POLITICAL COMMENTARY IS PROBABLY NOT A CRIME

2008 in Review

2009-01-18T22:38:00.005-06:00

Hey guys, the blog is back. Here is the 2008 year-in-review:

I got engaged! Rachel and I are living together and absolutely loving every bit of it. We are also planning a wedding which is going really well. She is now used to Ames and Iowa State for the most part and progressing towards a degree in community and public health.

As for me, I began 2008 again at Iowa State and am still progressing towards my master’s which should be just months away. I also took on the job of Maintenance Shop director. There were lots of great experiences involved. Seeing and speaking with really great bands and individuals including Jonathan Richman, Oxford Collapse, Bishop Allen, Joe Price, The Dutchess and the Duke, The New Year, The Uglysuit, and HENRY ROLLINS! Lots of work but lots of payoff.

Hey, let’s talk about politics. We have a new president, but we had a lot of other crazy stuff to make it to that point. Remember when Tom Vilsack was running for president? That was fun. Actually, my year started with the Iowa Caucuses. It came down to Sen. Obama as the victor, followed by Sen. Edwards, followed by Sen. Clinton. Remember when Mitt Romney was running for president? That was fun. On the Republican side there was some interesting things that came along as well—remember when Fred Thompson was running for president? That was fun (boring). Either way, the races on both sides continued for quite some time which made the circus of words that much more interesting or tiresome, depending on the viewer’s mood. It came down to Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama, the latter being the victor, for which I am pleased.

We also saw the beginning of two conflicts between Israel and Palestine. Unfortunately only one came to somewhat of a close and the other continues. Another conflict between Russia and Georgia began, but the Olympics were too interesting, even for our own Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice who used some fightin’ words but failed to actually do anything. She did meet Michael Phelps though!

That is enough gloating and/or bashing. Let’s get to the fun stuff (at least for me). The following are my picks for the best music of the year in no particular order:

Top Ten:

Fleet Foxes :: Fleet Foxes

TV on the Radio :: Dear Science

Blitzen Trapper :: Furr

Cut Copy :: In Ghost Colours

Fuck Buttons :: Street Horrrsing

Girl Talk :: Feed the Animals

Frightened Rabbit :: The Midnight Organ Fight

The Dutchess and the Duke :: She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke

The Mae Shi :: Hlllyh

No Age :: Nouns

Next Ten:

Okkervil River :: The Stand Ins

Wolf Parade :: At Mount Zoomer

My Morning Jacket :: Evil Urges

Li’l Wayne :: Tha Carter III

Crystal Castles :: Crystal Castles

Black Moth Super Rainbow :: Dandelion Gum

Portishead :: Third

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks :: Real Emotional Trash

Lykke Li :: Youth Novels

Deerhunter :: Microcastle

2008 Mixtape (as meant to be played):

1. Fleet Foxes :: White Winter Hymnal

2. Bon Iver :: Skinny Love

3. The Helio Sequence :: Lately

4. Vampire Weekend :: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

5. Cut Copy :: Out There on the Ice Hearts

6. Hot Chip :: Read for the Floor

7. Estelle :: American Boy [Featuring Kanye West]

8. Kanye West :: Love Lockdown

9. Lykke Li :: Tonight

10. Blitzen Trapper :: Furr

11. The Dutchess and the Duke :: Reservoir Park

12. Santogold :: You’ll Find a Way

13. Clipse :: S.L.U.

14. Li’l Wayne :: A Milli

15. Portishead :: Machine Gun

16. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks :: Dragonfly Pie

17. TV on the Radio :: Golden Age

18. MGMT :: Time to Pretend

19. My Morning Jacket :: Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Part 2

20. Frightened Rabbit :: The Modern Leper

You can check out all of these tracks on imeem.com.

I hope you like the list. Let me know your favorites!

Also, make sure to check the M-Shop schedule and justify our existence. Please. Thanks.

Blog Password!

2008-12-28T23:58:00.003-06:00

So I found my blog password and here is my first post in, yes, a very very long time. Soon I will be putting up my reaction to 2008, including music, politics, and general world events. I'm back--hopefully for more than two blogs a year!

Until then.

Grave Digging

2008-06-19T05:20:00.003-05:00

Hey everybody. I hope everything is going well. I am at work on my fifth consecutive 11pm to 7am (graveyard) shift at the main desk of Iowa State's Memorial Union. Here are a few observations:
*Both Radiohead's In Rainbows and Panda Bear's Person Pitch sound really, really good echoing in empty, vaulted, seasoned hallways.
*nbc.com just posted all three seasons (1960, 1961, and 1962) of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour program for free viewing. They're pretty intense. Mr. Hitchcock does little bits before and after commerical breaks that are dark and halarious. The very first episode has a now-famous actor whose name rhymes with Gobert Bedford.
*The night custodial staff at the Memorial Union have some interesting stories and perspectives on life and I am in the better for having heard them.
*Booking agents generally do not return emails during the hours of 11pm and 7am central time. To be honest, no one really does--and they are in the better for it.
*Sleeping during the day is difficult when windows are not covered by blankets or sheets and when the body is not under the influence of perscribed muscle relaxers that are better at being sleep aids than their intended purpose.
*If someone really loves you, they (she in this case) will send you (me in this case) a half-asleep text message at 3:17am to tell you just that.
Speaking of booking agents, the M-Shop stuff is going pretty well. I have run into some disappointments, mostly because 195 Iowa State students and/or others would likely not pay $32 each to see an artist that will be opening for Sir Elton John in Europe coming up here--I do not blame them, I blame the bad luck. At times I feel that I am too ambitious in my hopes and band selection and I should accept the fact that some bands are just too big for the M-Shop. That's a hard realization for me because I really do love the venue and I would love for any of you to visit me there sometime. Thanks.
Hey! Next week I get to go to Pennsylvania with Rachel and the gang (her family--I thought Rachel and the gang sounded cool). We will be away for about a week and we hope to visit my old haunts in the District and Hershey, Pennsylvania, the place where chocolate was invented (by "chocolate" in this case I mean American, mass produced chocolate...not that there's anything wrong with that*). I'm pretty excited.

###Political Part!!!!###
As most of you probably already know, I am not a huge fan of Senator John McCain. But honestly, besides his riding around in a bus called the "Straight Talk Express" (which I believe is fueled by the tears of Iraqi children and bullshit), his denouncement of America's use of torture on anyone as a result of his own imprisonment an torture during the Vietnam War followed by his recent vote against a bill that would outlaw torture by the United States, and his overall dickitude, he is not that bad, right? Oh, and then there is his anger issues. Oooooooook. I can hear the opponents to my views now--"you crazy liberals using 'facts' to try to 'prove things.' I hear Barak HUSSEIN Obama," (this being yelled with incorrect pronunciation, obviously), "is a Muslim!" (also pronounced incorrectly) (and possibly yelled by Iowa Representative Steve King). Everybody knows that all black people with non-European names are Muslims--that's just a no brainer, people. I really do think that it is sadly halarious to think that with nothing but his Christian pastor Jeremiah Wright and Christian preacher Michael Pfleger on the 24-hour news networks as well as the major networks, people still believe that Senator Obama is a Muslim. Ha ha...mmmm.
I hope your summers are going well and that I will be able to catch up with you at some point over the summer. Maybe party in Ames some weekend--you come, we drink beers, we smile, fun, yes?
Yes.

Lou Dobbs is still an idiot

2008-04-01T16:54:00.001-05:00

After Sen. Obama's speech that has been, probably a bit too strongly, the speech of the century, Lou Dobbs argues that America is the most progressive country in the world...and makes it pretty evident that he is a "cotton p..." racist. Check it out here. Also, I do feel that Sen. Obama's speech was pretty well written and presented--try to find another person, politician, entertainer, social activist, elected or unelected official, who has spoken on race with the same candor, intelligence, and directness.

Good.

"Stay gold, Ponyboy"

2008-03-10T14:21:00.002-05:00

I feel like I always start these with, "well, it's been a long time since the last time..." I usually forget my password to be able to post another in the interim. I really have to get out of school. Hey! Guess what the benefit of being in school is--getting to make decisions over what bands come to my favorite venue. Yes, I have received the opportunity to be the M-Shop co-director next semester. I already have a list of bands that I would like to invite and I am welcome to your suggestions as well, but you will have to remember that I am a music snob and the M-Shop has a fixed budget. In other M-Shop news, this Thursday will be my 40th concert there--Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down opening for Xiu Xiu. I am excited.

In other news, the Democratic primary process is still going on. I really do not think that either candidate is unfavorable. Of course, one is dealing with the double standard that comes with being a woman in America and the other is a nearly equal departure from the norm (as well as being best friends forever with "the terrrrsts," oh western Iowa, will you never leave the 1950s?). Some people say it is lasting too long or hurting the party, but, as long as the beloved 24-hour, and otherwise, news networks do not crush any public spirit the people might hold and the candidates themselves do not follow suit, the excitement of the primary season should carry into the general election. My applause to Sen. McCain for proposing that the campaign financing process is a bit more under wraps with both major party candidates accepting government funds instead of the millions to be spent otherwise. It should be fun.

In worse, but expected, news, the president recently sent his final budget request to Congress. As most of you know, public broadcasting has a special place in my heart--growing up without cable, with traditional mail being faster than email, Sesame Street still one of my favortite shows, and the internship--it still bothers me to see this report: "It’s a familiar dance: for eight straight years, the Bush administration has proposed deep cuts in federal funds for public broadcasting, and seven times so far, Congress has restored them." Yes, even during the years of Republican leadership and majority, funds were restored. So why the cuts? Continued, the education budget request is no rosy picture either--in the seven years of No Child Left Behind there has been a cumulative shortfall in funds of $70.9 billion. As for college students, especially from low and middle economic classes, the Pell Grants have been stagnant: "From 2003 to 2006, the maximum Pell Grant award was frozen at $4,050 while the cost of higher education shot up 22 percent" when it was promised to increase by $290 this year, which it is not proposed to do.
If you would like, you can check out the summary of the president and former Representative from Iowa and current Budget Director Jim Nussle's proposal here. One specifically comic area is the one entitled "A Record of Economic Success--But Challenges Ahead" or you could learn about the 74% increase in the Department of Defense budget from 2001, and a total amount of $651 billion. Yay! Now let's look at Agriculture ($95 billion), Veteran's Affairs ($92 billion), Education ($63.5 billion), and the Department of State ($39 billion, $4.8 billion going to "Foreign Military Financing"). Not so yay.

I guess I cannot get too in the dumps, the economy is booming, right Mr. President? No? Ok. Well, at least you know how to and are happy (because of his record number of vacation days during his presidency along with many other records) enough to dance.

When the plane is going down and you, the passenger, do not have a built-in parachute in your siut, remember to "stay gold, Ponyboy."

Short update, Best of 2007

2008-01-16T14:24:00.000-06:00

I have not blogged in quite some time, so first will be the catching up, for those I have not seen or spoken with, and then will be the massive 2007 best-ofs.

Northern Illinois did not work out. I was not happy with my situation there because the major focus of study there was not something that held my interest. The faculty are quite good at what they do but it was not for me. After weeks of deliberation, I decided that returning to Iowa State and studying public administration would be the best fit for me. So here I am, in my office on the fifth floor of Ross Hall conducting office hours (blogging). I am taking three classes, one in statistics and two in public administration, and assisting in a class on religion and politics. Another good thing about the transition from NIU to ISU is that, at most, it will take me one more semester than if I had stayed in DeKalb to graduate with my master’s.
I am living on the west side of town in an apartment that is nicer than any other place that I have lived after leaving home—you should visit. A key feature of the apartment is that Rachel really likes it which is pleasant for both of us. Also, I really like this town and university culture. It will be a good stretch.

Now for the best of 2007 music list (in my opinion). You will disagree—I understand this—so let me know your best-ofs and, likely, I will give you the benefit of the doubt, concede that your list is better than mine, and curse the damned luck. First are the top ten which were extremely difficult to finagle down, so after are the next five followed by the rest of what I appreciated greatly this year.

Best: LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver; Spoon-Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga; M.I.A.-Kala; Of Montreal-Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?; Justice-†; Okkervil River-The Stage Names; Deerhoof-Friend Opportunity; Radiohead-In Rainbows; St. Vincent-Mary Me; and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Living With the Living.
Next 5: Aesop Rock-None Shall Pass; Panda Bear-Person Pitch; Feist-The Reminder; Menomena-Friend and Foe; and Kanye West-Graduation.
Honorable Mentions: Elvis Perkins, Dan Deacon, The Shins, Lily Allen, Stars, Bloc Party, Ryan Adams, Liars, Sondre Lerche, Jens Lekman, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Animal Collective, Sunset Rubdown, Saul Williams, Talib Kweli, The White Stripes, Common, Lucinda Williams, Ghostface Killah, and Dethklok.
Playlist 2007: 1. Deerhoof-The Perfect Me; 2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Rockers to Swallow; 3. Of Montreal-The Past is a Grotesque Animal; 4. Kanye West-The Glory ; 5. Feist-My Moon My Man; 6. Spoon-Don’t Make Me a Target; 7. Menomena-Air Aid; 8. Jens Lekman-A Postcard to Nina; 9. Elvis Perkins-Sleep Sandwich; 10. The Shins-Red Rabbits; 11. Okkervil River-A Girl in Port; 12. Radiohead-Bodysnachers; 13. Justice-D.A.N.C.E.; 14. Aesop Rock-Coffee [Feat. John Darnielle]; 15. Lily Allen-Knock ‘Em Out; 16. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Annunciation Day/Born on Christmas Day; 17. The White Stripes-Conquest; 18. Saul Williams-Niggy Tardust; 19. M.I.A.-Paper Planes; 20. LCD Soundsystem-All My Friends.

That was the long list. As for film—I have been limited in my exposure. With this understanding, I really enjoyed the following: Babel, The Bourne Ultimatum, Grindhouse, Half Nelson, Hot Fuzz, The Last King of Scotland, and Superbad. Not many, right? So that will be a New Year’s resolution.

Let me know what you think. Much peace and love and a belated happy New Year to all.

Week 8

2007-10-17T21:29:00.001-05:00

So again your dear author has hit the mid-semester slump in which school just seems to be somewhat less palatable than most of the other weeks. Here are just some interesting bits of late:

Monday night my research methods professor said this phrase without attempting at a joke (quoted directly):
"My fourth grade teacher was like Henry Ford. He made me square dance."

Stephen Colbert is running for president of the United States of America in South Carolina's primary. The author can assume that the "would most likely enjoy to share a beer with" award would strongly favor his camp. Our current president was considered as the victor of this fictional prize in the previous two elections--odd how the individual to share a beer with no longer drinks and, turns out, whether a person my be more appealing to talk to as a friend has no bearing on national policymaking. Good luck Mr. Colbert (on the beer thing).

Apparently, Cee-Lo Green is the Soul Machine and Radiohead is a pretty awesome group of people that also make pretty awesome records.

In a world without cable and very little reception other than the two Spanish and two religious stations on my television, television can be found on the internet. There are new seasons of The Boondocks, Frisky Dingo*, and Metalocalypse on the [adult swim] fix. Also, ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX all have full length shows that can be viewed on demand and with little to no commercials. Comedy central has full lengths of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and lots of Chapelle's Show clips on the Motherload.

So that's about that. The slump is hitting particularly hard this year and my mind seems to be on quite a few more things than school at the moment. Looks like I have to go get some work done now so until next time...peace.

There must be diamonds somewhere in a place that stinks this bad.
There are brighter things than diamonds coming down the line...
-Darnielle

*Boosh!

My Life's Major Comedic Technique? Irony.

2007-09-19T18:39:00.000-05:00

Nice title, right? I hope everyone is doing well and having a fantastic day. Just a note as well, the political part is at the beginning and middle rather than the end this time so if you are a bit squeamish about real political thought rather than 24-hour news network, demagogic econobabble, just skip closer to the end.
So, about the title--I am working on my Master's of ARTS degree in Political SCIENCE. Ooh, and I have been thinking of getting my Doctorate in the art of empirical research. What the hell is wrong here? I understand that my undergraduate degree is in Political Science as well but every thought or comment I made in class or a reaction paper was not pushed toward the notion of "how can we study this with research?" To be certain, I do not intend to learn the ways of the economist or how to get myself published. I want to become a better politician--better at rhetoric (which is not a negative thing, media), better at forming arguments, better at influencing other individuals through constructive argument and rebuilding my relationships and arguments each day in the moment.
My fear is that the students of politics and the art of it in America will go the way of NASA. Once a beacon of creativity, exploration, and, to no minor extent, excitement for children and adults around the world. It emphasized reaching and pushing the frontier. John Kennedy challenged it to go to the moon in ten years rather than thirty and through this creativity and excitement they did it! Now, the focus is on research. Can spiders mate in zero gravity?! Wow! Would that not be really cool to study?! Maybe*, but it is not offering much for the citizenry it once inspired.
Political Science students in America now are testing and developing aspirations of testing the effect on factor A on voting in city council elections in moderately-sized, Midwestern cities with less than 4% of a minority population and if factors B, C, and D are causing a spurious relationship. Good for them. If their research makes them happy and gets them published in The Journal of the Moderately-Sized, Midwestern American City** which brings them a bit of money and recognition, that is fine. My interest lies in practicing the art of politics. Possibly going to the moderately-sized, Midwestern city*** and conversing with its people. Rather than researching the tendencies of its people, entertaining and, hopefully, affecting their individual ideas. I have no interest in whether a greater percent of Protestants in said city vote for a candidate of their own religious persuasion; I would like to argue with individuals without grouping them into voting blocs and telling them that they are a Protestant so they will vote accordingly. You may be able to understand my inclination towards working with and helping people rather than digging for my fame in scholarly journals and survey data.
Whew...that feels much better. Thanks for that.
Next thing that has bothered me lately--the idea that if Hillary Clinton should not be elected president because Bill Clinton has no place there. I understand that I was eight years old when the latter was elected and sixteen at the end of his second term, but I have looked at this time period in American politics. Considering Bill Clinton's record, he had policy successes across the board and enjoyed a high approval rating even when his personal horse (analogy) was drug into the public arena and beaten (again, analogy) well past its death. Does anyone know his largest disappointment in policy? The health care initiative he campaigned on. Does anyone know who was in charge of his health care initiative? Hillary Clinton. I am not arguing that Hillary Clinton makes a bad candidate (actually her current health care plan looks much better than the afore mentioned) or that she is stronger because of her husband. I am arguing that people stop paying attention to Fox News and The View**** to get their world view and to read (something, anything!), watch, and listen to news sources that have some sort of integrity.

Thanks for holding on this far. Just a bit about music and television.
So the albums that I am really big on right now and that I think you would all enjoy as well: The Stage Names by Okkervil River, Kala by M.I.A., Mo' Mega by Mr. Lif, The Warning by Hot Chip, The Body, The Blood, The Machine by The Thermals (who I will be seeing at the M-Shop on November 8th), Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse, and, last and the opposite of least, Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem. All are beautiful.
As for television, it is something that I largely lack here because the bunny ears are not particularly strong at picking up television signals. So there is that but I have done my best to find television on the internet lately and there is a relatively large amount, especially from the three major networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Most of it I am staying far away from*****
but there are some gems--NBC has full lengths of Conan O'Brien for about the last week and the entire first season of 30 Rock which I have found to be quite hilarious. Of course, there is also the Daily Show and Colbert Report on Comedy Central's website and the Adult Swim Fix which has featured the new season of Frisky Dingo, of which I am a huge fan.

Thanks everybody. Have a great day.

*Watching anything mate is pretty entertaining to most people but I cannot say it is particularly inspirational.
**Not a real journal, but there is probably one that is pretty close.
***My sights are set closer to the national political environment but you understand my point.
****Expresses views but does not have views, much less "The" view.
*****Friday Night Lights, Raines, Miss Teen USA 2007, etc.

23

2007-09-05T11:31:00.000-05:00

To catch anyone up that only knows what I am up to through this blog, I am now a graduate student at Northern Illinois University in American government, as of yesterday I am 23 years old, Rachel and I are better than ever, aaaaaaand that is about all of the basic updates.I really like being at a new school because it is really interesting arguing and conversing with a new group of faculty and students in a sphere that is completely different for me. Not that all Iowa State students and professors are the same, but I knew who was who and what arguments were worth pursuing. There is now a bit more excitement in addition to what comes regularly with classes. I do miss Iowa State. It is an adjustment and Northern Illinois is not nearly as beautiful of a campus. Also, and high ranking, is the M-Shop. I am planning on going to see The Thermals on November 8, but I still will be feeling a bit of withdrawal from not attending one concert at least every two weeks. I will get over it.One concert I was able to go to was Lollapalooza for the second year. I was able to see some pretty cool bands, for example: My Morning Jacket, LCD Soundsystem, Spoon, Daft Punk, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Tapes n Tapes, TV on the Radio, Elvis Perkins, Iggy and the Stooges, M.I.A. and many more. Best show award--LCD Soundsystem was just so well played and so exciting that it ranks very high. Honorable mention--My Morning Jacket, Spoon, Daft Punk. Best guest award--My Morning Jacket played with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and it was beautiful. Honorable mention--Pearl Jam invited all of the VIPs on stage during Rockin in the Free World and Dennis Rodman was one of them.

Best visual show award--Daft Punk hands down. Go on youtube and find a live Daft Punk video. They are pretty amazing.

Hustle award--Ted Leo, amidst family illness and cancelled shows because of it, played like a madman. It seems that he was a bid mad (angry) because while soloing during his second song, The Sons of Cain, he fell knocking over his amp's microphone and cutting his had, rather badly. After no help from the techies, he rocked the hell out of the rest of his set. Awesome.

Overall coolest experience award--Spoon and the meeting of bassist Rob Pope and Drummer Jim Eno. WOOOOOOO!

...and just one more cool picture of M.I.A.

So here's the political part. No, I do not know who I would like to see as the top candidates for president of the United States of America. They all have a lot of negatives (especially you Mitt Romney!) and most have positives. I like the ideas of populism that Senator Barak Obama displays and I do not think the claims that he is an ignorant, naive politician are unwarranted. I like the social causes that John Edwards is campaigning on and has worked for since the last election and those who say that social initiatives will do nothing for the country are not seeing the economic booms of nations that have fully accepted nationalistic measures (Norway, Ireland, England, etc.). Also, the idea that a wealthy person cannot help the poor is ignorant to a former president named Franklin Roosevelt. I think that Senator Hillary Clinton's aggressiveness and strength can offer the country some new avenues to make a turnaround but she needs to look out for brashness. Those who say that they do not want another Clinton in the White House repeating what we had in the 1990s probably do not remember the 1990s that well--economic prosperity, small business growth, relative lack of violent conflicts (other than those of Newt Gingrich), and other successes. Then there is Mike Gravel with the staring (watch the whole thing). No, I did not mention much about the Republican candidates, besides Mitt Romney riding high on his stronger military, economy, and families which sounds about like President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and since...how is that working? We see the same fromMcCain (demagogue), Guliani (except "strong families" but in addition, demagoguery), and something different from Ron Paul (eliminate the Departments of State, Education, Transportation, Energy, Treasury, and everything else that pretains to government except his job). Cool.

So, you know how I feel about it. I hope you feel anything at all about all of this. Go ahead and let me know if you want. Otherwise, I guess you can stay quiet and comfortable--which is ok. Good luck with everything and thanks for checking in.

New Things!

2007-06-23T18:14:00.000-05:00

Hello. How is everyone? Here's a few new things that are new or upcoming with Andy and the rest of the world:

1) I'm a salesman. ?
2) I have finally been fully accepted to Northern Illinois--partially because of a dispute over my transcript and me, as Dexter said, "letting out my inner blackness" in speaking with the graduate school's dean.
3) President Bush's approval rating has now dropped below 30% which is the second-lowest since President Nixon's record.
4) It looks like the Guantanamo Bay detention facialities will be closing before too long. Apparently, Secretaries of State, Condoleezza Rice, and of Defense, Robert Gates, encouraged President Bush to do so in order to preserve his "legacy." (laughable) Discordently, Vice President Cheney and Attourney General Gonzales are apposed because the inmates would likely be moved to detention centers in the United States, meaning they would receive the basic rights of the United States Constitution and the Geneva Convention, of which Mr. Cheney and Mr. Gonzales are opposed*.
5) I am really hoping and looking forward to attending Lollapalooza. It is quite the three-day barage of roooooooooock! If anyone would like to go, let me know.
6) I just started playing tennis--pretty badly if I do say so myself, but started none the less.
7) Jim Nussle has been nominated as President Bush's new director of the Office of Management and Budget. It almost makes me wish that he just would have won the Iowa gubernatorial race so that he would only be making it hard on the poor and unrepresented of Iowa rather than the entire country.
8) Senator Hillary Clinton chose a campaign theme song. Whoopty shit. The tragedy (humor) is that it is a song that was originally written as an Air Canada jingle. I really hope that if she is elected she shows better decision-making skills in two areas: a) choosing better songs; b) choosing better things to worry about.
9) I have a big trip coming up. My parents have a cabin rented for a week in July right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park and Grandma Wessels and I will be driving out for 5 days. Joe and Jane will be there too but, unfortunately, Tim and Jenn will not be able to make it. We are planning on seeing my Aunt Linda outside of Denver as well. I'm pretty excited. My big job before then is to fill my ipod with Grandma-friendly tunes that will get us to and from Colorado.
10) I am still cynical, sarcastic, and making it.

Records listened to a lot lately: Spoon's A Series of Sneaks, Bloc Party's A Weekend in the City, Amadou and Mariam's Dimanche a Bamako, &c.
Films seen and enjoyed lately: The Last King of Scotland, Blood Diamond, Half Nelson, Pan's Labyrinth.

Well then, peace and love until next time.

*It sounds absurd but it can be believed coming from a man, Mr. Cheney, who shot another man in the face attempting to shoot a caged animal and another, Mr. Gonzales, who believes and has iterated that what a president does is legal because he is the president**.
**The last group of "individuals" who spoke similarly--president can do nothing illegal--was the aforementioned Mr. Nixon and his aides, most of whom were convicted of crimes and incarcerated.

...and now for somehting...

2007-05-15T19:47:00.000-05:00

In the past several months, even before the previous blog, there have been lots of changes in the life and times of the author. I have graduated from Iowa State which is pretty exciting. It took four years which seems to be a short stint these days, and was a really great time. Several frowny faces appear when seeing various difficulties, but nearly all are the smiley type.
I was turned down for a few jobs and graduate schools and turned down a few more jobs. Luckily, I even got some job offers and was accepted to a graduate school. Next, I had begun one job in Des Moines and changed to another in Peosta the next week. Lots of factors played in but I think it will turn out for the better.
Ultimately, I will be in the Dubuque area for the majority of the summer with a weekend here and there in Ames, a possible week near and in Rocky Mountain National Park, and hopefully, hopefully, hopefully two short stints in Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival and Lollapalooza (let me know if you want to go!).
The most important change has resulted from speaking with a professor whom I respect quite a bit. We were talking about what college is and should be in governmental terms and found our way into the question: Why are people attending colleges? Most minds when confronted with this question that I have spoken to jump to the “...to get a job” response. I am pretty sure that my mind was similar until early in this semester and had been for quite a while—go to grade school to make it to the next grade, go to junior high school to be ready for high school, go to high school to make it into a good college program, and go to college to get a good job. Finally, I found that the happiest times of my entire formal and informal education were not with the “next logical step” in mind, rather what was happening in the moment. These times include arguing with professors over what certain readings meant, reading extra into things to understand them better, nearly my entire internship, &c. After too much time, I realized that I should be in college to learn things not to get a job. This past semester has been the most interesting and beneficial of my entire formal education. So, knowing what and feeling how I feel now, I have decided to continue with my education. I will be learning more at Northern Illinois University next fall and I am pretty excited.
In the past few we have also lost some pretty interesting individuals. Just yesterday, Jerry Falwell passed on. Even though I disagree with nearly everything for which he stood and pushed so hard and, despite the best efforts of our wonderful (sense the sarcasm) American private media to convince us otherwise, the FACT that nothing he had ever done was political—most were economic or demagogic—he was a peculiar conversation piece. On a more thoughtful note, we lost Kurt Vonnegut recently as well. Mr. Vonnegut, as opposed to Falwell, did not agree with intelligent design, on which he commented “What do you mean intelligent design? Look at giraffes and hippopotamuses and the clap.” He is the biggest of our literary losses since Mr. Hunter S. Thompson and he will be missed. “So it goes.”
As for the future of the (my) blog (essentially, I need to define an individual blog because the bloggosphere will undoubtedly grow even larger if our government does its job in securing the lower and middle classes and providing sufficient health and education funding for its own people...or maybe it will shrink because of these, I guess we will have to wait and see) I am in Dyersville with very low speed dial-up so it looks like it may be a while before my next blog but I will try. You have my word and my peace and love. Until next time...

So it Goes

2007-03-01T11:50:00.000-06:00

Sorry everybody, I just spent 45 minutes writing a good blog and the program crashed so here's the best I can do in a lot shorter time.
Everything's going pretty well here. Classes are cancelled the rest of the day so instead of reading for one class or writing a paper for another I'm writing a blog. Anxiety over the next step of Andy's short and somewhat fruitful life is beginning to build with the completion of applications to graduate schools and beginning of applications to jobs. I'm not fond of the situation that will inevitably arise in which I have a job offer, which I am likely to accept, coming long before I hear from graduate schools--I was told by these schools that the committees that are in charge of acceptance meet infrequently and without regularity. I'm definitely going to feel bad if I have to tell an employer that I will not be working with them after I tell them I will. I guess we will see. One employer that has already asked me to interview is U.S. PIRG and I'm kind of excited for it.
***Political part***I've had the opportunity to see some presidential candidates since it's just under two years from the actual election and they need to get started on their campaigns (ridiculous). A few weeks ago, I saw Sen. Barak Obama. He spoke at Hilton Coliseum in front of the audience of about 5,000. The event began with a nice showing by a funk band (they were teachers from Des Moines that called themselves Faculty Lounge) and some speeches by state legislators that have endorsed Obama and a performance of idiocy by the Iowa State Student Democrats president. Obama's speech was well written and presented. The downside was that there was a lot of how he felt on issues but little-to-none on why he feels the way he does. No questions were asked--not even from hand-picked supporters.
Second, I saw former Sen. John Edwards in Dubuque in front of an audience of around 500 people. He spoke on his plan for universal health care for about a half hour, then opened it up for questions for nearly an hour and a half. Most of the questions were worthwhile and he explained how he would implement policy and why. At one point a man got a microphone and said that he disagreed with nearly everything Edwards had said and gave his own insight into what he thinks the answers should have been, then asked his question. Rather than telling his minions to escort the man out, brushing past the question, or not letting the man in to the event in the first place (like Anne Coulter and most of the current administration) he said that if the man didn't like his ideas on other subjects, he wouldn't like his answer for this question. It was interesting how he allowed political skill rather than an advertising campaign to dominate the discussion. After the question and answer, Edwards shook babies and kissed hands (...) until everyone had left.
I'm not jumping on the canonize Edwards bandwagon, as many have for Obama, rather I'm saying that political skill likely convinced more of the 500 in Dubuque than public relations did the 5,000 in Ames. I'm also not saying that Edwards does not use public relations ad campaigns (he does) of that Obama does not have political skill (he does). I love seeing the candidates that are less in the limelight because they are more apt to conduct real politics and show really what they can do and really who they are as compared to the public relations angle (something happened or someone has an idea--make it sound good for our side--throw it at people). Rather than just accepting the public relations campaign, see what's really behind behind the back of the spokesperson.
...Or we could just watch Katie Couric present the (cough) "news". (sigh) "So it goes." -Kilgore Trout

Ooh, new albums I'm digging: Tapes 'n Tapes-The Loon, The Thermals-The Body, The Blood, The Machine, The Double-Loose in the Air
Old albums I'm digging: Leon Russel-Leon Live!, Cream-Disraeli Gears
New cartoon I'm digging: Frisky Dingo! Check it out on the youtube

Right-o. Thanks for sticking with it again. You're all so courteous. Well, looks like I should get home before the snow consumes us all (sorry Jane). Have a great day and stay cool because if you're cool, you don't get eated by cannibals.

Post-Holiday/Pre-Enlightenment

2007-01-23T10:26:00.000-06:00

So, being it is almost February, I thought I should put up a post about how the holidays were pretty fun this (past) year. Good to see everyone and I hope your holidays were fun as well.
I have my graduate options down to three--Northern Illinois, UW-Milwaukee, or Marquette. I'm looking at each school's American Government-type program. As for school of current, I'm in some pretty cool classes, and some not so much. I have a class on modern political thought which is a bit arduous, but maybe that's just Thomas Hobbes--I'm looking more forward to John Locke, woo hoo! The other not-so-much-awesome one is semantics, mostly because the professor is in orbit. She's quite spacey which can make class entertaining but also frustrating at times. As for the classes that I have more of an interest, for starters, I have a gem (sweater? no) of a class aiming to give engineers a view of public policy they would otherwise not have gotten. It is taught by my favorite professor of whom I have found influential in my own views and style. Lastly but not leastly, I am progressing my musical awareness with the history of rock and roll which is a great class but the teaching assistant and leader of my discussion section is a fan of, nearly mutually exclusively, 1980s hair rock, which is a genre I can't exactly say that I can stand. I think I'm going to suggest a bit of TV on the Radio today in class. Sweeeet.
**Here's the political part.** I'm pretty excited but also carrying a bit of anxiety over the candidates that have declared or will declare their runs for the presidential bid in 2008. None of them have risen to the top, politically in my view of politics--public action. Sure Edwards started a nonprofit organization to deal with poverty issues and Obama holds town hall meetings, both of which are commendable and should be seen in our country with more frequency, but a truly political actor would be more inclined to practice politics in a much less mediated way. Let's have some real debates (please, not staged!) and some real conversations. Let's share dialogue, not monologous speaking from behind a podium without rebuttal. Will someone, please, address the heckler in all of his or her lack of apparent glory? Well, let's see how the primaries turn out. Tons of fun.
Most importantly, THE BEARS ARE IN THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!! As you can deduce from the amount of exclamation marks, I am looking forward to the game. Only two more weeks of analysts and Sean Salsbury (former Viking) saying that the Bears will lose for the third game in a row and we'll be able to, hopefully, see Lovie, Rexy, Thomas "not Tom" Jones, Brian, Lance, and the rest of the Monsters show up on Sunday night. Allright, now I can't sit still again. I'm too excited for the game.

Two Thousand Six!

2006-12-28T22:03:00.000-06:00

So why not post a year-in-review type blog? Wasn't blogging invented so that people who feel that they're more intelligent than the rest (or most of) can write their opinions on anything and everything? No? Oh. Well I'm doing it anyway.

2006 brought a lot of cool things for me. Rachel and I just passed the four year mark together, but spent four months apart. Yes, Washington was one of the best expericnces of my life and I am more prepared for any future that will arise, but being away from her and the rest of my long-time friends was quite depressing at times. On the other hand, I now have a lot of new people to call my friends that I spent those months with. Good to know all of you. Also, time has come to decide the next several years: grad school (UW-Milwaukee, Northern Illinois, or Marqutte) or job? That's a question best served in 2007.

Favorite Concerts of 2006:
M-Shop, Ames: Okkervil River, Silversun Pickups, Mates of State
Black Cat, D.C.: Art Brut, Wolf Parade
9:30 Club, D.C.: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Lollapalooza, Chicago: The Flaming Lips, Gnarls Barkley, The Raconteurs, Feist, Eels, etc.

Favorite Films:
The Science of Sleep, Bubble, The Notorious Betty Page, Borat, Thank You For Smoking, V for Vendetta, Little Miss Sunshine, Dave Chapelle's Block Party, and so many more

Favorite Albums:
Favorite Ten: The Greatest by Cat Power, Fishscale by Ghostface Killah, The Eraser by Thom Yorke, Return to Cookie Mountain by TV on the Radio, Show Your Bones by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, At War with the Mystics by the Flaming Lips, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys, Robbers and Cowards by Cold War Kids, Carnavas by Silversun Pickups, and, finally, St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley.
Other Favorites: Albums by Liars, The Raconteurs, J. Dilla, Tobias Froberg, The Streets, Ryan Adams, Tom Waits, Neil Young, John Legend, and Beck.

Also, you're my favorite. What are your favorite bits of 2006? Let me know (!) and have a great day.

Between breaks there is...school.

2006-11-28T11:14:00.000-06:00

Today is my second day back from Iowa State University's little gift to students--an entire week off at Thanksgiving. It was good to see a lot of good friends that I see not nearly enough and I hope to see more such people over the Christmas, winter, or semester break, depending on how the reader sees it. Thanksgiving break was great because I got to see Rachel every day and I didn't have to pay for food or heat very often. Also, I got a lot of work in at First Gear and Ace's Place which should sustain my ability to pay rent for a bit. Woo hoo!

The break gave me an opportunity to set aside my school stuff, which I probably should not have done, and begin studying for the glorious tea party that is the GRE. Unfortunately the only times available to take it are during finals week, so I'll have two big finals on December 11th, the GRE on the 12th, and an easy final on the 14th. I thought getting things essentially finished by Tuesday would be conducive of a relaxing finish to the week and hopefully time to watch the third and fourth seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm. You're a wonderful man, Larry David. Oh, and since I'm taking the GRE, I'm looking at graduate schools. My frontrunners are Minnesota, Iowa, and Marquette. Don't worry, I'll always be a cyclone (especially if I end up in Iowa City). Though, if anyone reading this knows of a good job they or an acquaintance would like to offer me, I'll be glad to consider it as an alternative to graduate school.

Ok, so for those who are in college, good luck with the rest of the semester (in case I don't post another blog) and let me know if you'll be around the greater-Dubuque area over break and we'll kick it. Have a great day.

Mid-Semester Crisis

2006-11-02T11:12:00.000-06:00

All of the students tuning in are probably quite familiar with the middle of each semester being overwhelming in an I-want-to-quit-school way. It's pretty normal so I'm not too worked up about it. Elsewhere in school--Prof. Mega. is still difficult to listen to and even harder to judge because of attempts to be a good friend of mine outside of classes. I even met his wife. Sen. Joe Biden visited Ames on Tuesday and seems to have a pretty good grasp on domestic and foreign policy and leadership. He has declared his candidacy in 2008--honestly, what wouldn't be a welcomed change...I'm looking through graduate schools and very soon I'll be taking the GRE with a smile and by "taking" I don't mean answering the questions. Ouch. If anyone has any tips as to where Andy should attend graduate school or any good reasons that I should go to graduate school instead of getting a job, let me know.
In the last one, I was looking forward to the Silversun Pickups which ended up to be warranted. Their set ranks near the top, if not the top, of concerts I've seen at the M-shop. Rachel and Alex were also fans. Great, great music. If you get a chance to see them buy a ticket and go because it will be worth it. If you get a chance to pick up any of their albums, hey, why not? Those are pretty great, too. Other new media: Michel Gondry's Science of Sleep is a lot of fun. Syriana is not as much fun but pretty good. Homestarrunner.com's Halloween toon this year is way cool, even Tony Clifton! &c.
Chris Matthews' Hardball came to campus a little bit ago. What a find tea party that was. Matthews was a bit conceited and inconsiderate to anyone within hearing distance and Sen. John McCain continued displays of his fantastic ability to not answer any question even if pushed. Hey, that's cool. He's only elected to represent Arizona, not actually do anything. Continued, therefore, is my personal ban of 24-hour news networks. Big loss for me, I know.
The Bears are still undefeated. Rex Grossman is a benefit to my fantasy football team that was never expected, but gladly accepted. I love the Bears. Further in fantasy news, Joe got me started on fantasy congress. Each team owner chooses a team of Congressmen and receives points for legislation. It's crazy! Let me know if you would like to join our league--Iowa. We so Corny.
That's about it for now...

Prof. Megalomaniac

2006-10-10T11:01:00.000-05:00

I just finished a class with a professor that truly believes in himself. Well, good for him. Despite his high self-worth, and resulting from it, his illusion of feeling that he is, in fact, the smartest person in the room, and quite possibly the smartest person on Earth, can be tiresome and anxiety inducing. He just drew the class a picture of President Richard Nixon as a wonderful man who just ran into some bad situations, and because of the unfortunate nature of his circumstances, we should all feel profound, harrowing sympathy for the sad little puppy that is Mr. Nixon. Also, the realism that defined the policies of Mr. Nixon and his closest advisor, Henry Kissinger, as with the textbook definition of realism, considers the balance of power and the advancement of one's own state at the expense of others. According to this professor, Mr. Nixon was deeply concerned with world peace and ensuring that all the peoples of the world progressed toward happiness. I understand that the topic of this professor's views on Mr. Nixon is the main theme and should not be the only basis for criticising the professor. Accepted. Though, as many of my close acquaintances would recognize, I am in no way the type to stick on a singular fault of a person, rather the staggering number of innacuracy inherent in the person, as seen by me. I do not mean to sound or be elitist or egomaniacal because that is essentially what I am concerned with in the case of the being of topic, though, I do feel that thought on his part is neglected. What has boiled down, in my view is a question: Is this professor megalomaniacal, content with illusions of grandeur, or narcissistic? Yes. Yes. Yes.

That, my friends was a rant. I am dearly sorry for the negative tone that has begun this blog, but sometimes...sometimes, we all need a bit of release. Thank you.

Here is where the happiness lies. I was able to see a concert tha left me smiling and in a near state of euphoria last Thursday. The name of the band is Okkervil River and I saw them at Ames' finest, the M-Shop. I say Ames' finest for several reasons: Ames is left wanting considering their other venues, the M-Shop has a favorable selection of brew, tickets are cheap, and my toes were touching the stage's center leaving me at arm's length from Okkervil River's lead vocalist, among others. Okkervil is somewhat difficult do describe. There is definitely the aspect of indie rock, but also one could suppose folk, alt.country, blues, southern rock, and possibly a bit of bluegrass (the lead guitarist is prodigious with the mandolin). They are definitely worth a listen, if not a viewing at an establishment near you. My two favorites landed at the end of the first live set as well as the end of the Black Sheep Boy Appendix album: Another Radio Song, and Last Love Song for Now.
Coming up next week, Rachel and I are going to see the Silversun Pickups (if you follow this link, definitely check out Kissing Families) with Viva Voce at the M-Shop. If you are in the area, I would suggest checking it out and if you find that the music is not fitting for your ears and mind, the price is $6 so leaving is definitely an option if you so desire.

Everthing else is going well. Giving blood last week is leaving no lasting effects. Gas prices will be low until the second week in November. The Liberal Arts Career Center would like my opinions in front of a pannel speaking on internships and other opportunities. I will be starting as a bartender and, for lack of a better label, artistic director of Ace's Place, a new drinking establishment in Epworth, Iowa. And many, many more. Thanks for reading and hopefully, my next bloggy will be a bit brighter. Have a great day!

Turn the Page

2006-09-21T16:23:00.000-05:00

After a long several days of studying for tests today, I'm ready for a really good weekend. The big (in length and importance) test I finished at 3:30pm today was quite a tuffy. Added to the rest of the week...ok. Anyone who has ever said that music does not help people through life or said that the appropriate music at the appropriate time does not make life seem a bit less arduous, is, in a word, wrong. After the completion (and I use that term loosely) of my last test today, I walked out into the dim, rawness of the Iowa fall, inserted my headphones, and the first phrase I heard, which is from the first song of the first album by The Streets, was "That's it/Turn the page on the day/Walk away." Before the background hum of the strings enters, I already felt better.
On Tuesday night, Alex and his sister came to Ames and we all went to see a wonderful concert at the M-Shop. The opening band called themselves the Starlight Mints. They were a really creative and inventive sound almost all the way around, that which wasn't was the mundane percussion that could not have been less inventive. Either way, if they come to your town, they are a fun, good act. The headliner was the Mates of State. Yes, the happy couple performed a dynamite set. Part of the reason that they struck me so favorably is the fact that they produce such a full, strong sound out of a drum set, a few keyboards, and two voices. I picked up their newest, Bring it Back, on vinyl and it sounds fantastic. Come listen to it sometime.
Now for the positive out of the aforementioned test. The characterless, cliche that existed in most of the reading assigned for the class have no bearing and I had difficulty finding interest in them, but a few really influential works hit me as strong, worthwhile pieces. Yesterday, I dove into an article that I cannot agree with, but nonetheless I cannot dispute the strength of the argument. It is called The Mainsprings of American Foreign Policy by Hans Morgenthau. Morgenthau argued that the only way in which a state should craft foreign policy is in self-interest. There is nothing in the world between states besides the balance of power. It is realism, which is somewhat of a precursor to the principles of neoconservatism, preemption, etc. For example, according to Morgenthau, if the United States is the hegemonic power in the world, which it is currently, and another power, say China, is beginning to emerge as the next hegemon, it is in America's self interest, moreso, it is the United States' elected officials' responsibility to protect the interest of its people by taking out the threat. Realism neglects human rights, alliances, diplomacy (for the most part), and the order of the world in order to ensure that the people of one's own nation gain economic profit. Sounds familiar... Well, out of this thought we also see the idea of nuclear deterrence, which may work, but honestly, what nation would use nuclear weapons against another with the knowledge of the backlash from the international community.

Everybody should have a gun so nobody gets shot.

There's a lot more to add, but that's for another day. Just one more...if anyone wants a really good read, try the (neo)neoconservative, Francis Fukuyama's new book America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. It's really a great discourse of the way in which neoconservatism started (actually in Trotskyism and Stalinism), what it has done, places that it has gone completely amiss, and where it may go.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day.

sorry...or your welcome

2006-09-05T21:16:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody. Sorry that it's been a long time (which is something that should start out every blog unless you'd rather not have to read some odd thoughts from a red headed, freckled, Chralie-Brownish, boyish man).
July was the last time for me to even recognize that I operated a blog. That's just too long. I want to synopsize my last, oh god, two months without being too long about it. Numbering has worked in the past so let's try it again...
1) I was able to go to Lollapalooza at the begining of August. That was almost too much fun. Here's some pictures of some really cool artists.
*Uncle E. of The Eels, Jack White of the Raconteurs, the wonderful Feist, the Flaming Lips, and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.

2. My very, very good friend, Sarah, was going to be able to have experimental eye surgery at the University of Florida at the beginning of August. Others with different but similar conditions as hers have had drastic improvement or have been completely cured. Unfortunately, budgetary funding in all areas except defense, homeland security, Congressional, and Executive funding to make up for tax cuts for the extremely rich and pay for the current war in Iraq, therefore, Sarah will not be able to have any type of operations or treatments. Another unfortunate part of this happenstance is the fact that Sarah's condition is causing her to progressively lose the little sight that she does have. Frustration does not begin to explain what she and her parents are going through and have conveyed to me. I now know the way in which the Congressional budget and appropriations processes work, so I've been working with Sen. Tom Harkin's speechwriter, Jim Whitmire, in order to get information about the work of the doctors at the University of Florida, the treatments, the condition, and Sarah.

3. I've moved back to Ames and begun school again. This is my senior year. What, exactly, will follow this year is a bit of a jumble floating in the air. I will take the G.R.E. and fill out applications for graduate schools and careers. Despite the unknown, the semester is going well. Classes are going pretty well. I was in front of class on Thursday explaining, according to Irving Janus' theory of Groupthink, the difference between how the Bay of Pigs fisaco and the Cuban Missile Crisis victory. My professor in this class decided to make the points I was making by cutting me off on my way to said points...twice. A bit frustrating, but it has the makings of an interesting class. Then the rest of the classes...........

4. I just turned 22 years old yesterday--Labor Day. Hopefully I haven't made it through a fourth of my life yet, though if I have, I'd be ok with the whole idea. I'm more a student of the idea of quality years than living to 167. The idea of myself as an elderly man in an intriguing. Will my personality change? Will the Earth still exist? Will there be a second coming of a Moses, Jesus, or Mohammed figure? I'm 22. I'm a long way from elderly. I'm going to live in today for today.

Looking forward to...

Great M-Shop schedule, Lots of Cyclone football wins (hopefully not fourth-quarter losses), Fantasy Football!!!!

Speaking of fantasy football, I need everybody to help me name my team this year. Two years ago, my first year, I had the generic "All Ames" name given to my team. Last year I chose "Giggity Giggity". This year is completely open. I don't promise that I will use a suggestion, but I've been drawing a blank for weeks, so let's hear them. Thanks.

*****Solemn promise--I will blog before it reaches the over-six-week mark again. Thanks for reading. You're all wonderful. Peace.

Sleevelessness and Lessons

2006-07-18T21:55:00.000-05:00

Hello again everyone. Hope your lives have progressed happily since the last time I took time to check in.
Everything is still cool as hell here. Over the 4th of July I went with Rachel's family to visit her great uncle and aunt and their families. It seems weird that that is the fourth time I've been there, but it is the truth. I had the privledge of helping Rachel's dad and his uncle- and cousins-in-law build a shed. Yes.
On Sunday, a group of us went to Noah's Ark for Molly J.'s birthday. What a hoot. Fun fun. Hoot hoot. Sunburn. Ouch. Fun? Yes. Ouch also.
Last night allowed for a bit of introspection. I was at a softball game in Farley in which 14 year olds were playing, one of whom was Rachel's younger sister. They won which was cool, but that had nothing to do with the introspection. At this particular game, as with many other little league softball and baseball games, including the preceeding game in which 10 year olds were playing, beer is sold. Those who grew up around here are probably saying to themselves right now, "yes, and..." but to me, feeling out of place because I was one of very, very few males wearing a t-shirt that had sleeves while being devoid of any Nascar insignia or the word "tits" printed on it and not holding a beer caused my mind to imagine how different my life could really be. The large, polycolored (sometimes known as roadkill head) hairdos, fake tans reminiscient of the Streets' single "Fit but You Know It", and the beer can caressing hands of the mothers of several of the players seemed to fit the sleevelessness of their husbands accordingly. I do not at all want to sound judgemental. My purpose is anything but. I am much more interested in the inquiry of how I came out of this area (though I still live here) without the same attributes. No doubt the factors that led to my character, as well as many others' divergence from a similar culture (none of whom I wish to exclude), are countless and the reader has likely to already have thought of three. If you have not yet, here is a bit of thinking space, not for what has led to my character, but your own.

That's enough thinking for now.
Well...here are just a few things that I have learned or observed over the past, oh, say, seven months:

a) Though John Bon Jovi is not much of a songwriter, musician, or really any talent whatsoever, people who know absolutely nothing about music, people from the Garden State, and/or people who have not lost their love for the "lost decade" are willing to verbally and physically abuse me saying such a thing and fight to the death to protect their "pretty haired" hero.
2) Stephen Stills is an amazing songwriter and musician. His song "Love the One You're With" is a really great song, but could be no more off the mark as far as the message goes.
3) Grandmothers only turn 83 once in a lifetime.
4) Closed minds are hard to open, even when their ideas are proved, yes, proved to be incorrect.
5) Hannah Arendt was correct when she wrote (much better than I am now) that violence nearly always causes more violence, while never causing peace.
6) Lying to people over the telephone is not something I would enjoy doing in future carreer opportunities.
7) Rob Thomas is one of, if not the worst, American songwriters of all time, though, he gets more radio play on 92.9 KAT FM out of Dubuque, Iowa than any other musician. As Josh Ritter said of James Blunt, as can be used for Mr. Thomas, "There is more to life, music, and songwriting than just breakups."
8) The best job I can land once school is finished, is one that is going to allow me to make lots and lots of other people's lives easier, more comfortable, and happier, and make our country a lot better place than it is now.
i) If a person really listens to what elected officials and politicians say, that person has endless ammunition against the former's arguments.
10) Being with a person who actually, truly loves me and feeling and acting the same right back is the only way for me to be able to wake up every morning with a really big smile on my face.

Thanks for sticking with it. There are more things I've learned/observed, but these are already too much to make anyone read. Have a great day and hopefully I will see you soon.

Is it 'cause I'm crazy? Possibly.

2006-06-22T21:43:00.000-05:00

What's good everybody? Everything's pretty cool here: work, friends, health, whatnot...One update on the gas situation, Rachel will be at NICC next year doing just what she wants to do--radiology. Everybody keeps asking me how I feel about it and I know that it's going to make her happy, so I'm really excited about the whole thing. Yeah, it's another however long apart, but things have never been better for us and happiness is easy to come by. No worries. At least we're not trying to delete eachother from our memories (I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind last night-almost too good to fathom) or giving up because there have been too many times that that thought has tried to coerce itself into the author's mind. But, dear reader, beauty is hard to hold on to, and much harder to find, and the finding was not too dificult. Beauty was standing before me and I was able to have her fall for me, so the holding on is natural.

Just a quick R.I.P. to the US national soccer team's World Cup 2006. I was really pulling for them, but applause to the Ghanain squad for whom I will definitely be cheering in the next round. Looks to be that they will be playing Brazil, another team that I would like to see further their tournament standing. I'm hoping for a very good game. I have to say that I wouldn't mind to see any team that is moving on make the final and ascend the immaculate gold trophy.

...And what would one of my blogs be without the political part (it's in the title of the page, people!)? On television and on National Public Radio I heard stories about scientists using stem cells to cure mice of paralysis. I had nearly an immediate smile on my face. This is an amazing breakthrough. I got really excited thinking that there is another disease/ailment/disability that could very possibly be counteracted and cured in people. At the end of most of the stories I digested was the voice of opposition. Opposition to allowing people to walk again? No (indirectly yes). The voices were of those who feel that stem cells are living organisms and therefore should not be used to help people. Of course, there is a spin on that which I have just written but if seen as one organism that has no future at life being used to help another, with a future of life, to obtain a condition that would make its life better, who is to stop the latter? I understand that this is only delving skin deep into my argument and that of the opposition. I would like to elaborate more but I would also like to read more about the whole subject before I say something that's not backed up and I would rather not offend using monologue. Dialogue is the place for all of that good stuff.

Ok. Just a few thoughts to inspire, hopefully: Don't process to obey the demagoguery of the bully pulpit. Think as an individual and challenge your own thoughts. We are all of one peace (Colman McCarthy). Love.

Peace.

p.s. Gnarls Barkley is CRAZY!

2006-05-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

My dad's cousin Anne has a dog that is bigger than me. It wasn't really frightening or anything, but it was really big. His name is Fred. So that was a fun part of when Rachel and the folks came to D.C. to visit. Everything wrapped itself up nicely as far as the internship and such and it is good to find myself back in a place where there is a bit of familiarity, though, I do miss being able to walk for hours and not see the same thing twice.
I have a week and almost a half in at my new job as a First Gear employee. Random warehouse and office work can be interesting. I just hope it stays that way for the continuation of the summer.
Rachel's going to be going to Iowa State next year which is cool because I'll get to save on gas money...

...and we'll get to see eachother more which is the more important of the two. So all in all, everything is going really well.

And now (drumroll) the political part! If I was an illegal immigrant that has not been in the country for five years, I think that I would turn myself in so that I would get sent back to the country of my origin in order to apply for a temporary work visa of which I would not be assured. I know that that sounds stupid, but we now have two Senators proposing this for illegal immigrants in the country for 2-5 years. We could go with the House majority proposal to file criminal charges for all illegal immigrants and send them back to the countries from which they came. The rhetoric of these arguments is really funny. "They only make up 25% of the labor force in some sectors." "They're all terrorists and if we let one more illegal immigrant into the country (even from Canada) we're all going to get the *expletive* bombed out of us." "They just run over the border to steal benefits out of our tax money." "We need to secure the border because the Mexican government is ordering its military to run drugs across our southern border." "Let's build a wall!"

25 cents out of a dollar may not seem like much, but one fourth of the workers in some sectors is a very large number of workers, not to mention the sectors that are closer to 50% illegal labor. They are all terrorists...that sounds like I'm being Dicked (Dick: verb, to speak in the maner of Dick Cheney, the act of being a demogogue). All illegal immigrants cross the border in order to get the wonderful free health care in America, in a time in which so many Americans do not even have health care? Also, I would like to think that there are at least 9-17 illegal immigrants that cross the border in order to earn money for their families, or have other various reasons besides sternendejer ("stealing our jobs") or stealing our tax benefits--protection from terror? Well it looks like that's what most of our money is going for. The next quote came from the roommate from the previous blog. I don't think I need to agrue much against this one. It's pretty obvious that it is a Fox Propoganda Channel exclusive. "Let's build a wall!!!!" A wall? Are you serious? The greatest wall ever made, the Great Wall of China, currently has trouble keeping the rabits out. Other famous walls: the Berlin Wall--that went over well. Pink Floyd's The Wall--much better reviews than the Berlin Wall, but think of the premise of the story, man builds wall around himself to block all outside world and thought...

Thanks for sticking with this one. It got long, but we got through it. Have a great day and if you want to discuss any of this stuff, just send me an email or something and we can have a dialogue, the way it's meant to be.

Have a great day.

Coming Home

2006-05-02T18:25:00.000-05:00

What is happening everybody? I'd also like to say hello to the APTS staff who are probably checking this out as well.
Here come my last few days in D.C. I thought I should post a blog because it has been quite a while since I have and my computer will be in a box by the time I'm asleep tonight. Mom, Dad, and Rachel will be here on Thursday and we're staying until Tuesday. Mom has never been here and Rachel has only once. They'll have a good time.
My time here has been great, but there have been some oddities and confusion. I can't say that my housing situation brought the best of times, but that's the way it is. I'm looking forward to not seeing a six inch tall bust of Ronald Reagan each time I walk into my room (damn it I hate that thing.) Also, I learned that the ability and allowance of flexibility in ideas is a good thing. In arguments with this roommate, which was like arguing with Scott McClellan (do not believe any 24 hour "news" channel) or the Fox Propoganda Channel, I found that I was able to prove his points to be faulty. Upon his realization that his "facts" are off the mark, he'd usually say, "Well, I guess we just see things differently." Right. Beyond placement on the political spectrum, I tended to find his inconsiderate nature to make life difficult at times. All I'm saying is that I think Alex and I will have a good time next year.
Also, I was able to rock out with some great concerts. The high points came with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the 9:30 Club and Art Brut at the Black Cat. Almost too much rock. They were both...rock. And then there was some sightseeing and whatnot, especially in the National Galleries of Art. Good stuff.
I think that I learned, more than anything, that there needs to be a divergent mind every now an then. Not that I was not of the impression that revolution was bad before I came, but there really shouldn't be comfort in the minds of elected and appointed officials. Not that they should always be looking out for the terrorists Dick "Buckshot" Cheney say are living in our backyards, but they should work to always better themselves, but also constantly improve life for their constituents, THE REASON THEY ARE IN THE OFFICES TO BEGIN WITH. Call me a cynic, that's cool. I guess I'm just an idealist that feels that the practicing of politics is slipping. By politics, I mean public action. By public, I mean common, shared, and for all to see and by action, I mean spontaneous words and deeds. By offices, I mean rooms with desks as well as jobs with responsibilities. By with, I mean with. Yes. So, what I'm getting at, is that it's ok to question, especially when we hear the doublespeak of "the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence," "known knowns," and "known unknowns". Don't be afraid to question or to speak what the mind rises, even when the terror alert level reaches plum.
Anyway, these past months have been more beneficial than months in classes, though without classes I would have been a lost, idealistic hippie, rather than a bit more politically savvy, idealist hippie. Let me know if you have any thoughts on what you have just read, if you're still reading.
Have a great day and hopefully I'll see you all soon.

first on here

2006-04-11T20:35:00.000-05:00

Good evening, everybody.
This is my first blog on here. I kind of like the template. It looks somewhat serious and official. Oh, no, you're right the whole idea of me having a blog is really not a good thing, but hey, that's what Al Gore created the internet for, right?
I wrote quite a few other blogs on my my my myspace site. I think it's funny that when I began with the political commentary in my blogs, readership tanked like an unsuccessful object in the Letterman segment "Will It Float?" I thought it was funny, anyway.
Ok, well if you're reading this within the next couple of days, you're probably the first one to read it, so HOO RAY FOR EVERYBODY!