A healthy mix of philosophical awe and ridiculous humor~
This blog contains the following (Click each for the link!): And anything else that catches my eye ;DAbout Me:
James, 22, Pennsylvania, Part-Time Panda
Photo reblogged from Under my protection. with 2,483 notes
Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago
Submitted by underthewarninglight.
Source: aseaofquotes
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Ah, the classic challengers in the way of your dreams. Joke’s on you, life. I’ll do what makes me happy thank ya very much, obstacles or not!
Source: bweester
Photoset reblogged from The Randomness of a Teenage Wannabe Chef.. with 3,480 notes
Source: lodestarmonkey
Photoset reblogged from Small Thoughts with 93,285 notes
God bless Tolkien.
And let’s not forget the fact that both Legolas and Gimli were not only raised under the ruling cultural doctrine of “dwarves/elves are irredeemable dicks we’re so much better GO TEAM”, they were alive during the events of the Hobbit so it’s not just that their dads hate each other, the resentment was probably pretty close to home for both of them as well. No doubt that Legolas was personally outraged by this scruffy group of dwarves thoughtlessly wreaking havoc in his home and harassing his people’s garden parties, and Gimli despised the elves for being so stiff-necked and prissy and taking his father (and various and sundry other relations) prisoner for no legitimate reason. I mean, this is some real classic blood feud-starting, you-have-dishonored-my-family-therefore-I-will-despise-you-forever stuff we’ve got going on.
The dwarf/elf animosity is fucking personal for these two, well beyond the cultural norm.
And then you have this scene. After all that these two have been through together, after going from Rivendell to Edoras to Minas Tirith to the Black Gate and all those places in between we see all of those childhood lessons, all of that doctrine and built up animosity melt away. We are left with a Dwarf and an Elf with the most reason to despise each other out of any others in Middle Earth, standing shoulder to shoulder at what could possibly be their final battle, calling each other “friend”.
(which is to say nothing of the significance of being called “Elf-Friend” in the first place, but that’s another story entirely)
(and don’t even get me started on Gimli defending Galadriel to Eomer, because that was a fucking gorgeous scene and should have been in the movie because it was perfect)
Fuck’s sake, there is so much that Tolkein is teaching in LOTR, but I think his most important theme, and one that resounds here, is to think for yourself and always question what people tell you, because you never really know the truth (of people, of places, of anything) until you seek it out for yourself.
Source: arkenstoners
Had a last great night in 2012 ;D But really, it’s just another night. Aim for every day being your best!
Source: bweester
Quote reblogged from My Darkened Eyes with 1,851 notes
Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there’s no room for the present at all.
Quote reblogged from Small Thoughts with 245,424 notes
One day, you’re 17 and you’re planning for someday. And then quietly, without you ever really noticing, someday is today. And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life.
Source: voguelovesme
Post reblogged from Ice cream and waffle irons with 269,686 notes
thatsupergleekywholockianhead:
what if a guy in a hoodie comes up to you and hands you a giant book and gives you a sly smirk. when you start to read it, you realize it’s a book about your entire life. would you read it to the end?
GO SIT IN THE FUCKING CORNER. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST DID.
ARE YOU SATAN
Source: i-amwho-i-am
Photoset reblogged from Doctor Who Official on Tumblr with 34,194 notes
“Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It’s not the time that matters, it’s the person.”
Doctor Who Series 3: The Lazarus Experiment
Source: expelliarmus
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Worldviews
I find it weird that people insist that they’re right on a regular basis about things they have a limited view about. The mind is quite interesting in that it literally does everything in its power to tell its subject that it’s usually right despite insurmountable evidence or lack of experience. That’s not to say that I haven’t experienced this phenomenon, except that I dare to recognize it as one, and try to actively point it out. I try to be very open-minded when it comes to talking to people, because I realize such a fact, that there is always something to be learned and that I may not be in the right. So.. when one says to me that Oklahoma’s panhandle is on the east instead of the west, my mind tells me “I don’t think that’s right… but I’m not particularly sure, so let’s see what this person has to say.” Of course, I later google a map of the United States and find that I am indeed, right. I really do think that a sign of intelligence is being able to hear what people think, and test it with what one originally thinks, and see if it holds with the world, making changes if need be. But furthermore, I find that the mark of a moral intellect is to do the same as a genius, but in addition, give the benevolence of understanding that even the most untrained mind can teach you something about the world. Because.. even the intelligent mind can forget about emotion, about morality. I strive to incorporate both into my worldview, and I hope that many do the same.
Source: bweester
Quote reblogged from It's Okay To Be Smart with 34,734 notes
Many adults are put off when youngsters pose scientific questions. Children ask why the sun is yellow, or what a dream is, or how deep you can dig a hole, or when is the world’s birthday, or why we have toes. Too many teachers and parents answer with irritation or ridicule, or quickly move on to something else. Why adults should pretend to omniscience before a five-year-old, I can’t for the life of me understand. What’s wrong with admitting that you don’t know? Children soon recognize that somehow this kind of question annoys many adults. A few more experiences like this, and another child has been lost to science.
There are many better responses. If we have an idea of the answer, we could try to explain. If we don’t, we could go to the encyclopedia or the library. Or we might say to the child: “I don’t know the answer. Maybe no one knows. Maybe when you grow up, you’ll be the first to find out.”
Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as the Candle in The Dark
Not being afraid of not knowing is the first step on the road to true discovery.
(via skaterboytae)
Source: skaterboytae
Quote reblogged from Under my protection. with 16,999 notes
Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.
Source: quote-book
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