They call me Frosty...

These past weeks have been great. Ahh, the weather was so, so perfect. I felt like the statue of liberty, just gazing upon humanity and all of mother earth's creatures frolicking near me. With this broom in my hand, I felt unstoppable. I felt an inner urge to scream "come at me bro" whenever I saw a rabbit pass by. But on the other hand, I felt a sense of responsibility. I felt that I had been chosen to protect these beautiful creations. Maybe I was a protector. Either way, I felt powerful, and I was at the threshold of my life. But now, things have changed.

No longer do I like the weather. The dominance of Winter has subsided, only to be conquered by the almighty Spring. Alas, I see my fate. My body can't cope with this new atmosphere! Ahh, I think I'm melting! Why am I slowly starting to feel "liquidy?" This is absolutely embarrassing. Those rabbits over there are laughing at me. What did I do to deserve this? Am I just a creature meant to exist only during the periods of the cold? What is that God forsaken bright yellow hunk of mass in the sky? Ahh, it burns my eyes. The amount of pain I'm experiencing is directly proportional to how much I've shrunken. Oh, cruel fate! I feel powerless in the face of nature.

6 hours have passed since the beginning of Spring. All that is left of me now is my nose, a bright orange carrot gifted to me by mankind. At least the melting has stopped. However, I don't feel as powerful as I used to be. Look what I have been degraded to! Is that a rabbit over there? I can't tell. Why is it running towards me so quickly? Maybe he wants to be my friend. Wait a second! Hey! Stop that! This is unfair! I think this was one of the rabbits who was laughing at me earlier. Now I know why.

~They called me Frosty...

What Lies Inside a Pokeball?

You're probably mildly familiar with a show/game series called Pokemon. The word Pokemon refers to the creatures themselves, like Pikachu for instance. Pokemon live in a world where they can run freely, or accompany a person. The formation of a human-to-person relationship usually begins with a pokeball. A pokeball is a device used to capture pokemon. Now this can be seen as positive and negative. Negative in the sense that it limits the pokemon's freedom, but positive in the sense that it fosters a human relationship. Once a pokemon is in a pokeball, it can only be called out at the discretion of the human owner. I'm not here to criticize the mechanics of this practice, but I'm here to ask a question: what happens when the pokemon is inside the pokeball? Does it just disappear, does it become matter-less? The makers of this show/game series never answered these questions, so that leaves room for me to present a theory.

Once in the pokeball, the pokemon doesn't just disappear. It enters another dimension where it is free to pursue its passions. It exists in a shared alternate reality with other pokemon, without a trace of humans (think of it like the world's population living in the same dream). So now what? Is there some type of pokemon hierarchy or source of governance? Is there some sort of control? I imagine that they fall victim to a process that Thomas Hobbes writes about in his Leviathan, a process in which pokemon become ruthless, selfish individuals on the hunt for power. These competing ambitions would result in an array of violence, chaos and destruction. Without humans to hold back pokemon, they can finally live out their selfish and violent nature. However, at absolutely anytime, a pokemon can be called by its human to go back into the human-pokemon world. They are usually called out to battle with other pokemon, and I imagine that they would be rearing to fight after being exposed to so much violence in their alternate reality. If this was truly the case, I feel bad for pokemon. They have to fight both in and out of two worlds, with almost never a moment of a peace. But maybe pokemon enjoy this long life of violence and pressure. Maybe they thrive on it.  

Maybe pokemon do not even share the same emotions and ambitions that we humans do. Maybe the shared alternate reality models a Utopian society, or some sort of world of pure happiness and peace, where pokemon big and small, blue and yellow, hard and soft, can get along. If THIS were to be the case, then I say humans in this series/show are assholes. Pokemon, with a peaceful nature, and which live peacefully, are forcefully brought under the capture of a device. Even though this device grants them a free world, they still get called to battle, a practice which their nature repels, but they still do it. Maybe they want to win or lose the battle quickly so they can get back to their world of freedom. I do know one thing for certain: humans in both possible types of alternate realities and natures are selfish and violent, like Hobbes prescribed. I can assert this because according to the show/game series, there is no government, just a freaking huge chain of 'law'-enforcers who are practically vigilantes. Their status as defenders of peace is questionable at best. With no reliable source of governance or order, pokemon trainers are left alone to control their own destinies. And what do they do? They capture pokemon, and use them for their own purposes. They reflect the violent nature prescribed by Hobbes because they constantly feel the need to battle with other pokemon trainers, possibly to assert their presence as the alpha male (female). They do not need to worry about losing an actual physical fight, they have pokemon to protect them. With their violent tendencies, and desire to be dominant over all the other trainers, Darwin's principle of "natural selection" comes to play. Dominant trainers thrive, and weak trainers become ostracized. Females want to the fuck the successful trainers. Competition ensues, and as a result, the weak is Weedled out, This marks a continuous cycle of violence and competition. 

Okay. I presented a strange theory, or whatever the hell that was. Nothing has changed, and questions that tv show makers of pokemon left unanswered are still unawnswered. Our minds are left to wonder, but from the observable behaviors of the pokemon trainers, we can see how Hobbe's and Darwin's ideas may come to play. As a child, I never really thought about the feelings and lives of pokemon. I accepted that they merely just went into a pokeball, and came out when needed. I didn't care that they were treated like machines for carrying out the violent and Darwinian + selfish nature of pokemon trainers. And I don't think any child will care about the emotions and desires of pokemon. They're too busy trying to beat the Elite Four to even give them a consideration, or obtain that almighty Rattata. But are we just as bad as the pokemon trainers? Are pokemon symbols for animals, creatures that society unanimously deems as inferior organisms? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. But I cannot answer that question right now. I have to run to the grocery to buy some eggs, which are solely products of strenuous human suffering.

Rubber Duckies

 You probably arrived here because you were google image searching "rubber duckies". Well that's great, because rubber duckies are great, and because you searched for them, that means you are great too. Just to enhance your viewing experience, let me tell you a little about rubber duckies. I like rubber duckies. They embody badassery (yep that's right, I just invented my own word to describe rubber duckies). But a rubber ducky with SUNGLASSES? Now that's a whole new level of awesome. Staring into its dark shades, as it floats gently along serene and calm water, just makes me feel like a better human being. I hope you do too. By mere discovery of this image, you have already made your life a tad better. But how? Well you have just seen one of the greatest images bestowed upon mankind, in the history of planet earth.  As a result, you are awesome. And what did it take? Just a few mouse clicks and a burning desire to google image search rubber duckies. Well consider it done.  I hope you have a great day, and I hope you continue being awesome.