Welcome to mistersite.net, home of... well, something unique, I hope. Be sure to check out all those lovely links to the left to see who I am, what I do, and what I like. Read my blog too... it's right under this paragraph. And leave a comment, so I know you've visited.
Zip-a-dee-doo-BLAH
Alisa's here. That makes me happy. Today we went to Disneyland, supposedly now the Happiest Place on the West Coast. Seeing as how I killed off my inner child years ago, I didn't expect to enjoy the place; surprisingly enough, it wasn't completely terrible. I got some amusement out of laughing at people and making fun of Disney Corp., and because the rides suck so much there wasn't much of a line for any of them, so at least we got to move around a lot. Alisa was, of course, thrilled, so that made it worth it for me.
Yesterday we went to IKEA. That's always fun. I bought a quilt for my bed and a quilt cover, but left the quilt cover at the store by accident, and the people behind me, lacking any common courtesy, didn't call after me or anything. This rather angered me.
And now, time for something political.
Remember a month or two back when MoveOn.org held a "make an anti-Bush commercial" contest, two people submitted commercials comparing GWB to Hitler, they slipped through moderation for a few days before being removed, and Ed Gillespie (RNC chairman) denounced MoveOn.org anyway? *
I'm calling on all you Republicans (and you know who you are) to call up ol' Ed and tell him it's time to be consistent.
You see, Tom Cole, a Republican Congressman from Oklahoma, told a meeting last week that a vote against GWB is like a vote for Hitler. He also said that "if George Bush loses the election, Osama bin Laden wins the election."** Now, I don't know how that seems to you trained armchair-pundit types, but to me that seems like Cole's comparing GWB's opponent, John Kerry, with these two rather evil men, and it also seems like he's implying that anyone who votes for Kerry is a closet Al Qaeda Nazi (which would be rather a precarious situation as most Al Qaeda types, being of Arab descent, are Semitic, and the Nazis weren't all that fond of Semitic persons.) Anyone have a more reasonable and less troubling explanation? If so, I'd like to hear it.
And from the RNC... silence. Deafening silence.
Ed Gillespie, if you read this site - and I know you do - I'm calling on you not to be a hypocrite, to display that "virtue" and "integrity" your party supposedly has, and censure Congressman Cole. George W. Bush, as the moral leader of your party and certainly the buck-stopper of your campaign, I'm calling on you to denounce Congressman Cole's remarks and rebuke him, because your campaign's current silence is tantamount to tacit approval of his message.
* This may refresh your memory.
** Source? You want a source? I got your source right here.
posted by jimmy at 02:11 -
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Whither the CD?
I know the Midwest got hit with another round of snowstorms, so I feel that it is my duty to inform all of you back there that it is 80 degrees and sunny here, and promises to remain so for quite some time. I'm usually not one to gloat, but: SUCKAS!!!!!
Okay. That's out of my system.
Several months ago, I recorded a track with my brother and his friend for their new album, which was promised to me by February. It is now March. Meanwhile, said brother has been begging me to pimp this same band on my site. Thus, I propose a deal: When the CD is released and in my hands (i.e. a free copy mailed to my address here in CA, mom knows the address) then, and only then, will I even mention the name of this group on this website. I may even feature a picture, if one is provided (hint hint).
It's St. Patrick's Day, a time for all of us to take time to remember the life and achievements of that great man, and then get rather tipsy on good Irish beer (or whiskey for those with more hair on their chests than I). Damian and I are hosting a shindig tonight for a bunch of Fuller people to celebrate the occasion. It promises to be quite a good time. I'm making an authentic Irish dish known in Gaelic as "tacos." We're cleaning and decorating today. Exciting, huh?
As for school, I've only got one more paper to write. It's a 12-pager, due before 4:00pm tomorrow. I still haven't started it, and probably won't until tomorrow. But I have no shortage of hubris, so somehow I'm okay with that. Check with me tomorrow to see how I feel then. Perhaps posting this is the beginning of a Greek tragedy.....?
posted by jimmy at 11:20 -
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The military.
"A poll of likely voters conducted in September found Bush's approval rating among relatives of military personnel was 36 percent." --Detroit News
A few months ago I had a bad dream where I joined the Army. I was enthusiastic and excited, for some unknown reason, until about day 2, at which point I realized that I was stuck there for another year and couldn't quit. Fortunately, I woke up before too much more misery had occurred. Thank God it was just a dream. But for a lot of people, particularly in poverty-stricken areas, it isn't just a bad dream. They're pressured by military recruiters who tell them that they won't have a future if they don't join the military, they're fooled by the TV commercials that make the Army seem like a big video game and not the dehumanizing experience it is, they're hoodwinked into believing that they'll actually get veterans' benefits. And then when they're there, they're stuck there.
Yes, there are many who join the military and it does good things for them. That's their thing, and that's cool. But after reading the CCCO website yesterday, I was appalled at the extent to which our military recruiters are apparently willing to bully, bait-and-switch, or use any other tactics to increase the number of enlistments. Whether or not people benefit from their military experience - and there are some who do and some who don't (I'd put dying under the "not benefitting" category) - if what CCCO says is true, to use these tactics to persuade someone to do something that could likely get them killed is inexcusable.
And what's worse is that under No Child Left Behind, schools are required to give contact information on every student to the recruiters. No "do not call" list here. Even if a majority of the people in your school district don't want the military cold-calling the local kids, the military wins, or your school gets no federal funding. And the Republicans say they're for state and local powers?
And it gets even worse. The military's stocking the five-member draft boards across the country again. Many have speculated that if Bush wins this year, a draft could come as early as 2005. Even though I'll be 25 then (a rather undesirable age for the military) and I'll be exempt because I'm a divinity student and apply for CO status, I shudder to think of what will happen to others, like, say, my younger brother, who will be 18-19 then, and plumb material for the military to send to some foreign land to die for his country. College deferment, you say? Nope, not anymore. The idea of GWB as a lame-duck president who can draft our kids to war is downright frightening.
So all you GWB voters... are you so convinced he's right that you're willing to risk your own or your children's lives?
posted by jimmy at 12:22 -
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Late-night musings....
Madrid, Spain... what's already being called Spain's 9/11. I have a friend who's studying in Spain right now; she's okay, but she was going to take the trains into Madrid today, through the exact stations that were bombed. Some within Spain speculate that it isn't Basque separatists, the usual perpetrators of terror in Spain, but rather Al-Qaeda, apparently in response to Spain's participation in Iraq.
Things around here are safer if nothing else. The quarter is winding down, the move is almost complete, and Santa Ana winds are blowing in making the area hot and dry... perfect March weather. I think I'm going to go hiking in the mountains tomorrow... should be the perfect day for it.
I'm going to have pictures up of the new place probably this weekend. I know I promised them last weekend, but I'm still busy moving all my things into said apartment, so the pictures wouldn't be of the finished product anyway... particularly as Damian and I have yet to decorate.
Now, on to the big topic, which in a better world wouldn't be a big topic at all... gay marriage. I know I talk about this quite a bit, but today, as the conservatives won two major battles against gay marriage, I feel that I again have to rail against them. It almost makes me sick to my stomach the way people oppose this, as if letting a guy marry another guy will lead to the end of society as we know it. (Of course, considering that I'm not all that big a fan of society as we know it, perhaps the end of that wouldn't be all that bad.) The fact that there are some sick people in this country who are honestly happy that people who love each other won't be able to marry one another, makes me both sad and angry.
But why? Why is conservative Christianity so homophobic? The reason that makes the most sense to me is that this is the one "sin" that conservatives can rail against knowing they've never done it or never will do it. Adultery, deception, oppression... all these things, the conservative Christian is tempted to do, and so persecuting those who practice these sins would force far too much introspection and self-cleansing. But homosexuals are a clear "other," someone they can go after without having to face any demons within themselves. In short, homosexuality is the one "sin" no conservative can honestly see him- or herself committing, so they feel like this is where they can cast stones all they want.
As a Christian, I am ashamed of my brothers and sisters on this day. They are only making themselves - and the entire movement - look foolish and hateful.
posted by jimmy at 01:28 -
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Moving is so much fun.... NOT.
I'm writing this from my new apartment. I'm about halfway done with the move right now, but all the big elements are in place... the bed just got delivered after a little adventure, the cable install went surprisingly well, and I got most of my stuff moved over this morning. I sleep here starting tonight. The rest of the day for me will probably involver two things: (a) taking more junk from my apartment to here, and (b) assembling, or reassembling, my furniture.
I'm excited about this place. I'm excited to have a roommate again. I've lived alone for too long... it will be cool to have someone else around here. I'm excited to have my own bedroom, and be able to have only some of my stuff in there instead of all my earthly possessions in a studio. I'm excited to have space.
That's all. More later as things continue to be put together. I'll probably have pictures before the weekend is out.
posted by jimmy at 13:01 -
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Why, oh why, oh why-o.....
...why did I come back to Ohio?
Oh yeah, my girlfriend.
Right now I'm sitting in a hotel room connecting through AOL (of all things) and checking my email and web stuff at the RIDICULOUSLY SLOOOOOOOOW speed of a phone modem. Ugh. How did I survive for so long without broadband?
So I saw Alisa in Children of Eden and I liked her in it. As a theologian, I had major problems with the musical itself (as could be anticipated with Genesis: The Musical... and not the Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins Genesis, smartaleck) and I thought the show in its entirety was a bit rushed, but Alisa did really well. She sings purty. I'm going to her classes with her tomorrow, and might even get to participate in a jazz dance! One can imagine how utterly excited I am about that.....
The Oscars last night. Here I am not being in Los Angeles, the city I live in, the night 1 billion people are watching what's happening there. It's not as if I'd have been there, though, unless they needed me to be one of those seat-filler-upper people. But I was happy to see that Lord of the Rings won eleven Oscars, even though I think it didn't deserve a few (like the Best Adapted, which should have gone to American Splendor.) You have to feel sorry for Sofia Coppola, though... in any other year, Lost in Translation would have won Best Picture and her Best Director, but she had the misfortune of releasing it the same year as ROTK. Alas. We know she's a winner in our hearts.
Things feel a bit surreal, because I left California in 60-degree weather expecting Ohio to be freezing (as it usually is in late February) but when I got here it was almost 60 degrees. And 60 degrees here feels warm. In LA I'd be freezing in 60 degree weather, but here for some reason 60 degrees feels like summer. I don't know what it is. But I'm glad it wasn't cold, because I don't have a hat, gloves, or a scarf here.
Another funny thing is that people who know I'm flying back tomorrow all tell me to be safe going back... as if I have any control over that. I think that my safety will have more to do with the people flying the airplanes than with me sitting in coach. But for all of you who've told me to do that... thanks. I'll let the pilots know that you all told them to keep me safe.
I ate Skyline today. Be jealous.
posted by jimmy at 18:34 -
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Log
Archives:
After
2.9.2003
9.23.2002-2.6.2003
6.1.2002-8.21.2002
