Kimberly > Recent Status Updates

“...memory is fragile and the space of a single life is brief, passing so quickly that we never get a chance to see the relationship between events; we cannot gauge the consequences of our acts, and we believe in the fiction of past, present, and future, but it may also be true that everything happens simultaneously...”

“...memory is fragile and the space of a single life is brief, passing so quickly that we never get a chance to see the relationship between events; we cannot gauge the consequences of our acts, and we believe in the fiction of past, present, and future, but it may also be true that everything happens simultaneously...”

memory is fragile and the space of a single life is brief, passing so quickly that we never get a chance to see the relationship between events; we cannot gauge the consequences of our acts, and we believe in the fiction of past, present, and future, but it may also be true that everything happens simultaneously

I have to take a break from reading this because it's so damn scary. 3

I enjoy reading anything by Isaac Marion slowly because each chapter is like poetry to me, even the parts about blood and guts. Morbid and weird, I know. <3

"Standing above everybody is lonely--I knew that from experience. I liked the idea of being with everybody."

....

I can't put this book down. I leave it on the table and just stare at it. Eventually, I pick it up again...even if it's just to hold it, carry it around with me like a blanket. <3

On page 61, Amanda Palmer explains her friend Lee's passion and I have realized over the years that I am the same: I prefer to play a supporting role, and I thrive doing it, I take pleasure in holding the spotlight for others to run around in. I have known I was altruistic for quite some time, but to see it written down and hear that others are like this gives me more strength to love.

THE CARRION GODS IN THEIR HEAVEN: Carrion means the decaying flesh of dead animals. It perfectly explains the obvious events that take place in the story. However, it also explains the not so obvious by metaphorically describing what happens to us when we give up the fight and are consumed.

"...even when we directly observe people, we can end up with inaccurate beliefs about the groups to which they belong."

In the process of inheriting the wisdom of our culture, it is inevitable that we also will inherit its ignorance too.

human beings arrive with brains that do much of their developing within the very environments in which they ultimately must function. The fact that our underdeveloped brains are specifically shaped by the unique social and physical environment into which we are born is one of the main reasons why we are so adaptable. (pp.428)

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” pp. 321

"If we are to live in a world worth passing on to coming generations, we must seek
harmony between technology and the natural environment. This will not be easy...What is at stake is nothing less than the welfare of planet Earth. Surely this
should be enough to motivate us to make wise choices." pp. 498

"...enrolling in women’s studies courses, I want to suggest that there is a more essential experience that you owe yourselves, one which courses in women’s studies can greatly enrich, but which finally depends on you, in all your interactions with yourself and your world. This is the experience of taking responsibility toward your selves." pp. 29

“…feminism is a movement to end sexist oppression [towards men and women]" pp. 39

"...all of us fail to teach the most important thing, which is that clear thinking, active discussion & excellent writing are all necessary for intellectual freedom, & that these require hard work."

"I reach inside the feelings part of my brain and fish around to try to get a grip on how I’m reacting to all of this. I feel a mix of things, I guess, but it’s somehow more good than bad. "(p. 185) - my thoughts exactly.

“It is a goddamn miracle to be alive at all,” he says. “To be conscious of the world around you and try to understand its mysteries. Maybe life isn’t some grand narrative with a spectacular ending like you might want. It’s a series of moments. They might seem too random to add up to mean something huge, but they each mean the world on their own..."

Blackwood's Baby has tons of Gothic elements with a "charming" Byronic hero

"[We're] successful in [convincing] almost everyone to want cultural goals (success such as wealth or prestige). But we are far from successful when it comes to providing everyone access to the institutionalized means (the legitimate ways to success). People who find their way to success blocked can come to see the institutionalized goals (such as working hard or pursuing higher education) as not applying to them."

Sociologists Gresham Sykes and David Matza (1957/1988) studied five techniques of neutralization (through boys who were in gangs or caused mischief). Really, techniques of neutralization are excuses that are made to justify what you did (or are doing) was right.

The story is taking so many crazy turns. Not at all what I was expecting. Some of these things I can't believe happened! I think it's a dream sequence but then it's never that.

Clever details of the transformation from human to vampire. Sometimes explaining ruins the mystery, but not in this case.

I just had the pleasure of witnessing how a human turns into a vampire. Wow & Eew!

“Lumpy oatmeal phenomenon” beats the "small world phenomenon": Kleinfeld says, “Rather than living in a small
world, we may live in a world that looks like a bowl of lumpy oatmeal, with many small
worlds loosely connected and perhaps some small worlds not connected at all.” So, the "small world" only exists when referring to Kevin Bacon ("six degrees of Kevin Bacon")

"Tell Miriam I'm sorry for whatever I did." Freaking breaks my heart!