What is it about really old photos that gives people a sense of yearning?
What I think may be the cause is the sense of 'hard times' we feel past generations went through. 'Back then' people had to work, they kept themselves busy with daily tasks, they had to work in order to survive - they did not spend time relaxing in front of the television, on the internet, or hanging out at a mall. Something about old photos reminds us about the ambitious, the attitude that didn't say they'll get it done tomorrow, or they need to sit down and relax before and after a chore gets done.
Philosophically, this seems like a yearning to be in touch with our naturally creative side - creative in the sense of creating, not necessarily artistic. We necessarily must labour with nature as the means of life; not only as a the means of life such as subsistence but as the life of labour itself. The labour itself affords man subsistence, as such we naturally must labour - we are a slave to labour.
What I hope this yearning entails is a yearning for a closer connection with the objects of our labour, as opposed to the alienated objects we create in assembly lines, for people all over the world. The more we produce for someone else, the more detached we are from the product of our labour - we become slaves to the appropriation of another being. They control the demand for our labour that provides an object shipped to someone else, and provides the worker with very little in return. What I hope is entailed in these photos is a yearning for a connection to a non-existent place where the connection between labour and object is not lost.

some folow up

Well, if my post on friendship was at all convincing (more at that aspect in a second), I have further proof.
I am glad I am not a jock.
Let me put it in even simpler terms, I am glad my sentences do not always end with 'man.' As in, 'If I saw *insert hockey player that is comparatively bad to my imagination of the best player ever* I would punch him, man.'
These, thankfully are not the thoughts that run through my head, and I have you to thank for that. You, being my my friends past and present. My friends kept me out of the mindset of a jock, as it was something I could have easily been. In spite of my rotund shape I was always involved in sports, and I think nearly became encapsulated by all things sports. It could very easily have been the case that all my friendships were based on sports. Luckily, they were not, and I think I am better off for it.

One last thing, I have to note that I'm working on presenting arguments here in ways that encourage me to have less grandiose ideas. I have a habit of only trying to say something argumentatively if was utterly profound, and in doing so I have a tendency to either leave it unfulfilled, give up entirely, or for the most part be disappointed in the arguments that turn out (usually by a due date). So, basically I've made it a point to try and develop thoughts that are less profound and within my scope to research without draining my resources, and lets be honest, my ambition.
So, if you would like to raise a challenge to my thoughts, please do so. It would be fruitful for me to provide evidence for these thoughts, and not just assume my first impressions are correct.
take care!

on the nature of friendship

Friendship is an interesting thing - a phenomena if you will.
If we believe the arguments from philosophers such as Hobbes or Freud, we are naturally at odds with one another, due to our individual interest in happiness that can and will come into conflict with others' interests.
Where, in this conflictual nature, is room for friends?
I would like to offer a parallel between politics and friendship that allows for the co-possibility of individual interests and the instance of cooperation.
Politics is the system that brings together the individuals, it takes away some natural freedom for the enjoyment of securing those pleasures we seek. In exchange for the securing of our pleasures we are forced to live among some rules created by institutions. These institutions change what we are afforded, what we can seek and be interested in, and essentially who we actually are. We are informed by the very restrictions on who we naturally want to be: self appropriating egoists.
Why is friendship like politics then?
Friendship also allows for the co-possibility of individualism and cooperation. Friendships inform you of who you are and what you are like. They enforce a type of institution that creates borders around the possibility of your self-identity. You lose your freedom of expression for the security of avoiding conflicts with others. It is safe to say that friendships much like politics enforce a self-realization, and form who we are.
It is important, therefore, to seek out friendships that encourage quality rather than quantity. You risk conflict in a larger group as your individuality is at a greater risk to clash with another individual. Furthermore, it is important that you ensure the stability of your friendships at all costs. Losing your friendships has the biggest impact on who you are as a social being. So it is important to maintain friendships to the best of your ability. When friendships are based on quality, there is a certain elasticity of the creation of yourself, and allows for your excellence as an individual to expand, just as the quality of a political system would allow for the influence of the creation of a person in the state.
Friendship is as important as the world you live in, so secure it as best you can.

Is empathy the right word?

At my college there is a professor. This professor, while I'll admit not a very successful teacher, pulls my heart strings. I have this deep fear that I could be in their shoes when I try to pursue a career in philosophy, of not portraying confidence in the material I'm in charge of teaching. I fear that the word 'um' will take up a great deal of my lectures. For these fears, I have a lot of respect for this professor where my colleagues do not. "I don't like that professor" a lot of them say, and follow up by admitting that if nothing, this professor is at least nice. I don't want to be known as the 'nice' professor. I have fear enough to not want to become this professor that I respect them that much more. So, I ask, is empathy the right word? Is pity the word I am looking for? I don't know, but it's moved me in a way that is opposite of what I thought would be the reaction to having a teacher of this un-confident demeanor.
Perhaps I see in this professor a source of inspiration, ambition, to be the successful teacher, who may be a jerk, but is too smart to be hated.

my voice and making up for past birthdays

Well, my presentation is online now, and it sounds like someone is holding my nostrils together.
Have a listen if you like at my school's website

In other news, I'm making up for those birthdays where I did not get those super nintendo games I wanted. I installed ubuntu OS on my ps3 for the simple reason of being able to run a snes emulator. I get to play all those games I didn't get to as a kid! I'm loving it.
Exams are coming, so maybe this was not a good time to try to live out a few years in what I am sure will be a fad ending in a week. haha
anyway, keep in touch