January 2012
1 post
1 tag
“Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by...”
– William Faulkner, Nobel Prize for Literature Speech
November 2011
1 post
1 tag
Why Applying to College Sucks
As winter creeps upon us(Snow in October?), I finally feel a great sense of relief. A process that took me a great number of weeks has finally ended: I have officially applied to college. Indeed, many people still feel anxious, nervous, and just plain sick even after their apps have been submitted. They will sit, waiting for that letter to arrive telling that they have gotten in to...
August 2011
1 post
2 tags
The Catharsis of Writing
There were many times over these past few weeks when I realized I hadn’t written anything in quite some time. I suppose being too wrapped up in my own personal affairs and “busy” lifestyle had me give up on writing for a while. Yet, each period in which I have ceased this activity has been filled with mostly bleak days without that wonderful satisfaction one gets after completing a paragraph,...
April 2011
2 posts
7 tags
Surviving "Hell Week"
I don’t think I ever really knew what it was like to be “busy” until this past week. Typically, I would hear this term, think for a moment, and then assume that whoever was saying that they were “so busy”, was probably just exaggerating. I still stand by this belief for some people who like to moan about having a lot of work, but more and more I’m starting to realize that people really are...
2 tags
March 2011
1 post
February 2011
1 post
5 tags
A Tale of Ignorance & Deceit: Thoughts and...
A little less than a week ago, the local Board of Education decided that three specialized programs—IT, Communications, and Theatre Arts—were no longer worth keeping around. *They justified this decision by asserting that the enrollment numbers in the programs did not sufficiently meet what the the Board considered acceptable. Students currently enrolled in the programs have been...
January 2011
2 posts
4 tags
A Practical Appreciation of Theatre
A lot of people I talk to squawk at the fact that I enjoy theatre. It’s not an uncommon thing to encounter someone who views theatre as a meaningless, and perhaps boring endeavor. Most people of my ilk—those who act or assist in production—take great offense to harsh views like these. Indeed, it is very understandable that an actor—a person who takes the craft very...
5 tags
The NPR Debacle: Rep. Lamborn and Cantor Promote...
In Washington, a slimy Republican representative named Doug Lamborn from Colorado is using legislation to push his own partisan agenda. United States House of Representatives bill H.R.68 “To amend the communications Act of 1934 to Prohibit Federal Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting after fiscal year 2013” is a dishonest attempt to cripple one of the country’s most...
December 2010
3 posts
6 tags
The Devolution of Privacy
The idea that all humans are entitled to privacy (defined in a variety of ways) seems to be an axiomatic truth accepted by nearly all institutions and societies. The definition, seemingly simple, is actually quite complex. Each person seems to have his or her own definition as to what constitutes privacy. We have seen the definition itself evolve over the years. In the United States, privacy was...
4 tags
Al Franken's Views on Net Neutrality
Al Franken, the former comedian and now U.S senator, wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the issue of Net Neutrality, calling it “…the most important free speech issue of our time..” Reading through the article, I started to realize just how correct Mr. Franken is. He is clearly not part of the “Good Old Boys” club in Washington, which gives me much more...
6 tags
What would happen if Wikipedia went away?
Earlier tonight, I decided to pose a question to my followers on twitter. The question was this : What would happen if Wikipedia went away? I thought of this question chiefly because of the recent aggressive donation campaign launched by Wikipedia. The image of Jimmy Wales’ mug graces each and every page. How wonderful. In any event, my friend who goes by cynicalbrit94 on twitter...
November 2010
2 posts
2 tags
Fellini
As of late, I have been watching many Fellini movies. I suppose I got interested in Fellini after I had exhausted my interest in Stanley Kubrick some months back. My first experience with the Italian director occurred after I watched the film 8 1/2, which I discovered through one of Roger Ebert’s reviews. Centered around the semi-autobiographical story of a struggling director, this...
2 tags
October 2010
2 posts
2 tags
Thoughts on the Tea Party
Just a few days ago, the local chapter of JSA at my high school decided to run a semi-informal debate about the Tea Party. Out of the 5 or so students present, only one(quite grudgingly) volunteered to defend this “grassroots” movement. Opposition to the party—somewhere close to what one might call “bashing”—seemed to arouse much more of a response from the other...
7 tags
Criminalization of the Modern Day Student
It is truly a sad day when many have become so grossly complacent and gleeful when it comes to getting unjustly flogged. Students in these times do not seem to mind having many of their fundamental rights taken away, and only seem casually concerned about being treated as if they were pedophiles locked up in a maximum security prison. After all, this is what the modern high school has turned...
7 tags
P.G. Wodehouse
It’s often fun to think back to the person who first turned you on to a life long passion. Most people cite their parents as the source of common hobbies like baseball or soccer, but sometimes we stumble upon things on our own ; a sort of serendipitous experience that blossoms into one of the most fantastic human emotions—passion. In my case, this life long passion was started after I read...
August 2010
5 posts
4 tags
Posterity?
It could just be my failure to understand the importance of others in terms of posterity, but do we ever stop and ask ourselves if we spend too much time creating nifty archives? Sure, my stuff that I post here should indeed be lost, in fact, it should be magically deleted one day. Others should not have to endure the pain of my hastily crafted prose. But what about people like Dave Winer? I know...
3 tags
Qualms with Google Chrome Themes
The theme situation with Google Chrome baffled me from the very beginning. Nearly every theme available breaks every basic rule of UI design, which is the reason I choose to stick with the default skin for the application. To get an idea of what I mean, take the theme designed by Google titled ” Greyscale”. Now, this is a simple, and very basic theme, but it still has many problems....
3 tags
The Joy (and Torture) of Going Back
These last few weeks I have had the image of two primordial men drawing on an ancient cave wall with a piece of slate, counting down to the day school fires up again, stuck in my head. It is a bizarre, abnormal, and what some may call crazy way to look at things. Optimism, in my case, is almost based solely upon the fact that in a little less than two weeks, I will be walking through the halls...
4 tags
Roger Ebert on Christopher Hitchens →
In the midst of Christopher Hitchens’ “battle” with cancer (he hates the term “battle, by the way), Roger Ebert once again posted a fascinating piece on his blog, Roger Ebert’s Journal. He explores Hitchens’ condition, and adds his own commentary about the ultimate question in life. Here is a brief excerpt from the piece, be sure to read the complete text by...
4 tags
Putting a Price Tag on a Pelican(NPR: Planet... →
When there is not actual market for something, and it is not a traditional material item(i.e. toilet paper), how does one determine the price? Saying something is priceless, or affectively worth an infinite amount of money, equates to the same as saying it is worth zero dollars in the finance world. Once again, Planet Money does a fine job of explaining this seemingly complicated stuff.
July 2010
6 posts
6 tags
Maine Trip July 2010-Mr. Henry David Thoreau, I...
Coming to you from the sweatshop producing these posts, here it is:
Maine 2010: starring Steven P.
I set out for Maine with a very pathetic amount of knowledge on hand. In fact, there were only two pieces of information that I had acquired since I had learned I was traveling to the state where many a local will proudly remark that in Maine, there are more trees than people. Secondly, I knew...
2 tags
The Proper Way to Enjoy Literature(IMHO)
I get the fact that every person is unique, and has their own way of doing seemingly routine and everyday things, but why such a great disparity? This seems to be especially apparent in the ways that people read a fine book(or a not so fine one), and I’m not totally sure what to make of it. My idea of the proper way to sit down and read a book is the digestion method, as I have decided to call...
3 tags
Gogol Bordello: Thoughts
When I first heard about Gogol Bordello, I must have laughed for a solid five minutes. It was nearly impossible for me to take a band that proudly called themselves “Gypsy Punks”, seriously. I’d first heard there very famous party song “ Start Wearing Purple” when I attended the annual Cabaret Night at my High School. This evening is a presentation of a variety of music, ranging from Jazz to...
The iHand →
Already pre-ordered three of them. I go the Asian, Indian, and Kermit. Do they sell cases for the iHand? I don’t want to get it scratched.
1 tag
Musing: Short Story Writing
Writing a “short-story” is regarded by many to be a noble and valiant activity that may be worthwhile. Yet, many a times the author much prefers discussing the idea, rather than actually getting any work done. Yup, remember that unemployed guy next to you…he’s actually a struggling author. He’s got a fine idea for a short story…heck it may even turn in to a...
The Morning Constitutional
I think it must have been sometime after watching one of Andy Ihnatko’s videos on youtube that I became familiar and somewhat fascinated with the concept of a “morning constitutional”. The lofty title describes a simple activity that does actually seem like a routine of past presidents ; a simple morning walk that is usually modest in intensity. For me, in my zany way, the...
June 2010
4 posts
Back to School(Well, not really).
It turns out that what students call “the last day of school” and what teachers call “the last day of school” are two completely different things. Yes, one may be correct in calling this past Tuesday the last day of conventional school, but teachers and administrative staff carried on until this Friday, eagerly awaiting their well-deserved pay checks. I found myself back in...
Advice on Becoming a Writer from the Best →
I first discovered Jerry Pournelle through Leo Laporte’s TWIT podcast, and have marveled over the prolific author ever since. His Chaos Manor column is among one of my favorite technology columns, and manages to make me love the craft of writing even more.
While poking around on his website, the original “blog”, I found a rather fascinating piece that discussed how to become a...
A New Fantastic Anti-Depression Medication
Introducing a new fantastic drug to treat depression: Alcohol ! Used by such notables as Eugene O’Neill, the famed playwright, Truman Capote, and even The Kennedy’s. Show your liver who is boss, don’t let it be so healthy and snobby all the time.
2 tags
The Title Says it all
There are times in life when I feel like a title, an official moniker of some sort, is more lust after than the actual salary increase or responsibilities that come with it. I guess I started to draw this conclusion after I became the ” Managing Editor” of my school newspaper, which I had mixed feelings about. That is, I had mixed feelings about walking around calling myself that...
May 2010
6 posts
2 tags
4 tags
A Search For Hipsters Or, Teenage Conformity in...
I went to the mall with the anticipation of learning something about the youth of America. The youth in question were people in my age group who seemed to be all hopped up on the latest fashion trends, fads, gossip, and all of the general filth that now pollutes the television set. Nonetheless, I ventured off to the Garden State Plaza on a journalistic mission to accurately report and analyze all...
“They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings ;...”
– Bob Dylan, “Sweetheart Like You”, Infidels
2 tags
Scenes from UNA-USA (Day 1)
I don’t intend on being vile, but the start of my UNA-USA experience was in the men’s bathroom at school. Small puddles of what very well may have been urine served as a carpet to the plaque covered tile floor. I sort of felt like a cocaine-addicted businessman trying to get dressed for that big important meeting with the big whigs who carried around those expensive pens.
...
4 tags
My Apologies--Update on things
I think at some point, every person who runs a blog, or a pseudo-blog, like the one we have here, will write a post explaining why they have stopped posting. I’ve always thought of it as being a lame practice, but now here I am writing one.
The main reason I’ve stopped posting is because I have been swamped with work in recent weeks, and I’ve tried my very best, like that...
4 tags
“It is only in his work that an artist can find reality and satisfaction, for the...”
– Tennessee Williams
April 2010
11 posts
2 tags
“There are seven masters in Leamy’s National School and they all have...”
– An excerpt from Frank McCourt’s “Angela’s Ashes” (80)
3 tags
2 tags
Wait...what? I thought we had something.
Hey, I’m Married to You on Facebook
I hate how I always have to sound like an old geezer whenever I try and express my thoughts, but I need to rant. This time it’s about the silly little game of fake marriage on Facebook ; it’s something that I have almost participated in, but mainly for VERY self-serving reasons. It seems clear that many a times the “fake...
The Most Expensive Lens I've Ever Come Across →
A specialty Canon 1200mm lens that cost $89,579
3 tags
“You came to me this morning
And you handled me like meat.
You´d have to live...”
– Leonard Cohen, A Thousand Kisses Deep
2 tags
Social Groups: Everyone's a scrub
In the 60’s, Bob Dylan pissed a lot of people off because he refused to be labeled a “Protest Singer” and wanted to break away from the traditional folk scene. The same sort of thing happens in social situations in life.
Let me explain:
There are a lot of times when I wonder what causes a certain group of people to always do things together. We’d all like to think it is...
Confessions of a Recovering Apple Zealot: What the...
There was a time in my life when I proudly wore the crown of “Apple Zealot”; it was a culture that appealed to me greatly, and I tried to assimilate into it as best I could. But when I started looking at things from a more holistic level, realizing the detriments of zealotry, I decided to come to my senses. Not to the extent that I renounced association with that community entirely,...
March 2010
17 posts
