Carolyn's Thoughts

Post-Grad Reading: Books #21-30

2011-11-19T18:57:00.001-05:00

This post is quite long overdue, since I am now well past book #30. So before I hit Book #40, I'd better post an updated list of mini-reviews of my reading...

21. Murder on Embassy Row (Margaret Truman)

Another excellent Margaret Truman mystery, this time focused around DC's international delegations on Embassy Row, and most especially the elite caviar-centered worlds that some of them inhabited. Though I missed the central characters from the other Margaret Truman mysteries I've read, I enjoyed following this story and found it a very gripping and quick read.

22. Walking the Bible (Bruce Feiler)

As much as I did enjoy this book and agreed with its premise-- the connection of land to spiritual feelings, with an eye for historical accuracy but not an obsession with it-- it was pretty one-sided. One might expect that, though with a subtitle like “A Journey By Land Through the Five Books of Moses.” Feiler is Jewish, though not strongly religious as the book begins, and the book focuses on the events of the Torah. As such, you find him focusing on the powerful spiritual connection that the Jewish people have to the land. In some ways it's a good companion to The Lemon Tree, which while a reasonably balanced account sometimes skewed toward the Palestinians. There were moments when I became upset with Feiler for being so distraught over the feelings that the Muslims he met also experienced toward the land. All in all, though, it was a good read and a good spiritual narrative.

23. Theodore Rex (Edmund Morris)

I have been trying to get through this behemoth of presidential history for some five to seven years now-- ever since my last Theodore Roosevelt obsession-- and now I finally did it. This is volume 2 of Edmund Morris's trilogy, and it focuses exclusively on Roosevelt's presidential years. It does so in minute detail, looking at policy, politics, and personal life in the White House. Though it obviously can't cover everything, Theodore Rex is nothing if not a thorough sweet of Rooseveltian presidential history.

24. Spade & Archer (Joe Gores)

This book was written as a prequel to The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, one of the greatest noir novels of all time, many years after the fact. Needless to say, Joe Gores is not Dashiell Hammett. That being said, Spade & Archer was a fun read depicting the cases of the years leading up to Falcon. It also did not feature Miles Archer nearly as much as I expected. Basically a fun but not “good” read.

25. The Thin Man (Dashiell Hammett)

A classic detective story. Nick and Nora Charles are two of Dashiell Hammett's most famous characters, and this novel makes it clear why this is so. I actually saw the movie (the first one) before I read the book, and I was pleased to discover how close they are. Apparently some adaptations were better back in the day. Anyway, great writing, snappy dialogue, fun and fascinating characters-- all of these traits make The Thin Man a great read.

26. Thirteen Moons (Charles Frazier)

I picked up this book when I was in Cherokee, NC, for an alt break trip, and I have to say, reading it took me back there again. Thirteen Moons is a historical fiction novel, centered around the “white chief” Will, who as a boy is sent off as an indentured servant to run a store in the mountains of western North Carolina, and is adopted there by Cherokee. It tells the story of his life from that point, to his ascent as a lawyer and lobbyist for the Cherokee, through the Removal to Oklahoma and how he gets his band of Cherokee to be able to stay, through the Civil War. It's a fantastic story with beautifully crafted prose. Highly recommend.

27. Naked Spirituality (Brian McLaren)

This is McLaren's most recent book. I bought my copy after attending a talk he gave about it, and I'm glad I did. We've all heard people say, “I'm spiritual, but I'm not religious.” This book does a beautiful job of taking that idea and translating spiritual feelings into a series of semi-religious practices that do a wonderful job of exploring the depths of spiritual sensations. Never judgmental or overly condescending, McLaren's writing is personal and yet applicable to all who might wish to deepen their relationship with God, or who wish for a church that put the need for love above the need for any number of types of traditions. An excellent read, especially as I struggle through finding a new church for myself in a new location.

28. A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)

A genuinely ridiculous book. I alternated between laughing at the idiosyncrasies of the main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, and being thoroughly disgusted and repulsed by him as a character. At any rate, it was extremely well written, and Reilly is an undeniably unique character in American literature. Deserving of its Pulitzer Prize, and worth reading...once, anyway.

29. The War Lovers (Evan Thomas)

Yet another in my string of reading books about the life of Theodore Roosevelt, although this one is not exclusively about him. Rather, Thomas examines all the people involved in the time leading up to and including the Spanish-American War. On the pro-war side, this cast of characters included Roosevelt, his good friend Henry Cabot Lodge, and newspaperman William Randolph Hurst. On the other side, with a more intellectual and “civilized” bent, was Speaker of the House Thomas Reed and philosopher/professor William James. An excellent book that takes an honest look at the motivations behind the chronic human love of war. Plenty of shades of the conflicts of the 21^st century in here, too.

30. The Shallows (Nicholas Carr)

The Internet: now so ubiquitous a part of modern life that it staggers the imagination to think of going without it for even a day or two. We are a constantly connected people-- a trait which, Nicholas Carr argues, is rewiring our brains for an age of Google. The ability of humans to remember is diminishing in the face of a world where everything can be looked up. Carr does an excellent job with this book, making a case for how the Internet is changing us without passing a harsh judgment either for or against this reality. Superb book.

“A Work of Bare Utility”: The Quiet Splendor of the Brooklyn Bridge

2011-10-09T13:42:00.000-04:00

“Itso happens that the work which is likely to be our most durablemonument, and to convey some knowledge of us to the most remoteposterity, is a work of bare utility; not a shrine, not a fortress,not a palace, but a bridge.” -Montgomery Schuyler (quoted in DavidMcCullough's TheGreat Bridge)

~~*~~

Theenduring power of architectural landmarks stems from the stories theyrecall, as well as the emotions they evoke in the viewer. From theBrooklyn Promenade in New York, the casual observer can see suchicons as the Statue of Liberty, as well as the still-noted absence ofthe World Trade Center towers, whose monuments are even now startingto rise from the dust. These structures are clear examples of placeswith stories and with emotions, but they are not alone in thiscategory on the Lower Manhattan skyline. They are joined by theequally impressive and perhaps even more unique Brooklyn Bridge.

Beforethe bridge became a design and then a reality, the East River was anobstacle inhibiting passage between the two separate, growing citiesof Brooklyn and Manhattan. Then as now, residents were wont to livein Brooklyn and work in Manhattan, but the only way to cross betweenthe two cities was by slow, crowded, and unsafe ferries. Ice in thewinter could halt all passage, and high winds could send the boatsaground. These circumstances made the so-called “Great Bridge” amuch-needed project.

Theproblem lay in the river itself, and in the capacity of contemporaryengineering to conquer it. Historian David McCullough writes in hisbook TheGreat Bridge that,“the East River...is no river at all technically speaking, but atidal strait and, in that day, especially, one of the busieststretches of navigable salt water anywhere on earth” (24). Therewas no hope of supporting the bridge in the center of the river; itrequired a single arc stretching between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Enterthe engineers. John Roebling had pioneered construction of suspensionbridges in Pittsburgh, Niagara Falls, and Cincinnati; his son,Colonel Washington Roebling, worked with his father on theseprojects, serving as both confidant and co-engineer. These bridgesseparately formed the core of the Great Bridge in Brooklyn, anefficient design that allowed for the crossing of a near-impassablebody of water.

Thedesign principle of the suspension bridge worked better for theBrooklyn Bridge than any other design could have. Suspension bridgesare capable of spanning up to 7,000 feet through the use ofcompressionandtension. Two towers are embedded in the earth to support the majority of thedeck's weight; cables are strung to hold tension as they arestretched taut between two anchorages. The cables are able totransfer the pressure (compression) of the deck to the towers andthen directly into the earth. (For more on suspension bridges, checkout http://static.howstuffworks.com/pdf/ups-suspension-bridge.pdf)

Thebridge would cost the Roeblings dearly-- indeed, it turned out thatJohn Roebling's legacy would be as the bridge's designer; an accidentat the work site and its subsequent surgery went bad and killed him.Washington Roebling served as the bridge's chief engineer until itscompletion, though it impacted his health negatively too.

TheGreat Bridge also made use of the most recent technology in itsconstruction. This was particularly true of the caissons that were tosupport the towers, which had to be sunk in the river and work beconducted inside to permanently embed them in the stone at the bottomof the river. Weight on top, compressed air inside, and excavation ofthe riverbed would all help to push these great structures to astable position at the bedrock, where they would be filled withconcrete.

Thissimple concept, however, became a more complicated reality when theyhad to adapt the workers to such starkly different levels of airpressure. This situation lead to the ailment that we now know as “thebends,” sharp pain in the joints that appeared among workers comingout of the caissons, and was first identified during the work on theEads Bridge in St. Louis. In some cases, both in St. Louis and inBrooklyn, the disease would cause paralysis or even death. Amongthese statistics was Washington Roebling himself, who was paralyzedby an attack of “the bends” in 1872, and ultimately had tooversee the final construction of the bridge from his house near whatis now the Brooklyn Promenade.

Thebridge's tall granite towers and proud arches dominated views ofLower Manhattan when it opened in 1883. Though it no longer claimsthat distinction today, it still represents the stories of the menwho designed it and the men who built it, as well as the use ofmodern science to overcome the adversity of nature to human progress.By linking two previously separate cities together, the BrooklynBridge represents the most practical of monuments, one that providesa spectacle for the eye, an experience for the tourist, and afunctional transportation option for all who would pass over it.

Writing by Hand, or, Why I Love the Mail

2011-09-15T13:00:00.000-04:00

The same day that I began my latest writing project, I heard a story on NPR about the many financial woes of the United States Postal Service.

This struck me as ironic because my project was to send one postcard, by mail, per day for at least a month, to all of the friends and family who had given me their addresses.

It also struck me as sad, because the financial problems experienced by the postal service sharply demonstrate the apparent reality that 'snail mail' (a telling nickname) is going out of style and out of use.This isn't exactly a breaking news update, but people don't write letters much anymore.

Now, understand, I am not someone who hates technology. Long before web communications was actually my job, I used it like it was. I've tried nearly every social media website at some point in my life, and I think that it can make great things and the sharing of great ideas possible. I check my email borderline obsessively (sometimes too much), and probably send upwards of 50-100 text messages each day. It's a big part of my life, as it is for so many other people.

So with access to and love of all this wonderful technology in front of me, why do I go home from work at night and deliberately write a postcard to drop in the mailbox the next morning? Why did I write the first draft of this article with the humble pen and paper, eschewing the computer that sat right in front of me?

I still believe that the handwritten letter has value for us as human beings. I believe that writing with pen and paper is good for the soul.

The proof of this idea is the joyful smile that appeared on my face when I checked the mail yesterday and found a letter from one of my regular pen pals. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way when a letter that is not a bill arrives just for me.

So why is this? Why is the hand-written word still so powerful in an age of almost overwhelming technological capability?

I've read articles suggesting that writing down plants ideas more deeply in our memories-- in fact, some research has apparently suggested that writing might help in preventing the onset of Alzheimers disease. I don't really know anything about that, but I do know that (at least for me) putting words on a page in my own handwriting connects me in some deeper way to those words. I wrote those words; they are in my penmanship; they belong to me.

I think that it is good for writers to have that kind of stake in their words, that kind of ownership. Others have discussed the disconnect that technology has created between people, who can become insulated and isolated in the glow of a computer screen. The TV show "Big Bang Theory" has turned this into a consistent comedic moment when the characters reference all the friends they have on Facebook, and continue to only hang out with basically the same four other people in person. But writers must ask the same question: how do we avoid hiding behind the font we choose to type in? Fonts are impersonal, and have been since the advent of the book. We rely on our 'writing voice' to speak for us, and while many writers have mastered that ability in light of our inability to easily publish the handwritten word.

On a related note, sending 'snail mail' is a much more intimate form of communication. You can pour your heart out in an email, but I think that words have even more power when they appear in someone's unique handwriting.

Additionally, the process of exchanging letters forces us to temporarily slow down the busy pace of our lives. You cannot receive an instant response to a letter, even if the person receives it and immediately writes a response. You still won't get it until at least two days after it is written and dropped in the mailbox. So you practice patience. You lower expectations and go about your other daily routines, manically checking emails and text messages and social media. At the same time, though, you anticipate the arrival of a response to your letter-- and thus the rush of pleasure appears when you open the mailbox to find a personal letter there.

In some esoteric way, we own the words we write down. They become a part of us. Writing letters is a way to connect more deeply with family and friends, a way to take time out of a hectic world and engaging in an activity that requires patience and deliberate activity. We avoid the awkward silences of phone calls and the passivity of Facebook connections, along with the instant-reply expectation of email or the aptly named Instant Messenger.

With these words, I may be marking myself as one among the last letter-writers. I'm okay with that. I'll be the one single-handedly trying to keep the US Postal Service in business. And as long as there is a way to send mail, I'll be writing the handwritten letters that bring me so much joy to send and receive.

This Is (Still) My Song: 9/11, Ten Years On

2011-09-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

“Thedifficulty for a writer... is that it seems to be a law of languagethat happiness, like goodness, is almost impossible to describe,while conflict, like evil, is all too easy to depict.”

-W.H. Auden

Todayis, of course, the ten-year anniversary of the September 11 attacksthat killed nearly 3000 people in New York City, Washington, andPennsylvania. And like so many other writers, I turn to words as Itry to remember and process what happened.

I was12 years old, and just beginning my seventh grade year at DoverMiddle School. And I didn't find out about the attacks until the endof the school day. I can only assume that our principal had decidedthat it was better for the general student population that wecontinue functioning normally until the school day ended and we wereon our way back to our parents. I can only assume that there may havebeen kids at my school whose relatives were on one of those planesleaving Boston, and that those kids were called out of class and toldsooner. But none of it touched me during that bright sunny day oflearning and growth and new friends.

Artclass was the end of my Tuesday at Dover Middle School. I rememberdistinctly that the period was winding down and we were beginning togather our things for dismissal when the principal came on theintercom and asked teachers to settle their classes, that there wouldbe a special important announcement in two minutes' time.

Settlingmiddle schoolers down is never an easy prospect, but by the time theprincipal's voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing the attacksthat had taken place earlier that day, we were all attentive. I don'tremember exactly what he said, but I believe he laid out the eventsof the morning in simple terms: two planes hit the two World TradeCenter towers in New York City, and one had crashed into thePentagon, and one had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. I believethat he urged us to go home to our parents, and not to watch TV. (Orwas it that my parents kept us away from the TV news? Ten years makesthe memory hazy sometimes.)

At anyrate, when the announcement was over, I do remember clearly that theusual buzz of activity resumed in the classroom. Most people seemedto just write it off in favor of the normal social and academicconcerns of seventh graders. I also remember one unusual event-- thegirl who sat next to me breaking down in tears because she was afraidthat her mom had been on one of the planes or in one of the WTCtowers. Since I never heard about it again, I can only assume thather mom was okay.

As forme, I remember just sitting quietly and listening to theannouncement, listening to the buzz, trying to absorb the news. Iknew little of the complexities of world affairs, had not yet heardof al-Qaeda or the Taliban, knew little of Saddam Hussein beyond thesimple facts I had learned for geography bees in elementary school.But something within me understood that forces greater than myunderstanding had undertaken to hurt us, and that the world ofpolitics and foreign affairs that I was barely aware of, would bechanged.

It isnot just the hubris of a writer and memoirist that leads me to saythat I understood the significance of what was going on. My artteacher saw the look on my face and told me after class that shecould tell that I knew what was happening. I don't think I couldpossibly have understood fully what was happening-- as I said, myknowledge of the world was limited, and I hardly had any informationabout the day's events.

Butwhat I do know is that what I felt that day when I heard theannouncement is a feeling that has continued through to today: a deepquiet inside me, a space where I must retreat to reflect on the chaosand sometimes evil of the world, a space where I can mourn and wishfor the peace of the world. I felt it again the night that bin Ladenwas killed. On 9/11/01, many felt anger; on May 1, 2011, many ofthose same people felt great joy and release. I understand theiranger and joy on the respective nights, for the attacks struck homefor millions of people-- both those who directly lost loved ones andthose who lost their basic sense of safety. The death of bin Ladenwas a necessary catharsis for many, and I cannot deny that the worldis almost certainly a better place without him.

But Ifelt the same sense of deep quiet on May 1 of this year that I did onSeptember 11, 2001. I found it neither a catharsis nor a crime,neither justice nor vengeance.

It'sjust what is. Not what should be, but what is, right now. The worldhas a way of changing at unexpected, often inopportune, moments, andwe have to be aware of what happens as it goes, and keep living ourlives. Our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world live insocieties much more dangerous than ours, and yet life goes on theretoo. People are born, people die of natural causes and not, people goto school and get married and have more kids and go to jobs and tothe grocery stores.

Iguess what I'm trying to say is that maybe what I realized that dayand carry through until now is this: that we don't live in a peacefulworld, but that the world we live in has plenty of places where peaceand normalcy reign. Especially here in the United States we have thatto be thankful for. And when violence happens, the best we can do isjust keep going. I choose to mourn violence in all its forms, but Igive thanks for the peaceful moments in my life and in the lives ofthose I love-- like the one right now where I resort to words ofreflection to absorb my feelings about this national day ofremembering.

Men's Underwear: A Tale of Public Transportation

2011-08-28T16:13:00.004-04:00

The bus was full for so late on a Tuesday, Cassie thought as she slowly made her way to the open seats at the back. Glancing at the seats to the left and the right, she made an odd discovery.

A pair of old gray men's briefs was resting on one of the spots.

Shoes and socks, she'd heard of. Hats and sunglasses, she understood. But...underwear? That was both unusual and, well, disgusting. Settling on the seat opposite, Cassie giggled silently at the thought of where the underwear might have come from, how it might have wound up on a bus seat, very much without an owner. Teenagers having a muffled assignation on a quiet part of the ride, perhaps. Scandalous.

Or maybe-- Cassie had heard about people in New York City who took off all their clothes on the subway, as a way of getting comfortable and beating the heat. It had been another boiler of a July day-- someone could be trying to reenact that classic Seinfeld episode. The image was uncomfortable and hilarious as she imagined sitting across from a naked guy on the bus, calmly reading the paper as those around him squirmed.

The bus lurched to a stop, and saved her from descending into uncontrollable laughter at the thoughts in her mind. The front door opened and a petite Hispanic woman got on and walked to the back, carrying a large bag and looking exhausted. Setting the bag on her lap, the woman leaned her head against the bus window and closed her eyes. She smelled vaguely of Lysol-- possibly a cleaning lady.

As the bus swerved up the busy rush hour streets, its frequent ungraceful stops and starts caused the woman's bag to tip over onto the floor of the bus. Some of the contents toppled out-- a t-shirt, a few different colors of socks, a fancy bra.

As the woman quietly regathered the contents of her bag, Cassie watched from the back of the bus and stopped giggling. Women like that one rode the bus every day. Normally Cassie didn't give them a second thought, but as she watched the woman settle back into her seat, she began to spin a story in her head. Though she had no way of knowing for sure, it appeared likely that the workday was far from over for that hard-working woman. The work she took home was surely the laundry of the family she worked for-- perhaps belonging to the children she had chased around all day, or the mother and father whose breakfast dishes she had watched. Or, alternatively, it may have belonged to her own family-- that she had to take her family's laundry to her job in order to get it done spoke volumes about the hours she worked.

The bus lurched to a stop again. The wealthy-looking passengers at the front shifted uncomfortably as a man dressed in ragged clothes and an army cap stepped on, clutching a couple of trash bags as he paid his fare in coins. The other passengers continued to display signs of disgust as he walked by-- some subtly holding their hands to cover their noses, some outright moving over so that the man wouldn't sit down next to them. Pretending not to notice his rejection by fellow passengers, the man slunk to the back of the bus, assaulting the senses of all that he passed.

As the man settled into the seat at the very back corner of the bus, he held his bags tightly in his arms, resting them on his lap. A dirty white t-shirt poked out of the top of one bag as he did so.

As Cassie sat at the back of the bus, she found these fellow passengers raising troubling ideas. Accidentally or not, the people most often seated at the back of the bus seemed to be minorities and poor people-- a fact that shouldn't be the case, but nonetheless was there. That article of clothing could easily have belonged to someone like the housekeeper or the homeless man. It needn't come from something as ridiculous as a careless tryst or a public transportation strip-down. It could belong to someone for whom that clothing was a livelihood, or even all that they owned...

These thoughts would have to wait-- she had a dinner party to get to. *Ding!* “STOP REQUESTED.”

10 Sermons That Rocked My World

2011-08-25T18:10:00.002-04:00

I have grown up in and around churches, and have heard dozens upon dozens of sermons. Good, mediocre, boring– on all theological topics under the sun. Two pastors in particular, however, stand out in my recollection, and of each of those pastors I have found a handful of sermons that irrevocably have stuck out in my memory– ones which helped to define my faith and rocked my world in doing so. Here are the links and brief summaries.

“The Living Christ” by Rev. Anne Robertson. Growing up, Sunday School for kids occurred during the first worship service, so usually one of the only sermons I ever heard happened at Easter when Sunday School was cancelled. This one is probably the best stuck in my memory, because it tied Easter to, of all things, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol…and helped to form my belief that God cannot be contained to our human imagination. God is bigger.
“Transformation in Whoville” by Rev. Anne Robertson. I also inevitably always heard the sermon preached at church on Christmas Eve. This is my favorite Christmas sermon of all time because it was framed around Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” A reminder that Christmas is bigger than our busy-ness and greed and materialism– Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. It’s up to us to choose whether we are the Whos or the Grinch each year.
“Tower of Love” by Rev. Anne Robertson. Preached the Sunday after Tuesday September 11, 2001. Where was God in the midst of those terrorist attacks? Everywhere you looked, if you looked with the right eyes. “As the World Trade towers fell, the tower of love grew strong.”
“What’s It All About” by Rev. Anne Robertson. This sermon won preaching awards and it’s not hard to see why. God is love. “Square one in the Christian faith and in all of life is love. If you’ve missed it, you’ve got to go back.”
“Everything You Need to Know” by Rev. Mark Schaefer. The first sermon I heard preached by my college campus minister. It has wound up being effectively a preview of my faith career for the next four years of my life and spiritual development. Can’t find a word in it that’s not true.
“Why the Atheists Are Right (And Wrong)” by Rev. Mark Schaefer. The second sermon of my college career– quite a powerhouse combo, those first two Sundays. After four years of evangelical Christian school, it rocked my world to hear a Christian minister admit that people who were skeptical of faith might possibly have a point.
“Faith Questions” by Rev. Mark Schaefer. This is actually an annual occurrence at my campus church, where students anonymously submit questions online and the pastor answers them during the service, sight unseen. I cannot really recollect any one question that had an answer that rocked my world– rather, it was the whole existence of this kind of sermon. To put it in Mark’s words, “As I am fond of saying every year, “Faith Questions” is not simply a description of what it is we are answering. “Faith questions” is itself a sentence, a statement. Faith questions. A lively meaningful faith is not afraid to ask difficult questions and to wrestle with complex issues as they relate to our understandings of God and what we believe.” That realization alone– that asking questions was an acceptable part of faith– completely changed my faith life.
“Jesus Added You As A Friend” by Rev. Mark Schaefer. Facebook is indeed a technological and communications marvel. It’s a wonderful tool. But how has it diminished our sense of real relationship? “Christ reminds us that our friends are not means, they are ends in and of themselves. Our friendships are not social networking tools. They are real relationships. And in that reality, they are meant to reflect the relationship we have with our greatest Friend of all.”
“Update Your Status: What Are You Doing Right Now?” by Rev. Mark Schaefer. A reminder that God doesn’t base his love for us on our accomplishments. He loves us because he loves us. Isn’t being a child of God enough of a status for us? “In reality, what could you or I do that would impress God?”
“Wiping Away Every Tear” by Rev. Mark Schaefer. A thorough rebuke of Rapture theology, showing why it is a tempting but all things told rather harmful idea. I keep coming back to this one, all the time, as I think about my faith. “God does not abandon the creation. We are not rescued from it and taken to some other plane of existence. We are raised to new life in the creation. God redeems and restores the world.”

Book Lust Ain't Just for Nancy Pearl

2011-08-15T00:01:00.003-04:00

Some people have disposable income. These people can afford to be defined, not necessarily by their money, but by what they do with it.

Some people spend their disposable income on alcohol, on bars and clubs and always-flowing libations. These people are called partiers, socialites, or (alternately) 'alcoholics.'

Some people spend their disposable income on clothes and shoes-- more than any one individual could possibly need. These people are called 'shopaholics.'

Some people spend their money on fine food and fine wine. These people are called 'gourmets.'

Some people spend their money on toys, slides, water guns, stuffed animals, and amusement parks. These people are called 'parents.'

I'm mostly kidding about the latter, but it's true that there are as many ways to spend money on your interests as there are interests. Which brings me to an admission:

I am a book-aholic. A bibliophile. A bookworm. A first-degree book lover. I'm a girl who reads.

This condition has been exacerbated by a lifelong proximity to books-- a tantalizingly close one. I grew up inhabiting libraries and bookstores; at any given point my own house vaguely resembled both of the above.

Bibliophilia is a genetic condition in my family, but my mom and I both got a particularly severe and fast-moving strain. We're the two who have to be dragged out of bookstores. We have both found our excuses for buying books at different points.

She is a school librarian for a Pre-K through 12 academy. She built the high school library from scratch. Bringing in appropriate and useful new books is her job.

I, on the other hand, found my excuse in the school holidays that I spent working at Barnes & Noble. While I worked there, I could tell myself that by spending part of my paycheck on books, I was both learning how to do my job better and keeping myself employed. I helped other customers to find books that were right for them, and was also one of my own best customers.

Now I find myself an underemployed college graduate with plentiful free time. I've worked my way through more than twenty books in the three months since graduation. And I am painfully aware of the fact that I live ten minutes down the street from one of the best bookstores in DC, Politics & Prose.

That information haunts my book-loving soul. Every day that I wake up with minimal commitments (which is most days), that literary devil on my left shoulder suggests that it's a nice day for a walk. Why don't we just stroll up Connecticut Avenue and see where we wind up?... And, right on cue, up pops the angel on my right shoulder to remind me that there's a bookstore up there, and we're trying to save money. Avoid temptation, Carolyn, avoid temptation...

It's a daily struggle. Most days, I succeed. Most days I can prevent myself from strolling up the street and perusing the bookstore. Inertia is a powerful ally in that battle. But it doesn't stop the visions of much-desired books dancing in my head...evidence of things hoped for.

Some days, when I don't succeed in staying out of the store, I can still refrain from buying books by just enjoying the ambiance of being around them. When this happens, my friends and boyfriend find considerable amusement in watching me persuade myself not to buy books, and (when I give in) when I decide which books to pick up. They enjoy my anguish, the fiends.

My boyfriend and I once looked in the window of a bookstore after it had closed for the night. He laughed as he watched my face. Said it looked like a little kid's on Christmas morning. I said that was appropriate, since my usual Christmas morning also involves rejoicing over newly acquired books. He understands-- he is a fellow book-lover, but he has better self-control in bookstores than I do. I usually make him hold my wallet if I don't want to splurge on new books.

The fact is that no matter how much I value the ideal of simple living-- and I do-- my books are my greatest obstacle. The best I can do is to give some of them away when I am done with them, and not be too obsessed with getting them back. I remind myself that they are best enjoyed by all. Literacy is not supposed to be an elite activity. Everyone should be able to read. I know this, I believe this.

...But I love my books. Can I have more, please?

Bibliophilia, Books #11-20

2011-08-08T14:07:00.003-04:00

Ah, the overly sophisticated way of saying that I'm addicted to books. I enjoy it, too-- I love being able to sit down and read for pleasure so much that I've hardly been writing. Will return to that soon, I'm sure... Anyway, for your enjoyment, here's the list of books #11-20 that I've finished this summer. This list marks the completion of my summer reading goal, but I'm sure I will continue on and possibly hit 25 by the time Labor Day rolls around.

11. The Language of God - Francis Collins

A decent book all things told, written by the head of the Human Genome Project. Found the science excellent, the theology subpar, and the fusion of the two agreeable. Too much C.S. Lewis. Called the Gospels 'eyewitness accounts' of Jesus's life. Worth reading, but disappointing for someone who was hoping for a little more solid theology. For a more in-depth review, see my Divine Science review.

12. Murder at the Watergate - Margaret Truman

I love Margaret Truman mysteries because, well, they're murder mysteries set in DC. I've read three so far, all with the same basic central characters and a revolving plot of supporting characters, and all have been excellent. This one, centered around Mexican corruption and murders that result from it, turn domestic politics into foreign affairs seamlessly. An excellent, and very fast, read.

13. The Bible: A Biography - Karen Armstrong

A biography of the world's most printed book, from ancient Israel's Torah to modernity. I love the way Armstrong writes about religion, with a historically-minded accuracy and fairness, and a believer's reverence. Though this book moves quickly and doesn't dwell on events that you might expect, this is actually a strength. It makes its point very effectively: if you thought you knew how to read the Bible, you are probably both wrong and right; but either way, half of the significance of the Bible is how it is read and interpreted.

14. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

The tales of the greatest detective in the world never fail to entertain. I'm deeply ashamed that I never made it all the way through all of Doyle's famous Sherlock Holmes tales until now, but my favorite remains “A Scandal in Bohemia.”

15. The Magicians - Lev Grossman

Billed accurately as Harry Potter and Narnia for grown-ups, this darker fantasy novel follows the discontented young Quentin Coldwater as he makes his way into the world of magic through his admission to Brakebills College (think Hogwarts, if it were a college instead of a boarding school) and his search for the magical kingdom of Fillory (think Narnia, but more violent). A phenomenal read, especially for people mourning the loss of their childhood via the end of the Harry Potter movies.

16. Peace Like a River - Leif Enger

This book, recommended and loaned to me by my boyfriend's mother, took me a while to get into. Maybe partly because of my time constraints for reading, maybe because I found The Magicians shortly after starting it and got hopelessly distracted by my longtime love of fantasy, maybe because it didn't get really interesting until about halfway through. But I wound up reading the first half of the book over two weeks, and the second half in a day. It wound up being a good story. I suspect it will mean more to Midwesterners (like my boyfriend and his family), but I enjoyed the intertwining of faith, adventure, family, and a touch of romance that made up this story.

17. Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Power, and Print - James McGrath Morris

Continuing my apparently ongoing recent fascination with the great figures of the early twentieth century, this biography of publisher Joseph Pulitzer draws on recently uncovered sources, the likes of which most historians can only dream. Morris paints a picture of Joseph Pulitzer as an immigrant with brilliant political and journalistic instincts whose rise to power was only eclipsed by the onset of blindness. He did not hesitate to show Pulitzer in all of his many, many flaws, making this a fair portrait of a character who is not easily liked, but not unsympathetic either. An excellent biography.

18. Measure for Measure - William Shakespeare

One of Shakespeare's best plays, in my opinion-- Measure is entertaining but thought-provoking, raising timeless issues of justice, sexuality, and morality. It helps that I've seen this play performed, so I was able to picture things in my head as I read the play, but even without that, I think I would have loved reading it. It's a comedy, to be sure, but definitely one of Shakespeare's darker comedies.

19. Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara

Written after The Killer Angels but set in the years preceding it, this sequel by the son of Michael Shaara carries the story forward well, but does not quite live up to the storytelling ability of the father. That being said, it was still a lot of fun to read, and the comparatively few inadequacies can be chalked up to the fact that where The Killer Angels takes place over three or four days, Gods and Generals tells the story of five or six years-- a few years before the war began, and then the first two and a half years of the war, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. An excellent work of historical fiction.

20. The Luxury of Daydreams - Amy McVay Abbott

It's hard to know exactly how to review a book written by someone you know without letting your bias creep in, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Luxury of Daydreams. Amy's writing style is humorous and sincere, beautifully phrased and entertaining. It will certainly be most enjoyed by people more familiar with the Midwest and mid-life situations than I, but all the same, Amy tells many wonderful stories that can be appreciated by people in most any location or stage of life. As someone who is not too far away from that age, I especially appreciated her “Letter to My Seventeen-Year-Old Self.”

The Return of Reading

2011-07-11T09:22:00.003-04:00

Let all the bookworms rejoice! I graduated from college, which means I finally have had time to read for pleasure again (in between hunting for jobs and doing odd jobs to make money, that is). Here is a list of all the books I've read so far, with brief reviews.

The Geography of Bliss (Weiner) - A travel memoir centered around a grumpy NPR reporter's attempt to find the happiest places in the world. Not my favorite travel book, but a lot of fun nonetheless as Weiner takes the reader to places both expected and unexpected in the quest for locational happiness. Begs the question: is it really the place that matters?
The Greatest Show on Earth (Dawkins) - A love letter to evolutionary biology. This book can hardly be described in any other way. It is not nearly as vitriolic as many of his other works, particularly as it refers to religion in general-- though he is unsparing in his attacks on those who discount evolution. Sometimes difficult to get through and fully comprehend, this is nevertheless an excellent piece for anybody curious to read an argument for the scientific basis of the theory of evolution. (Read a longer review here)
True Compass (Kennedy) - Superb memoir by one of the greatest senators of the twentieth century. No matter your feelings about the Kennedy clan's politics, you cannot deny that they lead interesting lives. Ted Kennedy wrote this book very shortly before he died, and at least part of it with the knowledge that he had cancer. Its focus on sticking to your beliefs and pushing through tragedies rings true, but it doesn't shy away from the harder events of Kennedy's life.
A New Kind of Christianity (McLaren) - Brian McLaren is a leading voice in progressive Christianity, specifically in the “emergent” church. I loved this book most for its format-- questions and responses (not answers). He raises issues that have long been considered foundational to Christianity, and points out that there may be more ways of looking at the issues than have previously been raised. It offers more questions than it answers, but that's a good thing in this case. Needs to happen more often in the church.
The Killer Angels (Shaara) - A classic historical fiction novel about the Battle of Gettysburg. Depicts the battle from the perspective of a variety of different commanders on each side. I couldn't put it down.
The Lemon Tree (Tolan) - One of the best books on the Israel-Palestine conflict that I have ever encountered. It treats fairly with both sides, giving voice to each side by telling the crisscrossing stories of two families who, at different points in time, lived in the same house. Don't mistake this for only a biography, though-- it's much more of a history of the conflict, just with a very unique lens. Well worth the read.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Morris) - The first in Edmund Morris's trilogy of works on the 26^th president, this volume traces Roosevelt's entire life before he became president. And what a life it was: crusading assemblyman, author, soldier, media hog, police commissioner, Civil Service Commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy... a diverse career, depicted here by Morris in a fact-filled but highly readable and entertaining way. How could you not be entertained by a life like that?
Outliers (Gladwell) - I'm almost ashamed to say that this is the first Malcolm Gladwell book that I've picked up. However, for this recent grad, I think Outliers was a good place to start, though it was his third book. The focus was on rethinking success-- or more accurately, the most successful people. It manages to simultaneously reenforce and reevaluate ideas that you may have already had about success-- and more importantly, about how your environment affects it.
Foundation (Asimov) - An Asimov sci-fi classic. He wrote it when he was 21 years old, which does rather make this 22-year-old feel unaccomplished. That being said, it's an excellent start to a series that is effectively about the rise and fall of empires. Excellent read, and certainly not a high level of complexity in terms of writing style.
Mort (Pratchett) - A fantastically wacky novel about what happens when Death decides to take an apprentice. I'm not overly familiar with Pratchett's DiscWorld, but this book didn't really demand it. Funny, yet raised some interesting ideas about death, justice, and shifting realities. Not that the latter was the primary point of the novel, necessarily...

#TheWalkingGallery: A New Kind of Art

2011-05-21T13:06:00.002-04:00

On June 7, 2011, I will be participating in a unique event. Part art show, part advocacy, part storytelling show-- The Walking Gallery encompasses all of these things. It is the brainchild of Regina Holliday, a remarkable health care advocate whose experiences stemmed from the loss of her husband (my professor) to cancer nearly two years ago. I've written about them before in "Health and the Hollidays." Regina has continued to be a tremendous inspiration to me, as she speaks out with her voice, her story, and her art.

At The Walking Gallery, people from a variety of careers and backgrounds will converge on the Kaiser Permanente offices in downtown DC, all of us wearing jackets (business suit jackets or lab coats) with paintings on the back. Each painting tells a story relevant to the person wearing it, and each is related to health care advocacy. We will wear our jackets that night, and whenever we speak at or attend advocacy events.

Regina just finished painting my jacket-- you can see pictures and Regina's write-up on her blog. The concept is based around the lessons I learned in Prof. Holliday's class-- the power of the media in telling stories. The class I took, American Society on Stage and Screen, analyzed the way the society in which we live is portrayed by the art we produce. In the case of that class, we looked at the mediums of theater and cinema. Prof. Holliday taught the class well, leading us in discussions of how race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and more had been depicted on the big and small screen through the years.

We did not have the chance to discuss this in his class, but since Prof. Holliday's death I have been thinking about how media tells health stories. Sometimes they do it well, and deal honestly with tough issues-- Regina's painting on my jacket shows examples of this. Other times, the challenges faced by real people are, at one extreme, glossed over, and at the other, overdramatized. The story of health care reform has not been told well-- when we realize this, it is no great surprise that people don't think we need a more complete reform. That reform has to happen not only in the legislative process but in the way we look at our system, and changing that starts with the way we tell our stories. I will be proud to wear my jacket in The Walking Gallery and elsewhere, and to use it to talk about the need to tell our stories well.

If I could save time in a bottle...

2011-03-04T14:43:00.003-05:00

Every morning I take the bus from my home to my college campus. It's not a long ride-- about fifteen minutes or so, depending on traffic. However, no matter what the printed schedules or the NextBus app say, the buses frequently run late. Sometimes this may be due to traffic, but in some cases I think it's just because some of the drivers have a rather creative relationship with time. Needless to say, on the days when I just want to get to campus, or just want to get home, this can require more than a little patience.

In this regard, I think, I am a quintessential northeasterner. I schedule my life well and often, and I habitually leave early to arrive early. I plan nearly everything. I've been this way for about as long as I can remember, and in many regards these tendencies have served me well, especially given that I live in a place where time and schedules are valued (WMATA not withstanding).

Recently, though, I've had some cause to consider my relationship with the clock. I'm leaving tomorrow on a trip to the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina, and one of the things I learned from talking to people who have gone on the trip before is that the Cherokee view time in a much more lenient way. Things happen when they happen, so why worry? Why rush? Not at all the mindset I grew up around.

Yet I think there is something to be said for this style. I think it probably has to be adopted as a culture-wide phenomenon in order to be accepted-- if I adopted it for my life in DC, it would probably be viewed as sloppy-- but there are benefits to slowing down and being less Type-A about time. There's value in the idea of freeing yourself from the tyranny of the clock.

This obsession with time is something that seems to be built into the DNA of the people-- even the students-- that I spend my time with nearly every day. Part of it, I think, stems from our massive generational entitlement complex. Millennials are accustomed to the Internet age, in which we can get so many things instantaneously. This reality online translates into an expectation that everything should happen at the point we want it to appear-- which is generally NOW. We want the bus to arrive the second we pull up to the stop. We want the grades or papers to be announced practically as soon as we take the test (or at least within a week). We want our friends, family, or coworkers to respond to texts or calls or emails within minutes. We want, we want, we want...

The problem is that we forget that there are people, real people with their own concerns or flaws, behind what we want. Behind every bus is a driver, behind every grade is a professor... they are all individuals, often with similar desires or concerns. These tend to get in the way of our desires, but that's the way life goes. Technology will keep getting better and time will keep being something that we in the west value, but as long as there are people behind messages and vehicles and things like that, we will never achieve that level of instant reply that we wish for.

I suspect I will be reflecting more on these ideas over the week in Cherokee. I'm going to be disconnected from the Internet, probably almost totally, which will be quite a break for me, but I will get my reflections down on paper while I am there and write more on here when I get back (hopefully).

As Garrison Keillor says, be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

On Jesus

2011-02-14T02:32:00.003-05:00

The question stares me down.

"What meaning does Jesus Christ have in your life?"

I do not know how to answer.

I used to know. When I lived my school life in evangelical Christian circles, the answer was nearly always supposed to be something about the state of your personal relationship with Christ. Usually it wound up sounding like he was going with you to the mall later today, or that he had just sent you the funniest text message. Ideas that did not ring true.

Oh, I don't intend to belittle that some people can and do feel a close relationship, an emotional relationship with their God. In some ways I envy that. I have never felt it; or if I have, it has been one that faded with the descent from the proverbial mountaintop. How can one talk about Jesus in that way? You can't call him on the phone, sit up at night having a conversation that ranges from the profound to the hilarious, or be pen pals, or talk to him on Facebook chat. Sure, you can try, but you'll find things a trifle one-sided. Or maybe you won't. But I always have.

Not to say, you understand, that I don't believe God is there. I believe, on the contrary, that he (or she) is here with me as I type; and moreover, I believe that he (or she) cares. The personal God is a bedrock of Christianity-- the God who cared enough to become incarnate in us.

There it is, maybe. The elusive answer I've been struggling for. I'm never sure what to tell a Methodist about the state of my relationship with God-- certain but questioning may be most accurate. As certain as a questioner can be at least. If the Jesus who is the Son of God, a Messiah for humanity, which I do believe as a Christian-- then even as I grapple with exactly how personal I feel that God to be, then it entails certain implications.

And even if, as I am beginning to consider, Jesus-- the historical Jesus, mind you-- may not have been from the divine in the way recorded in the Bible (see Bruce Chilton's Rabbi Jesus), there is still the chance that maybe either way, Jesus was OF the divine.

This too carries implications:

To live a life that honors God.

To love God and love people-- to love God BY loving people.

To serve the poor and work for justice.

To not be satisfied by the status quo.

To stare power in the face and not lose moral ground.

To turn the other cheek and go the extra mile.

To look toward the future, a better future, but one that takes place here on earth, the Kingdom of Heaven incarnate.

My doubts stand. My questions remain. I am comforted by that, and comfortable with it. Faith pleads for the engagement of reason, not necessarily even by people who start from a place of non-belief and try to reason their way into faith. No, I would argue that it is perhaps even more important for people who stand from a position of faith to try to reason themselves out of it, and find a place where they are uncomfortable with the Scripture or church theology or any of these things, and stand up and say, I am not comfortable with this verse, this interpretation, and that is okay. "Come, let us reason together," and let us act and fight for justice together.

#sojuca2

2011-01-22T00:23:00.004-05:00

I've referenced the amazing Regina Holliday before on this blog. She's the widow of my former film professor and someone that I admire tremendously. So when she asked me to come speak at a Social Justice Camp event that she was organizing in DC, I couldn't say no. The event, which took place on January 21 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, was a spectacular evening of inspiring Ignite speeches. I talked about one of my favorite topics, the AU United Methodist Student Association and met some amazing people whose work for social justice (especially in the health care arena) is enough to get anyone fired up. The (rough, not exact as delivered) text of my speech is below. Blogspot isn't cooperating in letting me post the pictures from my slideshow, so just use your imagination.

I'm sure at least some of you have seen the TV show "How I Met Your Mother." There's an episode in the first season where two characters, Ted and Marshall, are arguing about who gets the apartment when Marshall gets married, and the fight comes down to an old-fashioned duel. Yes, with swords.

During the duel, the episode flashes back to another time when Ted and Marshall sat down to discuss the apartment problem-- but they decided that it was a problem for Future Ted and Future Marshall. Watch the episode to find out the results-- suffice to say, someone got the point of it a little too well.

Even though students can be an energized bunch, sometimes we fall into the habit of thinking social justice problems are things for “Future Me” to deal with. It can be hard to make us believe that these are real concerns that will impact our lives.

I will say that I have been fortunate in my time at American University to come into contact with a lot of people who care about working for social justice, few more so than the United Methodist Student Association. We emphasize hospitality, community, and social justice-- three things we consider interconnected topics.

It's that unified view that, in my opinion, makes us unique. I think that that is a very important way to look at the nature of social justice. If we have that sense that we are all part of a community, whether it be a university, a city, or a country, then why wouldn't we want to be hospitable in the broadest sense of the term? Why wouldn't we work for justice for all?

In the UMSA, our social justice program is called The Other Six Days-- as in, we know what you're doing on Sunday, but what are you doing the other six days? We focus on education, though we often combine service as well. Because there are so many issues to be concerned about, we discuss a different topic each month of the school year. These have included the gender gap, LGBT rights, disaster relief, disability rights, and more.

We as students all find our own ways of getting involved in social justice work. One common way to do so is via unpaid internships, often at NGOs. For instance, I spent a semester working at a Catholic social justice advocacy group, whose slogan (meaningfully) was Challenging Structures, Changing Lives.

Other times, opportunities for students to engage drop into our laps and demand that we seize the moment-- most recently, when Westboro Baptist Church protested at American University. Campus groups organized a large counter-protest to express our commitment to tolerance and acceptance. I suspect the university administration may have preferred that we ignore WBC and avoid attention, but that was not going to happen-- we were way too fired up, and we pulled the administration on board.

There are great reasons for students to engage in advocacy work. For one, we're all so addicted to technology that we're shocked when there's something that we can't do online. For another, as Regina says, we're all patients in the end-- and a good many of us are patients throughout our lives too. Just as important, though, social justice problems shouldn't be left for "Future Me" to handle. We're here now too, after all.

On Hatred and Violence

2011-01-09T09:41:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time since I last wrote here. I plead the usual excuses of a senior in college (academia and job applications), but I am truly sorry that it took a tragedy to drive me back here to comment on the latest in politics and life.

The tenor of the political debate in the United States has been the subject of much commentary over the last couple of years, but it's been a growing problem since much longer than that. Before the birthers and the Tea Party, there were anti-war protesters who compared Bush to Hitler. Disagreement can become dangerous territory when it turns into extremism. This is true of politics as well as of religion and many other important facets of life.

I do think, though, that no matter how long this has been going on (and I would argue that in the US, you can date it back to the days of the Articles of Confederation), the rhetoric has sharply deteriorated in the last several years. At the end of this article, ThinkProgress.org offers a (partial) list of articles analyzing recent instances of violent action and even more violent rhetoric. The Republican party has been especially guilty of this; the Tea Party elements even more so.

Rhetoric does not inherently lead to action; sometimes it's just talking. I follow the tweets of the (fictional) President Bartlet on Twitter, and yesterday he commented,

No motive released. Far as I can tell, it was an act of a mad man. Trying to explain it through normal terms is an exercise in futility.

Perhaps he is right. Time and evidence will ultimately tell-- and all we have right now are the shooter's MySpace page and YouTube videos. But I think that rhetoric does have power, and the level of debate and discussion in this country is appallingly low. Rep. Giffords was disliked in some measure by people on both sides of the aisle; according to a New York Times article, both the conservative SarahPAC and the liberal Daily Kos were compelled to scrub their websites after yesterday's tragic shooting. Indeed, the shooter listed both The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf among his favorite books. Blame is not always easy to assign.

Life is strange in how events run together sometimes. A couple of days ago I learned that the Westboro Baptist Church plans to protest my university on Friday. I hesitate even to link to the press release on their website; the flyer is so full of bile that it hardly merits reading (I also hate to drive up traffic to them; go read it if you wish). Though they are a small and insular religious group, they are tremendous agents of intolerance. I disagree with and indeed despise everything they stand for, and so I will join the members of my university community in their counter-protest. But I will do so in the spirit of what my university chaplain wrote a few days ago--

Often overlooked in our religious conversation is the fact that love is not an emotion. Love is a behavior. It is a way of living. That’s a good thing—meaning that it is not outside the realm of our choosing. We can, in spite of how we might feel, choose to love. Somewhere deep down in my animal nature, I am not happy about that. But my higher nature calls me to something else. That much tarnished image of God with which I was made still has enough luster now and then to remind me of what I am called to do.

The Westboro Baptist Church brand of hatred is the kind that leads them to protest a university. It is not clear yet what was in the mind of the man who shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' and those who died in the gunfire (including a federal judge), but I suspect it was also motivated by hatred. What else could it be?

Responding to hatred with hatred is counterproductive. As Giffords campaign volunteer Ilene Thompson said, there are real consequences to hatred, and we saw them yesterday. Love must prevail. Love, as an action, means that on Friday I won't yell obscenities at the Westboro Baptist Church. It means I'll join the God Loves Poetry movement in trying to turn their discourse on its head. Words matter-- we can and should use them well.

Love, as an action, also means ending a political discourse that involves using the language of violence to talk about the other side of the aisle. Humans have historically been very good at turning people with whom we have differences into the "other"; when we think of another person as the "other" we have an easier time justifying violence against them. This must stop. Love, as Rev. Schaefer wrote, must win out. The tenor of debate must be raised. As President Bartlet of The West Wing would remind us, that starts with us, right now. An article in the New York Times speculated that this shooting could mean "the end of an era of intolerance, or just the beginning." What's next?

Why We Can't Give Up the Government

2010-10-09T17:58:00.003-04:00

Stuart Symington, a presidential candidate in the legendary election of 1960, said this to Theodore H. White, who reported on the campaign in his classic work of political science The Making of the President 1960. I think it is still relevant today.

This Republican talk of pulling the federal government out of business is not only stupid...it's dangerous. Look, you get up in a plane, you want to make sure it lands safely-- we can't give up the FAA. You buy stock in a mine, you want to be sure that the mine is really there-- we can't give up the SEC. You buy a bottle of medicine in a store, you want to be sure that what the label says is really in that bottle-- we can't give up the Food and Drug Administration. You tune in your radio, you don't want to find five stations on the same channel-- we can't give up the FCC... This silly Republican prattle of pulling government out of business! This country's become strong because government is a partner of everybody, and we have to recognize that kind of strength is our only hope... a new road is strength, a new bridge is strength, a good school is strength, above all, a good teacher is strength, she's playing with the greatest national resource we have.

Summer Reading 2010: Books #1-10

2010-07-30T15:27:00.003-04:00

It is perhaps indicative of my bibliophilic nature that I consider it a travesty that I have only finished reading ten books so far this summer. After all, last summer I completed 32 books! But this is a different year and I have been working a standard 9-to-5 job every day, plus a handful of other things, and instead of lying on my back recovering from knee surgery I have been out and about in the great city of Washington, DC. With that being said, I am now done with my internship/job and will have some more time to spend on my beloved books. By way of a literary update, here's what I've managed to read through so far this summer.

United Methodism in America (McEllenney)- The first book of many I will be perusing in the name of my senior history thesis, which will likely be about Methodism in the early United States. This was a well-done overview of the history of the United Methodist Church. Not particularly in-depth, but I got my feet wet and picked up a few ideas that I will be pursuing.
Notes from a Small Island (Bryson)- Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. This is the book he wrote about traveling around England, Scotland, and Wales. He has a very funny tone and style, and is clearly enamored with his subject. An all-around great read that made me want to buy a ticket on the next plane to London or Edinburgh.
The Unlikely Disciple (Roose)- An agnostic college student from Brown University decides, after realizing how little he knows about this particular subculture of American life, to go 'undercover' for a semester at Liberty University, founded by the late Jerry Falwell. I appreciated Kevin Roose's ability to critique his subject without unfairly bashing the people he encountered there. A funny yet profound book, along the lines of AJ Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically. Note that this is not a coincidence; as Roose spells out early on, his project grew out of his time spent as Jacobs' assistant while Jacobs was living his year.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (Miller)- Donald Miller is another author of whom I am a huge fan. He first gained (some degree of) fame with Blue Like Jazz, and has gone on to write other wonderful spiritual (but not overly religious) books. This is his latest, a quest for understanding and finding one's personal Story-- and learning how to tell a good one. Brilliant-- my copy is well underlined.
The Guinea Pig Diaries (Jacobs)- AJ Jacobs, of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically, takes on a year of doing different 'experiments' every month. Each chapter of the book focuses on a different one. From living George Washington's Rules of Civility to trying to eradicate all his cognitive biases to becoming 'the perfect husband,' Jacobs' always laugh-out-loud (yet thoughtful) style makes him one of my consistent favorite authors.
Rediscovering Values (Wallis)- I really liked Jim Wallis' first book, God's Politics, and have also been interested by his subsequent books. This is the latest. From his (mainly) progressive Christian point of view, Wallis discusses the Great Recession and critiques the mindset that got us into it...but also offers hopeful ideas as to how we can change in the future.
American Lion (Meacham)- A well-written book about a deeply flawed man. This Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Andrew Jackson, authored by Jon Meacham (the editor of Newsweek) reexamines the presidency of the seventh man to hold the highest office in this country. Most fascinating to think of how relevant the events of Jackon's presidency are in this world today. He dealt with sex scandals, war, racial discord, banking issues, and economic challenges...and for better or worse, consolidated more power in the hands of the Chief Executive than had ever been presumed possible before.
Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace (Nerburn)- A thought-provoking little meditation on the Prayer of St. Francis. Very well written, and I am still mulling over some of the ideas in it (which I think is the sign of a good book).
Eat Pray Love (Gilbert)- A bestselling memoir of a woman who went through a nasty divorce before pursuing a year of traveling and finding herself. Perhaps only appeals to a certain demographic (I was told that I was too young to appreciate it) but I still enjoyed it.
Up in the Air (Kirn)- The recent movie with George Clooney was based on this book, but they are quite different. This one is darker and, admittedly, somewhat stranger. Jason Reitman, the writer/director of the movie, pulled a number of direct quotes from the book, but the plot is a VERY loose adaptation. Still, it is a well-written and interesting book, a portrait of the road warrior. My favorite part of the book was the narrative style-- the main character, Ryan Bingham, just talks to the reader, and you feel like you are really in a conversation and he's just telling you a story. (However, I have to admit that I actually prefer the movie in this particular case. Minus ten book-lovers' points, I know.)

Thoughtful Reads

2010-05-28T10:34:00.004-04:00

I like thoughtful writing-- the kind where a true intellectual looks at current events through the lens of more than just politically or policy-motivated mumbo-jumbo. This is the main reason why David Brooks of the New York Times has become one of my favorite columnists, whether or not I agree with his opinions. His columns are reliably rational, moderate arguments-- despite the fact that his opinions do on occasion draw some fire for their unique brand of idealism. But really, what is a column for but to express the writer's opinion on the way they see the world and the way they think it ought to be?

Today Mr. Brooks had an especially thoughtful column about the real ramifications of the oil spill-- namely, how it reflects the way we think about technology. We put a great deal of trust in very risky devices, and create overly complex governance systems to manage them, he argues. Mr. Brooks also cited an excellent 1996 piece by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell (of The Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers), written around the tenth anniversary of the Challenger explosion. Whether or not you agree, the pieces are well-written and bear some contemplation as we consider how to move forward with recovery from this massive environmental disaster.

Faith and the Democrats, 2010 Edition

2010-05-24T09:14:00.003-04:00

The 2008 Democrats realized something that they hadn't seemed to grasp in previous election cycles: faith matters to a whole lot of people. It matters so much, in fact, that it often influences their voting patterns. One could argue quite effectively that then-candidate Obama's ability to define his political views in light of his religious beliefs played a major role in making him the most successful Democratic candidate in years in terms of winning the votes of the faith-based community. And for a while, when the Democrats came to power, they maintained their faith-based outreach programs-- President Obama even expanded former President Bush's faith-based initiative offices in the White House.

Since then, though, little other than disappointment has ensued from the progressive faith community. The Democrats have been woefully unresponsive to many religious concerns, and even the president's religious advisers feel that they are not being heard. Moral language is really nowhere to be found in speeches by most Democratic politicians, and the "Faith in Action" page on the DNC's website is almost painfully out of date and unused. All of these issues-- and more-- were addressed in an excellent article by Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post, asking, "Are Democrats pulling back on faith outreach?"

The answer, from my perspective, is a resounding "yes," and that upsets me more than I can say. I have long felt that the Democrats were woefully incompetent when it came to connecting to faith groups, and that the Republican lock on religion can only be unhealthy for the faith community. The problem is not the lack of opportunity for Democrats to phrase their ideas in a way that speaks to moral and faith-based perspectives, it is simply their lack of action. The problem is not that there is no value in framing political issues as a moral imperative (health care is a great example), it is that that value is seldom recognized and even more infrequently utilized to benefit the Democratic agenda.

The Democrats seemed to be getting back on the faith-based track a little more during the 2008 election. Obama spoke about his faith openly and framed his issues as a question of values, and many people-- including and especially people of faith-- responded to that. However, the recent backpedaling hasn't done them any favors, and if they fail to get back to that moral language, especially during the upcoming Congressional campaigns, the Democrats will once again risk losing control of the moral ground in the conversations to Republicans-- and that monopoly would be a huge loss to the country and to constructive dialogue.

Beck's Call: The Conversation About Social Justice Christianity

2010-05-20T15:52:00.002-04:00

I am admittedly long overdue in writing about the controversy that Glenn Beck launched when he called on Christians to leave churches that preached social justice. It seems, however, that I am not as belated as I thought, because the conversation is still going on. More on that later.

A little context: In his show on March 3, 2010, conservative talk show host Glenn Beck made the following proclamation to his religiously inclined viewers:

"I'm begging you, your right to religion and freedom to exercise religion and read all of the passages of the Bible as you want to read them and as your church wants to preach them...are going to come under the ropes in the next year. If it lasts that long it will be the next year. I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!"

And it continued. Understandably, many churches were incensed and the progressive evangelical Christian magazine Sojourners launched a campaign telling their readers to "turn themselves in" to Beck, proclaiming, "I am a social justice Christian." They got several thousand signatures the first night...and the next day on his show, Beck went even further:

Where I go to church, there are members that preach social justice as members–my faith doesn’t–but the members preach social justice all the time. It is a perversion of the gospel. … You want to help out? You help out. It changes you. That’s what the gospel is all about: You.

"A perversion of the gospel." Right. That phrase, combined with Beck's equating social justice Christianity to communism, Marxism, Nazism, and totalitarian government sparked articles and conversations across the faith spectrum. Sojourners founder Jim Wallis invited Beck to a conversation about the relationship between social justice and Christian faith-- an invitation to which Beck has still not replied. After early April, the topic largely disappeared-- but now it is back with the FOX host's latest claim that the government was forcing churches to preach a "religion of environmental and social justice."

I don't pretend to understand Beck's motivation for launching on this particular tirade any more than I understand why people bother putting vegetables on pizza (I'm just saying, you lose a lot of health value when you load veggies up with grease. You want vegetables, eat a salad). For all I know, he could be sincere in this criticism or he could be just trying to stir things up. But as long as there are those who take people like Beck seriously, I take him seriously. Most of the time I can shrug it off when Beck goes off on a tirade, but this time he is criticizing something that forms the essence of what I believe.

Let me be very clear: I believe the passage in Ephesians that says salvation is by grace, through faith. However, I do not believe that this is an excuse to shrug off the problems of the world around us. My chaplain pointed out in a sermon a few weeks ago that God does not promise to raise us to a new creation in another dimension or something, but to "make all things new" in this world-- which means that we have to care about the world we live in now (side note: I highly recommend reading that sermon, not only for the spiritual and intellectual content but for the excellent references to Star Trek, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones). I believe in the profession made in the Epistle of James: "Faith without works is dead."

Perhaps this is where my own more liberal inclinations come into play. I suspect even someone like Beck might agree with me on the need to pair faith with good works. However, I believe that Christians are responsible to work on a larger scale to make a difference in the problems of poverty, environmental degradation, and more. It's not enough to change your lightbulbs to be more energy efficient, or put a $5 bill in a homeless man's cup. I believe that the government has the responsibility to "ensure domestic tranquility" and "promote the general welfare," as the Preamble to the constitution says. Poverty reduction, environmental justice, health care-- these are all concepts that directly relate to "the general welfare."

Jim Wallis articulated the problem with Beck's claim about social justice Christianity very well in an opinion piece for the Huffington Post.

Private charity, which Beck and I are both for, wasn't enough to end the slave trade in Great Britain, end legal racial segregation in America, or end apartheid in South Africa. That took vital movements of faith which understood the connection between personal compassion and social justice. Those are the movements that have inspired me and shaped my life -- not BIG GOVERNMENT. And my allies in faith-based social justice movements have wonderfully different views on the role of government -- some bigger than mine and some smaller than mine -- but we all believe social justice requires changing both personal choices and unjust structures. Apparently Beck thinks social justice ends with private charity, but very few churches in the nation would agree with him.

Now, I personally admittedly go a bit farther than Wallis in my views (if you read through his whole article, you'll see), but I agree with his notion that it is important to work from the bottom up-- changing yourself first and moving to a smaller local level, and then beyond. Personal first, policies later. But the unjust structures of government have to be changed if a real difference is going to be made in this country and especially around the world. I worked for a small Catholic social justice lobby last spring, and part of the appeal of their organization for me is that they took both a top-down and bottom-up approach to helping the global poor. They had missionaries in the field helping with day to day needs of the people, and also people like myself in Washington, advocating for change in the structures that contributed to that level of poverty. It was a remarkable experience because of the power of that context (I expect I will write more on my experiences with that organization soon).

For now, though, let me just say this: by what he said about social justice Christianity, Glenn Beck challenged me to defend why I believe that this kind of activism is an integral part of my faith, and for that I am of course grateful. But he is wrong in encouraging Christians to leave churches that preach social justice-- and if people listened, he would be forcing a mass exodus from a majority of mainline Protestant, evangelical Protestant, and Catholic churches around the United States. Social justice Christians have made a real difference in creating a better world. Don't believe me? Take a look at William Wilberforce and the abolition of the slave trade in England, or Martin Luther King in America's civil rights movement.

Read More:
-Glenn Beck Declares War on United Methodists
-Jim Wallis: What Glenn Beck Doesn't Understand About Biblical Social Justice
-Take Action: Tell Glenn Beck: I'm a Social Justice Christian
-Glenn Beck Responds: Social Justice is a 'Perversion of the Gospel'
-Glenn Beck Attacks Churches on Climate Change
-Mark Schaefer: Wiping Away Every Tear

My Relay for Life Experience

2010-05-19T12:45:00.003-04:00

Note: This post was originally written on 18 April 2010 at 3:11am.

Bender Arena, American University, Washington, DC

It has been a long, long time since I have done anything remotely like this-- Midnight Madness with Youth-to-Youth in middle school and Word of Life in early high school are the closest equivalents that come to mind. Why? Put briefly, all-nighters do not agree with me. I surprised even myself when I seriously entertained the thought of coming to this event. However, it seemed appropriate to do something after losing three friends to cancer in the course of a year, so here I am. I relay in memory of Gail Parady, Fred Holliday, Jean Moore, and Paulette Hilchie, and I relay in honor of the ongoing fights against cancer by Jinny Scott [update: and Ann Kippley].

This is a truly unique event: part memorial, part fundraiser, part celebration. Each participant donated at least $10 as an entrance fee; many donated or fundraised more than that from family or friends. Most of us are walking with a friend or family member in mind-- a victim, a survivor, a caregiver. There are even survivors among our number here...they are some of the leaders of the event, and they walked the first lap as we all cheered them on.

The luminaria ceremony was probably the most touching part of Relay. People purchased these bags and dedicated them in memory of those who have died; we all walked around the track in silence for about 10 minutes after they were illuminated. One of my friends was a major organizer of Relay; he celebrated his birthday today and lost his dad to cancer about five years ago. It was heart-wrenching to watch him and the others during the luminaria ceremony-- it was a poignant reminder of why we are all really here.

Despite all this, the core theme of the event is "Celebrations." Accordingly, my team chose a "Happy Retirement" theme for ourselves and we dressed up as various ages and stages of retirees. We also made a sign for our "campsite" that says, "Our team is RE-TIRED of cancer."

It has been a mostly high-energy evening full of entertainment. As I write, there is a "Miss American" drag contest going on. Five guys got dressed up in fancy gowns and did a little catwalk. There has been a lot of music, ranging from an ongoing DJ dance party, to two a cappella groups, to to two rather bad bands, to a bagpiper. The music is keeping us all going at this late hour-- it is now 03:40. There has also been a lot of donated food and drink-- Chipotle, crepes, sodas, and more. The stuff that really keeps most people going is the Red Bull, I suppose, which makes a good deal of sense.

Other activities that have been going on include board games at different campsites, volleyball, frisbee, soccer, and the eternally popular bounce house.

I don't know that I am going to have the energy to make it all the way through the event. I have certainly done my best, and my knee has held up remarkably well, in spite of all the stress I've put it through. Regardless, this has already been a remarkable experience. We collectively raised over $40,000 for cancer research, heard some remarkable stories, and partied like it was 1995. I guess all I can say is-- Relay on!

____

Update: I made it through until about 5:30 in the morning before returning to my dorm and crashing. The final fundraising count was nearly $45k. I firmly believe that Relay for Life is an important way for a community to rally around cancer survivors and caretakers, and to remember those who died, while fighting back against the worst six-letter word in the dictionary. I plan to participate again next year, and urge others to do the same.

The Tea Party Challenge

2010-04-06T22:42:00.004-04:00

One of my Facebook friends posted a variation of this challenge to members of the Tea Party movement on her wall, and I thought it made a good point.

The Tea Party Challenge

Hey, members of the Tea Party! You think it's so bad that the government is involved in your life? Try this out for a week: Don't use ANYTHING funded by the government. This includes but is not limited to:

public transportation, including Amtrak
public radio
public schools
libraries
Medicare or Medicaid
Social Security or unemployment benefits
police or fire departments
all roads, bridges, etc.

Good luck!

Oh, don't think this would be hard? Consider the following:

This morning I was awoken by my alarm clock, powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly, regulated by the US Department of Energy.

I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility.

After that, I turned the TV to one of the FCC-regulated channels to see what the National Weather Service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I watched this while eating my breakfast, inspected by the US Department of Agriculture and approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time-- as kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I get into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-approved car and set out to work on the roads built by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve.

On the way out the door, I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US Postal Service and drop the kids off at their public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, I drive back to my house, which has not been burned down thanks to the state and local building codes and the fire marshal's inspection, and it has not been plundered of all its valuables thanks to the local police department.

I then log onto the Internet, which was developed by the US Department of Defense, and post on Free Republic about how socialism in medicine is bad because the government can't do anything right.

MAKE SENSE??

The Worst Remake Ever

2010-04-01T00:45:00.002-04:00

So one of my friends thought it would be REALLY funny to play an April Fool's Day prank on me and try to convince me that they're going to do a remake of Casablanca, my favorite movie of all time. Yeah, I know, not funny at all. But once I got over the joke-- haha to you, Bryan-- we had some fun coming up with the cast and crew of the worst possible modern remake of that most beloved classic film. Results below:

____________________________

Rick Blaine- Bradley Cooper

Ilsa Lund- Megan Fox

Victor Laszlo- Keanu Reeves

Captain Renault- Nicholas Cage

Major Strasser- Mel Gibson

Sam- Tracy Morgan

Ugarte- Shia LaBeouf

Directed by Michael Bay and Uwe Boll

Screenplay by Jeph Loeb

Soundtrack by Kanye West

_____________________________

*DISCLAIMER TO ANY HOLLYWOOD EXECUTIVE WHO MIGHT COME ACROSS THIS* DOING THIS WOULD BE A REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let the nightmares commence.

Wrestling with Free Speech

2010-03-29T21:47:00.007-04:00

I confess it: sometimes I wrestle with the issue of free speech. More specifically, I wrestle with the idea of free speech when I read about things that are so blatantly offensive and arguably hateful that I almost can't justify them being said or written. Two events recently have gotten me thinking about it-- one piece in the international news, and one from my own college campus.

The news piece that first got me thinking was an article published in the Ottawa Citizen about how Ann Coulter's speech at the University of Ottawa was cancelled. The conservative commentator has been on a speaking tour around Canada, and has encountered considerable resistance from liberally-minded Canadians who opposed her message and the manner in which she delivered it. Although there were protests at a majority of her speaking locations, the protests at the University of Ottawa were so vehement that security urged Coulter to cancel the event, sparking criticism and debates from Coulter and others about how friendly Canada is to freedom of expression.

The other instance happened just today. Our student newspaper, the Eagle, published a piece by one of its more incendiary columnists, Alex Knepper, entitled, "Dealing with AU's anti-sex brigade." Read the column, then look at the comments. Words really can't adequately describe the controversial nature of the contents, but suffice it to say that Knepper managed to get virtually every female on campus up in arms when he stated that there is no such thing as date rape, and criticized the feminist movement for its views on sex. Just an excerpt:

“Date rape” is an incoherent concept. There’s rape and there’s not-rape, and we need a line of demarcation. It’s not clear enough to merely speak of consent, because the lines of consent in sex — especially anonymous sex — can become very blurry. If that bothers you, then stick with Pat Robertson and his brigade of anti-sex cavemen! Don’t jump into the sexual arena if you can’t handle the volatility of its practice!

To put it mildly, the AU campus community freaked out. I would be willing to bet that the Eagle hasn't gotten this many comments on a single article in years. There has been a range of (in my opinion, fairly low-key) vandalism and threats, and attacks on Knepper in general. There have also been an outpouring of comments and letters to the editor flowing into the newspaper, many of them criticizing the editors for having the nerve to put the piece into print.

So here's where my personal dilemma comes in. I hate just about everything Ann Coulter stands for, and I disagree with virtually everything Alex Knepper wrote in that column. I don't believe that hate speech of any variety has a place in a civilized society, and I am offended by the notion that someone would put such a stark line between "rape and not-rape," which vastly oversimplifies relational and sexual dilemmas AND devalues the pain felt by women who HAVE been raped, date or otherwise.

But here's the thing. I also hate censorship. I recognize the fact that if I am to be able to hold and express my opinions in this society, others should be able to hold and express theirs. I don't envy the Supreme Court their duty to identify where First Amendment rights to free speech end and where public safety or whatever is at stake. As much as I hate to admit it, Fox News has the same right to air Glenn Beck that MSNBC has to air Keith Olbermann.

If you ask me, there are more questions in this arena than answers. Yes, I think Knepper went WAY over any line of civility. Yes, I think that Ann Coulter's anti-Muslim comments in her speeches were distinctly inappropriate and downright hateful. I really don't think that "shock jocks" belong in real journalism. But those are my opinions. What about you?

Who gets to decide what is appropriate for publication and what is not?

What are liberals going to do if the tables get turned and people start getting really offended by what they say?

How do we reconcile the need for free speech that has been valued for so long, and the need to respect people and carry on CIVIL conversation?

I don't know. But it's food for thought.

Grouching About the Oscars

2010-03-08T19:48:00.004-05:00

Anyone who follows my blog knows that I love movies. I write about them regularly, and view and talk about them even more regularly. So naturally I was excited for the Academy Awards this year, with a wider Best Picture field than usual, and a pending face-off between director James Cameron (Avatar) and his ex-wife, director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker). So last night I settled down in front of ABC for their Oscar broadcast.

Part 1: The Red Carpet

Hands down, this is my least favorite part of the Academy Awards. I think the whole "red carpet" rigamarole is overrated and puts a focus on the star persona (and even more on what they wear) that is totally unnecessary. Why do we deify these actors to the point where a walk up a red carpet into a theater is one of the defining hallmarks of entertainment? Gabourey Sidibe (of Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire) was right when she described it as "Prom Night for Hollywood."

OK, that rant aside, naturally I watched the red carpet broadcast. Obnoxious interviewers and philosophical issues aside, some of the information was interesting. For example, did you know that the last time there were ten movies in the running for the Best Picture award was in 1943, the year Casablanca won? No pressure or anything, though.

Shallow moment:

Favorite male heartthrob sightings: George Clooney and Matt Damon

Favorite dresses: Kate Winslet (nobody classes up an event like her) and Sandra Bullock (a girl after my own heart-- when asked by an interviewer what she wanted to eat after the ceremony, she said a burger, fries, and a milkshake.)

Part 2: The 82nd Annual Academy Awards Ceremony

OK, on to the part that actually matters in my opinion: the ceremony itself. Neil Patrick Harris's over-the-top musical number intro was hilarious and awesome-- "No One Wants to Do It Alone." I really enjoyed Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as hosts. They had a great (if sometimes awkward) back-and-forth insulting each other and the audience, both at the beginning during their roast of the nominees and during the rest of the show.

So- the awards themselves. Here are the winners in each category, for those who missed it:

_________

OVERALL:

BEST PICTURE: "The Hurt Locker"

BEST DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"

BEST ANIMATED PICTURE: "Up"

BEST DOCUMENTARY: "The Cove"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM: "Logorama"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM: "Music by Prudence"

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: "The New Tenants"

ACTING:

BEST LEADING ACTOR: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"

BEST LEADING ACTRESS: Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, "Precious"

TECHNICAL:

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: "Avatar"

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: "Avatar"

BEST FILM EDITING: "The Hurt Locker"

BEST SOUND EDITING: "The Hurt Locker"

BEST SOUND MIXING: "The Hurt Locker"

ARTISTIC:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Michael Giacchino, "Up"

BEST ART DIRECTION: "Avatar"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart"

BEST MAKE-UP: "Star Trek"

BEST COSTUMES: "The Young Victoria"

WRITING:

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: "The Hurt Locker"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Sapphire' by Push"

________

Full disclosure: I was rooting for Up in the Air to win in every category it was nominated for (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture). I can't say that I actually believed that it would win all of those categories, but I wanted it to. I thought it deserved the awards most for its timely and unique portrayal of the human impact of the economic recession in the US, for its superb acting (by George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, and Vera Farmiga) and directing (by Jason Reitman), and for its clever script. Needless to say, I am quite upset that it didn't walk away with any of the above awards.

I was also rooting for Sherlock Holmes to win the Best Original Score award. I thought Hans Zimmer did a superb job creating a musical atmosphere for that movie, and the soundtrack is one of my new favorite albums to listen to-- atonal and unusual, but still somehow hauntingly beautiful. Still, the eventual winner (Michael Giacchino for Up!) was also an excellent choice-- although I actually preferred his music for Star Trek.

Despite my choices not winning, I am happy with most of the results. Avatar walked away with a handful of much-deserved technical awards but NOT any acting or overall "best" awards. Say what you will about the visual splendor of the movie, and I'll even give you the fact that the music was wonderful (James Horner composed the soundtrack, how do you go wrong?), but it did not have an original plot or good enough script to warrant anything else.

I was very impressed by The Hurt Locker, and am certainly inclined to support its Best Picture win, if Up in the Air couldn't win it. It was a unique brand of film with almost an indie film feel to it, and a relevance for its military content, even as the US pulls out of Iraq and starts to forget about what's happening over there in light of domestic concerns.

What I had not realized about the movie was that the screenwriter had been a journalist in Iraq, and had written the story based on his experiences with the troops there-- although I can't say I'm surprised, given how close the movie strikes to the reality on the ground (as I understand it). I was touched by the very sincere tribute and dedication that the writer, Mark Boal, gave to the troops when he accepted his award for Best Original Screenplay.

The film had a superb cast (especially Jeremy Renner), and a solid director in Kathryn Bigelow, who broke the proverbial glass ceiling last night by becoming the first woman ever to win the Academy Award for Best Director.

The Hurt Locker cleaned up in many awards categories, so the ceremony perhaps wasn't as well distributed as it could have been in that regard. And Up in the Air didn't win anything, which I have an issue with. But I guess I still have to "thank the Academy," as they say, because they fulfilled my hopes and did not give Avatar awards that it simply (in my opinion) did not deserve, just because it is the highest-grossing and possibly most visually stunning movie ever made. Being a Best Picture winner is about more than great visuals. It has to be about the quality and relevance of the story, the articulateness of the script, and the incredible acting-- not the money it rakes in or how pretty the film is.

Climate Change 2.0

2010-03-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

Communication matters. Politicians have known this for years, but it often seems as though scientists and activists missed that memo. These groups know why a topic matters to them, but they cannot convey the significance to the public in a way that gets through the daily onslaught of information. Scientists are especially guilty when they limit their distribution of information to academic journals and conferences. These venues are hardly perused by the general public, and so useful information gets lost in the labyrinth of academia. Activists similarly struggle to communicate, although not for lack of effort. In a world where new causes seem to materialize every day, how can a climate activist stay relevant? In the past the strategy has involved some groups lobbying for environmental legislation, and others trying to get people interested in preserving nature, from polar bears to wetlands.

Without minimizing the importance of conservation and legislation, it seems as though the message of the climate change movement often gets muddled. It often fails to use communication strategies that are clear and reach large numbers of people. In particular, the climate movement should be making a special effort to reach out to the millennial generation, who will be most affected by the effects of climate change during their lifetimes. The distinguishing communication venue for millennials is the Internet-- specifically, social networks. As the millennial generation becomes more and more politically active, the climate movement will benefit greatly from finding ways to engage them with their most-utilized communication methods.

Climate Change 2.0: Recent Uses of New Media

Activists have long attempted to determine effective ways to reach a broader public with their message about global warming. Indeed, an organization called Resource Innovations “initiated a project designed to identify the most effective means to communicate with local populations about climate change.” This study yielded a number of recommendations about how best to communicate climate change, including the types of messengers that should be used to convey the information-- those with a range of expertise on a variety of subject areas from religious to environmental to business. Focus groups indicated that a broader range of experts educating the public on climate change would improve the credibility of the movement. In light of this study, it is reasonable to assume that among younger audiences, the credibility of the climate change movement would also be improved by increased activity on social media outlets.

Some organizations and individuals have already begun to increase their use of social media regarding climate change issues. The Copenhagen conference in particular drove groups to take up an active place on social networks, although some Web 2.0 aficionados found the website of the conference itself to be deficient in its use of new media. One of the most prominent to do so was not an environmental group, but the Associated Press and its affiliates covering the conference. Due to the conference's significance, the AP created a Facebook page and Twitter account to “provide a unique outlet for Internet users to discuss climate change with some of the world's most experienced journalists covering the conference,” according to a press release put out by the company. Other prominent individuals also started using social media in advance of the conference, such as John Prescott, the former British Transport Secretary and current Rapporteur on Climate Change to the Council of Europe who used Twitter and his blog to gauge and try to sway public opinion in England about climate change in advance of the summit.

The movement 350.org rallied the blogosphere and Web 2.0 aficionados around the climate summit in Copenhagen, publicizing the use of their own videos and other sources on individual Twitter feeds and blogs, effectively spreading the word about their organization. 350.org and its partners joined together in a Blog Action Day before Copenhagen, calling for the preservation of the Earth's atmosphere at no higher than 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Before the Blog Action Day, 350.org also featured six of the “hottest” videos on climate change, highlighting the roles that social media can play in raising awareness and calling for action.

Beyond the climate conference, some businesses have also been actively commenting on climate change issues. One of the most noteworthy is Shell Oil, which allowed its climate change adviser, David Hone, to start and maintain a blog, on which he records his thoughts and experiences looking into climate change-related issues. The idea behind the blog was to provide a “serious venue for conversation about an issue that is very important to all of us” and to do so in a way that is accessible to people beyond environmentalists and policy makers.

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits that social media has already provided is in areas that are indirectly related to climate change-- namely, in providing information after natural disasters. The earthquake in Haiti is perhaps the best current example of how Twitter can be useful, although in this particular instance the quake is not related to climate change. After the earthquake, news outlets such as CNN reported people going to Twitter for information in record numbers, as disaster agencies posted updates and celebrities used their feeds to call for donations to charities. Similar situations have occurred in the past and will likely occur again in the future in instances where climate change is more directly tied to a disaster. A prime example is the cyclone that occurred in Bangladesh in December 2007. BBC World Service had spent several years building up a site showcasing the effects that climate change had already had on that area, and when the cyclone arrived, Twitter and blog updates provided personal accounts from the ground, even when the mainstream media switched its focus.

Reaching the Millennials: Why Social Media Matters

The millennials are the generation that is most likely to be heavily impacted by climate change. Right now, social media venues are the main outlet for young people looking to share their opinions with a broader audience, and with or without the support of the mainstream climate movement, they are speaking out on the issue. Jesse Strauss, a student and blogger on TalkingScience.org, wrote about the urgency with which we need to address climate change:

Every once in a while, a generation gets a necessary call to act and sacrifice. The last time this happened, a nation mobilized to defeat the armies of fascism. The most powerful force on Earth is a mobilized democracy calling for action, and that is what we need to be. Right now, we have been granted a very small and rare window to change our ways to save this planet for our children. A new decade means a clean slate. [...] When 2020 rolls around, let’s be able to say truthfully we left the decade with the Earth better than we found it.

The Pew Research Center announced in its New Media Index just before the Copenhagen conference that global warming had been the primary hot topic discussed on blogs and other social media networks, with more than half of the news links in blogs relating to the issue. Often the blogs have been posted by those who doubt the reality of global warming, but during the weeks before Copenhagen, the debate was not one-sided. Rather, “much of the added fuel [to the debate] came from climate change believers who engaged in the debate that had been dominated by skeptics.”

Bloggers like Jesse Strauss and the data from the New Media Index are together reflections of the evolving reality: that connecting teens to movements like the fight against climate change will increasingly require engagement with online social media as much as (or more than) traditional media. The Pew Research Institute has been active in recent years studying the interaction between the millennial generation and the Internet, and the results have been striking. A study published in December 2007 learned that about 93% of teens use the Internet, and that 64% of these online teens have either contributed to or written a blog, maintained a personal website, shared their own artistic creations online, and included content that they found online in their own work-- and this did not even include those who were active on Facebook or another social networking site.

Beyond the teenagers, however, are the older members of the millennial generation (those born between 1980 and 2000). These are mostly no longer teenagers, but they are equally “plugged in” to the technology that many consider to be a hallmark of the generation. According to a Pew Research Center study published in February 2010, approximately 75% of millennials have at least one social networking profile (compared with 50% of Gen-Xers and 30% of baby boomers). These are numbers that have jumped significantly within the last ten years for all adults, but most strikingly for the millennials. Between 2005 and 2006, the percentage of young people using social networking sites jumped from 7% to 51%, a number that subsequently increased and stabilized at 75% in 2008.

In addition to the data about the technological engagement of millennials, the Pew data indicated a trend toward more liberal political opinions. More than half of the millennials surveyed said that they thought the government should do more to help people, compared to 42% who thought that the government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals. However, the study notes that like other generations when they were younger, millennials do not typically have high levels of political engagement. They did make a substantial difference in the election of Barack Obama (a campaign that stood out for its use of social media) in 2008, but the number of millennials voting sank significantly in the gubernatorial elections of 2009 in New Jersey and Virginia.

The Pew Center report says, “Even though Millennials made extensive use of social media in the 2008 campaign, it is too early to judge the long-term impact of these technologies on their level of engagement.” This is undoubtedly true. However, it is not unreasonable to hypothesize that the ability of the Obama campaign to connect with younger voters using familiar technology (social networking) might be correlated to their ability to get out the youth vote. Not only did the Obama campaign convey a message that millennials could relate to, they used a relevant medium to millennials.

Climate change movements that seek to stay relevant with today's technology-savvy generation can learn from the lessons of the Obama campaign in 2008, as well as from organizations that mobilized around the Copenhagen conference. Social media-- from blogs to videos to Twitter-- can be an effective tool for spreading information and especially engaging with younger potential activists. Many millennials know that global climate change will be manifesting its consequences during their lifetimes, and they are eager to step up and take action to reduce the impact. They are simply waiting for leadership that meets them on familiar ground and connects with them.

Mario Cuomo's Convention Speech

2010-02-26T18:11:00.000-05:00

I was just introduced to this great and overlooked speech by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo to the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Although sadly the Democrats did not heed the call to unite and could not defeat President Reagan, the speech stands by itself as a call for a nation of "two cities" to become one.

Lenten Devotional: Life As a Sacrament

2010-02-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

My university's Methodist student group partnered with a church nearby to produce a Lenten devotional for our members. Students and adults both contributed pieces about memories and experiences with the different sacraments. The devotional is also online here, but I really liked today's selection, written by my chaplain, and thought I would pass it along.

A sacrament is, as St. Augustine said, “a visible sign of an invisible reality.” It communicates love and grace to us in very real concrete terms.
Through the very physical water of baptism, we encounter forgiveness, reconciliation, renewal, and cleansing. The water surrounds us, and we are surrounded not merely by bonded hydrogen and oxygen, but are immersed in God’s love. The water cascades over us, and we feel the rush of God’s grace. The water soaks us, and we are infused with God’s acceptance and mercy.
In the very physical elements of bread and wine, we encounter mercy, love, healing, and grace. We taste not only the substance of the harvest—grains become flour, flour become bread—sating our hunger, but gain a foretaste of a banquet in which all the things for which we hunger are satisfied: justice, righteousness, peace. In the sweetness of the grape juice we taste the sweetness of redemption, the sweetness of the vindication of hope.
These ordinary physical things convey a deep spiritual grace. But why should it stop there? Can’t more things be sacraments?
The Eucharistic meal is a sacrament, but what about the potluck supper? Anyone who has ever done a potluck right, and made it an occasion of fellowship, sharing, and hospitality, has certainly conveyed and experienced something of God in those moments. Two friends sharing a plate of Buffalo wings and a couple of glasses of beer can experience the love of God known in relationship. Can the wings and beer not be sacramental elements, no less than bread and wine?
We can open ourselves up to the possibilities of a sacramental life: everything we do can be a way that God’s love and grace are communicated. A ballgame, a hike through the woods, time at the artist’s canvas, giving a helping hand, writing a letter to an old friend, a hug. If vested with a sense of love and of grace, anything can be sacramental. If we seek to embody love and grace in our lives, then everything we do becomes “a visible sign of an invisible reality.” All life becomes a sacrament.

Morning Reading: Tea and Justice

2010-01-09T09:28:00.001-05:00

A couple of days ago I wrote a bit about the relevance of the tea parties in the Republican Party, partially based off of David Brooks' column on the topic. NYT columnist Charles M. Blow has also joined this trend of analysis on the tea partiers, saying that "the attack on the Republican establishment by the tea party folks" represents "the desperate thrashings of a dying movement." I'm not sure that I would agree with him, although I would certainly like to. He points out that the demographics of the country are changing and that younger folks are getting more liberal, but I just wonder as compared to what, or when? Traditionally the younger generation is often the more liberal element of society, although I guess not always. Anyway, Blow's piece analyzes the goings-on in the Republican party in the view of the five stages of grief, which is interesting.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether restrictions on corporate spending in political campaigns violate the First Amendment. An interesting question-- does money = speech? Their decision could have huge ramifications in future elections, and speaking for myself I hope that the court will either tailor their decision very narrowly, or rule that the restrictions are constitutional. There is already too much money poured into campaigns, the last thing we need are less restrictive fundraising rules.

Sarah Palin is back in the press, unfortunately enough-- this time for declining an invitation to speak at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, widely perceived as the biggest must-attend event of the year for the conservative element. More to the point, though, even as she declined CPAC, she accepted an invitation to speak at the first-ever National Tea Party Convention. This of course has set off speculation that she is positioning herself as the movement's leading potential candidate for 2012-- speculation that I would not say is unfair. Not knowing anything about the governor's plans, it sure looks like she's trying to legitimize them and possibly take leadership. Or maybe she's just in it for the speaking fee, rumored to be in the low six figures. Incidentally, it's also worth noting that the tickets to this allegedly grassroots movement's convention are going for about $560.

Finally, thoughts and prayers to the family of Vice President Joe Biden, whose mother (Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan Biden) passed away yesterday at age 92.

Other Thoughts on Avatar

2010-01-08T09:08:00.000-05:00

David Brooks of the New York Times did not seem to like James Cameron's Avatar quite as much as I did in my review a week ago. Or rather, he had a few more problems with the plot line. I can't say I disagree-- it's both cliched and kind of offensive-- but plot has, in my opinion, never really been James Cameron's strongest suit as a filmmaker. As I noted before (and as Brooks pointed out), it's really a rip-off of the plots of movies like Pocahontas. The plot is really just an excuse for Cameron to use a whole round-up of awesome effects and filming techniques.

Tea, Anyone?

2010-01-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has been paying even a little bit of attention to what's been happening on the political scene in the past year is probably aware of the rise of the so-called "Tea Party" movement, a group of conservative, semi-libertarian opponents of President Obama and the current governing elite in the United States. They first started making noise after the introduction of the economic stimulus bills, gained more notice during the health care debates of the summer, and backed a third-party Conservative candidate during the tumultuous race in the New York 23rd Congressional district.

David Brooks, one of my favorite columnists at the New York Times, has written a piece about the rise of the tea partiers, what they represent in American society, and how they could become a force to be reckoned with during the next decade (see: The Tea Party Teens). I think he will probably prove to be right, unfortunately. The tea party folks represent a loud and dissatisfied element of American society who fear that the country they love is shifting in a different (read: more centrist/leftist) direction. And they are afraid, and letting us all know.

I have a number of problems with the tea party movement. One of these is historical. They are invoking the memory of the Boston Tea Party...but the colonists weren't complaining about taxation. They were protesting taxation without representation. By those standards, only the residents of the city of Washington, DC have any ground to stand on.

My other major problem is that, as Brooks pointed out, the tea partiers are defined by what they are against. And they are against just about anything that the current administration comes up with. Rather than presenting meaningful alternatives of any variety, the movement seems to be all about complaining (often, in my opinion, on the basis of a flawed knowledge of the facts).

This movement is fascinating from an academic perspective, and it will probably wind up being quite important. It could-- and probably will-- cause the Republican Party to splinter, with parts moving to the extreme right and parts clinging to the center. But at the same time, I cannot see it becoming a viable alternative politically until someone starts coming up with ideas beyond the word "No." When that happens-- depending on how it happens-- the tea party could indeed be a force to be reckoned with, and possibly a dangerous one at that.

Morning Reading: Not Much Here

2010-01-04T10:10:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I love the Garfield comic strips by Jim Davis?

It seems to be a bit of a slow news week, aside from the continued hullabaloo about the Christmas bombing attempt in Detroit. Janet Napolitano's been really getting slammed...which I suppose is the cost of being the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, the word of the day from yesterday was that the US Embassy in Yemen closed down due to increased threats of attack by Al Qaeda. A situation that of course bears further monitoring.

Paul Krugman has a good column out in the NY Times today, reminding us of the lessons of 1937-- that signs of short-term improvement in the economy are just that. We shouldn't take them as a surefire indication that things have turned around-- there is still work to be done. Optimistic, eh?

Much to the chagrin of my friends at myImpact, a recent study indicates that those who join up with Teach for America after graduating college don't necessarily do so out of a higher sense of civic duty. Although they often do wind up in an education-related profession, the love of teaching does not appear to translate automatically into more service-related engagement.

Yeah, not too much grabbed my attention in the news cycle so far today-- but I'm continuing to work on blogging over at Simply Millennial if you're looking for reading material. :)

New Year, New Blog

2010-01-02T16:31:00.001-05:00

I decided that the start of 2010 would be an appropriate moment to start a new blog. Inspired by my perusals of Zen Habits and other simple living blogs, Simply Millennial will be my new home for thoughts on "searching for simplicity, productivity, and happiness in a Web 2.0 world." Not too much there yet, but I'll be working on it, and blogging there (and continuing to write here) regularly is one of my resolutions for the upcoming year. Check it out!

Sure, maybe for YOU, Mr. Limbaugh...

2010-01-01T18:19:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh was rushed to the hospital near his hotel in Hawaii (where he has been staying for the holidays) with chest pains and a suspected heart attack. Today he was released, and announced that the US health care system works "just fine" and that he as a celebrity had received the same treatment as any other American who called 911 and got rushed into the emergency room.

I am sure that I will not be the only pundit-wannabe to point out the flaws in Mr. Limbaugh's arguments. Where to begin... First of all, perhaps he has a point in saying that he received the same treatment that anyone else would have gotten. I can't poke TOO many holes in that, because I don't know. It's very dependent on the hospital, the doctors, the nurses, and the state of the person who was calling for medical care. It's not unrealistic to think that a doctor might pay a bit more attention to Rush Limbaugh than to another Joe Schmoe...but it's not necessarily the case.

The main problem (in my estimation) is not in the treatment provided, but in how to pay for it. Admittedly, when the US system does work, it often works well. The US has some of the best trained doctors and nurses, superb medical technology and research facilities, access to the latest drugs. This does not necessarily yield results across the board, but it often makes for better outcomes. But at what cost?

Clearly Mr. Limbaugh is out of touch with the segment of the American population that lies outside the companies where employers provide health insurance; outside the bounds of Medicare or Medicaid or the military/veterans medical system; into the places where a parent has to choose between paying for family insurance at exorbitant prices and putting food on the table. For those interested in the numbers, that segment of the population hovers somewhere around 45 million Americans, a not unsubstantial amount.

Mr. Limbaugh's statement also roundly ignores those in the United States who go into debt or bankruptcy just paying their medical costs. These costs-- from the ambulance to the hospital, to ER fees, to administrative fees, to medicines-- must be paid out-of-pocket, which often forces horrible choices and can ruin a family.

In every other developed industrial democratic country in the world, this is not only considered simply unacceptable, it's considered unthinkable. People should not be forced to choose between their health and food, their health and education, their health and their job. And they should not be forced into bankruptcy to pay for their health care.

I wish Rush Limbaugh no particular harm, and I am glad he has had a positive experience with the US health care system. I too have had good experiences with the system, two of them major surgeries in 2009. But to take your individual experience with one particular hospital in the system-- especially when you ARE a celebrity and presumably either have or can pay for health insurance-- and apply it to a blanket statement declaring that the whole system works "just fine" for everybody, is foolish and appallingly small-minded. Look around. The whole US health care system cannot be (and in the minds of most sensible people, is not) accurately represented by the treatment given to one celebrity radio host in a luxurious area of Hawaii. Especially because he probably doesn't have to worry about paying for his care.

The First Post

2010-01-01T09:02:00.000-05:00

It's a new year, and a new decade. Ten years ago, we all thought the world (or at least the technological side of it) were going to end with the Y2K issues...of which there were pretty much none. Last year, I had two surgeries, witnessed a presidential inauguration, read over fifty books for pleasure (not school), and wrote my record number of 188 blog posts. Now we're here in 2010, looking ahead. For me, the decade upcoming is one in which I will (next year) graduate from college and join the work world for sure...and in which many more things are possibilities.

Well, opening up my Google Reader this morning, as per usual I've picked out a few good articles. President Obama celebrated his New Year's Eve by hanging out with his family, going to see Avatar, and getting a lot of security reviews about the Christmas Day bombing attempt. Always fun to be the prez...especially when politicos start critiquing his governing style versus his campaign style, as they did in the "Top 10 Obama White House Surprises."

I have been increasingly impressed by David Brooks over the last year. As I've read his columns, I've grown more and more impressed by his articulate centrist positions, and his ability to analyze issues in a rational manner. Today's column is no exception, as he looks at how badly people have reacted to the Christmas Day bombing attempt by blaming the system. All systems created and maintained by human beings will at some point fail, which is a fact we need to deal with in a mature manner, rather than by playing a ridiculous blame game. Do make sure you read David Brooks's column for today, "The God That Fails."

Now Viewing: Avatar

2009-12-31T15:32:00.000-05:00

Where do I even start reviewing this film? Countless film critics (professional and amateur) have already sung its praises in every way, shape, and form. But I saw it last night in 3-D, and thus feel the need to add my voice to the cacophony of people extolling James Cameron's latest epic.

And epic it truly is. In Avatar, Cameron truly creates a whole new world for his viewers. The quality of the film-making, the CGI techniques, the acting, the plot, the effects-- all are more than above par, and all become even better when you see the movie in 3-D. After putting on the 3-D glasses, viewers are quickly sucked in to the moon of Pandora, to the struggles between the human invaders and the native Na'vi population.

Sam Worthington delivers an impressive performance as Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-Marine who replaces his recently deceased brother on the mission to Pandora, merging with his brother's Na'vi avatar and getting adopted into and slowly accepted by the local Na'vi clan. His teacher in the ways of The People is the chief's daughter, Neytiri, played to near-unrecognizable perfection by Zoe Saldana.

Most movie buffs agree that plot and script are not James Cameron's strongest abilities as a filmmaker, and to some extent that holds true in Avatar. In my opinion, I would say that although the script is fairly weak, he does get some great one-liners in, and the plot is also fairly strong. Parts of the story quite honestly harken back to a Pocahontas-style narrative, with greedy corporate humans coming in to drive out the native population by any means necessary in order to obtain the not-quite-cleverly-named "unobtainium," a tremendously valuable substance back on earth. Then of course you have the "Colors of the Wind" moments during which Jake begins to understand and appreciate-- and become part of-- the natural world of Pandora. When critics call it a tree-hugger liberal environmentalist film, I confess they have a point. Cameron clearly wants the audience's sympathies to be with the Na'vi people and their allies-- very few of the human characters are likable at all, unless you happen to have either a dollar sign or a gun for a heart.

But here's the thing-- most viewers probably won't really care about that, regardless of their political leanings. Because this movie is just that good. The visual effects alone will knock you back in your seat. The vistas off the mountains and waterfalls-- of which there are many-- are especially impressive. Cameron's Pandora is a spectacularly beautiful place, and I'm sure that if there isn't already, there will soon be a Facebook group called "I Want to Move to Pandora" or something along those lines. Then you have the not-unimpressive battle scenes, the love story between Jake and Neytiri, tragedies, some cynically comic dialogue-- all this plus the political intrigue makes for a movie that almost everybody will like.

Bottom line: Go see Avatar. And pay the extra money to see it in 3-D on the biggest screen you can possibly find (IMAX, if you can). It is truly worth it for the feeling of escaping the confines of Earth for three hours.

Two Lists and Two Columns

2009-12-31T14:10:00.000-05:00

Just some quick hits today from my Reader-

Nicholas Kristof writes about how a reliable savings account can change lives in Third World countries. I still think saving money is something people need to learn how to do here, too.
Gail Collins bids a not-so-fond farewell to 2009 in "That Was the Year That Was." If you want to think about what a long year it was, remember that George W. Bush was still the president when the calendar switched to January 2009.
POLITICO presents: The Top 10 Weirdest (Political) Moments of 2009. And boy, are there some great ones. Starting with Obama getting sworn in twice and Sarah Palin resigning.
And always my favorite end-of-year highlight: TIME's list of the 25 Best Blogs of the year. Happily, Zen Habits (my favorite blog) made the list again. Sadly, I am not yet on there (haha). Maybe some day.

Happy reading, and enjoy the last night of 2009!

Featured Blog: The Julie/Julia Project

2009-12-28T22:42:00.001-05:00

This is the now-famous blog that lead to Julie Powell's book Julie & Julia, and the 2009 movie that was based off of it. I watched the movie tonight (which is what lead me to track down the original blog) and loved it-- if I can, I'll do my customary review tomorrow, but bottom line was that it was both funny and sweet, throughly enjoyable and full of delectable-looking food. Made me want to be a cook and find a guy like Julia Child's or Julie Powell's husbands in the movie. Increased (if it's possible) even further my respect for the talents of Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. And most significantly, gave me hope that it is in fact still possible to make a decent chick flick-- as much as I shamelessly love the genre, most of the films that come out of it are totally awful. Wait-- okay, guess I don't need to review it tomorrow. That's a pretty decent summary review. But I'm supposed to be writing about the blog.

Anyway, I tracked down the original blog and started reading through it from the first post. Haven't finished it, obviously, but I find Julie Powell's writing both entertaining and endearing. It's a superbly written blog, and even though she hasn't posted since Julia Child died in 2004, it's still fun to go back and laugh (or cry, whatever's your taste) at her exploits and attempts at mastering the art of French cooking, Julia Child style.

A New Year...

2009-12-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

...well, almost. But it's the time of year where not only do we analyze what is behind, we look towards the future. There are certainly predictions to be made politically-- even, arguably, resolutions-- but I will, for the moment at least, leave those to people wiser than I. The matter of personal New Year's resolutions is quite challenging enough.

I've never been a huge fan of New Year's resolutions, simply because they virtually always fizzle in a very short amount of time. Also, there are things in my life (as is the case for most of us) that I know I should change but don't particularly want to.

The main one of these, for me, is my exercise habit. I have (usually) good academic habits, decent eating habits, and workable sleep habits-- at least, I do better than some of my peers at university (although that really does not say much at all). But when it comes to exercise, I have a difficult time pushing into it. Partly I think that relates to my tendency to be very accident prone-- almost every time I start to really exercise, I seem to get hurt. Which has the general impact of turning me off the whole concept altogether.

Still, since I had major knee surgery this summer, the anatomical problems with my body are theoretically fixed. However, my doctor and physical therapist both warned me that unless I get serious about exercising and strengthening, I will never get to a higher level of fitness than the functional place I am currently at-- able to walk, including up and down stairs, but bending rather stiffly and unable to run more than a couple of steps comfortably. So I guess that's what you might call motivation to change this habit.

Encouragement to exercise aside, I have no idea yet what (if anything) I will be doing for my New Year's resolutions. I will think on it in the next few days-- 2009 isn't over yet. Leo Babauta at Zen Habits has created a new website (6changes.com) dedicated to helping people achieve six designated resolutions, or changes in their lives, with some useful and simple techniques. Since he has provided tremendously useful ideas for me in the past, who knows, maybe I will jump in and give it a try. Just for a preview of an article on the site-- How to Form the Exercise Habit. Do check it out, along with the other stuff on the site, if you are contemplating seriously forming any new habits for your resolutions in 2010.

Now Reading: The Healing of America

2009-12-28T14:40:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has been following my blog in the last year or who knows me personally knows that health care is the political issue that I am, by far, the most passionate about. As a Canadian who has spent most of her life growing up in the US, I have seen the good and the bad of both systems, and have come to the conclusion that health care is a right for the many, not a privilege to be enjoyed by the few. I have held this opinion for quite a long time in some form or other, but it was strengthened this past summer when it became apparent that the US health care system had contributed to the rapid demise of one of my favorite professors, Fred Holliday. Naturally, I have followed the debates around the country, in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate with some considerable interest, and have also done some reading of my own on the topic.

The most recent book I've picked up on the topic is The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care by T.R. Reid, a correspondent for the Washington Post. During his years at the Post, Reid has served as bureau chief in London and Tokyo, so he experienced the systems in those two nations firsthand. For this book, however, Reid examined the World Health Organization's rankings of health systems, and set out on an exploration of the pros and cons of the different systems that ranked higher than the US-- which is actually a sampling of pretty much every other wealthy industrialized democratic country in the world-- in terms of providing cost-effective, quality, universal health care.

For this book, Reid traveled to France, Germany, Britain, Canada, and India to investigate the cures they each would offer for his personal medical ailment, a stiff and sore shoulder, and to report on the nation's system as a whole. In doing so, he discovered that although each country (with the exception of India) provided universal health care, they each had different methods for doing so. The four systems of universal care that Reid outlined are the Beveridge model (Britain), the Bismarck model (Germany and France), the National Health Insurance model (Canada), and the Out-of-Pocket model (most low-income countries in the world, plus the US, in part). In actuality, Reid points out, the US combines variations of all these models for different elements of society, whereas it would really be most effective to create one unified system for everybody.

Reid has many fascinating anecdotes, facts, statistics, and discoveries that he covers in The Healing of America, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about health care systems elsewhere in the world, and about what the US could learn from them. Regardless, however, here are my top 10 takeaways from the book, in quick summary form:

It's basically true that doctors nearly always get screwed by universal health care systems in comparison to what doctors in the US earn...
...but on the grand scale, they're not exactly badly off in most cases. They usually earn around $100k or more per year and live comfortable middle-class lifestyles...
...Although this ability is partly because they accumulate much lower (or nonexistent) medical debts from their education, and have to pay so little for malpractice insurance (because there are so few malpractice lawsuits).
The presence of a moral imperative (Is health care a fundamental right?) is an essential part of the discussion around having a universal system. Economic discussions won't get the job done because they don't reach to the core of the issue.
Health care "rationing" is a part of life. In any and every system on earth.
In universal systems (Britain is an especially good example) there is a high incentive for good preventative care and low administrative costs. Not so in the US.
One of the best ways to lower administrative costs is to digitize health records (see: France's carte vitale).
In order for a universal system to work properly, you must have both an individual mandate and a guaranteed issue. In other words, everyone must buy into the system (to create a large enough risk pool, especially if using the Bismarck model) and insurance companies cannot deny a claim or coverage if you pay your premiums on time.
Guaranteed issue is another good way to reduce those hefty administrative costs. No need to pay claims adjusters, etc., when you can't deny claims and must pay them quickly.
No health care system is perfect; all of them have pros and cons. But the US can-- and, in my opinion, must-- do better than it does now.

Now Reading: The Know-It-All

2009-12-27T16:04:00.000-05:00

A.J. Jacobs used to think he was the smartest kid in the world. Then he grew up and became a writer and editor for pop culture magazines like Entertainment Weekly and Esquire and started feeling like he had lost his thirst for knowledge. So what did he do? He decided to read through the entire Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Y'know, a little light reading.

And thus begins Jacobs's memoir The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. Outrageously funny-- I literally laughed out loud all the way through the book-- and by turns sweet, intelligent, and wise, Jacobs mixes telling about what he is reading-- the memoir is, like the encyclopedia, organized alphabetically-- and what is going on in his life outside the reading material. This includes personal things, like his and his wife's struggle to get pregnant as well as Jacobs's own lingering issues with his father, and tangential quests for knowledge. During the course of this experience, Jacobs applies to Mensa, tries out for Jeopardy and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and meets to discuss the pursuit of knowledge with some of the smartest people in the world. These interviews included Alex Trebek, an intelligence expert, the founder of several of the highest-IQ clubs, and a five-time Jeopardy champion, among others. Each individual has a different perspective on the pursuit of knowledge-- some think Jacobs is wasting his time reading the encyclopedia, others think it could be a good thing-- but on several points, there is general agreement:

1) There is more than one type of intelligence.

2) Knowledge comes from everywhere, the encyclopedia is only one source.

3) The pursuit of knowledge is, in general, a very good and noble thing.

Those are ideas that I can get behind, for sure. As a life-long bookworm and as someone who loves learning, I can appreciate Jacobs's quest-- although I'm not sure I would be able to do it. However, there is something to be said for that kind of thirst for knowledge-- something that more people could stand to have these days, in my opinion. Bottom line-- The Know-It-All is a humor book, to be sure. But at the same time it manages to be fall-out-of-your-chair witty, it makes you think and even passes on a few intellectual tidbits along the way. Well worth the read.

Playing Catch-Up: Now Viewing

2009-12-27T14:03:00.000-05:00

With movies, too, I have slacked off in my individual reviews. This is partly because two of my recent movie viewings were old favorites, but regardless, here's some quick hits on the movies I've watched most recently:

Love Actually: Probably my second-favorite chick flick, if I had to pick one (my #1 favorite, without exception, is You've Got Mail). A sweet exploration of the many different natures of love, as couples who interact in and out of each other's lives find true love in all its forms. "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere." With a stellar cast including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, and Keira Knightley, a number of endearing plotlines, and a heartwarming message, Love Actually is a great movie for Christmas or any time of year when you need a reminder about the presence of love in the world.

White Christmas: To me, the #1 classic Christmas movie. Yes, I love The Santa Clause and A Christmas Story and all the others (although I have to admit that Elf kind of drives me up the wall), but it just doesn't feel like a real Christmas to me unless we watch this heartwarming Michael Curtiz film about a pair of post-WWII entertainers who bring their show and a great Christmas gift to their down-on-his-luck former general...and, of course, find love along the way. Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen, White Christmas instills me with feelings of nostalgia for holidays gone by-- not least of which, holidays where there was actually lots of real snow on the ground on Christmas Day!

Sherlock Holmes: I have been excited for this movie since I first caught the trailer back in September or so, and I was not disappointed when I went to see it in theaters yesterday. Robert Downey, Jr. stars as the famous detective and Jude Law portrays his partner, Dr. Watson. The original character of Sherlock Holmes was (to my recollection) a rather peppery, sarcastic, elitist and slightly crazy man-- a brilliant chemist, an observer, a cocaine addict, a boxer, a violinist, and fascinated by science of all varieties. The caricatures of him in popular culture since-- with the deerstalker hat and whatnot-- have in my opinion fallen rather short of this original character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so I was very pleased to see that this new Guy Ritchie Holmes film was much closer to the original character-- not a deerstalker hat in sight. The film's not perfect, of course-- for one thing, Holmes and Watson weren't nearly as funny as Downey and Law are in the film-- but it was a change that I could live with. Holmes's nemesis in this movie, Lord Blackwood (brilliantly portrayed by the sinister Mark Strong), was apparently gifted in dark magic, using his plots to kill people and build his power and influence, to a point in which he would use it to take over all of England (naturally). On the side, Holmes has to deal with his feelings for the clever criminal Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams)-- a character at the heart of the Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia," a woman who frequently manages to outsmart Holmes, or at least keep him on his toes. I was also pleased to discover that they framed the film perfectly for a sequel to come along next-- featuring the brilliant and devious Professor Moriarty, Holmes's number one nemesis in the stories. All things told, although far from a perfect film, I thoroughly enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and would highly recommend it to those who enjoy a pithy, clever, funny, action and suspense-packed mystery. Perhaps not a thriller of the highest order, but definitely a lot of fun-- most of all for the portrayal of the world's most famous detective as he was, just maybe, supposed to be portrayed.

Playing Catch-Up: Now Reading

2009-12-27T12:37:00.000-05:00

Since I last posted about my reading material, I've read a couple of books and am almost done with a third, so I think I will just hit the two that I've finished now in this one post.

The History of God by Karen Armstrong: This book, frankly, blew me out of the water. It's been recommended to me a number of times through the years by various fellow bookworms, and I finally got around to plowing through it (although, on a personal side note, I think the doctors were a little confused when I was reading it while waiting for my surgery last week). Armstrong's book is a fascinating journey of the human perception of the divine in the three major monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Beginning with the earliest appearances of religion in ancient Mesopotamia, Armstrong shows how the Jews first developed the local polytheistic traditions into a blend of polytheism and monotheism, to a strictly monotheistic faith; then how Christianity developed out of that, and how Islam developed tangentially to both of those. She traces the traditions of the three faiths as they went through periods of mysticism and reform, of political strife and religious disagreement, right up through the Enlightenment and the development of atheism and fundamentalism as dominant thought patterns on religious matters. Always from an academic perspective, with theological, historical, and philosophical perspectives, Armstrong does a superb (and challenging) job of showing how, regardless of what you personally believe about God, whether God actually changes or not, human perception of the divine has shifted radically over time. While God has, in general, been an enduring concept, we have not all always thought about God in the same way-- and in my estimation, we probably never will. It's a challenging way to think about faith, but a fascinating one.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: The old children's classic, which I thought I would pick up purely in the interest of seeing how it compares (in March) to the new Tim Burton movie. I can guess right now that Tim Burton will make the film way more trippy than even Lewis Carroll could have imagined, but the book is so nonsensical to begin with, it would provide Burton plenty of material on its own. Wacky stuff-- but an excellent book.

Morning Reading (Slightly Delayed): End-of-Year Round-Ups

2009-12-27T12:20:00.000-05:00

Continuing my recent trend of posting comic strips (which, I have to admit, is always the recent highlight of my morning reading), here is today's Garfield post-Christmas analysis. Thank you, as always, Jim Davis.

In other interesting reading, as always at the end of a year, pundits and journalists are having fun analyzing the year behind us and looking to the year ahead-- and, as this will mark the start of a new decade, there's some interesting pieces about the 2000s (or, as my old film professor called it, "the uh-ohs") as a decade.

Amusing as always, Maureen Dowd let her brother Kevin take over her NYT column today for a highly unusual (for this column) conservative perspective on the year's events.
Nicholas Kristof republished an old column today called "Johnson, Gorbachev, Obama" that is a truly excellent look at Afghanistan foreign policy, largely from an Afghan perspective. Well worth the read.
President Obama is in Hawaii for Christmas-- the first president to spend the holiday itself away from Washington in more than 20 years. But that doesn't mean he gets to escape the duties of the job-- as presidents throughout history have learned. The New York Times' White House Memo has a piece on "Taking Work Home-- Even When Home Means Hawaii." (Incidentally, for a great book on presidential vacation spots, check out Kenneth Walsh's "From Mount Vernon to Crawford.")
The Washington Post has an interesting piece on how Obama and the Democrats can possibly turn their challenging 2009 year around in 2010 and hopefully limit the losses in the House and Senate with a refocus on the economy and generally dialing things down from this extremely contentious first year.
The Post's Joel Achenbach also has a review of the decade we never expected-- the 2000s-- and where we've come since then.

Morning Reading: Miscellaneous Post-Christmas Round-Up

2009-12-26T09:32:00.000-05:00

Happy Boxing Day! A delightful day where everybody heads for the malls and the movies to blow that Christmas cash. I'll be doing the latter, going with my little sister to see Sherlock Holmes this afternoon. Meanwhile, here's a few articles from here and there:

First of all, always the highlight of my morning reading, the comics. Calvin & Hobbes have a good one today, which I fully appreciate (see above, or click here for the link).
Ross Douthat of the New York Times has a good op-ed piece on "The Obama Way" and how hard he has been to characterize as a leader in his first year as president.
Teenagers are apparently "getting" that there is a recession going on this holiday, and cutting back on shopping-- much to the detriment of higher-end teenage clothing retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch, but to the benefit of stores like Aeropostale, Gap, and TJ Maxx.
At Christmas, it's easy to forget about people of other faiths-- as much as many people pay lip service to Hanukkah, for example, the Christian holiday dominates. The New York Times has a thoughtful article today on the challenges of celebrating Christmas for recent converts to Judaism.
Count on POLITICO-- highlighting the "Top Ten Tweets of 2009" from the political and media world, the list includes Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Chuck Grassley, and more.
The story is still developing on the attempted (but thankfully failed) terrorist attack from yesterday-- a frightening story that reminds us once again that we do not live in an isolated bubble from the rest of the world, and that the world doesn't stop entirely on our holidays. My prayers for safety go out to all those traveling today.

Feliz Navidad

2009-12-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

Christmas blessings to all of you in the blogosphere! This holiday is always a joyful and pleasant time of year, and has become increasingly peaceful in my house. Whereas my sister and I would have once upon a time been up at 7am to tear into our stockings, in recent years we have been taking a laid-back start at the more civilized hour of 9:30 or so. We have also scaled down to a smaller number of gifts, ones that gives each of us the most amount of enjoyment and represents our passions. For me, that means books, movies, and music; for my sister, photography books and pictures; for my mom, books and jewelry; for my dad, assorted consumables and some books and music. What can I say, my family likes good reading material!

One special Christmas blessing for me this year was getting a phone call from my paternal grandfather. Grandpa Ron, who is basically the family hermit/adventurer moved to Ecuador last year, and is rarely in contact by phone (although he does keep in touch via emails). However, he saved up some of his cell phone minutes and called up all of his children and grandchildren this morning. I enjoyed the chance to hear his voice, and also hearing about some of the local Navidad traditions. In Ecuador, Christmas is chiefly a religious holiday, and lacks most or all of the North American commercialism, which I think is something that we could stand to get back to a lot more. I love the tradition of gift exchanges, but I think it's gotten out of hand in the US. My grandpa called his experiences with Christmas in Ecuador a reminder of the simpler holidays he remembered back in the '50s and '60s. I'm not going to go into a cliched "Jesus is the reason for the season" rant, but I want to offer this as food for thought: Christmas doesn't have to be complicated or commercialized to be something special and memorable.

Now Viewing: State of Play

2009-12-24T11:50:00.001-05:00

I have been wanting to see this movie since the trailers first caught my attention last winter; having finally viewed it last night, State of Play did not disappoint my expectations.

Russell Crowe stars in this film as Cal McAffrey, a Washington, D.C. journalist from a bygone age, driving an old car and typing on an older computer, valuing legwork and accuracy in reporting in an age where getting the story first is more important than getting it right. Acting alongside stellar performances from Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, and more, the cast of the movie carries but does not steal from the story.

And what an intricate story it is. In order to fully understand the plotlines, I feel like I would have to watch the movie two or three more times. But at its core is two seemingly unconnected deaths that turn out to be threads of a conspiracy that reaches deep into the heart of the Washington political and military scene.

Perhaps my favorite part of State of Play is the starring role it gave to the city of Washington, DC. Most movies that feature DC stick pretty closely to the occasional shot of the Capitol, the White House, and the monuments. State of Play goes significantly farther than that. Viewers familiar with Washington will recognize that the opening scene is shot in Georgetown, near the intersection of M Street and Wisconsin Ave; they will smile at the inclusion of DC landmark restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street; and they may be able to note that the menu on Cal McAffrey's fridge is from Dupont Circle's Kramerbooks/Afterwords Cafe.

Current events-aware viewers will also recognize the movie's Washington Globe for what it is-- a thinly concealed Washington Post. Other thinly veiled references include frequent allusions to the Watergate office complex and McAffrey's use of a shadowy informant as a source on the inside of PointCorp, a private military contractor that is seemingly taking over the entire US Homeland Security operation (obviously meant to represent Blackwater, the real-life contractor that came under so much criticism in the last couple of years for their conduct in Iraq).

For politicos, DC lovers, and movie aficionados alike, State of Play is a thriller that will not disappoint in its capacity to engage your attention and keep you gripped for several hours.

(For another review of State of Play, be sure to check out my friend Bryan's review over here at his blog.)

They (Finally) Did It

2009-12-24T11:44:00.000-05:00

The Senate passed their version of the health care reform bill in a 7 a.m. vote this morning along a party-line vote of 60-39 (Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning was not present). Merry Christmas Eve-- and now the exhausted senators get to go home for a little break before coming back to resume the perhaps even harder work of reconciling their bill with the House bill in the new year.

Trailer Park

2009-12-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

The first trailer for Sex and the City 2 was just released, and to my mind it reveals...nothing. Nothing that we wouldn't have figured out to begin with: you've got the four girls, significant others, New York City, extravagant clothes and locations...but what's the plot going to be? (Probably fairly weak, but fun for wish-I-could-be-Carrie-Bradshaw girls of all ages.)

Iron Man 2, as I have mentioned before, looks like it is going to be fantastic. Need I say more?

And have I mentioned how INSANELY EXCITED I am for Sherlock Holmes? It's coming out on Friday, starring the amazing Robert Downey, Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson. It appears to be quite true to the nature of the original Holmes (the boxer, the violinist, the drug addict), and should be quite an excellent film...

...Probably unlike Valentine's Day (you can guess when that's coming out), which looks like it will probably be a worse version of two of my favorite chick flicks, Love Actually and He's Just Not That Into You. Granted that I will probably see Valentine's Day at some point, and that it has some potential due to an all-star cast lineup, I think I would much rather make my Valentine's Day movie viewing this year something more along the lines of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief-- a promising adaptation of the first book in Rick Riordan's bestselling children's (pre-teen, really) book series.

Now Viewing: Cars

2009-12-23T13:34:00.000-05:00

Having just had sinus surgery, I am taking my currently rather hazy brain as a good excuse to catch up on Pixar movies (not that I ever really needed an excuse...). I have long been of the opinion that Pixar just does not make bad movies-- even the few movies they've made that I didn't particularly like ("Antz" and "A Bug's Life") were still excellent.

Last night I watched Cars for the first time. I remember watching the previews for it when they first started to appear back in 2006, and I didn't think it looked particularly good. But I decided to give it a chance in my recent goal to catch up on movies, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Not only is it Pixar's usual top-quality animation that really brings the pictures to life, but the plotline was both engaging, sweet, and profound. Cars tells the story of Lightning McQueen, a top-of-the-line race car living life in the fast lane (literally and figuratively) and loving that he didn't need to think of anyone but himself...until, en route to California for a big race, he got lost and sidetracked into Radiator Springs, a small town off Route 66. There, forced into community service to pay for some early wrongdoings, Lightning gradually learns that there is more to life than the fast lane-- that sometimes it's better to slow down and enjoy the ride.

A bit cliche, perhaps-- but the combination of top-tier animation, big-name stars as the voice actors (including Owen Wilson and Paul Newman), a great soundtrack (ranging from James Taylor to Rascal Flatts), and a good plot makes Cars a thoroughly enjoyable film.

Sen. Burris: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (Senate Style)

2009-12-22T11:41:00.000-05:00

Morning Reading: The Health Care Debate Continues

2009-12-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

Well, I was pleased to note the passage yesterday of the first procedural hurdle in the Senate for the health care reform bill (even if I couldn't blog on it because I was going in for surgery myself). This morning I am likewise pleased to note the passage of the second procedural vote-- but that sadly although not unexpectedly, the partisan line votes continue. Here's some reading on the topic:

Dana Milbank's Washington Sketch in the Washington Post discusses the long list of wordsmithing ways in which votes have been bought for this reform bill in the Senate: "On health-care bill, Democratic senators are in states of denial."
The Post also has a piece about the toll this debate is taking on senators and their staff members, who may not get to go home until late Christmas Eve or early Christmas morning. Perhaps some of them will catch a ride with Santa? See: "Health-care vote means senators will spend Christmas Eve at the Capitol."
Politico opinion contributor and public option advocate Jacob Hacker discusses the bittersweet moment that will surround the passage of this bill for people like him who support a public plan. See: "Senate health bill is launch pad."
Politico also has a good piece on the passage of last night's procedural hurdle in the Senate. See: "Health bill clears another hurdle."

On a separate topic, I find this religious debate going on at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to be very interesting. Run by members of the Orthodox Jewish tradition, prayer shawls and the reading of the Torah scrolls at the Western Wall (a remnant of the Second Temple) have traditionally been limited to use by men. The Women of the Wall are a group that is challenging this in public opinion and in Israeli courts. Will be interested to see how this turns out. See: "Jerusalem Journal- Challenging Traditions at the Heart of Judaism."

What's the Buzz?

2009-12-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

You can tell a lot about a year by its buzzwords...so say Mark Leibovich and Grant Barrett in their New York Times piece "The Buzzwords of 2009."If that's so-- and I believe they have a good point with that idea-- then what a year 2009 was. From "teabaggers" to "death panels" to the "Octomom" and the Salahis, this past year was...nothing short of nuts. Check out the article here.

Stone Soup for the Holidays

2009-12-20T11:25:00.000-05:00

Just in case you can't see the comic strip text, here's a link to the image too. Happy Holidays!

Morning Reading: Let's Make A Deal

2009-12-20T10:06:00.001-05:00

The major story from the Hill from the last 24 hours is that the Senate has finally brokered an acceptable deal on the health care bill, winning the vote of the seemingly ultimate wheeler-dealer senator Ben Nelson from Nebraska. Adding more restrictive language on abortion (although not as restrictive as the Stupak amendment from the House bill) and increasing federal aid for Nelson's state, Majority Leader Harry Reid is hoping that he finally has his 60 votes. In my opinion, probably the biggest danger now would be one of the progressives opting to bolt from the bill on principle...but one hopes that they would wait for the actual vote on the bill for that, rather than blocking the cloture vote to end debate. From a progressive perspective, glancing over the summaries in the articles below, the Senate health care bill at its bottom line leaves much to be desired. But it could be a LOT worse, and from a more moderate perspective, this is actually a relatively fiscally responsible way to broaden the pool of individuals covered in the US. No matter what the Republicans (like my senior senator, good ol' Judd Gregg) are saying, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has given this bill the nod that it will actually decrease the deficit over the next twenty+ years.

Check out these articles:

Washington Post: "Deal on Health Bill Is Reached"
Washington Post: "To Sway Nelson, A Hard-Won Compromise on Abortion Issue"
New York Times columnists argue: Paul Krugman says to "Pass the Bill"; David Brooks argues pros and cons, but ultimately concludes "no" in "The Hardest Call."

In other interesting reading, the US Census Bureau has released the 2010 Statistical Abstract, and the New York Times has a piece highlighting various odd (and not so odd) bits of information from it, in "Counting Bits of U.S. Life." And-- in an older piece passed along to me by my friend Carolyn B., Nicholas Kristof has a piece on his blog about religion and women. It's a fascinating question, and I will write more on my thoughts on this issue later, but for now, here is a link to "Does Religion Oppress Women?"... and make sure you check out the link to Carter's speech too.

Now Viewing: Good Night, and Good Luck

2009-12-17T21:26:00.000-05:00

Written, directed, and acted in by George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck is an homage to perhaps one of the greatest moments in television journalism, the clash between CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy. Murrow, played to near perfection by David Strathairn (who deservedly received an Oscar nod for the role), was the quintessential newsman in the mid-1950s, working with producer Fred Friendly (played by Clooney) and a team of other journalists to bring one of the early and great news analysis shows to the air, See It Now. McCarthy (brought into the film via authentic news reels) was at the height of his influence in the anti-Communist tirades and Congressional hearings. Long story short, Murrow and Friendly's team reported on the senator's vicious techniques and self-contradictions. With unimpeachable integrity and at significant cost personally and professionally, See It Now undeniably contributed to McCarthy's downfall in the Senate.

Filmed entirely in black and white, Good Night, and Good Luck retains an extraordinarily authentic feel for its times. Although the history within the movie is not entirely accurate-- sticklers will note that Murrow's ultimate showdown with CBS head Bill Paley came later than is portrayed in the film-- much of the film seems to be predominantly on target. The supporting cast, which includes Jeff Daniels, Frank Langella, and Robert Downey, Jr., is nothing short of spectacular.

In short: This film blew me away with the quality of its writing and acting, to say nothing of its subject matter. Good Night, and Good Luck instills a nostalgia for time when men were real men, women were real women, and journalism was courageous in its pursuit of truth. It is, in my opinion, a fitting tribute to Mr. Edward R. Murrow, and to the journalistic profession.

A Good Day for Upcoming Movies

2009-12-16T22:26:00.001-05:00

The trailer for Iron Man 2 has also been released as of today, and I gotta say, it looks fan-freaking-tastic. I cannot wait to go see it when it's released in May. Check it out here.

A Life-Changing Shift in Christmas Attitudes

2009-12-16T17:44:00.000-05:00

The Advent Conspiracy is a new and growing movement of churches and individuals across the US dedicated to rethinking the Christmas season. Talk about the need for simple living-- Americans spend $450 billion on Christmas shopping each year, 45 times what it would cost to build clean water wells all over Africa. I hope this catches on-- as much as I loved the magical Christmases I had as a child, with the tree base covered in gifts, it's time to move past that young level of consumerism.

Rethink church; Rethink Christmas.

Harry Potter Sneak Peek!

2009-12-16T08:23:00.000-05:00

Warner Brothers has released a sneak peek of the upcoming first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Having quite literally grown up with Harry Potter, I am super excited about these films; and as a movie lover, I am excited that David Yates is back to direct them.

Now Reading: The Great Awakening

2009-12-15T15:09:00.000-05:00

After I finished American Gospel yesterday, I decided that it was time to pick up and finish a book that I had started over Thanksgiving break, The Great Awakening by Jim Wallis. This is the sequel to Wallis's book God's Politics, which I read and loved last summer. Wallis, the editor-in-chief of Sojourners, a progressive evangelical magazine that stands for a Christianity that embraces social justice issues and moves beyond the current left-right political and religious divides.

Mr. Wallis and the Sojourners movement have had a significant impact on my solidifying political and religious views. In God's Politics and The Great Awakening, he has expressed the need for Christians to reevaluate their views on issues all across the spectrum, from abortion to the death penalty, from poverty to the environment, from integrity to family life. His centrist stances have won the respect of many, and served to make both books into bestsellers. Wallis's position on the issues and call for the faith community to take an active role in building a better world evoke the memory of nineteenth century evangelicals like William Wilberforce and Charles Finney. Wilberforce and Finney were both anti-slavery activists who drew much of their inspiration for their reform movements from their faith. Wallis and Sojourners are not quite as focused on any one issue, but rather are urging a wholistic view of the issues: health care affects the poverty levels, the environment affects health, political integrity and building strong families relate to EVERYTHING... in essence, in today's society, virtually every issue has been synthesized with another, and we cannot address each one in a bubble.

Perhaps I have extrapolated a bit from Mr. Wallis's point in that last thought, but at its core, The Great Awakening builds the foundations laid in God's Politics in urging the American religious community to pull itself out of the bubble in which it has been living. We cannot afford to ignore the important issues that are at stake in the world around us. We cannot afford to let things continue on as they are. We cannot afford to believe that God is private-- rather, as Mr. Wallis says, "God is personal, but never private." And, in a related thought, we cannot afford to only be active about an issue publicly but not be trying to make a difference privately (and vice versa).

I have found great food for thought in reading Jim Wallis's books and various related blog entries (which you can find here on the Sojourners website). I have appreciated his call to re-examine the Christian faith and our role in the public sphere, and I agree with many of his centrist stances on the issues. However, most of all, I appreciate his call to a renewed commitment to social justice and active engagement with the issues of the world today.

Now Reading: American Gospel.

2009-12-14T15:55:00.001-05:00

Greetings, blogosphere. I have returned from my semester's sojourn at college, and my long-awaited First Post of Winter Break is here. And what better thing to post about than books? I love to read, but vastly prefer the reading I do for pleasure to the reading I have to do for class. Something about the analytical papers I have to write and get graded on afterward. Anyway, the first book I picked up this break was Jon Meacham's American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. Yes, that IS what I read for pleasure. I don't believe that taking a break from classes inherently means taking a break from learning.

Meacham is an excellent writer-- the editor of Newsweek, he has also written biographies like Franklin and Winston and, most recently, a biography of Andrew Jackson called American Lion. The book I just read, American Gospel, takes a historical look at the nature of religion in American public life, from Jamestown to Ronald Reagan. Citing documents written by many of the best-known Founding Fathers and some lesser-known ones, Meacham makes the case for the dominance of America's "public religion" in society-- the one that presidents have invoked since the country's earliest days, but that does not tie itself to any one particular religion. Meacham's core thesis here seems to be respectfully refuting the notion of the "religious right" that America is a Christian nation in its origins. Rather, Meacham writes,

The problem with their reading of history is that it is wrong. There is no doubt, as we have seen, that the Founders lived in and consciously bequeathed a culture shaped and sustained by public religion, one that was not Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist but was simply transcendent, with reverence for the "Creator" and for "Nature's God."

To make his case, Meacham references a variety of early American writings, including the First Amendment (of course) and Jefferson's famous "wall of separation" letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, but also Article 11 of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between the United States and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary (which explicitly stated that the government of the United States was not "in any sense founded on the Christian religion") and George Washington's letter to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport (saying that the government of the United States "gives to bigotry no sanction [and] to persecution no assistance").

The Founding Founders designed the American democratic republic and the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom with the idea that a separation between the church and the state would avoid the religious strife that the rest of the world had experienced. American Gospel is Jon Meacham's call for a return to the roots of American perception of religion, and to the truest interpretation of these viewpoints and intentions.

What I Think of Twilight

2009-11-28T23:29:00.001-05:00

I could go on and on. But I'll just leave it at this picture (above), and this video (below):

NO on One...and other Election 2009 round-up

2009-11-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

This was the slogan behind the Maine movement to permit gay marriage in the state by popular referendum ("One" referring to its question number on the ballot). The initiative lost, dealing yet another blow to the gay rights movement. I am very disappointed with Mainers- in such a "live and let live" state, even if you can't see how this is an important civil rights issue, why are you messing with people's personal lives?

In other political news from Election Night 2009, Republicans swept the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey, sparking talk about whether this was a referendum on President Obama or not (I tend to think not too much- the Dems in both states ran a bad campaign, and NJ in particular has been very dissatisfied with incumbent Gov. Corzine). On the other hand, the special House races trended Democratic in California and upstate New York-- in fact, in a fascinating election, the NY-23 district elected a Democrat for the first time since the 1800s. Quite a mixed bag from the results last night. Will write on this more later, if I have time.

Confusion

2009-11-02T19:58:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it's the mental anticipation of a really difficult week getting to me already, but I am really, really confused by the pumpkin sitting in the lounge on my floor. Why? It's not the fact that a pumpkin is sitting in my lounge in general; it's fall, harvest season- pumpkins make sense. But somebody apparently took the time to paint the darn thing entirely green. What the heck? Somebody wanna explain this to me?

Canadian, Please...

2009-10-31T17:05:00.001-04:00

This is a FANTASTIC video. You know you wanna...

What Teachers Make- Taylor Mali

2009-10-29T23:32:00.000-04:00

I may have posted this before. But I feel like this is such a worthwhile thing that I have to post it again.

Really, Georgetown?

2009-10-22T11:45:00.001-04:00

A Georgetown University sophomore posted a job listing on the university's job portal advertising for a personal assistant. The Washington Post picked up the story. I have to say, I understand pressure, but do you REALLY need someone to do your laundry for you? Why can't you be like the rest of us mere mortals and use it as a method of procrastinating?

I've been saying it all along...

2009-10-09T09:23:00.000-04:00

Chivalry is not dead-- it's automated. And I am not the only one who thinks so-- Dante Shepherd over at survivingtheworld.net drew a Venn diagram that shows that that hypothesis is correct. Check it out here! (Thanks to my good friend Mark for providing this link.)

Tom DeLay on DWTS

2009-09-23T17:49:00.001-04:00

WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. This may scare politicos and small children. On the other hand, he IS surprisingly graceful for an old, conservative Republican politician.

Funny Stuff

2009-09-23T17:46:00.001-04:00

I feel vaguely horrible for laughing at this, but laugh I did. Thanks to Rachel for posting the link!

Watch and enjoy.

http://www.wongkeenhing.com/2006/10/12/star-wars-subtitles-gone-haywire/

The Benefits of Spontaneity

2009-09-15T09:01:00.000-04:00

If there is one thing I have learned in college, it's the immense rewards of opening yourself up to spontaneity. Sure, you COULD try to plan your life out down to the details. Sure, you can (and should) organize your time enough to stay on top of your work and other commitments. But I would contend that sticking too closely to that philosophy is a recipe for missing out on the best that college has to offer. The most fun times are often the completely random ones. The late-night conversations in the lounge that last for hours...even though you only came in to make a cup of tea. The quick chat with a friend after class that turns into an hour-long lunch. The fire drill that turns into an excursion off-campus for milkshakes with a couple of friends. The people around you and the time you spend with them are the stuff college is really made of. Maybe we can't afford to do it ALL the time...but why not try seizing those opportunities for fellowship as they come along? You may find you remember that conversation with a friend long after your classes are done.

Politicking

2009-09-10T21:42:00.000-04:00

The good news from last night's inappropriate outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC):

"Mr. Wilson’s outburst last night has turned into a fundraising bonanza for Mr. Miller, who is challenging him again. Since last night, Mr. Miller has received more than $200,000 in contributions from across the country. (Update: By the end of the afternoon, the Act Blue fundraising Web site showed that Mr. Miller had received more than $466,000 in donations.) In a fund-raising e-mail sent out today, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former Democratic presidential candidate, noted: “With only $300,000 last cycle, Rob got 46 percent of the vote. Joe Wilson’s antics have given Rob the opening to win in 2010.”"

I love these boys.

2009-09-10T20:04:00.001-04:00

I don't know most of them personally. But I loooove the music of On A Sensual Note, American University's male a cappella group. So because they are so awesome, here are a few of my favorite videos of OASN, courtesy of the great YouTube.

Here they are singing "In the Jungle [The Lion Sleeps Tonight]" at Mr. Yogato, one of DC's greatest frozen yogurt shops:

And here is the classic song "Good Ol' A Cappella in AU's Katzen Arts Center:

And my favorite, from last year's Parents' Weekend concert, here is Michael Jackson's classic song "Thriller," complete with dance moves:

Serious AWWWW Moment

2009-09-10T19:55:00.001-04:00

If it was possible to die of cuteness, this kid would have killed me the first time I saw this video. Flippin' awesome.

Ted Kennedy Tribute Video

2009-08-26T17:27:00.000-04:00

From the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Very moving video:

The End of a Legend

2009-08-26T12:48:00.000-04:00

Politics goes on the sidelines for today, as the nation mourns the loss of the great Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, the last surviving Kennedy brother. Kennedy had been in the Senate for almost fifty years when he died last night of brain cancer. He was known as the "liberal lion" of the Senate, a man who never failed to strive for that which was best for his state and his country. Kennedy especially championed civil rights and, most recently, health care reform. I pray that his passing will revitalize the champions of real reform, and that the Edward M. Kennedy Health Reform Act will be passed into law within the next year.

This great speech came from the 2008 Democratic National Convention, right after Kennedy had undergone surgery for his brain tumor:

Summer Movies: #44-51

2009-08-23T16:06:00.000-04:00

I've also finished a number of movies this summer. Here's the last part of the list of movies I saw this summer:

44. He's Just Not That Into You: Recent release based on a bestselling self-improvement book. One of the best romantic comedies I've seen since Love Actually...and it was really very much in the Love Actually mold, in that there were multiple couples who were connected to each other in random ways. Perfect movie that both guys and girls often like.

45. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Classic, classic Frank Capra film about an idealistic small-town man who is sent to the Senate as a replacement, and comes face to face with the corruption, wheeling-and-dealing, and compromising that is a part of political life. Must-see film.

46. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason: The sequel to the first Bridget Jones movie. Not quite as good, but still entertaining. Bridget and Mark Darcy are blissfully happy until Bridget's naturally suspicious and jealous nature gets in the way.

47. Miss Congeniality: One of my favorite movies. Female FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) with "no discernible trace of estrogen" has to "turn into a lady" when she goes undercover at the Miss United States beauty pageant.

48. Citizen Kane: This is the movie that vies with The Godfather for the #1 spot on all the top 100 movie lists. A fascinating movie looking into the life of a wealthy, strange, and complicated man, who I believe was at least loosely based on William Randolph Hearst.

49. Ocean's Thirteen: The third movie in the Ocean's series. Not as good as the first, but better than the second. Danny and the gang take on a Las Vegas casino tycoon (Al Pacino) who has cheated Reuben out of a share in a new casino.

50. Under the Tuscan Sun: A beautiful movie based on a beautiful book...although both are quite different. In the movie: a divorced woman takes a trip to Italy, and winds up buying a villa in Tuscany and turns her life around.

51. Noises Off!: Hands-down, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. The cast of a touring show starts out having trouble getting their act together on-stage; when the show finally comes together on-stage, everything goes bad off-stage. Starring Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, and John Ritter.

Summer Reading: Books #26-32

2009-08-23T15:54:00.000-04:00

Well, the summer is done...and so my summer reading time is nearly done. Once classes start tomorrow, my reading will chiefly be academic, probably. Here are the books I read since last I posted:

26. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Continuing in my quest to read all of Jane Austen's books, this was an excellent one. A young woman whose mind is wrapped around novels (the trashy reading of the day) sees mystery everywhere...including in the home of the father of the man she loves.

27. The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough: Since I was on an Austen-esque kick for a while, I read this book. Picking up several years after Pride and Prejudice ends, Mary Bennet is the only one of her sisters still single, and so strikes out on her own (much against the wishes of her brother-in-law Darcy) in search of injustice in England.

28. The Teapot Dome Scandal by Laton McCartney: Excellent work of nonfiction about the scandal that occurred when Big Oil financed the election of President Warren G. Harding and took over his administration, giving over naval oil reserves to oil companies...and the subsequent investigations into the players and the process involved. Still a highly relevant work.

29. The Power of Less by Leo Babauta: Regular readers will have heard me mention Leo Babauta before. He's the writer of my new favorite blog, Zen Habits. The Power of Less is his book of advice for simplifying your life to improve its quality. Excellent read.

30. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen: The book that launched the GTD cult. Productivity guru Allen offers advice that anyone can follow to streamline their lives and improve their levels of productivity. My boss at Barnes & Noble made all the managers read it this year. Very well done.

31. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen: Famous book on how American history textbooks revise and sometimes completely rewrite the history of this country, ostensibly to make kids more proud of their country. Loewen urges teachers and textbook companies to improve the quality and teach kids that history really is relevant and interesting.

32. Hood by Stephen Lawhead: All right, I admit it- I'm not done with this one yet. But it is excellent. Lawhead takes the story of Robin Hood, and puts it back where he and other scholars believe it originated: in the Welsh resistance to the Norman invasion.

Back at University

2009-08-22T00:53:00.001-04:00

Settled in back in the dorm. Same dorm, new floor. Seen many old faces and met a few new ones. Expect more of the same to continue tomorrow. Had delightful evening consuming s'mores with s'Methodists. My wonderful friends. And I gotta say...I really love this place. Plenty to do in upcoming days-- settling in, dealing with the knee, dealing with the start of the school year-- but right now, although I miss my family, it's wonderful to be back with my great friends here.

This has had me laughing for a few days...

2009-08-19T12:03:00.000-04:00

I admit it: I really enjoy ABC's reality show "Dancing With The Stars." I've always been a fan of ballroom dancing, and I like watching famous people try to learn to do it...especially those who are less than graceful (like Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak last season). What has had me laughing since the upcoming season's stars were announced is the fact that, in addition to the usual run of actors, football players, Olympians, and models, former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is going to be appearing on the show! I have to wonder why the producers of the show would bring DeLay on. Maybe they woke up one morning and said, "We've never had a politician on the show. Why not get a disgraced former Republican House Majority Leader who resigned after being arrested for violating campaign finance law?"

Still, Jim Ellis says in a POLITICO piece that DeLay could be a force to reckon with on "Dancing With The Stars." I look forward to watching and finding out!

It's Packing Time

2009-08-18T16:31:00.001-04:00

I've never been a gigantic fan of packing, but I've gotten quite good at it over the past couple of years...reason being that every year, twice a year, I've had to load up some of my stuff into boxes and move to and from my university in DC. It's funny, too....freshman year of college you and your parents go overboard, trying to come up with ways to meet every eventuality, and you pack everything you could conceivably need, and the packing piles inevitably look like the local Wal-Mart blew up. By the next year, though, you figure out more of what is necessary and what is not. Yet somehow, even in this, my third year, I still feel like I might be taking too much. I know a lot of this stuff WILL be used (and I've definitely cut down the amount of books and clothes I'm bringing) but right now we're at four boxes, two under-the-bed bins, and one large suitcase...with the likelihood of one more box, plus a couple of assorted bags. Must try to remember to cut down still more...although if I wind up moving off campus next year, that probably won't happen.

Meantime, this is a sign that return to the routine of university is near! The beautiful thing about finding the right college is that it really makes you excited to return to school, for the first time in your career as a student. I mean, in middle and high school, the end of summer is something to dread. But for me, at least, that all changed when I got to college. While part of me always misses the lazy (ish) days of summer at home in New England, I enjoy getting back to being with my college friends, and even to the routine of classes and paper-writing and reading and activities. In DC in three days...

Laugh of the Day

2009-08-16T13:22:00.000-04:00

A good laugh for a Sunday afternoon. Enjoy.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

2009-08-15T18:42:00.000-04:00

My friend Rachel noted in her most recent blog post just how fast her summer has gone. For me, this summer has been quite strange. It's really split into Before and After...with my knee operation being the signature dividing line.

Before Knee Surgery (BKS), I was working at my local Barnes & Noble. I celebrated my 20th birthday. Visitors from Nova Scotia came down to hang out. I cleaned out the clutter in my room and experienced the satisfactory manual labor of sanding and re-staining and varnishing two deck chairs. I started to learn to cook and bake, and read and watched movies. I drove around and hung out with different friends. It was a thoroughly enjoyable (if pretty low-key) summer.

After Knee Surgery (AKS), I spent the first two weeks pretty much just sleeping. I've read and watched movies (like before, only even more) and databased all our movies. People have come to visit me. I've spent time doing pool therapy and going to doctors' appointments. I've slowly started to relearn to walk, but have mostly just rested and let my leg heal.

I don't begrudge the choice I made to do the surgery this summer-- it was the right way to go, to get this taken care of while I had the means and inclination-- but I have to admit that it has made for a rather unusual summer. While I know that this semester will be challenging (especially since I'm not fully recovered yet, and heading back to school next week), I'm looking forward to getting back into the academic routine. Having something to focus my mind on makes being grounded by leg problems much more tolerable.

Health and the Hollidays

2009-08-14T20:24:00.000-04:00

When I first encountered Professor Frederick Holliday last fall in Reflections of American Society on Stage and Screen, his boundless energy grabbed my attention. Prof. Holliday loved talking and teaching about film...and he almost never managed to stay in one place for more than five minutes. More importantly, he treated his students with respect, as equal partners in the learning process.

When the semester finished and I left his class, I kept in sporadic touch with Professor Holliday. In February, I learned from one of my friends (who had signed up for Prof. Holliday's class at my urging) that my former professor had fallen sick. His pain increased, and he soon could not finish the semester. A few weeks later, I learned why. Doctors had diagnosed Professor Holliday with Stage 4 metastatic kidney cancer.

Over the next several months, I followed updates on Professor Holliday's condition, provided by his wife. Regina Holliday fulfilled the role of caretaker; while continuing to look after their two sons, she fought for her husband's care as they went in and out of five different hospitals, dealing with the confusion of botched records transfers, pain management, and treatments. By May, Prof. Holliday entered hospice care; by June they moved him home. There, on June 17, 2009, Professor Frederick A. Holliday died at age 39, surrounded by family and friends.

Professor Holliday taught me a great deal about how film and theater reflect the culture of their times. He also taught me what a truly energetic teacher looks like, and what it means to be really passionate about a subject. More than that, though, his experiences with the US health care system at the end of his life showed me the full extent of the need for real reform.

Others have also taken this lesson to heart. Since her husband's death, Regina Holliday has been employing her gifts for art and advocacy by painting murals in D.C., depicting the need for health care reform. In the latest one, "73 Cents," she has painted her husband in his hospital bed, surrounded by his children, a nurse with her hands tied, and other symbolic figures representing problems in the current health care system. The title of the mural comes from a fact she learned while Prof. Holliday was in the hospital: that a copy of his medical record cost seventy-three cents per page.

The mural has caught some significant public attention as the debate over health care has ramped up in recent weeks. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Mrs. Holliday to speak at a press conference for health care reform. The D.C. FOX affiliate channel, BBC America, and Dana Milbank's Washington Sketch column in The Washington Post also all featured the Hollidays' story over the summer.

Every time another news outlet tells the story, Mrs. Holliday notes this specifically: Before American University hired her husband, the two of them worked five jobs between them to support their family. None of these jobs offered health benefits, and even their combined income was not enough to afford family health insurance. As a result, Prof. Holliday had not been able to see a primary care doctor, so the symptoms of the cancer went unobserved by a medical professional. Had he been regularly receiving primary care, Mrs. Holliday maintains that doctors may have caught the cancer before it reached Stage 4.

The Hollidays' tragedy of health care deprived American University of an excellent professor, as well as a family of a loving husband and father. Their story is profound, and it comes at a time when health care has once again grabbed the national political consciousness. Few issues get more personal than health care-- most of us were patients when we were born, and will be patients when we die; many of us will also be patients at least once somewhere in the middle. A responsible government owes its citizens the chance to be healthy without going broke. No matter what the means of reform will be, I hope that any plan for "fixing the system" will include a comprehensive means of substantially reducing costs and radically expanding coverage.

In the meantime, the debate will go forward. Professor Holliday would have liked that, I think-- his classes always included lively discussion of a range of issues, and his wife is already actively participating in the current discourse. Civil discussion is the lifeblood of a good education as well as of a functioning democracy... that's just one more thing I learned from the Hollidays.

_____

More reading and viewing of the Hollidays' story:

Reading About Reading... and more

2009-08-14T17:18:00.000-04:00

I like lists of book recommendations. Maybe it's genetic (both my parents have library science degrees), maybe it's because I just kind of normally developed into a bookworm, I don't know. But here's a few lists of recommended books I've been looking at. I think I might devote next summer to working on the list of 30 books to complete before you're 30...

Here's a few other good articles I've been reading today:

Do YOU want a public option?

2009-08-14T13:47:00.000-04:00

I do. Which is why I added my name to this TV ad/petition that's going out to pressure Democratic senators and representatives to support a public option for health care reform.

More Health Care Ups and Downs

2009-08-13T12:06:00.001-04:00

I really hate to give Sarah Palin any more airtime than she deserves (which is NONE), but Keith Olbermann just does such a masterful job of denouncing her "death panel" comment for what it is-- dangerous nonsense-- that I have to post this video. Palin, meanwhile, is vigorously defending her belief that the Obama administration has it in for less productive members of society.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

On a related note, I am sad to take notice of the internal memo that The Huffington Post claims to have obtained that shows evidence of a previously-denied deal that the Obama White House made with big pharmaceutical companies. This from the presidential candidate who decried special interests. We'll see what comes of this, if anything.

Meanwhile, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has an important opinion piece up about "How to Fight Healthcare Fearmongers and Demagogues." The most important way: we need a coherent and comprehensible (as well as comprehensive) plan. And we need total honesty about it, what it will cost, and why (really, why) it's so important.

Uplifting Reading

2009-08-12T21:45:00.000-04:00

For some uplifting and encouraging reading, today I recommend:

"50 Reasons Why You Should Be Happy" from The Happy Self-- think about these, see if you can let them influence your thinking.
"The Minimalist Principle: Omit Needless Things" from Zen Habits-- let having less (including especially less drama) improve your life.

And this is why I love NPR...

2009-08-11T11:12:00.000-04:00

With the current debate on health care raging, one thing opponents of universal care LOVE to do is demonize the Canadian system. They pull in Canadians who complain about the system, and tell the horror stories of how they were forced to wait for care in Canada and so came to the US for treatment. In its wonderful role as a fact-checker and myth-debunker, an NPR affiliate station went up to Canada (specifically, to British Columbia) to answer the question, "Does Canada's Health Care System Need Fixing?" Here's an excerpt from the full article, which you can see by clicking on the question in the last sentence:

Canada has a universal health care system that's paid for through income taxes and sales tax. All Canadians are covered, and they can see any doctor they want anywhere in the country with no copays or deductibles. Some things aren't covered: optometry, dentistry and outpatient prescription drugs. Many Canadians have private insurance to cover those services, though some struggle to pay for them out of pocket.
U.S. critics of Canadian health care like to call it socialized medicine, but it's more like socialized insurance — meaning the risk is pooled together. And while the individual provinces and territories set their overall health budgets and administer the health plans, the delivery of medical care is private. Doctors run their own businesses and then bill the government.

Emphasis mine. The article does address various pros and cons, and it does a fine, balanced job of presenting the Canadian system of health care.

On a similar note, Consumer Watchdog advocates "Open[ing] Up Medicare To All" as a means of addressing the problem of so many people being uninsured, and presents some solid figures on how Medicare has been a more cost-effective institution than most regular insurance agencies (among other numbers, Medicare spends 2% on overhead; most private insurers spend 25-27% on overhead).

Meanwhile, back on NPR, Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute writes "Health Care Reform? Maybe Next Year." Not because it isn't needed, but because of two factors:

It's not that we don't need health care reform. Right now, Congress basically conditions health coverage on your ability to get and keep a job. That's not health insurance. That's survival of the fittest.
But there have always been two things standing in the way of Democrats' plans for universal health insurance coverage: math and politics.

Emphasis, again, mine. Finally in this morning's health care reading, Charles M. Blow writes in the NYT about the "Health Care Hullabaloo" and how Democrats are losing control of the debate, thanks to the apathy from most of their own party. To which I can only say one thing: This is very, very sad.

Goals: Academic Year '09-'10

2009-08-11T10:49:00.000-04:00

I like to use these last few weeks before school begins to settle in my mind what my goals are for the year, and the means I plan to use to accomplish them. Last year, for instance, my goal was basically to get the GPA I needed to get to retain my scholarship at school, and some of the habits I instituted were working more during the day than at night, and not letting myself get tangled in too many commitments. This year, I'm posting my goals here so that I can keep them in front of my eyes, and in a public forum where you can keep me honest.

PRIORITIES:

Boost GPA. I'm now safe in terms of my scholarship, but it's time to aim higher for personal best and future gain. Shoot for 3.6+.
Regain use of right leg. If the surgery I had this summer is to do any good, I must exercise to regain strength and mobility, and thereby a higher quality of life in the long term.
Live frugally and well within my means. I have been gifted with generous scholarships, but must spend money very carefully-- especially while unemployed.
Think about what I want to do next. I am halfway through my college career and it's time to look at the logical next steps for after I graduate.

RELATED OBJECTIVES:

Maintain a regular, early-ish waking time. Don't waste the day by staying up late and then sleeping for a long time just because I have later classes.
List top three priorities every day. Get them done early so that the rest of the day is free to deal with whatever comes up.
Do not go on the computer before getting up, showered, and dressed in the morning.
Shut down the computer every night.
Work ahead, work ahead, work ahead. Procrastination is the enemy of relaxation, sleep, and solid work.
Use a 30-Day List to limit spending habits. (30 Day List rule is that when you decide there is some nonessential item you want to buy, you write it down on a list with the date you record it, and are not allowed to buy that item for 30 days. If, after that amount of time, you still want it, you can budget it in wherever it works.)

It's About Time

2009-08-10T15:24:00.001-04:00

As a left-leaning person of faith, I was class-A thrilled to see this update from Reuters, entitled "Religious Left Wades Into Health Care Fight." As the right (including the religious right) has ramped up criticism of the current health care reform efforts, I've been wondering where the left-leaning groups were-- the ones who purportedly believe in caring for the poor, the sick, the needy. I'm pleased to see even Reuters has noted their increasing involvement. Here's hoping they can make an impact in striking back against the misinformation and paranoia that has been pervasive in health care debates to date.

I'm Going to Turn Off My Computer Now...

2009-08-08T18:28:00.000-04:00

...as soon as I post these articles about why it's a good idea, for mental/spiritual/emotional sanity and rest purposes. Seriously, give it a try sometime instead of surfing the web. Read a book. Watch a movie. Go for a walk. Whatever makes you happy offline.

For more thoughts and inspiration, please see:

Soul Shelter's "Happiness is Turning Off the Computer"
Zen Habits's "3 Ways to Claim Your Life Back-- How to Step Away from Your Computer"

NYT Round-Up

2009-08-06T17:05:00.000-04:00

Just a few quick hits that caught my attention--

The usually pro-engagement Nicholas Kristof advocates the use of a few more sticks in American-North Korean foreign policy in "Rethinking North Korea, With Sticks."
Now that we're about halfway through his first year in office, Gail Collins offers "Barack's Progress Report."
A disease that used to be nearly unknown now becomes quietly prominent, as Neil Amdur writes about in "Asperger's Syndrome, on Screen and in Life."
Dan Barry writes about this land of ours, in which the homeless in Providence, RI are "Living in Tents, and by the Rules, Under a Bridge."

Simple Pleasures

2009-08-06T16:53:00.000-04:00

As I spend time contemplating my priorities and assorted goals for the upcoming year, it's helpful to think of the little things that, when added into the mix of a given day, make the effort and life in general more palatable and fun. So here is my list of 25 simple pleasures, many of which I enjoy any time, and some of which are things I specifically enjoy while at school.

Walking.
Laying on the Quad on a warm sunny day.
Reading a good book.
Movie nights.
Ben & Jerry's.
Frozen yogurt.
Long conversations with good friends.
Conducting along to good classical music.
Spontaneous off-campus outings.
Milk and Oreos.
Cooking with friends.
Soul-baring late-night conversations.
The monuments at night.
Crossing things off my to-do list.
Journaling regularly.
Prowling in an old and used bookstore.
Random sing-a-longs and/or jam sessions.
Fries and a chocolate milkshake.
Sitting outside at dusk.
Warm, fresh chocolate chip cookies.
Disney music.
Reading the comics.
Macaroni and cheese.
Getting mail.
Making someone smile.

A Proud Day...

2009-08-06T16:46:00.000-04:00

...for Hispanics, for women, and for the US in general.

The Senate today voted 68-31 to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. Sotomayor is the first Hispanic, and the third woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

The voting breakdown:
-Democrats for Sotomayor: 57/58 (Sen. Ted Kennedy did not vote due to health concerns)
-Independents for Sotomayor: 2/2 (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut)
-Republicans for Sotomayor: 9/40 (These few being Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Christopher Bond of Missouri, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Mel Martinez of Florida, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, and George Voinovich of Ohio.)

Today's Reading..and Other Thoughts

2009-08-05T22:04:00.001-04:00

TOP ARTICLE OF THE DAY: My late former professor's widow, Regina Holliday, was featured in Dana Milbank's Washington Sketch for Thursday August 6. Mrs. Holliday has been something of a hero to me in her fight for health care reform through her artwork. The late Prof. Holliday and his family lacked health insurance for many years; when he finally was employed by an organization that provided health insurance (my university), he was soon diagnosed with Stage IV kidney cancer, and died several months later. He was an inspirational professor for me, and his wife has been fighting for better health care since his diagnosis and death. I could (and probably will) say a lot more, but for now, I will say this-- IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE TODAY, READ DANA MILBANK'S PIECE "IN A PLEA FOR HEALTH REFORM, A WIDOW PICKS UP HER PAINTBRUSHES."

Thank you.

On a separate note, here's some of my "simple living/simple productivity" reading, mostly from my new favorite blog, Zen Habits, and an entertaining yet profound site called SlowDownNow.org.

Some days I have to wonder if it's possible to do these things and be in a job that makes what our society considers (and what, in my comfortable existence, I often consider) a decent amount of money to live on. Leo at Zen Habits does it in his life in Guam, but he is an author and blogger. I've been worrying about my dad a lot; in his high-pressure job with IBM, he can't seem to stay asleep at night. Yet he believes (probably quite rightly, given today's economy and job market) that slowing things down is a good way to stop having a well-paying job. I really don't know what to tell him, other than to keep encouraging him and sending him all the love I have...and I pray that there may (there MUST) be a way to stay sane and stay employed.

Finding the Balance

2009-08-03T20:11:00.000-04:00

Leo Babauta at Zen Habits writes all the time about simplicity. His latest piece, "Your Life, Simplified," is a profoundly basic list of how to simplify your life in the most important ways-- one which I intend to use as I start to evaluate my goals and visions for the upcoming academic year.

I know I've been writing a lot about simplicity lately. I think I've gotten more interested in this idea of simple living because of the life I've seen during my time in DC, which I inevitably always reflect on more when I'm away from the city. With some distance, it's easier to compare and contrast the lives I see people living in small town New England, and the lives I see people living in the District.

I don't pretend to believe that one is better or worse. In fact, I rather enjoy the balance I have going between the two. DC has its pluses-- good public transportation (makes it easier not to drive everywhere and damage the environment), high levels of public engagement, and my university friends (all of whom are wonderful people and some of whom are wonderful people with great ideas about simplicity and social justice). But it also has its minuses-- high levels of consumerism, people always on the go and in a hurry, people more interested in networking than relationships. My hometown in New England, on the other hand, still has high levels of consumerism (you get that everywhere), and public transportation is minimal so people generally drive-- though some of my friends are more known to bike or walk. But the air is cleaner (something I ALWAYS notice-- it's like a veil is lifted on the sky) and people are usually more relaxed and enjoy the chance to communicate and develop real relationships. Small businesses are arguably more present and established than corporations. There may be less "big-league" stuff to do, but the only way you can be bored is if you allow yourself to be.

I often wonder about how simple my life really is, either in DC or at home. Is there any kind of measuring stick? Part of me doubts it. It's such a personal thing. For me, learning to shut down my computer at night and not boot it up until I was up and dressed was a big development, and felt like a major step toward simplicity. But how much of an impact does that really have, on me or in the grand scheme of things? I don't really know. Maybe simple living is more of a continual process, something you do when your life feels like it's spiraling out of control or when you get discontented. Everything I read says describes it as a lifestyle. Some things have described it as a means to an end. Either way, evaluating life from the perspective of simplifying can only be a good thing, in the long run.

Productivity & Focus Reading

2009-08-02T14:20:00.001-04:00

As a reasonably busy person (at least, during the school year), I have developed a high level of interest in techniques for productivity and focus. Here's some of my latest reading on the subject:

From Productivity 501-- 10 tips for "Office Timesavers" and links for ideas on "Ways to Deal with Distraction."
From an Older Non-Trad Student-- tips on "Staying Focused During Summer School" that are still applicable during any time at school.
These "21 Ways to Stay Focused in an Online Class" also apply to other academic settings, especially those requiring work on a computer.
Of course, you knew it was true-- the intellectual/emotional/spiritual benefits of taking the time to read.
Collegiate time management isn't much different than other types of time management--but this article provides pointed tips on managing your time in college.

The Four Agreements

2009-08-02T13:38:00.000-04:00

Don Miguel Ruiz published a self-help/spirituality book called The Four Agreements, in which he passed along four principles for living a better life. I wrote them down at one point, and just stumbled back over them. It's pretty good advice.

The Four Toltec Agreements

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD- Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY- Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS- Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST- Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are health as opposed to sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.