Letters to a Young Contrarian: Ch. 10-13

"I repeat, what really matters about any individual is not what he thinks, but how he thinks. Our conversation has been about the constituents that might go to make up an independent and a questioning person; a dissenter and freethinker. This project cannot best be approached or undertaken in a kneeling or prostrate position."

We use faith as a guide and tool for making our OWN decisions based on our own freethinking mind. He thinks that because someone has faith that they cannot think for themselves. However, this is never the case. Dare I say never? I do. I say this because having faith in a higher power does not cause our mind to become brainwashed mush, but rather to look at the world in a different light. One can simultaneously think freely and also believe in a higher power.

Believers (myself included) doubt, question, and challenge our faith in God on a regular, if not daily, basis. It is only human to think freely; the belief in something does not hinder your mind from making its own decisions. That's like saying because you think aliens exist that you look for aliens everywhere you go and it effects every decision in your day to day life; absurd.

Wouldn't someone who considers themselves to be a "freethinker" consider the possibility of a higher power?

Can someone who counts it out as an option completely consider themselves to be a "questioning person?"

He seems to question things, but only things that he wants to. Does that make him a dissenter or biased and arrogant ass hole?

Does the authors absolutism make him a hypocrite?

Does his judgmental and biased book serve as a tool for creating a dissenter, or for creating a follower?

Letters To A Young Contrarian Chap. 8-9

Okay, for these couple chapters I was irritated to say the least. I don't mind hearing another point of view on the sensitive subject of religion, but something about his wording angered me throughout my reading it.  I'm going to spend this post quoting and debating some interesting points he has made. 

"He or she must also claim to have at least an inkling of what that Supreme Being desires." 

In this point in the book, he is basically calling believers arrogant because they feel like they are doing God's work and they are therefore godly; and that very well may be true for some believers, but that does not mean that a person cannot have faith and be humble. 

There are believers that can stay humble give all the credit to God, never take credit for the good they do nor do they look at themselves as anything nearing godly. To Christians in particular, we strive to be godly, but we know there is no human alive that can ever come close to God in comparison. We are all sinners and just because God has wiped our slate clean does not mean that we see ourselves as perfect, but we see ourselves as loved. 

There is an apparent difference, but obviously not apparent enough for Mr. Hitchens to see. He seems to be someone who has a lot of hate and anger in his heart, therefore it does not surprise me that he finds some of the most humble people on Earth to be the most arrogant. I find it sad that he sees something as beautiful as faith to be so undeniably ignorant.

"So the whole apparatus of absolution and forgiveness strikes me as positively immoral, while the concept of revealed truth degrades the whole concept of free intelligence by purportedly relieving us of the hard task of working out ethical principals for ourselves."

I laughed... out loud. Okay, lets think of this philosophically shall we? There have been ethical leaders throughout the existence of man. People have been creating morals and ethics forever. What makes this any different than finding morals and ethics within the bindings of a Bible? The author of the ten commandments can be compared to philosophers such as Aristotle or Kant in the way that they spell out what they know to be good and bad, right and wrong, ethical and moral. 

My point is, there is no difference in "working out ethical principals for ourselves" through the guidance of a Bible, Immanuel Kant, or your very own mother. 

As a conclusion to this post and as a little note to Christopher Hitchens, I will quote non other than Immanuel Kant himself; 

“I believe that the existence of the Bible is the greatest benefit to the human race. Any attempt to belittle it, I believe, is a crime against humanity.”

Well said Mr. Kant. Well said. 

Letters to a Young Contrarian Ch. 14-ENVOI

For this last post on the book I will be more positive about the author as he does raise very good points. Some of my favorite quotes in the last chapter are as follows:

"No self-description or definition can be relied upon."

"Suspect your own motives and all excuses." 

"Picture all experts as if they were mammals."

These all resinate with me and apply to my life. These are things that I either need to work on or that I find importance in. The main point that I would like to talk about is the quote;

"Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you."

This is something that as soon as I read it, I read it again... and again. You always hear "treat others how you want to be treated," but I have never thought to live for others the way I would EXPECT them to live for me. There is a difference between the way you would like to be treated and the way that you expect to be treated. I find myself giving too much of my life to others and I end up disappointed because they didn't give the same in return. This quote led me to realize that I cannot expect others to treat me the way I want to be treated, and that I shouldn't live for someone who wouldn't live for me. 

Letters to a Young Contrarian: Ch. 14-15

"Humor ought to be pointed-ought to preserve its relationship to wit- and it ought to be fearless"

I agree with these three points. In order for something to be truly funny it must be directed at a person, thing, event, feeling or a place. If it is not directed at something in particular, it is hard for it to remain on the track of hilarity.

As for wit as it relates to humor, I agree that they must be in total harmony. Wit is the heart and soul of humor as it gives intellectual evidence that helps draw attention to a theme being presented by the comedian.

Along with these two points, the third is extremely important. A comedian cannot be afraid of anything; of hurting peoples feelings, of saying something politically incorrect or of ruining their own reputation. If they fear anything, they will hold back. This hesitation takes away from the humor of it all. Daniel Tosh is funny for his fearlessness. He pokes fun at every race, religion, orientation, and gender. He doesn't hold back and he is not afraid of making people mad, and that makes him all the more funny.

RiP! A Remix Manifesto

The act of remix is well defended throughout this film. I personally loved the film and the manifesto they created. My absolute favorite point made in the film was the Disney debate.

Walt Disney was and will be forever considered an artist. To the world he was a visionary, but was it his original vision? No, Disney used story lines, characters, and other artists ideas to inspire some of his most notable work.  He built something new from a compilation of other artists works, just as remixers do today. He used ideas from the movie "Steamboat Bill" to make the infamous "Steamboat Willie." Once he died, the Disney corporation sued anyone for using Mickey Mouse. The mouse that nearly founded the Disney corporation became famous by what the company now considers "stealing."  Oh, the irony.

I'm not sure what the future holds, but I hope that remixers keep fighting for the rights to express their creativity. I am rooting for remixing artists like Girl Talk; and I call him that because he IS an artist... not a thief.

Favorite Topic in Class

I found the surveillance and "Big Brother" topic to be really interesting because I strongly believe that as Amercians we should have the ultimate right to privacy. My favorite video that we watched was "PoliceState" where the remote controlled cars were linked to a police scanner that once it detected certain radio codes having to do with terrorism it would make the cars move a certain way. The video itself wasn't visually interesting, but the idea and concept behind it makes it a work of art. The idea was to make the "police become puppets of their own surveillance." It signifies the role reversal of who has power over information and who should. 

Pinterest Project- FINAL POST

Final Project:
How To Repaint Laminate Furniture

Time Spent

Prep- 1 hour

Sanding- 2 hours

Priming- 1 hour

Painting Coat 1- 1 hour

Painting Coat 2- 1 hour

Total- 6 hours

Before

1) Sand everything down. No need to sand it to the wood, but just enough where the shiny finish is off. I suggest using a hard item (I found a decorative wooden block) to help speed up the sanding process. Sanding with just your hands takes twice as long and at some points it burned me from the friction. Another suggestion to expedite the sanding process would be to sand in a circular motion. As Mr. Miyagi would say... wax on, wax off.

Sanding

2) Time to prime. Priming is essential to the process because without it, your paint won't stick and may come out uneven. The nice man at Home Depot suggested I get something called Gripper. It is a primer and sealer in one. (I used White Glidden Interior/Exterior Gripper) I bought a quart but only used about 1/2 of it for this specific dresser.  I used just a plain ol' angled paint brush and covered every inch. It is much thicker than paint, so keep that in mind and try to cover it using the thinnest layer possible. This will make your paint look a lot smoother.

Priming Materials

Before Priming (bottom) After Priming (top)

My Signature ;)

3) Let it dry. I suggest letting it dry overnight even though the gripper seemed to dry pretty quickly. Better safe than sorry.

After Priming

4) Paint it. I suggest using semi-gloss interior paint. It came out shiny and professional looking but not laminate-like. (I got a quart of Glidden "True Turquoise" Semi-Gloss Interior Premium Paint) I bought a quart, but I only used about half of it.  Use a small foam roller brush. The foam part is important because it will create the smooth, even look you want.

Paint Time!

5) Let it dry for an hour or so and go ahead and put a second coat on. Applying the second coat was definitely worth it and made a huge difference in the intensity of the color.

Before and After Painting

6) Let it dry overnight. Paint needed longer than the gripper did to dry. Make sure its not "sticky" before you mess with it too much or it may mess up the paint.

Letting it Dry

FINAL PRODUCT

Before and After

Before, Primed, Painted

I have always been a fan of Pinterest and DIY projects, so this project was really enjoyable for me. I like to be creative and therefore the Give-Back portion was my favorite aspect of the assignment. I learned through this project that there is a cheap way to make ANYTHING. I also came to realize that putting all of these unique ideas in one place makes Pinterest a very useful application.  I also was introduced to the Instuctables website which is something I can see my self utilizing at some point.

I achieved my first home renovation project by taking on the difficult task of redoing my dresser.  The dresser is now an eye-catching piece of furniture instead of an eyesore. I’m happy with how it turned out and I am excited that I was able to contribute my art and craftsmanship into the room. It makes the room feel much more personal. I will definitely continue creating DIY Pinterest inspired projects in the future!

GIVE-BACK

Longboard Cup Holder

Pinterest Post

Supplies

- Bendable Aluminum

- Coozie

- Guitar Capo

- Longboard

Step by Step

1) Take aluminum and cut it (if its not already) into a circle slightly larger than the coozie. 

2) Fold the edges all the way around the aluminum circle so that it fits snug into the bottom of the coozie. This creates more support for the cans and cups.

3)Take the capo and use the long end to go through the two gaps in the bottom sides of the coozie.

4) Clip it to the board where your feet won't hit it.

5) Stick your can in the coozie, and enjoy the ride!

Scientology

A pro about Scientology that I found interesting is the idea of thetan. The entire "religion" is based off of the idea that your body and mind make up you. They believe that the mind has limitless possibilities and knowledge is power. There are many cons that can be said about the church of Scientology. For instance, their secrecy is widely disliked and has caused them to be considered a cult. They conduct a lot of research that is never shared outside of the organization. Scientology is also known for attacking opposition and critical questioning of the organization. In Clearwater, FL the church of scientology has built their "spiritual headquarters" which they call the Flag Building. On the official website for Scientology, it says:

"Here is a place where we can now realize L. Ron Hubbard's vision for a better world at a magnitude commensurate with the technology itself.

This is the cornerstone of that new and better world.

This is the majesty of Scientology.

This is our cathedral."

Finding out that the Scientology headquarters is in Clearwater is interesting to me, but also not surprising. Being from Ohio, I really never saw Scientology churches much and when I got to Tampa I saw them everywhere. It makes sense that they would build the headquarters where a large majority of their followers are from.

Pinterest Progress Check 3

My DIY Pinterest idea that I want to share with others is alternative cost effective decorating ideas. For example, decorative bamboo was costly, but I found $2 placemats which I figured could second as wall decor. This is only one of my ideas for what I will give back to the internet. I plan to decorate my entire room in a cost effective and stylish way for this project. I will try to use my Gasparilla beads, natural items, and other cheap materials as home decoration.

In Class Vine Project

The rising action begins with a biker and a innocent civilian texting and not paying attention. The climax of the story is when he is hit by the biker. The resolution is him getting kicked while he's down and no getting back up. This story follows Freytag's Model because it contains a beginning, a tension-filled middle and resolving end.

Working as a group was inspirational because we all contributed unique ideas. We all worked very well together. Haleigh Purvis, Liz McGovern, Marcus Mitchell were in the group. Haleigh filmed, while Liz and Marcus acted in the video. 

Pinterest Progress Check Two

• What steps you worked on towards realizing the project's completion
1) Paint Sample Chip Project
-I cut various colorful paint chip samples
-Glued them to index cards
-Placed them under the glass of my side table to give it a new, bright, colorful look

Pinterest Inspiration

 • Share pictures & reflections on difficulties and/or your experience thus far
Throughout the progress this week, I didn't encounter any difficulties. After completing the side table project I started to think that I may want all of the colors to be the same, but in different shades (like the pinterest inspiration photo above). I may redo it and see if I like it better that way.

• Provide an approximate duration of effort to date
1) Paint Sample Chip Project; Side Table=2 hours


Running Total= 8 hours

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists

I really enjoyed the We Are Legion film because I never knew exactly who Anonymous were or what they had done. Recently I drove past a group of Anonymous members protesting outside of the Tampa courthouse. I was really creeped out and I remember it initially leaving a bad impression on me. Later that week my roommate came home and told me he talked to one of the Anonymous people and asked who they were and what they stood for. The person ignored my roommate completely and everyone at the protest were very rude to him. At the beginning of the film I was not a fan of Anonymous soley because of the members in downtown Tampa. I had no idea going into the movie about anything they stood for, so actually hearing their story for the first time caused a change in heart. The idea of Anonymous is not only brilliant but revolutionary. The thought of building an army of people from all over the world that believe in the same ideals is something that is hard to comprehend. No matter the government, culture, language, you can be a member of Anonymous if you believe in one simple thing: freedom of speech. This platform for free speech and international revolution is something that I believe has potential to be the way that the power gets back in the peoples hands and out of the governments. Of course the Anonymous people have made choices that I disagree with, but in any group there will be extremists.