stuff white people like

okay, so this blog is clearly talking about a certain kind of middle/upper-class, left-leaning white person.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

i choose to share it for some funny moments it musters up, accepting that it has imperfections (including its presentation of redundant ideas as separate and unique items).

laughter and my new love of radio lab

i've recently developed a love for 'radio lab' on opb. i keep stumbling into it on friday nights while in the car between dinner and drinks. i have to wrench myself away from it and out of the car to join the fun in the bar.

while looking for a podcast of the "laughter" episode, i discovered that this show is on the air four nights per week on opb. yes!

i couldn't find a podcast of the laugher episode, but i found a webpage for it which contains most of the material from the episode. it looks like it's going to air again next friday (i heard it about a month ago). maybe after that they will podcast it.

their podcast list is enticing, though. i'm looking forward to their exploration of wagner's ring cycle, musical language, sleep, placebo and emergence. it makes my brain tingle with activity!

what lies beneath

please read this article. it sums up everything i want to say about the democratic candidates, as well or better than i could. it calls out so-called "hillary hating" for what it really is, for the woman-hating that lies beneath it. the attacks against her in the media and by private citizens, and the tolerance of these attacks by the general population, is completely appalling.

http://www.womensmediacenter.com/ex/020108.html

i have been thinking about the election a lot. many of us have. i, for one, am not so naive as to think a democrat in the white house is a done deal. (call me a cynic, but i think realist is more accurate.) that said, we should not determine our democratic primary vote based on who we think is more "electable" against a republican -- in doing so, we let the republicans (and arguably the media) choose our candidate for us.

i've also been thinking about the criteria i look for in a president. yes, the ability to inspire citizens is nice. but i see the presidency as any other job, and experience and training count tremendously. personally, i expect the candidate i back to either have a strong track record as an executive leader at the state or national level (i.e., 5-10 years governor, vice president, perhaps cabinet member) or a strong track record in either house of congress at the national level. basically, you gotta really know how to be a head executive or you gotta really know the workings in washington, and preferably you know both. only one of the two leading democratic candidates can claim this.

one other request, if you have not already done so. please ask yourself: if they were both white women, who would i vote for? if they were both black men, who would i vote for? if they were both white men, who would i vote for? if they were both black women, who would i vote for? if all other things were equal, would obama's talent for charismatic delivery (sometimes of his own but sometimes of someone else's words) outweigh his lack of substantial executive branch or federal level experience?

idealist-realist

the struggle between idealism* and realism seems to have pervaded all areas of my life this week.

several conversations about the democratic primaries have been laden with references to these concepts. the unexpected effect, alas, is the bittersweet resurgence of the personal political aspirations i set aside to focus on a career in the performing arts. (note to self: establish residence in california in order to parlay entertainment industry experience into a senate seat or gubernatorial success.)

i have also been trying to balance idealism and realism when it comes to this opera career thing. on the one hand, one must apply a certain amount of optimistic disregard for the politics of the system in order to achieve any kind of success with one's ethics still in tact and without having been consumed by cynicism. on the other hand, a realistic grasp of the system, corruptions and all, is requisite in determining the intermediate steps between aspirations and their fulfillment.

whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of...wrong monologue. but not entirely off topic, huh? i'm feeling kind of overwhelmed and confused, but so long as i can stave off the incapacitating effects of woulda-coulda-shoulda, i am feeling energized and ready for change. i'm also fortunate enough to have a partner who is at this moment similarly energized and ready for change.

*i use 'idealism' in general/idiomatically rather than referencing the philosophical doctrine of idealism.

ticker-tape parade

i didn't realize until today that a ticker-tape parade was a parade where people throw paper out the windows of buildings on the parade route. it's a curious little ritual, but it certainly looks like more fun than your average coffee break. hmm. i was shredding work documents for an hour on monday...maybe i too will scatter it off my balcony in celebration for the giants.

satisfaction

I very nearly didn't watch the Super Bowl this year. It seemed like a recipe for frustration and disappointment: mix one part strong dislike of the Patriots with one part lack of confidence in the Giants and one part jaded feelings about incompetent officiation in several recent Super Bowls; let stew for three to four hours until reaches screeching point.

I decided to suck it up, ignore the game and enjoy the company and smorgasbord of junk food. I spent the first half of the game only half watching, giving most of my attention to catching up with acquaintances and limiting myself to "reasonable" consumption of pizza and spinach dip.

The second half, however, found me glued to the screen. Somehow the surprisingly low-scoring first half had mutated the gathering's ambivalence about the game into a tangible excitement. We were a room devoid of Giants fans (most of us were still sore the Packers didn't make it), but we became Giants fans-for-an-hour. (I actually do happen to like the Giants, but I wouldn't qualify as a committed fan.)

My favorite defensive play among a lot of fine defensive playing had to be Michael Strahan flying over the line to sack Brady. Neither offense managed to have tons going on, but the Eli Manning/David Tyree feat in the last minute of the game was one to remember. For once Eli scrambled! And that catch by Tyree -- jumping into the air, catching it against his helmet and managing to maintain possession (and keep the ball from making contact with the ground) while being bent backwards over the lap of the defensive player. I don't know that any of this merits the exorbitant paychecks these guys receive, but today the Giants certainly earned their dough.

(And, of course, Belupchuck's lack of sportsmanship in the final second of the game...just another example of his class-act leadership.)

break my heart, warm my heart

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/sports/football/02vickdogs.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

touché, radio. touché.

you gotta i love it when the radio fucks with you.

last night was one of those times when the radio decides to provide extended and highly sarcastic commentary as you're processing your mental junk. yes, there are those magical moments when the radio becomes the perfect soundtrack to life, but this was definitely commentary. perhaps one could argue that it merely is what it is and that my mind interpreted it as commentary. but i prefer to think that there was some sort of cosmic smart-ass working the airwaves last night.