Class: 03.05.09

"Drug use is a technological experiment"
As we got farther into the semester we all had to use our computers and the internet more but we also had discussions that made me feel stronger about technology being some kind of monster and today we continued with the comparison to drugs. When people think of drugs and addicts their minds immediately go to a negative image, even people who are doing drugs know it's something bad even if they're in denial of it. But, when technology is brought up not many people jump to this same type of negative opinion even though technology has the potential to be just as dangerous.
True, technology isn't as bad for our health or lives as drugs are in the immediate but in the big scope of things, it's much more of an issue. For the most part drugs are just as dangerous as they've always been, the amount of use among the population may change over the years but in my mind I still see it as each person has the same option as people in the past or future. We all know the risks of drugs and we've seen what they can do so if a person choses to do them, it's their fault. With technology, it's grown and is still growing at a rapid rate. We can't know how dangerous it will become and we aren't really choosing for it to be a part of our lives. Especially after being a part of the Queen City Jazz discussion group I believe it really isn't possible for us to avoid technology and even if we tried, we're compromising so much more of our lives just for that. Also, we aren't the creators of technology so when something new comes out and we haven't seen it used yet and we don't know how it works we have no clue what kind of consequences there may be. When a drug dealer sells drugs they put it in the hands of whoever buys it, and that's the end of it. The people who create our computers, cell phones, and mp3 players are always adding to them and coming out with new things for them or new versions.

Also, we talked about this idea of being human billboards. What would it be like if we could just sell our arm or forehead to some company for advertisement? We talk about it being so ridiculous but think about how many people would actually do that? Our society has become so lazy and we so easily give into the ridiculousness of what these consumers try to feed us. But, even the people who find it ridiculous give into it to a certain extent. I'm from Hawaii and I find beauty in simplicity, I love nothing more than just sitting on the beach enjoying nature. But, when I'm in a place like Las Vegas and there are billboards after billboards on the sides of every road, I think it's so obnoxious but as I drive by I still read them and even if I don't take the next exit to eat at the world's greatest buffet that image and information has been planted into my head and the next time I'm driving around wanting to go somewhere to eat or someone asks me about it, that will end up being on my list of ideas.

We can't escape these things like technology or commercialism. Even if you try to avoid using new technology as much as possible, your entire life will revolve around the fact that you're trying to avoid it.  And if you buy a plain shirt without a brand name on it, you're still showing it off and when someone asks about it, you tell them where it came from and you become a live commercial for it. 

The Filth

As strange and "grotesque" this book is I really enjoyed it. We talk so much and joke around about the different sexual elements of the book and it was really shocking to me at first (especially when twenty some pages in I turned to a technicolor collage of orgasms) but as I pushed myself to read on I found a lot more to it. The dialogue which at times is a very crude is also very witty and clever. I loved the back and forth sarcasm and somewhat cynical element of their speech.
I had never looked at any type of graphic novel before and I hate to admit that I just judged them and put them in the category of things I dislike. This book got me to open my mind in a way and it gave some quotes that really made me think.

For example, "answers are something you want, not something you need" (54)
Is this really true? Do we not actually need answers? Or is there a line between answers we need and want? And where is it?
It is fair enough to say that if we didn't ever search for answers we would be a way less advanced society but where do we stop? I think that science and research can get out of hand but it is so hard to decide where to draw a line. And even still, did we need the answers that we have found? Or could we have been fine without them? With so much talk about technology and its necessity I often wonder if we could have remained living like cavemen. Now, it would be pretty impossible for us to survive that way if we were ripped out of our world but has it become like this due to the human race and curiousity? Or would something else have pushed us to evolve into the society we have become?

People asking questions has gotten us a lot of good things but bad things as well. Weapons, bombs, war, drugs, all of these things came to be because of people's curiosity pushing them to ask questions and discover new things. So, are the good things we've discovered worth it with all the bad or would it have been better if we just left things as simple as they were?

The Biggest Mystery: Love

This may be a post-valentines day thought or maybe just frustrations of my life but either way love is a reoccurring theme everywhere and it seems to run our lives. It’s connected to everything we do and something has changed in our generation and it doesn’t have the worth it used to. People are so quick to say the phrase “I love you” and even quicker to jump into a sexual relationship. What has changed with us? Why do people use the world love with so little emotion so often and why don’t people show this so called love in their actions? Does it go back to the debate about technology and how we’re becoming lazy? It’s very possible. People can just text each other “meaningful” words or send it in a facebook message rather than face to face. If you don’t look into someone’s eyes when you’re telling them how you feel I don’t think there’s really any worth in that. Love is the strongest element of… everything, basically. It shouldn’t be so everyday and typical; there should be a lot of thought put into the concept of love.
Also, I believe love without sex is possible and I’ve seen situations more than a few times where there’s sex without love. So along with love losing it’s worth sex has, even more so. It seems to me that it’s getting out of hand and should be a bigger deal than it is to a lot of people.
I’m reading Queen City Jazz and The Shakers aren’t allowed to have sex because they want everyone to be equal. That concept is what initially triggered all of my thoughts about sex and it’s worth. People make it to be such a great thing but it causes so many problems because it’s taken for granted so often. It does cause inequality between everyone. Certain people are thought of as “better” because they’re hotter and more sexually appealing. Not everyone has the same taste but the majority of people would want to be with a model rather than an “average” office worker and that puts us at different levels.
I feel like this was all on the same topic but a lot of different angles that got brought together and don’t really flow but with the sexual themes and idea of love in basically all of the books we’ve read.

Double Standard?

I was thinking a lot about the discussion in class about the "gross" factor of TTTE and the difference between male and female nudity as well as the sexual disturbance versus emotional disturbance.

I don't really understand why female nudity seems to be so much more acceptable than male nudity. Male nudity seems to be more shocking and disturbing to a majority of people and I think it may just be because we aren't used to it. I don't know the initial reason it started but female nudity has been shown much more and it has slowly become acceptable, in a sense. Also, it's not a normal type of scenario. The book is really hard to understand and when you don't really know what's going on but you read a sentence that talks about someone coming out of nowhere and masturbating and the smell of KY it's a little bit of a set back. I don't really find TTTE disturbing or gross but I think that it's more of a shocking unfamiliar element that throws me off.

Also, something that stuck with me was why don't we get pissed off at things that mess with our emotional side? It seems to me that going into a movie or book knowing that it's a romance or drama or whatever our choice is gives us a sense of control. Emotions are a tricky thing and we can't control the way we feel often times, things upset us that we don't want to or we care about people we shouldn't. If we go into a movie aware of the fact that it's going to me dramatic and probably make us cry, we know that we made the choice to go through that instead of just being pulled around by our lives.

The Ticket That Exploded

I was expecting to really enjoy The Ticket That Exploded but so far I'm just completely confused by it. I find the method of cut-up really interesting but what it produces makes my head spin. It reminds me of the first time I watched Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas so maybe, like the movie, I just need to try and focus on it more and maybe re-read it for it to all come together more.

As for the discussion about writing and the internet/cell phones I think that the internet isn't in any way less than something hand written, it's much more efficient. I've heard people say how letters are more thoughtful or meaningful because you take the time to sit down and write a letter, but I don't see how that's much more work than sitting down at a computer to type something up. To me, either way you're taking the time to think about something and organize your thoughts into words. And, the whole idea of the internet crashing or all the paper in the world burning or not allowing us to write anymore is just ridiculous to me, although I understand it in the context of the conversation. I must say my favorite thing about class yesterday was "but in a nuclear holocaust there ain't gonna be no ponies"

Invention Of Morel

Something that I keep thinking about is the way it would actually feel to be living like that, the same week over and over. Even though you aren't aware of it I wonder if you could feel something. Lately, there are so many things going on in life that I don't know how to deal with and I've just been going through my routine of what needs to get done and trying to deal with it. It makes me feel like I'm on autopilot.. just going through a day with out really thinking about much. It doesn't feel like really living. I wonder if this were to really happen, would it get to a point where you could feel the repetition in your life and just be numb.