Good morning, again.

A weekend plus a day.

2008-10-09T23:59:00.002-05:00

In which we stopped at a rest stop about two hours out of the small city in which I call my second home. Is it bad that I actually like rest stops? It's usually someplace extremely secluded, there's hardly anybody in sight, and there's a lot of nice trees.

Implied branches used as shadows to surround a single leaf. Nice that I found this.

This is me and the reflection in the mirror that I enjoy doing so much. Yes, I was shooting with two cameras- I bought the one around my neck last week at an antique store for only $2. It's a Yashica MF-2 film camera and I'm testing out the first roll now. (As a side note, I am kind of weirded out about how red my hair looks in this photo; I only wish it was this red in real life. I miss my reddish hair from about two years ago. Sigh...)

In or around Huntsville, we stopped and found this note over what may or may not be cookies. Also, if you have not yet checked out this blog, please do and have a lot of laughs while you're at it.

Home sweet home. And I'm happy.

2008 election, I am so over you.

2008-10-09T21:20:00.002-05:00

It's true. I'm so over the election; I cannot stand it.

As some of you have read, I live-Tweeted the second presidential debate on Tuesday night. It's fun doing this, though the minute-by-minute updates are probably annoying to most, but I realize the little impact debates have and even in a more general sense, I know how little presidential campaigns impact voters. I am sure most people are sick of hearing the little things- Bill Ayres, the Keating Five, the pointing fingers, the blame, who really cares? Remember the Vicki Iseman scandal, the Reverend Wright scandal, and the guns and religion thing? Somehow, these little things still get brought up.

On the ride home this afternoon, my dad had his XM radio on Fox News. Again and again, I ask him why he does this and he says, "because it's funny" and goes on a rant regarding how crazy Rush Limbaugh and personalities like that are. We listened to a rally for John McCain and Sarah Palin in Wisconsin (weird that they would even campaign there, first of all) and McCain kept blaming Obama for this and for that and did very little in stating what his plans were. The question and (what is supposed to be an) answer part came up and a lady asked a question with regard to her small business and the healthcare provided for it...you might not have guessed it, but McCain didn't answer the question. He started talking about obesity and something about sports players and then apologized for giving such a long "answer". Well, alright.

I find myself watching news on television less and less to the point where it is actually none now. I used to love watching MSNBC, but now I roll my eyes everytime Rachel Maddow defends Barack Obama in every way possible and when Pat Buchanan said that Sarah Palin performed "sensational[ly]" after the vice-presidential debate.

I am sick of people (even some of my friends) who believe Obama is the answer for everything. They're the Obama Obsessed- you know them, the ones with Obama speeches on their internet profiles, the ones who want him elected for "change", change their middle names to Hussein, and have t-shirts with uncomfortable sayings on them (i.e. "Obama Fo Yo Mama" etc.) Where will this energy go if and when he is elected and if he's not, will they merely give up on politics? This is part of the reason why I am not involved in a specific organization, if you will, but that is another matter, another rant, and another possible post at a later date.

For those of you who think that this election season has been ugly thus far (yay for October Surprises, right?), please read this short but concise book by Joseph Cummins called Anything For A Vote and enlighten yourself with history of presidential campaigns.

Can I just vote and be through with this, please?

Not fail-safe.

2008-10-09T18:50:00.000-05:00

It's all in the appearance. And the reality if that has anything to do with things, and in this case of the ever-fluctuating mess of an economy, it surely does. Today the DOW plunged 679 points, or 7.3 percent, leaving it below 9,000 for the first time in five years. When you think it doesn't affect you in any way, think again. I learned of its effects on me in two ways only today:

1) This morning I discussed a possible, hard-to-get scholarship valued at 10,000 with one of my professors, typically given to about 5 or 6 students a year. He said that this year, probably only 2 or 3 scholarships would be given due to the market. This reduces my chances dramatically of receiving this scholarship as if the chances were not already bad enough.

2) On the way to dinner at Chuy's after picking up Jeff, Dad and Jeff immediately began discussing the DOW, the market, and banks with me in the backseat, merely listening because I rarely have anything of substance to contribute to things of that nature except, "Did you know people spend a lot of money on Halloween and that can have some sort of effect on things...?" Seriously. But anyhow, my dad told us how much the market is affecting him, if you know what I mean. Thus, affecting me and my future non-money or less-than-expected money.

This is a scary thing. Yes, even scarier than Halloween.

The Body Artist by Don DeLillo.

2008-10-08T21:38:00.006-05:00

This afternoon at work, I started and finished The Body Artist by Don DeLillo. I've never heard of it until I saw it at Books-A-Million last week, picked it up, read a few lines, and I was sold. I was very impressed after reading it due to its sparseness, haziness, and loneliness. It reminds me of driving home after a really long night and the sun is barely coming up- there's the highway and you and fog surrounds you and it's just really quiet. You can find a description here. And here are a few passages I loved:

"It's a hazy white day and the highway lifts to a drained sky. There are four northbound lanes and you are driving in the third lane and there are cars ahead and behind and to both sides, although not too many and not too close. When you reach the top of the incline, something happens and the cars begin to move unhurriedly now, seemingly seld-propelled, coasting smoothly on the level surface. Everything is slow and hazy and drained and it happens around the word seem. All the cars including yours seem to flow in a dissociated motion, giving the impression of or presenting the appearance of, and the highway runs into a white hum." (pg. 33.)

"She set aside time every day for the webcam at Kotka. She didn't know the meaning of this feed but took it as an act of floating poetry. It was best in the dead times. It emptied her mind and made her feel the deep silence of other places, the mystery of seeing over the world to a place stripped of everything but a road that approaches and recedes, both realities occuring at once, and the numbers changed in the digital display with an odd and hollow urgency, the seconds advancing toward the minute, the minutes climbing hourward, and she sat and watched, waiting for a car to take her fleeting shape on the roadway." (pg. 41.)

"She took him outside on a clear night and traced a constellation with her finger. It was awhile since she'd looked at the night sky and their breath showed smoky in the chill air. She drew him frontally near and put his hands in her jacket pockets and blew words in his face that she made him repeat." (pg. 84.)

"It was the kind of day in which you forget words and drop things and wonder what it is you came into the room to get because you are standing here for a reason and you have to tell yourself it is just a question of sooner or later before you remember because you always remember once you are here." (pg. 85.)

Cut my hair.

2008-10-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

I need to do this soon.

Houston, I miss you.

2008-10-05T19:08:00.001-05:00

On Saturday night when Paul and I were making our respective blog posts on the couches in the student center, the jukebox sporadically played songs for nobody because it was well, 3 in the morning. Then I heard "Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel (actually been listening to them quite a bit lately). But this was my song for that moment no matter how much I actually dislike it compared to all other S&G songs.

I'm leaving for Houston on Thursday afternoon for the beginning of our Fall Break, which is actually, only Friday off. Nice "break", right? I plan to have dinner with Jeff on Thursday, dinner with Imelda and her family on Friday, and everything else is open.

And because I am a fan of lists, I will now make a list of what I miss about Houston and provide many links:

-Mom, Dad, Jeff, Michelle and Justin, Isaiah, Shaun and Lauren, Ben, Jason, some of the general group, Imelda, Chuy's and their wonderful burritos, Benjy's, Sugarbaby's vanilla and strawberry cupcakes, going to Late Nite Pie, well, late and their "Boss Man" pizza a.k.a. The Bill Clinton pizza, going to Katz's early in the morning and ordering fried pickles, House of Pies when nothing else seems good for dessert, Baba Yega and that cute waiter, Niko Niko's, Astros games, looking at the skyscrapers from the passenger seat, the ups and downs of that exact highway, the Caroline Collective, Craft Night at CC, Giant Princess and Horse shows, Houston Twitterites and bloggers, Rice University, various museums and galleries, the park at the Menil, to and from Allen Parkway, saying that the Fed is my favorite building, James Burnett landscape architecture building...

I miss a city.

The writings of the O'Haras: John and Frank.

2008-10-03T17:32:00.002-05:00

Today I finished a book I have been reading for awhile (thanks to the mass of readings for classes!) called Appointment In Samarra by John O'Hara (pictured above.) According to the back of the book, it is the "first and most widely read book by the writer Fran Lebowitz called 'the real F. Scott Fitzgerald.'" I'm not arguing with the comparison. Appointment In Samarra very much reminds me of The Great Gatsby with its social circuits and the clothing of the era and oh yes, all the drinking.

I read in a Washington Post article on O'Hara that, "Once respected by critics for his tart short stories and early novels, beloved by the mass readership for his blockbuster novels of the 1950s and 1960s, O'Hara is now scorned by the literary establishment and pretty much forgotten by readers, except older ones who remember his heyday."

After recognizing his literary talent by reading a book and a few short stories by him, this was awful to read, though the author of the article, Jonathan Yardley, praises him for his talent: "I loved O'Hara for his keen sense of social caste in a country that claims to have no such thing, for his unsparing depiction of manners and mores..." and "It is easy to see why his early work got so much attention, for he dealt candidly with matters -- social class and rivalries, sex, ambition and ethnicity -- that other novelists merely danced around."

Here are a few passages from Appointment In Samarra that I love:

"Still there were a great many people in Gibbsville who had money in 1930. The very rich, who always had money, still had a lot of money. And the merchants and bakers, doctors and lawyers and dentists who had money to play the market continued to spend their principal. Mr. Hoover was an engineer, and in mining country engineers are respected. Gibbsville men and women who were in the market trusted that cold fat pinched face as they trusted the cold thin pinched face of Mr. Coolidge and in 1930 the good day's work of October 29, 1929, continued to be known as a strong technical reaction." (pg. 54.)

"Every few minutes Julian would jot down some figures as they came into his head. All the time he looked very busy, and he hoped he was making a good impression on Mary Klein. The sheets of paper that lay before him were filling up with neat, engineering style lettering and numerals. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division..." (pg. 184.)

"You could walk outside in the summer, but even though you can walk outside in the winter, winter isn't that way. You have to go back to the room soon, and there is no life in the winter outside of rooms. Not in Gibbsville, which was a pretty small room itself." (pg. 193.)

"It was a lively, jesting grief, sprightly and pricking and laughing, to make you shudder and shiver up to the point of giving away completely. Then it would become a long black tunnel; a tunnel you had to go through, had to go through, had to go through, had to go through, had to go through. Whistle? Had to go through, had to go through, had to go through, had to go through. No whistle? Had to go through, had to go through, had to go through." (pg. 240.)

I am still looking for more of John O'Hara's short stories and books since I can hardly seem to find them anywhere. Recently, I also acquired a copy of My Turn, a series of 53 columns he wrote for Newsday for one dollar.

I've also been reading from my Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara book (who is pictured above.) You might remember that in the last scene of the first episode of the second season of Mad Men, Don Draper was reading from Meditations In An Emergency, which is a collection of poems by the poet. Apparently, sales were boosted from the feature in the television show. The last poem read by Don is titled "Mayakovsky", which I featured in an earlier blog post.

Here are just a few poems I found in the very thick volume that I loved:

V.R. Lang

You are so serious, as if
a glacier spoke in your ear
or you had to walk through
the great gate of Kiev
to get to the living room.

I worry about this because I
love you. As if it weren't grotesque
enough that we live in hydrogen
and breathe like atomizers, you
have to think I'm a great architect!

and you float regally by on your
incessant escalator, calm, a jungle queen.
Thinking it a steam shovel. Looking
a little uneasy. But you are yourself
again, yanking silver beads off your neck.

Remember, the Russian Easter Overture
is full of bunnies. Be always high,
full of regard and honor and lanolin. Oh
ride horseback in pink linen, be happy!
and ride with your beads on, because it rains.

[Then the Weather Changed]

Then the weather changed. There were all
these instruments looking coldly at us.
"When are you going away?" "Instanter."
And then the clouds glowered as if they were snow.
"Vous etes mal. Stay in bed." An orange wall
was removed to disclose a grey one. A gray
one. I remember that my old intimate was very kind
to me last night before I fell down the stairs,
buying me beer after beer as if I were
an old friend met on the rim of a volcano
to whom a push was a kiss. It made me happy
it did indeed make me happy. It made me happy
as if I was capable of at the time. If I had had
an ice cream cone, a chocolate one, and a knish
I would have been a little bit more passionately
happy. But you wake up and someone is moving
the walls. Now the room is completely grey
with a white ceiling. She is standing
at the foot of my bed covered with plaster,
and it is about time that I renewed myself
at her Maker's expense, who is in the world
and will not credit the evil of my intentions.

My Heart

I'm not going to cry all the time
nor shall I laugh all the time,
I don't prefer one "strain" to another.
I'd have the immediacy of a bad movie,
not just a sleeper, but also the big,
overproduced first-run kind. I want to be
at least as alive as the vulgar. And if
some aficionado of my mess says "That's
not like Frank!", all to the good! I
don't wear brown and grey suits all the time,
do I? No. I wear workshirts to the opera,
often. I want my feet to be bare,
I want my face to be shaven, and my heart-
you can't plan on the heart, but
the better part of it, my poetry, is open.

Live-Tweeting the vice-presidential debate.

2008-10-02T21:39:00.014-05:00

All eyes were on Governor Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential debate was held tonight between her and Senator Joe Biden at Washington University in St. Louis. You could imagine this was so after her bad Charles Gibson interview and even worse Katie Couric interview. She didn't do so badly in this debate, of course, it sounded like most everything she said was rehearsed and she walked around on most questions. Also, you cannot raise your own questions- that's the moderator's job. (More thoughts at the end of this post...)

I wish Kristen would have been able to Live-Tweet with me as this has been the case twice already. Melissa and Paul were nice people to take Kristen's place tonight. Kristen- does the next debate sound good to you?

Now for the Tweets from @richhumofair.

RT @organ_printer Debate starts at Caroline Collective at 8pm. Print out a couple of these before you come: http://www.palinbingo.com about 2 hours ago from web

Wish I could be at @CarolineCo for the big debate, but alas, I am in my room and not going to my Democrats debate watch party either. about 2 hours ago from web

Keith Olbermann on Countdown: "This just in: Sarah Palin has successfully arrived..." Score one point for Palin? about 2 hours ago from web

VP debate is beginning. Palin: "Hey, can I call you Joe?" about 2 hours ago from web

Beginning with the bailout. Biden looks confident and very prepared. about 2 hours ago from web

Palin is already talking about sports and parents. She is speaking to the camera and looking more confident than I would expect. about 2 hours ago from web

Did she just wink at the camera? about 2 hours ago from web

@haladaher You got your maverick! about 2 hours ago from web in reply to haladaher

"Joe Six-Pack and hockey moms"? about 2 hours ago from web

@mellowynk I should have printed out a Palin Bingo card. Too late now. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to mellowynk

Ouch, Biden is slamming McCain's healthcare plan, calling it a "bridge to nowhere." Audience laughs. about 2 hours ago from web

Biden is clearly stating that climate change is "man-made." Hm. about 1 hour ago from web

The chant is "drill, baby, drill!" as made clear by Palin. She seemed very excited to say that. about 1 hour ago from web

@mellowynk I agree. It's better that he's saying Governor instead of "Sarah" too. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to mellowynk

From an agreement on non- gay-marriage to foreign policy! about 1 hour ago from web (EDIT: Or I could have just said both opposed to gay marriage, but whatever.)

Palin: "Your plan is a white flag of surrender." I bet this one wasn't a planned line. about 1 hour ago from web

My brother just text messaged me: "The trainwreck that is Sarah Palin continues!" Wish I could have watched this with him. about 1 hour ago from web

Palin has one up on McCain: She can pronounce Ahmadinejad's name correctly and name drops all other dangerous leaders. about 1 hour ago from web

I've seen like, 5 different Tweets on the pronunciation of the word "nuclear." Nice! about 1 hour ago from web

It should be noted Biden and Palin both <3love<3> Israel. about 1 hour ago from web

@nofailsafe Bob Dole is proud of Joe Biden, I'm certain. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to nofailsafe

Palin is just bringing up lots of tired issues- "for it before I was against it" and did you know she is a Washington outsider? about 1 hour ago from web

@nofailsafe "Bosniac" is a neat word. American sounds dull compared to Bosniac. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to nofailsafe

Palin on the ticket: "A team of mavericks." You can't call yourself that! about 1 hour ago from web (Echoing Kristen on last week's debate where McCain called himself a maverick. Sorry, you just cannot do that!)

I wonder why Biden spends a lot of time at Home Depot. 43 minutes ago from web

@mellowynk Hahaha. I never got extra credit from watching any debates when I was younger. :( 39 minutes ago from web in reply to mellowynk

Article one of the Constitution does not explain the executive branch, Biden. Legislative branch is article one. 36 minutes ago from web

Biden is getting excited. "He [McCain] has not been a maverick..." Ouch. 30 minutes ago from web

@mellowynk True! I'm surprised he hasn't said anything completely outrageous yet. Though this is a debate... 26 minutes ago from web in reply to mellowynk

Closing statements. This debate was too short. 25 minutes ago from web

Pat Buchanan called Palin "sensational." This is when I turn the television off. 13 minutes ago from web

Why is the @Biden account pointing out all the things Biden should have mentioned in the debate? (i.e. McClellan isn't McKiernan.) less than 5 seconds ago from web

RT @mellowynk "shout out to the third grade" is the new "holla at your boy" less than 5 seconds ago from web

At the end of the night, Sarah Palin spared herself any blatant embarrassment by not falling victim to any major gaffes (sure, there was the whole McClellan/McKiernan mix-up, but that wasn't pointed out by Joe Biden in the debate but by his Twitter account after the debate.) Now Republicans can breathe a big sigh of relief that she did not make a shame of herself and ignore the fact that everything was so rehearsed and her one-liners were lame and uninspired. Alright, that's that.

Biden did not have any major gaffes that he is typically prone to, except for stating that the executive branch was described in article one of the Constitution when it is clearly article two, but I'm sure most people did not catch on to that. Biden appeared confident and cool for the majority of the time except when repeatedly putting down John McCain's record as a so-called "maverick."

I call this debate much more interesting than last week's first debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. Here's to hoping the next one on the 7th will be even better than this one!

All the presidents' music.

2008-10-02T17:24:00.005-05:00

Presidential campaigns have been using ditties and anthems since George Washington coasted to a relatively unopposed victory in 1789 with "Follow Washington." If you're interested in tracks with titles such as "Huzzah for Madison, Huzzah" or "Get on a Raft With Taft," pick up folk musician Oscar Brand's 1999 disc "Presidential Campaign Songs: 1789-1996" (Smithsonian Folkways). His collection shows that not every tune is a winner like "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too," the oft-recited ode of the 1840 race between William Henry Harrison and Martin Van Buren.

Recently, AMC's hit drama "Mad Men" showcased the eye-rubbing agony of choosing presidential campaign music, portraying the fictional advertising executives behind Richard Nixon's 1960 campaign struggling to compete with the opposition's bouncy "Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy" ads and use of Frank Sinatra's "High Hopes" as JFK's on-the-trail theme.

Nixon's real-life campaign song "Click With Dick," written by a trio of accomplished songwriters, was a flop in the 1960 campaign. So was "Buckle Down With Nixon," a parody of "Buckle Down, Winsockie" from the 1941 musical comedy "Best Foot Forward." In our interview, Mr. Brand sang a few bars from that tune, and with lines like "You can win with Nixon, if you buckle down," its limited appeal is apparent.

So what's the real attraction of presidential campaign music? "They're songs with tremendous strength and energy, the songs of people marching through the streets before Election Day," Mr. Brand says. He adds that "candidates have always used the songs that were popular songs of the day. They always used the songs the people knew, so that everybody would want to sing it."

I thought this was a fun article from The Wall Street Journal Online- read the entire article here and take the quiz on presidential campaigns music here.

There's no way like the American way.

2008-10-01T17:45:00.001-05:00

This amazing image was found at Vanity Fair online. Lining up for food and water, Louisville, Kentucky, 1937. By Margaret Bourke-White/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.

Reversal of Fortune
Describing how ideology, special-interest pressure, populist politics, and sheer incompetence have left the U.S. economy on life support, the author puts forth a clear, commonsense plan to reverse the Bush-era follies and regain America’s economic sanity. By Joseph E. Stiglitz November 2008 You can read the complete story here.

September playlist.

2008-09-30T07:00:00.003-05:00

-The Rutabega- Fluorescent Funeral
-Tara Jane O'Neil- All Jewels Small
-Stars- 14 Forever
-R.E.M.- Radio Free Europe
-Vivaldi- The Four Seasons, Op. 8/1, RV 269, "Spring"- 2 Largo
-Rosemary Clooney- Botch- A- Me
-Max Richter- Lullaby From the West Coast Sleepers
-Radiohead- Videotape
-R.E.M.- 9-9
-Simon & Garfunkel- I Am A Rock

One month short of Black Tuesday.

2008-09-29T17:49:00.006-05:00

It was strange watching the votes on the Wall St. bailout package live on CNBC, watching most of the Democrats attempting to persuade Republicans to go along with this plan. Finally, when it was clear that nobody would change their minds and were 13 votes short of passing it, it was over...at least for now. I was actually surprised at the number of Republicans would would not vote for it while most Democrats did. (The text of the bill can be found here in PDF format. Both images found at The New York Times.)

Meanwhile, when I watched this, the DOW fell 600 points then when I came back from work, it had closed at 777 points. The New York Times called today's worst single-day drop the "Black Monday of 2008."

Here are just a few Tweets from this afternoon when this was happening:

DOW closes down at 777 points. Ouch. http://tinyurl.com/4w28bg 43 minutes ago from web

Wish I could see what will be going on on the House floor after this, but I have to go to work! about 5 hours ago from web

Apparently, this particular bill has no chance of passing as opposed to what people originally thought. Time for revisions! about 5 hours ago from web

@maslowbeer I think the bill will pass too. It just needs more time and convincing. Nobody wants to be the individual convinced though. about 5 hours ago from web in reply to maslowbeer

Nope, didn't pass the House! This isn't the end though. about 5 hours ago from web

Watching CNBC. Financial rescue package needs 218 votes to pass the House. about 5 hours ago from web

Revolutionary Road.

2008-09-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Leo+Kate forever. I want to see this movie so badly!

Photos developed.

2008-09-28T19:38:00.004-05:00

This is me, tossing a compound. The following black and white photos were taken starting a week and a half ago when Paul gave me black and white film, which was given to him by Tyler. I haven't taken black and white photos for about five years, interestingly enough, so I was excited to see how they would turn out. Thank you to Paul for scanning these as my HP Officejet All-In-One is completely lousy.

Ah yes, the only color here! I also got my Colorsplash photos developed from January-February of this year. This photo appropriately titled "M U 5 T A R D" was taken when Ben and I walked around Rice for a few miles on New Year's Day, taking photos.

Purchases from the weekend.

2008-09-28T11:35:00.004-05:00

Vintage black camera bag, priced at $5 and sold for $3!

Two pairs of shoes. I'm not so sure about the tan and white flats (I'm not sure what I have to could match them), but I love the second pair.

Headbands in three of my favorite colors.

-The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
-101 Words Every Grown-Up Should Know by Linda J. Beam
-Oval Office Oddities by Bill Fawcett
-The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker
-The New Yorker
-Mental Floss magazine.

I absolutely freaked when I saw this cover of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. It's my all-time favorite book and I let a friend borrow it earlier this year and I never got it back. That copy had all my underlinings of my favorite lines and the underlinings of my friend Melissa who loved the book as well. So, when I saw this at Books-A-Million, I had to have it.

A diamond ring ($12) and a lion's head ring ($10.)

One new ring on the left hand.

Hey guys, the 1960's style is back!

2008-09-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

How did I know this would eventually happen?

Mom's weekend visit.

2008-09-27T17:58:00.004-05:00

Mom came to visit me for the first time this weekend, which I was so thrilled about since I missed her so much. I cannot begin to explain how great it's been merely talking with her on the phone, let alone see her in person. We went to dinner on Thursday night then I had one class on Friday, then lunch at Braum's and work came later. After I was let off from work early, we went to dinner at Fera's Italian (pictured above.) We watched the presidential debate afterward.

We went to quite a few places such as Books-A-Million and Taco Bueno, both for the first time. I was very impressed with Books-A-Million, which reminded me of BookStop, my favorite bookstore that I never see anymore. This is a photo of my mom in the elevator after dropping some things off in my room.

We went to a few antique and thrift stores, including the one that Kristy and I went to a few weeks ago. The French lady, who Kristy and I thought was Russian, persuaded Mom into buying more jewelry she doesn't need as well as yet another pair of glasses. For what I bought, check the following post. This photo was taken right next door to that antique store- myself and an American flag's reflection with some kind of floral print on us.

A single leaf just happened to be in front of the antique store.

Trains and tracks over the bridge going back home.

After this, Mom and I sat on a bench outside and talked for awhile until she had to leave. Spending time with her was so great and I look forward to seeing her when we have our Fall Break, which is actually just a Friday off starting on October 10th. I cannot wait to go home!

Live-Tweeting presidential debate # 1.

2008-09-26T21:49:00.009-05:00

I didn't think I would be able to live-Tweet the first presidential debate because a)I didn't know if it would happen at this time last night and b)I thought I was going to the county's Democratic Headquarters to watch said debate after I knew it was, indeed, happening. However, I didn't think anyone there would like a nerdy girl in a chair not talking to anyone and recording what people there (as well as Barack Obama and John McCain, of course) say. After the fact, I stayed in a hotel room where I spent last night at and watched it in that particular privacy. I know Kristen a.k.a. atypicalsnowman would be Live-Tweeting (with a drinking game bonus!) and I came back to find that the countdown to the debate was about 5 minutes away from being completed.

Now to the Tweets from @richhumofair:

Finally back at the hotel after thrift stores, Books-A-Million, and Fera's Italian. Countdown to the debate is 3 minutes. YAY! about 2 hours ago from web

@atypicalsnowman I wish I could watch the debate with you. That sounds like so much fun! I was explaining the debate drinking game to my mom about 2 hours ago from web in reply to atypicalsnowman

Oh gosh, this is so exciting. Presidential debates are one of my favorite things ever. This is not an exaggeration if you know me. about 2 hours ago from web

"Main Street" mentioned by Obama and McCain twice already. How many more times left? about 2 hours ago from web

@atypicalsnowman Kennedy vs. Nixon first debate September 26. Obama vs. Nixon first debate September 26. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to atypicalsnowman

@atypicalsnowman There really should be a #mainstreet shot. Make one now! about 2 hours ago from web in reply to atypicalsnowman

I think the Al Gore sigh and the George H.W. Bush looking watch glancing action is comparable to McCain's smile. about 1 hour ago from web

Tweets being delayed now is especially annoying. about 1 hour ago from web

Fun fact: McCain likes cutting spending! about 1 hour ago from web

Obama: "You like to pretend that the war started in 2007." He's really hitting him hard now. about 1 hour ago from web

Ronald Reagan is mentioned. Is the mention of Reagan apart of the drinking game too? about 1 hour ago from web

I did not think Henry Kissinger's name would be mentioned this much (or at all) in these debates. 34 minutes ago from web

It's been awhile since any debate Tweets. No gotcha moments, no weird words or phrases, and no intense fighting. 15 minutes ago from web

And so it ends. Let all the analysis begin! 10 minutes ago from web

Afterward, I decided to skip the political commentary on MSNBC because I cannot stand Countdown some of the time and Rachel Maddow all of the time. Here's my own:

As for who "won" the debate, I don't think that really matters at all because John Kerry, as we all remember, clearly did a much better job than President Bush did in the 2004 debates, yet Kerry still managed to fall short of the presidency. However, I think both Obama and McCain fared about the same on this first debate. McCain was a lot stronger than I thought he would be overall (except for all those weird smiles and not looking at Obama, like, ever), but Obama impressed me in the foreign policy part. This tells those who believe he doesn't have enough experience that he certainly knows something. He did agree with McCain an awful lot though and seemed almost too nice except when it came to the getting-into-Iraq business. He really layed it on McCain, saying "You're wrong" multiple times, but that was really it. So, this debate did not belong to either Obama or McCain and hopefully, the next debates will prove to be a tad bit more stimulating.

Mad Men illustrated by Nobodyssweetheart.

2008-09-25T20:45:00.009-05:00

Season two, episode seven. Joan says to Jane, "I'm going to the breakroom to find your replacement. See that you are gone by the time I return."

Since AMC had a marathon of season two of Mad Men tonight, I thought that I would post these great illustrations by Nobody's Sweetheart. Here is her website and you can find the rest of the Mad Men illustrations set here.

Season two, episode six, "The Casting Call."

After do-nothing.

2008-09-25T15:39:00.002-05:00

I really like this photo a lot even though it looks like a bad band photo and nobody is smiling except John McCain. Anyhow, for the article from The New York Times:

"WASHINGTON — House and Senate negotiators from both parties said Thursday that they had reached general agreement to move forward with the administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial system, authorizing unprecedented government intervention to prevent what President Bush warned could be a widespread economic collapse.

Emerging from a nearly three-hour meeting in the Capitol, Republicans and Democrats said the legislation would include limits on the pay packages for executives of firms that seek assistance and a mechanism for the government to take an equity stake in some firms, so taxpayers have a chance to profit if the bailout plan works.

They said the bill would authorize the full $700 billion requested by President Bush, but that Congress was intent on disbursing the money in installments." -The New York Times.

It's a great thing that Democrats and Republicans are getting along for once, but for this? This whole situation is just...appalling.

Most excellent day.

2008-09-25T15:09:00.004-05:00

In short, today:
-Had a fun 5-hour study session with Elizabeth last night/this morning for our Psychology of Relationships test.
-I'm officially registered to go to Washington D.C. from January 9th to the 21st! (Why hello there, conferences, politics, business attire, and uh, the new president of the United States.) (Official description: This course will focus on the changing of the political guard in Washington, DC. The leadership issues, the challenges to the economy, national security, civil liberties, and the environment, the need for international understanding, and personal leadership development will be the focus. The culmination of this study will be attendance at the inaugural ceremonies for the next President of the United States.)
-Elizabeth and Jenna are going as well, so I will already have two friends.
-Pre-Law Society meeting/lunch- looking forward to what's on the agenda for this year.
-Talking to Study Abroad advisor tomorrow to go to Dubai next spring.
-I will see my mom in about five hours!

Flickr favorites.

2008-09-24T21:06:00.000-05:00

Here.

Possible debate delay?

2008-09-24T17:11:00.004-05:00

John McCain calls for a delay of the first presidential debate between him and Barack Obama that was supposed to occur Friday evening at the University of Mississippi "to forge a consensus on a financial bailout package." Meanwhile, Obama is not going along with this plan, which may or may not be a political ploy on McCain's part to assure the people of the economic mess. If Obama went along with this plan, McCain would be dubbed the leader while Obama was merely following the lead. As for political strategy, I think Obama played this smartly by not backing down from the debate, raising such comments as, "part of the president’s job is to deal with more than one thing at once. In my mind it’s more important than ever." We will see if McCain's push to delay this first debate actually goes through, but I was really looking forward to seeing the matchup of Obama vs. McCain on the same night in 1960 that John F. Kennedy faced off against Richard Nixon. I bet McCain didn't have this in mind when he decided to delay, did he?

Fall finally!

2008-09-23T15:53:00.006-05:00

This is a photo of me from sophomore year of high school, swinging at the park after school because that's what we did sometimes. Oh, the days of free time. Also, check out my shirt- I wore long-sleeved collared shirts probably every day. I post this photo today because a)it's the first day of fall (can we say finally?) and b)because it reminds me of the season I love so much.

"No, but I like Sarah Palin."

2008-09-22T17:39:00.003-05:00

The three hours I spent "working" at the office today were wholly spent reading the new issue of The National Review. (Same as last week with the headlining article of "Barack Obama's Pet Peacock.") One of my co-workers named Neal asked someone who came in the office (because he picked up the magazine and began to read it), "Do you like The National Review?" then he said, "No, but I like Sarah Palin." Uh, yeah...