Friday, October 31, 2008

October's Theme: Lost in Mind


Life flies by, doesn’t it?

From some nudges by some certain-certain people, we’re going to keep the black for just a bit longer...until we finalize on whether we want to keep it black. It would be a nice change, wouldn’t it?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. We mounted a total of 11 articles (plus this one) for October. It’s not the least amount (nor lower than that), and that’s what matters! Here’s the summary:

Will You – Similar things are similar...or are they?
A Moment Changed – So quickly can something spread.
Absorbed in Your Thoughts? – The mazes of the mind.
EPICAC – A Kurt Vonnegut classic.
Dark Blue – A spontaneous favorite song of KP’s.
I Hope This Rains on Your Parade – Our first ever conversation-styled article.
Draw a Blank. – Is that child really different from that man over there?
Now or Later – The inevitable nostalgia found in most of all things.
A.M. Halloween 2008 + ampleness! – An announcement post for Halloween and ampleness.
Indecision: The New Black – How do you make a decision?

That wraps up this month. We hope you had a great October, and a greater Halloween. Cheers to next month’s (November’s) theme: Slipping Hourglass.

-the clam.


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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Indecision: The New Black

The ultimate question to answer: How do you make a decision? Honestly, I'd like to know, and if by chance you know how, please inform me. This question may seem insignificant and such, but really, how do you make a decision that can alter the course of your future? What happens when one is beneficial, and so it the other? It's seriously like getting caught between two lovers (torn between to lovers, hehe)!


On another note, I've recently been watching the movie Shattered Glass in my Journalism class, and I must say that it's a very interesting movie. Hayden Christensen does well as a two faced writer for The New Republic. In case any of you don't know, it's basically about a writer's career going way up, and then way down. Stephen Glass actually does exist in real life, and the movie is based off true events. I wonder how it is that Stephen Glass decided to do what he did (aka, fabrication), which brings me back to that thing (dead word dead word dead word) that's been on my mind: DECISION MAKING!

I think the Matrix was a lot more symbolic than we gave it credit for with that entire blue pill or red pill crud (or at least, that I gave it credit for). I was reading this book, and one of the characters mentioned how he believed in many universes. Not in that 'vampires are among us!' way, but in the way that there's another universe where there's someone just like me who this morning, instead of putting on a white shirt, put on a black one. Someone who didn't go to this school, but went to another. That sort of thing.

Does this count as being profound?

All I'm saying that I'm beginning to realize that everything you do can lead to a different outcome. What were to happen if I didn't choose Karma Police as my alias? What could've happened if I were late to school today? What were to happen if I didn't do my homework!? Decisions can really make you think for a long time. Serious as a heart attack.

Happy Halloween my dears;
KP

p.s. What if I didn't choose to be what I am being for Halloween tomorrow!?

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Sunday, October 26, 2008

A.M. Halloween 2008 + ampleness!

Uh-oh, who turned off the lights?

It’s finally here—it’s the week of Halloween 2008. To celebrate, we have a bunch of new things for you to see!

As you’ve already noticed, Acquired Minds looks a bit dark. To commemorate this occasion, we turned it black, and we have a special Halloween header (made my Sendak). It’s only going to stay black for a week, so enjoy it while you can!

If you’ve been keeping track of the I-C, you would’ve noticed the progress we’ve been making on our new A.M. branch. Well now it’s finished, and we’re proud to present:


ampleness was a branch suggested by my.great.ESCAPE. What is it, exactly? It’s a weekly area where we post our top picks for music, videos, articles, books, and much more. We guess you could consider it as a fun and relaxation zone—there’s music to listen to, games to play, and new things to discover. With ampleness, you can delve into our minds just a bit further, and see what we think you should check out next. We’re currently setting up an info-page in the I-C detailing ampleness. Check the I-C soon!

In addition to all this, we now have a second Graphics page. We just added three buttons, and moved the 'Epic' collection over. It’s not much right now, but as we create more graphics and banners, it’ll expand :).

From all of us here at Acquired Minds, we hope you have a nice, fun, cavity-full bloodcurdling and terrifying Halloween!

-The ExtraOrdinary Eight



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Friday, October 24, 2008

Now or Later

I'm beginning to realize that much like salad, it takes time for you to grow to like a song. Maybe this isn't the best of analogies, but I've come to a quite epiphany-ish moment in saying that sometimes, it just takes time and circumstance for you to fall in love with a song. Maybe it's the human mind to naturally shy away from main stream or only listen to main stream, but sometimes it's just really great to hear Britney before she shaved off her hair and think- this is a damn fcking good song. My loneliness is killing me, stronger than yesterday, if there's nothing missing in my life then why do these tears come at night? - Exactly.

My friend let me look at his phone once over the summer, and being my incredibly anal self, I criticized his musical selection, asking countless times 'you listen to ___!?'. Well hey-ho what do you know, he answered 'they bring back memories'. I didn't go further in arguing due to my inside thinking that 'oh he's so unaware', but now that I think about it, it's true. I've always reinforced the fact that music brings you to moments in life you'd like to remember, but it also brings you to moments in life you want to prolong. I think that's the meaning of a love song you can slow dance to, because when you relisten to it, it seems to bring back that euphoric sense of feeling you get in your chest. I guess I was too blinded by my own 'I know good music, yes I do' sense to even really see. Like seriously, SEE!

Or maybe when you listen to 'First Date' by Blink 182 and you really are on your way to pick up that girl, you think 'wow, this is all so true', and more or less you find yourself listening to it more and more in order to keep that odd feeling in your stomach that makes you smile like ten different shades of happy.

Well in a sense, I think that maybe whatever music you listen to- rock, indie, hip hop, whatever- no matter what happens, you can listen to a song that you heard and hated two years ago and think ' I remember this song! I hated this song!' and yet still know about half the lyrics to it all. For example, I still know most lyrics to the song 'I Want It That Way' by Backstreet Boys (Who I lovedlovedloved and then absolutelydespised) and to a lot of other shiz... AND LOOK HERE I HAVE TO GO.

To be continued,

KP


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Monday, October 20, 2008

Draw a Blank.

Is there ever a moment where absolutely not one single thought runs through your head? Try just sitting there, like you are right now, and think about nothing. No, wait! Not even nothing (because then you are still thinking)! Think of a blank space. But don't think of it, just make it happen, sort of like how your mind is when you are sleeping (only you are wide awake)...It's harder than it looks, right?
(Photo credits go to Flickr)

Thoughts fly in and out of your head all the time. coughEDWARDCULLENcough It's quite possible for another person to be thinking the same thing as you (you might notice that whole "Hey, no way! That's what I was thinking!!!"), but most of the time, that doesn't really happen. You may be so absorbed in your thoughts that you're in your own little world. Whether they're good or bad thoughts, well, that's really up to you.

You'd think the mind of a small child watching TV would differ from the mind of a man who has just committed a crime. Or, the thoughts running through a mom's head holding a new baby, as opposed to the ones of a girl who just broke up with her boyfriend. What might one think before taking a test, or after a great day. What one elderly man would think before he dies, set against to a wife that just lost her husband. The thoughts you have when you wake up to the alarm clock in the morning, and the ones right before you fall asleep.

It might be easy to be lost in your thoughts, or even have one thought that never leaves your mind. Try not to think too much ;D
-my.great.ESCAPE.

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Friday, October 17, 2008

I Hope This Rains on Your Parade.

(WARNING: The following contains sensitive content.)

NOTE: For Halloween 2008, the blog is turned black. To read the following, highlight the words.

We have things we realize are important in our lives, and others that are not so much.



my.great.ESCAPE.: Have you guys ever thought about doing drugs, like weed?
stolen apologies: Yes.
digital delay: kind of yes but then again im pretty sure i never would
karma police: yes I have, but i wont because it can eff your mind
my.great.ESCAPE.: Really? Why ?
stolen apologies: Yes, just to try it.
my.great.ESCAPE.: But, what if you get hooked?
stolen apologies: I have to act stupid sometime in my life, and I think I'd want to get that phase over with, when I'm young.
digital delay: sometimes i think that phase already ended in me..
my.great.ESCAPE.: Some people do it because it "relaxes" them.. Like, smoking..
digital delay: im sure i can find better ways of relaxing
stolen apologies: I concur.
digital delay: i already do
stolen apologies: Others do it because of peer pressure.
digital delay: f*ck peer pressure
my.great.ESCAPE.: LOL.
stolen apologies: Having sex can also result from peer pressure
digital delay: i dont do anything that would result in any form of peer pressure..
stolen apologies: You mean result FROM peer pressure?
my.great.ESCAPE.: but you never know...if your life just suddenly starts spiraling out of control...
digital delay: no
stolen apologies: According to suicide statistics, Monday is the favored day for self-destruction.
my.great.ESCAPE.: well, Mondays DO suck.
stolen apologies: I hate that day.
digital delay: i dont do anything, so how i can get pressured into doing anything when nobodys presuring me?
my.great.ESCAPE.: In my school, so many kids are that "bad". about 3 out of 4 students are allowed to date. about 1 out of 3 students have already had their "first kiss". about 1 out of 5 students probably have done some kind of drug, or smoke or drink. about 1 out of 8-ish kids possibly arent virgins anymore...makes us look innocent.
karma police: according to statistics from BBC news more than seventy percent of all people who've done weed have admitted to thinking that they wouldnt get addicted
my.great.ESCAPE.: If you had a friend who was out of control from drug usage, would you help them or push them out of your life?
digital delay: id beat the sh*t out of them, slap em back
karma police: i'd warn them and help them if they needed help cause my friend likes weed
my.great.ESCAPE.: I mean like, this guy's asking you to lend money and asking for favors to drive you around to liquor shops and sh*t
my.great.ESCAPE.: so if they asked for your help, you'd help them?
digital delay: i wouldn’t
my.great.ESCAPE.: no ?
digital delay: well i wouldnt giv em money or anything
stolen apologies: I wouldn't either.
my.great.ESCAPE.: what if theyre finally realizing they cant do this anymore, and they need real help?
karma police: then i'll help
stolen apologies: Well, yes, if they admit it.
digital delay: id tell them to go to a counselor or something cuz im not someone who could help them..
karma police: i'd drive them to AA meeings
my.great.ESCAPE.: If you guys ever get drug-crazy, i'd help you(:
stolen apologies: Aw, thanks
my.great.ESCAPE.: But that doesnt mean you should go and do drugs.
my.great.ESCAPE.: i wonder who the crap looked at a plant and decided it would be good to snort it, in the first place >:[
stolen apologies: Hippies revolutionized it.
digital delay: damn them!
stolen apologies: I guess back in ancient civilizations, people experimented with different plants and wrote down their effects
digital delay: yup
stolen apologies: And those got passed on, and as society faltered, people decided to abuse them
digital delay: human curiosity is a bitch
stolen apologies: Curiosity killed the cat.
digital delay: freaky, ill tell you that
digital delay: i always wondered what tid be like to fall off a building... or get shot.. or get stabbed really slowly..
stolen apologies: Or die. Or drown.
digital delay: but i dont wanna die.. i just want to see what happens.. like..maybe before i die..
my.great.ESCAPE.: people die because they cant stand not having drugs. its so sad that they go through anything just to get some…what can be THAT much needed.!
stolen apologies: Yeah. Their bodies are so dependent on it that withdrawals can kill them.
digital delay: cold turkey
my.great.ESCAPE.: they kill people just to get them.
digital delay: its sad...to see someone like that..
my.great.ESCAPE.: very sad indeed.
stolen apologies: By then, the drugs have gotten to their brain cells and they're not sane anymore
my.great.ESCAPE.: its possible to become sane once again. you just have to want it.
stolen apologies: And you have the right help. If you've gone that far, you can't come back on your own.
my.great.ESCAPE.: people like us shouldnt mess with the world of the bad people. its like, the heroes and the villains… we have to save lives. thats what we're supposed to do.
digital delay: ooo heroes
stolen apologies: We can't change what we didn't create or contrive to…As much ambition as we have
my.great.ESCAPE.: but we can choose the path to take which is the most important part
stolen apologies: Yes, and hopefully that will make a difference.
digital delay: we can but we wont , depending on who and what
my.great.ESCAPE.: we can be a "somebody" and not a "nobody". i mean, who's wants to be a nobody?? seriously.
stolen apologies: The thing though is, you may be a "somebody" here, but halfway across the world, you'll still be unknown.
digital delay: what if were already a nobody
stolen apologies: Then you'll stay that way.
digital delay: and a somebody is just a bit far away off the road..
stolen apologies: I don't know. There's always two ways of looking at things.
my.great.ESCAPE.: all you need is one other person to recognize that you are a somebody
digital delay: i guess you dont always get what you want …or think you want
stolen apologies: Just so you know, all of you are a "somebody" to me.
digital delay: ha thats sweet
my.great.ESCAPE.: totally (:



just a message from,

- Your [EFFin'] Fantastic Four

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Dark Blue

Recently I've found myself in freaking obsession (against my will, of course) to the song Dark Blue. Why? Well what caught my attention was the line 'have you ever felt alone in a crowded room?'. That right there, explains it all.

Now, how could a person feel alone in a crowded room? Perhaps they're sad. Perhaps they have something "On their minds". Perhaps someONE?

You guys are probably wondering why I've been MIA for so long, huh? Lots to do, and well honestly, I've lost inspiration. Maybe it comes and goes occasionally but whenever I sit down to type something I always wind up just staring at the screen, blankly.

like right now.

i have to go now

until another time

for now, tell me what it's like to be alone in a crowded room. and why.

-karmapolice


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Tuesday, October 7, 2008

EPICAC

I just read today the saddest, sweetest I can think of at the moment. Perhaps the saddest, sweetest thing I’ve ever known, or maybe that I can think of at the moment. It is the short story “EPICAC”, by Kurt Vonnegut. Here’s the full story, or for those who don’t care for something that’s that long (it’s not long at all…), here’s the Wikipedia summary of it.

For those of you who don’t care for either of those, I’ll give a really short and lazy version of it. There’s this dude who is in love with this girl who never says yes to his constant proposals. So, he goes to this supercomputer thingermabobber where they work. He asks it to write love poems for him, and soon enough, the girl is wooed. However, when he asks the computer for the perfect proposal, the computer tells him that it’s in love with that girl too. After reasoning to it that it is a machine and blahblahblah, he goes on to propose to that girl and she says yes as long as he writes her a poem every anniversary. The next day, it happens that the supercomputer thing blew it self up, but before that, it made enough love poems for the dude to keep his end of the bargain for 500 years.

It’s so sad how this “machine” (the narrator says that it was less of a machine than other people he knew…, it was also his best friend) finally gets a problem it can’t solve, and that it never will solve. Although, instead of being a huge jackass about it, like it could have been, it does a really sincere gesture for his friend.

The end

I don’t what the point of this was

I wonder if EPICAC stands for anything specific…

Lalalalalalalalala

the end

sorry...

-digitaldelay


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Monday, October 6, 2008

Absorbed in Your Thoughts?



Hmm, I wonder.

Psychology.
What makes the human mind like it is?
What makes someone think and tick?
That's a good thinking question, isn't it?
It is quite a mystery how the brain works and how we knew to use it from the start. It just sort of happens.

Psychiatry.
Does talking about your feelings really help?
Opening up your mind, while you're lost in them?
Being lost in your thoughts could be bad...Stress can build up and you may just explode one day.

Can people really change fate, since the start from birth?
Was Hitler born for greatness, but then led away from goodness?
In other words, do you control your mind, or does your mind control you?
All your memories are kept there. All that you learn. All that you know.
It is like one big locked up vault, where no one will be able to tell what is in it but the person who it belongs to. The vault may be small, or it may be an entire library of seemingly endless knowledge, one in which you may easily be lost in.


Stupidity is a disease. But isn't intelligence contagious, also?
-my.great.ESCAPE.

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Sunday, October 5, 2008

A Moment Changed


(thanks to miautoloco.com for the image)

It’s bizarre how quickly something can spread.

Is it the outlandish new gossip? A virus certainly isn’t much slower. No, definitely not the fleeting emotions that course through you.

Like a drop of food coloring, it doesn’t take much to accomplish much. Before you know it, you’ll be holding a cup full of bursting, color-tainted water. I can only wish the same could be said for a lot of other things we face in our lives. Rather, everything we encounter takes such a great deal of our energy and strength to achieve. We can’t ask for more...yet we can’t ask for less, either.

As humans, our minds are so very vulnerable. The thoughts and opinions of people around us affect what we believe, and in turn, what we do. Then, in a momentary amount of time, we start to make decisions in an entirely new state of mind. *insert British accent* Observe:

Person 1: Hey, let’s go see ‘Dawn of Reason’!
Person 2: Hm, but I’ve heard ‘Realm of Reality’ was super good...well, according to the critics.
Person 1: Really? Then...maybe we should go see that!

If you’ve never realized how influential other people are to you—including how influential you are to others—then you haven’t discovered your surroundings quite yet. Yes, you might be the nicest, friendliest person in school...but if someone, out of frivolous reasons, decides to start a rumor about how unfriendly you are, everyone will start to believe it’s true. Is it truly true? Maybe (or definitely) not, but you don’t have sudden proof to show that. Only as time goes by, people will start to recognize who you really are.

A lot of people in this world are subconsciously affecting the people around them, unknowingly. Is it a positive change? Or a change for the worse? If you stop and take a grasp of your life, you’ll comprehend it soon enough. And yes, people do make mistakes. People do do things they didn’t intend to do. It just happens. It may be disappointing...regrettable...and undesirable.

But if you were able to change it in the first place, you can change it back.

A little goes a long way.
(and I've never found a better time to say that)


-the clam.

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Saturday, October 4, 2008

Will You

Is bottled water better than tap water? It’s not like tap water is particular dirty; it does have to go through a filtering process. Plenty of bottled water is perhaps filtered just as much, or maybe less. Plus, bottled water uses plastic, and it sure does cost a lot to ship it, bottle it, and make the plastic. Tap water also has fluoride in it……………

Can things really become worse, purely because of the perceptions it has taken? If people think Yao Ming is really overrated, is he? Can what those outside of this thing’s direct contact really affect the actual, absolute quality of whatever is being judged? Can a musician(s) become terrible, overrated, and despised to someone just because of the way others think about it? Are we so gullible? Are we so needy that outside perceptions will affect what we think of something? Of course it will happen, but can it happen in a drastic manner? If someone says Alex Rodriguez sucks at the clutch, and always has, does that mean him hitting in a few game winning RBIs or HRs in the playoffs mean he got lucky for a game? Can that restaurant suddenly have bad food once you start to despise their waiters? Can a band start to become watered down once others have caught on?

Does anybody else reading this ever get annoyed at people who are overtly trying to, or are trying to seem to be, green? Actually, screw that, this can be anything really, not just being green, any other little niche too. Maybe they just try to shove it on you too much, but really, whoever said they were (insert here?) in the first place. Maybe you just played a benefit concert for that old dude who lost the election way back when, you probably got there in gas-guzzling private airplane, not to mention the stretched hummer you used to get to and from the airport.

I think its nice to know that something’s a bit funny with little kids running around at night (Halloween specifically) asking for money? Aren’t cute little kids with money in a box also completely defenseless little kids with lots of money that are just waiting to be tripped. Plus, their candy is probably going to get taken, or at least crushed on the floor. You’d UNICEF could think of better ways to advertise and get donations, rather than well, getting little kids beat up, because well, that’s kind of the opposite of what their supposed to do...

I honestly wondered what would happen if people just sat down, and wrote one big long paragraph on why, specifically why, they loved such a poet, musician, band, author, painter, filmmaker, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. Would you kind of gain an insight into them selves?...maybe see why they appreciate that particular thing so much? Who knows I guess…

Dead weight

-dgitaldelay


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