I was reading this NYT article, "Hope, Fear, and Insomnia- Journey of a Jobless Man" over lunch today. Besides being a reminder of how grateful I should be that both Eric and I have steady employment, it also reminded me of the impossibly difficult situation the U.S. is in right now. Corporations have lost a sense of corporate responsibility to their home states and countries, the government doesn't want to upset corporations so much that they will leave for other countries, people are losing domestic jobs but we don't want to pay a little more and spend a little extra time to support renewable energy and local products. We're all losers here, because we're all going to lose when we've stopped thinking of ourselves as a collective and only worry about our individual needs. To make it all worse, we have only semi (or mostly) psychotic idiots running for president on the GOP side, and a disgusting political game of chicken taking place in Washington D.C. Somebody, please do something!
We need more of THIS sentiment:
Nobody said it was easy/ It's such a shame for us to part/ Nobody said it was easy/No one ever said it would be this hard/ Oh, take me back to the start. -Coldplay, The Scientist.
7.12.2011
I still kind of love the movie Independence Day
I am going to be brief because I promised myself this would be the last distraction from studying that I will indulge today.
We watched some of Independence Day while eating dinner tonight. It came out the summer I started high school, which now was so long ago! It still is THE classic alien-invasion blockbuster. I love the scene where the Americans come up with a plan to disable the alien ships long enough to attack them- they send the word around the world, and then all these ordinary people are rounded up to fly planes and shoot missiles. (We'll just put aside all the technical difficulties of the concept of everyone just... er, shooting around nuclear missiles?!) And the big hero of the day is this crazy alcoholic who sacrifices himself by flying right into the beam of the spaceship.
The older and much more cynical person in me did a lot of snickering, but still, there is a part of me that is nostalgic. It's nostalgic for a time when Americans believed they could lead the world in coming together to fight for the common good, when we weren't reduced to a bickering stallmate over money. When unlikely heros can save the day. When people who think we should not care for the poor or stop citizens of another country from being massacred didn't have the loudest voice. There was once a really noble, idealistic United States, and I miss it. It's completely possible that I just wasn't as aware of things then... but I like to think that we once were bigger than ourselves as a country... and still like to think there could be hope that we could be that country again.
We really need to get it together.
We watched some of Independence Day while eating dinner tonight. It came out the summer I started high school, which now was so long ago! It still is THE classic alien-invasion blockbuster. I love the scene where the Americans come up with a plan to disable the alien ships long enough to attack them- they send the word around the world, and then all these ordinary people are rounded up to fly planes and shoot missiles. (We'll just put aside all the technical difficulties of the concept of everyone just... er, shooting around nuclear missiles?!) And the big hero of the day is this crazy alcoholic who sacrifices himself by flying right into the beam of the spaceship.
The older and much more cynical person in me did a lot of snickering, but still, there is a part of me that is nostalgic. It's nostalgic for a time when Americans believed they could lead the world in coming together to fight for the common good, when we weren't reduced to a bickering stallmate over money. When unlikely heros can save the day. When people who think we should not care for the poor or stop citizens of another country from being massacred didn't have the loudest voice. There was once a really noble, idealistic United States, and I miss it. It's completely possible that I just wasn't as aware of things then... but I like to think that we once were bigger than ourselves as a country... and still like to think there could be hope that we could be that country again.
We really need to get it together.
6.28.2011
2011 Summer Favorites
In no particular order, here's what I'm enjoying this summer:
- Good Reads
- Good Patios in Cincinnati:
- Claddagh @ Newport on the Levee
- MOTR Pub
- Neon's
- Chez Nora (rooftop bar!)
- Good Times
5.10.2011
random technology discoveries
Two things rocking my Andriod App world this month:
- Mobile Check Deposit App by Chase. SO. COOL. Especially since the closest Chase ATM is downtown Cincinnati and it's hard to find parking sometimes. Downside, they have a limit on how much you can deposit so I still can't deposit my paycheck.
- Monocle on the Yelp App: Using the monocle function on the Yelp App, you can hold up your camera and the app will show you what restaurants are in whatever direction you are facing, and how far away they are from you. OMG.
5.09.2011
platypus water bottle
"It's a water bottle. But you can reuse it and roll it up when it's empty." -me
"More like a water bag... but that's cool." -friend/family members
"I know." -me
Introducing my new favorite water bottle! The Platypus SoftBottle from Cascade designs. Why would you want this more than a Sigg or Camelbak or whatever generic variety of water bottle is out there? The SoftBottle is cheaper, lighter, BPA-free, and you can roll it up when you are done with it. It's like having the portability of a water bottle that you can roll up and re-use. Cascade also has a few other water bottle designs and hydration systems that are really cool- can be purchased at authorized dealers or online (I got mine at Amazon). You can choose from a variety of sizes and colors.
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