k, so i guess i forgot to post that i was in boston all week; i realized this when ben called me on thursday and was like "chaaaaaad, you haven't been onliiiiine".
i was in boston all week. michelle's been on this big US tour, and didn't have anyone to hang out with while she was in boston, so i joined her and we had a good week. we checked out MIT and harvard, both nice campuses. harvard has a statue of "john harvard, founder" with the date of founding. the only problem is john harvard didn't found harvard, no one knows what he looks like (the statue is based off some random model), and the date on the statue is wrong by 3 years. but... it's there anyway.
we stayed in a hostel, something i've never done before (and didn't even know existed). a hostel is basically a public dorm: rooms of various sizes, stuffing 4-10 people in crappy bunkbeds with bright dorm lights 3 feet from my eyes. gross bathrooms, random people everywhere, the lobby served as a kind of common area with strange old men yelling at kids with dirty feet. in general it was fun anyway, though, just for the uniqueness of the experience. pretty much everyone there was a european 20 something on US vacation, travelling from town to town as cheaply as possibly staying in crappy hostels like this one, and they had various stories concerning such stays. the best part was that it really encouraged you to explore boston, as hanging out in the hotel room was neither comfortable nor restful.
as such, we explored many neat places. went to the boston museum of science, boston aquarium, went on a sunset cruise, went on a graveyard tour, went on a hilarious graveyard trolley tour (eccentric british tour-guide-zombies), and did lots of walking around town late at night (as you had to make sure you were really tired before attempting to sleep). the city was really safe, and we had fun hanging out in common just talking a lot, which led to a great strengthening of relationship. and every single restaraunt has really good clam chowder.
that's it for boston. i harassed some girl on facebook a while ago, here's what was said (over the course of several emails):
Chad: If Fountanhead and Communist Manifesto are both in that list, you've misunderstood at least one of them.
Natalie: yeah, it could be that. or maybe just because i happen to like the book doesnt mean i think we should implement the ideas presented in them. im pretty sure i understood them both just fine, but thanks a lot for your input. next time ill ask if i want it.
Chad: what is it you like about them if they're wrong? are you a fan of wrongness?
Natalie: i like marxs optimism. i like his recognition of what is wrong with the society he sees. and just because the society he fashions cant work doesnt mean its completely wrong. its an idea. i like howard roark. i like dominique, but not as much as i like dagny taggart. i like the story of the fountainhead. i like objectivism, but it wont work, in the same way, if for different reasons, that communism wont work. again, its an idea. its a philosophy. if youre trying to tell me that nobody has ever read or liked any books that were (as you put it) wrong, or that didnt agree with each other, i think you need to take another look around. if youre trying to tell me that i have less right to put ayn rand on my favorite books list because it coexists there with karl marx, then i suggest you stop wasting your breath now.
Chad: actually, if it won't work it _is_ wrong. it's completely irrational to hold as an ideal something that won't work. further, marx's "optimism" consisted of viewing people as slaves that are forced to serve each other; that's hardly optimistic. it's not possible to "not work in the same way" "for different reasons"; reasons are what determine what it is. it's a moot point, though, because a government of individual rights does work and could work, were it to be implemented; america, which has come closer than any other nation to a government of individual rights, is so incredibly successful for precisely that reason. and you're right, thousands of people embody contradictions such as valuing that which isn't true and agreeing with contradictory ideas; and therefore thousands of people are silly for doing so. you can put whatever you want on your list; i'm just pointing out your inconsistencies, just because i get a kick out of it.
Natalie: im glad youve enjoyed yourself, have you quite finished yet?
Natalie: on second thought, please dont respond to that, i really have no desire to hear anything else you have to say. im glad you enjoy picking pointless arguments with people youve never met, i hope you get some satisfaction in trying to prove that youre worth something by them, and im sorry if you dont like my taste in books but its really not my problem.
Chad: hehe, no need to get sore. and thanks for the concern, but i don't do this to establish self-worth; i do it because it bothers me when cute girls have silly ideas. and you're right, me not liking your taste in books isn't your problem; you haveing a fundamentally wrong taste in books is : )
Natalie: are you QUITE finished, and might i ask what you are hoping to achieve by, in plain terms, calling me an idiot? because i promise you that no matter how many times you tell me im wrong and silly, its not going to change my mind.
Chad: oh, you never know. people suffer from rational inspiration all the time; you might get lucky
