Sunday, February 24, 2013

Song of the Week



For some reason I have been listening to this song a lot this week. It makes me feel as if I were soaring like a bird through all my problems. Rufus is a genius :)

Will Religion End?

Yes, when you read the question it sounds ridiculous. How can a custom and ethnicity possibly go extinct? But it's very true. Indeed, religion is slowly going the way of the dodo birds.  Studies were released that indicate that religion is indeed going extinct in 9 different nations, among them, our friendly neighbor Canada, Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland. Those are some of the most successful and advanced countries in the world, and if you're willing to take those 9 nations as representatives and samples of all of planet Earth, then the short answer to the title above is YES.

It doesn't take a genius to guess why, I mean we live in the "information age", more people have a basic understandment of science and mathematics than ever before. You can now google (which is now being debated as to if it should be added to the dictionary or not) a solid answer to the most arduous question you can imagine in less than a second, no mythology required!

One concept though that is far too often left out of the whole "religion in decline" conversation is the difference between church and religion. I'm okay with a world without religion, in fact I'm for it. For me that is a world based on logic, a world less blindly guided by dogma, but the idea of a world without church gives me a little bit of pause. One positive thing that religions have been better than doing than any other "institution" in all of human history is bringing together communities of people, communities that provide an invaluable social structure for their members, and communities that do immeasurable goods for their neighborhood, or even city. Think about it. Food drives, rallies that provide furniture, clothes, appliances, and toys. 95 year old men who have outgrown their whole family have nothing, except church, and they're happy. Drug addicts that beat their addiction through the community of church and lean on the community. Technically, I am an atheist, but I just cannot stand so much of the militant atheism that I see on the internet. But I hope part of that is because there has never really been a "place" in society for atheism to express itself until the internet. But when I think of atheism on the internet, I think of The Amazing Atheist, (http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAmazingAtheist) ,  reddit.com/r/atheism, people who just browbeat a dead horse over and over again without even remotely acknowledging the positive social effects of many, many religions.

ANYWAY, I recognized that I moved a little far from the original question and now I'm just stating my stupid opinions, but I would like to address the readers a question. If religion is indeed dying; how do we make sure the positive societal role of church doesn't die with it?

Thank you for reading this, I hope you have a good day. Peace out!    
-Sam

oh! almost forgot the source; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12811197

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Comic Sunday!



I think what makes this comic so funny is it's simplicity and obvious pun.

If you can't read it, it's basically a fire walking into a fire exit. Dumdum chssss

Friday, February 8, 2013

Eight Things You Didn't Know About Lincoln

There's two things I love about this world- lists and Abraham Lincoln. Why not combine both? So today I will share with you a list of one of my heroes and most inspirational people I have watched, read or listened about, but some of his lesser known... "accomplishments"

1. Abraham Lincoln is enshrined in the Wrestling Hall of Fame- Yep! The emancipator was a big competition not only in politics, but in tackling others to the ground with brutal force (ok, so maybe they're not that different)

2. Lincoln created the US Secret Service on the day of his death- On April 14, 1865, Lincoln signed a legislation creating the U.S Secret Service. Later that evening, our hero was shot through the skull. Another job well done, 'Merica.

3. Grave robbers attempted to steal Lincoln's corpse- Secret Service did come to Lincoln’s protection, but only in death. In 1876 a gang of Chicago robbers attempted to snatch Lincoln’s body from his tomb, which was protected by just a single padlock, in Illinois. Their scheme was to hold the corpse for a ransom of $200,000 and obtain the release of the gang’s best counterfeiter from prison. Secret Service agents, however, infiltrated the gang and were lying in wait to disrupt the operation. Lincoln’s body was quickly moved to an unmarked grave and eventually encased in a steel cage and entombed under 10 feet of concrete. 

4. John Wilkes' Booth Brother Saved Lincoln's Son- A few months before the assassination, Lincoln's eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln almost fell on a train platform resulting to his death. But just before he fell, the hand of god, reached upon him and saved the young man's life. It was no other than the actor Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth's brother. 


5. Out of 44 Presidents and 233 years, Lincoln is the only president with a patent- Looks like Big Ben isn't the only now with an inventive mind.  Lincoln, who loved tinkering with machines, designed a method for keeping vessels afloat when traversing shallow waters through the use of empty metal air chambers attached to their sides. For his design, Lincoln obtained Patent No. 6,469 in 1849.


6. Lincoln never slept in the Lincoln bedroom- When he occupied the White House, the 16th president used the current Lincoln Bedroom as his personal office, it wasn't his actual bedroom. It was there that he met with Cabinet members and signed documents, including the Emancipation Proclamation. If my dad ever becomes famous, and take his office and name it "The Brodsky Bedroom" they would be absolutely right, for he stays there 24/7.


7. Poisoned milk killed Lincoln's mother- Not only did Abe's mommy die when he was only 9 years old, but her mom, Nancy, died of a mysterious "milk sickness" that was spreading in Louisiana. Later it was learned that it was milk poisoning from cows that had infections in their utters. 


8. Lincoln Personnally test-fired rifles in The White House- Lincoln was hands-on commander-in-chief, he even tested the damn guns! He was very interested on the artillery that the union used in the war.  Lincoln attended artillery and cannon tests and met at the White House with inventors demonstrating military prototypes. Although there was a standing order against firing weapons in the District of Columbia, Lincoln even test-fired muskets and repeating rifles around the White House. Could you imagine Obama doing that? Never!


I hope you have enjoyed today's interesting and odd list, and that you have realized how much badassery is contained in one person.


Sources; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_lincoln

Reading is fundamental :)
Take care!
Sam.







Saturday, February 2, 2013

How to find inspiration for your writing

A good writer's worst and scariest nightmares is running out of thoughts or ideas. I have been part of this traumatic nightmare, like many others. You sit down, at 8 AM, with your table clean, your morning coffee, and motivation throughout your whole body. You get ready for the inspiration to come while you stare at this scary white blank page with the clock ticking. You spin in your chair, trying to access your thoughts, and the hours go by. You get distracted and do something else. You realize it's now 6 PM, and you have to go to school tomorrow. A whole day wasted, and you haven't written anything. You cry in frustration. What have I done wrong!? Well, my friend, don't cry no more, because Sam is here to help. As a common victim of this horrific situation, I have learnt to seek, and very well, my thoughts and inspiration. I have learned to access my brain and thoughts, with almost nothing.
First step. READ READ READ READ. Read writers that you love, and steal from them, analyze their writing, get inspired by their greatness. Music also really helps me. It can be inspiring to download and play great music, from Mozart to Beethoven to the Beatles to Radiohead. Play it in the background as you write, and allow it to lift you up and move you. Like music, quotes can make you think deeply about a lot of stuff, that you wouldn't be able to think about from scratch. Try out this website for really interesting quotes http://www.love-quotes-and-quotations.com/writing-quotes.html

It can be unexpected, but great people in history can inspire you to greatness. My favorites include Nikola Tesla, Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Richard Feynman, Leonardo da Vinci, and other greats. It can be tricky for some, and maybe some of you may not want to read this part, but Religion, is very inspiring to me. I find it interesting and inspiring to read about new cultures and religions like Buddhism, Taoism, and others with various nature gods. Probably, one of the most crucial parts to being a writer is also keeping a journal. Keeping a journal with you to everywhere you go is very important, for if you have a a really good thought then you can go back and use it in your parts of writing. And last, but definitely no least, go people watching. It's an interesting activity for any writer. Go to a busy public place and just sit and watch people. They will amuse you, inspire you, and fascinate you. There is nothing more inspiring and interesting than humanity. 

Hope I helped you at least a little,
Sam. 


 

Sometimes I worry too much...