Season Eight Friends?

Recently I picked up a copy of The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy at the local Barnes and Nobel.  Any one who watches the show on a regular basis knows the characters by heart. The group of six includes, Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard Amy, Raj, and Bernadette.

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One of the first ideas talked about is the idea of friendship. Aristotle once said, "Without friends, no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods." We as humans choose to have friends to benefit our lives and the lives of the other party. Aristotle also said that there are three types of friendship, "the first is for pleasure, the second is for utility and the third is perfect friendship." While reading this book the second type of friendship really got my attention. Any avid fan of the show would know that Leonard and Sheldon are roommates. At first the friendship is a utility one has Leonard is looking for a roommate and Sheldon cannot pay the rent on his own. We also know that Leonard is Sheldon's ride to...well everywhere. What struck me the most in the book so far is that once an intended practical benefit ceases so does the friendship. Which raises the question will Leonard and Sheldon still be friends at the start of season eight? Any viewer knows that at the end of season seven, Leonard and Penny became engaged, and this action upset Sheldon. We know that Leonard and Penny are thinking of living together but that would disrupt the utility friendship that the Sheldon and Leonard have. Leaving to the question are Sheldon Leonard still going to be friends? If and only if Leonard does move out with Sheldon and in with penny, then on a utility level, no. Sheldon is on the brink of losing his closest friend all because of some ring. More so the idea of friendship is that both parties benefit in some way. (That is for all three types of friendship.) With the utility friendship becoming closer to ending then ever before, one of televisions greatest friendships could be over. No wonder Sheldon needed to escape and let his mind wander, he is worried about losing his friend and that upsets him. So will the world see a friendship end, that all depends on Leonard, does he want to be happy and live with his fiancé, or is he wiling to lose her, to stay friends with Sheldon?

The Grown Up Life

When I was a child, I remember always wanting to grow up and be an adult. Now that I am an adult it is scary, I want to be a child again, I do not want responsibilities. Now that my summer vacation has started I have had a lot of free time on my hands.

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In the movie Big, Tom Hanks wishes away his childhood to become an adult, and sure it is fun at first, but then life hits you square in the face and you actually have to be an adult. There are days that I wish I was still 12 or 13 years old. The way I see it is that growing up is a part of life, and now that I am 18 almost 19 I still want to be a kid, but yet I also want to be an adult. I have to face the fact that those days are over. As we learn in Big there still can be a kid in all adults and that growing up can be fun. All in all, growing up is a part of life, but don't let the kid in you die when the body gets older.

What Brings Us Together? (17)

Normally I am supposed to pick a philosophical idea we have studied this year in class. But I think I have got this one down.  A new essential question to life, what brings people together? Most people would say peace is what brings people together but how do we achieve peace? Easy through someone's funny bone.  Comedy is the way to bring people together. When people are laughing they are not fighting.

          

 This play that was playing at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre from April 24- May 18 and it gives the complete history of comedy from the origin of the great,"Why did the chicken cross the road?" to the art of slapstick. But there was a deeper meaning at the end of the play, and it was as stated above, that if you're laughing then you can't be fighting.
        Comedy is a special artwork, yes people have different types of humor, but it is all the same, the message of the show is that, we are all human, and humans all need a laugh, when we all laugh together, we unite as one and we have a common achievement in laughter.
        Even though we are all different, when we laugh, we are one, and when the world laughs as one, then and only then will the world know what peace is.

The Matrix and Buddhism (16)

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     The philosophical movie "The Matrix" was released in 1999 to critical acclaim. It revolves around the idea that the human race was enslaved by artificial intelligence in the late 21st century and the machines are using the humans for energy. The ideas of Buddhism can be seen throughout the whole movie, more so the four noble truths of suffering. The idea that everybody suffers is true, even in the matrix.
     The four noble truths are as follows, 1) Life inevitably involves suffering, is imperfect and unsatisfactory. 2)Suffering originates from our desires. 3) Suffering will cease if all desires cease, and finally 4) There is a way to realize this state: The Noble Eightfold Path. The main character Neo, a computer hacker shows the most suffering.

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     Buddhism says that suffering is an unavoidable part of life. The first part of suffering is physical pain,sickness, and unfulfilled desires. Neo shows this at the beginning of the movie. He has unfulfilled desires about the matrix, he is questioning is it real or is it not real. Eventually, he is taken out of the matrix by a man named Morpheus. Because Neo has never used his body before, his body has muscular dystrophy. Which means he has lost muscle mass. This is the first part of suffering.

     The second noble truth says we wan't to fulfill the desires we have, but Neo cannot fulfill his desires, because the Oracle says he is not the one. He hopes and wishes he is the one but alas he is not. So, Neo suffers in the fact that he wants to be told he is the one, but has to deal with the fact he is not the one.

     The third and fourth noble truth can be combined into one on this last case. The third truth says that suffering will cease if desire ceases. Neo's suffering eventually ceases when he dies towards the end of the movie. That is one way suffering ends is by death, but that is not the point. Some how he is brought back to life and thus the story continues. The fourth noble truth says that to extinguish desire and suffering one must be focused and devoted to pursuing morality. Neo's suffering is liberated when he dies, he understands at that point that he is the one, his desires came true and the movie ends.

     So what Buddhism and "The Matrix" tells us is that people will suffer, there will always be suffering and the only way to let go of the suffering is that the people need to understand why they are suffering. 

The Five Stages of Grief(15)

Just like how we are in different stages of life according to Kierkegaard, we are also in different stages of grief. The Kübler-Ross model, shows that there are five stages of grief. The first stage is denial, the second is anger, the third is bargaining, the fourth is depression, and finally the fifth stage of grief is acceptance. These five stages are shown well in the movie Groundhog Day starring the funniest man alive Bill Murray.

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Throughout the movie Bill Murray's character Phil is reliving the same day over and over again. He completes one day, and then starts over. Phil is the only one who realizes he is stuck in a time loop. This movie shows all five stages of grief.

Stage 1) Denial: When Phil talks to the man outside is room, he is confused about having the same conversation from the day before. He then lies and says he thought he did this yesterday. He is in denial at this point because he is making up a reality that is not true, in which he thought he had the wrong date, which was not true.

Stage 2) Anger: Phil shows his anger around the close of the movie when he slams the alarm clock to the ground to shut it off. At this point Phil as lived many years in the same day and does not want to hear the radio broadcast from the (first) day.

Stage 3) Bargaining: Phil bargains Rita to just give him a chance. Well several chances, because she said yes, he fell in love with her. It is though that she did not love him, until the (last) day.

Stage 4) Depression: Phil goes through several days where he kills himself. Phil is doing whatever he can to break the time loop. Towards the end of the movie, the audience can see that he is just done with being stuck in Groundhog Day. So he does what any other person may do to end something, by taking his life(s). This attempt does not work and he still wakes up every day at 6:00 am.

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The fifth and final stage is Acceptance: Phil finally accepts his fate and takes advantage of this. Throughout the movie, Phil learns everything there is to learn about the town of Punxsutawney, he learns everybody's name, the story and more. He also takes piano lessons, learns to carve ice, and he finally wins the girl over. By accepting that he would be stuck, he could take advantage of it and learn things that would and could take years to master.

Grief comes in many forms, most of us will experience them in a lifetime not in one day.

A Nice Photo

The perfect day, I went to Jetblue Park today, and saw the Red Sox practicing for the 2014 campaign. It was a fun day. After we went to the park, my family and I went to the beach. We got there around 3:00 pm and did not leave until I got this.

The most perfect sunset to the most perfect day.  Sunset was at 6:30 and that was the end to the perfect day. 

My Dearest Friend (14)

One of my favorite moments in sports is when 17,565 people are cheering at the same moment. On January 14th, 2014, I attended my first Bruins game. Let me tell you I had a blast. My dad got has a friend who has season tickets, arguably the best seats at the TD GARDEN.

I went with my brother and my best bud. There were moments that happened in the game which was good for our team. The Bruins scored three times. Each time they scored, the crowd went crazy. During the game however, there were several times where the people directly behind us spilled some adult like beverages on myself and my friend.  At one point the beverage was spilled down my back. I was not myself, I was acting irate. My friend showed me the metaphorical mirror and told me to calm down. My friend was acting as another self because he knows me. He knows how I act. We have been friends for at least a decade. He saw that I was going crazy over spilled beer but nevertheless, I took several deep breaths and calmed down. He was my true self in a sense that he told me I was acting crazy. He told in more than words that I needed to relax. He acted as another self for me.