The Death of Discourse

When I had first heard of Cass Sunstein's book Republic.com (I still haven't read it.), I was very suspicious of his claims that the Internet as a communications medium would be very detrimental on the effect of public discourse as people would take the easy way out and associate with sites that reflected their own views. These people would then enter into a sort of feedback loop where they would reinforce their positions and the group would grow more radical as a result. (Here are some notes from a Sunstein talk earlier this year.) Being a fan of the Internet, I really didn't buy into these claims and dismissed them. A few years later, after having been a visitor of political sites on the Internet, I'm really starting to think that Prof. Sunstein was right on the money. Continue...

Early New Year Resolution

It's a few days early, but I figured that I would post my big 2004 New Year's resolution: get ready to go to graduate school. Continue...

Roman

New comics are up at Roman. Enjoy and leave some notes for the creator.

21 Grams / The Last Samurai

After work last night, I headed to the theater to see what was playing. On a whim, I went out and saw 21 Grams with Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benecio Del Toro (Is that a cool name or what?). It's not a film that you go to to feel better about yourself or anything like that. It's probably the darkest, greyest film that I've seen all year. It's also probably the best film that I've seen all year. Continue...

The Daily Show

Last Monday, Holy and I waited for a couple of hours in cold New York City winds to see Jon Stewart's Daily Show live. We saw the filming of the episode right after the capture of Saddam Hussein and this episode was sandwiched between an appearance with Wesley Clark the day before, and Natalie Portman the day afterward. Continue...

The Right-Wing Dominates Blogs?

James Crabtree thinks so. He is right that there are not many left-leaning political blogs. I frequented the Daily Kos (a "blog" about Democratic politics) for a while over the past few months, but I've stopped as it has become a cheerleading section for the Howard Dean and Clark campaigns. So, Crabtree's criticism about warbloggers mindless cheerleading of Bush and the war on terror could be just as easily applied to the leftish blogs I've read and anything anti-Bush. I wonder how he would rate this blog? I'm fairly anti-Bush, but lean righwards (in an socially liberal / economic conservative / small gov't sense). Thoughts?

Disclaimer

In a previous entry, I used language that was probably unsuitable for a mass audience as I made clear about the metaphor that is in my mind with respect to the Bush administration's FCC and large media interests that involved forms of degenerate sexual conduct (as previously defined by the state of Texas at least). Recognizing that the language was not the best, I changed it. However, I recognize that there'll be times when a dirty word or phrase will slip through when I'm describing something (I'm not as witty as some others), so I make the following disclaimer. Continue...

Today

I couldn't sleep worth a damn this morning (note to self: never eat week old refrigerated pizza after a trip if you wish to avoid strange hallucinatory dreams), so I left home at around 6:30 for work and I arrived here at around 7:00. I'm always struck at how calm nature is in the minutes between night and morning. Continue...

Overstimulation

I'm currently in a hotel on the thirty-eighth floor that overlooks Times Square. I'm getting ready to catch a cab, train, then plane back to Chicago. Lots to write about, so stay tuned. Here's a sampling of what is to come in the next few days (I have a play to finish, remember?): a visit to Steve's place and iConquer, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", back at my alma mater, the Marriot Marquis hotel, and "The Caretaker" by Harold Pinter, with Patrick Stewart and Kyle MacLachlan. Do you really care? Probably not. But this will be the placeholder that reminds me what I've committed to writing. Oh, and I can't forget the Tortoise and Achilles from GEB. So stay tuned.

Prediction

This entire season of Enterprise will "not have happened". Watch for the Xindi conflict to be resolved via some temporal shenanigans like Voyager's "Year of Hell". You heard it here first.

Anybody But Bush (ABB)

I'm about half way through the first pass of writing for my play. I'm hoping to be finished with Act Two before I fly out to New Jersey with Holly this evening. That said, here's another recommendation to hold you over until I start blogging regularly again.
This recommendation is political. For the 2004 presidential election, I am recommending the amorphous challenger to the current incumbent, "Anybody But Bush" (ABB). Continue...

Spinsanity

I offer my apologies for not posting recently. I've been in the process of writing my final assignment for my playwriting course, which is a full-length rough draft of a play. I'm currently over a third finished, and I anticipate much more crunching this week. In lieu of a heartfelt touching blog entry, I offer you Spinsanity as my first recommended site. Continue...

You know you're out of college when...

(Courtesy of Pebbles.) 1. Your salary is less than your tuition. 2. Your potted plants stay alive. 3. Shacking in twin-sized beds seems absurd. 4. You keep more food than beer in the fridge. 5. You have to pay your own credit card bill. Continue...

Blog Movie

My weblog presentation is online. I hope to publish a link to archived video stream soon.

My Memory Sucks

My memory really sucks. I have posted to several places where I discuss voting Bush out of the office, and I have started things like this, "I voted for Bush over Gore in 2000, but now I want him out." That statement is incorrect, as I had forgotten that my 2000 presidential vote went to the Libertarian candidate instead. Woohoo! I didn't vote for Bush. This is such a weight off my shoulders. Though I don't know if my LP vote did squat. How can someone forget who they voted for? Continue...

Online 2004 Campaign Ads

BushOut.TV is a great site if you're interested in following the media side of the 2004 election and campaigns. This blog is being used to link to new ads as they come out. While not without its biases, it's handy to have a central hub that allows quick access to this season's campaign ads.

Den Beste on Anime, Racism, and Cultural Change

Stephen Den Beste has a great article that segues from his facinations with anime and how media such as anime are often glimpses into other cultures. It's entries like this that make Den Beste one of my favorite sites. In this entry alone he talks about Japanese history, women's rights, anime, and how this relates to the current Middle East situation.

Choices

I'm interested in further beefing up my political science background. Which of the two courses should I consider for the upcoming quarter: "Formal Political Economy" or "Mathematics for Political Science". Descriptions below. Continue...

CRS Brief on Wildfire Protection

I've posted a Congressional Research Service issue brief on wildfire protection and the "Healthy Forests Initiative". It's a pretty evenhanded document on the issue. I'm still reading and digesting it, but feel free to download it now.

This document was provided to me by a helpful staffer in Congressman Mike Honda's office.

Eternal Darkness

While I fill out a few recommendations to populate the section on the main page, I thought that I would make a note about Eternal Darkness. It's survival-horror on the Gamecube for those who like a good story. I've just finished up the first round through it (you need to play all colors to unlock the "true" ending), and I can say that I enjoyed it immensely. Initially, the sanity effects really creeped me out, though this wore off as I played the game. The rest of the game was great -- it had an engaging and intelligent story and the puzzles and environments were superb. One thing that I really liked about the game is that it does not get progressively harder as you play. The zombies do not power up or speed up, and once you learn how to slaughter a group of zombies, you can use that skill throughout the rest of the game. It's a welcome departure from the games where as you get to the end, it becomes increasingly impossible to get past certain levels. Eternal Darkness is good if you want to play a good game and are not all that interested in honing your twitch instincts.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

I just finished Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf for my playwriting class. I don't know why, but I enjoy this play much more than I would expect. It's kind of like beating your head against the wall because it feels good. And this play hurts, but it feels great. I think the attraction for me is that this is a thinly veiled duel between two skilled opponents. George and Martha are the duelists and Nick and Honey are the weapons. Feint, counter-feint, hack, and slash. If only I were as clever and biting as George when I found myself in verbal fights...

Melting...

It's about forty degrees outside and colder than hell when I walk to work. I get in and my cubicle feels like it's in the mid-eighties. This drastic change in temperatures is going to drive me batty. Plus - "Gödel, Escher, Bach". Continue...

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Recent Entries
The Death of Discourse
Early New Year Resolution
Roman
The Daily Show
The Right-Wing Dominates Blogs?
Disclaimer
Today
Overstimulation
Prediction
Anybody But Bush (ABB)