Interview 2

Interview 1

Come back tomorrow for part II of the interview!

Anomy: Part III

This is the conclusion of Anomy: An Epic Poem in Three Parts

Anomy means a violation of divine law. A related term, anomie, is associated with sociologist Émile Durkheim, who characterizes it as the loosening of moral values which leads to social alienation and increased rates of suicide. The term 'anomy' had been used for at least three centuries before Durkheim to mean disregard for divine law. It often described anything or anyone against or outside the law, or a condition where the current laws were not applied resulting in a state of lawlessness.

-------------------------------------------------

Eden is a green sea of seeds,

Overrun with fruits and leaves.

With every step, flowers bloom;

If you pick up soil, it isn’t long

Till you hold a plant in your palm

It is so fertile in Nature’s womb !

Red strawberries kiss the ground,

Oranges and tangerines abound

Next to yellow melons and pineapple,

Blueberries bloom as far as I can see,

Alongside raspberry and green kiwi

But nowhere could I find an apple.

I wandered through this lush maze

For so long I lost count of days

Eventually, by chance I did stumble

Upon a clear dell in the bramble

And there stood the colossal tree of life !

Its’ branches reach heaven and roots reach hell

And apples hang where its shadow fell

And I grabbed one and took a bite !

It taste sweeter than any food ever

And with this nibble, I'll live forever.

But in Eden, rebels have no place

And we who sin cannot stay

So God showed me the door.

My destination is civilization

To celebrate my transformation

And enjoy the earth for ever more.

Time is on my side, yes, it is

I live alongside all my kids

But I do not age with any generation

I’ve now lived a million years

and lingered on beyond my peers

I’ve even outlasted many a nation.

I bought a chess board one day,

And for twelve thousand years I played

Until I mastered the game;

I know every configuration of the board

But I must confess I have grown bored

And no longer want to play.

Though I don’t need sleep to survive,

I often slumber for years at a time;

I have for so long been alive.

On occasion I try to end my life

But when flesh fails, the apple provides

And my body will revive.

Man’s will to survive is a curiosity;

That now feels very strange to me.

I’m eons older than Methusaleh

And can’t wait till kingdom come;

It’s long past time I left the stage.

They say good comes to those who wait

But I now see no potential in my fate

For time itself has become my cage.

There is nowhere that I can flee

My endless sentence of apathy.

I pray God play my enemy;

And with his might, smite me

But He casts a blind eye to we

Who have committed anomy.

Biological Immortality

Biological immortality is the absence of a sustained increase in rate of mortality based on chronological age. A cell or organism that does not experience aging, or ceases to age at some point, is biologically immortal. Life defined as biologically immortal is still susceptible to causes of death besides aging, including disease and trauma. Biological Immortality is not just a concept, but has been demonstrated by a few species on earth:

• Turritopsis nutricula — a species of jellyfish. After becoming a sexually mature adult, they transform back into a child (the polyp stage) via the cell conversion process of transdifferentiation. This process repeats indefinitely. Its immortal adaptation has allowed it to spread from its original habitat in the Caribbean to "all over the world."

• Bacteria (as a colony) — Bacteria reproduce through cell division. A parent bacterium splits itself into two identical daughter cells. These daughter cells then split themselves in half. This process repeats, thus making the bacterium colony essentially immortal.

• Hydra — a freshwater animal, considered biologically immortal as they do not undergo senescence or aging. Hydras are predatory animals that can be found in most unpolluted freshwater ponds, lakes and streams in the temperate and tropical regions.

• Bristlecone Pines — a pine tree species speculated to be potentially immortal; the oldest known living specimen is 4,789 years old. Even longer lived are "tree colonies" which are genetically identical trees that are all a part of a single living organism with an enormous underground root system. A group of 47,000 Quaking Aspen clones (nicknamed "Pando") in Utah is estimated to be about 80,000 years old. A colony of sea grass, Posidonia oceanica, in the Mediterranean Sea, could be up to 100,000 years of age

The Erdemovic Dilemma

At the height of the Bosnian war, Drazen Erdemovic was a 23-year old soldier in the Bosnian Serb army led by Radko Mladic. When war broke out, Erdemovic was an unemployed electrician with a wife and newborn son. He had no enthusiasm for the war, but in an effort to support his family he enlisted with Croatian forces but was soon expelled for releasing prisoners slated for abuse. Erdemovic specifically requested assignment to a non-combat unit “so that he would not have to shoot anyone."

On July 15th, immediately following the fall of Srebrenica, the unit was dispatched to Pilica Farm outside the city. When buses filled with civilian prisoners arrived, Erdemovic’s unit was ordered to lead them into the field in groups of 10 and shoot them all. As soon as Erdemovic realized what was happening, he refused to participate. As he later testified:

"They told us that a busload of civilians would come from Srebrenica. I said immediately that I did not want to take part in that. . .and they told me, ‘If you do not wish to … you can just go stand in line with them. . .and we will kill you too’ I [was] not sorry for myself, but for my family and son who then had nine months, and I could not refuse because they would have killed me."

Erdemovic chose to participate in the firing squads, and he later estimated that he personally killed as many as 70 people over several hours, all of whom were bound and gagged and shot in the back

Question: Can Erdemovic be blamed for the killings?

Perspectives on the Meaning of Life: Existentialism

This is a part of the Perspectives on the Meaning of Life series.

Existentialism says each man and each woman creates the meaning of his and her life; meaning cannot be determined by a supernatural god or an earthly authority. Existentialism says meaning must be created not discovered. Thus one is free to define meaning on an individual level. In seeking meaning to life, the existentialist looks to where people find meaning in life, in course of which using only reason as a source of meaning is insufficient.

To the existentialist, existence precedes essence; the (essence) of one's life arises only after one comes to existence. Kierkegaard coined the term "leap of faith", arguing that life is full of absurdity, and one must make his and her own values in an indifferent world. This interpretation of the concept is often related to the insistence on the absurdity of the world and the assumption that there exist no relevant or absolutely good or bad values. However, that there are no values to be found in the world in-itselfdoes not mean that there are no values: We are usually brought up with certain values, and even though we cannot justify them ultimately, they will be "our" values. One can live meaningfully (free of despair and anxiety) in an unconditional commitment to something finite, and devotes that meaningful life to the commitment.

Albert Camus explores the implications of Existentialism in The Myth of Sisyphus. In the essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Camus compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

When Seasons Greetings go Wrong!

In honor of thanksgiving, I decided to play with the social conventions involving greetings. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Sasha Fierce: Happy thanksgiving

me: no thanks

Sasha Fierce: Huh

me: i reject your seasonal greeting

Sasha Fierce: Uhm

U cant

Reject it

N why wud u

me: yes i can

Sasha Fierce: ..

Why wud u

me: just to b a prick

duh

me: happy thanksgiving

Laura Atlas: you too Grahamers!!!

me: no thx

Laura Atlas: sorry lol

me: happy turkey day

Arnold Peppercorn: back at you

me: no thx

Arnold Peppercorn: alright

fuck off then

trick

me: happy thanksgiving

Max Dunbar: you too

me: no thx

Max Dunbar: fagot

me: go fuck yourself

i am rejecting your seasonal greeting

Max Dunbar: i'm rejecting your rejection

me: oooh

does this mean i HAVE to have a happy thanksgiving now?

damn u for bringing me joy on this solemn day of indian massacre

me: Happy thanksgiving!

Ricardo Santiago: Thanks gm. Happy tofurkey day to u too

me: tofurkey, are you serious?

Ricardo Santiago: Yeah man. I'm going to have it for the first time today...

me: u vegetarians don't deserve this holiday

i retract my 'happy thanksgiving'

Ricardo's new status message - Happy Tofurkey day everyone!

me: ...