The Storie
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
on the night of Obama's inauguration, my friend Brian and I walked through the glowing monuments of the mall and stood at the feet of Lincoln.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
today's the day, motherfuckers!
Monday, January 19, 2009
right now I've got a shirt on my lap. My Obama '08 shirt. I bought this from the online Obama store, in February 2007, for $20.08, pretty shortly after he declared his candidacy.
Damn, it's been almost two years now. I've been waiting for this moment for two years. And in a way, ever since his astonishing speech at the 2004 convention, I've been waiting a little over four years. And as a savior and a hero to the causes I care about, I've been waiting six years, eight years.
Right after he won Iowa, back when it was so, extremely unclear how things would shake out, back when Hillary was still the huge favorite- I remember taking a walk in my backyard in Texas (home for winter break) and just thinking, "damn, President Obama… that would be the absolute highlight of my lifetime, as a person who cares about politics."
we're here, man. We're fucking here.
We Are Fucking Here.
and one of the reasons why I loved and argued and campaigned for Obama, over Hillary- the feeling that this is a man that the Entire country would rally behind, that he was the true uniter and true page turner when we needed one. And in the polls that are coming out- that he is resoundingly liked and trusted, and people are willing to give him time to turn it around- damn, man. It's so crazy to think that Anybody besides him could've been President. As terrible as the global, national situation is- we are so fucking blessed to have this man in power right now.
A shirt I wore, just for a twinkle of hope in February 2007, a shirt I wore with pride in the heat of a Primary season, a shirt I wore knocking on doors in the slums of Philadelphia, a shirt I wore screaming, exploding with joy through the streets of New York City, and it's the shirt I'll wear in Washington, when the best political hope of my lifetime officially begins his tenure as the best President of my lifetime.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
When I was growing up, first paying attention to the nba, there was one narrative that really defined the playoffs. Spurs vs. Lakers. Good vs. Evil.
I hated the Lakers, those smug, 3-peating assholes, and I loved the Spurs, because- even if they were boring or whatever- they were always our best chance to stop L.A.
When the Spurs beat the Lakers in 2003, the first playoffs I followed passionately, it was one of the first big sports thrills of my life. The Spurs earned my love and loyalty for years afterward.
Years later, we're facing the possibility of another Spurs-Lakers conference finals. But it's not so black and white anymore. the Lakers still suck, but, in the past year, I've come to realize that the dreary, heartlessly effecient Spurs kinda suck too. And if it comes down to those two teams, it feels like just a lesser-of-two-evils choice in my heart.
so it is with the Republicans and the Clintons.
and even though the Suns, by perpetually failing, have undermined my Obama analogy, there's another team that fits the Obama role even better now... the New Orleans Hornets.
A young team with extraordinary talent, with the athletic and creative intangibles necessary to bamboozle the old-school Spurs. A compelling, truly cheer-worthy alternative to Lakers-Spurs hegemony.
As of this writing, the Hornets have taken a shockingly easy 2-0 lead on the Spurs. We're approaching Super Tuesday, maybe around the corner from the February stampede- I won't feel safe until it's a 3-0 lead, but I'm feeling cautiously optimistic.
N.O. We Can! N.O. We Can!
(PS- north carolina and indiana tonight. when are we gonna close this shit out? hillary's down 3-2 and losing game 6 by double digits in the fourth quarter. keep hitting those free throws barack!)
Friday, April 25, 2008
1910: African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out American boxer James J. Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States.
Monday, April 21, 2008
1797: London haberdasher John Hetherington wears a silk top hat in public and attracts a large crowd of onlookers. He is later fined £500 for causing public nuisance.
Monday, March 31, 2008
it's official: Ben got into Juilliard. He'll study graduate-level piano performance, starting this autumn.
and JD returns to New York City tomorrow/today, Monday. I'll probably see him for the first time on Tuesday or Wednesday.
the questions of my life after college: 'where' and 'what' are still quite hazy... however, the 'who' shapes up to make these next few years splendidly memorable.
Monday, March 24, 2008
I've taken a lot of long cab rides through or towards manhattan in the past few nights... all I can say is, the sense of magic and hope in this island... never fades, man. never.
Friday, February 15, 2008
I did not write this. It was posted on one of the political blogs that I've read a lot lately. But the sentiments this guy expresses perfectly align with my own feelings.
"There's one salient reason why people of my age are supporting Obama and that's because we feel that Obama will finally show us what it means to be proud of our president.
I read more than I should about politics and US history and am always confused as to how Americans can love their president so. Intellectually I understand why Americans love(d) Lincoln and the Roosevelts but I never felt why they did.
People my age are too young to remember Bill Clinton. All we have is George W. Bush. The office of the President to us is a mockery. We don't link President Bush to concepts such as leader, we link it to ignorance and idiocy. Most people my age have never felt proud of our President. We grew up on the Daily Show, we only know how to make fun of him and mock him.
I attended an Obama rally a few days ago and was amazed at how filled up with emotion I was. Halfway through his speech, other 21 year olds just like that filled the Hall were screaming their heads off, waving banners, and grinning. Everyone was giddy, hell even I was giddy. I was smiling and chanting along to "Yes We Can." I didn't know what that feeling was because I had never felt it. But then I realized it. It was pride. I was proud of Obama.
I know some have felt proud of Reagan and others have felt proud of Bill Clinton. I can't wait to actually know what it feels like to be proud of my President and not embarrassed by him. That's why at least my generation is turning out in droves to make Obama president. We've finally got a taste of what it feels like to be proud of our President and we're not giving that feeling up."
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Just a quick illustration of a moment from today:
• I'm at a Whole Foods counter, dressed in my sharpest autumn clothes (it wasnt too cold today), with a big 'Obama' sticker on my lapel. And I politely ask the woman behind the counter- middle aged, asian- for the grilled chicken tuscan panini. And she makes it for me and gives it to me, politely.
It's not exactly a catchy story, but I think there's a realness to it.
Slim, white, college educated young man- sharply dressed, Obama button.
Working class, middle aged woman, in her whole foods outfit. Almost certainly a Hillary voter.
And there was a quiet tension- maybe just in my head- but it really does seem like, this is how Hillary voters view Obama people and this is how Obama voters view Hillary people. The class tension between those of us who are young and rich enough to aspire to abstract political ideals, vs. the everyday strivers who believe in somebody familiar and experienced.
And I think it's the direction of that service exchange- the middle aged woman giving a product to the young man- I think that it explains a lot of Hillary's appeal. Often I feel like, somebody who prefers HRC to Barack is, simply not educated enough, not informed enough- that the needs of our party and our country are extraordinarily obvious, if you understand both candidates correctly.
But if I was the woman behind the counter, I would support Hillary. The national image of the striving woman winning against a young, 'cool' intellectual- that image probably really resonates with her, and with legions of voters.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/washington/29assess.html?hp
Didn't watch it, don't have a TV. Got Indian food with Luke (roommate) tonight, napped, etc.
It's kinda poignant, it's really pretty fascinating, that this was Bush's Last state of the union. Guy's got about 357 days left in office.
The Bush Presidency is really tied into my coming-of-age years. From my first year of high school, to the middle of my first post-college year. I can't imagine 8 more exciting, transformative years on my own life calendar.
I've hated him since the beginning, even on 9/11 I held him in a skeptical light. The last few years I've alternated between bitterly tuning out; reading and appreciating any article that denounces his Presidency; and feeling a rush of excitment every time he's politically wounded. Every now and then, with Iran for instance, he still genuinely terrifies me.
But ten or fifteen years from now, I can picture looking back on the Bush era and remembering it warmly for two reasons. (1) I was young, and (2) it's Over.
In the back of my head, one of the most personal reasons I care about Obama vs. the other one is, it's almost a difference between if I get to truly stay Young or not. If Obama is our President, I can stay hopeful and confident all the way to 30. If our President is Her or a Republican, it's like I trudge into the working world, and the background noise is gonna come from the same bitter, discouraging, calculating old mudslingers as always.
other notes from the weekend… saturday, took care of a few errands, Shark Tank show at the PIT (all six of us, finally reunited! lots of fun), followed by a small get together with Mike, Nikki, etc. It's always good to see Mike, he was one of my first friends freshman year, and he's got a really special happy-go-lucky aura. We drank a little wine, played a pretty fun word game (apples to apples). Sunday, an extra for Fisher's sketch video, raynard rehearsal/dinner at night.
Tomorrow is my first Harold show since December. Fifth slot. Lookin' forward to it.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Exactly one year, just one year left of this madness.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Just emailed off the final drafts of some papers for the semester's big project in our Psych Research class. So that perennial headache is more or less done. Yesss....
really oughta go to bed soon.
Rob Cuthill is so god damn funny. He kills us all in rehearsal, every week. Tonight he played this absolutely bizarre, histrionic, sneering acting teacher, Ms. Bacon. The only specifics I remember is that she spent three years in London, and thus "I consider myself an expat." Ah, and she never moved her arms from her sides- even running at full speed. And at one point, when somebody asked her about her work, she confidently shouted, "Show him how we do it, girls!" to a family portrait on a wall.
oh man I'm cracking up just thinking about it.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Last night the cast/crew/writers of Saturday Night Live performed at the UCB Theatre. Special one-night-only fundraiser in support of the WGA strike ($20 a ticket). There wasn't any general admission; the entire audience was people who worked on the show, friends of the cast, and UCB performers. And since I qualify for the latter category- I got in!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/arts/television/19snl.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Without a doubt it was the insider-iest experience of my life. And it was a really fun, cool, solid show across the board; weekend update and a few will forte-centric sketches were Especially hilarious. A lot of the material was stuff that they couldn't air because it was too dirty for TV. Michael Cera hosted and basically did what Michael Cera does: sublimely charming awkward deadpannery. And Yo La Tengo musical guested!
Coincedentally, this same weekend 3 years ago was the first time I tried to stay overnight in the SNL line. Anyway, the afterparty was pretty great too. Didn't try to rub elbows with anybody, but I did a fair share of drinking and dancing and hung out with my Harold pals. Great night, great night.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
every now and then, via facebook or myspace, I notice the existence of this, Dallas/Denton community of hipster/emo/whatevertheyares. and looking at these people always just puts me in a snide mood. "Heh. why the hell are they in Dallas?"
it's not that people aren't allowed to be who they are, wherever they are. But Dallas is the ultimate 'mall' city.
I've always said, if the people and the culture of a shopping mall existed on a citywide scale, it would be Dallas. I can't help but think of these hipstery types as Dallas's Hot Topic shoppers.
In other news, it's JD's birthday! and Shark Tank is playin tonight. and I think I'm gonna start readin a book.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
I am giddy. I am numb with satisfaction. That was a fucking Great concert. Oh My God- Don't ever doubt the New Pornographers!
Neko Case AND Dan Bejar were there, and I was second/third row right by Kathryn Calder- and I'm convinced more than ever than Kathryn Calder represents the absolute pinnacle, the perfect girl. physically, at least
oh man, oh the adrenaline, the endorphins. YES. oh my goodness. Not sure if that's better or not-quite-as-good as the October '05, but tonight was in the same fucking league. Oh Man. Fucking Great set.
YESSS
and the rest of the night: either Godel or cagematch afterparty
Monday, October 22, 2007
10/?/93-10/17/07
Friday, September 14, 2007
kraken
oarfish
bunyip
Sedna
sea bishop
giant squid
Nasca whale
Feejee mermaid
chimera
Yawkyawk: "Just going near a yawkyawk's watering hole can make a woman pregnant"- convenient excuse.
cyclops archaeology- dwarf elephant skull, Sicily
griffins archaeology- protoceratops
Tengu
Finn MacCool, Benandonner
Ibn Battuta
Aepyornis
Tingis/Antaeus
quetzal
mishepishu
"dragon bones" sold as medicine in China- fossil remains of extinct mammals
skull of a whooly rhinocerous, once kept in the townhall of Klagenfurt, Austria, they believed it was a dragon's skull
Dzanga-Sangha rainforest
Friday, September 7, 2007
500 days left in history's worst Presidency.
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