Octopus escaping through a 1 inch hole

what kept me up last night

the book i am reading, stimulated the following thoughts. i aim to be a "well-informed" person, whatever that may mean. and i hope to obtain that information in what i consider to be an open minded manner. meaning, when learning about something unfamiliar, no knowledge can be immediately discarded-my strategy is that of a sponge. i begin with the intention of infusing as many different people's points of view and psychologies into my own as i can, until a certain point. when my absorption of information reaches a certain threshold, unavoidably, opinions begin to form. the more well-informed i consider myself to be on a certain subject, the father i feel i have moved from open-mindedness. not that i ever reach a point where i would reject new information or ideas. but i realized that no matter how open i aim to be, how many different sides of the matter i discover and understand, the way i think about something will always be a point of view, the only thing that changes is how broad and/or stable a base those ideas are built on. "i say i am open-minded but what i think is." the reason this struck me was because on some level i had forgotten that every single thing in this whole damn world can be brought back to a matter of opinion. not that i was ever conceited enough to think that i could reach a point where i was truly enlightened on any given matter, but some sort of optimism had developed that somehow one could have a fair? or just? or justified? outlook. and that these people exist or have existed in the world. but i'm no longer sure if that is a defendable statement.

i <3 geeks

let me preface this sentiment by awkwardly pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose with my forefinger. the new send feature/column in azureus 2.5.0.0? one click and you can send a torrent file by email, blog, or web page. SO FUCKING COOL. good work, guys. damn the man! save the empire!

w.t.f.

Apparantly the cosmic combination of a blue star and some sort of smaller celestial object with a high density of matter (neutron star or a black hole?) is turning light into gamma rays. In other words, creating matter where none previously existed. (The picture is a computer simulation of the pair of bodies, collectively name microquasar LS5039. )

Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling. ~James E. Starrs

Upon stepping over the threshold of the Jersey City DMV last week, I was immediately greeted by this poster. It is a little known fact that a large part of the pervailing sense of hopelessness and impenetrable bureacracy that exists in these buildings is maintained by strict prohibition of bicycles.

let's take a moment..

...to honor the poetry of Dr. Leo Rebello. i have relisted two below for your reading pleasure.

UNITY POEM

by Dr. Leo Rebello
When we ran away from the towering inferno of terrorism, we became one human race!

When the planes hit and the imposing buildings fell, we ran in one direction - towards safety! When we prayed together and lit candles we longed for hope and became one faith!

When millions observed silence, and thousands protested against war, we spoke one language! When we volunteered and collected blood, all religions mingled in our arteries and veins!

When guns were consigned to fire and hands were joined in unity, poverty ended, tears vanished!

When leaders united with the commoners and sang together 'World is One', peace returned!

Copyright ©2001

Dr. Leo Rebello

OH MOTHER, DO NOT DESPAIR

by Dr. Leo Rebello
Oh Mother, do not despair. Everything will be just and fair. Your and my sons will not be soldiers or Dr. Kill Dare!
Oh Mother, do not despair. Our soldiers will take care that the Guns are pointed at those who create the nightmare.
Oh Mother, do not despair. Everything will be just and fair. Soon there will be a farewell to Bush Jr and his tomaware.
Oh Mother, do not despair. God has sent a message Columbia's ruins indicate, that there won't be a Star Warfare.
Oh Mother, do not despair. A new leadership is emerging A World Govt. is shaping For you and for me to take care.

Copyright ©2003

Dr. Leo Rebello

you can read more on his website at http://www.healthwisdom.org

just when you thought you could leave the past behind...

upon checking my email this morning i discovered a letter from a woman named jena. which was odd, as i do not know anyone who goes by jena, specifically with one n. i opened the letter to find it is from jena osman, my (overwhelmingly mediocre) L&T professor (she was a visiting prof from Temple). at the end of august, she had us write letters to ourselves that we sealed and gave to her with the intention of her contacting us after we graduated and returning them. well, lo and behold, she actually made good on her promise and the letter is en route! it's mildly worrying how vague my memory of this whole process is - i don't think i've thought of it once since then - in comparison to how much thought and enthusiasm i must have put into writing it. in addition to how horrifying it will be to revisit the most profound thoughts of eighteen year old arielle, it's also made me wonder how many other events have i completely forgotten about in my life? maybe this will be motivation enough to actually update my journal on a regular basis...