Reprint: Reverse Blog
I thought I'd reprint a classic from Update #23 -- Greg McMurray's Reverse Blog:
Experience Greg's pathetic life-backwards
Daily Skew Exclusive
January 6, 2005 -- I don't know, it's like all I think about lately is DEATH. As you know, I'm 21 years old so I have a ways to go before I kick the bucket [although Death can strike at any moment] but what do I have to look forward to?
Copyright DC Comics
Copyright DC Comics
Since nothing lasts forever, I have to experience the gradual death and decay of my parents, relatives, friends, pets, and my favorite celebrities- until I'm the only one left! It's not like I could start a family of my own, and even if I could, why should my kids have to go through watching their decrepit old man wither into nothingness?
Lance tried explaining Buddhism to me, about how Buddhists accept that change is a fact of life, and that everything is temporary. But I just don't get it. It seems like Allen's philosophy on life is more suited for me: nihilism.
Nihilism: the view that the world is without meaning, that there are no Truths, and that human existence has no value. It rejects all authority [yes!] and customs.
Nihilism
In addition, because there is no standard base to build moral systems on, nothing is right or wrong. Morality and ethics are mythological constructs that try and give humanity purpose, but I know better. What is freedom or justice? What is law? What is religion? What is love? They are all idealistic products of the imagination.
Let me put our valueless existence in perspective:
Space
The speed of light is 186,000 MILES per second. Digest that for a moment.
One light year is the distance light travels in one year.
Think about how many seconds there are in A YEAR, and how far the light has traveled.
Our Milky Way galaxy (which contains 300 billion SUNS) is about 100,000 LIGHT YEARS in diameter!
And our known universe is 78 BILLION LIGHT YEARS!
Swallow that and now listen:
How significant are our petty troubles? How significant are our major struggles? Zilch. Zero. Nil.
Who cares if World War III wipes us out? The universe will not even hear our pathetic cries.
world war iii
Our sun will go nova and become a black hole, destroying our solar system in a few billion years. Humanity's "legacy" will be erased from continuity. You may think that humans might find a way to colonize our galaxy by then. You would be wrong- the funding would never be made available. And what would they be colonizing, barren uninhabitable rocks? Big deal!
The next time you look at the stars at night, while breathing in the fresh air into your lungs, and holding your loved one while expressing your love-think about what I am telling you. We are a product of evolution, with no grand design. We are a molecule in a grain of sand when compared to the Cosmos. 100 years from now, no one will remember you- you would become a "great-grandfather", a faceless and archaic name from the remote past. How well do you know YOUR great-grandfather? 200 years from now-ha! How about 1000? 5000? 10,000? We are nothing! Embrace the Void with me!
anti-monitor
Copyright DC Comics
January 1, 2005 -- Wow, 2004 went fast. Was that the fastest year ever? One good thing that ccna training happened to me was that I finally got promoted at Publix. The rest of the year kinda sucked. I didn't get laid all year. And let's face it, for a single guy that pretty much is the determining factor in rating years. Let's just say I had to get a new eye glasses prescription.
Obviously 2004 wasn't so good for Allen. Lance had a pretty good year at UCLA. My Dad was in the hospital a few times if you remember, so I hope he gets better. I haven't heard from Sasha in 14 months. I must have spent at least 6 months thinking about her all of the time.
Rodney was Rodney last year. He's content with his lot in life and takes no action to try and improve it. I guess there's a fine line between contentment and complacency. Nothing ever bothers him though. Must be nice.
Heather had a tough year. The rejection letters started to pile up this year, but at least she didn't give up yet.
As you know I wasn't happy about Bush getting re-elected.
Season 3 of 24 rocked. But no way in hell did all of those episodes take place in one day-too much happened. In Season 1, the writers were very conscious of the time it takes to travel, and tried to make the real-time effect realistic. Season 3 had a lot of continuity errors, and later in the season, characters did not mention events that occurred in the first part. I read that FOX forced the writing team to change their pre-planned story-that's why Season 3 has 2-3 major turning points. I cannot believe that the writers had to produce episodes every week without knowing what the following week was going to be. The fun thing about 24 is that the end of every week's show is a cliffhanger where Jack is in an impossible situation to get out of. Then I guess the writers put on their thinking caps and try to get him out of the jam. Sometimes it wasn't realistic, like when 25+ Mexican drug lords had Jack surrounded. But here I go again being critical and nitpicking. Oh well, it's my right as a blogger to do that.
24 Jack BauerCopyright FOX
2005 should be good, but I won't get my hopes up. Sometimes when things get boring or stressful I like to pretend that I just "came back" to this year- from a time machine. Let's face it, in 2015 we're all going to wish we were back in the "good old days" like 2005. And you know it. That's why it helps me appreciate my life as it is right now.
