I'm reading one of my literature textbooks again from college- and right around the turn of the century- writers, poets, authors, whatever were concerned with "realism." they felt that the romantic age was coming to a close and that a new era of realism was at hand.
They wanted their characters to be more fleshed out, and have less dramatic things happen to them. They wanted their readers to get inside the heads of their characters- to make their writing seem more "real." No more kings, princes, or melodrama- they felt that authors had the responsibility to depict life as realistically as possible.
This movement led to some really cool writers in the first half of the 20th century. Steinbeck, London, Frost, and my favorite- Hemmingway. their characters drank too much, smoked, cussed, and seemed more "real." You could almost feel the cold, smell the smells, see the sites, it seemed like you were reading about real people doing real things.
Forgive me, but I can't help but draw a parallel between then and now. The sitcom has given way to reality TV. We could see it coming- The Bradys tied up every problem in 30 minutes every week, and then Roseanne showed us what "real" white people were like- and now Reality TV puts us right in people's bedrooms in the middle of the night with the romantic green glow of night vision TV.
What ever happened to the idea that reading, going to the movies, watching TV was about escape? I want to get away from reality when I'm being entertained. I want to be distracted from what's real- I want a hope for the future, or and alternate universe. Distract me- make me think. Give me some good old fashioned sci-fi. Don't get me wrong- i like to pull the curtain back on the wizard from time-to-time too, but I still appreciate the attempt at production.
i know Jar-Jar was corny. I know that alot of those digital effects in movies don't look as good as stop-motion animation, but give me the fake anyway!
I just can't help but think that sometimes its cool to read The Count of Monte Cristo or some good old fashioned poetry by John Donne. i want more Star Trek on TV and less Road Rules. I don't care where the next Survivor is.
I'm sick of reality- I'm gonna go watch my x-files DVDs.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Deep Throat
So after all these years we finally know who Deep Throat is.
The whole thing was sort of anti-climactic wasn't it? There's the old guy and his wife mugging for the paparazzi-and how did Vanity Fair get the exclusive? What would have been wrong with the Washington Post- the one single organization keeping his secret all these years?
Now all we need to know is;
1. Who was the second shooter?
2. What crashed at Roswell?
3. What the heck are they doing at Area 51?
4. Where's Jimmy Hoffa's body?
5. Why did the death of Tupac and Biggie coincide with the rather wide-spread acceptance of Hip-hop within the white community?
6. What happened to the soldiers who came home sick from the first Gulf War?
7. Just how friendly are the Bush's with Saudi royalty?
8. Why are gas prices so high?
9. Why are we closing military bases when we're at war?
no answers, solutions
no enlightening resolutions-
just more and more questions
dark places, grey areas, clandestine operations
The whole thing was sort of anti-climactic wasn't it? There's the old guy and his wife mugging for the paparazzi-and how did Vanity Fair get the exclusive? What would have been wrong with the Washington Post- the one single organization keeping his secret all these years?
Now all we need to know is;
1. Who was the second shooter?
2. What crashed at Roswell?
3. What the heck are they doing at Area 51?
4. Where's Jimmy Hoffa's body?
5. Why did the death of Tupac and Biggie coincide with the rather wide-spread acceptance of Hip-hop within the white community?
6. What happened to the soldiers who came home sick from the first Gulf War?
7. Just how friendly are the Bush's with Saudi royalty?
8. Why are gas prices so high?
9. Why are we closing military bases when we're at war?
no answers, solutions
no enlightening resolutions-
just more and more questions
dark places, grey areas, clandestine operations
Sunday, May 01, 2005
HVAC Master
As of May 15th, 2006 I will be able to take the Master HVAC test for the state of Maryland. That may not seem like a big deal to many of you, and others may tend to think "that's all he's managed to do with his life?
It is for me quite a big deal. I have a skeleton's closet full of unfinished projects, degrees, books, etc. and I will finally have accomplished something substantial. Not much will change once I have passed the test, but one thing will- I will have finally mastered something.
HVAC was one of the first things I realized I couldn't BS and charm my way through. No matter how nice you are, or how funny, or how smart, if you are an HVAC tech you will at some point find yourself on a roof with a bag of tools and a machine that refuses to run. It is here that I find that I am most focused, challenged, and most fulfilled when the job is done.
HVAC is hands-on. There's nothing "virtual" about it. It is math, and engineering, and technical, and heavy lifting, and reading and studying, and thinking and (sometimes) swearing and sweating, and customer service and staying on top of the latest technology, and working on some of the most antiquated technologies around. It involves chemistry, and design, and algebra and geometry, physics and microbiology. You really have to know your stuff to make it in this field.
I am an HVAC mechanic. I am proud of that. I could have been a professional writer, a journalist, an artist, a pastor, a desk jockey, a network administrator, or any number of things, but HVAC is where I find myself at home. I can hang with plumbers, electricians, steamfitters, intellectuals, geeks, engineers, and find commonality with all of them- because of what I have learned and what I have been allowed to see as an HVAC mechanic.
HVAC has broadened my horizons. The Washington area might be unique in that my trade has brought me in contact with senators, TV personalities, diplomats, presidential cabinet members and the foods! Oh my gosh, the foods... I know the DC area like the back of my hand. I have learned problem solving to the nth degree. I understand logic and process of elimination.
My life has taken a lot of twists and turns, and there have been times where I thought I wanted to try other things, but I have enjoyed working with HVAC systems up until this point, and my hope is that with licensing will come legitimacy, and the chance to impart my understanding of the trade to a new group of young men and women after me.
It is for me quite a big deal. I have a skeleton's closet full of unfinished projects, degrees, books, etc. and I will finally have accomplished something substantial. Not much will change once I have passed the test, but one thing will- I will have finally mastered something.
HVAC was one of the first things I realized I couldn't BS and charm my way through. No matter how nice you are, or how funny, or how smart, if you are an HVAC tech you will at some point find yourself on a roof with a bag of tools and a machine that refuses to run. It is here that I find that I am most focused, challenged, and most fulfilled when the job is done.
HVAC is hands-on. There's nothing "virtual" about it. It is math, and engineering, and technical, and heavy lifting, and reading and studying, and thinking and (sometimes) swearing and sweating, and customer service and staying on top of the latest technology, and working on some of the most antiquated technologies around. It involves chemistry, and design, and algebra and geometry, physics and microbiology. You really have to know your stuff to make it in this field.
I am an HVAC mechanic. I am proud of that. I could have been a professional writer, a journalist, an artist, a pastor, a desk jockey, a network administrator, or any number of things, but HVAC is where I find myself at home. I can hang with plumbers, electricians, steamfitters, intellectuals, geeks, engineers, and find commonality with all of them- because of what I have learned and what I have been allowed to see as an HVAC mechanic.
HVAC has broadened my horizons. The Washington area might be unique in that my trade has brought me in contact with senators, TV personalities, diplomats, presidential cabinet members and the foods! Oh my gosh, the foods... I know the DC area like the back of my hand. I have learned problem solving to the nth degree. I understand logic and process of elimination.
My life has taken a lot of twists and turns, and there have been times where I thought I wanted to try other things, but I have enjoyed working with HVAC systems up until this point, and my hope is that with licensing will come legitimacy, and the chance to impart my understanding of the trade to a new group of young men and women after me.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
The Good 'Ol Days
Mel and I have been buying the X-files seasons on DVD. Mulder and Scully in the first three seasons have tacked corporate cover-ups by bad pharmaceudical companies, secret internal goverment agencies, ailens aided by the US military- I guess what I'm getting at is- What ever happened to the good 'ol days when it was our government that we all distrusted?
I'm not quite old enough to remember Watergate, but i do remember Iran-Contragate, or the Savings and loan scandal, or all the hubub surrounding the Clinton family's dealings. I remember that prior to 9-11 we all had a nice healthy amount of skepticism towards what the government was doing behind our backs.
Have you read the Patriot Act? do you know and understand how much power and freedom it gives to the very agencies we suspected, loathed, feared or even despised in the 90's?
Every ounce of power we give our government now is power they can use against us in the future. Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth anf twentieth century said that "power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." If they can tap phone lines and read the emails of Arab-Americans and Muslims now, there's nothing to stop them from doing it to Christians, or Buddists, or the next religio-ethnic group to fall out of our government's good graces.
Yes, our country is great, but it is our Constitution, our liberties, and our freedoms that make our country great- not our militry, or our global strength, or our ability to piss-off and alienate half the world.
Maybe the ACLU should spend less time trying to get the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms and more time actually protecting the civil liberties of Americans. Maybe actually finding Osama Bin Laden should be a higher priority for our President.
Just remember, it is still just as important now as it was then that we take a little of Mulder's advice and trust no one.
I'm not quite old enough to remember Watergate, but i do remember Iran-Contragate, or the Savings and loan scandal, or all the hubub surrounding the Clinton family's dealings. I remember that prior to 9-11 we all had a nice healthy amount of skepticism towards what the government was doing behind our backs.
Have you read the Patriot Act? do you know and understand how much power and freedom it gives to the very agencies we suspected, loathed, feared or even despised in the 90's?
Every ounce of power we give our government now is power they can use against us in the future. Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth anf twentieth century said that "power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." If they can tap phone lines and read the emails of Arab-Americans and Muslims now, there's nothing to stop them from doing it to Christians, or Buddists, or the next religio-ethnic group to fall out of our government's good graces.
Yes, our country is great, but it is our Constitution, our liberties, and our freedoms that make our country great- not our militry, or our global strength, or our ability to piss-off and alienate half the world.
Maybe the ACLU should spend less time trying to get the Ten Commandments out of courtrooms and more time actually protecting the civil liberties of Americans. Maybe actually finding Osama Bin Laden should be a higher priority for our President.
Just remember, it is still just as important now as it was then that we take a little of Mulder's advice and trust no one.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Suddenly Americans care about Christian beliefs
In the most recent election, the media "discovered" just what can happen when members of the religious right find in themselves the ability to unite and vote accordingly.
"The vast right-wing conspiracy" turns out to be just a bunch of normal Americans who are generally tolerant of other people's privately held liberal ideas about sex, about God, and about life in general, but who at the same time react very strongly when these liberal ideas are going to be forced upon them.
The interesting thing to note, however is suddenly the media cares about what people believe. Liberals are finding reasons to crack open a Bible to find out what Jesus said about this, and what the Ten Commandments say about that.
Why is this interesting? It is interesting because for the last 100 years we have been told that Christianity is on the decline in America. Evolution is being taught in the schools, and God has no place there. The sexual revolution has removed God from that discussion. Other religions are supposedly on the rise and are increasing in popularity.
The Athiest agenda is supposedly winning the war on removing God from our classrooms, our courtrooms, and out state buildings.
Why is it now, after all these years the media is being forced to research just how Christian beliefs can drive election results. Richard Nixon first recognized it as the "silent majority" It wasn't until the 1980 election, and the advent of Washington for Jesus that brought about the election to office of Ronald Reagan and the rise to prominence of Christian leaders such as Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson et al.
The tide and influence of the religious right has ebbed and flowed over the last 25 years since then because Christian leaders have at times failed to be united over which way to vote. Are Christians Democrats? Are they Republicans? How do the teachings of the Bible line up with party platforms?
As the debates continue over the Ten Commandments, Gay marriage, Sex Education in the public schools, abortion rights-The religious right will continue to be united, and will continue to go to the polls with a clear mandate.
The United States of America might not be a Christian nation any more, but it is a Nation with a majority of Christians, and despite what the special interest groups would have us believe in a democratic society- Majority still rules.
"The vast right-wing conspiracy" turns out to be just a bunch of normal Americans who are generally tolerant of other people's privately held liberal ideas about sex, about God, and about life in general, but who at the same time react very strongly when these liberal ideas are going to be forced upon them.
The interesting thing to note, however is suddenly the media cares about what people believe. Liberals are finding reasons to crack open a Bible to find out what Jesus said about this, and what the Ten Commandments say about that.
Why is this interesting? It is interesting because for the last 100 years we have been told that Christianity is on the decline in America. Evolution is being taught in the schools, and God has no place there. The sexual revolution has removed God from that discussion. Other religions are supposedly on the rise and are increasing in popularity.
The Athiest agenda is supposedly winning the war on removing God from our classrooms, our courtrooms, and out state buildings.
Why is it now, after all these years the media is being forced to research just how Christian beliefs can drive election results. Richard Nixon first recognized it as the "silent majority" It wasn't until the 1980 election, and the advent of Washington for Jesus that brought about the election to office of Ronald Reagan and the rise to prominence of Christian leaders such as Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson et al.
The tide and influence of the religious right has ebbed and flowed over the last 25 years since then because Christian leaders have at times failed to be united over which way to vote. Are Christians Democrats? Are they Republicans? How do the teachings of the Bible line up with party platforms?
As the debates continue over the Ten Commandments, Gay marriage, Sex Education in the public schools, abortion rights-The religious right will continue to be united, and will continue to go to the polls with a clear mandate.
The United States of America might not be a Christian nation any more, but it is a Nation with a majority of Christians, and despite what the special interest groups would have us believe in a democratic society- Majority still rules.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
DEPLETED URANIUM
I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but did you know that we're using nukes on the battlefield?
Apparently, since 1991, the US military has been using tactical nuclear bombs on the battlefield. Uranium 238, or depleted uranium is a byproduct of nuclear power plants, and DU or depleted uranium is actually a very hard metal used as ballasts in boats and planes- the problem is that once it reaches 0ver 600 degrees, DU becomes incendiary, or it burns.
it is the principle element that makes bunker busters effective for two reasons, its hardness and weight makes for an effective shell casing, and when it burns it produces a uranium oxide smoke that becomes airborne, back in the day when we were afraid the Russians were gonna kill us we called it fallout.
We used DU bomb shells in Kosovo, Serbia, Afghanistan, and in gulf war 1 and 2. Remember the whole Puerto Rico thing where those evil Puerto Ricans were protesting our base there? They were protesting because we were testing DU bombs there.
How about gulf war syndrome? There is evidence to strongly suggest that the mysterious illness that many of our troops exhibited after returning from the gulf war can be attributed to exposure to radiation. NATO troops from Italy and other nations have died of Leukemia, and have contracted other cancers after exposure to radiated bomb sites.
The DoD has issued statements that DU is no more dangerous than lead based paint, but have you seen what the lead abatement guys have to wear when they remove LBP?
http://www.nato.int/du/docu/d010523e.htm
http://deploymentlink.osd.mil/du_balkans/du_balkans_s04.htm
http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/duupdate.htm
http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/AFP/2004/10/15/608242
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs257/en/
http://www.mapw.org.au/nuclear/du/01ippnw.html
Apparently, since 1991, the US military has been using tactical nuclear bombs on the battlefield. Uranium 238, or depleted uranium is a byproduct of nuclear power plants, and DU or depleted uranium is actually a very hard metal used as ballasts in boats and planes- the problem is that once it reaches 0ver 600 degrees, DU becomes incendiary, or it burns.
it is the principle element that makes bunker busters effective for two reasons, its hardness and weight makes for an effective shell casing, and when it burns it produces a uranium oxide smoke that becomes airborne, back in the day when we were afraid the Russians were gonna kill us we called it fallout.
We used DU bomb shells in Kosovo, Serbia, Afghanistan, and in gulf war 1 and 2. Remember the whole Puerto Rico thing where those evil Puerto Ricans were protesting our base there? They were protesting because we were testing DU bombs there.
How about gulf war syndrome? There is evidence to strongly suggest that the mysterious illness that many of our troops exhibited after returning from the gulf war can be attributed to exposure to radiation. NATO troops from Italy and other nations have died of Leukemia, and have contracted other cancers after exposure to radiated bomb sites.
The DoD has issued statements that DU is no more dangerous than lead based paint, but have you seen what the lead abatement guys have to wear when they remove LBP?
http://www.nato.int/du/docu/d010523e.htm
http://deploymentlink.osd.mil/du_balkans/du_balkans_s04.htm
http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/duupdate.htm
http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/AFP/2004/10/15/608242
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs257/en/
http://www.mapw.org.au/nuclear/du/01ippnw.html
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Fahrenheit 911
I just bought Fahrenheit 911 at blockbuster, and if you haven't watched it yet, you need to.
Michael Moore made a documentary in the 1989 called Roger and Me, about the effect that General Motors downsizing had on a small town in Michigan called Flint. He pioneered the guerilla documentary, and was a frontrunner for a new type of 'journalism' where the journalist stands outside of a company with a megaphone demanding the "truth" much like what might be found in the anti-smoking commercials of the TRUTH campaign
Later he had a show in the 90's called TV Nation doing the same type of investigations of congress, corporate America, the white house- making for some entertaining, albeit eye-opening stuff. Karen Duffy, or "Duff" from MTV was on the show as a field reporter as well.
Fast forward to now, and with the release of Fahrenheit 9-11, and he raises some very interesting questions about the Bush family's relation to Saudi families, how much money Dick Cheney's former company stands to make off of the rebuilding of Iraq, as well as many other allegations of a hidden agenda behind the Patriot Act
Michael Moore is a flaming liberal, so I have always taken what he has to say with a grain of salt, and the neat video editing tricks tend to throw you off, but this movie is one you should watch. It raises some very key questions about the motivations of our government, and what our role in the world should be.
Michael Moore made a documentary in the 1989 called Roger and Me, about the effect that General Motors downsizing had on a small town in Michigan called Flint. He pioneered the guerilla documentary, and was a frontrunner for a new type of 'journalism' where the journalist stands outside of a company with a megaphone demanding the "truth" much like what might be found in the anti-smoking commercials of the TRUTH campaign
Later he had a show in the 90's called TV Nation doing the same type of investigations of congress, corporate America, the white house- making for some entertaining, albeit eye-opening stuff. Karen Duffy, or "Duff" from MTV was on the show as a field reporter as well.
Fast forward to now, and with the release of Fahrenheit 9-11, and he raises some very interesting questions about the Bush family's relation to Saudi families, how much money Dick Cheney's former company stands to make off of the rebuilding of Iraq, as well as many other allegations of a hidden agenda behind the Patriot Act
Michael Moore is a flaming liberal, so I have always taken what he has to say with a grain of salt, and the neat video editing tricks tend to throw you off, but this movie is one you should watch. It raises some very key questions about the motivations of our government, and what our role in the world should be.
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Goodbye WHFS
01/12/05 99.1 WHFS officially changed format. I remember when I was a teenager, I used to meet up with other alternative freaks like myself, and the first way we knew whether they were cool or not was by asking, "Do you listen to 99.1?" some would say that the 'real' hfs died a long time ago, but Gone are the hfstivals, gone are the junkies, and gone are the hours spent in my service truck listening to 99.1 WHFS.
HFS was where I discovered New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure, and later Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden.
Goodbye hfs, you'll be missed- What are your HFS memories?
HFS was where I discovered New Order, Depeche Mode, The Cure, and later Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden.
Goodbye hfs, you'll be missed- What are your HFS memories?
Saturday, January 01, 2005
01/01/05
01/01/05 Oh well, Christmas & new Year's have come and gone! Had a good time with Mel's family Christmas morning, and then trekked back to meet up with my family. Everything was pretty cool, good to see everyone, get a few gifts and goodies, gave a few too.. Did most of my shopping at the last minute, but other than that everything else was cool. Check out pics in the Photo gallery of Christmas, car show, etc.
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