On cultural ignorance

Two items, first short: Our public library stocks no Nietzche nor David Hume. And boasts three full, double-lined shelves of romance paperbacks. :choke: Go marketplace of ideas. Go democracy.

Second: I think my annoyance at this trend ought to deepen into righteous indignation. I don't bloody care if "you might lose business" because you're not paying second-by-second attention to your Blackberry or iPhone while interacting with other people. It's rude to answer a call or text while you're with other human beings, just like it would be rude to shut the door in their face suddenly. This is not just a matter of manners, but a loss of respect for humanity. People are not economic units, a measure of thrill you can and should easily ditch for something potentially more lucrative or exciting. That's what peeking at your e-mail or phone while in face-to-face conversation or time with others indicates: "I'm attempting to maximize utils—and, baby, if you ain't got enough compared to my incoming option, you aren't worth any more time or attention."

Sick, sick, sick. And everyone has started to assume you should be at their immediate beck and call because, on the receiving end, they're about to offer you the monetary or social Holy Grail and thus chokehold the other end of your chain. Sorry. I don't measure my life in social points. I don't measure my life at all. Someone Else does. And doesn't He say something somewhere about preferring others before yourself, about loving your neighbor (aka the person right in front of you), and taking caution against loving money because it doesn't last anyway?

Don't even get me started on the communal narcissism of Twitter.

Re-examining Reagan from the Right

Hillsdale College's Dr. Richard Gamble wrote a scintillating article for the American Conservative rethinking Reagan's status as conservative icon. Some day, I want to be a similarly clear and concise thinker who can analyze topics so large and complex from true core principles. (At least now I can admire those who do, right?)

And, in other news, the exciting and gossipy Politico publishes a ridiculous line, calling George W. Bush "Mars" to Barack Obama's "Venus." Politico definitely offers a chatty loveability, but—as with your blonde, suburban, manicure-loving sister—also a certain dope factor.

Time for a Break

Happy this evening, I decided to post a short list of things I particularly like.

Milka chocolate
Cross pens
salsa dancing
waltzes
teddy bears
Aristotle
men with dark hair
Joel
jazz
horses (and jumping! jumping!)
looseleaf tea
Frank Sinatra
hand guns
motorcycles
professors
anything Katie Rose writes or cooks
swimming
pickles
cleaning (but not dusting)
sunshine on my hair
impressionism
bound books with thick, blank paper inside
Gerard Manley Hopkins
rivers
rain
calla lilies
homemade bread
fishing (but not hunting)
camping in tents or cabins (not campers or vacation houses)
violets and lilacs
chickadees
snow
canoeing! very much.

Microloans for college students

A much better plan than financial aid filtered through government bureaucrats. Now somebody just needs to do this for health insurance. Oh. Wait. Not perfect or very encompassing, but a start. Next: simpler pay plans predicated on immediate cash payment versus a million insurance forms?

Bush's birthday skydive

Dude. I'm totally doing this some day.

Analysis: President Obama's Cairo speech

Just finished listening to it yesterday by podcast; and, despite having studied the Holocaust in some detail, and with a few reservations about some points of his speech, thought he balanced the issues quite well. This analysis from National Review, however, reveals President Obama's and my own shallow understanding regarding Israel. It seems we both have accepted current re-interpretations of history rather than history itself regarding Israel's establishment after WWII and its subsequent relations with Arab nations.

Look: I don't really understand Israel. Sometimes I'm as annoyed at their existence as are probably most politicians. But learning more about their history points me toward less dismissal, less willingness to treat them as equally aggrieved and aggressive. Obama is excellent at "on-the-other-hand"ing, but achieving political consensus is far less important than doing right regardless of public opinion.

Why wear vegan clothing?

Oh. :evil laugh: First, I'm going to give you a juicy quote. Then I'm going to give you the Web site.

Vegan is the #1 way to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, as the animal agriculture industry is the single most contributor [sic] to global warming. Vegan creates plenty — more food for more people. Most of all, Vegan [sic] is nonviolence, it's friendship and care for all beings, to borrow the words of e.e. cummings [sic], it's a way to say: 'i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)' to all animals, just by making simple choices every day.

Beyond the desecration of E. E. Cummings (So here's a secret: Animals, as cuddly and wonderful as they are, ARE NOT PEOPLE!), mad humor abounds here. Even more funny because it's serious.