1-29-04 2:56 PM

Well, I might as well start this post with my usual complaints. First of all, my headaches are starting to piss me off again. Thankfully, they are not the crippling "back of the head" headaches that debilitated me last semester, but still, they are annoying. I really don't want to take as much Excedrin as I am taking right now, but there really isn't anything else that I can do, since the pain would otherwise prevent me from getting sleep.

In other news, I spent some time making my computer desktop pretty ... you can see the results here. I severely edited the background from a different image, and then I made all my icons invisible, because I like how that looks. Maybe one of these days I'll actually learn to use Photoshop for real, although I doubt that very much.

Having gotten that out of the way, I can say some things about this semester. First of all, this semester is going to be the acid test that will determine weather or not I am going to be able to major in math, and possible even physics. I have decided that I will not be going to my math classes this semester (Linear Algebra and Calc III); if I cannot figure the math out on my own from the book, then I am unworthy of majoring in math. Besides, Calc III is too early in the morning, and Linear Algebra is incomprehensible because the teacher doesn't know how to teach, so going to these two classes is out of the question.

I know that deciding not to go to classes this early in the semester is ridiculous, but I, after all, am ME. Also, I might go to Calc once in a while to see if I can follow what is going on.

As for some of my non-academic pursuits, I bought some books for $1 each from The Strand. One was a big fat general chem book, which I just thought would be useful to have around; not much needs to be said about that. The other two books, however, are amazing. The first is a book called Porno-Graphics, which is a facetious indictment of the nudity in well known works of art. The book is amazing in that it is a popup book of sorts, with each page having a mechanism for coving or uncovering the "pornographic" bits of each image. It's wonderful.

The other book, while more intellectual, is still hilarious; unfortunately for the author, this was definitely not his intent. The book, "The American Sex Revolution", written by Pitirim A. Sorokin, in 1956, discusses all of the things that the author believes to be wrong with the "sex revolution" as he calls it. However, the arguments are so nonsensical as to be amazingly funny. In fact, take a look for yourselves:

• "Increasing divorce and desertion and the growth of prenuptial and extramarital sex relations are signs of sex addiction somewhat similar to drug addiction" (14). Good job Mr. Sorokin. I suppose that you are also here to tell us that we are all addicted to air, food, and water. Idiot.
• "The traditional 'child of God' created in God's image is turned into a sexual apparatus powered by sex instinct, preoccupied with sex matters, aspiring for, and dreaming and thinking mainly of, sex relations (18). Boohoo. Apparently the big bad sexual revolution is replacing the outdated religious tautology with something more scientifically logical. Woe is us.
• "Rarely, if ever, are they [sexually promiscuous characters in literature] condemned as a dangerous disease. By such treatment, modern literature disinhibits rather than wisely restrains lust. It undermines rather than vitalizes marriage and the family. It weakens rather than reinforces the control of animal propensities by man's higher self. In all these respects, it demoralizes rather than integrates the total personality" (24). Amazing argument, Mr. Sorokin. So, let me get this straight: as an argument intended to prove that the "sex revolution" is bad, you assert that it has had a negative affect on literature. To prove that the affect it has on literature is negative, you assert that the literature now reflects the values of the "sex revolution." So, in order to prove that the "sex revolution" is bad, you start with the assumption that it is bad. Excellent!
• "Giving detailed descriptions of various techniques of sexual approach, and vivid scenes of kissing, embracing, and copulation and while brutally dramatizing rape and other sexual perversion, this pornographically illustrated pulp-literature demoralized and dehumanizes millions of readers" (25). Once again, here is evidence that we are dealing with a true genius. Obviously, depictions of sex demoralize and dehumanize people, since this statement was proved on page ... um ... well ... it must be self-evident. Whoops.
• "The sadistic novels of Mickey Spillane have sold more than 25 million copies" (25)! Oh shit! People buy what they are interested in! Perverts!
• "Large scale manufacture and commercial exploitation of these sex-saturated books would not be possible if they did not appeal to the common literary tastes of millions. Whether we like it or not, the obsession with sex in our literature is an ugly fact beyond reasonable doubt" (25-26). Yes. And your point?
• "References to kissing, embracing, and going to bed are essential to their lyrics. The songs are monotonously chanted by voiceless crooners innocent of the art of bel-canto. Their bleating is underscored by their gyrations, contortions, and bodily rhythms all too clear in sexual innuendo and undisguised meaning. Records of this sort of 'music' are sold by the millions and their nauseous repetition occupies the lion's share of radio and television programs. The composers and crooners of these 'hits' are idolized by millions, and are financially remunerated many times more amply than are the composers of the serious music of today" (31). Wow.
• "As everyone knows, the cocktail party plays an important role in the stimulation of sex drives and in the provoking of many premarital and extramarital liaisons. Under the influence of alcohol and prevalent fashion of being modern and sophisticated, strangers at such parties chat freely about sex" (53). Lets break this down. First of all, he starts with "As everyone knows"; a brilliant tactic, of course, for if you do not "know" this, you are obviously inferior. Next, he conveys his horror at the fact that people "chat freely about sex." OH MY JESUS!! Not ... not ... not ... freedom. Anything but that. Put that shit back in the closet where it belongs.

Now, at his point, the examples I found change from merely being stupid and illogical, to being so ridiculous as to make me think that you will doubt their reality. I swear I'm not making this shit up.

The particular argument which I about to describe is so stupid that it requires its own paragraph. Ok, here goes nothing. In order to prove that the "satisfaction of bodily needs desires" (58) leads to a reduction in life span, Sorokin compares the life spans of .... drum-roll please ... Monarchs and Saints. Let me repeat that. He compares the average life spans of Monarchs and Saints. He finds that the saints, on average, outlived the monarchs. I assume that many of you already see the flaws in this analysis. Perhaps there are other factors besides sexual satisfaction that are responsible for the differences in lifespan. Maybe the incredible amount of INBREEDING has something to do with it. A million things come to mind. However, our resident genius Sorokin explains all of these away with this wonder of logic and the English language: "Since hereditary factors of large samples of the saints and the monarchs are likely to be similar for both groups, and since the environment of the monarchs, insofar as it relates to the satisfaction of basic bodily needs, was certainly more favorable for health and longevity than was the at of the saints, it is reasonable to assume that the sexual excesses of the former played an important role in shortening their life-span. And conversely, among the life-prolonging factors for the saints their continence was probably one of the important counterbalances to the unfavorable condition in their environment" (59-60). Hmm .. obviously there is no difference in the genetic stocks of random peasants who ended up beings saints and the royalty, which was absolutely obsessed with conserving their genetic stock, and did so marvelously. Really, this particular argument is incredible in its sheer stupidity. However, nothing can ever beat the one I am about to present.

Ok, there were many more arguments made in this book, and a few of them even made sense. However, in closing, I would like to present a section of the book in its entirety. I cannot put into words the ... the .. well ... forget it, here it is. It is a subsection of a section called "America at the Crossroads," and the section itself is called "Creativity in Science". Remember, this book is intended to show that the "sex revolution" has had a negative effect of America.

    This mental and moral chaos in unfavorable soil for creative achievement, and the first signs of degeneration of true creativity are already noticeable in our cultural life.

    Of course, in the fields of the physical sciences and technology, creativity still goes on at full speed. But, as has happened many times before, it now tends to be destructive rather than constructive. The spectacular development of quantum mechanics, the relativity principle, and nuclear physics has given us, thus far, mainly instruments of devastation and destruction. As yet, these discoveries and inventions have very little benefited mankind. The peaceful uses of atomic energy, with a few notable exception, are still largely in the stage of hoped-for undertakings. And if the third world war explodes, these terrible means of destruction will undoubtedly be used, delaying even longer, if not permanently, the constructive application of atomic energy.

    Modern science and technology have given birth to monsters that threaten to demolish cities, universities, research centers and libraries; to exterminate millions of lives; to mutilate the chromosomes of survivors; and finally to burn into ashes all human values, - religious, moral, esthetic, and intellectual.

    By a mysterious dialectic of historical process, the constructive thesis upon which science has flourished is now turning into its destructive antithesis. Once the most beneficial agency for the development and happiness of humanity, science has now become a Frankenstein monster threatening the very survival of the human race. The continued creativity of science today, therefore, in now way assures either its creativity in the future, or its beneficial service for the improvement of mankind.

Well, there it is. The worst argument. For anything. Ever. I mean, it is wrong in every way, and even if it were right, would not relate in any way back to his original diatribe against the 'sex revolution." There is nothing more to be said about it. Just read it a few times, and let it sink in.

What's the point? After all, any lunatic can write a book, and get it published if he has money. Well, the point is that Sorokin was not considered to be a nut. I did some research, and apparently, Mr. Sorokin was one of the most respected sociologists of his time. There is even a book written about him. He was considered a genius. I have nothing else to say about this at this time.

1-24-04 8:28 PM

I am really having trouble typing this because of the amount of Excedrin in my blood. The effect that the chemical has on me in incredible, and is intensified by the fact that I am currently thawing from a walk to Chinatown.

While there, I found another huge fucking can of MSG in the trash. Unfortunately, when I tried to carry it back, my hands froze solid and I couldn't. Ass!

So .. um .. that's all for now.

Being high is wonderful.

1-21-04 11:16 PM

Well, the first day of class is over for me. Overall, it was ok, I guess. Wow I'm interesting today.

Anyways, first I had Calc III. Summery: ASS PIE. Well, it wasn't all ass, but this one Jew kept asking dumbass questions, so he sucked. Nothing much to talk about here.

Then, writing the essay, which, unexpectedly, kicked some ass. There were - hold on to your testes - smart people in that class. Not only that, but they weren't fat nor ugly! Sickening. And then, as I was walking out of the building, we walked past some anti-Bush protesters. I actually belched right into one of their faces (Jed was there ... ask him). Right after this, one of the people from the class, who was also walking there, commented on how much she hated all the liberal protesters here ... wow, wow, wow ... smart people, confirmed.

Eventually, it was time for my CS class. Meh. Thankfully, it isn't a programming class, but rather, an Algorithms and Data Structures class. It is taught in a lecture hall with no computers, which is interesting. Hopefully it will just be math ... like I said: meh.

Finally, I had Linear Algebra. Wow .. the Asian dude in charge doesn't take any fucking prisoners. He jumped right into math, math, and more math. 15 minutes in, two kids just got up and left ... owned! Anyway, I shouldn't have trouble with this class, being that I'm smarter than everything. Yeah.

So that's it. Not much of an update, but then again, I'm not really much of a person.

Next class ... Monday. Goodnight.

1-19-04 1:10 PM

Fuck! I am the worst webmaster ever. I haven't updated for over a month.

Well, I went skiing, had break, Italy, more break, and then moved back to school.

Hmm ... um ... er ... whatever ... I'm sure I'll start updating again once I have homework to avoid doing.

Anyways, go to Jedwin's website and look at the Italy pics.

Also, nothing.

Bye.