Two

As a break in between studying, I am watching old episodes of Project Runway. I don't generally like reality shows unless they are something that displays talent rather than celebrity. Shows like Project Runway and So You Think You Can Dance are the reality shows that I watch most regularly. I like the creativity and watching that creativity morph into something more.

For the first time, I am watching Season Two and although I am only three episodes in, I find Daniel Franco fascinating to watch. He was one of the cockiest people during the first season of Project Runway, but was also the first to be eliminated. This season, he seems a different, almost broken man. He's shy, unsure of himself and I have never seen him more humble. There's a realisation there now that while he is a great designer, that he might not be what Project Runway wants/needs which makes me wonder if he's going to have a nervous breakdown later on. Don't tell me! I'm avoiding looking at spoilers~!

It's fascinating, the way that different people react under pressure and I always find myself feeling slightly envious of the people who can handle incredibly stressful situations without showing any nerves at all. I am not one of those people. I get anxious, usually, although I do always get the job done.

One

I have been thinking a lot, about words and what they can do to people. The supreme court in the states has ruled that the Westboro Baptist Church can continue to picket the funerals of dead soldiers. While I understand that the right to free speech is important, there should be some sort of line drawn in the sand, shouldn't there? Should your right to free speech allow hate speech? Argue what you want, the signs that say "God Hates Fags" are hate speech and I wonder if they were saying the same thing about another minority if that would be allowed to stand.

But Westboro is not the main thought in my head right now. No, that place is reserved for thoughts about honesty. The people whom I know who are the most honest, are also the most hurtful people I know.

We live in a world of extremes, where people clamor for black and white categorizations and don't understand that between honesty and deceit there is something called 'tact'. In between complete free speech and complete censorship there is a happy medium where people are allowed to say what they want as long as it's not unmitigated hate speech.

Personally, I'd like to see some more people in the media's spotlight talking about the shades grey in between the two sides of an issue rather than the politicization and sensationalizing that we so often see.