I have come to the realization that I am very short. This is a problem. Not that I’m insecure or anything, but people look up to their leaders, so to speak. Basically, if I want to be a politician and president, I’ll be facing an uphill battle as a short person. I don’t have as commanding a presence as those who are taller. Those as tall as, let’s say, John Kerry, have a natural advantage in elections. The taller person tends to win.

This disappoints me. I do have a plan, though. I am half-Asian. (That’s why I’m so short.) More specifically, half-Chinese. Perhaps, I should help agitate for democratic change in China. If they ever do have democratic elections, I can move there. Maybe I can be president of China. I don’t think I’ll have to be as tall.

Just kidding. I love my country. I figure if FDR could figure out how to deal with being disabled, I can figure out how to deal with being short.

The Perry Bible Fellowship is perhaps my favorite webcomic, especially since Sinfest has not updated in a long while.

Isn’t it interesting how going to bed early in college means before midnight?

[text to be added later today, hopefully, but we’ll see…]

So… I thought I failed my Econ quiz. I get my quiz back and the grade doesn’t look great, but better than I expected. Then my TA gives the A, B, C, D breakdown. I’m just at the cut-off… for an A. I’m in a state of utter disbelief at this point. The only conclusion: I am fucking brilliant. No, really, in a sense, I’m mad at the world for continually rewarding my lack of studying, effort, and trying. But I’ll take it as a sign to not sweat the small stuff and concentrate on more important things. Really, it’s a blessing if I can figure out how not to lapse into apathy.

In one sense, I was disappointed. His speech was a concise version of the first part of his most recent book, The World is Flat. He basically explained what he calls the levelling of the global playing field, what led to this, and implications for the future. Well, not so much on implications for the future.

However, I’m an auditory learner. Although I’d just finished his book, I felt like I consolidated his teachings by listening to him. Furthermore, he’s a great speaker. He’s a storyteller. He took what was happening in the world today, and explained it in terms everyone could understand, and presented it as this great story of globalization. He did it humorously, sprinkled it with personal anecdotes, and with great changes in voice inflection and volume. Amazing, convincing speaker.

He was right-on with his answers. The things people asked, he’d already thought out the answers way before. Especially when the idiot questioners asked things he’d already addressed in his book. (Oy.)

I did learn some new things. One thing, I don’t remember the thing, but I do remember that Mr. Friedman said he was going to talk about it in his Op-Ed article coming out tomorrow in the New York Times.

Well, I’d love to reference it tomorrow, but unfortunately, all of Mr. Friedman’s articles, and all the other Op-Eds, and stuck behind the subscription wall called Times Select. A pay wall, I must add.

So, in an ironic sense, Mr. Friedman is a little bit behind the times, despite his amazing grasp of the globalizing world. He mentions “uploading” as one of his 10 Flatteners. This is uploading content — like bloggers. Well, interesting statistic: After Times Select went up, I’ve seen approximately zero links to any of Mr. Friedman’s articles.

Now, don’t misunderstand me and think I’m trying to get a “gotcha” moment. Mr. Friedman has a best-selling book out, and people read the paper version of the New York Times, and some people pay for Times Select — he’s still got big clout and big reach. Still, I think the New York Times (not Friedman, I’m sure he wasn’t in charge of this at all), made a mistake. You want your opinions bandied about the blogosphere.

Whenever a speaker mentions that we need great leaders to promote certain things, it ignites a fire in my heart — I want to be that leader. And yet, I always end up chastising my lack of work ethic. But I don’t think it’s that. I think I lack passion. I haven’t found anything that would make me so passionate that it would compel me to amazing action, despite the occasional stirring in my heart. Or, perhaps, I haven’t found it within myself.

In conclusion, I got my book, which I just finished, signed by Mr. Friedman. Pretty cool, I guess. But I’d rather be the guy doing the signing.

Alright, well, it’s not yet 02/28/06 on the West Coast yet, but I can’t wait. It’s my first new comic in two weeks. Also, I didn’t read the news today.

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Why are “sketch” and “sketchy” all the rage with the kids today? By the way, “sketch” has not entered my vernacular. I do utilize “sketchy” from time to time, but only in truly appropriate contexts. Like that sketchy Korean karoake bar. I doubt most people have truly run across a sketchy character, but they’re more than willing to apply the label to persons who have various descriptive words that could be far more applicable to them — ranging from creepy to stalker-ish to unwholesome. It’s a vague contemporary label that’s being overused. In increasing its versatility to meet the needs of a slang word, its connotations have been reduced. It’s a more general word, and therefore more useless, unless you want to seem hip and with it, and if so, by all means, go ahead and overuse it.

I am unaware of when sketchy was reduced to sketch. I think it’s a fairly recent phenomenon. However, it could merely be a difference in regional dialect and slang. When I visited Santa Barbara, they used “sketch” a lot. Are “sketch” and “sketchy” synonyms? Or has the abbreviation of the word given it new connotations. In reality, I think the time saved by reducing “sketchy” to “sketch” is misleading, or rather, non-existant. When using “sketch,” one feels more necessity to prefix it with filler words, such as “so” or “hella” or “mad”. At least, when applying it to people. To me, it’s easy to say, “He was sketchy,” than “He was sketch.” However, I have a feeling that it’s only me who has this notion. I think I’m just trying to compensate for the loss of syllables on my own.

I wonder if we’ve taken our shortening of words to an extreme. Like “delish” and “delicious”. That’s another topic for another day. For today, I’ll be satisfied with my ruminations on “sketch” and “sketchy”.

Yes, officially. Today’s Baltimore Sun, headline news, most important article of the day: “Cheney Accepts Blame”. Alright, then in the little “Inside” box on the left-hand corner, under the World heading: “New Photos Published — An Australian television network broadcasts previously unseen pictures of Iraqi prioners at Abu Ghraib prison being mistreated by U.S. soldiers in 2003.”

Hey, Sun, this is YOUR JOB! Look, we got torture going on in Guantanamo. We got hearings going on over government failure during Katrina. But “Lawmakers grill Chertoff” is below the fold. And what’s the top news story of the day? “Cheney Accepts Blame.” It’s a joke. It’s the saddest fucking joke ever.

Face it, the news media is failing the American people. I say this not as a lame media-bashing blogger, but as an American citizen. I say this as an American citizen who demands to know more about what’s really important. I want to know what my government has done in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. I want to know why it took so long for the government to respond to Katrina. Instead, all I get is the blame game in the latter story, and a story about an Australian news outlet regarding the former. I want to know, not to play the blame game, and try to attack the Bush administration. I want to know in order to force the government to fix what’s going on. I want to know if the anti-torture bill has had any effect. Believe it or not, public opinion does have some sway on politicians. If the news media did its job, the American people could help fix these things merely by voicing their disgust.

I honestly think this issue warrants my accusatory tone. As a citizen of America, I honestly believe the news media is failing the American people.

Also, please read Lloyd’s entry, “on torture, american-style.”

So, Dick Cheney accidentally shoots his friend while quail-hunting, and because he doesn’t immediately notify the media, the media is attempting to rip him to shreds. Well, guess what? If I accidentally shot my friend, I would not be all giddy to talk to the media either.

Anyway, when I heard the story, I don’t know what people found so funny about a guy being shot in the face. I don’t find hunting accidents particularly humorous, even if they involve famous persons in politics. Then again, America’s Funniest Home Videos is still on the air. Maybe next time, Scott McClellan can accidentally kick a reporter in the balls. Or fall off a trampoline. Now that, that might be news worthy.

I called it the Cosmic Illusion Song in my notebook, but I may change the name. I wrote this a while back… 08/12/05. All I have memorized is the chorus, and I find it strangely soothing to sing the song. Anyway, here’s the chorus:

Good is evil; evil is good. Once you know this, you know more than you should.

All is one; and one is all. Once you know this, you know nothing at all.

Sky is ground; ground is sky. This is the truth that is also a lie.

Tamed McCarthyism: I was reading “The World is Flat” by Tom Friedman and I came across this line from Karl Marx, “All that is solid melts into air.” That line from Marx was a test question on my first sociology midterm last semester. Maybe the only two people who managed to get the question right were not commie bastards but Friedman fans.

Tamed deja vu: Again, I was reading “The World is Flat” and I came across the name N. Gregory Mankiw. I thought, “Hey, that sounds familiar.” So, I grabbed my Econ book and realized that this guy wrote my econ book. I later read on and find out Tom Friedman acknowledges that he is the author of a popular college economics textbook. Not so coincidental after all.

Tamed immorality: I was doing today’s Jumble. It’s a word puzzle in the newspaper in which you have to unscramble words. Then, you take some designated letters from those words and unscramble those letters to get the answer to a dumb joke. So, I unscrambled some letters to make the word TOKES. I thought, hm, that sounds like a word, but I’m not sure. So, I looked it up. Lo and behold, it was a word related to marijuana use. That’s funny, I thought, I can’t believe the newspaper would let them get away with that. Then, when I couldn’t figure out the final unscramble, I realized that the word was STOKE, not TOKES.

Untamed anger: Five page paper due tomorrow. Happy Valentine’s Day, Mr. McDonald.

Untamed sorrow: Lloyd’s entry for today, “i need to be reminded“.

I got to use my new soundbite (catchphrase?) on abortion not too long ago in a real conversation. It was really cool because I thought of it a while back, and I was just itching to be able to say it. Enough preamble, here it is: “I’m not pro-choice; I’m pro-abortion under extenuating circumstances.” Pretty crafty, eh? It’s not quite bumper sticker material, but it does the job. Lots of people will disagree with my statement, but it still puts me within the mainstream of America.

From Yahoo! News: Bush: U.S. Surveillance Helped Stop Attack. I’m not really interested in the article; I’m interested in this buried within it:

“‘Rather than use Arab hijackers as he had on Sept. 11, Khalid Sheik Mohammed sought out young men from Southeast Asia — whom he believed would not arouse as much suspicion,’ Bush said.”

There you have it, hard evidence for why racial profiling won’t make us any safer, even against the plans of Muslim terrorists.

It’ll be interesting to see how things play out with the recent victory of Hamas in the Palestinian elections. Those saying that this victory by a terrorist organization fundamentally destroys Bush’s rationale that democracy brings peace may have spoken too soon.

The Palestinian Authority faces a budget crisis. According to an article in the Baltimore Sun today, “the Palestinian Authority put off paying the January salaries of 137,000 government employees yesterday for at least two weeks as it struggles to find new sources of funding.” The World Bank is withholding aid. The US and the European Union threaten to withhold aid.

If Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and renounce terrorism, they could face a huge economic crisis. People will be out of jobs. A big question is: Will they blame the West, or will they blame their elected leaders?

When I read Dispatch from Hamastan, I got the impression that the voters weren’t overwhelmed with all of Hamas’s platform. What stood out for me especially was that “one post-election poll found that as many as three out of four Palestinians hope Hamas will step back from its calls for armed conflict with Israel.”

As things are going, it seems as if Hamas will not recognize Israel, even to prevent such a budget crisis. Or at least, so said senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. [NY Times article, registration required.]

I hope the West, and perhaps the rest of the world, shows solidarity in using their economic sticks against Hamas if Hamas does not do what it needs to do. Perhaps with strikes, demonstrations, or riots, on hand, Hamas will be forced to do so. If the violent extremists are truly a minority, we will see the real power of democracy, and what it means to be accountable to the people.

Unless, the answer to the question I posed early on is that the people will blame the West for their troubles. Even if this happens, withholding economic aid is the right course of action, lest the world legitimize terrorism. In fact, I would propose an increase in economic aid if Hamas recognizes Israel and rejects terror, just as an added incentive — a carrot as counterweight to the stick.

My faith in the power of democracy, as always, remains unshaken, and will remain resolute no matter what the consequences of this crisis. Even the most volatile democracy is always preferable to the most peaceful tyranny.

Not a lot to say, so I’ll say it in list form:

• I was watching it on ABC and someone made the best snide comment ever. Right before the speech, when the President was up in front, they announced him and everyone applauded. One of the talking heads on TV actually said something brilliant, “As if they didn’t already know he was there.”

• Less applause than applause-happy last year. Very good thing. It made the State of the Union address unbearable last year.
• I like the theme of keeping America competitive. Dead serious. That’s my goal. Keep America on top.
• As much as I’m not a fan of pork, the line item veto is not the solution. It’s the legislature’s job to legislate, not the President.
• Thank you for acknowledging immigration, but the guest worker program is a horrible idea
• Cindy Sheehan is a joke.
• When Bush mentioned troop withdrawals, I thought that maybe we won’t have troop withdrawals in ’06, like I’ve been predicting

I don’t have much to contribute to this discussion. There’s not much worth mentioning. However, the Democratic response: I know it’s not a big thing and no one listens to it. But speaking as a Republican, people like Governor Kaine are dangerous. Not to our country like the defeatists are, but to the Republican party. If the Democratic party was led by people like him instead of that idiot Howard Dean, the Democrats would have a chance. The Democrat’s problem is national security. I’ve been saying that ever since Kerry lost. Governor Kaine didn’t appear weak on security. He focused on the methods, which have been questionable on Bush’s part, at times. However, the Democrats are probably too dumb to realize this, and I seriously doubt they’ll make many gains during the midterm elections.

flip, haha, take that slow loading time, still gotcha!

EDIT: haha, I’m so dumb, I forgot my weblog is on west coast time, wow, I’m typing lyke a 12yr oldjl/hkagd

After six weeks away from JHU, argh I can’t think straight because I’m tired that was a long flight but I think you get the picture from my title that it’s kinda weird being back and the names of those bazillion acquaintances I worked to acquire probably have escaped my mind.

I’ve been pondering a bit of heresy, lately. At least, it’s heretical for a conservative of my flavor. Perhaps we didn’t win the Cold War. Russia’s not exactly a bastion of democracy at the moment. Even in countries that formerly belonged to the USSR, we aren’t seeing much to be lauded. All this is a lesson to be learned in our current war against Islamofascism.

You go down the beach and find the perfect sand. Not too wet, not too dry. This is building sand. As you pack it together, a marvelous structure begins to take shape. This is your creation. This is your sandcastle.

When you are putting the finishing touches on this castle, you notice the ocean. The water rises onto the beach, and retracts back into the ocean at large. It is beginning to come lethally close to your beautiful sandcastle. You know it is futile. Yet, you build walls to stave off the attack of the water. The ocean is relentless. You dig moats. The ocean rises. The walls crumble; the moats fill. The landscape becomes smooth, slick sand, with no defects. Eventually, the water overtakes the sandcastle. It becomes a gross lump. A little bit later, and it’s as if your sandcastle was never there.

All of humanity’s creations are but sandcastles on the beach. Mere sandcastles compared to the awesome fury of Mother Nature. I still think of the devastation that was caused in New Orleans last year. We wonder if we should rebuild. We also wonder how we can save Venice, which is sinking.

No matter how strong we build our levees, the mighty hand of God will always humble us. New Orleans, Venice — they are but sandcastles on the beach. As the Earth heats up (whether or not you believe humans had a hand in this heating up makes no difference), the ice caps will melt and sea levels will rise. New Orleans will be completely underwater.

In Santa Barbara, my friend was telling me how one beach was eroding away. They bring in sand to keep the beach from disappearing. This is but another example of a sandcastle on the beach.

All I can think of when I hear of things like this is a child futilely attempting to save a sandcastle on the beach. That’s not to say we shouldn’t build sandcastles. Or attempt to save them. I know I have done this many times. However, humanity should not delude itself into thinking every structure can be saved. A sandcastle is what it is because it will eventually be wiped away. That’s just part of building a sandcastle.

Do I have a point with all this? A policy suggestion? No. It’s just an interesting perspective to ponder. Perhaps I should’ve written a poem.

Guess where I am today.

I’ve been doing some thinking about Iran. After talking with my friend Jason, I’ve been pondering whether a hands off approach might be the best approach to Iran. More on this tomorrow.

Ugh, I am so grossed out after reading this article, “Pedestrians Inhale Less Pollution than Passengers.” Out of various forms of ground transportation, walking exposes you to the least air pollution. You’d think being in this big metal enclosed box on wheels would keep air pollution away, but nope, you’re wrong. According to the article, you’ll inhale the most pollution via taxi ride. As if taxis weren’t already disgusting enough. In retrospect, it makes sense. I mean, your air conditioning is sucking up the air from the exhaust pipe of the car, or diesel truck, in front of you. I’m having difficulty breathing just thinking about this stuff.

There’s a certain hairstyle that I used to think was cute, but now it’s starting to look hackneyed. I’ll find a picture of it later.

Many Republicans have been whining and screaming about illegal immigration for years. Don’t let my diction fool you. I’m one of those people, sans the “for years” part. Illegal immigration is a serious problem; two governors have declared a state of emergency.

Anyway, I came across this story after watching The O’Reilly Factor and then doing a quick Google search: “Arizona Gov. Targets Illegal Immigration.” In summary, Arizona Governor Napolitano is sending National Guard troops to the border in order to help the Border Patrol, and is asking the federal government to pay for it.

First off, I applaud her. Secondly, she shouldn’t have to do this. This is a federal issue, but unfortunately the federal government isn’t doing its job. I guess Bush is too busy trying to court the Hispanic vote for the Republican party. That’s besides the point, let’s move on to Schwarzenegger.

After all of Schwarzenegger’s initiatives failed in the special election, the California governor has moved leftward. In doing so, he has left the right alienated (wordplay intended). Soon, Schwarzenegger will be up for reelection. Arnold (I am so tired of typing Schwarzenegger) is a Republican. Without courting the base of the Republican party, he has absolutely no chance of getting reelected.

So, here’s my suggestion for Arnold. Follow Gov. Napolitano’s example. Clamp down on illegal immigration, and you will have the right leaping into your arms. One may argue that this will cost Arnold votes rather than help him. Guess what? Any people this move alienates are probably going to vote for the Democratic candidate for governor anyway. Remember, Arnold is a Republican. I think it might help Arnold to remember that too.

I stood before my opponent. Our swords glistened in the sunlight. A light breeze rustled the green leaves above. Winter had given way to spring.

“I am unstoppable,” I told him. I was calm, steady. There was no tinge of boastfulness. I could have told him that the sun was going to rise tomorrow, or two and two made four.

He quietly scoffed. In the next instant, his sword lashed out, reaching for mine. He wanted to prove that I wasn’t unstoppable. He wanted to show me his power. I’m sure he meant to follow through, but in that instant, he lost sight of the goal. In that instant, he thought of something other than killing me.

In that instant, I became like water. My sword slipped away silently. His sword swished through the air while mine slid through his heart.

I repeated, “I am unstoppable.”

And now, I present a Chalkboard Manifesto comic summarizing my reaction to the Rose Bowl:

yeah, that’s right, fuck texas.

Just changed the little line below the “Agnoiologist” title from “agnoiology: n. the study of human stupidity. This is the weblog of an agnoiologist — fighting the mythocracy, especially within myself.” to “agnoiology: n. the study of human stupidity. This is the weblog of an agnoiologist, making sure you and I aren’t stupid.”

I’ve decided that my goal is to explain, convince, inform, and explore. News and life.

How can one learn how to deal with a racist?

Tactfully, I mean. And not someone who’s racist towards you. Maybe not even someone who’s a belligerent racist, but you can still tell what’s truly in his/her heart. Someone you’ll have to deal with again and again.

On the way back here from Baltimore, two separate people said, “Merry Christmas. Oh wait, do you celebrate Christmas?” I can understand the CYA aspect of it. However, is there something about me that says, “I don’t celebrate Christmas.” I don’t look like a Jew. I don’t look like a Muslim. I certainly don’t look like I’d forsake Christmas for Kwanzaa. Do I look like a “Happy Winter Solstice” guy? Come on. Come on. I totally look like a Christmas guy.

Anyway, I’m in Las Vegas right now. That’s why I haven’t been updating. I’ve had access to the internet, but I’ve been taking care of the vacation to relax. Yes, I already did enough of that in Atlanta, but I’ve got family in Vegas.

It’s good to be disconnected from the internet. It’s good to be disconnected for a while. Just sit back and do nothing. Not have any responsibilities. No finals coming up. No engagements to worry about. No driving. No getting up. No nothing.

I’ll be in this mode until the New Year. Then, a new beginning. More explanation about that, later.

Oh, I get back from Vegas the 28th. So, hit me up on the cell if you got any free time.