Work Ethics

Why do some people believe that the newer generation of workers have poor work attitudes? There are allegations that today's youth have no respect for authority, and believe that they have a special entitlement to the world they're born into. I say that people have a right to believe that, even if it possibly ruins their future and perhaps affects the economy of the country at large. I think that if an entire generation of humans can decide to feel that way, something must be wrong with the system that brings them up to become thinking adults. That, or perhaps there is something fundamentally wrong with the old system that is no longer working with the younger generation. One is obliged, perhaps, to perform to the minimum requirements of the job contract as a point of honour. One should not be "expected" to go above and beyond the call of duty just because it would show loyalty to the company. And I think it rather hypocritical for one to do more just for the sake of showing that one has a good work ethic. One does it because one is willing or seeks some sort of recompense through the mercenary application of it. One should not hide behind the facade of having a "good work ethic" just because it's the right thing to do.

Of Homogeneity and Responsibility

Humans are cowards that hide behind reasons for their actions. It is better and safer to act as a part of a large whole than to act alone of one's own accord. Few are ever willing to do things merely because "I feel like doing it." In fact, this behaviour is often strongly discouraged early on in life when children are taught that that particular statement of opinion is usually insufficient. Those who oppose will learn that judgement is passed more harshly on those who reject the authority of the one who passes judgement. Perhaps it is the conditioning from youth that encourages this timid belief, along with the half-truth that there is safety in numbers.

Why Should I?

Sure. I consider suicide at least once every two days. What? No. I don't bother trying, Fenris. It doesn't matter. I'm too proud to just lie down and die. It's a dishonour to our noble bloodline. How does one integrate the fragments of the shattered self? A terminal case of cognitive dissonance. There is no denying one's true nature, and neither is acceptance an option. Death is the coward's way out, Fenris. It is unacceptable.

Chance is in itself a burst of meaning in a meaningless world. It is they who are so used to meaninglessness who are frightened of such meaning.
I am a performer in a Noh play. I join the movements of the painted faces, to strange sounds that I hear but do not comprehend. So I try to give meaning to none. How can there be humanity without freedom, and freedom without security? Exit.

The Infinite Treachery of the Innocent Mind

In the beginning, there was Wolf and Man. Wolf had to live, and Man had to live. Man lived where Man lived, and Wolf lived where Wolf lived. Man saw Wolf one day, and made friends with Wolf. Wolf helped Man, and Man helped Wolf. Why? Because Man had to live and Wolf had to live. So Wolf lived with Man, and kept others away. Wolf that had not joined Man stole from Man. Why? Because Wolf had to live. Man and Wolf kept Wolf away, and Wolf suffered in silence. To this day, Wolf is few and Man is many. Why? Because Man lives and Wolf has to live.

I, Myself.

One cannot deny one's true nature indefinitely. One cannot deny the existence of the desires that come to whisper in one's mind when one least expects it. The cravings that cannot be explained.

I have faith only in myself. Thus am I also my greatest betrayer.

Of Good and Evil

People who worship evil and acts of evil tend to have to believe in an opposite force upon which to base their opposition. That is why one cannot, by definition, worship an evil Satan without a good God. Conversely, there cannot be a goodness worshipper without acknowledging the existence of the evil that one opposes. What, then, of those who refuse to acknowledge the existence of either? Such a stand would mean that one is unable to define either, separates divinity from the concepts, or genuinely believes that neither actually exists.


Christmas was all weird.

The Core of Being

The seeds of Being and the seeds of Memory. One needs not carry all of one's experiences beyond, for it would be too cumbersome. The purest essence of one's true Core is what matters. It's the only Ghost in the Shell. The rest is temporal and of no significance.

Links

As it is above, so it is below. In terms of sanctity, ever more was there ability to form the true links that bound the truth to reality. In commanding the facts that were meant for the central reality, there was to be a point of leadership amongst the threads of possibility. Never again was it permitted to pull at the farthest threads by the access of the nearer ones. Such meddling had unexpected results and were stopped before they could cause further damage.

There is actually a link between the mishaps of today and the actions of yesterday. It is no coincidence that there is an increase in accidents nowadays compared to when the original transports were first increased in number. The boomerang of cause leads to far off effects. And the effects are felt now.

An Act of Defiance

When one rebels for the sake of being a rebel, one tries to differ from the prescribed norm. When a norm shifts, however, one should try to shift with the norm. For example, when everyone used to have to sleep early and wake early, it was fashionable to sleep late. What happens when everyone starts staying up late and all that? A rebel must stay alert to such changes in trends. To do otherwise would be to unknowingly conform. But in mindlessly shifting with the change in trends, a rebel also shows how one is actually enslaved by the trend itself. One becomes a slave to free will. Hence, it is probably better to simply do things at random, where one is utterly unpredictable.

Pain and Suffering

Is it better to feel pain and be able to suffer, or to feel bad about not feeling anything at all? If one kills without knowing that one is causing death, or even hurt, should the one be held responsible?

Why do I not feel anything of its own accord? I understand feelings, and how they should be at appropriate times. I never really do feel them, though. Except perhaps for fear and anger. Some who recall would say that I seldom show emotions. But then, how is one to show that which one does not actually feel? How does a face move to show that one is feeling something? Perhaps one day I'll actually internalize such feelings.

Feelings can be understood by observing the reactions of people in books, movies, around oneself etc etc. But how does one actually know how it feels to be that way? Emotions are such complicated things.

The Ways of Combat

1) A Regular Sword
2) A Fortified Sword
3) An Energy Blade
4) The Dancing Blade

While the highest form of all combat is the dancing blade, the strongest is still the fortified sword. It helps if the fortified sword itself is enchanted, but it is likely only possible through extensive use and channelling of energies through it, often in regular training. Familiarity in the use of a basic blade is instrumental in allowing the smooth use and maintaining of integrity while using it with a minimum of concentration. If concentration breaks while using a fortified blade, there is an actual sword left behind at least.

A red and black crocodile, a beige cobra, two Matryoshka rodents and an elephant.

Books

Books contain knowledge. That knowledge may be flawed or not. However, all the books in the world would be useless without the ability to comprehend them, and the effort to spend time to read them. Fenris! Read your books!

Expectations

An evil person has no good expectations of people. One tends to act as one expects oneself to behave. As such, an evil person can only expect evil to come out of another person who has not proven to be pure and good. Ultimately, an evil person creates more fear in oneself than would be expected had that person not been evil. In hiding and spinning webs of deceit, one leads a far more complicated life than is strictly necessary. Such is the price of evil expectations.

Conformity

Humans have a strange urge to find ways to make everyone conform to the "norm", whatever that may be. People with "psychological conditions" that deviate from the "neurotypical" are deemed to be mentally ill and are often (when detected) subject to treatments specifically designed to make them fit in. While some degree of behaviour modification may be necessary for those who may pose a threat to other peoples' safety, there is little reason for one to be subjected to "treatments" if one is happy or satisfied with being atypical. In removing the root cause that makes such people atypical, some degree of capability may be removed as well. It is the ability to think differently from the crowd that makes people unique. Unless people actively express dismay towards their predicament as a result of being atypical, it should not be assumed that everyone would wish to fit in. Forcing people into the fold may damage them more than it actually helps.

The Children

There were three mothers with three children on the train. Someone got up from the seat. Two mothers rushed their children to the seat while the third ordered her child to stand as usual. One child got the seat, while the other mother murmured that she did not really want the seat for her child, anyway. The other child had to stand. The train ride was long and uneventful. The six people reached their destination station and wound up at the same traffic light. On the green, all of them crossed the road, failing to pay attention to the drunken driver barreling down upon their position. The child who had taken the seat was run over because of the child's weak legs from pampering. The other was pampered, too, but could not dodge in time because the legs were tired from the long train ride. The last child used the legs well-accustomed to standing to take a large step backwards and avoided the car, saving the mother some grief. The mothers were not around to care, however, for the car swerved and took them as well.

Central Database

If memories can be drawn from the central pool of cosmic data, does this data stretch across realities? And if so, would an inter-reality transfer of "knowledge" be rather strange? Perhaps there is the possibility of such data "leaking" across instead of swirling around in one large, disorganized mess.

Knowledge

The more one thinks one knows, the less one is prone to know. Knowledge always seems to have credibility attached to it, and information given by a "reputable" source is likely to be rather credible. The only problem is that others' credibility generally outweighs anything that one would normally have, unless one has one hell of a huge ego.

The Deletion of the Past

The past can be deleted, but the things that were done in the past can and do come back to haunt people. We live in a world that has no past, present or future. We place it all in a chronological sequence to maintain our sanity.

To see an aura, see a person with an aura, and then see that person as if the person was not there.

Children are generally unable to give informed consent for clinical trials. But since they are the ones receiving pediatric medication, doing so would deprive others of valuable research data. Then again, if something should go wrong during the clinical trial, permanent damage could result.

Specialized education is well and good, but it all comes to nothing when the educators are plain unable to handle the "special" students, especially if they lack the patience or know-how.

A Tale of the Moss

There was a patch of moss that grew between the bricks of the path. It never grew taller, but stayed where it was. Feet that came by never trampled it, and the harsh sun did not dry it as it did the ones which grew on the brick itself. The moss flourished, and filled the gaps. None remembered the moss that tried to establish itself on the bricks and failed.

The Absence of Communism

There has never been a Communist state, and neither has there ever been a real Democratic state. Both are ideals that have never been realized, and will likely never be realized in an imperfect human society. It is sheer foolishness that people fight one another over such ideals, declaring themselves subject to these sides that cannot exist in reality. One would think that humans merely require a banner to unite under just to feel that they are justified in having opinions of their own. People hate to do things by themselves, and doing so merely makes them feel uncomfortable.

The Cat

I saw a cat walking along a road today. He looked almost exactly like the one who was run over a couple weeks back. It was a sad reunion of sorts. I really can't stand watching something get run over and die in front of me. A cat's requiem, and a moment of silence.

The Meaning of Everything

There is no greater meaning to life than realizing that life is ultimately meaningless. Being born is meaningless. Living life is meaningless. Dying is meaningless. Trying to die is meaningless. The greatest hope that people harbour is the one that tells them that their lives have meaning.

If one lives, only to die eventually, then there is no point to living life because it will end. If one lives, and is immortal, there is no point to living forever because living is meaningless. If an afterlife does not exist, living life is meaningless because one simply ceases to care after one dies. If one has an afterlife, living life is meaningless because one will end up there anyway. If living life is a way to attain a good afterlife, what is there to ensure that the afterlife is not meaningless as well? And what if one asks in the afterlife, "What is the meaning of the afterlife?", and gets a slow... nonchalant... shrug in reply? Irony. But irony is ultimately meaningless.

Aeon Flux and Brave New World

I watched Aeon flux yesterday. There were some interesting issues raised in the film, and several parallels to Huxley's Brave New World. The concept of artificial birth, the usual sheep-like conduct of the people. The city is a sanitized, self-contained futuristic metropolis. As always, the people are portrayed as sheep, though their conditioning is not like what one finds in Brave New World.

It is interesting to see a similarity to the Guilds in various science fiction works. The Guild is always advanced and acts as an overseer of the common population. In this case, the foating ship turns out to be a cloning facility, the function of which is unknown to the people. It is manned by an ancient, which is a common feature of the Guilds. When the ship crashes, it serves as a symbol of freedom when it knocks the wall down that separates the city from the rest of the world.

The issue of cloning is scientifically questionable, though. The clones seem to retain memories of their previous lives. This is an example of past-life regression, however, and is something that is a rather real phenomenon. Could some memories be genetic?

We also have the typical freedom fighters. Strangely enough, Hollywood freedom fighters never seem to have a true cause. Rebels without a cause, they seem to try to introduce the idea of freedom to the masses by overthrowing a regime of sorts. However, what of the people who have no concept of freedom? Many people have no idea of what it is like to live without a regime over their heads, and simply start following the leaders that emerge and wind up under yet another regime in the end.

In search of the bitter truth and freedom.

The truth is said to set one free. But what happens when the sheer shock of the truth paralyzes one who cannot handle the truth. It is a sad condition when one cannot handle it. What is true freedom? One can think one is free, but is in reality constrained by those beliefs. One can force one's freedom from the constraints of society but wind up enslaved by the needs that arise in that "freedom". The central paradigm of liberty is that it exists only in the mind. There can be no true freedom.

Egg Jams and Executions

The Egg Jams are past. Executions should be allowed on the condition that humans are the ones to be executed. I've yet to see humans being executed for carrying the bird flu or ebola.

I'm currently preparing a master set of Sandman comics. It's really incredible how many comics there are in existence. Wishlist: Death Note manga.