Reminiscing

If you care enough or have an itch that needs scratching here is a site that plays music from the band I was in during high school. http://www.purevolume.com/principalslistandthebrassholes

Today stirred up the past, not the band stuff which was awesome but it came to mind, so I put the website (for you guys, we rocked), but it got me to think about the what has passed, how it can't be changed. So I look to the future. Who really knows?

Try and sleep tonight.

Roomie

I gotta say college sure has changed me, but the one thing that I am most thankful for is ending up with a great roommate. We are stable, not too crazy, and trust each other with our animals (well he would if he had one).

Getting off to Egypt has made me say goodbye to a lot of people. And each time I do, I am forced to think about who they are and what they mean to me as I will not be seeing them for a couple of months. A lot could happen in those couple of months, I could get married, they could change schools, or something irrevocable could happen. But I am thankful for the five stable semesters I have had in knowing that I can trust my roommate, be wingman for each other (though I was never very good at it as his, but I'll be better when I get back), and that I can sleep at night without worrying whether he will steal my stuff in the middle of the night.

I hope to see him again before I go, but when I do go, I will take those memories of him and I to Egypt and use them to comfort me as I play frogger with the traffic and buy the wrong food because I can't read the menu.

He has also been essential in helping me see myself and my actions in viewing them outside myself. Through some of our discussions, he has helped me understand how I project my personality, and by becoming aware of this I can refine who I am and be a better person. There are only a few people in the world outside of my family who can do that.

We are going to be making some big decisions soon as college comes to a close, and I hope that we will stay in touch. Four years of getting to know someone ain't nothin', so I'm not planning on letting it go.

So all in all, thanks dude, and happy new year.

The Primogenitor Of Each Family Holds The Answer

Can't wait to go to Egypt. Lets not think about why I don't have housing yet or where I am staying yet. Or better yet, we can ponder 'bout who is picking me up from the airport. Seriously, I have trouble sleeping at night sometimes because not all of this whole Egypt thing is figured out. Except I bought my plane ticket the other day; that is one thing which I don't have to worry about now, only that it is 24 hours spent traveling (think several hour layover in heathrow).

Tonight I will sleep better, mainly because I am exhausted, but that never changes. Olive, my friend, tells me on many occassions that I should go to bed a lot earlier than I actually do (she reminds me of my mother).

However, back to the egypt thing. Ordinarily I would be freaking out about it but I have enough information that I keep the panic to a dull roar. Meanwhile, my parents are doing a little antsy dance as the date draws nearer. Everything I think will work out though in the end.

Hark, is that a phone call from egypt and its free? Especially thanks to skype, I can talk fo' free. Although, I am like that anyway, I always look for the cheap deal. Really can bug some pepole though. Threatens their sensible consumerism.

Or I can go back to my egypt rant. For it is only through perserverance that my trip will be a success.

Should touch down in cairo international airport in january. Unlike here, there will be warm temperatures in cairo. Randi's tales of her adventures in russia have only increased my longing for the sandy streets of eldritch egypt. Vocifierous my cries of joy will be when I step foot upon its crumbling cobblestones! Indeed my happiness will be unmatched. Verily though, I will undoubtedly pine for my home in the american suburbs. Intestinal fotitude I must have. Never fear, I seem to be turning into yoda here. Good...the force is strong with this one.

Gadzooks! Run! Everything is clear now! Eyes have been opened! Now the time has come!

To travel to egypt will be super awesome!!! When I get there I'll call you, except for that random guy who stumbled upon my blog last week and is now stalking me. No, I won't call you, sorry.

Negative Energy

Not going to blog much today. I worry about the negative energy in the world; its gets me down. I see it alot on youtube comments. That's actually where I just was http://www.youtube.com/. I feel it clouding my soul and discoloring my energy. How do I clear it up?

What a random place to find it, and what a random thing to talk about.

by the way, Merry Christmas. Try to be thankful for what you have and pray for those who are without.

Childhood Obesity

We have an epidemic here in the US according to many people. It is that of childhood obesity. Lots of reports say that it is on the rise and it is. There is a scary process going around right now, according to new data gathered that parents think there obese children are at a normal weight. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22391071/

This is frightening in more ways then one. Parents are the ones who are saying this, parents are the ones buying their kids unhealthy food, parents are the ones buying video games. However, they are not totally to blame, the kids themselves should be faulted for not getting up and playing outside. There is plenty of blame to go around for this epidemic and people are just unwilling to actually say what might be the cause. In being too politically correct, we lose sight of the ability to change what needs to be changed. Instead of playing the blame game, people need to say, okay I contributed to this for my child how do I change, how do I change what he does, how do I change what others do to him.

It is possible to change. First it starts at home, buy healthier foods. No more processed junk as good as those rice krispie treats and candy bars are (don't worry I love them too). I say take away the video games or enforce a limit. I had this limit placed on me when I was little too, playing that ancient N64, and I hated it; but it was good for me anyway.

Next I say go after the schools. Get them to get rid of vending machines. My university doesn't sell gum because the president doesn't want gum on the sidewalks. You learn to do without. Also, there needs to be healthier foods at the cafeteria, so people can't just buy french fries. I am glad they got rid of soda in the cafeteria in my high school. It forces you to drink something else.

There are many more things to be done, and I will let you think of more. But don't think I want a world of supermodels and bodybuilders. That would be horrible. I want healthy people. Mentally and physically, when you don't accept a problem you can't even begin to think of a successful treatment. Let's start seriously talking about it; it's happening so why not act. Many many many band aids will not heal a wound that needs to be stitched.

blog

Firefly FanFic

Dear Blog,

Today I discovered the most amazing thing: fan fiction. I might as well come out of the closet and admit, I am a huge fan of Firefly. Ok, it's out. For those of you perceptive enough, or just know me, you recognize the title of my blog as that.

I have come to the slow and painful realization that there may not be anymore Firefly/Serenity production. There is always hope, I read rumors of a Serenity 2 or a straight to TV movie and I get excited. But today I have discovered a way that the 'verse has stayed around. It is through fan fiction. I am an avid reader and willingly create the stories that I read in my mind. And to my joy, there are lots of stories, in fact I even have a secret desire to write my own, just to do my part to keep it going.

So far most of the fanfic I have read has been good, but it has only been from one author. I know there is a lot of junk out there, a lot of dirty material, and a lot of gems in the rough. Those gems are what I am seeking. I honestly have no desire to read the erotic in the Firefly universe; I don't really want that floating around in my brain. To me it would stray to far from the path that Joss Whedon intended, but hey its the Internet.

All I know is that right now, I am a very happy camper. The sight I have been reading from which has provided some good material and interesting stories is http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/6013/fireflyfic.htm. Nicole Clevenger, whomever you are, I like your style of writing. You manage to focus in of the details and keep the story going at the same time. Thank you for showing me some good fanfic. Well back to reading.

Can't stop the signal.

3:11 a.m.

Humans are active during the day; it is an evolutionary to keep our deepest fears, regrets, and terrors manageable when we can be supported by light. I found out this experience last night, just how vulnerable one can be in the early hours of the morning.

Almost all religions and belief systems use light imagery; heck, every movie usually alludes to it in some way. We are beings of the sun regardless of the details of how we manifest this praise. Night, though, is not an enemy; it is just different. I enjoy the night on many occasions, but as it is not our natural state it is harder. Your mind can take over, overwhelm you, and punish you. This can happen in the daytime but it is magnified by the dark.

I pray for balance because it makes us strongest as there is light and dark in each one of us.

I am Legend plus Blog Thoughts

For the first part of tonight's performance I will review the movie I Am Legend. I watched this movie tonight with friends and family and thought it was pretty darn good.

Will Smith stars in this movie about his struggle to survive in New York City alone for three years after the island had been quarantined. He is free to move around in daylight but the darkness is his enemy. The year is 2012; three years earlier a woman discovered a cure for cancer which then began mutating. It killed a lot of people and caused others to become extremely violent but averse to UV light. They are called dark seekers. Will Smith is a military scientist named Robert Neville who stayed behind to try and discover a cure for the airborne and physically transmitted virus. He is aided by his loyal hound Samantha.

These two live day to day. Neville has a system which keeps him sane. He wakes up after sunrise, works out, performs tests in his lab, goes to a dock to wait for anyone to show up (he broadcasts his location on the AM radio), and then when it is getting dark he gets back to his nicely furnished house shuts all the windows with metal plating and goes to sleep. This would make only for a mildly exciting movie if not for the twists thrown in.

Director Francis Lawrence adds in plenty of encounters with the dark seekers as they are known which make for a few heart pounding moments. Neville thinks he is all alone in the world because the virus spread outside of the quarantine all over the world; this belief holds true until Anna (Alice Braga) and Ethan (Charlie Tahan) show up and rescue him from a grief induced suicidal attack on the dark seekers.

This is when it gets ugly; the dark seekers tracked them to their house, apparently led by one individual, some cool explosions and fighting ensue and then the movie ends. Just kidding. I don't want to tell anymore because I will ruin the movie, although I know Gaby could figure it out.

The big meaning that I took out of it, which Zombie-type movies don't usually have, came through the Will Smith. He and the director did a good job in illustrating the devastating effects of isolation. They showed that it played with the mind (Neville yelling at mannequins) and affected how you interacted with people. Overall, what really came through was the need people have for other people, which didn't get lost in the terror.

Overall, for a zombie-esque film, it was good. Apparently it is based off a book, which I have not read, yet. But it has all the elements necessary to make a great zombie flick. Terror, suspense, pop up scary, a hero, and a good ending (like a lot of good generic movie qualifications). I liked that the two lead female characters didn't get together and that Lawrence did not rely on gore to make it scary, though it does have its place (Dawn of the Dead). My only criticism of the film is that the CG was not the greatest; as a person used to the cutting edge in movies, it was different to see them similar to the mummy in The Mummy. But, I didn't let it get to me, they were still able to be very scary.

Grade: A-
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/
http://iamlegend.warnerbros.com/

Part II is analysis of blogging. In continuing my study of blogs, I have found that they really lend themselves to personal journaling and gratification. I guess it feels good to talk about one's self and to put it for others to see. I never thought I would follow that track. It is also really hard to escape that path and maybe I just haven't tried hard enough. I guess I am okay with talking about my personal life. A lot of other people do it as well; maybe it helps that no one reads it.

Also, since it is not routine, I think the novelty is wearing off. I kind of had to tell myself to write this blog, to keep up the research and such. Maybe it is just because I am tired tonight, but we will see.

I think I just have to get used to doing this blogging activity. I hopefully will get more comfortable with a writing style and with talking about my personal life or other things. Also, I may experiment to see if I can increase my readership. I may actually have to talk about things more important than movies. But I will probably want to save that for later, as I get used to just blogging regularly, settle into my role as a blogger, and learn the cultural scripts necessary to do this activity comfortably. I should try to guide my blogs in the discussion of more important topics (but to whom?) in an effort to see how that feels. This is what many of the Iranian blogs do, but as before I still need to be comfortable being a blogger. (It's funny, as I write I hear a naration like they do in the movies when a character reads a letter.)

Don't be afraid of the dark.

Dedicated to Trish, Gabby, and Taleh Part I

Darn, I missed a day. I got too distracted by hanging with girls, watching George Lopez, and oh yes, Denzel Washington.

Today=day. I finished the semester, all work complete, and hopefully all work done well. I went home, unpacked, and hung out with my family. Ok, end of personal stuff, that you really don't need to know anyway.

I am posting on the awesomeness of these women. When I first moved on to my floor this semester, I met three girls named Trish, Gaby, and Taleh (names changed to protect the guilty) They are great people.

Trish has the amazing ability to imitate many accents. I tried for a while then gave up on imitation much to the amusement of them as I struggled to pronounce kettle karn. She also makes darn good food. Gumby is just goofy, and able to put a smile on anyone's face. You will not find a more amazing photographer than her, in the world, seriously.

When I first met Gaby, I realized how funny she is, and I was totally surprised because I had not known her before (not the Biblical sense). She is now very much a convert to Firefly for which all fans should be grateful as every one of them counts. She also shares my love for Denzel. (yes we are on a first name basis)

Taleh is a giggler, I like hearing her laugh. She really hates marriage too. As her stretching partner, I was able to spend some quality time with her almost every night for a while limbering up and conversing. She is very graceful and her performances make me wish I could do Aikido as gracefully as she does dance.

I have been fortunate enough to get to know these three girls this semester, and really just being able to hang out with them was just great. I will miss there shining personalities and quirks some thousands of miles away next semester. Part I indicates Part II unless your Mel Brooks, so I will post again a dedication when I am missing them dearly while in another world.

Darn didn't get away from the personal yet. (Gaby promise fulfilled)

Blogs away! and the completion of my paper

The paper is finished. I created an interdisciplinary answer to my question about the effects of the explosion of Iran youths blogging and now I have moved on to another paper this time covering the reservations of Charles Lyell in accepting evolution. Make note, I am going to bed at a civilized time tonight, but I predict another all-nighter tomorrow as I frantically finish this last paper of mine for the semester.

I want to give a brief summary of my INDS paper and continue the analysis of the experience of blogging. I found after reading the literature and reading some blog entries that the effects of blogging for Iranian youth will be thus: there will be social change in Iran and it will be caused in part by blogging, but it will be a reformist change and not a revolutionary change. I believe that social liberalization will occur as the flow of information continues to and from Iran. I think significant change is in store for Iranian women as they are able to express themselves more, albeit on-line currently, and are able to discuss taboo topics. Also, the mixed gendered interactions taking place, facilitated by blogging, will inevitably bring change as the youth in Iran (point of clarification-this refers to those 15-35 as they make up 40% of the country, a very high number) circumvent the traditional segregationist policies of the regime. I believe these changes will occur because the government will allow them to occur. They will stay in power to through liberalization.

The above discussion is based on five major disciplines that I encountered: anthropology, sociology, religion, technology, and political science. I found that the discipline of anthropology and specifically the theory of studying cultural scripts interconnected all of the disciplines. Cultural scripts ultimately reflect identity as the template a person chooses (a cultural script for those who don't know) depends on how they perceive their identity, how they perceive the other persons identity, and how they think the other person perceive s their identity. Each of the disciplines and theories from those disciplines that I used in examining this issue was able to be interconnected with the use of cultural scripts. Interactions in society take place on an individual level, group level, governmental level, and so on. The information one has on another affects which cultural script one chooses and the flow of information changes these cultural scripts. One important thing to keep in mind is that all these identities created and interactions between people in Iran need to be contextualized with the realization that they are made in a theocracy where government and religion are one unit. Also, one must keep in mind that all technology brings change, but it preserves continuity as the technology is co-opted into mainstream society. This is illustrated in Iran through the the grand ayatollahs creating blogs and using the Internet to export their ideology.

Bottom line, blogging brings opportunity for change by creating what is an essentially an identity crisis. Blogs change cultural scripts which equals identity which equals change in identity.

This is my paper and I think I argued it a little more gracefully than what I just did but this is the gist of it.


For each of my blogs, I feel hypersensitive to whom I am writing as well as for what purpose. This feeling has not gone away yet, and I wonder if it ever will. I have found that my writing kind of flows with a stream of consciousness colloquial oral discussion bent. It is less formal than paper writing but not choppy like text messages. I also write knowing that nobody I don't think reads this but that there is a potential to for billions of people to read it (but that will never happen, and I don't want it to) I still struggle against my own notion of expressing what I feel for others to see, especially those I don't know. I also don't want to come across as a self absorbed person who thinks that everyone wants to know the intimate details of my life. I think blogging can make it easy to fall into that trap.

But most of all and most surprising, I like to blog. Perhaps it is still novel, but I actually look foreword to blogging each night. We will see how that goes, thanks for reading (am I talking to myself?)

P.S. I am going to try to blog in Arabic when I get done with school, and I wish I knew Farsi so I could use it too.

All-Nighter...Again

blog, blog, blog

This post is meant for yesterday, but as I worked all night I didn't get a chance to post until now. The paper is done and soon I will sleep.

More blog later, because I want to analyze more of blogging and my personal experiences with it through a blog. haha.

zzzz....

Who blogs for whom and why?

It is 3:18 again, about the same time I posted last night. I must say the nocturnal schedule is quite effective if you need to be alone without the distractions of sunlight, friends, or get togethers. Your only enemy is yourself as your body fights for sleep.

I have made progress on my interdisciplinary studies paper; I may even come up with a solution tomorrow when I finish the paper. So far my question has evolved to How will the explosion of blogging effect the the social lives and traditions of the Iranian youth. By youth, I am referring to the ages between 15-35. Our class is using Allen Repko's interdisciplinary steps from his book Interdisciplinary Practice. A most exciting book let me assure you.

This topic, fortunately, is so interesting to me. I am fascinated by the country, its people, and place in history. It is so frustrating because I know so little and feel the need to know so much more in order to be as accurate as possible. It bothers me that people make pronouncements when they know so little but act as if they don't.

The experience of blogging is different. I have never seriously kept a journal except to record what I did on trips, so this self writing can be difficult at times. I also write knowing that this is going out on the web for anyone to read. I am not worried about anyone collecting my personal information because I am not an idiot and I won't put it on here but my audience is simultaneously myself, my best friend, my family, and any other stranger who has access to the Internet and the desire to actually know what is going on in my life and what I think. How does that even begin to affect what you say and how you write. I also write under the reality that this blog will probably never really read by anyone else and I am okay with that. In my research, I read that for bloggers, power comes from getting a lot of regular readers and fame in the blogoshpere. I am still asking if that is what I want; I am by nature a private person but I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone to do this blog. (I told myself I would never keep a blog or anything) But all in the name of research, right?

Well, I realized that all I have talked about is myself, maybe that will change next time, maybe not.

Hello Big World

Well, this is my first shot at blogging, I can't really tell you what I am expecting. I don't know what I will write or who I am writing to? I am not sure if it matters anyway.



This idea to blog started about two hours ago as I am working on my final Interdisciplinary studies paper. I am studying the social effects of the explosion of Iranian youth choosing to blog within the past couple of years. One of my disciplines I am using to approach this subject is anthropology and this discipline advocates field work. This is my field work for this paper; it is nicely interdisciplinary. I was also insipred by the work of Hossein Derakhshan who started the Iranian blog phenomenon. http://hoder.com/weblog/ I was amazed at the amount of writing that goes into these blogs, the prolific nature of them really speaks, to me at least, of their power or potential power.



Not really sure what else to say right now, except that I expect this blog (if I keep at it) to end up going somewhere and changing me. Blogging has changed so many people's lives I am excited to see what it will do for me (in my approach to my paper as well as in my personal life).