I made pizza last night for dinner. It turned out really well, and now I can finally say I've found a really good dough recipe. I'm not a huge fan of commerical pizza. The dough always tastes so fake to me; it's almost as if I can taste all the preservatives and oddities in the dough. Thus, I enjoy making my own pizza from scratch. Interestingly enough, it doesn't take long to make pizza. It's just a matter of waiting for the dough to proof.

I used this pizza dough recipe. You can either split up the dough to make two thin crust pizzas or just make one thick crust pizza. Either way, you'll enjoy this recipe!

..I moved into my apartment this past Friday. I'm pretty happy about it. It's a really nice place in a great part of town. I never realized how much it would cost to actually get an apartment ready. In the past couple of days, I've spent at least $300 on stuff for my bathroom, shower, and kitchen.

So far the only downer about my apartment is that I don't have the internet setup. It sucks. I've never realized how much I do on the internet until now. There's facebook, my blog, my bank account, email, the news, hulu--so much stuff! Hopefully I'll get it setup within the next day or two. I miss the internet! 

I've been reading Robert Solomon's The Joy of Philosophy for the past two weeks. In this book, he discusses a multitude of topics, ranging from the too-analytic nature of contemporary philosophy to rationality and the emotions. I've entered the chapter in which he discuss tragedy. Naturally, the problem of evil comes up. To me, he has an interesting take on the so-called "problem", yet a practical one. I like it.

Contrary to the way it is usually framed, I want to suggest that the Problem of Evil has little to do with belief in the existence of God or in an afterlife. Camus was an atheist, and yet it was the Problem of Evil, the presence of human suffering, that violated his innate sense of justice and fairness, that evoked his dramatic concept of "the Absurd." Nietzsche was also an atheist ("by instinct," he tells us in Ecce Homo), but it is neither God nor Heaven as such that draws his heaviest fire. It is rather the cheap and petty use of theology to deny or rationalize suffering rather than face up to it and, like the ancient Greeks he adored, make something of it--if not something beautiful, then at least something meaningful. To challenge the Problem of Evil, we must, rather, remind ourselves of the contingency of our good fortune and how unreasonable we are to deny the inevitability of misfortune and the finitude of our lives. As Bernard Williams writes, "There is a problem of evil only for those who expect the world to be good." We thus call into question those abuses of God and the idea of an afterlife that block our deepest emotional responses by assuring us, against all evidence, that our suffering is well worthwhile.

I've lived with family members for my entire 22 years of life. On Friday, that streak will be broken: I'm moving into an apartment with a good buddy of mine. I've never had to pay rent, utilities, or other common household expenses. Part of me is a bit frightened of having to really grow up and part of me is extremely happy that I am finally moving out.

I've never had to stick to a budget (though I know how), and I've never had to worry about my income. I know this sounds pathetic, but it's like I now actually have to be responsible with my money (Haha). I've never really had to. I need some new clothes? Done. I want to make an expensive meal? Done. I want to buy some new books? Done. Goodbye to that luxury! Hopefully I'll easily adapt a budget-conscious mind.

What I'm really frightened about is how my family is going to do without me. I currently live with my grandparents (who are practically always complaining to each other about the other one, my grandfather's illegitimate child, and their living situation) and my mother (who is in a horrible state of health). I provide youthfulness around this house. I make everyone laugh and happy. I make elaborate meals and desserts that everyone absolutely loves. I help settle fights. I'm the person that makes things happen on holidays and other special occasions. Now that I'm gone, who will do that?

With the above in mind, I'm happy to get away from the drama and the bickering. I've been wanting independence for a while now. I've wanted a place in which I can entertain my friends and chill out, since my freshman year of college. At this stage in my life, I think this is what I need. I need to really grow up.

But despite the positives, moving out is bittersweet. As I speak of moving out and getting my things ready, I can sense my family is quite sad. In the past week, my mom and grandma have bawled numerous times. But I look forward to great experiences and balancing my new independence with family time, living on my own and getting a fresh taste of a stressful (hopefully not too much) reality.

It was my buddy's birthday this past Monday. To celebrate, my friends and I decided to take him to Saltgrass last night. When I arrived at Saltgrass, all of my friends were waiting at the bar. I see one of them holding a huge glass of some sort of alcoholic beverage. I sit down next to a friend I haven't seen in a while. Soon I see my brother taking a sip of the mentioned beverage. "Dang, that's good," he said. Hearing that, I paused my discussion to take a sip. "Damn, that's good," I said.

Turns out the drink was called Texas Tea. I had never had it before. It is dangerously good! It has a nice sweet and sour balance, and you can barely taste the alcohol in it. Using the "Drinks Free" app on my iPhone, I found a recipe for Texas Tea. I haven't tested it, but it seems to be close to what I had last night. Hopefully I'll be able to make it soon. Needless to say, last night was tons of fun!

Texas Tea

Texas Tea

In my earlier study, I argued that I did not see any conflict (much less a “paradox”) between Nietzsche’s fatalistic and self-making themes but rather an excellent example of his “perspectivism.” Fatalism and self-making represent two complementary perspectives on ourselves and on human life. On the one hand, there is our familiar view of ourselves as (more or less) autonomous beings, deliberating, making choices, acting on our desires, sometimes reflecting on and weighing our desires, sometimes conscientiously denying our desires (or refusing to be motivated by them). It is from this perspective that we normally hold people (and ourselves) responsible for their (our) actions and declare them (and ourselves) to be the “authors” of their (our) actions. On the other hand, we cannot but recognize that we are all “thrown into” our circumstances, born with (or without) certain talents and abilities to varying degrees and with or without dispositions to certain physical liabilities and limitations. We are all products (“victims” some would say) of our upbringing, our families, our culture. Even without bringing in such spooky words as “fatalism,” we recognize in  ourselves and in others the heavy baggage of our backgrounds and the fact that our choices and our socalled autonomy are both quite limited. We take up one or the other of these perspectives, often sequentially, even simultaneously, but I do not see this as a problem or a “paradox.” It is rather just “the human condition.” We see ourselves as both free and constrained, which is not quite (yet) to say “fated.”

-Robert Solomon

Lightandstorm showed me the following clip today. I must say, I haven't laughed this hard in a while. I need to start watching this show!

The Black Eye Peas have always had a hip-hop style to their music, but with their latest album, they have completely turned heads by producing electronic/techno-ish music. I'm not a huge fan of their latest album (it isn't a good example of electronic music, and I find most of the songs to be highly annoying). However, my brother introduced me to one of the songs on their latest album that is actually a great techno song. The song has an awesome beat and melody, as well as the traditional dark techno, electronic sounds. As far as originality  goes, I'm pretty sure they ripped off ideas and sounds from Justice and Daft Punk. Both bands are extremely popular, so I'm down with the sound of the song, but the sound isn't anything new.

Well, enough with the critique. The song is awesome!