The Bubble goes Political

Yesterday President Obama delivered the State of the Union address. I have to say, I really like the President, and I like his ideals. I agree with him that the health care system in our nation could use change, that the tone in Washington should change, and that you should do what is best for the future of the Nation rather than what is good for your next election. The President has great and worthy ideals and I admire him for that (it is also really cute to see the love shared between him and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama). However, his policies and the route that he chooses to fix these problems facing America is where he and I differ.

One thing that I have grown tired of in all of the Presidents speeches is that he paints his ideals on a broad canvas, but never ever seems to lay out a detailed plan on how he wants his goals to be reached. The only specific item that the President said he would deal with in a specific way is to remove the restriction on gays in the military. He sayed that he would remove the "don't ask don't tell" rule. That was something concrete and easily recognized as a detailed plan (of course it doesn't take much to simply romove a restriction, no laws need to be written, budgets adjusted, etc.) however, all of his other demands of congress...We will pass a healthcare reform bill, extend tax cuts for middle class Americans, economic recovery package, increase renewable energy, reduce the deficit and repay our Nation's debt...these all sound great and wonderful, yet has the President ever laid out what he wants specifically in any of these bills? Where is the detailed "Congress, this is what I want, this what I want in it, this is how it will get done" in any of his speeches?

I think that is why most Americans are dissapointed with the President: Letting Congress run unfettered on it's own steam and making it's own policies. I didn't like President Bush's policy if signing basically anything that Congress sent to his desk. That was not the role he was to serve as President. He tried to not be a nay sayer, and so Congress was let run wild, and so Congress did...which brings us to the recession that we now face. President Obama has decided to give Congress his ultimate goal, but then lets them fill in all the details themselves, without much guidence as to his overall vision to accomplish his Utopian ideals. Where is the "change" and the "hope" that was promised?

In my own most humble opionion, what the Nation needs in Washington is a fearless leader. A leader who gives a task that must be accomplished, gives detailed reasons why said task must be accomplished, and then directs the steps that must be taken to fulfill that task; spell it out in detail and in plain English! We are tired of Utopian platitudes and sweeping oratory. We know what makes our Nation great. We the People are not as divided as you think we are (mostly because we are almost universally dissapointed and dissenchanted with our so called "Leaders") and we have faith and hope in the values that have made our country great and to which most of us still live our lives by. In this, our Nation doesn't need "change" what we want to see changed is for Washington to reflect our values and pass laws that respect our heritage and do not treat our Constitution as mere "guidelines" as Jack Sparrow would.

I have great hopes for our Nation, but hope requires sound and decisive action, not platitudes, soaring oratory resulting in empty promises and legislation that sounds like success, but leads us down the road to failure. We are all concerned for our future Mr. President, however, despite agreement on our common goals, we choose different paths to accomplish them. You cannot rush perfection so do not call us all "naysayers" rather see our dedication to working with you. If it is worth doing it is worth doing right, especially when it will effect us for years to come, so instead of trying to rush everything through, take your time and pass your bills in four years, not in less than one.

May God Bless Our Nation and Us All. Amen.

Approaching the Classics

Since leaving home and mingling with other people my age in college and the world in general, I have come to realize that I miss out on a lot of cultural references that my friends would make in general conversation. They would say the oddest things, and while they all knew what was going on, I was left in the dark...with my mind running in circles trying for figure out what European vs. African swallows had to do with anything we were talking about.

Over time, my friends would eventually catch on and ask with astonishment..."You've never seen (insert movie anywhere between 1970-2000)???" My response was almost always yes...and thus was launched my film legends education. I have been introduced to some great films that I love (Amadeus, Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, The Bourne films) and some that I could have gone without seeing (Aliens and Alien vs. Predator-thanks Sean, American History X-thanks Felix, Jurassic Park-freaked me out guys!). My education began in the common room of John Vianney (oh happy memories) at Ave. The scary movies I were often accompanied with many screams from me...usually because Sean decided to lunge at my side during particularly intense moments. Oh...the emotional scars!

I am still trying to catch up. I recently saw Donnie Darko for the first time, Liar Liar, Tomb Raider and the Indiana Jones films. Someday I will finish, but until then, I thought I would do a flash from the past movie review every now and then...maybe once a month. So this is fair warning about why I am giving movie reviews years after the movies came out and pretty much everybody has seen them already...but its fun for me. I love discussing movies, and hopefully I can get some feed-back.

P.S. Donnie Darko was pretty interesting...my mind is still trying to figure it out, but a part of me thinks that I am probably thinking about it too hard and that its just meant to be an acid trip or something...not sure...However, despite being weirder than all get out, I liked the film for the most part, it was interesting...however I would have to see it again in order flesh out a real review...

Modus Creativus

Not sure if that is actual Latin or Hogwarts Latin...but as I am not in the mood to actually look it up...there you go!

I have been in a most creative mood these past few days. Some of my many projects are nearing completion, some have been helped along, and one has just been started. I seem to have the inenviable plight of the artist who is forever starting new projects because the inspiration has ceased for the previous works...or I got bored with them...or the inspiration no where neared the outcome (overambition is my plague...either that or under acheivement) and so I gave up in frustration.

In today's news...Congratulations Senator Brown! I was so shocked! Massachutsets elect a Republican (and a conservative non-the-less)! Impossible was my initial response...but no! The world has been turned on its head I think...it is the only logical explanation!

Ah...well back to my projects...which shall remain un-named and un-numbered as I always make more of what I have started and then leave people to guess what happened to all that I was "going" to do...sigh...

Beauty in Motion

Since I first saw the world-wide sensation that is Riverdance, I have been enamored with Irish dance, both in its traditional form, and the modern interpretations of rich dance form. Jean Butler is a beauty and a master of Irish Dance. She glides across the floor as graceful as faerie born aloft upon nothing but the soft breezes drifting across the lakes and rivers of Ireland.

I found this lovely video while browsing Youtube.com the other day, and thought that I would post it so that you could enjoy this lovely piece. The video is entitled Blue and is performed and choreographed by Jean Butler. Music is Andy's Bar from the album Lemonade and Burns by Kila. Enjoy!

A Draught from the Pool of Friendship

Despite having some of the best friends in the world, it is possible to sometimes forget how much a person needs to share moments of their lives with their friends. Good friends are made, yet life invades and manages to split and divide us across the face of the planet on our varying paths of life. For a time, we walked side by side down the same glorious path mingled with laughter and tears, toils and bliss; the memories of which sustain our bonds of friendship through the trials of separation.

It has been far too long since our paths last converged, yet I am so overjoyed that they have at last managed to join up again, for a time however brief, at the wedding of my two dear friends, Sean McNally and Meghan Barylak in Cleveland this past weekend. My spirit is uplifted, and I feel a great challange to myself to work more diligently to cultivate the friendships that I have allowed to lapse after the Ave diaspora of 2006. With that said I am going to work at staying in better connection with my friends and hopefully, times are at last beginning to brighten and the dark days of my financial woes may be easing in the very near future...so hopefully I will be able to make some more visits, and more often.

I love all of you that I was able to share this past weekend with, wish more of your were there and that we had a longer, less busy time, to enjoy each other, however, I wouldn't trade this time for the world...Congratulations to Sean and Meghan...words fail to tell how happy I am for you both!