There is a difference between fact and opinion

So today I had to give a persuasive speech. And for those who do not know or understand the point of a persuasive speech, it is a speech intended to persuade a group to believe what you believe, to follow your opinion, or to get them to do something you want them to do. So my speech was about the stigma against tobacco, the growth of "smoke-free" areas, and why I believe those are wrong. I stated clinical studies on the benefits of smoking tobacco, and well as studies showing the psychological benefits. I admitted that tobacco is not safe, but I was trying to illustrate my point that the detrimental effects of tobacco are greatly exaggerated and blown out of proportion. I stated how I believe the ability to smoke is a civil right. I talked about how since 1973 (the year the trend of banning the smoking of tobacco in public spaces became popular) the amount of cigarette trashed has increase in correlation with the increase of smoke free spaces. My arguments were, in my eyes, fairly sound, and I believe I posed a good argument.

After the speech, some pious idiot decided to state his opinion that my opinion was wrong. In his eyes his opinion was right, and apparently both my facts and opinions were wrong. Fuck him. Really though, all I did was present my opinion in a structured and organized manner, and he comes at me like a verbal spider monkey. I respect the fact that he is entitled to his opinion, as I am entitled to mine. I could have punched holes in his speech, told him that his controversial basic "right" is not a right at all, but a danger that should be regulated, used his own logic that if it has dangers, it should be regulated. Fuck him. I took the high road. I mean I am kind of being a hypocrite by writing it up here, but I feel entitled to write my petty annoyed thoughts of the day. I mean, this is my blog.

Conspiracy Theories

I have a confession to make. I am an addict of Stumbleupon. This amazing website that is my vice in times of extreme boredom. I can attribute it to many different class failures, as I stumble when I indeed should be taking notes. But that is beside the point. Recently I have been stumbling through conspiracy theories.

Truly it amazes me what some people honestly believe in. Some of them seem to be sound, and some (most) are quite extreme. It makes me think, I talking about actual scratch my chin pondering, about how people come up with this stuff. I mean practically all of the "theories" involving the United States government. Honestly, is it even possible, let alone probable, that the same institution that loses billions of dollars to needless bureaucracies, the same institution that has so many devisions and projects that cannot be kept track of, the same institution whose own branches squabble and fight over meaningless issues can actually plan and execute an elaborate plan to trick the American people? I am not talking about secret military projects. But some people actually think the government caused the collapse of the trade centers intentionally. Really? Seriously? Come on. If they were capable of faking that terrorist attack, doesn't it seem likely that they would have been able to plant biological weapons and what not in Afghanistan and Iraq?

And yet there are theories even crazier than that. A race of humanoid shapeshifting reptilian aliens is about to take over the world. Did you know that? Because I sure as hell didn't. But of course it is possible, because if a species that much more biologically and technologically advanced than our own wanted to take over our world, they would most certainly do it through guile and secrecy, in order to make us into slaves, instead of the easy route of showing up with millions of star trek like warships and threatening us till we submit.

I ponder the question of how some people could come up with these kinds of stories, and the only two possibilities involve mental disorders and extremely creative drug induced paranoia. And speaking from experience, if it was drugs, most of the theories would be about mind control drugs in twinkies or doritos or something like that. And as for the crazy person theory? I have seen some pretty crazy people on the streets, and if they still have the mental capacity to spread misinformation as detailed as some of these theories, we could harness that raw, practically free resource to replace J.J. Abrams increasingly worse T.V. shows with something a little more interesting. Maybe they could also help out M. Night Shamalamadingdong come up with some better twists.

"I see" said the blind man to his deaf brother.

Well this seems to be an awful day. My study power is dwindling, but I need to study more. If school was the Force, procrastination is the dark side. Oh how it is fun, but in the end it screws you over. Even now I am succumbing to the dark forces. The nagging feeling, the twisted knot in my stomach is telling me that I shouldn't of gone to this class. I should have stayed home. Studied more. I spent the majority of last night studying for a test that was not today. The teacher, a man who fancies himself a hilarious man, postpones the test at the last minute, effectively wasting my time. Alas I do have more study aids, but I will most likely buy more. I have one test today and two on friday. This god awful game that I know how to play well. Why don't I just play? I am great at the game. But I would rather follow my own path, pursue my own interests, not those mandated by the state. If only general education courses could be the last two years, and the major and minor courses had to be taken the first two years. I do well when I am interested.

I have found that my motivated non-motivation might be able to be used against itself. I like to think that I am a good lier. So why can I not just lie to myself? Convince myself that schoolwork is my favorite thing to do? I must try. Unfortunately, this semester might be my only chance. And as of yet, it seems that I am wasting it. But we will just have to see what happens. I am a firm believer of the "it's all good" philosophy. I think that no matter how bad a situation gets, there is rarely a point of no return. There is always (well not always, there are always exceptions to any rule) a way out, some backdoor. All it takes is a strong will. I have passion. I have drive. I just need to get my priorities straight. The only problem is that I see no problem with my priorities.

Is it wrong to put friends and family above all else? Is it wrong to enjoy simple pleasures? Is it wrong to have daily adventures? To live life day by day? I do not see anything wrong with my priorities. I hate that society has to be like it is. But I know that it won't change. So I guess I should second guess how I rank my obligations; maybe I should follow the river instead of trying to swim against it. I worry that I have made to many wrong choices, that there might not be a backdoor for me to escape out of. There might not even be a window. But I will not fail myself. I will not buckle under the weight of the consequences. I cannot give up on my philosophy. I will find a way to fix this.

A binge on studying.

I have found that when I study, or try to, I end up having an extremely productive night. I will clean, discover new interesting things, write songs, poems, stories, start my life story. I paint, work out, shave, and have meaningful conversations with strangers. Last night was one such an occasion.

After dosing up with the popular study aids of college students anywhere, I started my studying. It went pretty well, and I did quite a bit of work. But it did take the whole night. And that whole night was filled with a million different little distractions.

You will never feel more clean than after a shower taken under the influence of uppers. I swear I must have scratches all over my body. Even a loofa gets pretty sharp if it is used with such force. God, But I feel so very clean. It is a good feeling, even if it is a little scary that I feel that I can't leave the shower until every inch of skin has been meticulously soaped and scrubbed raw. And ten minutes after the shower, standing naked in front of a fan after a five minute tooth brushing session is what heaven must feel like. Nothing like a cool breeze.

After my studying was done I bonded with a not-really-that-close friend. I mean I knew his name, and I have said hello to him on the street. But I didn't really imagine myself spilling my feelings, fears, and fantasies to this guy I do not know that well, but who am I kidding. Illicit substances have been used as social lubricants for centuries, millennia even, so it is not that odd that I made yet another good friend because of drugs.

During my frantic antsy episodes I wrote a good deal of writing. A plethora of words swirled (and still swirling) around in my head, wanting to get out by any means. It happens when I "study" alone. The desire to talk to people is just another way for those words to escape. And trust me. Some of those bad boys just want to get you in trouble (by "bad boys" I am referring to the swirly words) with anyone who will listen. It is probably a good thing that the words are coming out here, instead of on a phone call to my grandma.

I like to think I can control the words. I mean, I can control them when I write, but when I talk? It is not pretty. Every occasion like last night, without fail, I babble constantly to anyone that will listen. And when they don't listen I feel bad (and the drugged dark side gets a little annoyed) and apologize.

In the end I am still awake. Usually I will stay awake for two days on this "study aid," and more often than not my body becomes extremely exhausted. But even with the body aches and pains, my brain likes to think of itself as a marathon martyr. It just keeps going and going and never ever even thinks of stopping to rest. But luckily I got to sleep in until two or three yesterday. So my body is still truckin. Well my friend, the class session I am wasting by writing this is coming to an end. So you have a great day. I will leave you with a little advice. Don't let your socks get wet.