College Students Rule

LOLWUT Space Travelers? Let's talk youth truth.

Some people think that the youth just don't care about the world, and that they only care every four years. The idea that they vote, and then think they've done their part. I'd have agreed in the past, but I think that something is different with the younger voters. I think we've been socialized to take interest in things differently. It seems like I'm constantly meeting 20 somethings who are doing amazing things and finding very creative ways to contribute. Beyond that, the explosion of social media networks has given them new platforms to get involved in the national dialog in very powerful ways.

Beyond Social media, main stream media has also been encouraging this generation to be interested in politics and current events. I think that the genius of people like Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert should not be taken for granted. American philosopher William James once said :

“Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds.

A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.”

So I find it very exciting to see students expressing themselves in a culturally familiar way and often with the grease of humor to move it along. It's been near a year since the election, and the youth still cares.

I'm pretty fucking proud. What can I say.

Shout out to the University of Maryland - College Park! Great rally, and kudos for leading the nation in your efforts to improve student health on your campus with your health insurance requirement.

New Blogs on the Hero Blog Roll

Update Space Travelers!

I have added Lance's new blog into the blog roll. He's started fresh with a new spirit of creativity and artistic experimentation.

In addition to that, I have been offered to write on a feminist blog. This is either a very flattering offer that I could speak on such matters or a grand opportunity to illustrate exactly how poorly qualified I am. I've already made my introductory post. Hopefully, they chose the right guy for the woman's job.

vLog: Simple As That

If I had not done it myself, I would not believe it either Space Travelers. That's right, after over 5 months the vLog is back! I didn't hold back on this one either.

Warning: The following video is rated P for gratuitous pizza dancing. Father's hide your daughters. And........ On!

Haiku Movie Review: Solace, Traitors, and Lies

It's kind of a bummer to find out your idea isn't original Space Travelers. As it turns out, lots of people do Haiku Movie Reviews. I still like thee idea, and I figure I can contribute to the body of work in this budding poetic mock genre. However, I think it best to do three at a time. Having single posts about this is kind of cumbersome. Today's theme: Spies

Angsty british spy
Less than threatening end villain
James Bond is Jack Bauer

New type of story
Terror in first person view
Gritty dialog

Feels like real danger
Romance unnecessary
Good supporting cast

Chapter 28, Verse 0: Goathouse Reunion Preview

I'm going to bed Space Travelers, but I wanted people to know that I started to covert my video from labor day weekend into .wmv files so I can edit them. Here's a little preview of my trip back to Missouri to visit the Goats.

Haiku Movie Review: Son of Rambow

Space Travelers, I need to focus. Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I just want to create some random new project. This is a bad idea. Jon at the Ideoteria, is going to attempt to watch the top 100 films of all time. I hope for his sake that he does this quickly before any really good films come a log and fuck up his list. I don't plan on joining Jon in this quest, but I had an idea of my own. Since I consider myself a pretty well fed head when it comes to the cinema, and I've got lots of thoughts and movie suggestions. I've decided that I'm going to offer some movie suggestions/warnings/reviews in the form of haiku.

Introducing the "Haiku Movie Review!"

Little kids with film
Androgynous french hipster
Heart warming story

I was going to make this it's own blog, but I think I can just throw these in here when I can't think of something to write. Seems like a better use of webestate (<-- clever huh?) for me to focus my energies on my creative headquarters. Hope you enjoy this new feature.

Single Thought #6

A single branch produces not a single leaf, but many.

Healthy Thoughts

Oi, Space Travelers. I'm landed ans settled back in DC. I can type up more freely what I saw now that I'm not typing on my phone.

My flight left St. Louis at 8:45. I figured, I'd go early so I could make it through check in and security then find some place I could hear the speech. I figured there would be at least one place I could see the [joint session of Congress] speech [on health care reform]. Pleasantly to my surprise, every TV was on the speech and I found a gate which had no flights in or out and sat there (if for only less pedestrian traffic and noise).

I had my head fixed upward at the screen for most of the speech, but I had looked down on occasion to post on my Facebook wall my thoughts in real time. I can't remember the point of the speech I became aware of it, but the empty gate which I was sitting at had become full like a theater, and many people were now sitting fixed on the screen. Quiet. I looked in the terminal, and their were people just stopped, with their luggage, in no particular hurry to get home, or not wishing to miss this speech. I saw many anxious children ready to get home tugging on their parents arms. I saw people crying. I saw a few couples smiling, and a I received a few smiles directed at me when I not so silently cheered when Obama specifically spoke about the public option.

After the speech, the people began to move again, and I made my way to my own terminal. I got to my terminal as the republican response was aired. The people at the terminal watched, but I didn't see anybody stopping to listen.

I took in more of the speech, and was enthusiastically happy to hear three major things.

1) It will be illegal to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions
2) Coverage will include preventative care measures
3) There must be a public option.

I was fond of other details, but these are what I find most important to me. Good work Obama. We needed you to be tough. I'd have liked you to have spoken earlier, but this was truly a brilliant address.

Full Speech Transcript Here

Letter From Ted Kennedy

Chapter 27, Verse 2: When Will We Get There?

I promised that I'd tell more Space Travelers, and I mean to do just that. Today, you learn about my quarter-life crisis.
I can't remember who gave the quote, and I'm going to have to paraphrase anyways, but: "You're unhappy? They have a group for that. It's called EVERYONE"

EDIT: I found the original quote and remembered where I read it. It's Drew Carey and I read it on Amy's blog. "You say you're pissed off that life didn't turn out the way you wanted it to? There's a group for that. It's called 'Everybody.' They meet at the bar."

Well, I'm not really unhappy, but sadly dispelled.

Oh, and if you thought that this post was going to be more cool England shit, sorry. The connection is that I came to my conclusions on my quarter life crisis during my trip, so that's why it falls here. For your enjoyment, I did include pics of the lovely Ruth, and ever adventurous duo Taylor and Chi.
You must understand. It has not been easy for me to fit in. Imagine that. In my earlier years, it was being shy, but having a very active imagination. As I grew up and my communication skills developed, I began going through a very awkward stage of saying incomplete things. Some speech pathologists say that people who stutter simply fail to be able to speak at the speed they think. Well, I might have had a similar thing, only I just said parts of things. It sounded weird, but it's not really material to the story, so I'm going to just keep going... The point here is that by time I had learned how to properly communicate, I was at the age where our social hierarchy had began to harden. This made me a "fringe kid."

Being on the fringe meant meeting other all-star weirdos who were pretty cool. Everyone was truly unique and all struggled to fit in their own way. We became close. You know lunchroom politics? Well, we beat them... by not even eating in the lunchroom. One of those fringe kids was Taylor.

As the years went by, the molds that held these various social roles were loosened. In college, some people break out, and join the fringe. Other molds stand strong letting their contents harden more.

After college, more molds release and then fail to hold their shape. Yet more people on the fringe and what they long for is to be back in the mold where they think they made sense.

So here's my crisis; here is my dilemma. I just thought someday I'd fit in somewhere. I thought I'd arrive somewhere and when I got there, people would be magically awaiting me, smiling and they'd say:

"We've been waiting for you to get here."

I guess I've been holding out for some retribution; some good prize for staying who I am. I want my character to fit. Why must being free be lonely? Why can't we earn acceptance?

But I already knew the answer. I knew it the second I realized what my crisis was. The answer was and will always be those fringe kids. I have been accepted many times in my life. My journey has brought me to some of the most amazing and unique people. I've never found a place to take me in, but I can build on the little real estate we're given. Like the lunch room politics, we just ate in the hall, completely bypassing it. Now as an adult, I know the community I want, is one I have to build. It will not build itself. What I want in my life, is not waiting at some point in the future for me, but that is not to say I can't have it if I try.

If I want amazing friends, I don't wait for them to find me. When I want adventure and when I want to feel alive, I don't wait for an invitation.

I guess all the molds eventually crumble and everythign is reduced to the fringe. It's like the 2nd law of social dynamics. Some people just live there longer than the others.

I don't know when I'll be satisfied, I don't dare think what would be left if I knew.

Chapter 27, Verse 1: Where Are We Going?

Wotcha Space Travelers! London's Calling, and I've paid a refuckingdiculous amount of money to have a mobile phone abroad. Note to self: Get prepaid next time.

I've spent the 4th of July the last two years in different curcumstances: Thee flight deck of a WWII aircraft carrier in San Diego, and last year in a massive city evacuation drill on the National Mall here in DC (Golly it's true. Arnest!).

This year, I satisfied my urge to just leave. No, not in a Sean Penn I'm-moving-to-Canada kind of leaving, but rather for the reasons of...

Okay, so I didn't have a reason, but I could. Okay? I did it because I could. This year I spent the 4th of July in England. Ironic as it may sound, it turned out to be one of the best ideas I've had in ages. Add to that, the presence of one Mr. Taylor Park, and it's an adventure.

Taylor added two important ingredients to the trip:

1) Poland - Neither of us speaks Polish, but Marta was going to be there and we knew we could make her our language slave for a few days.

2) Couch Surfing - An adventure in itself, we didn't stay in any hotels. Our hosts were indie posh students at Goldsmiths, a 60's Mod who used to get in fist fights with rockers (achievement unlocked), and Bollywood Art Directors. Our trip was meant to be memorable.

I had not left the USA since 2004, and that was only for a day trip across the border into Mexico (inside scoop: The ring I wear on my left hand was bought on that trip). Before that, I had gone on a study trip to Japan. That trip interestingly enough was also with Taylor.

I remember the day I bought the tickets. I remember because it was the day my passport expired. It had been almost exactly a decade since I first left the country. Like that first trip abroad, I hoped this trip too would be full of firsts and overwhelm my senses.

It's good to get out, see your world in the third person. It's good to be the outsider; not get all the jokes; struggle with the local vernacular. A unexpected thing I learned, is that push come to shove, we could out drink the British. I'm worried about what this says for our college system.

They say "Life is a journey." I say "Life is a journey, if you chose it." There is no passive adventure, only active quests. I can't hold out that someone else is going to just come a long and make my life what I want it to be, but more on that some other time.

Single Thought #5

If hunger is your stomach telling you what you need, then heartache is hunger too.

Chapter 26: Families of Ours

Happy retro post Space Travelers! It's May 2009, and I'm sending this blog entry into the future to offer a really lame excuse for not updating more frequently!

I'm here in Seattle for Western Kelrod's graduation! He just completed his M.S. in Game Design at Digipen, a school about making video games. He says it's a lot like Hogwarts with no chicks. I had no taken the time yet to come and visit, so I figured this would be a great time to come out to one of my favorite cities in the USA!

I'm not alone though. Kelly's family is here. A lively bunch they are. They are all young and excited about being together. I can't help but feel a certain longing when I'm around them. It's a peculiar desire. I want to be a part of it. Please, please, please let this become a sit-com, I'm so perfect for the role of witty neighbor.

I have a big personality. It can be proto-obnoxious if you don't get it, but it's not actually egocentric. There were many times when in large groups I'd find myself talking or telling stories and I became very self aware. These were Kelly's days to shine, and I didn't want to steal the spot light and embarrass myself. If I found myself talking too much, I'd retreat behind my laptop and be as quiet as a... something ultra fucking quiet. Kelly actually noticed. He talked to me about it and I explained how I was worried that I'd talk too much and how I was super proud of him and I didn't want to distract from anything. He said that people like my stories and that he was happy that I came. It didn't change how I felt, I tried my best to not speak as much over the rest of the time, or I'd try to only comment on the family's stories.

I guess the longing to belong in that loving family perhaps made me self conscious about what I do for affection and how I worry I'm perceived.
I grew up in a house where my family took others in, I certainly had other 2nd order homes, but mine was base; mine was prime; mine was the one above all others that the family only seemed to grow. I've been a part of letting others in, but I've never been a person to be let in myself. The Jacob's family, with there energy and excitement is hard not to covet and I wanted in, even if as the sit-com neighbor.