Distractions, distractions, distractions

     I'm a procrastinator. Big time. "I'll do it tomorrow!" is akin to a life motto for me. Some stuff I can actually buckle down and get done within a reasonable amount of time, but it usually depends on what the task at hand is.

     My problems started on November 12 when StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void was released. My preordered copy arrived on the front porch, and from then on, I knew school would come second. $80 for a collector's edition which would consume my time in a non-meaningful way and detract the volition required to participate in higher education.

     I have just finished the game, and hope that nothing else will deter me from completing the more important tasks at hand...




     Omg, I finished the main story and now there's an epilogue???????? YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

     Well, finishing my essay was a nice thought, but pales in comparison to the attempts of galactic reclamation.

Florence + The Machine

     One of my favorite artists is Florence Welch of the band "Florence + The Machine". Florence has such an amazing and unique voice. Its range seems incomparable, and her vibrato is fantastic! The songs she sings are all so beautiful because of the passion and effort she places in them. Often her songs have to do with love, both good and bad. As you can probably guess, love is a great topic for writing songs.

     "You've Got The Love" is one of my favorites. The song can be interpreted as (though the music video doesn't seem to suggest it) talking about God's unfailing love for us, even when we reach a point when we're ready to just throw in the towel. For me, it's beautiful because it's a constant reminder of how great God truly is; he'll never give up on us, no matter our doubts or transgressions. Another part of the beauty is the amount of passion that Florence puts into this song. It truly feels like she is singing with all her might and that she believes in God with all her heart and soul.

     God is bigger than any of our problems.

     Another of my favorites is "Cosmic Love". Florence conveys a very complicated relationship with a man in a very unique way. She describes the love she has for this man as blinding and is consumed with this feeling, claiming she's lost in darkness, overwhelmed by her love:

"A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes
I screamed aloud, as it tore through them, and now it's left me blind"

"And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat
I tried to find the sound
But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness,
So darkness I became"

     However, she feels the man doesn't feel the same way and ends up trying to move on from him:

"I took the stars from our eyes, and then I made a map
And knew that somehow I could find my way back"

     In the process of doing so, however, she discovers that he does indeed feel the same way as she does:

"Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too
So I stayed in the darkness with you"

     "Cosmic Love" gets its beauty from the unique relay of Florence's emotions. When listening to it, I feel like I'm watching a short movie of two lovers oblivious to their mutual feelings. Florence really just puts beauty in all her work in my opinion.

Essay topic

     In my essay, I'll be focusing on the foreshadowing during Jacob and Esau's birth. It's not secret that the brothers' relationship is turbulent to say in the least. Esau was conned out of his birthright and his father's blessing by his brother Jacob. Jacob did so with the aid of his mother, who favored him more. Obviously Esau was getting the short end of the stick on stuff.

     When Esau was born, Jacob was right behind him holding onto Esau's heel as if trying to pull him back into the womb so as to be born first. So, yeah, foreshadowing is pretty evident, and that's what I'll be digging into.

The Devil's Playground

     Dante's Inferno has been one of the most intriguing pieces of literature I've read. I picked it up sometime in middle school after my brother finished reading it for his class. For this, I got lots of weird looks. After all, I was a young kid reading about hell and punishment... comforting, right?

     Dante's concept of hell is fascinating. Pitting the realm within the earth itself, in my opinion, symbolizes the corruptness of our world along with just how close we are to hell ourselves(figuratively and, from his descriptions, literally). The contrast of the center of our planet is all too ironic as well. Lucifer resides in the core, but not in a lake of fire; he's frozen the lake around him by using his giant wings to try to escape. Every gust of wind he emits causes further pain to the sinners surrounding him.

     I really think that people have a curiosity regarding stuff that they hope to not experience. Kind of like dipping your toes in the water, but not wanting to get your whole foot wet, let alone your body. Every time there's an accident on the road, we feel like we have to look to see what happened. It's just curiosity which leads us to try and experience that rare taste tragedy. Seems like we're gluttons for punishment and despair.

Opposites

     Opposites in the Daodejing offer a unique way of instructing different virtues. These opposites tend to compliment each other and offered an alternative to the teachings of Confucius. It didn't argue against Confucius as much as providing another way of looking at things. The paradoxical approach appealed greatly to the Chinese and is still prevalent today. I obviously don't have much to say on this matter...

Confucius 2016

     Carly Fiorina has principles related to Confucius: life, weapons, trust of the people, determination, etc. Pretty much all of the candidates had something that can be compared to teachings of Confucius. I agree with one of the presenters, however (I think it was Spearman and his Trump presentation), while some of these teachings can be implemented in one's life, they shouldn't be looked at to form a modern government around. Things back then were different, time goes on and things change. It's important to keep the past in mind, but to keep a fresh perspective for the future.

White ghosty things

     I'm a believer of the eternal soul. I think that when we die, our bodies waste away, but there's more for us on the other side. To me, it just doesn't seem practical that we die and that's the end of it. Our world is so meticulous, that I don't think we just popped up by chance. I believe we're created and that our creator has a plan for after we die. Not everything in science can be proved, but scientists still put faith in theories. Why is religion, God, and the concept of an immortal soul so ludicrous?