I don't know if this has already gone around the internet or if it's even legit but I thought it was really interesting.
Long- ago pen pal of John Hughes blogs briefly about their correspondence and it's impact on both of their lives:
We'll Know When We Get There
Friday, August 7
Thursday, August 6
Decluttering
Not anything as ambitious as de-cluttering my actual life or stuff - just my music for now.
I have always prided myself on the number of songs I have on my person or my hard drive at any given time, but this has caused my to amass a bunch of shitty music that I am constantly skipping past. Recently I met someone whose music collection vastly outnumbers mine and after getting past my horror(!) I realized that I'm not in college, Napster did not just become the new hotness, and I'm being bogged down my all these jams.
It started by just deleting a crap song when it shuffled on but now I've gotten into full on searching out stuff to get rid of (I'm looking at you TV Theme songs)! It's a bit exhilarating.
After about a week of intermittent bloodletting I'm down to 7,946...make that 7,934 - adios entire Akon album!
I have always prided myself on the number of songs I have on my person or my hard drive at any given time, but this has caused my to amass a bunch of shitty music that I am constantly skipping past. Recently I met someone whose music collection vastly outnumbers mine and after getting past my horror(!) I realized that I'm not in college, Napster did not just become the new hotness, and I'm being bogged down my all these jams.
It started by just deleting a crap song when it shuffled on but now I've gotten into full on searching out stuff to get rid of (I'm looking at you TV Theme songs)! It's a bit exhilarating.
After about a week of intermittent bloodletting I'm down to 7,946...make that 7,934 - adios entire Akon album!
Saturday, June 13
A departure
Lately I have been paying much more attention to the world at large than ever before and have been shocked at how much there is to learn about, well...most things. Here's one.
As you may or may not know, there were Presidential elections held yesterday in Iran and current leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election, allegedly by almost 30 points. Today Tehran is experiencing a previously unseen and agitated state of protest over the legitimacy of the vote count and the frustration with the existing regime felt by a rumored majority of Iranians. More striking, though, is the resonance of the news coming out of Iran regarding the support for Mir Hossein Moussavi, the main opponent to the sitting President.
While it certainly seems that Iranian citizens are taking a more active role in drafting the plan for the future of their country, I wonder how long of a road they face and when (if?) their efforts will result in real change. Had Moussavi won the election, the bulk of the political power would still have been in the hands of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, himself a twice elected former President of the country. Khamenei, a long time supporter of Ahmadinejad and once friend of Ayatollah Khomeini wields more power then any other individual or governing body in Iran. In other democratically inclined countries where there is a central religious leader or head of state, the position has evolved to a largely ceremonial role, whereas in Iran no law or president is considered legally so until approved by the Supreme Leader. The degree to which Shariah, or Islamic law, is applied and the strictness to which it must be adhered to appears to be controlled by this highly conservative and staunchly anti-Western cleric.
Interestingly, Hillary Clinton has already spoken very briefly about the election but the administration has said nothing to indicate that the US is ready to either repudiate or recognize its results. From here it's difficult to say whether an open dialogue is the most promising diplomatic route, but taking into consideration Ahmadinejad's well-publicized dismissal of and disdain for Israel and the US and the velocity with which Iran's uranium enrichment program is progressing, I see few other options.
As you may or may not know, there were Presidential elections held yesterday in Iran and current leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election, allegedly by almost 30 points. Today Tehran is experiencing a previously unseen and agitated state of protest over the legitimacy of the vote count and the frustration with the existing regime felt by a rumored majority of Iranians. More striking, though, is the resonance of the news coming out of Iran regarding the support for Mir Hossein Moussavi, the main opponent to the sitting President.
What officials have called an unprecedented voter turnout at the polls Friday had been expected to boost Moussavi's chances of winning the presidency. But Ahmadinejad -- despite being blamed for Iran's economic turmoil over the past four years -- maintains staunch support in rural areas.Save the end of the description and swap out the names and this could have been transcribed from any of hundreds of cable news broadcasts from last November. As familiar as it may seem in writing, though, the reality of the campaign as well as the outcome and consequences of this election couldn't be more foreign. Even a young (the median age in Iran is 27) and technologically adept (almost 1/3 of the country now has Internet access) cannot be expected to facilitate change when the government can manage to deny access to tools as seemingly innocuous as Facebook on the eve of a democratic election.
Technology has been a key tactic in politically mobilizing young people in Iran, but text messaging has not been working in Iran over recent days.
While it certainly seems that Iranian citizens are taking a more active role in drafting the plan for the future of their country, I wonder how long of a road they face and when (if?) their efforts will result in real change. Had Moussavi won the election, the bulk of the political power would still have been in the hands of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, himself a twice elected former President of the country. Khamenei, a long time supporter of Ahmadinejad and once friend of Ayatollah Khomeini wields more power then any other individual or governing body in Iran. In other democratically inclined countries where there is a central religious leader or head of state, the position has evolved to a largely ceremonial role, whereas in Iran no law or president is considered legally so until approved by the Supreme Leader. The degree to which Shariah, or Islamic law, is applied and the strictness to which it must be adhered to appears to be controlled by this highly conservative and staunchly anti-Western cleric.
Interestingly, Hillary Clinton has already spoken very briefly about the election but the administration has said nothing to indicate that the US is ready to either repudiate or recognize its results. From here it's difficult to say whether an open dialogue is the most promising diplomatic route, but taking into consideration Ahmadinejad's well-publicized dismissal of and disdain for Israel and the US and the velocity with which Iran's uranium enrichment program is progressing, I see few other options.
Tuesday, October 14
Sunday, October 12
I'm mobile!
Here I am on the Megabus and what do I find? WIFI!!! I am so jazzed about this! Come one, come all and chat with me while I ride through central Illinois!
This almost makes up for the fact that this bus if crowded as all hell and I am totally uncomfortable.
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