"Is this a joke?" "Only if you think it's funny." (Tres)

I think it’s quite amazing that a simple question can lead to a whole can of worms that no one on Earth wants to get involved with. No one except me, that is. This is just the kind of thing I live for.

What is the difference between knowledge, belief, and truth? It’s a simple enough question, on the surface. However, we all know that you can’t hold things at face value, so let’s jump on in and start by defining the words.

Truth is a piece of factual information. In other words, no matter what, if something is true, no piece of evidence will ever prove it to be false. If I were to say that I’m typing this on a computer, no piece of evidence you provide will be able to prove that statement untrue. Therefore, it is a completely true statement. Of course, there are subjective truths and partial truths, but for the sake of argument, we’ll leave those be for now.

Next, we’ll get into beliefs. A belief is a thought that a person thinks is true, but may not necessarily be factual. Some beliefs are impossible to prove, even though they may be true. However, there are some beliefs that exist outside of the realm of truth. For example, if someone were to tell me that sky was falling, I could believe that statement without it actually being true. In fact, a lot of beliefs are not true.

What is knowledge? Is it founded on beliefs? Or is it founded on truth? If you guessed
C) all of the above, I think you’d be right. Knowledge exists as a combination of belief and truth. If I know that my computer is a Dell, I believe that statement, and it is true. It is impossible to know something that is untrue. I can’t know that my computer is a Mac, because it isn’t. To know something, you have to have some kind of evidence to prove that it is true. I know my computer is a Dell because the word “Dell” is all over it and I bought it from Dell. If I believe that my computer is a Mac, I can’t know that fact. On the flip side, If it is true that my computer is a Dell, but I don’t believe that fact, I can’t know that it is a Dell. You can’t know something that isn’t true, but you can’t know something that you don’t believe either.

Now let me draw a picture in your mind. I’ll warn you now that we’re about to get into a little bit of controversy, so if you’d rather not like to talk about it, I suggest you leave now.

The existence of God is something that many people across the world over. Christians, Muslims, and Jews all believe that God exist. That is a belief. However, since there is no concrete proof to remove all doubt from the belief of his existence, the existence of God can be no more than a belief. It is possible that it is true, but since there’s no way to prove it, no one can know that. Hence, the existence of God may be both a belief and a truth, but it cannot be something that is known.

What is the true relation between knowledge, truth, and belief? I’m not so sure that it’s something that has a definite answer. At least, that’s my belief on the subject.

On a side note, it’s quite humorous how a 100 word assignment can turn into over 600 words.

Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot. (Dos)

The London of V for Vendetta is a place marked by limited freedoms and an overly oppressive dictator. Because of this, V, a masked vigilante who models himself after Guy Fawkes, seeks violent means to end the totalitarian regime. Near the beginning of the movie, V makes a speech in attempt to get the people of London to act with him and destroy the Parliament building in order to send a message to their oppressive government. He uses all three of Aristotle's modes of persuasion as well as all three types of argumentation to try and meet his final goal-the destruction of Parliament.

V’s speech opens by attempting to break the people of London out of their every day routines. He first establishes his own credibility by likening himself to his audience, using a calm voice to relate to them. He tells them that he loves the rigidity of routine just as much as they do. However, he appreciates the fact that in order to change things on a large scale, the people of London must first change things on a smaller scale. He takes the initiative to change that routine by interrupting their every day lives with a simple message.

Soon after beginning his address to the people, V hits the people with the reality of their oppressive situation. “There are those who do not wish us to speak,” he says, indicating the fact that those in power realize that what they are doing is wrong and that the authorities do not want the common people to understand this fact. V states, “…the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation...” A truncheon is a club carried by police. Therefore, V means that the authorities would rather use force than listen to the people. According to V, words hold power that even the truncheons of the authorities can not take away. Words hold the power the power to investigate the truth, “And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?”

As the speech continues, V becomes extremely candid with the people of London. He tells the people that they are being oppressed. Worse yet, he places the blame of the constant oppression on the people themselves. “But again, truth be told…if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror,” V tells them. This shocking statement expresses V’s belief that the oppression placed upon the people of London was self-inflicted. He uses their guilt to make them understand the way things are as well as to make them understand what they need to do to change.

Although V blames much of the oppression that the British are living on the people themselves, he also proves his understanding of them by letting him know the reasons behind their own guilt. He recognizes the fact that fear was used to manipulate them, through none other than their own High Chancellor Adam Sutler.

Finally, V gets to the purpose behind his entire speech. His main objective with the whole speech is not to simply make the public aware of what is going on. His primary objective is to get them to act with him. He wants to destroy Parliament, a symbol of English history that Guy Fawkes had attempted to destroy 400 years prior. His speech was dedicated to that sole purpose. By being open with the people and using logic to appeal to them, he makes his case to get them to act. As a matter a fact, later on in the movie, although the government makes an effort to get rid of V entirely, his speech is shown to have achieved its final end.

And so the lion fell in love with the lamb. What a stupid lamb. What a sick, masochistic lion. (Uno)

Let’s see…what is there to say about me? First and foremost, I am probably the most impatient person you will ever have the pleasure (or displeasure?) to meet. Don’t test my patience because I don’t have a whole lot of it.

That being said, along with my very apparent lack of patience, I'm anal about a few other things. Even though I have been known to make mistakes myself (Inconcievable!), I hate when people mispell words. I really can not stand when words are mispelled, and I've been known to correct the spelling of some of my friends. I'm also known to correct the grammar of my friends while they're talking. I know it's annoying but it's something that I just can't help.

Music is life. Enough said.

If it interests you to know, the title of my blog is a reference to the books Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, the three of which make up a nice little series. The title of this post is a quote from the series. Guess what? That series just happens to be pretty much the best thing to ever grace the shelves of Barnes and Noble. I love to read and there are plenty of books I have read, just as there are plenty of books that I have not read. Twilight just happens to be one of the best book series I've ever had the pleasure to discover.

I think that writing is one of the best ways to pass time. I think that I would be happy to be a writer one day. It would be pretty sweet to get paid to do what I already do anyway. Stories, poems, or songs, blogs, whatever. It doesn’t matter (although stories are my favorite thing to write). No matter if I haven't written a good story in months, there's always some ideas floating around my head. Getting those thoughts down on paper is a pretty decent way of relieving stress, actually getting some schoolwork done, or just getting the satisfaction of creating a story that no one has ever read. It’s a euphoric feeling, I’ve got to admit. Most of my inspiration comes from all the stuff I’ve read, especially (you guessed it) Twilight. If you'd ever like to read some of my stuff, I've got an account on fictionpress.com, just ask me for my penname.

Last but not least, I'm addicted to video games, and I am most certainly not afraid to admit it. I love RPGs like Final Fantasy as well as racing games, fighting games, and platform games. If you can name it, I've probably played it. My favorite game of all time is Kingdom Hearts, and I've also got the almighty Guitar Hero in my library.

So that is me, in a nutshell. You've seen my likes, you've seen my flaws, and now, in classic MTV Cribs fashion, you've got to get on out.

Peace.