Forgive Me

But I am going to nerd out just a little here.

My old Starbucks boss is the closest thing I have to a pop-culture dictionary. Movies, music, books, you name it and if he hasn't personally seen, heard, or read it he at least knows about it. Needless to say he's not only flippin' awesome but he's also pretty useful to have around.

Ever since I started working for him last summer he's been loaning me comic books- well, graphic novels- to read. I had read a few before I met him; namely the first two in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series and Jhonen Vasquez's Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Squee. None of which truly measured up to my favorite series...[drum roll]...Preacher by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.

I don't know what it is about the series... maybe it's because Jesse Custer (note picture) is from Texas, and therefor more awesome and bad-ass than most. It doesn't really matter why I love Preacher; what matters is that you read it.

Oh how I wish this fact were more widely acknowledged.

So many paint problems to be a treacherous one-way path, with a steep incline to each side so that even one person can barely pass. They paint an issue to be this or that person's fault, an only this or that person's fault. This is hardly ever the case. Problems, disputes, whatever one may call them, especially those between people, and certainly those augmented by emotions, are roundabouts. Disputes rarely come from a single slight, but rather a conversation of offenses that feed off of each other. Highly personal disagreements chase after themselves, with the same repetition of a dog chasing after its own tail. In order to resolve any sort of issue, all parties must first acknowledge this, and then accept that it is in fact not just one party's fault. It is the fault of every one involved. Then and only then can the problem at hand begin to dissipate, through cooperation and compromise.

one

I was once an artist. My high school art teacher covered, in my earliest art class, the idea that odd numbers make for good design. I don't know why; it probably falls into the ambiguous class of reasons that also contains the reasons for why we all become more subdued around the correct shade of blue and why we become ravenous around the color orange. All I know is that a single red dot pulls the eye in- it makes a rather bold assertion. Two red dots, though- all they do is confuse or subdue. But they are not alone. Is the boldness and attention that comes with being the single red dot worth the inevitable? Loneliness? So often it seems that when one chooses to be bold, one also inevitably chooses a rather lonely path. To stand out means just that- standing out.

well THAT was unexpected

I do not read newspapers. I like the idea of reading newspapers, and I enjoy actually knowing what is up in the world. But I do not EVER read tangible newspapers; the reason? I can't maneuver the really really big pieces of newsprint. Pathetic, I know.

To compensate for my lack of newspaper reading, I occasionally pop onto The New York Times website and peruse the world section. There's always the nuclear power story, the foreign diplomacy gone wrong. Today there was a particular story that caught my attention- one of a writing experiment spiraling out of control. I invite you all to read more of this story.

Nothing like Victorian literature to thouroughly kill that high-on-life buzz....

...or so I once thought. But now... now I am not so sure.

One thing I am sure of is that Kate Chopin just jumped up into my top ten authors list. I finished The Awakening this evening, and though the ending was admittedly depressing it was none the less satisfying. I am not going to say anymore on the subject as I will undoubtedly spoil it all for anyone who endeavors to read this gratifying novel.

There is a section of the novel that stood out:

"If I were young and in love with a man," said Mademoiselle, turning on the stool and pressing her wiry hands between her knees as she looked down at Edna, who sat on the floor holding the letter, "it seems to me he would have to be some grand espirit; a man with lofty aims and ability to reach them; one who stood high enough to attract the notice of his fellow-men. It seems to me if I were young and in love I should never deem a man of ordinary caliber worthy of my devotion."

And Edna goes on to say that one does not choose whom one falls in love with. As I said before, this caught my attention. For what reason, I cannot precisely place my finger upon. I can only say that it led me to seriously question a great deal about my romantic endeavors thus far.

It is not prestige that makes literature great or spectacular. It is the enduring loyalty to the human condition that makes Shakespeare, Dante, Austen and yes, Chopin, beautiful and relevant. Not just for days and months and a handful of years, but for centuries.

I believe it can be...

 

Idealism: [ahy-dee-uh-liz-uhm] n. the cherishing or pursuit of high or noble principles, purposes, goals, etc.

it's nice to see someone has a pair

I found this during my early morning coffee-and-stumbleupon time at political irony. 

This letter to the editor was published in a newspaper in Michigan, after Governor Rick Snyder and the Republican-controlled legislature voted to cut the school budget by $300 per student, and redistribute some of the funding to increase funding for prisons:

Dear Governor Snyder,

In these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone in Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren’t we protecting schools? Schools are the one place on Earth that people look to to “fix” what is wrong with society by educating our youth and preparing them to take on the issues that society has created.

One solution I believe we must do is take a look at our corrections system in Michigan. We rank nationally at the top in the number of people we incarcerate. We also spend the most money per prisoner annually than any other state in the union. Now, I like to be at the top of lists, but this is one ranking that I don’t believe Michigan wants to be on top of.

Consider the life of a Michigan prisoner. They get three square meals a day. Access to free health care. Internet. Cable television. Access to a library. A weight room. Computer lab. They can earn a degree. A roof over their heads. Clothing. Everything we just listed we DO NOT provide to our school children.

This is why I’m proposing to make my school a prison. The State of Michigan spends annually somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per prisoner, yet we are struggling to provide schools with $7,000 per student. I guess we need to treat our students like they are prisoners, with equal funding. Please give my students three meals a day. Please give my children access to free health care. Please provide my school district Internet access and computers. Please put books in my library. Please give my students a weight room so we can be big and strong. We provide all of these things to prisoners because they have constitutional rights. What about the rights of youth, our future?!

Please provide for my students in my school district the same way we provide for a prisoner. It’s the least we can do to prepare our students for the future…by giving our schools the resources necessary to keep our students OUT of prison.

Respectfully submitted,
Nathan Bootz
Superintendent
Ithaca Public Schools

there seems to be an ongoing theme here...

Last night I stumbled upon this lovely little article regarding the slut walk and the incident in Toronto that sparked the event. I would just repost and cite the article but I have been censoring most of my rambles in an effort to keep my lovely little blog friendly to all readers. Occasionally I swear a little. But not as much as the author of this article.