ModernGeek

      Summer is upon us, gracing me with it's school-free days. After living through killer exams, I am found fully mentally intact on the other side of the bridge. I continue to live my existence taking interest in things such as the comparison of the average number of tickets per game at Shakeys vs. Chuckee Cheese. I had one of the girls on the team I helped coach this year tell me "Man, you really are a geek". What?! You mean just because I was walking around the game room writing down the number of tickets coming out of each game, I'm a geek?! Neeeeeeever.

    So, here's something interesting I was thinking about the other day. "A lot" and "lots" mean the same thing, right?  But one's singular and one's plural, this must mean mathmatically that both words must equate to 0. But, they mean a number of things at least over 3. Don't let anyone ever tell you that English makes sense. 

    There's been a new CD released by Universal titled "Chant- Music for Paradise", and my friends, it is simply amazing. Breath taking. Perfect. I've never heard chant sung so well before. It's perfectly seemless in every way. It's been released in Europe, and instantly became a best-seller. Truely, this CD is not just for Chant nerds, it's for everyone who can appreciate music, and beauty. To me, it's so vibrant, colorful, and free that I think of red/gold/orange tinted clouds when I listen to it. The CD's being released in the US sometime in July(I think), but in the meantime, if you don't want to pay quizillion dollars for it, the bootlegged version is right HERE.  You can tell the CD's great when it's been bootlegged! 

     Arrr, matey's let's hoist the pirate flag, and continue to pirate our music, movies, and anime! Arrrrr. 

    I shall now discuss the topic of my Biology class. To clear things up, this is a homeschool class, meaning there's ages 13 -me- to 16 taking it. It's just the way thing work out.

    Now, we use the textbook that is clearly, blantly, obviously, shamelessly written from a Christian fundimentalist point of view. Leaving in the dust the issue of whether religion belongs in a science classroom, this book does us all a favor of reminding us every three paragraphs that to -and I kidd you not- "not place any faith in science, because it will always be disproven, and only place faith in God." Very dumb. For pete's sake, if you think we're all going to become atheists just because we're studying biology, then you have some serious thinking to do about what you believe. 

    It also tries to convince us calling anything 'simply' is an insult to God's creation plan. "Just because these tiny microscopic cells have to be magnified to 10,000x to be seen, consist of five parts, can do nothing except float around aimlessly, and possess no intelligence at all does not make them SIMPLE. NO! These must never be called SIMPLE, because God designed everything to be perfect!"  Because apparently calling anything simple would be an insult to God, I guess we have to start calling simple cells less-complex-then-anything-else-but-they-are-still-special cells. 

    The chapter on Evolution? Big bunch of bashing worthy of 4chan. I'm far from an evolutionist -prefering to take a neutral stance of "meh"- but gosh darn it, those things just drive me nuts. Global Warming chapter wasn't much better. On the test there was actually the question "Is Global Warming true?" It strikes me very much that that is a totally in-valid question to be asking on a highschool test. I answered yes -"correct answer" was no- just to be contrary.

    And yes folks, there's more. We spent the past class spending 2 WHOLE hours talking about..... leaf shapes. I kid you not. Leaf shapes. "Look kids! Isn't this shape fasinating! Or what about the direction of the veins! Ah, don't you just love science!". Class: *goes on paying no attention*. At the end I felt like saying, "Give me back my 2 hours of life!"

    Ah well, onward through life. I will be sure to keep in mind to never trust anything someone tells me(except my biology book of course) because they're obviously trying to get me to become a satanist. 

    Every Friday evening during Lent there's stations of the cross at my church. Stations is followed by Lenten supper. Granted, the food isn't great, but it's cheap and you don't have to cook or clean up. The problem is this. Stations ends at 6:00, at which time about 100 people all rush to get in line for dinner, which usually consists of something along the lines of lasagna, soup, or something of the sort. There's always a zillion different types to choose from. Because I hate fighting my way through crowds of hungry people, and because I always have my four year old sister with me, I always end up at the back of the line. 

    Now, being at the end of a 100 people line is never fun, especially if it's a food line, and it will take a while until it's your turn. However, someone had the stupid idea of have people designated to serve out the meal, with one person usually managing two lasagnas. Each of these designated people all believe that they're doing everyone a great service. The problem? They're not. First off, it means that the lines can converge into two, one for each side of the food-serving table. Second, you have to shout to make it known that you want the veggie lasagna, instead of the shrimp lasagna. Third, these food people take forever. Truly, you begin to wonder if they're just slow in hand-eye coordination, or if they're purposely teasing you. It's the point that by the time I actually get my food, my brother(who sneakily dashed out and was first in line) is done. 

    The lesson? Bureaucracies are never good in any area of life. If people can do it themselves, let them. It'll get done just that much quicker.  

    It's raining outside, and things are mercifully quiet. People drive by in their cars, minding their own business, never paying any attention to the person in the car next to them. And yet somehow the world still functions. It's an amazing part of society of how everyone can mind their own business, and the world still turns 'round.

    I just finished watching 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex', and it's one of the best anime I've ever watched. It was named as an inspiration for The Matrix, so you get the cool sci-fi stuff without the lame plot and characters. The concept of Stand Alone Complex refers to a phenomenon in which you have hundreds of copies without an original. An example of this would be crimes that are committed everyday. Murder, stealing, these occur daily across the country. All similar in nature, but without an original from which to copy. Another example would be clothing. Most teenagers dress nearly identical. You get yourself a large group of people, and maybe three people will be wearing the same pants or shirt. Once again, all copies without an original. 

    As a side note, the Ghost in the Shell soundtrack is awesome. I haven't enjoyed one like this since the Death Note soundtracks. 

    I was reflecting once again on the implications of Death Note, and specifically the theme of justice. These are just my ramblings.

    Of all words, I think that 'justice' has been the one the most misused. It's been used to excuse atrocities of all sorts.

    What is justice?  "Justice is the firm and continuous desire to render to everyone that which is his due. -Justinian". 

    Who is the ultimate decision-maker of what is right and what is wrong? God.

    Should the civil law mirror the natural one? No. Actions in which there is no victim should not be crimes. 

    How can we know what punishment is fitting to what crime? This is where I get stuck.  What should the punishment be for, say, murder? Death? Absolutely not. Who are we to judge who lives and who dies? What about false accusations? It's not right to deliver a punishment so final and irreversible. Life in prison? Again, no. Most murders are simply burglaries gone wrong. They didn't mean to kill someone it just... happened. A life behind bars is not a life at all, it's only a shade below the death penalty. Besides, what good does that do anyone? In cases where said person is a true danger to the community, then I can possibly see that, but only the extreme cases. Well, what now? There's still no answer the question of 'how much is a human life worth?'. Obviously, it's impossible to put a price on one, but yet we have to if we are to have a punishment of some sort. 

    What about the punishments dealt out for minor offenses? Why is parking in the wrong zone only a $10 fine, but not coming to a full stop at a stop sign a $110 fine? What makes the fine rise $100? Both cases there is no victim, but the later presents more of a danger to others(technically, there are 'gray' areas), but why is is it $110 instead of $50. I can only come to the conclusion that these fines are competely arbitrary.

    What about stealing? Someone steals something that's wroth $10, but are fined $800. Where does that extra $790 come from? It seems to be just pulled out of thin air.  

    I have no answers yet.