Friday, December 12, 2008

Karma: The Final Superstition Blog...Or Is It?


All good things must come to an end. It seems like just yesterday that all of us were scrambling around to find an empty seat with a computer that didn't have issue for that first day of English 112. Some of us had no idea what to expect; some of us just figured that this would be another boring English class where you read a piece of literature and write papers about them. Alas, a curveball entered into the pitch count [a baseball metaphor explaining how something was different from the normal]. "Professor Peluso [or Quinn, whatever you want to call yourself now!], first of all, you mean I don't have to call you Professor? Second, you are saying that this class does not have any required text to read, no papers to write, and no strict syllabus to follow? Lastly, you are telling me that this class will be all about internet blogging? This is madness!" All of these things immediately rushed into my brain housing group that first day. I must admit, I was a little nervous. I didn't know anything about internet blogging, let alone even know how to create my own.

Blogging for me has been enjoyable. Often times, I would catch myself feeling proud of a post that I just created or quickly jumping on the computer to see if anyone posted comments. Even though superstition is not the easiest of topics to choose from, I felt like I made it my own. Maybe I did not bring anything new to the table, but hopefully, I entertained or educated.

Karma is the belief that if something good is done for someone, then good will be reciprocated back on the doer. This class has done just that. By opening ourselves up for comments, critique, and suggestions from other students about our respected blogs, we ultimately became the benefiter of something better. Think about it; by leaving a positive comment on a classmate’s blog, you personally connected with that person and vise versa. Speaking for myself, if someone commented on one of my blogs, the next class that I saw that person, we made some kind of personal encounter, something that is hard to do in an eight week class.

Blogging in this class has expanded my knowledge of everything from drive shafts to Japan. I am glad that I had this chance to learn, share, and grow as a writer.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Response to some tough questions

Blogging is in deed interactive, so this is my chance to reply to some questions asked of me about superstitions.

My last post was about horoscope as a superstition. In case you didn't read my last post, I defined what a superstition was and compared it to a horoscope. I also touched on the attributes that my son possess as an Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. A couple of questions came of that post, and I will do my best to explain and answer those in this one.

Julie P asked, "So in the end, do you believe it's [horoscope] true when you consider your son?" Although your question is a simple one, it is a bit complicated to answer. I am not one of those people who checked yahoo.com everyday to see my horoscope, but I have been know to see glace at mine (Virgo), my wife's (Pieces), and now my son's (Aries). I guess what I am trying to say is that I do believe in them, but only to a certain degree. To me, I would have to compare a horoscope to a fortune cookie, broad and vague but one that will fit the bill of any occasion. My son is shaping up to be the typical Aries, energetic, a bit of a dare devil, and a leader (he is the only kid that I have even know to start children milestone [rolling over, crawling, etc] earlier than expected).

BloodSweat. Your question is even harder to answer. "In your opinion what is the difference between the definition of superstition and a organized religion?" When you asked what the difference between organized religion and superstition, I must admit, I had to look up "organized religion". In one of my earlier post, I stated that superstitions are deeply rooted in religion. In a way, I believe the two terms can be interchangeable. A religion can have superstitions, but not all superstitions are religious. Some are just cause and effect.

Another answer to your question would be that religion refers to a god or higher being where as superstitions do not all have that common ground. While a lot of superstitions deal with spirits [good and evil], some do not.

I consider myself a fairly superstitious person as well as a fairly religious person. Growing up, my mother instilled in me a strong since in God, Jesus, and his teaching. Growing up in a rural community deep in the piny woods of Texas, she also exposed us to a grocery list of superstitious acts. For instance, she would make us eat something green on New Years Day to bring money into the house, we always had a horse shoe over the front door for good luck, and heavy help you if you swept over someone's feet, hit someone with a broom, or stepped over one for that matter.

All in all, if you believe that something good or bad, positive or negative, something is right or wrong, then that is what you believe. Whether it is rooted in religion, tradition, or you just do it because that is all you know, then I say stick with it.

I had a western civilization class last semester, and my professor said numerous times that the Romans never really invented anything. When they conquered civilizations, they just assimilated the culture, customs, and religions of the conquered. If their civilization had 10 deities, and the Romans had 30, then the Romans would have 40. My point behind saying that is this: the more you believe, the merrier.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Aries



I want to pose a questions to the readers of this blog. The question is this: Do you think that believe in horoscopes and zodiac signs are considered superstitions? Well, lets look at the definition of the two words.

Superstition: 1 a: a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation b: an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition2: a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary. (Merriam-Webster)

Horoscope: 1 : a diagram of the relative positions of planets and signs of the zodiac at a specific time (as at one's birth) for use by astrologers in inferring individual character and personality traits and in foretelling events of a person's life 2 : an astrological forecast. (Merriam-Webster)

To me, the key words that stand out in the definition of horoscope is,"foretelling events of a person's life", while the big ticket in the superstition definition is, "fear of the unknown". So, I iffer is that if you fear what you don't know, then checking out your daily horoscope can be form of superstition. Makes sense right?

Whether it is in the back of a magazine, or next to the Sudoku puzzle in the paper, I bet everyone has glanced at their daily horoscope once or twice in their life. Some people check their daily horoscope before they go to work or school just to keep themselves sharp on what to expect for the day. Others use it to check the compatability of their siginificant other, or even to predict their child's personality.

I am not one to really believe in horoscopes, but I got to thinking about my eight month old son today. He was born on April 7, 2008, which makes him an Aries.


Arians are usually very energetic, daring, adventureious, confident, quick on their feet, passionate and friendly. On the other side of the pillow, Arians tend to be self centered, quick tempered, hasty to action, "me first" attitude, and naivé at times.

My son is definitely a square peg for a square hole. Highly energetic, attentive, adventurous, and self motivated, Quinten already posseses several of the Aries stong points. Being that his skin is the color of cappuccino, his eyes change like the leaves of autum, and his hair grows like rip curls of the ocean, I know he is going to be the monkey that stops the show [From the expression, "One monkey doesn't stop the show"]. I guess we will have to see him grow up to find out if the bad attributes of the Arian will come out!






Works Cited:

"horoscope." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 2 December 2008http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horoscope

"superstition." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 2 December 2008