harms_chris

harms_chris @ 2009-07-27T18:53:00

2009-07-27T23:01:08Z

i was never born and i will never die. i am simply a stage (or a wave) in an ongoing continuum of material inter-being. just as both the wave and the sea are both temporary forms of water, so am i a temporary form of a material manifestation, truly defined by all other physical things of which i am a part. this is like this because that is like that. my true identity lies in all that is since nothing can just be, it by definition must inter-be.

Bacon Wrapped French Toast Sticks Stonehenge

2009-04-17T18:46:12Z

saw this on this is why you're fat .com. most disgusting thing i've ever laid my eyes on but quite creative.

harms_chris @ 2009-02-28T01:14:00

2009-02-28T06:15:09Z

</a>

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Fox News Reports Joe Biden's Gaffe

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

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economics

2009-02-10T17:43:16Z

i found this joke on an econ blog and i thought it was quite funny.

A physicist, a chemist and an economist are stranded on an island, with nothing to eat. A can of soup washes ashore. The physicist says, "Lets smash the can open with a rock." The chemist says, "Lets build a fire and heat the can first." The economist says, "Lets assume that we have a can-opener..."

fail blog

2009-02-06T18:03:21Z

i was looking through fail blog and i came across this ad that appeared in Illinois.

harms_chris @ 2009-02-01T12:24:00

2009-02-01T17:28:58Z

my grandfather died yesterday at 4:30 pm. RIP

harms_chris @ 2009-01-31T10:04:00

2009-01-31T15:13:41Z

to be honest, i'm pretty fucking livid right now. i just don't understand how, when you don't get what you want from me, you can justify disallowing anybody else from getting the same thing from me. i don't understand this mentality of "if i can't have it, nobody can." get over yourself, seriously. i'm tired of people trying to dictate how i am to live my life. i want to fuck and kiss and do whatever to who i want, and to be honest, i really don't care how it makes you feel. you don't even act like you're interested in me, so how can you possibly lay any claim to dictate my sexual actions? stop being such a royal cunt and let other people enjoy what they want because you obviously missed out on getting anything from me due to your extreme immaturity. you can count me out as a friend.

harms_chris @ 2009-01-28T20:33:00

2009-01-29T01:34:41Z

here's my favorite song right now

barack obama

2009-01-23T14:39:39Z

i am cautiously pessimistic concerning our new president. yes, he is making history, but history also tells me i shouldn't expect too much from obama. as aaron mcgruder put i "just b/c 'our guy' won, doesn't mean that all that stuff we were mad about doesn't still exist. why, just because 'our guy' won, do we immediately become so critical?" i think he has a point. to some extent, it's been shocking how uncritical some people have become in light of obama's victory. remember, he is a politician.

i am by no means saying that i think obama is a bad person or is going to be a bad president. i just think that i have to be a realist is this situation. i hope obama does brings about the much needed change about which he has so passionately spoken.

indeed, i like barack obama, and i really hope that he is everything that everyone else thinks he will be.

politics

2009-01-16T17:47:43Z

my new favorite political cartoon from the economist.
will obama be able to sufficiently deal with all these issues that he's inheriting and how?
i think at some point in his presidency he will fail, not because of his own inability, but because of the magnitude of the problems he is inheriting. obviously, he will have to make changes, and major ones at that, to solve many of the problems with which he is challenged. what will he do about the invasion of palestine? what our failing economy? is an unprecidented stimulus package really a viable solution to fix our economy in the long term? at some point we will have to pay for the debt that we incur. all these things puzzle me and i am quite interested to see obama in action.

classes and such

2009-01-15T13:43:53Z

it's ridiculous how fucking cold it is right now. the high for today is 5 F, wind chills at about -25 F. i guess walking to class will be a very cold experience. on the bright side, i have my first jewish lit class today. i really hope it turns out to be pretty interesting.

another something funny, eric and i have at least seriously pondered the idea of being good students this semester. i'm not sure how long that will last. hopefully pretty long.

my intro to international relations class looks to be a very enjoyable class. i like marcelo because he is very straight forward. i may not necessarily agree with how he runs his class from an administrative perspective, but at the very least i know exactly what to expect from him. not to mention, he also seems to be a really smart guy who asks a lot of challenging questions. as well, i'm thouroughly enjoying the reading for the class already. man, state, and war seems to be pretty dense, but beyond that, it brings forth a lot of compelling ideas. once you get over the cumbersome nature of waltz's writing style, it becomes evident that some great ideas are being put forth.

so i guess i'll just brave the wind and the cold and focus instead on my classes for the day, and how they're inside.

additionally, i've come to the conclusion that i'm commiting academic suicide. whatever, i'm determined to make it through this semester without dropping anything.

intro to international relations, jewsish lit, microecon, calc. should be fun :)

harms_chris @ 2009-01-12T21:59:00

2009-01-13T03:01:22Z

i'm so glad to be back at earlham, even though this stuff we go through seems like total bullshit. the bullshit is worth it. life is fun.

harms_chris @ 2009-01-11T12:53:00

2009-01-11T18:17:56Z

In retrospect, i should have come to this place a long time ago, to take things for what they are.
i will take the world for what it is...
undecipherable, normative, contradictory, beautiful, unending, ambiguous, repulsive
i will take you for what you are...
calming, beautiful, ambiguous, inconsistent, joyful, sorrowful, differentiating, crazy
i will take myself for what i am...
sorrowful, intense, unrelenting, joyful, questioning, quiet, outspoken, unsure, crazy

for what it's worth, i can say now that it was foolish to expect great success from a friendship with someone as unstable, unsure, and dysfunctional as myself. i was wrong to expect legitimate consistency from you if you do not know what you expect from yourself. i hope in the next four months we will both find clarity, purpose, and renewal. i do not know what to expect from you and, thus, i will expect nothing from you. to do anything else would be to abandon the world as it is.

furthermore, reason and understanding represent a fundamental human prerogative for any action one undertakes, a reason for that action is invariably, consciously or subconsciously, ascribed. even those who attempt to escape such a reality of reasoning still doom themselves to its principles. the very attempt to escape reason serves as the reason for one's actions and, thus, this fundamental human prerogative is upheld.

as i see life for what it is, a vacuum of conflicting reasons launched at you from every angle, i recognize that i struggle to uphold a reason for my own life. the world cannot provide me with a clear purpose for life just as you cannot for friendship. the only reasonable step is to take life, you, and myself as they are, inconsistent and metaphysically dismembered, and, furthermore, substitute a personal reason for life and my actions. i cannot truly expect anyone or anything els to guide my actions any more sufficiently since any action, in comparison to everything else, becomes relatively meaningless.

"A moment after happiness, then everything's all wrong, again."
-Elizabeth Ethbridge Fulton Whelps

maybe not, maybe seeing the ambiguity of the world and thus the hope and meaning that you can give yourself is true liberation.

harms_chris @ 2009-01-04T13:52:00

2009-01-04T18:53:23Z

ok, so i was watching snl digital shorts again. and, well, this one is hilarious.

harms_chris @ 2008-12-29T12:34:00

2008-12-29T17:43:24Z

so some friends and i took a really cool trip to philly the other day and here are some of the better photos.

harms_chris @ 2008-12-24T20:47:00

2008-12-25T01:56:10Z

what i don't understand is how one can go through life without feeling, at moments, that the agony of life outweighls the fear of death. i honestly think that different people feel emotion at different intensities.

harms_chris @ 2008-12-23T15:34:00

2008-12-23T20:42:23Z

ok. i thought this was hilarious given my tatoo and my past hair style.

harms_chris @ 2008-12-21T14:16:00

2008-12-21T19:20:49Z

i just want to sleep for a long time. i've slept for 14 hours and i wish it could go longer :( i'm tired of being awake.

the sleep of reason
that produces monsters.

mmmm....i'm finally settled in at home and i can't wait to leave

2008-12-20T18:02:41Z

</lj-embed>so i was listening to my mellow manifesto pandora station and came across some cool songs. at the very least i find the lyrics and musical style of these songs to be intriguing. as well, i was browsing 4chan and found this awesome picture. i don't know why but it makes me feel less meaningless when i see other people completely immersed in a hurried world.

...

2008-12-16T02:45:28Z

i feel strange, out of place, and absurd. i doubt this feeling will go away shortly.

harms_chris @ 2008-12-12T12:46:00

2008-12-12T17:48:02Z

Days of open wallet

Dec 11th 2008 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition

Barack Obama is promising a vast new public-works programme as his solution to America’s economic woes

NO SOONER had the worst job losses in a generation been reported (on December 5th, a Friday), than Barack Obama stepped up his calls for an ambitious fiscal stimulus package, taking to the airwaves twice over the weekend to do it. Not only would his plan prop up the sinking economy, he said, but it would equip America with more productive and efficient infrastructure, aiding future growth. His remarks gathered infinitely more attention than those of the actual president, who confined himself to vague optimism and a hard-to-substantiate claim that the frozen financial system is starting to thaw.

There seems no doubt that resistance from politicians and investors to a seriously big package is melting. The December 5th figures showed that America lost 533,000 jobs in November, the biggest monthly loss in absolute terms for 34 years, though at 0.4% of the workforce, it was a bit less bad—only the worst since 1980. The unemployment rate rose to 6.7% from 6.5%, and would have risen far more if so many unemployed workers hadn’t given up looking for work. Losses were especially severe in construction, retailing and manufacturing. Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting firm, estimates that the economy will shrink at an annual rate of 5.5% this quarter and 4.25% next. A fiscal stimulus of $500 billion over two years would come too late to alter that but could bring the recession to an end by mid-2009 and hold the unemployment rate to 8.5%, the firm estimates. Without such a stimulus, the recession would stretch into the third quarter and unemployment would hit 9.5%.

For once, politicians and economists agree the deficit should not be a worry. The credit crunch and the collapse in the stockmarket mean households are trying to consume less and save more. But for them to do so collectively, some other sector must consume more and save less. Corporations are not going to do it: they are cutting investment and hoarding cash in the hope of staving off a liquidity crisis or even bankruptcy. Demand is not going to come from the rest of the world: many other countries are in recession. Even in China, which is still growing fast, demand for foreign goods is contracting sharply: by 18% year-on-year, according to figures released on December 10th. So that leaves the federal government.

Mr Obama has not yet provided any precise details of the sort of fiscal plan he will seek to drive through Congress once he takes the reins at noon on January 20th, although speculation has centred on a package worth some $300 billion a year (or 2% of GDP), comprising hiring credits for employers, permanent tax cuts (or credits) for workers and a public-works programme which, he pledged, would be the biggest since Dwight Eisenhower created the interstate highway system in the 1950s. (That project, at $400 billion in today’s dollars, cost four times as much and took three times as long as planned.)

State and local governments account for most public investment (see chart). Their spending on highways and schools for baby-boomers lifted such investment above 3% of GDP in the 1950s and 1960s. But the federal government pays for much of it, and so gets a significant say in how the money is spent.

The conundrum is that it is hard to spend both rapidly and wisely. America’s transport infrastructure is in need of overhaul (see article), and many worthy projects exist that could boost energy efficiency or alternative fuel sources. But there may not be enough of them to absorb large sums quickly. Often such projects are kept on the drawing board not by lack of money but by politics and planning. Adapting the electricity grid, for example, to use more alternative energy may require new transmission lines for which approval can take years. In September the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated it would take two years to spend just 60% of $37 billion in infrastructure funds in a stimulus bill passed by the House of Representatives (but not yet acted on by the Senate).

State and local governments say they have thousands of “shovel-ready” projects that could be started as soon as federal money becomes available. The Conference of Mayors, seizing the moment, released an 803-page report this week listing 11,000 projects which, they claim, would create more than 800,000 jobs over the next two years. But the economic merit of many is dubious. Their list includes $1.5m to coax prostitutes off the streets of Dayton, Ohio, and $200,000 for a dog park in Hercules, California. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former economic adviser to John McCain, says many unfunded projects are “ready to go because they were drawn up, reviewed and rejected” by government. Mr Obama has promised not to spend money the “old Washington way” but those ways are hard to change.

Mr Obama also considered an early implementation of the $500-per-worker or $1,000-per-household tax cut (or, for those who don’t pay enough income tax, a payment) which he promised during the campaign. But tax cuts provide limited bang for the deficit buck: only about 30% of last summer’s $110 billion in tax rebates were spent. The impact could probably be larger now, partly because more households are strapped for cash, but also because a permanent boost to income is more likely to be spent than a one-off rebate.

Even so, such rebates will raise the deficit sharply relative to how much they boost growth. And that highlights another problem. The budget deficit could top $1 trillion, or 7% of GDP, this fiscal year. That may be necessary in the short run, but could be dangerously destabilising before long. Rudolph Penner, a former CBO director, predicts that the federal debt (excluding debt owed to other parts of the federal government) will soar from 38% of GDP this year to 55% at the end of 2010, the highest since the early 1950s, when the country was still in hock from fighting a war.

Japan offers a cautionary tale on the risks of infrastructure-based stimulus. A spree of public-works projects designed to spur growth left construction equal to an unwieldy 20% of GDP, compared with 10% in America, and drove the national debt to one of the highest levels relative to GDP in the OECD. America’s construction industry is not as politically powerful, inefficient and corrupt as it historically has been in Japan, and Japan worsened its slump by increasing the sales tax to deal with the debt. Still, Mr Obama should take note if he wants to get his stimulus right.

harms_chris @ 2008-12-11T20:03:00

2008-12-12T01:04:14Z

i continually feel that i do not understand people and that they do not understand me. i really don't know what to expect from people and i don't know what they expect from me.

this whole social thing is all very confusing.

god and suffering

2008-12-11T06:01:13Z

i was reading about my philosophy book the other day and i came across a quite honest and moving assertion concerning the nature of and omniscient and omnipotent god. i personally do not believe in such a god for several reasons: the contradiction between omniscience and omnipotence, rational observation, and occam's razor. however, i've never really heard an argument such as this. it does not deny an omniscient and omnipotent being but instead denies our obligation to observe and and serve it.

"I renounce the higher harmony altogether. It's not worth the tears of that one tortured child who beat itself on the breast with its little fist and prayed in its stinking outhouse, with its unexpiated tears to 'dear, kind God'! It's not worth it, because those tears are unatoned for...it's not God that I don't accept, Aloysha, only I most respectfully return him the ticket."

-Fyodor Dostoyevsky

in other words...god is either malevolent or unpowerful, either way he does not deserve my respect