Is there not something kind of fishy about the meteoric rise of Barak Obama? Just a few years ago he was a state senator in Illinois whom no one had ever heard of. I see one of two possibilites here, the second being most likely:
1) He is a fulfillment of the "end of days" prophecy that sees the return of both true and false messiahs, the false being deployed by Beelzebub to deceive the faithful. Obama is a false messiah/false prophet, on earth to do the work of the devil, and his rise is a harbinger of the final confrontation between good and evil.
Whew. Ya, I don't know about that one, but amazingly, there is a great deal of internet sentiment out there to this effect. Much is probably meant as slander, but it would appear that some is completely sincere. Perhaps people apparently take politics a little too seriously...
2) Obama's rise has been facilitated by powerful, monied interests for their own cynical, heretofore opaque purposes. It may be that those who desire another Republican administration have pushed him to win the the Democratic nomination because they believe he would be the easiest democrat to beat.
2a) A modified version of theory 2), though it seems unlikely to me, is that the interests backing Hillary have engineered Obama's popularity to peak early enough in the campaign season so as to be impossible to sustain, thus giving Hillary the long-run advantage.
I don't know enough about how elections work to know if it is possible for powers-that-be to exert such control over voting that such a ploy could be effective. Nevertheless, the level of election manipulation is widely underestimated in this country. It is kept secret because if the world knew that the largest democracy was so cynically controlled from above, the U.S. would lose its moral authority to demand "democracy" around the globe, in the strong-armed way that we do. The nation did however get a brief taste of just how few people can control an election outcome seven years ago, with the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court decision! Indeed.
If theory 2) proves correct and Obama's uber-appeal is an engineered sham, then once primary season is over, Republican interests will bring out the big guns and start tearing into Obama's seemingly unblemished record. With enough propaganda, I believe the Republican side will succeed in turning non-black Christian voters solidly against Obama. The level of demonization and negative advertising will reach record levels. Money will pour in to defeat him. We will begin hearing the nasty puns on his name (B-iraq Osama", etc.), and ethnic and religious aspects of Obama will emerge as a major weakness to be exploited among the white working-class and evangelical segments of the electorate. Barak Obama's Teflon-invincibility will be rapidly broached. I suspect when this happens, the black community will line-up behind Obama to an extent, and with a fraternal familiarity, that they so far have not. His great crossover appeal will also become a thing of the past.
I believe the red state/blue state divide is a crass simplification, but it does ring true in that the trend in this country is toward political polarization along ethnic and religious lines. If Obama emerges as the Democratic nominee, whatever the reasons behind his win, the resulting general election campaign will be the most divisive in U.S. history, and may well serve as a catalyst for further civil fracturing of a nation; a harbinger of future ethnic and ideological strife.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Ped-Solidarity
Seattleites rock.
I was crossing East John Street along Broadway this afternoon along with a dozen or so other pedestrians, when a stray car proceeded to impudently cut into the crosswalk. We weren't having it.
No, there was uniform dismay, and then indignation. Though the driver looked to be an older gentleman and his wife, an older lady behind me started laying it on them. She wasn't having it: "Get the hell out of the crosswalk!...learn how to drive, asshole!" And as an exclamation point, as he strolled by, one of a punk-attired trio of young folks coming from the other side of the street gave the offending vehicle a good kick in the rear. The driver then hit the brakes and in his annoyance turned in his seat to see what the heck was going on. But the older lady pedestrian gave a parting jeer, and the rest of us peds kept strolling on by, satisfied in our solidarity: Seattle-Ped-Solidarity!! Rah!
- d.g.w. 12/31/07
I was crossing East John Street along Broadway this afternoon along with a dozen or so other pedestrians, when a stray car proceeded to impudently cut into the crosswalk. We weren't having it.
No, there was uniform dismay, and then indignation. Though the driver looked to be an older gentleman and his wife, an older lady behind me started laying it on them. She wasn't having it: "Get the hell out of the crosswalk!...learn how to drive, asshole!" And as an exclamation point, as he strolled by, one of a punk-attired trio of young folks coming from the other side of the street gave the offending vehicle a good kick in the rear. The driver then hit the brakes and in his annoyance turned in his seat to see what the heck was going on. But the older lady pedestrian gave a parting jeer, and the rest of us peds kept strolling on by, satisfied in our solidarity: Seattle-Ped-Solidarity!! Rah!
- d.g.w. 12/31/07
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Les Petite Problemmes du Vie
Ok. A lot of crummy stuff is going on and I desperately need to write it out, if only to get my mind around everything that I need to deal with:
1) Most urgently, I need $160, and probably $320, to pay my rent.
I pay rent weekly and it's due each Friday. I was expecting a money order from mom for last Friday's, and it never came. The day of, I kept calling and calling and when I finally got ahold of her it was 5:00 and she was having a birthday dinner with Sarah and Jesse, and told me she'd call back when she was through. I tried to stop her and say that I really couldn't wait, but it was apparently really loud where they were, and she hung up.
I had left to go help Laura with her move, and when I got back at 9 that night, the lock on my door had been changed! Ya. They were serious, evidently, when they said rent is due on fridays. I caught the building manager at the last minute before he left, and he indicated that I'd be able to get my stuff out at some point (he didn't say, but I assume Monday - tomorrow).
Ideally I would arrive with money in hand so to convince the manager to let me back in. I guess I have today to figure out how to do that.
2) I cannot register for winter quarter - which begins next Tuesday Jan. 8 - until I have signed off on some payment arrangement.
Everything could be solved if only my dad would pay back the loan from fall quarter. He has promised as much on at least three different occasions. But as he is impossible to reach, I have absolutely no indication that he will pay, much less within the next seven days. So unless I can somehow come up with $2500 cash before January 6, I probably won't be attending the UW this quarter. I'm going to have to beg mom and nana to help me - that's probably what it's going to come down to. Sad, because I know they don't have money to spare. At least mom definitely doesn't. I would promise to pay them back at some point in the future, but realistically I have no idea when that would be possible. I'm unemployed, and even when employed I have so many other expenses (rent, probation/court fees, college books, etc., etc.) that I'd have to pay them in installments.
Well, anyway, to return to the point: my father is a fucking bitch. I strongly suspect that someone is filtering his emails for him, but even if, it's impossible that he wouldn't be aware of it. So he's just as guilty. In fact he is more so, as he probably feels irreproachable since someone else is actively doing the deed. And as if he's helpless to do anything - ya right. Well, I'm impressed with his compartmentalizing abilities, that he's able to feel perfectly fine playing with his son's life like this, only to call up six months later and act like everything is hunky-dory. And I have to act likewise so as not to upset him and lose contact and his financial help altogether. All I know is that when I become financially secure and don't need to kiss his ass just to get money - if that ever happens, I'm going to pay him a visit and tell him and his psychotic wife off, once and for all.
3) I'm struggling with depression.
I know a good part of it is S.A.D. - seasonal-affective disorder. Seattle winters always hit people hard in that area. Yesterday, I slept from about 6 p.m. basically all the way through until 12 noon today. And that has not been unusual for me, lately.
I really have a hard time socializing and even engaging in conversation these days. I made it through Christmas: I spent the entire day with Laura and her fam, and the night before with the Hagopian-Ludwigs in Fremont. It went as well as could be expected, but since then I've just been stuck in a rut. I admit it's mostly situational: I'm unemployed, under financial duress, and on the verge of homelessness. So perhaps a little depression is only natural. Whatever. I wish life would be easier. I fuckin' wish that I had money, for christ's sake. That's another thing. On the job front, I've been declined so so many times based on background checks. I mentioned in a prior entry about being recruited for a contract/temp job with the Gates Foundation - that fell through solely because I couldn't pass a background check. Constant rejection like that takes its toll, I suppose.
One might say it's my own fault, on the other hand, it's not my fault that society discriminates against those with an imperfect past. It's not Seattle. I think Seattle is the best place I could be, frankly. People here are tolerant, civilized, and there really are a lot of job opportunities. It's the west. People come here from all over the country to start their lives, or to start their lives over. But Seattle is America and America has its flaws; its idiosyncracies; and in this country, fate doesn't always treat kindly those with limited resources. There are a lot of pitfalls out there when you lack money and family support. Not to say I don't have family support, or that I am not grateful for that which I do have. But I lack a cohesive family that comes together to figure out how best to help someone in need. Or if I did, those days have since past.
That is one thing that those who possess it take for granted - a strong family. There is no replacement for it and I think nothing is more effective in ensuring that one has a successful and happy life. Those who are able, like my sister, join so to speak, a new family, and that can suffice. But that takes years and is obviously not easy or even possible. I dare say it is easier for a female, anyhow.
1) Most urgently, I need $160, and probably $320, to pay my rent.
I pay rent weekly and it's due each Friday. I was expecting a money order from mom for last Friday's, and it never came. The day of, I kept calling and calling and when I finally got ahold of her it was 5:00 and she was having a birthday dinner with Sarah and Jesse, and told me she'd call back when she was through. I tried to stop her and say that I really couldn't wait, but it was apparently really loud where they were, and she hung up.
I had left to go help Laura with her move, and when I got back at 9 that night, the lock on my door had been changed! Ya. They were serious, evidently, when they said rent is due on fridays. I caught the building manager at the last minute before he left, and he indicated that I'd be able to get my stuff out at some point (he didn't say, but I assume Monday - tomorrow).
Ideally I would arrive with money in hand so to convince the manager to let me back in. I guess I have today to figure out how to do that.
2) I cannot register for winter quarter - which begins next Tuesday Jan. 8 - until I have signed off on some payment arrangement.
Everything could be solved if only my dad would pay back the loan from fall quarter. He has promised as much on at least three different occasions. But as he is impossible to reach, I have absolutely no indication that he will pay, much less within the next seven days. So unless I can somehow come up with $2500 cash before January 6, I probably won't be attending the UW this quarter. I'm going to have to beg mom and nana to help me - that's probably what it's going to come down to. Sad, because I know they don't have money to spare. At least mom definitely doesn't. I would promise to pay them back at some point in the future, but realistically I have no idea when that would be possible. I'm unemployed, and even when employed I have so many other expenses (rent, probation/court fees, college books, etc., etc.) that I'd have to pay them in installments.
Well, anyway, to return to the point: my father is a fucking bitch. I strongly suspect that someone is filtering his emails for him, but even if, it's impossible that he wouldn't be aware of it. So he's just as guilty. In fact he is more so, as he probably feels irreproachable since someone else is actively doing the deed. And as if he's helpless to do anything - ya right. Well, I'm impressed with his compartmentalizing abilities, that he's able to feel perfectly fine playing with his son's life like this, only to call up six months later and act like everything is hunky-dory. And I have to act likewise so as not to upset him and lose contact and his financial help altogether. All I know is that when I become financially secure and don't need to kiss his ass just to get money - if that ever happens, I'm going to pay him a visit and tell him and his psychotic wife off, once and for all.
3) I'm struggling with depression.
I know a good part of it is S.A.D. - seasonal-affective disorder. Seattle winters always hit people hard in that area. Yesterday, I slept from about 6 p.m. basically all the way through until 12 noon today. And that has not been unusual for me, lately.
I really have a hard time socializing and even engaging in conversation these days. I made it through Christmas: I spent the entire day with Laura and her fam, and the night before with the Hagopian-Ludwigs in Fremont. It went as well as could be expected, but since then I've just been stuck in a rut. I admit it's mostly situational: I'm unemployed, under financial duress, and on the verge of homelessness. So perhaps a little depression is only natural. Whatever. I wish life would be easier. I fuckin' wish that I had money, for christ's sake. That's another thing. On the job front, I've been declined so so many times based on background checks. I mentioned in a prior entry about being recruited for a contract/temp job with the Gates Foundation - that fell through solely because I couldn't pass a background check. Constant rejection like that takes its toll, I suppose.
One might say it's my own fault, on the other hand, it's not my fault that society discriminates against those with an imperfect past. It's not Seattle. I think Seattle is the best place I could be, frankly. People here are tolerant, civilized, and there really are a lot of job opportunities. It's the west. People come here from all over the country to start their lives, or to start their lives over. But Seattle is America and America has its flaws; its idiosyncracies; and in this country, fate doesn't always treat kindly those with limited resources. There are a lot of pitfalls out there when you lack money and family support. Not to say I don't have family support, or that I am not grateful for that which I do have. But I lack a cohesive family that comes together to figure out how best to help someone in need. Or if I did, those days have since past.
That is one thing that those who possess it take for granted - a strong family. There is no replacement for it and I think nothing is more effective in ensuring that one has a successful and happy life. Those who are able, like my sister, join so to speak, a new family, and that can suffice. But that takes years and is obviously not easy or even possible. I dare say it is easier for a female, anyhow.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
My Maryland Visit, Charles Ross's "One-Man Star Wars"
I just returned early Sunday morning from my trip to visit mom and nana in Maryland. A very nice visit - I think that one week was a perfect amount of time. There wasn't a whole lot going on and we focused on a few projects: one, organizing and cleaning my room, which mom plans to make into a guest room. It has a nice, albeit creaky, wooden bed frame that grandpa had decades ago brought back from Denmark; and a nice desk and dresser to match. My window looks out over the backyard, level with the branches of several tall trees, over a path that runs through a grassy park.
We also did quite a lot of shopping, mostly for clothes for myself. Mom and nana were both very generous. Nana bought me a new pair of shoes that I picked out: a pair of shiny black Nike Air Forces from the mall. Mom ordered me some fleece slipper/scuffs from L.L. Bean. On Friday, the day before my retour par avion, we shopped for Christmas gifts and I got Laura some earrings and super-soft socks.
We also took in a one-act, one-man play at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in D.C.: "The One-Man Star Wars". The actor, Canadian Charles Ross (who bore a striking resemblance to a young Mark Hammil) did all three of the original movies back-to-back, with only a few-second water break between each. It was pretty crazy.
We made ticket reservations online ($28 each) and the whole time until I saw it I was pondering just how this guy would go about such an act. As it happened, he skipped all but the major, memorable scenes and characters. He sang-slash-hummed the music to begin separate scenes, but overall his attempt at mimicking John Williams' score was rather dismal.
Basically, he excelled at some characters and muddled through, or avoided others. He was great at C3P0 and R2D2: he had 3P0's stuffy, prissy accent, and stiff-limbed walk down-pat. For the two robots' journey through the Tattooinne desert after escaping Leia’s ship, Ross mimed almost perfectly R2's beeps and whistles, during their little exchange before they decide to part ways. The Luke Skywalker portrayal was fantastic, replete with Luke's boyish whine; and Ross was able to extract the humor out of Luke’s later afflicted, self-righteous heroism. He got a ton of laughs from the audience on Luke's behalf – maybe partly because they do in fact look alike. But Ross couldn't really do Han Solo or Princess Leia (he made her sound kind of like a gay man), but I suppose we can cut him some slack for taking on such a task! It really was amazing.
The little running jokes throughout were great, too: about Luke's whininess and the supposed pathetic acting career of actor Hammil. Also, Ross extracted some clever humor from the love triangle between Luke, Leia, and Han. And then, of course, the familial relationship between Luke, Leia, and Darth Vader/Annakin Skywalker.
Actually, after the first act, when the lights dimmed and Ross went to the back of the stage and chugged a water bottle, the audience clapped and it looked as though that was all. But after probably 10 seconds, he came back for Episode V/Empire Strikes Back. I couldn't believe that he went through the trilogy as rapidly and tirelessly as he did. Pretty awesome. In addition to the music, he even mimed those gargantuan AT-AT walkers on Hoth, and the smaller AT-ST walkers in the battle for Endor. He acted out the following: Luke's destruction by tripping, of the walker with his snow speeder's cable gun; and the Ewoks' crushing the AT-ST walker's "skull" with the two swinging logs, as well as the log roll booby-trap that tripped another one.
There were, of course, some glaring abscences - Rancor in Jabba's palace, for example, but mostly with Ross's acting it was just a matter of emphasis. And since he excelled at some characters and scenes more than others, it worked out pretty well.
When he was finally done, after a little over an hour of non-stop running around stage reducing George Lucas's creations to a fast-forward, human puppet-show, he left stage and then returned to bow and chat briefly with the audience. He explained that he has a similar act for the Lord of the Rings movie - but that he had been issued a warning from the movie people to cease doing it. So he gave everyone just a taste, by doing his Gollum impression. It was excellent, very accurate - and hilarious!
- d.g.w. 12/19/07
We also did quite a lot of shopping, mostly for clothes for myself. Mom and nana were both very generous. Nana bought me a new pair of shoes that I picked out: a pair of shiny black Nike Air Forces from the mall. Mom ordered me some fleece slipper/scuffs from L.L. Bean. On Friday, the day before my retour par avion, we shopped for Christmas gifts and I got Laura some earrings and super-soft socks.
We also took in a one-act, one-man play at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in D.C.: "The One-Man Star Wars". The actor, Canadian Charles Ross (who bore a striking resemblance to a young Mark Hammil) did all three of the original movies back-to-back, with only a few-second water break between each. It was pretty crazy.
We made ticket reservations online ($28 each) and the whole time until I saw it I was pondering just how this guy would go about such an act. As it happened, he skipped all but the major, memorable scenes and characters. He sang-slash-hummed the music to begin separate scenes, but overall his attempt at mimicking John Williams' score was rather dismal.
Basically, he excelled at some characters and muddled through, or avoided others. He was great at C3P0 and R2D2: he had 3P0's stuffy, prissy accent, and stiff-limbed walk down-pat. For the two robots' journey through the Tattooinne desert after escaping Leia’s ship, Ross mimed almost perfectly R2's beeps and whistles, during their little exchange before they decide to part ways. The Luke Skywalker portrayal was fantastic, replete with Luke's boyish whine; and Ross was able to extract the humor out of Luke’s later afflicted, self-righteous heroism. He got a ton of laughs from the audience on Luke's behalf – maybe partly because they do in fact look alike. But Ross couldn't really do Han Solo or Princess Leia (he made her sound kind of like a gay man), but I suppose we can cut him some slack for taking on such a task! It really was amazing.
The little running jokes throughout were great, too: about Luke's whininess and the supposed pathetic acting career of actor Hammil. Also, Ross extracted some clever humor from the love triangle between Luke, Leia, and Han. And then, of course, the familial relationship between Luke, Leia, and Darth Vader/Annakin Skywalker.
Actually, after the first act, when the lights dimmed and Ross went to the back of the stage and chugged a water bottle, the audience clapped and it looked as though that was all. But after probably 10 seconds, he came back for Episode V/Empire Strikes Back. I couldn't believe that he went through the trilogy as rapidly and tirelessly as he did. Pretty awesome. In addition to the music, he even mimed those gargantuan AT-AT walkers on Hoth, and the smaller AT-ST walkers in the battle for Endor. He acted out the following: Luke's destruction by tripping, of the walker with his snow speeder's cable gun; and the Ewoks' crushing the AT-ST walker's "skull" with the two swinging logs, as well as the log roll booby-trap that tripped another one.
There were, of course, some glaring abscences - Rancor in Jabba's palace, for example, but mostly with Ross's acting it was just a matter of emphasis. And since he excelled at some characters and scenes more than others, it worked out pretty well.
When he was finally done, after a little over an hour of non-stop running around stage reducing George Lucas's creations to a fast-forward, human puppet-show, he left stage and then returned to bow and chat briefly with the audience. He explained that he has a similar act for the Lord of the Rings movie - but that he had been issued a warning from the movie people to cease doing it. So he gave everyone just a taste, by doing his Gollum impression. It was excellent, very accurate - and hilarious!
- d.g.w. 12/19/07
Friday, November 23, 2007
Professor Matthews / Montgomery College, 2003
I completed my 'Instructions' assignment about 30 minutes before it was due, yesterday at 6 p.m. I spent literally 10 hours on it because I basically had to teach myself Adobe Illustrator Plus, I wasted a couple hours because, as I mentioned in my last entry, I'd started with Adobe InDesign until my classmate Ian B. told me Illustrator would work better for this assignment.
Like Photoshop, Illustrator works with layers and it can be tricky to keep having to toggle between them. I completed it and wrote out the 'Discussion' section, where I remarked on what I did for my instructions, and why.
I always think it is a good feeling to complete an assignment you've worked long and hard on. I used to enjoy doing long research papers on in high school. I recall I would spend long nights writing research on note cards and I'd end up with a huge stack from a page-long bibliography. For my 11th-grade English term paper I did a biography and literary criticism of Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt. Several years later I took a class in what has become my chosen area of study/career interest, Technical Writing. The professor, John Matthews, said that he did his Senior thesis in college on Sinclair Lewis. I told him that I did likewise, and I remember he was interested to read what I wrote. I really liked that prof. He was a Yalie, too, as many members of my family are (my cousin Vinnie, all four of my grandparents, and an aunt and uncle).
I wrote what I consider my best, most well put-together research paper ever for that class - "White Nationalism: Ideology and Practice." I was proud of that paper. I don't know, I think I'm too jaded to be as creative and inspired in writing, as I once was. Perhaps not, but the possibilities for a particular topic seemed so promising, and full of life. Like I knew there was wonderful knowledge out there that I just had to find, to put it down on paper. Now, sometimes I just think to myself, "why bother - probably no one will read this anyway". I wouldn't want to jinx myself or anything, but I dare say I do not experience the level of inspiration for writing that I once did. For that matter, I didn't in '03, either. I can recall being most inspired to write way back in 5th or 6th grade, or earlier. Ah, the ever-dissipating fruits of youth. It never lasts!
As for Proessor Matthews' class - I learned a great deal, and we used an excellent text, also. I kept it - John Lannon's "Technical Communication", and though I forgot to bring it with me to Seattle, I recently found it for eight dollars, on a dusty shelf downstairs at Half-Price Books. So I am using the Lannon text for Professor Loucks' TC 421, instead of the assigned Markel text, which I consider less in-depth and less useful. A classmate copied me part of one chapter - on web design - but aside from that it really is quite a lot of fluff. And it annoys me that it has these pop-up type boxes on every other page, entitled "Tech Tips", which are really just product placement for Microsoft. It's pretty lame.
Alas - yes, I was indeed proud of my paper for Matthews' class. For the first time, I included an actual table of contents, abstract, and extensive footnotes, along with a substantial works cited page. In fact, I used that paper in my application to my certificate program! And I don't have an extra copy, either, so who knows if I will ever see it again...
Bummer. Well, it was worth it if it helped me get accepted. I can live with that.
- dgw
Like Photoshop, Illustrator works with layers and it can be tricky to keep having to toggle between them. I completed it and wrote out the 'Discussion' section, where I remarked on what I did for my instructions, and why.
I always think it is a good feeling to complete an assignment you've worked long and hard on. I used to enjoy doing long research papers on in high school. I recall I would spend long nights writing research on note cards and I'd end up with a huge stack from a page-long bibliography. For my 11th-grade English term paper I did a biography and literary criticism of Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt. Several years later I took a class in what has become my chosen area of study/career interest, Technical Writing. The professor, John Matthews, said that he did his Senior thesis in college on Sinclair Lewis. I told him that I did likewise, and I remember he was interested to read what I wrote. I really liked that prof. He was a Yalie, too, as many members of my family are (my cousin Vinnie, all four of my grandparents, and an aunt and uncle).
I wrote what I consider my best, most well put-together research paper ever for that class - "White Nationalism: Ideology and Practice." I was proud of that paper. I don't know, I think I'm too jaded to be as creative and inspired in writing, as I once was. Perhaps not, but the possibilities for a particular topic seemed so promising, and full of life. Like I knew there was wonderful knowledge out there that I just had to find, to put it down on paper. Now, sometimes I just think to myself, "why bother - probably no one will read this anyway". I wouldn't want to jinx myself or anything, but I dare say I do not experience the level of inspiration for writing that I once did. For that matter, I didn't in '03, either. I can recall being most inspired to write way back in 5th or 6th grade, or earlier. Ah, the ever-dissipating fruits of youth. It never lasts!
As for Proessor Matthews' class - I learned a great deal, and we used an excellent text, also. I kept it - John Lannon's "Technical Communication", and though I forgot to bring it with me to Seattle, I recently found it for eight dollars, on a dusty shelf downstairs at Half-Price Books. So I am using the Lannon text for Professor Loucks' TC 421, instead of the assigned Markel text, which I consider less in-depth and less useful. A classmate copied me part of one chapter - on web design - but aside from that it really is quite a lot of fluff. And it annoys me that it has these pop-up type boxes on every other page, entitled "Tech Tips", which are really just product placement for Microsoft. It's pretty lame.
Alas - yes, I was indeed proud of my paper for Matthews' class. For the first time, I included an actual table of contents, abstract, and extensive footnotes, along with a substantial works cited page. In fact, I used that paper in my application to my certificate program! And I don't have an extra copy, either, so who knows if I will ever see it again...
Bummer. Well, it was worth it if it helped me get accepted. I can live with that.
- dgw
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
9/11/07
It's 9/11 - that now infamous date in our nation’s history.
Last night I was at Vivace on Capitol Hill and a group of about 25 folks were meeting on the subject. They were apparently affiliated with the "9/11 "Truth Movement" and, from snippets I could overhear, were discussing the various theories that have been circulating lately. Earlier that day, I’d seen large black and white posters around Broadway that read, "9/11 was an inside job!".
A front page article in this week’s The Stranger by Paul Constant follows a group of Seattle "Truthers" and their theories on what really happened that day. It wasn't entirely favorable; a bit dismissive toward the end, I thought. It focused less on the substance of the theories (many of which are not widely known, but are quite compelling) and more on the movement and its development over the past several years from near-blasphemy shortly after the attacks, to fringe status, to, as one recent poll has it, supported in some form by 36% of the American public. That figure, particularly, I thought very significant. The idea must not be so fanciful as it once seemed, if so many believe it.
Americans are known to be suckers for conspiracy theories - some say it is part of our superstitious, religious, culture. But there is real substance behind the view that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by our own government (or, perhaps, a secret, high-level cabal of sorts within our own government). The realization that the administration lied about the justification for the Iraq war has served to reinforce this view.
Of course, the movement is almost entirely internet-driven, as mainstream media have largely ignored the notion. But even this is changing of late. One might trace it to the incredible spread of the now-infamous homemade internet film Loose Change, produced by two upstate New Yorkers in their 20s.
We may never know the truth, but the clarifying lens of history will put the 9/11 era in sharper focus in the years to come. Perhaps one day I will be telling my grandchildren that, for a time, Americans once believed that we were really attacked that day. This would not be the first time the U.S. has used a false pretext for starting a war: the Gulf of Tonkin incident, for example; some say the government even had prior knowledge of the Pearl Harbor attacks because we wanted an in into that war, and needed an excuse.
I’m guessing that the period begun on September 11, 2001 will be seen as the beginning of a very important period in our history; one that led us on a very definite trajectory apart from what might have been. Where, it is hard to say, it is still too early.
Last night I was at Vivace on Capitol Hill and a group of about 25 folks were meeting on the subject. They were apparently affiliated with the "9/11 "Truth Movement" and, from snippets I could overhear, were discussing the various theories that have been circulating lately. Earlier that day, I’d seen large black and white posters around Broadway that read, "9/11 was an inside job!".
A front page article in this week’s The Stranger by Paul Constant follows a group of Seattle "Truthers" and their theories on what really happened that day. It wasn't entirely favorable; a bit dismissive toward the end, I thought. It focused less on the substance of the theories (many of which are not widely known, but are quite compelling) and more on the movement and its development over the past several years from near-blasphemy shortly after the attacks, to fringe status, to, as one recent poll has it, supported in some form by 36% of the American public. That figure, particularly, I thought very significant. The idea must not be so fanciful as it once seemed, if so many believe it.
Americans are known to be suckers for conspiracy theories - some say it is part of our superstitious, religious, culture. But there is real substance behind the view that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by our own government (or, perhaps, a secret, high-level cabal of sorts within our own government). The realization that the administration lied about the justification for the Iraq war has served to reinforce this view.
Of course, the movement is almost entirely internet-driven, as mainstream media have largely ignored the notion. But even this is changing of late. One might trace it to the incredible spread of the now-infamous homemade internet film Loose Change, produced by two upstate New Yorkers in their 20s.
We may never know the truth, but the clarifying lens of history will put the 9/11 era in sharper focus in the years to come. Perhaps one day I will be telling my grandchildren that, for a time, Americans once believed that we were really attacked that day. This would not be the first time the U.S. has used a false pretext for starting a war: the Gulf of Tonkin incident, for example; some say the government even had prior knowledge of the Pearl Harbor attacks because we wanted an in into that war, and needed an excuse.
I’m guessing that the period begun on September 11, 2001 will be seen as the beginning of a very important period in our history; one that led us on a very definite trajectory apart from what might have been. Where, it is hard to say, it is still too early.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Blogging
I don't know where it has gone, but I seem rather uninspired of late. The past couple of months, namely. I used to find the inspiration to write essays about non-personal things - science and society and politics - the stuff I've always pondered and been keen to write out my thoughts upon.
Lately my blog entries are taken up with personal travailles; nay, not even that - more, frustrations in the realm of feeling, without real events necessarily accompanying. I see that as selfish. As a sign of withdrawing into myself at the expense of the world around me. And let's face it, others - my audience, that is, find it boring. At least I do. When on Opendiary.com or someone's blog, most uninspiring is usually the kind of writing that goes on and on about one's personal life. Writing about feelings surrrounding one's social/romantic life has a tendency to seem to matter to no one but the author. No one else really cares because although they might be able to relate at some level, the subject matter is so personal and particular that it inevitably loses most of it's meaning.
Conversely, essays and writing about society, etc., concern everyone; everyone can relate to, and ponder what is said equally. In point of fact, this even applies when returning to read one's own blog after time has passed. Feelings and emotions shift and change day-to-day, thus what is written loses its impact and much of its meaning after the mood has passed and the circumstances have moved along. It is better to write on the world around us. If one can place oneself into a more universal, less temporal, self-concerned context, the better the quality of blog entry; the more interesting and noteworthy and meaningful it becomes.
Lately my blog entries are taken up with personal travailles; nay, not even that - more, frustrations in the realm of feeling, without real events necessarily accompanying. I see that as selfish. As a sign of withdrawing into myself at the expense of the world around me. And let's face it, others - my audience, that is, find it boring. At least I do. When on Opendiary.com or someone's blog, most uninspiring is usually the kind of writing that goes on and on about one's personal life. Writing about feelings surrrounding one's social/romantic life has a tendency to seem to matter to no one but the author. No one else really cares because although they might be able to relate at some level, the subject matter is so personal and particular that it inevitably loses most of it's meaning.
Conversely, essays and writing about society, etc., concern everyone; everyone can relate to, and ponder what is said equally. In point of fact, this even applies when returning to read one's own blog after time has passed. Feelings and emotions shift and change day-to-day, thus what is written loses its impact and much of its meaning after the mood has passed and the circumstances have moved along. It is better to write on the world around us. If one can place oneself into a more universal, less temporal, self-concerned context, the better the quality of blog entry; the more interesting and noteworthy and meaningful it becomes.
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