Hello readers (pretending you exist - in a non cyber world this would be called schizophrenia),
The primary season (that glorious creation of the Progressive Era) is almost upon us yet again and I thought in my slightly informed 18 year old mind that I should give you my yays and nays for both parties (I'm ignoring the Greens and Libertarians and other independents because as much as I want a multi-party state; honestly, you're not going to win - sorry).
Yay:
For the Democrats:
I have to go with Obama because even though he's been sketchy on the whole details thing , I believe that he characterizes Young America better than any of the other progressives.
For the Republicans:
As much as I don't want to say this - because honestly the entire field sucks and consists of charlatans - I'm going with Guliani because maybe his semi-progressive governance of New York City could be transferred over to this entire nation...maybe...
Nay:
For the Democrats:
Jonathan Edwards - The first wasn't great and neither is this one. In short, cheesy and slimy are not presidential qualities. Stop being a polls whore.
For the Republicans:
Huckabee - Just what this country needs....another overly "conservative" "Christian" right-winger...I think a firm foundation in oh I don't know...reason and things that have happened since 1660 might be a good thing for a 21st century president to have.
Happy New Year,
Taylor
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Am I a bad person or just lazy - The motto of Generation ME
So besides my passing interest in linguistics and the etymologies of words from long dead languages (psh Anglo-Frisian can so make a comeback....), I also use Wikipedia to "research" (how much research can one really do on an encyclopedia written by anyone - but my love-hate relationship with Mr. Wikipedia is another blog entry) generations, by far one of the most useful yet shiftiest units of time and age. I am especially intrigued by the overarching characteristics of generations and generational change (yes I know thats something of a metanarrative-based approach to history by lay off me for a minute - I can defend/attack this school of historical thought in another entry).
So what will Generation ME (as mine is sometimes known) be remembered for? What are our overall characteristics? I realize it's very premature to wonder these things, but oh well. (Here I go off on a tangent about the 1960s and now but I swear it's relevant) - In 1968, the students at Columbia University essentially took over the university for several days to protest racism, the plight of the urban poor, and an unpopular and internationally condemned war. The United States is once again in circumstances similar to those of the Spring of 1968, but where is the outrage, where are the angry student protesters, has the meaning of 1968 and postmodernism - it's about revolution, man - been completely lost to the meaning of 1988 and the reemergence of the corporate-political machine - greed is good? Yes, there is no draft which probably plays a large role in my generation's lack of rebellious spirit, but shouldn't we care more than about our own skin? An illegal war, the rise of autocrats in many geopolitically important countries, the genocide in Darfur, the falling economy, the emergence of a dangerous fundamentalist movement within this country that seeks to undermine its core values, and the threat of massive ecological destruction, these are all pressing issues, but the most I see from my peers is petitions and half-assed protests. Not to say I'm much better - I mean I'm blogging right now instead of writing letters to corporations sponsoring the 2008 Olympics to protest China's support for the murderous regime in Khartoum.
Maybe corporationalism (yes I know it's kind of a fake word) has finally won....I mean I'll probably be an i-banker instead of a professional activist and so as this pessimistic post comes to an end I just hope I reach someone who has more strength than I because the world needs it, now.
Taylor
So what will Generation ME (as mine is sometimes known) be remembered for? What are our overall characteristics? I realize it's very premature to wonder these things, but oh well. (Here I go off on a tangent about the 1960s and now but I swear it's relevant) - In 1968, the students at Columbia University essentially took over the university for several days to protest racism, the plight of the urban poor, and an unpopular and internationally condemned war. The United States is once again in circumstances similar to those of the Spring of 1968, but where is the outrage, where are the angry student protesters, has the meaning of 1968 and postmodernism - it's about revolution, man - been completely lost to the meaning of 1988 and the reemergence of the corporate-political machine - greed is good? Yes, there is no draft which probably plays a large role in my generation's lack of rebellious spirit, but shouldn't we care more than about our own skin? An illegal war, the rise of autocrats in many geopolitically important countries, the genocide in Darfur, the falling economy, the emergence of a dangerous fundamentalist movement within this country that seeks to undermine its core values, and the threat of massive ecological destruction, these are all pressing issues, but the most I see from my peers is petitions and half-assed protests. Not to say I'm much better - I mean I'm blogging right now instead of writing letters to corporations sponsoring the 2008 Olympics to protest China's support for the murderous regime in Khartoum.
Maybe corporationalism (yes I know it's kind of a fake word) has finally won....I mean I'll probably be an i-banker instead of a professional activist and so as this pessimistic post comes to an end I just hope I reach someone who has more strength than I because the world needs it, now.
Taylor
I'm Not a Caffeine Whore...No Really
So as I sit in Caribou (yet again) and do work on my computer (yet again) I wonder if I have finally become addicted to caffeine or if i am merely addicted to the atmosphere of the coffee house, that once chic invention which seemed to promise European (mostly French)-inspired Bohemian coolness, but now can be found everywhere - including on the backwoods of this country - I mean I'm not trying to be an urbane snob, but seriously do our roadways really need coffee houses, or more generally do American drivers really need coffee while trying to navigate their landrovers? I know I don't.
But I digress, yes I love coffee houses, especially the one I'm in, but maybe I should start to invest in other drinks that can be found here, like tea or even water, and no I don't mean the three dollar Fiji or Smart water which I have become so fond of, but like tap water, but then again we're in a drought....so maybe I'll just stick to my skim, two splenda, medium lattes and call it a day.
I'm in a very odd mood for which I blame the rain - I mean when you get so little of it for five months I guess even the smallest drops cause rain-inspired kookiness (by the way, look at the spelling of that word - yeah that's what I'd call kooky)....
Readings at the moment: old issues of The Atlantic and Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise
Expect one or two more posts today - anything to avoid having to go to the gym....
As always, with love a la americain,
Taylor
But I digress, yes I love coffee houses, especially the one I'm in, but maybe I should start to invest in other drinks that can be found here, like tea or even water, and no I don't mean the three dollar Fiji or Smart water which I have become so fond of, but like tap water, but then again we're in a drought....so maybe I'll just stick to my skim, two splenda, medium lattes and call it a day.
I'm in a very odd mood for which I blame the rain - I mean when you get so little of it for five months I guess even the smallest drops cause rain-inspired kookiness (by the way, look at the spelling of that word - yeah that's what I'd call kooky)....
Readings at the moment: old issues of The Atlantic and Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise
Expect one or two more posts today - anything to avoid having to go to the gym....
As always, with love a la americain,
Taylor
Yep It's Another Whiny Upper Class Yuppie Blog....
So I've decided to start another blog; I think this is attempt five...yeah...But seriously this time I'm going to actually keep up with it because I have inspiration! From whom you may ask? Why none other than Lena Chen, the founder of Harvard's famous sexandtheivy blog, the girl who I may decide to add on Facebook if I can get over how creepy that seems...or at least reconcile myself to my own creepiness...
P.S. Anyone know how to do hyperlinks....Because otherwise expect a blog filled with annoying web addresses....It's like parenthetical citations vs. footnotes, I mean c'mon really what would you rather have....
Update: So figured it out!
P.S. Anyone know how to do hyperlinks....Because otherwise expect a blog filled with annoying web addresses....It's like parenthetical citations vs. footnotes, I mean c'mon really what would you rather have....
Update: So figured it out!
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