Three guys here were arrested last night and charged with assault. One of them is the Duke Student Government president, one the captain of the varsity wrestling team, and the last a guy that I used to have philosophy class with. It was very shocking to read the news, and to hear that there were blood stains on the ground (which have already been washed away). The three of them are in this one fraternity and the fight had to do with a frat rivalry. I don't know what the most disturbing part of the incident is. That it happend a few minutes walk from my room? That it was committed by relatively intelligent and fairly well-to-do individuals? That the current student government leader, the supposed/alleged ultimate role model on campus was involved? I don't understand the inner mechanisms of a frat rivalry, nor do I claim to know exactly why the incident happened... but my pondering on the issues have reminded me of something Gandhi said: "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Check dis out, Ali G's translata.
Check dis if you want to see what my blog would be like if it was written by Ali G.

"I drank to drown my pain, but the damned pain learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good behavior."
- Frida Kahlo
(btw, check out the movie FRIDA... it's very good)

There are 1 million ants for every person in the world... so on this planet there are around 6 million billion ants!

On Sunday I posted about the Japanese culture possibly being one that is characterized by repression... but I honestly don't really think that it is. The Japanese just APPEAR repressed to outsiders (and even to other Japanese). In the home people can be casual and loose etc. For example if a young boy cries in public, in America the mother would say, "hey sonny toughen up, don't cry!" In Japan the mom would say, "don't cry outdoors where everyone can see you." When they go home the little boy can cry his eyes out or whatever. Which culture is really the repressed one, eh?

Floating vs. Having Roots
Authenticity requires grounding in a particular environment - if you have roots the things you do reflect on them. If you are floating, you might lose your individuality in the quest for identification with all humanity. At the same time I want to be authentic, I also want to float, to be cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitanism is loyalty to the widest possible constituency. We should separate ourselves from the lure of that with which we are familiar. We shouldn't see our way as the only way or the best way.

On a side note... what is the difference between cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism?

It's irresponsible to continue our daily activities unaware of what's going on around us. I'm pleased that the topic of the war has been brought up in 3 out of 4 of my classes. The only class that it hasn't been brought up in is history of ancient philosophy.... although the day that war was declared we had class, and I was absent and taking the GREs - so maybe it was brought up there too. I don't think other people are as fortunate on this campus.

If people don't discuss and question things in college, where else in the world can we expect people to discuss things? I'm talking about good intellectual discussion, not a dinner-table discussion after watching the news on TV (cuz, I really think TV coverage is bad - read below to understand why). Tonight I'll be going to a panel discussion sponsored by the University featuring 5 pretty distinguished political science professors.

The worst thing is if we don't question things, if we adopt a kind of fundamentalism/dogmatism. It doesn't matter if you are for or against the war. What matters is that you don't have a position based on unreflective certainty or accept the opinion of another blindly.

Women in Japan like to be tied up, according to a friend of mine (who will remain annonymous for now). He claims that it has to do with women being repressed in Japanese culture. Does that make sense? Is it true?

If you kill your clone, is it murder or suicide or both?

There's supposed to be this bigass walk-out tomorrow at noon. Everyone in the community has been asked to stop whatever they're doing at noon and have a rally against the war. The main idea is to signal to everyone that if war is declared it's not just an ordinary day (whether you are pro-war or anti-war). There are actually more than 50 college campuses that are planning walkouts. Anyways.... do you know what I'll be doing tomorrow at noon? The GREs! And if I walk out on that, I'll be wasting $115 and will possibly destroy my chances of getting into grad school this year!

So while everyone is going to be reflecting on issues and discussing them, I'll be trapped in front of a computer taking a test. Oh well... I trust my concentration will be ok.

Hey, did you know Snapple have come out with a banana drink! It's called "Go Bananas" and it tastes pretty good. I was a bit disheartened to learn that there's more pear juice in it than banana puree...

War represents a failure. People have a responsibility to pursue every remedy short of war. Even if you are not fighting, you are implicated if war is fought in your name. War always has unexpected, unintended consequences that are beyond people's control. These consequences may take decades to evolve, they are never immediate. Therefore our future is at stake. There is a possibility that our lives might radically change. War is the most serious decision that a government can make, it is not like a policy decision - it is qualitatively different.

Resist the temptation to be glued to your TV to get the news about this war. TV news is hysterical, superficial and amounts to little more than cheerleading. It is a false ideal. There is very little understanding. There are better alternatives to gain a thoughtful perspective on what is happening. TV supplants efforts to find understanding.

Too much on my mind today. Is there really more on my mind today than on normal days? Or does it just feel like that cuz I've been on break for a while and classes (& activities, etc) resumed today? There really is a lot going on... in my life, in the world...

I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
(where does that come from?)

It seems that all of us desperately need a story to tell people when they ask us about what we did over summer, or what we plan to do after graduation. It often feels like the measure of one's worth or status is dependent on how good these stories are. When we were younger it could be considered cool to say that we did jack all summer and just had fun. But when you're older, if you said that you'd be considered pretty lame. The same goes for plans after graduation. If you don't have a job or a grad school course lined up, then you're in limbo. You're like a second-class citizen. It shouldn't be the case, but that's what our social environment tells us. Right now I don't have a job or grad school lined up... but I'm trying to hold onto my integrity. I do, however, have a plan/story that I tell people, which is somewhat of a cop out to the real struggle with uncertainty. It takes strong character to tell people that you don't know what you're doing, and you're kinda directionless. And, more importantly, where is the character/integrity if people just try to rush to be herded into this or that profession/school like sheep? Struggle is good... as long as it's not pathological. Having no struggle is the worst thing.

Can you think of any professions where, for safety reasons, you have to work naked? I read that if you handle liquid nitro, you have to work naked for safety. It evaporates off skin instantly, but if it gets on your clothes it'll stick to you and give you instant frostbite.

"Living in denial of the world's problems is just about the only way to have fun anymore."
- Tamsen Turner

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
[he has a nice memorial in DC, which I got to see this weekend]

How often do you take a break from what you do in your day? Normally people are occupied doing one thing at a time, and move from one thing to the next. Even a break can be seen as part of this pattern. Do you ever stop and step outside? It's not really stepping outside if you are still thinking about what you have to do, or if you are remembering thoughts or things you did. I'm talking about really stepping outside. It's hard to explain. But, I'll describe what I recently experienced.

I was walking back from Central campus after a high-carbohydrate dinner (I think that puts people in a somewhat relaxed state). I went through the gardens and was listening to some soft/ambient music off of my mp3 player. I reached the lake and noticed that there were a lot of ducks in it. An albino duck caught my attention. I stopped and started observing the ducks. I was trying to see if the albino duck was having problems fitting in with the others (it didn't really). I was wondering what exactly the ducks were doing. Some were paddling going around, others were standing in the mud on the banks. I was wondering if they were free to do what they wanted, or if they had limits. Stuff like that. Watching the ducks relaxed me. I spotted a bench, so I sat down. I stopped contemplating the ducks and just tried to connect with my senses. It's pretty refreshing. People don't normally do that. It makes you more awake. My mind started to wander back to the ducks, and to things that have been on my mind the last few days (things I did/said, things other people said, etc). I was losing this connection. I fought to get it back... it's not a natural thing - not in our society anyway. We're so accustomed to be on the go, always thinking about stuff, always doing stuff.

Why was I so analytical about the ducks? The ducks are a novelty, and my mind was restless. Why did I fight to be less curious about the ducks? Curiosity cuts us off from the vital connection with what we are looking at. Wandering minds and curiosity prevents us from taking real breaks from our day.

Sometimes tourists fall in love with a place and end up staying.

Excerpt from a Kamikaze pilot's cockpit reading ... 'At the very moment of impact: do your best. Every deity and the spirits of your dead comrades are watching you intently. Just before the collision it is essential that you do not shut your eyes for a moment so as not to miss the target. Many have crashed into the targets with wide-open eyes. They will tell you what fun they had.'

"A word is not a bird. Once on the wing, it can never be caught again."
-Russian proverb