I thought I'd post something new since it's been almost a week, but I got nothing. I'm a bit on the anti-social side right now, so I'm not feeling very communicative. If I don't post for awhile, that's why.

I watched Bill Maher last night. Sometimes the man annoys me to no end. He has a tendency to badger his guests until they say what he wants them to say, but last night was a pretty good program. He had Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on to talk about his new book and the environment. For those of you who don’t know, RFK Jr. is an environmental crusader, and I get regular email from him to sign petitions or email my congressmen about the latest environmental attack by our oil drilling administration. Bill reported that the environment is not an issue in this election, and asked Robert whose fault that is-the republicans, the democrats, or the media. The answer is the media. He said that in 1988, Reagan abolished the fairness act that regulated how the media reported the news. Meaning that before 1988, the media had a responsibility to report what the American people needed to know to be an informed citizenry. After 1988, as RFK Jr. put it, the media became a for-profit industry only reporting on what appealed to our reptilian brains - violence, sex, fear-mongering and the local weather. So basically, we only get to know the information that best appeals to the most people. That thought makes me appreciate people like Bill Maher (attitude and all), and Jon Stewart all the more. I don’t bother with the news anymore (unless it’s Anderson Cooper, but then I’m not really watching for the news). I find the farcical Daily Show to be more informative than the 6:00 news. But I’m getting off the subject here. I do wonder, though, why the environment has not received more attention. This has been the worst environmental president in the history of the US. You’d think Kerry and Edwards would try to capitalize on that.
After his interview with RFK Jr., Bill had his guests talking about the election and of course the subject of national security came up. The best quote of the night came when Bill was attacking the people who question Kerry’s ability to defend the US. Bradley Whitford from the West Wing said, “how many times do you have to be shot in the ass before you’re more rough and tumble than a cheerleader from Andover?” That pretty much sums it up!

I have been intending to write about my 15-year high school reunion for a while. It was two weeks ago, and I still can’t find the words to describe the experience. It’s so bizarre to walk into a room full of people you grew up with and not recognize most of them. And then to see people your own age and have them be so old! It was surreal. But seeing those people again brought back so many memories from childhood, although not necessarily high school. I keep thinking of the house I grew up in, the acres of woods in my back yard, the cornfield at the end of the street and the man-made pond across the street. We were explorers in the woods, tracked deer through the cornfields and created our own Paradise Island on a little inlet of the pond. We spent so much time in the trees that we actually learned to navigate our way around the little island without ever touching the ground. We would play this game in the winter after the pond froze to see who could get the closest to the hotspring without falling in, which meant inevitably some one would fall in. I spent several winters on that frozen pond dreaming of becoming the next Dorothy Hamill. I used to complain about living in a tiny little town, but you can’t do those things in the suburbs.
I admit high school was pretty boring. The social highlight was going to Pizza Hut after the football game. Then, when we were driving, the weekends were spent cruising up and down Main Street listening to hair bands. When I think of high school, I think of orchestra, choir and theater. I think of HeadBangers Ball after school and spending the night at my best friends house, cursing all her siblings come Sunday morning when they’re all up and loud and I’m still trying to sleep. The people at that reunion were not in any of those memories. They were cheerleaders and wannabes. They were the people who, for the most part, never left small town, oh. They were the people who called us freaks in high school because we didn’t subscribe to their idea of “normal”. Well, if normal means you become miserable and get old before your time, then I’ll stay abnormal, thank you very much. We are all way to young to be that old!

I know nobody cares, but I have to share this anyway. If anyone out there is schooled in dream interpretation, please tell me what this means.
I dreamt I was being attacked by the aflac duck demanding tollhouse cookies. WTF?!

How can Bush say he believes in promoting a culture of life when he had the highest execution rate in the country when he was governor of Texas?

The college began construction on a new building earlier this summer. Sometime last week, while preparing the ground to lay new wire, the construction guys cut the cable to the entire dorm, including my apartment. I did not notice this until Friday, since I spent most of the week happily inside a book (American Gods by Neil Gaiman for those of you keeping track). However, when I turned my television on Friday night, I discovered the lack of BBC America. This made me so sad that I decided to watch Amelie instead, for some reason thinking that watching a French movie was the same thing as studying for the French test I bombed Saturday morning. Anyway, through the course of this I forgot about the Presidential debates. It sounds like I missed an interesting evening. Although, I'm not good at watching debates. I usually get so frustrated with the spinning that I end up changing the channel and this debate sounded painful, what with the ranting crazy man and all. Probably just as well I missed it. I can get all the info I need in print without having to hear raised voices. I'm very pleased to note that all political conversation has ceased at work. They have apparently reached an unspoken understanding that they all disagree and therefore do not need to discuss the topic any further.

I'm am writing this for the very first time from my own apartment. I think I like having a computer at home. It alleviates a lot of guilt. No more am I breaking into my office after hours to play online. I'm not abusing company equipment for personal entertainment. Nope, now I can go anywhere I want online without a little eye popping up to remind me I'm using the company's internet. Yes, this is a good thing.

The debates have started, and I’m not talking about the candidates. Everywhere I go today, people are talking politics. I’m staying out of it this time. I’ve sequestered myself in my office to avoid being drawn into the conversation, because it’s not really conversation. It’s become, “I’m right, you’re wrong and I’m going to keep shouting at you until you agree with me”. These interactions have all the fervor of religious conviction. It’s rather frightening, actually. When did we deify government? Who says Rome is dead? We’re not electing a president; we’re crowning Caesar to go conquer the barbarians. No, the conversation has become too charged for me. I know which candidate I’m voting for. I have my reasons for voting this way, and if someone is not willing to rationally discuss their point of view, then I don’t want any part of it.