Crossing the i's and dotting the t's

Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest differences.

The Radiant Light

As the silver moon rose up so high above the shimmering sea,
The stars began to reappear as the night looked down at me.
As more continued to arrive, a pleasant party in the sky
Commenced as sunlights came alive and shooting stars began to fly.
Oh how I wished that I could join them, that gravity I could deny!

The moon, unheeded and unheeding, floated high into the air,
Disregarding busy balls of gas exploding everywhere.
Yet as breathtaking Artemis at last concluded her long climb,
The stars calmed down and watched her step into the heavens so sublime,
Quiet as they'd never been till now and since the dawn of time.

And then the night, having seen the stars hush up as never heard before,
Made silent all its creatures then, while nightingales did sing and soar.
My sacrilegious breaths of sound I feared would scare their song away,
But as I listened on the ground, they let me watch their moonlit play
As melody and harmony were twined into a rich bouquet.

Yet now the birds were joined in song by animals of every kind.
And songs of babbling brook and whistling wind and rippling rain combined,
And met the songbirds' happy tune and imbued it with a glistening sheen.
The symphony of the silver moon, a dragon born like none had seen!
An undulating line of notes that crowned the Moon into a queen.

For as the serpent rose up high and circled quickly round her head,
I gazed into the twilight sky and nestled wondering in my bed.
No king or queen had ever worn an aura of the bright moonbeam,
But such a halo did adorn great Artemis with brilliant gleam.
I'd never seen such majesty but for the light of which I dream,
But for that brilliant, radiant, perfect light of whom I always dream.

The World Is Mine

As I stroll along this street,
Stopping to greet the people I meet,
I notice the nooks and no-ones
Hiding small along the dismal wall.

As I lay me down to sleep,
The dreams I keep begin to seep
Out into my brain, and then
Who knows what I’ll find inside my mind.

As I blink at bright sunrise,
To my surprise, my sleepy eyes
Abruptly become so lucid and clear
And I simply gaze into that brilliant blaze.

As I wander round and round
The sun hits the ground without a sound.
The flowers, the plants, the earth do shine,
And suddenly, the world’s all mine.

Ode to Music

Piano fingers white and dead,
Piano fingers lying still,
Piano fingers smooth and cold,
Without dream or wish or will.

Ebony and ivory,
Standing silent in a row,
Start to jump and bounce for me.
Notes and tunes begin to grow.

Piano fingers in my head,
Piano fingers black and white,
Piano fingers in the day,
And in the dreams of dark twilight.

Melodies and symphonies,
Spinning round inside my head.
People dancing everywhere,
Until they have to go to bed.

Piano fingers on my neck,
Piano fingers just for me,
Piano fingers sweetly touch
The chords of blissful harmony.

Pouring music in the earth,
Stamping, stomping on the stones.
Even kings don’t have such joy,
Sitting on their golden thrones.

Piano fingers on my face,
Piano fingers dancing there.
Piano fingers playing fast,
Sending notes into the air.

Rests are dying; notes are flying.
Everything just starts to flow.
I don’t know where we are going;
I just know we’ve got to go.

The World As We Know It

Planes let us fly through the sky.
Asian carp jump in the air.

Everything is up so high,

So why are we in such despair?

Fannie, Freddie, Merrill Lynch:
Barely saved without a sound.
But Lehman Brothers, AIG
Are falling fast toward the ground.

Terrorism's on the rise
In spite of progress in Iraq,
Pakistan, Afghanistan,
We don't know what to attack.

Burma's full of soldiers and monks.
Russia's killing Georgia dead.
Darfur souls can't stop to rest.
Zimbabwe's bills can't buy the bread.

Mugabe's going nowhere fast
Though he's up at eighty-four.
Compared to that, old John McCain
Still has time to rise and soar.

Palin's nothing but a dog
With makeup on to let her smile.
Biden's poking poor McCain
But karma's gonna take a while.

Obama's something of a star,
But no one knows a single thing.
The press is crazy, filled with glee.
As politicians scratch and sting,

How we wish the globe was cool,
And that our finance would be hot,
How we've tried to save the world,
Thinking we're the best it's got.

Perhaps we are, and that's just great.
But then we'd best start thinking well
And if we don't, we'll lose these wars
Because our experts just can't tell.

Economy is in the sack,
Corruption spreading everywhere,
Afghanistan and then Iraq,
Greenhouse gases in the air.

Save the banks, we need to lend.
Help the decent to the throne.
Make friends with the blahistans.
Use nukes, shocks, wind to save ozone.

Research and development;
Businesses, just take the blow.
Politics, diplomacy,
Stop the war and let us grow.

Pigs don't fly into the sky.
Dragons don’t soar up so high.
But since we can't just fall and die,
I guess we'll simply have to try.

A Shadow Bright

Sixty months ago I saw it first

A quick, dark form upon light ground.
Without any actual solidity
It sort of simply burnt around,
Coloring that ground
With not a tiny sound.

Now that darkling flowing back
Swam in circular motion,
Upon slight twirling on my own part,
Dizzy as I was, it spun round my mind,
My thoughts in commotion
With this crazy notion.

But now as I try to look around
Nothing such as that form I spy.
Without a doubt, a vanishing act
Without any match, and that's a fact.
My shadow, who was going to stay
Has truly, finally, flown away.

Without a plan, without a thought.
What I should do, I just don't know.
I want my loyal shadow back.
How I wish to watch it flow,
Around and around
Upon that ground.

A shadow bright, until this line
Had missed my presence so divine.
The beginning of eternity,
The end of time and space,
I'm at the start of every end,
And the end of every place.

A Valley of Broken Bones

The winds of war blow cold

Across a valley of broken bones.

On either side, a mountain high

Of gold and jewels piled to the sky,

And in between, dark fire burns

Through glowing cracks within the stones.

---

The harp sings out a metallic clash

As stinging swords and bows and spears

Drown the dead valley in blood and tears

With no great boom, with no bright flash.

To honor those who pass away

Into the darkness on this black day.

---

The twilight flows in a blood-red swell;

Upon each mountain rings a bell,

Not of sorrow but of vengeance soon,

As battles rage beneath the moon,

Soon hidden by a wall of clouds

Covering the field in misty shrouds.

---

All through the night the trumpets blare,

And on both sides a trickle small

Of gold and jewels begins to fall,

Flowing fast across the mountains’ face

Vanishing in the valley without a trace

As more cries of agony fill the air.

---

As the sun attempts to climb

Over a jagged and rocky skyline

A blanket of clouds still obscures its gaze

Across the valley corrupted by crime.

The sounds of war and death combine,

So blinded and deafened, the valley does blaze.

---

The trickle of gold throughout the night

Grows to be a flowing stream,

But as the battle rages on

Fighting past the break of dawn

An avalanche of gold so bright

Tumbles into the valley’s scream.

---

At last, as the sun approaches its peak

The clouds are finally torn apart,

And rays of light illuminate

The aftermath of vicious hate.

With empty mind, and soul, and heart,

The survivors released a broken shriek.

---

The winds of war blow cold

Across a desert of broken bones.

On either side, those mountains high

Have disappeared beneath the sky.

Across the wasteland, dark fire burns

Through glowing cracks within the stones.

Ode to the North Star

O strong North Star, in every glimpse of you,
Do I find that your beauty soars supreme.
Eternal, every day you stay so true;
Through months and years, your glow burns ever bright.

On winds I fly to you in every dream,
Toward your shining beacon of pure light.
Here in this world I can do naught but seem,
Ephemeral as rainbows, clouds of hue.

No thought for rest, you shine throughout the night,
Sweet gifts of inspiration you imbue.
Though none can ever strive to see your sight,
A fool may still have faith in your clear gleam,

Remaining still through storm, earthquake, and fire,
Providing hope in wandering sailors need,
Over the heavens, dearth of all desire,
Lauded by Shakespeare’s sonnet for all time.

All trial and tribulation far indeed,
Removed from deathly thorns and heinous crime,
I dream and fly to thee at breakneck speed,
Soar with the wind, and trees and seas admire.

Innovation

I was listening to a speech by Charles Leadbeater about open innovation, which is essentially the idea that passionate amateurs with new technology can create innovative and successful ideas and products where professional companies could not. Some prime examples he mentions are the development of the mountain bike, the spread of the telephone, and the rise of rap music. All of these were a result of amateurs whose passion for biking, communication, and music led them to raise the standards of their leisure activities to levels beyond those that seemed to benefit corporations financially at the time. Now, mountain bikes account for at least half of all sales, telephones are a technological necessity, and rap is one of the most popular music forms in the United States. Leadbeater’s idea of promoting these “Pro-Ams” (Professional Amateurs) not only has several tangible benefits but also contains vital revelations.

Obviously, “Pro-Ams” have benefited and changed the world tremendously, and in a global situation of economic uncertainty in the midst of innovation, a solution must be found soon. If people with obsessions about certain topics or products were allowed to experiment and design ideas that matched their standards, the economical results would similarly be significant. Innovation is born of necessity, and for the average user there exists none after all of the improvements that have been made on every product imaginable. For example, while software upgrades are beneficial, none but those obsessed with software perfection would claim that they are necessary; in fact, the option generally exists to halt the constant annoyance of upgrade announcements, revealing the dangers of selling to a wide audience over the passionate edges.

A corollary to these theories is that allowing “Pro-Ams” to prosper benefits the world and themselves. If we imagine a world where everyone did what they were passionate about, it would be obvious that everyone would be happier. People like to do what they like to do. Happiness in general has positive reactions by its very nature, including increases in productivity and life span and decreases in depression and suicide rates. “Pro-Ams” are extremely knowledgeable about what they are passionate about and willing to spend extra effort, money, and time to go to their limits doing what they like to do.

I conclude with the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Clearly, not everyone would like to have the same thing done to them, for everyone is unique in character and passion. Yet there remains a solution—everyone would like to be happy, so all people should try to be happy and make others happy. Thus if everyone does what makes them happy, even the universe will be no limit.

Injustice of War

The human rights violations of war and government not only infringe on a greater number of people but also encompass more types of rights. For example, in Darfur there are crimes such as prostitution and rape as well as graver results like death tolls over 20,000. In Nepal, Myanmar, and Kenya, thousands have died as well, but a greater number have been deprived of everything but life: liberty, security, and representation in government. War and government have the greatest potential for human rights violations for two basic reasons: scope and magnitude. Since government is meant to lead a society, its faults affect the entire group of people under it. Similarly, war involves the whole society, forcing otherwise innocent people to choose sides and thus placing everyone in danger of abuse, including even more in an international rather than civil war. The enormous scope of these violations is amplified even more by the degree of violation. From the sheer number of rights to the exponential implications, the gravity of war and government human rights violation is staggering. At least 10 rights (Articles 2, 3, 5, 9, 12, 19, 21, 28, and 29) are violated, but the most important can be designated as life, liberty, and representation. In a nation where the citizens are not involved in policy, no viable solution for the abuse they suffer remains. When liberty is denied, the people have no choice about their situation. Finally, at the point of death rights no longer exist.

Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has had a military regime for decades; recently, the people of Myanmar, in particular Buddhist monks, opposition political groups, and student movements, have endeavored to protest in search of democracy. The military junta, led by Senior General Than Shwe, has violated on numerous occasions human rights involving life, liberty, security, and representation. Subsequently, national as well as international attempts have failed to secure a successful and legitimate peace and political agreement between the junta and opposition groups.

The junta’s draft constitution and plan for elections in 2010, released on February 11, has been met with skepticism and contempt on every level. The constitution not only failed to address key rights issues but also gave the military an equally powerful role in government, essentially changing nothing. Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader, won a sweeping victory at an election in 1990; however, the junta refused to accept such results after their ascent in 1988 and has detained Suu Kyi for over ten of the past twenty years, remaining in power and suppressing pro-democracy groups across the country. Mahn Sha, the General Secretary of the ethnic opposition group Karen National Union, has just been killed hours after the denouncing the junta’s plans and constitution proposal. Buddhist monks have been forced to flee persecution reacting against their protests in December, mostly to Thailand but also to several other South East Asian countries. In order to attain democracy, the military junta cannot simply create their own constitution and plans to follow it to fruition without the representation of the people of Thailand. In a country where the majority of citizens violently or nonviolently oppose the government on grounds of human rights and democracy, steps toward reform must include these very people. Otherwise, any election will result in military continual of power, even in an opposition victory, as it occurred in 1990.

The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all people have the right to life, liberty, and security. Although a military government may be slightly safer for the nation, the junta has violated all three of these rights through violent reaction against protests and unnecessary detainment. Similarly, the ninth article refers to arbitrary arrest and detention. Finally, the twenty-first article states that everyone has the right to take part in government, whether directly or through a representative. In Myanmar, the military has destroyed all hopes of a legitimate democracy with power in the people. There is no rationale for the junta’s violation of these human rights except the pursuit of power. No conflict of human rights exists in this country, so truly the only ethical course of action is to support opposition groups in obtaining a constitutional democracy.

Education

I spend a solid 62.5% of my time daily on it. Considering that sleeping is only 29.2% and eating is a mere 8.3%, education is clearly my life right now. Upon analysis, the human body yields no outstanding strength, razor teeth and claws, or lightning speed. Incredibly, we are apparently the fruit of thousands of years of evolution and perched at the pinnacle of the global food chain.
Our one power, the defining characteristic of the Homo Sapiens Sapiens, is the mind.
Education is extremely important.

Yet a devastating problem in several countries is that people do not receive a sufficient education. More prosperous nations, like ours, give money and aid to these poor countries in hopes of improving the situation. It will surely help, but as the saying goes, "Give a man a fish, and he's fed for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he can teach other men to fish, feeding them all for the rest of their lives." Free schools for the poor all over the world help destitute children to learn and eventually prosper. No Child Left Behind also attempts to spread the knowledge and give a substantial, if not equal, opportunity. So let's give everyone in the world, people of all nationalities, races, and genders, an education, and that foundation will sustain humanity better than a donation.

Sanctions Bad

The United States and the United Nations put sanctions on misled countries in order to attempt to direct them to the right path. The act is analogous to taking away an errant child's food until it behaves.

1) Sanctions by the United States are unjustified. If a country's government is faulty, another nation has no right to interfere with its national sovereignty. It may criticize policies, but actions to change them must remain within the compass of the nation itself and the United Nations. Controlling and coercing another nation, whether through military or economic means, is only a loose or preliminary form of imperialism or colonialism. The United States cannot make decisions for the rest of the world any more than any other country could for the United States. If there is a problem so severe that it must be changed through economic sanctions, then the United Nations should have the jurisdiction to enforce a change.

2) Sanctions cause damage to the innocent. Since sanctions are often simply restrictions of trade and commerce with the chosen country, the people who supposedly are being oppressed or wronged in that country are then subjected to depleted supplies that can only further worsen their situation. Regardless of whether the policy is ultimately changed, sanctions are detrimental to the society. Additionally, sanctions on a country can cause related nations to suffer enormously, depending on the scope of the sanction.

3) UN sanctions are often unable to be enforced. The whole purpose of sanctioning is to enforce a change in law, but in international sanctions there must also be enforcement of the sanctions themselves. However, there is no non-military method of enforcement beyond mere political scorn, so the purportedly non-military tool of sanctioning often requires force to be effective.

4) Sanctions simply have a low rate of achievement. Sanctioning or subjecting a nation to external force in any case can frequently result in favor of the faulty government for which the sanction was intended. An excellent example of this phenomenon is Fidel Castro in Cuba. Known to the rest of the world as a scoundrel and a plague on society, he has nevertheless been able to blame the rampant poverty on neighboring and sanctioning nations, causing the population to rally around him. In Iraq, Sudan, and Myanmar(Burma) have hurt these nations potentially even more than the cause of the sanctions.

Although changes could(should) be made to sanctioning, currently they are an overestimated and detrimental tool for Civil Liberties.


http://globalpolicy.igc.org/security/sanction/anlysis2.htm
http://www.antiwar.com/eland/?articleid=10070

Smile

:] People say I smile a lot. They sometimes ask me why.
=D I don't see any reason not to.
:) It makes the recipient richer without making the giver poorer.
=P It takes a moment but can last a lifetime.
;) Someone might fall in love with it.
:] Everyone smiles in the same language.
=D It's contagious. There are lots of beneficial corollaries to this:
:) It's better to spread joy with a smile than sorrow with a frown.
=P If you're sad, give someone a smile. You may get it back with interest.
;) "Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles." ~George Eliot

S M I L E
:] =D :) =P ;)

Machines R Us

We use machines to make life easier. We control them. It's terrifying to imagine what might happen if they start to control us...

"Oh no! My laptop broke! All my stuff was on it!"
"We're going camping? Cool! Can I bring my DS?"
"Sorry, gotta go. My favorite show is on"

Light and Time

When eyes see any object, the actual process is far more complicated than one would expect. Light waves within the visible spectrum move from a source toward the object. Some of them then reflect into our eyes. The lenses in our eyes cause the image registered on our retinas to be upside-down, but the brain then reverses it once more to obtain the image of the object in our mind. In order for us to see anything, light must move from the source to an object and then to our eyes.

For example, when a supernova blows up, it takes several years for the light to reach our eyes. By the time we see the star, it may not actually exist at that point in time. Therefore, what is seen is not what is.

The other possible explanation for this is that time does not actually exist at all, and the light from the explosion means that there is a star, just not at this point in time, which does not exist. After a while, the rest of the light passes Earth and the star is gone from our sight, so it is truly gone to us. However, the light continues forever past the Earth, steadily becoming weaker until it fades away.

Dreaming of a Perfect Universe

When we dream, it’s seems as if we are in an alternate world with the monsters/people/animals/clouds/etcetera in it. I sometimes wonder if the characters within our dream have consciousness, or if they actually think. After all, some of them express ideas, desires, and they move around. All of this implies thought and sentience. Therefore, it could theoretically be true that we are all part of an enormous dream.
Since we’re so complex, it would have to be an incredibly spacious mind, but it is definitely possible. In addition, if God created the universe this becomes much easier to explain, for the universe could be God’s dream. Thus he would be omnipotent and omniscient, regarding this dream, his universe. There wouldn’t have to be any explanation for the beginning of the universe or the stars because God simply dreamed that it was so.

People are a Virus

People are a virus, not a mammal. Mammals steadily come to an equilibrium in their surroundings, no matter what they are, and thus coexist with everything else in stable harmony, even if it includes one eating the other organisms in those surroundings. Humans, on the other hand, move into an environment, never assimilate into it, and then destroy their surroundings. Then they reproduce and move on to somewhere else after exhausting the former place’s resources. A virus acts in a similar way. They move into a host, reproduce, destroy the host, and are spread elsewhere.
-inspired by the Matrix

Variety is the Spice of Life

The spicy flavour of food actually comes from pain sensors on our taste buds. Yet many people season blander foods with spices in order to enhance their flavour. Since variety is the spice of life, variety must be pain in our life while also making it more enjoyable.

Variety breeds large amounts of pain in our lives. Differences in thought cause arguments which then grow into global wars between countries and nations. Different foods and tastes may appeal to different people. Although variety induces pain and suffering, it also propogates innovation and progress, which in turn augment the prosperity of any given group of people. Animals cannot think at the level of people, so while different species remain the same and eventually die out because of changes in their environment, humans adapt and invent to ease our lives without the aid of claws, wings, or fangs. However, all this innovation is only possible with the presence of natural variety. If there were no variety, everyone would agree all the time and like to do the same things, and a utopian civilization might even be feasible. Unfortunately, all progress would come to an abrupt halt as well, and we would probably live our lives like lower animals without differences in choice and opinion.

Happiness

We do everything we do in order to make ourselves happier. Asking ourselves why we do a given action, and then why we do that cause, always eventually leads to a quest for happiness.
For example, I don't want to do my homework, but I do it. I do my homework to be accepted in a good college and then in a good job. I want a good job for more money, which then provides food, clothing, shelter, and entertainment. All of these things will make me happier.
I don't want to wash the dishes, but I do. Washing them prevents my parents scolding me , which preemptively makes both them and me happier.
I donate to charity and help others although these actions show no tangible benefits to myself. This is because helping people in need makes me feel good because I was raised with a high standard for compassion and respect. Thus altruism makes me happy.