Brink...

...of stupidity.

That's where I'm at, I haven't had a deep thought since summer and now, when I try, I can't.

I also stopped listening to hip hop religiously.

Time to change this.

Who will I be?

Worse than the mid-life crisis

is the life crisis.

On equality.

People are raised under a government that promotes equality. Our nation in particular, the United States, specifically states that everybody has an equal right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. It's not like you can have a certain amount of life, liberty and pursuit right? You either have it or you don't.Equality will never happen in terms of economic class, but is pretty easy to grant equality in a purely ethical way.

It boggles my mind that people refuse to acknowledge this idea of equality. The latest social movement (maybe the last, since nearly every other type of movement has been covered), the Gay Rights movement, is the result of complete disregard of this ideal.

So long as one person's right to exercise actions doesn't infringe on another person, it is A-ok. If it does then it would be unequal because it detracts from another person's right to life and liberty and ect. I honestly don't understand why people have made such a big deal out of something so simple. It really pisses me off.

Those who were raised to believe that marriage should only be between man and woman, well they should learn that the Declaration of Independence does allow that. And yes, I give priority to what the declaration says as opposed to the Bible. This is so because the declaration is consistent in what it states while the Bible is not logical.

See, I follow theory, not stories. I would follow the Bible if its stories were all consistent in the morals it tried to teach. Theory is consistent. I absolutely will not/cannot believe only what is convenient to believe. It goes against a set of morals that I set up for myself.





There is no truth. Only logic.

Ouch.

I received a D on my sociology midterm, and while I'm taking it pass/no pass, I'm feeling incredibly disappointed because the D comments on how bad my writing (or even reading comprehension) is.

Very disappointing.

Now I cannot even look forward to seeing the grade my other in-class essays received, not to mention the two papers I turned into my favorite class ever (my 2nd poli sci class).

ANYWAY...

Today in class, my Poli Sci professor showed the class a practice presidential debate featuring himself and President Jimmie Carter on the date of October 27th, 1987. All I can say about what I saw is that it is shocking how unconnected Presidents are from society and just how easy it is for a politician to attack them. The President is associated with duties like inflation and economy, but it would be completely unfair to blame absolutely everything on him. This is exactly what my professor did as he was playing the part of Reagan.

Now, using the President as a scapegoat was not even the shocking part. What blew my mind was Carter's reaction: he almost cried. He was completely unprepared to be blamed for nearly every problem that the country was facing at the hands of Reagan, whom my professor was quoting verbatim. Carter had no idea that Reagan had been using him as a scapegoat whenever he was out campaigning!

For some reason, we get the idea that presidents are well connected with the society they run. Hellz Naw! The U.S. is populated with around 300 Million people! There is absolutely no way the president could be in touch with every group of the society. I think the best politicians are better off being disconnected from their society just because they can work by using theory and just give good speeches to impress the people, because all the people really want is a good impression (i.e. amazing, inspirational speeches like Obama's).

I'm pretty sure that Obama will be facing these same attacks on his character when he runs for reelection in 2012, unless he actually accomplishes something unforeseen. I doubt he will be as shocked and humiliated as Carter was looking (you could hear Carter weakly whispering, "ok stop" midway through my professor's rant). It was incredible.

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

Both my D and my preview of a world exclusive lecture were brought to me on the same day. Overall, I'm happy.....but I know I could be happier if I were to develop actual talent.....

Charisma

def. -capacity to inspire devotion

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

"believing is seeing"

"every disaster is an opportunity"

"a hero is only as good as the enemy"

I have to say, I've heard that Poli Sci is very good at UCSD but damn this was a ton of badassery for just one lecture. I'm still debating whether to stay with this major or do management science. I only have this quarter left to make up my mind!

otherwise, I will begin to waste time

>.< ------------------------------------------------------------------

fuck it

i'm going to aim to make that money money.

"Thug Life"- Tupac Shakur

by the way, let me tell you about Tupac and why I find him to be so interesting, just by his name alone.

He is named after Tupac Amaru II, an indigenous man of the Americas who unsuccessfully led an uprising against the Spaniards in the 1700's. He wanted to bring back the glory of the Inca people who were, for the most part, exterminated or enslaved.

Tupac's mother, a black panther, clearly had high hopes for her child in giving him that name. i have to wonder though, if a phrase like "Thug Life" should have been his catch phrase once he became popular. after all, the revolutionary speaker before him would not have wanted such a demeaning term to be the slogan for his people.

The last revolutionary, Malcolm X, wanted separation; he wasn't trying to conform and rise up in the ranks of a system his oppressors created.

Tupac wanted to make that money and fuck them bitches and find some equality.

It's slightly ironic, how a descendant of a Black Panther would preach equality when he was named after an indigenous man who did not want equality with the conquerors, but a removal of the conquerors and a restoration of that which once was, which is what Malcolm X wanted as well.

Maybe, Shakur was being reasonable? I can't help but feel he was racist to a certain extent though. So why not continue to preach Malcolm X's message? Why not preach the original Tupac's message?

it's a weird thing to ponder, simply because of the morality of the whole situation. after all, how nice is it of somebody to forgive the destruction of a culture and try to assimilate? it might be easier after 300 years (600 years, for the indigenous americans), but its always something that you should think about.

fuck this "thug life."

(i did not expect to go on a rant when i started writing this)

Demagogue

–noun

1.	a person, esp. an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people.

I'm still not sure whether I can classify this as a good or a bad label for somebody. Should "passion" and "prejudice" EVER complement each other?

Never give luck a chance...

(see what i did there?)

...or you'll lose all 80 of your virtual poker. I rarely see a guy risk it all on the river card and come out winning. What really happens is the river card makes a strong hand, already poised to win, a more secure victory.

Luck only comes to a select few, and for no apparent reason.....actually, for no reason whatsoever.

So if we apply this to everything (oh yes, even life), its best not to depend on luck, but to enjoy the moments when serendipity transforms a simple win into an epic win.

Ya just gotta love poker.

Yell Vehemently....

....especially to your government, otherwise it will not hear you. It's not that it's doing its best to ignore you (even though that is always a possibility), but its just too damn big to hear you! It's like trying to yell at somebody on top of a really tall building, they won't hear you unless you do it without a giant mass of people.

Let me tell you the info I've just gathered from a Facebook page about the state of Cal Grants.

"Cal Grants and other scholarship and grant programs are seriously at risk due to the governor's veto of the budget for the student aid commission. This means that even though the actual funds for the Cal Grants program were saved, the organization that administers them was not, which means that the funds for Cal Grants will not be dispersed after January, when it is projected that the Student Aid Commission will run out of money."

I will be one of those college students who gets fucked over when the grants stop, if they stop. The one thing that can be done, however, is let everybody know your problem and collectively take some action. I'm gonna call my legislator tomorrow and am doing as much as I can right now to let other people know as well. You just have to call to represent.

Cynics (most People) are going to say that legislators should already know how badly we need this, but in reality most don't because they have a lot of issues sitting on their desk. Cynics would think that with half a million people this issue should already be of some concern so the input of individuals is not going to help, but they have to realize that half a million is pretty much a minority in a state of 37 million. Minorities have to yell, and they have to yell hard, if they want to be heard. Chances are these legislators don't know about the issue, or the issue does not really concern citizens since The People (in other words, WE) are not collectively gathering and complaining.

That's how it works, nobody knows shit unless you tell them. SO...

...if you could please check the facebook page for it (haha facebook).

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127567508165&ref=nf#/event.php?eid=127567508165&ref=mf

...and if you can't check that at least call your legislator...

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/memberinfo

...it would mean a lot, not just to me, but to all the college students who need this.

I have a hunch a lot of you need it as well. =0

Easy Shit

It's easy to say things, whether you have a good idea or a bad one, but the execution of said idea is very difficult. It just proves that life is a bitch.

I'm listening to a lecture by Senator Mike Revelle, an old man who was running for presidency last year. This man was well researched and gave delicious ideas as to what our country should do to better the governed. He mentions freedom as defined by Cicero: "a participation in power." Senator Revelle is quick to mention how all the technologies that currently exist could be used to better the world, but we are not dedicating enough resources to exploit them and better the world. He mentions that China and Europe have already taken initiatives to be progressive and actually USE current technology, like windmills and hydrogen fuel, without a single setback or negative effect. According to this man, the US has the resources to accomplish more than it currently is, but the people have not taken it upon themselves to make this stuff happen....and this is partly because at the federal level, we do not have any power. We must be lawmakers if we want to see this type of change.

It is inspiring.

Anyway, I like to compare stuff like this to my everyday life. And one thing that i've noticed is that it is easy to say "ok" or "yes." I know i'm being cynical in thinking that less than half the people who are inspired by the speech will be hardcore enough to actually do what they were inspired to do. It reminds me of all the things I've wanted to do, but never really took upon myself to do.

Because excecution is tough, people. It's tough.

First...

...I created this blog...

http://gil4gyl.blogspot.com/

...and now, after much deliberation, and reading a blog that argues for carrying weapons at all times, I present to you one that I dedicate to myself (read the fine URL baby!)

Why? Because I feel that I should start exploiting my name a little more than I have in the past.

Why? Because I think this name is so memorable. Once a person can pronounce my name, it becomes relatively difficult to forget it. And with that name comes exclusivity and a higher chance that you will remember the man that comes with the name.

This change comes with my decision to never introduce myself as Alex, or as both Gylmar and Alex ever again. I'm done confusing people with something trivial, which brings me one step closer to achieving a goal of mine which is speaking with absolute clarity.

I feel that this will also bring me closer to those of you who called me Alex. I feel that just as Gylmar makes me exclusive, calling me "Alex" will make me feel exclusive to those who still call me it just because it will be reminiscent of those good ol' days. haha

Now, let me tell you the real reason I am creating this blog.

Throughout the last year I've been having many philosophical moments, making me wonder why I am the way I am in a psychological sense. I'd keep asking why, why and why and eventually found out why I am the way I am physically through recollections of old history books. This involved religion and war. Oh yes, I need to know everything.

There is no psychological record though, other than my fallible memory. I'd actually been posting many Myspace bulletins sharing what I thought. Unfortunately, those bulletins are deleted after two weeks, I only saved one bulletin which I thought was blogworthy. I'll post that one here later.

And so, this will be my history book, you are welcomed to read it, comment it, and even call me Alex on it.