039.5 From cows to STD's

Dear Quibbles,
     Having the same history teacher as you, I was aware the significance of the cow in modern day Africa, but was not aware of the interrelation between cows and the growing number of women contracting HIV. However, I want to challenge your argument!
     If cows are a symbol of status, wealth, and when marriage time rolls around, a currency of sorts, it's probably not a wild assumption to predict that most of the women who don't have enough cows to get married are on the poor side. Poor within their community or country that is. My claim is thus: I feel that in any sort of less affluent situation, there will undoubtedly be more STI's, such as HIV, due to lack of proper education, medical centers, contraceptives, etc.      This may be vastly more evident in Africa than say, a first world county. Firstly, far too few Africans attend school, and almost definitely not sex ed. Moreover, the children who attend school tend to be far more male than female. Frankly, teaching women rather than males about preventative tools they can use to prevent STI's and unplanned pregnancy is just logical, because as someone once said, "Women think with their minds, and men think with their genitals." I think someone said... Haha, that might have been too far. But honestly, women are far more mature than men.
     The more rural parts of Africa also suffer from a desperate lack of medical facilities, which means no contraceptives or treatment for contracted STI's. I can imagine trivial injuries or sicknesses that America could prevent with a simple shot taking advantage of Africa's often medical vulnerability. Injury and sickness may leave permanent conditions or marks that could further inhibit marriage. Conclusively, my point is this; If cows are money (somewhat) and lack of cows means poor education, leading to the unknown dangers of STI's, perhaps it's not directly the cow's fault?
     I have one more brief point I'd like to make. Traditions can't simply be done away with, and for what point? Were you referring to the whole "cows as the dowry" thing or doing away with the significance of cows all around Africa? If it was the former, I'd be all for it! Just plain give money as the dowry. But I can see how to an African family, cows might be of more significance. As for the latter, the ancient Bantu people, as well as the Khoi were large herders of cattle, a tradition that's still practiced today. If the roots of this "tradition" are located so extremely far back in history, I'd hate to see it vanish; traditions should be altered as the world around people changes.

Love Always,
- Nargles 10/16/14

039 From Cows to STD's.

Dear Nargles and Warbles,

Let me tell you a little story here that I learned in History a while back.

Once upon a time there were these Bantu people in Africa. They're your generic "black person" today. They had efficient crops and could take over parts of Africa where the people didn't have crops because, you know, agriculture generally works. Always.

So they did their whole expansion thing and soon they covered the whole of Africa. They had no animals, but they had lots of handy plants and dominated their continent.

 




THEN, THERE CAME A PLOT TWIST.






Some guy in Asia thought it would be a good idea to be all, "Hey, I wonder what would happen if we gave the Bantu some cows". So cows were introduced to the equation, and boom, the Bantus completely obliterated all the other ethnic groups. Because sorghum + cow = literal equation for success when you consider that without plants or animals, you die.

Except these cows became so important that they didn't become food. No. They became wedding presents.
-------------------

So there's this thing in Africa where a woman has to give a dowry to her fiancé when they get married. This dowry is used to support them if needed, and I *believe* it's given back to the lady if they get divorced, so kind of an insurance policy. This dowry in Africa is almost always in the form of cows. And since cows are rather scarce in Africa nowadays, women are unable to get married. Which sounds stupid, because all this is for a rather small and silly reason, but this actually was incredibly important centuries ago.


So what do the sad lonely women do instead?

Well, no cows means no marriage.
And no marriage means no sex.
And no sex is BAD so they eventually have more sexual partners OUTSIDE of marriage.
And more sexual partners means more chances of STDs.

So long story short, women in Africa are having an HIV crisis.

And I know this isn't a laughing matter, and I sort of made fun of the whole thing, even though this is literally life and death, and I am incredibly sorry if I offended anybody, but I just wanted to pose ANOTHER question to you:

Should this happen? Should traditions still be kept if they are dangerous? Should this whole dowry thing occur if it's leading to a massive HIV outbreak?


Chew on that,
Quibbles.

038 Hajj vs. ISIS

Dear Nargles and Warbles,

Since it seems like you are very unwilling to respond to my posts, I am going to prod you with my virtual stick and ask you to discuss this.

How do you feel about the violence and anger of ISIS coinciding with the time Muslims take the hajj? (Please do not be offended if I say something wrong about Islam, my Muslim friends. Since I am agnostic, I'm probably not as educated in religion as I'd like. I mean no harm).

All Muslims take the hajj at some point in their lives, unless they aren't physically or financially capable. The hajj takes them to Mecca, and allows them to celebrate and commemorate Abraham, suffering, sacrifice, equality, and their religion. An important feature of the hajj is that everyone wears simple white clothing, so rich people look pretty much the same as the poor.

ISIS, of course, stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIL, which is the same thing as ISIS but more technical, stands for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The Levant is an area in the Middle East. ISIS/ISIL is a group based off of al Qaeda, and are known to be extraordinarily cruel and brutal. ISIS/ISIL is lead by a man named Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. ISIS/ISIL is a huge threat and is affecting the entire world.

The Hajj

Here are links for more information:
Hajj vs. ISIS
ISIS vs. ISIL
The Hajj
ISIS Fast Facts

Look, I did the research for you, AND I gave you a quick lesson on the crisis in the Middle East. JUST POST A LITTLE, WILL YA????!??! THAT'S LITERALLY ALL I'M ASKING FOR.




Best wishes,
QUibbles

Dear Quibbles, a Post

Dear Quibbles and Warbles,
     asdfghjkl I know it's been forever and a half since I posted last, but I have been sick, and I'm here now! :)
     As for the original intentions of this post, I know how you're feeling, Quibbles. I feel oddly lonely now that we don't see each other on a day-to-day basis, it's really weird. I wonder if I am the only one who goes through alternating stages in which one day I want all my friends (haha, the three that I have) to just all hug me and make me feel warm, and the next I just want to shut everyone out and just cuddle my kitties, hissing at anyone who comes near. But alas, the beginning of high school and the start of something new (*singing High School Musical song*), warrants some loneliness due to distance from friends you may not see as often.
     BUT FEAR NOT! For the separation of compadres is a long neglectful broken road, in which we will not travel! Never fear, for Jeanus will always be here.

Jeanus Christ forever <3
- Nargles 10/1/14

PS. Don't worry, we're not religious, it's just a saying we have :)

PPS. I'm such a great rhymer.

037 Marijuana Plants and Loneliness

Hello internet,

Today I found out that the hemp hearts I've been eating for nearly a year now are actually the centres of the seeds of marijuana plants. Just thought you'd like to know.


I feel so lonely right know. I know you're probably used to more substantial posts, but I've checked Facebook AND Twitter AND Instagram AND even my email and nothing is going on in my life and I FEEL SO LONELY AND NOBODY LIKES ME AND I AM SAD.

All the cinnamon tic-tacs in the world,
Quibbles.

036 Thing I also found on Pinterest

Ah, Pinterest. Thou shalt ever be my haven whilst I completeth my homework.

So I shared a couple things a couple minutes ago that made me laugh. Here is something that makes me a bit confused and sad and angry at the same time.

Sorry for the language, by the way. But although this "poem" is sort of cheesy (I know it's about suicide but that doesn't mean it's not cheesy), there's one line that interested me very much.

"F**k this romanticism of suicide."

And the question I want to ask is this: In our society, is suicide romanticized? Should it be romanticized? Is it romantic in reality?

Before I answer, I want to hear your opinions. So Nargles, Warbles, and anyone reading this, please comment below or start a new post. And I realize that this is a very touchy subject and not one to be lightly tossed onto the dinner table. I would like to say that I don't want to offend anyone by comparing suicide to romanticism or things like that. If you don't want to read this, please don't. Otherwise, please consider the question and tell me your opinion. It's infinitely more valuable than you think.

Have a nice day,
Quibbles

035 Things I've Found on Pinterest

Hello readers, how are you doing?

I found some of these posts on Pinterest (because that's what I do with my time). Enjoy.

Better late than pregnant am I right.

We thought it was deep until

WHY ISN'T THIS OUR ANTHEM YET

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HISTORY.

Good luck with life,
Quibbles

034 Being Asian, a Poem

So he said to me: "What kind of Asian are you?" And I said back
That's a loaded question.
What kind of Asian do you EXPECT me to be?
Because any way you slice that egg roll,
I'm still pretty much whatever you want to see.
I've played many a Far East stereotype:
awkward math genius,
cold and calculated Kung-Fu expert,
assistant to "Dr. Jones, you crazy!"
You want me to drive? How so?
I can give you
Tokyo Drift,
Jeremy Lin
Mario Kart,
Tiger Woods,
and Blinker left on for about half a mile
I am the foremost expert on
all things Asian.
The Mejii era and the ban of the Samurai?
Done.
Confuciusism versus Daoism? I'll give it to you with no slant!
What's the difference between Asian stereotype
1 and 2?
WELL LET ME TELL YOU.
Let me tell you anything YOU
want to know about my culture
Let me tell you in a Mulan-esque soliloquy
of me staring in the mirror asking
Who IS that girl staring that I see?
Let me tell you about Jackie Chan
and Bruce Lee and how they are related
BY BLOOD to me
Let me tell you about being so marginalized
it's to the point of "I really CAN'T believe
that's Asian!"
Let me tell you about derogatory terms
and origins of words such as chink and gook
Let me tell you about the struggle
of Asian parents not knowing the language
so we ate pet food because it was cheaper
Let me tell you about the job of interpreter
when you're still playing with LEGO blocks but
you're English is already that much better
than your guardians
Let me tell you about honor and dignity
Let me tell you about a society that
projects us as nothing but the secondary role
and never the leading man.
Let me tell you all the things you don't want
to know.
Like how chink comes from
the clanking of metal to railroads
as the slaves built train tracks for
this country to be connected.
Like how the zipperhead down the street
is called that because of the way our heads
split open when struck with assault weapons
or how the Jeeps ran over and left marks
across corpses and someone clever thought
that we were only good to unzip.
Like how every time you lump an Asian person
into one culture is systematically making us
assimilate into an America we thought was
better than our war torn home and every time you confuse me
with some other nationality that I might share similar
features to is stripping away my individuality
And I still feel the shame of being Asian
the heat and pious dedication
of June 11th 1963
the envy of blonde hair
and blue eyes
And I still remember thinking where all the
boys that looked like me on TV were
the broken words
of my mother and father stage diving
off my tongue
the anger I felt when those
kids thought I'd get them sick
And I still feel the ash of the incense burn
my hands
when I prayed for my family
And I still remember thinking my skin
was what I was worth
And I still feel the ironwork of my bones
grow stronger with every train of thought
that
passes by
And I still feel pride
And I still feel heritage
And I still feel Chinese
And I still feel Vietnamese
And I still feel American
And I still feel

- Alex Dang, A Man Slams Down A Bigoted Question So Hard He Brings Down The House

033.75 Should Scotland Gain its Independence?

Dear Nargles and Warbles,

YOUR NAMES KIND OF RHYME!! Kind of. And welcome, Warbles. So glad to see our blog revitalized. We may need to start thinking of even more names if we want to add more people; more the merrier am I right or am I right??!!??

Anyways, on the topic of Scotland's independence, here's another issue to bring up: The UK's nuclear forces are all situated in Scotland. Moving them could potentially be dangerous, as well as expensive, and the UK sure isn't going to let Scotland just have their nuclear bombs.

Furthermore, change is good and everything... there's always a first for everything, and as Nargles mentioned, Taiwan has already proven successful at being a nation. But this is going to be really really complicated, and I'm not sure the people who want to change are fully ready to embrace that.


Lets make an analogy. Say I wanted to break off from this blog and move my past blog posts to my new blog. (I would never do that, by the way. Stop looking at me like that.)

Pros:

1. I get a new blog.
2. I get to have credit for everything.

Cons:

1. I'm not as motivated.
2. You guys are going to have a whole bunch of posts that are just random answers to invisible letters. For instance, all those 10.5s and 13.5s are going to be awkwardly floating around in the blog.
3. I will not be able to face you ever in person. Maybe.
4. I feel sad.
5. I feel like a bad friend.
6. I have no inspiration. (going back to Con #1)
7. TOO COMPLICATED!!
8. Too lazy to do all that.
9. I have to think up a new blog name and new code name and new advertising strategies, etc.

The UK and Scotland are having the same problems. The new blog name I need to think up is equivalent to the new currency they need to think of. The random awkward floating blog posts are the unsolved issues between the UK and Scotland. When you think of all the Cons, is the Pro really worth it?

Obviously I think that Scotland should stay with the UK, but I hope I haven't been too biased. Maybe.

All the rainbows and unicorns in the world,
Quibbles.

Post Scriptum: If you want to respond, the next numbers are 033.875, 033.9375, 033.96875, etc. You do the math after that. 

Post Post Scriptum: McGonagles, Skeetles, Doxles, Erumples, Griffles, Niffles, Kneazles...???

033.5 Should Scotland Gain its Independence?

Dear Warbles,

Overall, I would say that Scotland should do what the people want, and according to the poll, apparently that's staying with the United Kingdom. I did a slight bit of research, and discovered that the percentage of people who voted "no" for separating from the UK won with 55.4% of the vote, which I consider quite close, despite large gap in the figures of the numbers of people who voted each way.

Scottish Flag

There are people who believe that independence is best. Scotland's future is better in the hands of the Scottish people, who know what is best for Scotland. They want control of their own country's fate. They could become more wealthy and better off on their own, some say.

Scotland

However, others believe that independence is too risky, and not thought out. They'd have to undergo many changes if they became their own nation. Britain said Scotland wouldn't have been able to use the pound anymore, and configuring a new currency would have definitely be a hassle. Scotland also provides most of the UK's oil fuels and holds its nuclear deterrence (submarines), which would have nowhere to go.

 

London

The people who voted against the independence of Scotland predominantly believe that united with the UK they are strong, they are protected. Even Brits feel strongly about Scotland, saying that the UK wouldn't be the same without them. I have a suspicion that it may be the older, more conservative Scottish people who want to stay with the UK, because they don't like change and identify themselves and their country as part of the UK. Similar to this scenario, it's found that most of the older generation of the Taiwanese people still long to one day be reunited with China, however the younger generation seems to find this notion quite unappealing. I am not fully educated on the specificities of my claims, so please forgive any mistakes.

What do you think?

I'm aware that my research has lots of claims against the independence of Scotland, but I did watch one very educational video... from Fox News, so go figure. Can either of you (Warbles or Quibbles) make any claims as to why Scotland should have be independent?

Love always,
~Nargles 9/21/14

033 Should Scotland Gain its Independence?

Quibbles and Nargles, what're your opinions on the vote to make Scottland an independant country? I know the vote was earlier today, and it failed, but what'd you think of it?

- Warbles

An Introduction to Warbles

Hello Everyone! I am Warbles! I will be a new blogger on www.ourlittleoblivion.blogspot.com! I like to think that I like science, and many of my posts may reflect that! *ps. did you hear about scientists creating solid light? If not, definitely go check it out* I'm not sure you'll all like me right away, because people don't generally like change, but I'm sure we'll grow to be friends!

Thanks! - Warbles

032 Guns Don't Kill People

I told you I would abandon this blog. I TOLD YOU IN THE VERY FIRST POST.

I'm great at starting things, but bad at ending them. Maybe that's why I can never finish projects on time. I'm sorry to you, to Nargles, to all the readers, and to the promise I made on my very first blog post. I will endeavour to post more in these less hectic days.

Today I would like to discuss an article I found.

Guns Don't Kill People

Yesterday I placed my shotgun on the front porch, gave it six shells, and noticing it had no legs, placed it in a wheelchair to help it get around.

While I was gone, the mailman delivered my mail, the boy across the street picked up my yard, a girl walked her dog down the street, and quite a few cars stopped at the stop sign near my house.

 After 10 hours, I checked on the shotgun. It had not rolled outside and it had not killed anyone in spite of many opportunities that had been presented.

Can you imagine how surprised I was, with all the hype about how dangerous guns are and how they kill people? Either the killing is by people misusing guns or I'm in possession of the laziest gun in the world. So now I'm off to check on my spoons, because I hear they make people fat.

Donald K. Martin, Windsor Locks

Nargles, before I rant about what this quote signifies and how the irony emphasizes the point and all that, why don't you try? This is a fantastic topic to talk about. Do people kill people or do guns kill people? Or do people with guns kill people?

- Quibbles 9/6/14

PS: Do you think Mac would be interested in joining the blog? Might make things less slow.

031 If you could put a near-perfect lie detector on your phone to flag any dishonesties, would you? If so, would you use it a lot or just for very specific conversations?

     I feel like I am a very trusting person, sometimes maybe overly trusting. One of my old friends used to blatantly lie about the most random things, and then tell me it was a lie, just for kicks. I was always very confused as to why this person would do this. That is, lie for no apparent reason, because I just don't see the pleasure in lying. Whenever I lie, or try to deceive people, on a big scale, perhaps, I always feel there's a weight on my shoulders when being untruthful. I only lie when I don't want others to be mad at me (triggering weight-on-shoulders scenario), or when I want to spare someone's feelings. Lying is only used when absolutely necessary, and I try to make them white lies when I can.

     This is the reason why I wouldn't use a lie detector on my phone. People trust me not to lie to them, and vice versa, because really, what reason do I have on a daily basis to lie to them? The only reason I wouldn't trust someone to tell me the truth is when they have told serious lies and I have caught them before. If I haven't discovered their lies, well haha, lucky them. Perhaps the only people I would want to use the lie detector on are the people that I don't trust, due to previous lying.

     I am not a cynical person, and I default on my belief that everything everyone says is the truth, unless proven untrue. Maybe it's a bit naive to think this way, but I like to think the best of people, in that they tell the truth. I can forgive a little white lie, such as telling me they can't hang out with me tonight because they have a bunch of homework, when they really are hanging out with another friend. I might have done the same in that situation, but I also would have completely understood if they told me the truth as well. However, if someone lies to me about something important, something they know is going to make me upset, and is going to turn into a big deal, that is where I draw the line. You only get a certain number of mistakes before you're out. Buh-bye, see ya. I try to be honest and respectful to everyone I meet, especially my friends and if that respect is not reciprocated, then I have no desire to further our relationship. It tells me that you don't care enough about me to be nice and civil, and that is not worth any of my time.

Okay, I got kind of overly worked up on this one, but if you'll excuse me :P ;)

What about you, Quibbles, are you more or less trusting than me when it comes to people telling the truth?

Love always,
- Nargles 9/01/14