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WarriorPoet51088
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Name: Robert
Country: United States
State: Texas
Metro:
Birthday: 5/10/1988
Gender: Male
Interests: God, languages, reading, writing
Expertise: Theology, languages(working on both!)
Occupation: Student
Industry: Other
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  Aragorn51088
Member Since:
7/31/2005
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| For whom the bell tolls
Xanga is about as dead as an interwebs' door-nail.
I don't know how that ranks on the scale of deadness for types of nails, which has coffin-nails as the most dead type, but I randomly decided to get on here this Christmas morn and browse through old blogrings I was/am part of.
I found some interesting stuff (looking through the AC blogring was most amusing to see that few of us have kept up our xangas, so friends' info is humorously outdated).
Sadly, I found no one who is really still active.
Guess I should start typing notes directly in facebook, instead of importing them from here.
Any protests?
Silence is approval.
Posted at 12:25 on 12/25...
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| Voters' angst
Before you start reading, please listen to this song:Hallelujah,
and read the lyrics posted next to it. I suggest listening to it again
as you read...
This morning, for the first time in
my life, I voted in a presidential election.
I had been
looking forward to this opportunity since about my Junior year in high
school - I was really excited about getting to participate in choosing
our nation's next leader when I realized during the time of the 2004
elections that I'd be old enough to vote in the next presidential
election.
Towards the middle of my Senior year in high school,
I began to consider libertarianism,
and currently consider myself a "classical
liberal."
For Halloween this year, I dressed as
Ron Paul,
'cause what could be scarier to the entrenched political regimes?...And
'cause I didn't get around to buying a Guy
Fawkes
mask.
A few years' worth of anticipation, and then
the candidates for the 2008 election. I could have voted the
Libertarian ticket, for Bob Barr and
Wayn Allyn Roote, but Barr's too extreme for my taste. Obama, I've
already written about (here),
and for McCain, I've no faith in his campaign with the joke of a
running mate he chose (putting aside the continued policies of the
Republican Party "Maverick").
All this to say, I
couldn't find an appealing, or even a suitable option to vote for as
the next president of these United States. So, during the summer I
decided to go ahead and write in Ron Paul. He was the one candidate I
actually agreed with on policy, and I liked his demeanor as I got to
see him in the primaries.
Some would call this a wasted vote;
I contend that it was an exercise of my constitutional right to vote
and a fulfillment of my civic duty, as a protest against the (in my
eyes) very poor "options" we had this year (don't even get me started
on how screwed up I think the right to vote is...).
So, I go
to vote. Walking out of the polling station, I am extremely frustrated
as I realize just how uneffective my action was.
A solid 4
years of anticipation, met with two equally bad
choices.
Hurrah for real life.
The desert of the real
(recognize the quote?).
And, since I don't intend on being a
political
candle or lighting any
gunpowder any time soon, the futility of my protest really
got me down.
I expressed this to a good friend, who
suggested that I get over it. After being all angsty for a few hours, I
started listening to Derek Webb's re-released-for-free album,
Mockingbird,
especially "A King and a Kingdom." I'm starting to feel better
now.
Having Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" stuck in my head
since Sunday night hasn't helped much. Other than that it got me
thinking about the only genuine "Hallelujah" I should be pursuing is
Christ.
So now I'm listening to a different Hallelujah.
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| I believe in Barack Obama...?
OK, so I've just finished listening to Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC, from a youtube video posted by CNN (link). For the first twenty minutes or so, I was made to understand that we need change. Apparently, we need lots of change. We need change for [sentimental story], that relates to [personal sentimental story], because that is how [generic American really lives]!
At 20minutes, 17 seconds, Obama announced that he was going to "spell out exactly what that change would mean if [he were] president."
OK, so tax cuts for those who need it;
keep American jobs here;
end dependence on oil from the Middle East in 10 years by tapping American sources of gas (hmm, myself included - hope not...), research into new sources of energy (nuclear, solar, wind);
create 5 million jobs that "pay well and can be outsourced;"
provide every child a world-class education (new teachers with higher salaries & more support, higher standards & more accountability), promise to every American: "If you commit to serving our country or your community, we will make sure you can afford a college education;"
lower healthcare premiums especially for those who are sick & need care the most;
changes in payment programs - social security, equal wages;
close corporate loopholes & go through the federal budget line-by-line to make sure we are spending money on programs that work;
a corporate call to individuals to do their part ("individual responsibility & mutual responsibility - that is the promise of America";
never hesitate to defend America, but only send troops into battle prepared and provide for them when they come home;
make America the last and best hope for freedom, lives of peace, and for all who long for a better future;
change the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character & patriotism (patriotism has no party).
My problem is not with Obama's promises. John McCain and every other politican will also be making promises they've no way of keeping. I expect that. My problem is with Obama trying to paint himself as a bringer of change to the system. But, as a politician, and now the nominee of one of the two entrenched political parties in these United States, Barack Obama is still part of that same system he claims to challenge. And I just can't get around that. Apparently, his constituency can't get past the idea that he will bring change.
To sum up his speech: "For 18 long months you have stood up one by one and said, 'Enough to the politics of the past!' You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect different results. You have shown what history teaches us - that in defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington, change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it, because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership."
OK, so bring the change you want. But honestly, I don't think it's gonna accomplish much - if it even happens.
And, lest we forget, there was another leader who used his voice to commit great atrocities by convincing people to follow him through lots of rhetoric with no worth-while substance:
"low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment … it was a delight to
hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable,
and desire woke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves …
for those whom it conquered the spell endured while they were far away
and ever they heard that soft voice whispering and urging them." (The Two Towers, Book II, Chapter X, 26th paragraph)
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| “Off into the sunset…Now what?!”
It’s been bugging me for a while now, and this will probably come as completely out of the blue. But, before I begin, I realized that I left out my usual disclaimer on a post I made a while ago, so I wanted to make sure that before I go any further, it’s perfectly clear that I recognize that (1) I am fallible, that (2) not everyone is going to agree with me, and that (3) there’s always room for improvements.
That said, allow me some time to make some passing remarks; this is, as usual (!), more of a rambling of thoughts than a legitimate, much less coherent, argument.
The thing that’s been bugging me: It seems to me that our culture focuses on getting married, not on being married. That is, the goal of most romantic interactions & relationships is to get married. Little thought is given to what will happen after marriage.
(Mayhaps I’m fighting windmills, but I think I’ve got some interesting thoughts that I’m willing to take the time to type out and make somewhat understandable, so bear with me!)
Talking with Liz, I jokingly remarked that a recurring problem in childhood Knight adventures was what to do after slaying the dragon and rescuing the Princess. That is, the task has been accomplished – now what? Liz jokingly said, “Ride off into the sunset”; for whatever reason, that triggered a train of thought in my head that went something like this:
As Liz also pointed out, all the fairy tales (at least those I know of) in popular culture end with “Happily Ever After”; there is no exploration of what happens afterwards. Since as children we get a lot of direction from fairy tales about how to live, “what do we now?” is something largely foreign to us; we’ve not dealt with it in the abstract medium of literature/tale, so we have no easy answer.
I think <i>Into the Woods</i> (BTW, anybody know of a good video recording of a performance that’s up for sale?) explores this (those who have seen it are going “Duh!, it does!”) “what do we do now?” problem (as does <i>Shrek</i>, as Liz noted). (I would like it to be noted that I first started pondering this while re-watching Disney’s Robin Hood, when Skippy has rescued Maid Marian, and she asks him what amounts to “now what?” and he’s not got any answer.)
OK, as I said, this is to be more thought-provoking (hopefully – yes/no?) than a cohesive argument (ironic, i'nit?!). So, I submit that maybe why marriages often turn cold is because the parties involved no longer feel a need to pursue each other to show their love and devotion in order to secure a marriage; we’ve plenty of instruction on how to “get the girl,” but not how to treat each other afterwards and maintain a loving and committed relationship.
It’s just a thought.
On a completely unrelated note, these really make me laugh. Yes, they’re somewhat disturbing with all the violence, but that inane chorus is hilarious every time.
OC original season finale being mocked – quite violent
SNL “Dear Sister”
”Dear Skywalker”
”Dear Barbossa”
”Dear Boromir”
”Dear Daffy”
That is all. Oh, and for once, I’m actually out of bar soap (and contact lens solution & toothpaste), so I’ll be making an expedition tomorrow, perchance to purchase strawberry-scented soap… Hurrah for old jokes most of you will not get.
Good night, and good luck.
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| I <3 Rowan Atkinson
Bean Dancing with Mac
Bean doing an add for iTunes
This one's my favorite of the lot:Hamlet, version 1.0
...And I think we both know which is the dodgy one!
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