You can now find all the entries posted below along with future posts on:
https://lunavisions.altervista.org
I really hope to find you there, commenting, sharing, getting involved. Same author, same blog, different URL.
PW )O(
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Friday 9 March 2012
Skepticism and Rewards
I've just migrated my blog from here to WordPress.
Initially I thought this was a weird choice but actually I'm quite happy with this. It means I no longer need to log in to my many google accounts simultaneously.
That's, of course, what happens when you get a YouTube account, a Gmail account and a BlogSpot account before Google has control over all three. And obviously, they now want you to link everything to one of their accounts. URGH!
What's even more annoying is that I have an Italian blog (a sister to this one, albeit an elder sister) that I had to migrate from Live Spaces (when Microsoft decided to shut the thing down) and thought Blogger would be a better option. I guess it makes no difference at the end of the day. I don't actually write on the website editors!
Just so you know, on WordPress this blog is under waningmoonrelapse.wordpress.com [opens in new window/tab]. I would actually like to know which you prefer overall. I'm not bothered too much about "oh this one's Google owned, that one's based on Open Source software" but your experience of the blog.
Another thing to bear in mind is the fact that on here I can edit the HTML directly for free whereas on WordPress I have to pay.
So, which looks better? Which is easier to read? Which is easier for you to access and comment on? (Good grief! A microscopic red spider's crawling its way across my screen...random... and oh damn, trying to focus on the spider is making me see the individual dots making up my screen! Crazy times!)
And now that I've shown off my sleep-deprived randomness, I shall leave you to the rest of your day/night.
PW )O(
Monday 20 February 2012
Friendship and getting things off your chest
It’s amazing how much someone can depend on sharing problems and talking when they’ve been involved in a relationship for a long time.
I’ve been in one for over 2 years and hearing that someone upset my partner and that she didn’t tell me through fear that it would hurt me as well as her really upset me last night.
But I woke up fine this morning…I thought.
Maybe it’s just a bad day, a day when the energy of the Earth is off balance or something like that, but by mid-morning I was in need of an intravenous endorphin drip – and that made me think…
Relationships are a lot like friendships, except for spending more time together as a couple (granted this isn’t always possible in a long-distance relationship).
Friends have a habit of looking out for each other, get along well, can occasionally fall out but can also sort out their differences for the better. Friends are there if you need to talk. They’re there if you need cheering up. Sometimes things don’t go well and all you want to see is a friendly face. Other times all you want to do is have your mind taken off your problems…
I’m just glad that the few people I really can call friends are amazing. I’m selective about who to call “friend”. I’ve been lonely most of my life and been disappointed more times than I care to remember…
All I’ve wanted to do is help people – their problems have always come before my own.
And so here I am, writing a blog, getting things off my chest so that anyone interested can read what I can’t seem to be able to say in person. Maybe it’s why I’ve become someone with such variable emotions…
Here I feel I can write anything I want where people can either judge me or help me out, slag me off or share their own thoughts and experiences. I look forward to reading a few comments. Comments from others really make a blog worthwhile.
Anyhow, here I am.
So sue me for wanting to be a friend you can rely on.
Until next time!
PW )O(
Sunday 12 February 2012
Valentine's Day: Origins and Consumerism
A themed entry this time round:
What do you think Valentine's Day is all about?
Cuddly toys? Boxes of chocolate? Cards? Getting some nookie? Finding someone to have a relationship with? Spending disproportionate amounts of money on a meal out in some over-the-top restaurant? Celebrating a Saint?
Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
Let me describe as much as I know about the origins of this "festival".
It originates from a Roman feast called Lupercalia which occured between February 13th and 15th. Scholars still aren't sure about all the details, like which god it was dedicated to (saying that, the most likely god of this feast is Pan/Faunus and is also the one named by Ovid, through whom we know the most about Lupercalia), but we can be fairly sure that it was a feast of fertility and purification.
A special order of priests, called Luperci, would run around the Palatine Settlement in Rome completely naked and hit anyone they came across with a goatskin thong so as to ward off evil intentions and influences (also associated with the Paternalia which occured around the same time) and to promote fertility. The act of hitting a woman with this thong is thought to have represented sexual penetration. Of course the husband would have objected to his wife being really penetrated by a priest in the streets, so braking the skin with a symbol of fetility, like part of a goat, was considered just as effective. It is also thought that women were sometimes encouraged to be hit by "showing some skin". (These days something like this would be thought of as indecent exposure, porn or maybe even prostitution - more on this in a bit.)
So let's pick up the pieces: It was a fun event, with bodies freely and voluntarily exposed. There was food from the sacrificed goats. There was a component of fertility revolving around where the god Mars was said to have impregnated the mother of Romulus and Remus. There was another component about the origins of Rome and where the she-wolf suckled the twins.
So what's interesting about this picture? It's effectively a feast about sexuality, prostitution and getting offspring by any means possible. She-wolf is a latin term for prostitute (so next time you sing Shakira's song, please think about what you're singing...). The god Mars effectively raped the mother of Romulus and Remus. Women would get (symbolically) penetrated in the streets as if they were as good as prostitutes, all in the name of increased likelihood of getting pregnant.
So where did it go horribly "wrong"?
The Church got involved. It was no longer about purification of the city since plagues and evil doers were still around all through the festival. Celebrating sexuality?! NO! The body is a thing to be ashamed of because of all it's faults and so should be whipped in penitence not for penetration. The woman is no longer the object of desire and the key to your progeny, but evil incarnate!
How could this get any worse?
By making it into a feast of showing affection and care, love and attention. By going out and buying stuff for someone special. By putting as much effort into making Valentine's Day as consumer-oriented as Christmas or the end of season sales.
Showing someone that you care about them isn't about buying stuff. It's about you and them. It's about spending time together. Sure, you can still give them presents, but for once put some creativity into it - make it yourself. Do something PERSONAL and do it PERSONALLY. Don't have some poor, over-worked, under-paid child in China make something for you and millions of others around the world.
Oh, sure. Feel free to have sex, get into a relationship or show yourself some love by either pleasuring yourself or by respecting your body and accepting yourself for who you are on every level (and to this effect I recommend the video on the right).
Just remember, if you want to see your significant other smile sincerely it's worth doing something yourself or just being you without trying to be pretentious or excessive. A single flower (not necessarily a rose, maybe their favourite flower is better *hint*) will probably do! Sitting down to watch a film your other half wants to watch with you but you've never really wanted to watch will also do since it's not about the film but the spending time together!
Make it worth your time. Not worth £20.
PW )O(
What do you think Valentine's Day is all about?
Cuddly toys? Boxes of chocolate? Cards? Getting some nookie? Finding someone to have a relationship with? Spending disproportionate amounts of money on a meal out in some over-the-top restaurant? Celebrating a Saint?
Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
Let me describe as much as I know about the origins of this "festival".
It originates from a Roman feast called Lupercalia which occured between February 13th and 15th. Scholars still aren't sure about all the details, like which god it was dedicated to (saying that, the most likely god of this feast is Pan/Faunus and is also the one named by Ovid, through whom we know the most about Lupercalia), but we can be fairly sure that it was a feast of fertility and purification.
A special order of priests, called Luperci, would run around the Palatine Settlement in Rome completely naked and hit anyone they came across with a goatskin thong so as to ward off evil intentions and influences (also associated with the Paternalia which occured around the same time) and to promote fertility. The act of hitting a woman with this thong is thought to have represented sexual penetration. Of course the husband would have objected to his wife being really penetrated by a priest in the streets, so braking the skin with a symbol of fetility, like part of a goat, was considered just as effective. It is also thought that women were sometimes encouraged to be hit by "showing some skin". (These days something like this would be thought of as indecent exposure, porn or maybe even prostitution - more on this in a bit.)
So let's pick up the pieces: It was a fun event, with bodies freely and voluntarily exposed. There was food from the sacrificed goats. There was a component of fertility revolving around where the god Mars was said to have impregnated the mother of Romulus and Remus. There was another component about the origins of Rome and where the she-wolf suckled the twins.
So what's interesting about this picture? It's effectively a feast about sexuality, prostitution and getting offspring by any means possible. She-wolf is a latin term for prostitute (so next time you sing Shakira's song, please think about what you're singing...). The god Mars effectively raped the mother of Romulus and Remus. Women would get (symbolically) penetrated in the streets as if they were as good as prostitutes, all in the name of increased likelihood of getting pregnant.
So where did it go horribly "wrong"?
The Church got involved. It was no longer about purification of the city since plagues and evil doers were still around all through the festival. Celebrating sexuality?! NO! The body is a thing to be ashamed of because of all it's faults and so should be whipped in penitence not for penetration. The woman is no longer the object of desire and the key to your progeny, but evil incarnate!
How could this get any worse?
By making it into a feast of showing affection and care, love and attention. By going out and buying stuff for someone special. By putting as much effort into making Valentine's Day as consumer-oriented as Christmas or the end of season sales.
Showing someone that you care about them isn't about buying stuff. It's about you and them. It's about spending time together. Sure, you can still give them presents, but for once put some creativity into it - make it yourself. Do something PERSONAL and do it PERSONALLY. Don't have some poor, over-worked, under-paid child in China make something for you and millions of others around the world.
Just remember, if you want to see your significant other smile sincerely it's worth doing something yourself or just being you without trying to be pretentious or excessive. A single flower (not necessarily a rose, maybe their favourite flower is better *hint*) will probably do! Sitting down to watch a film your other half wants to watch with you but you've never really wanted to watch will also do since it's not about the film but the spending time together!
Make it worth your time. Not worth £20.
PW )O(
Monday 30 January 2012
…and then Semester 2 began…
Yea. Semester 1 was not fun. Exams have been horrible and stressful.
It’s about time I got to change modules. I’ve had it up to way over my head with quantum mechanics at the minute.
On the plus side I did get Lacuna Coil’s new album through the post! =)
It’s just brilliant!!!!
Also, I had a bit of a brainwave the other day. If Physics doesn’t take me anywhere or I fail it miserably at it, I can always become a full time blogger. Genius!right? -___-" What do you guys think?
At the minute I just need to sort out how I’m going to make money off this, but hell: you readers are my only care at the mo. No point trying to earn money off something that no one reads, right?
Anyway, last thing… I just wanted to share a track off Dark Adrenaline that hit me lyrically as well as musically.
“Intoxiated” – Lacuna Coil
Lie.
Broken mirror,
Seven years of stolen luck.
I try to fix you one more time
But I must let it die,
The dream that we’d survive.
Cut my throat if I tell a lie.
Set it free,
Lost ambition.
I overthought my place in your life.
Set it free,
Superstition.
I gave up on this fairy tale lie.
Blind man’s wisdom.
Cross my heart but it’s a lie.
I kept us going the last time.
You used one of your nine lives
I gave up all of mine.
Cut my throat if I tell a lie.
In the world that I created,
I’m intoxicated.
Set it free,
Lost ambition
And now I won’t look back,
I’ve turned my back.
I’m off the ground.
Set it free,
Superstition.
And now the air I breathe is poison free.
I’m freedom bound.
And with this, I’ll leave you until my next entry.
Is there anything you guys want me to write about? I also have a channel on Youtube where I could upload extra stuff and even mention you while answering questions. http://youtube.com/youvebeenhelpdesked
That’s all for now!
PW )O(
It’s about time I got to change modules. I’ve had it up to way over my head with quantum mechanics at the minute.
On the plus side I did get Lacuna Coil’s new album through the post! =)
It’s just brilliant!!!!
Also, I had a bit of a brainwave the other day. If Physics doesn’t take me anywhere or I fail it miserably at it, I can always become a full time blogger. Genius!right? -___-" What do you guys think?
At the minute I just need to sort out how I’m going to make money off this, but hell: you readers are my only care at the mo. No point trying to earn money off something that no one reads, right?
Anyway, last thing… I just wanted to share a track off Dark Adrenaline that hit me lyrically as well as musically.
“Intoxiated” – Lacuna Coil
Lie.
Broken mirror,
Seven years of stolen luck.
I try to fix you one more time
But I must let it die,
The dream that we’d survive.
Cut my throat if I tell a lie.
Set it free,
Lost ambition.
I overthought my place in your life.
Set it free,
Superstition.
I gave up on this fairy tale lie.
Blind man’s wisdom.
Cross my heart but it’s a lie.
I kept us going the last time.
You used one of your nine lives
I gave up all of mine.
Cut my throat if I tell a lie.
In the world that I created,
I’m intoxicated.
Set it free,
Lost ambition
And now I won’t look back,
I’ve turned my back.
I’m off the ground.
Set it free,
Superstition.
And now the air I breathe is poison free.
I’m freedom bound.
And with this, I’ll leave you until my next entry.
Is there anything you guys want me to write about? I also have a channel on Youtube where I could upload extra stuff and even mention you while answering questions. http://youtube.com/youvebeenhelpdesked
That’s all for now!
PW )O(
Friday 6 January 2012
Utopia or no Utopia?
I recently spotted this question on social networking site Diaspora*. At first glance I thought “This guy is stupid.” but actually it allowed me to think of why I don’t really agree with the options given. Here’s the original post:
“On a personal level, would you rather live in a world where everybody was nice to each other, or a world in which everybody conformed to your ideals? (and if your only ideal is that everybody be nice to each other, blessed be, this question is not for you)”
As you can see the obvious comment would be “Go away. This is a false dichotomy. Lol…you’re an idiot.”
It really does sound like a question with two identical answers.
Even after trying to see the subtleties between the two, which I make out to be either everyone nice to each other and living in a Socialist-Utopia (ie. everyone masking their true feelings) or everyone being nice to me and living in a Utopia created around me (everyone masking their true feelings, bar me - admit it, egocentric ideals in everyone wish that you didn't have to change but everyone else had to change and be nice to you), I can't understand why any reasonable person would want EITHER option.
Society wouldn't advance either way.
Society advances with shared ideals, individuality, small conflicts and the truces that are called afterwards. This is why the world isn't black and white.
From two or more people having different opinions on the same subject, others follow the various opinions based on their own ideas. A common set of ideas is formed in each group (and obviously not everyone approves all ideas) which then tries to win backing from other groups. Where ideas meet secondary groups are formed, where ideas diverge there is division from groups and the cycle is started again.
It's not politics. It's the human way of thinking and forming groups within society. You wouldn't have friends if you didn't share ideals and opinions, but you have disagreements with them when your values differ from theirs.
What are your ideas?
Feel free in the comments to share them or maybe even share what your reply to the post would be.
Blessings to all!
PW )O(
“On a personal level, would you rather live in a world where everybody was nice to each other, or a world in which everybody conformed to your ideals? (and if your only ideal is that everybody be nice to each other, blessed be, this question is not for you)”
As you can see the obvious comment would be “Go away. This is a false dichotomy. Lol…you’re an idiot.”
It really does sound like a question with two identical answers.
Even after trying to see the subtleties between the two, which I make out to be either everyone nice to each other and living in a Socialist-Utopia (ie. everyone masking their true feelings) or everyone being nice to me and living in a Utopia created around me (everyone masking their true feelings, bar me - admit it, egocentric ideals in everyone wish that you didn't have to change but everyone else had to change and be nice to you), I can't understand why any reasonable person would want EITHER option.
Society wouldn't advance either way.
Society advances with shared ideals, individuality, small conflicts and the truces that are called afterwards. This is why the world isn't black and white.
From two or more people having different opinions on the same subject, others follow the various opinions based on their own ideas. A common set of ideas is formed in each group (and obviously not everyone approves all ideas) which then tries to win backing from other groups. Where ideas meet secondary groups are formed, where ideas diverge there is division from groups and the cycle is started again.
It's not politics. It's the human way of thinking and forming groups within society. You wouldn't have friends if you didn't share ideals and opinions, but you have disagreements with them when your values differ from theirs.
What are your ideas?
Feel free in the comments to share them or maybe even share what your reply to the post would be.
Blessings to all!
PW )O(
Wednesday 4 January 2012
Disa-blinking-ppointed
You know him, he’s a good friend.
You’ve know him 4 years now.
You really became friends when he had a bad break up and you stopped him from cutting himself or jumping in front of a bus.
Your friendship grew and soon you had similar interests, went to the same gym, went around with the same group of people every Saturday night – pretty much like twin brothers.
You hear that he’s not really a good guy, that he’s been known to be violent, known to talk shit, but you don’t care…he’s like a brother to you.
And then you hear (from your cousin of all people) that he’s talking shit about you (to her), like you’re “on a leash” and won’t go out because of your girlfriend. You should have seen it coming, you already knew (almost), but it hits you all the same.
Time for a rethink…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hell, you don’t know shit about me.
I’m not upset, I’m disappointed.
Disappointed that I wasted time on you, thinking that you were worth something.
Disappointed that it took me 4 years to realise just how fake you are. I thought we were good friends.
Still…
Better late than never.
PW )O(
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