tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12229271788116371772024-03-24T00:09:54.147-07:00WhatWeBethinkingDefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-78751070219772099322012-05-05T16:28:00.000-07:002013-03-06T09:44:34.644-08:00Give me a Paper... A Newspaper<div style="text-align: center;">
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Look. I'm by no means an ideal citizen and certainly not one to be listened to for very long or really at all. I also will be writing things about stuff which really I don't know much about. But I got urges. We all do. You're gonna hear about them.<br />
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That being said, I'd like to talk with all y'all about why I like newspapers. When I first started reading them, I found them cumbersome. I can lose pages often. Trying to get to page A 4 or G 9 took some time. Sometimes I spilled barbecue sauce on them. But with practice, I developed some skills in maneuvering each wispy page of the <a href="http://bostonglobe.com/" target="_blank">Boston Globe</a> or the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/" target="_blank">New York Times</a>. I enjoyed taking the news on the <a href="http://articles.boston.com/2012-03-16/editorials/31196150_1_debt-woes-state-sales-tax-budget-crisis" target="_blank">T</a>. It would make my journeys to Cambridge or Downtown Crossing feel worthwhile and I would exit the subterranean layer of Boston's transit system a little wiser then which I entered. The paper was big and I had somewhat of a fort that I could reside in which made me feel safe in some Freudian way. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What I'll look like shortly.</i></td></tr>
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The Boston Globe I believe to be thorough. Each news story is longer and more in depth then what you might get from TV news on CNN, Fox, or the Johnny Stewart show. There are also multiple pages in this newspaper... at first I was pretty overwhelmed. Am I supposed to read all this shit every fucking day? That's a lot. I don't know if I can read so good to begin with. Practice though. Practice makes perfect and you get accustomed to synthesizing all the rich stories offered in the news.</div>
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As I delved further into the newspaper and realized my day wasn't that useful to begin with, I realized how much I was learning. I could win arguments about abstract political or social issues (well win in my mind at least). I could rant our many pieces of evidence and offer exemplars of whatever sordid theorems I was trying to prove. I could find things to get real frustrated about that I didn't know existed and this gave me purpose. I could impress colleagues at work with particulars of various what-have-yous going on in the world. I could scour opinions but then also wallow in the nitty gritty details and put pieces and ideas together for myself.
I knew some great things about our cold city, Boston, and in knowing some of these things, it felt less cold. I was an informed fucking citizen. </div>
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The newspaper plops itself on your doorstep saying gently "If you want to be an adequate human being, get used to reading all that's in here asshole." The problem with on line news is you only have one story on your page at a time. I find that that's usually the extent I read before the facebook, addictinggames or pornography ensue. <a href="http://www.dmbosstone.com/2011/07/why-reading-the-newspaper-is-better-than-reading-news-online/" target="_blank">This guy agrees</a>. The newspaper, in all it's voluminous glory (unless it's the Herald), says "this is how much you should read, burn in hell if you don't fuckface." You're not confined to one screen, you're not allowed to go to illicit, or sensational websites, and you're reminded this is your duty. You need to know this to be part of our society.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Why are we watching them again?</i></td></tr>
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The media sucks. I know this kinda as do you. The sensational nature of programming today is really<a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Academethe-Decline-of/49120/" target="_blank"> ruining much we hold dear</a>. There is a huge amount of partisanship and kids are fat. News has to compete now. It has to <a href="http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/sensationalism-inflammatory-words-and-history-tabloid-journalism" target="_blank">entertain </a>to get it's funds. It's gets sluttier because of this. No longer do we move to reach it's ideals, it sinks below the depths of our baseline morality and attempts to scare us, shock us, seduce us and use us. It's entertainment.<br />
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<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102603272.html" target="_blank">Newspapers are having trouble</a>. So hold on to those last bastions of semi quality information. Hold on to these papers like my grandparents did when they clipped articles that they found important. Sure we have the blogosphere and social media. But I don't know what good they do. Everyone's got a blog now, even your Uncle Harry. Does that means we should listen to them. Is he trained in any reasonably journalistic practices? Am I? I don't think so.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Better than your Uncle Harry's blog</i></td></tr>
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The nature of how we get the important information has become so convoluted and messy. Don't fuck us society. Ensure that we have our quality News that is rich, objective as possible, and varied to give us what we need to know. Support this institution. Be an informed an active citizen at least moreso to some degree. Support the <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/answers/technology/information-technology/telecommunications/TCH_ITS_TCI/848654-78755643" target="_blank">good places</a> of news*** (and at least explore what it means to be good) that provide us this information as its been the decline in our civic activity as a populace that has led to the disaster that we call a democracy today (well it's not all bad and thats an overstatement, but you know, congress is so divided and caustic, and you know... money and politics... huge wealth disparity... citizens united... I don't mean to offend).<br />
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*** Lord knows what I don't know, but here is what I think are some good sources of news what have yous ***<br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/" target="_blank">The New York Times</a><br />
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/home-page" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/" target="_blank">BBC news</a><br />
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/" target="_blank">Reuters</a> (spelled like Roy-ters or something... don't ask me)<br />
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml" target="_blank">60 minutes</a><br />
<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8132577/t/get-podcasts-nbc-news-msnbc-msnbccom/#.T7FkBuivLTo" target="_blank">Meet the Press</a><br />
<a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/" target="_blank">NPR's Tom Ashbrook </a>and All things Considered<br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/" target="_blank">The Economist</a><br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/slate_fare/2006/08/about_us.html" target="_blank">Slate Magazine</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/" target="_blank">Boston globe</a><br />
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/" target="_blank">Washington Post</a><br />
<a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/waltham/news/x1809317046/Waltham-to-transform-into-Steampunk-City-again-this-weekend#axzz1umxhF9Ct" target="_blank">This dude who wrote this article</a><br />
<a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/" target="_blank">Spiegel</a> (German and such)<br />
<a href="http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/about/" target="_blank">Prospect Magazine</a><br />
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/" target="_blank">Frontline</a><br />
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The onion<br />
AR15.com<br />
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If you want to be real hard you can just go straight to C-span and get that ish for yourself.<br />
***</div>
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DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-60500302063860202362012-04-23T23:50:00.001-07:002013-02-15T05:33:09.216-08:00Was I Too Born to Run?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>We're all Born for Things</i></td></tr>
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This was a brief conversational interlude that went on at Franklin Park as I was trying out my bare-foot jogging. This event weaves through some of the main ideas of this entry.<script src="http://scripts.chitika.net/eminimalls/amm.js" type="text/javascript">
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"Doesn't that hurt running bare-foot?"</div>
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"Yes m'am."</div>
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"Why are you doing it than?"</div>
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"I've heard it's good for my feet if I do it enough..."</div>
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"Do you really think you'll be conscientious enough to keep this up, you don't seem like the type of individual that would."</div>
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"You're probably right m'am."<br />
"I don't know why you're running that way than. It's silly if you ask me and you probably need some direction in your life."<br />
"Thank you mam."</div>
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"You look a little foolish you realize and you're also going at the same pace as me because you're in so much pain and I'm just walking."</div>
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"Thank you M'am, I just misplaced my shoes as I hid them under some leaves... I'm a little off course."</div>
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"A lot off course I'd say...Why did you hide your shoes? That seems foolish".</div>
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"Well I had to take them off, and I figured someone might take them"</div>
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"Why would someone want your stinky shoes that are probably in pretty shoddy condition and don't fit most people's regular sized feet?"</div>
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"Thank you m'am, point taken."</div>
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Ok, the lady was much nicer than this I'm embellishing for the sake of romance. Just to summarize though... my barefoot running was inspired by a completion of the "Born to Run Book" by <a href="http://www.chrismcdougall.com/" target="_blank">Chris McDougalstein</a> or something. This book explored <a href="http://www.chrismcdougall.com/book.html" target="_blank">the nature of running </a>stemming from the frustration that apparently many modern day american runners experience. They are so injured all the time despite our fancy shoes. I thought I just ran like a sasquatch which is why I'm always hurt / frightened during a saunter. The author explores the world of ancient running cultures, namely the Tarahumara in the copper canyons in Mexico looking to see how and why they run real good. Apparently it's partially due to not having the really <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/07/barefoot/" target="_blank">spanky Nike shoes</a> with cushioning; they wear sandals; thin ones.<br />
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Our handsome author delves further into the nature of running and human evolution, citing evidence that humans evolved as long distance running creatures and <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100127134241.htm" target="_blank">we're built for it</a>. He explains some of the mechanisms of the foot and our upright nature that makes us so good at distance running to the point that we could actually <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2006/may/tramps-like-us" target="_blank">catch up to </a>and slaughter a whole horse if we needed to. Lord knows I will do soon. Nike's fairly evil. However, we've lost out on most of this as the modern running shoes sort of put your foot in a tomb and cushion it ever so that it changes the style of your running where we don't develop the muscles in our foot that we have the potential to. Also, the cushioning extends your stride to the point where so much of the impact travels through your joints and knees. It's clunky.<br />
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Going even further, McDingals cites research that argues that this is how we <a href="http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/" target="_blank">survived</a> past our neanderthal peers. We chased down game, tiring them out to the point of death and exhaustion. As the climate changed from the ice age to a wamer climate, we thrived whereas neanderthals declined. That's how we do essentially this book argued.<br />
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The author has a great race with all his new friends down in Mexico, he talks about how he we need to start running again as a society with fun in mind and with less cushioning and stuff, and now I've just spoiled everything for everyone except you've probably read this book like five years ago and this is ancient history... There you have it.<br />
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I liked the book. The author Jared was a little too exuberant about all his "conclusions". He's gotta tone it down a bit and stop playing "sammy the scientist" and remember that his evidence is evidence, but there's many different ways to collect and analyze data and their is plenty of contrary date out as well. Anyways I should stop playing some literary critic as I don't even know where I am right now.<br />
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This book was fun, and had some neat ideas. I'm a sucker for anything "innate to human nature" and I was interested to try out them minimalist shoes and see if I too was "born to run". Prior to this I had "completed" a half marathon. The aches and pains killed me and by mile 10 I was walking (though I finished it in good stride as a kind fellow runner prodded me to do so with gentle cajoles). So I've tried some of this barefoot running and such. I'll have a bit of it when I cross over a grassy knoll or a golf course during a larger run.<br />
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I got the funny<a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tok=vYw2rJ6vFgfk5e0hr9tdVw&pq=caballo+blanco+quotes&cp=8&gs_id=10&xhr=t&q=skeletoes&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=vEqWT-vOG4fF6QHNy6i8Dg&biw=1280&bih=709&sei=v0qWT8HcOOLp0gH2uLmyDg" target="_blank"> five fingah </a>shoes. I can't begin to run in those as based on my preliminary research I'll certainly get <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004438/" target="_blank">planar fraciitis</a> as many <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/are-we-built-to-run-barefoot/" target="_blank">others have</a>. I have really flat feet which is problematic. When I walk in them I can't say that I feel welcome in society by any means. I feel like people see me and probably think I'm some type of amphibious creature that's gonna poach their chickens. Them glove shoes look real weird. But I'm trying to build up my arches enough to be able to get started with them.<br />
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So I don't know what to say in the end and I don't have anything to add. The barefoot running seems like a nice thing to try, but definitely slowly without running too hard, long or fast. <a href="http://naturallyengineered.com/blog/the-100-up-exercise-method-for-training-barefoot-running-form/" target="_blank">Here</a> is a link to a little how too with Mr. McDougal demonstrating some silliness on how to prepare your feet for bare running. He's a real guru and we should be so lucky, but who am I to satirically deride... what did I ever do that's worth putting on a mantel.<br />
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Going into this book, I also thought that this running thing is not a big deal. So what if we don't run as a society? Society's got some real issues right now, running seems like the least of it. Author McDingal does a nice job of making this activity important. We're unhealthy as a society, and McDougal maybe believes that reminding / teaching us to return to what he believes as our origin as a species is what would really make us healthier physically and mentally. We're meant to run and we need to keep doing it. We often think of running as this separate entity, but it's something that for much of our history was ingrained into our survival and maybe it still can be and we'd be much better off for it. Running and the mindset of of being active is certainly relevant and important in our day and age.<br />
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I like the idea of this book. I like running. It's always been something that makes me feel lively again and helps me unblock mentally and physically. I like the idea of our ancestors doing it for a large part of their waking moments, that it's helped them and us advance as a species. As anything in science, it's just a theory without complete validity but it's a nice one. Born to Run makes this running and ultra-running lifestyle more feasible, both by providing examples, tips and inspiration in getting us to be more active and appreciate what we as humans are capable of. Whether it's right or wrong I like it.<br />
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DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-83324340421170240962012-04-09T09:49:00.004-07:002012-04-23T22:15:37.244-07:00Making us Feel Like Death<div style="text-align: center;">
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So two stories come to mind that remind us evermore that the reaper's scythe is hanging ever closer to the vital organs of our ability to engage as a citizenry. NPR's voracious and longwinded Tom Ashbrook peers into the depths of a gorging swell of <a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/04/03/micro-labor-websites" target="_blank">micro-labor</a>, tasks, jobs, and other opportunities for work ranging from <a href="http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2012/04/grabcad_collects_more_funding.html" target="_blank">professional</a>, to <a href="https://www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome" target="_blank">degrading</a>, to <a href="https://www.mturk.com/mturk/findhits?match=false" target="_blank">"I'd rather wallow in frothy, vat of bile</a> before I work like this for such little pay". From the other end, we're seeing our <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/74912.html" target="_blank">Supreme Court debate</a> and ejaculate arguments as to whether the Health Care reform law is constitutional, lining themselves up ideologically, and spending time, effort and resources destroying more things sanctimoniously. <script type="text/javascript">
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We're seeing the nature of work and employment become more schizophrenic; more experimental, but more inhumane, more removed from our public sphere's scrutinizing eye; we're seeing some piece of safety net being eroded by the forces of special interests. I wish everyone would stop, think, and listen. </div>
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These <a href="http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-01/business/31266662_1_linkedin-profiles-websites-jobs" target="_blank">internet web-sites</a> like task-rabbit and others involve competing for stupid pieces of work that are really hard to sustain yourself on. You're competing potentially with individuals from all around the world where the standard of living is much lower than it is here and of course they will be able to outbid you for work. Sometimes they're neat and useful ways to get things completed and to generate income on the side, but they're definitely iffy and have the potential to move the nature employment further out of the sphere of the public realm where employment protections laws can be applied. Maybe that's ok, but maybe not. As an asinine young buck like myself, I don't have any sort of wisdom to decide but maybe Harold Ramis does...</div>
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At the same time, taking away the potential for accessible health care really has a duality in piercing through the flesh of having a sustainable society. I just wish Scalia, Thomas, Roberts would stop already... stop ruining so much. You've done so much damage already with <a href="http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/rpt/2010-R-0124.htm" target="_blank">citizens united </a>that I'm haunted by the potential for Super Pacs to be lurking under my bed as I sleep, gloating at how much they're able to contribute to political candidates and calling me real mean names.<br />
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The duality of this is that if people are and feel safe to some degree, <a href="http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_doc/856_Davis_hlt_productivity_USworkers.pdf" target="_blank">they're more useful</a>. If I'm not worried about burgeoning debt and the potential for a injury or sickness to cost me tens, hundreds or even millions of dollars, I could be more useful to the economy and I might take a risk to engage more with the erratic tasks that could be useful in our labor force. Maybe I'd take the risk to start my own micro-labor web site. I could take these risks if I knew that I'd be mildly ok as I had something to fall back on. </div>
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If I can potentially be taken care of in some basic way, I'll feel more comfortable experimenting with different ways to generate income and contribute to the economy in doing so. If I don't have this safety net, I'm gonna do something safe that might not be as useful in our experimental information age economy, but I'll do whatever it is that provides me with the health benefits.
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For the love of god, please give us some <a href="http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/access.php" target="_blank">access to health</a>; reasonable, health not egregious fancy health. I am not convinvced that the free market will make health care more effective and accessible. Free market individuals might argue that the nature of medical school,or the nature of medicare are what drive up the costs, but in the end, the goals of the free market; growth, higher revenue and what I feel the goals of health care should be; accessibility, keeping people healthy are fairly at odds. I don't see how a capitalistic system for health care could meet the latter goals. </div>
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<br /></div>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-40023320212156837812012-03-18T09:57:00.002-07:002012-04-30T16:51:28.905-07:00Gigganomitry (The Gig Economy)<div>
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So apparently there has been empirical, economic and journalistic analysis of my lifetyle in our hearty economy! Apparently I've been part of the "<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/01/12/the-gig-economy.html" target="_blank">gig economy</a>" and I didn't even know about it! What a trendy title as well; a "gig", why I sound like a young rock start fighting his way into the limelight!</div>
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Alright, so basically this <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100249858" target="_blank">gig economy</a> is the idea of individuals holding multiple jobs or engaging in various types of contract work rather than working for one company full-time. Freelancers, part-timers, or temps are other terms for these individuals but the main idea is that these people do lots of different stuff at more than one place for money. </div>
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Now the gig economy has always been around, but apparently now it's gotten more prevalent to the point where <a href="http://erikhare.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/the-gig-economy/" target="_blank">1/3rd of the workforce</a> is in some way involved in the gig economy. How great! So now it's sort of a big deal due to our economic downturn as this has become fairly economical for a lot of types of business who can get people to work and not provide any of the benefits (health, dental, vision, retirement). </div>
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Now I don't like to reveal too much about myself in my writings as one should be embarrassed to admit to associate themselves with this blog. But basically I have four different jobs (five if you counted being a blogger but that would just be disgraceful to say these writing are in anyway "professional" or "economic") that I juggle to make ends meet. I educate real good in all of them, but all these jobs are different and varying slightly in nature, but a lot of them are dependent on the ability to "get gigs". I need to attract students to tutor, I do so through a tutor- contracting website known as <a href="http://www.wyzant.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank">wyzant</a>. I substitute teach and have to hover around <a href="http://substituteonline.com/" target="_blank">this website</a> like an angry locust waiting for a teacher to make a sub request. I won't reveal two other jobs as that would be too personal, but I juggle a lot of jazz and it's interesting to say the least.</div>
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Now, whether or not this trend is a good thing, we deserve this as a society and I'll get to that later. I'll start by saying this can be very<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/the-freelance-surge-is-the-industrial-revolution-of-our-time/244229/" target="_blank"> fun</a>. I like all the work I do resulting from my ability to more easily choose this. I'm not hampered down by a job, I have a lot of freedom and independence, I have the chance to do things I believe are important in a way they should be done and I get to advocate for what I'm capable of doing when I remember to say things in that nature. Each day of my week is different and as they say <a href="http://varietyisthespice.com/" target="_blank">variety is the spice of life</a>, I certainly have this in my <a href="http://peterjay.articlealley.com/variety-is-the-spice-of-life-11913.html" target="_blank">spice</a> cabinet. My schedule can be flexible to make time for friends and family and in the end, I get paid to do the things I generally enjoy doing, which is just great.</div>
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From a negative standpoint is the lack of stability. It takes a while to piece jobs together and I can talk about how glamorous all the flexibility is until the economic reality hits you that you don't have much choice in your life when you're not bringing in the bacon enough. I have months where I'm up financially and months where I didn't get enough work together to feel like I'm financially viable. As mentioned <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/the-freelance-surge-is-the-industrial-revolution-of-our-time/244229/" target="_blank">here</a>, any of the labor protection laws that were fought for in America's long history aren't able to conceptualize the gig economy and thus don't include them in their legislation. Things like unemployment, health insurance, and maternity leave (if I managed to hopefully get pregnant) aren't covered for part-timers. Too bad. I do buy my own health insurance which Massachusetts can be nice about but it is still very expensive. </div>
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From the viewpoint of society, I think the gig economy can be a great thing. I feel like I'm great for the economy. I'm like some type of fish in the ocean that trapses around a whale carcass and while other fish eat away at the good, satisfying, easy to reach parts of the whale, I wait till there's nothing left that the other fish want (say the bone marrow) and creatively devour that. I'm not taking up that much in the way of available employment and I'm able to do work that full time employees won't do (with my ninja-like flexibility). Employers don't have to worry about "having work" for me to do full time as I'm not there full time and I can do a great job whenever somebody needs it. </div>
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I think this trend just makes sense, and it's what we get as a society when so many of our institutions are this dysfunctional. Largely this is due to economics; it at least seems much more cost-effective to hire free-lancers than full timers. As many of our companies dwindle in profits, manage themselves poorly, or just become greedier; this is a result. Largely this is due to our mess of health and health care in our country. With soaring health care prices, it becomes so expensive to provide health insurance that it's a cost companies sometimes can't really (or prefer not to) handle. Whatever the factors are, it all adds up to pushing out the full time worker. </div>
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<br /></div>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-53433128627583650762012-03-15T20:09:00.007-07:002012-08-05T19:36:39.178-07:00How can we Function in Society if we Don't Know Where we are?<div>
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"If you don't know where you are, that's probably because you don't belong here". My mother told me this was an old New England credo referring to visitors venturing forth through the <a href="http://bostonography.com/2011/boston-fair-and-square/" target="_blank">Boston area</a>. I could see this being true. Streets are curvaceous; signs are sparse or non-existent; there can be many one-way roads and rotaries all up in your grill. The Boston area is tough to get around and I think this causes more problems than we think and I think we could find a creative way for everything just to make a bit more sense navigationally speaking. </div>
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We have our MBTA system which can work despite it's massive deficit. However, any lateral movement is strikingly difficult as the subway only goes inbound or outbound. I can't begin to fathom taking the T to Brookline, Allston or Dorchester as those coordinates are sideways to my current position, nor would I ever want to begin to set foot on the notorious B-section of the green line which is slower than Satan. There is also the complaint that the city's public transit system shuts down at the ripe hour of 12:30ish (you can't actually peg that final departing to a exact T). Like Cinderalla needing to return from the ball, having a night out afar from home will have you watching the clock with a fervor knowing that if you miss that midnight train, you'll be ragged, alone and deathly. </div>
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Navigating by car or walking can be nothing sorts of treacherous. Overall this city is incredibly windy and at some point you just end up on Storrow drive when that was the last thing you ever wanted to do. Signs for major roads and highways are present but sometimes they seem to merely tease you as some other obstacle overwhelms your every whim and thwarts any chance of trying to reach I-90. There are one way streets that not only take you one way, but also manage to trap you in an area you didn't intend. Signs can often not be seen, and roads seem to morph into a different avenue like a developing tad pole that starts to grow legs and lose it's tail. I once circled around the Charles River 3.5 times; hugging and cursing it as I went in between Cambridge and Boston like I was playing a goddam game of duck-duck goose. I don't like that game. Then for some reason I ended up in Dorchester. I don't know how I got there and nor will I ever know. </div>
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I can get lost a lot. I've probably spent 3 - 7 years of my life trying to navigate things ineffectively. I absolutely lack a sense of direction and will be the first to admit that. However, my millions of minutes spent going the wrong way, going in circles, or actually going inside myself like a turtle is not completely the fault of my poorly developed cognitive maps. Our region does this to people, maybe deliberately. Not only is New England hard to navigate, but it also has the ability to sully any meaningful chance to develop a sense of <a href="http://www.longleaf.net/ggrow/7In/Spatial.html" target="_blank">spatial intelligence</a>. Nothing makes any sense, at all. Our puritan ancestor released cows in different directions and there movement is what determined our current roads. Thank you everyone and all parties involved.<br />
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It is my belief this is something that we jest about, but it's more of a problem for society than we give it credit for. When I am getting lost in this city, what I'm most shocked about is not the amount of time it takes me to find my destination, but its the fact that most people around me seem to have no clue where my destination is either.<br />
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I'll ask people, lots of people because boy am I sure lost, but often they won't know where a street, school, restaurant or baseball stadium are and they're walking dogs and stuff! Surely they live in the area if they're walking their dogs and surely if they live in the area they'll know where <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=putnam+street&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">Putnam avenue</a> is in Cambridge. It's a major street or artery but nobody seems to know where it is! One guy sent me the wrong way and another guy told me I should just give up, he can't help me and I won't make it to my job interview on time and won't amount to much with my life. Ok, that's an exaggeration.<br />
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I just think that this robs us of so much potential movement. Bostons not that big of a place. However, if you're continually getting lost, or can't conceptualize how to get somewhere it seems far larger than it should be. We can't have as much of a sense of community because we can't trust that we'll get to where we need to go. I don't see friends because I don't think I can find where they'll be. It's harder than you think to find Bridgie's house in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=putnam+street&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=709&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl" target="_blank">Savin Hill</a>, Dorchester even though I'm at <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=putnam+street&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=709&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl" target="_blank">Ashmont</a> in Dorchester and I'll probably end up on 93 by accident. I have ice cream in my backpack as I bicycle along Kendall Square, trying in vain to make it to a casual get-together, but this square is just too loopy and the Ben and Jerrys has now melted into goop. Davis Square had me walking the shape of a trapezoid for 43 minutes one New Years Eve and missing that ball drop. I didn't care, but it was just the principle of the thing. The confusingness of our roads, and the lack of labeling causes so many missed moments and a lack of confidence in engaging with our communities.<br />
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Obviously I don't think we should have another massive construction project to make our roads logical. As smooth as the Big Dig was, we might want to take a break from rebuilding a quarter of our city inefficiently. What can we do then? Well I think back to a book called "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624" target="_blank">The Tipping Point</a>" by Malcolm Gladwell. Now, I can assure you that I didn't like this book but basically it espoused that often there are very easy steps that cause a massive amount of change for how simple and easy they are. What a delight! The author gave some reasonable examples, but I think in Boston, we could find a tipping point in our city by drastically improving the signs, labelling, maps and aides that would help us know how to get from point A to point B.<br />
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At the very least, spending a concerted effort labeling our roads consistently and clearly would help. Whomever doesn't take part in this endeavor and should maybe could be punched in the face. But maybe thinking about the types of signs necesarry to navigate our stupid streets would be good. More visuals. Way more labeling of the building numbers would just be very easy and doable. There could be significantly more landmark signs... good ones. More street maps could be everywhere, not just at T stations but bus stops, restaurants and everywhere. Store owners should be fined if they're unable to provide citizens with directions (ok that's stupid).<br />
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If you want to get fancy which you don't have to, you could even have computer kiosks at major intersections and streets. That might be neat. People could operate a little kiosk loaded with google maps and on those days when I'm rushing to an educational program that I don't even know exists I might be able to actually get a sense of where it is. Pretty soon we'll have wonderful robot drones <a href="http://digitaljournal.com/article/319564" target="_blank">navigating the american landscape</a> with us. As these robots take the time to photograph us and infringe on our civil liberties, maybe they could at least be programmed to help give us directions! What possibilities!<br />
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So I don't know how to deal with this. I'm not Cecil-the-city-planner over here or something. Nor can I be certain that other people feel as strongly about this as I do as they're probably more reasonable than I am and know which direction North is when they see a map. However, just maybe, this might be a tipping point that could improves our commerce and sociability with one another. This could maybe be a cheap fix that could actually improve the livability of a our city and make us less like the miserable abominations we've been acting like all these years.<br />
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<br /></div>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-6997602594337859782012-03-04T15:09:00.009-08:002012-04-06T19:56:28.703-07:00Exemplars of Inspiration<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div>Every morning one can awake. We can look upon the world with eyes that we have. But then we hear something about Rick Santorum and a state of some sort. Then we hear something about Rush Limbaugh calling someone a whore and getting in real big trouble. We go throughout the day being around people but not actually daring to utter a single phoneme to them as that would be socially unacceptable. It might be warm, which is nice, but then we're reminded of "climate change" and we know that the 60 degree days aren't supposed to occur in a New England winter and that we're all gonna die. Then perhaps one gets a hang nail. It hurts. We try to find nail clippers, but they're pretty impossible to find. Our room's are too messy. Our cars are too messy. Society is too messy. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Things can seem bleak friends. Bleak indeed. Below are some videos and examples of media that in some convoluted way can give us hope if we choose to allow them to. </div><div><br />
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</div><div><b>"The most important film of our time is Norwegian"</b></div><div>If the country of Norway can manage their troll problem, can't we manage our lives and communities as well? Surely this masterpiece will do nothing short of delivering a good jolt of hope to our beleaguered and weary spirits. Is this movie really serious? I hope so... I hope so indeed. </div><div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Look for the hope, its there, it just blends in!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><b>Where is the hope? We must do the hard looking...</b></div><div>Is there hope in the world? I'm not sure? Its hard to see... But wait!! There it is!! Oh look, now its over there! Sometimes we cant see what's in front of us because it's just hard to see. Like this damn deer I took a picture of, hope can camouflage with its surroundings. When things seem wretched, maybe just spend some time looking more closelier and hope will reveal.</div><div><br />
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</div><div><b>What can a stupid frog</b> teach us about hope? Maybe everything. Amphibians are fucking dumb as fucking shit we say to ourselves as we gently fall to sleep at night. Perhaps they are indeed. But maybe, just maybe, they aren't always as stupid as fuck. If this doofy fat fucking frog is able to build a canal releasing his developing brood of tadpoles into the stupid life-saving waters, maybe we can confront out inner-fucking demons as a society. Maybe we too can build a shitty canal... A canal of hope and dreams or some shit...</div><div><br />
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</b></div><div><b>We Must Hope to not Sink to These Depths</b></div><div>How many times have we seen this montage of Nic Cage clips? Many I bet. but perhaps we can keep looking again. One can be reminded that even when things seem bleak, they aren't as bleak as the essences that Old Man Cage offers us in his various performances. By no means has our existence (well hopefully not) gotten this bad and thus we can still hope and hope to dream! We still have further we can fall but why would we want to? Does it look like Nic Cage is having a good time in these movies? Perhaps we can be reminded that we must hope! We must hope so we don't end up captured by an isle of pagan women that will sacrifice us for their crop of honey! </div><div><br />
</div><div><b>This <a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/02/29/can-innovation-save-us" target="_blank">Fool</a> is Actually Hopeful</b></div><div>Though I am by no means convinced <strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"> </strong> <a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/02/29/can-innovation-save-us" target="_blank">here</a> (<strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Peter Diamandis) </strong>is someone who is actually "optimistic" about the future. Now, I don't like being a negative nancy, but this guy is a bit too much of a positive-polly-four-fingers for my taste. However, here we can listen to his thoughts that he delivers somewhat longwindedly and inefficiently. Towards the end of his time, he even counters his own argument but actually seems to forget that he countered it and doesn't answer his own question! See what you think for yourself, hopefully and maybe if more of us chose to be a little bit more hopeful, hope would ensue. </div><div><b><br />
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<b>The Sexiest Hope of All</b><br />
I might live under a cave but I still have been able to see this video from LMFAO - (LMAO). You know, I know and they know that the video below is really exploring the themes of community and self acceptance. Drawing influences from Boy Bands, R&B groups, West Side Story, Buddhism and the Clinton administration, it makes our hearts soar like a hot-air balloon shedding extra weight. What hope I say!!!<br />
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<b>Packaged inspiration from Our Youth's</b><br />
One can view the clip below and ask, "were there actually 40 inspirational speeches?". If you're me, you'll then try to count to make sure that <a href="http://www.overthinkingit.com/author/belinkie/" target="_blank">Mathew Belinkie</a> didn't falsify his claim. If you're also like me, you'll lose track somewhere before the number eight as that's when things get tricky. However, what hope it would bring us if we listened to these two minutes today and everyday? What would our time on this Earth be like? It would be like hope is what it would maybe be like...<br />
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Alright, this <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/13-simple-steps-to-get-you-through-a-rough-day" target="_blank">article</a>, does much better job of doing what I intended to do with this atrocious blog entry. So rather than sully it by stealing it's images, I will just encourage the zero people that read this to piece of crap to go to this other entry that probably went "viral" or something.<br />
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</div>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-15673243524339875812012-02-22T02:02:00.005-08:002012-04-23T22:29:55.610-07:00A Book About Snookie<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRgJbC8-y-g_q4qi1m5ngUigZXF0anlJIHjiaVLW-xTVvDVpt21" /> </div>
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Alright, I just wanted to air another set of grievance and lord knows I'm a being that can hurl grievances and maybe we should all be doing so as there is much to grieve about from a societal standpoint if you look at things with a grimace like you should.<br />
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TV sucks us all in, divides us all, erodes at our social bonds, makes us less fertile and surely will, and probably mostly has been the death of everything. But I'm especially pissed at it because of a show called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dad!" target="_blank">American Dad</a>. This show, a cartoon that appears on <a href="http://www.fox.com/" target="_blank"> Fox</a> on the evenings of some day of the week, stems from the series <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0182576/" target="_blank">Family Guy</a> and features an American Family (the father working for the government), his wife, son, daughter an alien and a fish. It's from the same writer as Family Guy, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/sethmacfarlane" target="_blank">Seth McFergunson </a>or something.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Take a guess as to whether you would consider this to be quality programming</i></td></tr>
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This show is <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/american-dad-2005" target="_blank">disgusting</a>. I'm doing a poor job summarizing it but that's mainly because my very marrow evokes such a putrid response at the thought of this <a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/american-dad" target="_blank">abomination</a> of an example of media. In one episode, the father enters an avatar of an attractive girl that will date his nerdy son in an effort to spend more time with his child but is then plagued by the problem of potentially having to have the avatar sleep with his son. Of course this makes sense and is reasonable! The show takes time at the end to satire and tarnish the movie Aliens, and really further degrades my view of humanity. In another masterpiece, the Alien is for some reason killing high school students with his limousine I think because they didn't pay a cab fair or something. Either way, there is murdering of high school students, egregiously, mostly for not much gain and only for our further detriment of humanity.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This plot thread and character only take from the community at large</i></td></tr>
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The show <a href="http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/667853.aspx" target="_blank">sucks</a>, as it's not that funny, but even worse, it is utterly over-the-top and crude and <i>still </i>fails at evoking anything resembling humor. It's <a href="http://www.newswriting.org/100/100xeffects.pdf" target="_blank">bad for society</a>. It's a cartoon, and <a href="http://www.raisesmartkid.com/all-ages/1-articles/13-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-tv-on-your-kid" target="_blank">kids</a>, who still have a significant amount of neuronal development will find this show funny because they don't have much of a prefrontal cortex yet. They're still developing which we all did at some point too. These kids personalities will surely be terrible if they watch enough of this program. They surely won't be able to <a href="http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/violencechildren/violencechildren.html" target="_blank">adjust as well</a>, maybe have a harder time forming relationships with the opposite sex, have a desensitized view of violence and foul language, their empathy might be somewhat lower and yea, they'll have crappier personalities (like the characters on the show who are role modeling).<br />
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Here's a graph I made that will elaborate on this show that should have been painfully put to sleep back in the Guilded age (and yes, I took the time to make the graph as I have this much of a life):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaacXz9zcX7EJadLjl-LG_8D7sJHfs-zx-gcHM3wRWL61y02jLxROx7DakHgs__pazMbMMWwizWFncrqPLigo4Y4B-xOgkNImf3nGcTrm4iAuvbbIHTJ-Fy-tj4128wJdE9uLcf06_CAJH/s1600/American.Dad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaacXz9zcX7EJadLjl-LG_8D7sJHfs-zx-gcHM3wRWL61y02jLxROx7DakHgs__pazMbMMWwizWFncrqPLigo4Y4B-xOgkNImf3nGcTrm4iAuvbbIHTJ-Fy-tj4128wJdE9uLcf06_CAJH/s400/American.Dad.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Humor</b> looks at how much it makes us laugh. Contrast to say a good Chappelle Show clip, or a conversation with Bill Murray, this show isn't that funny. I don't laugh with it, at it or in it's presence. Mind you I don't want to remove my ability to laugh by watching this show which will be the nicest thing I say about it in this entry, but still, no funnies.<br />
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<b>Soul</b> looks at how much soul the show has. Mind you, this blogger sold his soul back in 96' for a popsicle, but as to what I know about this essence, soul looks at the morality, fortitude, and character of the program (and it's characters). Most certainly this show lacks any soul. The characters are hollow and empty. The entire program behaves on some realm removed from societal norms, limits, emotions, feelings, and is so far-removed from humanity that my intestines actually change their direction in disgust. Most shows want soul, but some can get away without it (take Seinfeld maybe?). </div>
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<b>Egregiousness:</b> How much unneeded craziness is in the show. The key is unneeded, but this isn't always a terrible category. The key is to have other positive attributes that compensate for your egregiousness. Similarly to my romantic relationship, I'm egregious, but I also have somewhat decent interpersonal communication. So I'm allowed some egregiousness. </div>
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<b>Crudity:</b> Everything's crude these days. It's hard to buy a pack of pretzels without something that wouldn't have been acceptable back in the 70's visibly displayed on the salty treat. But this show is definitely crude in terms of language, body odor, fluids, speech, parts of body and parts of speech. I wouldn't want my offspring watching it until they're old enough, and if they're old enough to watch it and they still choose to do so I would know I failed miserably in rearing them. </div>
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<b>Abomination:</b> How much of the anti-christ is in a certain program? How much should we castrate, disembowel, decapitate, devalue, devolve, dismiss and derive this show as it's just ruining society so evidently? This also takes into account how popular the show is... Crack isn't a huge social problem if I'm the only one doing it. Crack is a problem because millions do it. How bad and how popularly bad makes up this category.</div>
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<b>Intellectuallnessity: </b>How much smarts does a program show? Is their satire or mental algorithms? Are their multiple plot threads or room to analyze characters both psychoanalytically and psychosexually? This is a good quality to have, but not always needed. This show partially removes the foundation in which we can engage in intellectual discourse. </div>
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Let's calibrate this scale with something positive. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwoDxAaGdWpJX4IDHZewu8p0crOfL4ZJATNiudZRLD2x3zAWLhr16SoE1Vh91XFdTEID4qzZ9MSnhpbWn7nRrpEuCmyhMSs-m1av7jK9QRqevd_UETFgnjcLMM3K2R2TUILZ1fjdAOJqs/s1600/Simpsons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwoDxAaGdWpJX4IDHZewu8p0crOfL4ZJATNiudZRLD2x3zAWLhr16SoE1Vh91XFdTEID4qzZ9MSnhpbWn7nRrpEuCmyhMSs-m1av7jK9QRqevd_UETFgnjcLMM3K2R2TUILZ1fjdAOJqs/s320/Simpsons.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What America needs instead of moon bases</i></td></tr>
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Here are classic Simpsons from the 90's when times were a bit simpler and when one used the phrase "social media" it really meant playing Sega Genesis with your friends while eating pizza at sleepovers. Anyways, just to contrast, The Simpsons is funny (humor). This show also had good characters and would at points invoke some morality in them. Mainly though, the characters were actually human so I give it a seven for soul. A little Egregious (I could actually lower that one to 5). Some crudity was there, at the very least when the Simpsons came out it was viewed as more controversial. It's very much not an abomination and I gave the show an 8 on Intellectualism as there was often much complex satire, some puzzlers, and some nuances amongst the characters ripe for analysis. The show was never too stupid usually or at least had enough of a counterbalance to it's stupidity (keep in mind I'm focusing on nothing further than say season 9). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7SYbPZQE2_Zjfu9sK6txqd4hHjXDEj14EzW_-A3EzMe1t6VqC1SQbxAQaP7b4YStAE0LH696F8-siaLkXBdYAt3BH8qcva3-rzC_9F9K3fzqYySUpQ-y3d1y-pCo1YWJuqOJqiIQv02q/s1600/vbar_17B37F0A.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7SYbPZQE2_Zjfu9sK6txqd4hHjXDEj14EzW_-A3EzMe1t6VqC1SQbxAQaP7b4YStAE0LH696F8-siaLkXBdYAt3BH8qcva3-rzC_9F9K3fzqYySUpQ-y3d1y-pCo1YWJuqOJqiIQv02q/s320/vbar_17B37F0A.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Though I wouldn't want my offspring watching it, I might not even have offspring and thus can enjoy South Park myself.</i></td></tr>
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Take South Park. It's high on Egregiousness and Crude but it's also high on intellectuality, humor and has maybe some soul. It's characters are rich, they're actually very funny, and there is some good satire in the show which society needs at a time like this. Mind you, I still wouldn't show it to my conservative uncle or the pet rodent. </div>
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For a more subtle touch, check out Napolean Dynamite...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievLsNlZY1rd4NXnBsJPqhDB1xRIyLq0aUbdLvfhnCyJvyXQCZ9EO50dKhXSd60IdSXqXyPRUd3MVtNjiJA8dLBvf335FK9UBFVtEYby6hBrgGlu3CfTg8FwzRHuwRpsuAVxjKxK7JdnPu/s1600/vbar_15473CFB.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievLsNlZY1rd4NXnBsJPqhDB1xRIyLq0aUbdLvfhnCyJvyXQCZ9EO50dKhXSd60IdSXqXyPRUd3MVtNjiJA8dLBvf335FK9UBFVtEYby6hBrgGlu3CfTg8FwzRHuwRpsuAVxjKxK7JdnPu/s320/vbar_15473CFB.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Manages to be of a humorous disposition while not flinging filth every which way. Kudos. </i></td></tr>
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What intrigued me about Napolean Dynamite was that it was incredibly PG but still funny and reasonably successful. It's crudeness is quite low, as are most of the other ratings, but it's reasonably funny and has some soul. This was an amazing thing to do in the Bush-Era; to have something be funny but not rancid. I give it props for that. Now mind you, this movie came from MTV. Let's venture towards this topic as I have words to say with little coherency and validity towards this abhorrent network.<br />
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MTV, I don't like most things about you as an institution. Perhaps you could argue that if you weren't there, then somebody would be filling your void in a much poorer fashion. Still I'm fairly disgusted by a lot of the things you've done and will probably do.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Surely the best role-models for society</i></td></tr>
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Namely, this stems out from an instance that occurred last year, when one of my 7th grade students, who was quite capable, bright and one of the harder-working students in the class brought in a biography of Snookie. Now this just bit me in the ass with it's irony. We were having trouble getting our students to read in general. Often kids don't like reading at that age, but here was a book that they're fine reading and it definitely looked to be over 150 pages... but it was the biography of Snookie. I wondered what the imagery might be like in this text? Did the author use good metaphor or foreshadowing to talk about Snookies on and off fling with The Situation? On certain days we felt like we just couldn't win and this was one of them.<br />
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<img height="200" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_osFHlGXbv74drg0sCCDBPz1pGUWE6Fr6nHjkTlK4W6_6A1ip2w" width="149" /> </div>
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Perhaps we could have used the book as a tool for learning to make science more relevant. Maybe we could have used Snookie to explore concepts of density as she made various liquor-based drinks, or we could have used Snookie as a hook to explore heredity, bacteria, infectious diseases, but something tells me that would have been too far and in bad taste. Regardless, this was one of those "societies really dropping the ball" moments when this is what kids are reading instead of just about anything else.<br />
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Maybe I'm being too hard on The Shore and on Snookie. Maybe there's more to everything then I've chosen to delve into, but for some reasons I don't think so. Now MTV, I've always been frustrated by you. You used to show music videos primarily which... you know, fit nicely with your name of Music Television. I then had to watch TRL which stood for Total Recall Live or something (I think that was actually the movie where Arnold goes to Mars and assists in a mining rebellion). All your viewers had to sit through lots of commentary by Carson Daily when all I wanted to see was the damn Blink 182 video. This was before youtube, I couldn't just find the video easily on the information superhighway as they called it at the time, and instead had to listen to one crappy comment after the next, and sit through more than one N-Sync video which from a societal standpoint I was obligated to experience disgust towards. You never made things easy at all.<br />
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<img src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQCSP8e2SdYIoWkd41Gr9QXbKCfki6olRHR9lh-D82ncI8IEOmv" /> </div>
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So much of your programming revolved around just editing and re-crapping the content you had previously shown in flashier and trendier ways. I felt like it was the same thing I was watching over and over again. But thank god you were so trendy and you could get away with that! It must have been so nice being so hip and fresh that you don't have to worry about producing quality programming.<br />
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A significant portion of your programming revolves around young people being really dramatic, drunken and (Dubious?) largely whorish. You just really had the Real World thing going where you were pretty effective at liquoring up a bunch of people and putting them in a house together. You're so hip! It's great! But really, did you want all of societies youth at the time to be dramatic drunken whores? If you did, you hit the three pointer. It seemed cool to be so dramatic over so little. It was great really. And sure, who cares that society has real problems such as climate change, income inequality, unemployment, crime, environmental degradation; it's important for young people to be dramatic over nothing aside from their drunken whorishness. You taught us that, so thanks.<br />
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So if that was your intention, you did and keep doing a great job with that. If that wasn't your intention, what could you have been thinking? Do you think hiply filming cool young people wouldn't affect other young people? Would your viewers see the Real World and Jersey Shore at age 13 and say "Oh, that's a nice a program but really I should listen to what my parents are saying and not concern myself with all the enticing things that these cool people are doing on these trendy shows and nicely ignore all the peer pressure that will ensue from all my classmates behaving like this." That's really easy.<br />
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So MTV, you have a lot of charitable work. I think a lot of people would argue that your programming raises awareness of issues that young people should be aware of: drug abuse, eating disorders, teen pregnancy, domestic violence. I'd also guess and you would probably agree that you've done much to create a more open-mindedness among young people. You try to have your political programming to infuse that into youth, but much of it I think is drivel and poorly done. You're mostly just an ass of a network.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Taking a Crap on the Occupy Movement with this show was appreciated MTV... Thanks</i></td></tr>
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But really, Jersey Shore, Jackass, various Real World Seasons, "The Hills"? C'mon, don't be a dick MTV. You can often legally put these shows on the air. It's possible. Our founding fathers might not have wanted to censor you. But you could choose to at least be less of a dick and stop hurling your filth into the primordial ooze which is our media. Lessen your part in tarnishing our culture, we're already tarnished enough. Please.<br />
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<br /></div>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-1161124790693383302012-01-28T12:03:00.001-08:002014-04-04T18:29:40.659-07:00Lets not be Dicks<div>
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Alright. I might swear in this one, but here it goes.<br />
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This entry really stems from listening and reading the news too much this past week. A major theme / question arose as I heard about all the major goings and comings, the actions, the conflicts, and behaviors of individuals, our institutions and political figures. Why can't we stop being dicks?<br />
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For example, one can hear about the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2092749/Syria-Assad-regime-accused-carrying-terrifying-massacre.html?ito=feeds-newsxml" target="_blank">conflict in Syria</a>. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15769804" target="_blank">At least 3,500 people have been killed</a>. Assad is probably going to be <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16771542" target="_blank">overthrown eventually</a>. He could surrender, escape with his life, but no, he's brutally suppressing his people; he's being a dick. Why can't he choose to not do so?<br />
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You hear about Egypt and the one year anniversary of the <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2105621,00.html" target="_blank">uprising</a> that brought down Mubarak. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16267436" target="_blank">Women in Egypt</a> still get sexually assaulted quite casually and frequently. Now I'll admit, I too like breasts. But one must remember, we're part of society, and we're actually in the 21st century. Based on these precepts, it's actually quite unclassy, disrespectful and inhumane to grope people against their will. Sure, you can easily get away with it in Egypt, but you're still being a dick when you do so, and maybe you could choose to stop. You might even feel better afterwards because you can think to yourself, "I'm not sexually assualting people anymore, I'm not being a dick, and I feel better, because of this."<br />
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We've been hearing a lot about the presidential nomination and our upcoming election. Maybe some people find Mitt Romney to be handsome, I don't always. Regardless of how handsome and wealthy he might be, I don't want to keep seeing and hearing things about him. I don't want this process to be so damn long. I just wish everyone would shut their goddamn mouths about it. I'm sick of the hundreds of millions of dollars that get spent in these campaigns, truly making a run for major political office inaccessible to those with out significant financial means. I'm sick of hearing the talking heads constantly going back and forth over every minute things. I'm sick of experiencing this while knowing these candidates have jobs as governors and members of congress and should be fulfilling their duties. Our election process should not be so intense, expensive and last so long. So I say to politicians, media moguls, state official who make causcuses and primaries so early, political consultants, and whoever else is involved in ruining everything... let's calm down. Someone step up and do something to make this nomination and election process more reasonable, and let's stop being dicks.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't want to hear about this guy anymore.</td></tr>
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Mind you, so much of consciouness is now wired and focused on these bloated, bombastic, and bantoring presidential candidates that I need to write about them and maybe be a little bit of a dick in getting sucked into this process. To Mitt Romney, I'm glad you've made so much money, and it's neat the way in which you worked as the head of a venture capitalist firm. It's neat that you're so wealthy and I am very confident you've worked incredily hard for it. I'm not disputing that. Nor do I think you've done anything illegal. You're probably way more conscientious, organized, and well-kept then I'll ever be. I know too you're getting called names like a "vulture capitalist" and now people are hyper-focused on the low rate of taxes you paid in 2010. Newt says things too a lot. Some of this might hurt. But how about this Mitt. Let's stop being a dick. <br />
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Now it's great that you've hoarded so much wealth and found ways to pay less of it to "the government", and I'm sure you've done many noble things, but really... stop being a dick. The millions of dollars you've made is great, and it's real neat you get to have plenty of homes and mansions, and it's so nice that you paid millions less in taxes because of the rate at which dividends are taxed and hey, you can say "It's capitalism, it's what we're suppose to do." And yes, I agree people should have to work hard and earn for themselves, but what I think is starting to become apparent that you should see Governor is that so many people <u>don't have the opportunty to enter the ballpark of the American Dream that you have achieved.</u> <br />
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There is so much that people don't have, that you yourself needed Mitt, to make it. Everyday in America, people don't have access to reasonable health care, they work hard being paid very little, or simply can't find work. Everyday people are being drowned in debt or can't begin to afford a college education that is more necesarry for todays workforce. Lots of families send their kids to schools that are pretty underfunded and sub-par because that's all that's around. Many families can't really get out of a lot bad situations (both physical or financial) because they don't have the means. Everyday lots of people can't meet their basic needs and actually live. Millions of Americans are pretty stuck. This often, is not due to to lack of hard work. It's due to lacking any semblance of a foundation from which to start. I'm pretty sure you weren't stuck Mitt.<br />
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So Mitt, I actually like you're health care law that you helped pass in my state, and you seem more reasonable then a lot of other people, but think of how much you have (and yes you worked hard for it), but think about how much a small fraction of your wealth would make in the lives of millions of other people. Maybe a million of your dollars could renovate a school, or send people to college who can't afford it and don't recieve enough financial aid. Or it could provide medical care for people in desperate need and lacking insurance. But rather than <a href="http://www.issues2000.org/2012/Mitt_Romney_Tax_Reform.htm" target="_blank">advocating for our status-quo tax policy</a> which you have nicely benefited from, stop hoarding you're wealth, and invest most of it in communities, institutions and people that really need it; stop being a dick. Please.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/the-gop-debate-newt-gingrich-is-his-own-worst-enemy/252095/" target="_blank">Newt</a>, <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/289360/dole-goes-nuclear-nro-staff" target="_blank">Speaker of the House</a>, you wily devil of a man. I can't believe you talked about <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/28/space-travel-emerges-as-wedge-in-florida-primary-race/" target="_blank">establishing a colony on the moon</a>. I don't know what to say to that. I'm actually speechless. A moon colony. Yes you talked about that. You talked about the potential of this colony reaching 13,000 people and then becoming a state. The 51st state. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. The fact that you said that and might be our president is simply stunning. But a <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/01/newt_gingrich_s_moon_colony_and_mars_plan_.html" target="_blank">moon colony</a>? That was talked about in the 50's I think, but that was 60 years ago... A moon colony. We have trillions of dollars in debt, you don't like taxes and are ranting a lot about government spending, and yet you talk about a moon colony (I then actually read that you intend for the private sector to finance much of it, but still). For the love of god, stop being a dick. I remember just being so dumbfounded during the Bush administration when Bush Jr. talked about going to <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107807,00.html" target="_blank">Mars</a>. We were struggling then economically and in the middle of two wars, and we're still struggling now. Why should we divert hundreds of billions of dollars to do these stupid fucking things? Stop being dicks... everyone.<br />
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In my city, I wish things would get more affordable and accessible, but the price of renting an apartment is <a href="http://hotpads.com/pages/housing-report-2012-05.htm" target="_blank">extremly high</a>. Sure landlords, you guys can do this. Despite Boston's epic level of unnfriendliness, confusing roads, bad drivers, bad climate and overall temperament, a lot of people want to live here. There are a lot of jobs here. That demand is great, but, maybe stop being so dickish. Make it so people can reasonably live in our city and you might find that people who move here and begin to contribute actually stay. I've heard many friends comments "I would stay here but it doesn't make sense with how much goes to rent". Let's do the right thing, keep housing accessible (while still adhering to principles of the free market and making profit) and stop being a dick.<br />
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Now many people, including me, can and will be dicks from time to time. Sometimes, the devil inside of us get's the best of us. The culture that we're in might make it hard to not be a dick. If everyone's a dick around you then you probably will too. I'll first say, that it's always possible to improve on not being a dick. With effort, maybe some thoughtfulness or reflection, you can be less dickish. You can make some real leaps and folds in reducing dickishness like Scrooge did in "A Christmas Carol". <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really Became Less of a Dick</td></tr>
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I dunno just a thought. Let's all together, work harder, at not collectively being a dick. <br />
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DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-42142548243266325272012-01-19T08:24:00.000-08:002012-01-19T15:47:55.325-08:00SOPA, PIPA and FIFA<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Sen. Lamar Alexander likes to eat his cheeseburger with a side of internet!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Last night as usual, I was hoping to look up various Icelandic mythological creatures and biographies of Jay-z during. I was shocked to find that I couldn't access the results of my search that I had worked so hard to find as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act" target="_blank">wikipedia</a> had <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts-law/after-wikipedia-blackout-lawmakers-struggle-to-keep-anti-piracy-bills-on-track/2012/01/19/gIQAqc9ZBQ_story.html" target="_blank">blacked itself</a> out! Azzah! Not only was this site blacked out, but apparently the whole internet might be in Jeopardy!<br />
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</div><div>Upon further investigation, it was found that this black-out was due to some anti-piracy legislation that we have all heard so much fanfare about (I didn't of course as I was on a different plane of reality). There is the <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/17/technology/sopa_explained/index.htm" target="_blank">Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA)</a> and the the <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5877440/pipa-support-collapses-and-heres-a-full-list-of-the-senators-who-newly-oppose-it" target="_blank">Protect IP act (PIPA)</a>. This legislation, backed by many senators and congressman across the aisle, is intended to target rogue websites that infringe on U.S. copyright law. This might include movies, music, counterfeit watches. Imagine those guys who sell the counterfeit movies and fake Rolex watches on the streets of New York. The website version of these folks is who the government wants to be able to shut down. </div><div><br />
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</div><div>You can argue that the aims are good, and maybe there is a problem with copyright infringement. The language written in the bill is <a href="http://blog.reddit.com/2012/01/technical-examination-of-sopa-and.html" target="_blank">done so poorly</a>. It would give too many broad powers to the Record Industry of America, Attorney General Offices and other copyright organizations. It would force sites like wikipedia to have to spend much time and effort policing their user driven content. It would potentially hurt start ups that would have to hire legal counsel in aims to make sure they were navigating through new legal framework, and many say it wouldn't actually stop the piracy that it originally aims to stop.<br />
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A couple of things. It can be similar to what's being done to stop "<a href="http://www.truthaboutfraud.org/pdf/TruthAboutVoterFraud.pdf" target="_blank">voter fraud</a>" with more requirements for identification. Generally, republicans know that this will dissuade many (who don't have a state issued I.D.) from voting, and from typically voting democratic. Many who might vote think that they can't get the I.D. to begin with as they have a criminal record, have traffic violations they need to pay and are afraid to engage in the process of voting or going somewhere to receive state issued i.d. Creating hurdles to go through so one can vote does a lot to further bring down turnout and I believe is undemocratic. This legislation, though maybe meant well, would be similar in just creating many hurdles that internet has to deal with to function, and for people's to engage in free speech.<br />
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As it continues to be, this legislation isn't about a popular will, or about representatives acting on behalf of the greater good. It comes down to special interest groups (RIAA, and other groups) that have some disproportionate amount of sway. I'm not saying the copyright infringement is not an issue, it is; but obviously this bill was just poorly written to the point where it harm the majority at the expense of the immense benefit of Hollywood and other's who've lobbied heartily to get this passed.<br />
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It's nice that this bill has been attacked, not by special interest, but by concerned citizens and a populace that spoke up and wrote their representative. Mind you we still have to see what will happen, but our voices were heard.<br />
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Slate has an interesting article, calling Wikipedia's action the "<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/01/wikipedia_blackout_the_site_s_sopa_shutdown_is_a_brilliant_tactic_that_it_should_never_use_again_.html" target="_blank">Nuclear Option</a>". This was <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/small_business/2012/01/sopa_stopping_online_piracy_would_be_a_social_and_economic_disaster_.html" target="_blank">also a good read</a>. This was an immensely extreme tactic that was reasonable based on the damage a bill like this could cause. However, Wikipedia can't keep doing this. The legitimacy of the act would be questioned if they continually shut down, and it would frustrate too many people. Also, there will be more action probably by internet groups in hiring lobbyists and engaging in the frustrating and more corrupt avenues of our political process. So at least for now, I like that we made a dent on stopping this bill because of popular action, not by a highly paid lobbyist group on K-street with a disproportionate of influence. Let's savor this moment, and remain aware and active in regards to the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2012/01/18/what-are-sopa-and-pipa-and-why-all-the-fuss/" target="_blank">SOPA and PIPA bills.</a> </div><div><br />
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</div>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-38183948913206348552012-01-18T17:20:00.000-08:002012-04-30T14:01:04.903-07:00Schooling: Partnerships<div style="text-align: center;">
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The issue of teacher turnover becomes a huge problem that educator reformers are tackling. Turnover is especially significant in tougher schools where there are less resources for the district and the people living in the community. This is a whole issue I won't begin to address aside to generally say that teaching is very tough especially in areas associated with our "achievement gap", it can thus be incredibly tough to do the job well and to stay with it.<br />
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One piece of this is how much a teacher has on their plate. In our information age, a quality education demands much more from our education system to provide a knowledgeable workforce. I thus believe teachers have a larger and more complex task than they did in previous eras.<br />
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I would suggest that the concept of Teacher Partnerships become the norm. No longer should it be expected that one single individual can sustain and develop the intellectual, interpersonal, social, academic, cognitive and moral faculties of a class of up to 120+ students. On <i>average</i>, one person cannot do all that a teacher does, and do it well.<br />
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One average adult cannot do all the things that we expect out of our teachers in a modern day classroom:<br />
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<li>Plan lessons for 180 days out of the years for up to 120 students with sometimes 3 - 4 different classes a day. </li>
<li>Prep all the materials for those lessons; materials, readings, visuals, power points, manipulatives, lab materials and many other items.</li>
<li>Manage student behavior for a wide range of student's with a wide range of needs.</li>
<li>Differentiate instruction and create modifications while staying on top of the student IEP's</li>
<li>Maintain regular communication with parents (ideally with some home visits).</li>
<li>Assess student data providing learner's with regular feedback.</li>
<li>Develop soft skills in learners such as public speaking and teamwork</li>
<li>Ensuring that literacy skills are incorporated and developed in your lessons.</li>
<li>Ensuring some regular access to technology.</li>
<li>Conducting outdoor lessons to enhance student's connection with the natural world.</li>
<li>Collaborating with other educators and administration continuously.</li>
<li>Maintaining the physical space of your room; arranging seating strategically, having visuals, word walls, and an engaging but clear physical space to promote learning and the environment.</li>
<li>Attending after-school meetings and professional development.</li>
<li>Prepping student's for summative assessment and state-wide exams.</li>
<li>Teaching somewhere between 4 - 8 hours of (depending on length of school day and prep periods). </li>
<li>Continually working to maintain a positive connection with student's, while maintaining high expectations from them.</li>
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There are plenty of extremely good teachers who do all these things or close to them. I also believe that people who are motivated can learn how to do these things, even the management piece. However, completing all these tasks is often not sustainable and can thus lead to burnout. An individual can maybe keep up the job for some time, but at some point, it becomes enough and burnout can ensue which motivates them to leave the field or to stay in but not put in as much effort. The teachers who I know that are really good and completing most of these tasks are having a hard time imagining being parents. They often stay at their schools till late (7, 8 and sometime 9:00) and can't imagine being both parents and effective teachers. It is grueling work.<br />
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If you are in a school with students who are predominantly on free and reduced lunch and are dealing with issues of poverty, then the amount of work needed during the day is often much more, and the stressors your run into with your kids are might greater. We can choose to leave this to be a profession that is this extremely difficult to do well, or we can restructure it to be more sustainable.<br />
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I think you're starting to see the model of co-teaching being used in Special Education, but teaching should not be such an isolated act as it often is. You're alone from other staff, administrators and educators with many students with a wide range of needs and with the crucial task of ensuring the development of their education.<br />
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Having teachers work in pairs, or in groups could do an immense amount to make this task sustainable. With proper planning time, and with a reasonable system of matching fellow teachers, all these many important tasks to ensure a quality educational environment could be broken up logically, there would be support in delivering instruction and maintaining the environment, their would be greater flexibility in teaching methodology and finally, educators might not feel as alone as they often do. Mind you this is the norm with early elementary student aged kids.<br />
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One way to do it, I believe at least is to have one teacher be a content specialist and the other teacher be a student specialist. The first would focus on the content and the latter would focus more on the needs of the students. The content specialist would be more trained in the nuances, the expertise of the curriculum and units of study. They would be more trained in the the teaching methods revolving around the content, relevant activities, examples and other such methods. They would know how to differentiate instruction, what opportunities for media and out of the classroom learning would be relevant and would maybe, at first take the lead in delivering instruction alongside the student specialist.<br />
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The student specialist would know their student and their ins and outs more succinctly. They would focus more on the management and relationship building in their classroom. They would focus on setting up a positive classroom climate and setting up routines and procedures. They might be more responsible for parent and family communication and working.<br />
<br />However, there would be ample time set up in schedules for these individuals to co-plan daily, both teachers jobs would intertwine to the point where at point both could manage either individually when needed. Often, the content specialist could come from outside organizations which is happenings a lot in the education field already (there are a number of non profits in Boston that do this).<br />
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Either way, making the field of education more community and team oriented would do a lot to improve the outcomes of education and make the field more accessible for skilled and talented individuals. If we are serious about the state of our educational system than we need to take the steps and investments to ensure that those who work in it can sustain themselves and have the chances to improve and grow. It needs to be a job where teachers are not left so alone from other adults that could benefit them, day in and day out. </div>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-63213391832075430392012-01-15T11:49:00.000-08:002012-01-18T08:14:29.519-08:00Schooling: The Curriculum<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSbg9tyQOCmpj-mcPWywGSVghQC2TxcC8Zqvf8MotsP6F0rlRi6PA" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
Alright. This one will be much shorter as idea for education reform. I just want to focus on an idea I have revolving around the access of curriculums and lessons which, planning and prepping for, is one of the most significant work endeavors of a teacher. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">With all the state and federal standards that have been developed, why is their not more excellent and evolving curriculum that is easily accessible, downloadable and usable for teachers? Why has this not been done? This baffles me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Part of the answer is there are... sometimes. The <a href="http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content" target="_blank">American Chemistry Society</a>, an organization that I would be more than happy to kiss, put out this <a href="http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/" target="_blank">gem</a> that I was lucky enough to find once. This was a full curriculum that was freely available. More importantly, it was good; being inquiry based, and guided by other modern teaching methods and state standards (from what I could tell). It was extensive and comprehensive, including all relevant handouts, relevant activity sheets, clearly listing materials needed, including videos that you could not only use, but download and background information for the teacher. This was great. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A student squeezes a drop of water out of a dropper. Illustrated water molecules are shown to comprise the drop through a zoom-in efect" height="180" src="http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/img/content/student_views_drop.gif" width="200" /> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If we're serious about education reform, this wonderful curriculum should be the norm. As a new teacher, you're told often not to "reinvent the wheel" when doing your planning, and to "beg, borrow, and steal" when planning. The lesson being, that it is very costly in time (which is a precious resource as an educator) to come up with a good plan, make a good worksheet, gather all the materials, find relevant reading materials, and engage in the other nuances one can do when they plan. The whole time you're doing all this work, there is probably something out there somewhere that you could and should use that is better then what you'll come up with and there for you to use for the betterment of you're students. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So to be quick. I don't get why this is more available. Part of the issue is the nature of capitalism. There are curriculum writing organizations that expect to generate income. There is also the issue that often what us teachers will find on line doesn't quite fit with exactly what we want to do. At one point I wanted to conduct a fungus dissection and found a lab for one, but this lab involved all these questions and terms that I had to cross out or reformat to fit the needs of my kids. A partial solution for this might be for these on line curriculums to be malleable. A teacher should be able to find a lab, and be able to download it and edit things in and out (like a word file), but also be able to easily place diagrams and images (like a graphics program). </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">A similar example to this idea is in the field of agriculture. Farmer's are strapped for time, and rarely spend time breeding their own seeds for growing a crops. They get, what are usually, a good sampling of seeds (usually) that they can plant. If expected to design their own seeds, and spend the time selecting from the best breeds of crops, this would be too costly for this in terms of time. There are issues with this in having a mono culture that is kind getting us as a society to put all our eggs in one basket, but generally, this is an important practice for farmers to free up some of their workload. They don't have the time to design their crops like teachers should be supported and freed of at least some of the time needed for them to generate their own lessons. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">The curriculum and tools for learning that are available for students. If you can <a href="http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,13227,00.html" target="_blank">freely teacher yourself German</a> over the Internet for no cost, then teachers should freely have easy access to great lessons. Mind you, this curriculum should not be rigidly forced through the throats of a teacher, but excellent tools for a successful delivery on instruction should be readily and easily available. </div><br />
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</head>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-37830358677787416502012-01-07T21:53:00.001-08:002012-01-18T08:21:04.264-08:00Schooling: The Nature of Learning<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<img src="http://www.nea.org/assets/img/content/neatodaynews/jimtruefrost.jpg" /> </div><br />
Alright. Here is one of several pieces on education that I'd like to write about; just to get some ideas out. I want to start off by sharing a video that I worked really hard to find. Watch this video below and think about it for a bit.<br />
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I first saw this clip from the controversial movie, <a href="http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/" target="_blank">Waiting for Superman</a>. The movie, made some coherent points but did more to <a href="http://www.movieline.com/2010/11/03/did-scorching-critic-just-derail-waiting-for-supermans-oscar-campaign/" target="_blank">frustrate</a> many working in the field of education rather then be of help. Other things bothered me about the film, but it was this 20 second clip which destroyed it's legitimacy and perpetuated a view of teaching that I believe is obsolete and harmful. It was this clip, that relegated the film to the many other parties in education reform that talk a lot about what specifically needs to be done but don't have the experiences to know what they're talking about. <a href="http://empathyandeducation.org/blog_post_view.aspx?BlogPostID=b9124071c778475e99eb69f04b8c1913" target="_blank">Others</a> felt similarly about this clip.<br />
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Our schools should absolutely be doing much more than having teachers "fill their student's heads with knowledge". This clip espouses what some call a <a href="http://assessment.uconn.edu/docs/TeacherCenteredVsLearnerCenteredParadigms.pdf" target="_blank">Teacher-Centered</a> classroom and I will use this term for this article. The idea views a teacher as one that transmits knowledge to a student. Little concern is given to what the students are doing during a lesson or what prior knowledge/ experiences they come in with; they are passive vessels and receive education from a teacher that they need to remember.<br />
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This view; and much of our public education, has it's origins industrial era. Schools were viewed as factories, where teachers were workers generating students who were products that should efficiently be produced. This video supports this outmoded view, and I would like to elaborate on what can be termed a "learner centered classroom" which is a more valid lens in which we should view education.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="What Drupal training could be" height="320" src="http://chrisshattuck.com/sites/default/files/mentorship-diagram-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="269" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Somewhat silly, but this diagram contrasts a potential learner versus teacher centered classroom</i></td></tr>
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We live in a <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/09/01/the-single-best-idea-for-reforming-k-12-education/" target="_blank">different age</a> then the industrial era. For the most part, factory jobs in our country, where individuals can work and do much of the same tasks day in and day out to make a living wage are not as available. An "education" is a general requirement to be able to support a family comfortably. We expect an educated workforce. There is thus more of a need for education today then when our public system of education was founded.<br />
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Information changes as we learn more about our world. "Facts", one comes to learn, can be factual one day, but be false in others. <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060824-pluto-planet.html" target="_blank">Pluto</a> isn't a planet anymore; our <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fred_phillips/taxonomy-biology-notes-presentation" target="_blank">classification system</a> that we've relied on doesn't seem to fit in places in the light of DNA evidence; historical facts become questioned and picked at when different <a href="http://www.mexica.net/war/Mexican-American-War.html" target="_blank">perspectives</a> emerge. We need to do much more then simply memorize facts if we're to succeed in our educational endeavors. Life changes, facts change and evolve, and we need to be able to handle this. This video elaborates on some of the ideas that follow (and most of my ideas... ok, I stole some of these ideas from these videos) nicely. It's my belief that most teachers (especially elementary) can't predict what the world will be like, and what skills and knowledge base will be necessary when their students graduate.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.ncss.org/positions/technology" target="_blank">infusion of technology</a> has become so immense in the lives of students. Many complain about ADD epidemics, but the realities are that because everything is so much more instantaneous, there is evidence to support that we can't sit still as long to receive teaching and information. Between the shortened time of movie and <a href="http://screenwritingfromiowa.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/average-length-of-a-movie-scene/" target="_blank">television and film scenes</a>, the massive interactivity allowed from computer games, texting, iphones, facebook; the interactivity that is so commonplace OUTSIDE a classroom all lends itself to the idea that the nature of teaching needs to catch up to our modern, technological and quickend world. This video, an animated talk by Phillip Zimbardo, takes a look at the nature of time and education.<br />
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There is also an immense <a href="http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/roots_in_history/index.html" target="_blank">diversity in the way students learn</a>. There is evidence that there are <a href="http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_32.htm" target="_blank">rising rates</a> of student's with<a href="http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/inclusion.asp" target="_blank"> special needs</a> (partially do to increased diagnosis, but also potentially due to our increased ability to keep kids alive during child birth). How can this teacher centered view accommodate all the different ways kids learn? How can a statement, fact or idea presented by the teacher resonate and connect to all of the different students in our modern classroom? I don't think it can. A teacher-centered classroom, born in an era where standardization was valued for it's efficiency, is utterly unfit for accommodating all the needs of our learners.<br />
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You can see instances where teachers are barriers if they are the center of their class. Classrooms, I think can be naturally boring environments, lacking the richness of a plot of woods, a science lab, a mechanic shop, some modern day offices, or even a computer with reasonable internet access. There is much a student can learn, but if they are limited to learn to what a teacher can speak or present on, then we're robbing students of their access. Student's need have direct access to powerful instruments of learning which can vary from the millions of possible excellent lessons that have been and can be generated. Teacher's should not be the gate-keeper to learning.<br />
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A teacher-centered lesson cannot compete for the richness and power of a good learning tool or student-centered experience. A teacher intending to have their student's master Shakespeare would fail, I believe, if he spent more time lecturing then allowing the student's to read Hamlet. A science teacher that mostly lectures about the behavior of an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6rnhiMxtKU" target="_blank">Amoeba</a> will fail miserably against a lesson in which learners can view and potentially experiment with such a creature. A history teacher only telling students what happened throughout the civil war will lose against student's that have access and supports to primary source readings or multi-media tools reenacting battles and sharing their experiences from the actual time period.<br />
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The question of why and to what ends do we educate our populace is a central question when developing our public education system. <a href="http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9853&page=233" target="_blank">How People Learn</a>, and <a href="http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/45540/frontmatter/9780521845540_frontmatter.pdf" target="_blank">Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences</a>, which present research and suggestions for human learning are my favorite current resources that explore this question effectively. You can actually read parts of them at least on the previous links. But here are some final thoughts on what needs to be taken into account when deciding on what and how to teach.<br />
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A friend of mine is an Architect. He was commenting during lunch about all the frustrating things he notices about ceilings. Lights are put places, clearly without thought, space is not maximized, simple steps to prevent leaks are not taken resulting in a buildup of moisture. They're ugly and do little aesthetically. As an expert in his field, my friend notices all these nuances about something as mundane as a ceiling that the rest of us at our meal clearly don't. Upon noticing these nuances about ceilings, this Architect canoffer up a multitude of ways to design a better ceiling for the same cost. As an Architect, based on his years of experiences and prior knowledge, what he sees in a ceeiling, or an entire room, is exponentially richer then what I can see, and his skill sets to improve, or create a novel design are vast.<br />
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My point with this is that we want to develop these mindsets of expertise in our learners so that they have algorithms, schemas and methods to be able to <u>do something</u>, not merely know things. Education needs to not concern itself simply with the amount of facts that our students know, but the way information when conceptualized by the learner, is used.<br />
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Students need to be more willing and expected to try and figure things out on their own. They need to not just be told a fact by a teacher and expected to recite enough to remember it correctly on a test. Although a teacher will say "there is no wrong answer", they will more then happily not value a thought, idea, or hypothesis simply because it doesn't match with our current notions. Teacher's need to put more value not merely on what notions a learner has, but the process they used to come to these ideas. This counts for a lot, as it's what we need as a society to be able to do. Having classes where students are expected to figure things out for themselves (not all the time and not without supports) will give them chances and practice to develop their methods for discovering, for critical thinking and innovation, which are at the very least traits we can bet strongly that are important in our modern economy.<br />
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There are more nuanced reasons for this inquiry based education. There is more opportunity for buy-in and meaning if the students drive at least some of their own learning. With supports and good design by the teacher, a student can "buy-in" to their learning more so, and have more meaning when they figure out for themselves what a plant needs to grow, or what is happening when you divide something. The finding a student comes too is more meaningful if they, to some degree figure it out themselves. It also means that what they found is conceptualize and connects with their prior knowledge, whereas a teacher telling facts to students is more likely to have less meaning. Most people don't want endings of movies spoiled for them, and in the same sense, we shouldn't want our educational endeavors spoiled for us.<br />
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More crucially, we have to realize that because a student may memorize a set of words, it does not at all means that it meaningfully changed the schema, the imagery, and the actual understanding that they have. Because student's can state "Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert sunlight, carbon di-oxide, and water into glucose" does not mean they have a conceptual understanding of the process. It's very possible they don't have a meaningful basis for the some of the terminology (CO2 or glucose) semantically, but even more so, they don't have a physical, meaningful experience to back up this statement. My guess would be many students, if asked later on, would say that soil is necessary for plant growth, or believe that water / soil level might decreased as plants grow.<br />
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Our learners need to be able to use and transfer their learning to novel situations. They need to be able to take what information and experiences they've had in a learning environment and be able to recognize similar situations out of their original context. We want students, learning probability in a math class, to be able to apply their new skill in a later game of monopoly, or poker, that they would play with their cousin. If student's are developing their understanding of what makes something biotic, versus abiotic, they should be able to apply these definition to novel objects and organisms.<br />
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Partially, this solidifies their budding skills, but, if our student's can only demonstrate their understandings in their original context, they can't be useful with these skills in a novel situation like the workplace that they should be entering into. If they are dependent on the teacher for having a set amount of facts presented to them, their outcomes for learning are much more rigid, and transfer less likely.<br />
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Our schooling and our populace that affect the nature and direction of our schooling system need to adopt a more learning-centered, more modern view of education, where the purpose of learning focuses on the development of skills, methodologies and processes; where students develop a willingness and enthusiasm for delving into learning experiences independently; where our curriculum focuses in depth in a certain domains of knowledge rather then covering a wider net of facts, and teachers expect their learners to be doing the cognitive heavy work in their learning situation. Contrary to the clip from Waiting for Superman, education in an incredibly complex endeavor. As our world is incredibly complex and changing, how could we expect any less from an education?<br />
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</head>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-17039148023531662212011-12-23T06:12:00.000-08:002011-12-23T13:13:01.528-08:00Employment<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/1527144_f260.jpg" /> </div><br />
Alright. On my way to more job stuff. As I was ranting about issues of employment last night, (while ruining whatever semblance of holiday spirit my family could have held on to) I thought it would be prudent to write a quick sortie of an entry regarding issues of employment. I'll make it succinct, efficient, concise, and quick and to the point (which is what concise might mean, so I wrote the same thing twice just really annoyingly).<br />
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To whom ever came up with the idea of a cover letter, I send you a mighty and emotional punch to the face. How dare you. They are really annoying to write. I don't think people read them that much for how much effort you actually exert into writing them. They're just terrible.<br />
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My commentary might say that especially, in our troubled economic times, employers and H.R. people (H.R. stands for human rage as that is what one must feel like as they involve themselves in such a department), please be kind. Be thoughtful about the requirements you set up for individuals hoping to be employed by you. When you ask a question that makes one feel like they have to radically change a cover letter, that requires a lot of work sometimes and hinders ones life progress. People need jobs in our society generally, to live.<br />
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Please take this consideration especially when you have an automatic reply upon sent in application stating "Due to the high volume of applicants, we might not be able to get back to you...". Obviously you want to have some process that gives you relevant information of all the people you'd want to have at an interview, but don't be tricky. When there is a 1 in 50 chance at most that I might get hired for your position, maybe fairly assume that for an individual to potentially get employed I need to apply to 50 jobs. If it takes 3 hours to get all my crap together to apply to you versus 1 hour, well, you can do that, but it's not nice. Don't be a jerk.<br />
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Also, if you have your own specific application, I'm sure that's neat for you. However, when it asks you to fill out mostly the same information that's already on your resume that one struggled ever so mightily to ensure the proper level of formatting, do realize that it makes one potentially want to place a hex on your institution. Again, in society, one likes to be able to pay their rent and meet their basic needs. Please think best about how you can get your needed information while not creating barriers to employment when there are already so many right now.<br />
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I don't know how it should be done. I am no expert in this crap and why would anyone want to be? Alright this is becoming somewhat too scathing. Apologies.<br />
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Then there is the interview. Clearly, as semi-Bostonian coming of age in the 90's, this clip below exemplified the most important techniques in nailing the interview:<br />
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Even more so then the crap I am ranting about, we have a whole issues with the CORI process which I will slightly begin to dive into when I'm back from doing my H.R. stuff. This refers to the Criminal Offense Record Investigation that employers do.<br />
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HuzzahDefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-55690360474984323132011-12-17T07:55:00.000-08:002012-01-22T18:56:51.444-08:00Defeating Winter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="http://sixpacktech.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Old-Man-Winter.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Who Doesn't Want to Punch this Guy in the Face?</i></td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Winter is upon as I believe it's the month of December. Despite our freak 50 - 60 degree days, things will get cold as long we have some semblance of a regular climate which I begin to think we kind of do in some nature. I thought it would be important to document my personal journey in trying to withstand the awful scourge of this dark and cold season, which has plagued New England at least since the 1920's. I'd also like to offer some general tips on how to keep your bodies, spirits, vitality and bodily fluids warm and energetic during such a period of terror.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are some hearty tips for the upcoming months. You'll be thanking me too when you're lacking in Scurvy and Dysentary. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107899">Winterize</a> your House Physically and Emotionally</b> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="177" src="http://roweandesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/winterize.jpg" width="200" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Much like the zombie films in which lone survivors of humans must barricade the doors and windows to prevent the living dead from entering upon their homes, you too much barricade your house from the evil tendrils of the winter air.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Seal up the windows with that plastic stuff real taught. Don't forget the blow dryer to melt the double sided tape. </div><div style="text-align: left;">-Use that weather stripping maybe.</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Put foam underneath major gaps in the doors and such. </div><div style="text-align: left;">-You can clean your gutters as apparently this does something.</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Carpet your barren floors.</div><div style="text-align: left;">-Keep doors closed when leaving the house and leaving the heat on to some effect.<br />
-Let light in during the day and trap it during the night time when it might otherwise leave with SHADES!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">If done right, you will be gloating in the opulence of your lessened utility bill as you imagine fat, dense and racist molecules of cold air retreating at the might of your<a href="http://homebuying.about.com/od/buyingahome/qt/92607_WinterHom.htm"> reinforced</a> abode. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Cook heartily, spicily and slowly I do say</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cooking a mighty pot roast or a chicken stir fry that is basically cooked for you while you carry about your business is an unparalleled boon on your chilled and darkened soul. Just drop the stuff in, put it on low or high depending on the meal, and it's as if magical spirits have prepared you a luscious feast upon your return. You'll definitely want to check out meals such as turkey chili. Making things as spicy as possible does even more to reinvigorate the spirits and heaten you up psychologically. The burning tells you your alive and also releases endorphins (your bodies natural pain killer) which gives you an added bounce to your existence.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTLoVmXnxKlZ4AbYyjSxBrVDo6XonIhidSptxdaiWXZPJHNZC55CA" width="186" /><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Find Different forms of Exercise as one may do</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The hateful cold of winter on everything warm, light and livable leaves you little opportunity to go for that jog you intend to go on after work. You can run outside in the dark with some extra layers but as we all know, the darkness gets scary. You'll have to contend with evil spirits and vicious fauna. No worries perchance. There are ways to keep your energies up somewhat creatively...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="http://viceaxe.com/vice/Techniques%20&%20Training/p90x/01.jpg" width="195" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My boy Flynn from college recommend the P90X workout. Now just a little warning about Flynn: he's very talented, intelligent, affable, good humored and vivacious; so much so that we all are 1000% sure he's actually the Anti-Christ and we don't want to be around him (would you want to spend time with the anti-christ?). So he recommends P90X but would you want to do something the Anti-Christ is also doing? Hmm...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Regardless, there are lots of other great video like workouts you can do with the space of a mere rug and maybe some weights. I also enjoy shoveling when I give it some time. If you want to feel like you're really defeating winter, what better way then to conquer the hordes of snow it bestows upon your driveway or street? Shoveling can be great exercise and I'd sometimes just shovel my street for fun, and for my conquerment of the elements. Just be careful that the crafty season does not pull out your back!!!<br />
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There are obviously gyms and then there are gyms that aren't terrible in nature like this <a href="http://redlinefightsports.com/" target="_blank">one</a>!!! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Ensuring Winter doesn't get to Uppity Emotionally Speaking</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is a general tip that you New Englanders and fellow defeaters of winter might not know of. I find it very important, especially in the midst of a cold and weary day to verbally put winter in it's place. During my walk home from the T, I find it utterly crucial to "swear real good" at the vile climate and threaten it in different ways. I need to remind winter that if it even begins to to touch my sh*t, "I'll rip out it's icy gullet". This always keeps me feeling calmer knowing that winter is in check and I believe that if we collectively fend off winter in such a way as a city, it's powers will greatly weaken.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">But yes, if you have a bad day, blame winter knowing that it's always meddling and give it a good bout of verbal abuse as you return home to your loved ones.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Dormantation</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's in the nature of every winter creature to become more dormant during such of death. Winter birds spend less time out of their nests and squirrels spend time feasting upon the mighty bounty of acorns. Feel free to know that the climate not only makes it fine to be more sedentary, but it might also necessitate this. So rather then going to out to all those clubs on the weekend, curl up with loved ones gently watching a wonderful cinematic film, playing a delightful board game, or continuing your chronicle into the world of <a href="http://whatwebethinking.blogspot.com/2011/12/wire.html" target="_blank">The Wire</a> while of course making graphic organizers to allow you to follow the plot threads and character development. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This dormantation can allow you the needed rest to trudge through the misery the coming day. Be thoughtful about your moves much outside!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Watch Out for Winter's Poison Air!!!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">After following the tips of sealing your home off from the outside cold and remaining more dormant, winter can play one of it's miserly moves by causing you to remain in such an un-ventilated house. It is thus vital that you ventilate your rooms for both your physical and emotional health. I can suggest two good methods, either by procuring a mighty humidifier or by developing your green thumb and planting and growing a foray of plants in your house thus infusing your home with the nature that you are subsequently robbed of. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="133" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSo4oq_9-FcO028-WkAqU51gTj_G-4JXc7ubnZzeEDWnk_E9h2awdkFkJ0eVw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Plants Can Be a Useful Ally in the Battle Against Winter</i></td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">These plants will release moisture through the air and can act as natural filters. I would suggest planting as many indoor house plants as soon as possible really. These plants not only can help your air but also make you happy in having another being present that meets the conditions for life. As you hydrate your plants, do remember to quench your own thirst with the practice of hydration! Winter's cold likes to fool you in drinking less water, but how can you begin to spit on February's army of snowmen if you have no liquid substrate in supply!?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Turning Your Sleeping Quarters into an Oasis of Light, Life and Hope</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Improving the light conditions in your room is also important during the dark months which reminds you sometimes of how Egypt felt during the time of the 10 plagues. Such Pestilence!!! A bright light can be acquired to give you that bounce in the morning needed to withstand January's onslaught. These lights aren't too expensive and you can start your morning reading your hearty news while eating your sturdy breakfast and having a light give you some of your needed strength for 30 minutes. This goes great with the plants I believe as they benefit from potential added ability to photosynthesize!!!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="http://heartymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/SAD-light1.jpg" width="200" /><img height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEE-_DU2VOd3glixXI0h3cDtzh2inDt3EqaffvAGodUp01ZTRWL0xKYL0d_Tf7PLwqfu7PN2fT4dkJtYZu1x38xU613GRdqCgOgLFd5SEroriUAWFFXUnk7Mswmj5qZEsWbz8-AeYVFhqa/s320/gandalf1.jpg" style="text-align: left;" width="320" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Definitely Correlated</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Enjoying the Pretty of Nature</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Though made exponentially more difficult, one can still venture forth into the outdoors and see some remaining survivors amongst the frigid holocaust. Upon entering into the world of nature during such a time, you might ask yourself, "What happened to the crickets, why do they chirp no more?". It's cause they're dead. "What about the buzzing of the bees?". They're dead too. "Why no butterflies gracefully flying?". DEAD or actually migrated to Mexico. "Why not even the gentle green leaves." Those green leaves are dead for good! Everythings dead.<br />
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However, everything is not dead, yet... The calm and serenityness of a winter evergreen forest can provide both hope and inspiration for us meager mortals. A hearty pine leaf lives on. Photography can still be an enjoyable endeavor most certainly, at the very least to document all the crimes against humanity winter commits. But yes do indeed, while dawning the finest down jackets, gloves and of course wool hats, go out and witness the beauty and calm that can still be present in a climate of destruction. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="133" src="http://northernimages.smugmug.com/photos/241784707_8uYne-M.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Viewing a kind and gentle tree of pine can remind us that we too can survive winter</i></td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Coming Together</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It is unfortunate that winter can cause us to forget about all the friendships forged during better times. However, winter is a time more then ever, where we need to come together, to enjoy and share the humanity, life and warmth that is so barren. It is a time where we need our joint energies to shovel out our snow drenched cities, towns and hamlets; to help our enterprises remain functional; to remind one another that although death is among us, we can still stand! Be ever so aware that winter will make you want to isolate yourself and to renig on your social contracts. Stand strong against such poisoned inclinations and have your neighbor over for a game of boggle, or check out a band at local nearby pub, or do carry on in watching the richness of the Wire but with friends who also might need to view such a series. Stand together or winter will surely win. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="demotivational poster OLD MAN WINTER" height="251" src="http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0901/old-man-winter-winter-demotivational-poster-1231447895.jpg" width="320" /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
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<a href="http://www.totalblogdirectory.com/">Total Blog Directory</a>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-54515734058947096612011-12-07T19:57:00.000-08:002011-12-21T17:16:59.580-08:00Ghost Hunting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="320" src="http://legionsofgotham.org/gbcollector/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/reviewdststaypuft11.jpg" width="240" /></div></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br />
People seemed to enjoy my last whimsical entry about my pet rodent. Well mostly my mom. Others mentioned that perhaps instead of ranting about society and politics like I'm god's gift to this green Earth, that I could have more funny entries that were personal. HOGWASH I SAY! Well, actually it's kind of easier to write the funny stuff sometimes, and I do dislike effort... so year.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">As a young lad growing up in New England, I was always intrigued and in awe of ghosts. My mom would take me to cemeteries as a kid after much pleading (yes cemeteries) where I would be decked in the finest of plastic battle ware ready to make contact with and if necessary, battle ghosts. We might peer over the darkened cemetery for some time; adrenaline surging through my growing body until it got to be 10 minutes till my bed time at which point we would leave. I loved the idea of ghosts and monsters growing up. I was always a fan of these guys. </div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Ghost Catchers: Legend of Beauty"</i></td></tr>
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Wait, these guys...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><u><strike><img height="134" src="http://www.parentpreviews.com/legacy-pics/ghost-busters.jpg" width="200" /></strike></u></div><br />
This yearning may have remained somewhat dormant until our newest roommate, E-dawg (Squigee's savior), entered himself upon our beleaguered household. E-dawg has had numerous bouts with the the mundane, the inane, and ghosts. He had lived in "haunted" areas and has had two ghost sightings. He has volumes of ghost related knowledge and inclinations in his lofty brain.<br />
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After quizzing my roommate with the right amount of skepticism (If ghosts are real then where do they go to take a dump? Take that!!!) the season of witching and ghoulashing bestowed itself upon us graciously. October that is. Edawgg stated that this would be a wonderful time of year to go Ghost Hunting for various metaphysical reasons, but also thats what everyone is doing all up in here. <br />
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We plotted our route through the lush neighborhood of Jamaica Plain that might have the appropriate historical conditions for ghosts and was somewhat isolated and wouldn't require much work. Our third roommate G-man, also decided that he would like to join us on our ghostly romp. We then took to gathering needed supplies.<br />
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"How many flame throwers shall each of us dawn?" I asked, after which I was reminded nicely about ghosts not having physical bodies.<br />
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"Well then how am I supposed to punch them in the face?" which was met by sighs.<br />
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We collected flashlights and I brought my book of Psalms of course, with appropriate passages rehearsed. E-man stated that really we just needed the flashlights but I insisted that I be ready with the appropriate prayers to fend off various monster demons. I also brought my ninja turtle action figure as I just like those.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="200" src="http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/12inch_Donatello_TMNT-01.jpg" width="200" /></div><br />
We tallied hoe to our local. E-man recorded entries into his cell phone so that we could play back any noises that we heard just like real scientists do when they collect data. We took to the trails of our site and stated in our way that we were just interested in venturing peacefully, intending to quell the murderous intentions of all those uppity spirits. E-man continued to assure me that most ghosts are peaceful usually, that they generally are trapped in some type of loop of some action that was significant to their existence (perhaps my ghost will look something like this).<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://goodfilmguide.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/legolas.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://goodfilmguide.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/legolas.jpg" width="159" /></a></div><br />
As we ventured further on our search, the trees looked to be extra windy in the darkness. Branches seemed to grab at you like fingers hoping to cling to some other form of life. Perhaps they wanted a hug, or perhaps they were infested with the evil spirits that were certainly lurking. The sky contrasted gently with the surrounding nature and the crunch of the fallen leaves and twigs (which I assumed were finger bones) became quite calming. It was peaceful.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="133" src="http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/Birds/Red-tailed%20Hawk/BD0094_1l.jpg" width="200" /></div><br />
Perhaps things were too peaceful and I started peering further, my eyes now well adjusted to the dark (as my vision is nothing but exemplary similarly to the Red-Tailed Hawk). I looked into the thickening woods thinking "<i>hey mr. ghosty pants, where are you....?"</i> while muttering incantations. E-Dawg was guiding us on-ward inviting spirits to make contact with us in some fashion; be it through touch, through a noise or through drinking a monster energy drink in our company. G man was gazing and conducting scientific analysis on some of the natural objects we were encountering: rocks for example. Perhaps he was seeing if they had been tainted and/ or eaten by ghosts.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="150" src="http://www.flixya.com/files-photo/s/h/o/shoaibnazr1513791.jpg" width="200" /></div><br />
Feeling something scratch at my shoulder, I violently backed up and turned toward my accosting ghost which was merely a branch of pine. I thanked the pine tree for helping me keep my guard up, while my roommates snickered slightly. Suddenly I noticed some shifting of stuff. I quickly pointed this out to G-man who replied "those are shadows... our shadows... not a ghost."<br />
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I had him check one more time and he restated his previous retort. I for one believe that his shadow hypothesis isn't completely falsiable. How can we test out and metaphysically determine if those moving dark shapes are shadows versus ghosts?<br />
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As we noticed the shapes follow along with our movement as they were our shadows, a deeper calm set over us. We could see stars, some stars at least which is nice for Boston which is splattered with light. I for one think we don't need artificial light when we have the beauty of stars. I would certainly sacrifice night time livability to better be able to view the constellations. Most, if not all would agree with me. I wonder how many Ghosts haunt the rings of Saturn? We came upon a minor stream, which I could presume was the River Styx taking us into Hades. The contours of the land gently turned and twisted.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="133" src="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs41/i/2009/025/1/2/nighty_sky_by_knifeofdreams.jpg" width="200" /></div><br />
Ghosts, no ghosts or simply demon spawn, we were outside in the prettiness of night. One usually thinks of the night as a time of death and pestilence. Perhaps this is right, but I believe it to be also valid that night is pretty. Seeing the calm of night, the shift in ecology, the adaptions that are taken by life, the calm encompassing a usually bustling scene; this is worth experiencing. I for one was feeling a bit pudgy and was happy to "feel the burn" as well. What a pleasant experience despite not connecting with the paranormal...<br />
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"F***,piece of Sh*%, where the f##k are the motherfuc$#ng ghosts... those bastards, I just wasted my godd** fuc**%* night. Piece of shi$, as% monkey!!!" I extolled, as we camly ventured home.<br />
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What a delightful evening. A nice walk framed with a very nice task. Like getting homework to eat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups from a Biology teacher.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><img height="161" src="http://www.momstakeonthings.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ReesesPeanutButterCupsUnwrapped.jpg" width="200" /></div><br />
In thinking about <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3044607.stm">ghosts</a> I would pose it to any readers of this fine and hearty blog. What do you think of their existence? Have you experienced some type of ghostliness or is this all a bunch of holly cake? What might allow for ghosts?<br />
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Good night.DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-86001244191842803172011-12-04T19:50:00.000-08:002011-12-23T11:08:36.216-08:00Re-up? Reup, wait. It's Reeup.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBf2VW8YGMB5CmLp1gJv7FrkllEleYPWMYRYgyEJM-76L_GV2MiIEqFJyjYuJOsvlI9nL06HnNTV9811KWgP6VInv3GIdNu3t6pDsSnr8cMlNHZLjXuOcJswJeC2W-iIQdzF95brQYmJn/s1600/The+Wire+Seasons1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBf2VW8YGMB5CmLp1gJv7FrkllEleYPWMYRYgyEJM-76L_GV2MiIEqFJyjYuJOsvlI9nL06HnNTV9811KWgP6VInv3GIdNu3t6pDsSnr8cMlNHZLjXuOcJswJeC2W-iIQdzF95brQYmJn/s320/The+Wire+Seasons1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Alright, so I don't know how to spell things to begin with and lack some level of phonemic awareness. However this will be second entry about The Wire. The re-up is what happens when the drug dealers get their drugs significantly again in the show. It involves the prefix re, which I think means again and thus works for the title of my entry.<br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Another friend of mine (that's 3 now that I have) suggested that I shorten the length of my entries and add more pictures. I thought about how terrible my attention span is and realized this makes sense. These blogs could be much more comprehensible if shorter and would require less time out of the busy lives of all you readers. It's a fast paced, fragmented world out there and you gotta break most things up into tiny little pieces to make them accessible. It might mean less work for me too which is perfect as I don't like exerting effort! Brilliant and thank you.. In all seriousness, my friend, G-dog, was right as he always has been and I thank him for his insight. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Back to the Wire, which is also chopped up succinctly and efficiently into small cute scenes in order to incorporate an inordinate level of complexity and plot threads all going on simultaneously, I'd like to further discuss it's sheer brilliance, talk about some of the characters, and talk about what we can all learn and then talk about to our loving spouses at the dinner table.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Check this scene out...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KQbsnSVM1zM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">What a brilliant three minutes and forty five seconds. They investigate the crime scene using complex tools and only use variations of the word "fuck". How could a dumb 20 something year old like myself not aspire to be like these two gentleman? Think about that. The Wire can be incredibly funny. The humor bursts out sometimes covertly but often more overtly. The actors always play it cool as they're cooler then you, me and probably Kurt Cobain.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRpwc3Dc8vJL52aQgfUQ_OBz6GCTQd6aN2ayOghKxG6CFiW2L4gF_gy83utSyVlITku0eJE4ASxng69zA-LPwaWReTDG8dKt-x6EH5O7XfRMFTz3fNfitm_OA5lB6LzrmeA_Q68ARws5H/s1600/kurtcobain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRpwc3Dc8vJL52aQgfUQ_OBz6GCTQd6aN2ayOghKxG6CFiW2L4gF_gy83utSyVlITku0eJE4ASxng69zA-LPwaWReTDG8dKt-x6EH5O7XfRMFTz3fNfitm_OA5lB6LzrmeA_Q68ARws5H/s200/kurtcobain.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />
Sometimes the humor is overshadowed by the slang (which you build an understanding for much like you do for that Shakespeare cat), or by the thick Baltimore accent that certain character's have, but its there and it's spectacular. Whether it's Bunk's one night stand towards the end of season one, McNulty's drinking binges, Bubs moves to procure his fix, or just watching Prez awkwardly exist and behave. Check out this scene below from season one (I'm so astounded I can upload video, this will be spectacular and another wonderful tool I can abuse for my own financial gain!!!)<br />
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</div>Simon stated during the commentary on the season five disc "No one works harder then a junkie" and then you're blessed with this amazing clip. I was delightfully rewarded when re-watching this scene with my spectacular girlfriend. She likes the show too which is good as otherwise things might not work out. The scene is incredibly funny at first (unless your humorless and cold like a Dementor in the Harry Potter series) but very quickly becomes frightening for both us and Bubs. Bubs not only reacts with fear that he could have been killed, but probably with guilt that his actions caused a feud between the dealers leading towards a brutal exchange.<br />
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Much of the Wire is how it depicts much of the brutality that can go on in a city like Baltimore. We see a barrage of violence that whirls through the city, especially when feuds erupt for territory or pride between rival gangs. As the show carries on, you're introduced to an unprecedented amount of chilling violence that our characters are willing to carry out. You see characters lacking any semblance of human care or connection in some of the gangsters paralleled by politicians, lawyers, city contractors all willing to sell out for their own personal gain allowing many of the awful things occurring in the city to continue.<br />
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Most of the characters are very complex. Like life, no one's a perfect saint nor are many of the characters that you'd expect to all bad actually that bad. Many of the gangsters are not simply able to be empathized with, many are actually very like-able and good (Slim Charles for example). Simon's view as a police officer was that you had to understand these nuances and spend time working with the people on the street if you were to be effective as a cop. You see how easy it is, starting at a frighteningly young age, for kids and other individuals to be lured into gang life. There are very few options for these characters. Take a look at this scene for example where "the game", or the whole drug enterprise as it's called, that most of the characters are involved in and the major players are nicely summarized by one of very complex protagonists of season one as he teaches his crew how to play chess.<br />
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Alright, I can't seem to put this in a blog. This is an utter disaster and how dare this not begin to work. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0mxz2-AQ64&feature=related">Here</a> is the link and I assure you I will test it out to make sure that this brilliance is available to all you wonderful and sensible individuals.<br />
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All the characters have shades of grey, but as the show progresses you start to realize how amazing some of them are. Whether it's because they are termed "good police" or do something spectacular in an otherwise difficult setting, you often are left spellbound when you step back from the scene for a bit. As mentioned in the previous blog the, Wire is meant to educate us and looks at what happens when the various institutions we depend upon have some significant level of dysfunction. Whether it's the testing that dominate and detract from a school's ability to teach to students, the stats and numbers game that pressure the police department to not deal with murders in the first place as they might be unsolvable, or the continual amount of politics that influence and dictates the lives of many of the major characters with power, we are berated and horrified with policies and organizational behaviors that are unfair or illogical and devastating to the health of the city.<br />
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The characters that we love are the ones that see the ridiculousness for what it is and risk their careers and sometimes their life to try to do the right thing. We can this in Prez. When continually pressured to teach to the ELA test as math teacher, he has his kids do so only until all other teachers or administrators leave his room and quickly has his math lesson that he making headway with prepared. We can see this in Stringer when he makes his fateful decision in season three (for many possible motives) to go to Colvin in regards to the Gang ware between Avon and Marlo. Colvin likewise demonstrates this courage in his creation and his effort to sustain Hamsterdam unknown to Rawls and Commissioner Burrel. McNulty and Lester are your continual rebels. McNulty reminds you of an older Dennis the Menace in season two as he conducts a swath of various calculations to ensure that Baltimore Police are assigned to investigate the deaths of 13 girls by determining that their place of death fell within city boundaries.<br />
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All of these acts involve risk and conscious effort to actually do the right thing. It is for this reason that this show has become a favorite of mine. It's been of comfort as many of us have entered the workforce as naive 20 somethings or rather and have had to deal with some of the dysfunctional behaviors that are sometimes systemic in places we are employed or involved with. There is way more someone could say and many important things I could add about this show. Let me stop here though as it's getting late. Thanks.DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-62282757253092772722011-12-01T20:37:00.000-08:002012-01-12T17:06:20.573-08:00The Wire<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7k1mLyrzdp13dKzplHo37_lKQsG70YpDvFLxbApP7BtnnfDmWDYEE-UQpO427IZI-tHSAUB6nsGWSScPOBNFPTo7Sxv6EaXRsFn4KCX_Rvf1td5RA2Eq_zEvb5E83qMO7Jruhu6iHkGw/s1600/the-wire3.jpg" /><br />
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Alright so I've decided that I'd like to get up to 10 blog plosts at least. At this point I'm allowed to put my blog on some directory so more of yous get to visit my blog. Now I want to thank those who have put up with my drivel so far as there has been much of this. I'd especially like to thank all the hearty citizens from Russia that have come by. Perhaps I can write a blog about Putin, Kruschev or Vodka at some juncture and we can formulate a nice discussion. But thanks for viewing and apologies for the offensiveness and all the other shlock being thrown every which way like a monkey hurling their feces. I digress. <br />
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Writing five more entries seems like much work. As jowly a character that I am, I'm not always so much into putting effort into stuff. What I might do is that I'll have haiku's for each entries. Each entry will simply consist of a nice 17 syllable ensemble articulating things to talk about a lot. That'll be cheap and easy. Then you guys can come visit and more of you will come visit. You can click on my ad's that I'll have covering every single possible spot on the screen, and then I can start collecting and hoarding all the money which has been my intention from the beginning. Well, haiku rhymes with "hi poo" which is fecal and I'm not in the mood for fecality today and thus will begin a new entry that will be too long for anyone's good. <br />
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Many folks (well just 1) have shown curiosity about the pictures I have at the top of each blog entry. These pictures are of course are from the hit show "The Wire" that was aired on HBO. This show was the best show that has ever been made and only a Nihilist could disagree. I'd thus like to write about it, offer some commentary, and talk about how this show influences most of the actions of my life in some way. Now, many bloggers have various writings about this show, so I'm really contributing nothing new to the on line discourse by having this entry. The show also ended in 2008 so you've probably moved on with your life by now. Mind you, I haven't moved on and I don't care about you, or your family, or your needs in terms of reading this. I'm going to provide my insights into this epic show which I hope to not sully too much in doing so. <br />
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I'm sorry, I do potentially care about you, and the family, and thanks for being here...<br />
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The show relates much to the writings of this blog as they're both about society. Lots of things can be about society, but the Wire is often about that and so is my blog. Thus there is a relevance in this entry. As I will conclude at the end of the entry, The Wire proves to be a historical, sociological and gastronomic masterpiece that provides an engaging array of historical fiction that can be used as an incredibly rich tool for learning in our cold, dark and boring world.<br />
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Everything is important when viewing this entity. The main focus, especially at season one is the the drug war that is carried out between the police and the drug dealers. The War on Drugs is the backdrop of the show and what the writers do intend to speak out against. The show might be seen as another "cop" show like NYPD blue or that Hill Street Blues show of the 80's, however, nothing can be further from the truth.<br />
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By episode four, you'll start to be introduced to a wide buffet of colorful and amazing characters. You'll start to crave the show, much like Bubs craves his heroin in such heroic form. In essence the main character is the city of Baltimore. It's inhabitants and institutions make up it's various parts and personalities. <br />
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You'll meet the various police officers and gangsters that are often paralelled with one another. Mcnulty is paralleled to Stringer, Daniels to Avon I believe in season one. They do that for some literary reason that is too brilliant for me to understand. You'll meet Bubs, who though homeless and addicted to heroin is rich in personality, connections and is a very good person that the world continually dumps on. Then Omar will pop out of left field, always watching in the shadows, navigating the Urban environment patiently until the exact right moment when he can stick up a corner or stash house with a sawed off double barrelled shotgun, robbing gangsters and dealers of their cash, drugs and anything else valuable (while blowing out their knee cap wrathfully). Then as most of us know by now, he's not only one of the most badass characters in the show but also one of most homosexual. Well he's gay which they added on as an amazing twist and very nicely pull it off. The characters are all amazing which is amazing cause there are so many of them. Even minor characters leave their mark on your conscious through the series teaching us about something meaningful and insightful if we're willing to listen... <br />
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The show builds upon itself, exploring the various parts, workings and institutions that make this city (and many other major urban areas) function or not function. You're introduces to the port and the dock workers in season two led by union leader Frank Sobotka whose just so stressed by so many stressful things that the guy is crapping out ulcers the entire season. Season three adds the element of politics into the mix and you're introduced to Carcetti and his whorish ways. Season four looks at Urban Schools. You're introduced to four amazing young 8th graders struggling with the incredibly tough realities that the world hurls at them. The last seasons introduces us to the media and how it affects life in the city and how it is sustaining itself/ struggling as an instituion.<br />
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The writers meant it to be this way generally. With season three for example, the writers wanted to see how the politics affected the realities of inner city baltimore. How do the various well-intended, careless and self serving moves of mayors, city councillors, and their decions affect what goes on for the average citizen in Baltimore and the war on drugs? Season four (which might rip your heart out and demolish it with sadness after using it as an enema) focuses on how the major gangsters you meet got to be the way they are. How do the streets affect the kids growing up and coming of age in our Urban environment infused with poverty, drugs, and crime? Season five, looks at the forces of the media shaping the events of the city by putting the pressure on everyone else in power and often becoming the typical 21st century crappy media where people can say whatever they want and call it valid (much like I like to do... ha ha ha ha :-() ) <br />
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I might be getting this all wrong to by the way as I've watched some of the commentary on season five's disc but have failed to watch other season's commentary and have done myself nothing but an immense disservice by not giving the show enough of my complete and undivided time and attention. <br />
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What really makes The Wire even more astounding is that much of it is quite valid. Events in the show are based on events or people that the writers became familiar with in Baltimore. That being said, the writer Ed Burns was both a teacher and a cop in Baltimore and David Simon was a handsome journalist. They have an expertise of insight into these institutions and the others that The Wire looks at. As other publications have written about and I'm merely copying them in their ideas, The Wire is a lot of current history efficiently kneaded and twisted together into a fine German Pretzel. It's fiction, and there are definitely parts of it that are unrealistic but much of it is so incredibly realistic (I can verify some of this especially in season four with my dumb 20 years of life that I've had) that you can't do anything but learn an immense about important issues and questions and contract a hernia. <br />
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I'll come back to this later as I have to attend to some buisness (and yes sometimes I do have a semblance of some level of responsibility). Readers (which might merely be my boy K-dawg), share your thoughts on things if your so inclined to. Have you watched the Wire? What have you thought was so good about it? If you didn't like it, what flaws in your character allow for such a result to occur? If you could invite one of the characters over for a pot roast dinner, which character would you do that for?<br />
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Apologies again for the ridiculousness, please don't take my writings too seriously and thanks.DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-30369126628387522402011-11-24T20:53:00.000-08:002011-12-12T08:03:11.307-08:00Act<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMUKYJ9qxzhDcHgpTCoceGFa_YbPGtaIH4D2vQZND_eC0v8jawtGqG2wDI8tXed9LdHMDMRGlRzVrAhCbhQRBPjsybHvXjJXFNpMEyBSjwy1Uw5JgHP-O3GfAPSGNm064O0pSAtxeViSL/s1600/The-Wires-Omar-Little-pla-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMUKYJ9qxzhDcHgpTCoceGFa_YbPGtaIH4D2vQZND_eC0v8jawtGqG2wDI8tXed9LdHMDMRGlRzVrAhCbhQRBPjsybHvXjJXFNpMEyBSjwy1Uw5JgHP-O3GfAPSGNm064O0pSAtxeViSL/s320/The-Wires-Omar-Little-pla-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I'll talk to some of yous. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.occupyboston.org/">Occupy Boston</a> has been here (well for a while) and I've read about it maybe. I've spent time with Occupy Boston collaborating in there <a href="http://www.occupyboston.org/general-assembly/">general assemblies </a>for some odd hours. I’ve hinted in other posts that growing up, I’ve felt that I have not been active enough as a citizen in this country, but also that currently, our system is so overwrought with shlock that its hard to feel that you can have a voice and participate meaningfully. So here we are.<br />
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There is an utter need to reasonably address the critical problems we're facing. Now sometimes the occupiers have been what I feel is somewhat <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45335208/ns/us_news-life/t/shut-down-wall-street-occupy-block-streets/">ridiculous</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prgkEAuSQT0&feature=player_embedded">unruly</a>, destructive but often they have been quite <a href="http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-22/yourtown/30311101_1_whites-college-students-diversity">impressive</a>. I generally have been <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/11/17/142472045/boston-occupy-movement-reaches-second-phase">impressed</a> with the inclusivity of the Boston Branch and their non-aggressiveness. You don't have to have an ideology to be with them I think. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve liked there general assemblies. They've acted as a place for anyone to voice their views and opinions in a orderly and respectful fashion. It’s serves as a public space where people of different sectors, or strata of society can come together to share their experiences, ideas and beliefs. I've always felt that in America's past and in general, people used to talk to one another more then they do now. In earlier generations, it wouldn't take a crazy movement spurred by economic and social unrest to provide this public space for people to come together to discuss. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We're just so reticent now though and can enjoy the hit series The Office in the confines of our home, privately entertaining ourselves and with little need to interact with others. Who needs to be able to talk to one another when I can enjoy things so readily? This is a poorly done rant, but basically, I think in Boston at one point it used to be more the norm that you could go to a diner, and talk to someone you didn't know. This doesn't happen anymore and thus ideas are not discussed and shared. This lack of social and civic engagement kills us I believe and is why the Occupy Movement's general assembly is so vital.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I mentioned the importance of this the one day I really participated in the Occupy movement (I only have gone for a day). I tried to emphasize this but was probably busy with various tangents. However, had we come together more as a community and society I think this crisis would have been stemmed out earlier. Had each of us been connected to more individuals, especially those in different groups (whether it's work, ethnicity, income, social groups) we would have been more aware of problems earlier. Social Capital (as that Putnam guy terms it) can serve as a radar as more and stronger networks are created. Problems could have been more aware of earlier on and with more gusto thus motivating us to do something earlier before Lehman Brothers had what happened to them ever so much. We would have stopped this crisis earlier on from being as big as it has been.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is also much easier to screw over people when you have no familiarity of them. We are continually being called a divided society. We polarized we're told. The middle class is disappearing. Our politicians squabble. This all might be true and it's not my place to say one way or the other (though I generally agree and since when has it been my place to say anything I'm not sure). So, to all those who have been potentially greedy in some way and been involved in screwing some one else over (maybe you're a banker, but maybe you're the guy who took advantage of my confusion so many times) had you had some awareness and connection to those you're screwing over, you'd be less inclined to engage in such a behavior. When social psychologists look at reasons that atrocities can be committed, the ability to dehumanize a group you're harming was a major factor. If those who got us into this mess could be more aware of those that they might be screwing over, they would very likely have not engaged in as much of their behavior. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vice versa too. For all those occupy wall street people who are barricading people from going to work in NYC, if you had a connection to someone working on wall street you might be very able to see their nuances, learn that they're probably not any worse then you are, and if they have engaged in something you deem immoral and understand the shades of gray that are more complex to grasp. It's important to realize that despite my anger at the way our economy has run, and I couldn't do a better job working in a financial sector position or running a bank. I don't know what APR is when they talk about it. It's also crucial to remember that we do need some type of a financial sector. We absolutely need it to work and run better then it is, to be more equitable or human in some way, but based on the populations and needs of people in society their needs to be the economic interconnectedness that we have. The Occupy people just have to keep this things in mind (as do I as I start fuming about an overdraft charge, or what Apple does sometimes with their Istupid machines). We thus maybe shouldn't form a human barricade prohibiting people from working in the financial district as that's fairly smelly. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I once borrowed a bicycle pump from my neighbor. Though I didn't successfully engage in using it, I might have, and that might have helped me in some way. Community does this. The ability to come together is an immense boon to livelihood both <a href="http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED292050&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED292050">emotionally</a> and <a href="http://www.extension.umn.edu/community/00009.html">economically</a>. We’re able to share and trade resources. We're able to get jobs more easily because “we know someone” (though a friend from med school was saying how it's not equitable that you generally have to know someone to get a job and all things should be more computerized more so like his med school applications were). Most jobs I've gotten have been through word of mouth, though I'm generally perfectly qualified for the job (aside from slovenliness and both erratic and violent swearing). We learn of opportunities and can share opportunities we have. We're able to teach one another different skills and learn of various new techniques or strategies for solving a problems. I'm teaching one of my friends how to drive, and my roommates from a couple of years back taught me how to tie ties, organize papers, and really just do most things involved with living. This <a href="http://www.bettertogether.org/">community</a> is especially important, Putnam notes, when the economic climate worsens. All those mentioned above just become more required when there is less opportunity out there. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don't know what I was even beginning to write about it when I started. Maybe it was about thanksgiving, or maybe it was about the new Muppets movie coming out soon. I don't know. But I really do think we're divided. There are the overt ways people describe in how we're more polarized politically, how we have a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/middle-class-areas-shrink-as-income-gap-grows-report-finds.html">declining middle class</a> (this<a href="http://www.skepticmoney.com/is-the-middle-class-shrinking-is-that-bad/"> cat</a> doesn't agree there is a declining middle class) and such. Then there are the more covert ways in which we're just so engaged in our private behaviors (maybe that revolve around <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/zimchallenge.html">pornography</a>, or just around some hit tv series which you don't share with someone else as there are so many hit series to choose from now) that <a href="http://bowlingalone.com/?page_id=10">Putnam</a> discusses more. I think this kills us more then anything. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, let's drop the ideology piece first off. Having a sense of humor is incredibly more useful then having an ideological sense. Not that you shouldn't have political and social beliefs, just loosen up some, be open to new ideas. Don't be so fastidious or obtuse (yes I can guess that neither of these words were used properly). It's important to realize that most things you believe ideologically are probably wrong in some way or can't operate in the realm of right or wrong to begin with. It's crucial to realize that you can't even begin to know close to anything that one can possibly understand in our universe. It's vital that you realize that by not listening to others and foreclosing on your own ideas, you rob yourself of an opportunity to learn. Lastly, if you put your beliefs above your care for your fellow individuals... well that's stupid, so don't do that or I'll get you. <br />
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Let's find a way to get back to a place where we can feel comfortable talking to one another more. Where you can take the T in Boston and it's not <a href="http://www.ii.umich.edu/psych/news/department/news/?id=386">deathly silent</a> and full of people playing that stupid chicken launcher game on their Iphones. We should use the wonderful technological tools we have available, but they shouldn't be using us . We should be engaging with reality and humanity more then more effectively advancing our text message use for the given month. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let's take that step to connect more with those that we'd otherwise be nervous talking to. Let's listen, really listen, not listening so you can say your piece, but listening so you can understand, reflect, and learn for yourself what things are like outside of your little puny head. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have a yard sale. Invite your neighbors over for dinner. Maybe start a book club or spend some time doing a regular activity outside like walking the dog or wading through the communities recycling bin (please do). Say hi to strangers, not in a big way, but make it known that maybe you might care they exist. Get a dog so that you can walk it and they will do the socializing for you. Be drunk more, during the day, or use mescaline (ignore that). Attend or organize more of those communtiysh meetings about the neighborhood or schools or city council. Grow plants outside. Vote. Don't just vote, maybe volunteer (I didn't vote in the last election due to insurance related issues I was illogically concerned about). Use that meetup site. Maybe tweet about something, but in a useful way. Have a pot luck dinner or a BBQ (if you know how to do one which I certainly don't). Maybe get a screen and project movies onto it in your backyard like my neighbors do (but don't show terrible German contemporary movies). This is getting silly and you should have done something else many minutes ago but do take stock. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall, us, all of us coming back together will do more to prevent us from living up to some “<a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/09/american-youth-lost-generation/42814/">lost generation</a>” label that is occurring and will do more to help us rebuild and stave off future problems. We absolutely do need to improve our economy, but it is my thought that we can't do so unless we improve our society and can thus sustain economic growth. Lots of things get sold in our economy that are crap. They are marketed so effectively but really are hollow like the people who designed, build or sold them (take the Panera bread store). In the same sense we have to be worth the squeeze. We need to have skills, have good personalities and actually be a useful generation and I think from there the economic issues will progress. Let's do better and happy thanksgiving. I don't even know where I began to be going with this. </span></div><br />
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I like to harp and attack but I thought it would be relatively mature to deposit some ideas to solving some of the things that I rant about. The series <a href="http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/05/lost-review-the-end/">Lost</a> I observed seemed to have this trend where each new episode would open up all these new plot threads. My college roommates would continually watch, clinging and hoping for some type of closure to help alleviate the suspense that the hit series had built up in them (I for one felt I was too weak willed to watch as I have an addictive personality). However, the show continued to open up more problems then it could reasonably solve and thus frustrated some viewers including some of my roommates. <br />
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This might have no relation to anything that is going on, or it might mean everything. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'll try to offer some solvency to all the many problems I bring up as thats nice to do. Reading Collapse by <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse.html">Jared Diamond</a> was similar to this. It left me wanting a stiff drink to alleviate my fear of an impending doom that would be occurring and thus was just basically a downer. I thought his solutions to be fickle and weak compared to his analysis of the problems that he elaborated on. He shared his thoughts which I thought to be very well researched and I'll continually try to impress people at parties by talking about how the british brought rabbits and coyotes to Australia as they wanted familiar fauna and it was one of the many things they did that devastated the ecology of the continent. So I liked his main thesis and his main points and learned many things, but boy, was it depressing which from Louve's perspective is more likely to occur again because I probably had that <a href="http://www.education.com/facts/quickfacts-ndd/nature-deficit-disorder-problem-society/">nature deficit</a> growing as I was playing <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/goldeneye-007-2007">Goldeye </a>too frequently rather then constructing forts in the woods with my peers and thus am depressed more. I don't want to be just a downer (and at least my incoherency will protect all of you from feeling too down). <br />
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When thinking about Climate Change, I will often rant to my older family members how they can't even begin to grasp this deal. Sure they grew up with fears of a <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war">Cold War</a> Nuclear Holocaust, but this was something that could be concretely stopped by not doing something. Sure, it was very tense, but it didn't seem inevitable. It also might have prevented some level of major war between because each side could have destroyed one another so easily. This was the idea of <a href="http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/glossary/g/glmad.htm">Mutually Assured Destruction</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/may04/climate3.html">Climate change seems inevitable</a>. There is still a <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6553592/Climate-change-sceptic-Ian-Plimer-argues-CO2-is-not-causing-global-warming.html">considerable amount</a> of attitude that it's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/09/climate-change-debate-human-activity">not caused by human activity</a>. It's already occuring in some ways. I don't know if we're sure about how much we can stave off its effects at this point. I haven't read enough about it since I started caring somewhat about it (and by caring about I mean thinking about it in between bouts of Halo 3 and the hit game from my childhood Dungeon Keeper). <br />
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We gotta remember though how little we know (I'm a dumb 20 year old or something/ rather that thinks I know all) and that just because we can't conceptualize a solution to something, others in our 7 billion person world can. <br />
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In comes this Steward Brand guy. This cats legit and lives in a tug boat in the bay area. Maybe I should too. Whole Earth Discipline, one of my favorite reads as of recent, Brand states that there are three big things that he thinks will save the world that environmentalists (including himself back in the 70's) typically oppose. These three things are living in Cities, Nuclear Power, and Genetically Modified Foods. <br />
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The guy loves cities so he actually had two chapters on them. We typically think of cities as polluted and congested (which often they are), but we need to realize that as a species cities are a way that we can take up drastically lesss space. This is important for many reasons. He discusses the prarie states where youngsters have typically been leaving more rural areas and moved into cities like Fargo. As a result, many rural towns have literally been disappearing and the land to some degree "returns to nature" if you want to talk all hippied and all. This has a brought a return of buffallo or bison or something big and mammaley that we killed off once real good. There is more natural spaces.<br />
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He goes on to say services that we expect such as trash removal, water, internet, cable are much more efficiently deliverable if we cover less physical area and our populace is more concentrated. It means less towers AT&T have to build to provide reception to rural vermont, less garbage trucks that need to go out to random places in New Hampshire and things become much more economical in that sense. Less money is needed to be spent on workers, gas, time, electrical cables, towers etc. You get the cut of my jib. <br />
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Brand is such a legend that he even props up the city slums that we often think of as miserable, terrible, diseases ridden, and abominations that nobody would want to live in. I think he discusses that all of these might be traits, but overall, in developing countries people would prefer to live in cities then in the rural areas. Cities (and very much so including slums) provide a lot of economic opportunity that the rural areas don't have. <br />
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There are massive informal economies in these areas (such as Mumbai in India) where people can set up stands, participate in markets, develop social capital and sometimes work their way out of slums. Informal shelters are setup developing efficiently like a bee hive. There are no schools, but there are individuals who informally act as teachers. There are repair shops, literacy centers, markets and many other things you might see in a shopping mall that are present in a somewhat decrepit market form. Cell phones are actually much more afforable then they are here and individuals in these slums use them vigorously. Money can be transferred on these cell phones. Banking can be done. Cell Phones allow people in these areas to have some type of an "office".<br />
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They aren't good places to live from our point of view (in terms of general measures of quality of life) but for those living in developing areas they are preferable to the rural. City slums offer opportunity (with some creativity) to have a better quality of life especially for women. <br />
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My friend said to me last night "your writing will probably get you laid off and/or fired from all jobs that you could possibly ever have. Use spellcheck". Perhaps he was right.<br />
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I digress. Brand goes on to say that Nuclear Power is important. He himself protested it during the 60's and 70's (but who wasn't protesting nuclear power back then, I probably even was) but thinks it's actually very important now largely due to climate issues. Nuclear Power provides a lot of energy. It doesn't take up as much space as solar panels or wind farms might. By the time we have to deal seriously with the issue of waste, the technology that we'll have at that point will more then likely be able to handle it.<br />
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Basically Nuclear is almost renewable (very little metals are needed to generate lots of power) they can be built in a lot of places providing a lot of CO2 free energy. Typical green energy (wind and solar) simply don't provide enough energy (I doubt he dislikes them, but I think he's mostly comparing it to Nuclear). He goes on to say that a lot of the negative ramifications of nuclear radiation are overrated. Chernobyl has actually become a delightful wildlife sanctuary. Some radiation might be good for us like broccolli is. It innoculates us in some way. Things like that I think. This should be generally what he expressed in his writing. Do let me know if I have gotten these analyses wrong and mixed them up with the words to an Eminem song.<br />
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I aggree with Brand, and so should you. Thats arrogant, apologies. It would be interesting to see his reaction to the Japanese Tsunami and meltdown. My thought would be to not build nuclear reactors in fault zones. However, much of our population lie in areas that have significant geological activity and/or have extreme climate. This might be one of the limiting factors needed for consideration with nuclear power. One could find out these things and such. <br />
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To further continue this entry at a much later date and to further tear apart the work of this fine author in trying to summarize his wonderful findings I will start off on his views on GMOs. The guy likes them. Genetically Modified Organisms are key to the worlds survival he states. What stands out to me are his defenses (which I probably don't fully comprehend) of GMO's and his overall necessity. We have the potential, through GMO's to greatly enhance our food supply, and we already do this, and this is incredibly crucial for our population. He cites how India was able to develop Wheat that was more resistant to being blown over in the wind "<a href="http://www.livemint.com/2009/09/27235149/greenrevolution.htm.html">Dwarf Wheat</a>" or something. This allowed India to drastically improve it's yields and everything was suddenly perfect! Not true but it was an amazing feat.<br />
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We have enough food to feed our populations, and part of this success has been do to GMO's. With the onset of climate changes, changing our food supplies will be crucial. Brand states that we can potentially develop more crops that are easier or more replenishing of topsoil, that resist drought better. We can even make some type of soy product that makes us fart less as that will reduce our greenhouse emission (alright he lost some point with this example). <br />
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Regardless, we've been able to do some amazing things with GMO's. Now there are total cons to GMO's and there are sketchy things that we do with it. Brand says the process of modifying our food is generally more precises then doing what farmers have done for thousands of years in crossbreeding them or what nature can do naturally. We're only crossbreeding a couple of genes when we genetically modify them. <br />
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He goes on to say that's it a tool that get's a bad rap partially due to the regulations that make it so it's difficult for anything but large scale companies to engage in this practice. This has led to the rise of some the activities that Monsanto and such have engaged in that people don't like no good such as generally have a uniform food surplus, taking such drastic steps to own a crop of food, charging farmers if some crop naturally lands in their field etc.<br />
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I fully don't begin to comprehend this issue but Brand takes a stance that the reality is we need to deal with the huge population. We want it to come down, not through collapse, or catastrophe, but gradually. We do however, need to acknowledge the current carrying capacity needs of our planet. GMO's especially are a tool. We might not want to hate them outright or ban them. We want to think consciously about how we use them. They have a lot of potentialy, but then I hear something about them killing honey bees real good and if anyone touches that vital bee I'll punch them in the face real good. I really like the honey bee and so should you. I digress. GMO's are a tool. We should and need to use them well. <br />
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Brand is also delightful in the tangents he goes off on from his main thesis. He has a delightful passage in which he describe how he arises before dawn often to go out and destroy various non-native invasive plants that are infecting the Bay Area. What I delightful activity! He talked about how jacked up he feels in doing so and that humans have a long history of being stewards of their environment, not, simply natural by standers and that what we view as the natural environment might have in some way always been tweaked by our ancestors. This is important he says and our proper actions can maintain biodiversity. I for one enjoy at least stepping on the ravenous Japanese Knotweed that is ever so pervasive. <br />
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*******TAKE A BREAK, LIFE YOUR LIFE, THIS ENTRY IS GOING ON TOO LONG*********<br />
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Think about these things real good. I think a lot of the ways in which environmental movements have gone about things could be done more effectively. Let's take the Lorax story, by Dr. Seuss which is clearly my most advanced exemplar. One of the main points of this wonderful childhood story was that we're all in trouble if we use up our planet's natural resources. Any corporation, no matter how heartless, will eventually screw themselves over if they continue to behave poorly and greedily. <br />
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If we do have a stand that many of the major institutions and corporations are heartless, we can at least realize this. Oil Companies that continue to use up too much of our supply of oil will obviously collapse when our oil is gone. Same thing with Coal, we do have a lot more coal, but if coal companies use that up they are in trouble. If agribusiness messes up all of our topsoil to create farms, they're not a feasible. If loggers use up all available forests, there industry will collapse. Take into account our financial sector. Generally, the recession that we are now in is bad for all major companies / corporations. If consumer spending is down, that's bad for Bank of America, for AT&T, for Wal Mart and especially the Sam Adams Beer Company as there is less disposable income that could be spent at these institutions. <br />
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If our businesses continue to behave badly, and all behave too greedily, they will certainly screw us over, but they will lose access to the resources that they need to survive (and I'll be cackling somewhere ironically with less teeth and various tools for foraging mushrooms which I'll have been living off of when things get really bad). If all the resources are gone, including consumers with disposable income, they will be ruined (much like that Onceler was when all those succulent <a href="http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/King_of_the_Hill">Truffula Trees</a> were cut down). <br />
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Vice versa, environmentalists need to take a stance where they acknowledge that there are 7 billion people on this planet, and there are realities to how we live. We absolutely need to change our behavior in how we individually consumer and dispose of resources, But many of us will drive. Many of us will use electricity. I'll take a shower with hot water and people in developing countries with developing economies want that too. Environmentalists need to realize that we need to be able to supply the level of resources that has societelly been determined as reasonable to ensure that humanity has a certain standard of living. <br />
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We thus need that power source that will feasibly and cleanly power a world of 7 billion. We need a food source that will be able to durably withstand drought and feed our world. We can't simply just reduce (though reducing is part of our toolbox). Brand takes a much needed stand in how to do deal with this his advocacy of Nuclear Power and GMO's. Many, including me, have advocated that with planning, we can find ways to humanely reduce our populations, maybe down to 1.5 billion. It would be wise, given the realities to reduce our populations humanely, but it should absolutely not happen through societal collapses, wars, famine or natural disaster. You wouldn't want that happening to you. Environmentalists need to realize that they need the resources provided by other sectors of society much as the power companies need to heed the lessons of environmentalists to be sustainable (who knows what I am beginning to say here). These groups have to not be fighting one another and realize that they have the same needs/ interests and are dependent on one another. <br />
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Mind you I'm naïve, dumb and 20. Collaboration has certainly been tried I am sure and with little effect in the past. Americans might not be as well set up for it as the Germans are (they love to discuss). Fighting might seem like the only option in many cases and as I was playing so much <a href="http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/King_of_the_Hill">Halo King of the Hill</a> missions with my roommates I was unaware. <br />
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However, when possible, the chance to discussion, compromise, to plan and work together when realizing joint interests and dependency on one another, discussion and collaboration is certainly the best option.<a href="http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/wil2bio-1"> E.O. Wilson</a> whose just great and I've mentioned before narrates this process in his wonderful (and I think only) fictional tale of his called <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/books/review/Kingsolver-t.html">Ant Hill</a>. (***SPOILER***) There is a major environmental victory in this novel, not due to protests and fighting, but due to the hard work, dedication, discussion and far superior planning of a concerned individual that joins forces with the very developers that are intent on destroying the tract of land that our protagonist is so beloved to. He wins and wins more efficiently, not by fighting them, but by out planning them, and building up their trust.<br />
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I'll leave it with this, happy thanksgiving and chew on how fat and unable to reproduce thanksgiving turkeys are when you chew on their flesh. My in law beheaded 22 of them apparently while working on a farm and I was nothing but impressed.DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-15494553185140081362011-11-10T22:50:00.000-08:002011-12-07T12:06:12.499-08:00Nature<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqc8BkmtPek2s0_y-1eB5f0CKVhcyDeDd3zkkqXgYXL7ye6ixcAmDZaBHnnrdlnXkgSYwLE4yPKgTn7Z2IVgh0azms0Ta8U8kL9ah7ADX0UCeL08CEGBVbEZTrd9x4DcNUFSgZ55Shyphenhyphen4L/s1600/The_Wire_Greggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqc8BkmtPek2s0_y-1eB5f0CKVhcyDeDd3zkkqXgYXL7ye6ixcAmDZaBHnnrdlnXkgSYwLE4yPKgTn7Z2IVgh0azms0Ta8U8kL9ah7ADX0UCeL08CEGBVbEZTrd9x4DcNUFSgZ55Shyphenhyphen4L/s320/The_Wire_Greggs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Alright, so post number three. I'm trying to keep this up at the very least in the aims of <a href="http://www.101waystomakemoney.com/">monetizing it</a> which would be such a blessing in so many different ways. As always, there is a quantity versus quality debate with the nagging question of can you have both? So I'm gonna try to bust out a post, negating the quality but aiming towards becoming more comfortable writing drivel that my two readers will read with a faint glimmer of <a href="http://www.problogger.net/">monetization</a>. Sorry, I've gotten to the point now where I say things and I don't even know if they're meant to be sarcastic. I mean, it would be sort of sell outey if I tried to make a profit of this maybe, but my moral fiber isn't that strong and money is somewhat tight right now and thats what things are about.<br />
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I will also add that my blogs will often be negative, dark and stormy (like the drink). This if for me too. But I will try to be proactive and at least plagiarize solutions from others and call them my own to give a postive twist to things.<br />
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So I live in a city. Well Boston to be precise. Where I live in Boston I greatly enjoy largely due to the amount of green space that is currently present. <a href="http://jamaicaplain.patch.com/blog_posts/jps-newest-green-condos">Here</a> this will give things away more. Needless to say, I am a few minutes away from a slightly lucious pond, a delightful park, an arboretum, an audubon sanctuary, two green way thingys and a buffet of community gardens. This I find great and I'll elaborate on why this natural presense is crucial and makes me a little bit less dead.<br />
<a href="http://www.biophiliafoundation.org/">Biophilia</a> is a term brought up by certain researchers. I believe <a href="http://www.eowilson.org/">E. O. Wilson</a> came up with this theory. The idea to me is that we have an innate connection to nature (especially diverse nature) as that is the environment we evolved in. Most of our human history has developed in the natural world (with plants and stuff) rather then a world like Central Square in Cambridge. Certain aspect of our behavior, our genetic makeup are still adapted to that world and thus we have this biophilia (any philia term skeeves me out real good to be pretty honest and thus think E.O. Wilson failed us in this). So we have a strong connection to a diverse natural world. Which are you more attracted to actually: <a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=ppwl&cp=7&gs_id=k&xhr=t&q=suburbs&tok=KH0IcB_OigoU8henMJT3lQ&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=631&wrapid=tljp132115842410308&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=forest&pbx=1&oq=forest&aq=f&aqi=g5g-s1g4&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=51184l51902l0l52229l6l3l0l0l0l0l156l437l0.3l3l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=8abaa6c21d9a490b&biw=1280&bih=631">this</a> or <a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=ppwl&cp=7&gs_id=k&xhr=t&q=suburbs&tok=KH0IcB_OigoU8henMJT3lQ&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=631&wrapid=tljp132115842410308&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi">this!</a> (Or <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=631&tbm=isch&tbnid=dXN-C5QQ9lVoPM:&imgrefurl=http://ameatlessyear.blogspot.com/2010/04/rip-captain-vegetable.html&docid=cuE337TWYSyRxM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxScHwT8Lys1o70odN0kibQvfqZtyve_MUBb2bz0wBP5tUT3vmACd9YEG9efY6uIZWHO7ZLIlj7HPKupUiZkjEeHV4yd7oMd3nGdIXxr2R29CIIHXhwjk7akMNq1o3JG-QWjZ3EJgSOM/s400/CaptainVegetable83_Richard_Hunt.jpg&w=400&h=310&ei=kUe_TtPjO4Pt0gHiw6HhBA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=218&sig=113820798832426048525&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=166&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=59&ty=43">this</a>)<br />
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I'll often use the phrase (whever I can really) "from an evolutionary standpoint" after having read a couple books by <a href="http://stevenpinker.com/biocv">Steven Pinker</a> who is just great. His big argument in my most favorite book of his (of the two I've read), the <a href="http://stevenpinker.com/publications/blank-slate">Blank Slate</a>, is really defending this idea of a human nature, and stating that it's actually a good thing that we have a set of complex and evolved behaviors. Our evolved nature has allowed us to develop traits that have aided and still continue to help us survive in many crucial ways. We might find animals neat because they were a source of food (he might not have said this all this is probably me and probably wrong). We find small animals gross and disgusting sometimes because it was risky for our ancestors to eat them as it wasn't much food gained for the potential risk of getting sick. I read the book awhile ago and can't provide too many more examples. <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evolutionary-psychology/#EvoPsyTheMet">Evolutionary psychology</a> and biology is a bit dangerous too as one can get too ahead of themselves in saying things like "From an evolutionary standpoint grilled cheeses are tasty to us because they remind us of our mother's milk..." as I often like to do. Also the <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evolutionary-psychology/#EvoPsyTheMet">methodology</a> has always interested me. How would you gather evidence for backing some idea when the evidence is completely extinct? Anyways, the main point in my sharing of these ideas is that as humans, I certainly buy into the idea that we have "nature" to us, sets of behaviors, physical charactersitcs, traits, adaptations etc. that have evolved over the course of our history which mostly took place in the non-person-made world. Anyways. <br />
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<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_overview.html">Gardner</a>, who championed the idea of multiple intelligences added a <a href="http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr054.shtml">naturalistic intelligence</a> that went along with these skills. It invovled the ability to recognize and interpret the natural world around us; to be able to keenly see something that might be camoflauged or hidden or to be able to differntiate between the minutia of two types of plants. So I don't know how this elaborates, but theres another guy who believed in our natural affiliation to nature and I had to learn about him at different points and maybe he's legit. I always think he's neat and stuff.<br />
A lot of us our <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html">fat</a> too, and fat is something to be sensitive about and hopefully have a <a href="http://reason.com/archives/2004/08/01/the-war-on-fat/singlepage">war against</a> as well as we need more wars on different things and it makes it sound like we mean buisness good when we've declared war. This is a horrible transition but a transition none-the-less. <a href="http://richardlouv.com/">Richard Louve</a> writes a <a href="http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/">book</a> that was intended to alarm america about our disconnect from nature (<a href="http://richardlouv.com/books/last-child/excerpt/">Nature Deficit Disorder</a>) and that's one of the reasons we're so fat! He argues (and he has a website with a domain name that is his personal name so we know he means buisness!) that the current disconnect is due to obvious ways with things like deforestation, but also partially due to the hypersensitivity of our culture and the need to always protect our kids kind of extremely (which I mocked in an earlier passage but was guilty of probably today and many other days really :-(. We're too scared to let our kids go off. We also have TV. We also sometimes try to overschedule our kids through everything and yea, they don't have time to play, to be kids with the outdoors and each other and that this is really bad. <a href="http://www.grist.org/article/schalit">Heres</a> what someone else thought about it or something.<br />
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He goes on to say, this nature deficit leads to obesity, but also childhood depression and attentional issues. He doesn't have as much research to back this up but has interesting examples and anecdotes (I might be wrong about this but I'm not sure if I care). He goes on to talk about the learning that occurs when kids play in the woods. The guy loves tree-houses and I would learn a lot building one apparently. I can't however. Partially I would somehow set the tree ablaze and mess up the pH of the soil, but there is too much lawsuit potential and legal mumbo jumbo that prohibit kids from doing these types of things now-a-days. <br />
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The guy ranted a bit. I was bored at points reading this, but with my attentional deficit that might have been partially caused by a nature deficit, this is logical. I generally buy into this or at least have forgotten and misconstrued what the main points of this were. I do think there is a general disconnect from nature and from one another that has terrible consequences for all of us. Kids can be kind of miserable now but often not always too. There is stuff missing, play is important and I feel outside, self-directed play by kids (esp with peers has decreased). What do I know though. I did babysit for some kids which largely involved being the person that picked them up from afterschool and took them to karate, basketball, chess, dance and piano (all true). We also like to get rid of <a href="http://library.adoption.com/articles/no-recess-policies-being-implemented-in-u.s.-school-districts.html">recess real good sometimes</a>. <br />
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There is not quite enough initiative that I see in our behavior any more (Ask a generation Y person to change a lightbulb, see what happens... ok they probably could do that). When we go to college we're called <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html?pagewanted=all">emerging adults</a>. If we had more time, pressure and the opportunity during our development to direct more of our own activty and develop a sense initiative then we would be less worthless sooner as a generation. This ties in to the pervading <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/education/15recess.html">structurization</a> of our lives and the barriers put up to accessing our world of play, peers and nature as a kid. There is plenty of <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html">attentional deficit issues</a> to go around and yea, there is plent of fat and <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsDepression/">depression</a>. <br />
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My point of view is what often counts in life is positive experiences with other people, health, growth, learning new skills, accomplishments/ and or adventures, altruism, a developing understanding and learning of phenomena... This all counts to me (and is vague enough semantically where I can say that everyone aggrees). Nature counts a lot. We can see a patch of woods, even less then an acre, and it's just a patch of woods. However, if we look closer we can notice the differences in some of the plants. We can notice the shape, structure and patterns of one type of plant. We can be curious. Why is the leaf pattern different in these plants? Which plant will live longer? <br />
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Ok, I'll admit. I'm bored by the idea of this but do actually enjoy checking out the vegetation. The outdoors can provide an immense amount of joy, comfort and imspiration to all of us. It has done so for thousands of years. The more you get into things the less life sucks and nature is one of the best things to get into. We're damaging ourselves when we create more then needed barriers to us and the natural world (You do need a house, I know). <br />
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We should be at the point where we realize that in spite of all of our progress, we are part of the natural world. We are dependent on/ affected by the natural resources of our planet (<a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2048242,00.html">oil</a>, <a href="http://www.resolutioncopper.com/res/environment/52.html">copper</a> and maybe zinc), it's <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/inside-the-jet-stream.html">cycles</a>, it's geography and we have limits that are influenced by it. We do need to ensure that we sustain the natural world which we are dependent on for so many of our needs. We need a <a href="http://www.50waystohelp.com/">healthy planet</a>. For us a species moreso then anyone else. From my view if we establish a connection to the natural world, we'll be happier and in doing so will want to do more to make sure it's still there. The more awareness we have of something (a group of people, a language, or a place) the more of a connection we generally have to it unless it's negative, like you were bitten by a viper or something. <br />
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Take this one to the bank... They might charge you for having to hold it as it's so volatile...<br />
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<a href="http://www.bloghints.com/">BLOG DIRECTORY, Submit blog free, Promote Blog, Best directory</a>DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-75095320002621370702011-10-24T19:04:00.000-07:002011-11-10T21:40:29.829-08:00Development<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTXKVwwW-QzICjxOETmZCdArHIDTHc4uK7PPITV0IFc0JoOdyS8cDmXz4nODbnlvCVf-wueMDB8B0wBCkn_-ipM88uHSZ4YQGCMl2rVdbo21cF5X1-YaIqW3PZrwYyORXTtPtIm2UQCVz/s1600/lester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTXKVwwW-QzICjxOETmZCdArHIDTHc4uK7PPITV0IFc0JoOdyS8cDmXz4nODbnlvCVf-wueMDB8B0wBCkn_-ipM88uHSZ4YQGCMl2rVdbo21cF5X1-YaIqW3PZrwYyORXTtPtIm2UQCVz/s320/lester.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I don't think most of the people I know of my generation feel this way but this is a strong sentiment that I have. I don't want kids. I decided this when I was 24. I would tell my parents somewhat solely for the drama (I was often an awful child). It's something I still believe. <br />
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This makes utter sense to me. There are personal reasons. I do love kids and am good with them, don't get me wrong. I'm a teacher which can work great for being a father, but also, you're stuck with kids for your <a href="http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/158877.page">professional day and having to deal with them again at home would be something</a>. Teaching can take up your life to the point where you would have to choose between the two roles. I love adventures (and still do) and the idea of being tied down is not one that is appealing. This is all logical, at least to me.<br />
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My parent's want grandparents and it definitely is upsetting to hear this argument. However, the backdrop of our conversation would revolve around what is happening with the world. What I at least think and hopefully don't say fully to my parents is that I think things are pretty runied in this world and their generation did a lot of this <a href="http://rantventrant.wordpress.com/why-baby-boomers-suck/">ruining.</a> It feels that the world they are still running and have left us with is one where people behave like there are no limits; that they can do or have whatever they want. There's a <a href="http://www.northtownbooks.com/book/9780805091205">recklessness</a> that's just so common place, and so much energy invested in things that <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/14/fyi/main2798401.shtml">just don't matter or that are bad for most of us</a>. Theres not that much that they've left us to hold onto. <br />
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To those boomers, I say that I don't want to bring a kid into a world where you have to go to a<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/03/college-bubble-burst_n_857082.html"> college</a> that is atrociously expensive but the degree <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/03/college-bubble-burst_n_857082.html">barely get's you a job</a> despite the fact that you're probably stuck with massive debt after having gone there; where you can fairly easily have <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec11/girardet_09-05.html">decades of war</a> that are <a href="http://www.deomi.org/contribute/DiversityMgmt/documents/AmericasMilitaryPopulation2004.pdf">so removed from our consciousness</a> that people don't seem to have awareness that they are even happening or that they <a href="http://nytimes.com/2003/03/20/international/worldspecial/20IRAQ.html">can be started so easily</a>. I don't want my kids to come into a world where they are so disconnected from people outside of their income or ethnic group, where the middle class is pretty much gone. Where the majority of their communication might be through texting, tweeting, or XBox live (or have their parents do <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1355346/Twitter-mothers-spend-hours-blogging-neglect-children.html">too much of the previous... silly British</a>). I don't want my kids to continually be afraid of just about everything. <br />
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As a parent, I would be told I should be concerned and/ aware of jungle gyms, meth, mercury, diabetes, lack of exercise, too much exercise, cyber bullying, TV, <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/zimchallenge.html">porn</a>, not enough porn, people of different colors, swimming pools, power tools, <a href="http://www2.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=2414">dodge ball</a>, predatory teachers or bus drivers, public transportation, urea and really just everything. One is very likely to not feel any level of comfort interacting with anything novel because it's probably scary and really might hurt you in some way and you can't afford that kind of risk. <br />
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Let's not forget about that little bit of <a href="http://www.climatecentral.org/?gclid=CLmVyMzqrawCFU1x5QodRHUSJA">global climate change</a> looming over us where my kids will see more and more of our world become uninhabitable and see potentially billions of people being <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/4b18e3599.html">displaced</a> due to physically not having their space. It might not even be the climate that kills us, but our fear and anticpation about what's to come that drives us into various maladaptive behaviors that are just terrible. <br />
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I don't want to be a dad when what's considered being a good dad is to<a href="http://www.puttingfamilyfirst.org/overscheduled_kids.php"> sign your kid up for as much "stuff"</a> as you can so that you can prevent them from having any semblance of free time where they would probably watch tv and play an Xbox of some sort or do cocaine or something. You have to have enough income for piano, karate, basketball and ballet lessons and the income to hire someone to take the from points A - E, but in order to do this you barely get to have any quality time with them or even begin to think of letting them have a sense of initiative in directing their own play and activities (again that would be absorbed too much by HBO, Facebook and Wii if kids are left to their own whims). <br />
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The world is dangerous and we should be hypersensitive about our kid's well being and they should be continously vigilant too, even though crime might be down a lot from when I was probably a kid. They might not actually get to live that much but the world might be dangerous and we have to be vigilant!<br />
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I'll probably be lax with structure as things are confusing and complicated now. I want the best for my kids and will give it to them. I just have to make sure they have everything that they need and there are many things they need. They need a cell phone, they need the latest one otherwise it might not work well enough for what they need. They need friends. We can let them <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127222042">drink</a> and go party as that's just being kids which is what we want them to be and we don't want them to not have friends. We also will underestimate how much that they drink or let them drink with us. They do that in Europe and that way we're in control. Lessons don't have to be learned and consequences don't really need to be experienced, we can always swoop in and make sure that they aren't going to feel anything too bad. That'd be bad. The outdoors are dangerous and so are times where we can't be in touch with our kids and can't make sure that they are doing well. Kids know what's generally best for them and so it's important to provide them with things and stuff for them to live their lives. <br />
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Alright... so apologies for them terrible offensiveness. My parents were actually good, in many more ways than I can begin to appreciate. I was a tough little nugget too. I don't like what's happened with our world and I do attribute significant amounts of problems to the Boomers. I don't like the general culture of parenthood that exists today, but again, what do I know. I don't actually know that much on this topic and some of this is based off of episodes of <a href="http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s08e12-stupid-spoiled-whore-video-playset">South Park</a>. However, I think there is some truth to this. It's a direct fault or flaw with, but there are just so many competing extraneous forces to parenthood in our society right now. A mother/ fathers message is just not as salient when having to compete with Spongebob Square Pants and all the marketing, media, Call of Duty 3 hullabalooo. Also, these institutations that have emerged, often not with malice or bad intent have become so large. Large to the point where they are bigger then a group of actual individuals. Finally, my dad can remember a time when the world's population was 3 billions. Thats wildin. Again, it's seven again. I think this has implications for beyond what I, the boomers, Obama (or Romney) or most of us can begin to comprehend. The way society functioned for our parents in the 3-4 billion person world might not work now that the population has doubled. . <br />
This is sad though in a couple of ways and the idea of being grandchildless saddens my parents. I'm encroaching on my 30's and notice myself unwittingly thinking about what I say or do if I were a dad. "My kids would be outside X hours a day and have hiked 10 of the 4000 footers in the White Mountains (I just thought of that) by age 7". I'd be sick at helping them with their homework, definitely without doing so for them (I'd totally let them take an F if thats what they deserved). I'd be pumped about setting up experiences in which they could figure things out for themselves. I'd let them watch TV but maybe break it subtly at some point and let them try to fix it themselves if they really wanted it or they'd have to go outside. I would make sure they could change the oil in my car (as I'm bad at it actually) and read to younger kids once they were in 2nd or 3rd grade. I'd <a href="http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/08128.pdf">praise them, but specifically, realistically and without forcing it</a> (the fact that I linked it I think really forced it however). I'd give them plenty of attention, but in many ways without them knowing (not by stalking or facebook stalking, but kind of knowing what's up and caring, but outwardly lookling like I'm reading the boston globe). They'd know how to read a topo map no doubt and also identify the local species of amphibians and other fauna. We'd build a terarrium at some point and maybe have a rock and mineral collection (Mrs. Baum rocked that pretty good). Living would ensue, an awareness of the world around them would guide them (not a fear/ anxiety) and they'd be good. I would certainly be frightened, confused and be terrible at points and as a 20 year old am talking like I know everything which is what I'm told 20 years old often do. Anyways, I digress... <br />
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As an educator, a friend, kind of an uncle, a neighbor and community member I can do a lot of these things already (not as in depth) and do so in a way without having so much of my energy and time strapped up with the responsibility of fatherhood. I can involve myself in these endeavors in ways that fix the problems that are already out there that desperately need addressing without adding another body to our <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=population-and-sustainability">7 billion word planet that is already stretched thing. </a><br />
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I've liked the things I've read that have all types of new ideas and solutions to our problems that I couldn't even begin to imagine. I can take faith in realizing how minute my view is and how utterly incomplete it is. I'm wrong about so much and what I don't know is disgutingly huge. This is nice in the end and very likely one or some of the many things I don't even begin to know about will save our dysfunctional world. Still though, I don't like how the world is going right now to the point where I don't want to bring a child into it and thats a bit sad.DefEnjoymenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00430386090853045053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222927178811637177.post-59248791904297148872011-10-23T00:44:00.000-07:002011-12-23T10:45:13.430-08:00Intro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpaU9zDWIHSlBCNu5Qf4WsgeByF7uSAgAXA9rp_IiR6MTVqeZxxMMH0pwap1z2TEc3tLJUwdiUhkMrp9qsZCWSaYPIw_YEmldwAXcmp8c_b8MWek0OOcnjdjvYFf1_EpG0GQjgqn5SK8P/s1600/tumblr_lo56bagGPp1qe71fto1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpaU9zDWIHSlBCNu5Qf4WsgeByF7uSAgAXA9rp_IiR6MTVqeZxxMMH0pwap1z2TEc3tLJUwdiUhkMrp9qsZCWSaYPIw_YEmldwAXcmp8c_b8MWek0OOcnjdjvYFf1_EpG0GQjgqn5SK8P/s320/tumblr_lo56bagGPp1qe71fto1_500.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It was at a friend's wedding where an idea for creating a blog finally clicked. Coming back from the reception, I sat behind my friend (the groom's) parents who were of the baby boomer generation. We went back in forth with pleasantries after being tired and buzzed from an exciting evening. At some point the conversations steered into politics and by the end, maybe in order to get me to shut up, they said it would be good for me to get my ideas down in a blog. It seemed like a good idea. <br />
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At least from what I've seen, this is the most <a href="http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2008/12/worst-times-in-us-history.html">dysfunctional period</a> our in our country that I have at experienced (26 years of life isn't that significantly long I concede). There is the continuous barrage of issues that we hear of: <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/u/unemployment/index.html">unemployment</a>, recessions,<a href="http://epa.gov/climatechange/science/stateofknowledge.html"> climate change</a>, crime (in many areas) the environment and energy policy, health care, etc. Right now, we are all affected by so many of these things and they are real and extemely painful at a personal level and hugely damaging from a societal perspective. I have my personal beliefs of certain problems being more salient than others, but I know that I cannot legitimately rank these issues in terms of how much of a crisis they pose with validity. <br />
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What I do believe, and feel strongly about is that underneath many of these problems is the general degradation and fragmentation of our society. I believe that people are less <a href="http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&source=hp&q=disconnected+society&pbx=1&oq=disconnected+society&aq=f&aqi=g1g-v3&aql=1&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=234l9032l0l9750l23l10l2l0l0l0l483l2887l0.3.4.1.2l11l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=243423c6f499f635&biw=1280&bih=631">connected </a>to one another and less involved to the point where the general functioning of our free society has been very much compromised. We don't have nearly as many strong physical communities where people are connected to one another in an area; we often lack a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_society">public space for ideas</a>, experiences, resources and connections to be formed; we're overwhelmed and distracted by so much superfluous information that too often we don't involve ourselves in things that are directly important for us or our communties. As a result of our dysfunction, we're not taking care of the many issues that we are facting to the point that they have become insurmountable challenges.<br />
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What stands out for me was the <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tentrillion/themes/bush.html">Bush Adniminstration</a>. This time period I think epitomizes the major societal issues that have led us to the pitfalls we are now dealing with and why I feel that we're really weak right now as a people. When I discuss my feelings with pretty much anyone who has some willingness to listen; most can agree that the way in which the War in Iraq was conducted and the trillion dollar tax reductions being put out simultaneously was atrocious. No other administration both put us into a huge war (at the very least conducted with very poor planning) and gave such an immense tax cut that predominantly went to the wealthy. The Bush Administration, in my view, showed an utter lack of care, humanity and connection to reality that dug us into an immense hole deeper than I think we've been in. It's not nearly as much about the ideology (though neo-conservative ideology can seem scary at points to me though I'm not well versed on it), it's more about how they went about things. The <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125123,00.html">groupthink</a>, the lack of percieved empathy, the disconnect from the realities of their action and the people they were leading. For the most part, I think it's becoming a fairly valid point that the Bush administration was awful.<br />
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I know that Cheney is not at all solely at fault for the problems we're facing now. I'm fed up with more then my share of Democrats and liberals. I bring this up as what I think epitomizes the nature / systemic problems of our society. We might not have been paying attention that much. I for one spent a lot of my 2000s in college playing Halo with my roommates and trying to get laid. If we were versed in issues we didn't care that much or think we could do that much about what was happening. Even when we were trying, we probably were often preaching to the choir or competing to barely be heard. This is my experience at least. I felt helpless these past 8 years but also wasn't trying that hard to participate meaningfully (I did donate $5 to a NY state rep, I never heard back from him when writing him a letter). <br />
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So a lot of this need to write comes from personal feelings of frustrations and my own experiences as I've been attempting to meaningfully enter the workforce and contribute to society. Mind you before I carry on I should have disclaimers. Most of my ideas are not mine. I'm citing Bowling Alone a lot by <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_book_club/features/2000/bowling_alone/_2.html">Robert Putnam</a> in this entry and others. My experiences have been somewhat difficult as of recent, and this is a large part of why I'm writing. However, my problems absolutely pale in comparison to what most people in the U.S. are experiencing. Many personal attacks are somewhat geared to my own behavior and experiences and though I might say they reflect more segments of society then they actually do, this might not be true. I'll try not to swear. I'll get the links all set up and do some editing of sorts but I am fairly confident that the 4-5 people who are reading this will find a large slew of punctuation errors and words that are capitalized that shouldn't be. <br />
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I think this is important at a personal level (and I'm more than sure that there are enough blogs all ready exploring the <a href="http://www.recessionwire.com/">recession</a> and <a href="http://dailybail.com/">dysfunction </a>of our nation, I'm guesssing that there is not a void) for me to get some ideas off my chest and to maybe at the very least feel I'm doing somewhat of a civic duty. Maybe at some point however, I'll rant or share an intereresting idea and someone will be moved by it (one of the four of you who might read this). Who knows. I do generally care about things going on. I've been angry a lot this past summer especially. I'd like if we came together more, if we did more to create a stronger and more humane society, and that together we addressed the many problems that we're being toppled by as a nation. Thanks.<br />
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