Argumentative Essay

So my sisters topic for her school essay is

"Illuminati are using musicians to corrupt^c the youth"

and she asked for my help. So far she wrote about a page or so of stuff I didn't read.

^c Sorry, I'm not sure of the exact words used here, but I'm pretty sure it was something along these lines. I'll correct this later maybe.

Anyone have any comments or views? My days of writing argumentative essays are well behind me. If it were a narrative essay, that would be a different story^s, but I can barely even spell "argumentative." Joneva would be able to help, she's good at these types of essays. I ought to ask her.

^s See what I did there?

SPOILER WARNING

Once upon a time, in a strange jungle, where summers can last decades and winters, a lifetime; there lived an Old Wolf.
One day this wolf was charged with the responsibility of executing a Crow that abandoned his murder, that is to say, his flock. The wolf was required to do this because he was the ruler in the northern region of the jungle, the region in which this particular Crow-who-fled was found.
The Old Wolf had 6 cubs. 3 of whom were with him; the Young Wolf, his eldest son and heir; the Winged Wolf, his second son; and the Estranged Wolf, the base-born child of the Old Wolf. He also brought his ward, a Young Squid, as well as some of his other loyal subjects so that they may witness the execution.

The crow's last words are that the Others, monsters from stories of times long passed, are back.

After performing the execution, the Old Wolf returned home somber, his breeding partner, the She-Wolf, asked why the Winged Wolf, young as he was, had to witness such a graphic scene. He explained to her that he wanted to show his cubs, that the one who sentences someone to death, should be the one to perform the execution, that way, killing would not come too easy to them.

The She-Wolf also brought him news. She told him that the Crowned Stag, king of the jungle, would be paying them a visit. She told him that the Stag's old adviser was dead, and it was likely the king wanted the Old Wolf to take his place as the King's Hoof. This made the Old Wolf very unhappy, as being the Hoof was not a prospect he fancied. He did not want to leave his home and travel so far south, to a place where most residents were concerned with preening rather than matters of more importance.

Yawn.. I'm too tired to type out the rest of the story. If you're really interested, read the book. Or, if you're one of those lazy people, watch the series.

Post Title

Hello, I am a blog post. I exist only because my master and creator wills it... (and also by the grace of blogger and God). I serve no purpose other than to consume minuscule amounts of time from the lives of as many people as I can reach.

I hope I am fulfilling my purpose in [life?] Am I alive? Does a document stored on some server somewhere on the web live? I hear that Memes live. Apparently they are described as

A meme ( /ˈmiːm/; meem) is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture." A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate and respond to selective pressures.¹

Sounds pretty alive to me... and I don't even have ears, I'm just a post.
Back to my purpose in existence... Please read me, so that my master will be happy. He is a good master, I think. At least, I think that I think, if I can think. Can I think?
I don't have any other masters to compare him to, so I have to assume that he is good.

My master has decreed that I have nothing else to convey, except "Goodbye." and the footnotes that he is so fond of.

So, Goodbye.
¹ Wikipedia - Meme

If "Happy Ever After" did exist...

Sigh, if only...

Then again, who's to say it never exists... Maybe it does... and then you die. Or maybe you die first and then it exists.

Personally, I don't see the harm in hoping for/believing in an afterlife, but you're welcome to believe whatever tickles your fancy.

So I have Maroon 5 - Payphone on Repeat...

The playlist is named "Repeat", I mean. Although I suppose that, since the playlist is on a loop, the song is on repeat, along with others. Hmmm... I wonder if that's what possessed me to give the playlist that name in the first place.

Next.

Levels - Avicii... Practically the only Avicii track that most "Avicii fans" know, as such they are ensuring it has a long and drawn out death. I still like it though, and small wonder, seeing as it's awesome. I'm still trying to decide if I like the Skrillex remix more or less... I originally thought more, now I may review my decision... Overplayed though, much as I love this track, skip.

I have a few playlists, some poorly updated, viz. "Latest", some I absolutely love, yet seldom listen to, such as my Classics playlist, and then there are the auto-generated "Recently Added" and "Most Played"  playlist and my "Repeat" playlist. Now the latter two are strange in that they don't have a mood to them, they are just songs that I could listen to on repeat at the present time. But the thing is that they have some recent songs and some ancient songs. Some high tempo songs and some low tempo songs, and songs of several different genres. Yet, strangely enough, I don't mind the start contrast and transitions like I usually would. Guess that when you deal with your favourites, you tend to overlook things that would otherwise annoy you.

And that's how you steer the conversation away from religious stuff. I think. Mmmm, Steers.

Title

Great leaders inspire greatness in others.

Sigh, the above quote is so self-explanatory that I can't find much to say about it... I actually don't have much to say today... Or maybe I simply don't have time to type out my views and opinions at the present time.
Don't have time? Wait, what? I spent the entire day doing nothing but watching some series... Speaking of which, I plan to go back to doing that soon...

Random side note: Speaking of leaders, I was recently selected to join the Youth Leadership team at church.

So if great leaders inspire greatness, does that mean that Awesome leaders inspire Awesomeness?
More importantly, what if the followers are just incapable of greatness? Surely that would excuse the great leader for failing to bring out greatness in the followers. Ah, who knows... Anyway, back to some TV series...
--
Protestas est protestas.

Why People are Stupid

Shortly after reading a blog post, You're Stupid, by Jesamania, I paid a visit to a nearby mall, viz. Gateway. and came across this:

Now, having yet another fast food franchise in Gateway is all well and good, but I am thoroughly disappointed with the state of our society, our species even, when I think about the shop it replaced. It was a place I frequented and loved, a place I wish could forever be there.
Somewhere I purchased some of my most cherished possessions:

Now I don't blame Gateway, no, it was a good decision. Food, particularly fried (or is it flame-grilled) chicken, sells. It makes money. Especially as opposed to books. The bookshop was probably making too little money for it to be worthwhile, or feasible, for them to remain there, and so they closed or moved.

Nor do I blame the chicken franchise, no, they too made a brilliant business decision. 

They gave the people food. People like food.

I blame the people; people are stupid. People like to be stupid. It's probably easier, or, at the very least, remaining stupid/ignorant seems to be the path of least resistance. 

Non quia difficilia sunt non audemus, sed quia non audemus, difficilia sunt. ^a

Sigh.

Truth is, you are probably not stupid. A person is possibly not stupid. A person may even be a genius. But people... people are stupid. 

Why are people stupid, you ask? 

Because people fail to realize the value and allure of books and reading. People don't appreciate the magnificent conferrer^b of knowledge, and often, intelligence, that is literature.^c

People are therefore, intentionally or unintentionally, content to remain blissfully unintelligent and ignorant.

Scientia potestas est. 

Libri sunt scientia.^d

F-F-Fa-Fancy Footnote^q

^a "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, but because we do not dare, things are difficult." - Seneca, Letter to Lucilius, letter 104, section 26, line 5

^b I wanted to use the word "bestower" instead, should I have?

^c Note that this is just one of the reasons.

^d I don't think my Latin is correct. I don't know latin, so please forgive me.

^q I like these footnotes. :-) ... speaking of which, I should get Latex.

---

(edit)

Yokatta!

Just found out that Bargain books didn't move too far. It merged with the bargain books at the Crescent.

Harry Potter isn't real?

:-) Lol at the ambiguity of the title.

I meant, in my opinion, of all the characters in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter is perhaps the most shallow and transparent character. Everyone, from Aberforth to Yvonne, Hannah Abbot to Rose Zeller, Kelly Whakkaarangapawarau to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, show more depth of character than the protagonist himself.

Honestly, I think soulless Sam (Supernatural) has more personality in his little finger than Harry has in his whole body. Truth is, and it may just be me, I just can't see myself taking such a passive role if I just found out that I was a wizard. I would follow more along the lines of Hermione, Dumbledore, Grindelwald,  or even Voldemort. Fact is, each and every one of them make sense psychologically, whereas the title character is, more or less, a robot with an amateurish Emotions program implemented.

If I, an ordinary person, and I use the term "ordinary" loosely, one day found out that I had magic, I'd do everything I can to become as powerful as wizardly possible. While I understand that, even in this world, there exist apathetic people, such a person in the wizarding world doesn't make sense to me.
I am the power-hungry Voldemort (or Dumbledore or Grindelwald) in the Harry Potter series, I am the notorious Sylar in Heroes, I am the megalomaniac, Aizen in Bleach... Oh wait, that might be a spoiler, sorry.
Nevertheless, I can relate to these people, they are real. As for the other characters found in Harry Potter, they too, with the exception of The boy who lived, show emotional substance.

Ah, but don't get me wrong, the series is brilliant. I love it. This is just my rambling opinion.