Stingy Jack

I spend most of the 30^th of October scrawling different faces on paper. When I finally pick, I transfer the face onto the carved out pumpkin with a marker. I cut the shapes and select the candle and my Jack O’ Lantern is born, destined to sit outside the house and light the sidewalk.

                However, if this were ancient Europe, my Jack O’ Lantern would be destined to ward off evil spirits, such as Stingy Jack.

                According to the History Channel (http://www.history.com/topics/jack-olantern-history), Stingy Jack is an Irish Legend whom invited the devil to drink with him. The devil consented and they had a drink together but Jack didn’t want to pay for their drinks, so he convinced to devil to transform into a coin which he kept in his pocket beside a silver cross, preventing the devil from transforming back.

                He finally did let the devil transform back, but only after he’d convinced the devil to leave him alone for a whole year and not claim his soul.

                When the year was up, the devil returned to see him, but he convinced the devil to pick some fruit for him, and then drew a cross on the tree. The devil was then trapped in the tree until he agreed to leave Jack alone for ten more years.

                Shortly after that Jack died and God wouldn’t let him into heaven, and he’d prevented himself from going to hell so he was stuck wandering earth. The devil gave him a single coal to light his way, which he placed into a carved out turnip and has supposedly been wandering the earth ever since.

                So thus, it became traditional for European countries to carve Jack O’ Lanterns out of squashes and turnips until they discovered that the American pumpkin was perfect for the Lanterns.

Who's the Real Hero?

I saw a newspaper article recently regarding how incredible athletes are regarded as heroes in our society. They’re asked to speak at events, and roads are named after them.  Sports are a big part of our culture, I agree, but are they truly these heroes we make them out to be?  I disagree; I think that they are champions, not heroes. Perhaps they’ve made a difference in someone’s life, but not as much as a policeman or fireman does.

When is the last time we named a road after a fireman or a policeman? They make differences in our everyday lives. Doctors have saved countless lives that go with little recognition in comparison to sports figures. Policemen try to keep people from needing the doctors, and firemen save lives and property.

So why aren’t they commemorated? I’m sure there are some of them that have done extraordinary things.

Sports are important; they’ve allowed us to accept each other a little better, as people like Jackie Robinson entered the sports and tore down racist laws that separated us. That’s important, and there’s no denying it, but why the almost exclusive focus on sports? Not everyone who’s good at sports tore down some kind of barrier. They’re success is a good story sure, but so are the experiences of a police officer, or a fireman, or a doctor, or rescue workers. I’d love to hear from the Red Cross or the Coast Guard once.

I’m sure they have great stories about finding personal strength to help another. I get the fact this isn’t for publicity, or to be on a cereal box, but isn’t it important to know about? I’d like to congratulate them on doing something so brave.

In the military we come close to this goal by awarding our men who do extraordinary things. Medals of all sorts are awarded, and that’s good, because it shows that people who do good things, brave things, are appreciated.

I think we need to show these people that we appreciate all of the work they go through to help us. If a Red Cross rescuer, or a Coast Guard rescuer, saved me, I’d be very grateful to them. I’d think they deserved the highest honor. Saving a person’s life is a huge deal, because each person is a huge deal.

Even Psychiatrists are a big deal. They pull some people from the darkest depths we could imagine. People who lose hope in their lives. Doesn’t this deserve some recognition sometimes? Shouldn’t we congratulate those who’ve helped over a thousand people?

I guess life isn’t all about medals and being able to speak in front of crowds, but someone should post something, perhaps in the newspaper, about extraordinary citizens, who’ve done good work for their fellow man. Or those who’ve gone out of they’re way to help a fellow man, which are far more recorded than those who make a profession out of it. Which it is good to congratulate these people; but others should be mentioned too from time to time.

I guess what I’m trying to say is the next time they want to rename a street, they ought to look for a civil servant. They’re human, just like us, and they work extra hard to make life easier for us. We may think they inconvenience us, but in reality, we inconvenience ourselves.

Just think, if we could stop hurting each other, there wouldn’t be a need for policemen. If we could be nice to everyone, the need for psychiatrists would go down considerably.

We don’t have to love each other, we just have to be civil. If we could all keep our tempers in check, and just tolerate each other, at least to a point, we’d live in a better place. So the next time you think about stabbing your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, think about the difference you’re making. If it weren’t for you, we probably wouldn’t need the police for anything more than traffic violations.

The next time you think about setting off that firework on your foot, think about how many Independence Days you’re ruining by doing something stupid. If you didn’t blow your foot off, we could probably be trusted to operate fireworks safely.

Most laws are there for our rights and safety, as are the enforcers. So show a little respect and appreciation, because you don’t know when you might need them to help you. 

(picture from google)

Baseball Vs. Football

I was listening to a favorite comedian of mine, George Carlin, when he brought up a good point. Baseball and Football are very different from each other; however, both games are a huge part of American culture.

           I think there has been a huge change in culture just from looking at these two games. Football, in recent years, has eclipsed Baseball in becoming the nation’s favored sport. Baseball is still enjoyed, but not as popular as it once was.

            Football is a larger test of endurance, weather doesn’t matter, and players are free to slam each other to the ground provided they are not “unnecessarily” rough.

            Baseball is strictly a game, and the players don’t typically touch each other while they’re playing. If the weather is bad, the baseball players stay inside.

            In Football, strategy is everything. Using techniques and the skills of your team is what gets you to the touchdown.

            In Baseball, the skills of the players are the most important part; if one of your players is bad, the team is doomed to that pitfall.

            In Football the fans are almost wild with excitement and anger. Riots are far more likely to happen than in the Baseball stands, where the atmosphere is more like a picnic.

            So what does this change in tastes say about society today? Perhaps we’re more violent then we once were, or maybe we just like the more intense game better. 

Video

Mobile Phones

            In today’s world, communication is everywhere. It is unheard of to even leave the house without some kind of mobile device in your pocket, hip clasp, or purse. Is it necessary? Well, maybe not always but it sure is handy.

            Many of our folks remember the ages of party lines. Having to fight through a crowd of people to talk on the phone must have been a terrible thing. And then, hoping the other line wasn’t busy? A nightmare. Now? Every individual has a phone; even elementary students are starting to get them.

            I agree, constant communication is excessive, if not obsessive. But it is handy. Gone are the days of being stuck by the road without a tow truck.; gone are the days of forgetting which brand of milk is the right brand. Truly, convenient.

            And if they weren’t convenient by themselves, they now have things like applications to give you directions to where you’re going, the highest rated restaurants in the area, etc. And if you’re so inclined, you can check your email anywhere, anytime.

            But at what cost? It’s like an addiction, our phones go everywhere with us. It’s like we can’t wait for that next text or call. There just isn’t much being alone anymore. Plus, we don’t always think our responses through anymore. Instant messages, instant replies. If you’ve ever sent something you regretted you know what I’m talking about. Everything’s in the moment, even the angry or depressed moments. What will this lead us to become like in the future? Will there be anyone who appreciates a moment’s solitude? If there is, they’ll be few.

picture from google

A Look at Religion in General

I don’t know who’s right or wrong, or whether anyone is right at all, but isn’t it interesting that so many people believe in something? I mean, everyone’s sat down, at some point, and thought about this whole god thing, no matter what they believe. Everyone, from all over the world! Even when they were separated so far apart no one knew there were other cultures out there.

The Mesopotamians believed in several gods, the best known as king Gilgamesh. The Chinese believed in the Mandate of Heaven, and the Egyptians had several gods. Native Americans had a wide variety of gods themselves. Isn’t it strange that people who lived so far away, and couldn’t communicate with each other, could have beliefs so similar? They even shared the idea of polytheism, or believing in multiple gods.

As the timeline continues, we begin to see a shift from many gods to only one worldwide. Sure, communications increased, but the fact that everyone around the world’s beliefs began to shift to only one god is very impressive. We saw the emergence of Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity (the youngest of the four), and Islam. But why? How did such an idea even get started? Granted, there may have been a few people getting sick of keeping track of all of these gods and goddesses, and the strange, but interesting love affairs they had (like Greek and Roman gods and goddesses), or maybe something spectacular was happening.

Granted, most the popularity in religion is the incredible spread of it to other countries. Conquests and conversions alone, we have the Crusades and the Inquisition to consider. All in the name of forcing people to believe as we do. It’s a shared idea really. Everyone wants to spread their religious ideas, albeit some more peacefully than others.

The need seems to come from this notion of a Hell and a Heaven, to put it simply. For Buddhists, the Heaven may be Nirvana (not the band), and for Hindus the Heaven may be being reborn to the elite class, but this notion of a paradise is the same.

The notion of a fiery place to keep evildoers is also pretty universal, the Greeks, the Egyptians, Christians, Muslim, and Jewish peoples all believe in some form of Hell. Once again, whose to say whether or not there is a Hell, or which one is the actual Hell (should it exist), but it is fascinating to me that so many different peoples could have the same sort of idea.

Where do these ideas come from? Well there are theories. One of course, is that it is all absolutely true and their deity, or deities, has spoken to them and they have seen these things with their own eyes. Another stems from a need for order in a society. The belief is deities were created by man to scare mankind into acting more civilized.

Religion does have an advantage there; most religions have principles that everyone following their religion must adhere to, which are often things like don’t steal or kill. These are good messages, but you don’t necessarily need religion to believe in them, although the fright that you may burn for an eternity does help.

However there is one idea that is probably religion’s biggest downfall. The idea is this: the people who do not believe in my God (or Gods) are evil and must be destroyed. Now that idea is extremely destructive to society. Not only that, it breaks most of their own principles.

That isn’t to say that everyone who believes in a god, or gods, feels this way, but every religion has people who share that belief. (Which is almost ironic isn’t it? The people they think are so evil and different share that belief.)

In the end, we’re not as different as we may think we are. Our cultures may be different, but humans all share some principle ideas.

Ochugen and Oseibo

Whenever someone does something nice for you, you can’t help but want to repay them. Usually this is done with some kind of gift, or maybe just a thank you card. At least in America these are normal ways of saying thanks. Japan, however, has special seasons for such an occasion.

In America, we do have Boss’s Day (October 16^th), though it isn’t too widely celebrated. Our average calendar doesn’t even bother to mention it. In Japan, there is a gift giving season known as Ochugen almost specifically for bosses. Anyone of a higher social status than you is given a gift during Ochugen in July. The most interesting thing about Ochugen, however, is probably the choice in gifts; rather than the useless, if sentimental, gifts Americans typically bestow upon one another, the Japanese give the recipient useful things such as detergent or cooking oil.

The gifts are usually more expensive too; in Japan they’ll spend anywhere between 3000 to 5000 yen (about 30-50 dollars) on gifts. Also, they are usually purchased at a department store and then delivered to the recipient.

Oseibo, the gift giving season in December, is similar, but usually the items are more traditional to the area. If Maine celebrated the holiday, people would probably send their relatives and friends apples.

Which isn’t that different from America in a sense, but most Americans would send a fruit basket, or a cheese and crackers set. Sometimes fancy treats like Lindt chocolates are given as well. It would be uncommon, though, for someone in Idaho to give their friend potatoes though; seasonal food might be considered a nice present, like a pumpkin pie, or caramel apples.

I’m not sure I like the idea of the two gift giving seasons, but I enjoy their tastes in gifts. I like sentimental gifts, sure, but there are only so many candles one person can have, and the same goes for the cute little statuettes to put on your bureau. Now, detergent on the other hand could actually be useful. It saves you some money and doesn’t join the clutter of your shelves.

Fishing

          Just the thought of having tuna right now is enough to make me drool; and I’m not the only one. Millions of people consume seafood everyday, all over the world. For Island nations, fish is a staple. But what kind of effect does this consumption have on our oceans?

            Well think of it like this: if you’re eating a big fish, like a tuna, you are eating about 10 pounds worth of smaller fish, and if you’re eating 10 pounds of smaller fish, you’re eating 100 pounds of even smaller fish until we reach 1000 pounds of plankton. How can this be? Well, it’s the food chain. A tuna must eat the equivalent of its body weight every ten days. But there’s plenty of fish in the sea, right? Well we’re beginning to wonder. Every single year we catch more than 170 billion pounds of fish. That’s a lot of fish. (National Geographic October 2010).

            Not only is the depletion of the oceans a problem, but fights over fishing rights is a huge problem. China and Japan have been at each other’s throats for years over fishing rights. And they’re not the only ones. Taiwan and the Mediterranean have the same problem.

So is it worth it? Is tuna really that good, that we’ll fight over fishing waters and rapidly deplete the oceans? Well, maybe not, but it certainly is tasty.