27 November 2008
Holidays
The one consistent annoyance about working on a holiday is dealing with the rest of the world , since they aren't.
19 November 2008
The wheel of history...
It really bothers me when I watch a news program, or even talk to someone, and they propose a position on something ("Get rid of the department of education!") without giving any argument or supporting facts or references. This has led me to always try to do so in my own writing. The problem with this is that it makes writing harder and takes up more time, and this often contributes to me never finishing a certain piece. It also tends to suck the enjoyment out of writing. One of the most enjoyable things about writing for me (especially when writing fiction, which I have also gotten out of the habit of,) is the ability I have to control all elements, and to say what I like as I see fit. Want the sky to be green? Done. Want to write as though Russia went to war with China in 2013? Fine.
All of which is getting around to me saying this: While I like to be rigorous in my writings, especially when making arguments, I'm tired of it getting in the way of actually finishing. So, sometimes I'm going to make statements with no backup whatsoever.
Regarding China: As the 20th century was the story of the United States, so the 21st century will be the story of China. Fifty years from now, when historians are writing books, they will point to the war in Iraq as the last gasp of American foreign policy as a superpower.
I have a friend who mentioned she was taking Chinese. She said when she told people about this, she invariably got one of two responses. One: "Oh really? Why?" Two: "Wow, good for you, I need to do that too."
All of which is getting around to me saying this: While I like to be rigorous in my writings, especially when making arguments, I'm tired of it getting in the way of actually finishing. So, sometimes I'm going to make statements with no backup whatsoever.
Regarding China: As the 20th century was the story of the United States, so the 21st century will be the story of China. Fifty years from now, when historians are writing books, they will point to the war in Iraq as the last gasp of American foreign policy as a superpower.
I have a friend who mentioned she was taking Chinese. She said when she told people about this, she invariably got one of two responses. One: "Oh really? Why?" Two: "Wow, good for you, I need to do that too."
09 November 2008
Body of Lies
Eh, thumbs down. No particularly inspiring writing, and since I didn't really care that much about the characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, it was kind of hard to care what happened to them.
It was interesting to see some UAV stuff (which they didn't screw up as badly as other movies). However, it was downright retarded to see them talking classified information back and forth over not just unsecured phones, but out in the open in front of their families, or on the streets of a foreign nation. I've never been a spy, so I can't tell you if that's how they do business, but I can say I'd never be allowed to do such things in the military. And we never handle classified material in a room with windows, much less the glass boxes they spent much large parts of the movie in.
It was interesting to see some UAV stuff (which they didn't screw up as badly as other movies). However, it was downright retarded to see them talking classified information back and forth over not just unsecured phones, but out in the open in front of their families, or on the streets of a foreign nation. I've never been a spy, so I can't tell you if that's how they do business, but I can say I'd never be allowed to do such things in the military. And we never handle classified material in a room with windows, much less the glass boxes they spent much large parts of the movie in.
07 November 2008
Thanksgiving
I won't be home for Thanksgiving this year, and that's annoying for the following reason (besides the obvious): I had a really good thing to be thankful for this year.
Last year, I was thankful for the Internet. That isn't sarcasm, and it isn't meant to be shallow either. I didn't have something specific in mind when we started talking about our things to be grateful for, but I started on the fact that I was able to stay in touch with friends and family throughout all my travels, and that the Internet was a big part of that.
This year, I am grateful for the fact that the presidential race was not as bloody (metaphorically) as it could have been. Since really becoming aware of politics in college, it has seemed as though the level of discourse in the nation has dropped off, and that the most radical elements of both parties were gaining hold, increasingly creating a rift between groups of citizens (and often doing so over incredibly small issues, things that are beginning to affect smaller and smaller parts of the population, that are taking precedence over much larger issues).
In a time of such divisiveness, it would be easy to unleash the hounds, and really play to the baser human instincts, but this didn't happen. Both candidates fought for what they thought was right, and did so without true viciousness, and I truly feel that the way they both chose to campaign has bettered the country. I had conversation via email with a friend recently regarding the candidates, and I said of McCain, "There are few people in Washington I have as much respect for as John McCain; he has sacrificed more than most people can imagine. I think his true colors have shown lately in his rallies where he has been defending Obama to McCain supporters..."
John McCain had to pause in the middle of a rally, and tell to his own supporters, people (right or wrong) full of anger and fear, that they had no need to be fearful of or angry at Barack Obama.
This was a terrible political move. But it was the correct moral thing to do, and truly was good for our country, and I again reaffirm my respect for McCain's character and leadership. Sadly, his choice will be seen by lesser men both as weakness and as a failed political choice. No one remembers Cincinnatus or Scipio Africanus, but it was men such as these who made Rome great, in their willingness to set aside their own power for the benefit of the nation.
So I am thankful for John McCain and Barack Obama, and the choices they made. It is easy to find politics gone badly wrong. Look to Zimbabwe, or Myanmar, where the "bloody" is not metaphoric. Or try this one out for a change, for myself and others my age: ask your parents about American politics in the 1960s and 70s. They were there, and it was much worse in America then than now. I think of the way I have felt watching our government in action over the last several years, and I think I have only a small inkling of what it was like in the 60s, and none whatsoever of things like Myanmar, and I am thankful.
Last year, I was thankful for the Internet. That isn't sarcasm, and it isn't meant to be shallow either. I didn't have something specific in mind when we started talking about our things to be grateful for, but I started on the fact that I was able to stay in touch with friends and family throughout all my travels, and that the Internet was a big part of that.
This year, I am grateful for the fact that the presidential race was not as bloody (metaphorically) as it could have been. Since really becoming aware of politics in college, it has seemed as though the level of discourse in the nation has dropped off, and that the most radical elements of both parties were gaining hold, increasingly creating a rift between groups of citizens (and often doing so over incredibly small issues, things that are beginning to affect smaller and smaller parts of the population, that are taking precedence over much larger issues).
In a time of such divisiveness, it would be easy to unleash the hounds, and really play to the baser human instincts, but this didn't happen. Both candidates fought for what they thought was right, and did so without true viciousness, and I truly feel that the way they both chose to campaign has bettered the country. I had conversation via email with a friend recently regarding the candidates, and I said of McCain, "There are few people in Washington I have as much respect for as John McCain; he has sacrificed more than most people can imagine. I think his true colors have shown lately in his rallies where he has been defending Obama to McCain supporters..."
John McCain had to pause in the middle of a rally, and tell to his own supporters, people (right or wrong) full of anger and fear, that they had no need to be fearful of or angry at Barack Obama.
This was a terrible political move. But it was the correct moral thing to do, and truly was good for our country, and I again reaffirm my respect for McCain's character and leadership. Sadly, his choice will be seen by lesser men both as weakness and as a failed political choice. No one remembers Cincinnatus or Scipio Africanus, but it was men such as these who made Rome great, in their willingness to set aside their own power for the benefit of the nation.
So I am thankful for John McCain and Barack Obama, and the choices they made. It is easy to find politics gone badly wrong. Look to Zimbabwe, or Myanmar, where the "bloody" is not metaphoric. Or try this one out for a change, for myself and others my age: ask your parents about American politics in the 1960s and 70s. They were there, and it was much worse in America then than now. I think of the way I have felt watching our government in action over the last several years, and I think I have only a small inkling of what it was like in the 60s, and none whatsoever of things like Myanmar, and I am thankful.
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