Sunday, September 20, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
So, I took this quiz...
...the topic being something like "What Religion Is Best Suited For Me."
Here are my results:
Fascinating stuff.
Here are my results:
| 1. | Mahayana Buddhism (100%) |
| 2. | Liberal Quakers (98%) |
| 3. | Unitarian Universalism (98%) |
| 4. | Neo-Pagan (95%) |
| 5. | Jainism (88%) |
| 6. | Reform Judaism (88%) |
| 7. | Hinduism (85%) |
| 8. | Theravada Buddhism (83%) |
| 9. | Sikhism (83%) |
| 10. | New Age (81%) |
| 11. | Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (78%) |
| 12. | Baha'i Faith (77%) |
| 13. | Taoism (66%) |
| 14. | New Thought (65%) |
| 15. | Orthodox Judaism (57%) |
| 16. | Orthodox Quaker (56%) |
| 17. | Scientology (55%) |
| 18. | Secular Humanism (53%) |
| 19. | Islam (48%) |
| 20. | Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (38%) |
| 21. | Seventh Day Adventist (30%) |
| 22. | Nontheist (28%) |
| 23. | Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (27%) |
| 24. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (26%) |
| 25. | Eastern Orthodox (21%) |
| 26. | Roman Catholic (21%) |
| 27. | Jehovah's Witness (17%) |
Fascinating stuff.
Friday, September 11, 2009
So...
...it appears I have more than a few followers of this blog. (Andrew Crowley, I'm looking at you.) I don't really know if I can carry this one on. Like I've said before, there's plenty I could write about if I had no respect for my privacy or Shelley's privacy.
Don't worry, she and I are doing quite well. Better than ever, in fact.
It's just we have lots of grown-up issues we're dealing with (parents), and...I don't know, it's not as fun as it was once, to revisit some of the bad things we've both experienced in the name of putting it in prose form and putting it on my blog. Never mind that, I'm still super paranoid (as with last time) that my parents will stumble across this again. I could probably do a little better than to have my name as the URL, but whatever.
I'll say this: my last week at home (in Seymour) was not fun. Very uncivil behavior over my getting rid of the PT Cruiser. In all fairness, though, we were able to patch up before I left. When Dad hugged me goodbye and said, "I love you," he was choking up...which in turn made me choke up. I fought back the tears, which completely dried as I approached the security checkpoint. I changed planes in Atlanta, since as you know that is totally on the way between Indianapolis and New York City. Still, doing that saved my parents a couple hundred bucks.
I'm liking school, though having two night classes once a week doesn't exactly feel the same as the campus life that came with Indiana University. Maybe it will be better when I actually move into my apartment, which will literally be a five minute walk away from the school. Why, dare I say it, I can go to the campus in the daytime!
One thing I thought we'd have to sacrifice was mine and Shelley's penchant for late-night walks, seeing as Bloomington at 3 A.M. is considerably safer than Brooklyn at the same hour. We still go on walks, just in the daytime. It's a 55-minute walk from her place to the campus, so we're not lacking in exercise.
I can tell you already there are some things I miss. In fact, let's make a list of it:
10. Honestly, I miss Kroger. The grocers here are slightly overpriced, and their selection is quite limited. As an upside, though, is that the Big Banana grocer on King's Highway also has Turkish, Russian, and Hispanic cuisine - I bought caviar for $4.99. And you know what? It's delicious. I've also got some terrific Russian soda called Kvass, which is made from malt flavoring.
09. I miss driving. But at the same time, I couldn't drive in NYC. The traffic here is abysmal, and there wouldn't be any place for me to park. Besides, being 13 hours away from Seymour would have been a real pain in the ass of a trip.
08. The smattering of parks (aside from Central Park and Prospect Park) don't really do much justice to nature. They're just places to play basketball or play on the playgrounds. There's trees on the street, but there's usually dog shit underneath them.
07. I can't believe this, but I miss Shelley's cat Phyllis.
06. Let me just go ahead and predict that I'm going to miss autumn in Bloomington/Indiana. I love the fall, it's the time of year that everywhere you go things are orange, red, or yellow, and the delightful smell of leaves burning and bonfires. Yeah, I'll miss that. I will NOT be missing the drive between Bloomington and Seymour. That sucked, whether you took 37 to Highway 50 or 446 to Highway 50 or Highway 46 (arguably the worst in terms of deer and tailgating assholes) to I-65 (easily the best part of the drive, as you can go eighty without worrying about critters).
05. I hate Seymour...but I sort of miss my parents' house. It's an old house, and it has a distinct smell to it.
04. There's more than a few professors I miss: Glenn Gass, Michael McGerr, Andy Hollinden, Joan Hawkins, and Paul Aarstad from the IMP.
03. This one's more of the idea of it than the actual event (due to my own dislike of most of the losers I went to high school with, and the fact that some bridges were burned by some of my former friends making some dumb choices), but I think I'll miss Seymour's Oktoberfest.
02. My friends (Graham, Andrew, Jordan, and others)
01. The sense of community with Bloomington? I'll miss that, for sure.
It isn't unsafe here. I'm not dodging bullets every time I go out...though my mom's former boss tried to make it sound like a nightmare. Of course, what he was describing to me was the Bronx in the early/mid 1990's and not present-day Brooklyn. Like anything, you just have to be smart. Don't be out piss-ass drunk at 4 in the morning, which is advice I'd give if I was in Bloomington.
I don't know how the weather has been in Indiana, but after a couple days here, it's like summer came to an abrupt end. It might have been around 80 or 90 degrees my first few days in NYC, but then it rained and it's been in the 70's, never going above 80, since then. Maybe autumn comes early here? I don't know.
Another thing I'm excited for is that I'll be speaking at the Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association (MAPACA) conference in Boston this November. My topic is "Rust Never Sleeps And The Death Of Classic Rock." Like my previous work on The Kinks, I'll see if I can get it published online somewhere. I wonder if hyperrust.org still accepts submissions.
It's so late it's now early. I've been combating the early stages of a nasty cold - aches and a peppery throat, mainly - and my solution tonight was to sleep under two comforters. I had a dream that I was being smuggled through a Middle Eastern city (I'm not sure which one exactly) in a wooden box with an oxygen tank so I could breathe, which in turn was covered in rags. Naturally, I woke up literally drenched in sweat and somewhat dehydrated. I had two glasses of water, some cashews, a grapefruit (vitamin C, dammit!), and a surprisingly good flavor of Kosher ramen: tomato beef.
Anyway, I went to bed at 11, woke up around 3...I'll eventually get the rest of my six to seven hours' worth of "a good night's sleep" and hopefully be up before 11. I just hope I don't feel achy tomorrow, as the art gallery where Shelley is interning is having a show open tomorrow evening. I'd like to go because 1.) there will be free food, 2.) being an arty crowd there will most likely be some decent cheese and some decent wine, and 3.) Shelley and I haven't really had the chance yet to actively make friends here, so that would be nice.
Ah, the Hell with it. I guess I'll keep this blog up. I can't guarantee regular updates, but I'll be around.
Alex
PS - Don't laugh, but I'm in the early stages of doing some James Bond fan-fiction. It won't be anything dumb - like a lot of fanfic can be - but just a straight up story. I'd like to think I have a knack for writing, so hopefully it will be a step above the average fan fiction? We'll see. Not being English I feel puts me at a slight disadvantage.
Don't worry, she and I are doing quite well. Better than ever, in fact.
It's just we have lots of grown-up issues we're dealing with (parents), and...I don't know, it's not as fun as it was once, to revisit some of the bad things we've both experienced in the name of putting it in prose form and putting it on my blog. Never mind that, I'm still super paranoid (as with last time) that my parents will stumble across this again. I could probably do a little better than to have my name as the URL, but whatever.
I'll say this: my last week at home (in Seymour) was not fun. Very uncivil behavior over my getting rid of the PT Cruiser. In all fairness, though, we were able to patch up before I left. When Dad hugged me goodbye and said, "I love you," he was choking up...which in turn made me choke up. I fought back the tears, which completely dried as I approached the security checkpoint. I changed planes in Atlanta, since as you know that is totally on the way between Indianapolis and New York City. Still, doing that saved my parents a couple hundred bucks.
I'm liking school, though having two night classes once a week doesn't exactly feel the same as the campus life that came with Indiana University. Maybe it will be better when I actually move into my apartment, which will literally be a five minute walk away from the school. Why, dare I say it, I can go to the campus in the daytime!
One thing I thought we'd have to sacrifice was mine and Shelley's penchant for late-night walks, seeing as Bloomington at 3 A.M. is considerably safer than Brooklyn at the same hour. We still go on walks, just in the daytime. It's a 55-minute walk from her place to the campus, so we're not lacking in exercise.
I can tell you already there are some things I miss. In fact, let's make a list of it:
10. Honestly, I miss Kroger. The grocers here are slightly overpriced, and their selection is quite limited. As an upside, though, is that the Big Banana grocer on King's Highway also has Turkish, Russian, and Hispanic cuisine - I bought caviar for $4.99. And you know what? It's delicious. I've also got some terrific Russian soda called Kvass, which is made from malt flavoring.
09. I miss driving. But at the same time, I couldn't drive in NYC. The traffic here is abysmal, and there wouldn't be any place for me to park. Besides, being 13 hours away from Seymour would have been a real pain in the ass of a trip.
08. The smattering of parks (aside from Central Park and Prospect Park) don't really do much justice to nature. They're just places to play basketball or play on the playgrounds. There's trees on the street, but there's usually dog shit underneath them.
07. I can't believe this, but I miss Shelley's cat Phyllis.
06. Let me just go ahead and predict that I'm going to miss autumn in Bloomington/Indiana. I love the fall, it's the time of year that everywhere you go things are orange, red, or yellow, and the delightful smell of leaves burning and bonfires. Yeah, I'll miss that. I will NOT be missing the drive between Bloomington and Seymour. That sucked, whether you took 37 to Highway 50 or 446 to Highway 50 or Highway 46 (arguably the worst in terms of deer and tailgating assholes) to I-65 (easily the best part of the drive, as you can go eighty without worrying about critters).
05. I hate Seymour...but I sort of miss my parents' house. It's an old house, and it has a distinct smell to it.
04. There's more than a few professors I miss: Glenn Gass, Michael McGerr, Andy Hollinden, Joan Hawkins, and Paul Aarstad from the IMP.
03. This one's more of the idea of it than the actual event (due to my own dislike of most of the losers I went to high school with, and the fact that some bridges were burned by some of my former friends making some dumb choices), but I think I'll miss Seymour's Oktoberfest.
02. My friends (Graham, Andrew, Jordan, and others)
01. The sense of community with Bloomington? I'll miss that, for sure.
It isn't unsafe here. I'm not dodging bullets every time I go out...though my mom's former boss tried to make it sound like a nightmare. Of course, what he was describing to me was the Bronx in the early/mid 1990's and not present-day Brooklyn. Like anything, you just have to be smart. Don't be out piss-ass drunk at 4 in the morning, which is advice I'd give if I was in Bloomington.
I don't know how the weather has been in Indiana, but after a couple days here, it's like summer came to an abrupt end. It might have been around 80 or 90 degrees my first few days in NYC, but then it rained and it's been in the 70's, never going above 80, since then. Maybe autumn comes early here? I don't know.
Another thing I'm excited for is that I'll be speaking at the Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association (MAPACA) conference in Boston this November. My topic is "Rust Never Sleeps And The Death Of Classic Rock." Like my previous work on The Kinks, I'll see if I can get it published online somewhere. I wonder if hyperrust.org still accepts submissions.
It's so late it's now early. I've been combating the early stages of a nasty cold - aches and a peppery throat, mainly - and my solution tonight was to sleep under two comforters. I had a dream that I was being smuggled through a Middle Eastern city (I'm not sure which one exactly) in a wooden box with an oxygen tank so I could breathe, which in turn was covered in rags. Naturally, I woke up literally drenched in sweat and somewhat dehydrated. I had two glasses of water, some cashews, a grapefruit (vitamin C, dammit!), and a surprisingly good flavor of Kosher ramen: tomato beef.
Anyway, I went to bed at 11, woke up around 3...I'll eventually get the rest of my six to seven hours' worth of "a good night's sleep" and hopefully be up before 11. I just hope I don't feel achy tomorrow, as the art gallery where Shelley is interning is having a show open tomorrow evening. I'd like to go because 1.) there will be free food, 2.) being an arty crowd there will most likely be some decent cheese and some decent wine, and 3.) Shelley and I haven't really had the chance yet to actively make friends here, so that would be nice.
Ah, the Hell with it. I guess I'll keep this blog up. I can't guarantee regular updates, but I'll be around.
Alex
PS - Don't laugh, but I'm in the early stages of doing some James Bond fan-fiction. It won't be anything dumb - like a lot of fanfic can be - but just a straight up story. I'd like to think I have a knack for writing, so hopefully it will be a step above the average fan fiction? We'll see. Not being English I feel puts me at a slight disadvantage.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Let's Get Down To Brass Tacks...
...I'm putting a lot more time, effort, and by proxy more of myself into my other blog.
My personal life is solid, though there are lots of things that, out of respect for my future wife's sense of privacy, I refuse to write about.
Things are in order, don't worry about that. My journey to and (at least) two-year residence in Brooklyn should be a Hell of a ride. But you all have Facebook, right?
Anyway, without any drama, there's no intrigue. I hate drama, and if I start writing creative stuff again (which I have/am,) I won't be posting it online where someone could just as easily copy, paste, and post it, calling it their own.
It's been fun, but I think I'm too old to just write about myself like it's front page news.
Adios!
My personal life is solid, though there are lots of things that, out of respect for my future wife's sense of privacy, I refuse to write about.
Things are in order, don't worry about that. My journey to and (at least) two-year residence in Brooklyn should be a Hell of a ride. But you all have Facebook, right?
Anyway, without any drama, there's no intrigue. I hate drama, and if I start writing creative stuff again (which I have/am,) I won't be posting it online where someone could just as easily copy, paste, and post it, calling it their own.
It's been fun, but I think I'm too old to just write about myself like it's front page news.
Adios!
Friday, July 24, 2009
50 Questions
1. What time did you get up this morning? Noon-ish.
2. How do you like your steak? Not at all.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Up. It was terrific.
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Simpsons, All In The Family, The Office, The Boondocks, Malcolm In The Middle...that's about it for the American shows. Best ever, hands-down, Monty Python's Flying Circus, closely followed by Fawlty Towers.
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? New York, California, France, Italy.
6. What did you have for breakfast? Chocolate peanut-butter and cherry jam on white toast with coffee.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Turkish, Greek, Middle Eastern, authentic Italian (sorry Fazoli's!), Japanese, Chinese, Indian...in no particular order.
8. What foods do you dislike? "American" food outlets like Chili's, Applebee's, and Americanized versions of foreign food (Taco Bell, Fazoli's), overly greasy food...ugh...
9. Favorite Place to Eat? Whatever answer I provide now will be horribly obsolete after I move to Brooklyn. I'm led to understand there's a few restaurants over there.
10. Favorite dressing? Most any vinaigrette.
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? PT Cruiser (black)
12. What are your favorite clothes? jeans, casual button-up/t-shirt, Chucks
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Europe, Japan, India
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? How much ice is in it - could very well be 3/4 empty.
15. Where would you want to retire? I fully intend to die working.
16. Favorite time of day? The hour the sun sets and the hour the sun rises. Always lovely.
17. Where were you born? Louisville
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? None.
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? I suppose since I'm not really tagging anyone then this question isn't applicable.
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? See number 19.
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Same readers as usual: Shelley (always), M@ (most of the time), Forrest (a lot of the time).
22. Bird watcher? I hate birds. I fear them.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? NIGHT.
24. Do you have any pets? Does Phyllis count - she's Shelley's, not mine.
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Sure. Dave Emlen, owner of KindaKinks.net, posted a link on his "What's New" page to my blog review of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. If you'd like to set aside the time, each song listing has a YouTube link so you can hear each song on the album!
26. What did you want to be when you were little? Believe it or not, scientist. Also, astronaut, lawyer, Beatle, filmmaker.
27. What is your best childhood memory? Any day I wasn't being used as a drug mule for select members of my extended family was a good day.
28. Are you a cat or dog person? In moderation, either. I don't think I'd want to own a dog.
29. Are you married? Not yet, but it's in the works.
30. Always wear your seat belt? Yes.
31. Been in a car accident? Never in the driver's seat.
32. Any pet peeves? Hypocrites, liars, gossips, people who talk big but don't do shit, people who can't be relied on for anything, most recreational drug users, white people who think they "get" Bob Marley because they've gotten high to it.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni.
34. Favorite Flower? Honeysuckle. Best to look at? No, but best-smelling...and edible.
35. Favorite ice cream? Uh...most any.
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? If a gun was held to my head, I guess White Castle, maybe Taco Bell if I'm feeling zesty.
37. What are you obsessed about? IN THIS ORDER - my future wife, spiritual enlightenment, my academic pursuits, everything else.
38. From whom did you get your last email? An autobot response since apparently apartment shopping is a haven of people who want to rip you off. Assholes.
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? If I had one, a CD store. Oh my God I would go broke.
40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Not yet. But it's in the works.
41. Like your job? Being a student, you mean? Sure, it's a gas, gas, gas.
42. Broccoli? Yes, thank you. Put some cheese on it if you'd like.
43. What was your favorite vacation? New Orleans. (Does that count? If not...St. Louis.)
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? I'm looking at her right now. She will eventually realize I'm looking at her and go, "What? Do I have something on my face?" and then I'll smile and resume writing while she darts to the bathroom to make sure.
45. What are you listening to right now? The Rutles
46. What is your favorite color? Naples Yellow.
47. How many tattoos do you have? Zero.
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? See #47.
49. What time did you finish this quiz? 3:15.
50. Coffee Drinker? YES!
2. How do you like your steak? Not at all.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Up. It was terrific.
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Simpsons, All In The Family, The Office, The Boondocks, Malcolm In The Middle...that's about it for the American shows. Best ever, hands-down, Monty Python's Flying Circus, closely followed by Fawlty Towers.
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? New York, California, France, Italy.
6. What did you have for breakfast? Chocolate peanut-butter and cherry jam on white toast with coffee.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Turkish, Greek, Middle Eastern, authentic Italian (sorry Fazoli's!), Japanese, Chinese, Indian...in no particular order.
8. What foods do you dislike? "American" food outlets like Chili's, Applebee's, and Americanized versions of foreign food (Taco Bell, Fazoli's), overly greasy food...ugh...
9. Favorite Place to Eat? Whatever answer I provide now will be horribly obsolete after I move to Brooklyn. I'm led to understand there's a few restaurants over there.
10. Favorite dressing? Most any vinaigrette.
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? PT Cruiser (black)
12. What are your favorite clothes? jeans, casual button-up/t-shirt, Chucks
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Europe, Japan, India
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? How much ice is in it - could very well be 3/4 empty.
15. Where would you want to retire? I fully intend to die working.
16. Favorite time of day? The hour the sun sets and the hour the sun rises. Always lovely.
17. Where were you born? Louisville
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? None.
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? I suppose since I'm not really tagging anyone then this question isn't applicable.
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? See number 19.
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Same readers as usual: Shelley (always), M@ (most of the time), Forrest (a lot of the time).
22. Bird watcher? I hate birds. I fear them.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? NIGHT.
24. Do you have any pets? Does Phyllis count - she's Shelley's, not mine.
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Sure. Dave Emlen, owner of KindaKinks.net, posted a link on his "What's New" page to my blog review of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. If you'd like to set aside the time, each song listing has a YouTube link so you can hear each song on the album!
26. What did you want to be when you were little? Believe it or not, scientist. Also, astronaut, lawyer, Beatle, filmmaker.
27. What is your best childhood memory? Any day I wasn't being used as a drug mule for select members of my extended family was a good day.
28. Are you a cat or dog person? In moderation, either. I don't think I'd want to own a dog.
29. Are you married? Not yet, but it's in the works.
30. Always wear your seat belt? Yes.
31. Been in a car accident? Never in the driver's seat.
32. Any pet peeves? Hypocrites, liars, gossips, people who talk big but don't do shit, people who can't be relied on for anything, most recreational drug users, white people who think they "get" Bob Marley because they've gotten high to it.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni.
34. Favorite Flower? Honeysuckle. Best to look at? No, but best-smelling...and edible.
35. Favorite ice cream? Uh...most any.
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? If a gun was held to my head, I guess White Castle, maybe Taco Bell if I'm feeling zesty.
37. What are you obsessed about? IN THIS ORDER - my future wife, spiritual enlightenment, my academic pursuits, everything else.
38. From whom did you get your last email? An autobot response since apparently apartment shopping is a haven of people who want to rip you off. Assholes.
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? If I had one, a CD store. Oh my God I would go broke.
40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Not yet. But it's in the works.
41. Like your job? Being a student, you mean? Sure, it's a gas, gas, gas.
42. Broccoli? Yes, thank you. Put some cheese on it if you'd like.
43. What was your favorite vacation? New Orleans. (Does that count? If not...St. Louis.)
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? I'm looking at her right now. She will eventually realize I'm looking at her and go, "What? Do I have something on my face?" and then I'll smile and resume writing while she darts to the bathroom to make sure.
45. What are you listening to right now? The Rutles
46. What is your favorite color? Naples Yellow.
47. How many tattoos do you have? Zero.
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? See #47.
49. What time did you finish this quiz? 3:15.
50. Coffee Drinker? YES!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Maybe It's Just Me...
...but when you're alone, cheesy pop/love song lyrics ring all the more true.
Then again, I've always been a sucker for that romantic codswallop.
Then again, I've always been a sucker for that romantic codswallop.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
A Gift That Keeps On Giving
SHELLEY IS GETTING NETFLIX!!!!!!!
She's doing the 2 DVD's per shipment thing, so we can each pick one. I've already searched a few result-less movies (200 Motels, Kenny Vs. Spenny), but that's just me being difficult. It still stands that we are going to get our (her) money's worth out of this. Especially since she'll be back in Texas from the 14th through the 23rd. I'll need something to do those nine days. Might as well do something semi-constructive.
In other news, I've been reading Ian Fleming's original 007 novels, purchased with graduation money. I really, really like them. My only complaints are that as a high-class Englishman he tends to write rather disparagingly about other nationalities (especially minorities), though at the same time I understand that this was the 1950's...not that it makes it ok, but still...and the fact that his writing style is so detailed it's not stuff you can just sit and read when you're tired. Otherwise you'll be lost.
Ok, it was exciting until Shelley started searching the site. Now it's just boring. Just pick one. Seriously.
She's doing the 2 DVD's per shipment thing, so we can each pick one. I've already searched a few result-less movies (200 Motels, Kenny Vs. Spenny), but that's just me being difficult. It still stands that we are going to get our (her) money's worth out of this. Especially since she'll be back in Texas from the 14th through the 23rd. I'll need something to do those nine days. Might as well do something semi-constructive.
In other news, I've been reading Ian Fleming's original 007 novels, purchased with graduation money. I really, really like them. My only complaints are that as a high-class Englishman he tends to write rather disparagingly about other nationalities (especially minorities), though at the same time I understand that this was the 1950's...not that it makes it ok, but still...and the fact that his writing style is so detailed it's not stuff you can just sit and read when you're tired. Otherwise you'll be lost.
Ok, it was exciting until Shelley started searching the site. Now it's just boring. Just pick one. Seriously.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Hi.
Maybe now would be a good time to shamelessly plug my other site, which I hope to turn into a haven of album, film, TV show, and occasionally video game reviews.
I just waited so that I'd have a few entries under my belt before making it "public," for the three of you who read this.
Alex
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Obama Endorses DOMA...As Only A Cowardly Democrat Can
OBAMA ENDORSES DOMA AS ONLY A COWARDLY DEMOCRAT CAN -
(Bloomington) Well, the cracks are forming. Beyond the lack of prosecuting members of the Bush camp - let's face it, that was little more than a pipe dream for those of us who in a previous lifetime participated in the French Revolution - Obama is collapsing into little more than an impotent populist. Moreover, he has officially broken his first campaign promise, not that you would be seeing this on the CNN Politics page or anything.
President Barack Obama has considered the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) to not be unconstitutional. Just what is DOMA? The current federal law in effect from DOMA is two-pronged:
"1. No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
2. The federal government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states."
DOMA was signed into effect on September 21...1996? What?!
That's right - a Democrat. The same Democrat who promised to allow gays in the military throughout the 1992 election, only to do it in the most backhanded and cowardly of ways, with the discriminatory and oppressive "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Obama promised to repeal the policy during his own campaign last year, saying that he agreed with the stance of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili, who wrote in 2007:
"I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces [...] Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."
In actuality, the Obama Administration is defending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in court, a contrast to his post-election announcment of delaying the repeal until 2010, which said he "first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus, and then present legislation to Congress." I guess a letter from 28 retired generals and admirals or the current Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, telling the West Point graduating class that there should be a repeal just wasn't enough persuasion.
Ok, so this actually makes a second broken campaign pledge.
This entry chronicles the details extraordinarily well.
Rather than give a full endorsement of DOMA, the Obama Administration has instead taken a cowardly route, in a move Clintonian in nature. They have expressed that it isn't unconstitutional, using some parallels straight out of the James Dobson/Pat Robertson playbook, in that they compare a state's right to not recognize a gay marriage performed in another state with a marriage of an incestuous nature or a marriage involving a minor similarly being unrecognized.
Beautiful - gay marriage is in the same category as incest or preternatural courtship. Why don't you throw in a comparison to bestiality for good measure? The argument is also made that it will save the federal government money.
Mr. Obama, with all due respect, this stance is cowardly and a misstep. Upon your election, I fully understood your fallible nature and knew you would make statements and decisions with which I did not fully agree. But this stood as a key domestic issue, involving a demographic that is reliant on you to liberate them from inequality, discrimination, and social stigma.
Ours is the generation raised on 9/11, Bush's compassionate conservatism devolving into a push for ideological absolutism in a war that has proven little more than a failed attempt to corner the oil market, and a world where the Internet functions as a forum of accountability-holding fact checks. Ours is a skeptical, authority questioning generation. The online community held your opponents Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Sarah Palin responsible for half-truths and full-on falsehoods during the 2008 election cycle.
As the candidate who endorsed CHANGE as the almighty buzzword throughout your quest for the highest office in the land, reneging your stance on this sensitive, crucial issue is a move that smacks of butt-kissing populism. You made lofty promises, which in tandem with your honest, untarnished nature and your youth, put you into office. More than McCain's senescent gaffes, more than Palin's hypocrisy and stupidity, more than Hillary's reptilian game of race-baiting politics, it was your merits.
Don't buy into the Washington ball-playing you set out to bring to an end. Your re-election hinges on it. And don't think this won't go unnoticed or unforgotten.
Guest columnist Alex Charles DiBlasi is a Master's student at Brooklyn College. The opinions expressed are solely his.
(Bloomington) Well, the cracks are forming. Beyond the lack of prosecuting members of the Bush camp - let's face it, that was little more than a pipe dream for those of us who in a previous lifetime participated in the French Revolution - Obama is collapsing into little more than an impotent populist. Moreover, he has officially broken his first campaign promise, not that you would be seeing this on the CNN Politics page or anything.
President Barack Obama has considered the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) to not be unconstitutional. Just what is DOMA? The current federal law in effect from DOMA is two-pronged:
"1. No state (or other political subdivision within the United States) needs to treat a relationship between persons of the same sex as a marriage, even if the relationship is considered a marriage in another state.
2. The federal government may not treat same-sex relationships as marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states."
DOMA was signed into effect on September 21...1996? What?!
That's right - a Democrat. The same Democrat who promised to allow gays in the military throughout the 1992 election, only to do it in the most backhanded and cowardly of ways, with the discriminatory and oppressive "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Obama promised to repeal the policy during his own campaign last year, saying that he agreed with the stance of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili, who wrote in 2007:
"I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces [...] Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."
In actuality, the Obama Administration is defending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in court, a contrast to his post-election announcment of delaying the repeal until 2010, which said he "first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus, and then present legislation to Congress." I guess a letter from 28 retired generals and admirals or the current Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, telling the West Point graduating class that there should be a repeal just wasn't enough persuasion.
Ok, so this actually makes a second broken campaign pledge.
This entry chronicles the details extraordinarily well.
Rather than give a full endorsement of DOMA, the Obama Administration has instead taken a cowardly route, in a move Clintonian in nature. They have expressed that it isn't unconstitutional, using some parallels straight out of the James Dobson/Pat Robertson playbook, in that they compare a state's right to not recognize a gay marriage performed in another state with a marriage of an incestuous nature or a marriage involving a minor similarly being unrecognized.
Beautiful - gay marriage is in the same category as incest or preternatural courtship. Why don't you throw in a comparison to bestiality for good measure? The argument is also made that it will save the federal government money.
Mr. Obama, with all due respect, this stance is cowardly and a misstep. Upon your election, I fully understood your fallible nature and knew you would make statements and decisions with which I did not fully agree. But this stood as a key domestic issue, involving a demographic that is reliant on you to liberate them from inequality, discrimination, and social stigma.
Ours is the generation raised on 9/11, Bush's compassionate conservatism devolving into a push for ideological absolutism in a war that has proven little more than a failed attempt to corner the oil market, and a world where the Internet functions as a forum of accountability-holding fact checks. Ours is a skeptical, authority questioning generation. The online community held your opponents Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Sarah Palin responsible for half-truths and full-on falsehoods during the 2008 election cycle.
As the candidate who endorsed CHANGE as the almighty buzzword throughout your quest for the highest office in the land, reneging your stance on this sensitive, crucial issue is a move that smacks of butt-kissing populism. You made lofty promises, which in tandem with your honest, untarnished nature and your youth, put you into office. More than McCain's senescent gaffes, more than Palin's hypocrisy and stupidity, more than Hillary's reptilian game of race-baiting politics, it was your merits.
Don't buy into the Washington ball-playing you set out to bring to an end. Your re-election hinges on it. And don't think this won't go unnoticed or unforgotten.
Guest columnist Alex Charles DiBlasi is a Master's student at Brooklyn College. The opinions expressed are solely his.
North Korea To Weaponize Plutonium
So, the UN passed a resolution condemning North Korea's test back on 5-25-09.
Among the provisions:
+ Authorization of member states to inspect, "in accordance with their national authorities and legislation, and consistent with international law," North Korean cargo on land, sea and air, and to destroy any goods suspected of being connected to the DPRK's nuclear program.
+ Requires the North Korean government to return immediately to the six-party talks and renounce its announcement of withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
+ Preventing financial services that could contribute to the nuclear or ballistic missile related programs.
+ Instructs member states not to provide financial assistance to the DPRK nuclear programme, or enter into loans with the country, except for humanitarian or developmental reasons.
+ Extending the arms embargo on North Korea by banning all weapons exports from the country and most imports, with an exception to small arms, light weapons and related materiel – though member states must notify the Security Council five days prior to selling the weapons.
+ Demands that North Korea halt its nuclear weapons programme and conduct no further nuclear or missile tests.
+ Asks member states to notify the Council of steps they are taking to implement the sanctions within 45 days.
+ Affirming the Security Council's commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic resolution to the situation.
North Korea responds by saying any further sanctions or resolutions would be considered a "declaration of war", while weaponizing their plutonium, carrying on with the enrichment of uranium, and taunted that any blockade was "act of war that will be met with a decisive military response."
President Obama, where are you? This is your chance to step up to the plate and show your critics, skeptics, and indeed the global community that you have a hard edge. I'm not asking for another game of nuclear brinksmanship, we have learned our lesson from the Cold War (we have, right?), but this is frighteningly threatening rhetoric. These aren't the words of Osama Bin Laden, whose threat to the United States since 9-12-01 has been little more than propaganda delivered from a perpetually undisclosed location.
We found no enriched uranium coming from Africa into Iraq. We found no enriched uranium in Iraq. Here is North Korea - a developed nation, not a terrorist organization, but a nation with a constitution and a government, a global power - promising to carry on a WMD program.
Sanctions and resolutions only go so far. I don't advocate a campaign to send North Korea back to the stone age, but should this situation continue to escalate, I'm able to comfortably step away from my pacifism and say military force may be needed to ensure an end to their nuclear program.
Why didn't we invade them back in 2003? Their withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty wasn't enough of a hint of things to come? What could they possibly stand to gain from nuclear armament? Are we too scared to confront them because of their ties to China? Or worse, their ties to Russia?
Among the provisions:
+ Authorization of member states to inspect, "in accordance with their national authorities and legislation, and consistent with international law," North Korean cargo on land, sea and air, and to destroy any goods suspected of being connected to the DPRK's nuclear program.
+ Requires the North Korean government to return immediately to the six-party talks and renounce its announcement of withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
+ Preventing financial services that could contribute to the nuclear or ballistic missile related programs.
+ Instructs member states not to provide financial assistance to the DPRK nuclear programme, or enter into loans with the country, except for humanitarian or developmental reasons.
+ Extending the arms embargo on North Korea by banning all weapons exports from the country and most imports, with an exception to small arms, light weapons and related materiel – though member states must notify the Security Council five days prior to selling the weapons.
+ Demands that North Korea halt its nuclear weapons programme and conduct no further nuclear or missile tests.
+ Asks member states to notify the Council of steps they are taking to implement the sanctions within 45 days.
+ Affirming the Security Council's commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic resolution to the situation.
North Korea responds by saying any further sanctions or resolutions would be considered a "declaration of war", while weaponizing their plutonium, carrying on with the enrichment of uranium, and taunted that any blockade was "act of war that will be met with a decisive military response."
President Obama, where are you? This is your chance to step up to the plate and show your critics, skeptics, and indeed the global community that you have a hard edge. I'm not asking for another game of nuclear brinksmanship, we have learned our lesson from the Cold War (we have, right?), but this is frighteningly threatening rhetoric. These aren't the words of Osama Bin Laden, whose threat to the United States since 9-12-01 has been little more than propaganda delivered from a perpetually undisclosed location.
We found no enriched uranium coming from Africa into Iraq. We found no enriched uranium in Iraq. Here is North Korea - a developed nation, not a terrorist organization, but a nation with a constitution and a government, a global power - promising to carry on a WMD program.
Sanctions and resolutions only go so far. I don't advocate a campaign to send North Korea back to the stone age, but should this situation continue to escalate, I'm able to comfortably step away from my pacifism and say military force may be needed to ensure an end to their nuclear program.
Why didn't we invade them back in 2003? Their withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty wasn't enough of a hint of things to come? What could they possibly stand to gain from nuclear armament? Are we too scared to confront them because of their ties to China? Or worse, their ties to Russia?
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