Goodbye Seattle
I just finished watching the Frasier series finale. I doubted that I'd like the ending, but was proven wrong. Two thumbs up.
Last of the E-Mail Fallout
I received a reply to my reply about the Bush e-mail this morning. The sender was very reasonable in his response, and I rightfully felt like a jerk for my outburst yesterday. He came across as very calm and collected, in stark contrast to my bitter and angry tone. I sent a note back saying thanks and apologizing and included a few questions I was hoping that he could answer for me so I could get a better view of his positions and opinions. Hopefully I have not burned this bridge too badly and can engage in a dialog and learn something in the process. I'm hoping to pinpoint the roots of our differences in opinions and understand a bit better about the sharp divide separating the two. Just out of curiosity, is there anyone who is fairly neutral towards Bush and the current administration? People seem to either support him strongly or oppose him strongly.
World Gets Dark
Early Morning
It's 5:30 AM and I can't seem to get to sleep again. Barbara came over last night and we hung out for the first time in around two years. It was nice. I also had a talk on the phone with my father about the e-mail I'd sent out the day before. I was quite nervous before the call as I know that my tone was inappropriate when sending the thing out and he'd call me on that. After a cool down period, I wasn't too happy with the thing later on in the day myself, and I sent an apology for any perceived disrespect or bad feelings seeded by the whole thing. Arguing politics online is something that frustrates me quite a bit and this frustration makes me into a not-so-nice person. I'd signed off some of the sites for a while, but the prison story, FDA banning OTC sales of morning after drugs story, and a few others sucked me back in. New personal policy - easy on the political news, simply delete all political forwards I receive, and remind myself that getting worked up over this stuff is not worth it. I gave Steve a hard time about his apathy towards the whole system, but his approach to ignoring it all does present a certain appeal. Of course, I care too much to disengage myself completely, and I need to simply keep my views in check. Alienating good people who have opposing views is just not worth it.
Too Easily Frustrated
Early this morning, I received one of the Bush worship pieces of e-mails that seem to circulate quite a bit in my family's e-mail circles (when you are the target of forwards and are not the least bit interested in them). This one was from an old neighbor in New Mexico talking about how Bush was not the worst president and criticism of the president on "The War on Terrah" is a product of misguided liberalism. I shouldn't have, but the piece was so blatantly false in its facts and conclusions that I fired off a rebuttal. Of course, I tend to become less than civil when writing about politics and flamed a bit. (I basically called the piece sent to me unresearched bullshit.) The message was CC'ed to my parents, so their reaction will be interesting. I seriously need to become a sharper and less cumbersome writer when faced with these things. The thing is though that the sheer audacity of the message just hit me wrong. For those curious, I've posted the message and my response below. Let time (and family) judge me as it may.
Continue...Still Twitching
Despite my extended hiatus, I am still alive and well. I haven't been up to too much that would be considered interesting, so I haven't written anything. I've been chugging along on Books, working my way through Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season Two, playing a bit of Starcraft (though the addiction seems to be fading), and working my way through the Dark Tower books. (I read ALL of "Wolves of the Calla" yesterday.)
Smallville
I just finished this week's Smallville. It seems that once they reach an high point that can't be topped, they do it in the next episode. This last one had little action or superpowers, but dealt mainly with the dynamic between Lex and Lionel. Great stuff. However, I wonder how much longer they can keep this up (see comment above). Lionel is dying of a liver disease, and believes that Clark is the key to saving his life. Lex is slowly regaining memories that had been repressed. Clark is getting careless with his powers and people seem to be noticing. Lana is apparently leaving for Paris. I love the crescendo that they're building to, but what will be left next season? (Of course, I said that at the end of last season also...)
Moving Plans
I've finally decided that I'll be moving from Evanston this summer to the city proper. My apartment, while spacious, has been driving me nuts. I figure that since I've been there since getting out of college, a change would be good for me. I've sent out applications to apartment finders and I have a few leads. I'm hoping that by moving more into the city, I'll be more motivated to take advantage of the cultural activities. At the moment, I feel like I've worn Evanston out and that I'm looking for something new.
New York Times
The New York Times ran a couple of interesting stories today. The first is about mothers bringing their babies to special theater sessions devoted to parents with young children. The second is about a NYU sophomore who literally lives in the basement of the university library.
Jush Shoot Me
So, I'm twenty-four years old and still play video games and watch things like Star Trek. I think that's a bit nerdy, but fine. (Even with the occasional cat picture...) However, should anyone catch me doing something like building a Tron costume, meticulously photo-documenting it and demonstrating why skin-tight costumes are bad on guys, and so forth -- simply shoot me. End my misery quickly. If I didn't have a reason to live before, I surely won't have one after the images are posted online and everyone else gets a shot at them.
