Who was the last person you offended?
Submitted by May.
Whether it be the mish-moshed religious beliefs, left-leaning political worldview, insistence on telling people the truth, bad driving, or my persistent button-pushing, I think I offend people regularly. Just today, I offended a co-worker today because of my endorsement of political candidates that are pro-choice. He labeled me a "Cafeteria Catholic" because I pick and choose which Catholic beliefs I adhere to in my religious life. Incidentally, I also offended several pro-choice classmates in my Ethics course a few years ago over the subject of abortion.
Usually, the most offended are those that live with me. Ericka and Kelli are offended a lot, with Kelli probably being victimized the most often. For example, I recently said that she had man feet.
Show us what you're working on right now.
Submitted by yygall.
Along with writing this post, I am reading this book about a Russian mystic.
I am also using these flash cards to memorize Spanish words related to food.
Who'll gather the news when the Internet is all that there is?
I believe Reusse's claim is built around the talent behind the story. He believes the talent it takes to report on a sports story is somehow better at a newspaper than it is on an Internet site. I guess it depends on who is writing the story. If the same reporters are writing for both the printed newspaper and the newspaper's website, the quality is the same.
However, I don't think that is what Reusse is talking about. He is talking about sites that are stand-alone, which I believe to mean a site that does not have the backing of either a newspaper or a big name media firm like ESPN. To be honest, I am not sure what he might be referring to here. Maybe he talking about sports bloggers. If so, I would agree with his claim. I would not trust most information or news coming from the blogs, unless the writer is credible and the information can be backed up by sources. Journalists go to school and work in the trenches for a reason. Jack or Jane Blogger may be some whacked-out person that is writing bogus information. It is no different with news or academic writing. Claims and information need sources to back them up.
I am sure there are some stand-alone sites that do provide quality information. I am also sure that there are some newspapers out there that provide below-average information. I think a person should be critical about the information, the person writing the information, and means by which the information appears. I am not going to take Reusse's endorsement as gospel, though. I would rather find out for myself.
This article does raise an interesting question about newspapers and the Internet. Is the end of the printed newspaper coming soon? Although I do not read the printed copy, I would hate to see it go away because I think it works for many people. I think that if I did not have the computer access I currently enjoy, I would read the printed paper more often.
Ctrl-V (PCs) or Command-V (Macs) Time! Paste whatever text you copied last.
326C0020-01
I was developing an injection molding process today using Teflon PFA resin. This is the part number of the molded part I was making. I had to cut and paste this number from the Manufacturing Reporting System to the Master Cycle database I was using in Microsoft Access.
I was reading this interview with Ken Wilbur on Salon.com (thanks to lightandstorm) and I came across this word. I cut and paste this word into dictionary.com because I wanted a precise definition.
Which life lesson do you wish you'd learned sooner?
There are so many lessons I have learned that have been valuable in making me who I am today. I hope I will continue to learn these lessons as my life progresses. I tend to think that if I stop learning lessons, I stop learning altogether. I sure hope that does not happen because I do not want to either stagnate intellectually or become so haughty that I think I can no longer learn anything.
I tend to think that the timing of these lessons offers something valuable. Often, at least in my case, the timing contributes to the lesson by adding a certain emphasis or intensity to the lesson being offered. Rather than lament at how terrible the lesson was or how inconvenient the timing was, I instead try and look deep into the experience and learn from the whole lesson being offered. The whole package of the lesson--timing and teaching--is what makes it effective.
If I find myself being sorrowful at the timing, it is usually because of a bad choice I made regarding the matter. Once I realize this, I can let go of the attachment to the sorrow and move on with gaining valuable wisdom and knowledge from the lesson.
Obama and Clinton talk about life lessons.
This book is ripped from those high school movies in the 1980s and 1990s that featured the usual cliques (nerds, cheerleaders, etc.) and their interactions. In this novel, the apparent geek was Denis Cooverman. During his valedictorian speech, he decided to spill his guts about his feelings concerning various people in the school, included his hidden love for the cheerleader, Beth Cooper. Denis and his friend Rich, along with Beth Cooper and her three friends, eventually experience a wild night of partying, fights, drinking, crazy driving, and sexual encounters.
This book even features quotes from the various teen flicks from which it grew. Included are such greats like The Breakfast Club, Napoleon Dynamite, American Pie, Dazed and Confused, Clueless, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This should have been a clue.
Another clue that this book was bad was Tom Perrotta's endorsement of this book. Perrotta was the author of Little Children, another terrible book that included a character named Tony Corrente, the name of a terrible NFL referee.
What are you most sensitive about?
I am a highly sensitive person, as defined by this self-test. I should probably have this diagnosed by a professional. However, judging by the fact that I identify with 20 of these statements (14 is the threshold), I think the writing is clearly on the wall.
- I am easily overwhelmed by strong sensory input.
- I seem to be aware of subtleties in my environment.
- Other people's moods affect me.
- I find myself needing to withdraw during busy days,into bed or into a darkened room or any place where I can have some privacy and relief from stimulation.
- I have a rich,complex inner life.
- I am made uncomfortable by loud noises.
- I am deeply moved by the arts or music.
- My nervous system sometimes feels so frazzled that I just have to go off by myself.
- I am conscientious.
- I startle easily.
- I get rattled when I have a lot to do in a short amount of time.
- I am annoyed when people try to get me to do too many things at once.
- I try hard to avoid making mistakes or forgetting things.
- I become unpleasantly aroused when a lot is going on around me.
- Changes in my life shake me up.
- I notice and enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, works of art.
- I make it a high priority to arrange my life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations.
- I am bothered by intense stimuli, like loud noises or chaotic scenes.
- When I must compete or be observed while performing a task, I become so nervous or shaky that I do much worse than I would otherwise.
- When I was a child, my parents or teachers seemed to see me as sensitive or shy.
Show us your favorite tool.
Submitted by Maraschino.
I can think of the ThinkPad as a tool because it falls under the "anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose" definition. I accomplish many personal, educational, and work-related tasks with this computer (and its Gateway predecessor).
As for the normally understood definition of tool, my Blue Point digital multimeter has been the tool of choice for nearly a decade. My family's livelihood has been built and maintained by my ability to fix and build machines using tools like this multimeter. The majority of problems I encounter with machines are electrical and this tool has been critical in solving those problems.
What fictional character do you relate to most and why?
I have learned to be wary of those individuals that think they have knowledge of God.We can talk about the phenomenal world, but it is very difficult to talk about the noumenal world. It is impossible to use our concepts and words to describe God. All the adjectives and nouns that we use to describe waves cannot be used to describe God. We can say that this wave is high or low, big or small, beautiful or ugly, has a beginning and an end. But all these notions cannot be applied to water. God is neither small nor big. God has no beginning or end. God is not more or less beautiful. All the ideas we use to describe the phenomenal world cannot be applied to God. So it's very wise not to say anything about God. To me the best theologian is the one who never speaks about God. (pg. 7-8)
This is a nice way to show the importance of differences while also stressing how everything is connected.We don't want to say that Buddhism is a kind of Christianity and Christianity is a kind of Buddhism. A mango cannot be an orange. I cannot accept the fact that a mango is an orange. They are two different things. We have to preserve the differences. It is nice to have differences. Vive la différence. But when you look deeply into the mango and into the orange, you see that although they are different, they are both fruits. If you analyze the mango and the orange deeply enough, you will see the same elements are in both, like the sunshine, the clouds, the sugar, and the acid. If you spend time looking deeply enough, you will discover that the only difference between them lies in the degree, in the emphasis. At first you see the differences between the orange and the mango. But if you look a little deeper, you discover many things in common. In the orange you find acid and sugar, which are in the mango too. Even two oranges taste different; one can be very sour and one can be very sweet. (pg. 16-17)
The understanding of non-self has helped me understand how things work in the universe. This has also helped me put myself into perspective.Impermanence is the reality of things in the phenomenal world. This is the insight from both East and West. "No one can bathe twice in the same river" is a Western insight. While standing on a bridge, Confucius once said, "Flowing always like this day and night." It is the same kind of insight. If everything is impermanent, there cannot be a permanent entity. This is the meaning of non-self. Non-self does not mean non-person or non-existing. Even though you are non-self, you continue to be a person with a body, with feelings, with perceptions, with mental formations, with consciousness. You continue to be a person, but a person without a separate self. (pg. 19)
One's notions are forms of attachments. In order to alleviate suffering, we need to let go of our notions.It is therefore not correct to say that Christianity teaches being while Buddhism teaches non-being. If you spend a little time studying Buddhism, you will see that the practice is to transcend both notions of being and non-being. To the Buddhist, "To be or not to be" is not the question. The question is whether or not you can transcend these notions. (pg. 27).
I know many people that possess vast amounts of knowledge and yet do not understand. I also know many people that are attracted to those that seem to have knowledge. Much suffering would be alleviated if these people would let go of their attachments to knowledge.In the Buddhist circle, people speak about letting go of your knowledge. When you know something, you stick to your knowledge. You are not ready to let it go, and this is an obstacle on the path of practice. In Buddhism, knowledge can be seen as an obstacle. Many people try to accumulate knowledge, and one day they may realize that the knowledge they possess has become an obstacle to their understanding. (pg. 58).
Once we think we understand something, we need to let it go. Otherwise, we are stuck in our understanding, which prevents further growth.As understanding and faith are living things, there is something in our understanding and faith that dies in every moment, and there is something in our understanding and faith that is born every moment. In Zen Buddhism, it is expressed in a very drastic way. Master Lin Chi said, "Be aware. If you meet the Buddha, kill him." I think that's the strongest way of saying this. If you have a notion of the Buddha, you are caught in it. If you don't release the notion of the Buddha, there is no way for you to advance on the spiritual path. Kill the Buddha. Kill the notion of the Buddha that you have. We have to grow. Otherwise we will die on our spiritual path. (pg. 62-63)
A closed mind cannot be open to learning something new. If you are not open and learning, you are not growing.When we believe something to be the absolute truth, we are closed. We are no longer open to the understanding and insight of our people, and this is because the object of our faith is just an idea, not a living thing. But if the object of your faith is your direct experience and your insight, then you can always be open. You can grow everyday in your practice, in sharing the fruit of your practice, and in making your faith, love, and happiness grow. (pg. 80)
I know many people that are so entangled with making money, working, and self-made dramas. These people are so wound up in matters that they cannot take with them once their physical bodies are gone. They do not pay any attention to the health of their soul, which is the one thing that remains after the physical death. I am sad for these people because they suffer much concerning these earthly matters.In your daily life, you have to seek in order to touch the other dimension of your reality, the ultimate dimension, the dimension of God, the dimension of water. It is a pity that you spend all your time dealing with the phenomenal world and becoming entangled in it without having any opportunity to go back and touch the deepest dimension of your being. (pg. 156)
I liked this idea: being a full-time student of God. We would all be better educated about God if we devoted as much time learning about God as we do working at a job.That is the true meaning of loving God with all your might. You do not reserve for that object of your love only a few minutes or one hour a day. You have to devote twenty-four hours to touching the Kingdom of God, to touching the ultimate dimension that is deep in you. You can only love your God with all your might when you are really a full-time student or practitioner. (pg. 158)
I recently became fond of my culture as a person that is religious but not a strict practitioner of any one branch of Christianity. I did not grow up religious and became a Christian as an adult. I used to worry and despair over not growing up in a certain denomination. I attempted to find a home in various denominations before realizing that I am and always will be a mixture of Catholicism, Lutheranism, Unitarian Universalism, and mysticism. By accepting these roots, I am now free to explore and become part of other faiths.if you are rooted in your own culture, you may have a chance to touch deeply and become rooted in another culture as well. (pg. 181).
Many people have wondered how I can be married to an atheist and raise children. It is easy because I respect her choice to believe whatever she desires. It is also easy because I am educated in my own beliefs as a Christian. She, along with my children, have freedom of conscious. I do not have the power to tell them what to believe. Their own minds and hearts will tell them what is best.When two people from different traditions marry, the young man could make a vow to learn and practice the spiritual tradition of the young woman, and the young woman cold make a vow to learn and practice that of the young man. In that case, both of them wold have two roots instead of one, and this can only enrich each person. When they have a family, the children should be raised in such a way that they can appreciate the best things in both traditions. The parents should encourage their children to have two roots in to have both the Buddha and Jesus within their life. Why not? (pg. 202)
Show us your bible.
Submitted by Connie.
I have many Bibles.
Ericka said this Bible came from Jodi and is unsure of where it came from before her.
I use this Bible when I do any academic work on Christianity. This particular version seems to be the standard for academic work in ELCA colleges.
I do hope vox will put up Vox Hunt questions that feature other religions besides Christianity. I also have an array of holy books from other religions. Here is my collection of Qur'ans.
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Pepper Blue said:
Thanks for sharing both clips. The Clinton/Obama clip made a very good point. read more
on Life QotW: Life Lessons -
Ben said:
I actually have the older version of this meter. However, it is not much different than this one. I like... read more
on Vox Hunt: Tool Time
I don't have man feet nor do my feet look like man feet. read more
on QotD: Oh Sorry, Did I Offend You?