Humorists

Prompt:

In his 2004 book, Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton argues that the chief aim of humorists is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” Because society allows humorists to say things that other people cannot or will not say, de-Botton sees humorists as serving a vital function in society.

Think about the implications of de Botton’s view of the role of humorists (cartoonists, stand-up comics, satirical writers, hosts of television programs, etc.).



Alain de Botton, the author of Status Anxiety, argues that the chief aim of humorists is to “convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” He proposes that humorists are allowed by society to say things that people do not want to hear or believe, ergo serving a vital role in society. However there is a major difference between humorist and their purposes that they are conveying these messages is the biggest factor that distinguishes them.

There are two kinds of satirist; one the entertainer and the other the enlightener. These two may give a speech the same topic, but each one is fundamentally different and their effects on society or the audience is polar opposites. The only aim of the entertainer is to make the audience laugh or be amused and in a large scale-- to earn money. However the aim for the enlightener is to force people to come to terms with society’s failings; and in the large scale try to bring about a change in society. They also present their arguments in very different ways since the entertainer will want the end result to be humor, while in the enlightener’s case, humor is usually a bi-product that is produced since the claims they propose are utterly ludicrous. Why is it then that humorists who aim to make people laugh are unable to get the message across to the people. The main reason for this is the stereotypes that exist among these comedians. In general society these people are viewed a light hearted individuals who make people laugh. Therefore anything that they may say will be viewed in such a manner and lose its importance. Take for example Russell Peter a famous comedian. In one skit he talks about how beating ones child, usually a tabooed topic in our modern society. However since it is Russell Peter everyone takes it a light hearted manner losing the seriousness of it and instead focusing more only on the actual jokes themselves. It is highly unlikely that any of the audience members that night went home thinking about child beating and its consequences, nor did they take any learning experiences away from that event. Why? It is simply because once the aim of the person conveying the message is to entertain the people, the humorist immediately loses the ability to send the messages to the people as they are only interested in the jokes.

However with satirist who have the main objective of conveying messages to people and trying to bring about change in society, they present the problems of society and then argue from a very immoral stand point that is laughable and therefore the humor is a bi-product of their argument. One very prominent example would be Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal where he argues that the best way to stem the rise of poverty in Ireland is to eat poor peoples babies as a food product domestically. He presents facts and many arguments to support his claim and as a result of this outright ridiculous idea people are usually humored by it. But since his aim is not merely to entertain the audience, his arguments also shed light on the Irish’s plight at that time and how the wealthy landowners were metaphorically “devouring” the Irish people. Although while keeping up his facade he clearly states the many problems with society and in his rebuttal he states his true ideas of how these can be changed. He forces society to come to terms with its problems not by exposing it directly, but rather by forcing his audience to come to the conclusion themselves.

Undoubtedly the latter kind of humorists serve a vital role in society, just as Alain de Botton states as they have the ability to use their facade to bring light tabooed problems with society that might otherwise be impossible to state directly. They are far more effective the humorists with the aim of entertaining people since humor is a bi-product of their arguments rather then the final result.

Freedom is an illusion of the mind

Many people will claim that they have the freedom to do whatever they want whenever they want. This statement is probably one of the biggest lies that you will ever be told in your life, and most of the people who strongly believe this do not really understand just how little freedom they possess. Firstly what exactly is freedom. It is simply the act of acting, speaking or doing whatever you want without any hindrance or obstacle against it. However freedom is an illusion, an impossible goal to try and reach. Our freedom, the choices we make and the decisions we make are all affected by society, by laws, by peer pressure and countless other factors.

Society prohibits us from doing many things, not only by the laws that are created in society, but by the values and such that are in society. Say for example, you could not walk about around in public butt naked, because society frowns down upon such things and therefore doing such a thing is not allowed by society. If one were to do this society would shun you and you would probably end up in a jail or such for a charge against you. It is not the laws that stop many people from doing bad things or things that are looked down by society, but more of what other people think of them. This is the same reason that consumerism is so powerful, because society itself has caused people to give too much care about what others think of them. Another way in which people’s freedoms are curbed are by how little say they have on their life. If the government were to deicide tomorrow that all prices of eggs were going to go up by a dollar, then we would have very little say in it and most probably would not be able to do much to change it.

Freedom is an illusion of the mind, and our mind changes our freedom beliefs to fit with what society agrees with at that time. The only possibly true way to achieve freedom in a society would be to have an anarchist society, where there you could truly be free to whatever you wanted. However is too much freedom really a good thing. Probably not. Freedom is good up to a limit, up till they start to become too much of a nuisance to society. For example freedom should not be misused to spread lies in an attempt to overthrow the government, nor should it be used to create civil unrest in society. However the most important rule of freedom, and the one where upon breaking you would lose your own freedom, would be that your freedom should never curb someone else’s freedom. Everyone should have equal freedom and if someone were to ever take away someone else’s right to freedom then that person does not deserve to have freedom.

However as of now, freedom is merely used as an illusion so that corporation or governments can use it to pacify people when they make a unfavorable decision against the people. As I’ve said, freedom is an illusion.

Wikileaks?

There has been a flurry of news updates claiming that Wikileaks, a site that is created to uncover and reveal confidential information has managed to get their hands on very important and confidential diplomatic cables. Exactly what impact theses leaks will have on future diplomatic ties and such is currently unknown and their true nature is still being speculated. However, my problem with this is that the government has made these documents confidential for a reason, so that secrets are not leaked outside and create unnecessary problems. These documents should be kept as such and only when the government deems it appropriate to be released should it be released. Therefore I do not agree that this site should be allowed to leak out these files which will surely cause some problems with the other countries and their diplomatic ties.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/world/29cables.html?_r=1&hp

Facebook claiming the word "face"

The New York Times reports that Facebook is close to trademarking the word "face" to stop any other telemarketing corporation from using it. This is ridiculous. The word "face" is a common word that is used by everyday people and to trademark it due to the fact that Facebook are worried people will try to leech of their fame by adding the word "face" to their sites. Although it may be true that certain websites will try to use "face" to add some popularity to their site. However, this hardly will affect Facebook a giant social networking site and who have no connection to the other sites. In fact, as the article points out almost every business has a webpage linked to it and this ownership of the word "Face" online will create problems for these sites. How exactly the Patents and Trademarks office will allow this to past is a mystery to me. Perhaps, next the word "book" will be trademarked too.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/with-facebook-claiming-the-word-face-some-alternatives/

"Facebook Killer"

Recently I stumbled upon and article that suggested that the website that topples facebook for the crown of social networking will not be a "Facebook with better features", but would rather be something entirely different. At the start of the article I was very skeptical about whether that would be the site that takes over Facebook, but at the end, I am inclined to accept that if history were to repeat itself as it so usually does, then the site that replaces Facebook will not be a site that tries to copy Facebook, but rather a site that comes up with a new innovation, that is entirely different, but renders Facebook redundant. The article provides examples of Digg.com, Myspace, Google and shows why the new social network Disapora is no threat at all to Facebook and will fail to overtake Facebook. As the article says one factor is frequently overlooked when trying to topple the web giants, the fact that the replacement must be radically different to the predecessor. People will not switch from one site to another just because the other site has one or two more better changes. They would rather stick to the same site and trust that eventually the site will update itself and make those changes. However, they wouldn't mind changing to another site which is radically different and offers a new approach to certain activities. Therefore I agree that when Facebook is toppled, it will be toppled by something entirely different from Facebook itself.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/11/26/cashmore.facebook.killer/index.html

Alcohol more harmful then drugs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11660210

A recent study done by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs shows that alcohol is in fact more dangerous then most drugs, and that tobacco or smoking was also one of the highly dangerous substances. However I completely disagree with this study and its conclusions that it draws. Firstly it is impossible to ever possibly compare alcohol with drugs. The reason being that alcohol is so widely spread due to its legal status that it is far more used and therefore its effects are far more evident. However, drugs is illegal and therefore its use is far less obvious and evident. The second problem, is the situation in which each is used. Alcohol can be used in a normal family gathering, or in a party in small amounts where everyone uses it as a mode of relaxing. However drugs is hardly ever used in that manner and most of the time it is used by people who are either at a very low point in their life or a very high point. In that sense drugs are far more dangerous then alcohol.

Former Guerilla to president

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/31/brazil.winner.profile/index.html?hpt=C2

Can people truly make comebacks from crime to do good? That remains to be seen in the case of Dilma Rousseff the first female president of Brazil. She was once a extremist left-wing Guerilla fighter who was tortured by the right wing party of Brazil. However, was it wise to elect a president who was a ex-guerilla warfare fighter and who had been tortured by the opposition side? Thinking about it carefully, there are many reasons as to why this could be a bad choice. Firstly, her past involvement will undoubtedly be criticized and harped upon by anyone who dislikes her. Secondly, being tortured by the opposition party would have left severe emotional tramau on her, possibly causing deep hatred towards the other side. Therefore would it be a good desicion to allow her to have a majority of the power? However, she also knows the needs of her people and she has shown that she is no afraid to get into business when it is needed, showing her mental and physical strength. Dilma Rousseff has a lot to prove to the world.

Women Rights

http://insidethemiddleeast.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/01/why-is-sexual-harassment-in-egypt-so-rampant/?hpt=C1

Glancing across the headlines on CNN, I couldn't help but notice that there was an article about women's right and protesting going on in Egypt. Upon reading more I realized that the writer of the article was bringing to light how women were being treated in the middle east and just how dire the situation of women's right was. In fact, what makes women any lower then men. Women are just as capable as men and in certain situations they are in fact more useful then men. Studies in New Zealand show that males were 2.4 times more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior, with the United States Department Of Justice giving statistics to prove that men were 8 times more likely to commit homicide then women. Other statistics also prove that women are less physically violent then men, and usually approach arguments with a rational mind. Therefore, these ways of treating women as though they were lesser then men and only sex objects are in my opinion ridiculous.

14 massacred at football match

Recently while scanning through the newspapers, I noticed an article titled "14 massacred at football match". The article states that in Honduras several hooded gunmen invaded and football pitch and shot the players, killing 10 instantly and 4 others en-route to the hospital. The police suspect that shootings were results of gang wars and criminals taking revenge on one another. These shootings fit together with Honduras amazing murder rate of 78.8 people out of every 100000, the highest murder rates in the world. However under no circumstances should crime be interwoven with sport. Sports is on a different level from the rest of society. It is a time for individuals to be free and enjoy themselves without prohibition. In sports, wealth, status, race, age, religion- none of it matters. It is the one time when everyone is based purely on their own abilities. Therefore, the murderous thugs who corrupt it by making people fear to play sports and such are not only killing 14 people, but affecting the whole society in that area. I believe that people like these should be hunted down and brutally and publicly executed.

Should soccer players be given privacy & how the media has affected soccer.

Recently there has been a string of news reports that have surfaced, which present the private lives of famous professional soccer players for the whole world to view. Most of the time these reports mainly showcase the wrong doings and such of the soccer players. Many household names such as, Rooney, Crouch, Terry and Ronaldo have all been followed by the infamous paparazzi and have been caught having sex scandals, breaking the law, and even peeing in a dark alleyway. Now among the soccer world opinions are divided on whether these should be allowed to be published. However, before we look at this we need to first understand why this is so important. There are two vital reasons why these cases cause shock waves in the footballing world. The first reason is that these footballers are role models to hundreds of millions of people around the world, myself included. Now if one were to read reports about their idol breaking the law or doing morally and ethically wrong things, then one would subconsciously start lessening our moral standards to fit these into it. We would slowly start believing that it is all right to do such things. It is embarrassing for any soccer fan who has lived through at least 4 generations of soccer stars to witness such a thing. I cannot count myself as one of these people, but my grandfather who has watched the first world cup till now, the 20th world cup, can testify to this. During the 1970s to 1990s one would have to wait for years before they could see two events of soccer players breaking the law, such was their discipline. However now, it is a weekly event, where some soccer player is found to be taking drugs, having numerous affairs, running betting rings or connected to the mafias. This has in fact become so mundane that people hardly even care nowdays.

Recently a famous soccer player and also ex-coach, has given his view stating that having your life published by the media and having no privacy is the price to pay for international superstardom and the money that is received out of soccer. He gives some very good points and states how the paparazzi is a double edged sword. If one were able to have a clean image and play breath taking football then you could manipulate the paparazzi and spread your fame and influence wider. However having any secrets or problems and trying to hide them from the paparazzi is nearly impossible with nowdays modern technology.

I believe that the media is starting to take over football with it affecting the results of games. Rather then just the players playing the game and deciding, the media has now assumed total control over football. It has the ability to make a player shine or destroy his reputation. It may not seem like it, but one great example of how the media can affect someone is through the story of Wayne Rooney. He netted 34 goals last season a personal high for him, and made himself into one of the stars of the world. However after a ridiculously poor performance and several sex scandals, both of which were widely focused on by the press for weeks, he has had trouble scoring and has only managed one goal in the last 5 games. The media also has the ability to sway the minds of easy supporters who believe everything they read. Therefore in conclusion I think that the media is getting to much power over the footballing world and the real attention has been drawn away from the game, and more towards the drama.

Baby discovered in plane toilet bin

Recently a baby was found abandoned on a flight toilet bin. The baby was found after the mother gave birth in the toilet of a Gulf Air Jet flight from Saudi Arabia to Philippines and dumped the baby in tissues in the toilet bin. The baby was discovered on landing, and although it suffered some horrible trauma it made it to the hospital where it received emergency treatment and is now stable. The mother is still unknown, but it won't be too hard to find out who the mother is, considering that the list is severely limited based on the passengers on the plane.

I despise people who do this kinds of acts. Simply, they are selfish and cruel people. Firstly if they are not ready for the baby, then they should not have had sex or should have at least used a condom. But, what is most shocking about it, is that after 9 months of carrying the baby around in their stomach, they have no problem with dumping the defenseless baby in some trash can or other worse ideas they can think of. Now, firstly no one has the right other then the baby to decide whether it should live or not. Neither the parents nor anyone else can say that the baby should die, or shouldn't be allowed to live. No one has the right to play God. Another reason that this should not be allowed to happen, is that even if the baby were to survive, most of the babies would end up living a miserable life, always having the weight over their heads, that their mother didn't care if they died. This would lead the baby down a dark path, increasing the risk that the baby would grow up to become a drug user or some other criminal.

The mothers also have a choice, if they were willing to leave the baby, then they should simply just give the baby to an orphanage or some other charitable place, where the baby will be able to grow up in a healthy environment.

Dumping a baby in a trash can, is never justifiable under any circumstances and in my personal opinion anyone who does this should be charged for attempted murder or murder.

Justin Bieber Escapes Arrest

I was just surfing on the net reading the daily news on soccer, when this interesting headline popped up at me. "Justin Bieber after hitting police with a water balloon". This grabbed my attention immediately because Justin Bieber has built his reputation by being a "clean and nice" guy. This was totally unexpected by someone like this, so I clicked on the article and continued to read on it.

Apparently Justin Bieber was "horsing" around with members of his staff before a concert and threw water balloons and two police officers who were there for crowd control. One hit a police officer in his gun holster, while the other hit the police officer in his chest, but did not burst. After this he ran back to his trailer and hide there letting his body guard convince the police officers not to arrest him. The police issued a statement, which says that although the behavior was inappropriate, no further action would be taken, and a report was not even written about the incident.

I am disgusted by this for two reasons. My first reason is that Justin Bieber ran away and hid in his trailer after throwing the balloons at the officers and let his bodyguard do the talking for him. This just proves that he has no guts and that celebrities now days are getting more and more pampered and egotistical. The number of celebrities, who are nice in real life is dwindling down to a very small number now. Does being a celebrity and being famous make them any better then us? I think everyone has their own opinion on that matter, but in my personal opinion celebrities should not be given any special treatment, in fact that should be treated more harshly then the rest of the people, because they are role-models and idols to millions of people around the world. What Justin Bieber is doing, is giving a very bad impression on what is right and wrong to all of Justin Bieber's fans, especially since they tend to be very young.

The second reason that this article infuriates me is due to how the police handled the situation. If this incident has occurred but instead of being Justin Bieber, it was instead some young kid who was unknown to the world I doubt he would be let of so easily. I think now days with the celebrity status, many celebrities belief themselves invincible and able to do whatever they want. They do not think of the consequences of their actions, but rather just do whatever they feel like.

I think the police force should have been a little more harsher with Justin Bieber, although it was only a water balloon, it gives a bad idea of what is right and wrong to Justin Bieber's fans.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7999255/Justin-Bieber-escapes-arrest-after-hitting-police-with-water-balloon.html

God's Children

I think this is a really good documentary. It showed that many people were in poverty and that for some people, garbage was their main source of income. Without the garbage, they will not be able to buy rice and they will starve. I think from now onwards, I should just be happy to have a good lunch, and not complain even if the lunch is really bad, because I still get something to eat. Also the cat scene was pretty hardcore, because it showed the cat suffering as it was being eaten by maggots, and the mother cat was there but could not do anything. That is also really cruel, because the cat would have died by now. But, the movie also showed me how important education is, because the people who were tuck in the garbage dump place were all uneducated, and so they could not find other jobs. This movie really opened my eyes and taught me some really important lessons.

Poverty Article

1. At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening.The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income. According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death. ”Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).
   So as the statistics show, the numbers are very drastic, and many people are dying.

A day in my life without electricity

A day in my life without electricity. I'd probably cry. Firstly, I would not be able to use my computer, because, my computer would not be able to work without electricity. Then, I would not be able to watch television, because that uses, electricity too. I would also be very cold in the winter, and very hot in the summer because the heater and air conditioners would not work without electricity. It would also be incredibly dark during nighttime, because as you guessed it, lights need electricity to work. Then, I would also not be able to use the microwave, as it requires electricity. But, at least I will be able to play soccer. So there is a bright side to this. 

Morries Aphorism Blog

Learn how to die, and you learn how to live.

This is possibly one of the best sayings in the book. It captures the entire book in one phrase. It is true, because if you learned how to die, and you accept the fact that you will have to die one day, then you will realize, that you will be able to live life to the fullest.In the book, Morrie knows that his days are numbered, and that he will die in several months. However, in that several months, he did things, that most people don't do their entire lives. He talked to old friends, and slowed down life, to understand what life truly means and what was the purpose of life. He also did something that very few people have done. He said good-bye, and he showed that he loved everyone. Before he died, he imparted as much knowledge as possible to Mitch, like a teacher teaching the class before the class ended.

Aphorism blog

Don't assume it is too late to be involved in something...

I think this is a great aphorism. This is because this aphorism is so useful. Just this week, I have proved this aphorism right. I learned that it is never too late to ask for help, and that its better late then never. I think that this aphorism would have been so helpful in my life so far. Once, when I was in grade 5, I did not do one of my homework, and the teacher told me that I could still do it, and that I could learn something. I gave him the lame excuse, that it was too late, and that there was no point in doing it. On week later, one of the questions in the final test, was from the homework. My friends got the question right, but I got it wrong. As it turned out, the two points from that question, was the difference between a B and a A. Many other times, I gave the excuse, that it is too late to do something, just because it is too late. But when I look back, I realized, that it is never too late.

Morrie Aphorism Blog 5

Be hopeful, but not foolishly hopeful. I think that this is a good aphorism, because if you are hopeful, then life feels much better, because you also feel more optimistic, and more happier. However, if you are too hopeful, then you will expect things that are nearly impossible, and then when you don't get it, you become miserable. I myself, have witnessed and experienced this before. Sometimes, I set the expectations so high, that when they do not happen, I become hopelessly miserable. I also tend to be sad for several days after that. But when I set the expectations to a possible amount, I am satisfied with what I get.  This shows that when you do not hope for too much, then we will not be too greedy. I think that this is important.

How do electrolytes work in our body?

Electrolytes are like electrical nerves in our body. They transmit messages from the brain to all the other parts of the body. That is why when we flush all the electrolytes out of our body, we will get very sick, and possibly, we may die. Electrolytes are very important because they are like our nerves. They are the communication path between the brain and our nerves. Without them, our brain would not be able to send any messages to our nerves. If this stops, then we will not be able to breathe, or move our body parts. An electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that behaves as an electrically conductive medium. Because they generally consist of ions in solution, electrolytes are also known asionic solutions, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible. They also use many different nerves, so the electrolytes, are like the messengers between my brain, and its nerves.

Blog: What is lightning? Why does wearing rubber shoes help you during a storm?

Lightning. It is one of the most powerful natural phenomenon, and the heat produced by the lightning strike, is as hot as the surface as the sun. As long as you study the field of electricity, then you must have studied lightning. Lightnings usually occur during storms, but they can also occur during violent volcanic eruptions when tonnes of ash is spewed, resulting in ash clouds. However, they may also occur during dust storms. Lightning is usually succeeded by thunder, and the particle at the tip of the bolt, may reach speeds of up to 60000 m/s and can reach temperatures of 30000 degrees celsius. Lightning storms occur up to 16 million times a year, and they are more likely to occur in tropical zones, where warm weather fronts collide with cold weather fronts on a daily basis. Singapore, has one of the highest frequencies with lightning strikes in the world. Studies have shown, that islands that are near the equator, have the most amount of lightning activity in the world. Why does wearing rubber shoes help people during a storm. Firstly, rubber is a material that is not very smooth. So, if you were to walk in the rain during a storm through huge puddles of water, then you would be less likely to slip and fall. However, the main reason why experts advise using rubber shoes during storms is because rubber is an insulator of electricity. Storms, are classified as huge thunderstorms, where it rains heavily and steadily and also has many lightning strikes. Lightning strikes only hurt or injure people, when there is a way for it to pass from the position on the human body that it hit, to the ground. If the electric charge can find its way back into the ground, then the person who got hit by the lightning would have an electric shock. However, if the person was wearing rubber shoes, then the electric charge would not be able to reach the ground. This means that the person would not suffer a shock, and that the person would be relatively unharmed. However, the rubber shoes is not a full proof method of escaping an electric shock. If, the person still had something that was touching him, and was connected to the ground, or vice versa, then he would still suffer an electric shock. However, I shall go one step further, and see if the presence of rain has any effects on the flow of electric charges. Water, is not a very good conductor of electricity. However, when it has salt or a chemical in it, it becomes a surprisingly good conductor of electricity. It can transfer electricity through it without losing most of the electric charges power. So if the lightning hit the water on the ground, there is a good possibility that you might get injured. However, if you were wearing rubber shoes, then you could escape.