Friend Zone

When you're me, most of the time when you like someone you either 1) are pining over someone who you won't ever speak to or 2) end up the "Friend Zone". I am pathologically shy and not attractive, so the likelihood of me starting a relationship with a strange woman is very low especially a romantic one. So, if I am to have a romantic relationship, and the nice things that come with one*, it will almost undoubtedly be with a girl I already know and am friends with.

Having a crush on some girl you don't really know from class isn't that bad. In fact it's kind of fun. Currently, I have one of those on Hipster Girl. Unless she takes an interest in me, nothing is ever going to happen between us and I'm fine with that. I will hand in the final on the last day of class and never see her again. I will have had my crush and moved on

It sucks having a crush on a friend and it not being reciprocated. It is really easy to build up resentment towards that person as well. I know I've been guilty of being upset with friends I've liked for not liking me back or having boyfriends. It is really easy to feel bitter and rejected, but it isn't right.

Your feelings probably aren't as subtle as you think; he or she knows that you like him or her. The person you like isn't being a terrible bitch or asshole or teasing you or trying to play you. You are emotionally valuable to that person as a friend. That is why you are in the "Friend-zone." It's not some malicious reason; it's because you are a friend. He or she is trying to be kind and to save the friendship by not flat out rejecting you, because he or she doesn't want to lose you and having to reject you is the last thing he or she wants to do.

Another thing is that the you trying to get your friend to like you, is almost the worst version of yourself. He is selfish and petty; doing things to get her to like him rather than because he is her friend. No one worth being with is ever going to like you back when you act like that. It likely just would make things weird between the two of you, which absolutely puts an end to your chances.

Friendship isn't the worst thing someone could offer you either. It can feel like being rejected, but if you view it maturely it is just the opposite. She isn't romantically interested in you at that time, but she is still interested in you as a companion, a confidant, a bro, etc. That person values you and to have anyone value you is an awesome thing.

It is really hard to stop liking someone. In fact, I personally think it is almost impossible. I don't think I've ever stopped liking someone, but if you try you can make it less so. There will always still be a part of me that has a crush on Lisa G.**, but the parts of me that love Harry Potter or are best friends with Nick and Patrick are much bigger, because I allow them to be. I really think the best way to get over a crush is to use the mind power you're focusing on trying to get into that person's pants on other things. Take the value that you've placed on dating her and place it onto being her friend. This isn't an immediate process or anything and feelings are hard to make go away, but which ever friend your crushing on's friendship is worth working on it.

Hank Green's Friend-zone video explained the ways out of the Friend-zone as basically either being that person's friend or bailing, because you can't handle not being their partner. The prior way is always preferable way for both parties, I believe. Perhaps the best thing to get through it is to know that no right now doesn't necessarily mean no forever, but you have to respect the current no and move your romantic interests elsewhere. If a time comes when you get to hook up, fantastic, but if it never does you have a friendship, which is a wonderful thing.

Thanks for reading and please comment

-Michael
*You know, dates, making out, sex, etc.
**I'm choosing not to link back to that post

P.S. I have been guilty of pretty much everything I criticize in this post.

Dream a Dream of... wha?

Last night I had what I'm sure will become my most memorable dream to date. Up to this point the dream I most remember is one I had many years ago in which I was being pursued by the cops for a murder I didn't commit. Last night's was not so dark, but was probably more absurd seeing as it featured an approaching arranged wedding.

So, for a bit of context I must tell you a little story.

The first girl I had a 'real'* crush on was Lisa G(she is no longer Lisa G. She is now Lisa some other letter, because she went and got married in real life). I would give her the title of my second** biggest crush ever. I met her in 7th grade and the last time I really talked to her was the first day of Freshman year and basically throughout that time she was the girl that I liked.

The dream is I think actually two dreams. I'm not certain, but I think I woke up for just a little bit in the wee hours of the morning. However, it is a semi-contiguous storyline. Dreams are always kind of hazy, so forgive any vagueness or stuff that doesn't quite follow.

The first part of the dream I find out that it has been arranged that I will marry Lisa G. It's weird, because I've not seen Lisa G. in more than four years. It also wasn't like an arranged marriage you'd think of in old India. It was more like everything about my wedding had been planned and I just hadn't been informed until a few days before that anything was happening. I was just the last piece of the puzzle.

So, I'm think it rather odd and everything, but I'm not fighting. I remember getting a suit, which is the last thing I really remember before I think I woke up and looked at the clock and it was some early hour.

Things are about to get really disjointed, which is another reason I think there were two parts

The next bit I remember I wake up(in the dream***) and the clock says that it's 10:00, but it's dark and I'm on the floor of what most closely resembles the office I work at. I don't know exactly how it happens, but I'm up and in my suit and everyone is there. I come to realize that this is the Rehearsal Dinner or rather that we're about to go out to the dinner.

So, I'm really puzzled. I just woke up at what I assume to be 10pm and the last time I remember being awake in the dream is the very early morning, so I had apparently slept for like 20 hours. I'm also getting more annoyed that I'm just kind of being plugged into this wedding. So, I start asking around about how exactly this came to be, but no one is answering.

Then, Lisa comes in and she's wearing her wedding dress. We have to pose for pictures and stuff. Rehearsal dinner's are more of the business casual affair (if that) in real life, but it seemed normal that everyone was dressed as if this was the actual wedding. We pose for pictures and I'm trying to talk to her out of the side of my mouth to see what she knows. She doesn't really say anything.

Towards the end of the pictures, I somehow get gum**** into her hair. She has to leave to fix it and people seemed annoyed with me (rightfully so). In the meantime, I find out who was behind this entire arranged wedding thing. I have no idea who told me; I'm not sure if it's some I know and have just forgotten, but I think it's more likely that it was just a person my mind made up.

So I find out that it is... My Mom and Emma behind this.

I go and question my Mom and she doesn't have anything to say and we're about to leave. So, I'm walking out into a cold night with my Sister. I say something about how I can't go with them and how I have to go with Lisa and how I don't have my car. She just says something like, "it'll work out," and leaves.

Now comes a part that I know fits with the rest of the dream, but I can't quite place it. Outside, there are a lot of domestic dogs and something that is obviously in tiger-suit. It wasn't an oddity in the dream. I knew they had been planted there for some reason, because I remember something about wild animals earlier in the dream. My theory is that it was somehow supposed to make me look heroic, but they were pretty sad excuses for wild animals. I remember that a Greyhound came up and jumped on me, but that was about it.

I'm out in the cold and I'm waiting for Lisa to come out. The first person to come out isn't Lisa though. It's Emma. She's wearing this long purple dress. This part of the dream isn't that hazy, but it's context is lost. I hadn't told Emma or anyone that I was about to get married, because I wasn't exactly how to drop that bomb or even explain how I came by it. Also, I knew she already had some conflict on the day of the wedding, which I think was her own wedding. The reason I think the conflict was her own wedding will be made more obvious in a bit.

Of course at this point in the dream, I know that she had known about it all along. However, my concern wasn't about that. I was concerned about her boyfriend. This is the only dialogue in the dream of which I have any semblance of recollection:

Me: Is your boyfriend real?

Emma: No

Me: How not real is he?

The reason I asked this was not to be vindictive. I was curious as to whether or not he had been real and she had kept her being dumped a secret or something.

Emma: He's not real.

At this point we are sitting in a car. It is a blue Vauxhall***** hatchback.

And that's it. I wake up for real and it's a quarter till 8 and I'm like, "what the fuck?" I want to go back to sleep, but I don't want to forget it so I send a tweet from my phone and try to go back to sleep that I hope would jog my memory later. That doesn't work, so I wake up turn on my computer and find the Australian Open Men's Final was still going on and 2-2 in the fifth set, so I watch that. I tweet some more about the dream and Emma (the real one) asks me nicely to blog about it.

I'm not one who's big on dream interpretation. My elementary understanding of the Brain makes me think that sleep is used to by the mind to make some connections that you may have missed during the day*******. I think dreams help in that process, but I also think they also exist, because the brain is bored while you're asleep. So, I think, if there are meanings in dreams, they are much more literal than any dream dictionary or Freud fan would have you believe.

So, when I look at this dream I don't know what I see exactly. I only really have guesses at particular meanings (because I think there are several in this dream) that I want to share:

1. The Arranged Marriage- I think this is about my own resentment of how involved my parents still are in my life.

2. The fake wild animals- I think they're representations of phony attempts my others to build up my self-esteem.

That's about it. I don't know exactly what to make of it and don't know if I should really even try. You're certainly welcome to play psychologist if you would like.

Thanks for reading

-Michael
*I mean that she is the first girl I actually liked, because I was attracted to her. I didn't just have a crush on her because I'm a boy and am supposed to like girls.
**My biggest crush was a girl I liked during my senior year of high school and deluded myself for more than a year after graduation that it might happen, when she kindly enough made it clear that it wasn't going to happen.
***I wake up and look immediately at the clock in my dreams often. I'm always late and then I wake up for real and see that I'm not really late and it's nice.
****I haven't regularly chewed gum since Freshman year.
*****Vauxhalls aren't even sold in the U.S. Too much Top Gear and Forza.
******Sarah, why don't you have a go at this one?

Frothy Mix

I can't help but be drawn in by the Republican Primary stuff. I really like electoral politics. I'd really like to ignore them and their shenanigans, but damn it they are having elections and I fucking love elections. I'm not into it enough to watch debates or anything, but I devote a little (a lot) bit of brain power in trying to determine what will happen.

Aside from the fact they are having competitive caucuses and primaries, it is also thoroughly entertaining to see the Republicans like this. This almost never happens with them. They're nomination process is usually very orderly. The Republicans almost always give their nomination to the person who finished second in the last round of competitive primaries (John McCain) or the Vice President (George H. W. Bush). Even in the cases where it doesn't exactly go to that form, it's still pretty orderly as a front runner is picked and the establishment gets in line (George W. Bush).

If the Republicans were following their typical pattern, Mitt Romney would definitely be the nominee. I have maintained that I didn't think he would win the nomination though. He looks every bit of the WASP that you would expect of the GOP, but he isn't a WASP; he's a Mormon and in Republican politics he might as well be a Martian. Also, the other Candidates hate him, so as they drop out they attack him with their last breaths and the throw their support behind his strongest opponent.

Mitt Romney is actually looking like he will be the nominee though and it certainly wouldn't be the first time I was wrong about this sort of thing. He won Iowa. He's going to win New Hampshire, probably by a large margin. Winning those two basically is winning the nomination in normal years. Their delegate totals are actually very small and those two states don't really do a good job at representing the nation, but that doesn't really matter. Win those two and you get momentum and the media pegs you the front runner and you're set to start writing you're acceptance speech.

The thing that makes me really hesitant to guarantee Romney's nomination is that after New Hampshire the Primary calender is very unfriendly to him. Also, the environment will become unfriendly. The division in the anti-Romney vote will go away as people drop out. Also, it has become clear the Republican electorate seems to come to hate the front runner this cycle.

It does look like the anti-Romney candidate will be Rick Santorum*. His timing seems to be just about right. The other anti-Romney people had their time on top of the polls and ended up getting beat up by the other candidates and rejected by the electorate. It seems the only other candidate who could add to the intrigue is Ron Paul. He is going to have to win Primaries though. A close second or third would be good enough in the Democratic Party, but not with the G.O.P.

If the Republicans had the rules of the Democrats, this would be even more fun to watch. The way the Democrats go about allocating delegates is ridiculously convoluted**, which the nation became familiar with in 2008. The Republicans don't do that. There are no Super-delegates and there is no dividing of delegates based on vote totals or congressional districts. It's very simple*** for the Republicans. If you win a state's primary or caucus you get all the delegates from that state.

The dream scenario would be that Romney, Paul and Santorum show up at the convention and they would all be short of a majority. I honestly don't see an alliance that could be formed there. It would be terribly messy and I'd love to see a messy* convention.

My hope is that Santorum wins the nomination, because Obama would win reelection with ease in that case. I actually think Obama will win against any of them. I have a theory that the 2012 General Election is going to sort of mirror the 2004 General Election****, but I'll wait to expand on that in a future post.

Thanks for reading and please comment

-Michael
*Have you googled Santorum today?
**It's actually very democratic, in the actual sense of the word.
***It's actually very republican, in the actual sense of the word.
****In that the incumbent wins, not that the Republican wins.

New Year's Resolutions

I have dreaded the thought of 2012 for a while now. It's not the end of the world thing. It's not that I think it will be particularly horrible year either. In fact, I think it may be a great one. The damned thing is that it contains my five year high school reunion. It's not that I hated the people I went to school with, because if that was the case I wouldn't go. It is just a sobering reminder of what I haven't accomplished in five years. All I seem to have is college credits that don't really amount to anything and a blog for that time. I know that I have a lot more from that time, but it's not really tangible.

That sounds so much more self-pitying than it actually is.

I was thinking about the ritual of the New Year last night and decided that I absolutely love it. The ball dropping and partying is nice, but it's more than that. It's a time where I think a lot of people reflect and decide to make improvements. I think it is wonderful that people take time to look book as well as look forward at the same time. It's remembering the good and bad of the old and wishing for a better new.

There are always a lot of cynics about things. I get that New Year's Eve to New Year's day is really just one insignificant day to another. It's not even a significant moment in Earth's orbit around the sun*. However, meaning exists only were it is given, so I felt differently at 11:59 last night than I did at midnight. I know it doesn't need to be a significant moment, but I let it. It is a dividing line between past and future and just like that.

So along with that comes the New Year's Resolution(s). I don't have very many this year and frankly they aren't all that exciting. In fact one is a repeat. Still, here they are:

Rename The Blog

My initial goal was not to have this place called "Pastafraina07's Blog." I had wanted to create a blog in the summer of 2010 and couldn't think of anything more clever, so in went that place-holder name. Now it's a year and a half later and it still has that name****. Also, having Blog in the name of your blog is like having Car in the name of your car*****. This one shouldn't be hard, you all could remind me if it doesn't get done.

Stop Saying God

I tried to do this last year, but I horribly failed. Saying god before I curse is just so deeply intrenched in me. My goal is to either just not say it or replace it with "Pallas". This will probably be a losing battle, but I'd really like to stop acknowledging something I don't believe in. I shouldn't yell curse-ridden commands at my video game to something I doubt exists.

Imagine People Complexly

I just need to do this. It's kind of hard, because it's really hard to not think of others as 2-D; to not vilify or deify them in your own mind. This is one that I'm definitely going to fail at a lot, but I think it's best to try to make myself better at imagining others complexly.

Thanks for reading

-Michael
*It also takes roughly** 6 more hours to orbit the sun than 365 days, so relative to the sun the earth is in a slightly different position at midnight on New Year's Eve each year.
**It is actually slightly less that 6 hours***, so once in a very great while a leap year is skipped to compensate for that difference. I believe the next one will be long after we're all dead, but it's cool to think smart people have figured this shit out.
***A blog post and an Astronomy 101 lesson.
****My one moment of naming brilliance went to my sparsely used sports blog and no one is going to convince me that "Pasta Salad Tackle Football" is not an awesome name.
*****I don't actually name inanimate things, but named cars have been prominent in the books I've been reading.

The Baby Jesus

The other night I was looking at the full moon and decided something. I want to live on the moon someday. That would be cool. I realize that a lot would have to happen and NASA would need to be, you know, funded again. Still, you can put that along with becoming the Cookie Monster as my life goals. Being the Cookie Monster on the Moon and I would be one happy dude. In a not unrelated note, I've been watching a lot of Astronomy videos lately. Space is fucking cool.

My life has been terribly lame as of late. I should qualify that by saying more terribly lame than usual. I feel like if you all knew the sad and pathetic ways I spend a lot of my time, you wouldn't want to know me anymore, which would just make the lameness factor even higher.

I'm leaning towards just leaving my NaNoWriMo alone. I was just going to leave it alone for a week or so and then go in and at least start trying to copy-edit it. However, the further removed I got from the less I wanted to go back into. As I get further away from it the worse I feel about. I know that a lot of that is me just being self-critical. However, when I think of any form of art I've come to love it's always something that I grow fonder of the longer I've gone without experiencing it*.

I really feel like I hardly do anything anymore. I suppose I've done basically nothing for most of my life though, so I guess It's just weighing on me more. I had a terrible night a few Fridays ago due to that stuff. It was as bad of a place as I've been emotionally in quite awhile, but it hasn't repeated itself, which is great. It's a bit more complicated than what I've written here, but I can't be expected to fully understand myself.

On a much lighter note, there's a very special birthday coming up. It's the birthday of someone is awesome and very short. I'm talking, of course, about The Baby Jesus**. Actually, The Baby Jesus was almost undoubtedly not born in December***, so he's just a big phony trying to get presents.

Blasphemy

-Michael
*An example here would be The Da Vinci Code. I absolutely loved that book initially, but now that I'm years from having read it I don't look at it too fondly.
**Or Emma. I'm actually talking about Emma
***Evidence for Emma's December birth is pretty solid

Am I Real? Pt. 2

Because of the demand of no one, I'm doing another philosophical ramblings post. This time it's about Descartes/existence and Utilitarianism.

I actually don't think questions of reality are really worth spending that much time thinking about. The questions of whether or not one is real seems important, but when I think more deeply about it I find it pointless. It is impossible to know whether I'm real or not. I may just be in someone's imagination or I could just be in a dream.

It just doesn't really matter to me though; whether this is the real reality or something else. Whatever it is I'm in it. I think it's real even if I can't be certain and worrying to much about my own existence isn't a worthwhile use of time in whatever this is. Basically, "Cogito ergo sum" only slightly more nuanced.


I hate Utilitarianism. Having one's morality based on utility is just terrible. "The greatest good for the greatest number" principle is such a flawed way for one to make his or her decisions. First, it really makes one awfully cold-hearted. People shouldn't be calculating when it comes to all decision; Utilitarianism removes emotion, which is basically removing humanity. Second, there is no real way to know what the greatest good/number will end up being. The long lasting effects of any decision cannot be known, so being a utilitarian about a lot of things really just makes one a heartless being. Also, utilitarian can be used to justify terrible things like racism.

A Utilitarian would've handed Harry over to Voldemort to end the war.

I created a bit of a straw-man there. Virtually no one is a pure utilitarian. Just on occasion I'll hear someone spout a purely utilitarian idea* and it makes me cringe.

Thanks for reading

-Michael
*Recent examples: Having to be sterilized in order to get welfare and "just getting rid of all the useless people"

Ten of my Favorite Memories

Here are ten of my favorite memories prior to the age of 18. This list isn't in order and it isn't really a top 10 list either. These are my ten most quantifiable/relatable great memories.

My friend, Emma, made a video this topic which I will embed at the bottom of this post.

1. Ohio State's 2002 National Championship- As a huge Ohio State fan, this is naturally on my list. I was feeling pretty confident that Ohio State would be able to beat Miami despite the odds. I've perhaps never had so much irrational joy as I did when I saw the flag that saved Ohio State.

2. Early-release Days- My class was the first in the State of Ohio to take Ohio Graduation Test. So, I had to take them when I was a Sophomore, but the next two years we were released early the week of the tests. My friends and I got into all kinds of shenanigans during those weeks. Those weeks also coincided with the first week of the NCAA Basketball tournament, so on the Thursdays and Fridays we would come back to my house and watch the games.

3. Last Day of 8th Grade- I remember that my last day of 8th grade being ridiculously laid back. Perhaps the funniest/most awesome thing I remember from that day is trying to throw a chair onto the roof of the school during Gym Class. I don't remember how we were allowed to get away with this, but I remember that the chair got really fucked up.

4. Away Games- My friends and I went to lots of the Away Football and Basketball games during High School. We had a lot of awesome times at those games. Also going to restaurants that aren't in our hometown was usually fun.

5. The Browns beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009- This is a terribly second-hand memory. I didn't get to actually see this game. I had to work and even if I had been at home it wouldn't have been on the TV. However, very little has made me happier than that result. Show me the highlights from that game and you'll cheer me up.

6. WSHS Lockdown 2007- When I was a senior in High School we had a several hour Lockdown in the Spring. I mean it was kind of scary initially, but eventually you realized that if the shit was going to go down, it would've. Lots of whispered conversations. Once we were released they tried to make us go to class, but everyone just went home. To show how much of a goody-goody I was in High School, that was the only time I ever skipped.

7. Little-Sibs Weekend- I was in 6th (actually it might have been 5th) and I went to my Sister's Little-Sibs weekend at her college. It was the first time I stayed overnight somewhere without parental supervision. I remember having Ice Cream before dinner and that said dinner then consisting mostly of Macaroni and Cheese.

8. Lifehouse Concerts- I went to Lifehouse concerts four times prior to turning 18. In the summer of 2002 and the springs of 2005, 2006 and 2007. They were all great, but the last two were the best. I went with my best friend Nick in 2006. In 2007, I went with my Sister and her friend Courtney; this is the only one with photographic proof (also look it's me with shortish hair):


9. Seeing John Kerry and Bruce Springsteen at the Oval- In 2004, I went with my Young Democrats club to Ohio State to see John Kerry speak and Bruce Springsteen perform in the days leading up to the 2004 election. It was a great event to be at and we went to Shake 'n Steak afterwards and told all kinds of silly stories and played games.

10. Teh Lull- There was a period that roughly equates to my Sophomore and Junior years of High School between my father's first crazy manic episode and his second (we are currently on number three.) Hooray for things actually being pleasant at home.



Thanks for reading

-Michael

Depression

This mostly a further reply to Emma's post. It's also therapeutic to write about this experience. This is a serious downer post and I would skip it if I were you.

Late in 2008 I went through a period where I was seriously depressed and thought about taking my own life.

Things had become rather overwhelming. I certainly had general anxiety about where I was in life. My own fears and anxieties had kept me from enrolling in College that fall. I didn't like my job. I didn't like that my hours had been cut either. I didn't like that I was still living at home. I felt separated from my friends.

It was worst at night. During the day I could at least distract myself a bit. The Computer and XBox would go off. It would get really quiet and dark. That's when negative thoughts would become most overwhelming. I had a hard time falling asleep, but once I got to sleep hours longer than normal. The worst was being depressed about being depressed.

One day I just stopped going to work. I mean I made up some lousy excuse about losing my voice, but I basically just quit going. I spent a lot of money. I bought people Christmas presents that were considerably more expensive than the budget.

Eventually, My Parents found out that I had quit going to work and I was kind of prodded into telling them how bad I was feeling about myself. I went to a therapist and got antidepressants from. The pills had a positive effect on my quickly. They aren't supposed to work quickly though so I think it was mostly just the psychological effect of what the pill was supposed to do.

I don't know exactly what go me through that period. I mean it wasn't terrible all the time. I could distract myself a little bit during the day. I felt better while doing reckless things like spending a lot of money. Of course, there were the people I care about. I mean I didn't really feel like I was worthy of being cared about, but somewhere I knew people did. The positive things were small and definitely not constant, but they were enough for me to delay taking the further step.

The night before everything came out, I overcame my anxiety and desire to just lay in bed and went to a friend's Christmas party. I actually felt happy there. I stayed there until 3am. I had even convinced myself that I would go back to work the next day. Then I got home, laid in my bed and I was right back to where I was.

I'd like to think I'm a lot less likely to go through another episode that is as severe as that one was. Looking back on what happened to me, I know I don't want to allow myself to fall into that despair again. I work on making sure the voices in my head that tell me to be happy and to not worry so much about things just strong as the darker ones. It's not always a perfect balance. I still have nervous breakdowns periodically. I suffer generalized anxiety. I don't really have panic attacks though. My anxiety manifests itself in loss of appetite and nausea. When it gets bad I will barely eat for days and when I do I feel like I'm always about to throw it up.

I really work at keeping my mind strong enough to keep me from going over that cliff again. I've accepted that some of these mental issues are put of who I am. They aren't all of me, but I know they can consume me entirely if I let them. I feel like it's a bit like the Imperious Curse. You can can give into it if you don't pay attention, but if you're in tune with what's going on you can fight it off with great mental effort.

Thanks for reading

-Michael

Electoral College vs. the Popular Vote

As my Pasta Origins posts showed you I definitely have a political junkie streak in me. I've decided to move away from being an entirely political blogger. I've grown much more cynical with the process and really don't want to have to worry about writing about it unless it's something that really piques my interest.

Electoral Politics is the area of politics that I find most interesting and what I know the most about. I mean, I basically had the electoral map for 2001-2010 memorized. I'm still working on the new maps from the new Census. I know my state along with the rest of the Rust Belt is where the bulk of the electoral vote losses are, which has hurt the Democrats. Much like John Kerry in 2004 who was already behind where Al Gore was; Obama will behind where he was in 2008 simply by votes shifting to red states. Also there is absolutely no way Obama will be able to achieve the electoral landslide he got in 2008 again.

Obama will lose 6 electoral votes (-7 from rust belt/New England states and +1 from Washington State) off the top and I'm sure the more traditional red states will return to whoever the Republican nominee will be (such as Indiana and North Carolina.) Not to fret though, if you support Obama's reelection, because he can lose a lot from 2008 and still win comfortably.

There is a lot of sentiment in this country, especially following the shenanigans of the 2000 election, to use the popular vote to decide Presidential elections. I do not share that view. It is tricky to have a nationwide elections in a nation the size and the population of ours. It is almost impossible to have an election where geography and population are fairly represented. I think the Electoral College is a more fair system in regards to geography and gives fair(ish) consideration to population.

We all know the origin of the Electoral College. How the founders put it in largely as a safe guard against the perceived idiocy of the public. The elitist origins of the Electoral College give it a bad wrap, but it also had another function; to give representation to smaller States. While small states like Wyoming are grossly over-represented, it gives them some power in Presidential politics. Therefore, a candidate and eventual President does has to give greater consideration to the smaller states. A low population State would have virtually no electoral recourse in a popular vote system.

A complaint against the Electoral College is that large parts of the Country are ignored during the campaign. I think that problem would be worse in a Popular Vote system. I think campaigns would change from competing for the so-called "Battleground States" to trying to run up margins in large cities. I know that if I were running a campaign for a Democrat that was only worried about the popular vote, my focus would be on getting out the vote in the few biggest cities. I wouldn't bother with a lot of the States that are considered important now.

I'll address specifically the potential difference between the results of the Popular Vote and the Electoral College. It has happened three times in the history of our nation that those results have differed*. It is a rare occurrence and it's never like there's someone who runs away with the popular vote and loses the Electoral College. It is and unfortunate possibility, but I think it's worth it for the advantages of the Electoral College.

A change I would make to the system would be to take free will away from the Electors themselves. It is highly unlikely that any electors will flip in modern times, but still the electorates decision should be compulsory for the elector with one exception. That exception would be in the potential incapacitation of the President-elect. There really isn't a way to deal with that scenario in the Constitution** and the Electors could help the Nation have a smooth transition.

A further reform, I've thought about would be to give the Popular Vote an electoral value. My idea for this would be to take one electoral vote from each state with 11 or more Electoral votes and have those votes be counted in the Electoral College based on the National Popular Vote. In 2012, that would make the National Popular Vote worth 17 Electoral Votes.

Of course there are selfish reasons why I like the Electoral College as well. I live in the most important*** Battleground State of them all, Ohio. The Democratic and Republican nominee are in my state frequently campaigning for the General Election. I mean who doesn't like being Courted. I also I have a lot of knowledge about the way the Electoral College works and I don't want it to be a waste.

So, what do you guys think? How should we elect the President? The Electoral College? Popular Vote? Draw Straws? Anarchy?

Thanks for reading and please comment

-Michael
*It's really only happened once. Two of those three were the two most crooked elections in our history.
**The way that scenario would likely be dealt with would be the Electoral College would elect the Vice President-elect as President. Then the new President-elect would select a Vice-President once sworn in to be confirmed by the Senate.
***This isn't going to last much longer. Ohio is getting bluer and losing Electoral Votes.

Don't Be Such a Phony

My friend Emma provided today's topic with this question: which literary character (preferably, but not necessarily outside HP) do you most relate to/why?

I relate most to Holden Caulfield.

I am perhaps too old now for it to be appropriate to relate so much to an angst ridden teenager. I know I'm much more at peace with things now than I was, say, four or five years ago, but still I can't help but wonder what the point is. I often look at society and see that there is just so much dumb ritual and wish things made more sense.

I have a problem with insincerity as well. I don't like people trying to be something their not; whether it is to fit in or avoid fitting in at all costs. I don't like when someone is nicer than they ought to be with me, because they think they need to make me feel better about myself. I don't like people who are people-pleasers who will never disagree with you to your face no matter how ridiculous what you say is.

I really hate playing that game. I don't like lying on anyone's behalf. I'm not going to go along with anything that goes against my against my principals. I hate acting like something makes me happy when in reality it causes me some negative emotion.

I value the motivation for an action as much as I value the action itself. If you aren't doing something for the right reasons, I'd rather you just not do them. Being a martyr doesn't impress me. I find that I'm very skeptical of sincerity and motivation, but they are things that I value dearly.

I can also relate to the grandness of his plans and the general not following through with them. He wants to go out west, but can't bring himself to leave his sister and make her sad. He wants to bang a prostitute, but once she's in the room with him he can't do it. I often find that I make plans that I never go through with. It is usually my anxieties and fears that keep me from fulfilling them.

I think if you just describe Holden Caulfield without reading his story, he sounds like a right bastard. But in reading the Catcher in the Rye you see that he isn't really a bastard at all. I feel like if someone were to right a first person narrative about me the results would be pretty similar. Although that may be speaking too highly of myself.

Quotes:

"When I really worry about something, I don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying to go."

"In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw."

"I was half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they're not much to look at, or even if they're sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. Jesus Christ. They can drive you crazy. They really can."

"Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody."



I think perhaps the area that I most relate to Caulfield is that we both really fail to meet our ideals. It isn't really possible to avoid becoming at least partially a "phony." I know I often end up being guilty of doing the things I say I despise.

I think I'm similar to the person Holden Caulfield would be five or six years after the story. I still have my ideals, still am mostly cynical, but have moved slowly towards being a realist in some areas.

Angsty post is Angsty/Rambling Post is Rambling

-Michael

P.S. For Harry Potter the answer would be Hermione Granger

Special Comment- Debt Ceiling

I think it is pretty clear the deal that was reached to get the Debt Ceiling increased was a crappy one. I mean, it's nice that the U.S. won't default and the economy won't fall to ruins. However, this country was allowed to be held hostage by a few of the most ideological members of Congress and those few were allowed to push us to the brink of catastrophe. Those who self-identify* themselves as the "Tea Party" failed to understand or just didn't give a damn about the implications of not raising the Debt Ceiling. Those people who least understood how to and frankly were unwilling govern were allowed to control the debate and the blame lies almost entirely with one man: John Boehner.

The position of Speaker of the House is as powerful of a position as there is in this country. The man or woman who holds that job has the power to kill any bill he or she wishes. The Speaker controls what gets voted on and when that vote happens. In the current era of divided government, that position also carries a more significant leadership role as the head of his party in the Capitol. Boehner absolutely failed in that role. He let a very small number of his party control vital negotiations. He was outmaneuvered by the President to the point of walking out of negotiations when he was getting a much more than fair deal. Had he been willing to cut loose the most extreme members of his caucus this deal would've been done long ago.

The buzz word during the past week has been "compromise." The deal we ended up with was no compromise. It isn't a balanced approach. This a right-wing plan. The Democrats gave the Republicans virtually everything they could've dreamed of and got nothing in return.

It's sad to think that these members were elected. The Debt Ceiling is not something to have a fight over. It is something that is suicidal not to raise. Allowing the Debt Ceiling to be raised was not a big concession on the Republicans' part. This isn't the right time to cut Government spending either. It might be hard to believe, but cutting 2 trillion from government spending is taking 2 trillion out of the economy. Some of the spending may be frivolous or downright dumb, but a dollar is a dollar no matter where it came from or what it was spent on. Government will need to deal with the deficit if the future, but in the current economic conditions it isn't really appropriate and when those measures are to be taken it should be an approach of increasing revenue as well as cutting spending.

The damage may already be done however. Economy is entirely a construct and this has shown how shaky things actually are. It definitely has Wall Street rattled and we'll have to see how this has affected consumer confidence. It also has shown that there are some in government who are willing to play politics with this pivotal issue. The United States' credit rating may have already been doomed to be downgraded, but there is definitely a black mark on it now from this fight for Credit Agencies and Lenders. Also given the nature of this fight there is no guarantee that it will not happen again in a few years.

The actions of this Congress will make the 2012 elections a very important one** and perhaps the most interesting in recent times. I believe that the way things have gone that a 3rd and possibly a 4th party may actually be viable in Congressional races and even the Presidential race; though that likelihood is lower given the nature of election laws.

Those who were willing to sacrifice this nation's economy for their own loony political goals must be kicked out of Washington. Things like the Debt Ceiling are not something you can play politics with. On occasion, one must swallow his or her pride and do what is best for the country and govern. Unfortunately it has been made clear in the past few weeks that there are many in Congress who fail to understand that and it's time for them to pay the price for their selfishness.

Thanks for reading and please comment

-Michael

*I think it's sad that we've allowed them to take that title. The Boston Tea Party was actually about Liberty. These fuckers are just a bunch white and rich/ignorant people who think the "evil government" keeping them from being whiter and richer.

**Cliche

Deathly Hallows Part Two

I imposed a delay on myself of discussing any specifics from the Deathly Hallows Part Two on the internet. I wanted to wait until after the second weekend. That should be enough time for anyone desperate to avoid movie specific spoilers to have seen it. So:

Spoiler Alert








I'm going to end up sounding like I'm just raging on the movie. I actually did enjoy it. I was choked up from the trio's arrival at the Hog's Head Inn until Harry went into the Forest. I think splitting the final book into two parts was a really good move. It really helped it translate from the book better and some of the others films would have definitely benefited from getting the same treatment.

I have mixed feelings about the Gringotts break-in. I thought the events that got them back into the vaults were well done. It was annoying that Griphook was made to betray them much earlier in the film and more so that Goblin views on ownership were never explained in the movie so one could understand his motivations. That said, the scene as a whole was pretty cool, so it makes up for that annoyance. As an aside, did anyone else think Bellatrix looked better when it was a polyjuiced(?) Hermione? I think there are some notions about inner beauty in the series and this could be an example or I could be insane.

I wasn't too upset at the changes made to "The Sacking of Severus Snape." Of course, I prefer the books, but I think the movie added the action that movie producers want, but I think the gist of that series of events remained. I also like the preparations for the battle particularly McGonagall's lines. I thought the visuals of the Death Eaters attacking the protections was excellent.

The battle was exciting as one might expect. I'm not too terribly disappointed about the lack of Fred's death though. I didn't really want to have to watch him die. Also, without the Percy storyline it would have been hard to fit in. The thing I feared most about this movie was that they would put in death scenes for Tonks and Lupin and I was thankful they didn't. It was hard enough just seeing their bodies for a second.

I believe that the most sacred part of the series is Chapters 33 and 34 "The Prince's Tale" and "The Forest Again." I thought those were beautifully done in the movie with one major exception. They did cut a lot from the memories with Lily, but I understand that. It is a movie and going too in-depth there can bog it down. It is clear enough that we get the true motivations of Snape. However, this also contained the part I hated most about the movie.

Snape holding the dead Lily just pisses me off. It wasn't the thing I was most upset about right after seeing the film, but it definitely is now. That's just not how it went down. I'm not sure if Snape could've even gotten into the Potter's home that night, but that's a minor detail. Hagrid got Harry. Sirius arrived shortly afterward and gave Hagrid his motorcycle. That's how that night went down after the attack. For one thing Snape would've had to have shown up and totally ignored the baby. Second, if Snape had actually been there when Sirius showed up, they would've dueled and one of them would have killed the other.

The Forest was my favorite scene in the movie. It was as close as I came to full-on crying even though I know that Harry isn't actually about to go die. It's hard to really quantify, but it is just a really powerful part of the story.

The final duel was probably the most disappointing part of the movie. I wasn't really angry with it. I get that if you're going to release a movie is 3D you're going to make the climax as climatic as possible with lots of movement and shit, but what was done really took away from it. My friend Kathy made an excellent point about it. She said it made Harry look cowardly. In the book Harry chases Voldemort into the great hall, but in the films he ran from him. Harry is too much of a Gyrffindor for that to be a fair representation of him.

It did annoy me that the final duel didn't take place in the great hall with everyone to witness and Harry protecting them with a shield charm. It also denied us hearing the great lecture Harry gave Voldemort before they exchanged spells. I also think the film really failed to make it clear that Harry didn't actually kill Voldemort, but it was Voldemort's own spell rebounding.

I wasn't in love with the way they handled the ending in the film, but I didn't despise it either. I would have preferred if they had returned to the Headmaster's office and talked to the Portrait of Dumbledore. However, the film still had close to the same point in the ending as book did.

Here's the Epilogue in a nut-shell: Old Ron= fat, Old Harry= James, Old Hermione= Young Hermione in different clothes.

Now for some random notes:

Lavender Brown's death scene: I'm not sure if they just wanted to kill her since she was so annoying. However, in the books she is rescued from Fenrir by Trelawney dropping a crystal ball on his head. It's not clear if she had been badly injured of if she survived the rest of the battle. Her book status is: Fate Unknown. It just seems odd that she would warrant a death scene in the battle.

Neville and Luna: This was the thing that I was initially most upset with from the film. I still don't like it all. Just I keep seeing all these damn Snape/Lily gifs on Tumblr. Ugh. I just never saw in the movies or the books any inclination of a Luna/Neville romance.





No More Spoilers

This was the first film I've seen in 3D. I didn't get a headache, which was nice. I supposed it added to the experience. There was an annoying bit though. There was this kid behind us with light up shoes. For a while he was kicking his legs up into the air and the lights reflected in our glasses. Never have I wanted to yell at a child so badly. Fortunately he stopped when the action picked up with the battle.

I think I liked Deathly Hallows Part One better the second part, but I think both are the best films of the franchise.

Let me know your thoughts about the movie in the comments.

Thanks for reading and please comment

-Michael

The Happily Ever After

I'm not really going to talk about the Deathly Hallow Part 2. It's not that I'm feeling uncertain about it. I enjoyed the movie. I'm just not going to discuss it in any detail anywhere for a while. I just really don't want to spoil it for people. I don't want those who read the books to be spoiled of the changes or additions that the film made. However will contain book spoilers that may actually appear in the film. So if you haven't read the books:

Spoiler Alert






I know that there is a lot of different opinions on the Epiloge to the Deathly Hallows, 19 Years Later. I'm alright with it. It is terribly mushy, but I feel it does serve its purpose. It shows that everyone was ok, life moved on and The Battle of Hogwarts was actually the end of the Second Wizarding War. Of course, it also about showing everyone ended up with their romantic partner.

It however is terribly vague. If you're going to show me the future, I'd like to know more. Like, what do they do now? Their futures are now better known through various interviews of Rowling. I'm not upset by those futures.

However, in my own mind I have created a life after the Battle of Hogwarts for the Trio. I'm not going to get into the business of changing relationships though. I used to be pretty favorable to Harry/Hermione shipping, but I've come to feel very different about the nature of their relationship. My favorite ship at the moment is Harry/Luna, but I'm not going to get into that. We're going to stick with the (book) cannon relationships.

Harry: I'd like to think Harry became a Seeker in Professional Quidditch. It seems to me that he was a very talented player and flying was the thing that he was best at. Maybe he could lead England to the Quidditch World Cup. After Quidditch, Harry would become an Auror. After his stint as an Auror, Harry would become Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts and eventually become Headmaster.

Hermione: I think Hermione ends up a very high ranking official in the Ministry. She would work for reforms in the Ministry to improve treatment of Magical Creatures. Eventually, as the brightest witch of her age, she would become the Minister of Magic and her agenda would make the Wizarding World more just to all people and creatures.

Ron: I think after the Second Wizarding War, the Ministry would become a friendlier place for the Weasley family. And, well, that's where I picture Ron. I think he'll have the opportunities for advancement that Mr. Weasley was denied. Maybe he'd end up in middle management or possibly even upper management.

I'm sure they'd all end up very well off though. I'd imagine the demand for books and such from them would be immense in the Wizarding World.

What would the future of the Harry Potter universe look like if you were in control of it?

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael

It's Not the End. Rabble, Rabble, Rabble.

Today, I've been really indifferent whereas everyone else seems to to be super emotional*. They're acting as though it's the end of Harry Potter. It's not. Not even a little bit. The final part to the final movie isn't going to change this thing that has been created.

There are going to be kids right now who are just getting old enough to be able to read the books. Kids and Adults will be reading the books and seeing the movies for a very long time. In the future those who are just getting into the series will have the feelings about the series we all have. It's not about it being recent. It's about it being awesome.

There are so, so many fandoms that exist when the movie, book, TV show, videogame, etc that they center around hasn't been 'new' in a very long time. There is almost no way that Harry Potter will be any different.

My only fear is that if everyone starts believing the fandom is over than it actually will end up being that way. I believe that there will be cons, Wizard Rock shows, movie showings and rereads for a very long time to come.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've already told you guys about how I don't particularly enjoy watching any movies. In someways I'm better about the Harry Potter series. Already knowing the story and believing it helps me. However, that also means I'm just generally irritated by the films. I don't mind the cutting so much, but the changing of parts of the story just annoys me a lot. I know I should have a more open mind about the movies and not be such an annoying book purist, but I can't help it:


*watching a scene in a Harry Potter movie*

"That's not how it went down," says Michael to no one in particular.


I have very little affinity for the Harry Potter films cast. I really don't particularly associate them with the characters they play (with a few exceptions,) so seeing them all together for possibly the final time at the premier didn't really upset me at all.

(Can someone suggest a tumblr that is just chapter art and quotes from the books?)

I just really feel that allowing the final film to be the cap to Harry Potter is a disservice. I mean some of the fandom itself is built on bashing the movies. The end shouldn't be dictated by Warner Brothers. We should try to keep it going forever.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael
*I have a feeling that this is going to be a trend for the next few weeks.

Snivellus

Spoiler Alert: For those of you who only watch the films and haven't read the series, this post will give mention to probably the biggest spoiler in the Deathly Hallows part 2. I shouldn't really have sympathy for you though.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I originally intended to do this post for BEDA, but never got around to finishing it. Now that I've come back to it, I just deleted everything and started over. Also, I know I've been a bad blogger lately.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I want you to imagine an alternate history in the Harry Potter universe. It is sort of forth degree ridiculous, but I hope to get it back to the point.

Let's say that on October 31st, 1981 Lily Potter took some Polyjuice Potion and went out, because being stuck in a house that's been given the Fidelius Charm would start to get annoying eventually even with Baby Harry around. That evening a transformed Lily is having a drink with Sirius when Voldemort attacks their house. James is killed and Baby Harry is killed without his Mother's protection.

In that scenario, Do you think Severus Snape would have been loyal to the Order? I think not. I believe that to the very end he wanted to be a Death Eater and their views were his own. Yes, his unrequited love for Lily made him loyal, but I don't think that's an attribute, I think it's creepy. Grown-ups are capable of accepting being rejected and move the fuck on.

I don't really understand how Snape* thought it would go well if he had somehow gotten Lily to go out with him. It's not like he could just waltz into Death Eater meetings with mudblood Girlfriend and expect everything to be peachy. It really seems strange to me his choices. He choose dark magic over Lily and that seems like a strange thing for someone who's in love with her.

This is the main reason behind my serious (not sirius) dislike of Snape. His actions were brave and loyal, but I find it hard to get over that I don't think he really want to do those things. I think being loyal to Dumbledore and being a double agent for the Order went directly against his personal beliefs. I just don't find him to be sincere, which is amazing given how much of a burden he took on.

All that fails to mention how terrible his personality. He is an arrogant prick who failed to get over childhood bullying. He takes vengeance on Harry for things his father did.

I can point to the exact point where Snape lost any chance of me liking his character (pg 299, Goblet of Fire):

"Malfoy got Hermione," Ron said. "Look!"
He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth-- she was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherin girls were up with silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back.
Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, "I see no difference."
Hermione let out a whimper; her eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran, ran all the way up the corridor and out of sight...

After that there was literally no revelation about Snape that could make me like him. Being a double agent for the Order, killing Dumbledore on Dumbledore's orders, sending the patronus to lead Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor and even making certain that Harry knew that he had to die for Voldemort to die** doesn't make up for how big of a douchbag he was.

I believe in his mind he much preferred the world Voldemort was fighting for than the one Dumbledore was. He fought for Lily,which I think seems so much more noble that it actually was.

It does feel awful bashing Snape though. Even if I think he was an awful person, he did play a very large part in the good guys winning the war. He definitely deserves to be respected as a very talented and brave wizard. Respecting and liking are totally different things though and I don't like Snape at all.

What are your feelings about Snape?

Thanks for reading and please comment

-Michael
*In my head there is a little Dumbledore voice that goes, "Professor Snape"
**Misleading spoiler

Bin Laden's Death

Super late night and probably short post.

A celebratory reaction to a persons death is acceptable only in very rare cases. Not when a political opponent dies. Not when a rival athlete dies. However, when a mass murderer who has added nothing but fear and misery to the world dies, celebrations are appropriate.

Osama Bin Laden's death should cause jubilation to a lot of us; especially those who are roughly in my age range. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 is the dividing point of most of our lives. It was a childhood horror. A day where our security was shattered. It is a day we will tell our children about, but won't want them to know the true horror of it. Bin Laden was to blame for that. His plans created the world we were forced to grow up in; one where I'm forced to notice airplanes in the sky and have the thought of terrorist attacks in the back of my mind whenever I'm out of my house.

It's not that this really changes the world. Bin Laden is not really the head of Islamic Extremism or of all terrorists and never really was. He couldn't actually run his organization and remain hidden for almost 10 years. The terrorist threat is just as real and imminent* as it was before he died.

A lot of people are reacting to this news with fear though. They are afraid of the reaction of Bin Laden's followers. That feeling means you've allowed him to impact your life. We don't need to be afraid. If they were able to pull off an attack, they would've. They're already pissed off people and the images of Americans celebrating isn't going to drive them over a cliff, because they've already hit the bottom.


This hasn't changed my views on American troops staying in the Middle East. The question of 'why' they are still there remains. It's nice for the United States to have a party due to the death of an evil man, but this shouldn't be justification for our troops to remain deployed in Afghanistan any longer.

I also really doubt this will have a unifying on our politics either. The two sides are already posturing for credit. Any sign of giving the other side credit is viewed as weakness by partisans. So this weeks fight will be over whether Bush or Obama deserves the credit, but it's just a prequel to the Debt ceiling and budget fights yet to come.

Thanks for reading and please comment

-Michael
*Not that attacks are actually imminent as in happening soon.

P.S. I sincerely hope I got through this post without accidentally typing Obama Bin Laden. It's a lot easier to make that mistake than you might think. However, Fox News isn't forgiven, because they just happen to make that mistake every time they use Osama Bin Laden's name in a graphic.

Memory Divisions

I don't particularly think my memory is that good. I feel like I've forgotten so much. Most people who know me would probably disagree with that though. However, I think it's a trick. I remember stupid shit about past situations. I may have forgotten loads about something, but I'm able to recall something small and it's assumed I remember more than I actually do.

My memories are never very stark either. I suppose that's just part of things being memories. I just wish some memories were clearer. I feel like I should be able to more clearly visual things that happened to me.

I don't really have a clearly defined first memory either. I have a very vague recollections of what I think is my 4th birthday and my Grandma being there. I don't ever know if that really happened. Grandma didn't come down for any other birthdays in memories. Also I remember walking into the wrong room on my first day of Kindergarten. I stood around for a while and no one payed attention to me. I must have figured it out because I went to the right class room.

The way I divide my memories and past experiences is not by age, but rather by school year. I can tell you what grade I was in when something happened most likely, but I couldn't tell you how old I was. This is a rather inconvenient way to divide things. A grade has no meaning to most people.

So that's something I want to know about. How do other people divide their past? If you want to, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael

Suspending Disbelief

I'm a very movie illiterate person. Every time a conversation turns to that topic I end up lost and annoyed. This happens to me all the time:

"Have you seen *Insert Movie Title here*?"

"No"

"You need to"

"Ok"

I probably am not going to see whatever film is suggested in that scenario. It's not that I don't care that you're giving me movie advice. I just don't find movies to be something I like to fill my free time with. I'd much rater play video games, read, do things on the internet or watch whatever crap is on ESPN.

The biggest problem I have with movies is my own inability to suspend my disbelief while watching a movie. In a lot of films I can't get over the ridiculousness of it. Especially in Science-Fiction or Action films.

I can't suspend my disbelief watching Films or TV shows, but I absolutely can while reading a book. I think my brain likes filling the gray areas on it's own and Movies don't really allow for that. I like imagining Hogwarts or Winston Smith's apartment. In movies there's not that ambiguity. The scenery is absolute.

The type of movies I am most likely to enjoy are comedies, documentaries and films based on historical events. Comedy is already based in ridiculousness so I don't need to make my mind pretend that it's real. Documentaries of course depict the real world. Films that are based historical events at least have some basis from the real world.

I often feel like an oddity for not being a "movie person." So that's what I want to find out. Are you a movie buff? How big are films in your life? Is there anyone who feels the same way I do?

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael

Special Comment- The Biggest Fight Is Yet to Come

How messed up has political discourse become now that John Boehner is seen as 'reasonable?' He certainly isn't, but for some reason everyone is accepting the farce that the Tea Party deserves a seat at the table. It is because the Republican leadership is scared of that extreme wing of their party. A big part of that is the media acting as though the teabaggers are equal to the two political parties. Therefore, their bat-shit insane ideas are given equal opportunity even if their numbers are small.

They're loud and they have an unreasonable pull on the early primaries for the Republicans, so the Republican leadership is hesitant to just cut them out of the deal. The early Republican primaries are largely white-bred and have an uber-conservative electorate. So their pull is exaggerated by the media because their message is insane and loud and they have a pull thanks to the unfortunate scheduling of primaries.

There wouldn't have been a near government shutdown last night had Boehner been willing to lose some of the self-proclaimed Tea Party votes. House Democrats and the non-extremist Republicans could have easily passed the budget, but the Republican is too afraid of the Tea Party to do something like that. The Democrats did nothing but give in the negotiations and nearly wasn't enough as the Tea Party feels they are entitled to get everything they want even though they are merely a small faction within a political party. Not withstanding the fact the Senate and Presidency are in Democratic control.

As big as this budget fight may have seemed, it will be nothing compared to what is coming in a few weeks. There was a way to compromise with the budget. There won't be one when it comes to the debt ceiling.

In advocating not raising the debt ceiling, the Tea Party is basically advocating the collapse of the global economy and American civilization. The United States defaulting on it's loans would cause the an economic crisis that would likely put the Great Depression to shame.

Not only should the debt ceiling definitely be raised, but cutting spending at a time like this is just plain dumb. The deficit doesn't matter right now. The government needs to keep spending. It is the best thing the fragile economy has. The cuts that have already been passed and will be passed for the 2012 budget aren't going to help the economy, because the deficit isn't a drag on the economy right now. What is drag is that money isn't flowing and government has the ability to make that happen by itself.

What's really funny is that the Republicans ran up huge deficits when they weren't in any way necessary. They fail to notice the debt added on by George W. Bush is significant and is much worse than what is being added now. That debt was created for tax cuts for the wealthy and unnecessary wars. That was a period where the budget could have easily been balanced.

Debt and deficit just don't matter at this moment in our nation's history. Tens of Trillions of dollars of debt sounds way more scary than it actually is. We are the world's biggest market, so any country that would demand payment on their loans would be destroying their own economy. Spending is the way out of this shaky economy. It's not tax cuts. It's not dealing with the deficit.

That's not to say that the issue of debt and deficit shouldn't be dealt with, but now isn't the time for that. If the economy is stable and the country's work force is working, the government should definitely not spend the way that it is spending now.

And honestly the way to deal with the deficit isn't through domestic spending. If someone is really serious about that issue they have to be willing to take on Military spending and Entitlement Spending. Those are the areas where real changes can be made. Money to Planned Parenthood isn't a drop in the sea, but spending on an over-size, over-utilized military is absolutely massive.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael.

Re: Sirius Black

In response to Tyrannosauruslexxx's post about Sirius Black yesterday.

In the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius Black is definitely not shown in his best light. Honestly, almost none of the characters are shown in their best light. He seems reckless and at times treats Harry more as a friend, or replacement for James, than he does a godson. Dumbledore won't talk to or acknowledge Harry despite the promises made following Harry's return from Little Hangleton. Harry is a whiny adolescent for most of the book, even locking himself up with Buckbeak after deciding everyone would be better without him.

I think Sirius in the Order of the Phoenix isn't upset that he's stuck in Grimmauld Place like a grounded teenager. It is about not being able to help the Order; not being able to do anything to protect Harry. Lupin, Hagrid, Dumbledore and worst of all Snape were able do be active in the Order. He didn't like that his friends were in so much danger or that his enemy was able to be hero while he had to remain sedentary and could easily be made out to be a coward. Sirius could deal with being stuck in Grimmauld Place, but not while the world was going to hell all around it.

In The Order of the Phoenix, Sirius and Harry were actually in pretty similar situations. Sirius is stuck in his house. Harry is under the thumb of the biggest bitch* in the series. Sirius definitely advised Harry to do some reckless things, but most of it wouldn't put Harry in any real danger. The exception being proposing the meeting in Hogsmeade, but even that probably wasn't as horribly risky as it may seem and is out of desire to see Harry as much as getting out of Grimmauld Place.

Still, I don't think Sirius completely dropped the ball as 'grown-up' in the Order of the Phoenix. There are a few particular points in that book where he put aside his grumpiness and was a bit more parental.

The first is the fight between him and Molly about what Harry should be allowed to know about what was going on with the Order. At that point in Harry's life he had already faced Voldemort three times and certainly deserved not to be kept in the dark about what was going on. Molly was being over-protective. She was not serving as a better parental figure than Sirius. Keeping Harry in the dark to 'protect' him would have likely caused Harry to do something stupid or dangerous.

"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry," said Lupin sharply, "Sirius, sit down."

When the children returned to Grimmauld Place after Mr. Weasley was attacked, Sirius was very mature and acted as a authority figure. He wasn't going to try to rescue Arthur himself. He didn't rush them to go see their father. He was calm and had them stay put and wait for word. That certainly wasn't a rash thing to do, but it was what was for the best.

There's no denying that Sirius had a bad temper. Still, I don't think that hurt his ability to do well as Harry's godfather. This bring me to the Occlumency lessons. I think that what Sirius did when Snape showed up at Grimmauld Place to tell Harry about the lessons is probably what James would have done in that position. It may not have been the wisest thing, to almost duel in the kitchen, but it was out of love for Harry and hatred of Snape. When Harry used Umbridge's fire to talk to Sirius, it was a combination of Lupin's telling him that he must continue with the lessons no matter what and Sirius' indignation that showed Harry how important those lesson's were. Sirius wanting to 'have a word with Snape,' wasn't the smartest thing for him to consider, but it clearly showed how much he cared about Harry and his understanding of the importance of those lessons despite Snape.

"Nice one!" shouted Sirius, forcing Harry's head down as a pair of Stunning Spells flew at them. "Now I want you to get out of---"

Finally that brings me to the Battle at the Ministry. Sirius came to protect Harry. He fought Death Eaters while trying to get Harry to get out of there. He loved Harry cared that Harry was safe way more than he cared about himself and his actions in the battle clearly showed that. Ultimately he died because he loved Harry so much.

Going backwards, in the Goblet of Fire, Sirius was definitely a more sound advice giver to Harry. It was clear to him that Harry was in real danger at Hogwarts that year. Whereas in the fifth year, the danger was real, but in reality Harry was safer in the fifth year than the forth. Voldemort had no chance to get into Hogwarts in year five and unlike year four there was no agent of his in the school.

That's all we really end up getting about Sirius. We know the actual Sirius for two books. He wasn't the best role model. He was definitely arrogant and brash. Still, he loved Harry like a son and having that capacity is amazing considering he was locked in Azkaban for so long. He didn't show Harry how to be the ideal wizard. However, he did show loyalty, courage and the power of love. Those were the lessons Harry really needed; not a how to keep his temper under control.

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I couldn't really find a way to put this into the post, but it fits so here it goes.

I really think that Sirius and Dumbledore both feel tremendous guilt about the Fidelius Charm on the Potter's home. It's obvious in hindsight that Sirius' idea to use Peter Pettigrew instead of himself was really dumb. I think this is part of the reason he doesn't fill the father role exactly, but treats Harry more like a peer in some circumstances. He doesn't think he's worthy to fill James' shoes, because he blames himself for his and Lily's deaths.

The strange about that to me is that I think the end result would have been the same, just slightly delayed had Sirius been the secret-keeper. Sirius would have been killed by Voldemort, because as talented of a wizard as Sirius was he would be no match. As we learned after Dumbledore's death, once the Secret-Keeper dies everyone who know about it becomes Secret-keeper. Peter Pettigrew would've undoubtedly would've know about the Potter's home and once Sirius was dead it would be the same result.

I think Dumbledore feels guilt about not forcing James and Lily to make him Secret-keeper. Voldemort wouldn't have dared take on Dumbledore, so the Potter's home and little Harry would have been safe. I think that is at least part of the reason he was always certain of Harry's safety and took such an interest in him.

So today comments are for your thoughts on Sirius Black and the Fidelius Charm.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

-Michael
*Ok, the biggest bitch not named Bellatrix LeStrange