Wednesday, December 1, 2010

What's with this fad of Trolling?

So a "troll" as defined by Wikipedia is "In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response."

I understand sarcasm; I love sarcasm! But this whole swearing at people for the sake of causing an emotional response is a little ridiculous. I don't understand why people feel like they need to express themselves like that.

There is enough negativity and horrible stuff in this world that people on the Internet with nothing to add to society should add to it by cussing up a storm at random people.

But I fear that people will never get over this fad. I feel that negativity spreads like a fungus. Just as a smile is contagious, a bad mood is infectious. When there are always people around with nothing positive to say, it brings everyone down.

I can only laugh at these ridiculous, pointless comments for so long. I believe it needs to be stopped. But what can I do? I'm only one blogger in a whole ocean of bigger bloggers, writers, and unfortunately, trolls.

Monday, November 22, 2010

What causes an itch?



Thinking about the fact that out skin is comprised of millions of skin cells that are forever flaking off and then being replace, what is the real cause of an itch? I'm not talking about itches with other reasons, fungus, dandruff, etc. I mean just a regular itch. I have no idea about this one. Help anyone?

Friday, November 19, 2010

Why don't we look more closely at word origins?

I have been making connections in my mind about words. Lately, not because I'm perverted, I've been thinking of the word masturbation. I've been thinking about the root "turb" because the only other words I associate with that root are disturb, perturb, and bioturbation. So I looked at the word root, "turb" comes from the root which means, "disturb, confuse, turmoil or crowd." Interesting. Also part of the word is: stuprare "defile" (oneself), from stuprum "defilement, dishonor."

So something that the world seems as normal and acceptable, taking the actual word apart shed some light on the actual repercussions of that action.

Word origins... informative.

Why do some people take offense when others don't like the same things they like?

This question applies to me. But the times that it bothers me most is when I ask someone, "do you like such and such?" and they reply with " I HATE that!" I take that personally because the word hate is so strong, and I feel that if people hate something that I love, by extension, they hate me.

I don't think I'm the only person like this. I often feel disappointed when someone criticizes or dislikes something that I love or appreciate. But we just need to remember that it's just taste.

The reason I bring this up today is the whole Harry Potter craze going on. I like the Harry Potter books; but I am better without them. They really have a negative effect on me. But that doesn't mean that I disrespect people who like it.

Anyway, I feel this is a valid question.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Why do mustaches look so hideous on younger "men?"

I go to school at BYU-Idaho (holla!). And we have a certain "code" with which to live our college lives. One rule is that the only facial hair men can have on campus is a mustache. And the more I see these younger guys with mustaches, the more I question WHY?

On another hand, I know several professors with mustaches, and they look great with them.

Is it an age difference? Is it a maturity thing?

All I know is, I've never yet seen a mustache that enhances a younger guy's face.

EWW.....

Why do we close our eyes to hear better, but don't plug our ears to see better?

I close my eyes often when trying to tune my cello; just focusing on one sense at a time helps me to tune more accurately. But we don't do that with any of the other senses. We don't plug our ears to see better, we don't plug our noses to hear better. Weird...

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Can something MAKE you happy?

I got out of an orchestra practice today and I was beaming. I thought to myself, "Music makes me happy!" Then I pondered further on that phrase, can something really make you happy? Or do we choose to be happy?

I love music; it's a part of me, and it helps me emote better than most other forms of expression. But does it MAKE me happy? No, because sometimes I get sad when listening to or playing music.

I guess that question is really about emotions. Are they something that can be chosen, or are they that easily swayed by external stimuli? Or is it some mixture of both? More than likely that is the answer; seldom are things so black-and-white as we think of them.

Yet, it's still a question I have. But I'll continue to enjoy music. I'll always love it. And I hope that happiness is always an emotion that accompanies many musical experiences.