obsessive behavior, a behavior that is negative. Per its definition, addiction means "to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively" (www.m-w.com).So how does the switch happen? Is it an incapacity to control a particular behavior? Is it something so good that It pushes to an excess?
One can be addicted to all kinds of things… a person, a star, an author, a concept, a belief, a substance… I suppose that as humans we are weak. We tend to succumb to one thing or another. We’d like to extend the feeling of pleasure that we experience thanks to this addiction. We don’t want to let go of this feeling because it’s like a ray of sun on a gray and dark day. It brings us joy, hope, and a feeling of ease.
Addiction does however have its dark sides, as it pushes us to behave stupidly, to ruin ourselves (be it mental, physical, or financial), and ultimately to lose who we are… All we end up thinking about is that ray. We forget that the storm always comes to an end, and that the weather ultimately changes.
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