I can't explain why I think what I think, when I do. I get so absorbed in film. The music, the presentation, the emotions people are feeling it all combines and channels into me. I feel electrified by what I am seeing on the big screen and for a split second, I feel like I'm actually alive. It's like I plug myself into the fantasy and fail to pull myself out, until I hit the brisk winter air. Yet, the chill enhances my high, my skin's sensation mirrors the rush I feel inside.
Tonight I was watching Enchanted. I was spending some time with Rachel and decided to compromise to see a movie that wasn't so intense, dark, and dramatic. It was a good change, but I couldn't help but feel something strange during the end of the movie. I won't spoil it, but I got the impression, as I do with all Disney movies, that you should let yourself never get so serious, and that fantasy is not always as good as reality - but yet you shouldn't completely relieve yourself of the fantasy either. I began thinking of a future when I have kids.
Since I'm not religious, I am at a loss for words as to what I can preface this sentence with to elaborate on how serious I am about how much I hope I am never more serious than needs to be. When I'm a father I hope I am able to be a kid with my children and give them every reason to smile, grow with confidence, and enjoy every moment of their lives. I hope if I have a son he never looks and me and says "Dad you're stupid." for something silly I say or 'make believe.' I began thinking about Big Fish. How the dad made everything bigger than it truly was, but the point was not that he was lying to his son, but that he wanted life to be a grand adventure - to be full of imagination, wonder and excitement. When I'm on my death bed, I hope my son can understand who I am, and I hope he can finish the story for me.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Text: Mulling Politics
The one thing that frustrates me the most in this world (today) is: Pearl street after snow fall. I angrily drove around in desperate search for a parking spot this afternoon. I had multiple things working against me. One, my truck has no weight in the back, so it is impossible for me to park on an incline where snow might transform into ice during the night. Two, I am down here early, around 2:00 p.m. and the meters run until 7:00 p.m. I will be here until at least 11:00 p.m. so I have to pay for five hours worth of meter time because the streets off Pearl have construction, too much snow, and no available parking. So I drove around for at least a half hour looking for a spot to park my truck that would work in the long run of the evening. At least it is the last week of school and the last week of my internship. I had mentioned that if the snow fell three weeks prior, I would've probably quit school and never earned my degree, primarily based on my truck's snow performance, and parking availability on and off campus.
That frustration aside, I've taken a deeper interest in politics recently. I scour several online news Web sites daily, as well as listen to NPR in my truck while I adventure the winter streets. It subsides my daily driving anger. As I typed that sentence, it dawned on me that this post could be used in court, if someone were to find my blog, after trying me for running over several Boulder pedestrians, purely for sport. I'll just have to make a mental note to delete this blog with haste, if that is to occur.
On the subject of politics, I wrote a page long news and politics trivia test, that also included capitals and historical dates. I gave it out to interested people at work. I wasn't trying to make people feel stupid, I was merely trying to point out how involved Americans are in the bigger picture. Most of the people at my work have a degree, and those who either do, or are working on one did fairly well on the test. Only about three people filled in half the test, and of that portion received a 40% or better. Most people could answer a lot of the questions, but capitals, even ones like Japan's capital or Iraq's capital eluded even some of the smarter test-takers.
It raises the question: Should Americans have the right to vote or should it be a privilege? Well, I believe that all Americans should have the freedom to participate in the democratic process. It is our country's purpose, after all, to enforce Democracy across the world and at home. It is, however, the responsibility of Americans to at the very least, pay attention to news and politics. Someone once said: "Democracy is 51% of the people taking away the rights of the other 49%." Why is it unreasonable for Americans to have to take a politics or news test prior to being eligible to vote each election term? It should require Americans to have to complete a test and score 80% or better on the listed questions in order to make a decision for our next President. I know it wouldn't work, because most Americans vote either Democratic or Republican, no matter what. Other Americans just simply don't care, so you'd only have educated Americans making the decisions for a large population of American citizens, and that just sounds terrible, doesn't it?
I was thinking recently that Americans would be more involved in politics if someone, somehow created a reality TV show featuring the candidates. It would be hard to feature a fair and balanced look at the political candidates, because all of them would have to have equal air-time. The director would have to be objective, but would it be as hard as it sounds? I'd say, get rid of those stupid ads bashing candidates, make a reality TV show that gets personal with the candidates and exposes every aspect of their life, and let America text their votes. Haha, it sounds unlikely today, but I don't think it's impossible in the future to have something like this. It'd probably happen in Germany first, everything happens there first. It's at least worth a thought.
That frustration aside, I've taken a deeper interest in politics recently. I scour several online news Web sites daily, as well as listen to NPR in my truck while I adventure the winter streets. It subsides my daily driving anger. As I typed that sentence, it dawned on me that this post could be used in court, if someone were to find my blog, after trying me for running over several Boulder pedestrians, purely for sport. I'll just have to make a mental note to delete this blog with haste, if that is to occur.
On the subject of politics, I wrote a page long news and politics trivia test, that also included capitals and historical dates. I gave it out to interested people at work. I wasn't trying to make people feel stupid, I was merely trying to point out how involved Americans are in the bigger picture. Most of the people at my work have a degree, and those who either do, or are working on one did fairly well on the test. Only about three people filled in half the test, and of that portion received a 40% or better. Most people could answer a lot of the questions, but capitals, even ones like Japan's capital or Iraq's capital eluded even some of the smarter test-takers.
It raises the question: Should Americans have the right to vote or should it be a privilege? Well, I believe that all Americans should have the freedom to participate in the democratic process. It is our country's purpose, after all, to enforce Democracy across the world and at home. It is, however, the responsibility of Americans to at the very least, pay attention to news and politics. Someone once said: "Democracy is 51% of the people taking away the rights of the other 49%." Why is it unreasonable for Americans to have to take a politics or news test prior to being eligible to vote each election term? It should require Americans to have to complete a test and score 80% or better on the listed questions in order to make a decision for our next President. I know it wouldn't work, because most Americans vote either Democratic or Republican, no matter what. Other Americans just simply don't care, so you'd only have educated Americans making the decisions for a large population of American citizens, and that just sounds terrible, doesn't it?
I was thinking recently that Americans would be more involved in politics if someone, somehow created a reality TV show featuring the candidates. It would be hard to feature a fair and balanced look at the political candidates, because all of them would have to have equal air-time. The director would have to be objective, but would it be as hard as it sounds? I'd say, get rid of those stupid ads bashing candidates, make a reality TV show that gets personal with the candidates and exposes every aspect of their life, and let America text their votes. Haha, it sounds unlikely today, but I don't think it's impossible in the future to have something like this. It'd probably happen in Germany first, everything happens there first. It's at least worth a thought.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
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