Pathos, Logos, and Ethos

I’ve read a lot lately. So far I must say I am incredibly impressed with Mr. Sowell’s latest book, Intellectuals and Society. Of all the people I’ve a deep respect for, I must say Thomas Sowell ranks high. I’ve also been going back to some of the classics, including my old Aristotle favorite (On Rhetoric)

In regards to my writing, I’ve been off lately. I’ve also been editing my NaNoWriMo novel, even though I’m not entirely sure whether I’ll ever seek out having it published. The novel itself is fine, but it suffers from my inability to accept mediocrity. This is not to gloat, rather it’s a realization that the novel probably doesn’t jive well with the intended audience. That, much to my chagrin, would be my problem. Still, I love the story and I want to extrapolate a bit, so I figured I’d write a few short stories to go along with the novel.

I’m not certain when those stories will be posted, if ever, but if they are it will be here. Anyhow, I’m off. By the way, here’s a new photo of me. I finally made a resume on Monster.com and this was the photo I used. I think it shows off my awesomeness… alright, it was the photo that made me look not so fat.

I promise, I'm not that egotistical

Games on the Cheap! Far Cry 2

Saints won… thanks a lot, Peyton, you owe me forty bucks now. Jerk.

Random Writing

I spent much of my day yesterday writing. This may not sound astounding since I consider myself a writer. Nevertheless, the last week or so has been an absolute hell for me. Not only have I not been able to write, but I’ve been under a strange spell. My head hurts, my eyes are bothering me, my stomach is clenched, I can feel small spasm near the right side of my ribcage. Writing is the last of my worries.

Personally, I think all of that pain is brought on my mental issues. In my case I find myself having to deal with a lot of stress as of late and my body simply cannot handle it. Yet, yesterday I was finally able to sit down and write. I took full advantage of this, writing as much as I could and without boundaries. Out of all of the work I did I figured I would post a short excerpt from a story I nicknamed Pathos.

The Smallest Things

I am by no means a perfectionist. If I were then I would be far thinner, far more attractive, and have a better job. Instead, I’m a somewhat average person who, at times, fails and succeeds. And yet, with that promptly shoved into my head each time I review my own work, I am often left disappointed.

It’s not that I require absolute perfection. In my opinion, and mind you I’m only twenty-two so what the hell do I know, perfection is impossible when it comes to the endeavors of humans. We’re a species formed from failure and thank God for that. Nevertheless, even if we cannot attain perfection, we should still strive for it. Simply assuming that we are unable to reach our goal and thus we should avoid it is not only a defeatist point of view, but it goes against our very humanity. Perfection can only be seen after a series of failures, forcing you to realize that every mistake you made is absolutely priceless.

And then there are those moments when you have to sit back in your chair and let out a nice, violent sigh. I speak, of course, about the second chapter of the NaNoWriMo novel that I put up not long ago. To be quick about it, the writing was fine, but I made the big mistake of not doing a quick proofread and taking out the small mistakes.

I know, I know, this is not a huge deal, especially considering this is, at the very best, a rough draft. Still, for somebody so competitive such as myself, for somebody who loves writing not simply as a way to earn money but because it was my one escape as a child, making stupid mistakes is painful.

I think I might be taking this too seriously, lol.

-Irish

P.S.: This entry was not proofread or edited in any way. Whoops?

Chapter 2

For whatever reason I have been unable to write as of late. Some would love to call it Writers Block, gnashing their teeth at the invisible devil and trying to explain it is not their fault. In truth, my inability to write is my inability to cope with personal issues. I’ve gotten to point, much to my dismay, that I’m even becoming physically ill from the problems I’m currently facing. It doesn’t help that in the last four days I’ve only had about three hours of sleep.

Anyhow, since I have nothing new to offer anyone in terms of sagely advice, I figured I would post the second chapter of my NaNoWriMo novel. Admittedly, the chapter is not edited and has many grammatical errors. You’ll have to forgive my apathy.

BAH!

Things happening…. can’t write…. be back next week.

-Irish

This’ll be a long one II

A while back I posted the very first chapter of the NaNoWriMo novel that I wrote. It was entirely unedited and had basically been written in total haste. This, of course, made me look like a complete fool. Then again, grammar has never really been my strongest quality. So, after a few months time, I decided to edit it a bit. Much to my dismay, however, I was thoroughly intoxicated and this is what happened…

Did you even notice?

American heroes, at best, seem distant to us. They’re placed in history books and thrown apathetically into the bags of teenagers, rarely to be read by them, nonetheless adults. When was the last time you sat down a read about President Jefferson or had a discussion about Walt Whitman. In truth, our heroes, the ones Americans worship, are no longer the ones that defined America. Instead, they’re the guys who sell more albums or have amazing bodies or are simply witty in some fashion.

Before I continue I feel I must admit that this is not a rant about how much American sucks or how terrible we as humans, whether American or not, can be. Instead, I am just curious if you even noticed why many of you got Monday off. The obvious retort to that is: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Now, can you tell me whether it is a day celebrating his birthday, the day he gave the I have a dream speech, or the day he was killed?

When we look to the American heroes who honestly did something, the people who changed our nation for the better, I think my generation can point to Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of the few people we remember. Unfortunately, it seems we remember his name and nothing else. Perhaps we remember his speeches, or some of his ideals. We might even know other trivial information that would otherwise make jerks like me look as though I know nothing about Dr. King.

And once a year we stop and pay tribute for what he gave us… the only problem, of course, is that no one much cares what he did. We take for granted the rights he fought to secure for black Americans. We forget the pain he suffered. Unlike most heroes he wasn’t able to live out his life in the splendor of his brilliance, rather his life was taken and he was robbed of what he deserved.

If not for Martin Luther King, Jr. we would not have a black President. Blacks would still be forced to sit in the back of the bus, there would be separate bathrooms for coloreds and human rights would continue to be spit on. We forget that one man can do so much. Perhaps that was the point – he was never alone, mind you. I’m confident in saying he was no gloryhound. He didn’t stand up and make those speeches so that he would be on the news or in the papers for being brave. He did all of that, the stuff we only care about for about five minutes a year, because he knew he had to. And thank God he found that want.

Where would we be without Dr. King? It’s easy to point at our current state in this country and let out a sigh. We honestly think we have it hard, that we somehow cannot advance beyond our current position. Tell that to somebody who wasn’t allowed to sit in the same section of a restaurant or to somebody unable to go to school with everyone else because their ancestry was not Anglo.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is not a day for black Americans to rejoice. It is a day for every single person in this whole nation to sit back and revel in the birth of a man who taught us all how to act like humans.

-Irish

P.S.: This rant was not edited or proofread. And yes, I know that Dr. King was not born on the 18th, but we celebrate his birthday, which was on the 15th, on the third monday of January.

Haiti

There is nothing more perverted than the guilty minded man. We act irrationally and refuse to listen to logic, instead we do what our heart tells us. Unfortunately, our heart doesn’t heed the warning of thought or know the basic understanding of consequences. It acts in fervor, it refuses to acknowledge danger, and, like a blind man on a roof, it’s bound to slip eventually.

The tragic earthquake in Haiti is a reminder to us all to stay vigilant. Instead of acting foolishly we should stay calm and educate ourselves about what happened and what has to be done. We need to look at history and see what has happened in the past when it comes to aid for Haiti. Much to my dismay, however, it seems we have ignored hindsight and we refuse to acknowledge the logic sitting in front of us. Instead, we’re heading into the jungle in haste without so much as a pair of boots on.

President Obama has already announced one hundred million dollars, a seemingly arbitrary number pulled out of his pocket, in aid for Haiti. Normally that number would sound a bit low and there are plenty of people, even now, who think that it is. Certainly by the time this whole debacle is over we’ll have spent far more in man-hours, fuel, food, housing, supplies, and everything else that you can think of. Nevertheless, it is the $100 Million which has caught the attention of a few news-addicts. In truth, we haven’t that money to give…

It sounds heartless, I know. Unfortunately, while it is heartless, it’s also logical. The American People are so heavily in debt to China that many honestly think that this is the first generation in decades to have children who, once they grow up, will lead poorer lives than them. This is remarkable when you consider the nineties were our golden age.

Now we sit upon that damned precipice that most intelligent societies try to avoid.

The unfortunate truth is that we do not have one hundred million dollars to give to Haiti, though our President will do so anyhow. In fact, much to my chagrin, I am certain he will give more. Mind you, it is your money he is donating, not his. And before I am emailed about it, NO, this is not an attack on taxes or Obama. It is an attack on haste and logic born from the heart, which is to say none at all.

What happens when we flood our schools with money for new textbooks and better teaching material? Nothing. Look at California – we have some of the lowest test scores in the nation and we shovel money into the system. Instead of using that idea for Haiti, our President should stand before us all and ask us to stand up and give every penny we can, every second we have free, and every prayer we can afford to say. There is nothing greater than the American Mind and the American Heart when used in unison. Money does not solve this problem, it is the effort of man, the willingness of we Americans to bleed for the safety of our fellow-men, that will win the day.

As a Capitalist I am a fond believer in the power of money, but above all else comes a strong sense of morals to dictate how that money is used.  As with all things in life we need a balance, not erratic fear and forced guilt.

-Irish

P.S.: This has not been edited or proofread. Oh yeah… Fuck you, Pat Robertson!

Games on the Cheap! Mass Effect

4 views?! ONLY FOUR VIEWS? Yeah, okay, I’m use to getting only about 30 or so. I think my highest was over 1k, but it was an Aion review and I was hated for it. Still, I only got about four views on this damn video.