The other side of the fence

     I've never awoken to be the opposite gender, and I don't want to. To do so, however, would be... disturbing. If this anomaly did happen, I honestly wouldn't know what to do.

     What do I do with breasts? They're like water balloons suspended in the air. I'm not sure how delicate they're, so I don't want to run or make any sudden movements for fear that they'll burst or detach. Do they communicate to each other? Are they like little parasitic people I've to lug around until this madness ends? What if they get angry??? Why're there two? Why not one? Why not none!?
     Why do I crave chocolate? Gosh, I really need some. Good thing I already have a Halloween stash... oh wait, I already ate it. Talk about first-world problems.
     Why is there ketchup on my leg? I didn't eat anything in bed! What's going on? Oh no... no no no no....... I've a vagina. And it's flowing like the Nile with red tide. I can't deal with this. No. NO. Ew. Stop. Now. I command thee!!

     Without growing up as a girl, I most certainly wouldn't survive a sudden gender switch.

Mutually tragedy

     One thing that seems consistent with tragedies is that no matter where they happen, people across the world seem to feel the impacts. When the 9/11 attacks occurred, it wasn't just Americans that were crying out, people across the world suffered. Tragedy isn't the same for everyone, however. Katrina, for example, I don't see as tragic as others see it. Yeah, it was horrible, but to me it was just another strong hurricane. Yeah, it did some heavy damage, but when have we not sustained damage from nature? With a city below sea level, I personally believe it was just a matter of time before something like that happened. We all experience tragedy differently, and even though many can experience it from one event, that doesn't mean all will experience it the same way.

Tragedy: Ironically served by oneself

     I've not really experienced a personal tragedy. Don't get me wrong, crappy things have happened and my life isn't perfect, but I've never had some terrible event happen to me that would constitute being called a tragedy. With that in mind, let's focus on someone else's tragedy!

     A cousin of mine was an "A" student and very fortunate with a bright future ahead of her. Her grandfather (I think it was her grandfather at least) left her a large sum of money in his will which she would have access to for just about anything she needed so long as she made the grades. Unfortunately, she made bad decisions, got involved with the wrong people, and ended up losing practically everything. She's to the point that she's having to bum money from other family members to support her, her boyfriend, and her three dogs and five cats. She's had so much time and opportunity to better her life, and yet she squanders every chance. Bottom line, she's lazy and stupid (maybe misguided is a better word... nah, just stupid), and is a perfect example of a self-inflicted tragedy.
    
     Tragedy comes in many different forms. Sometimes life deals you a bad hand and you just gotta learn to roll with the punches instead of taking an easy way out so as to come out stronger in the end. Other times, you're a victim of the consequences of your choices, need to have the guts to admit a mistake, learn from it, and better yourself through your own efforts.

Learning about creation

     It was great to find all these different theories about how creation took place. Even better was getting to see everyone's creative take on creation. The only picky thing I've is not knowing the truth behind any of it, but hey, that's what faith is for.

     One thing that I certainly found fascinating were the similarities between creation stories. Many of theme had to do with Gods and their wrath. They also tended to have mankind fall short of expectations in some way or to have a significant role. On top of that, there seemed to always be some kind of sympathy for mankind or help given to them.

     Creation ex nihilo (out of nothing) is my personal belief for creation. I believe in a higher being. I look at the world and don't really think it could just be a chance happening like the Big Bang. It feels too methodical, too premeditated. But that's just me.

Ancient vs. Modern

     The distinction between ancient and modern heroes is quite interesting. Over thousands of years, the purpose of a hero seems to have changed drastically.

     Ancient heroes seem to almost always have some kind of divine intervention/favoritism. They're also abnormally attractive, strong, (insert human characteristic here). Modern "heroes" simply live daily lives and then next thing you know, people go crazy about what the Kardashians are doing. Modern heroes being role models is kind of disappointing since people always flock to whoever gets the most attention in movies or by the media.

     Something that pulls these different time period together though is that heroes likely always had an impression on people in society. They see the great things that were accomplished and people decide they want to be like that. Good things and bad things come of this, most bad things are probably exemplified in our modern society when people look to celebrities for what they should think/do.

Blank Space

I searched the web for "erotic" and "eroticism" and the results weren't exactly... as relevant as what I was hoping. I guess I'll just wing this.

People these days seem to link eroticism with love. I disagree. Yes, eroticism is part of, but it's not the entirety of it. Just because something gets your motor going doesn't mean you're in love with it. There's more to people and relationships than just bow-chicka-bow-bow. The focus on eroticism and trying to find something that gets you going is too much in my opinion. People are entitled to their standards, don't get me wrong, and I, like anybody, want to find someone attractive, but I don't want to just find someone attractive and run away with them. There's plenty more than needs to happen. I guess you could say sparks aren't enough, I need wildfires, haha!

tldr: Looks aren't everything, and basing a relationship purely on looks is likely to create problems.

Creation project

The creation project I looked at was pretty darn interesting and added a very creative twist to creation in general. Creation wasn't something done by a god, but by man. And it's not a conventional pull resources from the planet story. Creation was done through dreaming.

A man fell from a start after Earth's creation. Upon realizing he was alone, he began dreaming of different creatures and awoke each morning to find they had come into existence. The man eventually dreamt of a female companion, however, she was nowhere nearby when he awoke. It isn't until later in the story that they find each other, by which time the woman has dreamt of children to keep her company. I think it's great that they included the inherent need for humans to have companionship, either with other humans or animals.

Upon the death of a child due to hunger, the family causes natural disasters through mourning. Tears caused tsunamis, monsoons, and hurricanes, for example. The child's death ended up bringing about vegetation. Something that I really admire is the use of death as a new passage to life. The loss of the child brought about the growth of vegetation to help serve as food for his family.

This is a very interesting story and I'm excited to see how it turns out after it's been fully developed!

That one special person

     It's interesting how times change. Nerdy used to be looked down upon, but now it's a popular thing. New words get added to the dictionary that you never would've imagined would make it. New things are done that were once thought impossible.

     Words, and our language in general, is just another thing victimized by the ravages of time. "Hero" is no exception.

     When we think of a hero, we tend to think of a role model, someone to look up to who sets a standard. It wasn't always that way though. In ancient stories, a hero was often a divine, god-power imbued super-human. We still have these kinds of heroes today. Superman, for instance, seems to be capable of just about anything.

     While the old meaning of hero hasn't faded completely, it's interesting to see new meaning brought to the word over hundreds of years. Strangely enough, however, the meaning never really was that different. The super-powered heroes of old were likely revered (Odysseus killed some heavy-duty monsters). Heroes nowadays are revered as well; they're respected and looked up to for direction.

     I don't have any heroes in particular. I don't tend to see meaning in revering one person above the rest. But I suppose that in darker times, having that role model to turn to could help. Something that is all too evident to me, however, is that the over-dependence and poor choice of role models is rampant in today's society.

From inside the church: Creationism & Eroticism

     Yes... I'm writing this from the inside of a church... I feel the lightning ready to strike... seriously though... this feels really awkward...

     Anyways, I think it's quite fascinating how so many people have so many different perspectives on what exactly is "erotic." Ironically, something which many would consider naturally entwined with creation actually isn't that related to it at all.

     With eroticism being stuff that pretty much arouses you, that opens the scope... a lot. For those who might find spoons erotic, spoons don't exactly create anything when used for sexual arousal (except for maybe an infection of sorts). While eroticism isn't necessarily directly linked to creationism, however, the former can lead to the latter. Someone who may find a man doing the dishes erotic, for example, may end up engaging sexually with that man and end up having children.

     Strangely, I feel like I've a new perspective on eroticism. It's not all about "chains and whips excite me" as is probably stereotypical. It's just what turns you on. That could be chains and whips, or possibly just seeing someone sitting playing video games. That which is erotic is different for everyone and I think that fact is great because it makes all of us unique!