Introspective Idiosyncrasies

Syrian Boy Killed by Government Sniper in his Home

2011-12-10T03:08:00.003-05:00

Protestors aren't the only victims in the Syrian conflict... This kid was killed by a sniper in his home. I know this footage is graphic, but the least you could do is watch the whole thing and spread the word. This needs to be shared with the world.

Forever Overshadowed by Steve Jobs' Legacy: Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak

2011-10-06T11:37:00.001-04:00

By now I'm sure most of you have heard the news... Steve Jobs has died. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer. Though the loss was not completely unexpected, it is nonetheless a blow to the tech industry. His ideas were impeccable, and his perfectionist standards pushed his employees to the limit. Without a doubt, he brought about a technological revolution.

However, I have felt for a long time that Steve Jobs has taken up much of the spotlight from the guy who actually did the designing and most of the engineering in Apple’s early years: Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder. And while I believe this, I do not mean to take anything away from Steve Jobs’ career or leave a bad stigma on him, I feel like this news should be more well know. Wozniak always seems to have been overshadowed by Jobs, and I want people to realize this.

If you wish to know more about Steve Wozniak, I’d recommend you go buy his autobiography, which I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. The book is called “iWoz”, and can be found in book stores or online.

Similarly, if you wish to learn more about Steve Jobs, buy his biography. It’s called “Steve Jobs”, by Walter Isaacson, and is available for preorder on Amazon.com. If you wish to wait, the book will be released on October 24^th.

Photography

2011-09-18T22:22:00.001-04:00

I just started to get interested in photography in the past few months. I'm experimenting with different styles... If anyone is interested in critiquing my work, just viewing it for pleasure, please check out my Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jordanfrey/

I am constantly updating my photo portfolio, so stay posted!

Crown of Creation

2010-11-14T21:59:00.000-05:00

You are the Crown of Creation
You are the Crown of Creation
and you've got no place to go.

Soon you'll attain the stability you strive for
in the only way that it's granted
in a place among the fossils of our time.

In loyalty to their kind
they cannot tolerate our minds.
In loyalty to our kind
we cannot tolerate their obstruction.

Life is Change
How it differs from the rocks
I've seen their ways too often for my liking
New worlds to gain
My life is to survive
and be alive
for you.

- Jefferson Airplane, Crown of Creation

I really like the lyrics, "In loyalty to their kind they cannot tolerate our minds. In loyalty to our kind we cannot tolerate their obstruction."

The people they talk about is the government or any opposition. Jefferson Airplane describes how they are ignorant or refuse to even consider the beliefs of the counterculture generation. I believe it specifically talks about the war in Vietnam or nuclear armament ("Soon you'll attain the stability you strive for" and "My life is to survive and be alive".) Please correct me if I am wrong.

When J.A. says "We cannot tolerate their destruction", they mean that they (and the rest of their generation) will not stand idly while the government acts inappropriately in one way or another.

This is what I believe is missing from our youth- knowledge about what's happening in the world and at home, and the strive for change. There just isn't any motivation for it. Maybe it just isn't 'cool' to care? In the 60s, it seems like many or most did care, and might have striven for change in one way or another.

When will there be another movement similar to that of the counterculture movement in the 60s? If there was ever a time for it, I think it's now.

College Apps

2010-10-25T19:34:00.000-04:00

I've sent in 6 applications, and let me tell you- it feels great! I'm a lot more relaxed now, and I've got a good feeling that I'm going to be accepted at my first choice. Hopefully December 15th will come sooner rather than later! And the same for college... can't wait to get out of high school.

Biomagnification in the Environment YouTube Video

2010-09-05T23:10:00.005-04:00

Video I started in February and finished today. Check it out!

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Why is it still raining?

2010-08-23T10:58:00.001-04:00

It's been raining for 2 days straight.

Living in the wrong time?

2010-08-22T14:12:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I feel like I've been born in the wrong generation. I'm serious. I think the 60s or early 70s would have suited me better. I wouldn't say that I feel out of place, but rather like no one "gets me", you know? There aren't too many people I can relate to. I feel as though modern society has become somehow corrupted. I am not sure why it happened. But here is what I think went downhill:

1.) The first, is that people tend to be more indifferent now, as I mentioned in an earlier post. Unless an issue affects them, usually nothing is done them. I do suppose that most people back then were like this as well, seeing as Nixon won the presidency from support of the "Silent Majority". But for the most part, students and young people did not fall in this category.

2.) People are less in touch with nature. I have yet to really find someone who is as interested in the environment as I am. Sure, I know people who are concerned about the problems out there, but none of who feel as at home outside as I do. Maybe they haven't shown it, or maybe I have overlooked it. But when I go outside, I try and take everything in. I feel less pressured about my other commitments.

Yesterday, I was working pretty much all day on college essays and applications. But later that evening when I just had enough, I went out and took a walk. I felt reinvigorated. I stopped for a moment, and decided to take off my sandals. Even though I was walking on pavement, I felt a lot better. I could feel the warmth of the asphalt on on feet, which wasn't too hot since the time was around 6:00. I just went on walking, and even thought about things which normally I, or probably anyone else would not have thought of. It wasn't anything deep. But I did come to the conclusion that I preferred walking on an aged road rather than one that has been newly paved. It just felt better and more natural, less artificial. I was looking at everything from a different perspective. I looked at the plants, the trees, and I took everything in. It's amazing what you don't notice when you're in a car.

Back to what I was saying before, not too many people would do this now. Most people probably wouldn't want to get their feet dirty. Sure, it is nice having clean feet, but I also like feeling the ground with my feet. I'll just have to rinse them with water before walking in the house.

3.) I think people now tend to be more focused on productivity than what I consider to be good or even healthy. Sure, being productive is good, but only to a point. When is there time to just take a couple hours on any day during the week to just do spontaneously decide to go somewhere? I feel like time must always be planned out. Otherwise, it is hard to fit anything into the schedule.

4.) This one is pretty well described in the video below, if you listen. The song is "Volunteers" by Jefferson Airplane. I will provide lyrics below and further explain.

Look what's happening out in the streets
Got a revolution, got to revolution
Hey I'm dancing down the streets
Got a revolution, got to revolution
Aint it amazing all the people I meet
Got a revolution, got to revolution
One generation got old
One generation got soul
This generation got no destination to hold
Pick up the cry
Hey now its time for you and me
Got a revolution got to revolution
Come on now were marching to the sea
Got a revolution, got to revolution
Who will take it from you
We will and who are we
We are volunteers of America

This song is probably my absolute favorite, along with Buffalo Springfield's "For What it's Worth". It talks about the new generation taking action against all the corruption and civil injustice around them. I was reading a thread on it's meaning, and I liked how one person put it:

"I would tend to agree that the 'volunteers' are the hippies and others [who identify with the counterculture movement]. Marty Balin calls for his generation to "pick up the cry" and "revolution" ("got to revolution") because "this generation has no destination to hold": ie, it has no future unless it takes action."

This is what I really admire when I think about the counterculture movement. Students were united in their quest for change and peace. They tried to distinguish themselves from the mainstream and identify themselves as freethinkers and individualists. Now, I find that society's youth is for the most part, not like this. There are students who set themselves apart, but they are the minority.

This is the kind of attitude that I believe we are missing. Will there be another revolution? I don't expect older folk to change, that's for sure. And I'm becoming more and more pessimistic that our generation won't either.

Alaskans receive the most stimulus per capita than other states

2010-08-20T15:12:00.000-04:00

I was reading this article in the New York Times while eating lunch and thought it was pretty ironic, but interesting. I'm not sure what to think of it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/business/19stimulus.html

Apparantly, caring about an issue isn't the way to go

2010-08-20T10:09:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's me, but people don't really want to hear what others have got to say, specifically pertaining to social or political issues. It's amazing that people will actually tell you to stop voicing your opinion.

Maybe it's because I was voicing my opinion too much? Probably. But this is a perfect example of the ignorance and not-caring attitude of most Americans. They'll say, "oh, that's terrible" and go on with their day. But worse than that, is they'll actually get tired of hearing about news.

Remember the H1N1 virus? At one point, it just fell out of the news, when a couple months before there was paranoia about a pandemic. Of course, H1N1 was never really as bad as everyone thought it could be, but that's irrelevant. People got tired of hearing about it, and so the media just stopped putting it in the news.

So today I woke up, checked my email and then went on to facebook. I had a comment on a couple-day old post (which we had already stopped commenting on) on the Islamic Center telling me to "shut up", "stop complaining", and to essentially stop posting links about problems in the world. I'm not sure if complaining was really the word to describe what I was saying, but I was trying to spread the word about what was going on, because I know most students won't find out on their own, but rather through the grapevine.

So is there ever a point where you should just be completely indifferent to an issue because it doesn't affect you? I don't think so. But then why do people hate when others actually care?

Motives for starting the blog

2010-08-20T01:20:00.002-04:00

I decided that posting some political articles and comments on facebook was just getting out of hand. Basically, my last political post on facebook had to do with the building of the Islamic center and Mosque near ground zero. I firmly support its construction.

Anyway, I basically said that anyone who opposed it was being prejudiced, whether they realized it or not. My status turned into a 92-comment thread, with much debating in it all.

So, here I am.

(More posts coming soon)

My first blog post

2010-02-06T20:29:00.001-05:00

Just looking to see how blogging's gonna work for me. I'll upload more posts later if I get into this