As my mind wrestled with what at first I thought was cognitive dissonance between my religion and my philosophy, I slowly came to the realization that inherent in every man, woman, and child was the desire to improve the human condition. That is when I fell in love with cognitive dissonance, the social darwinism of thought, and when I realized that the successful have already shirked weaker concepts. I step a little stronger tomorrow. With confidence unwavering today, I know that my struggle today will improve the lives of everyone I know tomorrow.

The philosophy of the car

It's a very encompassing thing to talk about the philosophy of the car, how it has affected culture, people, and the way we do things. But what I think is one of the most powerful aspects of the car is the freedom it gives us, in more ways than one. Yes, it allows us to go farther without having to resort to having to use trains with stinky people, or flying with people that take up too much of your own seat, but it also allows us to express ourselves in one of the most unique ways that America has ever seen.

The car didn't start in America (thank you Karl Benz for making the first gasoline car), but we definitely took the idea and ran with it. Over the past 125 years, we've taken the idea of a 3 or 4 wheeled frame and add an engine to it so we can sit back and enjoy the view.

Think of the vast array of cars available for personal use nowadays, we have the exotic, the sensible, and the quirky. All of them perform different functions, and allow people to express their individual personalities and preferences (it is a cute Caterham isn't it?).

I was talking once to my friend Megan about why men like cars, especially teenage boys. My response to her was that, well, what else do we have? I'm too young and poor to own a home, I can't play guitar that well, and I'm not talented at sports or video games. As a part of Generation Y, we are constantly looking for ways to personalize and customize things, similar to how your dog pees on trees to mark it's territory (15+ million people playing World of Warcraft, zillions of covers for cellphones and ipods).What better way to personalize something and make a statement about yourself than what car you drive? Granted we all can't afford our ideal car, so we find compromises, like sinking $2k into the wheels of some $1k 80-something Buick, or $5k into a rollcage and a limited-slip into a $2k early 90's Nissan and go out drifting. We do what we can!

Most women just don't get why us guys love cars. On the converse, most guys don't get why women care whether the bathroom is "prickly pear" or "light lime." It's all about personalizing what you find important in life, and what American icon screams freedom more than blaring your favorite song while flooring it down the freeway with the windows open?

Generation Y

We, as part of Generation Y, have the weight of the world on our shoulders. We have been burdened with a world at war with itself. As such, we have had the compounded problems of government crumbling upon itself, culture unwilling to accept itself, and an uncertain future. We need to take up the mantle of true change, and embrace a future of individual freedoms. As a whole, we should set the future that embraces love, intellect, and the incessant search for true individual happiness as our final goal. At the end of your life, do you think you'll be able to claim that you left the world in a better place for your children, and mean it? Your lips can proclaim it, but does your heart move with them?

We need to never fear change, or the philosophy of change! only by embracing new concepts can we ever hope to find real personal truths. Feel free to discover that which interests you. Make yourself desirable to society through uniqueness. Find something you're good at and be the best anyone has ever even dreamed of being. I know some of you have already found your talent, and are maximizing it in ways I could have never imagined; you truly are the delicacies of society, and it loves you for that.

A quatrain from Whitman's "Pioneers! O Pioneers!:"

"All the past we leave behind;

We debouch upon a newer, mightier world, varied world,

Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march, Pioneers! O pioneers!"

We are already shaping the way the world works. Global business is afraid of the potential of us, and how we do business. We believe in efficiency and self-reliance in an unprecedented way. We are dominating, manipulating, and altering centuries of practices and beliefs, and proudly! You should not be afraid of what we become, it can only become more beautiful than anything we could ever imagine!

And above all, find what makes you happy! As long as you never encroach upon another's journey, your life has my blessing as your friend, companion, and lover of life.

Valentine's Day

All consumerist arguments aside, I thought it would be nice to post a super-pretty song for Valentine's Day (and a first post!). The song is "Pop Art Blue" by Zero 7, from the Yeah Ghost album, sung by Martha Tilston.

Yeah we are running and how we are running
Across the hills in the pop art blue
Buzzers fly above the car
Circling us as if they knew
If i fall down if i fall down
Darling will you reel me in?
If i lose it if i lose it
Will you remind where we've been?

So we were climbing and how we were climbing
The cartoon trees up to the sky
As the sun drops off the page
Goldy flew into my eye

Well it's all up from here.
It's like i can taste opportunity near.
I cut myself on barbwire getting wood for the fire
I was too.. busy staring at you...
You...

So then we were floating up we were floating like particles into the night
High above the factories
We hitched a lift on a satellite
Lover will you spin me round?
May we never fall back to ground

Well it's all up from here
It's like i can taste opportunity near
I cut myself on barbwire
Getting wood for the fire
I was too.. busy staring at you...

Well it's all up from here
It's like i can taste opportunity near
I cut myself on barbwire
Getting wood for the fire
I was too.. busy staring at you...
I was too.. busy staring at you...(falling into)(getting wood for the fire)
I was too.. busy staring at you...(into your eyes)(getting wood for the fire)
I was too.. busy staring at you...(falling into)(getting wood for the fire)
I was too.. busy staring at you...(into your eyes)(getting wood for the fire)
You.......... (falling in to)
(into your eyes)