Cleveland Trip
I'm off to Cleveland in the AM to meet help my brother and sister-in-law and my new baby niece move back to the east coast. I could not be more excited about meeting my niece for the first time... sure, seeing my brother and sister-in-law will be nice, but my niece represents so much to me, and she's only a month old.
I showed my blog to a friend last night and she said, "Gosh, you're really cynical, you're totally not like that in person, why do you write that way?" Well, to be honest, I suppose I just don't play well with others. I have my life, I live in my world, I share my world with you. In my world there are not prejudices and everyone starts with a clean slate. The decisions and actions of those in my world which directly affect me will bias me and change my perception of the person taking the action or making the decision. I suppose that I'm cynical because I've projected a set of my own personal expectations onto people, their decisions, and their actions. People fail to meet these expectations because they are either unaware of them or don't share in those expectations.
I'm excited about meeting my niece this wekend, no matter what she does in her life, I'll love her. She has unlimited potential right now but no matter what course her life takes, she will always be my niece. Maybe I yearn for the innocence of childhood, maybe it's her newness but maybe because in my eyes she'll be forever incorruptable, I find the prospect of this new life, her present and future to be so full of hope that I will never grow cynical because of my relationship with her. Nothing she will do will curtain my love for her, and I find the concept of having such a pure relationship refreshing and revitalizing. Friends and aquaintenances come and go throughout life, but family is forever. My family is really my strength and tomorrow I get to meet the newest part of it!
A
Friday, July 28, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Stony Brook Film Festival
The Stony Brook Film Festival is in it's 11th year and I've attended portions of the last 3 years. This year's movies have by far been the best films I've seen screened at the festival. The shorts Volare and Transgression have been very good and I really enjoy the form. Short films are an incredible art form that really condense emotion and message into film less than 30 minutes in length but often less then 15 minutes long. Some of the full length features seem to get drawn out and lose a themselves in their indie-ness or artisticness, but by the emotion, passion and symbolism used in these short films is conveyed more suscinctly and effectively.
I wish more short film would be made available either thru the internet or at commercial movie theaters, unfortunately, running these emoton-packed nuggets of film would not be economically viable and thus, once again, because of our cash-driven economy, great work that could really change people's perceptions and challenge ideas is left to gather dust in university film collections.
I urge any and all readers of this blog to check out your local film festival when it comes around and support the production, distirbution and viewing of independent short films as well as full length movies and those theaters who show them, whenever possible.
The Stony Brook Film Festival is in it's 11th year and I've attended portions of the last 3 years. This year's movies have by far been the best films I've seen screened at the festival. The shorts Volare and Transgression have been very good and I really enjoy the form. Short films are an incredible art form that really condense emotion and message into film less than 30 minutes in length but often less then 15 minutes long. Some of the full length features seem to get drawn out and lose a themselves in their indie-ness or artisticness, but by the emotion, passion and symbolism used in these short films is conveyed more suscinctly and effectively.
I wish more short film would be made available either thru the internet or at commercial movie theaters, unfortunately, running these emoton-packed nuggets of film would not be economically viable and thus, once again, because of our cash-driven economy, great work that could really change people's perceptions and challenge ideas is left to gather dust in university film collections.
I urge any and all readers of this blog to check out your local film festival when it comes around and support the production, distirbution and viewing of independent short films as well as full length movies and those theaters who show them, whenever possible.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Shitting where you eat
There's an old addage that one should not shit where one eats. The implication is that to stay healthy and avoid disease born by the gastric workings of one's body, one should remove oneself from one's dining vacinity when defficating. Enteric bacteria which constitute 90% of mass of fecal matter can cause severe sickness and disease, thus there is truth to the addage.
Like much wisdom we as humans garnered over our many years of close contact with our environment, many people seem to have lost the implications of this old addage. Yes, modern technology and civil engineering have removed our defecant from our dining rooms, but the addage still hold true. Not only have people become too lazy and irresponsible to care about the condition of their direct living environment, but social responsibilty has allowed us to polute our only planet, essentially poisoning our selves, our mothership and our life force. This however is not purely an environmental rant, because in addition to the crap our modern chemical lifes spew, we produce plenty of mental, spiritual and emotional crap with which we poison ourselved and our relationships.
As I've said before and more than likely will say again, I belive the solution to this situation is a combination of personal actualization, personal responsibility and honesty. It is only by knowing oneself and the impact that one can have on their own life situation and the lives of those with whom we surround ourselves, either directly or indirectly, that we can really hope to improve the life of everyone. Selfishness and materialism will yet be downfall of you society if we let it. Only by accepting our individual roles as part of a functional society and realizing that our actions have greater implications, will we learn to respect the wisdom of those who told us not to shit where we eat.
There's an old addage that one should not shit where one eats. The implication is that to stay healthy and avoid disease born by the gastric workings of one's body, one should remove oneself from one's dining vacinity when defficating. Enteric bacteria which constitute 90% of mass of fecal matter can cause severe sickness and disease, thus there is truth to the addage.
Like much wisdom we as humans garnered over our many years of close contact with our environment, many people seem to have lost the implications of this old addage. Yes, modern technology and civil engineering have removed our defecant from our dining rooms, but the addage still hold true. Not only have people become too lazy and irresponsible to care about the condition of their direct living environment, but social responsibilty has allowed us to polute our only planet, essentially poisoning our selves, our mothership and our life force. This however is not purely an environmental rant, because in addition to the crap our modern chemical lifes spew, we produce plenty of mental, spiritual and emotional crap with which we poison ourselved and our relationships.
As I've said before and more than likely will say again, I belive the solution to this situation is a combination of personal actualization, personal responsibility and honesty. It is only by knowing oneself and the impact that one can have on their own life situation and the lives of those with whom we surround ourselves, either directly or indirectly, that we can really hope to improve the life of everyone. Selfishness and materialism will yet be downfall of you society if we let it. Only by accepting our individual roles as part of a functional society and realizing that our actions have greater implications, will we learn to respect the wisdom of those who told us not to shit where we eat.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Science Craps Out!
Back in college, I took a class my freshman year in rhetorical analysis. I really didn't understand or appreciate the class at the time and thought it was a waste of time that could be better spent pursuing more relevant ends; however, I've recently come to appreciate what the class was trying to teach and when I saw the cover of the June 30 issue of Science, I could not help but to offer an analysis of the picture, with my own biased interpretation.
There are four major features on the cover, the banner: Science in large white letters agains what could be taken as a gameboard from the Game of Life. There is a graphic of a medical professional holding a clipboard with a somewhat androgenous being standing beside him with the words Life Cycles underneath. There is a set of dice, one showing a 5 and the other a 2. Finally, there is a deck of "event cards" similar to those of the Game of Life.
Taking the cover as a whole, one can appreciate the similarities to the Game of Life, and yes we all can in some ways relate to how we are on a track in life and while there may be different goals for different people, the paths tend to be similar, decisions of education, career, marriage, child-rearing etc are common to all people and could indeed be considered a life cycle as one generation cycles into the next. This however is clearly the journal Science and the design of the graphic implies that the game board illustrated is that of a reader of Science, namely an educated, passionate intellectual many of whom put their dedication and passion for science primary and their personal happiness secondary in their life course. It seems like the traditional path of life does not apply to these readers, not because the decisions are not the same, but because they, we, look at life from a different angle. Surely some consider science end the elucidation of the natural world their mission, however we do have a greater, and more fundamental role to play in this society and yet few accept thier job as mentors and role models as readily or as early in life. What is worse is that the 7 rolled on the dice, considered a natural in the game of Craps, indicates a winning roll. Is it truely a winning roll for society when the intellectuals put their career before themselves and their family. Compounding this is the text of the Event Card in the picture which reads, "No dates last month! Move back two spaces." When the intellectuals are engaged in pursuit of their passion, the personal life that is so critical to one's well being and happiness takes a back seat to their passion for science. Not that we don't love life and enjoy sharing our life experiences with others, but often intellectuals find it difficult to relate to those who lack passion in their professional careers, and thus we are penalized moving us backwards in the Game of Life.
It is only by balancing our careers with our personal lives that we can hope to find happiness and progress and enrich both. A life dedicated to intellectual pursuit is not for everyone nor is family life, but we often fool ourselves into thinking that our work will make us happy. While Science may not have intended to do so, they have encapsulated the strugges of many in the academic profession on their cover, stigmatizing the academic life as a lonely pursuit which fails to balance the personal needs for personal progession with professional advancement. I agrue that while many academics, and single graduate students, can relate to this, it further alienates intelligent people who may wish to consider, and could contribute significantly to, an intellectual life from pusuing such because our the life of the academic derails us so significantly from the Game of Life.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
The Graduate Army
Sorry for the long lag between posting, been a crazy time in the World of Bobes.
I was thinking today, I know that gets me in trouble often, but as a graduate student it is kinda my job. Anyway I was thinking about a banner I saw hanging on a garage in my neighborhood last night. The banner read "Welcome Home Michael- U.S.M.C." It got me to thinking, why don't people celebrate the graduate student like they celebrate a son/daughter/ sibling in the military?
I'm not saying that service for one's country should not be celebrated, but that we should expand our appreciation of the people who enrich this country as well as protect it.
Let me expand on the similarities between military service and grad school. Graduate students and military recruits are not that different in age. Both groups are in the early to mid 20s range when recruited. Both commit to long terms of service, 2-9 years of their life. Both groups undergo significant training to allow them to effectively do their job. Both are poorly paid and taken for granted by society at large. Both represent groups who are trying to improve their lot in life.
You may argue that a nation needs an army, a society doesn't need intelectuals, as long as there's a work force. I disagree, just as a nation needs an army, a society needs innovators, leaders and artists to enrich the life experience of the rest of society and advance the society beyond its current state.
Some may argue that service in the military is inhereantly dangerous and those who serve put their lives on the line everyday. While this is true, graduate students do the same, whether it is engineering supercoliders, handeling novel chemotherapeutics, braving the jungles of Africa or using materials so toxic that OSHA doesn't want to create an MSDS for it, graduate students risk life, limb and their future well-being for the pursuit of knowledge.
So why are graduate students looked down upon? Do we not contribute to the society by defending our intellectual freedoms ? Are we not sacraficing some of the best years of our lives toward to the service and advancement of society?
So what's my point? Don't overlook the intelectuals in society, while they may not get to trot around with a gun and grenades, they still deserve our respect for their contributions to society. So hug your local grad student when you get a chance.
Sorry for the long lag between posting, been a crazy time in the World of Bobes.
I was thinking today, I know that gets me in trouble often, but as a graduate student it is kinda my job. Anyway I was thinking about a banner I saw hanging on a garage in my neighborhood last night. The banner read "Welcome Home Michael- U.S.M.C." It got me to thinking, why don't people celebrate the graduate student like they celebrate a son/daughter/ sibling in the military?
I'm not saying that service for one's country should not be celebrated, but that we should expand our appreciation of the people who enrich this country as well as protect it.
Let me expand on the similarities between military service and grad school. Graduate students and military recruits are not that different in age. Both groups are in the early to mid 20s range when recruited. Both commit to long terms of service, 2-9 years of their life. Both groups undergo significant training to allow them to effectively do their job. Both are poorly paid and taken for granted by society at large. Both represent groups who are trying to improve their lot in life.
You may argue that a nation needs an army, a society doesn't need intelectuals, as long as there's a work force. I disagree, just as a nation needs an army, a society needs innovators, leaders and artists to enrich the life experience of the rest of society and advance the society beyond its current state.
Some may argue that service in the military is inhereantly dangerous and those who serve put their lives on the line everyday. While this is true, graduate students do the same, whether it is engineering supercoliders, handeling novel chemotherapeutics, braving the jungles of Africa or using materials so toxic that OSHA doesn't want to create an MSDS for it, graduate students risk life, limb and their future well-being for the pursuit of knowledge.
So why are graduate students looked down upon? Do we not contribute to the society by defending our intellectual freedoms ? Are we not sacraficing some of the best years of our lives toward to the service and advancement of society?
So what's my point? Don't overlook the intelectuals in society, while they may not get to trot around with a gun and grenades, they still deserve our respect for their contributions to society. So hug your local grad student when you get a chance.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Immigration
Recently the Washington political machine has decided to push immigration reform as action point for national security and homeland defense. Yet again, the politicians have missed the mark when guaging the will of the public and their actions reek of elitist philosophy and racism.
The United States is a nation of immigrants, whether they be european, african, middle eastern or latino, the US is what it is because people have wanted to come here to find a better life and have worked hard to achieve that goal. It's part of the melting pot of american society and what has made this nation the dominant world economic, technoligical, philosophical and scientific entity in the world. The US owes great debts to immigrants whether they be the irish housekeepers and laborers of the 1900s, the german scientists of WW2 or the latino day laborers of today. Without them the US could not be what it is and our national quality of living would be much lower than it is.
The unfortunate reality is that those who depend most on immigrant labor to provide affordable daycare, custodial services, or manual labor are not the people who want immigration reform, the men driving this debate are those most removed from the economic reality of the average citizen. This disconnect between the voting public and the elected officials is a glaring problem with the industrialization of government service. Instead of doing the will of their constituants, "public servants" are instead using their position of power to oppress those without a voice. Just like the irish and the chinesse before them, latino immigrants are being exploited by the overwhelming weathy populace of the US; however to maintain our status in the world the US depends on the labor of these immigrants. To criminalize their presence could result in not only an increased incarceration rate of immigrants which would add to our already taxed prison system and heavy tax burden, but also damage our economy by increasing the costs associated with everyday goods and services, thus straining the already tight budgets of the average american.
What we need is not criminization of illegal status, nor do we need to declare an amnesty for all immigrants currently in the US but we need a system by which immigrants can be registered and allowed to stay in the US as long as they maintain a job and add to our economy. I suppose this falls into the Guest Worker Program the president is pushing ( I really don't believe that I wrote that) but we really need to look hard at how this will be implemented and the economic impact that this is going to have on the average american and not the bearucrats in DC.
Recently the Washington political machine has decided to push immigration reform as action point for national security and homeland defense. Yet again, the politicians have missed the mark when guaging the will of the public and their actions reek of elitist philosophy and racism.
The United States is a nation of immigrants, whether they be european, african, middle eastern or latino, the US is what it is because people have wanted to come here to find a better life and have worked hard to achieve that goal. It's part of the melting pot of american society and what has made this nation the dominant world economic, technoligical, philosophical and scientific entity in the world. The US owes great debts to immigrants whether they be the irish housekeepers and laborers of the 1900s, the german scientists of WW2 or the latino day laborers of today. Without them the US could not be what it is and our national quality of living would be much lower than it is.
The unfortunate reality is that those who depend most on immigrant labor to provide affordable daycare, custodial services, or manual labor are not the people who want immigration reform, the men driving this debate are those most removed from the economic reality of the average citizen. This disconnect between the voting public and the elected officials is a glaring problem with the industrialization of government service. Instead of doing the will of their constituants, "public servants" are instead using their position of power to oppress those without a voice. Just like the irish and the chinesse before them, latino immigrants are being exploited by the overwhelming weathy populace of the US; however to maintain our status in the world the US depends on the labor of these immigrants. To criminalize their presence could result in not only an increased incarceration rate of immigrants which would add to our already taxed prison system and heavy tax burden, but also damage our economy by increasing the costs associated with everyday goods and services, thus straining the already tight budgets of the average american.
What we need is not criminization of illegal status, nor do we need to declare an amnesty for all immigrants currently in the US but we need a system by which immigrants can be registered and allowed to stay in the US as long as they maintain a job and add to our economy. I suppose this falls into the Guest Worker Program the president is pushing ( I really don't believe that I wrote that) but we really need to look hard at how this will be implemented and the economic impact that this is going to have on the average american and not the bearucrats in DC.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Having Hand...
There's a great Seinfeld episode about "having hand" as it pertains to having control in a relationship. There's a memorable quote in which the woman George is dating breaks up with him, but he crys out, "You can't break up with me, I have hand!"
Do relationships really involve that kind of power structure? Is someone always the dominat position over the other? I think so, but should it be? Not ideally.
The best relationships are the ones in which there is an equal sharing and open communication, but this rarely happens. I'm luck that I have a group of friends who simply accept me for who I am. They stand by me when I need support, they criticize me when I need criticism, we laugh, we cry, these are my good friends, there is no judging, there is no "hand."
These relationships though are people I've known more than half my life now. We've grown together from adolescents to adults. In my more recent relationships, there is definitely a sense on "hand," especially when it comes to women. As I posted before, I often behave like a puppy dog in the presence of an attractive woman, thus automatically taking a submissive role in the relationship. I don't like this position and have set about trying to change that. I want my relationships with the fairer sex to be more even-handed but to get there I need to take some sense of control, something I have only recently done. Boy does it feel good!
I must avoid the trap of having a sense of too much control though because just when one thinks they have control of a relationship, is when one loses it. The last thing I want is to be drunk on power and lose the hand I'm playing. As the woman who broke up with George retorted to his cry, "...and you're gonna need it!" That's the last thing I want!
A
There's a great Seinfeld episode about "having hand" as it pertains to having control in a relationship. There's a memorable quote in which the woman George is dating breaks up with him, but he crys out, "You can't break up with me, I have hand!"
Do relationships really involve that kind of power structure? Is someone always the dominat position over the other? I think so, but should it be? Not ideally.
The best relationships are the ones in which there is an equal sharing and open communication, but this rarely happens. I'm luck that I have a group of friends who simply accept me for who I am. They stand by me when I need support, they criticize me when I need criticism, we laugh, we cry, these are my good friends, there is no judging, there is no "hand."
These relationships though are people I've known more than half my life now. We've grown together from adolescents to adults. In my more recent relationships, there is definitely a sense on "hand," especially when it comes to women. As I posted before, I often behave like a puppy dog in the presence of an attractive woman, thus automatically taking a submissive role in the relationship. I don't like this position and have set about trying to change that. I want my relationships with the fairer sex to be more even-handed but to get there I need to take some sense of control, something I have only recently done. Boy does it feel good!
I must avoid the trap of having a sense of too much control though because just when one thinks they have control of a relationship, is when one loses it. The last thing I want is to be drunk on power and lose the hand I'm playing. As the woman who broke up with George retorted to his cry, "...and you're gonna need it!" That's the last thing I want!
A
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Pushover
I had resolved not to be involved in any more recruiting activities for Stony Brook. Not that I didn't enjoy the activities associated with the recruiting process, meeting new people, decent lunches and dinners but I didn't want to lie to people anymore and convince them that Stony Brook was a good place to go to grad school. Well, push came to shove today and I was asked to participate in a recruiting dinner this evening. I'll do it, but what really bothers me is the way I was asked.
So I was working away when a friend called the lab today, I was in the midst of things and was not really thinking about the evening. I had made plans to have dinner at Green Cactus and attend a movie screening of an independent movie Loser's Lounge with a friend. Same friend calls up and instantly I could tell by the tome of her voice that she wanted something, she was speaking the that kinda soft somewhat sweet southern drawl she uses when she asks for favors. Seems like she was recruited to attend this dinner with perspective student, cool, then she asked me if I wanted to attend, because there was not enough people attending.
As I said, I really don't want to do any more of these, and I had made that clear to her and to the people in charge of the grad student recruiting process. I had succeeded in avoiding particpating in any of these events up to this point but damn the trickery, I had just committed to attend a recruiting dinner.
Why does this bother me so? It seems I'm a pushover, I'll do anything for a female if she asks right. I'll drive through the ice and rain to change a tire despite the incompetence of the male on the scene. I'll cancel plans I've had for months to pick a friend up from the train station. Hell, I'll toss my principles if asked. If I don't have my prinicples, I'm nothing.
Sure some could say, oh I'm just a nice guy. But I really feel that I'm jello in the hands of female-kind. Why? Because I don't understand them? Because I haven't killed my catholic conscience? Because I don't get laid enough? Aaarrrggghh! I really don't know why I'm like this, but it bothers me, and I really wish it didn't. Relationships, even between friends are not about control, but it seems sometimes that I'm one of Pavlov's dogs just waiting for the bell to ring but in my case, the bell is the sweet sensual voice of a woman.
Gotta go to dinner now.
A
I had resolved not to be involved in any more recruiting activities for Stony Brook. Not that I didn't enjoy the activities associated with the recruiting process, meeting new people, decent lunches and dinners but I didn't want to lie to people anymore and convince them that Stony Brook was a good place to go to grad school. Well, push came to shove today and I was asked to participate in a recruiting dinner this evening. I'll do it, but what really bothers me is the way I was asked.
So I was working away when a friend called the lab today, I was in the midst of things and was not really thinking about the evening. I had made plans to have dinner at Green Cactus and attend a movie screening of an independent movie Loser's Lounge with a friend. Same friend calls up and instantly I could tell by the tome of her voice that she wanted something, she was speaking the that kinda soft somewhat sweet southern drawl she uses when she asks for favors. Seems like she was recruited to attend this dinner with perspective student, cool, then she asked me if I wanted to attend, because there was not enough people attending.
As I said, I really don't want to do any more of these, and I had made that clear to her and to the people in charge of the grad student recruiting process. I had succeeded in avoiding particpating in any of these events up to this point but damn the trickery, I had just committed to attend a recruiting dinner.
Why does this bother me so? It seems I'm a pushover, I'll do anything for a female if she asks right. I'll drive through the ice and rain to change a tire despite the incompetence of the male on the scene. I'll cancel plans I've had for months to pick a friend up from the train station. Hell, I'll toss my principles if asked. If I don't have my prinicples, I'm nothing.
Sure some could say, oh I'm just a nice guy. But I really feel that I'm jello in the hands of female-kind. Why? Because I don't understand them? Because I haven't killed my catholic conscience? Because I don't get laid enough? Aaarrrggghh! I really don't know why I'm like this, but it bothers me, and I really wish it didn't. Relationships, even between friends are not about control, but it seems sometimes that I'm one of Pavlov's dogs just waiting for the bell to ring but in my case, the bell is the sweet sensual voice of a woman.
Gotta go to dinner now.
A
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