On the subject of an Education

Hey so here is one of those random posts i promised to toss out here once every so often. Why am i writing this? Well a blog i follow brought something to my attention which i want to write about. The link to the news article is http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16029/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=pmVmhDzd go check it out for the article that gives the bare bones facts (or at least i thought it did, but i am biased)

The best way to basically sum it up is that this teacher got sick and tired of the way her students behaved and so she wrote rants on her blog online, which she maintained anonymously. Somehow some of her students figured out that she was writing about them and complained to the school (kinda funny considering one of her main problems with them was that they were whiny...)

Anywho, because grade 10-12 students are so fragile and need to be shielded from every single bit of criticism she was suspended from her job without pay and might be fired. She is meanwhile preparing to sue to keep her job because she was exercising her right to free speech (or so her lawyer plans to argue)

Now this becomes an issue for me because i obviously don't really make much of an effort to hide who i am. My profile picture is really me, i like my blog to my twitter which links to my tumblr which links to my facebook. They all are connected, all attempting to promote my viewpoint and more importantly my writing.

That being said my issue with what is occurring to this teacher is that, at least from what i have gathered, she DIDN'T try and get noticed by anyone. She was using blogs for what i still occasionally do, she has been writing an online journal instead of a pen and paper one. Why?

I don't know, and frankly it is none of my business. But for some reason people seem determined to unmask every single anonymous person who writes things online that are controversial. And lets be honest, the best writing is all about controversy.

I know that the blogs Waiter Rant(who apparently is down today meaning i can't link to him), Girl with a one track mind, and Opinionistas were all blogs that i followed, and all wrote about things that might get the fired or shunned. Each and every one of them suffered someone trying to find out who they are (and in at least one case succeeding)

The problem here is that the internet is a place where if you want you are supposed to be able to go out and say whatever you want into it, and if you want you don't need to attach your name. I don't put any names into my posts, be it the name of my school or people i might be happening to write about.

Why? Because they didn't say i could. Why do these kids currently piss me off? Because she didn't list names, she didn't call people out specifically. She just ranted about the way kids act, and all they did was prove her right.

Lets Play A Sugary Tomato Sauce (Katchup)

Hey there interwebs, how you doin? Good? That's good. More and more people using you every single day? Awesome. And me? Well right now i am doing pretty good. Here comes my new blog post, a coles notes version of my life during my first two months at school:

• Currently dating a wonderfully fantastic girl that i am insanely crazy about

• Figuring out slowly what i want to do with my life and finding out that it doesn't actually matter as long as there is something new for me to do every so often
• My older computer died and i have recently bought a new one that sadly still lacks a name
• Turned 21 and feel as much of a little kid as ever
• Slowly started embracing the notion of minimalism thanks to a blog i started reading here is the link
  
• I have gotten to know my room mates much better than i used to
• One of said roomies started a blog which i think you should all check out and encourage her to write more at http://fooduni.blogspot.com/
• I discovered yet again just how important a prof is to the subject matter they teach thanks to philosophy of art
• I have renewed my love of the two areas of knowledge that will be making up my degrees
• I have become completely and utterly broke meaning a job hunt is fast approaching
  
• Met a bunch of new people as is bound to happen at the start of each school year
• Became even more obsessed with cleaning, though mainly dishes and my room
• Reading a lot, and watching a lot of TV shows as is usual
• Looking for more changes in my life
• Thinking about space clearing in all aspects and wondering where to start

Now it is your turn. If you go to the same school as me it is reading week and you now have some more time than you did before, but even if you don't take a few minutes and run over the big important stuff that happened in the last few months. Look at the good, the bad, and the stuff you want to change. Let go of the fear, the worry, the regret, and the sadness. Let go of the happiness too.

That seems like a silly notion, i know. Think about how much time you hurt yourself with past happiness though, whether it be happiness from a past relationship that is over now or a past mark on an assignment that your current work didn't match.

Let go of the past and make some more room for the future, after all if your in uni like me this year still has 6 months to go! (And if your really like me then this year has 9 more months cause you will also be taking classes during the summer!)

R.I.P. Bob

Hey out there loyal readers, hey also to first timers, and of course hey to those who wish i was actually writing this blog on a semi-regular schedule so that they could use it to eat up time better spent doing homework, or reading, or sleeping...

I know, the sheer volume of posts which i have written after a period of about a week pledging that there would be no gap that large again is probably one full third of this blog. Why do i write about that so often? Because i am simply sick of bloggers that i love to read keeping their stories from me. Of course i don't want to do this to anyone who actually enjoys reading this (all two of you, i would say three but i don't count...)

It is interesting to think back on this summer. I forget when but i had a time when i wanted to engage in a "tech detox" by which i mean that i would stop for a period of at least a week, if not longer, using my TV, cell phone, computer, and the internet anywhere. If you wanted to reach me you would have had three options, call my house, stop by, or write me a letter. As you all can guess that never really happened.

What you probably could have figured out is that i did engage in something quite similar relatively recently. See sadly my old computer Bob died after three loyal years of service and a little bit beyond. Yes Bob did go in for service on a semi-regular basis. Yes Bob had so many replacement parts that i could argue Bob would have been the laptop equivalent of a person who has basically all their organs replaced by machines. That's right, i had a computer cyborg.

But yes, during the time Bob passed i was reduced to using either my girlfriend's computer or the computers on campus that were even older than Bob. As well during this time i was too busy to really spend a lot of time watching TV. True, i did play some G O Dubs, and my cell phone was often in use.

But during this time it was interesting to note how i could so easily get along without these pieces of technology. I survived the time without my computer and frequent access to the internet. I didn't die, my social life remained alive, I was not suddenly shunned by everyone everywhere. My suggestion is that you consider doing this, if only for two or three days. Most people check their email more than once or twice a day, some studies suggest that people actually check their email about once an hour! Believe me, unless you are a prof, a psychologist, or someone involved with some kind of armed conflict (be it the police, the military, or a standoff with your little sibling) you really don't need to be checking that often.

I encourage trying to just check your email when you get up in the morning and before you go to bed at night. Give yourself 20 minutes to an hour to do all the stuff online you need to do (and consider what is a need and what is a want, 50 facebook quizzes are NOT something you NEED to do, and none of your friends really care that much that your wedding dress type is simple, especially if you are a guy). Check your emails, respond to people, maybe pound out a blog post, then shut it off and live in the real world.

Believe me, the internet isn't going anywhere, but if we all keep spending so much time on it then neither will we.

Final note, with Bob dead he will soon be sold for parts but i have also gotten a new laptop and it needs a name, suggestions please!

Last Day of August

Hey y'all out there, it is about 12 o'clock, just about to begin the last day of August and i am about to head to bed in a little bit but first i am chillin online and watching my turtle Squirt attempt to devour the fish i tossed into his tank tonight. Apparently like most guys he really enjoys the chase...

Anywho i was kicking around earlier watching some TV and some videos on Youtube and i decided that simply i wanted to share a link to a guy's work that i have been watching a lot on Youtube recently, which is the Phillip DeFranco show (i think that is how you spell his name).

What the guy does is search around the internet, find some interesting news, and then shares and talks about it for a little while. He does this in a really funny way, he does a great job of editing his videos together and i just really recommend it, so if it sounds like something you might like to watch, check him out at http://www.youtube.com/user/sxephil

And of course i intended this to be a short little post but that seems to have failed because Youtube recommended a video featuring a Jason Mraz song which really puts me in the mood to reminisce about this past summer and talk a bit about the up coming year. Basically i am saying if you want to avoid the sappy emotional crap i am about to talk about then stop reading here.

OK so if you know me at all you know that while i technically considered moving into residence at university moving out and didn't experience the whole wanting to go home thing that most people did, this summer was technically when i got my own space where i was allowed to do things like *gasp!* poke holes in the walls! So as such this summer has been a time when i have grown up a lot.

That notion right there freaks me the fuck out, i have always been someone who people think of as mature, hell i think of myself as mature, but this summer i grew up a lot and it terrifies me to think about all the other growing left for me to do. I like being a kid but at the same time i will be twenty one in less than a month! I am going into my second year of university!

While a lot of me is really excited about this, excited about the fact that i get to have my own space, i have my own turtle now, i am making decisions about the route my life will take a bunch of me is gibbering in the corner of my mind at the notion that anyone in their right mind is letting ME make these choices... I mean i hardly know how to cook!

But at the same time this summer i have learned a lot about the importance of keeping a space clean, how quickly food goes, the effort it takes to keep a place looking nice, and how nice it must be to go home to a house that doesn't have cats in it.

As well i worked at a new job this summer, i got to be a server and for a couple minutes i even got to be a bartender! I've met a few new people this summer and keep having these wonderful moments in conversations with people where i learn something new about myself. That of course was something i thought about myself in addition to being mature i thought i knew myself but i guess not as well as i thought... i think i should type thought one more time...

And this leads to the final thing that happened this summer that i want to talk about, and that thing is a person. That thing is my girlfriend. She is this amazing strong beautiful person who is so very different from everyone else i have ever met. And of course it just happens that she also lives a good nine hours away so i have hardly spent any time with her physically even though i have spent hours on the phone with her.

We both noticed the same thing... we both realized that we missed each other before we had even spent time together because we simply... well on my half at least she had become one of the people who knows me at least as well as i know myself. To be honest those people number on one hand.

She is a very important part of my life, very special to me, i like her a lot, and yet more than half of the time since we started dating has been spent 9 hours apart. I'm not someone who tends to like people this way often. I tend to be picky. And so i spend a lot of time talking to her on the phone, why? Because i haven't had near enough time with her.

Its the last day of August and in my mind it can't go fast enough because i want her here right now. Your task for this day is to find someone special to you and let them know all of how you feel, be as open as you can. Let them in and hope they don't hurt you.

When I Wont Write MWBN

OK dude, readers, people who surf the interwebs. I am gonna write you another blog post right now. Why? Why am i writing another one today? Why am i not working on MWBN or reading the bible or some other such activity which fills so much of my time?

Well mainly it is actually this kind of exhaustion flowing through me cause i have only eaten really crappy food lately. No, sorry, that's a lie. I have been eating whole wheat bread and cold meats, but i haven't been eating enough fruits or veggies, i have been missing out on eating garlic and ginger, and i stopped consuming tea ever since the stupid heat wave hit.

So as such a lot of the stuff i have been eating which made me feel full of energy and vitality. Instead now i have been falling prey to the westernized diet and it took till today for me to feel the full effects. Basically i need to go shopping for lots of fruits and veggies and try to be an almost vegetarian for a while.

So instead of doing these things which i need to be doing in order simply to reach the end, (and i know, i have been saying it is all about the journey) but if you never reach the end it is just as bad and focusing on reaching the end too soon.

So yes, i write another blog post because it quite simply is easier to do than to try to learn a new skill, to write a truly well written story. That is part of the problem, i don't just want to write out the story, create the path, and then leave it. It has to be the right path, it has to be one in which the full potential of the characters and their story comes out.

Yes, this story is also mine. It is mine in that i am the one who writes it, the one who is there when the first pain, the first joy, the first fall and the first triumph is experienced by each character. But... i guess a part of me feels some kind of relation to Chuck in Supernatural, to the movie Stranger Than Fiction, and to the movie Inkheart.

In each of these works there is an author who writes out a work, for the sake of art, or for the fact that this story comes into their mind, and they feel that they have no choice but to write it down. This is the feeling i have when i think about this story. I know the plot-line, i know what needs to be said. The problem is that it isn't just my story, it is about those who are the characters in it as well.

And to them i feel a responsibility. Its probably part of my insanity but it has to do with the way i write, with what i demand of myself. And that is why, when i feel tired and my head aches and i can't really focus i blog, but i don't write MWBN, because to write in that state is to fail. To knowingly fail, and that i wont allow.

New Words, New Lessons

So as you know if you have read this blog before, i am currently taking summer courses. If you are new to my blog, Welcome! and i am taking summer courses at my university. Why am i doing something as completely and utterly ludicrous as taking classes during my summer months rather than relaxing and sleeping in till 12? Well because A) i am a giant nerd and love my classes, and B) i can use the OSAP money to pay my rent so that i can move out without having to work and finally C) because in my house i get to spend most of my time relaxing and sleeping in till 12.

The next question is what courses is it that i am taking? Well see, first you have to know what kind of degree i am taking. I affectionately refer to it as my "psychotic degree that is absolutely good for nothing", see this degree is a joint major with psychology and philosophy, that carries with it a minor in indigenous studies.

Third question of the day should generally be WTF, and why? Simply put, i love philosophy. Something you should know if you have read even one of my posts before. If you haven't, i love philosophy. Also though this year i discovered my love for psych, which oddly enough was around long before my love of philosophy, i just forgot about it.

However something else i learned this year was that i hate a lot of western philosophy, and i think that getting simply a philosophy degree, besides from being useless in the practical world, is really biased towards one way of thinking. So i decided to take indigenous studies to balance out philosophy. As such, the classes i am taking this summer are Stats 2016 & 2017 which i need in order to get my psych major, and INDG 1000 to try it out and make sure it is something that i actually want to continue in.

Anyway, while stats is boring to the point that i text people informing them that i am dying and begging them to save me, indigenous studies is actually a lot of fun. Despite the fact that it is bright an early, starting at 9 am, when i manage to make it i love it. And i love the naps when i pass out in the middle of the lectures... (yes, i truly am not a morning person in the slightest)

Anywho, let me tell what it is that i love about this class. Its that the languages become part of the lecture which are completely unrelated to English, which is great. Yes, i love English, it is a wonderful language which is why i write and write and write, its why i want to be a writer, a novelist, i want to travel the world and explore different areas. I want to create my own worlds and societies with words so that other people can see in their minds.

But i digress, back to my point of learning bits and pieces of languages which are not related to English gives totally new expressions of thoughts and experiences which cannot be expressed in this language. It is in these totally new words that i am reminded of an old Zen is Stupid podcast (yes, you should go listen to all of them) that talks about words from other languages which express thoughts and ideas foreign to the English language that enrich their lives.

Thats why my task for all of you who are not currently engaged into some kind of learning a new task or skill for the summer should take some time to learn a few words in a new language, one not related to what you naturally speak.

The Earth, did Quakeith

I live in Ontario. Shocking, i know, but believe me this is in fact going somewhere. See, Ontario had the fun of enjoying part of that great big earthquake a little while ago. Even more shocking is probably the fact that i know the earthquake affected a large area, but... well, i was talking to people online at the time and they told me.

See a conversation i had today with my big sister informed me of a lot of junk going on in Toronto that i didn't know about, in fact before yesterday i had no clue what G20 was, or why everyone was making a big deal about it and kept forgetting to ask people.

See something i refuse to do is to watch or read the news. I did try to watch them for a while, become a more knowledgeable person, more well rounded, more informed. Yes, i did fail epically, though part of it was was how hard it was at the time for me to manage to get ahold of said news, via papers which i would had to pay for (i was unemployed at the time), the internet (i had dial up), or TV (i had an antenna, meaning 6 o'clock or none, and that was when the Simpsons was on!).

Anywho, altering this idea was something that came to me from the wonderful people over at Zen is Stupid, i forget which episode it was, part of the problem of listening to them all. Anyways it was a story about a woman who didn't have a TV or a computer, she didn't listen to the radio or read the newspaper. The reason she offered behind this is that the news tends to present such a biased point of view where the negative is expanded because people read it more. Rather if anything important happens someone will hopefully tell her, so since i heard of this i have avoided the news to avoid bringing extra negativity into my life.

Anywho, off of the gigantic tangent and back to my main point, there was an earthquake that shook a lot of the world including the area that i live in. Friends of mine near and far felt it as well, to me it was a little fun because of the way it shook, though no serious damage took place.

(part of what happened after is due to this video which i watched the day before, go ahead and enjoy it)

Before the earthquake took place i was wasting time watching videos on my computer, not really accomplishing very much. After the earthquake i continued to do so for a little while then buckled down and finished an essay for one of my classes in less than an hour. Why? Well i always say to people that i already have my suite in hell picked out, but frankly i really don't want to end up there because i was putting off an essay.

See, it put me in mind of the 7 deadly sins, which are (according to wikipedia): Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. Part of the reason they leapt to mind so quickly is that i am attempting to read the bible cover to cover for the... well i dunno how many times in my life.

Anyways the thing that keeps coming to mind as i read it is that while i disagree with a lot of it, and most of the rest is totally pointless (do i really need to know all the names of the kids that some dead guy had with his two wives?) but in and amongst the rest is actually some gems of wisdom such as these sins. Yes, i embrace the Seven as WISDOM! and yes i know that includes lust, i still think that they make sense as bad things.

See, each of these things i don't really think is bad on their own, but just like being aware and focused on your life can be a bad thing so can each of these. Being consumed by lust so that you disregard those things that happen to everyone around you, being so prideful that you cannot accept when you are wrong, being so consumed by envy that you cannot enjoy the good things that happen to those around you. These are all terrible things to do, so see that wisdom there.

But by the same token taking a day to yourself does not mean that you are falling to sloth, rather it means you are in balance. I don't think people should let themselves fall too deeply into any of these but i do think that each of these things should have at least a small presence in your life. Lust is usually a part of a healthy relationship. Pride in your work tends to make sure you do a good job. Envy lets you know what you want.

Just remember that these things are similar to a campfire, they consume, give them too much and they will light the forest and burn you up.

Plug

Ok, so i a publishing a tiny post tonight. This tiny post exists to do one thing and one thing only. Namely i am going to plug a blog that someone i know writes. See what has always driven me insane since i was a kid is that people live in the world, they notice that yes it is hotter out than it was last year, yes there is less snow, yes the air hurts my lungs to breath in the city, yes we can't see the stars at night, but no we are not going to do anything about it.

See as a kid i grew up in the country, on a farm. There was a conservation area down the street, a forest across the road, my grandmother's house had a pond in the back yard. Suffice to say as a kid my life was awesome, who needed to be able to walk to a park when i could walk to a forest?

I watched the Nature of Things for fun, as well as documentaries and read non-fiction books for fun (which i still do). I was a science junkie, i was a student whose highest mark was in math (MATH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!). I was very much a dork, nerd, geek, whatever you want to call me. I still am and carry the titles with pride.

Anywho this blog that i started this post to plug is Girls Gone Green which is put up from some girls who go to the same university as me and offer advice on how to live more ecologically friendly. If you like it i also recommend you check out the blog done by the same author who writes more about life in this world that we are slowly destroying. Check out the Outside In.

And finally my fun quote of the day is: "But if i don't follow my whims out when will I?"

Quick Response

Just tossing out a little response to the comment on my last post, that was by a friend of mine whose blog just keeps tossing out writing that i find so inspiring, if you liked the sound of her writing then check it out at http://charcoalstars.blogspot.com/ give a comment or two, and see what other great writing you can find (and if you find nothing ask me for more recommendations)

VD...

It is the start of February and the buzz from New Year's Eve is hopefully wearing off by now. For students it is back to school, for parents it is back to nagging and for couples the next holiday is right around the corner.

Valentines Day is almost here and this year it comes with a number of other holidays. As a university student i have already noticed a number of different celebrations popping up in and around the holiday and it makes me happy.

I was someone who spent my time in high school playing the cynic and celebrating Anti- V Day which is really easy to do with website like: http://www.meish.org/vd/ . Personally my favorite is the one that simply states "You'll Do".

But now with all these other events coming up I have had a slight awakening to the idea that maybe we all should get into the original spirit of the season instead of the Hallmark Store.

First of the events i have noticed is "Tell her she's beautiful" which is simply inspiring to tell the women of your life that you think they are beautiful just the way they are. It is a wonderful way to tell the people you care about that you do care and more than about looks as well.

Next is the reverse, no not tell her she's ugly but "Tell him he's handsome", a chance to tell the men in her life that you think they look great no matter how old they have gotten or what life has been putting them through. It simply is a great way to show what people mean to you.

But of course no holiday is complete without some time to yourself. That is why there is also self love week, running from February 9th to the 13th. The perfect reminder in the hustle and bustle
world that sometimes you need to kick back, take hold, and enjoy life.

*side note: i have submitted this post to another blog to run, cross your fingers for me!*

Missing My Computer

OK so back to blogging because i have most definatly fallen out of the habbit. I sent my computer away to be fixed, had it for like a week at the most and sent it away again, so now here i sit, blogging on a computer at university, missing my laptop.

It isn't so much that i miss my laptop though, it is more than i miss the people i use it to talk to. I guess it is kind of just a seeking of comforts from the past. My computer was something i had there all the time, that and my TV.

I never worried about not having a TV at university because i would just go online and find shows or watch DVDs but now i have ended up reading for most of my free time in my room. Which isn't really a bad thing. Hell it is a good thing.

But because i am not used to it, i end up missing my computer. I have been attached to that laptop for so long that when i have time to sit down and think about it i miss it. Lucky for me i brought most of my favorite books and have been staying busy all week. So i guess that is my mission until i get the call that my computer is fixed, stay busy.

Tech Detox

Hmm, what to blog? What to blog?... Well there are a lot of things that are possible but what do i feel like? I don't really feel like writing about anything in particular... But i want to write about something, see i plan to send my computer in to be worked on soon, meaning that the only time i will have access to the internet will be at my girlfriend's house.

Its going to be a total shift from what i tend to spend my time doing now. I use my laptop for almost everything, i blog on it, peruse blogs, research things. I write on it, i use it to watch videos, to watch DVDs, to listen to music, charge my ipod, and plan things out. It is kinda dissapointing relying on this peice of machinery so much, it has become a center point in my life. It and my cell phone are my life lines out of my house because i live so far away from anywhere else.

Anywho the next little while without my laptop will be interesting. So that will probably be my first post when i get back. Detoxing from the online world. I will still be plugged in though, so the question is how bad will it be? Last time it happened i was angryer than normal and had a shorter fuse.

Internet Media

So here i am again, i did not die, i just... slacked off on posting which is something i will probably always have a tendency to do. But i dragged myself back. By my GTD list (getting things done) i did. So here i am at my computer, struggling to focus through several msn conversations and a splitting headache but focus i will because i will not let this blog go for more than a week without a new post!

So here i am writing and for a while a lot of different topics bounced around my head. I can't help that i have a load of opinions but not all of them will make it onto this blog, not all of them are worth your time (that's right, i have worse crap than the stuff i have been writing about hiding somewhere in my head). But in the end i decided to do another post about stuff for you to read other than things written by me.

But i am not going with a genre to recommend from, this time i am going with internet media, meaning there are many more forms available. So here they are the things i think you should read/listen to online. Keep in mind the things i recommend here all have tonnes of past archives that are just as good as the current updates.

First and foremost i want to tell you to read Waiter Rant which is also the title of the book by the same author, Steve Dublanica. His work can vary from the humorous to the crazy to the awesome to the truly inspiring. He talks generally about human nature and society as seen from his unique perspective. He was going to become a priest but grew disillusioned with the church, entered the medical administrative field, got black balled from that, and became a waiter. His story and the stories he has picked up along the way can often be just what you need to cheer yourself up or inspire you to become a better person.

The next rung of the ladder is in a similar vein to Steve, the blog is called Opinionsatas and is the rise of a young woman in New York named Melissa Lafsky. She is much more of a societal writer and deals more with feminist issues she sees in society. Her blog is something you would need to go to the archives to read as she tends to not update it as often, working instead for a paying blog, the Huffington post.

To continue the trend i have started (aka the order i began reading these blogs) i will go with the blog Girl With a One Track Mind. Taking feminist issues a step further along with all other things relating to sex or the left wing of politics this blog belongs to Zoe (i fail to recall her last name) who is the author of the book with the same name under the pseudonym Abby Lee. For a more in depth look at my views on relationships and sex check her blog out, i am in line with most of her thinking and differ mainly on her views of religion.

From here we get back to guys talking with the blog Todger Talk which is run by several men from the British Isles who write about sex love and relationships handing out advice to guys and gals on behavior, cleanliness and all other things people really need to know. They also add a picture to each post which i find nice, but am
too lazy to do here. Besides, i admit i am a writer not a photographer.

OK on the writer vibe head over to http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/ to check out the blog from one of my favorite authors who through the few old posts available will teach you more about writing a novel than an entire semester of writer's craft did for me. This is of course a technique used to write out from a formula, not from a free fall, or a way to spark creativity (though if it does for you kudos).

And the last blog i will list is by another favorite author of mine. I picked up his first book on a trip to New York with my school and have been thankful ever since, The Frontal Cortex is by Jonah Lehrer who brings science and art together in awesome and new ways as well as keeping me updated on new discoveries and such that i would otherwise totally miss. His writing is relatable and reliable and should be read if you want to be somewhat slightly informed on genetics. He also links to the articles he references so you can improve your knowledge if you internet is slightly faster than dial up.

And the final thing i will recommend is the listen portion. Check out Zen is Stupid the podcast for entertainment on Zen Buddhism and life in general. It is the second place i started going to for information when i became interested in Buddhism again (the first is the TV show Life which, while entertaining, is not that informative). Check out their podcast on itunes or at there website and let it rock your socks.

(P.S. all the labels are for the other blogs listed here, because their topics cover damn near everything)

(P.P.S. I thought i had published this post but apparently not...)

Tweet Tweet

Yes, it has happened, i have fallen. I, who so passionately hate Facebook, who claim that it is the root of all evil, a waste of time, i have joined twitter. Yes, you heard (or read) me properly, i have joined twitter and will now be tweeting out to the internet from my cell phone.

For those of you interested in finding me on there go to http://twitter.com/wesawakes and check it out, I'll be sending out questions and things to think about whenever they occur to me (plus whatever whiny thing i happen to be thinking about at that moment).

I actually encourage you to use twitter, just do everyone a favor, think before you tweet. There is enough garbage out there already, i know we will all contribute a little, but lets not make it too much...