9/14 "I'm mad as hell!" ...no, really.

I understand the need to stand up for what you believe in. I get it. Yes, people need to speak out if there is something that is not okay with them, just like in the movie clip from Network. Take a stand and speak out. On the other hand there is a time and place. The middle of Congress? Not the place. Especially as an elected official. I'm sorry Rep. Joe Wilson, but this is not Jerry Springer, and you are no Kanye West. This was a Presidential address my friend and that was a breach of protocol. I also think this is an issue of respect. You may not agree with Barack Obama but he is still the fairly elected President and should be treated as such. As for Glenn Beck, I understand that he is a television personality and that contributes in some part to his remarks. As we saw in the Network clip, television is a very good device to influence people. He must make his show interesting and controversial, which he obviously does. I'm finding it very difficult to write about some of these issues without being biased, especially since I personally hate Fox news. Anyways some people just need to think about what they are saying to who and when. Especially when they are middle aged plus men. They have been around a while, surely they must have more common sense than that. Here's my advice: Rep Wilson, bite your tongue and apologize; Glenn Beck... whatever I won't watch your show anyways; and everyone else, you can get "mad as hell", just be careful what you say.

Waking Life - Our Language as a Signs System

Waking Life makes some interesting points regarding semiotics and the way our language works. Our language, and all languages, for that matter is a sign system. We put together different symbols, or letters, to make up larger pieces that stand for different things. Visually speaking, our language is really a jigsaw puzzle with infinite possibilities. We created a list of specific symbols, letters, and continuously scramble them up to create new meanings. One thing that is very interesting about what Waking Life says is the issue of truly understanding the words we say. They do make a good point that when a person says a word like love, the other person may not be thinking of exactly the same kind of love the person who said the word was thinking of. At the same time, I think we have the ability to come to a general agreement on what is being discussed. For example, when someone was asked to draw a paint palette, many of us may think or all sorts of palettes. In our minds they may be different shapes, colors etc. However, if someone was using the word in a sentence or description, most people would understand what they were saying so that the conversation could move forward, even if we don’t have the same image in our heads. Basically, our understanding of words has everything to do with experience. My idea of love may be different than yours, but most likely we can come to and understanding so as to keep the conversation moving. There are so many different representations of words in our language today that it is almost impossible to fully understand what the other person is describing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKFW5OkJb4U