New episodes of the Brak Show starting October 3rd. Yeah buddy!
posted by Sho | 12:04 AM |
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Somebody help me!
My professor is a communist and he's trying to brainwash the whole class. I once tried to defend a fee-based system like a gas tax (you know, have people who use cars pay a tax to pay for roads) and he totally smacked me down and talked for ten minutes about the evils of the trucking industry. Basically, he loves big government and hates George W. Bush. I do agree with a lot of socialist ideals, but I don't think government exists without faults (look at the DMV; you know that place would run faster if it were run like a business.)
Ah well, only 2 more days of class to go. Four credits in five days is worth enduring socialist ideaology with no room for my own thoughts (especially since my thoughts run counter to his).
posted by Sho | 1:04 AM |
If you doubt that they could do a good job with the movie, check out this short movie that a couple of talented people made. If you go to the website advertised on the clip, you can see how the animators made the movie.
posted by Sho | 3:52 PM |
Thursday, June 05, 2003
Takers and Leavers
Heh, I think it would be great if all of us read 'Ishmael' and got together to talk about it. And those of us who have already read the book should read it again. Sam, I'll have to borrow 'My Ishmael' from you before you leave, but right now I'm trying to read two books at the same time.
I had the damnedest time trying to explain the ideas from Ishmael to a group of Commentator guys over drinks last week. I didn't mention that I had pulled my ideas from the book, and maybe I should have, but nonetheless it was very hard to try to get them to accept my ideas. Or, if they did see things my way, they didn't really like what I saw. Note that I was talking to a mixed group of conservatives, libertarians and a really smart liberal.
All of them liked the benefits of modern civilization such as electricity, medicine and a surplus of food. I argued that a family living in a hunter/gatherer society would be 'happier' than a family living in a trailer home. They pointed out that I had never lived in such a society and therefore have no frame of reference of what life is like in a tribe. I explained that they were being raised in a society that viewed hunter/gatherer life as one that was filled with turmoil and hardship and therefore could not correctly judge how life was in that kind of society. I also pointed out that things such as suicide, drug abuse, and mental illness did not occur in tribal societies. They noted that record-keeping of illnesses in tribal societies scarce and therefore I could not prove that there were lower instances of those societal problems.
We basically came to an impasse, with one of my friends indisbelief that I held this kind of view and with me feeling a little outnumbered and a little frustrated. Of course, we all had a few more drinks and were quickly back to being chums again.
Anyway, what I am kind of getting to is that I have found it rather difficult to talk to many people about the ideas in 'Ishmael' without being considered unrealistic. I was wondering if anyone else who has read 'Ishmael' have encountered similar difficulties. Sam, we should get together soon and talk about the book. I must speak and seek refuge with similar minded folk!
Film Stuff The American Film Institute has published its list of the Top 100 Movie Heroes and Villains. I can't believe that Atticus Finch got first place. It is also a shame that 'The Professional' was a French film, because Leon deserves to be in the Top 100.
Lastly... Sam, if you have problems trying to make a link on a Mac, then type this:
Huzzah, Sam's here! When she asked me to put her on the Wazeth blog, I was suprised because I thought that no one was particularly interested in it except for Cassie and me. However, because Sam is usually a busy, busy person she didn't have much time for blogging. Besides, there's always the e-mail list, but this website seems so much snazzier to me. Anyway, hooray for Sam! I hope you continue to post things to the blog.
In other news, I have a new job! I was accepted for a news reporter position at the Oregon Daily Emerald, the daily campus newspaper at the University of Oregon. This is a pretty good opportunity for me as the experience I gain at the Emerald will definitely give me a better chance at getting a job at a decent city newspaper. The Commentator guys have been pretty supportive of me as they understand I need daily newspaper experience in order to get the kinds of jobs that I want. I will miss working for the OC, but I'll continue hanging around the office and drinking with the guys. Now, not only will I be a news reporter at the Emerald, but I will also be the senior city/state politics reporter. This means that all of the less experienced reporters will come to me for any help and that I'll get a slightly bigger paycheck. Kick ass.
I will probably quit my job at the computer lab as I will be working around 20 hours a week at the paper. I will also be going to class during the summer and doing a little bit of freelance work for the Emerald as the job doesn't officially begin until fall term. I'm pretty excited about all this and I hope that it will turn out to be a good experience.
In other, other news, I hate pollen.
posted by Sho | 3:21 PM |
