25 March 2013

Faith & Progress

I had a double free period, some delicious Brighton High School lunch (complete with the standard rice & gravy) and 1000 words of rough draft to write for the Cornell Club of Rochester Essay Competition.

To be fair, my English teacher had assigned us the task with plenty of notice, but important tasks like being awkward around girls and playing Halo 2 got in the way. My first draft ended up only being 650 words, but I was able to fluff it up in time for submission and ended up winning an Honorable Mention - my greatest and only literary accolade.

I'm currently working my way through a recording of The Illiad, so it seemed appropriate to revive the essay starting with a quote from The Odyssey. As with all my work from the archives, I make no claim to factual accuracy or quality of content. Its written quite naively from a period when I honestly believed that everyone subscribed to some form of rational, objective philosophy, and merely disagreed on the details. The strange alternatives of subjectivism and nihilism had simply not occurred to me as things that people would seriously believe.

However, I can see early glimmers of my current philosophical deism in the text, and an unstated notion of 'God as axiom'. It would be a fun concept to revisit today!

"Without gods, men are nothing"
-Homer, The Odyssey

Since the beginning of human existence, we have searched for ways to describe and explain the world around us. When something was inexplicable, we attributed it to some sort of divine force, whether it be angry spirits, a pantheon of deities, or a single omnipotent God. Even today, there are some things that science simply cannot explain, perhaps things that never will be explained. The idea of a higher power has contributed immensely to the fields of science and the arts, whether indirectly or directly. Also, faith has been a decisive factor in determining global politics and shaping the world as it is today. Without a belief in something - an idea, a philosophy, or a deity - humanity would remain stagnant and progress in almost all areas would be halted.

In ancient times, the advent of civilization was marked with further development of religions. In many classical and pre-classical societies, priests or religious leaders served also as the teachers, keepers of knowledge, scientists, and political rulers. For example, the Pharoah of Egypt was said to have descended from the gods. The people's faith in his divinity [and lots and lots of slave labour] inspired them to create such wonders as the Pyramids of Giza, and all of the archaeological artifacts that were buried within. Later, the split between the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Byzantine led to the separation of the Roman Empire and eventually the creation of the Byzantine civilization. This split had extremely far reaching consequences, providing the cultural basis of both European and Russian society. In addition, the Catholic Church was virtually the only Roman institution to survive the Dark Ages, bringing the wealth of knowledge from Greco-Roman civilization through intact.

Religious fervor also had a hand in the creation and destruction of some of the greatest empires the world has known. The spread of Islam across Asia and northern Africa saw the creation of one of the largest nations of all time. In the same way, a schism in the Islamic faith, concerning the rightful successor to Mohammad, caused the vast territory it controlled to fragment into dozens of new countries, which in turn gave rise to their own cultures and empires. All across history, the spread of religions is virtually inextricable from cultural diffusion, in many cases with the arrival of missionaries or travelling monks becoming a prelude to increased trade or conquest. The arrival of Buddhism form China to Japan and the surrounding regions led to the rise or combination of the various writing systems present in the area, not to mention the intermingling of cultures.

Contrary to popular belief [this is almost certainly not popular belief], which states that faith and science are entirely opposite and irreconcilable, the two are more times than not proponents of one another. During the European Renaissance, although the Church did try to hinder certain advances with which they disagreed, the majority of scientists and mathematicians were actually seeking better ways to understand and explain their God. In their view, they had been granted intelligence and conscience by a higher force and to let this gift go to waste was irresponsible. They used the power of observation and reason to discover more about the world around them. Even today, much of science is fueled by a desire to discover the reasons why things exist, and laws to govern how they exist. Ultimately, this is what God has always been, a universal force. Scientific progress is not only motivated, but in fact governed by faith, a strong belief that something is pushing the universe forward in a defined (or random) pattern. Even those who firmly believe that God is a myth created by man are driven by this very same myth when they seek to disprove it.

If science and politics were heavily influenced by religion, or lack thereof, art was born of it. The earliest cave paintings were symbolic of early faith, and all of the earliest stories and myths attempted to explain the creation and nature of the world, or celebrating ritual hunts and harvests. Throughout the ages, some of the greatest artistic and literary works were created in an expression of the divine, or an interpretation or allegory of a religious story or parable. The best selling book of all time is the Bible; it has been translated into dozens of languages and published in virtually every country. The greatest architectural feats, the most recognizable sculptures, almost every fictional story; all have been touched by religion.

It makes sense that culture would have been affected most by the presence of religious ideals. Ancient law codes were inspired by and in turn inspired many of the moral guidelines present in religious texts. In every region, country, state, and household the ways of life present are dictated by faith. It could be as simple as a pre dinner prayer or as complex as a ritualized worship ceremony. Whatever the case, religion affects us on all levels of life.

Although it goes by many names - God, karma, nature, and science - the belief that the universe is governed by some set of unbreakable regulations or a divine force is a common factor uniting all of humanity. Without belief, the fields of art, science, politics, culture, and life itself would be empty. Without faith, the world we know today would not exist. Without gods, men are nothing.

18 March 2013

The Culinarian IV: Apocalypto Cookies

As most who know me can tell you, I very poorly attempt to follow a bastardized version of paleo/intermittent fasting. Part of my plan (see if you can spot the flaw) is to eat my way through all the food not on my diet in my kitchen - so I'll only have good stuff left! Smart!

Unfortunately, I've got a whole tub of flour to get through, and baking isn't exactly a piece of cake for me. Its a very precise art where ratios are super important and cooking times need to be exact.

But the Culinarian doesn't play that game. Welcome to baking freestyle.


1. Preheat Oven to 175 C
2. Measure out 1 cup of flour into a bowl - then destroy your measuring cup*.
3. Mix the following into the bowl. The order probably doesn't matter.
  • Eggs (2)
  • Brown Sugar (about as much as the flour)
  • Butter (a few spoonfuls)
  • Hot Chocolate Powder (as much as the butter)
  • Salt, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cloves (until it tastes good)
  • Cayanne Pepper (until it burns just right)
 Just look at those smug ingredients

4. Put dollops of batter onto a baking tray covered with tinfoil

5. Cook for ~10 min or until awesome

6. Eat cookies while warm, with milk! Yum!

Serves 4, or me.

NOT SO SMUG NOW (but very tasty)

* It may be more prudent to merely discard temporarily.

10 March 2013

A Most Noble Quest!

Journal of Austen Mendel Erickson chronicling his expedition up the Anzac and the adventures & tribulations faced therein

March 15th, the two-thousand and thirteenth year by the common reckoning, 6:12PM
I have awaited the opportunity for this journey with such anticipation that it seems strange that I am finally embarking on one. Upon receiving my commission to find an overland route from the University of New South Wales to Potts Point, I straight away leapt into action preparing my route and collecting supplies.

I will be taking the great Anzac Parade far up to its source, and then must blaze my own trail to my destination. Though I am no stranger to hardship, I would prefer to travel comfortably as long as possible, and have thus packed supplies sufficient to overcome any obstacle:
-(1) Hydration bladder
-(3) Bricks
-(2) Big Macs - these wonderful comestibles have enough caloric quantity to sustain me for days, properly rationed!

6:16PM
Big Mac supply completely exhausted, morale low. To compound the situation, my water valve seems to be leaking - a curse be upon insufficient engineers.

6:17PM
Upon further inspection, water valve was not closed - a curse be upon insufficient operators. Leak repaired

6:20PM
Waylaid by rapscallions awaiting a bus - one youth had the nerve to blow smoke in my general direction. I fired off a dirty glance as a warning shot, only to find with dismay that I had neglected to pack extras! I must remember to stock up dirty glances at the next available supply station.

6:33PM
Weather excellent. Though my hunger is growing - I am confident I can soldier on until I happen upon some game or edible foliage. My faith in my purpose and knowledge of my ability shall sustain me!

6:34PM
 Though my faith and knowledge are strong, I would prefer more Big Macs.

6:38PM
My helpful guide Tanto has offered to show me a short-cut known to him! An excellent fellow, I shall have to recommend him for a commendation once we arrive.

6:39PM
Tanto, the treacherous snake, has made off with all of my pack animals. This is made more worrying by the fact I cannot recall ever owning any such animals nor ever knowing an individual named Tanto. This damned trail is playing tricks with my mind. I am now hopelessly off course, and must attempt to find my onward without the Parade to guide me.

6:45PM
Though I remain quite lost, I have been reflecting, and I wonder if perhaps the real journey is not one of mere geographic transversal, but in my soul. Perhaps I should see this not as a chance to best nature, but to become one with it!

6:50PM?
[Illegible] sing with all the [Illegible] mountains!
I can [Illegible] colours [Illegible] wind!

Dusk
I write this in a rare moment of cogency - my mind is slipping further away from me, and I fear soon it will be gone entirely. First my spirit, then my mind - it is only a matter of time before my body too succumbs. I debate leaving my bricks behind, but they have been my stalwart companions through all of this. They are all I know is real. See to it they are given a proper burial if this journal, and my remains, are ever found.

???
I have lost the reckoning of time. Weeks? Years? I know nothing but thirst, hunger, and pain. Tanto has returned - a figment of my own madness taunting me with his very non-existence.

[Page torn out]

Time is but an illusion
[Illegible] the signs point the way! I was a fool [Illegible]. Learn from my folly!!!

[Multiple pages torn out]

7:12PM
I write this while convalescing at my destination. As any fellow seasoned explorer will tell you, an expedition such as this is necessarily fraught with danger- yet it is that very perilousness that drives us to achieve. An adventure without risk is hardly an adventure at all! Carpe Diem, my dear readers!

Join me next week when I circumnavigate Australia by foot!

05 March 2013

The Veterinarian

I wrote this piece in my last year of high school. Definitely didn't do any research so blame any factual inaccuracies on that! Its an uncharacteristic story for me - aimlessly cynical, bordering on nihilistic. The narrator's voice isn't my own, obviously, and all I really did was let him tell his story. He says some stuff I don't like, and some stuff I can relate to.

 Shit, I was probably doomed from the beginning, or blessed, if you're into that sort of thing. Looking back, I can see that what happened had to happen. After that night, everything else was inevitable. Funny though, how so much of your life can depend on one moment. The next two years of my existence determined by signing a few papers one Saturday morning. Back when it started, God - how long ago was it? - eleven years, I think; we were just a few months away from graduation.

Jason, you remember Jason right? Anyway, he had just got his acceptance letter to Stanford, he was going to study physics, I think. Hell of a smart guy, Jason; he has... had it all going for him. We went out and partied that Friday, the five of us, four if you don't count Mark. He was always the odd one out. But he showed up anyway, walking his little shuffle, lips slightly apart, with that god-awful Aerosmith sweater, always too small and a bit grungy.

He probably turned out the best of us, for all his awkwardness. Life is funny like that. I hear he got married, made a bundle in software. Lives in London, I think. We kinda lost touch after that summer. Mark - man, I should call him. He probably still has that sweater.

We all met freshman year: Reswan was my roommate, and he knew Dennis and Mark from high school. I was always surprised that Reswan made it into college; he got a soccer scholarship, but he was never too good. His real passion was girls, always had one, or five. He tended to attract stares, a five foot Sri-Lankan with a girl wrapped around him, usually a good three or four inches taller than he was. His dark eyes and skin and long black hair looked odd against his customary tie-dyed shirts and frayed jeans.

But yeah, right, the party. Anyway, we all met there, Reswan didn't have a girl, I remember being surprised at that, but he told me that some things were too important to bring a chick to. Dennis was the last guy there. Always showing up late. I hear he actually missed his sister's wedding that way. Dennis was a jock, tanned and buff like a Greek hero of old. You had to feel bad for him, he was pretty smart in his own way, and was attractive enough to cause suspicion amongst the female campus population; he only had eyes for Reswan. Kinda strange when he told us, but I guess we all got used to it. Life is funny like that sometimes; you always want what you can't have.

I can't really remember who brought it up. Seems like something I would say. I mean, besides Jason, we didn't have plans after college. I had thought about the Army a lot; my dad and his dad were both NavyDefinitely didn't do any research so blame any factual inaccuracies on that! men, marines, and I knew it would piss the hell out of them if I enlisted. My dad especially, he rarely brought it up, but when he did, you could almost see the scars that had been branded into his psyche from a mere six months on the deck of a riverboat.

We gave a toast to Jason, who for his part was grinning the whole time. His gums were his most prominent feature, appearing like a bloody fringe whenever he pulled back his lips. Anyway, it was after probably the third round of beers that we started talking in earnest about the Army. Mark, of course, was completely against it. He had recently got into the whole Buddhism and Karma crap, golden rule and all. Didn't seem like the type. I wonder if he's still into that... I really gotta call him. The rest of us thought it was a pretty damn good idea. I mean, you can blame the media or video games or music or whatever else is the buzzword today, but nothing excites a young man like the thought of ending the life of another young man. God, when you're 22 years old, you can live forever.

We lost count of the beers, Reswan said it was on him, his parents were loaded, both neurosurgeons - making more each year than most Americans would in a decade. They sent him a damn car for his birthday one year, a new one too. Mark started getting more and more heated up, his pale cheeks getting flushed red as he denounced the Army. "Turning Young Men into Dead Men," he said. Of course we weren't listening. Reswan and I were fully committed to joining the next day, and of course Dennis would follow Reswan anywhere. Poor guy.

The night ended badly, Mark left early in a huff, and then Reswan found some hcick to take him home, which only upset Dennis. Pretty soon it was just Jason and I. His body always seemed too small for his head, and his lanky frame fit strangely into any seat. I knew Jason the longest, we met at a summer job before college. He grinned as he flipped burgers, he was always grinning. We talked; he stretched, yawned, left. And then I was alone.

I often hear the question, "If you could go back, would you have gone?" And I don't know what to say. Life is funny; things can seem so clear when you do them, but when you look back you just don't know. It doesn't really matter in the end. I can't go back, I can't ever go back, so why linger?

Speaking from my own experience, we all woke up in bad shape. My brain felt like the energizer bunny was running a marathon inside, hitting his damn drum again and again. BOOM. BOOM. I got up and opened the window. BOOM. Somehow I managed to wake up Reswan, who had returned about an hour before with no pants. Together we went across the hall to get Dennis. BOOM. He got dressed quickly, and we all went down to the breakfast hall.

"Shit guys. We really gonna do this?" I asked, more to reassure myself that my voice still worked than anything.

"I'm still for it. What the hell else would we do?" Reswan gave the verdict. We were in it now, no turning back. The proud, the few, the fools. Drum roll please.

The rest of the morning was pretty blurry. We stumbled into the recruiting office, hangovers and all, a bunch of drunken college Boys. Less than an hour later we were Men, told to report back there on the Monday after graduation. Sitting outside on a bench was Jason, letter from Stanford in his hand. The words he spoke next were neither expected nor a surprise, they just sort of came out, not even a ripple in the flow of the day, "I'm going too."

So, there we were. Defenders of the free world. We knew that we would be sent to Iraq, there was never any question about that. We called our parents, said our goodbyes, they weren't happy, and we all cried at one point or another. Damn I miss Dad, he never understood, never could understand me.

The rest of the year passed without event. Mark seemed to forgive us, but our friendship was never the same. He got accepted to MIT, and was going home a day after we left. Life is funny sometimes. Everything happens, the world turns, people grow, and you just stand still.

Graduation came around, we sat, waited to be called, and just as easily, passed out of college and into the army. Sunday arrived, we said goodbye to Mark. He was wearing the sweater, as always, his curly hair cut short. Strange, I can't remember the last thing I said to him. I need to call him sometime, catch up on old times.

Monday saw us all out in the fog, the remnants of a summer storm still weighed down oppressively on the earth. The bus appeared out of the murk, and we filed on with about seven others from our class. The door squealed shut, and we were off. Our home for the last four years had just been left behind forever.

You see in movies and books that boot camp is hell on earth, but you can survive it. Everyone gets humiliated a few times. One in six marines wets his bed in the first two weeks. Basically, you just laugh at yourself, do what you're told, and after a few grueling months you are certified soldier material. Approved to kill for Uncle Sam. Dennis ended up as a helicopter pilot, and Reswan became a medic for one of those elite tank squads. Jason and I, probably the smartest of the group, ended up as grunts; we were both assigned a tour of duty in the north of Iraq, around Mosul.

Everyone usually wants to hear daring war stories, patriotic tales of heroism in the face of democracy-hating barbarians. Or sometimes they're looking for brutal accounts of the horrors of battle, with shattered and burning bodies. Truth is, there isn't much to tell. We did sweeps, frequently found nothing, living in fear of an attack that rarely came. The few times we did see battle, it was just some frantic gunfire and explosions, and then the tallying of the dead and wounded.

Occasionally Reswan and I meet and reminisce, but the meetings are becoming less and less frequent. He has a private practice in St. Paul, and he just got engaged. Can you imagine him married? I'm telling you, life is funny like that. He'll make a good father though; he seems to have a certain paternal instinct in him. Dennis survived the war too, but he lost most of his functions when his chopper went down. He lives with his sister now: the Greek hero who flew too close to the sun and burned.

Myself? I guess I can't complain too much. The blast that killed the rest of my squad spared me, taking my legs as a constant reminder of its mercy. The chaplain isn't the only one to say I am blessed. Shit, for all I know, I could be. From time to time, I find myself sitting by Jason's grave, wondering how holy he would feel in my position.

I'm a veterinarian now, always liked animals, you always know where you stand with an animal. Dating again too, more and more girls can overlook the wheelchair, someday I might be able to as well.

Life is funny sometimes, the problem is you just never know if you should be laughing or crying.

01 March 2013

Sequester-size Me


Four friends are sitting around a table at their favorite fast food joint, a vacant-eyed plastic clown overseeing the meeting. Two of them, Ron and Daniel, are arguing over how best help Gary get back to good health.

The fact is that Gary has a problem. Even though he spends a good chunk of his waking hours eating, he spends the rest of his time running, and its finally taking its toll. His once strong figure now looks borderline emaciated, even as he crams burger after burger into his mouth.

Ron and Daniel had kindly helped Gary write up his new years resolutions - there was some debate as to how best to help him. Ron wanted him to spend a little less time working out, while Daniel kept suggesting he eat more! In the end, they decided that since they couldn't agree, Gary would start eating a lot more right away, and they would eventually cut back on his exercise regime starting on March 1.

However, now that the day has arrived, Daniel is hysterical! "We can't afford to let him slack off now! He's already working below his potential - We've got to figure out a way to get more food into him, and add some more hours onto his training, and that's that"

Does this tale sound familiar? Right now in the United States the Democrats and the Republicans are up in arms about automatic spending cuts called 'Sequestration' and telling everyone how its going to gut the US military and devastate the middle class.

The fourth friend, Leonard, speaks up. "The fact is Gary, you've got to lighten up on the track. And not just a little, a lot! You are burning over 38000kj running each day!"

It was true, Gary ran for an incredible 19 hours each day to stick to Daniel's exercise plan. The proposed cut in his schedule would let him rest for only 35 minutes. Ron had been pretty proud about getting Daniel to agree to it.

This years 'devastating cuts' amount to just $109 billion, leaving a 2013 budget of over $3.6 trillion!

Leonard continues. "Not only that, you already eat too much. 29 hamburgers a day is just ridiculous - and eating more is NOT a solution."

The US governments expected revenue for this year is about $2.9 trillion - leaving a deficit of over $700 billion... AFTER sequestration. That means without significant spending cuts, you would need to seize an additional $2200 and change from every American citizen to bring the balance into the black - let alone make a dent in the current US debt.

Gary grunts his assent through a mouthful of burger. But Daniel and Ron have already reached an agreement.
"Start stretching Gary, we've got a rough evening ahead of us!" Daniel barks. As Ron heads up to the counter to buy some more burgers, he types a proud tweet about how well he had stood his ground.

While Australia has historically been a great deal more fiscally responsible than the United States, its national debt has more than quadrupled since 2007. It would be wise not to wait until we are in such dire straits as the US to address the problem. Now is the time to make cuts and bring the budget back to balance, before it is too late.