Like an Onion

There are three layers of friendship. Maybe more, but three layers can describe relationships with most people.
1. Casual: Casual friends are the ones who you might talk to, joke and laugh with, but you don't know very well. These are your friends, but you might not go to them with a personal problem just because you don't know them "that well." Casual friends probably like you in general, since they only see the more jovial side of you.

2. Good/close: Close friends are the ones that you know well, and trust. An actual connection is formed with these friends, but you still have some space. Often you will know about your close friends important life events, but they will not be involved in your life to the point where they know everything about you. Good friends have your back, but can have a mixed opinion of you, especially if they know *everything* about your life.

3. Life partner: The most intensive relationship. This is someone who is entirely emotionally invested in your life, and chances are it goes both ways. You count on talking to or seeing them every day. You feel strong emotions and connections towards this person, but you aren't on good terms with them all the time. Since this person knows all about you, they also see your flaws. Hopefully, however, they accept them.

Guess what? The closer you get to someone, the less you like them. Of course, "like" is very different from "love" and have almost no correlation. Even so, the misanthropic philosophy still applies: if you want to be liked, stay away from people.

Value

Selfish, selfless

fun-loving, duty-bound

never without a dull moment

Making a difference, making a family

Guilt-driven solitude

What motive is there to live

other than the steady beat of the pressure that pushes success

Carpe diem.

The Insanity of the Dark Knight

Most people would agree that The Dark Knight (2008) is a good movie. The Joker, the villain of the movie, is quite insane. He believes that what does not kill you "simply makes you... stranger." He laughs at the attempts of authorities to save lives, at the importance the mob places on money, and everything else. He wants nothing but to "watch the world burn."

Warning - Spoiler alert! if you still haven't seen the movie, you might want to skip the rest of this until you have done so.

What makes the Joker so interesting, almost appealing? He is an intriguing character. Throughout the movie, Joker's enemies try to know and understand him. They fail miserably. He has no motive, no plan. He just does, impulsively and erratically.

Is this insanity? Almost all people would agree, yes, he is insane. What is insanity? The basic definition is abnormal behavior, or something similar. So, the Joker is not like most people. Most people want money, fame, or power, as our society tends to preach the values of those incentives. As mentioned previously, the Joker wants none of these things. He only wants the thrill of the chase. Is this very far from abnormal behavior? Every human has bloodlust, but 'normal' people keep it hidden. Other people just go hunting. How far a leap is it from deer to humans? One cannot deny that it is a significant jump, but the underlying behavioral mechanisms are the same.

The Joker, on some level, represents an unleashing of human desire on a very instinctual level which is normally kept hidden according to society's rules. He is such an interesting character because the audience identifies with him in a way which is unsettling. In contrast, the Batman seems totally lacking in human instincts. He sacrifices his reputation so the people of the city can maintain hope for the future, and never find out that the good guy of the city (Harvey Dent) went bad in the end. Every human has a need to be liked and appreciated. Batman totally abandons this instinct. The audience does not identify with him at all; instead, he becomes a figure of moral purity, letting go of his humanity and becoming a social hero instead. He is untouchable to the everyman, with his far higher standard of morality. The Joker, instead, is everyman, but completely uninhibited about his instinctual desires.

Perhaps, dear reader, the hero of the movie is the insane one. Enjoy your meal.

Alone

What the point of this

hype yourself up for a good time

get there to watch them leave

did you have fun?

Open up, let them in

watch them destroy what you have

watch them leave again

Lock it back, close up

debris scattered inside, windows barred

hidden from them

hide your sadness in the vain hope

that you can make them believe it's alright

Once you understand where they are,

what you are all reaching for,

soon after comes the realization

you will never get there

Contentment

something about being happy

one piece that gives me pause

being truly happy cannot last

how can you know it will never change?

if you are as happy as you could ever be

it will only get worse

there is only fear to feel

i promise this isn't me