I should be writing a paper on legendary graphic novel Watchmen right now, but I feel I need to clear my head a little first.
Before tonight, I can only ever say that I witnessed history unfold once in my life, and that was during 9/11. The only other truly historic moment that I can recall living through was the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin, but I can barely remember that and even during 9/11 I was just a little too naive to FULLY comprehend the scale of it all.
However, I just watched Barack Obama become the President of the United States of America. Now, I’ve truly witnessed history.
Now, unlike a lot of people I know, I absolultely do not believe this man is the end all and be all or the solution to all of America’s problems. As a matter of fact, I believe that unless the economy corrects itself (as people have been saying) that he will be powerless to stop its collapse (then again, so would everyone else.) The planet is still dying and I don’t believe he has the power to stop that either(but then again, I don’t think anyone does.) I’d like to think that his policies and the policies of his administration won’t make things worse, but I can’t guarantee that they won’t GET worse anyway (it’s really difficult to stop an avalanche after all.) From a political standpoint, I can’t say with any certaintly that Barack Obama’s election or a democratically controlled government means anything at all.
(I just deleted four paragraphs of my personal political history and an assload of preachy jargon. This post isnt about that. If you want it, feel free to ask.)
To me, and to millions of other people, this election was not about political change, it was about ideological change. A fundamental shift in the way an ENTIRE COUNTRY (minus a few million unfortunate souls) thinks. Obama’s victory does not only mean that poor old John McCain lost (and unlike many people who are thrilled tonight, I really feel for John McCain…as a member of any other party I believe he would have made a fantastic president), but the following occured as well:
Racism lost.
Fear lost.
Aversion to change lost.
Religious fundamentalism lost.
The people of the United States of America looked hate and fear in the face and said no, we will not stand for this. For the first time in my life, democracy ACTUALLY WORKED.
For the first time in my adult life I am no longer ashamed of where I grew up and most importantly…I’m not entirely sure that the ship is no longer sinking…but I want back on anyway.
Oh, and Alaska can have their bitch back now.
Filed under: Inner Monologues
I realize this post may seriously endanger my Canada cred, given that baseball is probably the most American thing ever, but so be it.
Last night, Boston Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp was hit by a pitch coming from Tampa Bay Ray’s pitcher James Shields. Crisp then proceeded to throw his helmet off, charge the pitchers mound and punch Shields in the head before getting tackled to the ground by Rays Catcher Dioner Navarro and wailed on by the Rays’ Jonny Gomes. Both dugouts proceeded to empty as what seemed like every member of both teams attempted to pull the three grown men off each other (although I suspect most of them were just looking for an excuse to get rough.) The result was eight player suspensions; three Red Sox players and five Rays Players with the longest suspension, seven games, delivered to Crisp himself.
Now, baseball fights have always weirded me out. When players fight during Hockey games it’s pretty standard (and, I suspect, encouraged.) Football is basically one giant fight and don’t even get me started on Rugby, but baseball fights have always been weird. I suspect the reason for this is the “All American” qualities associated with Baseball players. The sport is, after all, “as American as mom and apple pie,” therefore I suppose it’s players take on, at least in the eyes of the viewer, some relatively wholesome attributes.
Therefore, witnessing these men acting in a decidedly violent manner is slightly unsettling. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as null to violence as any member of my generation, so it isn’t the fight itself (which wasn’t even that brutal; just a giant pig pile really) that was so unnerving, which leads me to wonder about the status of the players themselves in society. Growing up in this country, it was always baseball players more than any other athletes that were always meant to be perceived as heroic and unilaterally GOOD. The kinds of people they were when the uniforms came off was inconsequential; in uniform they were expected to be holier then the pope. Therefore, watching what essentially amounts to human nature was a lot like watching Superman finally cornering Lex Luthor and using his x-ray vision to slice Luthor’s head off and then throwing the body into the sun.
That having been said, Shields hits like a pansy and Crisp is surprisingly brutal for someone who legally changed his name to ‘Coco’ earlier this year.
Filed under: Inner Monologues
Believe it or not (as pathetic as this sounds) I was actually struggling as to how to properly begin this blog. After all, the first, non-introductory post usually sets the tone for the entire blog and, at least in my mind, determines the path the thing will take in the future. I then posed a question to myself: will this be a self-indulgent, borderline narcissistic online diary or would it be a semi-formal, semi-regimented, formatted pop-culture weblog? For those of you who’ve known me long enough to remember, I used to have a livejournal in high school that was rife with teenage drama and various emo rants, most of which focused on how much my adolescent life sucked (AKA how much I wasn’t getting laid.) This really is the only precedent I have for blogs and is why I’ve avoided starting a new one since I shut that livejournal down. I know myself well enough to know how easily I can slip into self-indulgence and my narcissistic qualities are usually off the charts. However I still harbor a desire to NOT have all my inner melodrama on display on the internet (counter-intuitive, I know) since no one wants to read that shit anyway (about as much as I don’t want to write it.)
Then again, I’ve never really been a fan of the completely regimented industry blogs out there either. Having every post structured the exact same way with different topics inserted where applicable was never…I guess fun is the word I’d use. A good blog, in my opinion, is something that includes formal critique, but is still obviously written by someone who is, ya know, a person, and thus entirely capable of transcribing their inner melodrama when the mood strikes them (read: when they’re drunk.)
Will this blog contain introspective thought pieces like this again? Probably (read: pretty fucking likely.) Will it contain my thoughts on whatever form of media I’ve currently ingested? Absolutely (it’s why I started the damn thing.) Will I use it as a testing ground for op-ed pieces or short fiction? Most likely (once I build up the confidence (or develop the requisite testicular fortitude) to post them.) Though I guess the most important question is whether you’ll care enough keep reading? That’s up to you.
I can’t make you care, but I can keep you entertained.
Stay tuned.
