More Wisdom

The hand that stocks the drug stores rules the world.
-Bokonon

A quote

What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
-Bertolt Brecht

Withdrawal symptoms and snow

This is the first real day without football and already I feel that it is losing the hold it had over me. Tonight is the champions league round something but I didn't watch a single minute of any of the games. I am happy but am not patting myself on the back just yet. I will give it two more weeks before I claim success.

Its freezing cold outside and I can't say that that thrills me in the least. Ok I will give in to the notion that it is more aesthetically pleasing than grey skies, dead grass, and leafless trees. Right now I am trying something else new: I am reading two books at the same time. I think that this will be the only way that I will be able to read fiction and school books at the same time. Currently reading a book by Kobo Abe (fiction) and a book by David Harvey (non-fiction but I wish it was).

Resolution

Today I realized that I waste a lot of time watching football lately. Sure I've blamed it on the weather or not feeling good, but that just isn't good enough anymore. I could have been reading books instead. Basically I am admitting to being lame. So the new resolution is to immediately give up all watching of football for...well forever would be nice but I imagine that I will watch the next world cup so how about the qualifiers and the world cup. Not bad and knowing that I can actually do this is the best part. After all it took me five minutes to give up meat for the last three years. With all the time left over I am going to read, skate, and hopefully take a yoga class after new years.

Words of wisdom

"You don't have to be satisfied with America as you find it. You can change it. I didn't like the way I found America some sixty years ago, and I've been trying to change it ever since."
- Upton Sinclair

Springboks to go extinct...

Today the BBC reported that in the near future, the official name of the South African National Rugby team, the Springboks, will be changed. The name is a leftover of the old apartheid era in South Africa and the idea is that by changing the logo there will more of a feeling of inclusion of all the ethnicities of the country. I have to say that while this isn't really something that concerns me on a day to day basis at the same time I still find it a bit sad.

There are opinions on both sides of the racial divide (whatever that really means) who have called for it to be kept, and those who want it to disappear for good. What I think would be interesting would be if the people who were excluded from the team due to Apartheid would instead make it a part of their culture. That is to say that they would adopt the symbol and by so doing make it their own. To me that would be a stronger statement than changing a picture on a jersey and an official name.

I'm behind...

I know this is probably a bit late to be coming with this right now but after reading about it, I just couldn't help commenting. Paul Broun is a member of the House of Representatives and on top of that, he has proved that he is in fact an idiot. In an interview he managed to compare Obama to Hitler and the Soviet Union. To begin with the notion that Hitler and the Soviet Union are somehow similar in their politics is probably the best part of what he said. Apparently, Mr. Broun has no idea what the difference between communism and fascism are, which is strange when one thinks about the fact that Mr. Broun is supposedly well educated. Then there was this statement that Obama would somehow be capable of setting up a dictatorship. This is so amusing. This is why there are checks and balances in the US system. It seems very strange that the Republicans keep bringing up these fears. I bet Mr. Broun's top advisor is Mr. Hannity. The two of them would do best to bury their heads in a small town somewhere where they wouldn't be able to hurt others with their ignorance.

Pirates of Somalia

So right now they have all these patrol ships cruisin' the region and keeping an eye on all these cargo ships. It sounds great but I don't see how just defending the area is doing any good. This then is my suggestion: Get the world navies to buy some older cargo ships and turn them into incognito warships. Then sail them in 'international waters' where the pirates are known to hang out. Wait for the pirates to try to board the ships and then blow them out of the water. If they were to take no prisoners, then the specific ships in use couldn't be identified. Of course I am sure that this breaks some treaty on warships having to fly a certain flag and so on but I don't really see how else these attacks are going to be stopped. Its not like the Somali government has a lot of power these days.

A brave girl

Hannah Jones is only twelve and she's decided that she would rather die. If you want to look up sources for this article then search BBC or CNN. She is refusing a heart transplant and almost had to fight the hospital to say no. The reasons? Quality of life is what it seems to be about. I find this an interesting case for several reasons a.) its possible she would live on after a heart transplant b.) her quality of life would never really improve. Then I as someone who suffers from a condition that also affects life quality (not so much today, but in the long run), I find her stance very brave and if I had any way of giving her support I would.

Guns and Churches

Today there was an article on CNN about how churches are now beginning to have armed guards at their services. I find this very sad and in many ways hypocritical. The religious right and many other parts of American Christianity are actively involved in politics(as was seen in the election of George Bush) so my question is why isn't this religion that is supposed to be about peace, not also preaching this to its government? Why aren't they protesting that you can buy handguns in a sport store? Of course, they will say that it is a constitutional right. Times change, and its time to move on from the notion that we are somehow safer if everyone is carrying a gun. Does it really seem nice to live in a reality that seems very much a Sergio Leone picture?

Amusing no doubt

I find it very interesting that the die hard McCain fans are being so grumpy about Obama now. They still want to label him a terrorist, muslim, etc. That was pretty much what the McCain ticket was all about then; lies. Of course they are going to keep going with the idea of the Socialism which is itself hilarious. I hope all of the Republicans know that when you spread these kinds of lies you are the one who looks like an ignorant idiot. Today, in our internet and media times, there are no longer excuses for ignorance.

For Clara

Autumn Evening #3

When the winter wind
No, still the fall wind
I dare not call it winter;
For then it will grow
Stronger and colder,

So then;

When
Fall Wind
Is blowing outside my
Window,
Naked branches
Obscure the window lights
Across the way
And suddenly,
They are a thousand candles
Flickering only to remind me
You are far away.

I helped turn Florida blue...

Now the real work begins. All the articles I have read so far have been alluding to the idea that he isn't going to have an easy first term by any means. Of course talk like this isn't really so positive in nature so I thought that I would try to remedy it by thinking like this; I think that there are solutions to the current problems and I believe that they can be implemented even if there is resistance and complaining. After all what kind of president would he be if he didn't fight for what he thought was going to be for the good of the country. He's going to go through the fire and hopefully he'll still be smiling on the other side.

It comes down to this...

I have a sore throat and am stuck in rainy Lund today while across the US millions will spend hours voting. I chose to give respect where respect is due. Barack Obama may not be able to achieve everything that he wants to, but that he is trying is what gives me some hope. Tomorrow morning I may wake up and not be able to write a sad statement about the Union.

McCain on the other hand is what makes me sad. To see a country with such potential, allow a man like him to get this far leaves me with a chill. His choice of vice president just adds to the factors that should serve as warning lights to other voters. Oh well you may make up your own minds, however you should remember that what you do today really does affect others on a global scale.