Hmm.

My life has totally changed in the last two weeks. Some days are better than others but every day, I listen to this song and it makes me feel better. Highly recommended to everyone who reads this. Sick song. I love you Daddy <3

Heroes of my Holidays

These are the strongest people I have ever known. I couldn't possibly love anyone else more in this world. When tragedy strikes, they make the most of it and fight for the best. My mom is my rock, she keeps me sane and functioning. She's my best friend and the only confidant I'll ever need. My dad and I fight more than any two people in the house, but I have loved him my entire life and I always will. The smartest and kindest man in my life, no one will ever be able to compare to my dad. No one in my family is as strong as he is. I love my mom and dad and I know we'll all manage to spend this Christmas together. Get well soon Daddy <3

Consider me stoked!!

I am continuously putting off the completion off my last mythology paper... I'm even considering just writing for next week's topic. Anyway, browsing through YouTube and I found this EPIC TRAILER! June 1st, 2012! I've always been scared of the animated Snow White, that evil queen is straight frightening. Charlize Theron just looks creepy. There's also another Snow White adaptation coming out in March with Julia Roberts but since I've got a younger brother, the battle scenes in this trailer seemed more appealing. I am so excited for the coming year, it's just getting ridiculous!!!

Happy Pre-Holidays!

Today, I found myself still in a blogging mood! Looking at the calendar, I realized that it's already mid-November. The holiday season is coming up and best of all, there's no final exam for Explorations 120 :) So take two minutes out of your day to get stoked for this winter's festivities!

muzak > dead ends

Anyone who takes the time to look at my blog (I wonder how many of you there are that aren't Patrick...) is encouraged to hit up YouTube and give these songs a shot. I give them credit for my blogs; completely irrelevant to every topic but they just crush my writer's block!

Come Home - OneRepublic ft. Sara Bareilles

All This Time - OneRepublic

Broken Strings - James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado

A Heavy Abascus - The Joy Formidable

Shelter - Birdy

Wanna Be Sure - Aidan Hawken

Torch Song - Shady Bard

This Woman's Work - Greg Laswell

Changing - The Airborne Toxic Event

In Front of You - The Quiet Kind

We Don't Eat - James Vincent McMorrow

Free Like You Make Me - Cary Brothers


#madlove

Boys will be boys.

For most of the human population, masculinity has become synonymous with one word: tough. Of course, when asked "What is masculinity?” most would immediately think of a buff and courageous man in the prime of his life. Perhaps a Arnold Schwarzenegger-type figure circa 1984. This image of masculinity has been so ingrained in our minds from all sorts of external influences from the earliest stages of development. Growing up, little boys played with G.I. Joe's - America's ultimate action figure. Little girls expected their future husbands to have fantastic bodies similar to Barbie's man-toy, Ken. From fictional superheroes to real-life celebrities, we are all led to believe that being masculine means looking the part of an abnormally fit, attractive young man. 

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of masculine is "having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man". What are these qualities? The ability to defend himself and his loved ones from others who mean harm? Yes, I would have to say these qualities deemed universally valuable in a man. It seems that George Orwell would also agree. In 1984 (the book, not the year that the Terminator first time-traveled back into your local theatre), the character, Big Brother is a figure of masculine dominance.

After getting four pages into the book, one already gets the idea that he is always watching you. Is he trying to look out for you? Oceania is so heavily totalitarianized that the average person is forced to think so. One cannot think an original thought such as perhaps, Big Brother is over-exerting his dominance. The Party displays these male qualities as well - violence, dominance, power and control. We are led to believe that feeling weak, insecure and out of place are "sissy" qualities; more acceptable in women than men.

George Orwell knew how to create the image of a dominant male. Orwell made him overbearing, cunning and intelligent, all-knowing and intolerable of anything less than what he expected. This tough, authoritarian man, this Big Brother, is what we all think of when asked about masculinity. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. G.I. Joe, Ken, the guy from the extremely-quotable Old Spice commercials all exemplify masculine qualities garnered from society's expectations. Even the men from Jersey shore, who are of questionable intelligence, fruitlessly seek to be "manly" by their belief in GTL. No one thinks of a sensitivity or modesty as masculine qualities. Similarly, not many would think of Julia as masculine. Despite the fact that she is the one who is affirmed in her belief of the misdemeanour of The Party, since she is a woman, she must be protected. Never mind that the man, Winston, eventually betrays Julia and gives in to the pressures of conformity. Julia automatically must be soft-spoken, virtuous and pure given her sex. Men who display signs of vulnerability are also automatically thought to be feminine if they do not display the outward signs of masculinity. It's an unfair situation but we must always remember that we as a society defined it so. 

Possibilities.

For both (or either) Adam Curtis and Sigmund Freud, is it possible to be happy? Why?

According to his book, Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud states that is far easier to be unhappy than happy. It requires more effort to experience happiness as opposed to unhappiness. We are vulnerable to suffering via our own bodies, our environment and our relations with other people. However, simply because Freud states that it is more challenging to be happy, it does not mean it is unmanageable to feel joy. Difficulty is not synonymous with impossibility.

                Freud mentions in Civilization and its Discontents, that because there is so much opportunity for displeasure in life, that men have begun to lower their standards on what constitutes the feeling of ‘happiness’.  He goes on to say that some men will confuse happiness with simply escaping unhappiness. I am glad to say that I am not nearly as pessimistic or analytical (however you choose to see it) as Sigmund Freud and believe that humans, as a species, do not suffer a great deal from searching for happiness.

Through our lives, we try to find purpose or a calling. We run into obstacles which cause us grief and misery. Perhaps Freud is correct to say that it is easier to feel unhappiness as we are often encompassed by it in our lives. Nonetheless, despite all obstacles, every time we overcome one, we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. I know that I myself find joy in even the little things, such as when the weather is sunny as opposed to rain or when I just make the bus instead of waiting half an hour for the next one. This sensation, the feeling of triumph, pulls us through and we continue. If we didn’t – if all humans couldn’t withstand the hurdles of life – our species would’ve died out thousands of years ago.

Freud does discuss in his work that happiness is possible. He emphasizes that unhappiness is more likely and he alludes that living a blissful life "means putting enjoyment before caution" (Freud, pg. 44-45) and thus "brings its own punishment" (pg. 45). Regardless of whether or not Freud is correct about the ability to feel happiness throughout human life, I find that his view is far too negative for me. It would be beneficial for the spirit to not spend so much time considering all the ways in which we indulge in unhappiness.

Cited Works:
Sigmund Freud, Civilizations and its Discontents.