Live From New York

Uh-oh, It's the Prop. 8 Post !!!

2008-11-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
I've not updated my blog for some time. A lot has gone on since my last apology for not keeping this up-to-date. I have tons of stories and thoughts, both humorous and a bit more serious, that will probably find their way onto this blog.

Right now, however, I'd like to address something more current. I'd like to talk a little bit about Proposition 8.

I am sure you all know by now that on November 4th, California passed, by state referendum, a ban on same-sex marriages. The vote was roughly 47 to 52% in favor of the ban. The vote was cast. It's over. And, that's all I'm going to say about that.

The most visible response (certainly not a universal one), especially here in New York, has been one of vehement outrage. Already, there have been at least two massive protests. Celebrities and news anchors have used the media as a vehicle to, perhaps inappropriate, disdain for the vote. People talk about having moved one step forward (with the election of Obama) and one step backwards (by banning same-sex marriage). Another talking point that I am hearing a lot of is, "All these people want to do is add permanence to their relationships. Why are they denied this right when heterosexual couples can get married just for the heck of it, get divorced within months, even weeks, and enter into another loveless marriage?" This frustrates me on two levels.

First of all, I would point out that same-sex couples are comprised of people too. This means that they are just as capable of being selfish, lustful, compulsive, adulterous and violence as heterosexuals. I will note that many of the same-sex couples seeking to get married are committed, and have been together for quite some time. Still, this fact of "commitment" does not raise these couples to a level beyond human.

Secondly, and much more importantly, I would like to bring up the subject of divorce. Divorce is awful. Divorce is painful. Divorce takes two things which God has knit together, and rends them apart in the most brutal way, inflicting serious emotional wounds on anyone even marginally involved. Our culture tells us that it should be easy and simple. "If a relationship isn't working out, you can just sign a paper, and all your troubles will be over. Simple as that." The Church has bought into this lie, and has even propagated it. In the United States today, over 40% of marriages will end in divorce. And, studies have shown that if you're divorced, you are more likely than not, to get divorced again. The problem is even bigger IN the Church. There is a much greater percentage of Christians who get divorced, than those outside of the Church. Some may argue that this is because unchurched (what a word!) people don't even bother to get married in the first place. I say, the Church has turned a blind eye to this very serious problem. While so many Evangelicals are wringing their hands about same-sex marriage, they have whole-heartedly endorsed a much greater threat to God's perfect idea of the uniting of a man and woman! Here is the problem. If anything has allowed for same-sex marriage to occur, look no further than inside the Church. It's only natural for this train of thought to follow in this way. To echo those celebrities and news commentators, if heterosexual couples can marry and divorce at will, then why not committed same-sex couples?

I feel like the Church has taken the easy road. It's easy to hold signs, and march in protest against an issue that has not, by in large, infiltrated the pews. It is much harder to address the fact that many of those in a given church have been divorced unreasonably, and are not repentant about that fact.

Does this make the Church's voice in the issue null and void? Certainly not. But, it does make weaken their argument considerably.

May we pull the log our of our own eye before reaching out to those who are hurting in ways most of us cannot even imagine. And, may God give is wisdom.

2008-06-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

To my handful of readers who have probably already stopped visiting my blog, I want to apologize for my negligent lack of posts. It is not that I have stopped thinking altogether since I have been home. Indeed, my mind has been overflowing with ideas both inane and sublime, many of which I did want to write here. Alas, I have been extremely busy with work (which could have supplied countless entries) and building a giant puppet (another entry!). Yes, I did say a giant puppet.
Anyway, I will try to be more diligent in the coming weeks to relate to you all of the goings-on in and around both my job and this giant monstrosity that bears a strong resemblance to Benjamin Franklin. I will too make an attempt to fill in the gaps between my last post and now, at the very least with topics about which are worth writing. You can be sure that I will also include various samplings of those aforementioned innane thoughts courtesy of youtube.
Thus concludes my apology.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Ha!

...so goshdarnit, you will listen to me.

2008-02-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

While not everyone can have the opportunity to audition to be become the next American Idol, everyone can certainly have the chance to be their own version of Simon Cowell. A culture supersaturated by reality television, where contestants are constantly critiqued and "voted off" if found wanting, along with the rapid growth of the Web 2.0 community, has created a country full of people determined to have their opinions heard, and has provided them with the means for them to make it happen. While participation in the public forum is generally a good thing, much of the debate, critique and subsequent digression into name-calling, needless sarcasm, and petty accusations, has migrated to the least pertinent of areas. No longer is this type of talk exclusive to online political or video game forums. Heated debates rage on in the comments of Youtube videos. Disagreements in how-to forums turn into personal attacks. Varying personal experiences create raging arguments among photographers as to which camera is really the best for a particular purpose.
Recently, I was watching a how-to video on Youtube, showing how to economically pack a small, carry-on suitcase for about a five day trip. The guy in the video said he was packing for Florida, so his clothing mostly consisted of t-shirts, jeans, and the like. Even so, his folding technique allowed him to include about two changes of clothes for each day, two pairs of shoes, and that ever-necessary toiletry bag. I thought the video had some great insights for packing light on a short trip. However, the comments below the video showed that not everyone agreed. It would have been one thing if they were just disagreements, but the notes consisted of sentiments such as , "WTF. Won't his shirts get wrinkled?", "What a dumb*ss. He didn't leave any room to bring stuff back with him.", "Good luck when they search your bags!", "What if you're going away for two weeks and not just four days?", "Stupid video; a complete waste of time",or "What a tool!" And the list goes on. Needless to say, this is all quite frustrating.
It would seem, however, that many of these people offering their opinions rely only on what they're thinking at the moments, doing little to no homework on what they're saying. Often, these opinions are not backed by facts, are inaccurate, and are generally very one-sided. A prime example I saw this past fall was a person who passionately contended that the war in Iraq was wrong because "the U.S. has killed one million Iraqi civilians." I'm sure.
Online forums were initiated to encourage sharing of advice, discussion and debate. However, it seems that the cloak of anonymity that the internet provides allows people to take simple discussions overboard. As this type of Web 2.0 technology has progressed and become more accessible to the masses, these attitudes have started to bleed into offline life. We feel entitled to give people our opinion on something, whether or not they want to hear it. The attitude is that of "I have a blog, so goshdarnit, you will listen to me!" I have seen more people be openly harsh and critical toward strangers in the past few years than I have ever. Gone is the decorum; gone is common courtesy. And frankly, it scares me a bit. What will be the next digression? Perhaps we should turn off our televisions and pull away from our computers enough to get to know people for who they are, and not for how well they perform to our fickle standards.

Much more on this later

XLII

2008-02-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

Most of you who know me well probably know that I normally do not care much for professional football. No, I do not find it to be a coarse and barbaric contact sport; I just usually find to to be boring. However, a fact I am certain most of you do not know is that I am also a New York Giants fan. And when my team makes it to the Superbowl and starts playing an amazing game of football, televised football happens to keep my attention rapt. Coming into the game as certain underdogs, their performance tonight was stunning. Instead of buckling under the predictions of a Patriot win and perfect season, they gave one of, if not the, most amazing Giant wins I have ever seen. Add in a performance by Tom Petty, and a Coke commercial featuring a Charlie Brown parade balloon, and you make for one spectacular evening.

Okay. I've gotten that out of my system.

Live from... Pennsylvania ?!?!!

2008-01-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

I realize that I have been quite absent from posting lately. To be honest, I am not in New York at the moment. This semester, I am on medical leave and am living at home. Continuing to update this as if it was really live, from New York, would not be the most honest way to go about this. Instead, I plan on writing some more editorial posts, along with some memories from the past semester at Fordham. I'll use this font so that none of you gets confused and starts to think that the complaining about the new Turkey Hill down the road, and the proposed Target expansion are actually happening in New York. So, there you go.

A decent proposal

2007-12-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

The other night, en route to food after visiting MoMA, my friends and I stopped by to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. (The fad for Christmas decorations this year in New York is "environmentally friendly", so the lights on the tree are LEDs. Way to be, Mayor Bloomberg. There is usually a small crowd of tourists around the area, watching the people who paid way too much to skate on the rink. However, tonight there were a few hundred people cramming around the edges, looking down into the rink, and our curiosity was thoroughly piqued. Perhaps some celebrity was performing? As it would turn out, there were no celebrities, only a man with enough money to clear the rink so he could skate with his girlfriend, and with a dramatic flourish, propose to her at center ice. The tourists loved it. My friend yelled, "Say no!" Perhaps Sarah wasn't able to make her voice heard among the cheers of hundreds of onlookers; the girl said yes.

Aliens and Rats and Girls

2007-11-17T22:22:00.001-08:00

I have heard a lot of different speeches from various panhandlers, musicians, and other displaced, subway-riding bums, but what I heard yesterday as my friend Mike and I made our way to Union Square was the most bizarre yet. No one really talks on the subway, so whenever one begins a tirade asking for handouts, it's not hard to hear exactly what he, or she is saying. This particular gentleman began as most do, yelling some crazy jargon about God, the government, and the Apocalypse. I had my back toward his end of the train, and having heard similar things before, did not turn around. However, this man carried things a bit further, shouting that "he was an alien!" and that he brought a message from his home planet. He then proceeded to pull out a saxophone, and make a fast-paced series of squeaks and blips, what he called the "language of his planet." There was also a brief, yet terribly painful interlude of the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits theme songs.Thinking that this was a performance worthy of payment, he then made a plea to his fellow "travelers" that he needed earthly currency in order to return home safely. There was also some quip about taking Bush and Cheney with him when he left. A nice gesture, but it was still not winsome enough to overcome the annoyance of the pervious five minutes. As he left though the door near me, I saw that he was wearing antenna made out of wire. Yeah.

Later that evening, as Mike and I were enjoying some organic chocolate chip banana bread from the Union Square Green Market, a rat crawled right under our feet, as if neither one of us were sitting there. I said, rather nonchalantly, "Um, Mike, there's a rat under your foot," something I though I'd never say. But, in New York, one never knows. Eating organic banana bread in Union Square Park, after dark is not the best idea, that is if unless one wants to see the local "wildlife."

In other subway news, the ride home brought with it a very cinematic moment.
The scene: a crowded subway car.
A beautiful girl was stares pensively into empty space. Our eyes met briefly. We smile, if only slightly. I pretend not to steal glances out of the corner of my eye. The train arrives at my stop. It is hers too. She gets out first. I watch as she is swallowed by the undulating masses in the Times Square station.
If this were really a movie, we would randomly meet while browsing through books at the library, where we both make small talk about out mutual love for the short stories of Kleist- either that, or at a dog park.

Did You Know?

2007-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Did you know that in 1981, Honeytree released a holiday album entitled "Merry Christmas, Love Honeytree?"

I thought you might not.

It's Sunday Mornin', Y'all...

2007-11-04T03:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why I haven't written about this yet, but about four weeks ago, I found a new church. It's pretty nifty, and very small (not that I'm not used to small.) NYC Church (creative, I know) is a fledgling church, founded as an offshoot of another church in Portland, Oregon. Essentially, the pastor had had a heart for the the city, and recently felt that God was calling him to plant a church in the Battery Park area. (Yes, I go to church right next to Ground Zero.) So, he and his young family, and a bunch of others that felt called from that church uprooted from Portland, and moved to New York.
It's been pretty good so far, and it's been encouraging to get to know and fellowship with other believers. I've really felt welcome there, which is something I cannot say about some of the other churches I have visited here.
Ironically, we don't have our own building, and meet in a movie theatre. And yes, we have to set up and tear down the sound system each week. Oh, and there's coffee and donuts EVERY Sunday. Ha, ha.

All the World Might Be a Stage (but it more than likely isn't playing something I want to see)

2007-11-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

That's the bad thing about plays; you usually can't walk out of them without getting noticed. In movie theatres, which are often designed for people to come and go, one cannot disturb the performance, save blocking another's view for a few moments. After all, it's actors are merely projections. Also, while live theatre generally limits bathroom and concession stand use to the intermission, coming and going during a film does not carry the same stigma that the same type of movement would in a theatrical performance. In other words, should things turn sour on the big screen, one can leave gracefully. It is usually not so in theatre.
I seem to have been having some bad luck with plays lately. All of the one's I've seen in New York this year have taken, at some point or another, that aforementioned sour turn. And no, none of the three had an intermission. These were a mixture of plays: two being Fordham productions, and the other, an off-Broadway show. From gratuitous and sexualized murder scenes, beyond-bawdy comic songs, and insanity coupled with incest, these plays left you with a bit of a sour taste in your mouth (the latter two plays were not nearly as bad as the first, which in addition to being the most unsavory, was poorly written and weakly directed).
I wish I could have walked out on them, or not have gone in the first place. (Thankfully all three plays together cost roughly $25.00, which in New York, is a steal!) However, one cannot always look into the exact details of the show before attending. I guess I will try to be much more cautious in the future, or at the very least sit near the aisle to make a speedy and unobtrusive exit.

Halloween: A Dialogue

2007-11-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

I know it's a day late, but here's a little something. I'll be back with more real updates soon. There have just been a few more important things going on of late.

Halloween: A Dialogue*

Male: So what are you dressed as?

Female: Oh, I'm LeBron James.

Male: Oh really? I don't ever recall Mr. James wearing garter hose and pumps.

Female: Duh. That's because I'm a sexy LeBron James.

*All events described within are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, or events is purely coincidental.

Lititz?!?!!?!

2007-10-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Oh, Lititz, you sure know how to capture the Associated Press' attention.

I found this on Yahoo's new spash page, right under word of Turkey threatening the U.S.: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071011/ap_on_re_us/high_school_racism.

That's Entertainment- Dance

2007-10-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, here are ten random (okay, they're really my favorite) videos featuring dance, or something like it. Some are better then others. Sit back, relax, laugh, cry, sing, even get up and dance along. Above all, enjoy!

Cameras and Yo-YoMa

2007-09-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

I realize I have not written in some time. There is a lot to share; little things, mostly.

I finally have a digital camera, thanks to some generous re-gifting on the part of our landlady and family friend.
(It turns out that the one she sent is the exact one I was looking at buying.)

You can expect more work, more often, very soon.

Two Tuesdays ago, I went to see Yo-Yo Ma and the New York Philharmonic, play an all Dvorak concert, for free. My friends Mike, Steve and I got up at 5 AM, arrived at ten till 6 AM, and stood in line for the 8:30 AM ticket handout and the 9:45 AM concert. The concert itself was beautiful. Ma was phenomenal, as always, and entertained the crowd, joking and laughing with the principal violinist, while playing (beautifully, I might add.) I now count the last movement of Dvorak's Cello Concerto as one of my favorites.

As beautiful as the concert was, even more entertaining, was the wait. Let me remind you that this was a Tuesday morning, and a free concert. That means, it attracted all of the crazies, and privileged folk who could afford to take off from work, and decided to forego the gala opening later in the evening. The line was enormous. (The Times reported that they had to turn several hundred ticket-bearing people away.) Never have I seen so many people try to cut the line, feign ignorance or confusion, go to the front of the line (which was right before a gigantic table with a red cloth over it) and ask if it was the end, and other such tomfoolery to get a better spot in line. It was ridiculous. There was this one lady who hid behind a pillar, and then cut in front of the first person in line (who had gotten there at midnight) at precisely the right time, to get the very first ticket. My friends and I were watching her, and as she laughed and talked to herself, and continually pulled her coat collar over her face, we knew she was up to something. It turns out she was.

When we got inside, adults who seemed respectable otherwise were pushing, shoving, running, and resorting to kindergarten tactics to get the best seats. (Did I mention that this was not well organized?) I was appalled, really, and a bit angry. Adults in suits and nice dresses were acting as juvenile, or worse, than preschoolers. That craziness, punctuated by an outburst from several members of the audience during the opening speech about how the microphone was too soft, and mass clapping between movements, made for an unforgettable experience.

In other news, I'm getting a roommate on Monday. If it is who I think it is, there might be trouble on the horizon. I really hope not. Invisible roommates are the best ever; they're so quiet.

That is all for now. I may write more later.

Birthdays...

2007-09-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

I know this is going to sound trite, but trust me, I'm being sincere. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday truly a happy one. Wow. How bad can I get? That statement was much worse than I expected. Perhaps I should start writing Hallmark cards, and not the sometimes witty Shoebox ones either. Then, I'd be able to give to others that same birthday feeling you guys gave to me. Oh gosh. Someone help me, please.

Here is an example of the card in which one could fine either of the above birthday messages.

Photography: A Musing

2007-09-15T02:48:00.000-07:00

Though this may be a more pensive blog entry, I am going to try my best not to be too negative. I am not writing this, holed up in my dorm room, on a cold, rainy fall night, feeling lonely and sorry for myself. On the contrary, I am home for the weekend, my birthday is tomorrow, and I get to see my best friend this afternoon. In other words, I am doing quite well. Anyway, onto the topic at hand.

I've been thinking lately about my flirtation with this thing called photography. I use the word flirtation, simply because, I can now see that I have not been entirely passionate about it. Whether this was because of my depression, or because I have attempted to venture into this art using borrowed cameras remains irrelevant. I even feel, that that latter fact is a key hallmark of my mere flirtation. There have been countless times I have thought about buying a camera, a few I have looking into purchasing one, and none where I have actually bought a camera. I have survived four years of high school photography classes, and one in college on other people's cameras, which has has limited me quite a bit. Those were four years and a class too many.

Any excellent photographer will tell you, you must be photographing constantly. It cannot be a just a weekend hobby, or something you do for an art class when it comes around, or just an activity to fill some spare time. Harsh? Yes. But to improve your art, just like a sport, one must be shooting daily. Much to the giggles and knowing glances of my class, my photography teacher would repeatedly exhort us to carry our cameras with us everywhere. I really don't think people did too much. For the girls from the Bronx, this may have been a wise choice. However, those that did shoot often, those that make their cameras a part of their bodies improved dramatically. Not only was their overall art better in quality, but they had a tremendous amount of photos, allowing them to choose the best of the best, and not have to scrounge around for a few decent photos to show during critique. I, however, was too busy wallowing in my own self pity to take notice.

I notice now.

Over the past year, I have been content to take a few pictures here and there, (whether or not they are good is a non-issue), look at a lot of other people's photography, engage in artistic communities (although minimally) and call myself a photographer.

Frankly, I am not.

But, I can be.

I am not working this as a sort of "end of my teenage years" rant about how in my twenties, I'm going to take more initiative and be a more diligent photographer. Photography is not really the issue at heart. I feel as though I've been living my life as if it were that photography class. I have not been entirely diligent. I've had bursts of doing well, and then have fallen back into procrastinating, then rushing to do just enough to get by. That's not good enough; that's not what God calls us to.

He calls us not to perfection, but to excellence. God calls us to do our work for Him, not those around us. I've been forgetting that. I have made the habit of my life not even to do my work for others, let alone God. I've been working for myself.

I did not intend for this entry, which was indeed supposed to be about photography, to extend to some of the things God has been teaching me toward the end of this summer. But perhaps it was appropriate. This past week, I has been starting to forget.

I was reminded, and inspired to write this by reading an interview of a photographer whose work I really have come to like. Not only did it clear up some serious misconceptions about his personal character, but also got me to thinking about my work, which led me to think about how it mirrored my life.

Sometimes, God can be pretty clever.

Laundry room confession #3

2007-09-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

Very, very early this morning, I went up to the laundry room to get my clothes out of the dryer. As I came to the room, i noticed another guy was in there, sitting on tip of the washers, reading. "Oh," I thought to myself," he must just be sitting there while his clothes are in the wash. I guess I'm not the only one doing laundry at 3AM." However, as I proceeded to remove and fold my clothes, I noticed that it was quiet- too quiet. No washers and no dryers were running at all, yet this guy was still sitting in there, diligently reading several class assignments. I tried to get my stuff together as quickly as I could, without seeming disturbed. After I left, I knew two things: one, I am the only one who does laundry at 3AM, and two, I am not the only crazy person at Fordham.

A few things

2007-09-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

Is seems it has been almost a week since I have last updated. So, I leave you with a few random thoughts.

Perhaps it is because we moved back to school during fashion week, or perhaps the face of New York has changed dramatically while I was away, but everyone has gotten a lot prettier and much more stylish. Those who themselves do not carry the face of body of ideal beauty, still look as though they are extras in a movie. I felt very much out of place.

I have both the Hebrew Bible and the Apocrypha sitting in my room. Do not worry; I will not be reading the latter.

I desperately want to be in a play this fall, but I know that doing so would mean certain and swift academic suicide.

I need a camera.

Next weekend, I am (hopefully) planning a get-together dinner with a few of my friends, who are all on floors with double digits. In other words, since I am on the sixth floor, I do not get to see them too often. As I was telling my friend Matt, I was hesitating calling the dinner a potluck (even though that's what it is), because that would make us sound too old, and might require the implementation of a "kid's table", so our middle-aged selves could stuff our faces and discuss the details of our middle class existence in relative peace. I think I will be making vegetarian lasagna (for my vegetarian friends, or course).

Art History

2007-09-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

My art history book is the most ginormous thing on the face of the planet. I believe it is a bit over 1000 pages.

Don't let this small picture fool you. This book is a beast.

First Day of Class

2007-09-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

In the words of the illustrious Dan Zecher, this year is going to be "the brutes." I'm looking at a lot of writing, and day-to-day work, but, I'm up for it.

In other news, I think I'm coming down with some type of cold/flu symptoms. Also, I was just approved to take the night Chemistry class. That's a huge load of of my shoulders. Now, all I need to do is work out my problem with my English class. Bigger things have been solved in a shorter amount of time, so I'm not terribly worried.

Blog, Take 2

2007-09-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have read my blog know that at times, it was very depressing. I am going to make a significant effort to not use this to bring those that might read this down as well. Things are looking up, and I'm confident that they're going to remain that way.

In other news, I have officaly moved back to school, unpacked, and and am waiting for classes to start tomorrow. I am going into this new school year with a bit of trepidation, but I am mostly just excited for a fresh start. I found out today that I have no roommate, as the one with whom I am supposed to room (yuck, it rhymes) has transferred. Thus, I have my room nicely to myself.

Finally, as proof that this blog has taken, and will continue to take a decided turn for the happier, I give you this picture I took toward the end of this past summer.

Married

2007-04-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

Someone's getting married under a willow tree, and I'm going to be taking pictures...

2007-04-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

As the the train slows into the station, and the woman over the loudspeaker says "Please remain seated until the car comes to a complete stop. Thank you for riding New York, enjoy the rest of your time here at Life," I squeeze my lapbar, not wanting to get off.

A question...

2007-04-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this is due to the fact that I no longer watch television, but I can't help but wonder if we have become so jaded as a culture that the events at Virgnia Tech, of unprecidented and vile proportions, have only affected us in terms of a new sensational story to take our minds off of Anna Nicole, or a few moments of shock before returning to our own Starbucks-cup-of-coffee lives.

AIM

2007-04-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

I just love it when you sign on to AIM, and you start talking to someone. And then they get mad at you and tell you that they "can't talk right now, because they've got a lot of work to do," even though they don't have an away message up. And then they say something that implied that all you ever do is sit around and chat on AIM, even though this is certainly not the case. (One such person even went as far to state this explicitly.) And then they tell you to stop talking to them, yet they continue to remain online, sans away message, never once having an inactive satus. It must be of tremendous difficulty to set one's away message, to "homework", or "busy", or even the default "away". And it most certainly be too much to sign off, or even not sign on in the first place. Sigh... This must be the new, unspoken ettiquite of AIM, along with letting messages go entirely unanswered, despite being online for hours on end. That, and never bothering to answer emails either. Hmmmm... Such is life, and it stinks.

2007-04-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

2007-04-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...

2007-03-06T12:42:00.001-08:00

Today a girl told me that my eyes were dreamy...

No, I'm not Amish.

2007-03-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most amazing t-shirt designs ever!

2007-02-12T21:43:00.001-08:00

Ugh.

Milk and Cookies

2007-02-10T01:16:00.000-08:00

This evening, several of my friends and I went down to this little shop in the Village called Milk and Cookies. There, I think I had one of the best, if not the best oatmeal rasin cookie I have ever tasted. It was truly dee-lish. You can check out the bakery at http://www.milkandcookiesbakery.com/.

2007-02-09T00:49:00.000-08:00

tonight I dream of sunken ships...

2007-02-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

I want to tear my hair out.

Laundry room confession #2

2007-02-08T00:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight, or should I say this morning, I had to do laundry on the 10th floor: officially upperclassmen territory. I was folding my laundry, as was Kit Williamson, an unusual playwright with a thing for rifles and Budsby Berkley. Ask me for photos. Anyway, we, the only ones in the laundry room, stood there folding clothes (coincidetally, each of us had a massive pile) in complete and utter silence. After he left, I raised the awkward flag to its rightful and proper place.

2007-02-07T15:49:00.000-08:00

For my Faith and Critical Reason class, we have to opprotunity to take part in a service-learning initiative in lieu of writing several formal papers. I chose to volunteer at the Momentum soup kitchen, right across the street from Fordham LC's campus, in St. Paul's Church. This particular outreach serves low-income and homeless members of the local community suffering from HIV/AIDS. Today was my first time volunteering there. Though housed in a church, Momentum has no religious affiliation, or so they say. Despite this, really I felt led to choose this location for my volunteer work. I do it in faith, that it will bear good fruit. Regardless, it will be an imensely interesting and enlightinging experience, to say the least. Oh, and I get to wear a soda jerk hat. Nifty, huh?

2007-02-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

Ten seconds of sheer brilliance

2007-02-02T13:02:00.001-08:00

My name is Arthur Fhardy
Welcome to my yodel party
If you want to yodel along
Come join our happy throng

2007-02-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

Since I have recieved a few complaints about my blog merely being a place for random wistful musings, I am going to try to add some more expository entires. Last evening, I had the pleasure of seeing a new production of C.S. Lewis' book "The Great Divorce"... for free. I must say, even though I would have done a few things differently, it was a great production. It stayed true to the spirit, and much of the original text, and Lewis' beautiful message about grace and redemption were clear throughout. The show was also filled with Renaissance vocal work, which not only were a tribute to Lewis' own interest in Medival and Renaissance history, but also added a beauty and depth to the production as a whole. Humorously, the man who played Lewis, the story and show's nararator, looked and had a very similar acting style to my friend Jeff Fisher. I leaned over to a friend and said that that is what he'll be like in 10 years. After the show, there was a talk-back session with the writer/director and the actors. Unfortunately, this was dominated (all but two questions) by two women in the front who felt that Lewis' conception of heaven and hell was "adolecent", and couldn't "comprehend how a free thinker, such as Lewis, could regress to such conceptions." I wanted to tear my hair out, as did many of the other Fordham students (most of whom were, interestingly not religious). Despite me own agreeance with what Lewis presented, his message trancends differnt faiths (though much of his purpose, and much of the beauty is lost), and cannot be evaluated simply on the basis of his religious influence. These unfortunately all-to-vocal women did not seem to grasp that concept. Despite the quite annoying talk-back session, my evening with Lewis(quite literally) was quite enjoyable. And it was also great to see what Jeff would look like in 10 years...

2007-01-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

You see,there's this thing (a thing I can't talk about) that makes me very frustrated. This thing (the one I can't talk about) has made me frustrated for some time (oh, roughly 8 or 9 years). And since I can't talk about the thing, this thing makes me even more frustrated. If you will excuse me, I am going to go listen to some frustrating music, and be frustrated about the frustrating thing (which no, I still can't talk about). Grrrrrrr...

2007-01-24T14:50:00.001-08:00

Lonliness sets in... again.

2007-01-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

Is there a particular reason that no one even responds to my messages, emails, comments, tags, queries and the like?

2007-01-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

I think I've shrunk.

2007-01-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

Easily my most intense class: Faith and Critical Reason. Oh, my gosh. In this case, perhaps God would have been more appropriate.

2007-01-19T06:25:00.001-08:00

Today I woke up to find the entire Plaza dusted with powdered sugar.

2007-01-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, let's face it; I'm a nerd. Yes, I do watch PBS. However, right now they are showing a documentary about a supposedly groundbreaking for its time, violin teaching program and school. Of couse in usual PBS fashion, foliowing the example of such programs as from the top, the documentary showcases the talents of many young vituosos and child prodegies. I've seen the show (though I most certainly haven't watched it) air about five times over the past few weeks. The entire thing makes me sick. It brings back the same ill will I felt the summer I watched the Disney Channel at my grandmother's house, when they aired such shows as Totally Circus (a show about a circus made entirely of young performers), Totally In Tune (a follow-up show which showcased the life of teens enrolled in a performing arts school), and Z-Games (which featured creative young people inventing new sports.) In fact, I could even at shows life Outward Bound, Knock First, Switched, The Brendan Leonard Show and Endurance to that list, and even the PBS specials on the high school Presidential Scholars who won for visual and performing arts, another about the PA State Band, Chorus and Orchestra, and one on the production of a critically acclaimed, young dancers' production of the Nutcracker. I felt a similar emotion, a strange mixture of desire and disgust when I considered applying for the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, but never did. I feel the same whenever I see my clarinet sitting unused in my closet, and every time I hear From the Top. Sigh. I guess each of these things, in one way or another, reminds me of my failures, and the person I want(ed) to be, and can now never be because it's too late. I don't know. It seems to be more complicated than that. Yes, most of these people were creating somthing. Yes, they represent my ideal self, but too, they were part of a community. It's not really what these teens were/are doing (I really have no interest in doing ballet, or hanging from a trapeeze.), but it was all of them, working together to create something beautiful. Don't misunderstand me, I don't want recognition. Each of these people seemed to have found it. I have not.

2007-01-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

2006-12-17T17:13:00.000-08:00

Okay kids, the fact of the matter is that I am indeed lonely here. But, things might not actually be as bad as I made them seem in previous posts. For example, not everyone is doing drugs; only some of them are. So, yes things are bad, but God's grace is sufficient.
Aside from that little update, enjoy yet another artistic masterpiece, found above.

2006-12-16T14:13:00.001-08:00

When it's three, you can see it's a magic number.

2006-12-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

I seriously have no friends here, and I'm sick and tired of spending yet another weekend in the quiet lounge.

2006-12-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

2006-11-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

"Once upon a sunny morning, a man, sitting in his breakfast nook, looked up from his scrambled eggs to see a white unicorn, with a gold horn, quitetly cropping the roses in his garden..."
...Yeah. So much for that...

2006-11-16T07:32:00.000-08:00

Last night, I had the most strange and terrible dream. As I slept, I dreampt that my church was falling apart, literally splitting into a thousand pieces. When I woke up, and shook off the sleep of the night before, I was no longer disheartened, because we all no that no such thing could ever happen in real life.

2006-11-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a excerpt from an email I sent back home after I found out about the state of things in my church:

Perhaps we should turn off Focus on the Family, put away the Chuck Cholson tapes, put Charisma into the recycling, and open up our Bibles. While all of the above things are of good intention, we can get so easily bogged down by them, and perhaps, put more focus on what James Dobson has to say, than what God has to say straight through scripture, or directly to our hearts.

2006-11-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

Three things I hate about Fordham:

3) Theatre majors:
-The ones that don't do musicals think that they are the bohemians, yet the elites of the college, believing that it exists purely for the betterment of their careers. They think that they are all some kind of tortured, Poe, Wilde, Fitzgerald types, and utterly hate the kids that do musicals.
-The one's that do musicals are delusional, thinking that they are going to be some Broadway star just because they got the lead in their high school musicals. They run around singing annoying showtunes and songs from Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. They all get angry and end up transferring.

2) Honors students:
-All 20 of them think that they are better and more intelligent than the rest of the school, simply because they get to sit in a classroom boasting crown molding and walls with oak paneling. They think that everyone else is so stupid, that we need their assistance to do such tedious tasks as tying our shoes or flipping on a light switch.

1) Dance majors
-They're just crazy. They make fun, purposefully within earshot, of those that are not as skinny as they, perhaps somehow trying to justify their bulimic tendencies. They girls are bad, the guys are worse. When they're not doing coke, smoking pot, or having sex with one another, they're busy having swimsuit parties, taking thousands of photos of their wonderful selves, talking about how everyone at Fordham is so fat, and stuffing their faces with all manner of the edible, only to vomit it back into the toilet, (making sure to weigh themselves before and after), only minutes later.

(As a note, the freshman theatre majors are pretty cool, and Chris Geary really is a reflection of a tortured Poe.)

2006-11-13T17:33:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever been this tired. Sigh...

2006-11-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

When the cast had taken thier final bow, when the final chair was stowed away, and when the final pin was taken out of the black curtains, I heaved a sigh of imense relief, and went to write my English paper.

2006-11-11T21:35:00.000-08:00

The girl at the cash register: That'll be $2.21.
Me: How much was it? $1.21?
The girl at the cash register: No, I said $2.21.
Me: Mmmmm, I'm pretty sure the sign said that the Red Bull is $.99.
The girl at the cash register: No, Red Bull is $1.99.
Me: But the sign was marked $.99.
The girl at the cash register: Snicker. Red Bull for $.99? Where on the can does it say that?
Me: The sign on the shelf said Red Bull for $.99.
The girl at the cash register: Sigh. (Calls for manager)
(To manager): How much is this?
Manager: That's $1.99.
Me: That's okay. I think I'll pass. Oh, and you may want to change your sign, so other people aren't confused.
Manager: What? You don't want nothing?
Me (on my way out): No thanks!

Bait and switch? Over my dead body. They may be New Yorkers, but my grandmother's Inez. M. Petty.

2006-11-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

Laundry room confession #1:
I love how girls will put one bra into each dryer. Way to be economical, ladies. Way to be economical.

2006-11-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

Everyone at Fordham is:

1) An alcoholic

2) Addicted to cigarettes

3) A Pot-head (smoking when availiable)

4) Using or has used cocain and/or crack regularly

5) Selling pot

6) Selling coke

7) Experimenting with more extreme drugs such as acid, LSD, herion and the like

Sigh...

2006-11-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

I thought I could make friends with some of the dancers because they supposedly didn't drink. I was horribly, horribly wrong. All of the dancers, yes all of them, are coke addicted, pot addicted, cigarette addicted, sex addicted, alcoholics. So much for that. The other kids aren't even that bad. So yeah, I'm looking elsewhere for friends.

2006-11-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

I am about sick and tired of party-based politics, where someoneone will vote for a candidate merely based on political affiliation. Ugh. I'm so sick of people saying that they'd never vote for a candidate just because he or she is a Republican. In reality, there are qualified, morally standing Republicans and the same in Democrats. I just can't stand it. Here, i've been told I'm not really a moderate simply because I'm not a registered Democrat. I wish Independants could vote in primaries.

In other news, I'm beginning to really not like office holding Republicans. But don't worry, I utterly loath Democrats. Maybe I'll move to Iceland.

2006-11-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

Here's an old post from myspace.com. I've been thinking about this sort of thing of late.
Last night at work, I saw a perfect example of what father/son relationships should be. A man and his about 14 year old son came in last night, supposedly they were regulars, just to have coffee together and talk. They stayed beyond their coffee and chocolate, for hours more, just enjoying each other's company, talking with the other employees and even playing a game of chess. Through their laughter, and the fact that the son was not embarrassed to be seen with his dad, one could tell that they truly loved each other.
I know this is very simple, but I was stuck by the strength I saw in their relationship. I believe that the presence of a loving father is integral to every young man's development. And simply spending time together is a key part of that. The number of fathers absent from their son's lives, whether physically or emotionally is staggering in America today. Simple abandonment, lack of any semblance of responsibility, and even abuse are all also to blame. This absence is directly proportional to the amount of violence, crime and reckless behavior so often found in young men. And these young men, without an example of what a father should be, keep this cycle going, treating their sons just as their fathers had treated them, ad infinitum.
But this problem can be rectified. The cycle of abandonment, poor relationships, and violence can be cut. However, to do so will require effort of the fathers. Fathers must be actively, and lovingly involved in the lives of their sons. Even if it is something as simple as playing chess over a cup of coffee, that can make an enormous difference, not only in the life of that young man, but eventually in society as well.

2006-11-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

Today I grew old with my best friend, and we died together.
Okay, it was an acting exercise, but one can be romantic can't one?

2006-11-04T23:13:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, I think I will buy a scarf.

2006-11-03T00:16:00.000-08:00

Going behind the scenes of the Metropolitan Opera was absolutely amazing. Seeing all of the sets, and things coming together for tonight's production... oh my.

2006-10-30T04:36:00.000-08:00

I watched the sun rise today. One used to the golden rays of a Lancaster early morning, the clouds casting their crimson and purple hues across the sky, may not think a New York sunrise, seen from the fifth story could ever be so beautiful. Today I stand corrected. I looked up from my email this morning only to see beams of light- no, actually beams of gold- shining though the towering buildings into the plaza below. I was struck by this beauty in the most unlikely of places. As I studied this scene more closely, I noticed, in that golden light, that the plaza trees no longer bore green leaves. Instead their leafy crests were tinged a yellow-orange, as is the golden shafts of sunlight kissed thier tree tops, causing them to blush.

2006-10-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

JssWhi (9:11:24 PM): you're wearing fig leaves though
JssWhi (9:11:30 PM): over your... parts
deltax06 (9:11:42 PM): of course
deltax06 (9:11:57 PM): we're not that extreme
JssWhi (9:12:51 PM): right... even though you don't go to church anymore

2006-10-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to fall in love with youtube. Here are a few more gems.

Check It Out (Library Song)

Teamwork!

2006-10-26T03:27:00.000-07:00

2006-10-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I had a rockin' time at Oksoberfest. No not Oktoberfest (barf!) but OkSOBERfest. Funny, huh? Anyway here's a picture of my pumpkin, Jack. He was getting a little too sneaky though. Those pumpkins; you can never quite trust 'em.

2006-10-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

Yoo, hoo! Iceman!

2006-10-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

come on rockin' girl... let's hit it...!

2006-10-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

I've found an amazing site called minoritees.com, which sells ethnic pride t-shirts. I love them. Here are some of my favorites.

2006-09-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

One liners...
Here are the first lines from the short stories and books I've read thus far:

"I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaucon, the son of Ariston."
Plato's "Republic"

"Before the law stands a door keeper."
Kafka's "Before the Law"

"TRUE! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad?"
-Nararrator
Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"

"We the old men
whilre Persia's young strength has gone
ont Greek soil, stay at home
appointed their Faithful,
the lavish and goldwinning throne's
loyal regents
whose age and experience, he
Lord Xerxes, King, son of Darius
chose himself to safegaurd his country."
-Chorus
Aeschylus' "Persians"

"Hello, Terpsion. Been in town long, or have you just arrived?"
-Euclid
Plato's "Theaetetus"

"You gods, release me. Crouched like a a dog, I watch always, all year long, on the tower of the sons of Atreus."
-Sentry
Aeschylus' "Agamemnon"

"I think that I'm quite an expert on what you're talking about."
-Apollodorus
Plato's Symposium

2006-09-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

Live from New York...it's Gabe Blankenship! You were expecting Grouco Marx? So, basically, this blog's purpose is to update all of you back in Lancaster and its environs about life here in the Big Apple. Don't worry, there'll be other stuff as well: writings, serious musings, humorous musings, and all manner of random facts. So, ladies and gentlemen, step right up, grab a seat, and have a darn good time!
Until my next post,
Gabe