Why I Love Philosophy

One of the main reasons why people are hesitant to study philosophy is because of the idea that it treats the problematical that these people may deem as not practical at all.  There is a seeming vagueness and continuous controversy brewing always in philosophy and because of this nature, sme people are easily disappointed and ends up in fields of study that are more practical and profitable – where these people are most of the time in no position to dispute, question, or contrast primary information about things.

But to those people who truly understands the value of philosophy, the excitement and anticipation to seek fuller explanations to vague key concepts is just the start of pursuit of philosophy.  Philosophy demands so much from people who seek for it – those who study it should free their minds from the prejudices and convictions imposed by society.  But in return, those who truly seek philosophy rewards themselves with a sense of woner, a wider perspective on things, and a chance for philosophical contemplation (the latter gives satisfaction as a result of enlargement of the Self).  Philosophy, according to Bertrand Russell, has only values for people who study it and to those who need it.  It is not studied for the sake of any definite answer, as philosophy in nature is grounded in its uncertainties.  Instead, it enriches intellectual imaginations, gives Man a sense of free intellect will and puts a higher premium on the ability of the mind to be one with the universe.

Once we came across with certainties and definite answers that are usually found in fields of science, we find that the knowledge that we derived from them is momentarily satisfying.  It is the next dispute, the uncertainty, the argument, and the ‘unsure’ that really interest us.  These uncertainties we fid in philosophy, designed in the mastery of a particular subject and the acquisition of intellectual virtues as we study it along the way.  There are no practical considerations, only a keen sense of interest for knowledge and anticipation of the pleasure of such possibilities that will enlarge our thoughts, such that we can view the world impartially.

 

Regina Spektor’s Music

Regina Spektor

I finally got myself a copy of Regina Spektor’s Far album, which I considered as excellent as her Begin to Hope album. Totally unique. It’s kind of amusing that I can’t get enough of her songs even though I play it all over again in my player.

The song The Calculation first appealed to my senses, probably one of the top five favorite Regina Spektor songs in the album. Eet showcases the signature Regina Spektor’s style, that distinct vocal style of hers that’s totally unique. Blue Lips is kind of ambiguous, but there is beauty in that ambiguity that renders the song really appealing. Folding Chair is sweet and romantic, a lighthearted song with a narrative thread, and the distinct vocal style of Regina in the so-called ‘dolphin’s song’. Machine probably renders the darkest mood in the album, the chorus reverberates all throughout the song. I find Laughing With very witty, maybe because of the lyrics, and this instantly became my favorite song. Human of the Year is another gloomy and looming song with searing lyrics. Two Birds where there’s birds images as metaphors, equally works like a poem. Dance Anthem of the 80’s is the probably the lightest song, between jive and dance, the melody carries the beauty of the song. The narrative exploration in the song Genius Next Door is clearly presented, it works like a short story. Wallet is a simple song with a simple narrative of the speaker’s experience of finding a wallet, but it was a powerful song for me. I love One More Time With Feeling, the melody, the message and the feeling that it stirs in me about holding on to love. Man of a Thousand Faces is the last song in the album, another song with a story that’s filled with concrete images, making the song another hit.

It was hard for me to choose favorites among these songs because I like them all. Moreover, they appeal to me in a different way. I love the songs. I love Regina Spektor.

 

On Stress Responses, Hitting the Brakes and Losing a Hundred

They say bad luck comes in three.  You’ll see.

 

First bad luck.  Being stuck in a scientific forum on stress responses about plants.  Not that it’s really unimportant; of course I knew that the plants get stressed too because of environmental conditions!  Yep, I understood that kind of mechanism anyway, at least, the general idea. But  delving deep on the how and the why of it is really excruciating for my un-scientific brain, encountering weird words like ‘regulomes’ ‘arabidopsis’ RAV1’, ‘protein chaperon’ or ‘irreversible hydro-churva’ I am more preoccupied with the smell of coffee and the sound of biscuit wrappers.  You can’t blame me, I haven’t eaten my lunch – it’s a straight Khareen-you-have-to-listen experience from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm.  Plus, other people are nodding, and it made me feel like I am really an idiot.  But I have no choice though, I need to come up with a paper about it and pass it to Mr. Professor for next week.  Considering that I didn’t pass his first exam, need I say I have to comply this requirement? Uh huh.

The bright side: the coffee.

Bad trip: I don’t know what to write about it.

 

Second bad luck. Losing a hundred, when you don’t have any money anymore can be really dangerous. And that is supposed to be my transpo fare back home, but i-don’t-know-what-the-fu—-hell happened but it just dematerialized out of my pocket.  For a moment, I was like really pissed off.  Lucky I’m the photocopy girl – hmmm… I can use the money-which-is-supposed-to-be-for-our-photocopies for the meantime and find a way to nick money out of my -

The bright side:  I’m the photocopy girl!

Bad trip: I’m still the photocopy girl.

 

This is the second time that I’m in the jeepney and a vehicle bumps into us from behind.  The first time, I was with with a friend in the front seat.  I still could feel the creeps whenever I think about it.  It gave me the jelly-like legs (which is supposed to be felt only when your crush had just passed you by).  The second time I was off to Badminton World for that day’s badminton match.  And then, the jeep came into a halt all of a sudden (I felt it right there!) and then something bumped into us – God knows who’s the driver – looked like a rich guy – and I felt like hugging the person on my right (I didn’t know him though).  Now, I am worrying.  Because my friends say that I will die the third time around.  Creeps.  But they are just scaring the hell out of me.

The bright side:  The screeching sound of a brake – amazing.

Bad trip:  That may be the last time I’ll hear that. Ha-ha!

 

Of Snakes, Moral Lessons and Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

The usual misconception about Mr. Darwin’s theory is that it meant that humans are great great descendants of apes.  And I’m guilty of believing that, of course, I thought I have known it by heart all through out high school, my teachers discussed about it, they settled debates in which sometimes I am shunted to the affirmative side and forced to defend Mr. Darwin.  It was only in college that I realized the whole truth that the theory was really about the idea that apes and humans have the same common and one ancestor.  The idea came really as shocking to me, as we have been taught that we really were descendants of monkeys.  But even worse was this idea of mine that Mr. Darwin formulated this theory because of his self-realization that he looked like an ape.

***

Whenever we talked about stories in high school, we never really discussed the story as it is, not in the same way that we discussed it in our major class. We don’t talk about the historical and cultural contexts, the underlying motives or the author’s background.   The main focus for the story itself is not even the plot construction, how the events unfold, but it had always been about the moral lesson.  Yep, I knew how to derive moral lessons out of those stories.  But I remember one time when we were tasked to review a story and surprisingly, I couldn’t derive a single stinking moral lesson out of it. Why though?

I forgot the title of the story and the whole idea, but all I could remember was it was just a reflection of something, a realization of an event perhaps, but I couldn’t categorize it as a moral lesson really.  That disturbed me a lot. Are all short stories required to have a moral lesson? I think not, but it should have an insight to ponder on at least.  And for me, an insight is equally different from a moral lesson.

Maybe that time the moral lesson of the story couldn’t penetrate in my head.  Or maybe I was turning bad.  Sigh.  Either of the two will do.

***

There was a time when I forgot the readings for the next major class. As I can’t concentrate without my own personal readings (with marginal notes and own private scribbles, haha…) I went back to the boarding house which was just a walking distance from school.  The creepy part was that, as I was about to reach the main library, I encountered a snake just a step away from me.  It was a green snake, all through out, and totally gross.  You might puke yourself if you’d see that.  I ran back to school, I could almost climb the oblation statue for help.  Jeez, that snake, when I think about it in my head, it gives me the creeps.  I ran back to school and cried.  Uh huh, the fear of death because of one grossly animal.  Because of that incident, I couldn’t visit the main library anymore (which was actually loaded with more interesting books) and I couldn’t go home without someone to share death in case the green snake will strike again.

 

Mutations

The beginning of my transformation from a super darling tot to a very modest lady (well not really, but to add a bit of flavor, let it be that way anyway) started when I was in elementary.  I remember back then when I used to join in a war-play, where instead of throwing missiles and bombs – stones became a necessity to win the game.  I, of course, manage to come out unscathed, because I played the role as the captured princess, between the two supposedly warring states, (all my childhood friends were boys), and so they were all trying to snatch me from the clutches of each other, and vice versa.

 

When I was in the later part of my grade school years I outgrew these kinds of things – playing with guys outdoors were starting to be really awkward.  And having a crush – a childish attraction to one of my playmates became really confusing for me.  Finally, it’s as if an invisible force separated me from them.  The feeling to sever ties between us was mutual too.

 

Now, that I am in college I realized how cool it was to be a kid – you don’t have to think about a lot of serious stuffs, and you would gladly appreciate anything in this world.  I have lost that kind of feeling for quite a while.  I sure want to take those back.

 

Midsummer Madness

I miss those times when I was still taking a Shakespeare subject, and one of the stories that I will never forget is Midsummer Night’s Dream.  You know, the one about the political nobles, middle class workers and laborers and supernatural beings unified in a unique and amusing comedy story.  Instead of the conventional love triangle, it becomes a love quadrangle for Lysander, Hermia, Helena and Demetrius!

 

One interesting fact about this play is that it incorporates three distinct plots embodied in three different worlds which tie up a unified theme or idea. The three worlds include (a) young lovers in the court of Theseus (b) world of Oberon and Titania and (c) the artisan’s world.  The comedy starts when they all meet in the woods where laws are totally suspended, and a character named Puck messes up with them.  A tangled love affair!

 

I will never forget when Lysander said ‘the course of true love never did run smooth…’ to Hermia, it is my favorite line in the play.

 

So why Midsummer Night’s Dream?  In his epilogue, Puck said that all mistakes he made during the course of time should be forgotten and should be thought as a dream.

 

 

Art For Art’s Sake

The Art for Art’s Sake philosophy pioneered by Jose Garcia Villa is about creating an art solely for the purpose of art, and it doesn’t have any socio-political colorations or commentaries that some people may deem significant.  It puts a high premium for beauty, as well as ‘form’ aesthetics.  It doesn’t have to be about a certain society issue, as long as it gives pleasure to the readers.

 

It is evident in Villa’s sonnet I “First, a poem should be magical” because if you interpret it using critical theories such as sociopolitical ones (eg.  Marxism, New Historicism, Cultural Studies) then it doesn’t make sense because the poem uses a lot of juxtaposition of images that are not ‘logically’ correct.  But there is something in the poem that is beautiful, and pleasurable, and I think it is the rhyme, rhythm, imagery, and its overall versification, which are pleasing to the senses.

 

 

Survival :)

Okay, just a year end report of last semester’s experience.  To start with, I got an extra load for a subject last semester.  And thankfully enough, I survived first semester.

So what really happened last semester? I finished the draft for my thesis manuscript, wrote a novella, studied asian literature, wrote a one act play, learned business writing, studied folklores.  It was a hectic semester I say, and I did really invest a lot of effort and time just to get through with it.

It helps to have friends to help you get through the  day.

 

Taking Care of Pets

For those people who are really affectionate and compassionate in nature, nothing really proves it than finding how they really care for their pets.  Sometimes, how you deal with your own pet depends on how you deal with other people in general.  Taking care of pets is a very rewarding activity: pets like dogs, cats and birds have the abilities to ward off day-to-day stress that you might encounter in work or in school.  The best thing that we can do, in turn, is to at least give them the proper care that they deserve. 

In the same way that pets can give comfort and offer companionship to us when we are alone, so do we, as pet caretakers, have to ensure that our own pets are secured and safe, and comfortable in their own niches.  So make them feel like they are part in the family.  And why not?  Dogs, for example, long considered as man’s bestfriend, can give you the security and the companionship you can also have from other people. 

 

Fun in School with insulated lunch tote

It’s semestral break already, and you could say that I can now finally take a short rest (for two weeks) after the stressful first semester of the academic year.  I’m in my senior year in college, and need i say that i really need to give an extra effort in school?  Haha.

Well, you could say that I love school in general.