seasons fully labeled

so here it is, the link to my fully labeled seasons composition. this took time and effort so be sure to tell what you think. though nobody seems to care what i say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Y4-6U1Hi0&feature=youtu.be

the life and times of sp_on episode 19

episode 19: from the heart of stone


life can be confusing sometimes; one second everything is perfect, then everything burns down right in front of you. how could we know when the world is going to end? how important are the things we own and what we have done when we reach the end? i believe that we are held down by the things we own and the deeds weve done.
i wonder sometimes if living a normal life is ever even worth it. i may be a home owner and have a place to live and tons of expensive things, but whats a good life without someone to share it with? my monthly budget is 700 dollars, since i live on disability. life can be lived when your income is under the countries average; its about how you manage your money.
i shop for clothes at goodwill, only eat when im hungry, i dont drink or smoke, i rarely consume beef and pork, and im both allergic to milk and lactose intolerant. i live off so littel because i know how to be frugal. i taught myself how to do pretty much everything. i learned how to write, read, cook, clean, do laundry, wash dishes, bake, repair things, compose music, tie my shoes, and all my english and math skills; all on my own.
i didnt have the grace of having a stay-at-home mother, and my dad cooked just as much as my mother did. i was raised in a family where all duties were shared by both parents, and as such grew up being used to that life. because of how i grew up i understood that only by two people giving 100% to each other can the couple truly experience the love of a relationship. you cannot expexct others to service you if all you do is service yourself.

labeled year of the penguin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1vckGmtU24&feature=youtu.be

i have finally taken the time and effort to list all the stages of my year of the penguin song. not that anybody really cares, but you can now click to hear the different parts. soon i will be loading another music video in the same method.

spirit log episode 9: the harbinger butterfly

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/17/15966374-were-broken-newtown-begins-burying-its-littlest-victims?lite
the harbinger butterfly:

i once stumbled upon a graveyard just like this. there wasnt a tombstone with a child that was over 15 years old. most of the children werent even over the age of 8. i followed a beautiful butterfly that kept flying around me. it would land and wait for me to get within 5 feet of it before it started flying again. it was like the little guy WANTED me to follow him. i eventually found a cemetary full of headstones. some headstones were broken and shattered whil others were intact. and grave after grave brought me more and more sorrow. it was like a graveyard of slaughtered children. i started to cry, realizing that the parents of these kids probably never knew they would die like this. it made mee relook how i view my life. for anyone who thinks they have a crappy life, they clearly have never been to a cemetary. i pray those children didnt suffer. as for the conn. victims, i KNOW that they didnt suffer. the survivors will never be able to get over what happened.

tis the season....to be funny

so a blind man is getting ready to celebrate the fourth of july with his wife and kids. he tells them hes going to go fishing and cook what he catches for dinner. the blind man is out all day, and as his wife is about to call him he opens the front door and walks in the house.
"hey honey! im back; man you should have been there! i caught two of the biggest fish i have ever seen!"
said the blind man.
to which his wife responded,
"thats great dear, but could you please explain who those two women with you are?"

i get paid in peanuts where i work. so to everyone out there, does anyone want my nuts in their mouth?

Q: what are the special olympics called in mexico?
A: border jumping

Q: where do the olympic runners keep all their personal belongings?
A: in the pole vault of course.

Q: so why arent their any bisexual biships?

A: because they can only move diagonally.

from the eyes of a roach episode 9

The Humanistic Theory: What Makes Us Who We Are?

By: Sam Pernicano

 

So what makes us, us? In order to answer this question we have to think about the different cultures across the world.

The world is full of culture; each country has its own individual culture and their own holidays.  Some countries celebrate similar holidays such as Italy and Spain, which celebrate Marti Gras and the day of the dead.  Just about every country in the world celebrates Christmas, but for some countries such as Saudi Arabia, you can be killed for just having a Christmas tree in your house.  In America if you call someone an idiot, you are calling them stupid, but if you use that word in Italy, Germany, and other countries, you are calling someone an asshole (the pronunciation and spelling varies).  Just for the record, idiot in German is (dumkof).

A little bit of culture for you; in America it is traditional to celebrate Christmas.  In Rome, Italy they have a holiday on January 6 called epiphany that celebrates the “twelfth day of Christmas” it celebrates a Santa Clause like figure that rides around on a broom and drops down chimneys to deliver gifts.  Don’t believe me? Look it up, I'm Italian, and I should know this stuff.

We just recently celebrated the Chinese New Year; I bet you American people didn’t even know that.  It was on Valentines Day.  It wont be on Valentines Day again for another 60 years or so.  Why am I telling you about all these holidays? It’s the holidays that each and every country looks forward to each year.  America has Veterans Day, Italy has liberation day.  They are basically the same thing, but given different names.  Why? Because of the cultural differences between the countries.

Back at the dawn of mankind, we only had one culture, one language, and one society.  We spoke the same language, wore the same clothes, followed the same rules, and lived the same way.  As the world evolved, so did we.  We began to move to new and better places, we began to create new languages, we began to create new rules, and we began to create our own individual societies.

This is how the world was created as it is today (scientifically).  There are cultures like India, where the cow is sacred and is worshiped like a deity.  There were cultures like Russia when they were afraid of the loss of communism in Europe after WWII, which brought around the cold war.  There are cultures like china that shun against having female children and used to kill female infants.  Then there’s the American culture.

American culture is by far the most unique of any country in the world.  We are no better than anyone else; it is only our vast amount of different cultures that make us unique.  As everyone knows, America began as only 13 states.  After defeating the British, America was granted the right to be a free nation.  As time went by, those 13 states grew and grew, eventually becoming the 50 states we have today (excluding Iraq and Afghanistan, does anybody else think our country is trying to create new states there? I mean seriously, why are we there? Anyways…).

We have so many cultures that make up our society.  That means that there are a lot of different people here with different values, beliefs, social rules, and religions that live in our country.  These are just some of the things that make us who we are, but what makes us, us? Not us as a nation, not us as a culture, but us as people, what makes us who we are?

To answer that let me bring out a psychologists favorite thing about human nature studies, nature verses nurture.  For those of you that don’t know what this means, nature is what you have obtained through genetics.  Things such as bodily figure, eyes, hair, skin color, and height are examples of nature.  Nurture is what you obtain through your surroundings.  Things like the friends you choose, the way your parents raise you, the people you date, and the values you are taught, are examples of nurture.  I myself am the exception to the nurture rule; the way I am today has very little to do with the way I was raised, but enough of that.

Lets talk about nature for a second, say you have a father with blue eyes, brown hair, who is of average build and is five feet eight inches tall.  Then say you have a mother who has blonde hair and blue eyes, has a slim slender athletic body and is five feet three inches tall.  What would you look like? 

You might think that you would have blue eyes and blonde hair, but blue eyes are a recessive trait when it comes to genes.  Because both your parents have blue eyes you would have a high chance of having blue eyes, having a mix of blonde and blonde and brown hair and will probably reach a height of five feet six inches and be of an average bodily build.  That is a VERY rough estimate of what you might look like.  When it comes to nature, you not only have to consider traits from your parents, but also your grandparents and great grandparents.  I actually ended up with blue eyes, and nobody in my family except my great grandfather had blue eyes.  (Of course they changed at age 15, but that doesn’t matter.)  As for nurture, that is the main part of this explanation of why we are who we are.

Our parents try to raise us as best as possible.  They teach us right from wrong, they tell us how to act appropriately in social situations, and they show us the love and compassion that lets us know that they care.  They basically raise us till we become teenagers and hit puberty, where most of us rebel against them and constantly get grounded.

It’s all about whether we use what our parents taught us when we are old enough to go out on our own.  Like dating, hanging out with friends, going to parties, going to concerts or sporting events, and going off to college, where our true abilities are tested.  If our parents raised us right, we will make the right decisions and keep ourselves out of trouble.

The times of adolescence from ages 13-18 are the hardest times of not only a parent’s life, but also the Childs.  Think back to when you first began to get freedom from your parents.  Think about how you were allowed to go out later and later as you got older, and how you could do just about anything you wanted without your parents ever finding out.. 

Friends, why do we make them? Why do we choose the people we do? Why do our friends sometimes betray us? From the lowly young ages of preschool, we begin making friends.  In preschool they are called “playmates”.  Even then we have a reason for the people we choose to be friends with. 

Here's some interesting information that most of you may already know: young girls tend to form small groups of friends and play imaginary games like, “house”.  Young girls prefer to be in groups rather then in pairs.  Young boys usually go off and explore around.  Young boys prefer to hang out in pairs or in groups of three.  Young boys are much more physical with their playtime than young girls.

Now lets make a BIG jump to age 13.  Once children reach adolescence at the age of 13, they begin choosing their friends more carefully.  This is the point that most boys and girls are leaving middle school and are entering high school.  This is where a big change happens.

In high school there are multiple races, cultures, social groupings, and ages.  This is where a child is truly tested on how their parent(s) raised them.  If they make the right decisions, they will choose the right friends and will stay out of trouble.  If they make the wrong decisions, they will pick the wrong friends and may end up getting in trouble.

In high school you have multiple races: white, African American, Latino, Indian, Asian, etch.  You have multiple social groupings: cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, band geeks, Goths, popular kids, unpopular kids, bullies, seniors (yes it’s a social grouping, its just not well known), freshmen (people don’t always pick on the freshmen), etc.  Then you have a multitude of ages.  There are freshmen that are still 13 and some seniors that may be 20 or older.  These things can make it very hard to fit in.  However, if you can find a group of people or just one person that you’re comfortable with, you can fit in. 

That brings us to the question, why do we choose the friends we do? Well think back to high school again, when you went in as a freshman what did you expect? (Other that the seniors to come over and shove your head in a toilet).  If you liked to play music, you might join the band, but when people may call you a band geek you probably would deny it.  If you like sports you might join a sporting team.  If you were a good player, your team would like you and would befriend you.  However, if you lost a game people might insult you or complain about you.  If you liked to dance you might join the dance team or the cheerleading squad.  What if you lost a competition and people got angry with you? If you were smart and you got really good grades you might make friends with the other smart people.  If somebody yanked your underwear over your head as a prank, what would you do? If you were really attractive and knew how to work guys and manipulate girls like they were putty in your hands and you became one of the most popular girls in the school, what would you do if some guy you dated called slut and told you to leave your friends? If you were one of the tough guys in the school and you hung out with the other tough guys, what would you do if someone told you to make some new friends? If you were always being picked on, if you were constantly being beaten up, if nobody cared about you, but you found comfort in a group of kids that were in the same situation as you, what would you do if your parents told you to make some new and happier friends? If your favorite color was black, if you loved to wear piercing and wear dark make up and you found a group of people who did the same as you, what would you do if somebody tried to make you leave them and dress differently?

Now think about all those scenarios in order: the band geek, the jock, the cheerleader, the nerd, the popular kid, the bully, the loser, and the Goth, they were all given scenarios that each person may likely face.  Have you ever been any of those kids? Would you leave the friends your with? No you wouldn’t.  Why? Because we as human beings find comfort in familiarity.  When we find someone or a group of people that make us feel comfortable or happy, we do not like being told to leave them, nor do we want to leave them.  We would rather go on being with the people that make us happy than change our ways and find a whole new group.  That is why we choose the friends we do, and why we stay with them through thick and thin.

Why do friends sometimes betray us? Say that you are a guy who is dating a beautiful blonde haired, blue-eyed girl.  Your best friend is very happy for you, but spring break comes up and your parents want you to come with them from college to visit your grandparents.  You let your girlfriend know that you are going to be gone for a while and when spring break comes around, you leave.

When you get back you call your girlfriend to see if she wants to go out on a romantic date to make up for missing her over spring break, but you cant reach her.  After a week of not hearing back from her you go to your best friends place to see if he knows what is going on.  When you get there you catch your best friend and girlfriend locking lips on the couch.

You find out from your friend that he secretly has been envying you and the girl you have been dating.  He had liked her just as much as you, but he says that you had gotten to her first.  You ask your girlfriend why she was kissing him and she says that it was “a moment of weakness” and that “it will never happen again”.

Later on your girlfriend informs you that she had an emotional breakdown while you were gone and that she couldn’t reach you.  So she called the second closest person to you, your best friend.  She talks about how he was so compassionate and how he was there in her time of need.

Long story short, friends can sometimes betray each other when there’s something that one wants that the other doesn’t have.  Here’s another example this is for you girls.

Your best friend really likes this guy, she is crazy about him.  However, she is afraid to ask him out.  You keep telling her to just go up to him and talk to him, but she doesn’t. 

Eventually you convince her to ask him out and he says yes.  After her first date with him she begins to tell you every detail of the date.  You are very happy that she is dating this guy she is crazy about so you don’t mind.

Suddenly you get a call on your cell phone from your boyfriend.  He says he needs to tell you something.  When you see your boyfriend he comes right out and tells you that he’s leaving you for someone else.  Heartbroken, you return home and sleep it off.

Over the period of the next three weeks, all your friend talks about is her “amazing” and “special” boyfriend.  Eventually you become very jealous and aggravated.  You begin to get tired of hearing of your friends stupid boyfriend and eventually you take her phone out of her purse while she is in the bathroom at the mall.

You take her phone and smash it to the ground out of anger and frustration.  When your friend comes out, you tell her that her phone fell out of her purse and that somebody stepped on it.  You know that your friends phone was her life and that it was the only way she had of contacting her boyfriend.  You feel somewhat better but you realize that you may have just ruined your friendship.

Another example of betrayal, caused by frustration and jealousy.

So what do all of these things have to do with who we are as a person? Well our genetics, the way our parents raise us, the friends we choose, the choices we make, the actions we take, our culture, our race, and the way we think are what make us unique.  They are what make us who we are.  They are what make us, us.  They are also the things that make every single one of us, human.

from the eyes of a roach episode 8

Human Thesis: Why Are We Here?

By: Sam Pernicano

 

So here we are again, answering another commonly asked question, “why am I here?”  What do I mean by this?  We this is a variation from the question that the religious people ask, “what did god put me on this earth for?” though I believe in god, I am forcing myself to strictly keep religion out of my writing as best as possible, because I am answering things from a scientific and psychological perspective, I cannot use religion in my writing.  So lets work on answering this question, “why am I here?”

This time I am going back, but not all the way back.  I am going back to your birth.  From your birth you have no mental capabilities of your own.  You cannot think, act, or eat on your own.  You are basically susceptible too whomever you come into contact with.  Once you begin gaining the capabilities of thought, this is where your “path of destiny” begins.  It continues all the way into college, and even after you get out of college and get a job.

Once you are capable of the concept of thought anything you interact with or come into contact with begin to create mental knowledge in your brain.  The things that make you happy will make you happy when you get older.  The things that make you sad will make you sad when you get older.  The things that scare you will scare you when you get older.

Eventually you will reach childhood and will be able to speak a complete basic vocabulary, walk on your own, think like a normal person, and will contain the fears, likes, and dislikes that you had as an infant.  Now childhood is where you really begin to understand your place in the world.  Let me make a quick note, in the agricultural revolution, children grew up and were forced to work the farms, there was no college.  During the industrial revolution, children worked the factories; there was no college then either.  During the great depression, most children lived in the streets or died of starvation. 

Those children in the agricultural revolution were put on the earth to supply their family with food and supplies. Most of the children in the industrial revolution were put on the earth to work the factories so that the manufacturing industries could continue.  The children that died in the great depression were put on this earth to show the world the harshness that the destruction of a society can do.  The children starving in the street were put on the planet to encourage the nation to work harder to get back together so that they could feed and take care of their citizens again.

Today children have access to multiple types of schools, education types, technologies, tools, and food.  We have truly gone a long way.  Now back to the main story, childhood.

In preschool is where some people begin learning who they are.  I became a builder in preschool; I would take the lego's that they had and build ridiculously complicated creations.  I’m not talking about random objects.  I once built a spaceship out of lego’s, in preschool.  Do you know what most of the other kids were doing? Drooling, running around, and falling on their faces.  I once beat a kid up for breaking one of my creations.  My creation skills and love of building with lego’s and k-nex lasted till the end of high school.

How about you? What did you do in preschool? Some kids begin their discovery in preschool.  Let's move on to kindergarten.  Do you remember kindergarten, learning to read, write, and socially interact with others?  What about that all popular, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I had one girl who said she wanted to be a tree, I kid you not, she seriously said that.  When in came to me, I just said, “I don’t know”, because ii don’t believe in making future plans.  The world is constantly changing; human nature is constantly changing and evolving.  New technology is being developed.  I make my plans short term, because I know that they will change.  How many of you had made plans for a party, date, or event that had to be changed? How many of you ever had to change your plans about a girl or guy? How many of you changed your plans about college? Marriage? Like I said, the world around us and the people in it are constantly changing.  It’s very easy to get stuck on an idea and have that idea come crashing to the ground.  Lets move on.  Form kindergarten to your first year in middle school.

How many of you in middle school began to take an interest in specific things? How many of you joined sports teams? How many of you joined the band? How many of you joined certain clubs and after school activities?  I joined the band in my 7^th grade year and have been a drummer since.  I am currently writing music of my own and have a percussive piece that is being arranged to be played by the Louisville youth orchestra.  (So what if it’s a bunch of kids, what have you done with your life again?)

As you reach your final years in middle school, you prepare for your entrance to high school.  For those of you who were popular, you start back at the bottom rung of the ladder.  For those of you that were cool, you are losers again.  High school is where a person REALLY begins to find their purpose in life.  This is where the world prepares you for college and the major that you want to follow.

Let me ask you another question, how many of you kept the same interests when you went from middle to high school? How many of you stayed in the band? How many of you stayed on sports teams? How many of you changed your minds? For those of you that had a complete change in your personality in high school, you’re not much different than most other people your age at that time.  From the ages of 13-18, this is a period of time in which people seek out and, “find their selves”.  It is during this period that people will try different things to see what they like and don’t like.  This is the period of time that people find out what kind of people they are compatible with to date or make friends.  This is the period in which every human being reaches puberty.

While you were in high school, did you have any favorite classes? How many of you had trouble with math? Science? English? If you had trouble with any of these classes you weren’t alone.  These are by far the most common classes that I heard students complaining about throughout high school, and even today in college.  Math is probably the most popular, followed by science, then English.  I will tell you this; these three subjects come in very handy when holding a job in today’s economy.  They also hold the world together. 

The geometric shapes and angles have been in existence for many years in building structures, roads, and things as simple as drawing a picture on a piece of paper.  Algebraic equations are used everywhere, in velocity testing on vehicles, and something we all know very well but rarely think about, gravity.  Biology, the study of the life sciences, allows us to have the knowledge that we need to understand the basic knowledge of the living things on earth.  Chemistry teaches us things about how things interact with each other, why baking soda interacts with vinegar (mix an acid with a base, you get a salt).  Chemistry teaches us why it is important to recycle, because plastics never break down.  Why? Because they are made of super long, super strong, chains of polymers that do not break down.  Without chemistry we would have never built the atomic bomb, because we would have never known about the atom, let alone known that splitting it causes a microcosmic scale explosion.  Physics teaches us how science and math work together to create the world, as we know it.  Without Isaac Newton we wouldn’t even have physics.  Now lets move on to the end of high school, the college experience.

After high school, most students head off to college.  Some students know exactly what they want to major in and they have it burned into the back of their mind, some students have an idea on what they want to major in, some students have an interest or a hobby that drives them toward a specific major, and some students are still searching for who they are and why they were put on the earth to begin with.  If you are undecided when you come in to college, or even after your first year, don’t be bummed out.  As the statistics go, most college freshmen don’t know what they want to major in, some until their third year. 

I started as a mechanical engineering major at Purdue, transferred to WKU and changed my major to physics, then went to math education, then went to science education, now I am currently at science education and am thinking about switching to psychology.  Most college students are likely to change their major at least once in their time in college.  Guess what, even when you have a job you still may change your mind.  Some people even go back to school in their late 30’s or around 40 just because they have lost interest in their current career, for monetary reasons, or for some other reason.

When you find the major for you, stick with it and work you’re hardest to complete it.  I will say this sadly; it is a fact that there are quite a few freshmen that don’t even make it through their first year, for whatever the reason.  I feel really bad for people like that.  I bet you guys are tired of hearing this, but it is true, getting a college degree will ensure that you get paid much more than if you only have a high school diploma.  However, college is expensive, all that tuition costs a crap load of money.  In my opinion, they should really either lower tuition, or offer more scholarships to a wider myriad of categorizations.

After college comes the time to apply for a job.  If you got lucky, you may have already gotten your job.  Applying for a job is a very hard thing to do, depending on what you majored in.  There’s this weird theory that I heard a long time ago that was kind of interesting, someone said that you are more likely to be hired if you wear jeans to an interview. 

Anybody else ever hear that, or try it? I can think of several cases where that is a VERY bad idea.  Can you imagine the look on the bosses face if you showed up to apply for a lifeguard position at a beach in jeans? I mean seriously, they would kick you away faster than Donald trump can pull a hundred dollar bill out of his wallet.  Think about this one: you apply to be a diving instructor at a water park, and you show up in jeans.  They would think you are dumber than a politician with no American background knowledge.

Seriously though, when it comes to job interviews people lie on their resumes.  People put the craziest things on their resumes.  I would love it if somebody set up a website with the funniest and stupidest things that people wrote.  I’m not picking on people, it’s just that the big heads of businesses are tough on the people they want to hire, and they want only the very best.  It’s kind of like applying to college all over again, except that you can say that you are a descendent of Jesus when applying to be a pastor for a church (just kidding).

While telling the truth is the right thing to do, I have to agree with the rest of the world here, lying on a resume for a job is acceptable if the incentive is that you REALLY need or want the job.  Just remember one important fact, if you lie, say something that you can ACTUALLY get away with.  Say something that either cant be traced or researched, or put on a good suck up act so that they don’t question you.  If you get the job then you are one step closer to discovering why you’re here.

For those of you still in college asking, “why am I here?” that question can be answered simply by looking back at your past accomplishments.  Look at all the things you’ve done with your life so far, good or bad.  What have you accomplished? Who have you helped? Who have you hurt? Who have you loved? Who has loved you? Who have you lost?

Then think about your parents.  How did they raise you? Did they love you? Did they take care of you? Did you do anything for them? Did you do anything to hurt them in the time you have been alive?

Now its time for a really big brain blow, ask yourself this one VERY important question, what would have happened if I had never been born? Think about all the questions you just answered before this one.  Had you not been born, all the things you accomplished, all the people you helped, all the people you hurt, all the people you loved, all the people that loved you, everyone that you lost, it all would have never happened.  Imagine all those people that were upset that you were there for, imagine all the people you loved and dated, imagine all those people that fell in love with you.  What would have become of them?  What about your parents? Had you never been born, your parents would have had a special part of their life missing from them.

So next time you ask yourself, “Why am I here?” think back to all the things you have done, and be happy that you are here and that you are who you are.  Think about what the future might hold for you and keep your head high.  Just remember that the world and everything in it is constantly changing, and never lose faith in what you believe.

from the eyes of a roach episode 6

Human Interest Theory: Why Do People Die?

By: Sam Pernicano

 

“So why do people die?” this is a very commonly asked question among people.  Usually when they lose a close loved one or a best friend.  This is one of the hardest questions to answer because sometimes death can come so suddenly and unexpectedly and no cause can be found.  It is at this time that people question their faith if they have a religion.

We as a society have set many rules and values that we are supposed to follow.  Some are required such as laws and some are just expected of us as citizens such as social skills and cultural values.  One expectation is the example of the USA and how it’s considered an insult to display a confederate flag or put up an American flag at night without shedding light on it.

The USA has a vast amount of different cultures.  This is both good and bad.  I’ll give you a good example: vast cultures means that an average Caucasian white male or female will experience multiple different kinds of cultural values and races in their lifetime in school.  This will enrich them with the knowledge of other cultures that they wouldn’t ever get to know had they been living in a different country.

A bad example: multiple cultures means multiple cultural values.  Human beings by nature are taught to be proud of their heritage.  This pride can get out of hand when a person develops the idea that their culture is better than everyone else’s.  This is especially the case when a child reaches puberty and enters high school.  This can lead to fights or arguments that end up in someone getting hurt.

While we all know the rules and laws of society, and we all have the correct social skills to function as a whole, we as human beings don’t like to use them.  Human beings by nature are creatures of habit, are impatient, and flat out, most of us don’t like being told what to do.  People get used to speaking in a way that feels comfortable to them and they continue to this their whole life.  Sometimes a person will tell someone that the way they talk is offensive, but most people, instead of correcting the way they talk, will go find people that speak the same way as them.

A very good example is racism.  People may think it doesn’t exist as much now, but racism has taken a new form.  Making remarks about a group of people that are solely based on the specific group is the new form racism has taken.  If you look in junior high and high schools you will see it everywhere.  While people may not realize it, inside a high school is a multitude of mini “races”.  Cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, Goths, band geeks, they are all types of races, just in a high school setting. 

Students in high and junior high schools make rude comments about each other all the time.  The jocks talk rude about the nerds, the cheerleaders about the band geeks, the band geeks about the cheerleaders.  When someone finds out that they have been being made fun of, sometimes they may confront the person or somebody else will confront them to tell them that what they are doing is wrong.  Most people, instead of correcting their behavior will simply find someone else who acts the same as them.  Human beings seek comfort in those who are similar to them.

 

So what does all this have to do with the original question, “why do people die?” well it actually has a lot to do with the question.  From the day we are born to the day we die, we are judged by society for the things we do, the choices we make, and the way we act.  If we make the right decisions and act appropriately, we will live a life of happiness and pleasure.  If we make the wrong decisions and decide to ignore the norms and rules set for us by society, we will live a life of sadness and sorrow.

To understand the question, “why do people die”, you need to look back in time.  If it’s your mother and father, think back to how they raised you.  Did they raise you right? Were they a good parent? Did they live a good life? Where are you today? If they raised you right and they showed you love and kindness, if they lived a good life and you’re a better person because of it, then you should look up into the sky and say, “thank you for all you’ve done for me.” 

If it’s the loss of a friend, think back to when you first met.  What were you both like?  As your friendship went on, did you or your friend change? What were the best moments you ever had together? What were the funniest? What were the saddest? Has your friend made you better in any way? Were you still friends when they died? By remembering the best and funniest moments you and your friend had together, you can cheer yourself up.  By remembering the saddest moments you and your friend had together, you can remember how you and your friend got through your hardest times.  If your friend has made you better in any way, then they have done their job.  If you were still friends when your friend died then you will never lose your friend.  Your friend will always be with you inside your heart.

If it’s the loss of a spouse, think about all the time you spent together. Think about your spouse.  Did they live a good life? Were you still in love when they died? Do you have any kids? Look back on what they did with their life; did they live their life well?

If they lived a good life, if they lived their life well, if you were still in love when they died, then they died happy.  Because love is eternal, even though you vow, “till death do us part”, your spouse will never leave your heart.  If you have kids then that’s just one more reason to be happy.  You have a little piece of your spouse to raise as your own and teach the way of the world. 

If it’s the loss of a pet, just think about all the time you spent together.  “Did you have fun? Did your pet love you? Did you love your pet? Was your pet happy? If you had fun, if your pet loved you, if you loved your pet, if your pet was happy, then your pet died happy.   If you truly loved your pet, then your love will live on into the next pet you get if you get another one.

Whether it’s a loss of a mother, a father, a grandparent, a friend, a spouse, or even just a pet, the loss of a life is hard to take.  However, you should realize that death is part of life and that everybody dies at some point.  Nobody lives forever, because the laws of nature would not allow it.  People must die so that we can move on with our life and go to bigger and better things.  While it does take some people longer than others to get over the loss of a loved one, eventually the sadness will pass.  Just talk to people about it and hang out with anybody that makes you happy. 

The worst thing a person can do in the instance of the loss of a loved one is isolate their self.  This is the worst possible thing that a person can do at a time like this, but human beings by nature when they are upset will isolate themselves or keep their problems to themselves.  It is VERY important that you tell someone that you are upset about the loss.  The best person is someone close to you.  Hanging out with people that make you happy and doing things you find fun also help.

I hope this helped explain the answer to the question, “why do people die?” I did my best to answer the question as completely as possible.  I hope you find this adequate enough to answer your question

from the eyes of a roach episode 5 (dating part 1)

The Psychosocial Perspective: Dating and Relationships Part 1: Dating and Why Break Ups Occur

By: Sam Pernicano

Relationships, that’s a hard subject to discuss without someone beating the living snot out of another person.  Given the approach, the subject of relationships and break ups can be discussed without the threat of a second world war.  To start the discussion, we need to go back, way back.

When man first walked the earth it was natural for a boy to like a girl.  Back then we were hunters and gatherers, so a woman would choose to stay with the man who could protect her and supply her with the most food and shelter.  You can see that in almost any animal today.

As we learned to domesticate animals and the agricultural revolution came around, our values changed.  Now women chose to be with men for the same basic reasons, however, love was beginning to form in the air.

Once we reached the industrial revolution, women were marrying for love but still kept the original reasons deep in their minds.  There were still girls out there that were being forced into arranged marriages.  Families would have daughters and make them as beautiful as possible so as to offer them to rich and wealthy men in return for their money.  This was mostly done in other countries.

After WWII in the USA, the women began to enter the work force.  During WWII women were forced to work the factories and make the weapons and materials needed because all or most of the men had gone to war.  As women began to enter the work force, the country began to cry out in frustration against them.  Before WWII the women’s job was to get married, have kids, and stay home and take care of the children and the home.

The outcry against the women eventually led to the women’s rights movement.

Women were tired of being treated like “slaves of the house” and they wanted change.  They wanted to be able to vote, they wanted to be able to vote.  Eventually women got what they wanted and were granted their rights.

Today women have equal rights compared to men, but there’s something that I want you to think about.  Though women have equal rights, they are still suffering more than men.  Women are paid less, suffer with intense emotional cycles due to their menstrual cycles, become a wreck after metapose, are much more emotional than guys, and usually take break ups harder than guys do.

I’m not trying to be a complete jerk but girls just seem to be very delicate members of the human race that require tender love and care.  They deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion loved and admired for who they are and not what they are, and told that they look good even when they don’t.

 

Now for all you girls out there who have boyfriends, husbands, or have just ever dated.  Think about this, you go with the boys you do for a reason.  But when you feel scared, who’s usually the first person you call? When you need a place to crash who would you rather go to, some random guy, or your boyfriends place? If you wanted to go out on a date to a restaurant who would you call? 

Go back to the very beginning, why did women go to the men they did? Because the men they went to could supply them with the nourishment, shelter, and protection that they need.  Tell me this, have you ever dated a guy who didn’t protect you, provide you with his house or dorm at a moments notice if you had no place to stay, and would take you out to eat at a moments notice?

 

For all you guys out there, there’s nothing that a girl wants to do more than please her “man”.  If there’s one thing I've learned from being a guy, it’s that a guy likes to feel useful in a relationship.  When a guy is in a relationship with a girl and he doesn’t feel useful it makes him feel like something is wrong.

When it comes to girls, it’s not a competition.  So don’t go punching each other to the moon over just one girl.  Eventually you will find someone.

Something else that you guys need to learn, show some compassion! Girls love guys who share their emotions, just don’t be public about it and don’t show too much.  Girls can be emotional at times and when they are its good to be able to be emotional back.  Trust me, it will greatly benefit you in the end.  When you’re there for a girl when she is very upset and crying, you might be the only person she knows that she can reach. 

Being there for your girl in her times of need will greatly strengthen your relationship.  The stronger your relationship is, the less likely either one of you is likely to cheat on each other.

On a final note, remember one thing, always keep the lid down, she always looks good, treat her respect, love her for who she is and not what she is, and your relationship will prosper.

 

Now onto a more touchy subject, break ups, and why they happen.  It’s actually due to a psychological effect that begins deep within the brain halfway through the relationship and eventually covers the entire brain.

When the relationship begins it starts as a spark, as everyone says, but I'm not talking about a feeling, I’m talking about a literal spark in the brain that creates a chain reaction that results in the lust that you feel when you see the person.  Every time you see this person, the exact same spark goes off in the exact same place and you feel the exact same emotion.  As you get to know the person better and the relationship gets stronger, the lust turns into love, and the spark gets larger and larger and covers more and more area of the brain.  As you get to know the person, eventually you get to that shining moment in the relationship, the first kiss.

To discuss the first kiss lets go back a little bit.  Lets go back to your days in middle school (or junior high as the politically correct people like to call it).  For all of you that dated in middle school, do you remember what it was like? It was a whole new world, you were maturing and growing up and you really liked some guy or girl, but you were extremely nervous about asking them out.  Or maybe you were one of those people who was outgoing and didn’t let their nervousness get in their way.  You went over and just said, “Would you like to go out sometime?” (Or something like that).  Or maybe you were the secret lover type.  You would secretly admire a girl or guy from afar and maybe even slip notes into their locker or something like that.  Or you could have been one of the VERY common aggressive lover types.  You would begin to like a person, but instead of showing that you like them, you pick on them.  You tease them, you bully them, and you pick on them.  This is very common in middle and elementary schools and is mostly done by boys.

No matter what kind of person you are when it comes to love, it all comes down to one thing, getting someone to go on a date with you.  Let me speak to the girls first.  Girls, do you remember when you were in middle school and high school and you liked a boy? Do you remember the countless amounts of time you spent on your appearance to try to impress him? It is a fact that this is less significant as the female subconscious matures, but think about it, when has a woman ever stopped worrying about her appearance? Girls, do you remember feeling butterflies in your stomach whenever you were around or with that boy? Well let me tell you this, even into marriage when you find that one special man that makes all your dreams come true, you will always have butterflies in your stomach every time you see the one you love.

Now boys, do you remember how when you went on your first date with a girl? How about the second? How about the third? How many of you got a talking to from the girl’s father.  Yeah, you know what I’m talking about for those of you that have.  Do you remember how when you dated I’m middle school you were limited in where you could go?  Then suddenly you were in high school and you had a car.  Now you could go just about anywhere.  For those of you that had to talk to the girl’s fathers, do you remember how awkward it was? (Maybe it wasn’t for some of you.) Let me tell you something, for those of you that had to speak to the girls fathers before you could date the girl, just wait till marriage.  Dads DO NOT like losing their daughters to jerks and losers.  So you better have learned something and put on a good act if her dad happens to talk to you if you want to marry that wonderful woman.

Now lets get to that subject we have all been waiting for, the first kiss.  Lets play out the scenario: you and your boyfriend or girlfriend has been dating for some time now.  You REALLY like each other.  You are out somewhere doing something either romantic or just fun.  As the date progresses you and your boyfriend or girlfriend pass each other passing glances.  Eventually the date ends and you are on the doorstep of your girlfriends or boyfriends house.  You are staring deeply into each other’s eyes as you say your goodbyes.  Then it happens, one or both of you close in and kiss.

This is somewhat of a fantasy scenario that is likely to happen but the percentage chance is probably like 30-40 percent.  Just think back to the very first romantic kiss you had.  Think of how it sent you spiraling into the sky like a rocket to the moon.  Think about how every other time you share a romantic kiss with someone you love you get the same feeling.  However, if there is one fact, no kiss can ever match the feeling of your first kiss.

What you are feeling is not anything magical or special, it’s a psychological connection between you and the person you’re kissing.  It all has to do with the frontal lobe of the brain.  The frontal lobe of the brain basically controls conscious thought and emotions.   Remember the spark I talked about earlier? Well that’s where that big spark is taking place, and when you kiss your boyfriend or girlfriend there’s an explosion of sparks in your frontal lobe area of your brain.  Every time you see your boyfriend or girlfriend the same sparks fly in your frontal lobe.  However, over time those sparks weaken and eventually the relationship falls out of place.  This is where break ups happen, or worse, cheating.

When you first begin dating a girl or guy, you get to know them for whom they are.  You learn their likes, dislikes, favorite sports, preferred foods, etc.  As you get to know each other really well and the relationship intensifies you begin to get physical.  Kissing, cuddling, holding hands, making out, but do you ever stop and think for a second, “how much do I know about this person?” I mean how much do you REALLY know about your boyfriend or girlfriend.  Lack of knowledge on your boyfriend or girlfriend can and probably will lead to fights.

Think about this, most guys like sports, sex, violence, focusing the attention on themselves, and having control over situations.  While most guys will disagree with me, how many fights have occurred either between you and your boyfriend or two guys because of any of these things.  How many fights have occurred because of rivalry between guys because of the sports teams that they like?  How many fights have occurred because of the violent nature of men? Ladies I want you to know something about boys, when you are not around the most common thing we talk about is sex.  You guys can’t deny it; you know its true.

While that is all true about guys, a guy can also be a girl’s prince charming.  Guys know how to sweep a girl off her feet with roses, jewelry, candy, and poetry.  Guys want nothing more than to be with the most beautiful girl they can find, and some guys see beauty differently than others.  Guys will protect the women they love at any cost.  Ladies, when a man is truly in love, he would put his life on the line for you.  He would travel a thousand miles to find you if you ever went out and got lost.  I know I would.

Now guys, women are very complicated people.  They are always looking for someone to shed their emotions on.  Girls are almost always competing when it comes to getting boyfriends.  Girls can be very harsh; they will not hesitate to spread rumors about another girl or guy.  While guys are more violent, girls can fight just as much, but for different reasons.  Girls usually fight over guys because as far as I’ve noted, girls are more territorial when it comes to their “significant others”.

On the other hand, girls can be the most loving members of the human race.  There is nothing a girl wants to do more than make her boyfriend happy.  So as long as a girl is happy, there’s nothing more a girl wants to do than make her boyfriend happy.  From watching girls as I was growing up, I have noted that girls are very hard to keep happy.   They are very sensitive and deserve the utmost emotional respect.  To upset a girl should be shunned by society, because when you upset a girl there is no stopping the hurricane that is yet to come from it.

In the basics of it, you must have a good understanding of your boyfriend or girlfriend in order to avoid fights.  Now I’m not saying that fights are not going to happen.  I can’t say that because by nature, every relationship results in a fight at some point.  What you shouldn’t do is let one fight be the reason why you break up.

That brings us to the subject of break ups.  Let me give you some statistics, most high school and college dating relationships last on an average of 5-8 months, why not more? Well there are many reasons why break ups can occur: loss of interest in one person or both, one person finds someone else who makes them happier, cheating, or fading out.  These are probably the most common reasons of why break ups occur.  I know that there may be others, but I am just going to discuss these four because they are the most popular.

First, loss of interest in one or both people.  To put things simple, the first person in a relationship to fall out is LIKELY to be the guy.  Now don’t go quoting me on that because not all guys were raised the same.  However, most guys are raised to hide their emotions.  This can make it very hard to tell if your boyfriend is falling out of place.  It is easier to tell if your girlfriend is because girls are usually raised to share their emotions.

What usually happens is that that guy loses interest, but the girl doesn’t notice due to the fact that she is too focused on talking to him.  I have seen it everywhere; girls are just constantly looking for someone to talk to.  When they are upset it helps to be able to talk to someone.  For girls that is either a close girlfriend or a boyfriend.  I have consistently noted that when girls are hanging out with their boyfriends, they love to talk to them about things that happened to them since the last time they talked.  I should have remembered this from all the girls I was friends with.  Most guys don’t like hearing all this stuff, so they will try to bring up something else about them, sometimes.  A LOT of guys are egomaniacs, the kind of guy that is always talking about himself and sometimes trying to show off to other girls. (How many of you girls out there know one of those?)

Lets get to the basics, how can you tell if some one is falling out? Well with some people you can, others you cant.  Just about every person has a “poker face”.  I’m not talking about something that you use when you play cards.  I’m talking about a specific way that people hide that they are lying.  The most common is body language.  The eyes and the voice can also give away information that the body cannot.

If you spend enough time around a person, you can tell when they are lying.  Everybody knows that the eyes and the body can give away when a person is lying.  Try this technique next time you want to find out whether or not someone is lying.  Ask them questions that you know they will answer truthfully.  Then watch their body, eyes, mouth, and listen to their voice; note it.  Then ask them questions that are awkward that you know that they will most likely lie to.  Do the same process again.  Make sure you ask the same number of questions and look and listen carefully. 

Every person has something that they do when they lie that they don’t when they tell the truth.  The more pressure they’re under, the more extreme the motion or whatever.  Human nature has two sides to it: positive and negative.  Negative, in relation to relationships, is things like: lying, cheating, fighting, break ups, abuse, divorce, and if forced upon the other person, rape.  Positive can lead to things like: healthier relationships, romance, sex, kissing, dating, marriage, and love.  There may be others, but again, don’t come out to kill me or shout them into my face because I didn’t name them.

Loss of interest can lead to serious fighting in a relationship that may already be on the ropes.  So make sure that you try to be honest with each other.  It is ok to lie sometimes, but just don’t do it all the time.  One big no-no in relationships is to build a relationship based on each other’s weaknesses.  NEVER do this! While every relationship has its weak points, a relationship based on the two peoples weaknesses is bound to be a dog eat dog world where both people wear bacon pants.  Just make sure you know each other well enough before you decide to intensify your relationship.

If you or your boyfriend or girlfriend has lost interest in one or the other or both, you may go out without your boyfriend or girlfriend knowing and try to date other people.  Sometimes you will find someone that makes you very happy and makes you feel very good emotionally.  The only problem with this is that when this happens people date this person while they continue to date their other girlfriend or boyfriend.  This is a very bad idea because it is cheating and when your “significant other” finds out, you better hope that you and the person you’ve been cheating with have good life insurance and have good insurance on your property.

Cheating is another reason why break ups occur.  This is probably one of the worst ways to break up.  To find out that your boyfriend or girlfriend has been dating behind your back while they were dating you.  That is a shot to the heart and the balls (if you are a guy).  To break up with someone because of cheating is probably the biggest mistake a person could make.  If it’s a girl dating another guy, he better be able to beat the crap out of the girl’s current boyfriend.  If it’s a guy dating a girl, she better be either better looking or be able to take an onslaught of horrific rumors.  If someone finds a person who makes him or her happier than the person that they are with, they need to either break up with their current boyfriend or girlfriend or at least tell them that they are leaving them before its too late.

Fading out, that is my favorite break up technique.  Its not really a reason for breaking up, its more just a very common way that people break up.  Guys most commonly do it.  Usually the person will stop liking their partner, fall for another person, or just lose interest.  These people will, instead of breaking up in person (or in a text message or e-mail, can you believe the assholes who actually do that?!), they just fade out and eventually stop talking to you.  Girls, if you are calling and calling and calling, and your guy never answers, even when you leave voicemails or text messages.  Or if he's making constant excuses of why he cant talk to you or see you, he is either seeing someone else, VERY VERY busy, or is just not interested any more and will not tell you off.  The same goes for you guys.  If the same thing happens to you, it may be time to move on.

How can all these things be prevented? Communicate with each other more.  If you are having some problems in your relationship with your girlfriend or boyfriend, let them know.  Just be sure to let them know in a way that doesn’t offend them.  Dealing with problems before they get out of hand can actually prevent a catastrophic break up.  What you need to understand is that every relationship ends at some point, till you find mister or misses right and you find the person you want to be with forever.  Before you go out and get married though, sit down and talk about what your expectations are for the relationship.  Compromise and work together, its what keeps a relationship alive.

A quick note: break ups can hurt, they can hurt very bad.  If you just broke up with someone or someone just broke up with you and your feeling upset, find some friends or family that you can talk to.  Keep your head high and keep fighting.  Eventually love will find it’s way again.  Just hang around the people that make you happy till it does.

from the eys of a roach episode 7 (dating part 2)

from the eyes of a roach

episode 7:

Psychosocial Behavior: Dating and Relationships Part 2: The Single Life

dating part 2

By: Sam Pernicano

 

In part one I discussed dating and relationships and why break ups happen.  Now I am going to talk about something that affects a lot of us, including myself, the single life.

 

After a break up you can feel like the world has come crashing down on top of your head.  It can feel like all the ground around you has fallen away and there is nowhere left to walk.  This is the single life, the life that very few of us on earth (with the exception of some Tibetan monks) do not want to live with for all our lives.

We as human beings are in constant search of love.  We look high and low, but sometimes we do not find it.  Some people go their whole lives without love and die a hollow shell, empty and bleak.  We all long to feel loved; it is human nature that drives it so.

The single life can be very harsh at times and can sometimes bring great emotional pain.  I should know, I have been single for some time now and it is not fun.  I am going to do my best to explain the concept of dating to people that have either never dated, have just broken up, or are just looking for mister or misses right.

Think back at the dawn of mankind.  Ever since man first walked the earth, he longed to have a partner at his side.  Someone to share his food, his home, and to have kids with.  Even back then, it was considered shameful for a man to not have a partner.  If a man did not have a partner, he was considered inferior.

As time progressed, we developed new ideas about men and women.  Once society reached the industrial revolution, we were at our peak.  Men were supposed to go out and work while women stayed home.  Women were marrying at the age of about 16 and having kids soon after. 

Remember how I gave props to the women’s rights movement in part one? Well when the women’s rights movement occurred, this is when the single life began to occur.  Women began to go to school and get educations.  Women were given equal rights as men.  This was also the point that divorces began to start happening.  Before this time, divorces weren’t even heard of.  Divorces lead to multiple men and women splitting up and therefore creating the first batch of single people in the history of the US (that is technical history not recorded history, don’t look it up).

Equal rights between women and men also led to a woman’s word being just as important as a mans.  Before the woman’s rights movement, not many people cared what a woman had to say.  A woman could go to the town mayor with proof of acts of terrorism or possession of nuclear arms and nobody would care.

Today women and men have equal power in word.  However, police will believe a woman’s assault story before they will believe a mans.  My opinion is because 1. Women get hurt more, 2. Men lie A LOT, 3. Women can put emotions into just about ANY story to make it sound true, and 4. Men are aggressive by nature.

At present day, if you think you are sad being single here in America, just be glad that you don’t live in china.  They have a gross overpopulation of boys to the point that there may not be enough girls to go around.  If you were single over there then you would really be in deep.  Its good to be in America isn’t it?

The single life is hard and I have been stumped on why it is so hard to get a date when you are a single guy.  So I spent some time studying human beings, how they interacted with each other and their environments, and each other.  This gave me the basic insight I needed to know to answer this question.  Now I have a new question for you, why is it so hard to get a date when you are a single GUY?

After studying human nature for a short time I discovered the simplicity to the dating scenario.  To be a single girl is actually quite a bit easier than to be a single guy.  Why you ask? Well let me ask you this? Have you ever heard of gender stereotypes? I’m not talking about the, “guys like sports, girls like dolls”, no, I'm talking about the gender stereotypes of the social rules of dating.  Have you ever though about those for a second?  Well let me list them below.

Males: ask the girl out first, be the first to kiss her before the fourth date, keep your chest out, hold our stomach in, don’t burp, don’t flat late, don’t make any obscene comments, pull out her chair for her, always listen to her, let her speak first, always take her home and make sure she gets inside safe.

Females: wait till the boy asks you out first, wait till he kisses you first to kiss back, keep your body poised properly and firmly, brush your hair, wear lipstick and makeup, do not speak until you are spoken to, be on your best behavior.

In think there may be more, but these were created at the dawn of the country.  Please look at the first two on the female and male list: ask the girl out first, be the first to kiss her before the fourth date (male), and, wait till the boy asks you out first, wait till he kisses you first to kiss back (female).  Why do I want you to look at these two? Because in these two socio-gender expectations lies the problem that results in most single relationships.

Girls, a guy may like you quite a bit, but he might be scared to ask you out or talk to you for many reasons.  He might think that you are not single, that you may not like him, or he may just be nervous.  Girls, you can be the lifesaver in this struggle that we have with single relationships.  If you like a guy and you are interested in him, go up and talk to him.  Who knows, he could end up being mister right.  If he’s not interested then don’t be heartbroken, just keep moving on to other guys till you find someone.

Guys, I know it’s hard to ask a girl out, but sometimes its got to be done.  The issue is that usually a girl is more likely to already be taken than a guy.  I should know, I have been talking to girls for a while and I can’t find one single, single girl, but I have found a lot of single guys.  Where are all the single girls? Mars? Venus? Canada? Seriously girls, make a move, us guys will appreciate it.

In summary, the single life can be hard, but given a switch in the operation of gender expectations we may be able to overcome at least some of our single lives.  It does suck having mass knowledge and having no one to share it with. 

Imagine being the richest man in the world, you have everything.  Money, power, people, they are all at your command.  You love being rich and powerful.  On the other hand, you have a brother who is an average guy who is in love with this very attractive red haired, blue-eyed girl.  Your brother invites you to his wedding and you go and see how in love he is with his fiancé and how happy he is. 

After the wedding you go back to your home and contemplate why your brother was so happy.  You begin to look back on your life and the accomplishments you have made.  World power, world money, world people, you own everything, but you have nobody to share it with.  You begin to use your money to buy other peoples love, but it’s just not the same as what you saw your brother feeling.  One day you meet a woman that you fall in love with and begin dating, but before you get the chance to propose you have a heart attack.  On your death bed you tell your brother that you are giving him everything you have and that the only thing you regret is that you owned everything but you had no one to share it with till the very end, and by then, it was too late.  Then you close your eyes and you fall into eternal sleep.

Moral of the story: being single is not a fun thing, it is emotionally nerve wracking, and long term exposure to it can cause psychological damage to the brain