Friday, October 14, 2005
Just Sit Back
Instant messaging, ramen instant lunch, instant gratification; all these things are examples of our collective impatience as a nation. Our focus is shifted towards the end, and far away from the means. Completely uncaring as to how to we get somewhere is fully overshadowed by our obsession with being there. And because we are so attentive to obtaining the goal, we are ill at ease when having to wait to achieve it. The concept of having to have some down time before getting somewhere, now even on the internet, is unthinkable. Some would view waiting as a waste of time or are made anxious or uneasy by their lack of activity, but I believe they’re missing the larger picture.
Thoughts on Mark Twain
I think that this is a very cool article about Mark Twain as he was growing up and first starting on his writing career. I think that it is crazy how he caused such a controversy at such a young age, especially since he was told to edit the newspaper. He caused such a huge controversy in his small little town, just from his little actions that he did, when he thought that it was funny and a good joke. I think that he is a very descriptive writer and is very good at writing in what kinds of emotions were flowing and setting the scene to what kind of attitude we should have. If I could meet Mark twain, I think that it would be a very interesting conversation and that it could go on for hours. I would probably ask him how much and what kind of things he read when he was a kid and what sparked his interest in reading so much. I would like to know how he found what he was truly passionate about and what makes him so passionate about it. Why does he like writing, and how does he keep it so interesting? Where does he get his Ideas from, and what does he spend most of his time on during his writing process? What are his favorite types of literature, and what is his favorite story that he has written? What does he do when he is trying to think of ideas for his next big project, and how does he even start such a tremendous work of literature?
Mark Twain is an amazing writer, and anyone who isn’t amazed by the things he does is crazy. Everything he does is done so amazingly and is done so well.
What’s in a Word
The Oxford English dictionary defines the word ethnic as “pertaining to race.” In other words, something that is ethnic is of a certain racial background, but the word has not always meant this. The word is originally from a Greek word that meant the “nations.” In the Bible this word was used to refer to the non-Jewish nations of the world also known as the gentiles. When the barbarian Goths who helped bring about the fall of Rome were converted to Christianity, they adopted this word to refer to other peoples or nations that did not follow either Judaism or Christianity, a definition that was similar to our modern word heathen. In fact, it was once commonly believed by linguists that heathen was a corrupted form of ethnic, this however has sense been discovered to not be the case as heathen more likely has it’s roots in the Germanic tongues. This confusion, however, led to an unusual spelling for the word ethnic as hethnic. Up until about the late 19th century the words ethnic and heathen had about the same meaning however, in the 1800’s people again started to use the word ethnic to refer to something pertaining to a nation or race. Over time, the definition for ethnic as someone who is heathen faded away, and thus the word ethnic came full circle back to it’s original and current meaning.
Response to quote on waiting
Waiting is a part of life. When you consider waiting in the context of your own life journey it becomes increasingly scary though. When the human mind is not working or trying to do something, it waits and starts to ponder. The brain says what if I never find a job, what if I don’t get good grades, or what if I am poor. People are generally unsure of the future and do not want to wait idle for it to come, I agree with Henri Nouwen.