I would like to take a moment to examine why I think Bruce Lee is an inspirational figure for many people. He was a martial artist but he also has broadcast his talents on the few films that he has played in. He played roles where he was cast as an outsider who had to overcome rival gangs or crime syndicates. But at the same time, he was able to showcase his martial talents which were unrivaled at the cinema. His fighting kept his audience engaged as much as his simple charismatic line delivery. So, his films show an enhanced image of his character which people find attractive.
I also realize that my previous post was about how following someone who you can personally call 'teacher' is not the path for those who hold to the cross and what it represents. But at the same time it would be naïve to think that we will shrug off our roll models once we learn the truth about influence and those who practice it. So, revisiting someone like a Bruce Lee in comparison with a Carl Trueman, for example, would show how influence differs widely considering that their goals and methods of impacting others, who happen to find them intriguing, are not the same.
Thus, having a large cult following makes one person defensive while for another it propels them forward. And the means by which each of these influencers, Bruce and Carl, are going to be emulated by their audiences have value because of how they portray influence as something to be unmasked or, in another way, to be considered unimportant compared with their respective messages that they have pushed for. It is just that their audience members (not all) seem to think that just their personas are being communicated instead of the values of marital arts from one and the cross from the other.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Friday, June 15, 2018
On the cults of those who follow a Magnus
I would like to respond to this article about how the author resisted the temptation to start a fan club:
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2018/06/on-professors-idolatry-and-a-m.php
The author, Carl Trueman, starts off by recounting his beginnings of his professorship at Westminster by the East Coast. He was asked by a group of students to talk theology in a public venue, or rather a local meeting place. And then he goes off to discuss the dangers of personality cults for young impressionable students, who often feel a sense of camaraderie when they find a prof. that they like.
And he argues that: if you worship a professor or teacher or pastor, you will come to be like them, warts and all, and probably in an exaggerated way. That is why so many professorial disciples sound like cheap, lightweight versions of the original; they are basically idolaters, and what you see in their lives and language is the inevitable result of their idolatry. Then he brings up the cross.
The process of becoming impressed with a professor or teacher or pastor is not what the cross teaches us about how to go about engaging such influencers. To become addicted to those cults or to join those who end up modeling themselves after them tend to try to act like them, but instead of being told not to be like them, we are reminded that this idolatry splits up families and churches.
Back in my college days, I'd absorb the material to digest it for the final exam. And students outside of the class might find it quite strange to walk in on any given lecture because the way that Music does University, for example, is different than the way normal departments train students for their life after their professors impress them. Taking the same class together gives you an insider's view.
So, if our motivation is to follow an influencer around to be like them, perhaps that is not a cross-like way of approaching them. And I think back how often I mimic my own influencers unintentionally because they seemed to be powerful and attractive persons, who I can gain insight and prestige from to feel superior to those outside of my peer group. So, if we are aware of this maybe it's not too late.
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2018/06/on-professors-idolatry-and-a-m.php
The author, Carl Trueman, starts off by recounting his beginnings of his professorship at Westminster by the East Coast. He was asked by a group of students to talk theology in a public venue, or rather a local meeting place. And then he goes off to discuss the dangers of personality cults for young impressionable students, who often feel a sense of camaraderie when they find a prof. that they like.
And he argues that: if you worship a professor or teacher or pastor, you will come to be like them, warts and all, and probably in an exaggerated way. That is why so many professorial disciples sound like cheap, lightweight versions of the original; they are basically idolaters, and what you see in their lives and language is the inevitable result of their idolatry. Then he brings up the cross.
The process of becoming impressed with a professor or teacher or pastor is not what the cross teaches us about how to go about engaging such influencers. To become addicted to those cults or to join those who end up modeling themselves after them tend to try to act like them, but instead of being told not to be like them, we are reminded that this idolatry splits up families and churches.
Back in my college days, I'd absorb the material to digest it for the final exam. And students outside of the class might find it quite strange to walk in on any given lecture because the way that Music does University, for example, is different than the way normal departments train students for their life after their professors impress them. Taking the same class together gives you an insider's view.
So, if our motivation is to follow an influencer around to be like them, perhaps that is not a cross-like way of approaching them. And I think back how often I mimic my own influencers unintentionally because they seemed to be powerful and attractive persons, who I can gain insight and prestige from to feel superior to those outside of my peer group. So, if we are aware of this maybe it's not too late.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Con't the Conversation
I am going to be in dialogue with this piece from a past posting from late last month:
So, I was reading about a Knight, who traveled around Europe seeking to defend her honor. And I also have read about the Orient, the Far East, through a book that I picked up, but then abandoned it like finding an empty house at a dead end street. If you knew that there was an empty house, and you had no reason to go inside, you would turn and walk away. Would you not? If you have searched all of its rooms and found them to be worthless, then you should leave before you become a person without any reason at all. So, I stopped reading my Japanese book, and went on from there.
So, I was reading about a Knight, who traveled around Europe seeking to defend her honor. And I also have read about the Orient, the Far East, through a book that I picked up, but then abandoned it like finding an empty house at a dead end street. If you knew that there was an empty house, and you had no reason to go inside, you would turn and walk away. Would you not? If you have searched all of its rooms and found them to be worthless, then you should leave before you become a person without any reason at all. So, I stopped reading my Japanese book, and went on from there.
When given a section of fiction writing, I like to try to understand the character's motives by looking at what or who they associate with. However, this would be autobiographical, so consider the Knight from the Canterbury Tales instead. He traveled around Europe seeking to defend her honor, which is found in the prologue that introduces him among all of the other pilgrims. So, he is a traveler with other companions on his way to Canterbury. At this point, I would like to say that historical awareness of the surrounding events would be helpful but not necessary, so that you don't have to stop reading just to look up where all the places are in relation to what Chaucer is saying.
So there is the disconnect between the significant social events that historians inquire into and the significant literary works that critics duke themselves over with. This disconnect or better yet the categorization of these two methods is important because some people confuse these things to their own shame. There is overlap but I need to continue to beat the dead horse, until things start to make sense for you. And from that let's consider why the author stopped reading his Japanese book, since that conclusion does not seem to follow from the above. The answer is that there was a literary reference that set up the ordinary ending. How boring, right?
Monday, April 16, 2018
Prince Hal against Falstaff aka Fight at the London Bridge
I started off this Spring by wanting to read John Donne, but I was over with him, until I found a copy of the Canterbury Tales, which I bought with credit at a local bookstore. But I then noticed that I had additional credit, so I looked at the cheap bargains and got a Sudoku puzzle book as well as a Russian dictionary for English users, who I happen to be one of. And I used English all my life but I thought that Russian would be a good choice, since it's a bit different than English. So, I got this Oxford Russian English dictionary, which I have used as a reference to learn this foreign language that is spoken in Russia among other countries. So, Donne led to Russian but then I got this Henry IV part I play that I would like to talk about now with those who enjoy English as a foreign language.
So, Henry IV part I is the store edition, which I bought because if I wanted to get the expensive edition, then I would sink into the tale instead of telling you what the play is about, but I only have read about a few scenes so far, and could not tell you the entire plot or any detailed descriptions of the characters. In fact, there are sources dedicated to just one character, for example, where the author takes you through a play of Shakespeare's by explaining just one character as the basis of the entire play. For example, Hamlet: Poet Unlimited by Harold Bloom comes to mind, but I am sure that there are others out there, if you are interested in following your favorite characters around Shakespeare's plays. So, Falstaff is a good example, since he appears in several of his plays such the Merry Wives of Windsor, which I have never seen a performance of. So, Bloom is still a looming presence here as I discourse Henry IV part I, which I have gotten recently on store credit.
Thus, I would like to introduce into my conclusion an element that I did not yet write about: Prince Hal, who takes the opposite way of acting compared to Falstaff. Whereas Falstaff is a fat old knight, who gets into mischief; Hal is a young price, who has a bad reputation that he uses to his advantage by poking fun at the knight. So, Falstaff is the dominating presence, who seeks to make Hal into one of his own by absorbing whatever he says and then returning that back into his own advantage. So, the audience is with Falstaff but Hal acts as a counter measure against the excesses of the fat old knight of Eastcheap. So, I had to fit in Hal to explain the importance of Falstaff, who has seemed to have won the contest before I even picked up the copy of the play at my local bookstore.
So, Henry IV part I is the store edition, which I bought because if I wanted to get the expensive edition, then I would sink into the tale instead of telling you what the play is about, but I only have read about a few scenes so far, and could not tell you the entire plot or any detailed descriptions of the characters. In fact, there are sources dedicated to just one character, for example, where the author takes you through a play of Shakespeare's by explaining just one character as the basis of the entire play. For example, Hamlet: Poet Unlimited by Harold Bloom comes to mind, but I am sure that there are others out there, if you are interested in following your favorite characters around Shakespeare's plays. So, Falstaff is a good example, since he appears in several of his plays such the Merry Wives of Windsor, which I have never seen a performance of. So, Bloom is still a looming presence here as I discourse Henry IV part I, which I have gotten recently on store credit.
Thus, I would like to introduce into my conclusion an element that I did not yet write about: Prince Hal, who takes the opposite way of acting compared to Falstaff. Whereas Falstaff is a fat old knight, who gets into mischief; Hal is a young price, who has a bad reputation that he uses to his advantage by poking fun at the knight. So, Falstaff is the dominating presence, who seeks to make Hal into one of his own by absorbing whatever he says and then returning that back into his own advantage. So, the audience is with Falstaff but Hal acts as a counter measure against the excesses of the fat old knight of Eastcheap. So, I had to fit in Hal to explain the importance of Falstaff, who has seemed to have won the contest before I even picked up the copy of the play at my local bookstore.
Friday, April 13, 2018
the French Connection
A
few coworkers from the outside have raise their questions about this confused
post from Feb.:
There were a few animals that met in a man-made house. The snake, the rabbit,
the ox, and the monkey talked about the impact of the natural disaster. The
snake said that he would prevent another disaster like the first. The rabbit
suggested that she might be a victim if another one happened. The ox saw that
there was no way that another one will happen. And the monkey agreed with the
alert ox.
The rabbit was then upset with the monkey because he was abrupt. The
rabbit began to shed her fur, which fell in clumps and made the rabbit worry
even more. She made comments about her shedding and the ox decided to ignore
them. The rabbit turned to the ox and the snake started to slither away. The ox
made irrational noises, which could be heard from the outside. They then ended
the meeting.
It is painfully obvious that the
rabbit is at the center of attention because all of the other animals just ignore
the complain of the rabbit. Now, does that rabbit have a ‘Real World’
counterpart to the character in the story? No, since fiction disguises all personal
identities, the rabbit is without any 'Real World' counterpart whatsoever. If you thought that the snake, the ox, or the monkey cared at all about her, then you seemed concerned about something that should not concern you at all.
So, was it right for the rest of zoo animals to leave the rabbit in the state that she was in? Once the rabbit expressed her feelings that she might be a victim of the natural disaster, then that was exactly when all of the other barn animals left her because they had nothing to say to her. Notice, that she was left alone in the house and that no disaster happened. Maybe you should ask yourself, "what is not being said here?" So, the 'meaning' is learning how to look outside of one's man-made house, but that answer won't solve your 'Real World' issue now, won't it?
Thursday, April 12, 2018
An Interview with Puffin
Vytautas: What is ASMR? I decided to ask an actual ASMRtist what’s it like being apart of a community, where users can listen to soft sounds with the intention to escape the demands of daily life, if only for a drief 10-15 mins. One such creator of ASMR on YouTube has her own channel and goes by the moniker Puffin, who does not show the upper part of her face for some reason. O Puffin, why is it that you do not reveal your face on any of your YouTube videos?
Puffin: I hide my face for both employment reasons and potential harassment. I am in the phase of my life where job searching and finding a career is extremely important, and I wouldn't want my channel to get in the way of that. Unfortunately, to people who are unfamiliar with ASMR, it can come off as a fetish or sexual, which is not my intention in the slightest. I imagine that employers and hiring managers would be among those that are unfamiliar. And if my real name or identity were to be attached to my channel, then I’d fear that it would have negative consequences. Additionally, with Jellybean's harassment story (as well as many other ASMRtists, who have faced the same thing), it just adds to the list of reasons to try and remain as private as possible.
Vytautas: That’s understandable. I, for instance, have my own nickname that I use for an online identity. I guess, if you are famous in the ‘real life’, you wouldn’t have to worry about leaking your identity to the public, since then everyone would respect you. But for those of us trying to get a handle on finding a career, these ‘fake names’ can be a life saver. So, I first got into ASMR by watching Jellybean, but when I watched Frivvi, I was like, Wow!. So, I was wondering, have you had the chance to watch her?
Puffin: I started watching Frivvi quite a while ago. And I remember the first video that I saw of her was one of her Tascam "Tingle Party" assortments, which I immediately fell in love with! She has a great presence and I feel that she comes off as very genuine. She was one of the main ASMRtists whose videos helped me, when my anxiety skyrocketed in college. Now that I have begun my own channel, I often look to her as an inspiration. I am not a big fan of fancy sets and role-plays. So, I love that her videos are very straightforward and that she sticks to creating things that she enjoys.
Vytautas: Yes, the first video that made me ‘tingle’, which could be described as the funny feeling you have in the back of your head, when you feel that you have accomplished something, was when Frivvi was listing to Bilile Eilish, who reminds me of Meg Myers for some reason, and just being silly which kept me glued to my iPhone. So, is there a reason that you chose the name Puffin?
Puffin: I chose the name Puffin because I honestly just like the word. :) It has a comforting sound like the word pillow. Other than that, I find puffins to be adorable! I would categorize birds in general as my favorite ‘animal’, as I've owned and raised many of them throughout my life. Puffins just stuck out to me because they're cute, quite unique, as well as having a great name.
Vytautas: Great! I also happen to follow you on Twitter, since it is only natural to find you there. I noticed a few posts concerning World of Warcraft (WoW), which, I guess, is still all the rage these days. Care to elaborate on that?
Puffin: I do love WoW! I play the game casually these days. However, I used to raid quite a lot about a year ago. Currently, I play the game to collect items and just prepare for the upcoming expansion. I guess you could say that I used to be a power gamer, but now I became a role-player. I have every class at max level, but I mostly enjoy playing melee classes and healers, my current favorite being the Paladin. I can heal, melee dps, or tank depending on my mood. The versatility is great!
Vytautas: I believe it has about 15 years ago when I played Ultima Online (UO), where I was a similar type of character but not as noble as a Paladin, since I became a part of the Chaotic Clan on the Catskills shard, where Tronage and his wife would hold tournaments and monster hunts every few weeks or so. And eventually, I have shared a house with the murderous brigand, Xenox, or a name like that. So, I was a Paladin-like but I did not wander the streets of Trinsic seeking to feed the hungry, you know? Anyways, how’s life without Frivvi putting out regular ASMR videos?
Puffin: Frivvi's absence is very unfortunate, but I'd glad she's taking time to grieve rather than just continue pumping out videos when her heart isn't into it. Since the person she lost was involved in the ASMR community, I can see why she needed to take her mind off from her videos for a while. If things ever go south in my real life (assuming they aren't related to ASMR or my channel), I would try to continue as best as I could, as I find filming therapeutic.
Vytautas: Well, thanks for taking the time to interview with me. Hope all goes well with your own ASMR output.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Those who speak when they should instead be
What is ASMR? You might have seen people tap away on tables, or they might have whistled, while they played Frisbee in your neighbor's yard. All of these activities show that those persons, who have expressed such outbursts, wanted to release their nervous energy through those common habits that you see through your daily life. So, ASMR is the feeling you get when you have the same intention as your nervous partner. I say nervous, not that they cannot settle down, but rather for those whose intentions are to express an ASMR towards their listener, they would want to generate such sounds by being distracted from their surroundings. Where can one find ASMR?
These intentional sounds are usually published through media found in app stores or websites where such media is housed. You could find all sorts of activities, where there are artists who focus intently on one particular aspect such as eating or drinking. These are the noises that should relax you, if you trust the artist and basically stop thinking, so that you are under the control of the artists who preform ASMR, an acronym meaning you feel good inside after someone makes some soothing noises. The resistance comes in when what you are experiencing is outside of the range of decorum.
Training to experience responses from those who are willing to focus all of their energy on generating audio to put you to sleep, so that you are no longer racing with psychobabble, but rather are being treated as a patient under the care of a physician is hard because you need to focus on being in a meditative state of being, which requires some practice. But the best way is to just to watch and learn as you discover not methods, but rather the intention to trust those ASMR artists.
These intentional sounds are usually published through media found in app stores or websites where such media is housed. You could find all sorts of activities, where there are artists who focus intently on one particular aspect such as eating or drinking. These are the noises that should relax you, if you trust the artist and basically stop thinking, so that you are under the control of the artists who preform ASMR, an acronym meaning you feel good inside after someone makes some soothing noises. The resistance comes in when what you are experiencing is outside of the range of decorum.
Training to experience responses from those who are willing to focus all of their energy on generating audio to put you to sleep, so that you are no longer racing with psychobabble, but rather are being treated as a patient under the care of a physician is hard because you need to focus on being in a meditative state of being, which requires some practice. But the best way is to just to watch and learn as you discover not methods, but rather the intention to trust those ASMR artists.
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Student of Bloom
The following was taken from a madman's diary and edited for the sake of sanity:
You have Hamlet, who is change incarnate, while Falstaff is the Blessing, so all other characters are manifestations of these two characters. That is, all other personages from Shakespeare can be explained from these two characters. So you have all other characters that are explained from Hamlet and Falstaff. You would find evidence of the above from the plays/ poems of Shakespeare. So if you have Iago, who is willing to put Othello to death because he was not a true military personage. Iago changes his stance towards Othello because of his relationship to Desdemona, who leaves behind a piece of cloth, which Iago uses to frame her for her infidelity. So Iago can be discussed in terms of Hamlet.
You have Hamlet, who is change incarnate, while Falstaff is the Blessing, so all other characters are manifestations of these two characters. That is, all other personages from Shakespeare can be explained from these two characters. So you have all other characters that are explained from Hamlet and Falstaff. You would find evidence of the above from the plays/ poems of Shakespeare. So if you have Iago, who is willing to put Othello to death because he was not a true military personage. Iago changes his stance towards Othello because of his relationship to Desdemona, who leaves behind a piece of cloth, which Iago uses to frame her for her infidelity. So Iago can be discussed in terms of Hamlet.
Thursday, April 5, 2018
a Crash Course in Business Analysis
Those who pay bills would like to think that those who have positions of power got there because of their lack of talent. To put it another way, within a business setting, those who have the experience are hated by those who think differently than others. On the one hand, it would seem that business leaders got to where they are through hard work and dedication, but on the other, maybe it was just being at the right place and the right time using their connections to get to where they currently are at.
For example, if you were given the task to listen to the concerns of those bill-payers who would rather be the invoice-givers, then you would respond by saying, look, I understand your concern to make me want to pay my invoice, but here is another way of looking at it: I would loose out on the deal, while you'll just keep your comfortable seat with all of them lights on. So, the work environment makes it easier for that invoice-giver to stay in power, while the bill-payer has to suffer the beeps that are thrown into the ears of the innocent by means of a communication device.
Thus, those of us who are familiar with the work environment can see the problems that the bill-payers go through, while maintaining that the invoice-givers are not the problem but the solution 'cause they provide the documents for those who insist that they are losing out somehow. Perhaps if they are so good at paying bills, they can look around them to see what their bill paying has accomplished. That way the invoice-givers don't have to use their phones to seek them out.
For example, if you were given the task to listen to the concerns of those bill-payers who would rather be the invoice-givers, then you would respond by saying, look, I understand your concern to make me want to pay my invoice, but here is another way of looking at it: I would loose out on the deal, while you'll just keep your comfortable seat with all of them lights on. So, the work environment makes it easier for that invoice-giver to stay in power, while the bill-payer has to suffer the beeps that are thrown into the ears of the innocent by means of a communication device.
Thus, those of us who are familiar with the work environment can see the problems that the bill-payers go through, while maintaining that the invoice-givers are not the problem but the solution 'cause they provide the documents for those who insist that they are losing out somehow. Perhaps if they are so good at paying bills, they can look around them to see what their bill paying has accomplished. That way the invoice-givers don't have to use their phones to seek them out.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Against Open Ground Ditches
There is a point were the one true sentence cannot suffice, since it does not describe the environment of a given area. A description such as, the water flows on the floor, when the green light turns on, does not help, even if you are in a situation, where an event such as that happened because it lacks 'reference'. The description has 'sense', but you are unsure of the 'reference' that is being made. A lot of people mistake 'context' for 'reference', which is fine in normal talk, but if you want to have precision, then we have to investigate the matter with 'sense' and 'reference'. And note that '*' = 'concept', which is an equivalence between the 'concept' and the 'universal set' within single quotation marks.
This is an analytical distinction that is outside of a situational context, so let's first deal with 'context' and 'reference'. Is there a difference between the two? 'Context' refers to a type of 'reference' within a textual situation, while 'reference' is about how 'sense' works within a given environment, which is given meaning by those who have at least some understanding of that particular environment. Let's call these persons interpreters who give meaning to their environment. They require both 'sense' and 'reference' to understand their environment, which is where they are located. And when the interpreters come to a text, they need both 'sense' and 'reference' to understand the 'context'. So, the context is like an environment, where there are things like settings, characters, and meta-text that give shape to the way the interpreter makes 'sense' of her surroundings.
To finish up, there is no way that she, who has a sense of an environment, whether it be textual or geographical, will understand anything without a 'reference', which is a type of 'context', if the environment be textual or an environment, where the 'reference' is geographical. So these distinctions will help you see the 'meaning' within your environment by giving you a 'reference', which is useful for understanding life-situations, where the 'context' is just one part of the whole. So, the 'reference' will pull together with the 'sense' to make them both meaningful within an environment.
However, I have purposely left 'environment' without the single quotation marks up to this point because I don't want to think conceptually about the 'environment' at this time. Maybe I will write about that issue some other day. So, there is a difference between 'context' and 'reference', and I have told you why the issue with 'sense' and 'reference' is important. They bring together the 'meaning' for the interpreters, who themselves would be put into quotes, but I need to learn how to stop. (ha!) Have good a day!
This is an analytical distinction that is outside of a situational context, so let's first deal with 'context' and 'reference'. Is there a difference between the two? 'Context' refers to a type of 'reference' within a textual situation, while 'reference' is about how 'sense' works within a given environment, which is given meaning by those who have at least some understanding of that particular environment. Let's call these persons interpreters who give meaning to their environment. They require both 'sense' and 'reference' to understand their environment, which is where they are located. And when the interpreters come to a text, they need both 'sense' and 'reference' to understand the 'context'. So, the context is like an environment, where there are things like settings, characters, and meta-text that give shape to the way the interpreter makes 'sense' of her surroundings.
To finish up, there is no way that she, who has a sense of an environment, whether it be textual or geographical, will understand anything without a 'reference', which is a type of 'context', if the environment be textual or an environment, where the 'reference' is geographical. So these distinctions will help you see the 'meaning' within your environment by giving you a 'reference', which is useful for understanding life-situations, where the 'context' is just one part of the whole. So, the 'reference' will pull together with the 'sense' to make them both meaningful within an environment.
However, I have purposely left 'environment' without the single quotation marks up to this point because I don't want to think conceptually about the 'environment' at this time. Maybe I will write about that issue some other day. So, there is a difference between 'context' and 'reference', and I have told you why the issue with 'sense' and 'reference' is important. They bring together the 'meaning' for the interpreters, who themselves would be put into quotes, but I need to learn how to stop. (ha!) Have good a day!
Saturday, March 31, 2018
on Influence as a Tree in the wild wild Garden (ITG)
Let's say that there is an influence that we experience, but let's also say that there is a type of influence that is left off to others, to do as they please with it, which influence could be seen as a tree that drops off its fruit, so others can eat of them. The fruit of our efforts are those who also see themselves as influencers, who are the audience of those who choose to eat of the fruit that the influencer produces. So what is produced from those influencers, or those who show a lot of influence, then becomes that which is eaten by those who value those influences, since their influence is not just one but many. So, influence as a tree, where the tree is the one who influences, is a metaphor for how the tree interacts with its influence environment. How does this work?
Next, the fruit from the tree is that which shows how influential a particular tree is. But growth for the tree occurs regardless if it does or does not produce fruit. How influence works is that the tree grows by absorbing rainwater and things like that but to hold on to influence, the tree must interact with other influences that it has interacted with beforehand for growth to occur. I have avoided personal pronouns up to this point but let's classify the tree as male as the Germans do. So, the tree is an abstract characterization, until you characterize the above as a person who has the necessary background to fill in the above abstraction. And I could have chosen something like the earth, which is female because of the definite article of the substantive, but I am feeling male today.
Thus, he who has grown as a result of his influence experience will want to have his fruit fed back to him, but the result is that of loss rather than gain. And the loss comes in when he finds out that those who have eaten of his fruits will not return them back in the same way that he has produced them. Rather those who have eaten from him will spit out his seeds while digesting his work. But there is also a gardener or gardeners, if you will the tree's audience, who will only care for his fruit and not for his growth. So, the gardeners care for the tree only in so far as he produces fruit, which will only come about if he chooses to digest what the gardener(s) has(have) given to him.
Next, the fruit from the tree is that which shows how influential a particular tree is. But growth for the tree occurs regardless if it does or does not produce fruit. How influence works is that the tree grows by absorbing rainwater and things like that but to hold on to influence, the tree must interact with other influences that it has interacted with beforehand for growth to occur. I have avoided personal pronouns up to this point but let's classify the tree as male as the Germans do. So, the tree is an abstract characterization, until you characterize the above as a person who has the necessary background to fill in the above abstraction. And I could have chosen something like the earth, which is female because of the definite article of the substantive, but I am feeling male today.
Thus, he who has grown as a result of his influence experience will want to have his fruit fed back to him, but the result is that of loss rather than gain. And the loss comes in when he finds out that those who have eaten of his fruits will not return them back in the same way that he has produced them. Rather those who have eaten from him will spit out his seeds while digesting his work. But there is also a gardener or gardeners, if you will the tree's audience, who will only care for his fruit and not for his growth. So, the gardeners care for the tree only in so far as he produces fruit, which will only come about if he chooses to digest what the gardener(s) has(have) given to him.
Friday, March 30, 2018
What happened on the DL this week?
I think that it was yesterday that I caught A&O ministry's DL (Radio Free Geneva) program that they had on Tuesday. So, it must have been Thursday, when I saw the Tuesday program. And I believe that today is Friday. Anyways, Dr. White was responding to an Arminian philosopher from Canada. I could say that he comes from an angry and confused place, but that would be poisoning the well. And I could provide the link to the program as well, but if you will look to your right, there should be a list of links there. It's the Alpha and Omega one, which should take you there. So, I would like to comment and respond to the DL on Tuesday, when Dr. White was responding to the Arminian philosopher from Canada, a place that I have been to before.
Dr. James White was responding to the philosopher by using Scripture to back up his claims, while the philosopher used his "John 3:16" principle by arguing from an English word that is not found in the Greek text. So, he probably was unaware of the meaning of "John 3:16" because he was unaware of what the text in the original language actually says. Now, I don't read Greek, and I know that Dr. White does, but at least if I am going to stake an argument from a text whose original language is Greek, then you should at least take some time to understand John 3:16 by figuring out where to find the original text for yourself. But it would seem that the philosopher from Canada made an argument based on his own ignorance of the Koine Greek at the time of Jesus, who instructed his disciples to listen to his words.
What of it? I think that it would be great if students of (Christian) philosophy would take at least one year of Greek and a least one semester of a Greek literature discussion class, where they can talk about the meaning of various kinds of literature including the Holy Text. So, in addition to that, I would add texts like Plato, Homer, and Thucydides, who wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War, which was about the civil war between Athens and Sparta, who were the victors because of their greater strategy and tactics than the Athenians, who were weak. So, I could construct a reading list for the Arminian philosopher from Canada, but I doubt he would be interested in reading about anything in that cold dead language that he refused to listen to.
Dr. James White was responding to the philosopher by using Scripture to back up his claims, while the philosopher used his "John 3:16" principle by arguing from an English word that is not found in the Greek text. So, he probably was unaware of the meaning of "John 3:16" because he was unaware of what the text in the original language actually says. Now, I don't read Greek, and I know that Dr. White does, but at least if I am going to stake an argument from a text whose original language is Greek, then you should at least take some time to understand John 3:16 by figuring out where to find the original text for yourself. But it would seem that the philosopher from Canada made an argument based on his own ignorance of the Koine Greek at the time of Jesus, who instructed his disciples to listen to his words.
What of it? I think that it would be great if students of (Christian) philosophy would take at least one year of Greek and a least one semester of a Greek literature discussion class, where they can talk about the meaning of various kinds of literature including the Holy Text. So, in addition to that, I would add texts like Plato, Homer, and Thucydides, who wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War, which was about the civil war between Athens and Sparta, who were the victors because of their greater strategy and tactics than the Athenians, who were weak. So, I could construct a reading list for the Arminian philosopher from Canada, but I doubt he would be interested in reading about anything in that cold dead language that he refused to listen to.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Conversation
I was reading Donne earlier, but I switched over to Chaucer because I wanted to read him years ago, but Milton blocked that desire. He first wrote about the politics of the Revolution, but then returned to his first love of poetry later in his life. There was this play, a masque really, that he preformed in. Although this is speculation, he depicted two young children, who asked and gave answers to profound questions about morals, while Milton himself preformed one of his characters at court. The masque was amusing, but I wanted to find a narrative that included people of all walks of life.
So, I was reading about a Knight, who traveled around Europe seeking to defend her honor. And I also have read about the Orient, the Far East, through a book that I picked up, but then abandoned it like finding an empty house at a dead end street. If you knew that there was an empty house, and you had no reason to go inside, you would turn and walk away. Would you not? If you have searched all of its rooms and found them to be worthless, then you should leave before you become a person without any reason at all. So, I stopped reading my Japanese book, and went on from there.
Thus, if you have no business visiting a distant land, then it's best to look at your homeland. Yes, I am trying to draw a moral here. Maybe there is no moral and the point is to feel the dread of the empty house. If the knight were to visit the abandoned dwelling of my simile, where no one is around, then he would inspect everything and move on his merry way. So, would you not say then that the house is of no value, and you would also search for something more significant? So, maybe I'll stay with Chaucer, a poet that was the first to be buried in the poet's corner at Westminster Abbey in London, a city that I have no intention of visiting.
So, I was reading about a Knight, who traveled around Europe seeking to defend her honor. And I also have read about the Orient, the Far East, through a book that I picked up, but then abandoned it like finding an empty house at a dead end street. If you knew that there was an empty house, and you had no reason to go inside, you would turn and walk away. Would you not? If you have searched all of its rooms and found them to be worthless, then you should leave before you become a person without any reason at all. So, I stopped reading my Japanese book, and went on from there.
Thus, if you have no business visiting a distant land, then it's best to look at your homeland. Yes, I am trying to draw a moral here. Maybe there is no moral and the point is to feel the dread of the empty house. If the knight were to visit the abandoned dwelling of my simile, where no one is around, then he would inspect everything and move on his merry way. So, would you not say then that the house is of no value, and you would also search for something more significant? So, maybe I'll stay with Chaucer, a poet that was the first to be buried in the poet's corner at Westminster Abbey in London, a city that I have no intention of visiting.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
No Idea
The idea that you spend a whole season with one particular author seems tiresome. You must work with the material for several months without having a chance to change your current assignment. I have chosen John Donne, for example, but I have not kept up with him, since I have bought other books, which now collect dust on the stacks of other unread books. Maybe they would serve as a prop for the John Donne book that I got by mail, if I was not so committed to writing about him.
Briefly, you would like to work with your chosen material, but you have no plan as to how to make the best use of your chosen author. One way of escape is to read a biography about your chosen author. With so much info out there, you would not have any great problem finding something to read about your author of choice, unless the biographical information is not there. Otherwise, you stick to your given material, until you find something of use. Then you have a least some idea.
Briefly, you would like to work with your chosen material, but you have no plan as to how to make the best use of your chosen author. One way of escape is to read a biography about your chosen author. With so much info out there, you would not have any great problem finding something to read about your author of choice, unless the biographical information is not there. Otherwise, you stick to your given material, until you find something of use. Then you have a least some idea.
Monday, March 26, 2018
Influence against Fusion
There is the opposition between influence and fusion. These concepts will be examined within a social setting, were there are members, who feel that they are equal to each other. Let the amount of human members be a finite number, so that we would not have to take a few months to analyze the results. So there are persons, who would like themselves to be made available to the public, while there are others who would like to collaborate on projects, where they themselves feel that they are a valuable member thereof. So I understand these two concepts: influence and fusion within a sociological setting, where there is not a state of war but of peace.
First, those who strive to make their influence known among their peers, have the problem of allowing their influence to be taken from them, so that those who have been influenced are now the heirs of the one who has influenced. This problem of leaving your mark to your followers is that of feeling that you have no place left with your community because once your influence leaves you, then your followers have the final say on the topic of what you were promoting. They have the right to say if what you have been doing was right or not. This choice leaves the one who had influenced in a position of a lack of influence if what he was promoting was wrong.
Next, the question is about if what you were promoting was right or wrong. The moral question about influence is answered by looking at the amount of followers that the influencer has gained. If the influencer has gained a large following, then it would seem that what was being promoted was morally right. But what if the influencer promoted immorality and there was a large following gained by promoting perversion? Obviously, the followers have been deceived into following such an influence by allowing themselves to be influenced. So, we as those who are both influencing and influenced have the duty to discriminate between influencers.
So, in addition to the problem of influence and its moral problem there is the second concept of fusion, which I would like to take a look at now. Fusion within a social setting, where there is wide spread agreement between what sources should be followed, is how group members relate to each other when the influence process breaks. If there is a disparity between the two sides, then the process of fusion will happen. The issue about who is being influenced is no longer in question because it is clear to the critic, who seeks to repair the disparity by deeming who is worthy to be called an influence. They have seen the disparity and seek to repair it.
First, those who strive to make their influence known among their peers, have the problem of allowing their influence to be taken from them, so that those who have been influenced are now the heirs of the one who has influenced. This problem of leaving your mark to your followers is that of feeling that you have no place left with your community because once your influence leaves you, then your followers have the final say on the topic of what you were promoting. They have the right to say if what you have been doing was right or not. This choice leaves the one who had influenced in a position of a lack of influence if what he was promoting was wrong.
Next, the question is about if what you were promoting was right or wrong. The moral question about influence is answered by looking at the amount of followers that the influencer has gained. If the influencer has gained a large following, then it would seem that what was being promoted was morally right. But what if the influencer promoted immorality and there was a large following gained by promoting perversion? Obviously, the followers have been deceived into following such an influence by allowing themselves to be influenced. So, we as those who are both influencing and influenced have the duty to discriminate between influencers.
So, in addition to the problem of influence and its moral problem there is the second concept of fusion, which I would like to take a look at now. Fusion within a social setting, where there is wide spread agreement between what sources should be followed, is how group members relate to each other when the influence process breaks. If there is a disparity between the two sides, then the process of fusion will happen. The issue about who is being influenced is no longer in question because it is clear to the critic, who seeks to repair the disparity by deeming who is worthy to be called an influence. They have seen the disparity and seek to repair it.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Final Sequence
So, the analytics of what supports your sources will depend upon those very sources that you draw your inspiration from. Your source of inspiration is acceptable when you find yourself drawn to it again and again, and always again. That wellspring fills your being when you have spent sufficient time there. How long is enough? There are no metrics for inspiration because it is not quantifiable, unfortunately. However, if you feel that you are ready to give your influence to another, then you're ready to begin to write.
At this point, it's best to consider where other resources are found, so that you can compare, and perhaps, even triangulate your sources of inspiration. Notice, these sources are for fiction and not for the real life, which hits you from within and without. Change your perspective by looking for another way to express what would be said in any given situation. Other writers have their own inspiration that will infuse with you if you allow that to happen. So, I would suggest that you block anyone who wants to invade your domain because mixed results are not always best.
Thus, your inspiration for writing fiction should be found by following your interests, but if others rush to prevent you from drinking from your wellspring, then may I suggest violence? They have turned their attention to your domain by seeking to draw from the same sources, which could very well be shared by all, if everyone were to hold to the same perceptions, but history says no. Other writers do not want to loose their place within their own circles, which come and go but your public generally stays constant, unless you yourself are without inspiration.
At this point, it's best to consider where other resources are found, so that you can compare, and perhaps, even triangulate your sources of inspiration. Notice, these sources are for fiction and not for the real life, which hits you from within and without. Change your perspective by looking for another way to express what would be said in any given situation. Other writers have their own inspiration that will infuse with you if you allow that to happen. So, I would suggest that you block anyone who wants to invade your domain because mixed results are not always best.
Thus, your inspiration for writing fiction should be found by following your interests, but if others rush to prevent you from drinking from your wellspring, then may I suggest violence? They have turned their attention to your domain by seeking to draw from the same sources, which could very well be shared by all, if everyone were to hold to the same perceptions, but history says no. Other writers do not want to loose their place within their own circles, which come and go but your public generally stays constant, unless you yourself are without inspiration.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
Supported by Fiction
The emotional experience by reading a story about people, who feel that they have a voice within an hostile environment makes you, the reader, want to read more about that. What motives do the characters have to propel them to action? Is it love, hate, revenge, or the desire to promote the general welfare? Asking a question such as this gets you to think about how the characters' behavior in a given fictional medium (novel, movie, comic, or your own life) paints a picture of how that environment works. In another way, given that you have taken the time to read or watch a book or show, you will then have some understanding of the dynamics of that fictional environment.
Let's take our general understanding of what fiction is, and then discuss how to focus on the characters, rather than the social-cultural features of a given work. I will not be focusing on those features such as the state of the wool trade during the time of Shakespeare because his characters did not make a living by trading wool in the cities of his day. They had their professions, which shows their station in their fictional environment. So at the time of Shakespeare's life, I have set the Globe ablaze to make room for his cast of characters, which is how I intend to approach understanding fiction.
Let's also take the metaphor of 'painting a picture' because it might give us insight into fiction, which is different from the real life, since that has already been 'painted' for us, while fiction is in a constant state of painting by its painters (writers). It needs support because of its changing nature based upon the constant state of flux of the people's interests, which change from season to season. And I think that a feature like 'character' is more persistent than art style, for example. So the writer (painter) shapes their characters through the current interest levels of his (bias!) audience, who enjoying seeing themselves on the page. The fictional writer tailors his characters to his audience's interests and perspectives.
Let's take our general understanding of what fiction is, and then discuss how to focus on the characters, rather than the social-cultural features of a given work. I will not be focusing on those features such as the state of the wool trade during the time of Shakespeare because his characters did not make a living by trading wool in the cities of his day. They had their professions, which shows their station in their fictional environment. So at the time of Shakespeare's life, I have set the Globe ablaze to make room for his cast of characters, which is how I intend to approach understanding fiction.
Let's also take the metaphor of 'painting a picture' because it might give us insight into fiction, which is different from the real life, since that has already been 'painted' for us, while fiction is in a constant state of painting by its painters (writers). It needs support because of its changing nature based upon the constant state of flux of the people's interests, which change from season to season. And I think that a feature like 'character' is more persistent than art style, for example. So the writer (painter) shapes their characters through the current interest levels of his (bias!) audience, who enjoying seeing themselves on the page. The fictional writer tailors his characters to his audience's interests and perspectives.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
the Life as Political
When we think about living situations within a political environment, we may wonder where do we stand among our peers? What sort of reputation do we have among of a group of persons, who all differ in ranking according to their respective political influence, but also have the same affiliation of some kind? We could attempt to answer this question broadly, but let's narrow the question for the sake of clarity. Say there is a baseball team that takes the field. Their affiliation is that they are all on the Chicago Cubs, but they all differ according to their athletic ability. Also in the process of specifying such an example, my reputation went down slightly because I haven't shown interest in any such sport anywhere on my blog.
So, maybe, there are affiliations that have an assortment of persons, who differ in their abilities to preform their tasks delegated by an authority. This authority is a person or group of persons, who have the political influence to make sure that their political environment is running smoothly. How did their influence come about? When asking the question about where do we stand in relation to our peers, perhaps the more interesting question is how do we relate to our authority figures? Our peers may come and go, but those with political influence tend to stay longer within their respective environments because of their repute.
Thus, if there is an authority over us, perhaps, we might improve our station in life, if we mimic the behavior of those, who would like their influence to be made public. So then question of whether the authority figure is being ethical comes up, and I would draw a sharp line between the question of the ethical and the political because ethics concerns what ought to be, while politics is about what is actually the case aside from the ideal cases of the political, which are not apart of this discussion of a real political environment. The distinction is warranted because I see the political in terms of influence, rather than correct behavior, which is regulated through those who influence others.
So, maybe, there are affiliations that have an assortment of persons, who differ in their abilities to preform their tasks delegated by an authority. This authority is a person or group of persons, who have the political influence to make sure that their political environment is running smoothly. How did their influence come about? When asking the question about where do we stand in relation to our peers, perhaps the more interesting question is how do we relate to our authority figures? Our peers may come and go, but those with political influence tend to stay longer within their respective environments because of their repute.
Thus, if there is an authority over us, perhaps, we might improve our station in life, if we mimic the behavior of those, who would like their influence to be made public. So then question of whether the authority figure is being ethical comes up, and I would draw a sharp line between the question of the ethical and the political because ethics concerns what ought to be, while politics is about what is actually the case aside from the ideal cases of the political, which are not apart of this discussion of a real political environment. The distinction is warranted because I see the political in terms of influence, rather than correct behavior, which is regulated through those who influence others.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
On the Issue of Truth and Falsehood
It was an interesting DL, when Dr. White brought up the issue of cognitive dissonance of a certain professor of textual studies, which was the topic of discussion. That professor is from BYU, a university that my mentor, in a loose sense, chose to bring up for discussion. The discussion, as I understand it, is how can you take a position such as that of claiming that the scribes of the early to medieval centuries of the church were effective, if they had less knowledge of the Koine Greek, than their counterparts, who had more knowledge of that language.
So there was the thesis that if you have less knowledge of a human language, then you are more likely to copy your manuscripts more accurately than another person, who has at least some familiarity of that language. This thesis or topic interests me because it runs in counter distinction to the thesis that the Book of Mormon has been given by Joseph Smith on golden tablets that were of heavenly origin. I think that was the antithesis to the above thesis. Basically, the thesis is that this Mormon professor of textual critical studies from BYU was accused by Dr. White of holding to two theses that were incompatible with each other.
When we think of holding to two ideas that are contradictory, we think about which one is true and which one is false. This way of thinking is trying to separate out the true from the false, but when both theses are held at the same time, then you undergo cognitive dissonance, which is an irrational approach to solving the contradiction. Another method is to hold onto the thesis or proposition that seems to be true by comparison. You would be able to see the true statement by rejecting the false one, which is by comparing both statements in light of what else is held to be true.
So, the brief discussion on the DL was about the preservation of the NT manuscripts in light of a recent doctoral dissertation that Dr. White had access to. The professor was accused by Dr. White of holding to contradictory ideas about textual studies, which is an area that I only have the faintest understanding of. And then there was the concept of cognitive dissonance, which could be dissolved by comparing your theses for their validity. This additional discussion brought on by Dr. White was helpful in seeing that the validity of statements would be solved in part by the comparative method of sorting out the truth from the false.
So there was the thesis that if you have less knowledge of a human language, then you are more likely to copy your manuscripts more accurately than another person, who has at least some familiarity of that language. This thesis or topic interests me because it runs in counter distinction to the thesis that the Book of Mormon has been given by Joseph Smith on golden tablets that were of heavenly origin. I think that was the antithesis to the above thesis. Basically, the thesis is that this Mormon professor of textual critical studies from BYU was accused by Dr. White of holding to two theses that were incompatible with each other.
When we think of holding to two ideas that are contradictory, we think about which one is true and which one is false. This way of thinking is trying to separate out the true from the false, but when both theses are held at the same time, then you undergo cognitive dissonance, which is an irrational approach to solving the contradiction. Another method is to hold onto the thesis or proposition that seems to be true by comparison. You would be able to see the true statement by rejecting the false one, which is by comparing both statements in light of what else is held to be true.
So, the brief discussion on the DL was about the preservation of the NT manuscripts in light of a recent doctoral dissertation that Dr. White had access to. The professor was accused by Dr. White of holding to contradictory ideas about textual studies, which is an area that I only have the faintest understanding of. And then there was the concept of cognitive dissonance, which could be dissolved by comparing your theses for their validity. This additional discussion brought on by Dr. White was helpful in seeing that the validity of statements would be solved in part by the comparative method of sorting out the truth from the false.
Monday, March 19, 2018
Tragic Catastrophe or Temporary Confusion
There is the occasion to wonder, how is one to face a totally hopeless situation, when one is confronted with such a situation, where everything has fallen apart. There is the easy way of saying, "Things will get worse before they are better.", but there is the more interesting way of saying, "Things right now are where they should be, but let's try to improve the way that they function by employing our resources to confront our current state of affairs". This method of willing to address such situations by activity, rather than mere comment and criticism, will allow you to be prepared for such an event as a tragic catastrophe or temporary confusion.
First, there is the assessment of the situation. For example, there is a grammatical error on a page, and you happen to be an editor for a newspaper. This is a simple example, to illustrate a general point, which is that such a TC requires an error of some kind and that you have a remedy that will solve that problem. If there is a TC, where everything is totally helpless, you would try to remove yourself from that situation, but we have a TC, where you have means to fix such an error by your language skills. There are no real 'grammar errors' but there is a thing such as robust composition that requires your talent to promote your standing among your language community.
Second, there is the execution of your talent to improve on the present state of language usage. You would simply read the sentence, then you would fix the error, and then you would move on to further investigate any other errors that might be there. This method has the goal of solving TC by identifying the grammar error, fixing such an error, and then also moving on to fix any other issues with the page that may contain additional errors. So, in your execution, the grammar errors are solved by your willingness to confront such problems and then accepting the results of the correctness of the newspaper article that will be published. You would like your readers to have no obstacles.
To conclude this simple exercise, the above illustration of TC was carried out by having a plan to execute your willingness to fix grammatical errors, which could be replaced by other problems, which you may also have the desire to solve. Your willingness to solve a TC makes it far less of a problem than it really is, if you take the time to examine, and also be willing to confront whatever situation you may find yourself in. Yes, there are limits to solving some TCs because those problems are beyond our capabilities to solve. Others might be able to solve them, but our concern is for our own TCs.
First, there is the assessment of the situation. For example, there is a grammatical error on a page, and you happen to be an editor for a newspaper. This is a simple example, to illustrate a general point, which is that such a TC requires an error of some kind and that you have a remedy that will solve that problem. If there is a TC, where everything is totally helpless, you would try to remove yourself from that situation, but we have a TC, where you have means to fix such an error by your language skills. There are no real 'grammar errors' but there is a thing such as robust composition that requires your talent to promote your standing among your language community.
Second, there is the execution of your talent to improve on the present state of language usage. You would simply read the sentence, then you would fix the error, and then you would move on to further investigate any other errors that might be there. This method has the goal of solving TC by identifying the grammar error, fixing such an error, and then also moving on to fix any other issues with the page that may contain additional errors. So, in your execution, the grammar errors are solved by your willingness to confront such problems and then accepting the results of the correctness of the newspaper article that will be published. You would like your readers to have no obstacles.
To conclude this simple exercise, the above illustration of TC was carried out by having a plan to execute your willingness to fix grammatical errors, which could be replaced by other problems, which you may also have the desire to solve. Your willingness to solve a TC makes it far less of a problem than it really is, if you take the time to examine, and also be willing to confront whatever situation you may find yourself in. Yes, there are limits to solving some TCs because those problems are beyond our capabilities to solve. Others might be able to solve them, but our concern is for our own TCs.
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