useless and profound

Scientology and Star Wars

2009-12-07T19:08:00.003-06:00

I must admit that my knowledge is Scientology is very limited but from what I have read so far this is what I gather. It seems that many of its followers are celebrities who are trying to find a deeper meaning to life but have instead settled for a rationalization for the way things are the way they are.
Now on to the star wars part. I did a little reading and found that Scientology was invented "per se" before star wars and star trek but when I read about what Hubbard's "space opera" is I can't help but think what is this guy trying to do? Again I would not call myself literate in this subject so I can only go so deep during this critical rant. But, when reading the synopsis I can imagine Hubbard as one of those awkward kids in high school who took his science fiction books too serious. It's almost as if he forgot the fiction part in science fiction. It really makes me think "is this guy trying to turn star wars, or any science fiction book for that matter, into a religion?"
I'm not going to lie, I love star wars, star trek, and I even enjoyed battlefield earth, I know though that I am part of a very small minority for liking that. But, I take science fiction for what it is, good stories that never cease to entertain me. I can really only gather from Scientology that this guy wanted to turn this into a religion, like he wants to actually worship Yoda or even worse, emperor palpatine. I apologize if I offend any Scientologist but I just really need to hear someone explain this in person, to see if people genuinely believe this. Then maybe I will start believing that we are descendants of people from a galactic federation.
P.S. If any Scientologist read this please contact me. I would seriously enjoy having a conversation about this and the other tenets of Scientology.

Shiny chrome rims on a Jeep.

2008-12-19T15:25:00.002-06:00

Warning this may get juicy because the subject is very special to me.
When a person buys a Jeep, they're buying more than just a car, they're buying something that is an embodiment of American philosophy, the idea that we overcome all obstacles in front of us. One look at the Jeep and you can tell it knows how to play hard but work harder. In my opinion it looks best with a little dirt on it versus all shiny and clean. From the front grill that says I'm ready to take you head on to the the doors that look like they're ready to take bullets, and for us non-military people come off and ventilate the car. The roof that laughs at sunroofs by coming entirely off. The wheels that look like they're ready to grip a slippery slope to the suspension that holds the car high enough off the ground to clear any obstacle. I look at this and think, damn it gets the job done and remain humble. I once drove a Jeep for a while and I have to say just being in the car was fun.
Well the other day when I was at school I saw a jeep, it looked lower to the ground but I didn't think much of it. After a closer look I saw that it had some ghetto shiny chrome rims. After this I was in complete shock. It was almost as if the owner wanted to completely deny the car's heritage and make a point. They were disgusting. I couldn't believe what I had seen. The poor Jeep I thought. The Jeep was built for the army to tackle the toughest terrain and these rims had completely taken away the purpose of the Jeep. Everything that the Jeep had been designed and built for had been rendered obsolete by the owner's choice in rims. Not only could the Jeep no longer get down and dirty but it had become just as flashy as it's owner. As I sit here I can't imagine what train of thought would lead to such heritage suicide. This was a man-made disaster. I wish that someone one day slaps some sense into this person and makes him realize what it truly means to own a Jeep. The audacity of the owner is incomprehensible to me. To make things worse he put low profile tires on. He not only embarrassed the Jeep with the shiny ghetto rims, he had essentially clipped the wings of a great bird. A mortal sin that is unforgivable unless reversed.

What we believe in.

2008-12-06T01:45:00.002-06:00

I'll be the first to admit that I am guilty of the following sometimes. So in order to have a defensible argument for something you believe in answer the following questions and you are off to a good start. We often say we are people of blank(usually good character...etc). We often say we strive for x(for example perfection...etc.) And we believe in this(hard work and other values...etc.) We can say whatever we want but words are shallow unless fortified with depth and meaning. So we must ask ourselves "do we truly understand what it means to be blank?; do we really strive for x?; if we believe in this, what is it?" What good is a soldier that does not know what he is fighting for?

Thoughts for now

2008-12-04T10:19:00.000-06:00

I have decided that I would like to be more intellectual so I have taken up reading National Geographic. So far I like it. So if this keeps up then it will be my journal of choice. One of the main stories in this volume was about evolution and the man before Darwin, Alfred Wallace. I have to say it makes a faithful man think. I do believe in God but recently I have been challenging the beliefs I have clung to. I do believe in evolution because the physical, tangible evidence clearly demonstrates that overtime species evolve, which means we most likely came from monkeys, that I have no problem with. Even PJPII acknowledged that evolution is more than a wild theory. But the deeper issue on my mind is what does religion mean to me. I still haven’t worked out the finer details but I believe that most of the events in our lives are the result of probability. I really like the underlying theme behind quantum mechanics that if you do something enough times you will produce every possible result. But, with that being said I believe that God is there to give us the edge when needed. I do not believe that our lives are predetermined. God has his plan for us but ultimately it is up to us to choose our own path. I recommend that every person see the Bill Maher movie Religilous. Although I do not always agree with him it really points out how people can take advantage of other people by using religion. This is a little too deep for now but I’ll come back to this later. In the mean time I also recommend people check out the podcast “The Onion.” It’s a satirical news organization and I really enjoy it. It is making fun of serious topics with good taste and respect.

People need to do what they want.

2008-11-07T23:48:00.002-06:00

One of the problems plaguing our country in this day in age is the belief that many people have that they can not do what they want. So many people think that they have to do what their parents do or what their parents think they should do. I am not an Obama fan but this election is just proof that anyone can do anything, to add to it his middle name is Hussein. Quite frankly I think that people not liking what they do is partly contributing to the financial crisis. Back in the early 2000's this country was going through to tech bubble. As a result the number of college students majoring in IT fields more than tripled. This was mostly due because of speculation predicting +$100K just after graduating. Not only did the tech bubble eventually bust most of the people majoring in the IT fields had no idea what careers they were training for. I do not know the exact numbers but I do know that a very low percentage of people who graduated in the early 2000's with IT degrees still work in the IT industry. The purpose of this post is to encourage people to explore careers and do what makes them happy. Right now I am an architecture student, though not for long. For the last year I honestly thougth it was what I wanted to do. Now that I am in it I realize that it just does not make me happy. I know that I could do very well and live comfortably but it is not worth it if it I do not like it. Ironically it was an architect that inspired me to find what I love to do. I shadowed over him one day during the summer and I saw him work. As I watched him work I realized that he loved what he did and that made him happy. Since then I have been earnestly finding what I want to do for the rest of my life. So to sum it up I simply ask that anyone who reads this please find what you want to do and run with it

Why is it that people judge?

2008-10-04T23:14:00.002-05:00

Why is it that people judge? More specifically why is it that people often judge other people? To start things off I'll be the first one to admit that I am very guilty of it. I try to think rationally but I can't lie; some of my first thoughts on people are things I have judged about them. I'll approach this question from the angle that people have a natural fear of the unknown. This of course makes people naturally insecure. So to comfort our insecurity we make judgments about things and people. By doing so it makes us a little more secure and at peace. But, the truth is we are worse off than before we judged. We cloak our fears. The fact of the matter is that we don't want to deal with the problem. In the grand scheme of things a single human is too stupid to figure everything out. Some of the smartest humans in history are the people who have embraced that fact. Anyway that is beside the point. I think that it is a first reaction so we can begin to feel more in our element. So that we can pretend to have an idea of the situation at hand and then react from there. But what do I know? This is a conclusion I have made from judgments I have made. But it is just a thought.

Backwards hats

2008-10-03T19:41:00.005-05:00

My hairdresser and I used to talk about how we don't understand why people where their hats backwards. We agreed that it must be a self confidence issue. Well this summer I worked as a road and utilities surveyor for my local engineering firm. We went to work early, before the sun was shining bright, and we would be away from the truck for long periods of time. I have moderately sensitive eyes so it was important that when the sun came out I had proper protection. But, I faced the dilemma: to wear my hat or not to? If I wore it before the sun came out then it was inconveniently dark for me to work. But, if I waited until later when we got back to the truck usually it was bright and the headache would began to set in. Eventually we got a new co-worker and I was inspired. Wear my hat backwards in the morning when it was dark then wear it normal when the sun came out. It was brilliant! I was simply in awe at how splendidly it worked. I then realized that there are logical reasons for wearing your hat backwards. Additionally I enjoy going to football games at my school. Usually the games start when it is sunny and finish in the dark. Another reason to use the backwards hat trick, except in the reversed order of my summer routine. What I still don't understand though is the people who wear hats to the mall and to the movies, many of them wear them in the regular style which is even more confusing to me. Quite frankly I just don't get it. If anyone has any input to offer please comment. I really just don't understand the point of deliberately wearing hats indoors, especially in the evening and for a night of clubbing.

Origin of useless and profound.

2008-10-03T19:35:00.002-05:00

Long story short I posted a video on myspace a while back, I have since killed my myspace. I posted a video of one of my teachers dancing and added a song as a soundtrack, which I had not composed. About eight months later I got an email saying that someone had reported me and that I must complete the myspace copyright education program. Basically I had to read some articles that said something along the lines of "If you did not create the content then you can not post it." I understand where they are coming from but I it's like really? I was not making any money off of it but oh well. Myspace has since lost my business.