Even though I am writing this during the same "awake period" as my last post, you can't get mad at me because it is technically the next day. Yes, I am writing this at 12:22 A.M. because I feel the need to.
So, I was watching more Star Trek. (Of course: What else do I do these days?) Specifically I was watching more Enterprise, the third season. I came across this episode called Similitude. You'll have to read the linked synopsis (please, it makes my life so much easier) to understand entirely, but here's my quick summary:
Basically, Trip receives neural tissue damage while saving the ship. This puts him in a coma. To try and treat this, Dr. Phlox proposes to grow a clone to harvest said neural tissue. After being assured that this clone will survive the procedure, Capt. Archer approves it. Everyone gets attached to this clone, and then they find out that to perform the operation, the clone (by this point having been names "Sim") will not survive. By the point, Sim has discovered that he isn't Trip. It's also important to note that sharing Trip's genetic profile gave Sim all of Trip's memories.
So, Sim wants to live, but gets persuaded not to by Capt. Archer and his own conscious. He goes in for the operation, but before being sedated, he says this, "You said to me once that commanding a starship was what you were meant to do. I guess this is what I was meant to do."
Now, I may have left out some details, but that why you should read Memory Alpha's synopsis, linked above.
The reason I found this so worthy of posting that I must do so at...it's now 12:36 in the morning...is because I am currently confronted by a similar though process, although not of such profound proportions. I have always been interested in science, ever since I was young. This, when combined with my diagnosis of Diabetes (Type 1), made me all the more likely to pursue my current career choice: microbiologist in medical research. However, as of late, I am not entirely sure if this is what I really want. I have been doing genetic research in a college lab this Summer, and the more I do it, the more it seems like I'm sure if this is what I'd be the best doing. You should know that I am also skilled in music, acting, and speech. I could try to be a composer, an actor, or maybe even a politician if I chose.
This is where Sim's conflict seems to hit me. What am I meant to do? I may want to be a musician of sorts, but I may be meant to come out with a breakthrough treatment for Diabetes, or some other disease. Or it may be vice-versa. My worst fear, is that I don't want to take up the one that may seem more fun, or more quickly satisfying, while I was meant to do the other. Then there's also to consider if there truly is a "meant to be". If there is such a thing as destiny, to any extent.
Anyway, that's my dilemma. It's one I hope I am able to solve. It'll probably end up having something to do with the Man upstairs. (Yes, I am religious. Also, I'm LDS. Deal with it.)
Well, I'm tired. It's now...12:56... I'm going to bed. I hope I don't wake up in the morning, re-read this post and freak out due to it's lack of coherence. We'll have to see.
Until...probably later this afternoon. Good night, and good luck.
7.30.2010
Goals and Blog Traditions
Well, I've decided that, since I spend so much time on the computer, I might as well use some of my time to post on this blog. My goal is a post every day, although I realize that probably won't happen. I figure that one should always set their goals higher than what one think they are capable of. It helps expand one's potential. So, that's the new goal. Expect to see now posts often, even if their kind of short.
Speaking of post length, I feel that I will be letting you all down with this post. If you noticed, my previous post seemed to be increasing exponentially in length over time. Especially with that last one; that was a monster. Not only in length, but in content. If you haven't read "Third Post: Latin Pride and Black Comradery", please do. It's very...interesting, to say the least. Back to the main point of this paragraph. Due to the increased post frequency, I will not have as much content to post each time I do. So, yeah, that means less reading if you check back often, possibly more if you wait a few days.
Something else you guys will learn about me quite quickly is that I am a Trekkie. Not just a Trekkie, but a fairly dedicated Trekkie. I don't go to Comic-Con or any similar festival. But, I know quite a bit about Star Trek, and enjoy watching and episode now and then. Except for Deep Space Nine. Many of you (again, using many when I have no followers...) who have seen Deep Space Nine may understand why.
Okay, I was going to give the summary of an episode, but I'm just going to let you guys read up on it, if you care enough to do so. The link to the episode Stigma is http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Stigma. Bassically, it's a allegory for AIDS. I'll try to do this every time too, a Star Trek episode that I think my audience (all X/0 of you) might enjoy or appreciate.
Looks like I'm done. Good day to you all...until next time.
Speaking of post length, I feel that I will be letting you all down with this post. If you noticed, my previous post seemed to be increasing exponentially in length over time. Especially with that last one; that was a monster. Not only in length, but in content. If you haven't read "Third Post: Latin Pride and Black Comradery", please do. It's very...interesting, to say the least. Back to the main point of this paragraph. Due to the increased post frequency, I will not have as much content to post each time I do. So, yeah, that means less reading if you check back often, possibly more if you wait a few days.
Something else you guys will learn about me quite quickly is that I am a Trekkie. Not just a Trekkie, but a fairly dedicated Trekkie. I don't go to Comic-Con or any similar festival. But, I know quite a bit about Star Trek, and enjoy watching and episode now and then. Except for Deep Space Nine. Many of you (again, using many when I have no followers...) who have seen Deep Space Nine may understand why.
Okay, I was going to give the summary of an episode, but I'm just going to let you guys read up on it, if you care enough to do so. The link to the episode Stigma is http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Stigma. Bassically, it's a allegory for AIDS. I'll try to do this every time too, a Star Trek episode that I think my audience (all X/0 of you) might enjoy or appreciate.
Looks like I'm done. Good day to you all...until next time.
7.29.2010
Third Post - Concerning Latin Pride and Black Comradery
Alright, everyone, here's sort of a look at my darker side.
So, I have this friend, or at least I though we were. This friend of mine is Hispanic, and darn proud of it. She posted this on a certain social networking site, "Do you think white people could work all day on the fields in the hot sun? I think not." After that, a bunch of her little Latin friends posted whole-hearted agreements which furthered the insult.
Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but, even though I'm and African American, I do not fir in to the "black" culture in any way. At my school, people think of me as the "whitest black person they've ever known". And I am many times known to be more "white" than the rest of them are. Note, I'm also one of two black kids in my school-out of 250. Due to that psychological profile, I was quite offended at the remarks mentioned earlier, and went to the defense of the Caucasian population.
Also, it is worth noting, before I go any further, that the only non-racist post in this string was made by a white girl (another one of my peers at school). She played the stereotypical, "We're all human beings, we all just do different things, have different cultures. We're all equal no matter the color of our skin." Along with this, she begged for the hate to stop. Now, I am all for the anti-racism movement, but I was very hurt, so I proceeded with an air or belligerence.
Their general argument seemed to be that America needed Latin immigrants, and they needed us. This being because the white American is to lazy to do any of the manual labor that the Latin population is willing to do. After the "white" girls comment, I said this:
Female Latin Team Poster #1 (from here on "Maria"), proceeded to call me ignorant, try to use similar examples to prove her "we need each other point), and pull some pretty ridiculous statistics out of who-knows-where. Male Latin Team Poster (from here on "Jose"), proceed in a joking tone to tell me that I had made Maria angry. At this point, I could tell that they weren't going to listen to me unless, possibly, I hurt them. The defeated will more often concede that the strong. My next post consisted of two things. Firstly, a translation of Maria's post into proper English (or, at least, as best as I could). Secondly, my return argument:
Jose proceeded to scorn me for insulting Maria's misuse of the English language, along with noting that I probably only spoke one language, while she speaks three. (Note: this is true. I only speak English. I can read and get a basic knowledge of correctly written Spanish.) He also went on to boast on the quality of Latin schools. Saying that they were better than American schools, seemingly based on the fact that they generally have no Summer break.
Then Female Latin Team Poster #2 (known from this point on as "Anna") tried to write this all off as a matter of misunderstanding. Then she said that I wasn't American because my ancestors were immigrants, then accused me of being "Hitler-esque" towards the Latin population.
Maria then basically said that she was smarter than me, and that the farm Latinos were smarter than me. Also, she stated that I was pathetic for trying to look smart in front of them.
Jose agreed with both Maria and Anna, telling me I was wrong, that they had no bad grammar, and that I had to use Google Translator (Which, for your information, I didn't. It's also worth noting that Google Translator doesn't include incorrect English in it's list of languages. And, if it ever able to translate the posts these users placed, I would applaud those software mechanics.) Please note, that I did not see either of the last two posts before I posted my next response. They must have appeared in the meantime.
I'm gonna summarize my stuff from here on, too. I'm getting sick of transcribing the account. I responded with an apology for being so inconsiderate against her incorrectly written posts, and explained my views on incorrect English. (In short, I strongly dislike it. Not small mess-ups, but when proper use of the language is entirely disregarded.) I also went on to say that my school was better than theirs, and that I was smarter based upon the quality of content in their posts. I also said, quote, "This has nothing to do with Hitler. You guys seem to hate us (whites) as much we hate you." This is, of course, using "hate" as an exaggeration.
Anna then proceeded to explain that we are all equal, all human, and that our race doesn't matter. But...they (Latinos) don't need America (although she never said that we didn't need them...).
I went on to say that her and I were very different, based on our apparent though processes.
Jose then told me that he didn't want to use correct English. (Who know why, maybe an act of rebellious nature.) Then he attempted some Black comradery. (Which I didn't take to well. I'm not part of the Black culture.)
Anna then said that I was being selfish and rude, and that I should give thanks to her kind because they clean my bathrooms and whatnot.
At this point, I decided that there was no hope of getting my point through: they were no willing to listen to me. So, I left, courteously.
Now, at the beginning of this post, I questioned the original poster and I's friendship. I shall tell you why. After this, she proceed to tell her little friends that I was an idiot gringo and I didn't know what I was talking about. She then deleted the post, to cover up the evidence. Yeah, great way to support your friend...
Since then: Anna and Maria both hate my guts, and Jose would like to know where I live so he can beat me up. Gotta love when two worlds collide....
So, this is it. Until next time my friends.
So, I have this friend, or at least I though we were. This friend of mine is Hispanic, and darn proud of it. She posted this on a certain social networking site, "Do you think white people could work all day on the fields in the hot sun? I think not." After that, a bunch of her little Latin friends posted whole-hearted agreements which furthered the insult.
Now, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but, even though I'm and African American, I do not fir in to the "black" culture in any way. At my school, people think of me as the "whitest black person they've ever known". And I am many times known to be more "white" than the rest of them are. Note, I'm also one of two black kids in my school-out of 250. Due to that psychological profile, I was quite offended at the remarks mentioned earlier, and went to the defense of the Caucasian population.
Also, it is worth noting, before I go any further, that the only non-racist post in this string was made by a white girl (another one of my peers at school). She played the stereotypical, "We're all human beings, we all just do different things, have different cultures. We're all equal no matter the color of our skin." Along with this, she begged for the hate to stop. Now, I am all for the anti-racism movement, but I was very hurt, so I proceeded with an air or belligerence.
Their general argument seemed to be that America needed Latin immigrants, and they needed us. This being because the white American is to lazy to do any of the manual labor that the Latin population is willing to do. After the "white" girls comment, I said this:
"I hate to keep up the trend, but I fight on the white people's side. Anyway:A bit of background: according to my last post, you readers should know that I really like spell-check. Let's just say that the Hispanic posters weren't, and it was making it very difficult for me to understand what they were trying to say. And, like I said, I was proceeding with an air of belligerence.
It's not a matter of need, it's a matter of convenience. Sure, I will admit that a lot of white people are unwilling to do the work that you generally attribute to being done by the Latin/Mexican population. However, if you were to all...oh, I don't know, leave...we'd make due. We don't need you. We like you and you make life easier, but we don't need you.
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that the things that you all come to America for are pretty difficult to find anywhere else. Granted, you could find the benefits other places (possibly) if you tried hard enough. Like I said, it's not a matter of need, it's a matter of convenience.
On top of everything else, you guys only further my views that the non-white population is generally more racist than the white population. Yes, that includes me. Oh, and I wouldn't go thinking that "Latin people are the best." At least the white people can use just one language when they talk, and the Nigger can at least spell."
Female Latin Team Poster #1 (from here on "Maria"), proceeded to call me ignorant, try to use similar examples to prove her "we need each other point), and pull some pretty ridiculous statistics out of who-knows-where. Male Latin Team Poster (from here on "Jose"), proceed in a joking tone to tell me that I had made Maria angry. At this point, I could tell that they weren't going to listen to me unless, possibly, I hurt them. The defeated will more often concede that the strong. My next post consisted of two things. Firstly, a translation of Maria's post into proper English (or, at least, as best as I could). Secondly, my return argument:
" Many Americans are ignorant. However, I am not. At least not to the degree or the methods that you accuse me of. I put "Latin/Mexican" to place a distinction between the two, while still showing that they are similar. Or, more specifically, that they fulfill similar roles.I wish to note that I am not generally prone to this level of racism. Like I said, I wanted to try and hurt them, to see if that would make them more likely to listen. In short, it didn't work.
Overall, your arguments leave out the possibility of people, or peoples, changing. This is demonstrated by your thought process that concludes that if circumstances change, people will not adapt. Have you ever read a history text book? Any excerpts? Have you ever had a parent or teacher tell you a story about history? Although certain people are stubborn and unyielding, history is a story of the way humankind has changed over time. This is an undeniable fact, so don't even try to dispute it.
(A comment on a ludicrous statistic cited by Maria)
In closing, I would like to make this conclusion: From your arguments, and, more specifically, their lack of reason, fact, and grammatical correctness, I am not surprised that you and your kind are working on the farms, while the white people and I will be doing all of the thinking."
Jose proceeded to scorn me for insulting Maria's misuse of the English language, along with noting that I probably only spoke one language, while she speaks three. (Note: this is true. I only speak English. I can read and get a basic knowledge of correctly written Spanish.) He also went on to boast on the quality of Latin schools. Saying that they were better than American schools, seemingly based on the fact that they generally have no Summer break.
Then Female Latin Team Poster #2 (known from this point on as "Anna") tried to write this all off as a matter of misunderstanding. Then she said that I wasn't American because my ancestors were immigrants, then accused me of being "Hitler-esque" towards the Latin population.
Maria then basically said that she was smarter than me, and that the farm Latinos were smarter than me. Also, she stated that I was pathetic for trying to look smart in front of them.
Jose agreed with both Maria and Anna, telling me I was wrong, that they had no bad grammar, and that I had to use Google Translator (Which, for your information, I didn't. It's also worth noting that Google Translator doesn't include incorrect English in it's list of languages. And, if it ever able to translate the posts these users placed, I would applaud those software mechanics.) Please note, that I did not see either of the last two posts before I posted my next response. They must have appeared in the meantime.
I'm gonna summarize my stuff from here on, too. I'm getting sick of transcribing the account. I responded with an apology for being so inconsiderate against her incorrectly written posts, and explained my views on incorrect English. (In short, I strongly dislike it. Not small mess-ups, but when proper use of the language is entirely disregarded.) I also went on to say that my school was better than theirs, and that I was smarter based upon the quality of content in their posts. I also said, quote, "This has nothing to do with Hitler. You guys seem to hate us (whites) as much we hate you." This is, of course, using "hate" as an exaggeration.
Anna then proceeded to explain that we are all equal, all human, and that our race doesn't matter. But...they (Latinos) don't need America (although she never said that we didn't need them...).
I went on to say that her and I were very different, based on our apparent though processes.
Jose then told me that he didn't want to use correct English. (Who know why, maybe an act of rebellious nature.) Then he attempted some Black comradery. (Which I didn't take to well. I'm not part of the Black culture.)
Anna then said that I was being selfish and rude, and that I should give thanks to her kind because they clean my bathrooms and whatnot.
At this point, I decided that there was no hope of getting my point through: they were no willing to listen to me. So, I left, courteously.
Now, at the beginning of this post, I questioned the original poster and I's friendship. I shall tell you why. After this, she proceed to tell her little friends that I was an idiot gringo and I didn't know what I was talking about. She then deleted the post, to cover up the evidence. Yeah, great way to support your friend...
Since then: Anna and Maria both hate my guts, and Jose would like to know where I live so he can beat me up. Gotta love when two worlds collide....
So, this is it. Until next time my friends.
7.10.2010
Second Post: Spell-Check and Thin-Skin
If you're wondering if I really have the gall and lack of creativity to come up with a better name for my second post than, exactly that "Second post", the answer is no. I simply named it that after the fashion of my first post being titled "First Post". They say that the third time is the charm, so after my third post I will proceed to come up with real names for said posts.
Anyway... Back to the real world where things (since they are inherently out of my controlled environment) do not work out to be as witty or funny as many of us would like.
By the way, I have officially decided that I love spell-check. However, I would like to note that it is not for the reason that many of you reading this (if the number of people reading this justifies my use of the word "many") may think. The thought that I reference, or rather, the misconception that I reference is to think that I like it because it corrects my spelling. Not only is this an unneeded remedy, but that entire view is very selfish.
Instead of this, I enjoy spell-check because it assists the communication between people of different vocabularical, grammatical, and literacy-cal backgrounds. I mean, really, how many times had spell-check saved you from either: 1) Having to ask someone to clarify because you couldn't understand them due to too many incorrectly spelt words, or words that were too badly misspelled to recognize, or 2) Feeling unintelligent because, were there no spell-check, no one would be able to understand you?
Just to clarify, I mean no insult to those who may fall in the second category. If you feel insulted, that's your bad. It's the facts, and facts may sometimes be painful. Which reminds me!
I know way to many people that are thin-skinned (apologies to anyone who may be clinically and physically thin-skinned). My parenthetical statement implies that I reference that are emotionally "thin-skinned". I refer specifically to people that can't handle the truth when it comes to their own short-comings. Sadly, I've noticed that this is a condition of the general human population. This ailment being so widespread makes it difficult for those of us who are...a little more outspoken than others, to get along in today's society. It makes it so, to be considered decent people, we have to be constantly apologizing to people (as you have seen me do multiple times within this post).
Speaking of thin skinned people, I have a couple haranguing me to leave the computer. To avoid futher conflict, I believe I shall honor their requests. So long, everyone, until the next post...
Signed,
The Fro
Anyway... Back to the real world where things (since they are inherently out of my controlled environment) do not work out to be as witty or funny as many of us would like.
By the way, I have officially decided that I love spell-check. However, I would like to note that it is not for the reason that many of you reading this (if the number of people reading this justifies my use of the word "many") may think. The thought that I reference, or rather, the misconception that I reference is to think that I like it because it corrects my spelling. Not only is this an unneeded remedy, but that entire view is very selfish.
Instead of this, I enjoy spell-check because it assists the communication between people of different vocabularical, grammatical, and literacy-cal backgrounds. I mean, really, how many times had spell-check saved you from either: 1) Having to ask someone to clarify because you couldn't understand them due to too many incorrectly spelt words, or words that were too badly misspelled to recognize, or 2) Feeling unintelligent because, were there no spell-check, no one would be able to understand you?
Just to clarify, I mean no insult to those who may fall in the second category. If you feel insulted, that's your bad. It's the facts, and facts may sometimes be painful. Which reminds me!
I know way to many people that are thin-skinned (apologies to anyone who may be clinically and physically thin-skinned). My parenthetical statement implies that I reference that are emotionally "thin-skinned". I refer specifically to people that can't handle the truth when it comes to their own short-comings. Sadly, I've noticed that this is a condition of the general human population. This ailment being so widespread makes it difficult for those of us who are...a little more outspoken than others, to get along in today's society. It makes it so, to be considered decent people, we have to be constantly apologizing to people (as you have seen me do multiple times within this post).
Speaking of thin skinned people, I have a couple haranguing me to leave the computer. To avoid futher conflict, I believe I shall honor their requests. So long, everyone, until the next post...
Signed,
The Fro
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