It's possible, if not encouraged, to take life a little lighter than you would normally. I'm a pretty serious guy much of the time, but whenever the opportunity presents itself, I'm the first one to crack a joke. To make myself look like a fool. Why? Because it makes other people happy. Laughter is an experience that has health benefits, social benefits, and even provides a mental boost.
So yeah, life isn't all fun and games. As long as you keep a firm head on your shoulders, though, lighten up! Be the sassy gay boy for a day even if you're the straightest guy in town. Dress up in drag, prank someone! Make someone close to you smile.
You'll soon find yourself smiling a lot more often than you used to.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Scandals and the Scandalous
Eliot Spitzer - 54th governor of New York. Caught involved in a high-end prostitution ring in late 2008, which caused him to resign in disgrace.
Rod Blagojevich - 40th governor of Illinois. Caught trying to sell the senate seat vacated by then-senator Barack Obama upon his inaguration as president. Arrested and impeached from office.
Mark Sanford - 115th governor of South Carolina. Disappeared from the public, including his wife and State Law Enforcement (tasked with ensuring his safety) to pursue an extramarital affair with a woman known only as "Maria." His wife divorced him, and impeachment proceedings were conducted but never finalized. Was allowed to complete his term as governor.
Bill Clinton - 42nd president of the United States. Impeached by the House of Representatives for obstruction of justice concerning his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky. The impeachment was not ratified by the senate.
Charles B. Rangel - Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 15th district of New York. CENSURED by the house for tax evasion, misappropriation of public funds, renting Harlem apartments at below-market rates, and failing to give full disclosure on his assets and income.
And now we have Anthony Weiner, House Representative for the 9th district of New York. Caught sending lewd photos to a 21 year old woman (himself 46 years old) via his twitter account. Many are calling for his resignation. Why? Because he is a married man. Married, in fact, to a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton; Huma Abedin.
This media frenzy over political scandals is, in my opinion, dumb. If a politician makes a slip-up in his personal life, then let it stay a private matter. If that same politician misuses public funds and resources, however, then they have no business as our chief executives and legislators. Weiner, as far as we know, hasn't done anything truly against the public. Neither did Clinton, and - arguably - neither did Eliot Spitzer.
Charlie Rangel, Rod Blagojevich and Sanford DID. They used public funds for private matters, and for that, they well deserved the scandal and controversy they invoked. I would even argue that they deserved worse; Rangel had been dodging his taxes for YEARS, yet he still sits in the House like nothing happened! Sanford completed his term in office without actually being impeached. I won't pass judgement on that case, because his financial misdeeds were comparatively small. Blagojevich was the ONLY politician on this list who got the full brunt of the law thrown at him. And for good reason! He had tried to turn politics into a business affair for his personal benefit.
It's high time the public starts looking at real numbers. Real transgressions. If a politician misuses your money, then he has a right to be punished. Otherwise, hold your judgement on petty misdeeds such as nude texting. I'd wager some portion of the U.S. population is guilty of exactly what HE did.
Rod Blagojevich - 40th governor of Illinois. Caught trying to sell the senate seat vacated by then-senator Barack Obama upon his inaguration as president. Arrested and impeached from office.
Mark Sanford - 115th governor of South Carolina. Disappeared from the public, including his wife and State Law Enforcement (tasked with ensuring his safety) to pursue an extramarital affair with a woman known only as "Maria." His wife divorced him, and impeachment proceedings were conducted but never finalized. Was allowed to complete his term as governor.
Bill Clinton - 42nd president of the United States. Impeached by the House of Representatives for obstruction of justice concerning his extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky. The impeachment was not ratified by the senate.
Charles B. Rangel - Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 15th district of New York. CENSURED by the house for tax evasion, misappropriation of public funds, renting Harlem apartments at below-market rates, and failing to give full disclosure on his assets and income.
And now we have Anthony Weiner, House Representative for the 9th district of New York. Caught sending lewd photos to a 21 year old woman (himself 46 years old) via his twitter account. Many are calling for his resignation. Why? Because he is a married man. Married, in fact, to a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton; Huma Abedin.
This media frenzy over political scandals is, in my opinion, dumb. If a politician makes a slip-up in his personal life, then let it stay a private matter. If that same politician misuses public funds and resources, however, then they have no business as our chief executives and legislators. Weiner, as far as we know, hasn't done anything truly against the public. Neither did Clinton, and - arguably - neither did Eliot Spitzer.
Charlie Rangel, Rod Blagojevich and Sanford DID. They used public funds for private matters, and for that, they well deserved the scandal and controversy they invoked. I would even argue that they deserved worse; Rangel had been dodging his taxes for YEARS, yet he still sits in the House like nothing happened! Sanford completed his term in office without actually being impeached. I won't pass judgement on that case, because his financial misdeeds were comparatively small. Blagojevich was the ONLY politician on this list who got the full brunt of the law thrown at him. And for good reason! He had tried to turn politics into a business affair for his personal benefit.
It's high time the public starts looking at real numbers. Real transgressions. If a politician misuses your money, then he has a right to be punished. Otherwise, hold your judgement on petty misdeeds such as nude texting. I'd wager some portion of the U.S. population is guilty of exactly what HE did.
Friday, June 3, 2011
A potentially groundbreaking idea
The Higgs boson, as I understand it, is THE elementary particle from which all other particles are formed. They were present during the beginning of the big bang, and it is THEIR existence, their unique compositions and iterations, that form all matter, antimatter, and what have you in the universe.
A quantum, as I understand it, is the smallest amount of energy required to make fundamental particles interact. According to the standard model, quanta are responsible for all motion and movement in the universe. We KNOW that all matter is in motion, all the time - just at varying magnitudes. The only time that the universe wasn't in motion was before the big bang; when everything was as its zero point.
So what caused the big bang? Theoretically, a single quantum could have done it, like a domino effect. What set that quantum (or those quanta) in motion? This is pure speculation, mind you, but I think that if we can figure out what CAUSES quantum mechanics, then we've solved the question - how did we get here? What set the universe in motion?
Physics is SO much fun to think about =)
A quantum, as I understand it, is the smallest amount of energy required to make fundamental particles interact. According to the standard model, quanta are responsible for all motion and movement in the universe. We KNOW that all matter is in motion, all the time - just at varying magnitudes. The only time that the universe wasn't in motion was before the big bang; when everything was as its zero point.
So what caused the big bang? Theoretically, a single quantum could have done it, like a domino effect. What set that quantum (or those quanta) in motion? This is pure speculation, mind you, but I think that if we can figure out what CAUSES quantum mechanics, then we've solved the question - how did we get here? What set the universe in motion?
Physics is SO much fun to think about =)
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