I've been spending a bit more time than usual lately following the presidential primary race and what is going on in Iraq. It's pretty clear to me that there will never be a good or convenient time to get out and the argument that things will turn to chaos once we leave simply does not fly. Things will turn chaotic whenever troops are withdrawn and five years in this has turned into Vietnam with less casualties but still the same questions being asked. It appears as if the U.S. has done little to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and little if any attempt has been made to fully understand and appreciate their nation's history and culture. The idea that Iraq will be a peaceful beacon in the Middle East is simply another one of the false foreign policy mirages this administration has flaunted to the American people. Troops are being stop-lossed at an alarming rate (that means being sent back to Iraq after thinking their tour of duty was over) and faith in the war efforts among the citizens is dropping daily.
I have little doubt that history will not look back favorably on this administration for perpetrating a war without adequate justification and for refusing to change course when it appeared rather early that our presence there was not only unwarranted but unnecessary. And to hear John McCain talk about staying in Iraq as long as it takes and fully supporting the current path the war has taken provides another reason why he is unfit for office. His time to run came and went and he is too old to be president and doesn't reflect the majority of the country's views on foreign policy. This country needs someone like Barack Obama who can unite and electrify people who have long since been ignored in the political process and who can deliver real change for a country in need of a new direction and fresh leadership. There can be little doubt from this entry that I vote democrat but I happen to think that if I was a republican, the last eight years would have left me bitter. Enough for my political rant.
On to new music suggestions:
California Snow Story - Close to the Ocean
Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now, Youngster...
Until next time.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Neon Neon
I apologize for being a bit absent over the past week but things have picked up once again and sometimes you just need more time to let things happen before you are ready to recap your own life. More assignments are due, finals are creeping closer, I have my oral argument a week from today along with my bowling league and I've been working at my externship all day. Good thing I used this weekend to get ahead by reading for Tuesday's classes to give myself some time to research and do other things. I think when I leave today I'm going to peace out for a bit before dinner by catching up on last week's Smallville. Slowly but surely spring is starting to show its face and one of these days we should exceed 60 degrees for a change. Hard to believe tomorrow will be April 1st, also known as officially one month until finals start so in addition to the other stuff I have to do I really have to turn up my studying.
This Friday I'm traveling to Skokie, IL to attend the Chicago High School All Star game, which will be my first basketball event in a while but a good way to ease back into that line of work. I've spent so much time working on school related matters that the majority of my recruiting activity has been relegated to phone calls. The spring signing period for hoops begins in about two weeks so I expect a lot of activity between now and then. This spring and summer should give me a good chance to continue to develop relationships with players and their coaches so that I can get information before it breaks. That's started to happen already but the longer I do this, the more events I go to and the more articles I write the more credibility and the more exposure I get. It's mainly what keeps me from getting too overwhelmed with school work, especially as the semester winds down and everyone goes into crunch mode. People really stop being friendly (if they are friendly to begin with) and the race is on to find a secluded spot to study that has a steady source of caffeine.
Until next time.
P.S.
A few new albums worth checking out:
Neon Neon - Stainless Style (electronic music with vocals by SFA's Gruff Rhys)
Karkwa - Les tremblements s'immobilisent (French-Canadian band, good stuff but the lyrics are sung in French)
Enjoy!
This Friday I'm traveling to Skokie, IL to attend the Chicago High School All Star game, which will be my first basketball event in a while but a good way to ease back into that line of work. I've spent so much time working on school related matters that the majority of my recruiting activity has been relegated to phone calls. The spring signing period for hoops begins in about two weeks so I expect a lot of activity between now and then. This spring and summer should give me a good chance to continue to develop relationships with players and their coaches so that I can get information before it breaks. That's started to happen already but the longer I do this, the more events I go to and the more articles I write the more credibility and the more exposure I get. It's mainly what keeps me from getting too overwhelmed with school work, especially as the semester winds down and everyone goes into crunch mode. People really stop being friendly (if they are friendly to begin with) and the race is on to find a secluded spot to study that has a steady source of caffeine.
Until next time.
P.S.
A few new albums worth checking out:
Neon Neon - Stainless Style (electronic music with vocals by SFA's Gruff Rhys)
Karkwa - Les tremblements s'immobilisent (French-Canadian band, good stuff but the lyrics are sung in French)
Enjoy!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Heartbreak Sunday
Well March Madness has officially turned to March Sadness for me as all of my teams and brackets have been screwed, pretty much on the second day, so while I can still watch it won't be with the obsession of knowing I have a chance to win some money. It's Easter Sunday and though I don't celebrate Easter I have been invited to an early dinner where the food and company promise to be top notch. Saw a movie called Drillbit Taylor last night starring Owen Wilson and while overall it was pretty dumb there were some funny moments and it was the first movie I've seen since Superbad I think while I've been here in Valpo. After that I have a lot of reading and other stuff to catch up on today as another week ends and another is set to begin.
This week should be somewhat trying as I have to come up with an outline of what I'm going to talk about for my oral argument coming up in about two weeks. I have a few new albums on my agenda to give a listen to this week. An album from a band called The Teenagers and the most recent release from The Editors. Both have come highly recommended from a local friend so I will give them few listens and see what I think. Once I give them a good listen I'll be sure to post my thoughts here to let all two of my readers know my thoughts. There is so much good music out there just waiting to be found and hopefully I get lucky and find some more.
On that note it's almost time to go. Until Tuesday!
This week should be somewhat trying as I have to come up with an outline of what I'm going to talk about for my oral argument coming up in about two weeks. I have a few new albums on my agenda to give a listen to this week. An album from a band called The Teenagers and the most recent release from The Editors. Both have come highly recommended from a local friend so I will give them few listens and see what I think. Once I give them a good listen I'll be sure to post my thoughts here to let all two of my readers know my thoughts. There is so much good music out there just waiting to be found and hopefully I get lucky and find some more.
On that note it's almost time to go. Until Tuesday!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dashboard
Well today kicks off the beginning of the NCAA tournament so hearts will be broken, brackets destroyed and confidence shattered. Luckily today is Thursday and no class tomorrow due to good Friday. Just need to get through the long day that is my Thursday, go home, maybe nap, watch some tournament games and just relax for a bit. Played basketball for the first time in months yesterday and it was nice to get out there, run around a bit and not totally embarrass myself. I knew my schedule would be a bit easier to deal with after spring break and so far I'm right. I still have to keep up studying for classes and reviewing stuff and preparing for exams. My finals schedule is much more spread out and relaxed this semester so I'm hoping that pays off. I thought I might have to deal with the distraction warmer weather would provide but since winter never seems to end around here that might not be a problem.
This class that I'm in is a total waste of my time, as if that wasn't obvious from my initial blog entry. It just makes me mad sitting here listening to this and afterwards I go to the gym and work out my anger and frustration. I have a feeling I can't explain or justify that good things lay just over the horizon and if I remain patient, these good things are going to happen. I suppose if I learned anything last year during my year long sabbatical from school, it's that for the most part very little we do in life has a great effect on what opportunities come our way and you have to pick and choose your spots. You can't chase every girl, ace every exam or be friends with everybody you meet. And sometimes we make these choices and decisions without realizing it until it's too late. Now some people might disagree with that so I'll preface what I've said as being my experience. When I try to make something happen too much usually things have a way of not turning out the way I want. When I sit back a little more, act aloof around people, for some reason that intrigues them. If you talk too much, try too hard or come on too strong, people don't usually like that.
Speaking of not trying too hard that is as deep as I'll go for this entry and mercifully class is almost over.
This class that I'm in is a total waste of my time, as if that wasn't obvious from my initial blog entry. It just makes me mad sitting here listening to this and afterwards I go to the gym and work out my anger and frustration. I have a feeling I can't explain or justify that good things lay just over the horizon and if I remain patient, these good things are going to happen. I suppose if I learned anything last year during my year long sabbatical from school, it's that for the most part very little we do in life has a great effect on what opportunities come our way and you have to pick and choose your spots. You can't chase every girl, ace every exam or be friends with everybody you meet. And sometimes we make these choices and decisions without realizing it until it's too late. Now some people might disagree with that so I'll preface what I've said as being my experience. When I try to make something happen too much usually things have a way of not turning out the way I want. When I sit back a little more, act aloof around people, for some reason that intrigues them. If you talk too much, try too hard or come on too strong, people don't usually like that.
Speaking of not trying too hard that is as deep as I'll go for this entry and mercifully class is almost over.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Funeral
I'm sitting in the most painfully boring class ever. I wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't so damn early (8 AM) and really the only benefit is that I get to go to the gym afterwards. It was seriously so dark this morning I was sure my alarm clock was mistaken as to the correct time. Matter of fact it's still pretty drab and dreary outside. Kind of like winter can see spring starting to sweep in but has grabbed hold it and refuses to let it go. Not helping my mood this morning is that last night went pretty late with the bowling league and the pitchers of beer probably aren't helping either. Thought I think I may have had the high score overall in the second game (180) but I'm not positive on that. My sincere hope now that spring break has come and gone is that I'm actually able to play basketball this semester. I played quite a bit in the fall but I have not played even once so far this semester because my schedule is more of a time drag but will get a little better now that my brief has been turned in.
Music has been on my mind lately and a lot of good albums have been recommended to me or I've stumbled upon on my own. Here are a few worth checking out (if you can't find them let me know and I can point you in the right direction):
Beach House - Devotion
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time, Cease to Begin (that's two separate albums)
Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
She&Him - Volume One
The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
The Helio album is a two man outfit and they are drum heavy with a lot of electronic beats mixed in. Band of Horses is quality indie rock, particularly The Funeral on their first album. Beach House is chill indie background music. Rile Kiley is nothing breakthrough just quality stuff. She&Him features actress Zooey Deschanel's voice and the musical stylings of M. Ward. I think you'll like it if you give it a try. A good friend really introduced me to new music, more indie stuff, some electronic and just stuff I would not have given a chance in the past. Now I feel it is my duty to try and share this new music with others. Some quality bands are putting out albums sometimes this year including Midlake, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab For Cutie and several others.
I think I've written enough the first time out. Leave comments at your whim.
Music has been on my mind lately and a lot of good albums have been recommended to me or I've stumbled upon on my own. Here are a few worth checking out (if you can't find them let me know and I can point you in the right direction):
Beach House - Devotion
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time, Cease to Begin (that's two separate albums)
Rilo Kiley - Under the Blacklight
She&Him - Volume One
The Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
The Helio album is a two man outfit and they are drum heavy with a lot of electronic beats mixed in. Band of Horses is quality indie rock, particularly The Funeral on their first album. Beach House is chill indie background music. Rile Kiley is nothing breakthrough just quality stuff. She&Him features actress Zooey Deschanel's voice and the musical stylings of M. Ward. I think you'll like it if you give it a try. A good friend really introduced me to new music, more indie stuff, some electronic and just stuff I would not have given a chance in the past. Now I feel it is my duty to try and share this new music with others. Some quality bands are putting out albums sometimes this year including Midlake, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab For Cutie and several others.
I think I've written enough the first time out. Leave comments at your whim.
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