AlterNet: The Foreign Language of Choice

I think George Lakoff's a brilliant man. He has tremendous insight into the way language shapes the way we comprehend the world. In a way it's a bit like Marshall Mcluhan's 'the media is the message.' Any real changes that are to take place in our current political circumstance will have to account for the way language plays such an important role. There, I did it too. "Language plays such an important role." I'm using the metaphor of acting and a play to convey a particular idea. Strange.

I read Lakoff's "Metaphors We Live By" for an anthropology class as an undergrad--thanks Dr. Mueggler. Lakoff has recently written Don't Think of an Elephant It's sort of a progressive manifesto for communicating our ideas and values to the populace.

so i've been heading over to the the blue room website on a pretty regular basis to download recent shows. rob debank's on saturday mornings while chris coco is on sunday mornings. very cool. i like to record and then throw it onto my ipod.

i've now got a way to see how often my site is viewed, etc, so maybe if i post here a bit more often it'll translate into more pageviews.

sorry everything on here's so boring right now. it's just sort of a experimental space for me to get my shit together. i'll also be looking into uploading images and audio soon.

so um

now i have a widget that allows me to post directly to my blog. cool.

so i've made the switch.

to a mac that is.

and now i'm in the process of getting all of my dashboard widgets up and running.

i just got a nice little one that shows me the number of new messages in my gmail inbox.

and now i'm looking into adsense (not like anyone reads this)

so i have my doppler radar and my reversi and my network connections and my dictionary.

so handy.

so this is when i think things change.

now that i have a new laptop i will be able to post to this weblog so much more. yes yes. still, no one is reading this but me.

maybe that will change.

from now on i'll be trying to link to and write about various topics that i find curious.

i've been getting into the podcast thing a lot lately.

i listen mostly to bbc and npr shows (on the media, etc) and mac podcasts.

i've also figured out how to record streaming audio radio shows so i can listen to them on the ride into oakland.
v. cool.

i want to create a car ribbon magnet (i'm not sure what color) that says "this is not a ribbon" on it. sorta metaphysical i think. maybe i'm trying too hard.

freethinking topics of interest

the middle east
economic development
postmodernism
kings of convenience
postal service
the breakout principle
meditation
springtime
bicycles
punks
balancing sustainability and ambition
wireless technology
cellphones in the lesser developed world
opensource
yes yes
meetings
papers
internships
trade and finance
goodbye

march twenty-third two thousand and five.

we live in a world of specialization. the mere act of gaining knowledge forces one to limit their outlook. a necessity really. how to balance in depth knowledge of a particular topic or field while maintain a holistic perspective of outlying perspective. that is the challenge.

i think about postmodernism sometimes.

a postmodern boy in a modern world maybe.
is the US still modern? some things i read tell me so. and american's seem blind to potential postmodern perspectives and concepts. it's kinda nice in a way. things out there that seem so obvious that some can't see.

spring is upon us. hopefully. and with it rebirth and renewal. spring cleaning of the mind and the body. maybe seasonal affective disorder applies to all the seasons we just tend to apply it to winter because that's when we feel crummy.

enough.

i've been saying this all along...

A Milli Vanilli President

Stacey Dominici voices her opinion during a protest Sunday at the Springdale Borough Police Department. The protest centered around the arrests of three teens and a man Friday after Springdale’s football game.
STEVEN DIETZ, contributing photographer
courtesy of the Valley News Dispatch
 

guys run road in Harmar, Allegheny County 

tarentum in the flood two weeks ago 

they just don't make them like they used to 

springdale! 

a little place we call home

did i tell you i've started a company.
springdale supplements est. 2004
it's a good idea i think.
i hope other people think so too.

all i need to know in life i learned from what about bob.
babysteps.
i hope at least.
i've been spending the past three days working on a midterm essay for a human rights course i am taking.
it's all a bit tedeous right now.
slowly but surely.
what a lame post this is.
certainly there must be something more interesting to write about than the mundane goings on of my academic life.
there's elections to be held (afghanistan holds their first one this saturday oy!) and all sorts of important newsworthy things to consider.
but that all takes a back seat when you've got a paper nagging at you.
computer labs are a peculiar place.
to think, they never existed until a decade or two ago.
nowadays their a mainstay of the typical college student.
all those cathode rays and printer fumes and fluorescent lights and electric clickings.
kinda drives you bonkers after a while.
i want a computer lab in the forest.
with waterproof screens and keyboards.
and raindrops and earthy smells.
and peace and quiet.
maybe some birds chirping or something.
real birds too. not fake ones.
that'd be kinda nice.
baby steps/

sometimes i think the habits of your life are like heartbeats.
pulsating slowly at first and then faster and faster until it becomes a part of who you are, your being.
take writing for instance. you don't just go from being a complete non-writer to suddenly creating extensive thoughtful prose. it takes time.
i write on here sporadically. my society tells me i should feel bad for the things that i plan on doing but never accomplish.
it appears your better off not hoping to do anything at all so you're not let down when you fail to follow through.
i think that's a crock o' shit really.
how else can we become what it is we dream off if we don't venture to dream a little.
so create a weblog. a space where only i write.
a connection to this vast world around me that is my own.
no censors here. what i feel like writing about is what is written.
no deadlines, no proofreaders.
and i enjoy it.
but for some reason i'll stop for extended periods of time. nearly forget about this space entirely.
and then i return.
i look for an outlet in my life that allows me to share my perspective with others.
and that's what i'm learning as a writer. that ultimately it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about the words you write.
you were never really writing for them in the first place.
so there's some brain droppings for you.
maybe the beat of this aspect of my life will slowly increase.
as i'm exposed to more ideas, more ways of life, i'll be able to understand things just a little bit better.
so yes.

phew been a while.