Thursday, December 18, 2014

Driving Tips

When it comes to driving, there are always dangers. However, adopting a few practices can help us avoid getting into accidents. As a result, here are some tips and tidbits to help improve your driving experience.

Avoid rushing. Try to make it so you don't drive recklessly by giving yourself enough time to make it to your destination. If you are stuck in traffic or something similar in nature, just explain it to your appointment. Don't do something that might cause an accident and make it so you can't make it there anyways. Also, by not rushing, you can stay awake and aware of the bad drivers who make dangerous and stupid maneuvers.

Know your Yellow Lights. From what I have seen, Yellow Lights typically stay for about one-tenth of the Speed Limit in seconds. So for a 50 MPH zone, the light will stay yellow for about 5 seconds, but don't take it for granted. Some areas do have it shorter so you should pay attention and drive through only if you believe you can make it before it turns red. This means don't try to make left turns when the light is already Yellow. It will generally be red before you even start turning. While you can make a yellow light if you are going straight, you can truly never make it while turning left.

Don't start as soon as you see Green. Part of the reason is said above. People will try to make left turns even when the light turns yellow. This means the light will turn green for you before they finish. Wait until it's clear before you start.

Change lanes safely. Don't change lanes as soon as the car passes you because they might unexpectedly slam on their breaks as you aren't looking. Don't change lanes when you just pass a car either because they might be accelerating and not notice you, especially if you are speeding at 10 MPH faster than everyone else.

Turn Red Lights into good things. If your significant other is with you, make red lights romantic. One way red lights have been less tedious for me is that it means I can get a nice hug or kiss while we are waiting. There are other things you can do too such as use them as opportunities to check your gas tank or change the radio. Just make sure you stay aware of your surroundings.

Plan your route. GPS is a great tool but people's dependency has caused them to stop planning their trips. This means these drivers don't know which lane to get into or when they need to make a turn right after making a turn. If you plan your route, you can determine the lanes you need to get into and keep you from making many dangerous maneuvers.

Look ahead. You should always pay attention to the car in front of you, but you should also take note of the car in front of that one. Whatever the next car does will generally impact the car in front of you and therefore you can anticipate what you need to do. No reason to accelerate if you know the head car is braking. Also, Red always trumps. If the light is green but the car in front is braking, then you need to brake.

Know the roads. Once I was driving and the woman behind me was being impatient going just at the speed limit. However, I feel like she didn't know the road because there is a good reason for the speed limit. Because you are going uphill, she didn't know that it becomes a steep drop all of a sudden and there is a traffic light in the middle. Until you make the last-second turn, you don't know if it's green or red. Also, if you don't press the brake, you can easily accelerate from 45 to 60 MPH. However, that isn't the only reason. There is another light at the bottom of the hill. However, even thoguh you can tell if the light is red, you cannot tell how many cars are stopped at it. There can be as many as 20 cars and you wouldn't be able to tell because of a wall that blocks the view until you make a turn. You cannot go fast than 45 MPH if you want to brake in time. If you know all of this ahead of time, then you can avoid making foolish mistakes.

Keep a safe distance. Tailgating is stupid, even more so when you are tailgating a truck. If the car has to brake all of a sudden, then you can be incredibly screwed and it's all your fault. Note that it's harder to brake when you have a bigger car than the one in front of you, meaning it is more likely to cause an accident. Also, when you do it behind a car bigger than yours, you block your view so you can miss what's happening ahead or the signs that tell you where you need to go. Besides, if you keep a good distance, even if the car ahead of you is braking for a second, you can just coast and you'll be fine. No braking necessary in so many cases if you keep the right distance. A good distance is generally 2 seconds behind the car in front. You should also be able to see the light in front of it under the car. Also, if you keep a safe distance, this allows for smooth lane changing that doesn't even affect your speed much. It's a win-win practice.



Friday, December 5, 2014

Speed Prompt

Hi everyone,
    I had the intention on writing a post on Balancing Good and Evil, but I am going to need more time to think about it. Until then, I have a prompt for you to consider. What tells your mind if you are moving fast? Is it a visual queue? For example, if trees are close together, I feel sometimes I'm moving faster even though I'm only going 40 MPH as opposed to when I'm going 60 MPH and the trees are far apart. Then again, perhaps it's because those trees might be on curve and the ones far apart are on a straight road. Maybe it's a feeling of resistance and bouncing. If you are in a car with a bad suspension and low to the ground, you might feel like you are going faster than if you were going faster in a truck with a smooth suspension. What are your thoughts?

N. D. Moharo


Monday, November 24, 2014

True Equality

Hello everyone,
    Sorry for writing this late. This last week, I was watching the Legend of Korra tv series on Nick and something about the villains struck me. Each of the four villains claim "equality" as their goal in some way or shape. When things are equal, they are supposed to be in balance, which happens to be the title of the final season. So it will be interesting to see how it ends up.
    Something we as a society seem to have trouble is recognizing what true equality is. Some people think they need everything someone else has. If everyone is given the same things, then everything is equal, right? Actually, no. In fact, to do so would lead to absolute inequality.
    Let's consider a shopping cart. You can fill it with different combinations of different items and end up with the same total cost as someone else who is buying fewer, but more expensive items. The value of the items inside the cart are equal, but they are made up of different things. These different items could be virtues and talents. It also can be circumstances which change how we view something. A dollar given by a rich man does not carry the same meaning as a dollar given by a poor man. The value of the dollar might be the same, but the sacrifice is completely different. The latter man is the one more worthy of praise.
    No matter what, we will always have different needs and circumstances. Perhaps the first place we should have looked was in the family, where we have both an idea of equality despite knowing inequality. If you have siblings, then you know you always see inequality even though the parents might see true equality. The youngest may be considered the most spoiled because of all the attention he may get, but if he's only 3 months old, then he requires the attention, while a 8-year old sister can play with her friends. Of course there will be situations that will feel unfair, but we also always tend to look at only the small details, not taking into account the larger picture, part of which is the number of siblings you have change as you gain another.
    To be honest, I can't tell you if my parents have their own favorite child, because we are so different. We have different attitudes and occupations. We each our able to do different things with our parents so it's fairly difficult to compare. However, I believe that we are each loved equally because of that uniqueness. It doesn't matter if one is given more money, because it's probably because he or she needs it more, or is thought of to use it more responsibly. We are different and are given different things, but in our parents eyes, we are equally loved, and that is what matters.

With Love,
N. D. Moharo

Friday, November 7, 2014

Concerning the idea of a god

Hello all,
    While I tend to avoid religious discussion, there is an idea that was floating in my head that I wished to explore. In today's world, some people try to be very tolerant of other people's beliefs. One of the results of this is the idea that there is "One God, and it's the same God for every religion." The idea that is floating in my head says, this is absolutely false.
    I can tell you that the idea of "One God, and it's the same God for every religion" is one that makes it easy for Atheists. The reason is because they need only to disprove one concept of god that people believe and they win their argument. However, if you hold that everyone does not believe in the same god, then there's more work to be done.
    I'll even go as far as to say that people within the same religion don't believe in the same god. If you think that a god is someone who answers your every wish, you are probably missing a lamp or that's not true. If you think that god is someone that was created and then created people and the world, then you are like the Ancient Greeks (except for some like Aristotle). If you think the idea of god is someone's body that we are currently living on, then you are like the ancient Babylonians (or playing a game called Xenoblade Chronicles). The problem is that the further into these ideas you go, you realize they are mutually exclusive of each other. To say that all of these notions of a god are the same shows that you don't have a clear understanding of what being a god means.
    If you have a firm belief in what a "god" is, then you would see that the whole world does not believe in the same god. If you have a definition like, "A supernatural being from which everything was made," then that would exclude any notions that "god was created."
    Part of the reason why I have been thinking about this was hearing the argument that "God, as the first mover, created everything" being countered with "well, who created God?" Such a response demands a question "Do you know anything about logic?" If the idea of a god is that it is the first mover, by the definition of first, that means there was nothing before. So to ask "who created God?" is an invalid question because it is arguing against the definition of "the first mover." If someone insists in thinking that absurd question is a valid point, there is no point in talking anymore. You can't argue with people who are illogical.
    The other reason why I am writing about this is because I am wondering what exactly it means to be a god. You can't say that there is no God if you don't even understand what it means to be God. What we can do is bring up ideas of gods and then refute them one by one until we come to a clear understanding. However, I don't have the energy to do that right now so let's focus on one idea and then what it means.
    Throughout history, it appears that one common idea of god is that a god does stuff for you. If you need water, you perform a ritual and rain will come. If you desire a good harvest, you sacrifice a tenth of your wheat and it will multiply. These ideas seem to be common in a lot of religions. I want to look at the idea that goes against this notion; the idea of fatherhood.
    This idea is mostly popular with the rise of Christianity, though it appears some Christians think of God as someone who does your bidding if you ask. Sounds like a supernatural butler to me from which I then wonder how is that any different from magic? Of course, we have muddled our idea of what magic is, so that will have to be another topic for another time. The reason why I'm interested in the idea of God as a Father is because it goes against the idea of a glorified butler and actually looks better.
    Think of it this way. Do you know of any master that truly cares about his butler? The butler is meant to serve you as the most important person. The idea that a supreme supernatural being is inferior to us is just horrifying and makes no sense. However, a father who listens to the requests of his children does make sense. There's something weird that happens when you grow up. you realize that things that used to appear so important really don't matter anymore. So what if I didn't get to sit at "my desk" in that "one class"? Does that matter now compared to "How am I going to afford to repair my car?" We consider the things that we see right now as the things that are important. As we grow older and realize there are far more important affairs, we can see farther and better organize our priorities and anticipate what is necessary. I think we can easily prove that there is no god that is just like a supernatural butler, but to disprove that there's a god who's like a father is much harder. This is because instead of saying, "right away, sir!" we might hear, "wait a second." Even then, a good father normally would look and see if the request is good for his child ad answer accordingly. A 14 year old might ask for a car, but a good father would say, "You're not ready. Wait until you are older and have experience driving." If we were to say which concept is more likely to be true, I would argue in favor of the "father."
    Now there is more to discuss, but I can't think about it anymore for today. Perhaps I shall visit this topic again another time, but I will likely wait until I have a better grasp of the various ideas before doing so. Until then, I hope that you at least realize that we need to be careful about our definitions of things that we take for granted, such as the concept of a god.

N. D. Moharo
   
Update: J. D. Nyle wrote a piece on magic a while back. Since I don't have anything to add, I'll share the link here: http://neostrikershining.blogspot.com/2015/11/magic-confusion-lotr-and-shining.html

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

ADHD and ADD: Problem or Solution?

Hi All,
    I will will start off by saying that I am not a doctor and I don't know too much about the things society regards as diseases called ADHD and ADD. Part of the reason why I don't know much is because the idea of it being a "disease" troubles me deeply. If anything, it might just be because it is over-diagnosed,and perhaps that is what I am really complaining about.
    Every now and then, I wonder if I have one of these "sicknesses" as I can't sit still for long and can be easily distracted. At night, I can have so many ideas racing through my head, that sleep has said goodbye for the night. Even if I sleep, I can find my sheets and pillows thrown on the ground in the morning, though luckily not every night. However, I'm one of those people who refuse to get an actual diagnosis because I don't think pills are the answer. In fact, I think there are natural solutions for the actual problems and there are a some elements that are not problems at all. 
    One of the reasons why parents seem to consider ADHD a disease is school. They want their kids to do well in school, and kids with ADHD have a reputation for subpar grades. To be honest, the main reason why I would see if I would be diagnosed with ADHD is to prove that reputation wrong. Despite how distracted I got, my grades were among the top of my class in both High School and College as I graduated Summa Cum Laude. This was even when I was in a mood to not care about my grades, but I still did my homework, studied, and asked questions. If I didn't understand the material, I would ask questions until it made sense logically and then I would be fine. I watched a Studio Ghibli movie the other day where a girl having trouble with fractions was asking how dividing fractions made sense. The way she said how it appeared to her was confusing even to someone who did understand fractions. The problem was that it was mixed up logically, so after I thought about it, I could give a proper explanation if asked. Sometimes, you just need to ask questions so someone can show you where you got confused.
    Also, if a student isn't grasping the concept he is supposed to be learning, maybe it's because the way the teacher was teaching the class was ineffective. My Algebra teacher talking about adding One Cat and One Dog does not get you a Catdog-hybrid to explain why 1X + 1Y does not always equal XY was perfect for me. My Biology teacher's practice of pausing the video every second was very ineffective. The other alternative is that he isn't asking questions when he has them so the teacher doesn't know he has to spend time explaining the concept.
    Back to the subject of school in general, it is unnatural. We talk about ADHD kids and their "disease" as if they are the ones not normal, but it's the concept of school that isn't right. One of my instructors asked a really good question to his class once. "Why is recess gone when you enter middle school? High school students need recess as much as little kids." It's true. Students need breaks where they can be freely active, not just P.E. but free. They need time to wind down and relax or space to go and play ball. Sitting at a desk for 6 hours is unnatural and unhealthy. ADHD people help bring to attention that people need to be active and to move around every few minutes. If we just sit in one unnatural position for periods of 50 minutes, then we are going to end up with backs and necks of 70 year olds by the time we're 35. It seems weird how health articles talk about how it's best to move around in the workplace, but it never mentions how it applies to school as well.
    Some people think they only need medicine to fix their problems. However, I have yet to find a pill that doesn't have a side effect. The ADHD pills might actually be causing more problems in the process of "fixing" one. If one of the problems is focus, consider this, is it more productive to take on  three tasks at once or to barely even do one? Someone I know with ADHD falls into the former category. He's done and learned far more than other people I know. I think ADHD actually helps in motivation. If seeing a project to the end is a problem, then that has to do with willpower and responsibility. Take care of those things and that won't be a problem anymore 
    As for my personal sleep problem, I've seen improvement after adopting a strategy. I try to stay off my laptop for an hour before I try to go to sleep and I try to maintain a regular sleep schedule. My time in Japan actually helped me with this as I noticed I could sleep well in I started a wind down procedure at 9 and was in bed by 10. If I missed the 10pm curfew because I was playing cards with friends, I had trouble sleeping for a long time even if I did the rest of the procedure.
    What do you think? Is ADHD a real problem? I know when I was sick once, I had a horrible time trying to focus and was wondering if that is what ADHD people feel like all the time. If that is the case, then maybe medicine is best. But if the problems are the ones I normally deal with, that isn't a disease and should stop being treated as one. Personally, some of the people I know with ADHD were some of the nicest and most sociable people, and that isn't a bad thing. You know what that is also called? Sanguine. It's a temperament and completely natural as a personality type. Makes me wonder if those who labeled it as a disease were the pessimistic doctors.

N. D. Moharo

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Loss in Layers of Creation

Dear Sojourners of the Imagination,
    I was thinking about my essay concerning my theory of creation and I thought about Creation Loss. This idea is that with each layer of creation, there is something missing from the previous. For our current situation, it's emotion. Think about it. Something people dislike about robots, our great form of creation, is the lack of humanity in them. They don't have emotion or feelings. In some regards, that's perfect, but not for some duties. The lack of humanity can make dealing with robots a chore and a hassle. The prime example of this is the automated recordings on the phone. I absolutely hate those things that tell you "Press # for ____." To make it worse, the options given don't correctly correspond with the reason you are calling. Just to make even worse, they hide the "Talk with a human" so well that you give up in frustration doing so. Some reasons for this is to increase efficiency but it feels more like so they don't have to pay good customer service employees. Alas, good customer service is something that should be highly valued by corporations that want a relationship with its customers.
    Anyways, if, let's say, "humanity" is loss when we create something, what would be the reverse? If we were created, we probably loss something as well. If that were the case, I think it'd be what we refer to as "Divinity." What does "Divinity" mean? I actually can't say for certain at the moment. My guess it has something to do with all of the virtues a man can have. Virtues are the great habits we form that mark our character as good. Perhaps "Divinity" is the "perfection of good with no evil." Sure this would be the result of Judeo-Christian ideals, but perhaps that's the truth, or at least the one that makes the distinction in my head. This is because we can technically replicate with our own nature other things we associate with the Divine thanks to computers or the imagination. The only thing we cannot inherently do now is Perfect Goodness. We don't have a Perfect Morality. We are exactly like the Greek gods... flawed. So this is why I believe that Perfect Morality and goodness is what we loss. We can strive to obtain it, and perhaps robots will strive to learn emotion, can we ever reach that goal? Your faith might say it's possible, but that's a different subject.

From your Fellow Creator,
N. D. Moharo

P.S. What do you think would be the next layer in loss? If we lost Perfect Morality, and Robots lose Humanity, perhaps the ability to create? I'd like to hear your opinions

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Ponderings: Bed Firmness

I don't have any letters to write for today, so instead I'm just going to ponder. A while back, I checked out some mattresses with my lovely significant other. After all, when we decide to get married, it's important to get a bed we both can be comfortable in. Curious how different our tastes are, we went to the SleepNumber store and got our "sleep numbers." Hers was higher than mine. I wonder if that's normal. Then I remembered how she commented how she liked my firm structure and I said I preferred her being soft. I wonder if the degree of softness in a bed is related to the firmness of the body someone likes. Of course, asking different people about their physical preferences and beds is improper so I have not been able to do more than ponder. To be honest, I think it was more of a coincidence, but it would be interesting if these two things were related. Tell me if you found this to be the case as well.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Ignoring is Disrespectful Even When Mad

Dear Readers,
                I do not know where this idea came from, but ignoring someone completely when you are angry with him or her is not a civilized way of dealing with it. Yes, it is best to have some time apart to cool down, but that does no good if you brood over some problem without communicating it. You may have heard that people who fight grow closer together. That is because by arguing, you are at least communicating the problems instead of letting them multiply.
                If you don’t communicate when you have a problem, you leave it to the other to try and deduce what is wrong. Even if he or she can tell that something is wrong, they are unlikely to figure out what that something was. This is especially the case when they don’t think or did not do anything wrong at all. However, if you refuse to talk about it, there’s little to no way for them to explain or correct a misunderstanding.
                 When you do have a problem with someone, the best thing to do is take a breather. When something makes you angry, it’s generally only for 15 minutes max and the reasons why you are still angry come into play. So it might not be just one problem but 20 small ones. Now, it’s not good to just say them out of the blue either. You should give some warning that you need to talk about something but you need a few moments to prepare. This might also allow the other person to examine the problem beforehand and think clearly instead of saying something stupid. When this is done, your discussions have a good chance of being more civilized.
               
With Peace and Love,

N. D. Moharo

Monday, September 15, 2014

Misunderstanding and Creation

Dear Readers,
    Last week, J. D. Nyle posted a letter which mentioned a little bit about his development of his story. In that letter, he made a comment that misunderstandings helped spur his imagination. I find this interesting as I personally do not like being misunderstood. However, I can see how not properly understanding an element can lead to creativity.
    A while back, I wrote a letter about creativity and originality. There, I mention that an artist can only use what he is given. The imagination naturally only uses what it has seen. Misunderstanding how something is supposed to be grants a layer of freedom for creativity. It paves a new path for understanding how something could work. Even after he comes to understand something properly, the experience with his own development is invaluable. It could be said that whatever he made from that mistake is his own creation.
    So I tell you that it is alright to not understand something right away. The process of developing an idea is one of the best inspirations for creativity.

Sincerely,
N. D. Moharo

Friday, August 29, 2014

Revelation: A Quality of a Strong Woman

Short revelation this time as I prepare my next letter.

I used to wonder "Why in the world would a girl stick with a guy who keeps on hurting her?" It made no sense. Then I realized, that is actually one of the great things of a woman, to be able to love even when it hurts. This quality is especially necessary for having children. After all, how many times in our childhood have we told our moms that we "hated" them, a woman who has 
sacrificed so much out of love? But they endure it and still love us. I know I don't want to hurt any girl I like but it will inadvertently happen, because we are human and hurt even when we intend to help. If it wasn't for that quality of enduring love in women, we'd be screwed. If she only cries and then forgives, she is truly the strong one. That said, I still want girls to start picking the guys who want to treat them right in the first place. That would so help eliminate the number of jerks in the world when guys realize they have to be nice.


Thursday, August 14, 2014

Comprehension Prompt

Hello Everyone,
    I tried to write a letter concerning the subject of comprehension, but it did not turn out well. My ideas are far too disjointed despite how often I dwell on the subject. All I have for you are two different quotes to ponder. The first I consider when I listen to foreign music. The second is for puzzles.

"The voice is a great instrument and each word is a key"

"The trick to understanding a paradox is to figure how it fits together"

I think of the second especially when people spend so much energy focusing on how something does not fit together. If something was said, then the person who said it was able to find a connection. The question is if we would stop focusing on how it does not work but instead on what could be the connection. Sometimes the hint is who it is addressed to while other times it can be synonyms, but there is a connection.

Happy thinking,
N. D. Moharo  

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Service of Love

Service of Love
Dear Readers,
                A while back, a thought entered my mind about people. I noticed that the people who loved the most were the people who served others. For weeks, I wondered why this was the case. It wasn’t until the other day when I found that missing puzzle piece. I have long said that Love is “Willing the good of the other,” but it wasn’t until I heard it said as “Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours” that it made sense. When you put someone else’s needs before your own, you are serving them. Therefore serving people is an act of growing love. This epiphany allowed me to put together other puzzles I had pondered.
                I noticed that if you refuse to let someone help you, they will eventually dislike or even hate you.  This is because if you refuse their service, you refuse their love. You can do favors for them and that might get them to like having you around, but that alone will not get them to love you. It is when you serve people you recognize their humanity. You recognize they have needs, desires, and dreams.
You may have heard that man is not meant to be alone; that man is a social animal. I’ll go further and say that it is the true nature of man to love. Consider this, in order for mankind to continue, both the strong and weak would need to help each other. The strong must protect and feed the weak while the weak must organize and develop things for the strong. This is shown in nature as a man must care for his wife while she carries their future to term. This is why marriage is so important. It is the bond that keeps a man to fulfill his obligation to support his wife in good times and bad. It escalates even more when the child is born, and yet I have seen a change in people as they are now defined by their love for the child and happy beyond belief.
I knew a girl who got pregnant in college. She was a cheerful person to begin with, but after she had her child she was ecstatic and would never give him up. She cared so much for her son and would comment to me how she didn’t want anything anymore; everything she bought was for her son and she was happy. That love she had, which showed in her service to this adorable toddler, was inspiring. It is unfortunate that is appears to be have been an act of hate that she was murdered a few weeks ago. I can only hope that the love she had for others would inspire others to at least help her pretty much orphaned toddler.
In order to be the greatest of mankind, we must be servants. It is through service that we show and grow our love for others. People are not toys to just give us some pleasure or accomplish a goal. They have needs and desires; they live. They are our equals. It is through service and love for each other that we can heal the scars of our world and progress in virtue.  
  
With love,

N. D. Moharo

Friday, July 18, 2014

Changes in Operation

Hello Everyone,
    For almost two years (in October), I've tried to maintain this blog on average at least once a week. However, a big change is happening in my life and I'm no longer certain that I can continue at that pace. I do plan to continue updating this blog, but it will more likely be on a bi-weekly basis instead of once per week. If you wish to know when a post is uploaded, you can like my Facebook page and be notified that way. I may occasionally still have quotes or ideas to post on the Facebook page. Thank you for your support and I hope it will continue as I deal with this major change.

Sincerely,
N. D. Moharo
Until my next post, which might be next week or the week after, consider this quote: "The person who serves is the person who acknowledges the humanity of others."

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Theory on Phobias

It has been said that people fear what they do not know. I hold that is only partially true. It may be a tendency but I believe there is a rational about why it can apply. Now my comments are merely observations and a theory itself. I have no science to prove this is actually the case, only experience. Alas, I should at least say what my theory is.
                A “phobia” is defined as a strong fear or dislike: an irrational or very powerful fear and dislike of something such as spiders or confined spaces. My theory hinges on the idea of irrationality. I actually believe there is a level of rationality that appears to have been taken out of proportion. For instance I’m afraid of heights, so I can’t go on a Ferris wheel or a roller coaster. However, when I convinced myself to try and go on a Ferris wheel, I noticed when the fear struck me. I found out at what height I could not stand going past; it was the height where I was afraid of falling from. The fear of heights is not so much of the height as it is of the potential fall. When someone looks down, they become more aware of the potential fall. That’s why you tell someone “Don’t look down!” As long as the idea of the fall is not in his head, your friend might be able to handle the height.
                The reason for a strong fear to exist is a rational that became extreme. Another way of saying it is the phobia exists because of a real fear that happens to be the primary association of something. Some people might think a Ferris wheel just gives you a nice view. Some associate it with a date. Others like me associate it as something that is liable to break down and have you either stuck for a few hours or break apart, sending you for a long fall. Movies might be the culprit for this rational, but if that is the first time you’ve seen a Ferris wheel, especially as a little kid, that is how you are going to associate it for a long time. The reason why going through it a second time could cure the phobia is because you edit the primary association to that you will not fall or maybe to one of the other things I mentioned not just through rational, but through emotion.
                Now for another context. One person can be afraid of snakes and spiders, but be okay with frogs and mushrooms. All could be poisonous and deadly, but a lot of people don’t consider the typical frog to be dangerous. They might first think of Kermit the muppet, the princess and the frog story, or even biology class, but not likely that they will attack or kill you. So there is rational and emotion does amplify it, but there is rational nonetheless. Should we cure ourselves of these? Maybe if it keeps you from being able to function in life or be respectful to others. Otherwise, it does not matter too much, especially when you realize why they are. When you learn why they exist, you might actually develop more respect and considerateness for others. For example, someone might hate belts because they associate belts with abuse.

                One last point I have is to address what I meant in the beginning. Most people in their nature do not fear what they do not know. This is proven by the fact that we are generally curious as children. As children, we don’t understand the concept of danger so much and that’s why we need parents. They tell us what they know to be dangerous and try to keep us safe. However, the parents can also be the ones who establish our primary associations with things such as spiders by telling us that they can kill us and reinforcing it. As a result, as we grow older, we grow to be more cautious about things we don’t understand. 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Sexual Objectivity and How to Fight It

Dear Women,
                You are your own enemy when it comes to gender equality. I know that women can think as dirty as men when it comes to sexually objectifying the other gender. Just go to a college campus and listen to what the freshmen girls say and it’s obvious. However, we don’t hear nearly as much about men being sexual objects as much as women. Besides the people who refuse to believe that is the case, I can offer you a good reason why you don’t hear about it.
                Believe it or not, women, men dress better than you. It sounds wrong, but it’s true. Think about what it means for a man to dress up. He has a full suit or at least a long pair of pants and a long sleeved shirt. Only his head and maybe his hands are showing. Now think about women and what it means for them to dress nicely. It’s rare to hear about a modest dress being praised. In fact, most outfits showcased at events like the Academy Awards are sexual teases. At least some skin needs to be shown whether it is the full back, the upper half of her breasts, an entire leg if not most of it, and maybe some midriff, not to mention that they tend to be some combination of the above.  
                Women, you cannot demand that men stop thinking about you sexually if you continue to dress in ways that are sexually tempting. That includes wearing pants or shorts that actually reach your knees and not just your upper thigh. If you truly consider yourself to be equal to men, which you should, then why is it that men can handle the summer heat with modest shorts and a regular t-shirt, but women can’t? Again, why can men play tennis with the same style, but women need an incredibly short skirt or shorts? Why is it the case that the whole “It’s hot outside” argument comes from the gender that seems to get cold so easily? I find it incredibly ironic that attempts from the men to get girls to dress modestly is met with hostility from women.
If you are not the kind of woman described above but instead the modest one, I applaud you. In fact, I find that an important quality in the kind of woman I want to date. To dress modestly allows men to see a respect you have for yourself. It is so much easier to respect a woman physically and mentally who dresses modestly than a woman whose entire legs and perhaps underwear show as soon as she sits down. By the way, the latter is not business appropriate; it’s playboy/prostitute appropriate. Also, I find it negative in a relationship. Not only would I not want you to tempt me and distract me from what’s important, I don’t want you tempting other guys. It only increases the probability of sexual harassment and bad situations.  
                So please! Stop undermining your causes. If you want men to not see you as sexual objects, then stop dressing and acting like sexual objects. If you want men to treat you right, then you need to stop undermining their efforts. Sexual objectivity will always exist in mainstream culture as long as women continue to support immodest outfits. That’s the truth so don’t believe any lies that tell you otherwise. Let’s do our part to curb the sexual objectivity of women.

Sincerely,
N. D. Moharo


P.S.  This is only one but a very important step. As long as women are portrayed sexually in commercials like Carl’s Jr., in movies, and magazines, it will still exist. But if anything, this will help the individual woman who does take this advice. Sexual harassment may not be completely gone, but it will limit it. When you meet new people, the way you dress will lead to how they will treat you.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Humanity versus Objects Prompt

I do not have my topic ready for this week as certain events, including the death of a friend, have prevented me from developing a position. In fact, I had forgotten which topic I wanted to write about quite a few times. I have continuously switched between a eulogy for my friend and something concerning humanity. So while I might write something to dedicate to my friend, I do have a prompt. Consider this claim: "Sometimes it is through arguing that we recognize someone as a human being." When are times that you find yourself recognizing someone else is a person and not just an object in some sense?

Friday, June 20, 2014

Perspectives



    This week, I do not have a letter for you all. Instead, I have an observation essay that likely will not be well-written. I also might readdress the topic at a later date. 
    Last week, I wrote “so-called American Revolution.” The basis for that phrase was based off the perspective of people who would say nothing changed. The slaves were still slaves, women could not vote, etc. However, on the other side, the government changed. The roles of the former colonists were given more rights. Also, the American Revolution started something, the French Revolution being part of it.
    So perspectives are important in making statements. It’s also important to determine which perspectives are valid for making a claim. Definitions are also interesting to consider. For example, are the changes I mention above a “fundamental change”? Personally, I don’t care to argue about that topic.  I care more about the ideas of perspectives.  For example, when someone uses a “racist” term, but a representative of the “offended” party says it was okay, does the opinion of the public matter?
    It is interesting that humans can care for things that do not concern us and not care for things that do concern us. The whole thing is a matter of perspective.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Avoid Extremes



My Dear Readers,
                I must caution you against extremes. When we give ourselves into the extreme ideas on a position, we can only cause more suffering. Some people might feel the only way to make things right is to swap the positions. However, what would that do but instead place the victims in the roles of the offenders? Nothing gets fixed, but instead the very little progress that was made gets destroyed.
                It also is not right to use extreme measures to make a point. For instance, it is wrong for a vegetarian, to explain why he or she does not eat meat, to kill a man’s child and serve it to him. Also, as ironic as it may be, it is wrong for a “pro-life” supporter to wish a “pro-choice” advocate that his or her parents had chose to abort the “pro-choice” supporter. Both, though in different areas, are wrong. They both undermine the goal of their position; the vegetarian is to respect all animals and life while the “pro-life” supporter is to say abortion is never right, regardless of how someone might turn out to be. In addition, the vegetarian would have committed murder and the “pro-life” activist used hate speech. The result of any of these actions would be support for the problem, not the solution.
                 When I look at literature that involves a revolution, I am certainly more cautious about whether I agree with it or not. At the moment, my opinion has been shaped to not praise a revolution unless a solid plan of operation is in place. One thing I praise about the so-called American Revolution is that it only really removed who was at the top. They kept the local governments in place to keep things in control. Then they laid out how they were to run the government, addressing many of the problems from before. While I doubt it was entirely peaceful, that is far better than anything I can say about the French Revolution. When a plan is laid out that does not simply swap who is where in power, but works to treat the citizens correctly, even those who were previously in power, there is hope for progress. Otherwise, there can only be a Reign of Terror and the destruction of progress.
                I turned in to a Japanese murder mystery. At the end of the show, the main character realized that revenge never ends unless someone is ready to forgive. That is true. That is why it is important to teach people how to forgive. We all offend someone one time or another, and sometimes it is truly grave. However, we need to act not only to reconcile our actions, but to forgive and move forward.
                So I say to you again, do not be easily swayed by the extremists in their positions. It is not hard to find that the extremists actually attack the very people they say they are trying to help. Actions must be kept in check by reason and love, and if everyone adopts that, we will make progress.

N.D. Moharo

Friday, June 6, 2014

Post not ready; apologies

Hi everyone. While I do have a topic planned for this week, I have not been able to come up with a draft I am satisfied with nor do I think I will have time to work on it this weekend. Hopefully it will be ready by next week. Until then, I will simply point your attention to J. D. Nyle's story Neostriker: Shining and ask, "What do you think would happen if your dream came true? How would you act in that situation? Would you consider it real or not?"

Friday, May 30, 2014

Support the Local Arts



My dear readers,
                I must start off with pointing your attention elsewhere. J.D. Nyle over at his recently launched blog has begun serializing his story Neostriker: Shining. Now I will admit that I have been a part of the process for the development of his story. I cannot say it is great, but I do like some of the ideas in the story and I think the right kind of audience would appreciate it as well. I certainly enjoyed the second half far more than the first. I would also say the writing drastically improves then but that is only my opinion. Mr. Nyle says the story was written as a tribute to the development of his Neostriker series as well as a tribute to the various series that have played a role in inspiring it. I know Mr. Nyle hopes this will help him build an audience to whom he can eventually release his next work for. So I ask you to support him in his efforts. If you can think of people who might enjoy it, I ask you to spread the word on Mr. Nyle’s behalf. Thank you.
                Now, the whole thing above is the inspiration for this week’s topic. I believe it is very important to support the local arts. A society is built upon the use and study of the sciences, but a sign of when it thrives is the presence of its arts. Arts help convey the values of a society as well as say when it is doing well. This is why the arts flourish in prosperous times.  
                However, art does not simply appear out of thin air. While talent grants a nice jumpstart, it has its limits. A lot of great art, whether in paintings, music, crafts, or anything else comes from practice and work. Some may argue that great artists don’t practice. I, on the other hand, argue contrary. I believe that each work of art is practice, whether the artist sees it that way or not is a different story. Either way, when I hear how some simple pieces of art can take its skilled artists over 3 hours to make, I definitely will say that it took a lot of work; far more than I would give.
                As a result of the work it takes, I encourage you to support the artists from the beginnings. They may not be perfect, and they may simply play covers of popular songs or repaint the Mona Lisa. However, just the effort itself is something worth praising. And simply to receive some recognition and praise can help push an artist to become the best he or she can be.
                I recall one day as I sat outside a movie theater waiting. On a bench across from me, I saw a man playing a saxophone. It was actually very pleasant to listen to and others agreed by giving him money. Unfortunately, the mall security came by and forced him to stop. While I could partially understand why, I was very disappointed. Hearing simple music in the air helped establish some life in the environment. It was not overbearing, but acted simply to add something nice to people’s ears as they pleasantly conversed.
                I have to admit, sometimes the stuff I see makes me very much depressed. But when I see some nice music played by happy artists, it totally makes me believe in society again. This is one reason why I’m a fan of the Lindsey Stirling videos Electric Daisy and Spontaneous Me. The music is great, but the dancing completes it and brightens my mood. I hope more people are inspired and allowed to play like that and I think we should provide environments where they can be free to do so.

N.D. Moharo

P.S. You can find the story at NeostrikerShining.blogspot.com