http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NDw0-g011s

This is a video​ of Barac​k Obama​'​s speec​h at the Linco​ln Memor​ial durin​g a rally​ held two days befor​e the inaug​urati​on.​ I'm watch​ing it on a jumbo​tron acros​s the stree​t from the Linco​ln Memor​ial Plaza​ and the World​ War II Memor​ial.

One week.

After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one week away from change in America.

In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street.

In one week, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy from the bottom-up so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor.

In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope.

In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need.

We began this journey in the depths of winter nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Back then, we didn't have much money or many endorsements. We weren't given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits, and we knew how steep our climb would be.

But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas, new leadership, and a new kind of politics - one that favors common sense over ideology; one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans.

Most of all, I believed in your ability to make change happen. I knew that the American people were a decent, generous people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. And I was convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are.

Twenty-one months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated. That's how we've come so far and so close - because of you. That's how we'll change this country - with your help. And that's why we can't afford to slow down, sit back, or let up for one day, one minute, or one second in this last week. Not now. Not when so much is at stake.

We are in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling. Pensions are disappearing. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the cost of health care and college have never been higher. It's getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month.

At a moment like this, the last thing we can afford is four more years of the tired, old theory that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. The last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street because politicians and lobbyists killed common-sense regulations. Those are the theories that got us into this mess. They haven't worked, and it's time for change. That's why I'm running for President of the United States.

Now, Senator McCain has served this country honorably. And he can point to a few moments over the past eight years where he has broken from George Bush - on torture, for example. He deserves credit for that. But when it comes to the economy - when it comes to the central issue of this election - the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this President every step of the way. Voting for the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that he once opposed. Voting for the Bush budgets that spent us into debt. Calling for less regulation twenty-one times just this year. Those are the facts.

And now, after twenty-one months and three debates, Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy. Senator McCain says that we can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to change, but you understand that the biggest gamble we can take is embracing the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the last eight years.

It's not change when John McCain wants to give a $700,000 tax cut to the average Fortune 500 CEO. It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations or $4 billion to the oil companies or $300 billion to the same Wall Street banks that got us into this mess. It's not change when he comes up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans. That's not change.

Look - we've tried it John McCain's way. We've tried it George Bush's way. Deep down, Senator McCain knows that, which is why his campaign said that "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." That's why he's spending these last weeks calling me every name in the book. Because that's how you play the game in Washington. If you can't beat your opponent's ideas, you distort those ideas and maybe make some up. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run away from. You make a big election about small things.

Ohio, we are here to say "Not this time. Not this year. Not when so much is at stake." Senator McCain might be worried about losing an election, but I'm worried about Americans who are losing their homes, and their jobs, and their life savings. I can take one more week of John McCain's attacks, but this country can't take four more years of the same old politics and the same failed policies. It's time for something new.

The question in this election is not "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" We know the answer to that. The real question is, "Will this country be better off four years from now?"

I know these are difficult times for America. But I also know that we have faced difficult times before. The American story has never been about things coming easy - it's been about rising to the moment when the moment was hard. It's about seeing the highest mountaintop from the deepest of valleys. It's about rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose. That's how we've overcome war and depression. That's how we've won great struggles for civil rights and women's rights and worker's rights. And that's how we'll emerge from this crisis stronger and more prosperous than we were before - as one nation; as one people.

Remember, we still have the most talented, most productive workers of any country on Earth. We're still home to innovation and technology, colleges and universities that are the envy of the world. Some of the biggest ideas in history have come from our small businesses and our research facilities. So there's no reason we can't make this century another American century. We just need a new direction. We need a new politics.

Now, I don't believe that government can or should try to solve all our problems. I know you don't either. But I do believe that government should do that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide a decent education for our children; invest in new roads and new science and technology. It should reward drive and innovation and growth in the free market, but it should also make sure businesses live up to their responsibility to create American jobs, and look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. It should ensure a shot at success not only for those with money and power and influence, but for every single American who's willing to work. That's how we create not just more millionaires, but more middle-class families. That's how we make sure businesses have customers that can afford their products and services. That's how we've always grown the American economy - from the bottom-up. John McCain calls this socialism. I call it opportunity, and there is nothing more American than that.

Understand, if we want get through this crisis, we need to get beyond the old ideological debates and divides between left and right. We don't need bigger government or smaller government. We need a better government - a more competent government - a government that upholds the values we hold in common as Americans.

We don't have to choose between allowing our financial system to collapse and spending billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out Wall Street banks. As President, I will ensure that the financial rescue plan helps stop foreclosures and protects your money instead of enriching CEOs. And I will put in place the common-sense regulations I've been calling for throughout this campaign so that Wall Street can never cause a crisis like this again. That's the change we need.

The choice in this election isn't between tax cuts and no tax cuts. It's about whether you believe we should only reward wealth, or whether we should also reward the work and workers who create it. I will give a tax break to 95% of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paychecks every week. I'll eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000 and give homeowners and working parents more of a break. And I'll help pay for this by asking the folks who are making more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990s. No matter what Senator McCain may claim, here are the facts - if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime - not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes. Nothing. Because the last thing we should do in this economy is raise taxes on the middle-class.

When it comes to jobs, the choice in this election is not between putting up a wall around America or allowing every job to disappear overseas. The truth is, we won't be able to bring back every job that we've lost, but that doesn't mean we should follow John McCain's plan to keep giving tax breaks to corporations that send American jobs overseas. I will end those breaks as President, and I will give American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create right here in the United States of America. I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country. We'll create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, and schools, and by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country. And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade - jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and a new electricity grid; jobs building the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow, not in Japan or South Korea but here in the United States of America; jobs that will help us eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in ten years and help save the planet in the bargain. That's how America can lead again.

When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run health care system and the unaffordable one we have now. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower premiums. If you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that Members of Congress get for themselves. We'll invest in preventative care and new technology to finally lower the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the entire economy. And as someone who watched his own mother spend the final months of her life arguing with insurance companies because they claimed her cancer was a pre-existing condition and didn't want to pay for treatment, I will stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care most.

When it comes to giving every child a world-class education so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, the choice is not between more money and more reform - because our schools need both. As President, I will invest in early childhood education, recruit an army of new teachers, pay them more, and give them more support. But I will also demand higher standards and more accountability from our teachers and our schools. And I will make a deal with every American who has the drive and the will but not the money to go to college: if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition. You invest in America, America will invest in you, and together, we will move this country forward.

And when it comes to keeping this country safe, we don't have to choose between retreating from the world and fighting a war without end in Iraq. It's time to stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. As President, I will end this war by asking the Iraqi government to step up, and finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century, and I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy - especially now. The cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq, means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we can afford to do without. On this, there is no other choice. As President, I will go through the federal budget, line-by-line, ending programs that we don't need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.

But as I've said from the day we began this journey all those months ago, the change we need isn't just about new programs and policies. It's about a new politics - a politics that calls on our better angels instead of encouraging our worst instincts; one that reminds us of the obligations we have to ourselves and one another.

Part of the reason this economic crisis occurred is because we have been living through an era of profound irresponsibility. On Wall Street, easy money and an ethic of "what's good for me is good enough" blinded greedy executives to the danger in the decisions they were making. On Main Street, lenders tricked people into buying homes they couldn't afford. Some folks knew they couldn't afford those houses and bought them anyway. In Washington, politicians spent money they didn't have and allowed lobbyists to set the agenda. They scored political points instead of solving our problems, and even after the greatest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, all we were asked to do by our President was to go out and shop.

That is why what we have lost in these last eight years cannot be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits alone. What has also been lost is the idea that in this American story, each of us has a role to play. Each of us has a responsibility to work hard and look after ourselves and our families, and each of us has a responsibility to our fellow citizens. That's what's been lost these last eight years - our sense of common purpose; of higher purpose. And that's what we need to restore right now.

Yes, government must lead the way on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and our businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But all of us must do our part as parents to turn off the television and read to our children and take responsibility for providing the love and guidance they need. Yes, we can argue and debate our positions passionately, but at this defining moment, all of us must summon the strength and grace to bridge our differences and unite in common effort - black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; Democrat and Republican, young and old, rich and poor, gay and straight, disabled or not.

In this election, we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another and make us afraid of one another. The stakes are too high to divide us by class and region and background; by who we are or what we believe.

Because despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else - we are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.

It won't be easy, Ohio. It won't be quick. But you and I know that it is time to come together and change this country. Some of you may be cynical and fed up with politics. A lot of you may be disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask of you what has been asked of Americans throughout our history.

I ask you to believe - not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.

I know this change is possible. Because I have seen it over the last twenty-one months. Because in this campaign, I have had the privilege to witness what is best in America.

I've seen it in lines of voters that stretched around schools and churches; in the young people who cast their ballot for the first time, and those not so young folks who got involved again after a very long time. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see their friends lose their jobs; in the neighbors who take a stranger in when the floodwaters rise; in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb. I've seen it in the faces of the men and women I've met at countless rallies and town halls across the country, men and women who speak of their struggles but also of their hopes and dreams.

I still remember the email that a woman named Robyn sent me after I met her in Ft. Lauderdale. Sometime after our event, her son nearly went into cardiac arrest, and was diagnosed with a heart condition that could only be treated with a procedure that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Her insurance company refused to pay, and their family just didn't have that kind of money.

In her email, Robyn wrote, "I ask only this of you - on the days where you feel so tired you can't think of uttering another word to the people, think of us. When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder."

Ohio, that's what hope is - that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting around the bend; that insists there are better days ahead. If we're willing to work for it. If we're willing to shed our fears and our doubts. If we're willing to reach deep down inside ourselves when we're tired and come back fighting harder.

Hope! That's what kept some of our parents and grandparents going when times were tough. What led them to say, "Maybe I can't go to college, but if I save a little bit each week my child can; maybe I can't have my own business but if I work really hard my child can open one of her own." It's what led immigrants from distant lands to come to these shores against great odds and carve a new life for their families in America; what led those who couldn't vote to march and organize and stand for freedom; that led them to cry out, "It may look dark tonight, but if I hold on to hope, tomorrow will be brighter."

That's what this election is about. That is the choice we face right now.

Don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.

In one week, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up.

In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future.

In one week, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.

In one week, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.

That's what's at stake. That's what we're fighting for. And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me, and make some calls for me, and talk to your neighbors, and convince your friends; if you will stand with me, and fight with me, and give me your vote, then I promise you this - we will not just win Ohio, we will not just win this election, but together, we will change this country and we will change the world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.

-Barack Obama
October 27, 2008
Canton, Ohio

Do yourself a favor and listen to this song, please.

This song is brought to you by Metafilter user, mediocre.

Thank you, and have a nice day!

Listen to me!

Read my lyrics!

The release of The Dark Knight brought along with it the release of the trailer for Watchmen. I was lucky enough to have the trailer shown before the midnight showing of TDK that I saw in an IMAX theater. It looks amazing and features music by the Smashing Pumpkins.





Ironically, the song featured (and part of the title of this blog) was written for Batman and Robin and is supposed to be a song about Batman. Billy Corgan comments on the writing of the song in THIS Wikipedia article. So as appropriate as the song is in the Watchmen trailer, it is meant for Batman. Last night I found a fan made trailer for The Dark Knight that uses the music clip from the Watchmen trailer. The result is a brilliant and perhaps more perfect preview for the film than what we've already seen. Take a look:

At the risk of seeming irreverent, I present Joe Cocker's amazing take on the Beatles as seen at Woodstock, interpreted for the masses.

THE OPENING ACT
FROM THE ORIGINAL,
UNUSED TELEPLAY
OF LOST'S PILOT
EPISODE.

BY ANDREW BRIDGMAN

- - - -

JACK: OK, everyone, gather round. I'm Jack. We crashed on this island. I'm kind of an alcoholic, and I had a really complicated relationship with my father, Christian, who was also an alcoholic.

CLAIRE: Christian Shepherd? That's my dad, too!

JACK: No way!

SAWYER: Oh, yeah, I know that guy, too. I met him at a bar. He's proud of you.

JACK: You met my dad?

SAWYER: Yeah, I met him right before I killed this guy I thought had ruined my life as a child. He was a con man who went by "Sawyer" and had an affair with my mother and then my dad found out and killed her and himself. It was ugly.

LOCKE: No way! That sounds just like my dad! He stole my kidney and then paralyzed me.

KATE: Paralyzed people can't walk.

LOCKE: Don't tell me what I can't do! I can walk now, obviously. I think this island is magic or something crazy like that.

KATE: Know what else is crazy? I killed my stepdad, who was actually my dad, by blowing up the house he was in. Then I went on the run for a long time. That marshall guy that's dying there was taking me to the U.S. to put me in jail.

(The "monster noise" is heard in the jungle.)

CHARLIE: What was that, mates?

HURLEY: I think it was a monster made of smoke that's floating around for some reason.

CHARLIE: That's bloody weird. Almost as bloody weird as me being a heroin addict due to my rock band, DriveShaft, and my brother, Liam.

HURLEY: Oh, yeah, you guys were popular right around the time I won the lottery thanks to some cursed, mysterious, omnipresent numbers. You guys suck.

SUN: Ha! They totally do.

SHANNON: You speak English?

SUN: Yeah, I do. Hey, Jin.

JIN: (Something in Korean.)

SUN: I speak English. I also had an affair with a bald guy, who taught it to me, then he killed himself, or maybe I killed him. But you can't blame me, right? You used to be a really nice guy before we got married and I paid off a blackmail debt to your prostitute mother by taking a loan from my father, which led him to make you his guy who beat the shit out of people, which destroyed your soul. I hope we reconcile and you gradually learn English. Wanna go in that tent and see if we can get me knocked up?

JIN: ... Boat?

(JIN and SUN go into their tent.)

SAYID: While they're doing that, we should try to figure out how to get off this island. I need to get back to Nadia, this chick I used to like and who I sorta tortured once. I'm from Iraq. Did I mention that?

MICHAEL: No. Hey, where'd Walt go?

SAYID: Oh, some grungy-lookin' pirates took him.

MICHAEL: WAAAAAAALT! WAAAAAAALT! I wanted to be there for him, but his mom was a bitch and took him away from me. I'm trying to get to know him now. Sucks that he got kidnapped.

LOCKE: Hey, while you guys were talking, I found some door in the jungle.

JACK: Did you open it?

LOCKE: Yeah, there was a Scottish guy in there, and I made him stop pressing some button. It just exploded and released a bunch of electromagnetic energy, so the island is visible to the outside world again.

DESMOND: Hi, bruthas. I'm Desmond. I can kinda see the future. Charlie, you're gonna die.

CHARLIE: OK, I'll go swim to an underwater station so we can all get rescued.

DESMOND: Sounds good. Then I can reunite with this chick I liked but got separated from due to her father's meddling. It was kinda like The Notebook.

ROUSSEAU: I found this guy in the jungle.

BEN: My name is Henry Gale!

SAYID: Really?

BEN: No, it's Benjamin Linus. I'm an Other, which means I'm part of this group of people who were on the island before you guys. I was initially part of the DHARMA Initiative, but it was purged by me and other people who have been on the island a long time and may or may not be immortal. It's complicated.

ROUSSEAU: They whisper.

BEN: Right. I'm really manipulative. If you help me escape, Michael, I'll give you back Walt. He makes birds run into doors. I don't like that and neither does Jacob, the cabin-ghost guy who runs this island.

MICHAEL: OK. (Shoots off into the distance.) I just killed Libby and Ana Lucia. Trust me, they're on the other side of the island. Tail section.

BEN: OK, here's Walt back. Get on this boat and then go sneak onto the freighter that's coming to kill us.

MICHAEL: OK.

(MICHAEL and WALT get on the boat and sail off.)

ALEX: Hey, Dad, what're you doing here?

BEN: Hi, Alex, this is your mother.

ROUSSEAU: Hey, I've been looking for you for 16 years.

ALEX: Weirdo.

JACK: Hey, Kate.

KATE: Yeah?

JACK: Pick me or Sawyer.

KATE: Who's Sawyer?

SAWYER: Me.

KATE: Oh, OK. I dunno. Sawyer, I guess.

SAWYER: Thanks, Freckles.

BOONE: I'm gonna go die now.

LOCKE: Yeah, the island's been saying it demands a sacrifice. Go for it, kid.

(First commercial break.)

I present to you, in it's entirety, the 1973 film version of Jesus Christ Superstar starring Carl Anderson as Judas and Ted Neely as Jesus. This film is perhaps one of the most influential interpretations and portrayals of the gospel, specifically the last week of Jesus' life. There is so much that I have to say about this remarkable movie, but for now I'd like to let you rock out a bit. If you just want to hit some highlights, I'd recommend "Heaven on Their Minds", "Gethsemane", and "Superstar." Enjoy!

Overture




Heaven on Their Minds





What's the Buzz/Strange Thing Mystifying





Then We are Decided





Everything's Alright





Jesus Must Die





Hosanna





Simon Zealotes





Pilate's Dream





The Temple and Lepers





I Don't Know How to Love Him





Blood Money/Damned for All Time





The Last Supper





Gethsemane





Arrest/Pilate/Denial





King Herod's Song





Could We Start Again Please?





Judas' Death





Trial/Pilate/39 Lashes





Superstar





The Crucifixion





John 19:41

Due to a University and State wide budget crisis, the administration at the University of Florida decided yesterday to eliminate the PhD program in philosophy. The program is currently ranked among the top 50 programs in the United States. However, we will now likely see a slow but sure demise of the department within 2-5 years. I will not be affected by these changes as far as I can tell, but the careers of several brilliant students, friends, and faculty members have essentially been put on hold or ruined.

This decision is misguided and shameful. Philosophy is a foundational discipline in the Liberal Arts and every major university in the world offers PhD's in the field. Someone has created a petition that will be sent to President Bernie Machen encouraging him to retain the PhD program. Please follow the link to the petition and sign if you feel inclined. Also, please let others know about this unfortunate turn of events. Your help is much appreciated.

PETITION


Oh, and then treat yourself to the new Batman trailer.

In the past month, I've started two potential blog entries that I thought would be interesting. One was a review of the movie King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. If you haven't seen this documentary, I highly recommend it. The other was a post about the death of the music video. I was inspired to write it after watching a series of commercials that each contained songs that I enjoyed and consequently downloaded. I mentioned to my boyfriend that it appears the commercial has become the new music video since no one ever gets to see real music videos in the daylight anymore. The blog that I started writing began with some nostalgic anecdotes about the heyday of the music video and observations about how music videos (or a lack thereof in certain cases) often served to define the artists of a past generation.

I write this now, however, not to complete either of those entries, but rather to comment on my pervasive laziness, lack of motivation, and inability to complete projects that I start. (Of course, if I succeed in completing this post, I'll have a nice little counterexample.) This trend has flared up throughout my life, but I've probably been most keenly aware of its prominence during my career as a graduate student. For one thing, it's taken me almost 4 ½ years to complete my thesis. Granted, my advisor was on sabbatical for one of those years and last year was a complete bust in the light of certain personal tragedies. However, I don't think that really excuses or explains the length of time that it took for me to complete my project. This happens with very short-term projects, such as term papers, as well. Right now I have the obligation to finish two incompletes from past semesters and I neither enjoy doing the work nor do I feel motivated. I am unsure whether this betrays a mere but blatant dissatisfaction on my part with the discipline or something deeper and more worrisome about my personality. The tendency to be dissatisfied with myself and with my work is part of what has me questioning my future in philosophy, though it does seem a shame to depart from a field in which I've spent so much time and which, at times, I do very much enjoy and almost always appreciate. Generally, though, I'd like to be a more motivated and focused person in more aspects of my life. I think motivation and focus would help me achieve the sorts of goals that I have in my academic, social, and emotional life.


Aside from those worries, my life is going well. I'm still thrilled to have finished my thesis, to be living with Chris, to be teaching my own course next semester, and to be seeing my family soon. I have acquired some items that I'd like to share. I recently bought some bento boxes along with accessories. Bento boxes are smallish Japanese lunch boxes, often tiered, and which contain dividers of various kinds. The idea behind the bento box is that a person can eat a variety of healthy and tasty foods in small quantities. Here are some pictures of the cute boxes I purchased:



















The boxes are both tiered and each contain different dividers. They also come with their own chopsticks and chopstick holders. The colorful cupcake-looking things that you see are flexible food holders for bento boxes. Putting bento box lunches together is an art of sorts and the colors of the holders contribute to the aesthetic. The small little plastic things you see are condiment containers. They are shaped like fish, pigs, and small bottles and can be used for condiments like soy sauce or salad dressing. Just suck up and go.

Now for something absurd. Chris and I now own five iPods between us. I bought him a new iPod nano for our one year anniversary and he bought me an iPod touch. Here's a picture of the madness:




Anybody need one?


Oh, if anyone would actually like for me to finish either one of those blogs that I mentioned earlier, let me know.

So, I set a date for my thesis defense. Thursday, October 11 at 4. Lord knows at this time last year I never thought I'd see such a day. I suppose I'm happy about it. I'm sure I'll be much happier when it's over.

This past year has been one of the hardest I have ever had to endure. My mother's death along with the loss of some other people in my life and the weight of my thesis hanging over my head contributed to a great deal of sadness, depression, and anxiety on my part. But recently, things in my life have come together in a wonderful and very settling way.

First, I have been completely zoloft free for over three weeks. This may not seem like very much of an accomplishment because, hey, it's just medicine. But zoloft as well as other psychotropic medications intended to ease depression, is notoriously difficult to ween off of. I went from 150 mg a day to 100 and then to 50 in a very short period of time during the spring semester. The withdrawal symptoms were very intense. I was left feeling tired and apathetic and spent almost an entire week or two in bed. I weened off of the rest very, very, very slowly. I went down to 25 mg a day after a few months, then every other day. I then went to 12.5 mg every other day and then every third day. Finally I went down to 6.25 every third day for a while and finally stopped taking it at all. I was a little anxious during the first week or so at that point. There is a marked difference in feeling without any of that drug in your system. But now I feel relaxed and happy.

I have also turned in a draft of my thesis to my advisor, something I really didn't think I was ever going to be able to do. A depressed state causes you to not want to do much of anything, especially anything that requires exerting mental energy. But overcoming this hurdle means that I am ever so close, pending revisions of course, to a final draft and a defense. And completing this is something that I am intellectually and emotionally prepared for. I am now literally weeks away from receiving my master"s degree. after the defense and submission, I will be awarded the degree at the close of the semester. I can then turn almost all of my academic attention toward my dissertation since I have completed all of my course requirements save one.

Also, two weeks ago I received a $15,000 check from my mother's life insurance policy. It was certainly a bitter reminder of the pain that I've been going through, but also certainly a blessing. I am now credit card debt free with thousands left over to invest in my IRA and other interest bearing accounts. All of my money in my checking, savings, and investment accounts is now making money. I haven't wanted to make any extraneous purchases except for a brand new MacBook, the new light of my life. So, for the first time in a long time, I feel not only financially secure for the moment, but for the very long term.

On top of this, my beautiful, brilliant, loving boyfriend is moving in during the next week. We will be making a nice home and little love nest together. Not only will my expenses go down roughly $600 a month, I will always have a lover and friend to come home to. Bonus: we also got a very nice free couch last week.

On the slight downside, my truck is giving me some problems. It has developed the tendency to not want to start when I want it to. But, luckily I suppose, I have enough money to either get it fixed or save for a new vehicle, maybe even one that has air conditioning! For my ten years of driving, I have never had a car that has had air conditioning.

Suffice it to say that I feel very content with my life right now, but not complacent, and I just wanted to share the good things that are happening right now with my friends.

Brought to us by the great DAVE BARRY

I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. You too can win arguments. Simply follow these rules:

• Drink Liquor.

  Suppose you're at a party and some hotshot intellectual is expounding on the economy of Peru, a subject you know nothing about. If you're drinking some health-fanatic drink like grapefruit juice, you'll hang back, afraid to display your ignorance, while the hotshot enthralls your date. But if you drink several large martinis, you'll discover you have STRONG VIEWS about the Peruvian economy. You'll be a WEALTH of information. You'll argue forcefully, offering searing insights and possibly upsetting furniture. People will be impressed. Some may leave the room.

• Make things up.

  Suppose, in the Peruvian economy argument, you are trying to prove Peruvians are underpaid, a position you base solely on the fact that YOU are underpaid, and you're damned if you're going to let a bunch of Peruvians be better off. DON'T say: ``I think Peruvians are underpaid.'' Say: ``The average Peruvian's salary in 1981 dollars adjusted for the revised tax base is $1,452.81 per annum, which is $836.07 before the mean gross poverty level.''

  NOTE: Always make up exact figures.

  If an opponent asks you where you got your information, make THAT up, too. Say: ``This information comes from Dr. Hovel T. Moon's study for the Buford Commission published May 9, 1982. Didn't you read it?'' Say this in the same tone of voice you would use to say ``You left your soiled underwear in my bath house.''

• Use meaningless but weightly-sounding words and phrases.
  Memorize this list:

  • Let me put it this way
  • In terms of
  • Vis-a-vis
  • Per se
  • As it were
  • Qua
  • So to speak

  You should also memorize some Latin abbreviations such as ``Q.E.D.,'' ``e.g.,'' and ``i.e.'' These are all short for ``I speak Latin, and you do not.''

  Here's how to use these words and phrases. Suppose you want to say: ``Peruvians would like to order appetizers more often, but they don't have enough money.''

  You never win arguments talking like that. But you WILL win if you say: ``Let me put it this way. In terms of appetizers vis-a-vis Peruvians qua Peruvians, they would like to order them more often, so to speak, but they do not have enough money per se, as it were. Q.E.D.''

  Only a fool would challenge that statement.

• Use snappy and irrelevant comebacks.

  You need an arsenal of all-purpose irrelevant phrases to fire back at your opponents when they make valid points. The best are:

  • You're begging the question.
  • You're being defensive.
  • Don't compare apples and oranges.
  • What are your parameters?

  This last one is especially valuable. Nobody, other than mathematicians, has the vaguest idea what ``parameters'' means.

  Here's how to use your comebacks:

  • You say: ``As Abraham Lincoln said in 1873...''
    Your opponent says: ``Lincoln died in 1865.''
    You say: ``You're begging the question.''
  OR

  • You say: ``Liberians, like most Asians...''
    Your opponent says: ``Liberia is in Africa.''
    You say: ``You're being defensive.''

• Compare your opponent to Adolf Hitler.

  This is your heavy artillery, for when your opponent is obviously right and you are spectacularly wrong. Bring Hitler up subtly. Say: ``That sounds suspiciously like something Adolf Hitler might say'' or ``You certainly do remind me of Adolf Hitler.''

So that's it: you now know how to out-argue anybody. Do not try to pull this on people who generally carry weapons.

An anecdote of mine on proofreading:

A few summers ago I was teaching at USF and saw a flyer that said, "Drinks, Dancing, Raping."

Please, kids, remember to double that ending consonant or no one will come to your party.

"What Teachers Make"




"The Impotence of Proofreading"




"Like, You know"



Taylor's Website