After my recent spill into Modern Jackass territory, I thought it better to return to my area of expertise. With that in mind, I would like to present the second installment of "awesome/not awesome."
1."Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" by Coldplay.
Awesome! While Viva La Vida is hit or miss, this song hits it out of the park. Josh Hamilton got a hold of this one! "Lovers in Japan" is fun and upbeat which then leads it's way into the almost hymnal "Reign of Love." Marrying the two was the best choice Coldplay has ever made as a band.
2.Pandora Radio
This has become a much discussed topic lately. I am here to wage in with an official "Awesome!"
The application on iphone 2.0 is my only exposure to the site, but it is enough. I am most impressed with the massive selection that they have. It is like a friend who knows what music you like is consistently making you a new mix cd.
3.The Gym
Not Awesome. This is one of the areas where something is good, but not awesome. Helpful, but not cool. Going to the gym is great for you, just not great. Meg and I have recently been going to the gym in order to try and lose weight and get in better shape. While the feeling after you have been to the gym is great, actually being there is weird. I wear glasses, but I don't when I am going to be sweating profusely. In the gym, this leads to my squinting to see where I am going, but looks to the women exercising like I am checking them out in a really creepy way. I can tell once I get close enough that everyone is looking at me with concern, but at this point to tell them that I wasn't staring at them would only make things worse. My sweating also means that I have to clean off all of the equipment I use after every exercise, which makes me feel more like a staff member rather than the fat guy paying 20 bucks a month to be there. However....
4.NPR's "This American Life"
Supreme Awesomeness. The one highlight of the gym is that I can listen to my American Life podcasts while running on the treadmill. Let me tell you, Ira Glass would be the world's most awesome workout partner. Also, in a recent episode titled "A little bit of knowledge" (#293), Ira helps to point out a phrase that I believe we should adopt in this blog. Whenever someone speaks with supposed authority about an issue with which they have very limited knowledge, they are talking like a contributor to Modern Jackass, a fictional magazine.
5.iTunes releasing the "100 most essential" pieces of classical music for just $5.99.
Awesome. Classical music, with it's timing and structure, has such wide spanning influence in the worlds of current music, literature, acting, and speech. Itunes has made it easy for everyone to get a hold of the most famous and celebrated pieces of classical music for less than six bucks.
6.Campaigning for the vote of the apathetic.
Not awesome. Their are certain unfortunate parts of the political process that come with the territory. If I had to pick a Republican to run for president it would have been McCain. I like him. I will not be voting for him, but I respect him. At least, I did. However, the loss of respect has not been isolated to the GOP candidate. Obama has done the same. Two men, both of whom I like, are running away from themselves in order to try and please all the people, all the time. It is a fools errand with steep prices. It is politics, and I guess it is the price you pay, but it points out the biggest problem with democracy. Winston Churchill said it best, "the best argument against democracy is five minutes with the average voter."
7.Volunteering.
Awesome. I leave you all today with this challenge; if you are not currently volunteering in your local community, helping the people whom your wealth or education would otherwise keep you away from, you have one week to do so. I promise it will be an AWESOME experience, and there is no excuse not to.
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2 comments:
"Let me tell you, Ira Glass would be the world's most awesome workout partner." I second that.
"Obama has done the same. Two men, both of whom I like, are running away from themselves in order to try and please all the people, all the time."
I take issue with this. Not because I am an Obama supporter but because I have followed the things he has said since before he announced he would run. Unfortunately, the things he said then and now are the same - revealing him to be more centrist than early media made him out to be. His early campaigning was marked with attackers decrying his extreme liberalism and how he's too partisan (beyond claims of inexperience) to serve all of America. He was painted that way - but it served him well! Disillusioned liberals and independents flocked to this "far-left liberal" despite being on record saying he would engage in military action and supported the death penalty. They ignored it and heard what they wanted to hear. I know this, too, because I am in that camp. I have also gone back and read many of the statements he made long before his campaign even began that he never since contradicted. Now conservatives have grown wise to the fact that there early attacks actually helped Obama and have switched to how he's "running to the middle - shameful!" when it's a bald lie. He is left of center but holds centrist positions. I want him to be farther to the left, but he never was and is not "turning" from it now.
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