Dogs

As I sit here on my couch, I ponder what the world must be like through the eyes of what we would consider a lesser species, such as a dog. The things that we consider ordinary and essential to our existence, such as driving a car or wearing clothes, must be mysterious to them. However, in all likelihood their mental capacity isn't even enough to grasp even the most fundamental aspects of civilized life, and all of their actions, now matter how human and sentient they may a
ppear to be, are all instinctive and are geared toward the survival and propagation of their species. This notion can be somewhat distressing to devoted animal lovers; those who believe that their pets "love" them. I have come to be comfortable with knowing that all of the decisions that my pets make are for simple survival and are fittingly selfish in their own way. Even still, I appreciate the compansionship that dogs have to offer, even though most if the time it is something less than companionship.

- Andrew
Don't judge me for writing a post about dogs; I was sitting on my couch pretty much out of ideas for a topic and then I saw my dogs lying on their bed so I thought what the hell, I'll write about them. :p

Blogging

Today I acquired a new cellular device: the Motorola Droid X. The phone is virtually overflowing with features, from the usual camera, texting, and calling capabilities to the more sophisticated web browser, fm radio, youtube browser, facebook, and twitter functions. In addition, there are thousands of applications available on the android market, including games, barcode scanners, and nearly anything you can imagine, including a blogger application. In fact, this entire post and several others were type entirely from my cell phone. It is hard to imagine that only ten to fifteen years ago, something as simple as sending a short message via a computer was considered revolutionary and nearly incomprehensible. Not long after this groundbreaking act took place and the world wide web was open to the general population, people started to connect with each other and post their thoughts on their own web pages. Thus the very first blogs were born. It is my belief that these very first and somewhat archaic blogs were the forerunners of the modern social media phenomenon. In other words, the first blogs gave rise to present day amenities such as facebook and twitter. These spearheads of the social media movement are now manifesting themselves in a more portable and often more user friendly format: that of an application on a mobile device. One must wonder, since technology grows at an exponential rate (that is, the higher the level of technology you have, the more quickly you can have an even higher technological level. The growth of technology is more parabolic than linear), and such large changes have taken place over the course of as little as 10 years, then how will we be interacting with our fellow man 20 or even 30 years from now? The notions of what could come to be are almost too much for us to comprehend.

Love

     Well, I'll think I'll have to write another cliche for this bland and extremely vague idea, both qualities which have come to define the assigned blog topic. These assignments tend to be so vague that one can write their  entry about virtually anything, which makes the practice of assigning a topic superfluous. . For example, I could write how the feeling of love is nothing more than a set of chemical reaction occurring in the brain coupled with the release of hormones that produce the effect (some would beg to differ, claiming "spiritual" factors at play). Anyways, on to the "topic".

     Love is a universal idea, present in every culture spanning back through the vast history of the human race. Social gestures such as hug or a smile are understood all over the world as a display of affection. The omnipresence of this idea in human history & culture makes one wonder why it is as such. Humans are very social creatures, and being away from one's fellow man can be very detrimental to the human psyche. Thus, I believe that love and similar social displays and interactions are a component of the very essence of the human being, and their removal would make us, dare I say, something less than human. This begs the question, then are those with mental disabilities that would make it difficult for them to understand and utilize these concepts somehow inhuman beings? Certainly not, I say, for their inability to show love should make our compassion and understanding for them that much deeper and more profound. Ultimately, love is what ties us, binds us, and in the end defines us as a social collective. 

           

                                                       -Andrew

     

The Future of Humanity

Wherein lies the future of the Human Race? Many of history's most intelligent minds have contemplated this very philosophical question, however, in most cases their predictions and the reality of the future were polar opposites. Some men have said that in the future man would develop into a better creature, morally, physically, and mentally, but taking into consideration the current social situation of planet Earth, I'd say that they missed by more than a mile on that one. However, one can never be completely certain whether or not people will take a turn for the better in the near or distant future, but this seems highly unlikely. All of these predictions showcase the fact that man is often surprising and that the future can never (and probably should never) be accurately predicted, for the sake of our sanity and the outcome of things. If you could accurately predict the future, then this would probably not be the real future as you would make decisions knowing what you thought was the future, then the outcome of the future would be changed meaning that in reality, you wouldn't have effectively predicted the future at all. That probably sounded like something you would hear in back to the future, but I think that is what would happen if someone had the ability (or lack of in light of my argument) to "predict" the future. As always, the quality of life here on earth for our descendants will probably be far from what we imagine it to be.
          
                                                  -Andrew

Loneliness

Loneliness is essentially the antithesis of everything that friendship can give you. The epitome of friendship is to have a feeling of belonging in this world and to be loved and supported, while on the contrary loneliness is the often times unwarranted feeling of having no one who cares about you and having no place or purpose in the world. Loneliness is most often times a purely psychological issue, because most often times the people who feel the most lonely and unloved are in reality the people who are perceived by others to be the people who are enviable and seem to have everything going for them, and inversely the people who are thought of as the losers and rejects of society are sometimes the happiest inside and have the best outlook on life. This seems strange and counterintuitive at first, but when this sometimes strange fact is examined you'll find that since these people are generally very un-selfconsciencious and are thus very comfortable with how they are perceived and treated by others. These people then have the truest of friends due to the fact that those who treat them with respect love them for who they are accept them and will always be there for them. So often times, when it comes to loneliness, in my opinion, you are often your own worst enemy and sometimes you need someone else to come along and drag you out of the self constructed hell that you wither away in within your mind.
                                                        -Andrew

Friendship

Friendship is one of the most important things you can have or give to someone in life. It will help get you through tough times, and in return your friendship to others will help get them through turbulent times in their own lives. Friendship is showing someone that you understand them and will always be there for them, come whatever may. When you are good friends with someone, you know that you will be able to tell them all of the trials and tribulations you face in your life, and they will meet you with understanding and compassion. Likewise, you'll be able to help and understand your friends when they themselves face tough times. Everyone needs some kind of friendship, otherwise your life can be painfully lonely and may seem utterly pointless. I've faced trying times in my life, and the friendship of those around me was critical to my making it through these times a better person, and not someone emotionally damaged. I just hope that when the occasion presents itself, I will be a supportive friend to those who have been so supportive to me.
                                                           -Andrew