Random thoughts thread

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by kanundrum

Kids of the future, for the love of god when you go to college please choose any science (except political) if you would like to be successful in life. I honestly thought most people knew that but I guess not.

If you want to be really successful computer science is the way of the future. Even if you dont like it but you can do it it will make life that much easier.

Making this statement I am saying just if you follow the standard path

Obviously you can do great things on your own and make anything else happen if you put your mind to it but if you do decide to go to college and having a hard time selecting a major, when in doubt make sure its a science.

Skip liberal arts. I graduated liberal arts and it's useless. Go STEM if you want a career.

[Asterisked Accolade]

I just watched a 'moving' scene from the movie 'The Pursuit of Happiness.' Will Smith has gotten his break-- he gets a promotion to become a broker and now his worries melt away. He's made it, and even better is his son may now have the privileged life most parents wish for their children.

I have an argument regarding this. As Will Smith walks through a crowd of people, he cries tears of joy and claps as his voice narrates, 'This, is happiness.'

My argument begins here. I would argue that he has not unearthed happiness from this experience. Gratification? Absolutely. A profound and semi-euphoric sense of relief? Unquestionably. But happiness? I can't subscribe to that right now.

His happiness would have to be so synthetic. Employment, work, currency, the construct of modern civil life, it's all synthetic and made by the modern man. Think of the world as having none of it-- back to the land-roamers humans used to be. Before colonies and congested continents.

I argue that happiness should not(and in this case could not) propagate from success in the workplace and fiscal security. I understand happiness as euphoric, paramount, as a pinnacle of all that it is to feel human emotion. To me, the movie and the journey in question is a misnomer in itself. I feel like the movie would benefit from the clarity of being renamed, 'The pursuit of gratification.'

I just feel that if your happiness arises from workplace success, either your life is abysmal, or you likely misunderstand happiness. Happiness (one could argue) is the (personal) meaning to life. Without it, there is simply no motivation for a future-- and to assert that financial security, your child's assured luxuries and a promotion at work achieves such a fundamental landmark would be an anthropologically null assertion.



. . . any follow-up?

[kanundrum]

I need a keyboard to follow up but totally get what your saying.

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by Asterisked Accolade

I just watched a 'moving' scene from the movie 'The Pursuit of Happiness.' Will Smith has gotten his break-- he gets a promotion to become a broker and now his worries melt away. He's made it, and even better is his son may now have the privileged life most parents wish for their children...

BTW, Will Smith was the actor not the character.

I've seen this movie and I believe the point of the movie was not that money meant anything to him but that he wanted to provide a decent life and safe place for his son to grow up. He was desperate for any work and the internship was the first one where he had a chance. In his mind happiness was getting that "dream job" where his son had a warm, safe place to go after school every day and where they could still be together. The fact that he later started a broker business where he made millions was just good fortune. He certainly wasn't looking to make millions when he started there.

Saying it was all about wealth and privilege is asinine. Most modern movies feed into this fallacious world of getting that dream job/business and making millions. But in reality these instances are very rare and really have no bearing on happiness. Happiness finds you, no merely being content with what you have but finding that niche where your needs are filled. It depends on what your goals are; for some it's making a lot of money, some it's new adventures, others it's the same job for 30 years.

Just my humble opinion.

[Grishbok]

Well, youre also looking at it existentially and just refusing the authors definition of happiness. The only true definition for happiness is the opposite of your worst day. all of which is entirely subjective.
@IntotheOcean do what my ex did, find a sucker with money and bleed him dry. Its what women were put on the earth to do and why we men will do it with a smile. Im not jaded, just a pragmatist.

The rest of my worldscape happens to be in line with Kierkegaard in that the past is over, the future is uncertain, so live in the now because that the now is the true meaning of life.

[wrxgoose]

why am i still awake? oh yeah! had to drive gf to work. too damned early. just glad i work @ 5. oh well, time to try to fall asleep. BUT FIRST! *drinks coke*

[IntotheOcean]

Don't worry, I'm not cynical /old fashioned. a girl in the relationship should pay for her share. (don't get me wrong its nice when a guy pays for a movie or date every now and than, but this shouldn't happen all the time)
I think a lot of what you're talking about comes from upbringing. Spoiled girls who don't know how to work for their money. Those are also Character traits that are revealed very early in a relationship.
... The only thing I'd ever ask from a guy is flowers. a Shit ton of flowers-he could even pick them himself lol

[Grishbok]

Originally Posted by IntotheOcean

Don't worry, I'm not cynical /old fashioned. a girl in the relationship should pay for her share. (don't get me wrong its nice when a guy pays for a movie or date every now and than, but this shouldn't happen all the time)
I think a lot of what you're talking about comes from upbringing. Spoiled girls who don't know how to work for their money. Those are also Character traits that are revealed very early in a relationship.
... The only thing I'd ever ask from a guy is flowers. a Shit ton of flowers-he could even pick them himself lol

FLOWERS? how sadistic is giving flowers to someone. You give someone something vibrant, young, full of esoteric brilliance but to what end? To watch them decay, lose their luster and rot in a vase, inside, never to be part of a new generation or anything more than a pleasing sight, noticed in passing, for only a day.

That said, i gave a girl a crystal rose once, and told her it was the only way to make sure the flower never died.

[IntotheOcean]

Haha, if it's a rose I actually keep it I have a bookcase with a few(my cat ate some lol) -but yeah I get a lot of weird looks.
It is sad that they have to die, that was sweet of you to get one that wouldn't.
My favorite flowers are the artificial ones-basically if you get a white Flower and put it in food coloring it will absorb it and turn its petals a more vibrant color . It's Very cool looking

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Grishbok

FLOWERS? how sadistic is giving flowers to someone. You give someone something vibrant, young, full of esoteric brilliance but to what end? To watch them decay, lose their luster and rot in a vase, inside, never to be part of a new generation or anything more than a pleasing sight, noticed in passing, for only a day.

That said, i gave a girl a crystal rose once, and told her it was the only way to make sure the flower never died.

That's pretty clever. I saw some gold preserved leaves in a gift shop once. There's something neat about preserved bits of nature.

[kanundrum]

Man everyone here needs a hug lol. Also dead flowers can turn into potpourri haha! OK time to go to work

[Spd229]

Originally Posted by IntotheOcean

Sucks having parents who are wacked out their minds when it comes to finances
I wish there was a way for me to get threw to them.. They make enough to be considered middle class(I can't get financial aid) and they live like poor people.
My father is up to his neck in debt, and refuses to file for bankruptcy/sell the house(yes he is living in a house by himself)
And my mother is incapable of saving a dime.
... I asked her about the idea of putting away 50$ a week to help with my college, and she was baffled....
Yet spending 25$ a week on Chinese food/or 80$ on Amazon or another 80 for arts and crafts or another 100 in stupid online art classes is no big deal.
Who am I to tell my mom what to do with her money after all.
It just makes me want to vommit when I'm busting my ass saving and showing will power/dedication and she can't.
I told her I refuse to work 2 jobs for the rest of my life. I don't care how long it'll take me to get to where I want to be, I know someday it'll happen.
Grr/rant over.

I wish they had parenting classes

Ugh.....pretty true. I've got a few friends whose parents are like this. In some cases they've unfortunately picked up certain traits such as a lack of will power / motivation; whilst others hit the ground running and bust their ass.

My girlfriend calls me cheap, but I don't have much interest in pandering to every little thing someone wants nor carrying their financial weight when they can't decide what they want to do with themselves. Granted I have no problem with her pandering to her own whims when she has an actual cash flow....but why can't people understand that they shouldn't buy shit when they have no money coming in?

[Guff]

Originally Posted by Asterisked Accolade

I just watched a 'moving' scene from the movie 'The Pursuit of Happiness.' Will Smith has gotten his break-- he gets a promotion to become a broker and now his worries melt away. He's made it, and even better is his son may now have the privileged life most parents wish for their children.

I have an argument regarding this. As Will Smith walks through a crowd of people, he cries tears of joy and claps as his voice narrates, 'This, is happiness.'

My argument begins here. I would argue that he has not unearthed happiness from this experience. Gratification? Absolutely. A profound and semi-euphoric sense of relief? Unquestionably. But happiness? I can't subscribe to that right now.

His happiness would have to be so synthetic. Employment, work, currency, the construct of modern civil life, it's all synthetic and made by the modern man. Think of the world as having none of it-- back to the land-roamers humans used to be. Before colonies and congested continents.

I argue that happiness should not(and in this case could not) propagate from success in the workplace and fiscal security. I understand happiness as euphoric, paramount, as a pinnacle of all that it is to feel human emotion. To me, the movie and the journey in question is a misnomer in itself. I feel like the movie would benefit from the clarity of being renamed, 'The pursuit of gratification.'

I just feel that if your happiness arises from workplace success, either your life is abysmal, or you likely misunderstand happiness. Happiness (one could argue) is the (personal) meaning to life. Without it, there is simply no motivation for a future-- and to assert that financial security, your child's assured luxuries and a promotion at work achieves such a fundamental landmark would be an anthropologically null assertion.



. . . any follow-up?

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

BTW, Will Smith was the actor not the character.

I've seen this movie and I believe the point of the movie was not that money meant anything to him but that he wanted to provide a decent life and safe place for his son to grow up. He was desperate for any work and the internship was the first one where he had a chance. In his mind happiness was getting that "dream job" where his son had a warm, safe place to go after school every day and where they could still be together. The fact that he later started a broker business where he made millions was just good fortune. He certainly wasn't looking to make millions when he started there.

Saying it was all about wealth and privilege is asinine. Most modern movies feed into this fallacious world of getting that dream job/business and making millions. But in reality these instances are very rare and really have no bearing on happiness. Happiness finds you, no merely being content with what you have but finding that niche where your needs are filled. It depends on what your goals are; for some it's making a lot of money, some it's new adventures, others it's the same job for 30 years.

Just my humble opinion.

^^^ I couldn't have said it better. I believe his happiness roots from seeing that his son is content, and that he won't have to struggle like his father did.



I like Will Smith, he is a very alternative director...

[zenki_levin]

Lol, was driving towards my house and some cat decided to cross the street.

I brake and the cat stopped, looked me dead in the eye and froze.

Like this.



Waved my arm around and then the cat started walking again.