I have been awake now for 30 hours straight. Wow... what a crazy time it's been. Photos and vids will show up eventually, but the salient points are:
Dawn Chorus, slow dancing, free books, a vocal bipolar Maori and Shmuley Boteach.
I'm sure there's more that I'll remember once I wake up tomorrow, but for now... I'm out!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Congratulations, Mr. President
The other day I watched my first ever presidential inauguration. The last time America got a new president I was 12, and much too young to be bothering with this sort of pomp and circumstance.
I was looking forward to watching the oath of office; I was expecting it to be dramatic and poignant. Thanks a lot for ruining the memory, Chief Justice John Roberts. Obama noticed Roberts had said the words in the wrong order, waited for Roberts to correct himself, and then recited the words incorrectly anyway. Silly, silly Mr. President.
The inaugural address was decent enough. Among the generic "we will work together to defeat America's enemies and overcome its problems" spiel were some oratory nuggets. Of America's enemies Obama said, "we will extend them a hand if they are willing to unclench their fist." I'll be very interested to see how that plays out in his foreign policy.
"We shall harness the power of the sun, wind and soil," he said, of his alternate energy schemes. One anonymous wit postulated that Obama was actually Captain Planet.
But by far the greatest thing in that speech was Obama's statement, "we will restore science to its rightful place."
It filled me with happy feelings, and memories of Portal. Inspired, I threw this together on MS Paint:
Barack Obama: he does what he must because he can.
I was looking forward to watching the oath of office; I was expecting it to be dramatic and poignant. Thanks a lot for ruining the memory, Chief Justice John Roberts. Obama noticed Roberts had said the words in the wrong order, waited for Roberts to correct himself, and then recited the words incorrectly anyway. Silly, silly Mr. President.
The inaugural address was decent enough. Among the generic "we will work together to defeat America's enemies and overcome its problems" spiel were some oratory nuggets. Of America's enemies Obama said, "we will extend them a hand if they are willing to unclench their fist." I'll be very interested to see how that plays out in his foreign policy.
"We shall harness the power of the sun, wind and soil," he said, of his alternate energy schemes. One anonymous wit postulated that Obama was actually Captain Planet.
But by far the greatest thing in that speech was Obama's statement, "we will restore science to its rightful place."
It filled me with happy feelings, and memories of Portal. Inspired, I threw this together on MS Paint:
Barack Obama: he does what he must because he can.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
If 1,000 people read this, AaronJ and Simmons are epic trendsetters
We've all signed into our Facebooks to be greeted by an avalanche of ridiculous invites. Your friends want you to register your approval of the latest chart-topping musician, absurd fashion trend, popular brand of coffee, or political development in the Middle East. They want you to join their fantasy army, mafioso organisation, vampire clan and feudal system.
Which is fine. People can waste their own (and others') time however they like. The bit that simultaneously amuses and irks me (just a little), is how seriously they seem to take it all. They really care how their fictional Bible study group and high school cheerleading squad are coming along.
The best bit is the "number" ones: "If 1,000 people join this group, I'll eat a cockroach"; "If 5,000 people join this group, I'll change my surname to 'Dudemeister'"; "If 100,000 people join this group, Israel's incursion into Gaza is morally, politically and militarily justified". For those of you who are slow to think but quick to keyboard, my point here has nothing to do with the "rightness" of Israel's martial shenanigans. I am simply pointing out the absurdity of believing that having a lot of people in a Facebook group has an actual effect on the Middle Eastern political situation.
Which is where my Facebook group comes in. I call it "1,000,000 strong against nothing in particular!" and the description reads "I bet I can find 1,000,000 people who want to be in a Facebook group with 1,000,000 people."
I'm probably misquoting Albert Camus when I say that "humans spend their whole lives attempting to prove to themselves that their lives are not absurd". But I'm pretty darn sure I've got Fiyero's line nailed...
"I say: why invite stress in? Stop studying strife. And learn to live the unexamined life..."
Which is fine. People can waste their own (and others') time however they like. The bit that simultaneously amuses and irks me (just a little), is how seriously they seem to take it all. They really care how their fictional Bible study group and high school cheerleading squad are coming along.
The best bit is the "number" ones: "If 1,000 people join this group, I'll eat a cockroach"; "If 5,000 people join this group, I'll change my surname to 'Dudemeister'"; "If 100,000 people join this group, Israel's incursion into Gaza is morally, politically and militarily justified". For those of you who are slow to think but quick to keyboard, my point here has nothing to do with the "rightness" of Israel's martial shenanigans. I am simply pointing out the absurdity of believing that having a lot of people in a Facebook group has an actual effect on the Middle Eastern political situation.
Which is where my Facebook group comes in. I call it "1,000,000 strong against nothing in particular!" and the description reads "I bet I can find 1,000,000 people who want to be in a Facebook group with 1,000,000 people."
I'm probably misquoting Albert Camus when I say that "humans spend their whole lives attempting to prove to themselves that their lives are not absurd". But I'm pretty darn sure I've got Fiyero's line nailed...
"I say: why invite stress in? Stop studying strife. And learn to live the unexamined life..."
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