Last night on the news they talked about this road that is being planned/built in Africa that is supposed to cut clear across the serengeti, the valuable and unique habititat of some of our favorite fellow species, including; lions, elephants, giraffes, zebra, cheetahs, gazelle, wildebeast, etc.
The reason for this road is to transport materials from a mine in Tanzania, materials that will be used to make cell phones. Do we really think it is worth it to sacrifice this beautiful place, and all its wonderful creatures for cell phones?! Isn't that kinda greedy and heartless? Even if it isn't, I think there are two much better options. I'll try to explain.
1. BUILD A FREAKING AIRPORT IN TANZANIA!!!!! Is building a huge/long road really better/more cost effective than building an airport? Have they tried this? Even thought of it? I don't know... if start-up money is an issue maybe they could elicit donations? Anyway... I think this would solve the problem nicely.
2. Build an "eco-road." This would be a more expensive option, but could be really cool if done right. For all of you who have been to Sea World you know about the shark encounter, and the penguin exhibit. Think of those as proto- "eco-roads." What I think is instead of a road they could build sort of a giant tunnel that would look on the outside just like a kind of linear hill across the serengeti. They could plant the top with native flora (yes this works with animals, they already have them), and my idea (I don't know if this would work...) but perhaps they could put in a kind of see-through material in certain spots, like little windows. That way tourists could pay to drive through the "eco-road" and get to see all the animals in their natural habitats from the comfort of their own vehicles, and perfectly safe for both animals and people. Expensive, yeah... do-able, maybe... cool DEFINITELY...
Well, I personally think the people who decided to build this road are a bunch of total jerks and morons, but seriously... AN AIRPORT!!! AT LEAST!!!
So... instead of killing the environment and the tourist trade with a stupid and lazy road... why not build something good and constructive, like an airport, or an "eco-road." That's my idea. :)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
A Year Without a Rankin Bass Christmas?
Usually I see ads all over the place for ABC Family's 25 days of Christmas. This year they seem to be oddly abscent. The mainstay of this holiday programming block is the 10 or so classic Rankin Bass stop motion animated Christmas Specials including; "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman," "The Little Drummer Boy," "A Year Without a Santa Clause," "Jack Frost," and many more... I own most of these on DVD b/c I love them so much, but I feel sad to not see them being broadcast this season. I think they might have showed "A Year Without a Santa Clause" (one of my personal favorites) one time last week, but usually these Christmas things are going non-stop on the Family Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodean. Is it just me, or does anybody else miss seeing these tride and true family Christmas specials broadcast "en masse" during the month?
To me it just feels like something is missing, like another little piece of holiday tradition has dissolved, and it makes me sad, especially since my own personal holiday celebrations seem to get smaller every year, what with people getting older, moving away, and other complications.
I guess I'm just pining for my younger days, but isn't that a big part of Christmas? We all gather around to give each other fun gifts in honor of (if you're agnostic/atheist) an admittedly imaginary jolly old man in a red suit, or if you're religous... well, I think most people do the "Santa Clause thing" in this country, or some other variation of this present giving ritual.
I don't think Christmas is too commercial, although people say it is. Maybe they just think it's not "Christian" enough anymore, but it was never really that "Christian" to begin with. After all, it's widely believed that if Jesus was a real person it is extremely unlikely he was born in the winter at all. I'm fairly sure the reason Christmas is on the 25th is b/c the Emperor Constantine, who converted to Christianity, and was a major influence in spreading it's popularity, moved the date of the celebration to coincide better with the already ongoing pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice.
Also, on a side note, there is vastly more historical evidence for a single real person as the origin of the Santa Clause story than for the existence of Jesus as portrayed by the stories of the Bible. That isn't to say the "real Santa Clause" lived at the North Pole with reindeer and elves, etc. I'm fairly sure he has been identified as having been a German Monk.
So I think the real meaning of Christmas does have to do with presents. However, as they say with presents, "It's the thought that counts." It doesn't matter that your present may not be exactly what the person wanted, but getting a present, and an appropriate present does show how well you know the person, and how much care you put into thinking about them. A present represents caring, and caring is important. That's why we get so moved by those stories of people selling their prized possessions to be able to give their loved one the present they want.
Yes, it's true that companies try to exploit the season, but it's also true that if you're looking for presents it's easy to find deals around the holidays. You could also make presents.
So for me the holidays are about a few things; family, food, Santa Clause, and presents. Family is obvious I think... food, b/c what better time to break out the butter and sugar than when your family is around? Santa Clause I kind of explained, but for me he symbolizes the spirit of the holidays, a time to get together with loved ones and celebrate life, and a brief return to innocence before the coming of the New Year. And of course, presents, as I said, are a way of expressing caring, although of course their are other ways to do that.
So I hope you all have a Happy Holiday Season, and maybe if we all ask Santa Clause very nicely, next year the Christmas Specials will return! :)
To me it just feels like something is missing, like another little piece of holiday tradition has dissolved, and it makes me sad, especially since my own personal holiday celebrations seem to get smaller every year, what with people getting older, moving away, and other complications.
I guess I'm just pining for my younger days, but isn't that a big part of Christmas? We all gather around to give each other fun gifts in honor of (if you're agnostic/atheist) an admittedly imaginary jolly old man in a red suit, or if you're religous... well, I think most people do the "Santa Clause thing" in this country, or some other variation of this present giving ritual.
I don't think Christmas is too commercial, although people say it is. Maybe they just think it's not "Christian" enough anymore, but it was never really that "Christian" to begin with. After all, it's widely believed that if Jesus was a real person it is extremely unlikely he was born in the winter at all. I'm fairly sure the reason Christmas is on the 25th is b/c the Emperor Constantine, who converted to Christianity, and was a major influence in spreading it's popularity, moved the date of the celebration to coincide better with the already ongoing pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice.
Also, on a side note, there is vastly more historical evidence for a single real person as the origin of the Santa Clause story than for the existence of Jesus as portrayed by the stories of the Bible. That isn't to say the "real Santa Clause" lived at the North Pole with reindeer and elves, etc. I'm fairly sure he has been identified as having been a German Monk.
So I think the real meaning of Christmas does have to do with presents. However, as they say with presents, "It's the thought that counts." It doesn't matter that your present may not be exactly what the person wanted, but getting a present, and an appropriate present does show how well you know the person, and how much care you put into thinking about them. A present represents caring, and caring is important. That's why we get so moved by those stories of people selling their prized possessions to be able to give their loved one the present they want.
Yes, it's true that companies try to exploit the season, but it's also true that if you're looking for presents it's easy to find deals around the holidays. You could also make presents.
So for me the holidays are about a few things; family, food, Santa Clause, and presents. Family is obvious I think... food, b/c what better time to break out the butter and sugar than when your family is around? Santa Clause I kind of explained, but for me he symbolizes the spirit of the holidays, a time to get together with loved ones and celebrate life, and a brief return to innocence before the coming of the New Year. And of course, presents, as I said, are a way of expressing caring, although of course their are other ways to do that.
So I hope you all have a Happy Holiday Season, and maybe if we all ask Santa Clause very nicely, next year the Christmas Specials will return! :)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Diction, AKA Word choice
Here are two words we probably should not use anymore:
Evil, War
First, evil. Using the word evil, or enemy is so general that it is pretty much useless, and only boils down to being an insult. Calling someone, or something evil is like insulting them in any other way. When we say "evil" do we mean; sadastic, immoral, unacceptable, etc. Just throwing around the word evil doesn't do any good. Insults are hurtful and they cause damage. If we mean to say someone is immoral, we should use the word immoral. Lack of clarity on such serious matters is a huge, but easily avoided problem.
Second, war. We like to use the word war a lot, but not in the way that it was originally meant. The actual definition boils down to: a direct conflict between two or more nations. So why do we say things like war on drugs, or war on cancer, or war on... any other abstract concept. You can't declare war on an abstract concept. It makes no sense. Wars can be declared only on countries. Terrorism is not a nation state. Terrorists are not a nation state. By the way, does anybody actually endorse terrorism besides terrorists? Maybe if we just gave other countries more respect, instead of acting like we own the world we could be more effective in helping EVERYONE.
We need to stop making people hate us, and I think it has a lot to do with semantics. Why do we keep making these vast generalizations about groups of other people, and throwing out words like terrorism, evil, enemy, war, and so on. Maybe we should use the words we really MEAN. It would be nice to hear a bit more rational language. For example; instead of calling a murderer evil, let's just call him what he is, a murderer. That is enough. So, if somebody commits an act of terrorism, then they are a terrorist. That's fine to say. However, it's not all right to extropolate beyond the individual act unless there is clear evidence of connection. Not all terrorists are foreign. That's the truth.
I like to say that it is wrong to use fear as a tactic to gain power. That's what terrorists do. But look around, don't you see a lot of our own politicians using the exact same tactics to raise their poll numbers? That's immoral, completely, and uncontestably. So maybe we need to look a bit closer at our own faults, or at least, the faults of our own nation, before we point the finger and call somebody evil. Doing that is just the easy, but ultimately the absolutely wrong way to try to fix things.
Making other countries mad at us... why would we do it when we don't have to? There is PROFIT in war. There is PROFIT in fear. Don't let those who PROFIT from these horrible things have power over you. IN A DEMOCRACY, WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE RULING BODY. REMEMBER YOU HAVE THE POWER. YOU CAN CHANGE THE DIALOGUE.
Evil, War
First, evil. Using the word evil, or enemy is so general that it is pretty much useless, and only boils down to being an insult. Calling someone, or something evil is like insulting them in any other way. When we say "evil" do we mean; sadastic, immoral, unacceptable, etc. Just throwing around the word evil doesn't do any good. Insults are hurtful and they cause damage. If we mean to say someone is immoral, we should use the word immoral. Lack of clarity on such serious matters is a huge, but easily avoided problem.
Second, war. We like to use the word war a lot, but not in the way that it was originally meant. The actual definition boils down to: a direct conflict between two or more nations. So why do we say things like war on drugs, or war on cancer, or war on... any other abstract concept. You can't declare war on an abstract concept. It makes no sense. Wars can be declared only on countries. Terrorism is not a nation state. Terrorists are not a nation state. By the way, does anybody actually endorse terrorism besides terrorists? Maybe if we just gave other countries more respect, instead of acting like we own the world we could be more effective in helping EVERYONE.
We need to stop making people hate us, and I think it has a lot to do with semantics. Why do we keep making these vast generalizations about groups of other people, and throwing out words like terrorism, evil, enemy, war, and so on. Maybe we should use the words we really MEAN. It would be nice to hear a bit more rational language. For example; instead of calling a murderer evil, let's just call him what he is, a murderer. That is enough. So, if somebody commits an act of terrorism, then they are a terrorist. That's fine to say. However, it's not all right to extropolate beyond the individual act unless there is clear evidence of connection. Not all terrorists are foreign. That's the truth.
I like to say that it is wrong to use fear as a tactic to gain power. That's what terrorists do. But look around, don't you see a lot of our own politicians using the exact same tactics to raise their poll numbers? That's immoral, completely, and uncontestably. So maybe we need to look a bit closer at our own faults, or at least, the faults of our own nation, before we point the finger and call somebody evil. Doing that is just the easy, but ultimately the absolutely wrong way to try to fix things.
Making other countries mad at us... why would we do it when we don't have to? There is PROFIT in war. There is PROFIT in fear. Don't let those who PROFIT from these horrible things have power over you. IN A DEMOCRACY, WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE RULING BODY. REMEMBER YOU HAVE THE POWER. YOU CAN CHANGE THE DIALOGUE.
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