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The Move

2009-01-12T22:48:00.002-06:00

Hello all.

I have decided to move my blog to WordPress. 30% of this decision comes from the app that WordPress has for the iPhone which will enable me to blog anywhere. The other 70% is that WordPress simply kills blogger when it comes to features. The templates are gorgeous, the stat tracking is amazing, etc.

So from now on, this blog will be hosted at:

http://waynegrayson.wordpress.com

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you at the new site!

The First (Real) Job

2009-01-08T20:17:00.004-06:00

So it's been forever since I've posted and it's one of those things that gets harder and harder to do the longer you go without doing it. I originally intended to update this site at least once a week with my general opinions on current events along with the occasional piece of prose or poetry.

But at the urging of a friend and former teacher, I have decided to take this blog in a new direction.

First off, let me say that I love what I do for a living. I am a journalist. To be more specific, I am aspiring to be what the world needs more of: a good journalist.

My friend said he thought it would be interesting to have a look on the inside of my profession from my perspective: the perspective of a young, Christian Journalist.

I happened to agree. With the economy the way it is right now, things are rough for people my age, graduating with the degree I will have in four short months.

Now, let's get up to date. In the time since I posted, I was offered a job by The Tuscaloosa News as a reporter. It was a hard decision to make. I had accepted an offer to intern at the Mobile Press-Register and I won't graduate until May. On top of that I was applying for an internship in Boston and pursuing a career in magazines. I wasn't even sure that I wanted to work in newspapers anymore.

But when they made the offer I began to think about how tough things were going to get after graduation, how while that Mobile internship will look great on my resume, it didn't guarantee a job. These people were doing just that.

So I quit my job at the Alabama Alumni Magazine and am currently a full time-staff writer at the News as well as a full-time student at the University of Alabama.

And it's a good job. The people here in the newsroom are amazing and everyone at the paper is super nice and have been very friendly to this young journalist. Also, the News publishes Tuscaloosa magazine, which provides me a chance to be published in a magazine as well as in the print and online versions of the paper.

God has provided a way for me to try everything I'm interested in at one place, as well as the time to do so in. I'm extremely blessed to have a job before I graduate and a good one at that.

So, from here on out this blog will focus on my (hopefully) budding career as a writer and specifically, a journalist. However, it will still be infused with the occasional poem or prose item I write as well, since I find those to be very important to my becoming a better writer. I will also still post current events items but from a decidedly more journalistic viewpoint.

Check the next post for my first day on the job.

The Mountaintop—Obama Becomes 44th President

2008-11-05T12:54:00.006-06:00

My President is black.

Correction. Our President is black.

At about 9:58 p.m. central time, this country began a new chapter. A better chapter and one still early enough in the story that you can be confident it ends happily.

As the images swirled across television sets nationwide, and were captured in still frames by photographers in the middle of jubilant pandemonium, this nation, in those moments, I believe, finally found itself. For the first time since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we have stood up, determined and resolute against the ugly face of injustice and said, "We have overcome."

And yet, there are those convinced that this is the worst possible thing that could have happened to us. There are those so restricted and caged in by party lines and loyalties that they are blind to the hand of God in what we are all fortunate and blessed to say we were alive to witness.

On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech in Memphis, Tennessee. On that day, Dr. King set his people on the path to freedom, arming them with faith in God and a zealousness for freedom, and for equality.

The next day he was murdered.

But during that speech, Dr. King spoke of something happening not only in Memphis but in the world around him; something that God Himself had made known to him. He said if God were to ask him in what time he would like to live, he would scan through history, glimpsing all of the proudest moments of mankind and squint into the brightness of those times and close his eyes and point to one of the darkest times.

"I would turn to the Almighty, and say, 'If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy.' Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a away that men, in some strange way, are responding — something is happening in our world."

That something is still happening today and it claimed its proudest moment last night. And think, you saw it happen. You can tell your grandchildren where you were when it happened. And they will be jealous.

Without a doubt, this election has been the most important one in decades. That is evidenced by the record breaking voter turnout alone. But it is mainly shown by the voice of the voters who chose to support Barack Obama. You see, our time though advanced in years from that of Dr. King is much like the troubled world that took his life. And last night, people said enough. Here is Dr. King's thought on this determination:

"We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying that we are God's children. And that we don't have to live like we are forced to live."

However, do not read this as a call to aggression. Instead when you see those who express their anger against Obama's election remember the words of Dr. King.

"Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the salves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity."

Obama's acceptance speech last night filled me with a sincere joy and hope for our country. In it he spoke to our country as one people and invoked them to perceive themselves in the same way.

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection...And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too...It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America."

After his call for unity, Obama spoke to those around the world, introducing himself in the proper way a President should: open but determined.

"To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."

Last night, as I watched Rev. Jesse Jackson clutch an American flag as tears streamed down his face, I had to wonder what was going through his mind. Though I believe the man has done a lot of hypocritical and sometimes questionable things, I cannot deny that these actions were all done for the advancement of his people and were all rooted in good. This man stood behind Dr. King in Memphis as he gave his heroic speech and the next day he knelt beside him as he died. Forty years later, his work and his pain have paid off and I have to think those tears were ones of joy mixed with sadness in wishing Dr. King could have been here to enjoy it.

But it is important to remember that Dr. King would not have coveted this night. In the final words of his speech, he makes that clear. He simply wanted to do what God would have him do. And until the final breath he drew, he did just that.

"I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

And so America, don't be worried, or angry, or afraid. God is at work in our country. And though it is yet to be seen whether Barack Obama will lead this country the way he is capable of doing, that doesn't mean we can't pray for that very thing.

I think it is fitting to end with the image that President Obama ended on last night. He told the story of Ann Nixon Cooper, a 106-year-old black woman from Atlanta who has seen the best and worst of America in her long life. Last night could very well have made her life a full one.

"She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America -- the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.

And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

Yes we can."

Cheers

Note: You can read Dr. King's entire Memphis Mountaintop speech here and you can read President Obama's acceptance speech here.

The Job Fair

2008-10-31T13:42:00.002-05:00

I had an interesting chat with Bob, a friend in Birmingham, last night.

Bob and I both love writing and photography, though Bob is light years ahead of me in the latter department. But we are in the same boat nonetheless in terms of figuring out what we want to do after we graduate. We both have a ton of things we'd like to do.

The conversation came to an end as Bob said something incredibly true.

"If you do what you love and you do it well, somebody will find you."

I couldn't agree more. While I would love to go into magazines because they allow more space to write and opportunities like photography that newspapers don't, I realize that it's not a medium you just hop into. It's competitive and takes work. Since most of my experience is with newspapers, that's the most likely route I'll take to better my writing and get into magazines.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the Alabama Press Association Job Fair on Samford University's campus. It was a full day of interviewing with newspapers from around the state for about 15 minutes a piece.

I was able to talk to the big three: The Birmingham News, The Mobile Press-Register and The Huntsville Times. I also spoke with some smaller papers, but to be honest, the larger ones were way more encouraging in regards to comments on my resume, and actual possibility of a job. The economy has really hurt my field, smaller papers especially. This means cutting back on jobs and hiring less people.

However, for bigger papers, things are better somewhat. The representative from Birmingham told me that they were offering a summer internship, which I told him I would gladly accept if offered. We had a good chat that ended with him saying he will be handing my resume over to the executive editor with a recommendation. Huntsville and Mobile were good conversations too and delved deeply into the online world of journalism and my skills other than writing, which is pleasantly refreshing since I love photography and design as well.

Overall things went pretty well and if nothing comes from it I got a lot of good interview experience in. I'm going to take Bob's advice and stop stressing so much. Why should I when I know that I am good at and love to do so many things like music, writing, etc. There's no reason.

They are gifts from God, not burdens, and if I perform them to the best of my ability He will provide.

Cheers.

The Time Lost

2008-10-22T13:38:00.004-05:00

What I meant to ask was,

is it okay if you're my

secret color?

Flushed white,

with the burden of existence

this necktie pendant is

becoming too much for me

to bear.

I'm sorry. I mean

I'm

sorry to say

I was never,

not me.

The Don't Know

2008-10-01T13:40:00.003-05:00

A first draft for your perusal. Comments are appreciated. Think of this as an online workshop.

"Golem"

Destiny-

that wonderful ruby- has long legs.

Legs composed of lines that could only be rendered by that beatific pen,

journeying ever upward 'til colliding in that efficient juncture with the trunk it so drives forth.

Destiny,

that elusive and hungry golem brought to life by Rabbi Loew

with incantations

and a chicken-scratch tattoo telling only

EMET.

Stomping, fleeing, eating, chasing its creator before it is

MET

by the thumb of a Wednesday priest.

As for this lump of clay,

more kneading and more

breath

may be required. Maybe treat it like glass—

impaled, melted, and then breathed into.

Restored.

For this is a chase that can no longer be pursued;

ethereal ephemera sucking wind along the

bloody trail left by the robust perpetual.

You are not fast

Enough.

The DUMBEST Thing I've Seen In a While

2008-09-26T14:24:00.002-05:00

Here's a forwarded chain email I was forwarded earlier today. It suggests instead of the government spending $85 billion to bailout AIG, they should just uh, give it to the American people.

Subject: The Birk Economic Recovery Plan

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a "We Deserve it Dividend".

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000
bona fide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman
a nd child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college - it'll be there
Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car - create jobs
Invest in the market - capital drives growth
Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. and of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribut e wealth let's really do it...instead of
trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being
proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every
adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG.
· Liquidate it.

· Sell off its parts.

· Let American General go back to being American General.

· Sell off the real estate.

· Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington
DC.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because
$25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Birk

T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it's either good for a
laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!

May want to even flood Congress with this message!!!

Okay. So here are my thoughts on this idiocy. The problem isn't who the money is going to but that we're printing money while we don't have the silver and gold to back it up. Every time we do something like this our dollar loses its worth and we dig ourselves even deeper into this hole.

And anyone who wants to pin all of the fault onto AIG and these other companies, think again. People should be smart enough to read the contracts that come with their mortgages and not agree to something they can't pay back. The American people don't spend enough time educating themselves on what simple terms like interest rate or credit are.Therefore if you give a lot of money to either of these entities it's a bad move.

This is also hypocritically Republican. A Conservative obviously wrote this message saying "Dang it I'm American and I deserve $250,000 because I work hard." However, that's just like saying "I'm a disadvantaged African American living in a tough neighborhood, so I deserve welfare." We all know how much Republicans dislike welfare so I don't see how someone can be so adamantly opposed to giving money to someone else while saying they deserve the same thing while giving even less reason for it.

Bottom line, no one deserves anything but what they earn. Every time the government gives you something, you can guarantee it's not a gift and they will get it back from you and more than likely at your loss. Less government = more freedom. Americans need to wise up and realize that printing money to fight wars we can't win and bailout companies and lazy people is going to be the downfall of this country if it doesn't stop.

Oh yeah, and Mr. Birk obviously didn't check his math. 85,000,000,000 divided by 200,000,000 DOES NOT equal 425,000. It equals 425. Good luck paying your bills off with that. It is this sort of ignorance and quick decision that is tearing this country in pieces.

Cheers

P.S. Go here for more information.

The Radiance

2008-09-24T13:49:00.007-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of discovering an amazing poem by A.R. Ammons entitled "The City Limits." I love it when in the last sentence of a piece of literature I am stopped cold as if shot through the heart by a sharp idea from an author. This poem does just that.

I happened upon the poem while reading for my 20th Century Poetry class and we discussed it yesterday. Actually they discussed it because upon first reading it I had an immediate reaction to the underlying tones of religion and admiration of God and his ever-reaching Grace. However, the one who speaks of that reaction to the class is automatically a God-nut and his/her legitimacy and merit are immediately thrown out of the window.

That is the problem with poetry classes. The moment one begins to elaborate on what the poem has done for them, those who disagree feel they are sticking up for the author, doing their best to keep your words from that pen. Go ahead and read the poem, the class discussion follows.

"The City Limits"

by A.R. Ammons

When you consider the radiance, that it does not withhold

itself but pours its abundance without selection into every

nook and cranny not overhung or hidden; when you consider

that birds' bones make no awful noise against the light but

lie low in the light as in a high testimony; when you consider

the radiance, that it will look into the guiltiest

swervings of the weaving heart and bear itself upon them,

not flinching into disguise or darkening; when you consider

the abundance of such resource as illuminates the glow-blue

bodies and gold-skeined wings of flies swarming the dumped

guts of a natural slaughter or the coil of shit and in no

way winces from its storms of generosity; when you consider

that air or vacuum, snow or shale, squid or wolf, rose or lichen,

each is accepted into as much light as it will take, then

the heart moves roomier, the man stands and looks about, the

leaf does not increase itself above the grass, and the dark

work of the deepest cells is of a tune with May bushes

and fear lit by the breadth of such calmly turns to praise.

So I listened to the class search for the meaning of the poem. And no one could make sense of it. The discussion of the poem is fairly summarized in the teacher's last sentence in class:

"The terms fear and praise are juxtaposed, they can never mean the same thing."

Without the existence of God, her confusion would be justified. I smiled at this and all the other times in which I have heard people run from the notion of God in literature, thereby losing all of the meaning in a whatever they are reading. I am certainly not one to push my beliefs down a person's throat but when a poem speaks of a "roomier heart" upon the consideration of grace, it seems the implication is clear.

That is how the poem affected me. I am not saying Ammons is a believer, but I do believe that my God has the power to move the pen of his foes. However my teacher decided to go with this:

"It is through this juxtaposition that Ammons brings praise to the coil of s***."

I don't know that I have ever heard something so foolish in all of my life. God's grace extends to the wicked and ugly, but they are not made so much better as to receive praise for their rebirth. The radiance gives them the ability to approach their creator.

It is in this approach that fear and praise become one. No God, no approach. No approach, no meaning.

Cheers.

The Lateness

2008-09-20T01:23:00.003-05:00

Once again,

I have lost

sight of you.

But that does

not mean I

have closed my

languid eyes.

Cheers

The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me

2008-09-17T12:17:00.004-05:00

I don't really know what it is about the band Brand New that demands my continuous attention. Their music incites this feeling of home in me, of reassurance that everything isn't as bad as it appears. So even though I may go a month or so without listening to one of their albums, it isn't long before I get the urge and go on a two-week binge of nothing but the three albums and unreleased tracks that they've produced.

In my opinion, the band gets better with age and their latest album from November 2006 is their outright best. "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me" takes a painful look into the souls of men. What it finds is that no matter what we have done for ourselves we are pathetic creatures lost without the hand of our creator. However, those that seek Him, are often most vulnerable to the attacks of the one that opposes Him.

This album is about that struggle: The want to do good and the devastation of the failure to do so.

Below are the lyrics to the song Coca-Cola, a bonus track for the album and video of Jesse Lacey, the band's frontman, singing it live. (Amazing performance by the way.)

"Coca-Cola"

There's blood and feathers
On my dumb paws
You ain't nothing but a dead duck
I ain't nothing but a hound-dog.

You seep in the windows and vents.
I lay in the grass and I lose your scent.
If God gave me grace, then why aren't a graceful?

My joints are frozen, cold, old, and idle.

If it's by air
Then I don't want to know
If we all don't take cover
We're all gonna fall back in love again

You work late and fight off your boss
If your patient dies, take the night off

They've worked out
All of the bugs
And if you have enough money
You can buy love

You work out your reception seating
While I sing, sing, sing
These ten lords still leaping
With the mark on your breast from your baby teething

Give him my name if he is needing.

If it's by sea
Then I don't want to know
If we all don't take cover
We're all gonna fall back in love again
"Bless your beautiful hide."
And curse your God when your friends die

If it's by air
Then I don't wanna know
If we all don't take cover
We're all gonna fall back in love again

You work late, fight off your boss
If the patient dies, then take the night off.

Cheers

The Stressed and the Un

2008-09-16T15:40:00.002-05:00

My version of a sonnet. I struggle with iambs.

"Leviticus Perverted"

Remember to make eye contact as you

cradle the back of his head. The silence

will vibrate the brown in his eyes, turning

the world shades of death. His lips will tremble,

part, and snap shut and all in the name of

his loves. Then, in an instant, his eyes will

slide upward to search for God up above.

Then slide your fingers from under his skull

and try not to let the weight pinch. It's not

what you think, the pull of gravity, but

the glow of myrrh gone dull. Off of your knees,

standing at ease, hovering one- two- three...

The priests in the crease, sacrifice with false

guile, munching bloody-burnt scraps with a smile.

The Revolutionary

2008-09-03T13:14:00.003-05:00

It saddens me that in our country of "liberty and freedom," we are forced to vote for one of only two men. Our two-party system is not fully representative of our people and it is wrong for our government to pride itself on open elections by telling citizens to vote for whomever they want while the reality is only two men have somehow gained the right to win because a group of fanatics have chosen to play politics like a game of Red vs. Blue.

If any of you are unaware, I am currently planning on voting for neither John McCain or Barack Obama. McCain, to me, means more Bush policies, while Obama means using fancy speeches to defame those awful policies while doing nothing under the guise of "Change."

I voted for Ron Paul in the Alabama primary, and while people laughed and called Paul supporters crazy as our candidate failed to get a tenth of the delegates McCain garnered, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

What people can't seem to understand about Ron Paul is that, it's not about gaining the Presidency like it is with the other candidates. I'm sure he wouldn't mind being President, if that weren't the case he wouldn't have run. However, the Presidency and really, candidacy for that office, was simply a way to push the ideas of political reformation into the public sphere.

Ron Paul will not be our next President. But he represents the good left in this country, concerned not with affiliations or petty cookie-cutter two-party arguments, but with liberty and making America the "light on the hill" it used to be.

September 2, Paul hosted his own convention along side that of the Republican National Convention. Paul sold 10,000 tickets to the Rally for the Republic for $17.76 and made a statement that there are a substantial amount of people in this nation unhappy with our Republicrat government.

I'm currently reading his book The Revolution: A Manifesto, and let me tell you, it's an eye-opener to see how far we have strayed from the original foundation this country was built upon.

Here are some highlights from his speech at the Rally which you can watch here.

"You know the survival of the Republic was discussed at the time of founding, and the founding fathers came to the conclusion that we would and could have a Republic, but the Republic depended on a moral people so we complain a lot about the government and all that is going on and we blame this person or the other person, but in a way, it is the reflection of the morality of the people. So in doing this we have to understand the morality of the law and the morality of what we do. If we are not a moral people [even] a perfect Constitution cannot save us. We don't have a perfect Constitution, but we have a real good one. But the fact that if we have people who ignore it, it won't serve our purpose so you have to have a moral people and a system of government and moral politicians who represent us."

"Another thing that has happened is that we've lost track that the Constitution was written to restrain the government. Now, it's turned on its head, the Constitution or the government that's there, they use it to restrain us and that is upside down."

"And not only that, we get taught history in our public schools, and who are the great Presidents? The great Presidents are always said to be the ones who run a war. Why don't we have the peace candidates be the great Presidents?"

"Something else has happened over the many decades and that is our confusion on what patriotism is all about. Guess who the true early American Patriots supported? They didn't support the current government that they had and yet today they want you to believe that patriotism means that you support everything the government wants. A true patriot defends liberty and the people. And just naming a bill the Patriot Act and voting for it, doesn't make you a patriot. The true patriots will repeal the patriot act. That's what they would do."

"In one of the debates we were asked as a group what do you think is the greatest moral crisis that we're facing today in this country and the thought that crossed my mind in that debate and I still believe it's one of the most serious moral crisis we face and that is, we as a nation have come to accept, at least the policies go in that direction, that we as a nation now accept the principle of preventive war, actually starting war. There is no moral justification for that and there certainly is no Constitutional justification to fight these many wars that we have been fighting without a declaration of war."

"We do a pretty good job defending against foreign threats. We overdo that because we have no foreign threats. We have no threat that somebody is going to invade this country. We have the threat of terrorism but that is a consequence of a seriously flawed foreign policy."

Cheers

The Election Lost

2008-08-29T14:17:00.011-05:00

According to CNN.com, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain announced today his choice for running mate would be Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the first female Republican to be nominated for Vice President.

I find this funny/stupid on a few counts.

1. She is inexperienced. Much of McCain's platform up until now has been based on calling Sen. Barack Obama a political baby, saying he's inexperienced and couldn't possibly lead effectively. Palin, 44 and even younger even than Obama, has only two years of political experience outside that of civic duties she performed in her small Alaskan town. For instance, here's a quote from an email sent by a concerned Republican voter who said she felt Obama was treating this election like a game, a competition for votes:

"And she's come out of nowhere basically, and nobody knows anything about her. And when you consider she may have to be President someday in case McCain kicks (which is more likely to happen with McCain than Obama) what kind of President is she going to be?"

A logical concern I should say.

2. She is a she.
Republicans don't vote for shes the last time I checked. I don't have a problem with a woman running for VP, but much of the conservative bank I can guarantee you, will have a problem with it.

3. She is simply the wrong choice.
If McCain wanted a serious shot at being President, he should have gone with Mitt Romney. The Neo-Con base is bananas over this guy. Personally, I think he personifies everything that is wrong with the Republican party (partisan arrogance, CEO type leadership, could give two flips about those in need etc.) but Republicans would have rallied around him.

Of his pick McCain said, "She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second. She's got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today."

This may be so, but what a punch in the face to the Republican party. I'm a self-proclaimed independent, I think both parties have it wrong in their magnetic existence, being pulled together by the arrangement of our government and bouncing off one another with their polar-opposite fundamentals.

However, I truly believe John McCain just lost the election. Too many Republicans don't identify McCain's wishy-washy ways of crossing party lines as a true picture of a Conservative American. And now, he picks a woman for VP?

Thoughts?

Cheers

P.S. As a side note, I'm not sure if very many people are aware that the delegates of the state of Nevada have been rallying around putting their votes in for Ron Paul to be the official nominee at the Republican convention. Could this move by McCain mean more votes for Paul? I think not. But I can hope.

The Art of Reading Poetry

2008-08-26T15:33:00.010-05:00

I just finished reading Harold Bloom's The Art of Reading Poetry, which, though also published as a standalone volume, is the introduction to his book, The Best Poems Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer through Frost.

The piece certainly thrusts you into a whole other level of literary criticism. Once you begin reading, you realize that Bloom is a genius without the time or want to go into any more depth than what he thinks is already painfully obvious. However, this is good in that it forces you to think more carefully about what he says, and trust me, his arguments are deserving of your time.

Art is only about 51 pages long, but in that span of time the reader should come out with a basic understanding of the keys to reading (and writing) poetry.

Bloom is very much a believer in recognition and allusion.

"Memory is critical for all thought, but particularly so for poetic thinking...Literary thinking relies upon literary memory, and the drama of recognition, in every writer, contains within it a moment of coming to terms with another writer, or with an earlier version of the self."

This reminds me of C.S. Lewis's thoughts on our role as Sub-Creators. According to Lewis, part of the charge of the cultural mandate in Genesis 1:28, is that we take what our Creator has put us in charge of and create new things from that. According to Bloom, it is impossible to write or read poetry without being reminded of past poetry. Therefore, the next great poem will come as a direct descendant of the last great poem.

What this means for writers, of course, is that the next great thing our pens spill forth should have roots in the creations of the writers before us, which have roots in the creation of God. The only way to write well, is to posses the ability to read even better.

Cheers

The Lies of a Lying Liar

2008-08-22T14:50:00.004-05:00

If I wanted, I could watch FOX News everyday and find not only the neo-Con bias that each of their "journalists" spew every second of air time, but also purposefully twisted facts to serve their overall cause.

Below is a video from Keith Olbermann's Countdown on MSNBC. A fellow Faux News hater, Olbermann brings to light a blatant lie told by our good friend and "culture warrior" Bill O'Reilly. Keep in mind afterward that people watch him to learn things.

Cheers

The Poet's Dispair

2008-08-22T12:52:00.002-05:00

Things are getting back to normal in Tuscaloosa now. School has started, the quad is packed and the kickoff to College Football is only 8 days away. It's hard not to be excited.

However, I had a bit of a depressing moment yesterday in my 20th Century Poetry class. My professor, a Dr. Heather White, was introducing us to the course material, all contained in the behemoth-sized Norton Anthology of Poetry.

The reading load is quite heavy and by way of warning she described the first few weeks as an upward march, in which we will be plowing through some very tricky pieces and are bound at some point to tire and want to give up. At this point she began to get into the disparaging fact that poetry is somewhat a dying art and it is in classes like this that it is on "life support."

It is no hidden truth that most who end up studying poetry, whether it is in a high school class or simply stumbling upon a piece in a magazine are forced into the situation. People read poems, don't understand them and decide that anymore of that is a very tedious waste of their time. Why read if not to understand?

However, Dr. White brought a little bit of hope into the discussion by explaining that poetry, like anything worth its existence, must be worked for. You must learn how to read it, appreciate its rules and write it yourself to appreciate the beautiful tangles of yarn that masters like Wordsworth and Coleridge have left for us to untangle.

She said not doing these things now will mean missing out on something very special.

"It's not that you won't have to do these this after you graduate. It's the fact that you may not have the chance to," she said.

And all at once, I was frightened and overjoyed.

But it makes me ask the question why aren't more teachers addressing this issue in the same way? It is simply this: those same teacher don't like poetry either.

Here at UA, your first creative writing course is EN200, which requires a section taught on poetry, a section taught on screen writing and section taught on poetry. I can't tell you how many creative writing teachers I have come into contact with here who "don't get" poetry and put very little effort into teaching it to their intro classes. It's sad that the only appreciated form any more is prose.

Or is that the case? Where is this going and what is the problem? Let me know how you feel.

Cheers

The Need for Technology (and Capitalism too)

2008-08-19T15:45:00.004-05:00

Through a picture in a magazine, it is almost beautiful.

In a white tiled room, silently lay three tiny bundles of colorful quits, tied at one end to keep lifeless little toes from escaping. Inside the red and yellows of the quilts are the once lively bodies of three Ethiopian children, now crumpled like paper, defeated by hunger.

They were only babies, with stringy muscles meant to flex and float through the African air, their bodies on fire with the light of mankind's cradle.

But now, they are only statistics.

In the August 11th and 18th issues of Time magazine are two articles worlds apart at first glance, but center on the same problem in application. The first is a piece in the August 18th issue titled "Pain amid Plenty" by Alex Perry/Kuyera.

It talks about the misleading Green pastures and fields that litter Ethiopia, while hunger sweeps the country with 4.6 million people at risk and 75,000 children with malnutrition. The problem lies with the temporary character of the green. Perry/Kuyera says it is a product of rains in June, too late for the first of two annual crops.

According to the article, Ethiopia is a nation of 66 million farmers and, as the writer puts it, "...exemplifies the consequences of giving a starving man a fish instead of teaching him to catch his own. This year, the U.S. will give more than $800 million to Ethiopia for food, $350 million for HIV/AIDS treatment—and just $7 million for agricultural development...Why bother with development when shortfalls are met by aid? Ethiopian farmers can't compete with free food, so they stop trying."

In the August 11th issue is a piece written by Bill Gates titled "How to Fix Capitalism" which talks about the bad rap Capitalism gets, but strives to remind readers of all the good the free market has done and can do to help those in poverty.

Gates's argument is that big companies have the power, both financially and creatively, to help the people in our country who need it the most. The core of this belief is what Gates says are markets that have either been skipped over or simply missed by companies. Many of these markets are in very poor areas of the world and therefore companies don't waste time in studying them because they don't believe the people there could afford their services. However, Gates cites a study finding that the poorest two-thirds of the world's population has some $5 trillion in purchasing power.

However, Gates stays realistic.

"Naturally, if companies are going to get more involved, they need to learn to earn some kind of return," Gates explains. "This is the heart of creative capitalism. It's not just about doing more corporate philanthropy or asking companies to be more virtuous. It's about giving them a real incentive to apply their expertise in new ways, making it possible to earn a return while serving the people who have been left out. This can happen in two ways: companies can find these opportunities on their own, or governments and nonprofits can help create such opportunities where they presently don't exist."

As an example, Gates supplies a new U.S. law enacted last year that gives any drug company that develops a new treatment for neglected disease a priority review from the Food and Drug Administration. This means more medicenes in areas of the world fighting diseases like Malaria on a daily basis and the drug company getting their new domestic medicines on store shelves as much as a year earlier. It's a win-win situation.

He also talks about the cell phone company Vodaphone who bought a large stake in a Kenyan cell phone company, Safaricom. Today, Safaricom has more than 10 million users and is making a huge profit and helping the region by introducing new and useful technology.

It is this point in Gates's article that connects with the article on Ethiopia.

The situation in Ethiopia and other impoverished nations around the world highlights the need for more ideas like those expressed in Gates's article. These people need farming equipment, seed and training so that they may feed their children and families and do so with pride, instead of at the feet of volunteers with rice bags. Our government, already fighting two wars and under the control of a President leaving his office with the country $10 trillion is debt, cannot support its own poor, much less that of the world.

More companies need to realize the need of technology internationally and our government, instead of writing a blank check each year while the value of the dollar slips to oblivion, needs to offer incentives for these companies to offer their services to everyone and not just demographics.

If we don't, we soon won't be able to help at all.

The other thing the situation highlights is the ludicrousness of socialism and programs like government-run health care. We are in fact in trouble in the U.S. in regards to health care. According to the U.S. Census, 47 million Americans are without health insurance. But how is giving it to them for free the answer? It's not. Because to do that means higher taxes and sending these people to doctors paid for by the government. State doctors means lower paid doctors. Lower paid doctors means a decrease in medical school students. That means the quality of American health care falls apart.

So we're back again to compaines making themselves more available. Insurance companies, with government incentives to do so, could make health insurance more affordable, with acceptable coverage and lower premiums for those who need it. (I believe this is what Obama's health care stance is, but do double check me.)

Therefore, the free market system is not flawed, it is run by flawed and greedy minds unwilling to expand and serve the people who need it the most.

Unfortunately so is the country it represents.

Cheers.

The Style

2008-08-14T13:42:00.004-05:00

While perusing the Web yesterday I stumbled upon an essay by the famed writer Kurt Vonnegut. It's titled "How to Write With Style" and in my opinion it is right on. (The following is an overview of the essay but please click on the title to check out the full essay.) It is very useful as a checklist for writers in helping to make sure that your voice is coming through what you write. Right off the bat, Vonnegut goes after Journalists and "technical writers" saying they reveal nothing about themselves in their writing. He's absolutely correct. This isn't a dig at them I think it is more of a remark of pity for them.

"Newspaper reporters and technical writers are trained to reveal almost nothing about themselves in their writings. This makes them freaks in the world of writers, since almost all of the other ink-stained wretches in that world reveal a lot about themselves to readers. We call these revelations, accidental and intentional, elements of style."

Journalism is meant to be an objective art, designed to inform without swaying the opinion of the reader. This is great for straight "Dog Bites Man" stories but what about the stories I like to write? What about the stories people actually want to read, not only the first 3 paragraphs of, but, gasp, the whole thing? Vonnegut says what makes readers want to spend their time with a writer is that writer's voice, or writing style.

"Why should you examine your writing style with the idea of improving it? Do so as a mark of respect for your readers, whatever you're writing. If you scribble your thoughts any which way, your readers will surely feel that you care nothing about them. They will mark you down as an egomaniac or a chowderhead — or, worse, they will stop reading you."

Vonnegut's advice is to basically, and I mean very basically, begin writing with the ideas in your head. How you feel about certain things, your emotions, your broken heart etc. One of the first things I was taught by Jason Smith, my high school English teacher, is that reading requires the reader to surrender their mind to the author, or as Coleridge put it, a "willing suspension of disbelief." When reading a story, one is to leave behind any prejudices or opinions behind and let the author take them where he/she will. Vonnegut says the key thing to voice, is to be assertive. Tell the reader what is and is not important and back that up with emotion.

"The most damning revelation you can make about yourself is that you do not know what is interesting and what is not. Don't you yourself like or dislike writers mainly for what they choose to show you or make you think about? Did you ever admire an emptyheaded writer for his or her mastery of the language? No."

Curious about how to find these ideas and make your reader care about them? Vonnegut provides a list of which I have provided below with an excerpt from his explanations of each item:

1. Find a subject you care about
"It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style."

2. Do not ramble, though
"I won't ramble on about that."

3. Keep it simple "Simplicity of language is not only reputable, but perhaps even sacred. The Bible opens with a sentence well within the writing skills of a lively fourteen-year-old: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

4. Have guts to cut
"If a sentence, no matter how excellent, does not illuminate your subject in some new and useful way, scratch it out."

5. Sound like yourself
"I myself find that I trust my own writing most, and others seem to trust it most, too, when I sound most like a person from Indianapolis, which is what I am. What alternatives do I have?"

6. Say what you mean
"If I broke all the rules of punctuation, had words mean whatever I wanted them to mean, and strung them together higgledy-piggledy, I would simply not be understood.

7. Pity the readers
"They have to read, an art so difficult that most people don't really master it even after having studied it all through grade school and high school — twelve long years...Our audience requires us to be sympathetic and patient readers, ever willing to simplify and clarify --- whereas we would rather soar high above the crowd, singing like nightingales."

Technically the list is eight items long, however the last simply tells you to consult The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White. I realized after reading this essay the first time that I actually own this book. It came with a truckload of books I bought for a literature class one time and I had never cracked its cover. Mistake. Of the book Vonnegut has this to say:

"You should realize, too, that no one would care how well or badly Mr. White expressed himself, if he did not have perfectly enchanting things to say."

And that, I think, is half the battle in writing anything at all.

Cheers.

The 2008 Olympic Games

2008-08-11T17:41:00.005-05:00

The Olympic games are in full swing and as I was perusing the NBC site for the games, I ran across some pictures I thought were beautiful.

The first is of badminton players Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna of Japan, celebrating after their match point during the Women's Doubles match against a Chineese team.

The next is of swimmer Michael Phelps, who is going for an Olympic record 8 gold medals, celebrating after he and the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay team won the gold medal in their event.

And here is another shot of the whole team after the win. Beautiful.

And if you were wondering, here is the current medal count.

Cheers, and USA all the way.

The War Going on for Your Mind

2008-08-10T12:19:00.003-05:00

There is a song by the Flobots titled "There's a War Going on For Your Mind" that I can't believe I didn't put in with the last post about the media and the election. I don't think the group has made an official video for the song, but here is one I found on YouTube that is very well done. The words of this song are very important and this video uses them to paint a very clear picture of its meaning. If you'd just like to read the lyrics, they're below the video. Do let me know what you think of this.

There is a war going on for your mind.

Media mavens mount surgical strikes from trapper keeper collages and online magazine racks
Cover girl cutouts throw up pop-up ads
Infecting victims with silicone shrapnel.
Worldwide passenger pigeons deploy paratroopers
Now it's raining pornography,
Lovers take shelter.
Post-production debutantes pursue you in NASCAR chariots
They construct ransom letters from biblical passages and bleed mascara into holy water supplies.

There's a war going on for your mind.

Industry insiders slang test tube babies to corporate crackheads.
They flash logos and blast ghettos
Their embroidered neckties say "Stop Snitchin.'"
Conscious rappers and whistleblowers get stitches made of acupuncture needles and marionette strings.

There is a war going on for your mind.

Professional wrestlers and vice presidents want you to believe them.
The desert sky is their bluescreen
They superimpose explosions
They shout at you,
"Pay no attention to the men behind the barbed curtain
Nor the craters beneath the draped flags
Those hoods are there for your protection,"
And meteors these days are the size of corpses.

There is a war going on for your mind.

We are the insurgents.

Cheers.

The Media and our Next President

2008-08-08T10:36:00.006-05:00

I was listening to the latest Relient k release (which by the way has 26 tracks on two EPs and is great) and the song "Wit's All Been Done Before." It's a pretty cheesy title and play on words, but the song has a good point. Read for yourself.

"But to innovate is a mistake,

because there's nothing new under the sun.

Because we're all getting tired of the media,

Because it tries so hard to make you like something.

Because we're all getting tired of the media,

Because creating something new is just recycling"

I love the repetition at the beginning of each line of the chorus and I think Matt Theissen has a point. As a journalism major, it's hard for me to watch the election coverage sometimes. Not only for the reasons that bug everyone else like the fact that IT IS ALL CNN AND FOX talk about. But also because of the way certain outlets handle stories and how their choices conflict with what I'm being taught in school.

Because I look at FOX News's Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and I think to myself, "Do these guys think they're actually fooling anyone." And the answer is no. They KNOW they are. In 2003, The University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes conducted a polling of FOX News viewers.

According to Jim Lobe of the Inter Press Service, "PIPA found that 48 percent of the public believe US troops found evidence of close pre-war links between Iraq and the al-Qaeda terrorist group; 22 percent thought troops found weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq; and 25 percent believed that world public opinion favored Washington's going to war with Iraq. All three are misperceptions."

That's a lot of misinformed people. And not only that, just the other night on Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan confirmed the long rumored question of whether or not the White House delivered talking points to FOX News correspondents.

Keith Olbermann on his show Countdown said as far as MSNBC knows FOX News still does this for FOX News "propagandists... to spout as if ventriloquist dummies as if they had thought of it themselves, as if they had come to those opinions independently, as if there was a process that had been either Fair of Balanced." Check out the video below.

And to FOX News viewers, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm picking on that network. It's not because CNN doesn't do the wrong things too, it's just that their not nearly as blatant about it as FOX News is. However, CNN and the rest of the media has its fair share of problems.

For instance with Barack Obama and the rumors surrounding his run for the presidency which are spread through those emails we all get from our neo-con relatives and the internet. Even though CNN isn't starting these rumors they sure do love to air them and spread them. But that's just their job right? Take a look at this video from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In it Stewart looks at CNN's looking down on rumors while continuing to perpetuate them themselves.

There is another video on the Daily Show Web site that covers the media's criticism of McCain's campaign as well and it is equally ridiculous. Either way, I guess my only advice is to be careful who you listen to. These reporters on TV are in a cutthroat business where the big money goes with the big stories so they tend to make things bigger than they really are. But you already know that.

So what's your opinion, does the media have the control over elections that people say it does? Or are we independent for the most part and capable of picking a President without CNN or FOX News' help. Because I can tell you right now, they don't think we are. It's their job, and mine someday.

The Saga Over: Favre is a Jet

2008-08-06T23:09:00.004-05:00

Earlier tonight Fox Sports broke the news that Brett Favre is now officially a New York Jet. Late Tuesday night it was rumored that the nearly month long "saga" (as ESPN has referred to it) would end within 24 hours with a Favre trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Maybe the man just likes how he looks in green.

According to FoxSports.com's Jay Glazer, the Jets were more aggressive in acquiring Favre all along and the Packers were hoping to seal the deal with New York, because the team offered Green Bay better compensation for the trade and New York is not only out of the NFC North, but all the way in the AFC East, meaning it's very unlikely the Packers will have to figure out how to beat the man who has started for them for them since 1992.

The Web site said there is no report on how much the Jets will pay Favre.

Favre, 38, holds nearly every passing record in NFL history and led the Packers to an unexpected 13-3 season last year and a shot at going to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1997 before falling to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship 23-20.

Personally, I'm glad to see this mess come to an end so I don't have to see it dominate ESPN anymore, that is until he reports to camp and everyone starts speculating on whether or not Favre can work his magic for the Jets who, like the 2006 Packers, are awful.

This entire time I have hated this for him. Unlike many in Alabama, I love the NFL. My dad raised an avid Steelers fan in me and since I was very small I can remember donning the black and gold every autumn Sunday. Last summer I had the opportunity to see Favre play my Steelers in a preseason game. The Steelers lost that game, but seeing him in action was so worth it. (And the Steelers defense destroyed him during the quarter he played.)

However, I've always been amazed by what Favre has been able to accomplish, and I just hope this return from retirement is the same as Michael Jordan's first when he led the Bulls to another NBA Championship and not his last when he was just another struggling player for the Washington Wizards.

When on the field, Favre never let on that he was in the big time professionalism of the NFL. He was daring and often times tried and was successful at making risky decisions into huge plays. And with each touchdown pass he always looked like that young boy who just won a backyard football game. That is what made him one of the greatest. As a feature from ESPN's ESPY awards put it, "He played the game like we would have."

Cheers.

Update: ESPN is calling Favre "Broadway Brett" and brought up the interesting fact that Favre is the biggest name quarterback the organization has had since "Broadway" Joe Namath. I wonder if the "Broadway" thing is just a coincidence?

The Office Poetry

2008-08-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

Friendship in a storm turned sour,

prayed for the sun at least each half an hour.

Duties to a God unseen,

were mixed with false ones to a false queen.

My brother's keeper, I forgot,

under shorting lights of a parking lot.

Gravity is blood's best friend,

returned to sender, my love, evil intent.

And I never thought I'd hear from you again.

Cheers.

The First Post

2008-08-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

From Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in fiction:

"In later years, holding forth to an interviewer or to an audience of aging fans at a comic book convention, Sam Clay liked to declare, apropos of his and Joe Kavalier's greatest creation, that back when he was a boy, sealed and hog-tied inside the airtight vessel known as Brooklyn, New York, he had been haunted by dreams of Harry Houdini. "To me, Clark Kent in a phone booth and Houdini in a packing crate, they were one and the same thing," he would learnedly expound at WonderCon or Angouleme or to the editor of The Comics Journal. "You weren't the same person when you came out as when you went in. Houdini's first magic act, you know, back when he was just getting started. It was called 'Metamorphosis.' It was never just a question of escape. It was also a question of transformation." ... His dreams had always been Houdiniesque: they were the dreams of a pupa struggling in its blind cocoon, mad for a taste of light and air."

Hopefully after reading that you'll do yourself a favor and go out an buy this book. I read this exact section at the local Barnes & Noble here and immediately took it up to the counter. I can only think of one other book that struck me on the first page and that was McCarthy's The Road and that book rocked the foundations of every thing I had considered good literature beforehand.

In writing classes you hear a lot about tone, voice, and rhythm and if you want a good example of how to do it and how to do it to perfection, look no further than Chabon. But what drew me in much more than his eloquence, was his opening theme of transformation. The image comparing Superman to Houdini is so unique and beautiful and the idea excites me as to where Chabon is going with his prompting that effective literature—good literature—is transforming of its audience. I look forward to the rest of this.

Cheers.

P.S. Welcome to the new blog. I am finally discontinuing the French Fry Filosophy after failing to revive it. I think it just held too many things irrelevant to my life now. However, it's still up and I might even refer back to it every once and a while, but everything will be done here now.

My initial instinct was to do a post solely for introductions but after speaking to my good friend Jarrett a few weeks back, I was convinced that's just a waste of words. Much better to get into what this blog is for, and that's sharing good art and news.