I’ve got some ideas in the works, but I thought you might enjoy the following.  It’s a beautiful description of the latest Batman movie, and don’t worry, it’s spoiler free.  It’s probably the best written movie review I have ever seen, and it poses some very good philosophical questions. What is your breaking point? What will you do when pushed to the limit? In any case, I thought I should share it with you.

The Dark Knight

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Heath Ledger

Andy wanted me to write this, so for all I know he’s the only one who really cares what I have to think. If that’s not true, awesome, thanks for caring about my opinion. If it is, well, then this is a good way for me to figure out exactly what I feel about this fantastic movie.

To begin, I’m of the opinion that you can’t call a movie your “favorite movie ever” right when it comes out. It’s fresh in your mind, overshadowing everything else at that moment. To call a movie “favorite” means that it sticks with you, its individual scenes as well as its overall message. But I’m never one to shy away from hypocrisy, so I’ll go ahead and say that The Dark Knight is my favorite movie ever.

From a purely emotional standpoint The Dark Knight did something to me that hasn’t happened in years: I forgot that I was watching a movie. It sucked me in, completely. By the end my heart was pounding. I was totally immersed in what was happening, I was emotionally involved in the most intimate way. It’s a movie that’s felt, not watched. This description doesn’t due justice to how profoundly I’ve been affected by this film; I just can’t properly express my straight emotional feelings about it.

So forget that, and let’s go more analytical. The problems I have with Dark Knight are few; I’ll go over them at the end. Let’s talk about the good stuff, which is basically everything. What makes TDK so good is what makes any movie good: a well-written script with excellent acting, guided by a competent director. When this triumvirate forms, the potential for a powerful emotional connection with the audience is limitless. And that’s what we’re given in TDK.

The brothers Nolan were unafraid to take what could have been a straightforward blockbuster and instead write a script that was introspecting and action packed all at once. The theme of this film, to me, is: What are your limits? When pushed to the breaking point will you actually break, or will you find the strength to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to do the right thing? The Joker claims he’s aimless, an agent of pure chaos and anarchy. But he does have a skeleton of a plan: trying to break everyone, from Batman down to the average citizen of Gotham. He finds success and failure in surprising places.

The Dark Knight is terrifying without going for the cheesy “shock factor”; it’s suspenseful without being overdramatic; the action sequences are thrilling, but never feel improbable enough to remove you from the experience; and it’s quiet without the calm moments serving as meaningless stopgaps between set pieces. You hear about the roller coaster of emotion. TDK is a real roller coaster, every scene given equal consideration, the troughs just as important as the peaks.

That’s really a credit to Christopher Nolan’s direction. The maker of Memento and The Prestige is obviously no stranger to character drama, and it’s good to see he was willing to have quiet character moments that actually built a dramatic story, instead of making Die Hard with capes. The Dark Knight would have been a much lesser film if it had been nothing but fistfights and car chases strung together by lulls meant, not to give an insight into a character’s intimate thoughts, but to give the audience time to go pee-pee before the next explosion. Not to say that the action sequences in TDK aren’t necessary or spectacular; they are. Almost epic, in fact.

In the end though, Nolan’s willingness to give weight to the character-building scenes would have been nothing without good actors behind the characters. To say there were good actors in Dark Knight would be an understatement. Every role, no matter how small, was played earnestly and with absolute dedication. To begin on this topic, I think all of the returning actors were even better than they were in Batman Begins. Except for Cillian Murphy. Talk about a pointless cameo.

Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are as solid as expected, and since their characters were given a little more to do, their skills are even more apparent. Gary Oldman is pretty much perfect, as always. Gordon’s role is way more important in TDK, and Gary rises to the occasion, giving a very heroic and poignant performance. His two intertwining speeches at the end of the film are a credit to his acting, as well as the excellent writing.

Christian Bale does a brilliant job of juggling three different characters: the real Bruce Wayne, playboy Bruce Wayne and, of course, the Batman. Bale solidifies his status as best Wayne/Batman ever, and that’s really all I feel the need to say about him.

Now I’ll move on to the big newcomers, starting with Maggie Gyllenhaal. After watching Gyllenhaal in the film and seeing what her character had to do, I view the recasting of Rachel Dawes as something that had to be done. Recasting Katie Holmes allowed for an evolution of Rachel’s character that wouldn’t have been possible if Katie had still been in the roll. There was a strength in Maggie’s Rachel that wasn’t present in Batman Begins; recasting allowed for a bit of a break from the previous characterization that couldn’t have been explained away as “Oh, I gained a spine in between films.” The Rachel that ran away from the Scarecrow in Begins couldn’t have stood there, afraid but in control, while the Joker held a knife in her mouth. Plus I just like Gyllenhaal more.

I don’t know how anyone could call Aaron Eckhart bland in Dark Knight. He convincingly portrays the progression of a man from noble defender of the good, Harvey Dent, to tragically demented Two Face. Watching his startlingly abrupt transitions from rational to enraged is engaging, not boring. While not mind blowing, Eckhart’s performance solidly portrays the near Shakespearean tragedy of Harvey Dent.

Intense. Eerily funny. Anarchic. Frightening. Brilliant. I say to you now that the death of Heath Ledger is the greatest tragedy to hit the motion picture industry in the last several decades. The title of this note references the fact that I wasn’t a fan of Heath Ledger before this. He was just another one of those pretty boy actors to me, not to be taken seriously. His Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain didn’t really make me take notice. But when I heard he was cast as the Joker, I latched on to that nomination as a sign that Chris Nolan hadn’t suddenly become an idiot. He hadn’t.

I’m sure there are plenty of superb performances to come over the next five months, so I don’t know if he’ll win, but Heath’s turn as the Joker is definitely worthy of an Oscar nomination. If there was ever a domestic terrorist like Heath’s Joker in the real world, I would be very scared. Watching the Joker gambol across the screen, you really feel like he could do anything. And what he does do is terrifyingly realistic. I join the ranks of people who are shocked that TDK got away with a PG-13 rating. I was really scared at some points, that’s how…. possible the things the Joker was doing were. His little home movies were really frightening. There was also a lot of philosophizing the Joker had to do, which could have come off as pretentious and overbearing. Heath pulled it off brilliantly. He did everything brilliantly. No description can do justice; you won’t be able to comprehend the kind of dedication and bravery Heath Ledger had until you see it for yourself.

So that’s everything I think worked pretty well in The Dark Knight. By comparison, the problems I have seem paltry. And they are. There’s a minor plot hole involving a kidnapping that I feel is a result of ten seconds of footage being left on the cutting room floor, rather than any actual plotting issue. I’ve already mentioned the pointlessness that is Cillian Murphy’s brief appearance. A complaint that’s been raised since Batman Begins is the voice that Christian Bale’s chosen to use as Batman. While I have no problem with the voice itself, towards the end of TDK I felt like there were far too many unnecessary pauses in the middle of sentences. I understand that you would be a little winded after fighting eighty guys, but I think for the sake of the film they could have played that down a bit. And that isn’t really a problem; it’s just me being overly nitpicky.

So there’s what I think about my new favorite movie. Feel free to disagree completely; after all this is only an opinion. And maybe I have no fucking clue what I’m talking about. After all, I am the guy who’s failed to get into film school twice now. I just really love The Dark Knight, and I know that the emotional impact it’s had on me so immediately isn’t going to leave. This is a film I could watch every day and it would never get old.

P.S. Try and make comments as spoiler free as possible for the present. Some people reading may not have seen it yet.

-Sean Novicki

So I’ve been re-reading some of my blogs lately, and I’ve noticed I use some pretty strong words and concepts.  Personal searches for truth and the pursuit of one’s potential appear at first glance to be subjects on which I am an expert.  Why, then, must I continue to reaffirm such ambitions and ideas over and over?

It seems I fall into a cycle.  I work towards my goals, and as time goes by my strength is slowly sapped.  My predisposition for procrastination (say that five times fast) eats away at my resolve, until I reach an “equilibrium”.  At this stage in my life, that equilibrium is at a very slothful state.  My mind may be highly active at these times, but it is most certainly not well fed.  I’ll stay at this equilibrium for quite some time.  In fact, I will stay in this state until stumble upon some sort of profound or moving experience.  Only these sorts of things seem to shoot me right back up where I was before.

The question, then, is how to stay in such a high state; how to “raise the bar” and change my personal definition of equilibrium.  A lot of that involves habit, which I’ve written about in the not-too-distant past.  The issue however is not just breaking bad habits, but creating new ones.  Clearly, I must constantly uplift and enrich both my mind and my spirit.

This is an active state, a “sharpening of the saw” that is very different from what we usually think of as a break from our labors.  Rather than just destress, I need to be building myself up and preparing for the next metaphorical battle.

Building upon talents and reading good books are just a few of the many ways I can change my definition of equilibrium.  When it is changed, it will become easy to be driven, motivated, hard-working, and happy with my life.  I need to redefine my “comfort zone”.

How might anyone go about doing this?  Well, a good place to start is actually the season finale of Avatar.  I’ve never really watched the series that closely, but it ends in a very profound and beautiful way.  While I would recommend at least watching a handful of other episodes to understand what the heck is going on, that’s a good place to start.  It worked for me at least.  Now that I’m motivated, I must act to change my habits and my status quo.  I won’t bother with any recommendations here, there are plenty of sites and books that can tell you how to break habits and others that can show you how to set and achieve goals.

We humans have incredible potential.  We have the power to reshape the world and eveything in it.  We have the power to master the physical and overcome the instinct.  We have no glass ceiling, our possible achievements grow exponentially.  It’s incredible, when you think about it.  And it all can start with one small action, or one realization.  The gates of the fortress are not moved by incredible strength, but by the smallest movement of a lever.

So now, even with this realization, I take one step closer to achieving my dreams.  A small one?  Perhaps.  Only time will tell how successful I am this first time around, but at least I have a plan now.  I have tangible progress markers.  I have a roadmap to making a difference.  I hope I’m not getting repetitive just yet

For a long time I’ve been flipping back and forth between two things I absolutely love, trying to produce something in one medium or the other.  The first is my love of music, which I’ve had as long as I can remember.  Songwriting is a passion, understanding different types of music and what makes them enjoyable or beautiful is something I’ve spent a huge chunk of my life thinking about while listening to my latest favroite record spin.  The other is storywriting, which I have pursued through Never Ending Stories, short story competitions, and a number fictional worlds.

For the longest time I’ve been pulled back and forth like one of Dr. Doolittle’s Pushmepullyous. I’ll start writing a book, and then stumble upon a new band and get lost in the music, after which I’ll decide to compose music or play some guitar. Halfway through either, I’ll think about the connections between all of us as people or a compelling story, which will prompt me to write a short story or blog. The cycle goes round and round without me really putting enough effort into any of my projects to make it worthwhile or produce decent results. It doesn’t always change as fast as I’ve made it sound, but it’s there. I’ve got what some might call A.D.D., but it’s really just a love of too many things. Remember that kid in grade school who never knew what he wanted to be or always wanted to be something different the next time the teacher asked? Yeah, that’s me.

Fortunately, I’ve had another “eureka” moment. The conclusion is quite obvious, but in all honesty, most “a-ha!” moments are.  So often we can “get” something without really “getting” it until we look at it a different way.  The different paradigm is not explainable in any tongue, it’s not really all that different.  Yet somehow it makes all the difference in the world.  That’s how it was for me.  Stupid?  Perhaps.  Obvious?  Definitely.  Strange?  No, not at all.  Like I mentioned earlier, it’s something we all experience, we all feel at some point.

For Isaac Newton, it was an apple.  For Timone, it was a big rock.  For me, it was a song by Sonata Arctica.

Why not combine the things that I love?  After all, it’s only Common sense, Genius.

Adversity is one of the things that makes you who you are. I learned this the hard way over the past two years, and it seems as if it’s going to fight to the last breath. However, such is life. I hate the suffering and stress involved, but in reality, I wouldn’t be who I am without it.

During my sophomore year of high school, I was your average teenage kid. Sure, maybe I thought a little bit more than some and yes I tried to hold myself to some sort of moral standard, but that was about it. Responsibility was something to be shunned and dreaming of what I had the potential to do with my life took up most of my time. That and Civilization II and III.

My responsibilities and workload increased exponentially my junior year. I essentially forgot how to have fun, and I stopped socializing. It got so stressful that at one point the only thing I relied on emotionally was my girlfriend…which turned out to be a very bad move and introduced me to whole new levels of pain. I had college-level tests to prepare for, I had practices and performances with the many band groups I was involved with, I had my church responsibilities. I got stuck in a microcosm of the blue-collar rat race much of America is stuck in. At least, however, things were relatively predictable, and the path was clear. I knew what I had to do, I knew how to do it, and it all relied on my own abilities. I know that sounds controlling, but for someone as odd as myself it feels like a necessity.

Senior year things really began to heat up. I was Drum Major of my marching band, which I cared very much about. I put my heart and soul into trying to help that band have a great year and do the very best it could. Unfortunately, I also happened to be a Drum Major for a band director who did not choose me. As hard as I tried and as many times I tried to address the situation, little communication took place, little support was given, and I was left without knowing what was expected of me, what I was allowed to do, and what rules to follow. I failed to be a good leader and I failed to help the band improve.

There was also the college question. Not knowing where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do made life very stressful and difficult. On top of that, AP Calculus has been one of my weakest subjects. I also had to work away at the requirements for Eagle Scout with the deadline of my birthday looming in the distance.

Most of this is done or almost done. Wednesday I sit the AP Calc exam, and so I need to spend every waking moment studying. However, there is also a large project that was just announced as due Thursday, and I will be busy with Scouts most of Wednesday. It’s adversity. The year is almost over, and yet I still have a long ways to go. The home stretch is not easy. Senior year is a lie.

Also, I’ve been trying to get a job for six months now, and I’ve had absolutely no luck. Not one interview. Not even a single returned call. I can’t pay for college. I have enough money to keep me alive on my own for maybe two months. No job, and a miniscule amount of scholarship money. It’s a nightmare. One might wonder why God would put us through this, after we’ve tried so hard to serve him.

I’m sorry if this appears to be whining, I’m trying not to. I’m trying to make a point. I’ve changed a lot since I started having trouble, since things became difficult. I’m a new person, a better person. I accept responsibilities and I have a better work ethic. I’m mature, I can handle pain pretty easily, and I’ve set my priorities straight.

The truth is, adversity is a good thing. God isn’t punishing me, and He isn’t making life so hard just because He feels like it. He’s forging me into a worthy servant. If I have learned by walking through fire, what will stop me afterwards? I’ve learned so much in the past two years, and it probably outstrips the past ten years in life value. There is a point to all of the hurt. There is a point to all of the times bad things happen to good people (although I can’t claim to be a good person).

He wants us to trust Him. He wants us to put our faith in him, to pray like He’s our only hope to pay for college and then work like we expect nothing. I haven’t been rewarded yet. I’m scared out of my wits for the future. The entire rest of my life could hinge on the next few weeks, and there has been no sign of the storm letting up. What if I don’t finish my Eagle? What if I don’t pass my test? What if I can’t pay for college…or a mission? It’s terrifying.

But you know what? I have faith. Things are gonna be okay eventually. Maybe not now, and maybe not for a while, but it will all work out for my best interest. God will not abandon us, it is only us that abandons him, when the skies grow dark. Remember that.

I’ll keep praying, and I’ll keep searching, and I’ll keep applying, and I’ll keep working hard. Eventually, I’ll get the money. Eventually, I’ll get it done. I know it.

I’ve been pondering what it means to be great lately.

Have you ever stopped to think just how easy it would be to die at any given moment? If you walk into a room, you could slip and hit your head on a coffee table. You could fail to turn off the gas. You could fall down the stairs. You could place your hand under the lawn mower. You could keep that hair drier plugged in while you wash your hands. Have you ever been driving down a highway, and realized that if you turn your hands ever so slightly, you would go barreling headfirst into a semitruck?

What I’m getting at is that there are so many opportunities we have to die. Some rely on carelessness. Some rely on deliberate attempt. However, they’re all there. The only reason we’re alive with all these possiblities is because we choose to avoid these things. We walk that razor’s edge, and we keep our heads down. It seems crazy, but it’s not so hard when you’ve been doing it your whole life.

Today, I realized that greatness is the same way. We’re by-and-large content to stare at our feet as we walk through life. We focus on being “safe” and “secure”, rather than actually doing something with our lives. We smother our talents.

When you really think about it though, all you have to do is turn that wheel a few degrees to the left, and that existence is forever changed. The opportunities to make a difference are all around us, every day. No matter what our circumstances, no matter what our talents, no matter what our obligations, there is always that stairwell, or that hair drier right there in front of you (I realize this sounds morbid, bear with me). You don’t have to be a nobody. Keep in mind however, that greatness doesn’t work like absolute values. Only the positive numbers are useful in life’s equation. Lose sight of the order of operations, and you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot on this exam.

What do you want your Wikipedia article to say?

Quick update folks. I’ve got some good posts churning, but I thought I’d leave you this little kiss to hold you over. I really apologize for the sub-par posting lately. The deep thoughts will return.

Anyways…

Randall Munroe of XKCD has done it again, this time with his most controversial post ever. You’d be surprised how easily people get up in arms over fruit.

There are the banana shippers, the Kiwis who insist they’re called rock-melons, not cantaloupe, and those poor travesties who actually think grapefruit can be tasty. According to his blog (err…blag), it only took about 800 seconds after the comic was posted for his inbox to flood with angry messages from people who think watermelon is not overrated or that he’s an idiot for forgetting starfruit. This is an incredibly large internet phenomenon. Who knew how defensive we humans are about our fruit prefrences?

Where the heck is honeydew? That’s what I want to know.

Stop and think about this for a minute though. People are up in arms over this thing. The site has an incredible number of hits, comments, and links (including the ones here) stemming all from this one simple graph. Another blogger pointed this out and drew people’s attention to his criticism of the previous Monday’s comic, being unhappy with the sexism. Well, in reality he was being nitpicky about the antagonist not having a hat and the wording of the title, but still.

What does this show about the world today? We care more about fruit than we do about treating others fairly. We care more about voting for American Idol than we do for the next President. We’d rather write songs about how terrible the world is today than get active in the community. We’d rather check MySpace than help our little brothers with their spelling homework. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

What would the world be like if we just stopped for a moment, and thought about what was really important in the grand scheme of things? Think about how many hours we waste on things that don’t really matter, but that somehow end up high on our priority lists. In fact, make a list of the things that are important to you. The things that really matter. No, I don’t mean trying to prove to your friends that “Jump” is the best Van Halen song. I don’t mean five-starring “Run To The Hills” on expert. I mean the things that really matter.

Finished?

Look at that list, and then think about what you’ve been doing recently. Does it coincide with that list? If things seem a little out of whack, then you’re right. They are. I won’t lie, I’ve got a lot of rearranging to do myself. I challenge each and every one of you to do something more valuable with your time today. Take those three hours you watch TV each night and go to bed early, so you can get up early to work on that book you’ve been wanting to write. Pause in the middle of your game, and go make your sister’s bed. Do something to make someone smile, and then do something that will help get you closer to your life goals. After all, you only get one shot at this life.

In fifty year’s time, are you going to be able to look back on your life and say you’ve reached your fullest potential? For most of us, the answer right now is probably not in the affirmative. We can change that though.

I want to be able to look back and honestly be able to say I’ve lived a full life. How about you?

EDIT: Don’t forget a good start to the next as well

Love the Pyramid

Last night, Daft Punk did it again. The French duo that revolutionized the late ’90s and broke down musical barriers, continues to press forward. If you’ve been living in a hole for the past year, you won’t have heard about their mind blowing live show. For that I apologize. It’s reportedly head and shoulders above most any other concert experience in a long time.

When I say they “did it again”, I mean they broke down barriers and made us rethink the way music and the music industry works. Kanye West performed his song “Stronger” last night, which of course samples a good bit of Daft Punk. While Kanye may not have done much to it and is essentially riding on DP’s coattails, I must give him kudos for having great taste. He was performing at the Grammy Awards with a nice electro stage setup, complete with lots of neon and the silhouette of the Daft Punk pyramid. It looked to be a mildly entertaining set for about half the second.

Then Daft Punk showed up.

It’s not that common for an artist to make a “surprise performance” in the middle of the Grammy Awards, much less in the middle of someone else’s song. Keep in mind…this is a song sampling their stuff. How often is it that artists perform with those that sample their music? Not often. Not to mention this is their first televised show…ever. It was a great experience.

What really makes this interesting is that I realize just how smart Thomas and Guy-Manuel really are. “Stronger” has been a bigger success for Daft Punk than Kanye, and it’s on his album! Coupled with the mind-blowing performances and a live album laden with more artistry than most billboard artists have in entire careers, it’s launching these robots into the American limelight. Kanye may want to be the world’s “No. 1 Artist”, but all he’s done is catapult into the limelight the very same artists he planned to use as a springboard of his own.

Where will music go from here? Will Daft Punk’s influence be limited to hip-hop? Or will rock artists take an equal interest in the style? Daft Punk changed the way people looked at electronic music, and in fact music in general. They focused on the experience. They broke down every genre barrier there is. Their creativity knows no bounds, and they can improvise like John Coltrane on steroids. Will American music feel the impact of this French invasion? Or will DP just be a fad here, like so many other good forms of music that fail to be “poppy” enough?

Well, Daft Punk can “pop” with the best. I think it’s only a matter of time before America puts it’s own spin on their ideas. After all, we can’t let Justice, Digitalism, and Simian Mobile Disco have all the fun.

I don’t think Nine Inch Nails is going to have a stranglehold on creative, electronic-based music in this hemisphere for very much longer. Sorry Trent.

Watch the performance here

This time the Giant had the sling and the small stature. He’s still got one heck of an arm though.

If you just came out of a coma, the New York Giants just won the superbowl in the last quarter, with less than a minute on the board. Considering the vast odds they overcame to get to the game and even more to beat an offense that has broken records and had yet to lose a game, it seems just a little noteworthy.

Can we see the same happen in politics? Not with Ron Paul of course, but we’ll see. Both Obama and Romney still have a few tricks up their sleeves. One of them is of course not being liars or political opportunists. That’s always a plus. Once again, I truly fear for this country if the vote comes down to Hillary vs McCain. I don’t trust either of them, regardless of their issues.

Why is it people always forget character when looking for a leader. I know it doesn’t seem like any politician has character in this day and age, but do you honestly think you should vote for someone just on the issues? There’s a lot more to being president than that. Doing whatever you can to smear your opponent, no matter how unethical, undermines that. So does carpet-bagging because you’ve become addicted to the smell of the White House. If you’re not in it for the good of the country, you don’t deserve my vote.

Stay tuned, if time allows I will have something a little more substantial (and less known) tomorrow. You might like it, if you’re interested in things that have the potential to change society as we know it.

A vote for McCain is a vote for the collapse of conservatism

Take a look here

Now I normally don’t put too much store in Rush, I don’t really listen to him and a lot of people automatically ignore whatever he has to say just because it’s him that happens to be saying it. Hear me out though…he got this from a different source. This is pretty significant…and it means that the polls are wrong. The Republicans are absolutely screwed if McCain gets the nomination. Here, according to Rush’s source, is why:

I don’t know where the blog is from. But the guy was going through the exit poll data and has analyzed it, via the CNN website and their exit poll numbers and he says they reveal some surprising things from Florida. Romney won pro-lifers. Romney won the mainstream religious. Huckabee won the very religious, which is less than one-fifth of the pool.

Romney won the Protestants. Romney tied Huckabee with evangelicals. Romney won the pro-George W. Bush voters. Romney is the primary second choice of Giuliani voters and Thompson voters and McCain voters. Romney won the immigration hardliners. Romney won the upper middle class earning between $100,000 and $200,000 annually. Romney won the terrorism-oriented voters. Romney won the self-identified conservatives and the self-identified very conservatives. Romney won the values-oriented voters. Romney won the white voters. Romney won the tax-cutting voters. As this blogger writes, “In short, Romney won the Republican Party’s idea of itself, and that, too, is a big deal. If you’re white, Protestant, anti-abortion, you go to church on Sunday, you think well of the president, you want lower taxes, you hate terrorists, you make a good living, you want to do something about immigration, you live in Florida; chances are you voted Romney. The question before Florida was whether McCain could win in a closed Republican race, and now we know he can. The question now is whether he can win with conservatives, and in Florida McCain did not.”

As we all know, he won with the seasoned citizens in big numbers. He won with the Latino and Hispanic community in south Florida and Miami-Dade, and he won the moderates and the independents. Now, you had to be a Republican to vote, but you come out of there and talk the exit poll, “Are you a Republican?” “I’m an independent, but I’m a Republican,” and people are proud to say they’re independents. It really impresses the pollsters. So these things just keep adding up, and we find out that McCain is in a lot of these places not actually the Republican candidate, he is the candidate of enough Republicans, but independents and moderates and probably even some liberals. Today’s Washington Post story by Dan Balz and Anne Kornblut includes this paragraph: “Republicans, on the other hand, see the prospect of a clear future in their coalition as a result of the nomination contest. McCain is winning important primaries, but he’s doing so without the support of the party’s conservative and religious base.” Well, what more needs to be said? He is winning for the reasons that we’ve laid out here. He’s facing a fractured Republican field with no candidate galvanizing conservatives. That’s what Romney’s choice is now.

So you can see, McCain won a truly “Republican” primary…but he didn’t do it by being a Republican. I’ve been saying this about Giuliani, and I think I can now safely say the same about McCain: He’s a liberal with an R by his name. He identifies with the independents, has many liberal views, and grabs a few of the more ignorant (or anti-Romney/Huckabee) conservatives, but for the most part he doesn’t represent the Republican ideals.

The party is falling apart. The Republican party is shrinking, it’s fracturing. The Republicans are compromising their values in order to keep the Democrats out of the White House. While sometimes even I am tempted to follow that line of thinking (especially if Hillary gets the nomination), this isn’t good for conservatives. If the party loses it’s identity, this country is looking at a long period of Democratic domination…NOT a breakdown of the party system (which I myself would love to see). While the Democrats have some JFKs, they also have a lot of Kerrys, Gores, and Hillary Clintons…and Teds too.

Now I like to think of myself as an independent centrist, but the facts still remain. McCain is a political opportunist, as is his front-running counterpart. If it all comes down to McCain vs Clinton, I think I might cry.

Barack n’ Roll

The other half of the story comes in the surprising form as a post by XKCD creator Randall Munroe. Randall generally likes to keep quiet on the ideas of politics within XKCD spheres, but he’s made a special exception at this critical time.

If life imitates XKCD, then vote for Barack Obama.

Randall points out Obama’s insistence on open systems, and on letting people keep track of what the government does. He points out that currently the only establishment capable of keeping the government in check is the government itself…something that we can all agree (Bush supporters and haters alike) only leads to corruption in government.

Personally, I honestly think that Obama is the only viable Democratic candidate that is honest and truly wants the good of the people. Now I may not agree with all of his views, but as Randall and other sources will show, he means what he says. He’s not doing this for himself (unlike our current frontrunners), he’s doing it for America.

As bad as some of his ideas may be, and as inexperienced as he may be, I believe that if he gets the White House, he’ll be given the strength he needs. The POTUS is a blessed office. God created this nation and it is a channel through which he brings to pass much good. He will give it’s leaders the help they need, if they are humble and are doing their best to serve the nation. If they have good intent, they will be blessed to handle the difficulties ahead of them. America won’t crash and burn because of one man’s naiveté…it has to earn that kind of punishment.

So after much deliberation and uncertainty on my part, I think I’ve finally got things figured out. I know I’m pitching the underdog here, but that’s just my luck. We must go with what we feel is right and who we feel is the right person for the job. I think I finally know what and who is right.

Obama vs Romney ‘08

Thought. A marvelous thing, really. It is at our command almost all the time, sitting, waiting to be utilized. Waiting to help us make life’s decisions. Wanting to help or moral compass set things straight. Just waiting.

It is a pity, then, that it is not employed as much as we’d like. All of us do it from time to time. We get caught up in the string of things, the flow of what we’re told and what is perceived as the norm. We forget to check in with our shoulder angel, and that big pink thing. Personally, I’m tired of it. It’s worn on me for too long.

Tonight I walked out of the house, armed with nothing but a sweatshirt and my longboard. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, or how long I’d be. I just walked out without a word. I needed to think. I needed to get away from all the trappings of life, from the TV to the internet to conversations to working on my to-do list. I needed to escape it all and just…think.

The surfing culture really knows what it’s talking about when it portrays surfing (and skating, as in my case) as a paradise, a peaceful respite from the world. A place where you can just be you, away from all your worries and burdens. There was a time when I would have written it off as pothead jargon, if that’s even possible. Recently though, I’ve seen how incredibly on the mark they are. I find it one of the best ways to clear your mind, to wash away everything and think straight for the first time in a while.

As I circled the closed-down K-Mart parking lot, weaving in and out of parking spaces and carving the lanes, I was finally able to make some sense of a lot of things. Ideas and impressions that I had gotten, feelings I had felt, inclinations that had tugged at my mind…they all came to life. Stripped from their initial birthplaces and scenarios, I was finally able to make sense of them. I was able to see what made sense, and what was just foolish imaginings.

All too often, people tell you to do what’s expected. They tell you to keep your head down, know your place, and take a number. Go get good grades so you can go to college and get a good job where you’ll be nice and safe and your kids can do the same. Well that’s all well and good for financial security, but where is the life in all of this? Where do dreams, passions, and happiness fit into this mandate? The fact of the matter is, they don’t. The formula we are presented with, be it the example given or another variation of it (work hard, take over the family business, keep up traditions, represent your family and your brotherhood, etc.), leaves no room for these things. What they provide is a stable, “reliable”, cozy little comfort zone from which to hide from life.

But you can’t hide from life forever.

I challenge this system. I challenge the status quo. I challenge the “do-as-you-are-expected”, no risks path chosen as the ideal route for us without our consent. What about my dreams? What about my talents? Do they count for anything? What if I don’t care about the money…then what? Where does happiness fit into this? Where does making the world a better place fit into this?

The fact of the matter is: it doesn’t.

I’m done taking this lying down. I’ve decided to go for it. I’m going to take some risks. I’m going to be unorthodox. I’m going to challenge the norm. I’ve been given my talents for a reason, and I am going to use them. I will pursue my dreams, no matter how “unpractical” or difficult they may be. I believe in myself, even if they don’t. It’s a great pity that they don’t. That’s another thing…so many people claim to support, but in reality they don’t. They’re proud when you do succeed, but they don’t trust, they don’t expect, and they don’t believe until the success is already in their faith. There comes a point where they must realize that no more is it their decision to make. They have to let us succeed or fail on their own. They may love us to death, but maybe that’s it. That’s exactly why they don’t want to let us do it ourselves.

But it must be done.

So I’m going for it. I’m following my dreams, I’m pushing my ambitions, and I’m working towards my vision of a happy life according to my own conscience, what I know to be true and right and good. I will choose the priorities in my life, and if I have to sleep in McDonalds bathrooms or work a midnight janitorial shift to make it work, I will. The world isn’t changed by being another face in the crowd. No self-made success has ever gotten where they are by sticking to the “tried and true” formula of today’s society. I’m setting my goals, I’m setting my sights, and I’m going to do it, no matter how much I get laughed at.

So I guess this is what this blog is all about. Life, bringing out the best yourself, acting on what you know to be true, and reaching your full potential are all things I am passionate about. I may write about music from time to time, since that is a great love of mine, along with good books. I may also indulge in some politics as well, but never more than can be swallowed. Philosophy looks to be a regular topic.

Overall, this is me, and this is what I am about. This is what this blog is about. It will all be worth it if just one person feels uplifted. If a single person feels some sort of connection, or thinks “I’m not alone”, or is encouraged to do what they know is right despite outside pressures, or if one person makes some sort of self-discovery, no matter how small, then I will be eternally happy. I can’t ask for more than that.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain