Recent posts by Laxaria on Kongregate

Topic: Serious Discussion / Gays, Yay or Nay?

Wow… That’s all you got? Gays spread AIDS?

Gay Marriage ‘improves health’. Courtesy of BBC.

Something I stumbled across. That’s my input, really.

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Yeah, as if I’m the real problem here.

It takes 2 hands to clap, somebody613. Continue with your inflammatory behaviour and you will get silenced.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Gays, Yay or Nay?

And that’s why all new technology should be illegal.

It’s a compelling argument against GMOs, definitely. /sarcasm

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@somebody613: Please tone down the aggression. Once again, I will repeat myself. You are not required to respond to anyone. You are free to disagree, but you should not forcing your opinions down another’s throat. Subsequent issues will get you silenced.

@everyone else: Flag posts, ignore posts that are seemingly flame-baiting. Responding ONLY perpetuates problems and makes everyone miserable.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Gay Marriage?

I concur with everyone who mentioned how there’s existing threads for this discussion. Lockity lock lock!

Topic: Serious Discussion / My Opinion About Evolution

Ok this is really getting out of hand.

@somebody613: If someone attacks you personally, please flag their post and ignore them instead of perpetuating insults and attacks. Your behaviour is not really improving and all you seem to do is to scorn anyone’s perspective for one reason and another. You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not obliged to respond to anyone in particular about them. Additionally, being condescending towards other users and discounting the validity of their statements for pure sake of it is frowned upon. It is fine to disagree, but it is not fine to insult someone just because you do.

@everyone else: You are not obliged to respond to any post. Flag insulting ones and ignore them. Responding to people who are grating your nerves will only perpetuate mutual disrespect and frustration.

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On another note, this thread has really degraded into a religious discussion. Anyone is free to flag the topic if you find the purpose of the topic irrelevant to the points brought up in the opening post.

Topic: The Arts / A little bit of inspiration: Why I write

Hey!

I suppose this seems a little off-tangent for this forum, but I suppose one of the questions I never truly thought about (or bothered to answer) was why I write. It seems quite a mundane question to ask, but it is no different than asking why one draws, or plays the piano, or composes music. I wrote a response to this question on my blog (Self promotion!), but I after writing it, I feel like it would be helpful to share, if for a piece of inspiration:

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Why do I write?

I suppose this is one question I never really (ever) thought about, and probably something that I should consider if I were to really contemplate taking the path of writing as even a remotely plausible profession. So, the question, why do I write?

One of the things I love about writing is purely the use of language. I love how words work together to form ideas, concepts and images. It’s like each individual note in a music score coming together to create a piece of music. Likewise, I love how individual words come together to form a much bigger picture. It is oddly rewarding to watch words become sentences, sentences become paragraphs and paragraphs become descriptions of life, society, people and anything that could be described by the culture and type of language being used.

With the construction of paragraphs come the construction of story and narrative. I am particularly fond of stories and narratives, purely because I grew up surrounded by them. Life is a story in itself: you start somewhere and end up somewhere else. Words create stories because words describe actions and objects. Not only do words create stories, stories can often be distilled down into words. Biographies are stories of real people, albeit perhaps framed with a particular sentimentality of the writer.

From story, we get to the sharing of story. Story is important because it is through story that we gain our identity. How I identify myself is by the story I have read, heard and remembered. I remember the amazing novels I’ve read and how they inspire me. I remember the funny stories of my past that make me laugh and the sad ones that made me cry. I remember the story of others: their struggles, successes, accomplishments. However, none of us could get by without sharing story. What we experience is story, and we desire to share it because to share our story is to share our identity. Note that I’m not talking about the conventional idea of story as a tale of events, but story as taking you from one place and ending up elsewhere. Story moves people.

Furthermore, people share their story differently. Some choose to speak their story, others choose to share it in gossip. Some over Facebook, others over Twitter. I choose the written world as my medium. I write because I write narratives, and within my narratives is story. Story of characters and their tribulations, challenges and adorations. Story of events. Story of issues and people.

It seems almost clichéd to say that story makes the world run (and granted, money probably does a better job). Yet, we identify ourselves by our story, and the story of others.

Topic: Kongregate / Kongregate needs to update and modernize the forums - badly.

Personally, I don’t mind textile as much as the lack of an innate thread/post muting system. Maybe after that, we may get a WYSIWYG posting system, but I much prefer textile.

For the record, hyphens (-) screw up textile by breaking it. That should be fixed.

Topic: The Arts / Yet another poem.

Each individual line in a poem doesn’t have to end in a period or comma. Don’t ever feel obliged to write any one sentence in a poem as a line by itself. Breaking up a sentence across multiple lines (enjambement) can have interesting effects too.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Employment

because you chose to study something bad job prospects does not make it society’s responsibility to provide a job for you

Once again, as I stated in my previous post:

If the issue is with people who feel self-entitled to have a job after they graduate regardless of their degree (Accounting or Music), then the issue doesn’t lie in the labour market but with these self-entitled people

If the issue lies because someone feels entitled to employment because of their degree, then I don’t see the issue at all, for it was never society’s responsibility to provide a job. People across all fields will have individuals that feel this “self-entitlement”. It is not society’s responsibility to provide you an accounting job. It is not society’s responsibility to provide you a job as a medical practitioner.

For the record,

Tim Burton studied character animation.
JK Rowling did French and classics at Exeter.
BF Skinner studied English before moving into Psychology.
Douglas Adams studied English.
Lady Gaga did, quote, " Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21), a musical theatre training conservatory at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts".

You are absolutely right in saying that society is not obligated to find you a job upon your graduation. This stands true regardless of what degree you graduate with. A Business Degree isn’t always worth that much.

however, can anyone honestly expect to have great job opportunities when they choose to study music, art or the like?

How can one expect to great job opportunities if they don’t do any internships? How can one expect great job opportunities without any practical field work.

If you major in Dance and did internships with dance productions and studios, you stand a better chance finding employment with them or with their accolades on your resumé than if you did Business and did no internship. Likewise, if you majored in Business and actually did do something that gave you working experience, you stand a better chance than any arts major without equivalent experience.

How about a Dance major with business experience? A degree is not in itself indicative of your skills. As I pointed out before, a person specialised in Women’s Studies and having three-four years of working with their campus paper (and did internships with publishing/journalism firms) is more likely to get a job in a journalistic position than a person with a Journalism degree. Granted, the job numbers are few enough as it is, but my point is that it is not just your major that matters.

My underlying point is that, no matter what you major in, if you feel self-entitled for a job, it is not society’s responsibility to provide you one. Regardless of your major. Whether or not your chances of employment after you graduate with a particular major is relevant or not. Having fewer unemployment opportunities does not mean you are more likely to feel that society is responsible for providing you a job.

I will repeat this a lot. Having a major in a low employment area is not equivalent to feeling that society is responsible to give you a job. To assume that every arts major is doing so without knowing the job market is fallacious, as is assuming that they do know the job market and the limited employment opportunities available. Yet, with increasing “YouTube stars” and Internet proliferation, “indie” bands can utilise the Internet to their own means. It isn’t the same as making a six figure salary in a business firm, but wealth isn’t necessarily related to happiness. Or, in another perspective, perhaps rising incomes create more happiness.

Should you major in Economics just to ensure employment opportunities even if you hate it? I won’t stop you, and it is a completely rational thing to do. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same tolerances. A degree is not innately equivalent to a job, no matter what degree it is.

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Edit: I’m not getting anywhere regardless of what I say, judging from what has spawned, so I’m done for real. *shrugs*

Topic: Serious Discussion / Who Will You Be Voting For?

As per the SD Forum Guidelines, threads started here should have some degree of discussion value. Furthermore, it is the onus of the thread starter to give input into the topic and address its implications and any questions that are raised.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Employment

The purpose of college isn’t to get drunk and party, it’s to get a degree.

Yea, when someone puts words in my mouth, I don’t even know why I should bother anymore. Please point out where I said “The purpose of college is to get drunk and party and isn’t to get a degree”. That’s not how the world works isn’t an argument.

Until then, we’re done, because I’m a nit picky person who absolutely doesn’t tolerate people putting words in my mouth and putting up strawmans just to incriminate my stances without directly addressing them.

As it stands, this question remains unanswered:

My question is why? Why can’t someone pursue something they enjoy purely because it won’t lead to the equivalent opportunities that a business or accounting or biochemistry major will lead up to?

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Either way, I’m done on this matter. If the issue is with people who feel self-entitled to have a job after they graduate regardless of their degree (Accounting or Music), then the issue doesn’t lie in the labour market but with these self-entitled people. Not everyone (not most?) innately graduate with this self-entitlement, regardless of major or education, and if you are shifting the perspective as Liberal Arts majors possessing more of this self-entitlement, please prove it. It still doesn’t absolve any other degree holder not possessing this self-entitlement.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Importance of History?

ALL the Arts are politicized. English literature is probably the most heavily politicized of the bunch. History is far from objective, but most of its biases are largely forgiveable, like the change from the idea that great individuals shape historical events, to the more commonly taught idea that it’s a collective effort (social history).

Fair point and duly noted.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Importance of History?

I feel sad having not studied history at all in any detail (probably the only lacking facet of my academic knowledge).

It is important, I don’t doubt it, but I suppose I care about a different type of history. Not the modern war history, not the 18th century history. I suppose my gripe with some aspects of history is how politicised it is, and I don’t like studying political sciences and/or theory. I feel like I should (and I feel like I am missing something if I don’t), but I am simply not compelled to learn something often innately politicised. I admit, not all forms of modern history are politicised, but the study of it tends to be looking at governments, policies and events leading up to major historical stuff. That’s from my personal experience. I’d like to be proven wrong purely because I want to take History classes that aren’t innately (or even peripherally) political.

On the other hand, I prefer more anthropological types of history. Studies of older civilisations and their cultures. Studies of social entities and organisms. I guess you won’t call it as “History”, but nonetheless.

I don’t doubt the value of history, with all I’ve said above. Rather, I don’t find a personal value in it. Granted, the past teaches us a lot of things, but how much of what it teaches us isn’t with regards to politics, governments, policies, war and conflict? I’d love to study the history of particular authors and writers, or perhaps tracking technological developments, or even studying historical transitions of writing and forms of writing. I just never really had the opportunity to do just this (and with that said, the above “forms” of history aren’t what one commonly associates with “History”).

Edit: On hindsight, a lot of the history isn’t politics, governments or policies (or religion). Unfortunately, it seems that most classes (that I have taken or could take) are centred on these ideas.

Topic: The Arts / Random Writing

I like spontaneously forming a story as I write. It’s more interesting than pre-forming ideas and then writing them.

It’s more fun to build the story as words start appearing on paper, definitely.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Employment

I think you misquoted me there. I didn’t say that, nking did.

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My example on the first page stands. You can still work in Journalism with an Arts degree by specifically honing out your resumé and seeking the opportunities right for you. It isn’t easy, no, but more engaging if one can’t stand business.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Employment

In response to the original post I have to agree. I want to laugh when I hear people say that they want to study art, music, acting, etc. A friend of mine wants to be a sound recording technician, or something like that. My ex-girlfriend is currently studying early childhood education. I think both of them are, at best, silly for studying those things. Not that we don’t need teachers or SRTs. I suppose both fields are necessary in their own way, but, a few years from now when they can’t find a decent job, I’ll feel sorry for them and won’t say I told you so, but I’ll think it.

My question is why? Why can’t someone pursue something they enjoy purely because it won’t lead to the equivalent opportunities that a business or accounting or biochemistry major will lead up to? If a music major majored in music and produced the music you listen to in movies and games, would you say that their major was pointless and still laugh at them? If an art major painted art you enjoyed? An acting major who acted out a character you liked? An English major who wrote a book you love to read? Are they all worthy of your laughter?

I’m not sure if my past example was sufficiently clear. If you majored in music, you not only gain skills useful to that field, but you also gain contacts and experience. You do things out of class that builds your resume. Sure, you won’t be making the big dollars everyone thinks one should make after college, but it doesn’t mean there is no employment opportunity. A good number of people can get by being self-employed. Busking isn’t exactly the most profitable profession, but better than not working at all.

My gripe currently is that we need to stop seeing college as a professional school. If you want a “job” in accounting, or a nuclear engineer, go to a college that specifically caters to your chosen profession. Pity that the US doesn’t adopt this form of professional training en masse. One shouldn’t have to go to college to become an accountant. That, I fairly stand by.

Unfortunately, this also brings up the issue of people who presume college is where you graduate with skills needed to be employed and become successful. You learn skills, yes, but it is the skills you learn in college that matter just as much, if not sometimes more, than your major.

Perhaps I’m defensive, but I still think it is ridiculous to criticise people who pursue art or acting in college. Is there something wrong with seeking what one wants to do? Is there something wrong in the process of doing what you enjoy in college, to make contacts with others and expand your connections? Isn’t that what college is for? Or am I perceiving a very different (and perhaps conflicting) idea of higher education in which it is meant to train you specifically for a job?

If so, it is not the person who chooses to major in art or music who is at fault. It is the education system which refuses to separate professional education from the more liberal arts education common in the US.

In the same vein, I think we should be critical of people who major in business or accounting too. They shouldn’t major in these fields thinking that there will be jobs available to them. They shouldn’t feel entitled to have anybody create jobs for them. Nor biochemists, marine biologists, volcanologists, microbiologists, etc etc.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Do we actually have freedom of speech?

As per the SD Forum Guidelines, the SD forums are for threads the propose a topic of discussion that is sufficiently elaborated on by the person starting the thread. As the thread starter, it is your onus to present your topic of discussion and address some of its implications, as well as answer or address some of the questions you ask. This is not a personal blog forum and is not meant for airing of personal thoughts.

Topic: Serious Discussion / [removed]

Please read the SD Forum Guidelines before making a thread here UnknownScuba. Subsequent infractions will result in action taken against your account.

Topic: The Arts / Random Writing

Your first one was interesting… until I got about half way through and the issues seemed very fairy-tale ish. I suppose it’s given that this is probably what you were going for, but perhaps some lead into some of the issues, like the king’s daughter being ill, earlier in the story may preface it a little better. Maybe some offhand chatter or thoughts of the protagonist. I like the fairy-tale, children’s literature feel to it, which really makes it interesting. Maybe a bit more showing by emphasising the more "fantasy"isque aspects of the scenes would be nice.

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Stories are nice when they are amusing and interesting, but a contrived story, one where events are perceived as blatantly occurring just to let the story progress, doesn’t really work as well. You might want to restructure it just to smoothen it out, but beyond that I think I quite like the more fairy-tale qualities to it (and I can’t say this enough because I don’t think fairy-tales are easy stories to write given the targeted audience).

Topic: The Arts / The Arts Forum complaint...

Originally posted by petesahooligan:

I think I’d rather see well-known artists be recruited to provide professional critiques periodically. That would spark involvement without being competitive.

i don’t think “recruited” is the right word here.

To be fair, a lot more people here are not interested in traditional art forms but digital ones, and emphasis on people versed in design would be helpful.

In the same vein, it would be great if we could have some well known writers and musicians to provide professional critiques periodically too.

Topic: Serious Discussion / SOPA will ruin the world

Please do use the existing thread here. Thanks!

Topic: Kongregate / Could Somebody Tell Me What Some Of The Letters Beside Users Mean?

I wasn’t online when you posted yours. :)

Topic: Kongregate / Could Somebody Tell Me What Some Of The Letters Beside Users Mean?

C = Cookie
M = Meanie
D = Destructinator
K = Kongaroo
R = Roomie
K+ = Kongaroo+
F = FFFffffssss!

Topic: Serious Discussion / Employment

That’s indeed an interesting perspective, Jan.

Topic: Serious Discussion / Employment

While correct in stating this, don’t supermarkets hire psychologists to tell them how to lay out their store to maximize profits?? Other than that, they serve no other purpose to the running of said store. Sorry for the horrible example, my brains running a bit fuzzy at the moment.

Perhaps a better way of phrasing is that what you majored in gives you a more specialised set of skills for a particular type of work within an industry.

Like your example, working in the supermarket industry doesn’t mean you need to have a B.A. in Communications or Business. You could have a degree in Psychology, or Accounting, or Economics, so on and so forth. Same with the medical field. You may need enough training to work in there, but there are specialisations from things like General Dentistry to Orthodontics (in Dental fields), or specialisations from Neurosurgery to Psychiatry.

Another way of looking at it, employers don’t ignore someone’s major, but they also don’t see it as the end all of your abilities. A track record of journalism in female issues with a degree in Women’s Studies will land you a journalistic job in that area much quicker than one who has a degree in Journalism. Likewise, one with an English degree isn’t likely to land in a business position without some business background.

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On another note, comparative analogies don’t work when the comparison is made with vastly differing values. I did not know that working in a hospital/medical profession needed similar training to being a journalist (not discounting the effort journalists put into their craft, but let’s be honest here and say that most “journalists” aren’t necessarily upholding the ideals of journalism presented in Larsson’s The Millennium trilogy)

Topic: Serious Discussion / Perceived communities?

Not only are we “required” by society to operate differently when in different areas. We are also expected to present various manifestations (of a theme?) of us at different times, different places, different situations,,,,depending on what is “called for”. How many dumb jokes told by the boss are heartily laughed at by employees? I’m talking about varying forms of disingenuous,,different ways we will “present” for a person we want to like us….a whole lot, lol.

Juggling all of the balls at the same time can become quite difficult and frustratingly schizo-like. It likely is the source of the saying: I need to get away from “it all”….I need a break from it all.

Haha I just noticed your post!

Pushing at the idea, would you consider the idea of an “imagined community” self enforcing? In the sense, people act like other people because it is seemingly appropriate (and hence putting on different personas in different cliques), and this idea of “appropriateness” starts reinforcing the idea of what “appropriateness” in a situation is. A community would be imagined in this sense for we all take on social norms which we think are norms because other people are doing it, but could be perhaps perpetuated by people who see other people doing them. For all possibilities, what we might deem as “norms” could very well be things that weren’t norms in the past

What may you say of that? Would the “imagined community” be self enforcing because of people’s desires to fit into a clique?