At least from a music standpoint, this month has started in a great way. Starting last Tuesday, I went to three shows in three nights--Yelawolf and Wiz Khalifa at a sold out Middle East, A Sunny Day in Glasgow at Great Scott, and finishing off in a strong way with Vampire Weekend at The Orpheum. A two day lay-over was followed by Serena Maneesh on Sunday (thanks again to Kevin for the tix).
But it won't stop there. My calendar is quickly becoming dominated by upcoming concerts...this is what's on itinerary right now:
Thursday- Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Middle East
Saturday- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists @ Paradise
April 18th- The Thermals @ Middle East
April 22-25th- Weekend road trip to Greensborough, North Carolina to see G-Side (if you're into rap and don't know about this group, download this mix-tape now)
May 3rd- Yeasayer @ Paradise (I will get tickets to this show)
May 11th OR 12th- Dr. Dog @ Paradise (sponsored by WERS)
May 15th- Jay Electronica @ Paradise (check out this song "Exhibit C"...one of the best hip hop tracks of '09)
May 21st- Devon the Dude @ Paradise
Annnd that's just April and May. There's a good chance I won't end up going to all of these shows, but I'm going to damn well try. I don't know if it's the warm weather or just an influx of great shows into Boston over the next few months, but it looks like a whole fucking lot of my nights this Spring are going to be spent destroying my eardrums and dancing and sweating my ass off amongst numerous hipsters, stoners, and black X's.
So psyched.
p.s. in the spirit of the post and for your viewing pleasure...wobblegirl:
April 7, 2010
April 6, 2010
March 7, 2010
Film Noir
I'm all washed out by the side of the road
Broken bones Matilda left a note and a rose
Saying "Baby honey child, I loved you so long
but you deserve much better than me"
So I'm just burning all around
All the miles in the road
And I'm never going back
And I'm never going home
I've been gone too long
I've been less right than wrong
I've lost so much blood in the falling out
And I lit a fire that wouldn't go out
Until it consumed the walls and roof of this house
Until all I remember was burning away
And all I remember, you're burnin' away
See for 10 long years I've been hustling around
Tryin' to wash the sins and sweat from my brow
Just trying to find a better life for me and my own
Just some rest for these tired working fingers
But nobody never gonna tell you the way
You gotta figure it out boys and suffer the rain
And the fools in the night, and the heat of the day
When all you ever really wanted was for someone to understand
And I lit a fire that wouldn't go out
Until it consumed the walls and roof of this house
Until all I remember was burning away
And all I remember, you're burnin' away
Well don't you take it so hard and baby don't you cry
You cross your hard heart and hope to die
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied all the time
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied every night
And you're sugar and spice, and everything nice
You got Monroe hips, your poison lips and knives
And your sugar and spice, and everything nice
You got open wounds in a young boy's pride
And I lit a fire that wouldn't go out
Until it consumed the walls and roof of this house
Until all I remember was burning away
And all that you left me you're burning away
Well don't you take it so hard and baby don't you cry
You cross your hard heart and you hope to die
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied all the time
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied every night
Time, time, tickin' away
Time, time, tickin' away
Time, time, tickin' away
Time, time, tickin' away
Broken bones Matilda left a note and a rose
Saying "Baby honey child, I loved you so long
but you deserve much better than me"
So I'm just burning all around
All the miles in the road
And I'm never going back
And I'm never going home
I've been gone too long
I've been less right than wrong
I've lost so much blood in the falling out
And I lit a fire that wouldn't go out
Until it consumed the walls and roof of this house
Until all I remember was burning away
And all I remember, you're burnin' away
See for 10 long years I've been hustling around
Tryin' to wash the sins and sweat from my brow
Just trying to find a better life for me and my own
Just some rest for these tired working fingers
But nobody never gonna tell you the way
You gotta figure it out boys and suffer the rain
And the fools in the night, and the heat of the day
When all you ever really wanted was for someone to understand
And I lit a fire that wouldn't go out
Until it consumed the walls and roof of this house
Until all I remember was burning away
And all I remember, you're burnin' away
Well don't you take it so hard and baby don't you cry
You cross your hard heart and hope to die
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied all the time
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied every night
And you're sugar and spice, and everything nice
You got Monroe hips, your poison lips and knives
And your sugar and spice, and everything nice
You got open wounds in a young boy's pride
And I lit a fire that wouldn't go out
Until it consumed the walls and roof of this house
Until all I remember was burning away
And all that you left me you're burning away
Well don't you take it so hard and baby don't you cry
You cross your hard heart and you hope to die
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied all the time
Don't you tell me no more lies, you lied every night
Time, time, tickin' away
Time, time, tickin' away
Time, time, tickin' away
Time, time, tickin' away
March 2, 2010
Tom Waits Series: 1973- Closing Time
Let's get March started off on the right foot, yeah? February was a weird month and I'm ashamed to say my blog was an unfortunate (and unnecessary) casualty. I promised new posts (that weren't being an emo bitch) and I have not delivered. But here's to a fresh start!
First up is an account of Tom Waits' first album, "Closing Time", as you may or may not recall the little experiment I undertook...well, about a month ago. I knew it'd be slow going, but I didn't think I'd be this ADD about listening to (and reporting on) music.
Anyway, I feel as though I have digested "Closing Time" about as much as I can hope to. So what's the verdict for Mr. Waits' first album? Not much. It took me a few weeks of repeatedly coming back and listening to the album to come the the conclusion that...it's just not very good.
Thank god this wasn't my first exposure to Waits or it could have been a while before I gave him a second chance. To put it plainly, there isn't really much evidence--at all--of what makes Tom Waits the Tom Waits people know and love today. I talked to my brother about this, and he made an interesting point that he knew people who have said "Closing Time" was their favorite Tom Waits album.
I find this incredibly fascinating because it's so totally different and indistinguishable from his later work--and I'm not even talking just shit from the past couple decades. The album itself is, well, pretty bland. That isn't to say it's not enjoyable, but there really isn't anything here that might indicate the long transformation to come. "Closing Time" is a poppy, folksy, bluesy debut that just reeks "sap". Honestly, the best word to describe the album is "cheesy".
Those of you who know Tom Waits now know that sentimentality is not really his trademark. But you wouldn't know this from listening to his first singer-songwriterly debut. There are a couple fun, catchy songs--in particular I was attracted to "Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)"--but in the end it's impossible for me to get past the cheesiness of the lyrics, the simplicity of the writing, and the general blah-ness of the songs. A good example is "I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You"--yes, that's what it's called. This title comprises the chorus of the song, but it ends even worse, with Waits crooning: "And I think that I just fellll in love with you." Really? Really Tom Waits?
Lastly, every time I listen to the album it begins to sink into obscurity at about the mid-way point, and to me this is the death rattle of a very unremarkable album. So all in all, a mediocre affair. It took me a while to realize that if I detached his name from the album it probably wouldn't be something I'd have more than a few days on my iTunes library.
Unfortunately, his next album, "The Heart of Saturday Night", isn't too far from this one.
Thankfully, though, I know what is to come. And from an early listen, if I strain real hard I start to pick out the faint resemblance of some of the brilliance he is known for today. Until next time though! Hopefully the wait won't be as long...cheers to a new month and second chances!
First up is an account of Tom Waits' first album, "Closing Time", as you may or may not recall the little experiment I undertook...well, about a month ago. I knew it'd be slow going, but I didn't think I'd be this ADD about listening to (and reporting on) music.Anyway, I feel as though I have digested "Closing Time" about as much as I can hope to. So what's the verdict for Mr. Waits' first album? Not much. It took me a few weeks of repeatedly coming back and listening to the album to come the the conclusion that...it's just not very good.
Thank god this wasn't my first exposure to Waits or it could have been a while before I gave him a second chance. To put it plainly, there isn't really much evidence--at all--of what makes Tom Waits the Tom Waits people know and love today. I talked to my brother about this, and he made an interesting point that he knew people who have said "Closing Time" was their favorite Tom Waits album.
I find this incredibly fascinating because it's so totally different and indistinguishable from his later work--and I'm not even talking just shit from the past couple decades. The album itself is, well, pretty bland. That isn't to say it's not enjoyable, but there really isn't anything here that might indicate the long transformation to come. "Closing Time" is a poppy, folksy, bluesy debut that just reeks "sap". Honestly, the best word to describe the album is "cheesy".
Those of you who know Tom Waits now know that sentimentality is not really his trademark. But you wouldn't know this from listening to his first singer-songwriterly debut. There are a couple fun, catchy songs--in particular I was attracted to "Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)"--but in the end it's impossible for me to get past the cheesiness of the lyrics, the simplicity of the writing, and the general blah-ness of the songs. A good example is "I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You"--yes, that's what it's called. This title comprises the chorus of the song, but it ends even worse, with Waits crooning: "And I think that I just fellll in love with you." Really? Really Tom Waits?
Lastly, every time I listen to the album it begins to sink into obscurity at about the mid-way point, and to me this is the death rattle of a very unremarkable album. So all in all, a mediocre affair. It took me a while to realize that if I detached his name from the album it probably wouldn't be something I'd have more than a few days on my iTunes library.
Unfortunately, his next album, "The Heart of Saturday Night", isn't too far from this one.
Thankfully, though, I know what is to come. And from an early listen, if I strain real hard I start to pick out the faint resemblance of some of the brilliance he is known for today. Until next time though! Hopefully the wait won't be as long...cheers to a new month and second chances!
February 9, 2010
The Hitchhiking Game
I want to relate a passage from a short story I just read recently. The story is by Milan Kundera (it’s in the collection “Laughable Loves” if you’re interested), one of my favorite authors; I can’t think of anyone who better captures the human spirit and mind as it really exists, free of romanticized thoughts and fictionalized, story-book motives. Instead, Kundera writes with a stark nakedness and truth that shows all of the insecurities and imperfections and fears that exist within the human mind (though there is an undeniable “lightness” that inexplicably parallels the unflattering portrayal of human beings).
This is particularly evident in the interaction between the people in his stories, often characterized by jealousy, selfishness, and distrust—among other unfavorable distinctions of the mind—which stem from a disconnect between actual intentions and perceived intentions combined with a stubborn, often prideful and sometimes ignorant, refusal of honest communication.
The story I mentioned, called “The Hitchhiking Game”, brilliantly captures this disconnect, showing it extending beyond interpersonal relationships; I would almost go as far as calling the disconnect an epidemic—a disease of the human spirit—as false motives are iterated to the point where they become almost indistinguishable from the truth. A person’s life, love, and work become determined by external perceptions rather than their own thoughts and desires. If this doesn’t make any sense (and I can see that without perspective it might not), you should probably just go ahead and read the story.
But first, to give you a reference point, “The Hitchhiking Game” is about a working man and his younger girlfriend of a year as they take a vacation, their first significant time spent together free of work. When they initiate a game where the girl pretends to be hitchhiker and he the stranger who picks her up, their insecurities about each other, their relationship, and their own lives are given an indirect outlet, and subsequently the two begin to realize that they really are strangers to each other and in their lives. What follows is a passage from the story that I found particularly resonant—hopefully it will provide you with a picture of some of the aforementioned ideas:
There was nothing the young man missed in his life more than lightheartedness. The main road of his life was drawn with implacable precision: his job didn’t use up merely eight hours a day, it also infiltrated the remaining time with the compulsory boredom of meetings and home study, and, by means of the attentiveness of his countless male and female colleagues, it infiltrated the wretchedly little time he had left for his private life as well; this private life never remained secret and sometimes even became the subject of gossip and public discussion. Even a two week vacation didn’t give him a feeling of liberation and adventure; the gray shadow of precise planning lay even here. The scarcity of summer accommodations in our country had compelled him to book a room in the Tatras six months in advance, and since for that he needed a recommendation from his office, its omnipresent brain thus did not cease knowing about him for even an instant.
He had become reconciled to all this, yet all the same from time to time the terrible thought of the straight road would overcome him—a road along which he was being pursued, where he was visible to everyone, and from which he could not turn aside. At this moment that thought returned to him. Through an odd and brief conjunction of ideas the figurative road became identified with the real highway along which he was driving—and this led him suddenly to do a crazy thing.
“Where did you say you wanted to go?” he asked the girl.
“To Bystrica,” she replied.
“And what are you going to do there?”
“I have a date there.”
“Who with?”
“With a certain gentleman.”
The car was just coming to a large crossroads. The driver slowed down so as to read the road signs, then turned off to the right.
“What will happen if you don’t turn up for that date?”
“[It] would be your fault, and you would have to take care of me.”
“You obviously didn’t notice that I turned off in the direction of Nove Zamky.”
“Is that true? You’ve gone crazy!”
“Don’t worry! I’ll take care of you,” said the young man.
The game all at once went into a higher gear. The sports car was moving away not only from the imaginary goal of Bystrica, but also from the real goal, toward which it had been heading in the morning: the Tatras and the room that had been reserved. Fiction was suddenly making an assault on real life. The young man was moving away from himself and from the implacable straight road, from which he had never strayed until now.
“But you said you were going to the Tatras!” The girl was surprised.
“I'm going, miss, wherever I feel like going. I'm a free man, and I do what I want and what it please me to do.”
This is particularly evident in the interaction between the people in his stories, often characterized by jealousy, selfishness, and distrust—among other unfavorable distinctions of the mind—which stem from a disconnect between actual intentions and perceived intentions combined with a stubborn, often prideful and sometimes ignorant, refusal of honest communication.
The story I mentioned, called “The Hitchhiking Game”, brilliantly captures this disconnect, showing it extending beyond interpersonal relationships; I would almost go as far as calling the disconnect an epidemic—a disease of the human spirit—as false motives are iterated to the point where they become almost indistinguishable from the truth. A person’s life, love, and work become determined by external perceptions rather than their own thoughts and desires. If this doesn’t make any sense (and I can see that without perspective it might not), you should probably just go ahead and read the story.But first, to give you a reference point, “The Hitchhiking Game” is about a working man and his younger girlfriend of a year as they take a vacation, their first significant time spent together free of work. When they initiate a game where the girl pretends to be hitchhiker and he the stranger who picks her up, their insecurities about each other, their relationship, and their own lives are given an indirect outlet, and subsequently the two begin to realize that they really are strangers to each other and in their lives. What follows is a passage from the story that I found particularly resonant—hopefully it will provide you with a picture of some of the aforementioned ideas:
There was nothing the young man missed in his life more than lightheartedness. The main road of his life was drawn with implacable precision: his job didn’t use up merely eight hours a day, it also infiltrated the remaining time with the compulsory boredom of meetings and home study, and, by means of the attentiveness of his countless male and female colleagues, it infiltrated the wretchedly little time he had left for his private life as well; this private life never remained secret and sometimes even became the subject of gossip and public discussion. Even a two week vacation didn’t give him a feeling of liberation and adventure; the gray shadow of precise planning lay even here. The scarcity of summer accommodations in our country had compelled him to book a room in the Tatras six months in advance, and since for that he needed a recommendation from his office, its omnipresent brain thus did not cease knowing about him for even an instant.
He had become reconciled to all this, yet all the same from time to time the terrible thought of the straight road would overcome him—a road along which he was being pursued, where he was visible to everyone, and from which he could not turn aside. At this moment that thought returned to him. Through an odd and brief conjunction of ideas the figurative road became identified with the real highway along which he was driving—and this led him suddenly to do a crazy thing.
“Where did you say you wanted to go?” he asked the girl.
“To Bystrica,” she replied.
“And what are you going to do there?”
“I have a date there.”
“Who with?”
“With a certain gentleman.”
The car was just coming to a large crossroads. The driver slowed down so as to read the road signs, then turned off to the right.
“What will happen if you don’t turn up for that date?”
“[It] would be your fault, and you would have to take care of me.”
“You obviously didn’t notice that I turned off in the direction of Nove Zamky.”
“Is that true? You’ve gone crazy!”
“Don’t worry! I’ll take care of you,” said the young man.
The game all at once went into a higher gear. The sports car was moving away not only from the imaginary goal of Bystrica, but also from the real goal, toward which it had been heading in the morning: the Tatras and the room that had been reserved. Fiction was suddenly making an assault on real life. The young man was moving away from himself and from the implacable straight road, from which he had never strayed until now.
“But you said you were going to the Tatras!” The girl was surprised.
“I'm going, miss, wherever I feel like going. I'm a free man, and I do what I want and what it please me to do.”
February 2, 2010
No More Excuses
The time has come: I'm going cold turkey. Not from an addictive substance, but in the places in my life where I make the most excuses.
Exercising.
Waking up.
Eating.
Working.
My falterings in these areas of my life keep me from being as productive and strong and healthy (and happy) as I want to be. So I'm instituting some immediate changes. But first...
Where did this come from?
David Blaine.
Yes, the magician. Trust me, I'm still a little surprised myself. Let me explain. I've never been a big fan of Blaine--in fact, for the most part I go with the view that he's lame and kitschy.
Then earlier today, I ran across this video via TED (if you don't know TED, check it out...I'm a bit addicted myself). In the video, David Blaine talks about his latest stunt: trying (and succeeding) to break the world record for holding one's breath under water. He went 17 minutes. 17. Minutes. While he isn't a very good speaker by any means, it's what he said that struck a chord with me.
When I've seen or read about about all of these stunts Blaine has pulled over the years, I've never once really thought about how much work and preparation goes into everything he does, but the amount of time and effort he puts into these acts is absolutely incredible. And even more so, it's inspiring. At one point in the speech, Blaine mentions he fasted for a week before one of his stunts, as if it were a footnote. Not eating anything for seven weeks, as if it were the easiest part.
And here I am, complaining about how I can't bring myself to eat healthier. Or get out of bed early. Or exercise when I want to. Or be as productive as I want to be in my work.
Starting to see where I'm coming from? Last month I wrote a list of resolutions--not necessarily New Years' resolutions, but really more just things I want to improve in myself and in my life this in general. I've found that my biggest problem in instituting some of these changes is discipline. I make excuses in so many different parts of my life, and I lack the discipline to make the tough changes. So what do I do? I keep making excuses.
I'm sick and tired of this process. I've taken a gradual approach in the past, but I feel it is not working right now. Thus, cold turkey. I'm throwing myself right into the fire. Either that or I will drag myself tooth and nail through the fire.
Discipline is the one thing I lack which keeps me from being productive--and happy--in my life. Over the course of my life to this point, I've created this mentality, this horrible, destructive mentality, that holds me back from doing the things I want to do and achieving what I want to achieve. It's not just one area of my life or another: it's a general, contagious mentality that extends to everything I do, in some way or another. And that mentality has to change.
These changes I'm going to institute, starting tomorrow, represent drastic overhauls in some of the areas where that mentality is the worst. Specifically, those mentioned in the beginning of the post: eating, waking up, exercising and working. I won't go into what I'm doing for each, but suffice to say it will not be pleasant and it will not be easy. At all. Hopefully, it will be the wake up call I need. Hopefully, working through these changes will help me to destroy this negative mentality that's been festering in me for so long.
This will help me learn greater discipline.
This greater discipline will help me to be more productive.
This productivity will help me to lead a healthier, happier life.
And isn't that what almost everyone wants? I know it's what I want. And I'm sick and tired of waiting. Of taking baby steps. No, it's time for to whip my ass into shape, it's time for drastic measures. Sure it'll be tough, but the easy road is rarely the one worth taking. I make excuses to take that easy road. But ask David Blaine if he's making excuses when he's fasting in small glass box above London for 44 days. I'm willing to bet he isn't.
Will there be distractions? Sure. And I will probably falter many times along the way. That's normal. The good thing with some distractions is you can eliminate them. Personally, I must learn to work without certain distractions before I can learn to work with them, so I intend to take away some of these distractions while I'm undertaking these life changes: Facebook, AIM, cable television. These are a few of the distractions I will deal without for a while, at least until I get to a point where I feel I can integrate them into my life without them creating further excuses.
It's gonna be painful and it's gonna suck a lot at first, but the reward is beyond measure.
Many of the TED videos are similarly motivational, and while the David Blaine one didn't single-handedly spur this response in me, I think it made me realize what I was doing wrong and what I could do about it. If you've got the time, check out the speech. My respect for David Blaine skyrocketed. Truly motivational. Truly inspiring...thank you David Blaine.
Exercising.
Waking up.
Eating.
Working.
My falterings in these areas of my life keep me from being as productive and strong and healthy (and happy) as I want to be. So I'm instituting some immediate changes. But first...
Where did this come from?
David Blaine.
Yes, the magician. Trust me, I'm still a little surprised myself. Let me explain. I've never been a big fan of Blaine--in fact, for the most part I go with the view that he's lame and kitschy.
Then earlier today, I ran across this video via TED (if you don't know TED, check it out...I'm a bit addicted myself). In the video, David Blaine talks about his latest stunt: trying (and succeeding) to break the world record for holding one's breath under water. He went 17 minutes. 17. Minutes. While he isn't a very good speaker by any means, it's what he said that struck a chord with me.
When I've seen or read about about all of these stunts Blaine has pulled over the years, I've never once really thought about how much work and preparation goes into everything he does, but the amount of time and effort he puts into these acts is absolutely incredible. And even more so, it's inspiring. At one point in the speech, Blaine mentions he fasted for a week before one of his stunts, as if it were a footnote. Not eating anything for seven weeks, as if it were the easiest part.
And here I am, complaining about how I can't bring myself to eat healthier. Or get out of bed early. Or exercise when I want to. Or be as productive as I want to be in my work.
Starting to see where I'm coming from? Last month I wrote a list of resolutions--not necessarily New Years' resolutions, but really more just things I want to improve in myself and in my life this in general. I've found that my biggest problem in instituting some of these changes is discipline. I make excuses in so many different parts of my life, and I lack the discipline to make the tough changes. So what do I do? I keep making excuses.
I'm sick and tired of this process. I've taken a gradual approach in the past, but I feel it is not working right now. Thus, cold turkey. I'm throwing myself right into the fire. Either that or I will drag myself tooth and nail through the fire.
Discipline is the one thing I lack which keeps me from being productive--and happy--in my life. Over the course of my life to this point, I've created this mentality, this horrible, destructive mentality, that holds me back from doing the things I want to do and achieving what I want to achieve. It's not just one area of my life or another: it's a general, contagious mentality that extends to everything I do, in some way or another. And that mentality has to change.
These changes I'm going to institute, starting tomorrow, represent drastic overhauls in some of the areas where that mentality is the worst. Specifically, those mentioned in the beginning of the post: eating, waking up, exercising and working. I won't go into what I'm doing for each, but suffice to say it will not be pleasant and it will not be easy. At all. Hopefully, it will be the wake up call I need. Hopefully, working through these changes will help me to destroy this negative mentality that's been festering in me for so long.
This will help me learn greater discipline.
This greater discipline will help me to be more productive.
This productivity will help me to lead a healthier, happier life.
And isn't that what almost everyone wants? I know it's what I want. And I'm sick and tired of waiting. Of taking baby steps. No, it's time for to whip my ass into shape, it's time for drastic measures. Sure it'll be tough, but the easy road is rarely the one worth taking. I make excuses to take that easy road. But ask David Blaine if he's making excuses when he's fasting in small glass box above London for 44 days. I'm willing to bet he isn't.
Will there be distractions? Sure. And I will probably falter many times along the way. That's normal. The good thing with some distractions is you can eliminate them. Personally, I must learn to work without certain distractions before I can learn to work with them, so I intend to take away some of these distractions while I'm undertaking these life changes: Facebook, AIM, cable television. These are a few of the distractions I will deal without for a while, at least until I get to a point where I feel I can integrate them into my life without them creating further excuses.
It's gonna be painful and it's gonna suck a lot at first, but the reward is beyond measure.
Many of the TED videos are similarly motivational, and while the David Blaine one didn't single-handedly spur this response in me, I think it made me realize what I was doing wrong and what I could do about it. If you've got the time, check out the speech. My respect for David Blaine skyrocketed. Truly motivational. Truly inspiring...thank you David Blaine.
January 29, 2010
Get Yo' Shit Together, Washington!
Lately, for whatever reason, I’ve found myself becoming a lot more interested in US politics than I think I ever have before. Despite one of my “2010 resolutions” being to follow world and domestic news more closely, I feel I’ve been gravitating towards political awareness slowly for the past couple months now.
Two nights ago, for the first time that I can remember, I watched a State of the Union Address with great interest . The entire thing—even the Republican response and post-speech commentary (well, I was cooking during parts…but still, pretty much the whole speech…).
I guess it helps that I’m basically a Democrat pretending to be an independent and I’ve been an ardent Obama-supporter essentially since he became an Illinois Senator; regardless, over the past couple of years I’ve shied away from giving regular attention to the political arena due to my distaste for its polarizing, often hypocritical and wavering nature, and I readily recognize that Obama hasn’t exactly been a knock-out success during his first year in office—in fact, I believe he’s actually been incredibly disappointing.
Why is that? Well, I think one can attribute Obama’s less-than-stellar first quarter to a few things:
1. Obama has incredible rhetoric. Of course, I’ve known Obama is a great speaker for a while now, but it was apparent more than ever during the SotU address that he is a master spinster. This is good and bad: good because he can take any argument against him or his policy and spin and contort it as to make the criticizer look like a fool and an idiot, while at the same time making him appear to be a genius (the mark of a great debater); bad because when people break down and see past his fancy words, if there’s no evidence to back them up, he’s the one who looks like an idiot, spouting out empty statements. Last year Obama delivered a lot of big words—words that a lot of people, especially independents who voted for him, saw through very easily.
2. Those damn Republicans. Even though I cared nothing for politics when the last Democratic majority occupied Congress, I believe people when they say this is perhaps the most divided, bi-partisan Congress ever. Yes, I lean towards the left, but can open-minded right-wingers (an oxymoran?) really think the stubborn refusal of Republican representatives to participate in…well, anything, is not bad for everyone--liberals and conservatives alike? I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such unbelievable naivety and childish behavior from a group of supposedly responsible adults, much less from the people that are supposed to help run the country. I mean damn. How fucking ignorant do you have to be to think this is in the best interest of anyone (but yourself)? And representing a state and a country should in theory be about as selfless as any job could be. I guess in this economy, even congressmen are worried about losing their jobs. Ironic isn’t it, how members of Congress believe the only way to keep their jobs in an election year is to not do them? Can any other job realistically make that claim? Just taking the opposite stance because your party dogma says you must is absolutely ridiculous. The Republican Party is starting to look an awful lot like the Catholic Church.
3. Lack of experience. I don’t think Obama completely knew what he was getting into when he stepped foot into the White House. And I’m not talking about the two wars or all of the other shit he’s inherited from the previous administration. I’m talking about the growing pains of dealing with a giant microscope hovering over his head held by the entire country and a historically stubborn Republican Party fighting his every action. To be fair though, I don’t think anyone—even the most seasoned of Washington vets—could have been completely prepared for this kind of onslaught.
Thankfully though, growing pains are apparently a pretty normal thing for newly elected presidents. Just ask Bill Clinton, who’s administration in now held in high regard (by most of the country). His first year…hell, his first term, I believe, was awful shaky, and he was held reasonable for the epic failure of his effort to tackle healthcare. In this respect, Obama might even have a heads up. Firstly, he has the advantage of history: eight years of the Clinton administration to draw from certainly helps, especially in regard to the healthcare debate. It appears, from his SotU address, that he will not give up or give in, which is a testament to his determination in face of mounting odds. Secondly, despite the lack of a 60-vote “filibuster-proof” majority in Congress, people still seem to forget Obama and the Democrats still have the greatest majority in decades. Yes, decades. It is quite refreshing that Obama seems to be adopting a “filibuster-be-damned, we’re gonna get shit done anyway” mentality.
And that is the kind of mentality that came through in his address the other night. While he again made a lot of promises and big statements, in which it remains to be seen to what degree he and Congress will follow through, the biggest thing I took out of his address was his refusal to back down in any regards. He was expected to take a more populist approach in order to help his image a bit and reconnect with a lot of the public, and that is very much what he did. However, in the face of this, Obama did not compromise his agenda: by issuing a challenge to the Republican Party to basically get off their high horse and get their hands dirty and by acknowledging that he will in fact not back down in the face of seemingly drastic set-backs to the healthcare plan, he firmly established that he will not be pushed around. I even found his historically uncharacteristic criticism of the Supreme Court verdict regarding campaign ad financing to be especially encouraging. One article I read made a good point in that he was not questioning the integrity of the court, so he had every right to criticize the decision. Separation of power does not mean the decisions of one branch cannot be brought into question by another, and Obama made that abundantly clear on Wednesday.
Of course, none of this matters if Obama doesn’t deliver. He made a lot of big promises the first time around, and the hopes of the nation (along with the added pressure from him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize) set the bar very high. In most peoples’ minds—including mine—Obama did not deliver last year. However, it is encouraging to see that he hasn’t backed down. Unless he’s just incredibly talented at duping the American public over and over again with his words, I have hope that this year he will begin to deliver on some of those promises; this is the first time I’ve heard Obama mention specific steps in a significant speech to the public, which is certainly encouraging. Regardless, the trial and training period is over, if there is such a thing for a president. I believe a lot of his original supporters and even some of his skeptics have given him the benefit of the doubt this past year despite his shortcomings and the continuing stagnation of the economy, but now the margin for error is gone--especially with elections coming up this year and the loss of the filibuster-proof majority.
But Obama cannot do this alone, which he made quite clear: “To Democrats, Obama said ‘people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills.’ To Republicans, he cautioned that ‘just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership.’” Today, he reiterated this directly to the GOP:
“The president told House Republicans that Americans don't ‘want us to focus on our job security. They want us to focus on their job security.
‘They didn't send us to Washington to fight each other in some sort of political field cage match to see who comes out alive. That's not what they want. They sent us to Washington to work together, to get things done and to solve the problems that they're grappling with every single day.’”
Damn straight. I need a job as bad as the next unlucky recent grad (if not worse than: how does $115k in student loans sound to you?). So it’s safe to say I’ll be keeping a close eye on Washington this year. Obama’s fantastic rhetoric has once again struck a chord with me and my hopes are raised greater than ever. Now let’s see those words put into action.
Two nights ago, for the first time that I can remember, I watched a State of the Union Address with great interest . The entire thing—even the Republican response and post-speech commentary (well, I was cooking during parts…but still, pretty much the whole speech…).I guess it helps that I’m basically a Democrat pretending to be an independent and I’ve been an ardent Obama-supporter essentially since he became an Illinois Senator; regardless, over the past couple of years I’ve shied away from giving regular attention to the political arena due to my distaste for its polarizing, often hypocritical and wavering nature, and I readily recognize that Obama hasn’t exactly been a knock-out success during his first year in office—in fact, I believe he’s actually been incredibly disappointing.
Why is that? Well, I think one can attribute Obama’s less-than-stellar first quarter to a few things:
1. Obama has incredible rhetoric. Of course, I’ve known Obama is a great speaker for a while now, but it was apparent more than ever during the SotU address that he is a master spinster. This is good and bad: good because he can take any argument against him or his policy and spin and contort it as to make the criticizer look like a fool and an idiot, while at the same time making him appear to be a genius (the mark of a great debater); bad because when people break down and see past his fancy words, if there’s no evidence to back them up, he’s the one who looks like an idiot, spouting out empty statements. Last year Obama delivered a lot of big words—words that a lot of people, especially independents who voted for him, saw through very easily.
2. Those damn Republicans. Even though I cared nothing for politics when the last Democratic majority occupied Congress, I believe people when they say this is perhaps the most divided, bi-partisan Congress ever. Yes, I lean towards the left, but can open-minded right-wingers (an oxymoran?) really think the stubborn refusal of Republican representatives to participate in…well, anything, is not bad for everyone--liberals and conservatives alike? I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such unbelievable naivety and childish behavior from a group of supposedly responsible adults, much less from the people that are supposed to help run the country. I mean damn. How fucking ignorant do you have to be to think this is in the best interest of anyone (but yourself)? And representing a state and a country should in theory be about as selfless as any job could be. I guess in this economy, even congressmen are worried about losing their jobs. Ironic isn’t it, how members of Congress believe the only way to keep their jobs in an election year is to not do them? Can any other job realistically make that claim? Just taking the opposite stance because your party dogma says you must is absolutely ridiculous. The Republican Party is starting to look an awful lot like the Catholic Church.
3. Lack of experience. I don’t think Obama completely knew what he was getting into when he stepped foot into the White House. And I’m not talking about the two wars or all of the other shit he’s inherited from the previous administration. I’m talking about the growing pains of dealing with a giant microscope hovering over his head held by the entire country and a historically stubborn Republican Party fighting his every action. To be fair though, I don’t think anyone—even the most seasoned of Washington vets—could have been completely prepared for this kind of onslaught.
Thankfully though, growing pains are apparently a pretty normal thing for newly elected presidents. Just ask Bill Clinton, who’s administration in now held in high regard (by most of the country). His first year…hell, his first term, I believe, was awful shaky, and he was held reasonable for the epic failure of his effort to tackle healthcare. In this respect, Obama might even have a heads up. Firstly, he has the advantage of history: eight years of the Clinton administration to draw from certainly helps, especially in regard to the healthcare debate. It appears, from his SotU address, that he will not give up or give in, which is a testament to his determination in face of mounting odds. Secondly, despite the lack of a 60-vote “filibuster-proof” majority in Congress, people still seem to forget Obama and the Democrats still have the greatest majority in decades. Yes, decades. It is quite refreshing that Obama seems to be adopting a “filibuster-be-damned, we’re gonna get shit done anyway” mentality.
And that is the kind of mentality that came through in his address the other night. While he again made a lot of promises and big statements, in which it remains to be seen to what degree he and Congress will follow through, the biggest thing I took out of his address was his refusal to back down in any regards. He was expected to take a more populist approach in order to help his image a bit and reconnect with a lot of the public, and that is very much what he did. However, in the face of this, Obama did not compromise his agenda: by issuing a challenge to the Republican Party to basically get off their high horse and get their hands dirty and by acknowledging that he will in fact not back down in the face of seemingly drastic set-backs to the healthcare plan, he firmly established that he will not be pushed around. I even found his historically uncharacteristic criticism of the Supreme Court verdict regarding campaign ad financing to be especially encouraging. One article I read made a good point in that he was not questioning the integrity of the court, so he had every right to criticize the decision. Separation of power does not mean the decisions of one branch cannot be brought into question by another, and Obama made that abundantly clear on Wednesday.
Of course, none of this matters if Obama doesn’t deliver. He made a lot of big promises the first time around, and the hopes of the nation (along with the added pressure from him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize) set the bar very high. In most peoples’ minds—including mine—Obama did not deliver last year. However, it is encouraging to see that he hasn’t backed down. Unless he’s just incredibly talented at duping the American public over and over again with his words, I have hope that this year he will begin to deliver on some of those promises; this is the first time I’ve heard Obama mention specific steps in a significant speech to the public, which is certainly encouraging. Regardless, the trial and training period is over, if there is such a thing for a president. I believe a lot of his original supporters and even some of his skeptics have given him the benefit of the doubt this past year despite his shortcomings and the continuing stagnation of the economy, but now the margin for error is gone--especially with elections coming up this year and the loss of the filibuster-proof majority.
But Obama cannot do this alone, which he made quite clear: “To Democrats, Obama said ‘people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills.’ To Republicans, he cautioned that ‘just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership.’” Today, he reiterated this directly to the GOP:
“The president told House Republicans that Americans don't ‘want us to focus on our job security. They want us to focus on their job security.
‘They didn't send us to Washington to fight each other in some sort of political field cage match to see who comes out alive. That's not what they want. They sent us to Washington to work together, to get things done and to solve the problems that they're grappling with every single day.’”
Damn straight. I need a job as bad as the next unlucky recent grad (if not worse than: how does $115k in student loans sound to you?). So it’s safe to say I’ll be keeping a close eye on Washington this year. Obama’s fantastic rhetoric has once again struck a chord with me and my hopes are raised greater than ever. Now let’s see those words put into action.
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