A Resolute New Year's (Post 101)

Everyone makes New Year's resolutions, such as losing that extra weight, doing work on time, quitting addictions, or deciding to finally stop bundling bad mortgages with other investments. I, however, have decided to make no New Year's resolution. No, it isn't because I'm awesome (which I am), but it's because I'd rather not make a one year contract with myself that I would probably break. Instead, I'm making a life resolution.
Why a life resolution, you might ask? For one thing, there is no sense of urgency. I can complete or attempt to complete my life resolution at any time. I can also gradually chip away at my life resolution instead of diving into it head on. I feel like it's much safer that way.

What is my life resolution, you ask? To fight crime as a super hero.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

P.S. I now write posts for a liberal Rutgers blog called Ruckmakers. I write under the moniker REDACTED It's just some random name I picked out of a hat. Check it out.

A Centennial To Remember

Hello everyone, and welcome to my 100th post on this blog. It seems like it's been many a (one) year since I began this online journal, and so I thought that I would regale you with a yuletide story.
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all throughout Metropolis, not a sound was to be heard, not even from Lex Luthor. Back in Smallville, Clark Kent was spending his Christmas at home with his parents and his cousin Kara, enjoying his usual time of non-superhero work. It was a merry time in Metropolis; the streetlights were adorned with wreaths, the trees adorned with lights in a beautiful, if not slightly twisted, work of art. If one were to walk to streets of Metropolis, only the slight sound of carols and good cheer would be felt and heard in the frigid night air. All was peaceful, all was quiet; all was merry, all was safe. The only caveat to all this safety and joy was that it was temporary, and oh how temporary it was. At that very moment of placidity, Darkseid, Superman's longtime foe, had broken his treaty with Highfather of New Genesis and had encroached upon Highfather's territory like no interloper ever had before. He overwhelmed the New Genesis forces, reducing them to nothing more than ash and cries for help, largely unheard in the expansive universe.
With Highfather gone and New Genesis destroyed, Darkseid now had free reign to invade Earth and continue his vendetta against Superman. Utilizing his wormhole device known as a boomtube, he rounded his army and set sail for Earth.
In Metropolis, the buildings shook and the people all became quiet as a thunderous clamor came crashing down upon the tranquil city. Darkseid's army emerged from the boomtube portals, immediately wreaking havoc upon the great city of Metropolis. Darkseid's parademons, his winged servants of death, hunted down any people on the street with an ecstatic shriek of joy. Darkseid calmly stood upon his flagship, waiting. He had prepared for this moment for years. He had built up his army to the point where not even the destruction of the universe itself could stop him. Right now, seemingly, nothing could.
A call came in to Clark Kent's home in Smallville, much to his family's chagrin. Clark's mother, handing him the phone, had a worried expression. Clark asked curiously, "Hello?" "Darkseid is here. No time for pleasantries." The voice was unmistakably that of Bruce Wayne, otherwise known as Batman. He had already set his course for Metropolis and warned the other members of the Justice League, all of whom were preparing for the battle of their lives. Clark looked sadly at his mother. "Ma...I have to go. Kara." Clark motioned for his cousin. Striding swiftly, he walked outside, his cousin in tail, into the comfortably cold air. "Clark, what is it?" Kara asked, worried. Clark stared into her eyes, trying to gauge her fear. "Darkseid." At first, Kara was taken aback. Her face then became hard and her heart only sang a tune of anger. They changed and flew towards Metropolis.
In a matter of minutes, Darkseid's towering army had razed much of Metropolis. He took no part, however; No, he would wait. He would only wait for Kal-El, the prodigal son of Earth, to appear before him. He would give Kal-El a chance to yield, though he did not desire for Kal-El to...No, he wanted Kal-El to fight until his dying breath, and Darkseid would claim that final gasp as Earth's mightiest protector fell to him.
On the streets below, much of the league had been mobilized and was attempting to fight Darkseid's forces, though to not much avail. Darkseid, however, had given his army the order to not kill any members of the Justice League. He wanted them to watch.
Wonder Woman, princess of the Amazons, fought through Darkseid's massive hordes to his ship, where he simply stood on the hull, gazing into space. "Highfather will not approve of this, Darkseid. He will make you pay. Either him, or I will." Darkseid nonchalantly turned his head towards her. "He does not have a choice anymore. You, however, will not stop me." She flung herself towards him with all of her strength. Darkseid casually reached into his belt and threw what appeared to be a small metallic object. The object seemed to transform in mid-air, growing several tentacle-like objects with a long spike in the center. The object hit her square in the chest as the spike drove into the space below her sternum. The tentacles reached around to her back, where they burrowed through her skin and wrapped around her spine. Wonder Woman seemed to stop her strength in mid-air, her face frozen in an expression of pain and anger. Darkseid knocked her to the ground with a hard slap. "You are paralyzed. You will not die, as I will give you the chance to join my army after this is over. You will be a valuable commodity." With that last word he smiled and kicked her off of the platform. Unable to muster a scream, she fell, silently. Tears began to float upward, it seemed, as she fell through the air. With a mighty jolt, she stopped falling as Superman carefully lowered her to the ground. He placed her among some rubble, looking at the device that attached itself to Wonder Woman's chest. "Diana, can you speak?" No response. She could only look at him, her eyes welling. Superman examined the device and saw that it was burrowed into her spine. "Don't try to remove it." Superman turned around as Batman walked up behind him. Batman was bleeding from his left arm and legs, and seemed to have been stabbed in his right leg, as it was being held by a crimson bandage. He knelt beside her, grimacing. "She'll need microsurgery. I'll take her to a safe-" "SUPERMAN!" Darkseid's thunderous voice seemed to pause the calamity in the streets. The platform he was standing on detached itself from his ship and lowered him to the ground. Superman's face changed from one of concern to pure anger. Fire raged in his eyes as his heat vision blasted Darkseid. Superman yelled.
Darkseid stood there, absorbing the excruciating force of Superman's heat vision. It seemed to him nothing more than a distraction. "You can save all of Earth, Kal-El, if you bow to me. I will order my army to only occupy your feeble world if you swear fealty to me; otherwise, I will hang your body in my throne room and enslave everyone on this planet." Superman was surprised at Darkseid's boldness. Never had he seen Darkseid so sure of himself, and what's more, Superman had never seen him so strong. "Never." Superman flew at Darkseid with all the speed he could muster. Darkseid, in what seemed like a motion even faster than Superman, drew a glowing green dagger from his belt and drove it into Superman's heart. Superman's eyes grew with shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. Darkseid threw his body to the ground. Superman mustered enough strength, but only for what was his final scream. The air around Metropolis shook as Superman's final breath reverberated off of the buildings, vanishing into the sky. Kara, staring in shock from a distance, began to cry. "NO!" she screamed, throwing herself at Darkseid with all that she had. Darkseid pulled a metallic-green object from his belt which promptly linked itself with Kara as she fell to the ground beside her cousin. The Justice League could only watch with all of their members badly injured as their greatest hero, the man who inspired all, lay on the ground in front of Darkseid with his eyes staring blankly at the sky and his mouth frozen in a scream. Darkseid smirked. "Finally," he spoke regally,"I have claimed my greatest trophy."

Yeah, that's right. For Christmas, I killed Superman.

There might be a possible part II. I don't know yet.

Merry Christmas!
Das Flüg

Pro Temporum

Finals time has reared its ugly head, so blogging will likely be limited from me. There is one issue, however, to which I would briefly like to lend my two cents: the SHIELD Act.

And no, for those of you comic book fans, this has nothing to do with the SHIELD agency in Marvel comics; in actuality, it is an act proposed by Senator Joseph Lieberman to make the publication of classified documents by an outside party (journalist, newspaper, any third-party medium, including Wikileaks) a federal offense. You can find the actual language of the act here.

In my very brief opinion on the US' Wikileaks imbroglio, I have no problem with them publishing documents, especially ones that offer a better insight into actual foreign relations than that which I read in the newspaper. The documents they leak are not designated as "Top Secret," nor are they overwhelmingly mind-blowing to any extent of the imagination.

Seemingly, the feeling of vulnerability, in every sense of the word, is a bitch.

That's all for now.

Journey into the Mind, Part 10

It’s been many a year since my son called. Hell, it’s been too long since my phone rang at all. No one seems to care for the elderly once their own independence begins. So, once again I find myself alone in this house without a soul to share a cup of tea with or talk about the affairs of the day. Again I find myself sitting by the phone, silently eating an apple, waiting for a caring soul to check in on me to at least ensure that death has not yet wrapped his hands around my neck and choked the life out of me. Why do I bother? My son is just an ungrateful philanderer, my eldest daughter a vacuous nonentity; the only person who bothers to check in is my youngest daughter, Eve, and she has been away in Europe for months now. I’ve tried calling them, the undeserving children, but they always insist that they are busy with work or something of that sort. I’m done. I feel no reason to care for them anymore, except for Eve. Always was a smart one, she was. I’m proud that she’s doing great things in Europe. I think I’ll amend my will to leave her everything. Yeah, I’ll do that now. After that, I suppose the best way to go would be by car exhaust. It’s not like anyone will find me for a while anyway.

Well, that is it. Those are all the short stories I wrote for my psych class. Assess them if you wish, tell me what you think, etc.

Journey into the Mind, Part 9

The crowd sat, many sharing a look of bemusement, as the speaker stood frozen in his spot. He didn’t know what to say, and his mouth hung open like a rusted gate. He couldn’t believe what he had just read from his prompt; all employees in the local branch would be fired with no benefits given. In an effort to cut costs and save money, the company had decided to close several office branches without so much as a moment’s notice. Only those branches that had a certain sales number were able to avoid downsizing.
“This is ludicrous!” one audience member yelled. “How can you judge our sales based on some arbitrary criteria that has no basis in reality? Our branch sold twice as much as the Little Rock branch did! How dare you!” The audience began to grow restless and murmurs began to grow. The speaker, still frozen, looked to his manager off the stage who stood as stable as a boulder with his arms crossed across his chest. He only gave a stare to the speaker, as if willing him to continue with the speech. The speaker looked back at the crowd, and then back to his boss. Closing his mouth, the speaker nodded his head and gripped the podium.
“I quit,” he said calmly to the audience, and walked off the stage.

Journey into the Mind, Part 8

I’m poor and I’ve always been poor. Growing up in absolute filth and poverty is not easy for even the most disingenuous, though I suppose that I have become accustomed to a certain level of disgust. It seems as though my family has never attempted to move out of the slums, most likely because of the bizarre job security of my father or of the fear from my mother of not being accepted in a higher class of society. That’s all fair and good, I suppose, though I’d prefer to not have to steal in order to afford my school supplies. I’d also prefer that the streets and sidewalks not be flooded with garbage, and I’d also prefer to not have to carry my stolen butterfly knife with me everywhere I go. I’d like to be able to afford to see a moving picture; I’ve heard good things about Casablanca. I’d like to be able to impress a girl if I were ever to bring one back to my home, not that I ever would since my 2 brothers would tease me and constantly berate me. I suppose that it’s on me to improve my life, but how can I do that when colored people still have no rights?

Journey into the Mind, Part 7

Standing in the doorway of his former classroom, in his former school, in what used to be a city, James gripped the doorknob as tears began to well in his eyes. Since the war, no one had returned to his once bustling city, now a skeleton of itself. The school had grown decrepit and putrefied, with dust and cracked walls now painting an ugly portrait. James walked into the room, and almost at once was hit with a resounding wave of memories. He turned around to face the blackboard, tears falling from his eyes, remembering the time his favorite teacher, Ms. Smith, had showed up to class on Halloween wearing a banana suit and had a hard time writing on the board. He remembered the sound of the children’s laughter, which cut through him like the sharpest of knives. He didn’t want to remember, but he couldn’t help it. I should not have come, he thought to himself. He turned away from the blackboard, instead facing where he used to sit. Almost immediately, memories began playing themselves like movies in front of his eyes, and no matter how much he tried, he could not stop it. He fell to his knees, sobbing in his hands.

Journey into the Mind, Part 6

As she lay there, the only soul in sight simply stood and took a picture. As she lay there, a perfectly dead beauty of a woman who seemed to have simply fallen from heaven, no one called for help or aid; the one man, simply existing there, took a picture. She was elegant, and by the expression on her face, had died peacefully. Her blond hair almost seemed to spread out like great golden waves of the ocean, and her face looked to be as soft as the finest silk. And yet, the lone observer only took a picture.
How she died is unknown to anyone; there was no blood, no bruises, no cuts, no scrapes, and no fear in her face. To the observer, however, nothing else mattered other than the serenity of her pose, the eyes-wide-open, emotionless, arms spread docility of her final pose. The observer knelt beside her, getting a close-up of her face. He felt no compassion and no urge to act. She was dead, he thought, and calling the police now or later would not make a difference. What entranced him was the beautiful simplicity of her face, as if she were still alive and posing for him in some kind of disturbing photo shoot. After the observer took his pictures, he stood up, turned on his heels and walked away calmly.

Journey into the Mind, Part 5

Tear gas fell upon the rioting crowd as riot police moved forward against the protesters. The people were angry; the government had reduced their social benefits, exported jobs, and threatened them with the removal of their health care. The workers had had enough; the day after the government’s announcement, they mobilized en masse to strike against the government’s austerity. The anger of the crowd was palpable, and they continued forward regardless of the tear gas. Covering their mouths, they charged forward against the riot police. There seemed to be an infinitely long moment in between their charge and their inevitable clash with police, as if the anxiety and tension felt by every police officer were enough to stop the rushing crowd. The footsteps of the workers echoed off of the surrounding buildings, creating the sound of giants stomping. The workers continued charging, their anger and fervor driving them forward like a locomotive out of control. A single policeman, in the moment before the rioters made contact, withdrew his shield, drew his gun, and fired in fear. The crowd hit the police barrier with the force of Hercules, knocking many officers off their feet. Defending the capital building was the only objective for the police, regardless of cost or casualty. The only problem with their objective was that, at the moment, it seemed unlikely.

Journey into the Mind, Part 4

Aafiya and Shariq walked through the empty alley in Ramallah. There was very little in the way of decorations or glamour, of joyful exhibition or of culture. The city seemed to be a skeleton of itself since the Israeli army choked off all supplies to Palestine with their complete blockade. The city was once a cornucopia of color and ebullience; now, a lone pair of siblings ventured into the dangerous back streets of the city. Shariq, the slightly chubby younger brother, looked up tearfully at his older sister; she only stared ahead, looking into that invisible object that was their uncertain future. Shariq stopped in place, tears gently falling from his eyes. Aafiya stopped, her eyes devoid of color or emotion.
“Come,” she stated sternly. Shariq stood like a sobbing statue, his arms stiffly at his sides as he refused to move. Aafiya sighed. She walked over to Shariq and kneeled in front of him. “What?” Shariq looked into her eyes, searching for a shred of empathy. “Mother, father…I miss them.” His nose began running. Aafiya grabbed a portion of her sleeve and wiped his nose for him. Her eyes still showed no emotion, as if she were repressing every single instinct within herself to mirror her younger brother and cry. “As do I,” she said coldly, “but we must keep going. We only have ourselves now.”

Journey into the Mind, Part 3

The wooden table in the center of the room held many memories. Years ago, around it men planned the assassination of foreign dignitaries; decades ago, men laid out the plans for the insurrection against their government, which was carried out swiftly and mercilessly. Now, after 30 years, around that table sat three old men, each of whom regarded their roles with little purpose. Ali, sitting at the head of the table, looked to the wall with mournful nostalgia. There hung pictures of his heroes: Karl Marx, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, and Joseph Stalin. Each portrait seemed to radiate an aura of accomplishment, almost belittling Ali. Ali turned to Mukbar and Sanji, both of whom were staring at the table, as if transfixed by its many imperfections.
“We are no longer popular, my friends. Our times, our causes, they have passed. Do we just…” Ali trailed off. He averted his gaze from his comrades. Mukbar looked up from his point of attention.
“We return to our families and live our lives in ignorance. For too long have we neglected our loved ones. I have never been allowed to see my granddaughter; my son abhors me.” Sanji looked up, his hands clasped in front of his face.
“We are scum.”

2012

One of the most anticipated and contentious presidential elections of this new century is coming up in 2012. President Obama is facing a highly belligerent and ambitious conservative wing of the Republican party which has seemingly become the voice of the new right. With this new right comes the prospect of the highly unpredictable variable of who will represent the Republican party in the 2012 election; namely, Sarah Palin. While many are afraid of her candidacy, members of the Democratic party should pray for her to declare her intentions of running for president.
Why? Harking back to the 2008 president election where she was the Republican nominee for vice president, she was revealed to be less than knowledgeable in all fields pertaining to political discourse, including Constitutional law, international relations, domestic policy, social issues, et al. She demonstrated many of these qualities in her public appearances, such as in the vice presidential debate where she continually did what only could be described as a "folksy method of flirtation" with the cameraman in which she continually winked at the camera.


She also demonstrated her lack of political knowledge in her much revered interview with Katie Couric, where she stated that her foreign policy experience was based on living in a state with a land border with Canada and being in close proximity to Russia.


She has alienated moderate Republicans by continually denigrating them during the 2010 midterms, where she advocated for the election of all far-right Tea Party conservatives. She has continually demonstrated her affection for anti-intellectual dogma, often criticizing President Obama for not being "enough of a man" and actually attacking him for being a constitutional law professor.



Though many believe that Republicans are simply deadbeat rednecks who pray to guns and the rich, there is a good contingent of rational Republicans who realize that Sarah Palin is the bane of all reasonable politics. Democrats should hope that she becomes the presidential nominee, because several things will happen: 1. She will continually demonstrate her ineptitude in foreign affairs during her public appearances; 2. She will alienate moderate Republicans and independents with her extreme conservative views; 3. She will alienate her most loyal demographic of middle-aged women with her oscillating views on social issues.

Even if she runs independently from the Republican party, she will divide the Republican vote, ensuring a victory for the Democratic party. On the extremely rare chance that she does win, however, I'm moving to England.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Beginning of an End

This week, the first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in theaters to quite possibly the most anticipation ever felt in this generation. The anxiety and excitement in theaters was palpable as thousands of my fellow college students went to see the first of the final two acts of what could only be described as a story befitting our age. This is not a review of the movie, but rather what it means to us.
Harry Potter, as a character, represents what every person wishes to be: someone spectacular. After believing himself to be nothing more than a mundane, average child he learns that there is a completely fantastic and wonderful world to which he truly belongs, one in which he is accepted for being different. The story was released precisely when my generation was finding its identity, and what better way to find its identity through pure, enthralling imagination? We all immediately became best friends with Harry, as if every single reader amalgamated into Harry's third best friend that we all dreamed about becoming. We created stories on our own, delving into our personal imaginations, inserting ourselves into Harry's epic journey as his cousin, as Ron's friend, or as Hermione's boyfriend, as I'm sure many a teenage boy did. Some placed themselves in Harry's world simply to escape the real world, and sometimes found the answers to problems that would otherwise go unsolved. Some even invented their own mythologies in the Harry Potter universe, creating stories completely tangential to the Harry Potter mythos yet still set in Hogwarts, or Durmstrang, or Diagon Alley. Harry and his world gave our generation inspiration; his world became our imagination.
The movies brought the books into a tangible reality, one in which we began to relate and grow with the actors themselves. With every movie came a bit more maturity from us and them, almost as if we were all friends, neighbors, or just sat next to each other in high school. With every movie we gained a bit more insight into our dream world, and with every movie we loved it all a bit more.
Now, as the movie installments come to a close, along with our and Harry's childhoods, I am proud to see so many people my age dressing up as witches and wizards, Dumbledore, Mad-eye Moody, and Hagrid as we begin to say goodbye to a dear companion, brother, guide, and friend. Though saying goodbye is always the hardest part of life, we can do so with the solace of remembering all of the lessons, adventures, and stories given to us through J.K. Rowling's writings. Regardless of the quality of the final two parts, we as a generation can proudly state, with no shame in our hearts, that our imaginations are forever.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Educashun

This week, the English Parliament introduced a measure to raise the standard tuition for all English universities from approximately 3,500 pounds to approximately 6,500 or 9,000 pounds, which equates to approximately 9,000 or 14,000 dollars due to recent economic pressures. University students responded by protesting and eventually rioting in the streets of England, breaking windows, being raucous, and basically doing everything that many expect college students to do on Friday nights. First, I think that I should explain England's education system:
1. All schools in England are heavily subsidized, including private universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. This allows for them to keep tuition relatively low in comparison to many universities around the world.
2. The highest tuition any university can charge is about 3500 pounds. Universities in England used to be free until the state began to face financial hardship.
3. The educational system in England's private universities is recognized as one of the most erudite in the world. Those studying law as undergraduates, for example, have the opportunity of achieving fellowships, internships, and jobs at law firms during their undergraduate studies.

Let's compare this to all United States public universities: every year, each state-funded university raises tuition by 10-15%. At my own university, during my freshman year my tuition was approximately 22,000 dollars; now, in my junior year, it is approximately 24,000 dollars. Private universities routinely raise tuition as it pertains to their yearly revenue. Public education has been cut in many states, including my own New Jersey. Do we riot? (The answer: No.)

Across just about every university in the United States, tuition increases yearly. There is hardly an uproar over it since there is no universal funding of education like there is in England. In fact, there is no constitutional guarantee for education at all; that issue is completely left to the state side of federalism. Should there be a constitutional amendment? Probably. Will there ever be? Probably not.

So, what do we do to get better funding for education? Pester your local representatives, congressional representatives, senators, neighbors, family members, professors, Jon Stewart, the Chinese deliveryman, etc. It's the way Democracy works, take advantage of it.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Thesis ideas

I have to start seriously considering a topic for my senior thesis soon, and so far I have narrowed it down to not doing research. Seriously, I want to do a thesis without doing research.

I suppose I'll just write a fictional story outlining some greater concept in politics/psychology/bs in general. Who knows, maybe it'll be good.

D F

Victory for Democracy

This past Election Day, Americans sent a clear message to their representatives and senators: we will exercise our support of democratic principles by voting for the other guy rather than the incumbent. After all, the best way to ensure a stable, functioning government is to vote for someone whose positions are unknown to you. I mean, all that has been done by the previously Democratic senate and house has been health care reform, children’s health care, credit reforms, veteran’s relief, a tax cut for 90% of Americans, opened up avenues for stem cell research, appropriated an unprecedented amount of money for non-military scientific research, halted the CIA torture program, gave tax cuts to small businesses, student loan reforms, and they were attempting to end the Bush-era tax cuts, which gave tax cuts to the upper echelons of wage-earners. But, who really cares about that anyway?
The newest representatives, many of whom are conservative Republicans, want to cut the deficit and cut government spending. Great! Finally, a relief from the burgeoning debt and all those social services that poor people use, like social security, welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, public education, police departments, fire departments, libraries, and prisons. And who needs research on stem cells anyway?
I assume that in two years when the next election cycle comes around, each and every eligible voter will look at the accomplishments of the now-Republican house and their individual representatives and make a vote, not based on actual action, but rather on personal chagrin. Who needs to make an informed vote when we can just vote for the other guy?

That’s all for now,
Das Flüg

National Security from College Students

This past Halloween weekend, the Rutgers Association of International Relations traveled to Bethesda, Maryland in order to participate in the National Collegiate Security Conference, and let me tell you, it was awesome.
Firstly, I was in the Eighth Iranian Majlis (Parliament), a very fractured and uncertain governing body. We had to discuss the burgeoning youth movement in Iran, whose goals were to become a more democratic countries. There were two polarized sides, the Reformists and the Principlists; their names essentially state their position. Before we even got around to passing resolutions on the issue, the Supreme Leader Khamenei was assassinated. A report first issued by the Revolutionary Guard implicated noted reformist Ayatollah Rafsanjani of being complicit in the Supreme Leader's assassination. After calling for several investigations, I received intelligence from a rogue Revolutionary Guard soldier stating that President Ahmedinejad and the leaders of the IRGC (Revolutionary Guard) met to plan the death of the Supreme Leader. From then on, we moved to impeach President Ahmedinejad, who promptly decided, along with the IRGC, to dissolve the Majlis and attempt to kill all of us.
In the end, we went to war with China and stole their flag.

Aside from the serious stuff, it was one hell of a time. If you're not doing Model UN, then you're not experiencing absolute euphoria. Get there.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Why I Would Never Want to Be President

A lot of kids, especially young ones, have dreams of one day presiding over the highest office in the United States: the Presidency. I bet that if one were to go into a third grade class and take a straw poll of desired careers, "president" would be among the top, along with "astronaut," "fireman," "doctor," and "high school dropout." This isn't surprising, as the US educational system has inflated and pampered the holy image of the presidency as something sacred and integral to the very functions of the planet. I hate to burst that veritable bubble, but the seasons will continue to change, the years will continue to pass, and the circle of life will continue regardless of whether or not there is an American presidency. There will likely continue to be the high office, however, and it is one that I do not covet in the least. Why?

1. Public exposure: When one becomes president, the private life of the person ceases to be private. All affairs (both literal and sexual) become public knowledge, one's family becomes scrutinized and the unyielding eye of an ever-vigilant infotainment press will spread vitriol in order to produce whatever profit they can. Unfortunately, once one becomes a public figure in the US, suing for the right to privacy becomes an extraordinarily difficult process (as it was already). The privacy of one's home is forfeit.

2. Dealing with wingnuts: This is self-explanatory. As can be seen today, wingnuts with oddly large followings can spread falsehoods in order to create a disturbance in what could otherwise be called civilized debate. Especially in an age of increased partisanship where the leaders of opposition parties make it their duties to simply say "no" regardless of truth, a president would be unable to sway many with reasonable, rational arguments. Winguts also create a high degree of factionalism within the US, though not in the Madisonian sense; instead, the wingnut will seek to create strife and discord simply to promote his/her own political ambitions.

3. Influences: Money plays a very large role in US elections. Without money, one cannot promote oneself with sufficient exposure so as to garner votes. This is why the influence of money from others, especially outsider contributions, weighs so heavily on every candidate; if that candidate does not uphold his/her promise to his/her contributors, it is reasonable to assume that the person with the money can just as easily turn against the candidate. If you are going to run for public office of any kind, be sure to have plenty of funds to support yourself.

4. Stress: The overall level of stress for a president is extraordinary. Looking at any president over their terms, the amount of gray hair accrued and well-focused age lines become easily apparent.


5. Blame: Presidents take blame for things in and out of their control. The economy, bureaucratic failures, even the weather; the President is viewed as the arbiter of all. The President constantly has to defend himself and his party while at the same time deflecting blame onto those who rightly deserve it. Of course, perceptions of a president's culpability will never change for some, and constant scrutinizing and derision will always entail.

I'd rather be a wingnut.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Journey into the Mind, Part 2

(Mainly because I'm too lazy to write something)

David could only stare in horror as thousands upon thousands of himself marched in order towards him, all wearing the same blank expression upon their faces. The lack of emotion, the total unflinching facial features each and every version of him presented frightened him. He could only stagger back in fear as they continued marching in their synchronized steps, coming closer, and closer, and closer. David fell to the ground, struggling to regain his composure and find an escape. They all stared blankly ahead, as if completely ignorant of his presence, until they stopped. David, from the seat of his pants, could only stare in complete disbelief as all of his clones turned their heads slowly to look at him. The frozen, superficial smile he had seen in the mirror for years was now staring him down as if it had the force and imposition of a gun. The barrel was cocked. He swiveled his head, trying to capture the duplicitous smile on each of his clones’ faces. “NO!” he screamed as he began to crawl backwards. The clones walked with him. “NO!” he screamed again, though the clones would not listen. He felt their stares burrowing underneath his face, beyond his mind and into his soul where they tore at him in a torrential undulation of insanity.
“NO!” David screamed, sitting up in his bed. He was covered in sweat and had thrown his sheets to the floor.
“What the hell?” David got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he was unsure of who was staring back at him.


That's all for now,
DF

Journey into the Mind

My Psych professor gave us an interesting semester-long assignment: write 10 stories based on 10 pictures. Each story is approximately 150-200 words and should not be edited so that the original emotions and intent of the writer could be more transparent. At the end of the semester, we have to write a paper analyzing the stories and finding a commonality within them. Why don't you try?

Story 1:

The mannequins were placed delicately in the candelabra-lit room. Each one was placed where it was suspected that the suspects and victim were standing when the incident occurred. Each mannequin, though homogeneous, seemed to exert its own personality into its character, as if the inanimate were conscious of its purpose.
“All right; let’s go over this again.” The detective, a man known to be somewhat a curmudgeon, raised his fedora hat and fiddled with his toothpick. His long tan overcoat was only outdone by the indecency of his slouching.
“The victim, sitting here on the couch, was holding a glass of wine, facing away from the window. The man,” he walked over to the position, “was standing at the window, looking out with the curtains open. The other woman, “he trudged to her position, “was sitting here, at the piano, her back turned to the whole incident. The shot itself,” he pointed to the man’s position, “seems to have come from the outside, though there was no damage done to the window and the man recalled neither hearing nor seeing the window break. It has never been a simpler deduction in my life.”
“How is that so?” asked the officer, his curious face hung open in confusion. The detective returned to the window. “Come,” he said to the officer, motioning with his finger. “Look at this window pane. Does it not differ from the others?” The officer squinted at it, and after several seconds, resolved there to be no difference. The detective gave him a look of derision.
“Look at the lining of the pane itself. Though hard to see, each windowpane is glued to the window frame so that the window is more secure. This windowpane,” he took out a switchblade and jarred it out, “is not glued at all. Thus, it was removed before the shot was fired to allow for an almost-seamless crime. The culprit is, most certainly, the man.”
“So, what do we do from here?” asked the officer.
“Evidence, my friend, evidence. To the roof!” exclaimed the detective, and with a surprising amount of energy, he bounded out of the room to the staircase.


That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Taxes, Tea Party, and Totalitarianism

Midterms aren't over yet, but I have a week-long interlude between exams and I figured that I should be faithful to my only reader (you) and write something. I know that you've been dying to read what I have to think; sadly, so have I.

Firstly, you may or may not have heard that President Obama plans on letting the Bush Tax Cuts expire at the end of this year. You have probably also heard all the brouhaha on both sides, arguing whether or not to keep them. The gist of the whole thing is that taxes will be raised for those making over 250,000$ if the tax cuts expire. If they are allowed to continue, they will cost American taxpayers approximately 7 billion dollars. The rich can continue to whine about "class warfare" or "losing their money," but the fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, people making more than 250,000$ a year will still have enough money to send 4 kids to college and live well while doing so. Suck it up.

Secondly, the Tea Party. If you haven't noticed, they've presented some strange candidates in the last few months, the latest being Carl Paladino and Christine O'Donnell. In one sentence, Paladino hates gay people and Christine O'Donnell doesn't know anything about recent Supreme Court cases.

Finally, Kim Jong-il named his successor as his youngest son, further alienating his lazy, overweight middle son who enjoys rap. It almost sounds like a bad sitcom.



That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Bah

I'll put my blog on a temporary hiatus because I am in the middle of my midterms. Here are some things you should know:
1. Christine O'Donnell, Republican nominee for the Delaware senate seat is nutty.
2. There is growing ethnic strife among Serbs, Croats and Muslims again.
3. Pakistan shut down a main route that the American military used for re-supplying their forces in Afghanistan with fuel, and upon using an alternate route, the entire convoy was burned.
4. Rick Sanchez is dumb.
5. Youtube has some inane copyright laws.
6. I need more sleep.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Thesis

Well, I'm getting old. In one year, I'm going to have to start writing a senior thesis about something related to political science (I think). I don't have any ideas other than to write a fictional story of some sort, as it involves me not doing any research whatsoever. Hooray for laziness!

Aside from that, I have been inundated by reading, most of which I haven't done, so I don't have an insightful or thoughtful post today.

What I do have is a quote I said to a friend the other day about dreams; she said that sleeping is like preparing for death, but I said that "dreaming is where I can be truly alive."

I guess that's it.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Brouhaha

If you are someone who pays attention to Congressional elections (which, for America, is about 40% of you), you know how important the upcoming Congressional elections are. You also know that there is vehement crapslinging (one step worse than mudslinging) from both sides, and that the television media only aids in this crapslinging. For that reason, I ask that you, my loyal reader, not watch any TV news regarding the Congressional elections. Read the New York Times, the Washington Post, Reuters, whatever; just don't watch TV news.

Why? Well, for one thing, TV news is heavily opinionated. Wait, you may say, the newspapers are opinionated too. They may be opinionated, but, in the case of the New York Times, only on the last page. Otherwise, all journalists are required to give two sides to every story and be more fair and balanced (in the literal sense of the term, not Fox's).

TV news has an affinity for shaping people's arguments and opinions, and even making non-pertinent topics prudent. If all TV news were balanced, then Park 51 wouldn't be an issue and nor would Pastor Terry Jones.

So, I encourage you to read your news rather than hear it from Glenn Beck, Keith Olbermann, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Chris Matthews, the aboriginal pygmies at CNN, or your local grumpy pedophile. I know that no one purportedly reads anymore, but I must say that it's entertaining to read about how candidate Christine O'Donnell dabbled in witchcraft and believes that masturbation is infidelity.

I guess I'm going to hell, then.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Kill it with Fire

If you're a hermit and have not been listening to the news, then you haven't heard of fringe religious pastor Terry Jones who threatened to burn Qu'rans this past September 11th. His reason for burning the holy book of the Muslim people was because he "wanted to send radical Islam a message." What I find funny is that he probably didn't realize the irony if his statement; he should have just replaced "Islam" with the name of his church.
You see, Pastor Jones is a radical in his own right; he calls Islam the "devil's religion" and that Islam is trying to dominate the United States and the world. Now, I won't challenge the legality of his right to protest the religion by burning a piece of symbolism (as established in Texas v. Johnson), but I will call him irrational. Why? Well, you'll see.
Firstly, the US' image overseas, to many Muslims, is that the country is at war with Islam itself instead of with al Qaeda, the Taliban, etc. Those groups, in turn, utilize that rhetoric to recruit young men into their ranks. Pastor Jones, with his widespread media coverage and his handlebar mustache now played all over the world, is now becoming a rallying point for radical Muslims.

(Pictured: 19th-century sex.)

With his anti-Islam message, the radical Islamic groups can now say "Look! Americans allow for the burning of the holy book without chastising him for it! Join us and defend our beliefs!" (Hope that doesn't sound too campy) A battle based on beliefs, especially personal beliefs, is the most difficult and time-consuming battle, and is almost always impossible to win.
Aside from that, Pastor Jones has revealed a flaw in our portrayal of Muslims in the country: they are all radical. The Pastor has conflated all Muslims into essentially one entity, which, as we all know, is illogical. Like I've said before, not all Catholic priests are pedophiles, not all black people are criminals, and not all Chinese people know Kung-Fu.

If this post seems a little errant, that's because I had too much damned reading to do. Hell, I'm barely even doing it.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Insert evil laugh here

My psych professor asked a question about the nature of evil, and below is my answer. It's not very good.

The very concept of evil didn't originate until the advent of the concept of morality and right and wrong. That being the case, it took a lot of time until people were able to reason that murdering your neighbor because you envy his flock of sheep is wrong because it is detrimental to the community, animalistic, and barbaric.

The most native and fundamental motive to the human being is the sense of self-preservation, aka selfishness (to a degree). The concept of evil can be attributed to a human's desire to survive well and beyond his means, though in this case I am circumventing the average person's ability to reason and behave rationally. This selfishness, when humans hunted in tribes, would be diffused to the other members of the tribe, essentially creating an entagled web that was almost analogous to one complete person rather than many. Tribal raids between humans were common, and the tribes that emerged victorious also reveled in the spoils of their victory, oftentimes being the women, weapons and supplies of the defeated tribe. In more evolutionary anthropological terms, winning a raid essentially meant the diversifying of the gene pool, creating more fit and better adaptable offspring. Thus, as self-preservation in this case extends to the entirety of the tribe, the human is fulfilling his primal desires.

As we live in a time where good and evil are more defined, though the boundaries become fuzzy, it is somewhat easier to determine. However, there are special cases: is acting evil in order to produce a good outcome still evil? Is acting with good intentions but achieving a deleterious outcome still considered evil? (I have often heard that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, though I find that to be a logical fallacy.)

In this case, I choose to ignore religious precepts for good and evil because there are many different religious standards in different beliefs, though all (or at least most) religions can agree that there are several things that are universally considered "evil": murder without justifiable reason, theft, and pork. (Interesting note: There was an ancient Greek cult which forbade the consumption of beans. Go figure.)

Just to explain my pork statement, and to quote one of my favorite movies:
Vincent: Want some bacon?
Jules: No man, I don't eat pork.
Vincent: Are you Jewish?
Jules: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.
Vincent: Why not?
Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.
Vincent: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood.
Jules: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy mother****er. Pigs sleep and root in ****. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eat nothin' that ain't got sense enough to disregard its own feces.
Vincent: How about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces.
Jules: I don't eat dog either.
Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?
Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.
Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?
Jules: Well we'd have to be talkin' about one charming mother****in' pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm sayin'?

The rule was written that pork was disallowed in many religions because, essentially, pigs are dirty. That's it. They're evil.

I think I lost track of the question.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

(Almost) Labor Day Lunacy

Every Sunday, I make the long and perilous 15 minute drive from college to my house in order to do my laundry, work out a bit, and contemplate life.


(Pictured: Bad humor.)

My dad, the Argentine immigrant that he is, decided to ingratiate himself into American culture by doing what a lot of other people do over Labor Day weekend: have a barbecue. His friends came, all of them over the age of 40, leaving me only to hope that I don't look that old when I reach 50. Anyway, skipping past my title of grill master and subsequently stinking of charcoal, after the meal was done I decided to do my usual routine of exercising. I was startled by the sound of my dad yelling at a rather irate and intransigent codger about immigration.

Upon hearing their debate, one facet of the conversation I realized, possibly the most important, was that the old codger was using arguments and almost emulating verbatim the rhetoric of those on Fox News. I had never actually encountered anyone who had so fervently spouted the absolute horse crap that Fox News flaunted as "fair and balanced"; I was amazed. My father (hopefully) soon realized that arguing with that curmudgeon was akin to eating a pinecone; sure, it would give you good fiber, but you don't like the feeling.

It is something that reinforces a personal credo of mine: You can't win an argument with an idiot. Idiot, in this case, is not someone who simply disagrees with me; it is someone who does not have an informed opinion with which to sustain a logical and coherent argument. Essentially, it is the very definition of the word: someone lacking knowledge.

I could go on about how denigrating it is for America to have so many people like that curmudgeon, or how personal opinions have been supplanted by pundit opinions, but, I just feel like I'd be exhuming a dead horse, beating it, burying it again, and then repeating the process simply because I could.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Ad Infinitum

As I have been relatively busy so far after moving into college, I haven't had time to update my blog. My psych teacher recently asked us an online question about belief and religion, and I thought it interesting enough to post on here. Included are my answers.

What role in the life of the individual is played by a belief in God?
Being an Atheist, I can safely assume that I am in no way objective in my beliefs, but I will try to be as much so as is possible. Being an Atheist also means that I made a concerted effort believing in some kind of deity, but I eventually rationalized to myself that there was, in fact (at least to me), no existence of any tenable God of any kind. The concept of any god, in its origins, serves as an explanation for the natural world around us-i.e., the seasons change because Demeter only sees her daughter Persephone for 1/3 of the year (Greek mythology). In modernity, a belief in God is typically accompanied with a belief in some kind of afterlife and the perpetuation of life after death. It is a very comforting thought to believe that a deceased relative is continually living in a "better place" rather than simply dying.

In trying to understand someone, how much importance should we give to studying that person's attitude toward and faith (or lack thereof) in a god?
When attempting to understand someone, we must not only gauge their belief in a god, but the belief in the mythology surrounding the god. For example, the "great flood" as described in the bible would have been scientifically impossible on Earth because of the massive amount of heat that would have been released after the enormous rainfall, not to mention the gathering of two animals of every species from around the planet crossing great distances and oceans to simply reach one boat. It is not impossible, but certainly extremely implausible.
To be concise about my point, one has to be religious within reason. One simply should not dismiss what others would consider scientific fact simply because it contrasts with one's religious beliefs (Galileo and the church).

If we think of the idea of God as referring to any principle or power, however defined, in which one believes absolutely and with certainty, is there anyone who does not believe in a god?
If it is defined as such, then seemingly everyone believes in some sort of God. If that is the case, the Tea Party can be considered a "God" (though I shudder at the thought), Rutgers can be a "God", and greed can be a "God." There is a difference, however, between absolute belief in something and actual worshipping.

Do all people have such a faith somehow expressed, somehow anchoring their existences? Or is human life possible in the actual absence of such absolute commitments? If our task is to understand a person, can we do so without including a central consideration of what that person's areas of faith and certainty are?
All people have faith in something- I for one have faith in the Mets, though they continually let me down every single year. I do not, however, anchor myself into their every undulating phase. I do feel a bit depressed with each loss (though I've gotten used to it), but it is not enough to drive me to the edge of insanity (though they have tried). I should hope that most people do not entrust their lives into a concept without actually considering themselves before said concept. To be clearer, I hope that no one so inextricably links their lives into some religious meaning so deeply that they end up not being able to reason without relating to their deity.
Understanding a person without knowing their preferences in faith and religiosity is like eating in Tillet Dining Hall- you see that it's food (or used to be), but you're just not sure what it is. There is a certain "level", if you will, of people that is beyond faith and is simply the person's own beliefs, but it takes extraordinary circumstances to reach that level.

There's my opinion, though I personally already disagree with myself.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Summer's End

Well, I have 6 days until I have to officially move back to college. The bright side is that I get to see a lot of friends again, I get to read the New York Times (though I could have just done that online), I'm forced to get dressed, and I get to learn stuff. Downside, well, I won't see a lot of friends until winter break, no filming, and no sitting around in my underwear which, frankly, is awesome.

On a more serious note, 20% of Pakistan is covered in water with more than 1,000 dead and many displaced. I'd like you, as my only reader, to help in recovery and humanitarian aid. You can click here and make a donation to help the people of Pakistan. I donated $150, and I'm strapped for cash. Will you match me?

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Foo Fighters!


That's all for now,
Das Flüg

P.S. Be sure to check out my friend's and my Youtube productions group, Unwanted Guests Productions. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll thank us for both laughing and crying.

Point of Ire

A group of Muslim radicals are attempting to rubs America's face in the tragedy of 9-11 by building a mosque in Ground Zero.

--EDIT--

Sorry, a Tea Party "enthusiast" hacked into my blog and wrote that. What it should say is "Xenophobia is spreading as a massive smear campaign is being waged to stop a Muslim community center and mosque from being built 2 blocks away from Ground Zero."

This is a story that has caused many to revert to "American pride," where the mightiest fist thumping the hairiest chest is always right. How dare they infringe upon this hallowed ground where the mighty lay fallen?

"They." There seems to be this notion that all Muslims are secret terrorists hoping to undermine the well-being of every American. In reality, an overwhelming majority of Muslims living in the United States are very moderate and/or liberal, and actually oppose the rhetoric of the extremist Muslims who are to blame for the many atrocities. The Imam heading up the building of the community center, for example, worked in an interfaith outreach program, attempting to bridge the gap between the different religions. But of course, it could all be part of his nefarious and beguiling cover.

Of course, if all Muslims are terrorists, then all Catholic priests are pedophiles, all Jews are embezzlers, all Christians are manic depressives, all Chinese people are emotionless, all black people are criminals, etc. See where stereotyping fails? If not, get glasses.

I would talk about the freedom of religion allowed in the US Constitution, but I'm sure that's been beaten to death. What I'd rather talk about is the rhetoric used by Muslim extremists to recruit young people. The common perception is that the US is at war with Islam as a whole, evidenced by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, its support of Israel, aerial drone bombings, etc. As that is the case, what better way is there to show solidarity with the Islamic world than to support the construction of this mosque and community center? Why not show the world that the United States upholds the values elucidated in the Constitution to every demographic equally?

Perhaps people don't realize that the best way to completely win a war is not with guns, but with overwhelming support.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Thought Experiment

Imagine this: an Atheist runs for president and has a viable chance of being elected. Assume that he or she is a Democrat, as an Atheist in the Republican party is about as likely as Glenn Beck passing a math test. (An Atheist being nominated for president for the Democratic party is unlikely as well, since the party as a whole hopes to gain votes from moderates.) What would happen?
Firstly, the morals of the Atheist nominee would be challenged; the common belief is that morals are grounded in religion, and those without religion are immoral, rabid sexual monsters (cough*catholicpriests*cough) who would destroy all civilization because of a preference for mass anarchy.
It's more than likely that religious groups would protest fervently, heckle, send death threats, etc.

Why should belief in a deity factor into politics, a seemingly non-theocratic institution, especially in the United States, which was built on religious tolerance? I suppose that's my question of the week to you, my single reader. Feel free to comment if you like.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Proposition ∞

Prop 8 was recently overturned in California. For those who don't know what Prop 8 is, it is a mandate to ban gay marriage. Of course, the decision will be appealed, most likely leading to what will become one of the more momentous Supreme Court decisions of this new century. The battle is, of course, being waged by whom one would imagine it would be: the more religious, conservative people on one side ardently pushing against the more liberal on the other. That story seems almost ubiquitous in every political situation now. What's my opinion on this, you ask? (I assume you asked. If not, well, I'll tell you anyway because I'm sure you want to know.)

To understand the religious reasoning behind the conservative argument, one has to know why the bible urges only men and women to be together, while forbidding homosexual relationships. The main reason, as could be repeated by any historian with knowledge of the time period, was the high mortality rate of children between the 1st-10th century AD (and even beyond then, until hygienic practices became standard). In order to continue the species (emphasis on continue), humans must propagate as much as possible. If only 20% of children survive after 2 years of age, make sure you try at least 10 times. Sure, the emotional devastation of losing 8 kids might be too much, but it's for the continuation of the goddamn human race. Having homosexual relationships undermines the idea of that continuation, and thus the church thought to forbid it. (On a side note, most of the "rules" in the bible are common sense aphorisms to ensure that people have as few problems as possible in life, because we all know that screwing around with your neighbor's wife can get you killed.)
As for the fallacious statements that some organizations tout which usually decry that children raised in homosexual relationships have more problems in life, they are exactly that: fallacious. They have little to no statistical evidence, or really any evidence of any kind. In fact, in my sociology class, I read a study that homosexual relationships are statistically more stable than heterosexual relationships. Shove that in your pipe and smoke it, Palin.

My opinion, as an uber-liberal, somewhat Socialist Jedi, is that each and every person has the same rights as the other. That's it. If one person has the right to marry whoever they wish, then a different person, no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation or thoughts on Batman, has that exact same right. That's it. Equal protection of the law is embedded in the Constitution of the US. Deal with it and move on.

I prefer to avoid the normative arguments about how love is universal, since this is more a matter of equal rights than equal love. Personally, I'm glad that Prop 8 has been turned on its side. It's a victory for equal rights and a step toward a better future for the US. With the erasure of Prop 8, maybe, hopefully, eventually the conservative and mundane will realize that love and equal rights are infinite and not beholden to any restraints.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Old Spice

Coming soon!

Random Thought of the Week

If Kim Jong Il didn't know that the US's drinking age is 21 and then found it out, he should then change North Korea's legal drinking age to 14 and keep the borders closed. That way, it becomes the most exclusive party on the planet.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Response Numero 1

"Anonymous said...

why does summer inspire some to spend all there time outside and yet others to stay inside shunning the light?"

Dear Anonymous,
Assuming that there is no greater existential meaning behind "shunning the light," perhaps indirectly referring to a Sartrean reality where the "light" is some sort of pure metaphysical (or corporeal) being without the hindering presence of others, I would have to say that summer inspires the aforementioned behavior because of the person's sociability. I, for example, do go outside to run, play soccer and/or baseball, and search desperately for a job (though I ended that search eons ago).

I suppose it also depend on the person's friends, as in whether or not they have anything more unique to do than just sit around in their underwear all day, while waking up at noon and playing video games. But, I digress.

Also, it's hot. It's the hottest July ever. (Expletive deleted)

I hope that sufficiently answers your query. If you (again) have any topic about which my thoughts and opinions would be greatly valued, then please, leave a comment below. I honestly have nothing better to do. Danke und auf fiderzen!

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Mindlessly Meandering

'Ello govna,
Summer, as you probably already know, is a pretty lazy time for me. Most days, I hardly ever get dressed or even expose my fragile pale skin to the damaging ultraviolet rays of the sun. Aside from acting like a cockroach/hermit, I kind of run out of inspiration for writing topics. Thus, I am relying on you, my only reader, to give me something about which to write. My fate is in your hands.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

P.S. Be sure to check out my friend's and my Youtube account for random videos. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you will pretend to enjoy it because otherwise, in the words of Ivan Drago, "I will break you." Unwanted Guests Productions!

A Serious Man Post

Since I haven't done a political piece in a while, I figure that the one person who actually reads my blog (You) would appreciate something well-written and erudite. Hooray for consideration!

What's on my mind right now is the possible connection between the release of the Lockerbie bomber and BP's drilling contract with Libya. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, also known as the Lockerbie Bomber, was sentenced for life imprisonment after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people. (There is speculation that he was simply a scapegoat, but that is a topic about which I know too little.) He was released last year to a hero's welcome in Libya due to a diagnosis of terminal prostate cancer. This obviously raised quite the disturbance in Scotland, as many wondered why a man who senselessly killed hundreds should be given compassion at the end of his life. But, that is only the beginning of the story.

It seems that BP, the highly-revered defenders of all that is black and grimy, influenced the UK government's decision to release Megrahi in order to secure an oil contract with Libya. If BP did not already seem like the dominatrix of the world, whipping us while we enjoyed it, now BP appears to be Hedonism Bot from Futurama, basically doing whatever feels like it would give them pleasure.



Corporate greed at its finest. So, what happens now? Well, if I were president (which only happens in approximately 3 of the infinite parallel universes), I would likely cut all contracts with BP, have them fined, and send them to work on the next Michael Bay movie because, let's face it, Transformers 2 was worse than waterboarding.

On a side note, I'm pretty sure those Russian spies caught in the US were the rejects from the KGB, since the information they were searching for could easily be found on the internet. Hell, it's posted on whitehouse.gov, opensecrets.org, etc. They were probably the kids who ate the crayons during KGB school.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

P.S. Check out my friend's and my Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/uguestsproductions. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll subscribe to our channel because you love us. :)

Summer Blues

So, my summer vacation is more than half done, and I have spent the majority of my time in my underwear. I call that a productive summer.

My friend and I have also succeeded in finally making our much (somewhat) anticipated foray into Youtube videos. Yay.

The world is the same as it was the day before, spinning around on its axis whilst orbiting the sun. Not much goes on. Yup.

Be sure to subscribe to our channel on Youtube. If you don't, well, let's just say that a whole lotta hurtin' biblical style is coming your way.



That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Flotsam

So, this week there was a lot of hullabaloo about where some jejune character named "LeBron James" would play "basketball" next "season." I even saw that people in "Cleveland" burned his "jersey." (I'll stop with the quotes now.) I find it fascinating when we do something so symbolic, so powerful, to someone who plays basketball. Basketball. Seriously. It's not like he's killed anyone or is currently occupying your native country. He plays basketball.

For all I could have cared, he could have chosen to get a sex change and move to Reno; it would not have impacted my life in the least. I don't understand how people are so riled over this. Maybe it's just me.

I mean, there are more important issues to care about, such as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the current rise of Chechnyan rebels, the World Cup, large banks pilfering our money from under our noses, Glenn Beck's bullshit, civil war in Uganda, China's human rights record, global warming, pollution, alternative energy, the BP oil spill, the Republican fight to lift the ban on offshore drilling, Arizona's immigration law, rising unemployment, the degradation of American schools, or maybe even the search for Dick Cheney's heart. My point is, there are much more important things to care about and burn effigies for, and basketball certainly isn't one of them.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Unwanted Guests Productions!

We've come out with a side-project, which will air weekly. Enjoy!



El Fluggo

Movie Review: Dragons Forever

Jackie Chan has always been known for his astounding acrobatics and comedic follow-throughs; in Dragons Forever, he completes his usual routines and more in what I can only describe as one of his funniest movies. (It took a bit of insinuation on my part to understand all the jokes, as the subtitles I had for the movie weren't that good.)

Chan continues his epithet of "good guy" as a lawyer, in this case defending the owner of an industry that is polluting a nearby lake. He's quickly established as a Casanova, asking any and every pretty girl, excluding his assistant, to have lunch with him. In pursuing his client's case, he hires his two friends to spy on and coerce the owner of the lake into selling it to the industrial overlord. What ensues is a touching romance, extraordinary comedy and extraordinarily impressive acrobatics. The movie culminates in what can only be described as one of Jackie's best fight scenes against what appears to be a gay Nazi vampire.


That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Gulfing for Par

Excuse the witty but obvious pun.

It is currently day 70-something of the BP Oil Spill, or as it is also called, the "Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill" (bit more innocuous), and very little has been made in the way of progress towards ending it. It has become the worst oil spill in human history, and will likely become the worst, if not one of the worst, ecological disasters this planet has ever seen outside of the ice ages. So, the burning question on everyone's mind is likely "Who burns at the stake for this?"

First, BP. During congressional hearings, BP employees testified that parts supplied by subsidiary companies such as Halliburton were to blame (as if Halliburton didn't cause enough grief to this world already); Halliburton shunted the blame elsewhere, and, in the end, no one carried the brunt of the blame. Still, there is confusion as to where, what, and at whom to point fingers.

Obviously, BP is largely at fault. They committed over 200+ safety violations over the past 3 years, all of which were allowed to pass by the MMS (Minerals Management Service). Members of the MMS, if I remember correctly, received over 1,000,000$ in campaign funds and other miscellaneous contributions from oil companies. In fact, there are stories that members of the MMS and directors on the boards of oil companies went out and had parties with cocaine and prostitutes. So, what is the punishment for this mismanagement of power? As quoted on the MMS website, "Secretarial Order 3302, issued June 18, 2010 renames the Minerals Management Service to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE). The name change is effective immediately." Hey, it's a good tactic in some ways; you can't blame an agency that doesn't technically exist anymore. Either that, or coke is a hell of a drug.

There will be some people who blame Obama for such reasons as authorizing the oil spill to "promote green energies" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l9U6Cjodho), or those who blame George Bush, Bill Clinton, Reagan, etc. While each of those names does share a portion of the blame for this crisis, the ultimately culpable person is the American electorate. As a whole, we elected incompetent, immoral men without fact-checking, are relatively dispassionate about serious developments in clean fuel, and allow people who seem knowledgeable to sway our opinions on any subject. Wake up call? Maybe. Call to action? Probably not.

The American electorate is classically apathetic in all matters of politics. Maybe if we paid more attention to politics than to, say, Justin Bieber and his entire life, this disaster could have been averted. Now, in the words of Peter Griffin...


That's all for now,
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All Things Pertinent

Well, I was asked to give my thoughts on the Arizona immigration law, and here they are.

First of all, I want to hash out the stereotype of an illegal immigrant: An un- or undereducated brigand/interloper who may or may not bring either drugs, weapons, or both over the border, and in addition to this, "steals" jobs away from the average, everyday American.

That is likely only the case in less than 1% of all undocumented citizens.

The typical illegal immigrant is simply an impoverished person looking for ways to improve his/her life and his/her family's life, and is willing to take whatever simple job is necessary to support them. The jobs they take are typically those that the average American wouldn't take, such as farm worker, house cleaner, maid, etc. In fact, United Farm Workers, along with the support of Stephen Colbert, has started a "Take Our Jobs" campaign, where migrant workers will literally give up their jobs of picking food during a harvest to any Americans who are interested. ((www.takeourjobs.org)

Now, Arizona; home to miles and miles of sand, some cacti, and an immigration law that is reminiscent of racial profiling. Oh, wait, it basically is.

The law requires legal immigrants to carry their immigration papers on them at all times and requires police to question subjects whom they believe to be in the country illegally.
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe that carrying around one's immigration documents in order to prove that one is a citizen casts an undue burden on the legal immigrant. Also, there isn't exactly a criterion for discriminating between an illegal immigrant and a second-generation citizen, namely an Hispanic one. Both likely speak Spanish and both likely fit the profile for a suspected illegal immigrant. What happens when a cop suspects an American-born Hispanic person of being an illegal immigrant, and that person has no immigration documentation?

It seems that this law is the culmination of all the repressed frustration felt by Americans, especially by those recently unemployed or those who have to work under immigrants or those of different races. In a recent study I read, 60% of Caucasians support the law, while 30% of other races support it (+ or - a few percentage points). The law, xenophobic in its nature, has already been challenged by the ACLU and will eventually reach the Supreme Court, which, if holding to prior Civil Rights cases, will strike down the law.

Jon Stewart had a great bit on this. Enjoy.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Law & Border<
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

That's all for now,
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P.S. VAMOS VAMOS, ARGENTINA, VAMOS VAMOS, A GANAR! Sorry US, need to go with my roots.

Sarah Palin, the World Cup, and Jeffster all in one

So, this is going to be a crowded post. Well, suck it up.

Anyway, last night, in my usual pastime of being bored at night and talking to people on Omegle, I happened to start talking to a member of the Tea Party. He asked me of my opinions on the party, and I told him that it is basically the party of Palin, essentially a subsidiary of the Fox network and an uber-conservative party that promotes partisanship; I also may have thrown in "anti-government" and "distrust of Obama" into that mix as well. The guy kept telling me "you could not be more wrong," which, in colloquial English, is extraordinarily incorrect, as "wrong" is an absolute; one cannot be "more" or "less" wrong. He also spouted to me the credo of the Tea Party, which I have heard many times from the exalted queen Sarah Palin herself: government has overstepped its bounds, and the objective of the party is to "reel it in." Just like Palin, the guy wasn't very specific about how the party will achieve anything, and talking to him was giving me a migraine, so I disconnected.

So, brief history of the Tea Party: Obama proposes raising taxes on those making more than 250k, Glenn Beck, in his infinite wisdom, says that this is like the British raising taxes on the American colonies, calls for "tea party" rallies, eventually turns into an organized party spearheaded by Sarah Palin, Palin reads off of her hand in some convention.



Do I have to describe how stupid, obstinate, obtuse, ignorant and arrogant Sarah Palin is? I hope not.

Anyway, World Cup. One of the most memorable moments is the obvious Robert Greene error that caused the US to tie the Kingdom; notably, he didn't play in the next game against Algeria. He should probably change his name to John Red, or Corbin Blue. VAMOS ARGENTINA!

And, finally, Jeffster.



That's all for now,
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Movie Review: Defendor

I've always been a fan of Woody Harrelson. He's proven himself to be a good actor, especially in more comedic situations. In Defendor, he outdid himself.

The movie revolves around Arthur Poppington (Woody), a man whose mental capacity would qualify him as less than able to care for his own needs, who dresses up in a black leotard with a duct tape "D" on his chest. He's adamant that he be called DefenDOR rather than Defender, most likely because Defendor has more "umph" to it. He is on the hunt for "Captain Industry" who, according to Arthur, killed his mother. Along the way, he befriends a young prostitute who only sells her body because it is the only way for her to make money in the destitute city. At first, she only resides with him because he is paying her for information on "Captain Industry," but over the course of the movie, the audience sees her grow fond of Arthur, just as many of his friends, including his psychologist, do the same. Woody does a great job playing the less than mentally-proficient Arthur, and some scenes are truly touching. It's only a shame that this movie wasn't distributed widely, as it is not the typical super hero movie. It is definitely unlike any other super hero movie (even Kick-Ass) that you will ever see.



The trailer implies this movie is a comedy, but it is best viewed from a more serious standpoint, although it does have its funnier moments.

I suppose the theme of my movie reviews this summer would have to be the movies that hardly anyone sees. I'm just esoteric like that.

That's all for now,
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P.S. Was anyone else impressed by North Korea's performance against Brazil? I was.

Avatar

I only recently watched Avatar (don't be surprised, I'm pretty sure that I might have had something else to do when it was out, don't remember what though) and enjoyed it. Sure, I could criticize Sam Worthington for being a terrible actor, but this isn't a movie review. Rather, it's what I'm taking away from the movie itself.

The movie, as most people already know, features a Native American-like people called the Na'vi who, as is the lore with many Native American tribes, have a spiritual connection to their planet Pandora and the animals around them. Humans, having overrun and pillaged all the resources of Earth, travel to Pandora in order to mine the rare ore Unobtainium (an old sci-fi movie joke) and must force the Na'vi from their sacred home. The ore, as reported in the movie, is worth "$20 million per kilogram"-enough to make any oil company CEO wet himself in euphoria. The question is, would you sell your conscience to become rich?

An almost perfect example is the current British Petroleum oil disaster which has ravaged the Gulf of Mexico and thrown the balance of wildlife into disarray. Over the last two years, BP has collected over 200 safety violations that had not been addressed until the spill. There was a certain group mentality to this: since nothing had gone wrong yet, and everyone was making money with relatively no repercussions, no one would feel the need to point out the glaring safety issues which caused this spill. While there may have been some who would have sought to rectify BP's safety record, social influence from complacent co-workers would have stifled any complaints. Obviously, the CEOs would not want to hear any information that proved to be contrary to their success, and collective ignorance would continue.

Sorry for the psychology spiel, but it was necessary.

This leads into the implicit danger of drilling for oil, especially in an ecologically-sensitive area such as the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf features several rare marine species and coral reefs, all of which have been in immense danger since the spill. Is it essentially immoral to risk the natural balance of the ocean and nature itself in order to mine an expensive and essential resource?

And no, this is not Obama's "Katrina." There was no sort of forewarning like there was for Katrina; it would be much appreciated if people could actually remember history as it really was.

That's all for now,
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Movie Review: Is Anybody There?

I would never have thought that a film about death could be so uplifting. Set in 1980s England, young Edward (played by Bill Milner) lives in a retirement home run by his overworked, beleaguered parents. Edward has a morbid fixation on death and the possibility of an afterlife, and continually records the last moments of dying residents in order to "hear" their spirits leaving their bodies, much to the chagrin of his parents and other residents. Clarence (played by Michael Caine), a new reluctant resident to the retirement home and professional magician, bonds with Edward over their mutual loneliness in a very well-played part by Caine. They develop an almost father-son relationship, as Edward's father, played by David Morrissey, is busy trying to seduce the 18-year old nurse who works with them.

Though the film focuses mainly on death, it has a very calm demeanor about it that leaves the audience with an appreciation for every moment we have. Many times in the film, as Michael Caine describes the regrets and disdains of his past, I felt that there were many moments in my life in which rectifying the situation would clear my conscience and leave me with an almost euphoric sense of placidity. However, we must realize that we can almost never rectify these regrets and must simply continue forward. This movie teaches you, above all else, that life is not so much about what we leave behind, but rather how we lived. I definitely recommend it.



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Paranoia and Confusion

A flotilla of ships carrying approximately 600 Palestinian activists and aid to Gaza was attacked by the Israeli Navy. The point of the flotilla was to raise awareness of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, started in 2007 because of Hamas' takeover of Gaza and which has caused a humanitarian crisis (as described by the UN) in the Palestinian region. 9 activists were killed. The exact details of the confrontation are not so clear.

The Israeli government claims that soldiers that rappelled down from helicopters were immediately attacked by the Muslim activists and had their guns stolen. It is on that basis that Israel claims that the activists shot first, incurring an Israeli response in kind. Several Israeli soldiers were injured, along with dozens of activists.

The activists on board claimed that the soldiers began firing immediately as they rappelled from the helicopters, ensuring an aggressive response from the activists. There is also a claim that the Israelis fired on the main ship before boarding it, wounding the captain.

Unfortunately, this is a serious incident which should be investigated by an independent party, or even several independent parties rather than the Israeli state. What is especially of concern is that the ships were boarded in international waters, so there is seemingly no reason that Israel should have boarded the ships in the first place. There were no ammunition weapons found on any of the ships, only small things like slingshots and switchblades. What kind of provocation a small, unarmed flotilla could invoke in this situation is beyond me.

The questions that need to be answered in this muddled situation are such:
1. Why did the Israeli navy attack the flotilla in international waters, and who gave such an order and for what reason?
2. Who actually shot first?
3. As Israel has allowed ships to pass through before, why not allow a peaceful delegation of activists with essential supplies through?
4. For what reason, if any, did the Israeli navy feel under pressure to act?
5. Did any of the activists actually take the soldiers' weapons and begin firing?
6. Were the activists provoked into action, or were the soldiers?

This is something that does not bode well for Israel at all, as this denigrates their international image to that of an evil dictator of the Middle East region.

I'd actually like some feedback on this one, as the repercussions of this event will be widespread and fierce.

That's all for now,
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Movie Review: Adam

I remember seeing the trailer for Adam a while ago and thinking that this was a very unique movie that deserved to have itself seen by a broad audience. On that, I was right.

Adam, played by British actor Hugh Dancy, is an electrical engineer with Asperger's Syndrome living in his recently deceased father's apartment. (For those that don't know, Asperger's Syndrome is a condition where the subject has difficulties understanding sub-textual meanings in social situations, such as sarcasm.) A girl, Beth, played by Australian actress Rose Byrne, moves into the apartment below his. Needless to say, this is a romantic comedy, though not of the typical archetype; because of Adam's Asperger's, each of his scenes is a unique surprise because of his unpredictability. This is especially poignant when Adam first invites Beth into his apartment, displaying his vast knowledge of cosmology.

Dancy's portrayal of Adam is superb and thoroughly enjoyable, though some of the writing at times seemed a bit forced. His character is a difficult one to explain, especially because he is somewhat emotionally unavailable.

It is a shame that this movie didn't get much coverage because of its independent movie status. Rent it, stream it, whatever; you'll like it.



Not my best review, but I'm tired.

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110 days of summer (or so)

Oh, summer. What a lazy, enjoyable time. I suppose that it's about time that I started paying attention to politics again since I don't want to let my mind languish and puppies.






In all seriousness, tensions between North and South Korea have never been this high since the end of the Korean War. The South has just cut off all trade with the North, which is approximately one-third of all of its trade. The North's largest trading partner is China, and the United States is looking to China to support trade sanctions against the North, effectively backing the North into a corner. These actions are being taken because a recent investigation showed that a North Korean torpedo sank a South Korean ship in late March. Some believe that a war is likely, though this is improbable; the United States has approximately 29,000 troops along the North-South border, and if the South is attacked by the North, the United States has long held the South's defense as an obligation. Essentially, a war would be suicide for the North.
So, what will happen? No one knows. Don't listen to any pundits, because they don't know any more than any other random person does. North Korea has always been a mystery since they sequestered themselves all those years ago, and their motives are not always clear. We will just have to wait and see, though what is likely to happen if China approves of sanctions is (if Kim Jong Il is rational) that North Korea will bargain and/or negotiate with the greater world. If not, well...it doesn't look good.

Aside from the serious matters, my movie pick of the week is Black Dynamite. It is a parody of the blaxploitation films of the 1970s and is a very well done parody. You should realize that the entire film is a satire and that none of it should be taken very seriously. Actually, don't take it seriously at all.


That's all for now,
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