To catch fire; to burst into flames

Kindle

v.tr.

1. 1. To build or fuel (a fire).
   2. To set fire to; ignite.
2. To cause to glow; light up:
3. To arouse (an emotion, for example):

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I've been indulging myself with the Kindle the parents bought me. It still brings me guilt though everytime I use it because of the timing of it all. I never thought I'd be using it this much. I wasn't too keen on technology overriding the plain joy of actually holding a book in your hands and being able to smell the sweet scent of the pages; or of the richness of books from second hand bookstores (with all the yellowing pages, notes and all the history of the stuff previous owners left in it, may it be bookmarks or just marks.)

But now, I've never left home without this thing. Loading books on it isn't a problem with all the free books available online. Most of my readings for my political science classes and theology are in pdf and text format too so I can all read it in my Kindle which is far more convenient than reading them in the desktop or the laptop. For one, no hassle of slow computer start-ups. The Kindle loads in an instant. And financially too. I rarely get the photocopied version of our readings in school. So I guess this device saves me about 50 pesos a week. I only spent about 400 pesos (cost of photocopying the actual books. Yes, this is in violation of copyright laws and stuff. I am not proud. Sorry to Appleyard and Kerr for not recieving any royalties) for the readings this semester -- huge save compared to the previous ones -- and that's thanks to my EU151 class -- whose book isn't available for free downloading. (It's supposed to be a course on the economics of eu integration but our prof's basically teaching the basics of international economics. No effort at putting it into context at all. :|) Appleyard is so technical. I think it's geared towards students of economics rather than of the pol sci/ diplomacy orientation. but whatever. We'll survive.

So back to Kindle. So far, I've only reread Mansfield park in it (plus the readings I need for school) and started on Neitzsche's Beyond Good end Evil. Oh, and one particular advantage I've enjoyed with it is that my arms don't get tired unlike when you have a "book" and after some time of holding it up, nakakangawit.

For all the advantages and convenience of the Kindle, I still think reading a book in all its construct-ness holds a different level of experience though. Mainly for the novelty of a book book. And of course, you can't put the books you have in Kindle in a bookshelf in all its physical and tangible glory.

Yet my experience of reading Mansfield Park in Kindle isn't really that different from reading it in the book book copy that I have.

I guess that proves that Kindle has reached it's goal stated in this welcome email from amazon:

..."Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands -- to get out of the way -- so you can enjoy your reading. We hope you'll quickly forget you're reading on an advanced wireless device and instead be transported into that mental realm readers love, where the outside world dissolves, leaving only the author's stories, words, and ideas.."

:) love it!

parang ang sarap sampalin ni Fanny Price

”..and though Fanny was often mortified by their treatment of her, she thought too lowly of her own claims to feel injured by it.”

- Mansfield Park, Jane Austen

but at least she doesn’t feel the urge to kill herself for her lack of a boyfriend (and standing, and social isolation). nudge nudge Bella Swan. down with glorifying female subjugation! Fanny even has more reasons to jump off a cliff, really.

and even Austen recognized the existing chauvinism and managed to write a social satire out of this weakness despite being born a couple of centuries earlier than stupid twilight author.

tumblr formsprings

1. Larisaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… hindi ko pa tapos artik ko! Writer’s block, I think! huhuhuhuhuhuhuhu… :((

err. ako rin. HAHA. pero may outline na ko. so medyo naguiguilty lang ako kay bek. :( pero chill pa rin.

2. Dear Lars, Napag-isipan mo na ba kung kaninong sikat na pangalan ang ibibigay mo sa mga anak mo?

Dear non-stranger stranger, hindi pa. Probably because conflicted ako sa issue of having kids. Gusto ko siyang pangalanang… Grotius. after the man with the theories about international law and war and stuff. at para maging socially isolated siya dahil weird yung pangalan niya. or some russian name, like Sergei. :)) or Dmitry after Dmitry Medvedev. Gusto ko kasi yung spelling. parang kulang. pero hindi. OR marat. but the thing with Marat is it sounds ugly pag pinoy yung nagpropronounce.

I think I’ll just end up buying a tank full of fishes. para mautilize ko lahat ng names.

3. Larissa!:D what’s up with the pretty dress today? ayeee!:D

Karla? I had a friday night date e. HAHAHA asa pa. it’s my way of coping with the accident :)). to be all summery and dressy. labo.

magpapaschedule na nga ko sa guidance office.

http://www.formspring.com/forms/?717454-9aM9roQ9lb

http://www.formspring.com/forms/?717454-9aM9roQ9lb

When war is the choice you have to take

This is a result of the lecture in my philo102 class this evening. One of our readings says that the rationality of man is defined by his capability to choose tolerance -- ang kakayahan niyang magparaya (i.e. palayain ang iba ergo palayain ang kanyang sarili).

The reading actually proposes a very vague definition regarding tolerance. There were no explanations, really, regarding the extent of tolerance rationality asks from man. Just that -- tolerance.

I sort of raised the issue of intervening for humane purposes, like going to war for humanitarian reasons and got shut down, really. "Isn't that defeating the purpose of humanitarian causes?", asks a classmate. Err. OF COURSE NOT. Although I must admit that I initially had the same pessimistic view on war until I had to watch Scream Bloody Murder, a documentary I saw for the Model UN thing we're doing in my org, that changed my view on it.

There are reasons that make war the right choice. Genocide for example. You can't really stop it by utilizing economic sanctions or by waging an internet propaganda against it. It won't stop it from happening. Most of the time, resources that fund activities like this come from industries that don't depend on the international market. (i.e. the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They're funded by the opium business. Then there's the junta in Myanmar. and Kim Jong Il's North Korea. ) Furthermore, the whole politics of the UN security council doesn't guarantee an effective non-military intervention from them. Take China and it's veto on UN intervention in Sudan because of the Chinese business in the country that would be affected by an intervention.

The events motivated by ethnic cleansing in the Balkan region during the past decade can probably illustrate how grim a situation can get when the leaders of the world respond all too late. The US and the rest of the NATO forces insisted on a non-interventionist policy towards it -- militarily speaking -- until the very last minute in spite of direct reports from television news networks and people on the ground about the scale and horror of the conflict.

The point I'm trying to drive at is not that tolerance is a bad thing. I do believe in it. Because it is the main reason why humanity has managed to rise from the dark years of the two great wars. the Nazis justified the holocaust by using eugenics and what they considered reasons; that they were looking out for the welfare of the human race. This is precisely why tolerance indeed defines the rational man. Tolerance is what we've learned from the dark events in our history. Tolerance will help us avoid misunderstood logic such as ethnic cleansing and extreme interpretations of social Darwinism.

What I'm trying to say instead is the fact that intervention and war can be right.

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here's something I did with my loser editing skills. It's something from Mill. I posted it up a long time ago in my now non-existent tumblr URL and I think it sums up how I feel about war.

oh well. who knows. maybe our next lectures in my philo class will convince me otherwise.

or not.

and a circle of your friends will defend the silver lining.

:)

I love your music and all, but this just sounds annoying today.

And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

- there's light that never goes out, the smiths

the isuzu truck (with hollow blocks in tow) should've gone hurling towards the direction of the smiths. and all those pretentious people in tumblr who keep reblogging pictures of 500 days of summer.

i still love your music though. not just today.

December One

So I was in a car accident today. It involved me and a truck -- a 6 wheeler isuzu truck. The idea would've been romantic in a sad 1980s British song way, but it wasn't. It was just made of 100% pure hassle.

Too stressed to write comprehensively about it tonight. I'm alive and okay. No injuries really. Just emotionally scarred for life. This is what I get for slowing down on a freaking yellow light. Mr. Truck driver was defending himself by arguing that I should've went straight instead. (because in Manila, the meaning of traffice rules become fluid depending on the driver's mood) istupido.

the honda jazz is a wreck. Can you just imagine a truck dive into that tiny car? The entire rear portion just went through. broken windows and all. AND I AM OKAY. The impact sent my car forward AND I AM OKAY. which makes me more guilty about the entire thing.

Still went to class after filing the police report. :| and no, my entire life didn't flash through during the short moments of impact. My mind just went blank. You know how you feel after you suddenly walk into a glass door? Like you get stunned for awhile? yes, that's how it felt like.

Which is just sad.

If I discover in the next days that I have internal bleeding or a fractured bone or something, I'll sue. But I probably won't because of the paperwork and the lack of responsible sketching and paperwork done by the police and traffic people during the entire incident. Too much red tape around here! I AM SO FUCKING SICK OF THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE NORM IN MY COUNTRY. no one will really do their jobs properly without any sort of kick backs in return.

the company the driver was working for is a supplier for Delta but it's not like his boss even called or gave any insurance policy shit. HASSLE.

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my parents arrived this evening from the states. I now have a Kindle. And in return, I gave them a wrecked car.

HOW MESSED UP IS THIS LIFE. I don't want to make the whole thing sound like it all happened for a reason because ( i don't go to church) and because it was most probably a random act of recklessness and I just happened to be there. Not because it was predetermined or whatever. We probably look for fate or whatever when this things happen because maybe we just need an explanation for it and transfer the burden to some sort of abstract reason.

I wanna feel the car crash

I wanna feel it capsize

I wanna feel the bomb drop, the earth stop, until I'm satisfied.

- Car crash, Matt Nathanson

NO I NEVER WANT TO FEEL A CAR CRASH EVER AGAIN. TWO IS MORE THAN ENOUGH. Matt Nathanson is probably a masochistic hick who never had to feel the financial and emotional effects of vehicular accidents.