Bertosses' Existentialism Part 1

Existentialism is a difficult philosophy to define, I first had to define it in my A-level French exam, in french! Which I thought was a bit unfair, no wonder I failed! I'd always had a particular interest in Philosophy and during my masters I furthered my studies to aid my artistic practice, in particular the concept of free will and the self. Don't get me wrong I am in no way and intellectual and of about average intelligence, so I'm sure smart arses like my brother will argue with my definition but if I can just point out the title Bertosses' Existentialism, which means I have artistic license!
Some people would say Existentialism was rather a negative philosophy because the core of its foundation is based on the futility of human existence, and the brevity of life on Earth. Unlike a great deal of philosophy that attempts to deal with the problem of human existence, existentialism studiously avoids the problem of human existence, believing worrying about such things to be a waste of precious time and futile in finding an answer. It always irritates me when people say 'Everything happens for a reason' to make sense of pretty much anything. But whats the fucking the reason? There is no reason! There is no reason anything happens, except cause and effect! So that's the part that some people may find negative!
But it is the "negative" base which is essential to it being so positive, because ones we have established that we will never find out the answers to anything, we can be be free to enjoy our lives and most importantly we are in control of our lives. 'We' referring to us a singular entity.

"A universe without purpose should neither depress us nor suggest that our lives are purposeless. Through an awe-inspiring cosmic history we find ourselves on this remote planet in a remote corner of the universe, endowed with intelligence and self-awareness. We should not despair, but should humbly rejoice in making the most of these gifts, and celebrate our brief moment in the sun."

— LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS

You see if that is not beautiful, I dont know what is, existentialism is about enjoying our brief time on earth and making the most of existence rather than wasting time worrying about things that were invented by people, such as society and social norms, I think this is one reason it tends to resonate with Artists, because they tend to constantly struggle with the concept of normality. Anyways That I think is the basis of the philosophy although there is a lot more to come from Bertosses' Existentialism, such as the concept of social normality, How God fits into my life and philosophy, the concept of Altruism, and my favourite one; Chance and Fate!! 

Love you all
Coincidentally ( as that's the only way things happen!) As I was writing this blog this song was playing, which is one of the most beautiful existentialist songs ever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPXWt2ESxVY

Day 5

Day 5 was brilliant, not sure why exactly must be all that positivity. had a good day at school, my favourite class is getting close to a big hand in so all this amazing artwork is starting to appear. Kind of wierd I was going to go on a trip this weekend to the beach and some mountains and even included a bungee jump. I could nt decide if I wanted to go or not as Im meant to be saving money and I wasn't sure as the problem is with a lot of these trip is they are full of social misfits and there werent many koreans on the trip. So I tossed a coin and it said no. So I will have to work doubly hard to ensure that my weekend is more fun! I went to cross fit which nearly killed me, the instructor asked if I could use a jump rope, (American term for a skipping rope!) to which I replied I could 25 years ago! I was actully pleased I could still skip although it was one of the toughest things in the work out, anyway cross fit didnt make me feel happy it made me feel sick and unhealthy! Had a wonderful moment on the roof of my building watching an amazing sunset. Then I ordered pizza and watched anchorman 2, so I guess staying in watching telly is pretty boring, but staying in is such a rare thing for me it is exceptionally pleasant. I also read some existentialist philosophy and had a bath listening to Nick Drake on my new sound system. So pretty bloody happy about the whole day really!

"But how could you live and have no story to tell?"

— FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

Day 4

Er school was rather uneventful, thought it should have been getting less manic this week, but first thing the headmaster wanted me to design a logo and a 3 and half metre long banner to be printed by Friday morning, so that consumed the day. It was a banner to gove to the Danwon high school who lost so many pupil's in the ferry disaster. So although it was not happy it was 'worthy' and so I think I'm allowed worthy stuff on here. (Actually Im allowed whatever ever I like because its my blog and it doesnt really mean anything anyways!) Anyways he was very pleased with it.
Happy Highlight of the day though was I got a new stereo system and was loving cleaning my house and listening to Lovely Lauren Laverne really loudly on BBC6 music!! (So glad I found a way of getting that over here!)
Had a great evening went over to my friends Chris' house with 5 other teachers from school, I took round a Pizza, and we had some beers and played this Comedy American card game, although apparently it wasnt just about comedy, which is why I lost, and if I ever play it again I will always choose the funniest option rather than the one that may result in my winning! A bit like why I always used to get in trouble at school all the time, as the teacher would present such perfect opportunities for jokes, and despite knowing how much trouble I was generally already in, I could not resist telling a joke at the teacher's and my own expense. (Sorry Mr. Charles and Mrs Hayes, I think they were the main ones, as they would get the maddest, so it would be more funny and have a greater risk factor, definitely my favorite teachers to irritate anyways!!) Anyways it was nice to know I have a few friends at school as I don't get invited to a lot of things! ( probably cause Im a bit weird!)
Seemed to have digressed a bit there nevermind. Its actually Day 5 right now, Im just sitting in the school coffee shop having just had an Americano and a cinnamon Bagel, but I dont think that counts as I do the same thing every day. Anyways meeting Florian later and thats always funny. Check ya later!! Oh yeah sunset was pretty amazing too from my balcony!

Day 3

I made a lino cut today based on my experience of Seoul, its not finished but happy with the progress. Also I bought a really nice new lamp for my apartment as the lights were too bright. Oh ahhhh nearly forgot definite highlight of my day I GOT TICKETS TO SEE THE PIXIES AT THE EDEN PROJECT WITH MY BROTHER!!!! Had a dance in the rain on my balcony, in my pants to celebrate!!! Woohooo!! Good end to the day!!!

Day 2

Had a nice lie in as was sooo tired. Then woke up got ready to go meet Hyeyoung in Insadong to go to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Hyeyoung was like 40 minutes late but that was actually quite nice because I sat outside a lovely little coffee shop and had a club sandwich and and a coffee. The Museum was good, although it hadn't changed a lot since I last went, it was nice to go with Hyeyoung. Then we went to a beautiful Korean restaurant and had Jeyook Bokkeum, which is like a spicy pork dish that is one of my favourites, and some seafood pancakes. The restaurant also made its own Makgeolli ( wine made from wheat and rice) and it was the best I have ever tried. After the meal we decided to order another bowl of Makgeolli and continue good philosophical conversation. 

Day 1

We set off on a 6 peak mountain challenge in Gwanaksan to the south of Seoul, the weather was beautiful and met some lovely people, then we had a lovely Korean BBQ with the hiking group. Like all hiking groups a mixture of social misfits, oddballs and lovely genuine people who just love mountains! Then was exhausted so decided to go for a massage, which was good. Met up with my Belgian friend Florian in Hongdae, who I was delighted to see had met a lovely Korean girl who seemed very sweet, so was happy for him. we went to Big Mamma Pippis and I had a Coke! Then we went to Shamrock and Roll, which was fun and despite the fact I was still wearing my hiking gear and had never felt so badly dressed on a night out in Hongdae, I still managed to find the confidence to meet some nice Korean girls who I played darts with. Then we went to FF club for an Indie disco!! I actually left early around 4pm! It was torrential rain, but the taxis refused to take me home because I live too close, so I walked the 30 min walk and got soaking wet, but felt very pleased with myself as I only had 4 beers the whole evening, hardly spent any money and had a great day all in all!!

Why?

Hello Folks,

Well I decided to sign up for 100 Days of Happy after my recent Birthday. I generally like to have some sort of birthday resolutions in a vain attempt to try and sort my life out!! I guess most people think that I am just generally happy all the time and do lots of fun things anyway, but in reality I do get quite depressed quite often, mainly just due to being lonely and I often hate myself for doing such stupid things like getting drunk and loosing all my stuff, or spending obscene amounts of money buying drinks for people I barely know. Or just the general hazards of love!

However, I do know that I am an exceptionally lucky person and I don't feel sorry for myself at all I just dislike myself sometimes for being so stupid. I saw this 100 days of happy as a good way to kick start some sort of change, and do more things that make me feel genuinely happy rather than just going out and drinking, which is kind of false happiness. Anyways please feel free to follow me, as I do intend to try and make it as comedy as possible! Love you all 

Bertoss!