Well, I don't actually have roommates anymore. Their lease didn't allow for pets, so I'm back to trolling classified ads and other sites for possibilities. I'm almost to the point of paying a real estate agent to find a place for me because it's so difficult to find a place of my own in Vienna. Very narrow housing market. Back to the grindstone...
I am up way too late again, as usual. I keep getting headaches about halfway through my day (around 6-9pm) and then I end up staying up until 3 and sleeping until eleven or later. It is a testament to my inability to go to sleep as early as I ought to that I am actually watching Jay Leno. I very much dislike his show, but he's got a pretty funny guest on tonight.
I took up a beading project tonight. I bought the materials more than a year ago intending to get started right away, similar to many projects I undertake in life. Anyway, I got started tonight, and finished four rows, which I am quite proud of. Of course, I don't think I'm actually following the pattern correctly, but I'm close enough that I think it will look alright. I do know one thing - no more beading projects. I am very bad at beading. And Caesar enjoys playing with beads a little too much.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
Cartman - history prof?
Tonight's South Park episode is about when Cartman goes back to 1776 when the Founding Fathers were debating whether or not to declare independence from England. The show was pointing out how only 1/3 of colonists actually supported such a move, 1/3 were dead set against independence, and 1/3 were undecided, drawing a parallel to our modern situation.
Other than the fact that the show is about cartoons and way too fake-bloody, it's often quite relevant. Conclusion reached - the country can have its cake and eat it too by going to war but allowing its citizens to protest thereby leaving the government blameless.
Of course, that's not really how it ends up working, but South Park always manages to make some snarky - and usually spot-on - commentary on modern world events.
Other than the fact that the show is about cartoons and way too fake-bloody, it's often quite relevant. Conclusion reached - the country can have its cake and eat it too by going to war but allowing its citizens to protest thereby leaving the government blameless.Of course, that's not really how it ends up working, but South Park always manages to make some snarky - and usually spot-on - commentary on modern world events.
Pope John Paul II and the functionalist definition of religion
Yesterday after Mass I spent a while talking to the piano player. He just graduated from high school (Marist) and he's heading off to school this week at Wheaton College in Illinois. For anyone who doesn't know, that's a private Christian college, and he's majoring in Biblical and Theological studies.
One of the ongoing discussions we've had is about some statements made about Islam by the late Pope John Paul II. The Pope gave speeches that emphasized the similarities between Christianity and Islam, that Christians and Muslims alike worship the same God, the God of Abraham, and so on. Brantly's concern with this is that the Pope asserted that the plan of salvation includes those who worship the same God. Based purely on Christian theology, the only way to achieve salvation is through faith that Jesus Christ repaid the debt of sin through his death on the cross. This, of course, leaves anyone out who does not believe in Christ.
The discussion left me thinking about what choices we make in terms of what ethos to follow. Everyone chooses, regardless of whether you choose a particular religion, choose parts of religions and put them together for yourself, or choose not to follow a particular religion. What are the benefits? For someone who chooses religion, it's usually from a desire to be part of something more important than yourself, or perhaps it's based on the theorem from Descartes, I think it was, that if you don't believe and you're wrong, too bad for you, but if you do believe, then you're set either way. Of course, now you have to choose which religion is right, not merely whether to believe in a religion, and then you're faced with the daunting prospect of choosing which version of your chosen faith to which you desire to ascribe.
I don't remember who coined the term "functional definition of religion" but it was probably one of those behavioralist anthropologists. Religion performs many useful functions within society, from providing personal comfort and stability in one's own life, to inspiring people to do good works for other people, such as church-based or church-sponsored charity organizations. That's part of the reason I like the Catholic Church so much - there is a clear commitment to helping others, something I think is missing from many other parts of life based on selfish ambitions and desires.
Perhaps the most important issue is not that one believes one is right, because after all, if you're going to do something, it's generally because you think you're right to do so. Perhaps the more important thing is to follow in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II and emphasize those similarities and ties that we share. Perhaps then, with a lot of work to improve the infrastructure in poor Muslim countries, there will be fewer young people growing up with a virulent hatred of all things American, Christian, or Jewish.
One of the ongoing discussions we've had is about some statements made about Islam by the late Pope John Paul II. The Pope gave speeches that emphasized the similarities between Christianity and Islam, that Christians and Muslims alike worship the same God, the God of Abraham, and so on. Brantly's concern with this is that the Pope asserted that the plan of salvation includes those who worship the same God. Based purely on Christian theology, the only way to achieve salvation is through faith that Jesus Christ repaid the debt of sin through his death on the cross. This, of course, leaves anyone out who does not believe in Christ.
The discussion left me thinking about what choices we make in terms of what ethos to follow. Everyone chooses, regardless of whether you choose a particular religion, choose parts of religions and put them together for yourself, or choose not to follow a particular religion. What are the benefits? For someone who chooses religion, it's usually from a desire to be part of something more important than yourself, or perhaps it's based on the theorem from Descartes, I think it was, that if you don't believe and you're wrong, too bad for you, but if you do believe, then you're set either way. Of course, now you have to choose which religion is right, not merely whether to believe in a religion, and then you're faced with the daunting prospect of choosing which version of your chosen faith to which you desire to ascribe.
I don't remember who coined the term "functional definition of religion" but it was probably one of those behavioralist anthropologists. Religion performs many useful functions within society, from providing personal comfort and stability in one's own life, to inspiring people to do good works for other people, such as church-based or church-sponsored charity organizations. That's part of the reason I like the Catholic Church so much - there is a clear commitment to helping others, something I think is missing from many other parts of life based on selfish ambitions and desires.
Perhaps the most important issue is not that one believes one is right, because after all, if you're going to do something, it's generally because you think you're right to do so. Perhaps the more important thing is to follow in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II and emphasize those similarities and ties that we share. Perhaps then, with a lot of work to improve the infrastructure in poor Muslim countries, there will be fewer young people growing up with a virulent hatred of all things American, Christian, or Jewish.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Globetrekkers is such an awesome show. Tonight, Megan McCormick is in the Arab Gulf states of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Some of the mosques and natural monuments are simply spectacular. I was interested in looking into Dubai before, but after seeing this show, I'm quite a bit more interested. The region is beautiful and quite modern, and I bet there's a lot of demand for English.
After teaching in Austria, I'll have enough experience to go somewhere else and teach. That would be a great way to travel while getting paid to do so, which is my goal in life. Essentially, if someone is willing to pay my expenses, I'm willing to go and check it out. In some cases, such as my experience with Myanmar, it is a mixed blessing. But I'm glad I went.
Side note - I just typed in Dubai job teaching into Google and there are quite a number of sites that popped up. Who knows? Maybe I'll go from Austria to Dubai. Maybe Takijistan after this. :)
After teaching in Austria, I'll have enough experience to go somewhere else and teach. That would be a great way to travel while getting paid to do so, which is my goal in life. Essentially, if someone is willing to pay my expenses, I'm willing to go and check it out. In some cases, such as my experience with Myanmar, it is a mixed blessing. But I'm glad I went.
Side note - I just typed in Dubai job teaching into Google and there are quite a number of sites that popped up. Who knows? Maybe I'll go from Austria to Dubai. Maybe Takijistan after this. :)
Sunday, August 13, 2006
38 days and counting...
I have roommates! Whee! I've been searching for the past three months for places to live in Vienna or the surrounding area and having been batting zero. Today, that changed when someone from Georgetown read my craigslist ad for roommates wanted. The new apartment will be more than three times larger than my current apartment, and since the current apartment is approximately the size of a shoebox, that should be pretty awesome.
I'm finding that I'm enjoying this part of the packing process more than the past few weeks (yes, I'm packing very slowly, it's better than waiting until the last minute like I usually do). Right now, I'm in the pack big boxes full of stuff to take to donate to charity. It's quite nice to just watch all that stuff going away. Too much stuff turns you into one of the hoarding people who can't let go of the shirt they bought last year because they might get around to mending those busted off buttons. Well, I'm fully aware that I'm much too lazy to do something like that, so into the bin it goes! It's rather a gleeful process.
38 days until I leave. It's easier to count by months and weeks right now - it seems shorter. A month and a week until I board a plane to Austria! And to help pass the time: a cruise to Alaska with my mom during September. I'm so totally looking forward to this next year. It's going to be so awesome that nothing could possibly top it. And I think that I deserve it after this last year. Course, I also think I deserve a million bucks. :)
I'm finding that I'm enjoying this part of the packing process more than the past few weeks (yes, I'm packing very slowly, it's better than waiting until the last minute like I usually do). Right now, I'm in the pack big boxes full of stuff to take to donate to charity. It's quite nice to just watch all that stuff going away. Too much stuff turns you into one of the hoarding people who can't let go of the shirt they bought last year because they might get around to mending those busted off buttons. Well, I'm fully aware that I'm much too lazy to do something like that, so into the bin it goes! It's rather a gleeful process.
38 days until I leave. It's easier to count by months and weeks right now - it seems shorter. A month and a week until I board a plane to Austria! And to help pass the time: a cruise to Alaska with my mom during September. I'm so totally looking forward to this next year. It's going to be so awesome that nothing could possibly top it. And I think that I deserve it after this last year. Course, I also think I deserve a million bucks. :)
Friday, August 11, 2006
Evil cult girl meets the douchebag lotion bombers
So... anyone see anything on the news other than the terrorist threat today? The News Hour with Jim Lehrer spent an entire hour covering the event, it's repercussions, possible fallout, and any other possible angle from which to examine this newest attempt at mass murder in the name of religion.
Tonight on CSI's rerun, Grissom and the gang investigated the mass murder of a cult group who believed that they had to leave behind their physical shells to be united in utter peace and harmony with some aliens in the sky. I suppose things are screwed up enough for some people to want to buy into something like that, but I'm not that desperate yet.
Quote: Evil cult girl who watched the rest of the group die: "Don't you think there's someone out there?"
Grissom: "If there is someone, or something, out there, they probably have the sense to stay away from us."
You go, Grissom.
On a lighter note, I'm going to enjoy not being able to bring aboard anything at all except my ID, money, cards, and maybe a book if I'm lucky on my EXTREMELY long flight to Europe, which is currently at Code Red Alert. Or whatever they call it. Hopefully, no more douchebags with lotion bombs turn up in the near future, otherwise SeaTac will go from an absolutely detestable airport to one where the passengers end up killing each other out of frustration at the security measures and not due to any desire to rid the world of infidels.
Tonight on CSI's rerun, Grissom and the gang investigated the mass murder of a cult group who believed that they had to leave behind their physical shells to be united in utter peace and harmony with some aliens in the sky. I suppose things are screwed up enough for some people to want to buy into something like that, but I'm not that desperate yet.
Quote: Evil cult girl who watched the rest of the group die: "Don't you think there's someone out there?"
Grissom: "If there is someone, or something, out there, they probably have the sense to stay away from us."
You go, Grissom.
On a lighter note, I'm going to enjoy not being able to bring aboard anything at all except my ID, money, cards, and maybe a book if I'm lucky on my EXTREMELY long flight to Europe, which is currently at Code Red Alert. Or whatever they call it. Hopefully, no more douchebags with lotion bombs turn up in the near future, otherwise SeaTac will go from an absolutely detestable airport to one where the passengers end up killing each other out of frustration at the security measures and not due to any desire to rid the world of infidels.
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