You shall no longer take things at second or third hand.... nor
look through the eyes of the dead. nor feed on the spectres
in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.
where were you during the 9/11 attacks?
I was a sophomore in college, at the University of Akron. I had class that morning, so I was up at a decent hour getting ready. Normally I always flipped on the news when I was getting ready, but for some reason that day I wanted to listen to music instead, so the TV was on MTV's morning music video session. I drove to class, parked my car, and noticed some people standing around a truck listening to the news loudly, but I couldn't make out what was being said. I didn't think anything of it, and walked to the student center to grab a snack before class. They had a big screen TV in one corner near the food court, and there was a large crowd so I walked over and got a good spot, as someone else was leaving. As realization of what was happening took place, I was awestruck, confused, dumbfounded, all those mixed, unbelieving feelings I'm sure we all had at that moment. It looked like a movie to me, I couldn't believe it was real. At that time only one plane had struck, and both towers were still standing. I was glued to the screen, and finally tore myself away just in time to run to class. We were there for maybe ten minutes when someone came in to notify the teacher that the school was closing due to the attacks.
I went back to my apartment; I can't remember if my other roommates were there, but Monica arrived shortly after me. She wanted to get out of the city (apparently Akron's polymer science building is on some 'list' of probable terrorist attack sites -- I don't know if this is credible, or how to verify it), so she offered to take me home with her to the farm, about 40 minutes away. I went, and watched the events unfold with her family for the next several hours. It was nice to be with such a warm family during such uncertain and unnerving events. I was really worried about my cousin Jimmy, who is a NYC firefighter. My mom called to let me know that he had traded with his best friend for that day off, and we learned later that his best friend ended up dying that day. I can't imagine how Jimmy felt after that. He named his first son after him, Thomas Michael. He's a distant cousin, one that I don't see often. I've always wanted to talk to him about that day, and the aftermath, but haven't had the right moment to ask. I'm sure all of his out-of-town and non-firefighter friends and family have inquired extensively. It's been nearly six years, so maybe the passage of time and the repetition of the story will make him more willing to be open with me about it.
If anyone wants to share their story, please comment.
Love Actually is one of my favorite movies of all time. The beginning and end are beautiful shots...I've always loved airports, and watching people there, and this movie hits that dead on. All the stuff in the middle is beautiful, sad, and wonderful too. I tear up every time I see it. God bless my roommate and his DVR, because now I can watch it whenever my heart needs a tugging.
Paulo Coelho writes in his book The Zahir about the acomodador, or giving up point:
'...there is always an event in our lives that is responsible for us failing to progress: a trauma, a particularly bitter defeat, a disappointment in love, even a victory that we did not quite understand, can make cowards of us and prevent us from moving on. As part of the process of increasing his hidden powers, the shaman must first free himself from that giving-up point and, to do so, he must review his whole life and find out where it occurred.'
EDIT: I had written something incredibly beautiful here. I copied the above passage first, and made the entry private so that I could continue adding my thoughts about it at a later time...I did so, and wrote a passionate and emotion-depleting entry on how the above passage relates to my life, and how I am in control of what happens at every moment from here on out. I pushed update, and for the 2nd time in as many months, everything I wrote disappeared and I was taken back to the login page because my session had timed out. I was so upset and frustrated that I actually cried! So, Andy, if you ever read this...I'm not sure if there's anything you can do to make sure that doesn't happen in the future, but please try. Thanks.
I do recommend Coelho in the highest; the three books I've read by him (Eleven Minutes, The Alchemist, and The Zahir) are full of profound but simple and elegantly written life lessons that will leave you more deeply in touch with yourself and your life.
the makings of a sci-fi movie
but every sci-fi movie has some scary element of truth:
"Curing" homosexuality in the womb.
By William Saletan
Some conservative Christian leaders are endorsing prenatal treatment to prevent homosexuality. Rev. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes, "If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin." In an AP interview, Mohler says this would be morally no different from curing fetal blindness or any other "medical problem." A leading Catholic thinker agrees: "Same-sex activity is considered disordered. If there are ways of detecting diseases or disorders of children in the womb, and a way of treating them that respected the dignity of the child and mother, it would be a wonderful advancement of science." Conservative reaction to Mohler: How dare you suggest homosexuality is biological. Gay reaction: How dare you say it's still wrong even if it's biological. Mohler's clarifications: 1) I oppose genetic, as opposed to hormonal, intervention in the fetus. 2) I'm trying to head off something worse and more plausible: abortions of gay fetuses.
I don't remember how to hyperlink and don't have time to look it up right now, so just copy and paste...it's hilarious, the last couple paragraphs are my favorite.
like most of my witty, cynical entries, this is from slate.com:
A U.N. scientific report says the best-case scenario for global warming is already catastrophic. Calculations: 1) By 2100, at projected gas-production rates, temperatures will rise 3.5 to 8 degrees, with a significant chance of an even greater increase. 2) Sea level will rise 7 to 23 inches and will keep rising for 1,000 years, with historical evidence that levels could end up 20 feet higher than today. 3) Arid, subtropical countries will lose another 20 percent of their rainfall, exacerbating drought. 4) All of this is happening because of industry. Idealistic view: Finally, we see the threat and are mobilizing to save our planet. Cynical view: Last one out, turn off the air conditioner.
The following is an excerpt of a book review by Jack Schafer on Stephen Poole's 'Unspeak: How Words Become Weapons, How Weapons Become a Message, and How That Message Becomes Reality.' It describes common words and phrases that can encompass an entire political point of view without having to start or defend an argument, used especially by politicians and media giants that eventually filter into popular use and our subsequent interpretation of 'reality.' I chose this excerpt because it makes some brief but strong points on word usage in reference to sexual orientation and religious groups in America:
Poole calls community one of the most perfect political words in English because it can mean several things at once, or nothing at all. It can conjure things that don't exist, and deny the existence of those that do. It can be used in celebration, or in passive-aggressive attack. Its use in public language is almost always evidence of an Unspeak strategy at work.
The plasticity of community allows it to encompass geography, ethnicity, profession, hobby, or religion, and in the mouths of diplomats and journalists can expand to include everybody, as in the international community, a concept that Justice Antonin Scalia once described—rightly—as "fictional."
We're drawn to the "semantically promiscuous" word, Poole writes, because it allows us to simultaneously express our tolerance for a group and our discomfort. For example: the homosexual community and the black community. People rarely refer to the heterosexual community, the white community, or even the Christian community, because in the United States and Britain, they are the "default" positions and carry the "privilege of not having to be defined by a limiting 'identity.' " Likewise, a group defined by the majority as transgressive, say, the Ku Klux Klan, would never qualify as a "community" even though it organizes itself with the same conscious effort as the "anti-war community."
Ok Laurence it took a really long time for it to register that you and most others had changed your Disney icons, lol. New theme? What's next? Or are we on our own for a change.
I was sick for a couple days last week...wait, I need to back up a bit. My roommate was engaged awhile back, but for whatever reason they broke it off. So he decides to sell the ring and buy a 50" plasma screen TV. I thought it was a bad idea, but I was able to hold myself back from discouraging him. Basically what that translated to was hours and hours and hours of football watching for the last several months, on ESPN-HD. And I do give in and admit that the HD is an absolutely striking picture. I mean, you can see the false dew on the blades of turf.
Anyway, like I said, I was sick for a couple days last week, so I didn't leave the couch; mainly because I couldn't lift my head due to the fifty pounds of snot inside it. So there was a lot of channel-flipping going on, and I found that with our ultra-minimal HD package, we have Discovery HD! I was thrilled, and the channel-flipping was no more. There are safari shows, space shows, travel shows, travel shows in this amazing picture quality on this giant screen that were absolutely engrossing. The commercials don't lie, you really do feel like you're there.
Right then it was easy to see how people will sit their lives away in front of this giant box with liquid crystal display exclaiming 'it really is the mirrors, little girl.' I would sit there with my Discovery HD and be swept away by all these experiences that other people were having, and pretend they were my own! And supplanting the fake ones with my own experiences that were not being had. The experience of sitting my ass on the couch and watching what real life must be like.
One allowance I'll grant myself is that I'm working towards having the capabilities of doing the things that make my heart go a'patter. I've just been a poor college student for waaaay too long and I'm chomping at the bit to start this damn race! I'm fucking antsy as hell and I need to find a channel (no pun intended) for my energies in the meantime. Suggestions (challenges, please!!) are most welcome.
