I'm back after a long weekend in Michigan. It was a good visit and I got to see a number of my friends, a sweet hockey game, and I enjoyed some Hungry Howie's pizza - always a good thing. My buddy Tine gave me his old N64 along with the best video game ever - The New Tetris. My roommates and I used to play this game ALL the time in undergrad. Needless to say it might be a dangerous thing to have around the house now, but so far, so good. If it becomes too much of a problem I now have a study carrel at the library up on the Lake Shore Campus. I assume I'll get some decent use out of that, and it will be nice to have a quiet place to work and to be right there in the library as well.
The Dissertation Group continues to meet. We've basically been a discussion entity up to this point, but in two weeks I'm going to present some of my work and we'll have a proper workshopping session, which should be good. I'm interested to see how it turns out, especially since the chapter I need help on is all over the place right now. A bit of constructive criticism would bode well for this chapter at present. The first one was much more straight forward, while this one is trying to compare and contrast four different cities, which can be a challenge in terms of structure. So we'll see what happens. Hopefully there will be some satisfactory notes to post in the near future.
Completely unrelated, I've been working my way through all of the Dick's Picks albums. I actually own 2-3 of them and downloaded the rest (I know, I'm a horrible person. I'll buy them once I can afford to do so). There are 36 volumes and all but one are multiple CDs. I started the last week of October and just finished this week. You would think one might grow tired of that much Grateful Dead music for that long, but actually it had just the opposite effect. Most Deadheads fall into one of two camps, Jerry or Bobby. Personally, I'm deeply ensconced in the Jerry camp, but the Dick's Pick exercise leaves me with a greater appreciation of some of Bobby's work. I'm still not drinking the Weir kool-aid, but I'm probably less likely to skip past the Bobby tunes now than I used to be. Although, some songs, like Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance, will never be listenable to me and always get passed up.
I also went on a book-buying binge about a week or so ago, and have since received all of my purchases. The expensive books were of the academic ilk and should be useful for my dissertation. I also found a number of cheap books on the Grateful Dead that I wanted to read, and one on The Band. I've almost gotten through a book of interviews conducted with various members of the Dead and I find it to be a very enlightening book. It's really amazing how progressive the band was, not just musically, but in terms of musical innovation. Their experience with musical equipment, especially PA systems was more interesting than I thought it would be. I'm looking forward to getting through the other books, especially Phil Lesh's autobiography.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
So much going on
A lot going on this weekend, but the main thing is that I'm back in Michigan this weekend visiting the old haunts, as it were. The most significant revelation game tonight with my buddy Joe. Both avid hockey fans, we sought a local game to attend since I was in town. The Wings were in Florida and everyone else seemed to have away games as well. Then Joe remembered the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. Let me tell you, I understand the appeal of minor league baseball to baseball fans (which I certainly am not). The Whalers game was awesome. They play in an arena that seats probably 5000, have $5 tall boys of Labatt Blue, and a great on ice product. We had a lot of fun watching the game and the team played well. The Whale ended up winning 5-1, with the last two goals being real beauties. Needless to say, Joe and I are both hooked. The OHL is awesome. As much as I enjoy going to NHL games, I had a ton of fun at the OHL game tonight. It was so laid back, inexpensive, and enjoyable that I just had to mention it. So if you have minor league hockey in your area do yourself a favor and check it out. You won't regret it.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Fun Fact
Today in 1869 the very first intercollegiate football game was played between, what are today, Rutgers and Princeton. This has since led to the current college football season in which the University of Michigan has made a mockery of this American institution.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Final thoughts on the Election, or I'm done talking about politics for a while now.
Like millions of Americans I voted yesterday. Given the long, drawn out election and everything that goes with it I'll jump in with the other internet talking heads and contribute my two cents. I voted for Obama and I'm glad he won. A few thoughts on the election, reactions to it, and observations on people my age.
The election process in this country is way more complicated and drawn out than it needs to be. I understand that we are a huge country and covering that much territory takes time. But how significantly did the candidates positions on the issues change during the course of the election? Since the actual election is always in November, the economic crisis would have still hit if the thing were shorter and the outcome would probably be the same.
Nevertheless, last night was an historic moment in American history. It will be one of those times where you recall where you were when they announced that Obama had won. I, unfortunately, was taking the dog out to pee. Seeing and hearing the pundits talk about the significance of electing an African-American president was really interesting. I believe it was Chris Matthews who made an interesting point about the correlation between race and age. To paraphrase, he said that this election result affected the psyche of people over the age of 45. For those younger folks, especially under 30, they tended to view Obama as just another guy and not as a "black" guy. I had never thought of it that way since I'm under 30 and just thought of Obama as another guy. Go figure.
One of my best friends updated his Facebook status to read: "Dear McCain voter under 30: You're an idiot." To a certain extent I understand that sentiment. Of course my brother is under 30 and I'm sure he voted for McCain, assuming he voted. But I also understand why he would. Plus, my brother is a rational person and doesn't fall back on ridiculous comments about socialism and heathenism. It seems to me that a lot of young McCain voters simply voted the same way their parents traditionally did, i.e. they come from upper/upper middle class families. The real failure, it seems to me, is their inability to actually examine the issues and each candidate's position on them and really wrestle with what their respective impacts would be. For me the big issues were education, health care, and the environment. Leaving the public schools in the hands of a "free market" is about the asinine idea ever and would only worsen districts that are already hurting.
The McCain health care plan, well, it was a joke. McCain kept saying that people shouldn't have a bureaucrat deciding their medical treatment. Even if boiled down to such a simple relationship, which, if you know anything about other national health services, does not happen, the real question to be asked is this: Would you rather have someone tell you that you CAN have a necessary procedure, even if you have to wait a few months (because it's not an emergency), OR would you rather have someone tell you that either a.) you can't have the procedure at all, or b.) you can have the procedure but it will cost you your house, life savings, kids' college funds, etc. That seems like a no brainer. Detractors call Obama a socialist. Not only is this incorrect, it shows a vast misunderstanding of what socialism is. When I was in Europe this summer I was talking to a guy about American politics, and he laughed at the idea that Obama was a socialist. In Europe, he would be considered conservative, undoubtedly. Americans use the term socialism interchangeably with communism in order to provoke fear and condemn what they don't understand. It's really sad. It's even more sad that a lot of people my age, college educated people, make these same accusations without examining what they really mean.
People are certainly entitled to their opinions, and like my Dad says, as long as they're informed opinions I have no problem debating with them. But those folks that just talk out of their ass and use fear and lack of reason (on either end of the political spectrum) to make their point aren't making a point at all. I had no problem talking politics with McCain supporters during this election, My brother and my cousin both supported McCain and we were able to have intelligent, rational conversations without turning to sniping and petty bullshit. That's the way it should be. There are too many people that latch on to one small thing, usually incorrect, and ride it with a virulence that is both ignorant and disheartening. Perhaps my lack of political conviction colors my opinion. I'm a moderate. I've voted in three presidential elections and never voted for the same party more than once (I voted for Nader in 2000). While hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back I don't always agree with my decisions, a big part of that was what was happening at the time, how it affected me, and my education of the issues. This time I feel like I was on the ball and suitably informed. It looks like American politics might experience a paradigm shift with this election, and personally, I think that's a good thing. If we move to a more European socio-economic model, I think that's alright, so long as we retain the aspects that keep us distinctly American. I have no doubt this would happen. So put away the vitriol and let's see what happens before making these stupid, uninformed, often times racist, comments. America may have taken a huge step forward by electing Obama president, but it still has a long way to go.
The election process in this country is way more complicated and drawn out than it needs to be. I understand that we are a huge country and covering that much territory takes time. But how significantly did the candidates positions on the issues change during the course of the election? Since the actual election is always in November, the economic crisis would have still hit if the thing were shorter and the outcome would probably be the same.
Nevertheless, last night was an historic moment in American history. It will be one of those times where you recall where you were when they announced that Obama had won. I, unfortunately, was taking the dog out to pee. Seeing and hearing the pundits talk about the significance of electing an African-American president was really interesting. I believe it was Chris Matthews who made an interesting point about the correlation between race and age. To paraphrase, he said that this election result affected the psyche of people over the age of 45. For those younger folks, especially under 30, they tended to view Obama as just another guy and not as a "black" guy. I had never thought of it that way since I'm under 30 and just thought of Obama as another guy. Go figure.
One of my best friends updated his Facebook status to read: "Dear McCain voter under 30: You're an idiot." To a certain extent I understand that sentiment. Of course my brother is under 30 and I'm sure he voted for McCain, assuming he voted. But I also understand why he would. Plus, my brother is a rational person and doesn't fall back on ridiculous comments about socialism and heathenism. It seems to me that a lot of young McCain voters simply voted the same way their parents traditionally did, i.e. they come from upper/upper middle class families. The real failure, it seems to me, is their inability to actually examine the issues and each candidate's position on them and really wrestle with what their respective impacts would be. For me the big issues were education, health care, and the environment. Leaving the public schools in the hands of a "free market" is about the asinine idea ever and would only worsen districts that are already hurting.
The McCain health care plan, well, it was a joke. McCain kept saying that people shouldn't have a bureaucrat deciding their medical treatment. Even if boiled down to such a simple relationship, which, if you know anything about other national health services, does not happen, the real question to be asked is this: Would you rather have someone tell you that you CAN have a necessary procedure, even if you have to wait a few months (because it's not an emergency), OR would you rather have someone tell you that either a.) you can't have the procedure at all, or b.) you can have the procedure but it will cost you your house, life savings, kids' college funds, etc. That seems like a no brainer. Detractors call Obama a socialist. Not only is this incorrect, it shows a vast misunderstanding of what socialism is. When I was in Europe this summer I was talking to a guy about American politics, and he laughed at the idea that Obama was a socialist. In Europe, he would be considered conservative, undoubtedly. Americans use the term socialism interchangeably with communism in order to provoke fear and condemn what they don't understand. It's really sad. It's even more sad that a lot of people my age, college educated people, make these same accusations without examining what they really mean.
People are certainly entitled to their opinions, and like my Dad says, as long as they're informed opinions I have no problem debating with them. But those folks that just talk out of their ass and use fear and lack of reason (on either end of the political spectrum) to make their point aren't making a point at all. I had no problem talking politics with McCain supporters during this election, My brother and my cousin both supported McCain and we were able to have intelligent, rational conversations without turning to sniping and petty bullshit. That's the way it should be. There are too many people that latch on to one small thing, usually incorrect, and ride it with a virulence that is both ignorant and disheartening. Perhaps my lack of political conviction colors my opinion. I'm a moderate. I've voted in three presidential elections and never voted for the same party more than once (I voted for Nader in 2000). While hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back I don't always agree with my decisions, a big part of that was what was happening at the time, how it affected me, and my education of the issues. This time I feel like I was on the ball and suitably informed. It looks like American politics might experience a paradigm shift with this election, and personally, I think that's a good thing. If we move to a more European socio-economic model, I think that's alright, so long as we retain the aspects that keep us distinctly American. I have no doubt this would happen. So put away the vitriol and let's see what happens before making these stupid, uninformed, often times racist, comments. America may have taken a huge step forward by electing Obama president, but it still has a long way to go.
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