The Beginning is the End is the Beginning or The Dark Knight vs. Watchmen
Current mood: excited
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
The release of The Dark Knight brought along with it the release of the trailer for Watchmen. I was lucky enough to have the trailer shown before the midnight showing of TDK that I saw in an IMAX theater. It looks amazing and features music by the Smashing Pumpkins.
Ironically, the song featured (and part of the title of this blog) was written for Batman and Robin and is supposed to be a song about Batman. Billy Corgan comments on the writing of the song in THIS Wikipedia article. So as appropriate as the song is in the Watchmen trailer, it is meant for Batman. Last night I found a fan made trailer for The Dark Knight that uses the music clip from the Watchmen trailer. The result is a brilliant and perhaps more perfect preview for the film than what we've already seen. Take a look:
Recap of LOST in less than 1000 words via McSweeney’s (Hilarious Spoilers Ahead)
Current mood: aggravated
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
THE OPENING ACT FROM THE ORIGINAL, UNUSED TELEPLAY OF LOST'S PILOT EPISODE.
BY ANDREW BRIDGMAN
- - - -
JACK: OK, everyone, gather round. I'm Jack. We crashed on this island. I'm kind of an alcoholic, and I had a really complicated relationship with my father, Christian, who was also an alcoholic.
CLAIRE: Christian Shepherd? That's my dad, too!
JACK: No way!
SAWYER: Oh, yeah, I know that guy, too. I met him at a bar. He's proud of you.
JACK: You met my dad?
SAWYER: Yeah, I met him right before I killed this guy I thought had ruined my life as a child. He was a con man who went by "Sawyer" and had an affair with my mother and then my dad found out and killed her and himself. It was ugly.
LOCKE: No way! That sounds just like my dad! He stole my kidney and then paralyzed me.
KATE: Paralyzed people can't walk.
LOCKE: Don't tell me what I can't do! I can walk now, obviously. I think this island is magic or something crazy like that.
KATE: Know what else is crazy? I killed my stepdad, who was actually my dad, by blowing up the house he was in. Then I went on the run for a long time. That marshall guy that's dying there was taking me to the U.S. to put me in jail.
(The "monster noise" is heard in the jungle.)
CHARLIE: What was that, mates?
HURLEY: I think it was a monster made of smoke that's floating around for some reason.
CHARLIE: That's bloody weird. Almost as bloody weird as me being a heroin addict due to my rock band, DriveShaft, and my brother, Liam.
HURLEY: Oh, yeah, you guys were popular right around the time I won the lottery thanks to some cursed, mysterious, omnipresent numbers. You guys suck.
SUN: Ha! They totally do.
SHANNON: You speak English?
SUN: Yeah, I do. Hey, Jin.
JIN: (Something in Korean.)
SUN: I speak English. I also had an affair with a bald guy, who taught it to me, then he killed himself, or maybe I killed him. But you can't blame me, right? You used to be a really nice guy before we got married and I paid off a blackmail debt to your prostitute mother by taking a loan from my father, which led him to make you his guy who beat the shit out of people, which destroyed your soul. I hope we reconcile and you gradually learn English. Wanna go in that tent and see if we can get me knocked up?
JIN: ... Boat?
(JIN and SUN go into their tent.)
SAYID: While they're doing that, we should try to figure out how to get off this island. I need to get back to Nadia, this chick I used to like and who I sorta tortured once. I'm from Iraq. Did I mention that?
MICHAEL: No. Hey, where'd Walt go?
SAYID: Oh, some grungy-lookin' pirates took him.
MICHAEL: WAAAAAAALT! WAAAAAAALT! I wanted to be there for him, but his mom was a bitch and took him away from me. I'm trying to get to know him now. Sucks that he got kidnapped.
LOCKE: Hey, while you guys were talking, I found some door in the jungle.
JACK: Did you open it?
LOCKE: Yeah, there was a Scottish guy in there, and I made him stop pressing some button. It just exploded and released a bunch of electromagnetic energy, so the island is visible to the outside world again.
DESMOND: Hi, bruthas. I'm Desmond. I can kinda see the future. Charlie, you're gonna die.
CHARLIE: OK, I'll go swim to an underwater station so we can all get rescued.
DESMOND: Sounds good. Then I can reunite with this chick I liked but got separated from due to her father's meddling. It was kinda like The Notebook.
ROUSSEAU: I found this guy in the jungle.
BEN: My name is Henry Gale!
SAYID: Really?
BEN: No, it's Benjamin Linus. I'm an Other, which means I'm part of this group of people who were on the island before you guys. I was initially part of the DHARMA Initiative, but it was purged by me and other people who have been on the island a long time and may or may not be immortal. It's complicated.
ROUSSEAU: They whisper.
BEN: Right. I'm really manipulative. If you help me escape, Michael, I'll give you back Walt. He makes birds run into doors. I don't like that and neither does Jacob, the cabin-ghost guy who runs this island.
MICHAEL: OK. (Shoots off into the distance.) I just killed Libby and Ana Lucia. Trust me, they're on the other side of the island. Tail section.
BEN: OK, here's Walt back. Get on this boat and then go sneak onto the freighter that's coming to kill us.
MICHAEL: OK.
(MICHAEL and WALT get on the boat and sail off.)
ALEX: Hey, Dad, what're you doing here?
BEN: Hi, Alex, this is your mother.
ROUSSEAU: Hey, I've been looking for you for 16 years.
ALEX: Weirdo.
JACK: Hey, Kate.
KATE: Yeah?
JACK: Pick me or Sawyer.
KATE: Who's Sawyer?
SAWYER: Me.
KATE: Oh, OK. I dunno. Sawyer, I guess.
SAWYER: Thanks, Freckles.
BOONE: I'm gonna go die now.
LOCKE: Yeah, the island's been saying it demands a sacrifice. Go for it, kid.
I present to you, in it's entirety, the 1973 film version of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Carl Anderson as Judas and Ted Neely as Jesus. This film is perhaps one of the most influential interpretations and portrayals of the gospel, specifically the last week of Jesus' life. There is so much that I have to say about this remarkable movie, but for now I'd like to let you rock out a bit. If you just want to hit some highlights, I'd recommend "Heaven on Their Minds", "Gethsemane", and "Superstar." Enjoy!
Due to a University and State wide budget crisis, the administration at the University of Florida decided yesterday to eliminate the PhD program in philosophy. The program is currently ranked among the top 50 programs in the United States. However, we will now likely see a slow but sure demise of the department within 2-5 years. I will not be affected by these changes as far as I can tell, but the careers of several brilliant students, friends, and faculty members have essentially been put on hold or ruined.
This decision is misguided and shameful. Philosophy is a foundational discipline in the Liberal Arts and every major university in the world offers PhD's in the field. Someone has created a petition that will be sent to President Bernie Machen encouraging him to retain the PhD program. Please follow the link to the petition and sign if you feel inclined. Also, please let others know about this unfortunate turn of events. Your help is much appreciated.
The Decision Made Itself
Current mood: full
Category: Life
In the past month, I've started two potential blog entries that I thought would be interesting. One was a review of the movie King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. If you haven't seen this documentary, I highly recommend it. The other was a post about the death of the music video. I was inspired to write it after watching a series of commercials that each contained songs that I enjoyed and consequently downloaded. I mentioned to my boyfriend that it appears the commercial has become the new music video since no one ever gets to see real music videos in the daylight anymore. The blog that I started writing began with some nostalgic anecdotes about the heyday of the music video and observations about how music videos (or a lack thereof in certain cases) often served to define the artists of a past generation.
I write this now, however, not to complete either of those entries, but rather to comment on my pervasive laziness, lack of motivation, and inability to complete projects that I start. (Of course, if I succeed in completing this post, I'll have a nice little counterexample.) This trend has flared up throughout my life, but I've probably been most keenly aware of its prominence during my career as a graduate student. For one thing, it's taken me almost 4 ½ years to complete my thesis. Granted, my advisor was on sabbatical for one of those years and last year was a complete bust in the light of certain personal tragedies. However, I don't think that really excuses or explains the length of time that it took for me to complete my project. This happens with very short-term projects, such as term papers, as well. Right now I have the obligation to finish two incompletes from past semesters and I neither enjoy doing the work nor do I feel motivated. I am unsure whether this betrays a mere but blatant dissatisfaction on my part with the discipline or something deeper and more worrisome about my personality. The tendency to be dissatisfied with myself and with my work is part of what has me questioning my future in philosophy, though it does seem a shame to depart from a field in which I've spent so much time and which, at times, I do very much enjoy and almost always appreciate. Generally, though, I'd like to be a more motivated and focused person in more aspects of my life. I think motivation and focus would help me achieve the sorts of goals that I have in my academic, social, and emotional life.
Aside from those worries, my life is going well. I'm still thrilled to have finished my thesis, to be living with Chris, to be teaching my own course next semester, and to be seeing my family soon. I have acquired some items that I'd like to share. I recently bought some bento boxes along with accessories. Bento boxes are smallish Japanese lunch boxes, often tiered, and which contain dividers of various kinds. The idea behind the bento box is that a person can eat a variety of healthy and tasty foods in small quantities. Here are some pictures of the cute boxes I purchased:
The boxes are both tiered and each contain different dividers. They also come with their own chopsticks and chopstick holders. The colorful cupcake-looking things that you see are flexible food holders for bento boxes. Putting bento box lunches together is an art of sorts and the colors of the holders contribute to the aesthetic. The small little plastic things you see are condiment containers. They are shaped like fish, pigs, and small bottles and can be used for condiments like soy sauce or salad dressing. Just suck up and go.
Now for something absurd. Chris and I now own five iPods between us. I bought him a new iPod nano for our one year anniversary and he bought me an iPod touch. Here's a picture of the madness:
Anybody need one?
Oh, if anyone would actually like for me to finish either one of those blogs that I mentioned earlier, let me know.
So, I set a date for my thesis defense. Thursday, October 11 at 4. Lord knows at this time last year I never thought I'd see such a day. I suppose I'm happy about it. I'm sure I'll be much happier when it's over.
This past year has been one of the hardest I have ever had to endure. My mother's death along with the loss of some other people in my life and the weight of my thesis hanging over my head contributed to a great deal of sadness, depression, and anxiety on my part. But recently, things in my life have come together in a wonderful and very settling way.
First, I have been completely zoloft free for over three weeks. This may not seem like very much of an accomplishment because, hey, it's just medicine. But zoloft as well as other psychotropic medications intended to ease depression, is notoriously difficult to ween off of. I went from 150 mg a day to 100 and then to 50 in a very short period of time during the spring semester. The withdrawal symptoms were very intense. I was left feeling tired and apathetic and spent almost an entire week or two in bed. I weened off of the rest very, very, very slowly. I went down to 25 mg a day after a few months, then every other day. I then went to 12.5 mg every other day and then every third day. Finally I went down to 6.25 every third day for a while and finally stopped taking it at all. I was a little anxious during the first week or so at that point. There is a marked difference in feeling without any of that drug in your system. But now I feel relaxed and happy.
I have also turned in a draft of my thesis to my advisor, something I really didn't think I was ever going to be able to do. A depressed state causes you to not want to do much of anything, especially anything that requires exerting mental energy. But overcoming this hurdle means that I am ever so close, pending revisions of course, to a final draft and a defense. And completing this is something that I am intellectually and emotionally prepared for. I am now literally weeks away from receiving my master"s degree. after the defense and submission, I will be awarded the degree at the close of the semester. I can then turn almost all of my academic attention toward my dissertation since I have completed all of my course requirements save one.
Also, two weeks ago I received a $15,000 check from my mother's life insurance policy. It was certainly a bitter reminder of the pain that I've been going through, but also certainly a blessing. I am now credit card debt free with thousands left over to invest in my IRA and other interest bearing accounts. All of my money in my checking, savings, and investment accounts is now making money. I haven't wanted to make any extraneous purchases except for a brand new MacBook, the new light of my life. So, for the first time in a long time, I feel not only financially secure for the moment, but for the very long term.
On top of this, my beautiful, brilliant, loving boyfriend is moving in during the next week. We will be making a nice home and little love nest together. Not only will my expenses go down roughly $600 a month, I will always have a lover and friend to come home to. Bonus: we also got a very nice free couch last week.
On the slight downside, my truck is giving me some problems. It has developed the tendency to not want to start when I want it to. But, luckily I suppose, I have enough money to either get it fixed or save for a new vehicle, maybe even one that has air conditioning! For my ten years of driving, I have never had a car that has had air conditioning.
Suffice it to say that I feel very content with my life right now, but not complacent, and I just wanted to share the good things that are happening right now with my friends.
I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. You too can win arguments. Simply follow these rules:
Drink Liquor.
Suppose you're at a party and some hotshot intellectual is expounding on the economy of Peru, a subject you know nothing about. If you're drinking some health-fanatic drink like grapefruit juice, you'll hang back, afraid to display your ignorance, while the hotshot enthralls your date. But if you drink several large martinis, you'll discover you have STRONG VIEWS about the Peruvian economy. You'll be a WEALTH of information. You'll argue forcefully, offering searing insights and possibly upsetting furniture. People will be impressed. Some may leave the room.
Make things up.
Suppose, in the Peruvian economy argument, you are trying to prove Peruvians are underpaid, a position you base solely on the fact that YOU are underpaid, and you're damned if you're going to let a bunch of Peruvians be better off. DON'T say: ``I think Peruvians are underpaid.'' Say: ``The average Peruvian's salary in 1981 dollars adjusted for the revised tax base is $1,452.81 per annum, which is $836.07 before the mean gross poverty level.''
NOTE: Always make up exact figures.
If an opponent asks you where you got your information, make THAT up, too. Say: ``This information comes from Dr. Hovel T. Moon's study for the Buford Commission published May 9, 1982. Didn't you read it?'' Say this in the same tone of voice you would use to say ``You left your soiled underwear in my bath house.''
Use meaningless but weightly-sounding words and phrases.
Memorize this list:
Let me put it this way
In terms of
Vis-a-vis
Per se
As it were
Qua
So to speak
You should also memorize some Latin abbreviations such as ``Q.E.D.,'' ``e.g.,'' and ``i.e.'' These are all short for ``I speak Latin, and you do not.''
Here's how to use these words and phrases. Suppose you want to say: ``Peruvians would like to order appetizers more often, but they don't have enough money.''
You never win arguments talking like that. But you WILL win if you say: ``Let me put it this way. In terms of appetizers vis-a-vis Peruvians qua Peruvians, they would like to order them more often, so to speak, but they do not have enough money per se, as it were. Q.E.D.''
Only a fool would challenge that statement.
Use snappy and irrelevant comebacks.
You need an arsenal of all-purpose irrelevant phrases to fire back at your opponents when they make valid points. The best are:
You're begging the question.
You're being defensive.
Don't compare apples and oranges.
What are your parameters?
This last one is especially valuable. Nobody, other than mathematicians, has the vaguest idea what ``parameters'' means.
Here's how to use your comebacks:
You say: ``As Abraham Lincoln said in 1873...'' Your opponent says: ``Lincoln died in 1865.'' You say: ``You're begging the question.''
OR
You say: ``Liberians, like most Asians...'' Your opponent says: ``Liberia is in Africa.'' You say: ``You're being defensive.''
Compare your opponent to Adolf Hitler.
This is your heavy artillery, for when your opponent is obviously right and you are spectacularly wrong. Bring Hitler up subtly. Say: ``That sounds suspiciously like something Adolf Hitler might say'' or ``You certainly do remind me of Adolf Hitler.''
So that's it: you now know how to out-argue anybody. Do not try to pull this on people who generally carry weapons.
Yesterday, Wolf Blitzer held a live interview with Sicko filmmaker, Michael Moore, on CNN. After presenting a piece challenging some of the facts presented by Moore in the film, Moore preceded to rip Blitzer a new one, accusing him, CNN, and essentially the rest of the media of failing to prevent the war in Iraq. Moore demanded apologies to himself and the American people for the media's lack of service, though he also failed, in the live interview, to refute the facts presented by CNN concerning the current health care system in the US. Moore vowed to address those issues on his film's website. What follows is the raucous interview of Moore by Blitzer as well as the follow-up by Moore about the facts that he was charged with flubbing.
Honestly, the interview didn't leave me any more reassured that one or the other side was presenting accurate data. One study says one thing which is refuted or challenged by another piece of research. Everyone seems to agree that the US health care system needs reform, but no one seems to agree on the facts. Who should we trust? Respected doctors and journalists? Moore? I think the real lesson is that this is not a matter that we can leave up to any one person or source, and that to become well-informed about the issue requires that we each take some time to look at many sources, several pieces of research and data, and formulate the most educated opinion that we can. If the point is that we need open lines of communication and access to all of the data regardless of the frequent conflicts between the purported facts, I think that it's been well made.
'SiCKO' Truth Squad Sets CNN Straight
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN: "(Moore says) the United States slipped to number 37 in the world's health care systems. It's true. ... Moore brings a group of patients, including 9/11 workers, to Cuba and marvels at their free treatment and quality of care. But hold on - that WHO list puts Cuba's health care system even lower than the United States, coming in at 39."
THE TRUTH:
* "But hold on?" 'SiCKO' clearly shows the WHO list, with the United States at number 37, and Cuba at 39. Right up on the screen in big five-foot letters. It's even in the trailer! CNN should have its reporter see his eye doctor. The movie isn't hiding from this fact. Just the opposite. * The fact that the healthcare system in an impoverished nation crippled by our decades-old blockade (including medical supplies and drugs) ranks so closely to ours is more an indictment of the American system than the Cuban system. * Although Cuba ranks lower overall than the United States, it still has a lower infant mortality rate and longer life span. (see below) * And unlike the United States, Cuba offers healthcare to absolutely everyone. In an independent Gallup poll conducted in Cuba, "a near unanimous 96 percent of respondents say that health care in Cuba is accessible to everyone." ("Cubans Show Little Satisfaction with Opportunities and Individual Freedom Rare Independent Survey Finds Large Majorities Are Still Proud of Island's Health Care and Education," January 10, 2007. http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brlatinamericara/ 300.php?nid=&id=&pnt=300&lb=brla)
CNN: "Moore asserts that the American health care system spends $7,000 per person on health. Cuba spends $25 dollars per person. Not true. But not too far off. The United States spends $6,096 per person, versus $229 per person in Cuba."
THE TRUTH:
* According to our own government – the Department of Health and Human Services' National Health Expenditures Projections – the United States will spend $7,092 per capita on health in 2006 and $7,498 in 2007. (Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare and Medicaid Expenditures, National Health Expenditures Projections 2006-2016. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/proj2006.pdf) * As for Cuba – Dr. Gupta and CNN need to watch 'SiCKO' first before commenting on it. 'SiCKO' says Cuba spends $251 per person on health care, not $25, as Gupta reports. And the BBC reports that Cuba's per capita health expenditure is… $251! (Keeping Cuba Healthy, BBC, Aug. 1 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/5232628.stm ) * As Gupta points out, the World Health Organization does calculate Cuba's per capita health expenditure at $229 per person – a lot closer to $251 than $25.
CNN: In fact, Americans live just a little bit longer than Cubans on average.
THE TRUTH:
* Just the opposite. The 2006 United Nations Human Development Report's human development index states the life expectancy in the United States is 77.5 years. It is 77.6 years in Cuba. (Human Development Report 2006, United Nations Development Programme, 2006 at 283. http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/pdfs/report/HDR06-complete.pdf)
CNN: The United States ranks highest in patient satisfaction.
THE TRUTH:
* True, but even when the WHO took patient satisfaction into account in its comprehensive review of the world's health systems, we still came in at 37. ("World Health Organization Assesses The World's Health Systems," Press Release, WHO/44, June 21, 2000. http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-44.html ). * Patients may be satisfied in America, but not everyone gets to be a patient. 47 million are uninsured and are rarely patients - until it's too late. In the rest of the Western world, everyone and anyone can be a patient because everyone is covered. (And don't face exclusions for pre-existing conditions, co-pays, deductibles, and costly monthly premiums). * It's not that other countries are unhappy with their health care – for example, "70 to 80 percent of Canadians find their waiting times acceptable." ("Access to health care services in Canada, Waiting times for specialized services (January to December 2005)," Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-575-XIE/82-575-XIE2006002.htm )
CNN: Americans have shorter wait times than everyone but Germans when seeking non-emergency elective procedures, like hip replacement, cataract surgery, or knee repair.
THE TRUTH:
* This isn't the whole truth. CNN pulled out a statistic about elective procedures. Of the six countries surveyed in that study (United States, Canada, New Zealand, UK, Germany, Australia) only Canada had longer waiting times than America for sick adults waiting to schedule a doctor's appointment for a medical problem. 81% of patients in New Zealand got a same or next-day appointment for a non-routine visit, 71% in Britain, 69% in Germany, 66% in Australia, 47% in the U.S., and 36% in Canada. (The Doc's in, but It'll be AWhile. Catherine Arnst, Business Week. June 22, 2007 http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2007/ tc20070621_716260_page_2.htm) * "Gerard Anderson, a Johns Hopkins health policy professor who has spent his career examining the world's healthcare, said there are delays, but not as many as conservatives state. In Canada, the United Kingdom and France, 'three percent of hospital discharges had delays in treatment,' Anderson told The Miami Herald. 'That's a relatively small number, and they're all elective surgeries, such as hip and knee replacement.' (John Dorschner, "'SiCKO' film is set to spark debate; Reformers are gearing up for 'Sicko,' the first major movie to examine America's often maligned healthcare system," Miami Herald, June 29, 2007.) * One way America is able to achieve decent waiting times is that it leaves 47 million people out of the health care system entirely, unlike any other Western country. When you remove 47 million people from the line, your wait should be shorter. So why is the U.S. second to last in wait times? * And there are even more Americans who keep themselves out of the system because of cost - in the United States, 24 percent of the population did not get medical care due to cost. That number is 5 percent in Canada, and 3 percent in the UK. (Inequities in Health Care: A Five-Country Survey. Robert Blendon et al, Health Affairs. Exhibit 5. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/21/3/182)
CNN: (PAUL KECKLEY-Deloitte Health Care Analyst): "The concept that care is free in France, in Canada, in Cuba - and it's not. Those citizens pay for health services out of taxes. As a proportion of their household income, it's a significant number … (GUPTA): It's true that the French pay higher taxes, and so does nearly every country ahead of the United States on that list."
THE TRUTH:
* 'SiCKO' never claims that health care is provided absolutely for free in other countries, without tax contributions from citizens. Former MP Tony Benn reads from the NHS founding pamphlet, which explicitly states that "this is not a charity. You are paying for it mainly as taxpayers." 'SiCKO' also acknowledges that the French are "drowning in taxes." Comparatively, many Americans are drowning in insurance premiums, deductibles, co-pays and medical debt and the resulting threat of bankruptcy – half of all bankruptcies in the United States are triggered by medical bills. (Medical Bills Make up Half of Bankruptcies. Feb. 2005, MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6895896/)
CNN: "But even higher taxes don't guarantee the coverage everyone wants … (KECKLEY): 15 to 20 percent of the population will purchase services outside the system of care run by the government."
THE TRUTH:
* It's not clear what country Keckley is referring to. In the United Kingdom, only 11.5 percent of the population has supplementary insurance, but it doesn't take the place of NHS insurance. Nobody in France buys insurance that replaces government insurance either, although a substantial amount buys some form of complimentary insurance. ( Private health insurance and access to health care in the European Union. Spring 2004. http://www.euro.who.int/document/Obs/EuroObserver6_1.pdf)
CNN: "But no matter how much Moore fudged the facts, and he did fudge some facts…"
* This is libel. There is not a single fact that is "fudged" in the film. No one has proven a single fact in the film wrong. We expect CNN to correct their mistakes on the air and to apologize to their viewers.
Pre Presidential Primary Inside
Current mood: chipper
Category: News and Politics
If you had to vote today, who would you choose?
Place your pre-primary vote for the president here and then go to the newsvine website to see the total results. The results of the people who vote on this site will be shown here.
About a Necklace
Current mood: mellow
Category: Life
This afternoon I was at a local Vietnamese restaurant with Chris enjoying some shrimp fried rice (which was delicious by the way). As we were sitting there, a man came up to me and asked me if I knew what the necklace I was wearing represented. The necklace that I was wearing was a hemp choker that has cowry shells around it at about two inch intervals. He informed me that the necklace is representative of Aje, the Yoruban goddess of wealth and commerce and that those who wear it are able to entice people to come and buy from them. The shells symbolize "owo eyo" (numerated money). Cowry shells, I've learned, are often used to represent wealth and prosperity and were originally used as a form of currency in Africa. They are also often used to represent the eye of god or a fertile womb.
How fortunate, Chris and I agreed, to have someone explain the meaning behind the symbolic piece of jewelry that I often wear instead of ridiculing or berating me for my ignorance.
Before the man left, he told me that it is good for me to know that my choice of jewelry is the bearer of religious meaning. And, honestly, I felt rather empowered by that, not only that I simply knew what the necklace represented, but also that I know that my wearing it can now serve as a reflection of that knowledge, that each time I wear it, I can expect that there are others who will see it in the same way and that makes me feel connected somehow.
By the way, anyone want to buy what I'm selling on ebay?
Currently
listening
:
True Stories I Made Up
By
Daniel Tosh
Release date: 08 November, 2005
excited
tired
aggravated
chill
hungover
full
discontent
content
awake
chipper
mellow
