June 30, 2006
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Untitled, totally random and disconnected
I'm listening to some pre-release tracks fo Vienna Teng's new album and man do they rock. You can find them on her myspace page. There is always a song that has that piano music that first attracted me to her music. Can't wait till July 25th when it comes out
Random browsing through the CSU, Chico's website this caught my attention
2005 CSU, Chico Commencement Address
Paul J. Zingg
Now—and I know the ice is melting and your future is awaiting—but let me share just a few thoughts with you as we conclude this ceremony.
Hopefully, as much as anything during your studies and time in our company, you have acquired a sense of serious daring in your lives and found joy in that discovery. That you have come to realize that the essence of education is self-discovery and that cannot be a passive journey. People do not just find themselves. Rather, they create themselves through their actions and accepting the consequences of them. Women and men achieve personal identities only by making decisions that require forethought and, at times, courage. You must look beyond what is known and tried to what is, as yet, unknown and untried. You must search out alternatives, consider their consequences, and then confront these choices.
To arrive at these choices, I urge you always to seek the truth. Think. Study. Judge. To do otherwise may mean that you will become enslaved to falsehoods. And those who know the least are the most willing to obey shallow and dangerous falsehoods.
I urge you to continue to seek greater meaning in your life. This may require an act of faith when faced with the chaos and complexity and even the insane brutality that exist in parts of our world today. But hew close to your family and friends, find solace in nature, be kind to one another, and recognize that your spirit, no less than your body, requires nourishment.
I urge you as well to strive to make sure that justice informs all your actions. Practice charity and forbearance in your daily life. And know that you and I, and all peoples, even the weakest and least advantaged among us, share a common humanity.
I urge you to understand the dignity of human aspirations. The ability to hope, to dream of a brighter future, underscores what it means to be human. We cherish this quality in ourselves. You must see to it, then, that the dreams of others are not destroyed by prejudice and discrimination, by poverty and ignorance.
And finally I urge you to think kindly of this place – this university, this community of extraordinary people – which equipped you and encouraged you for the daring journeys – be they occasional forays or deep commitments – across borders, whether intellectual or attitudinal, spatial or spiritual. We hope you leave us more autonomous, more tolerant, more curious than when you first joined us. And we hope these qualities will always characterize you – and define us.
We are better because you have been with us. We will become even better as you stay in touch with us as an active member of a growing and enthusiastic CSU, Chico Alumni Association and that you will share with us your journeys and decisions always, we hope, on the side of the true, the beautiful, and the virtuous.
Congratulations and best wishes. And may the force be with you!
Can't wait till Thursday!!!!!
I am leaving for Chicago until the 14th and can't wait to get the hell out of town.
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