‘Hey Mama’ Philosophy of Sexuality

For one of my classes, I had to write a philosophy of sexuality on the ‘Hey Mama’ music video by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj. I think my take on the video is pretty interesting, so I’m putting it in a blog post. Enjoy my reflections!

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Many music videos that are produced now already have a sexualized style, and they are all somewhat similar, with attractive men and women dancing in a sexy way. Some videos that I’ve seen are similar to ‘Hey Mama’ by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj, but it still has some unique factors.

One thing that can be said about ‘Hey Mama’ as a sexual philosophy is that the idea of women being thin and men being fit and muscular is reinforced throughout, like many other music videos. Body image is certainly important here, as well as the stereotype of men showing off for the women, such as contorting the body parts. The women then reinforce the stereotype that sexualized dancing is what attracts men, as well as contorting their bodies into more erotic images, such as swaying the hips and arching their backs in extreme ways.  Another fascinating factor is that the people entertaining this philosophy maintain that people are straight. While the behavior in this philosophy is deviant from the norm, there isn’t any of the gay population represented.

The part that instantly caught my attention was the desert setting. It reminded me of Burning Man, a ritual in the middle of desert of burning a giant wooden figure of a man, and the ritual lasts for a week. What struck me the most, however, was the very fact that these people were alone in the middle of the desert. The sexual identities and highly sexualized behavior was separate, apart from everyone else. As though it should remain a secret, a philosophy that we should only have behind closed doors, or in this case, in the middle of nowhere where no one can see. This is what really sets this video apart from the rest.

The duality of opposing viewpoints and philosophies regarding the secret out in the open creates a confused psyche. On one hand, the setting is secret from the rest of the world because it’s in the middle of the desert. The behaviors and sexuality are things that are different from the norm of conservatism so it’s kept hidden. Yet, it is out in the open where anyone can come upon these behaviors, meaning they want to be discovered, but making it difficult to do so. In considering these duopolies, perhaps they are trying to make the move into making a more sexualized society and not being afraid of a more sensual sexuality, but finding it difficult to do so. So they hide themselves and their sexual identities out in the open, which seems antithetical, but may have its purpose.

It’s intriguing how the ‘Hey Mama’ music video can be so similar to other videos, and yet there’s something unique about it that isn’t seen in other videos. I think it can be related to our current conundrum with conservative values and wanting to branch away from that in various ways in the United States. It can be a powerful message depending on how it’s viewed.

For the Love of Coffee

I love coffee. I love everything about it, from the smell to the taste. I love the smell of coffee grounds, and I love the smell of brewing coffee. I’ve always loved dark roast coffee, because I like it rich and full and strong. The best coffee to me was always Caribou, a chain popular in the Midwest. There are 8-10 Caribous in my town, and I can only think of 1 or 2 Starbucks. Starbucks coffee has always been way too bitter for me, even with sweeteners. That’s another thing: I love my coffee sweet and smooth. Caribou is strong and it still tastes good with sweeteners.

A couple of years ago, there was an ad on a podcast I listen to for shade grown coffee. The ad no longer plays so I won’t mention that, but in the ad they would explain why shade grown coffee is better. For one thing, it’s how coffee is meant to be grown and how it originally grew. But as commercial coffee “standards” became set, the natural forests coffee grew in were deforested in favor of a more “convenient” way to grow and cultivate coffee. Removing the trees causes a lot of problems, however. It removes sustainability for the land and for the farmers. The soil erodes much faster, and after 30 years the soil no longer has the proper minerals to grow the coffee. It increases the acidity of coffee. A lot of people say that coffee creates acidic reflux problems for them, and the acidity is what makes it bitter, increasing the need for sweeteners (while coffee isn’t bad for you and is actually good for you and low in calories with no fat or carbs, sweeteners are very bad). Removing the trees is also a negative for the local wildlife and birds. Keeping the taller trees that coffee trees grow under is beneficial for the environment and local eco system. You can do your own research on this matter, and you can start here if you wish.

I never tried the coffee that was advertised, but I always kept it in the back of my mind as I was buying the bitter coffee from the convenience stores and adding sugar and hazelnut creamer with a touch of French vanilla for my morning fix. One day a while ago, I happened to see this bright red bag in the coffee aisle at Target with a yellow peace sign on it. It caught my eye and I read the label. It said that it was fair traded, organic, and shade grown. I was so excited, but then I saw the price. $10.99 for 12oz. I was super disappointed, because that seemed like a lot after quickly looking at the prices of the other coffees. I never buy coffee to make at home, so I wasn’t familiar with this. The other coffees were way cheaper. Then I did a little more research in the aisle, and discovered that NONE of the other coffees were shade grown. Having no other reference, I bought the little bag and decided to try it. (You can learn more about Peace Coffee here, or buy some of your own to try. I learned that it’s a local Minnesota company, which is really cool that Target picked it up. Of course, Target is a Minnesota company too, but it’s nice to see a corporation support a local brand with a good message. I’ve looked at Walmart, and they have NO shade grown coffee from any brand, and I’m sure most grocery stores are like this.)

I used to make my dad’s coffee for him when I was a kid, and he liked his to have a teaspoon per cup of coffee. I like my coffee as strong as my dad’s, so this is what I did with the first batch I brewed. It was too weak. It was good, but too weak. I ended up having to put a bit more than that in for my preferred strength, but once I found it, it was perfect. I tried drinking it black, and the bitterness and acidity were so greatly reduced I instantly fell in love. It was amazing!! I had no idea that coffee didn’t have to be bitter. However, drinking it black was a little too off the rails for me and I couldn’t handle so much change at once. I’m happy adding just a little bit of hazelnut creamer, but definitely no sugar. To give you an idea as to how sweet I like my coffee, I would add three or four packets of sugar to one cup of coffee at a restaurant, and two or three creamers. The taste is soft enough with this shade grown coffee that I didn’t need that (Hazelnut creamer does have some sugar in it, I think 7gms per serving). Since it’s summer I’m all about iced coffee, so I will pre-brew the coffee and leave it in the fridge overnight to get cold (I should actually just cold-press it instead! But I haven’t tried that yet) and add ice and a little creamer in the morning.

A friend of mine recently recommended a website where he gets his coffee, and I have to say, they do a really great job in their descriptions of where the coffee comes from, and gives as many details as possible. Some of the coffees have such things as how they’re cultivated and history of the area that the coffee is grown in. It’s very impressive that they’ve put that much effort and care into their website and it’s clear they have a true love of coffee. After perusing their organic section, reading the descriptions and reviews, I have 11 different kinds of coffees in my wishlist. You get free shipping if you purchase $35 or more in coffee. The prices in my wishlist range from $9.95/12oz to $10.95, so very comparable to Peace Coffee. Not all of them say they are shade grown specifically, but if they say low acidity, it’s an educated guess that it is shade grown. You can shop for yourself here at Fresh Roasted Coffee.

If you are still with me, I can only hope that you love coffee as much as I do, and it doesn’t have to be a bad or dreaded or unhealthy habit. Your coffee can taste so much better if you buy shade grown. It’s more expensive, but it’s also helping farmers and wildlife maintain a standard of living. If sustainability and being more conscious of your shopping choices are important to you, this should be too. I need to choose which ones to get first, and I’m so excited to get the first shipment! Once I do I will probably write some reviews once I try them.

Photos courtesy of Morguefile. Header image/Footer image

Does it Really Need to Be Said?

I wrote a post about love being fluid and polyamory, and a friend messaged me that monogamy and traditional values still have their place. I can understand that. Yes, it is up to each individual what works for them, and then be with partners that share your views. And be honest with yourself and others. You have to dig in deep, and really think about what your values are. Do you really think monogamy is feasible? Can one person be your everything for the rest of your life? Because another value of consensual nonmonogamy (that many poly people have) is that one person can’t possibly fulfill everything for you, everything you need in life. Different people bring different aspects to your life. Honesty first with yourself and the people around you is so important.

But does this really need to be said? Do we really have to vocalize a caveat? Or can’t we just have conversations expecting there to be exceptions and the “this doesn’t always apply” card? There are all kinds of memes floating around about this being the day and age that everyone is constantly offended over everything. Some topics I can agree are offensive, like rape jokes and racist jokes, and “jokes” that attack a group of people or person. But I can’t tell you how often in conversations people will say, “But that’s not always the case!” Well, of course that’s not always the case. We don’t live in a world of absolutes. Even science can change, and that is a beautiful thing. Things are in a constant state of evolution, and change, and there are almost always exceptions to the rule.

A while back, I offended my aunt by saying something negative about Christianity and Christians. I said something about so much hate coming from Christians in regards to the LGBTQ community, and she took it personally. I felt deeply saddened that she did so, and I didn’t mean for it to be a personal attack. I was only making a general statement about what I’ve personally seen and heard. But I had to continue to qualify my statement by saying it’s not personal, and giving examples of the kinds of horrible things Christians have said, and most definitely in a religious context. I still feel bad for offending her, but is this the world we live in? We can’t call out bad behavior in a general manner from our own perspective for fear offending someone? Obviously, not EVERY Christian is hateful towards gay people. However, the most hateful comments I have ever seen towards gay people have come from a Christian, and absolutely saying them in a religious context. I am not lying about my experiences, and I should be able to say that.

I really shouldn’t have to qualify everything by following up with “but not everyone is like that” or “but not everything is like that.” And neither should anyone else. It should just be assumed, to be honest. I really don’t think it should be mentioned. We should just carry on the conversation, trying to find root causes and solutions. If we spend so much time qualifying this, and trying not to offend, we aren’t going to get anything done and we won’t carry the conversation forward; instead it will be hung up on this little insignificant thing.

All images found via Google image search.

Honestly…

I’m half afraid of the direction that I’m taking. I’m so often frozen in fear, terrified, that I end up doing nothing. After a few years of being aimless and trying a few different things, I come back to something that is somewhat familiar. Or something that seems like it’s a rational choice. I constantly second guess myself. Question myself on what it is I think I want out of life. No matter what angle I seem to push, I can’t achieve what I truly desire: to live free from hierarchy of any kind. I hate it with a passion that fuels my soul. The only thing that saves my current jobs from being absolutely miserable is the patients I serve and the customers that give me compliments on my patience and thank me for my help. That’s what makes it worthwhile.

And now I’m going back to school. I don’t know if it’s wise or not. But if my employer will pay for it, why not? But is it a waste of time? I worry. I worry that I’m not doing the right thing. It’s frustrating. How do people know what they want? I’m almost 30, you would think I would have it figured out by now. The only thing I know is that I don’t want a boss lording over me. I want to be free to do my own thing. Beyond that, I don’t know how to achieve that goal.

Right now, I’m thinking that I can get a master’s degree in clinical psychology and then open my own therapy practice. Well, I don’t think that you can call it a “practice” if you’re not a doctor, but yeah. And then I could even do counseling and therapy online, which would be nice. It’s going to be a lot of work, but worth the effort. If I can minimize my student debt by having my employer pay for it, that would be awesome. The only cost then would be my time, really, before I can make a living doing my own thing without a boss.

I seem to have it figured out, don’t I? I mean, I have a plan. But I question it a lot. Meanwhile, I’m really excited to go back to school. I love school. I love learning. I love textbooks, even if they cost $206 or $131. But I hate how institutionalized it’s become, and how expensive it is.

I just hope I’m taking the right path. Instead of being frozen with fear, I took a step for once, after some real struggles. Well, is there such a thing as “the right path?” I don’t know if I believe in that. Maybe it’s just a journey we create for ourselves, there’s not exactly a right path or a wrong path. There are paths that are made of poor and immoral choices, for sure. Then we just have to learn from those choices. This is one reason I have a hard time with the concept of “regret.” Yes, I suppose it’s okay to have regret, but I look at these choices more as a learning reference point than one of regret. Can you really regret something if you learned from it?

This has taken more of a philosophical turn than I expected, but I can’t help what thoughts come across my brain the more I think about a subject! I only meant to say that I am not sure what to do with my future, and that I’m not sure of what I’ve chosen. If I’m not sure, does that mean it’s wrong? Does everything have to be certain? And if one is to question their decisions and future, I suppose it does have to turn introspective and philosophical!

All I can do is the best I can do, and take a step even if I’m not 100% about it. It’s better than doing nothing with no goals and remaining in jobs that aren’t letting me live up to my full potential.

Photo courtesy of Morguefile.

That’s a Poor Excuse

When I have things I want to do but don’t, I claim it’s because I “don’t have time.” To be honest, that’s a bullshit excuse. Sure, some things are more time consuming than others. Sure, I am pretty hard pressed for time sometimes. I do work a lot, sometimes more than 50 hours a week. However, let’s just do the math here. In one week, there’s 168 hours. Let’s say I work 50, and sleep 7 hours a night (when I’m working a lot, I don’t actually sleep that much. It’s between 3-6 hours of sleep a night), and spend about 10 hours a week getting ready for work/driving/taking the bus. With all of that, there’s still 59 hours left in the week!! That’s a lot of time! So what do I do with that time? Mostly, I say I’m “relaxing” because I’m working so much that week, which entails watching Netflix and knitting or playing video games. Most specifically, I’ve been playing a lot of Minecraft.

Is that a problem? Not exactly, but it does mean I’m lying to myself when I tell myself I don’t have time for other things. Like writing for example. I could be writing, which I haven’t done in many months. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been inspired to write my novels and I don’t know where to go next. But I could be blogging. I haven’t been blogging for a really long time. Obviously, since this blog hadn’t been updated for a year until recently. I go through stages of writing though, and it’s been that way for years, ever since I was a teenager. I’ll write a lot for a while, and then I’ll just stop until I pick it up again.

Other things I could be doing include building my business. I claim I haven’t had the time to spend on marketing, but I stopped putting effort into it after a while. Even if I just did a little bit every day, it would be a slower build, but it would at least be something. But I was trying to do too much at once with working two other jobs and I found myself overwhelmed and stopped completely. I have this problem when I do things that I need to do everything at 200% speed and perfection and when I find myself failing at maintaining that standard I stop doing it, instead of changing what I’m doing to be more effective.

I could be going to the gym on the regular. Lately I’ve been put out by a back problem from moving and now I’ve been sick so I can’t go until I’m healed from that or else I’ll just get sick again. But before this, I hadn’t been going to the gym because I was constantly feeling tired. But that’s because I don’t sleep much when I work a lot, so I create this problem myself. I could get adequate sleep and still have time to work a lot and go to the gym.

Obviously, I need to create better habits for myself, and better time management. If something isn’t working, I need to adjust what I’m doing to be more effective and efficient, instead of giving up on it completely to play Minecraft instead. This is going to become even more important as I work two part time jobs and go to school with four classes. I’ll still have the time to do those things, and other things I deem as important, with down “relaxing” time as well.

I just need to lay off the bullshit excuse that I don’t have time. (It also sucks when you have so many interests!)

Photo courtesy of Morguefile.

Love Is Fluid

I have a bone to pick with society. This is something I feel very passionate about, and that’s the subject of monogamy. Or, rather, nonmonogamy. Polyamory, or whichever word you want to use. Maybe my thoughts and ideas are so far out there that not many people can relate, and that is frustrating. To be honest, many of my ideas are outside of societal norms, which has gotten me defriended and labeled as some sort of deviant, which I guess I am. But now when I say anything about my thoughts that many don’t agree with, no one will talk with me about it. So I don’t say much of anything to anymore, even to people I know are on the same wavelength as myself.

I’m going to say this anyway, because I think it’s important. It’s important to me to get a sex positive message out there, as well as relationship positive. My goal is to help people be more healthy in their relationships, and I think the notion of monogamy is a very large part of that. I hope my thoughts aren’t too jumbled, I will try and organize them here.

First, let’s look at a little history. It’s well-known that the Church was involved in marriages long before any government was, and it was the Church that first benefited from marriage. And as we know, marriage is supposed to be with one person, for the rest of your life, and marriage was generally one considered for reasons other than love. Usually family lines for more prominent families, and ones of survival for the poorer families. The United States has been founded on the Puritan beliefs that first came over here from Europe. As the world has changed, partnerships have become ones more based on love and emotional connections rather than ones of convenience or necessity. There’s been this strange melding of old-world beliefs and new ideas. One that I find particularly damaging is the notion of finding “the one.” There’s still the idea that we should only be with one person (or, at least, married to one person) ever, but now we can marry for love! That must be fantastic!

However, as we have moved from marriages of necessity to ones of love, we have seen many things happen. We’ve seen the number of divorces skyrocket, the number of depressed and anxious people greatly increased, and hopelessness regarding relationships. There are different reasons for these things, but we can also think about how we feel when a relationship ends or a marriage. One of the top thoughts and feelings is one of failure. What did I do wrong? I should have tried harder. And then, since the notion of The One is perpetrated in popular culture through Disney movies, romantic comedies, music, television, and more, we continually feel worthless if we haven’t found that. And chances are, most of us haven’t. Cheating is also a problem. Since the Church has the idea out there that having feelings for someone else and engaging in romantic activities with someone else is sinful and immoral, it creates these huge feelings of guilt and shame even if we have these feelings and don’t act upon them. And if the other partner finds out, they are hurt and afraid and jealous.

Why are there all these problems? If we are now allowed to freely make decisions about our partners based on love, why do these things happen? I think what people don’t realize or understand or perhaps haven’t thought of, is that love is fluid, it is not finite, it does not adhere to these rules, and it doesn’t have to stay. It is not a constant. It takes different forms, and it feels differently with different people. People say that it’s hard to define love, and this is why. But if they realize that, why do they insist on this defining of marriage with one person forever, or having to have “the one”? Why are we shocked when our partner falls for someone else?

Let us consider a different history, before organized religion, and perhaps even before the agricultural revolution (so about 10,000 years ago). It’s been said that evidence of nonmonogamy has been buried and destroyed and ignored by archaeologists because the evidence doesn’t fit into our neat boxes of how we view the world today and our ideas. I don’t have any references on this at the moment, but I will make a post of that once I do (I have the book Sex At Dawn that I have yet to read). But in this history of the world, people loved more freely in their groups, and everyone helped raise the children. Monogamy wasn’t a thing. Maybe in some groups it was, I’m sure, but I don’t think that it was as widespread as we are led to believe.

Consensual nonmonogamy would solve so many of the problems I mentioned earlier, and I think it’s a much more natural course of action. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be attracted to other people when we are already in a relationship. First, it solves the problem of even looking for the perfect person and continuously being disappointed and frustrated and depressed when it doesn’t happen. If we understand that love doesn’t fit this definition, why even bother with this? It would save so much heartache.

Then there’s the matter of divorce. Personally, I don’t even believe in the concept of marriage because of its history and origins (women are property and sold by their fathers and then “given away” at the alter, as well as the religious aspect). My personal feelings aside, if people had nonmonogamous marriages, I’m certain that divorce rates would drop. One of the top reasons for divorce is cheating, which ties into that negative of monogamy. If we had the consent of our partners to pursue other relationships, the feelings of guilt and shame would essentially drop off. Maybe there would be some of those feelings, or some apprehension, but there would be far less of it in my opinion. As for the other partner, maybe there would be some lingering feelings of hurt and fear, but I think those feelings are mainly from the thought that we could lose our partner to someone else. That is certainly a valid fear to have, to be honest, especially if we take into consideration that love is not stagnant and not a constant. But with that, should come the understanding that you too can fall for another person. As far as jealousy, that is also a very valid feeling. But it shouldn’t necessarily be considered a bad thing or negative. To deal with this, we have to have open and honest communication with our partners, as well as trust. Talk about the jealousy, and comfort each other when it happens, and trust each other with their words and actions.

Thankfully, my generation and the newer generations are continuing to pursue these freer ideas of sex, sexuality, and relationships that can be a lot more healthy if they are handled properly. Will polyamory ever be considered the “norm”? Probably not, and if it ever is, it’s far, far into the future. I think there’s a lot of work to do to undo the unhealthy ideas that have been circulating for quite some time, but I’m starting to see some improvements through discussions on these “newer” ideas, or regenerating ideas from the past that are starting to come forth once again. And I like seeing that.

Is Humanity Moving Backwards?

As homo sapiens, we are animals. What separates humans from other species, though? It’s more than just physical appearances. We have incredible brains. All brains start with the same basic structure, which is the part of the brain that focuses on survival. As you move along in the animal kingdom, you find the development of brains into more complex areas. The most developed part of the brain is the frontal lobe. Most animals do not have this. The frontal lobe is where reasoning happens. Logic, and rationale. Animals are violent in nature because it’s a survival mechanism to them. Animals don’t have the ability to show reason. Since the least developed part of the brain is the part that controls survival, and the frontal lobe controls problem solving skills, when our lives are in danger as humans, base instinct takes over and we may resort to violence in order to save our own lives.

Is violence moral? I would argue that the only way violence is moral is if the our lives are in danger, or the lives of loved ones. In those moments, we cannot help that we are animals, protecting ourselves. Barring life-endangered moments, when is violence moral? I do not think that violence is the proper response to solving problems. The very reason that problem solving rests in the most developed part of the brain is because once life-endangered moments have passed, we have the ability to use rationale to solve problems. In fact, violence has an incredibly damaging effect to our brains. This has been shown countless times, in countless ways. People that grow up in violent homes have various psychological difficulties, including but not limited to PTSD, depression, anxiety, and ending in suicide. War veterans have high rates of the above psychological difficulties, and an alarming rate of suicide. Victims of one-time violent crimes have similar problems. And even though people have maladjusted psychological reactions to these acts of violence, it somehow perpetuates the idea that violence solves problems. Violence creates more problems than it solves. The more I talk to people, the more I see that people value the idea that violence solves problems, despite all of the evidence to the contrary.

I don’t understand why this is. People are not using their frontal lobes. All this power in the brain, for finding other means to solve problems, going to waste. It’s devastating to me. Is it so ingrained in our consciousness that people just don’t know any other way to think? Cognitive dissonance comes up whenever someone tries to explain the various ways that problems can be solved. We’ve created a society that is no different than the animals we evolved to be different from. There’s evidence that human brains are shrinking. Some people have said that maybe our brains have gotten better at compacting data and don’t need to be as large. Some people have said that it’s evolution choosing against aggression, but I don’t know what part of the brain is shrinking, or if it’s a combination. If it’s the frontal lobe that is shrinking, that would not be an indication of evolution choosing against aggression.

When I ask someone if it’s okay for a gun-wielding gang to come into your town, demand you follow certain rules at the risk of being thrown into a cage, more than likely they will say no, that is not okay. But then you ask what the difference between that gang and the government is, people come up with excuses. Well, you get to vote for the people in office. Do you really? Then most people will admit that politicians are corrupt and corruptible, being bought by powerful companies. Well, we need government for the criminals. Yes, there are immoral people out there, doing the wrong things. However, remember when we talked about survival, and how we lose the ability to reason when our lives are in danger? Poverty is institutionalized, and created by those in power. People do not have equal opportunities, and they will do what they think is necessary to survive. Is it okay that people commit crimes to survive? This is not a simple matter, but it’s made worse by government systems, which offers no rehabilitation services whatsoever. If we truly cared about people, this would not be the case. There are other excuses people give, but they are just that: excuses.

People also see the government as a tool to dictate social behavior. I don’t like this, therefore, it should be a law. Thus, is the problem with the shrinking of the brain and why I do not think that it’s due to evolution choosing against aggression. The state, the government, itself is a tool of aggression. If you’re breaking a “law,” the police have the permission to take you against your will, which is the opposite of freedom and liberty. People argue this, but it is a fact. By using the government to dictate social behavior, you’re admitting you want your neighbors, your friends, your loved ones taken and prosecuted by a violent force if they do something you don’t agree with, even if it harms no one. Obama himself said that the idea of the government is a monopoly on violence. I think we can agree that actions that harm other human beings is wrong, such as rape, murder, assault, etc. If those are the basic foundations to law, we have far more laws than are necessary. There are more laws than can be read in four lifetimes.

The entire reason I’m saying all of this is because I watched Utopia, and my heart was heavy. It’s a reality show where 15 people are to start a new society, with no laws except for the ones they write. There are people from all different kinds of backgrounds. I thought it was nice that they have a polyamorist in the mix, but the “Libertarian” guy they have is a douchebag. He’s one of those people that said “No one can tell me what to do and I don’t care what I do to others,” which is not the foundation of libertarian principle. He didn’t say those exact words, but it was something similar. Libertarian principles come from a place of human understanding, compassion, and empathy. You don’t harm me, I don’t harm you. It’s not about being a dick to everyone else and claiming that’s freedom and liberty in and of itself that no one can tell you what to do. What I saw on Utopia was a lot of fighting, violence, and yelling. I think the vast majority of people are at a loss as to find other ways to solve problems.

Humanity is moving backwards, or at the very least stagnant in evolution of thoughts. People lack empathy. They also lack problem solving skills that don’t involve violence, or the aggression and initiation of violence. It struck me as I watched this show that the vast amount of human beings cannot handle rational problem solving. Sure, this was only 14 people (the 15th person enters the “compound” later), but I think it’s indicative of humans in general, because I see this all the time. What is the solution to that?

I’ve been thinking more and more about intentional communities. I’ve been interested in moving to New Hampshire for two years now, and I want to do it sooner rather than later. I’ve slowly stopped talking about philosophies of non-violence, because cognitive dissonance is so incredibly strong that I cannot combat it with what I say. I want to live with people that share the same philosophy of non-violence. Sadly, it’s become increasingly apparent that humans are going to doom themselves by letting things continue. I would rather co habitat with those that agree with me. Many people have influenced my evolving philosophy, and I will always be grateful to them. I cannot wait for the day that I can be one of them in the Free State.

Some people may not ascribe to this label, but I am proud to be a peace-loving hippie. Being surrounded by like-minded people is the best feeling in the world.

Tiny Houses and Living Small

Sometimes, there are things that I come across that force me to examine my life. A week or so ago, I put Tiny: A Story About Living Small on my Netflix list. I have to say, it caught me by surprise. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Basically, it’s the story about how a guy starts a project to build a tiny house. A tiny house is a house that’s around 100-400 square feet. Minimalist living in the extreme. Below are some examples of this. Generally, tiny houses are built on flat bed trailers because it’s illegal in many places to build a home under a certain number of square feet. All images found on Google.

It takes the space you have, and uses every inch as efficiently as possible. Many times, there’s a living space below, and a loft type of situation on the top, above the bathroom and/or kitchen for sleeping, just enough space to sit up in bed, which looks like just a mattress up there.

It was inspirational to me. I am in debt because I’ve spent more money than I’ve made on things like books, movies, and other junk. I have so much crap. I have a storage unit I’m paying for because of all my books. I wonder how I can downsize my things. It’s always been my dream to have a library of all my books whenever I can afford to buy a house. Which is the opposite of a tiny house. I don’t think I could have a tiny house, because of the amount of materials and supplies I have for Savory Scents. Nonetheless, it forces me to think about how I can lead a lifestyle less in the consumer space. How I can save space. For instance, owning digital copies of games, movies, and music instead of physical copies (yes, I know, that’s still consumerism, but these are my forms of entertainment and escapism). Even digital copies of books. I love my Nook. I read from it nearly every day.

I’m starting to think how I can save money for my own place if I just don’t buy things. Maybe I can make a larger tiny house some day. I’ve started thinking about all the crap I can sell. I won’t sell my books unless I absolutely have to. I already see some things on my desk I can throw away or sell. I just need to do it, and not worry about whether or not I’ll need it someday. If I haven’t used it, it’s time to get rid of it.

If you’re interested, here’s a resource for learning more about tiny houses.

Hey Xangans!!

I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself. I’ve been wanting to write this blog ALL day, thinking about what I would say, and how I can make everyone as excited as I am. This post is all about content creation, and how we can create a Xanga-like community, and GET PAID TO BLOG. Seriously, I just said, get paid to blog. This is totally not a scam. Everyone who got Google Adsense knew THAT was a scam, right? I mean, personally, I paid for premium Xanga JUST so I could have Adwords. It seemed like a good idea, right? Get paid from advertisers to blog? After a while, I knew it wasn’t a good deal because I wasn’t making much. I did everything I could to get into Top Blogs and get enough traffic to get some ad clicks. I frequently made it to top 20 on the front page, and even beat Dan two or three times (it makes me sad that mentioning Dan no longer gets me in the top 20!). Even still, all that traffic wasn’t getting me much ad revenue at all. A while back, I was talking about the future of getting paid for your content. I was talking about tipping content creators. If you appreciate a blog post or a podcast, or whatever, send the author/creator a little tip.

This has seriously gone above and beyond what I was talking about months ago. As some people may know, I’ve been working for Let’s Talk Bitcoin, a podcast that talks about Bitcoin. I was the second editor and proofreader, formatter, show scheduler, and poster for the website. I was the helper with this while LTB was going through a transition. They have become an entire network of podcasts and bloggers.

THIS IS THE REALLY EXCITING PART

Adam, the editor-in-chief and creator of LTB, has developed a platform where content creators can actually get paid to create content. Using the Bitcoin blockchain as a backdrop, they developed a network where the people who create content will be paid LTBCOIN once a week. In addition, if your content is popular enough to reach the front page (deemed by the community), you get a SECOND payment of LTBCOIN at the end of the month. These payments can be traded or sold, or you can use them as advertising monies on other blogs in the network.

YOU CAN EVEN EARN MONEY TO BE A CONSUMER OF CONTENT

You read that correctly. You can earn money for reading blog posts and listening to podcasts. You can earn money for tipping content creators, for commenting, and for adding to the discussion.

Why is this important to Xangans? Wouldn’t you like eProps to be of real value??? The new LTB platform is for content directed towards crypto-currencies, but the awesome part?? ADAM MADE HIS PROJECT OPEN SOURCE!!! Meaning, we can find some developers to tailor this model and add pieces and change them according to what we want a Xanga-like community to look like.

Seriously, I think this is the future of content creation. A real way for bloggers to get paid for what they do. I think many of us loved our blogging experiences on Xanga, and getting paid for commenting and communicating with others like we used to would be SO awesome.

I’ve already gotten a couple of distributions of LTBCOIN, and it feels so incredibly exciting to be a part of something like this. I think we need to take Xanga 2.0 away from the Xanga Team and make it into something like what Let’s Talk Bitcoin has going on. It is SO sad that I’m writing about this from a WordPress account, but that’s okay. We should either take Xanga over, or we create something new. Either way, this just needs to happen.

You can read more about what Adam has created HERE, and seriously contemplate what this could mean for content creation. I mean, don’t you miss hating on Dan, pissing off the Malaysians, and getting trolled by Loborn/Curtis/whatever his name is?

Love,
crazy2love

The Dark Passenger

I know, it’s been a long time since I’ve written a post. One of the “rules” of blogging is to write frequently, which is something I’m not always good at. I was watching Dexter and making coupon cards for my …