Somewhere Over the Soul

Way up high, there's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby. As in, it doesn't exist. Get over it.

Also, this picture is the creepiest thing I've seen in three days. Seriously, what the-

A. According to Emerson, the mind ultimately under the soul, which happens to be under the oversoul. The soul is our natural beauty-thingy with some actual understanding and pureness while the mind is what's a bit more on the outside. Savvy?

B. Beatitude in the context means "a blessing" or happiness. Or that's what Dictionary.com told me. Don't judge!

C. Not only does this emphasize the ideas, but also these separate sentences are presented as one entity, a single idea. Pretty neat if you ask me.

D. "Revelation is the disclosure of the soul," the freedom of the pureness of "creation," the answer to the questions of life. It's so deep that I can't see it anymore.

F. God's role is apparently to just be there in case someone needs him. He's always there. He's in our souls and can provide a "shoulder to cry on". It should be noted that this isn't the God you're thinking of; it's the inner God we all have inside.

It's complicated.

Manifestos, Lies, and Pizza

Where better to start than with a dictionary definition, eh? manifesto (noun) a public declaration of intent, policy, aims, etc, as issued by a political party, government, or movement Honestly, there are infinitely many ways to start on a better note, but hey, such is life. Anyway, let us start with Reality Hunger by David Shields. I noted that the cover of the book of orange-red with yellow text, keeping it simplistic; yet, there is a dumpload of text on top of that (mostly positive reviews about the book) making it rather chaotic. We can probably infer that the author is narcissistic. Well, at least I'm sure he doesn't have OCD. Anyway, it seems at the moment that this is about art a lot of the time. Even the opening quote is "Art is theft," by Picasso. Simplistic, yet chaotic enough to turn your brain into mush once it is amplified by a factor of five-hundred. Apparently, everything's trying to portray reality, and in the process of doing anything, you are plagiarizing. Or at least they are. This is all delivered through numbered bullet-point-like-quotes-like-things. Simple. Each quote-thingy has a different style, possibly from different sources/authors. Chaotic. It's pretty obvious this is intentional at this point. I like it. For once, it's like as if EVERYTHING is a lie. EVERYTHING. Now let's all snap out heads to the other direction to see the Futurist Manifesto by Marinetti, a moderately Italian name. A bit more direct, this one is, as the author straight out says, "art can only be violence, cruelty, injustice." These guys, the "Futurists," are basically opposing the new forms of art, and apparently new forms of anything, including pizza. Also, they're rejecting old forms of pizza at the same time, so I'm assuming these guys had brains the shape of cubes. In a way, this is similar to the other manifesto we discussed only a couple paragraphs ago, in that it seems to be criticizing art, especially the new ones, but for apparently different reasons (although I'm not yet sure if that's what Reality Hunger is trying to say. I've only read the first chapter, spare me the verdict.). Really, I don't know.  Summary: I've found Reality Hunger more interesting so far, Futurists were weird, and Bob's your uncle. Also, I wonder if pizza as we know it existed in 1909. That's my manifesto.

The Power of English

Let's start here: What is an empire? Let us assume that it's a superior form of power that condescendingly looks down at the "inferiors".

Throughout history, these empires have shaped languages. No doubt, languages have been formed, while others destroyed, although I'd probably say that there was more of the latter. As an empire takes control of the "inferior" people, the culture of these people are more likely to die.

Why?

Take this example from the documentary series The Adventures of English: When the British empire ruled over India, the power the British exerted on India was enormous. Not only was India taken over as a source for profit, but also the English language came into play in this country. Because the English language in a way demonstrated power, Indians eventually adapted themselves to it, at least more than the British adapted themselves to the native Indian language.

That was the power of the language.

English, as the language of a dominant force, is definitely more than just a language. It has the power to change a culture, shape a culture, and destroy a culture. In a way it could be seen as the "survival of the fittest," as the "strongest" language would survive while others may possibly disappear over time.

Have you ever heard of the expression "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"? You probably have, in one form or the other, but the truth is that words can hurt you. Sort of. In fact, it can do much more than just that.

Anyways, all bow down before the power of English.