Curriculum Is About Preparing Minds To Think And Reason, It's Not About Parental Control And Subordination.

Day Eleven - Being an only child

I've grown up without brothers or sisters, don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have a brother or a sister to share stuff with and to annoy and to play stupid games with, but I've always respected the decision that my parents came to.

Being an only child has been boring and somewhat lonely over the years but it has had it's advantages: it's taught me how to entertain myself and make the most of otherwise boring stretches, it's taught me to value company and friendship when it presents itself, it's taught me to be self sufficient to some extent and it's given me an unrestricted relationship with my parents - I don't have brothers or sisters to compete with for attention or praise or sweets, so I suppose to some extent it has spoiled me but due to the financial difficulties of our family, this has been tempered and I have learned to be resourceful with what I can get.

Do I regret not growing up with brothers and sisters? alittle maybe, it would be nice to have a younger sibling to look out for or an older sibling to learn from, but as things stand at the moment I wouldn't change a thing; it's made me the person I am today and given me a fantastic relationship with my parents and some solid and long lasting friendships that I wouldn't trade for all the money ever minted.

Nik.

What do you think has changed in the mind of American workers?

Saw this and had to repost it

Neville confirmed for BAMF

Dear people crying over the Red Wedding

Welcome to the fandom. Sincerely, People who’ve read the books already.

Day One - Death

“I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” ~Winston Churchill

Rather a morbid topic to begin with, but here goes.

Death to me is just another part of the natural cycle; things die, things get consumed, their energy continues through the chain, the power of death seems to be the one thing that has powered our entire ecosystem - which is easy to say in general because there's no personal ramifications, it's easy to say shit dies because the thing that's dying is merely an abstract.

However when that thing is something or someone you've built an emotional attachment to, that concept becomes a scary one and I will admit that the death of someone close to me is the one thing that I am truly scared shitless of because despite what a large percentage of the population will tell you, we don't actually have the slightest of clues what truly happens when we cease to be on this mortal coil.

While I would like to believe in reincarnation (it sounds like a fantastic concept) there are far too many question, for example; do you get to choose? if so, why aren't there trillions of cats filling up this planet? do you have to start again from the bottom as an amoeba? do you carry on up the chain and turn into something else? what is up the chain from humanity? why am I asking so many questions? when will this topic end? and so on...

I also like the concept of an afterlife but the various different sets of qualifying criteria set out by the great (and tiny) religions of our world make this rather over complicated too, what if they're all true? what if none of them are true? what if just one of them is true? how would you know you've picked the right one until it's too late?

I suppose my best guess at the moment would be the 'you just cease' argument though the only crumb of comfort that comes into this is the idea that all the time someone is remembered, they are never truly dead, to me this makes life worth something.

It sets us each with a challenge; do something that would actually make your life memorable, bonus points if Hollywood make a film about it.

To anyone that reads this who is grieving for a loved one or close friend, my heart goes out to you, take solace in the thought that they are free from the struggle of this world and that all the time you cherish their memory, they are never truly dead.

Love, light and peace

Nik.

Gods dammit Frank, you had ONE job.

We are gathered here today because SOMEBODY *glares at coffin* couldn’t stay alive.

It’s like being kicked in the head by a raspberry

Jenna (on mixing raspberry sambuca and apple sours)