Phi Stars: December 2011

My New Years Blog

My New Years Blog

In just a few hours, its gonna be New Year. Before the sun sets on the year 2011, I wanted to give my prognostic on what the new year has to offer. According to the Mayan calendar, the end will come by 2012. The Millennium Assessment of the UN, also agrees that the beginning of the end will come on 2012.

Save me from my Savior - UN Peace Corp Exploitation of Refugees

As I said before, I work in the library. All the new books pass by my hands (more or less). In any case, one day I ran into a UN report. It spoke about abuses perpetrated by UN officers. They were supposed to be taking care of the victims of disasters. Instead they were trading candy (food, books, education, medicine ect.) for love favors. These meanies usually target women and children.

The problem is that the victims could not report those abuses to anyone. The refugee camps were 100% run by the UN. Thus, they carried out punishment. Since the leaders were as corrupt as the bottom feeders, abusers were left unpunished.

Pious Atheist

I was watching Dexter the other day and I saw quite the fascinating scene. The atheist that was gonna get killed by Travis had written a book about a passage in the Bible. After hearing his lil speech, I started thinking... why use a passage in the Bible as proof that there is no God?

Have you noticed that all atheist base all their argument on the Bible? Why not disprove the Baghavad Gita, the Koran, La Ley del Ifa, Plato's Republic, The Book of Formation, ect? I am not gonna claim to be an expert in non belief (hehehe). From my experience, I grown to equate atheism with my terrible experiences in Cuba.

Much ado about Demons

I been wondering a lot about exorcisms services. Do protestants have anti demons measures? I am aware that the Catholics have exorcist tools, but I do not hear much of exorcisms performed by Protestants. I think during ,the split, something was lost along the way. During possession, one needs professional help.

Splice 2010 Movie Review

The moral of the movie is that all scientists are immoral. The maker of this movie went out of his way to stuff all the social taboos into one film. There is experimentation with a human fetus. There is abuse, mutilation and isolation of children. There are Machiavellian like punishments. Lastly, there is bestiality and incest. Truly, this movie is the work of a madman.

Amok by Stefan Zweig

They say that you meet interesting people on cruise ships. This modernist story proves it. The main character goes on a third class cruise. After struggling to sleep under the gentle hum of the ventilator bat, he goes up deck and meets a mysterious smoker. Under the dim light of the twinkling stars, our main character hears a gruesome tale of love and repressed desires.

The Purpose of Rating Agencies

You know, today I finally learned why rating agencies exist. From what I head, rating agencies came into being for the sake of protecting the consumer (or you). Whatever gets a low rating is dangerous to your life and limb. Whatever receives 5 stars is the best of the best.

I been thinking a lot about the 5 star of this and that. After all, a 5 star hotel is not the same for every person. If you are poor then a 5 star hotel is not a place for your to visit. Still, it is not too uncommon for these places to bring out the best of the best only to the rating agencies. In this fashion, a 3 star easily can become a 5 star. You know, by weighing the die.

Meditations on He Who Exist

Yesterday, at the Christmas party, I was talking with my brother. Circumstances had kept us apart for most of the time. So, we engage various subjects. After, completely exhausting our entire arsenal of known knowledge we stumble upon the eternal question. We began our analysis with the burning bush scene. When Moses asked God, "Who are you?" God answered, " I am what I am". In other words, he is the phrase "I am". Syntax wise, "I am" is what exist. It is the first person that describes the state of existence. Like, when they ask you what is your name is? Your answer is " I am so and so". God, on the other hand, is "I am". Following this train of thought, God is what exist.

A lot of 5 Star Worthy Caidychen Wallpapers

This blog will show a lot of 5 star worthy caidychen anime wallpapers. I hope that you like this post a lot. The first one shows a pretty anime girl with a violin. She looks pretty cute. 5 stars.

Mary Magdalena, The Original Sin and Female Apostles

In Early Christianity, the role of women in the religious community was ambiguous. In the Gospels, there are a few mentions of women following Jesus. However, the Gospel writers never clearly state that there where women apostle. Interesting enough, some of the Gnostic Text, like the Gospel of Mary, shows Mary Magdalene in constant conflict with the male disciples over who has the correct revelation from Jesus (Ross, Women in Christian Origin Pg. 109). It seems that between 80-160 AC, the role of women began to subvert. This becomes apparent in the reinterpretations of Genesis and the sayings of Jesus. In time, the suppression of women evolved into a redefinition of the original sin. These changes are rooted in the patriarch nature of Roman society.

The Machiavellian Virtu Rhetoric is Alive and Well

In The Prince, virtu seems to mean prudence. Virtu was the answer to lack of order and security in Italy. Virtu not only dictates behavior, but also ways to excessive power. Virtue differs from virtue. What were considered virtuous in Machiavelli’s time were honesty, and mercy. These are values that the church taught during this time. Virtu on the other hand demands hypocrisy and cruelty[1]. These on the other hand were considered vices during Machiavelli’s time. However, under the right circumstances these vices can be turned into virtues. Today, virtu cannot be spoken about without arousing ill content. The ancient Christian values of honesty and mercy are still held in high rewards today. Virtu is still used today in modern politics. The only difference is that hypocrisy and cruelty go by other names.

Under virtu, the power and security of the city state is the only thing that matters[2] . A Prince must not hesitate to use these vices should the need arise. More importantly, a Prince must disguise these vices. Machiavelli realizes that most people will hardly ever get to know a person intimately. Humankind judges by appearance. It is for this reason that, it is prudent to pretend to excessive virtue .To do this, one has to perform honor rituals. A person who behaves honorably is the least suspected to have vices. He stated that for every deceiver there is a person who lets himself be deceived. For those that think virtu is unnecessary, it is important to remember Machiavelli’s view of humanity. He believed that humans by nature were wicked. Thus, to protect the citizens from themselves, one must not hesitate to excessive virtu. In the end, should the Prince maintain his state, all his actions will then be considered honorable.

Too much honesty leaves one at the mercy of the dishonest. Politics is crocked. In the court, it is common for nobles to adulate in exchange for favors[3] . Meanwhile, these adulators might shift sides the minute that the Prince starts losing power. To defend oneself against the dishonest one must exercise dishonesty. One should not let adulators know that you are onto them. It is best to take them by surprise and prepare for when your fortune might change. He must then sort out the adulators from the truly faithful. Through hypocrisy a prince must guard himself from adulators as if they were his declared enemies.

Today, on a regular day to day basis people rely on virtu’s hypocrisy to avoid trouble. One cannot go about telling ones honest opinion on everything without losing one’s job, lovers and reputation. We each are forced to create a hypocritical socially acceptable self in order to fit into society. A virtus’ way of using hypocrisy appeared in the 9/11 Commissioner Report that I read last year. In this report, the government explained what the Y2K problem was truly all about. It turns out, that during this time, there occurred massive terrorist plane hijacking. In order to keep the public calm, they claimed that the computers were going to malfunction. This would cover the eventuality of any successful attacks because the attacks would be blamed on the computers. However, hypocrisy for selfish reasons is not virtu.

The second aspect of virtu is cruelty. There are different measures of cruelty. Sometimes it is considered kindness for cruelty to be dealt in a single stroke, instead of cruelty that worsens as time passes[4] . Short cruelties are for example, killing in self defense. This is the only that Machiavelli advices to inflict cruelty on others. Even today, killing in self defense is acceptable. However, this has greater implications when it comes to the self defense of Prince. Machiavelli compares cruelty and benefits to food[5] . Those done quickly are tasted less. However, cruelty portioned out for a long period of time remains are remembered by his new subjects. Since they are repeated daily, the subjects to not fell secure. Benefits on the other hand should be portioned slowly so the new subjects get a good feel for the generosity of the new monarch.

Today, modern equivalent merciful cruelty is capital punishment. Like Machiavelli, the supporters of capital punishment claim that death sentences helped keep insolent men in line[6] . Having too lenient a punishment makes criminals reckless. It is best to make an example of a few, to keep the rest in line. US states that do have death penalty have finally settled on the lethal injection as the most merciful execution. I can understand why Machiavelli would desire short cruelties. During his time, it the Inquisition was infamous for slow and painful death, the best example being witch burning. In the Mallus Malifecarum, the Inquisitors went to great length and detail about the preliminary tortures before the execution. Today, tortured is unacceptable, yet water boarding is carried out in Guantanamo Bay. This torture is supposedly merciful because of its non intrusive nature. It supposes to simulate the feeling of drowning without actually drowning the person.

As you can see, the Machiavellian rhetoric is alive and well in this day and age. When it comes to matters of National Security or Law enforcement hypocrisy and cruelty are readily used. I am neither for nor against these vices as long as they work for the benefit of US. The problem arises from their misusages. Hypocrisy for the state’s advancement is applauded. However, one looks very negatively at diplomats who use it to advance their own political careers. As for cruelty, it’s unacceptable. One only gets away with cruelty these days by calling it mercy. Both hypocrisy and cruelty are alive and well. The Machiavellian rhetoric is still been used time and time again to excuse drastic measures for the sake of national security. One has to wonder for how long the validity of this argument will stay alive.

Machiavelli, Niccolo Oxford World’s Classics : The Prince Oxford University Press Translated by Peter Bondanella 2005.

[1] Machiavelli, pg 26 and 27

[2] Machiavelli, pg 26

[3] Machiavelli, pg 13

[4] Machiavelli, pg 15

[5] Machiavelli, pg 83

[6] Machiavelli, pg 20

Much Ado About Genzoman

Today I am gonna write to you about Genzoman. This is an update of his latest work. It has already been established that he is a 5 star worth mangaka artist. I am simply gonna limit myself to informing you about the nature of each of his newest pieces. So sit back and enjoy the show.

Ok, the first one goes by the creepy name, Iron Mask: Black as Death. This one is a commission work for a heavy metal band or something. Basically, we see here the death God Thanatos holding the chains of Cerberus. His scythe shines under the light coming in from the entrance to the Abyss. Around him we can see the flames of hell. Truly a piece worthy of Genzoman. 5 stars.

Disaster Myopia

Myopia is short sightedness. Basically, you can only see at arm's length. The faraway things appear blurry. Disaster Myopia basically means that you think a winning streak is gonna last forever. You focus too much on your current success and you ignore past mistakes that led you to perdition. Its like playing poker, you get a winning streak and then you refuse to quit while you are ahead. You keep thinking, I have to bleed this good luck for all its worth. When the bad luck comes then you loose all your money.

The True Cost of Things

I wonder if this short blog is pretty obvious... Eh, whatever, I'll write it. I did plan to write this one like 21 days ago. Ok, this one is about the price of things. It seems pretty obvious that a 50 cent soda does not represent the true cost of making it. Putting globalization (making products cheaply in other countries because the high value of the dollar), command societies (dictators dictating the price) and monopolies (no competitors, prices set to whatever monopolies feel like) aside, there are other factors that cheapens the price of things.

Reptile Brain

I recently learned that humans have a reptile brain. This is the least evolved section of our mind. However, when logic fails the reptile brain takes over. This brains carries within it our animal instinct. It tells us that all is gonna be ok, even when catastrophe lies ahead. Ignore your reptile brain, it fools you. Even when you have all the answers, the reptile brains optimism will lead you in the wrong direction. This lil brain carries within it all our desires. It can easily overpower our reasonable more evolved brain.

Much ado about Lemons

I bet you all where imagining that I was gonna write about the Lemon fruit.But No! Nononono!! This one is about the "Lemon" concept. This concept explains a lot of super annoying things that are gonna hunt you in this terrible economy. Ok, first I will discuss lemons car wise. Lastly, jobs and lending.

Car wise, used cars are separated between good used cars and lemons. The seller is the only person who knows what the hell is wrong with the car. Buyers are usually suspicious of used cars cause they think they are lemons (or defective). In turn, most buyers prefer to buy new cars instead of old ones. They are afraid to buy a car and be forced to spend more than what they payed for it. So, most folks usually assume that all used cars are lemons.

The Simpsons Art Parody and Reference

So today I am gonna write to you about the Simpsons and the arts. I seen this show since I was little. It was the first consistent cartoon that I watched when I came to the US. Since it was in English, it helped me learn the language. As I grew older, I started noticing things that I took for granted about the show. Among them was the art.

So yeah, lets start things up. The first one is homer in the form of Rembrandt. This guy was an infamous Romantic painter from the 1800s. He did a bunch of creepy and stormy paintings. The paint on Homer Rembrandt looks a lot like the original. In any case, Homer Rembrandt gets 5 star rating.

The Pearls of Jan Vermeer

Today, I am going to blog about Jan Vermeer (1632-1675). He was a Dutch artist who took an eternity or two to finish a painting. Its not certain who taught Vermeer to paint. Most think that he was a self taught artist. He mainly used a device called camara oscura. This device projects an image of the surrounding room into a small chamber inside the device. It was useful for arranging the image and for perspective purposes. The side effect of this device is that it mirror modes the image. He mainly produced artwork for the humble middle class. He achieved relative little success during his lifetime. He only became popular after he was rediscovered about 200 years after his death .

He could never produce enough art works to feed his wife and his 10 children (they were actually 14 but 4 did not survive infancy). All the scenes took place in the same two rooms. Most of the characters of his painting where women (probably his lovers). The home itself is the house of his mother in law. She was wealthier than Jan Vermeer. Like all mothers in laws, she was super controlling. She convinced him to turn Catholic before marrying. I thinks that's everything. Lets just get this show on the road.

The Allegory of Faith

The first work is called the Allegory of Faith. Basically, this painting is supposed to be the physical manifestation of what it means to be faithful. Here we see the the Catholic faith. The painting is arranged as if the viewer were intruding into a private moment. We have just lift the curtain and discovered faith. This might be an allusion as to how Vermeer became truly Catholic. Near his home there was a Jesuit convent. That order was so good at conversion that they were sent by the Vatican to the New World. Perhaps, Vermeer achieved true conversion under their tutelage.

In the background, we can see a painting of the Crucifixion. Like painting within a painting. There we see Maria Dolorosa. This is the name given to the Virgin Mary at the cross. The legend goes that when she saw her son on the cross she felt a terrible pain that felt as if her heart was pierce by a dagger. It is for this reason, that this Dolorosa always appears with her heart pierced by a dagger. In all depictions of the Virgin Mary she appears ageless. This version is far more realistic. If you look closely you can see wrinkles around her neck.

The man next to her is Jesus Beloved Apostle. There has always been some discrepancies among the Gospel about who was at the cross. They all agree that Jesus mother was there. In this version, we see the beloved apostle. The only out of place person inside this Crucifixion is a maiden that has her hand on her face. She has small child next to her. Now that I look at her better, I think that there is glass on top of this painting. Perhaps she is only a reflection on this surface.

Speaking of reflections, do you see the glass globe next to the painting? Here you can see vaguely the reflection of the room. Next, we see a lovely carpet with golden and red patterns. Gold and red was the common color decoration used in the churches for the Counter Reformation. The church to counteract the Protestant reformation sought to "whoa" the masses with splendor. It was during this time when the churches got really elaborated. This strategy worked pretty well because the Protestant churches were super stiff. Just plain white and if your lucky you could find one or two stained glass windows. Perhaps, it was these lovely decoration that helped Vermeer find Faith.

In front of this carpet, we can see a cross, the Eucharist and an open bible on top of a blue table. From what I read, Vermeer was fascinated by the mystery of the Eucharist. In the Protestant version, the Last Supper performance is simply a meal in remembrance of Christ, nothing more, nothing less. For the Catholics, the Eucharist is filled with the symbolical blood of Christ. After the faithful consumes it, they become one with Christ. It is a sacred and holy ritual and the climax of the mass. The entire proceeding leads up to the in taking of the Eucharist. For Vermeer, the Eucharist was the entire foundation of his new found faith.

Luis Royo's Dreams

Ah...this is the last Luis Royo blog for now. It is also the longest blog I done in quite a while. I think it might be even longer than my Murillo blog. This album is called "Dreams". It has a lot of the commissioned works that Luis Royo did during the 90s. I hope that you find this collection inspiring.

To be honest, I got no idea what most of these images are about. They all look pretty cute but the nature of each commission is a mystery to me. I hope that you bear with my ignorance. I can only speculate the theme of each piece. Eh! Whatever, lets just get this show on the road.

The first runner up shows a futuristic battle. The guy in the foreground is charging his rifle to return fire. Toward the background, his peers are falling back (as in retreating). It must be a cover for a sci fy book...In any case, Luis Royo gains 5 star rating.

The next commission shows a lovely red head with a futuristic gun. She is wearing a tight suit (typical futuristic fashion). Her blue eyes look almost white. What I like best is her kill face. Around her you can see the wreckage of her spaceship. I guess she crashed landed into unknown hostile terrain. In any case, Luis Royo deserves 5 star rating.

In the next commission, we see a lovely maiden entering a cave. She has a knife in her mouth. She looks pretty cool. In any case, Luis Royo deserves a 5 star rating.