Keats, Keats, Keats

"Axioms in philosophy are not axioms until they are proved upon their pulses: we read fine things but never feel them to the full until we have gone the same steps as the author."

--John Keats

Seriously?

This morning in seminary, we were talking about unpardonable vs. unforgivable sins and murder came up. We were talking about different situations, and one girl (Paige) pointed out that some children in the Congo are forced to kill their parents as a part of war. Some other girl in my seminary class pipes up and says, "Yeah? And what are we supposed to do about it?" After she said this, some kids in my class started laughing, but I just sat there...slightly shocked and incredulous.

Did she really just say that?

It was probably one of the most insensitive things I have ever heard someone say. To treat others' misfortunes with such a flippant, sarcastic attitude is beyond rude. Maybe you can't do something about it right now (although I would disagree) or it's difficult to prevent people from committing such heinous crimes, but at the very least you should be aware as opposed to ignorant. You should be sympathetic, and that kind of knowledge should arouse within you a desire to make the world a better place. I was appalled at her remark, her nonchalant and stagnant attitude towards the trials others face, and I regret not saying something to her about it. It was not funny and I'm disappointed that some people laughed at her remark.
Gosh. Seriously?

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

--Edmund Burke

Quiz Bowl Terms!?

I found. A list. Of quiz bowl terms. If you are in quiz bowl and are reading this, I would urge you to assimilate these terms into your ever day q.b. vernacular.

Cadbury's Creme Egg: a good, well-crafted question.

Clubbing baby seals: Playing teams far below your level, e.g. Berkeley going up against a sophomore high school team.

Cult of Speed: belief that moderators, esp. in timed tournaments, should read as fast as possible and that the more questions read in a round, the better. Also, see Samantha M.

Dark Side: the evil aspect of the Force; knowledge acquired solely through studying for quiz bowl

Go, go Gadget: a phrase uttered to conjure up helpful spirits to answer a question

Gogol, Nikolay Vasilyevich: A Russian playwright and author whose full name was required at the 2001 Riverside tournament; overzealous underlining by packet writers

Gunfighter reflexes: quality or skill demonstrable by being the first to hit the buzzer when an easy clue reveals the answer to everyone at once. A person with gunfighter reflexes is a gunfighter and a question where everyone slaps their buzzers is a gunfight.

Knee-Jerk: someone who pays no attention to the question but only buzzes because of a single word or phrase, e.g. saying Erasmus when hearing the word "folly"

Ride the Pony: a strategy for achieving some points on a bonus where the team has no idea on the actual components, but has a general idea. Problems emerge when: 1)the answer is correct, forcing the team to come up with another answer, and 2) none of the answers are the chosen "pony," causing extreme consternation.

Using the Force: correctly answering a question through apparent pure luck, blind instinct, or supernatural intuition without any real knowledge.

And for the record, I was trying to find a witty quote to put on our teams' shirts. All suggestions appreciated.