At last, a show in Honolulu that made it worth the 20 dolla.
Fantastic!
Every song was magical, their syllables rolled off tounges sparlking with electricity and yet complete groundedness in the sound that each was creating.
I loved "Friend and Foe," but live it truly was a different experience.
Each song seemed to be full of new meaning, especially "Boyscout'n" which nearly made me break down and cry. The keyboards got turned up to make each lovely note shine harder. I love the lyrics to that song more than any other, and understand the Judas Iscariot imagry mixed with any old feeling of betrayal, whether it be by one's government, or one's best friend.
Maybe the true meaning is all of these mixed together.
All my friends were there and we gathered in a giant ball at the stage- Ryan, Allison, and Matt especially jumping along beside me.
I felt a part of something.
This is the power of music, and I don't care if its a hideous cliche.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Press the Lever, Get the Pellet.
Today in neuropsychology we spoke of substance abuse, a field that has always fascinated me greatly.
Did you know that rats will self-administer cocaine til death?
What I didn't know was that all lever presses have a 'breaking point,' where its not worse the number of presses to get the reward.
With most substances of abuse the number eddied out at about 300.
It made me wonder what my breaking point was.
How much work and pain will I go through to get that one scrap of paper in my hands??
Way more than this, I'd wager.
The reinforcement stakes are so great that I'd probably work myself silly to get what I want... is this what life is?
One giant delayed-reinforcement paradigm?
I think Skinner may have had it more right than you think when he hit upon the fact that all human nature is essentially created. We may have a biological predisposition towards certain characterisitcs, but the enviornment all but molds them for us.
This is what Phil Zimbardo speaks of in his book "The Lucifer Effect," when he speaks of situational morality and its effects on others. Did Jim Jones really intend for the People's Temple to fall? Was he a doomed man or did his situation corrupt him beyond measure?
I suppose we shall never really know, but its questions like these that make psychology worth studying for me.
Did you know that rats will self-administer cocaine til death?
What I didn't know was that all lever presses have a 'breaking point,' where its not worse the number of presses to get the reward.
With most substances of abuse the number eddied out at about 300.
It made me wonder what my breaking point was.
How much work and pain will I go through to get that one scrap of paper in my hands??
Way more than this, I'd wager.
The reinforcement stakes are so great that I'd probably work myself silly to get what I want... is this what life is?
One giant delayed-reinforcement paradigm?
I think Skinner may have had it more right than you think when he hit upon the fact that all human nature is essentially created. We may have a biological predisposition towards certain characterisitcs, but the enviornment all but molds them for us.
This is what Phil Zimbardo speaks of in his book "The Lucifer Effect," when he speaks of situational morality and its effects on others. Did Jim Jones really intend for the People's Temple to fall? Was he a doomed man or did his situation corrupt him beyond measure?
I suppose we shall never really know, but its questions like these that make psychology worth studying for me.
Monday, November 17, 2008
...Grad School Trauma Slowly Sets In!
These past couple weeks have been busy.
Really, really, REALLY busy.
The new house is lovely, my flatmates and I are getting along really well, which always makes me happy.
My health is improving, sloooowly but surely. I feel like physical therapy is getting me down the right track, even though it is tough at times to do the exercises.
But sadly, if it isn't one thing it's another, and right now its GRAD SCHOOL!
After recovering from one huge bastard of a presentation I now have another one on Thursday, and then a midterm on Friday!!
Mom was right when she said I would never work so hard in my life.
In addittion I've got the office, and pleasing my academic supervisor, and getting my data in on time.
Wish me luck, people, Decemeber never seemed so far away.
XO,
Rach
Really, really, REALLY busy.
The new house is lovely, my flatmates and I are getting along really well, which always makes me happy.
My health is improving, sloooowly but surely. I feel like physical therapy is getting me down the right track, even though it is tough at times to do the exercises.
But sadly, if it isn't one thing it's another, and right now its GRAD SCHOOL!
After recovering from one huge bastard of a presentation I now have another one on Thursday, and then a midterm on Friday!!
Mom was right when she said I would never work so hard in my life.
In addittion I've got the office, and pleasing my academic supervisor, and getting my data in on time.
Wish me luck, people, Decemeber never seemed so far away.
XO,
Rach
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The 'Morning After' Post
We made history.
For once, American action triumphed over apathy.
In other news, Prop 8 passed in California, which means no more gay marriage (again.)
Let's hope the supreme court has more sense than we do!!
I'll leave you with some words more eloquent than mine.... louder than the car horns in the mission which Glenn told me were going off like siren (though none were to be heard in the Honolulu streets, and for a local boy as well!)....
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled--Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. "- President Elect Barack Obama
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled--Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. "- President Elect Barack Obama
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