Why is it that we, as human beings, sit around a large piece of wood or other material and use small, bizarre metal utensils to shove food into our faces? What, even, is the act of sitting? We, the strange bipedal creatures that we are, rarely question these things. Concerning the face: Is eating or communicating more important? Of course, these arbitrary examples and seemingly random statements are the caboose of a much longer train of thought.

I sang this song, La Calunnia from The Barber of Seville, in a recital a couple weeks ago, and one of my assignments was to paraphrase the song. College being the sometimes tedious thing it is, I decided to embellish the translation a bit. You can read the original Italian and translation here. Slander comes along softly touching cheeks of fair maidens and just barely ever so slightly starts creeping in

Madeline - Tickle Me Pink This is a very powerful song I spontaneously found in my iTunes library yesterday after adding another song by the band.

Bullets - Editors This is basically a very catchy song by a very cool band. I won’t pretend that the fact I can sing along with him makes it that much better. Go Do - Jonsi Jonsi, the lead singer of Sigur Ros, has released his first solo album. Fantastic is probably a decent adjective to describe the result. This is the opening track, and the first single. Watch the beautifully artistic music video too.

I adore good discussions. Real talks. Genuine conversations. Call them what you will, they are fantastic. What I am realizing are the essential components of such talks. First of all, every member of the discussion must be willing to participate. People who are dragged in contribute nothing positive. Secondly, lastly, and most importantly, people must be open to new ideas. They needn’t accept other opinions, but without at least entertaining those ideas, nothing can be gained.

(via)

Small-minded people sadden me and make me angry. It hurts to see the pain they bring to others and the tragedy of the worlds of opportunities they are denying themselves. It is out of caring and compassion that my anger is manifested. I want so much for them and for those they condemn, and their unwillingness to even attempt to understand foreign things or ideas completely destroys any possibility for growth and improvement.