Pushing Poorman

France

2008-12-03T03:19:00.000-08:00

The life-ways of the French wash over us and day by day we move closer to an understanding about our lives in France. We live in Carhaix, a small community in Brittany. We are less than forty miles away from the sea in most directions and yet I feel very much closer to the land than the sea. This feeling of being tied to the earth probably comes from our landlocked upbringing and the fact that we do not have a car in France. Not having a car in Brittany does not totally disable your ability to get around, but it takes more time and more planning to do so. Currently, I have enjoyed our hour walk every time we feel the need for groceries. Although, the convenience of easily buying provisions is a luxury that I currently am yearning for. These last months have been extremely interesting and extremely trying. I have had to adjust to my new job and that is always difficult even if it is enjoyable. We have enjoyed the amount of free time that my post affords me and we have also enjoyed getting to know the other two language assistants that have positions at the school. We survived without internet for a over a month and are now well versed in the ins and outs of getting an internet account. It took us four or fives visits to the Orange store before we straighten every detail out. We have visited many cities in Brittany and we have taken many photographs. Our travels took us to Quimper, Vannes, Huelgoat, Morlaix and Carnac. We will be visiting Brest this weekend and will soon visit Rennes to take care of official business.

The Water Recedes

2008-06-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

Let there be land! And there was land and it was good. Unfortunately we did not plant apple trees.

Iowa Garden Washed Out

2008-05-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have taunted the gods and they have responded in kind by flooding our garden plot and destroying the veggie dreams of many other plotters. I am humbled by the raw power of water and I hope to appease the gods in the coming days with many goodwill offerings and chants to the heavens. For now we will wait for the water to recede and reveal the real damage done to our plot. We are forever at the mercy of the rain, sun and wind. You can follow our progress with this garden at www.iowastategarden.blogspot.com If you want to view more washed out photos please click HERE

France Update

2008-05-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

I am excited to report we will be moving to the Brittany region of France in September. My teaching position will begin in early October. I am extremely excited to learn more details about my appointment, but I have not yet been given the name of the academy in which I will work. I am hoping for an academy in Rennes or along the coast. We would love to entertain many guests when we live in France, so book your tickets now. Do not worry about the Euro when you book your ticket because when you arrive in France, Barack Obama should be President and he will help the United States restore a relatively strong dollar and he will lead America out our current malaise. The only thing I regret about moving to France is not be able to celebrate an Obama victory in the States. We will be dancing in the streets in France when Obama wins.

Somerset Corner Secured. YESSSSSSS

2008-05-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

My conversation with Tom Durkin today secured the use of Somerset Corner. We will be able to plant a garden on the corner of Stange Rd. and Northridge Parkway. I am extremely excited to begin the process of planting a massive community plot that will help feed the community and bring beauty to the neighborhood. We will meet tomorrow at 11am to sign paperwork defining some legalities. I am extremely excited to begin work on the corner and I must also express my gratitude to Tom Durkin and the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center for their generosity and support for our garden. Please follow the process at www.somersetcorner.blogspot.com
Click here to view the first photos of somerset corner.

1st major spill

2008-05-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Mere hours after my proclamation to the world that I would be primarily using my bicycle for transport, I encountered my first major spill since being hit by a car on my bicycle on Halloween day 1994. My accident was not ghoulish, but I did catapult over the handle bars and the accident frightened me severely. Luckily my momentum and direction at the time of launch caused me to clatter into a patch of overly manicured grass. I truly hope that I am spared from the nasty chemicals that must have treated that uniformly green patch of parking strip. I was extremely lucky that I did not meet the pavement. PS: I saved the raspberries that were in Kandi's urban hauler backpack! No person will question my devotion to produce.

Café Installs Earth Boxes

2008-05-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

The Café installed earth boxes on it's roof!!!! My employer has decided to plant 10 earth boxes and place them on the roof of the Café. I believe that this signals that the revolution of community and local planting is taking root. Roof space across every city in the world could be used to produce food. Green roof technology coupled with a revolution of community gardening could greatly benefit the environment because of reduced heating and cooling cost and food production being closer to food consumption. Hopefully the earth boxes at the Café will be the beginning of many other restaurants and homes planting gardens in and around Ames, IA.

Bike All The Time

2008-05-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

I am forgoing the use of the car, except in rare occasions. Therefore, my trusty Bianchi has become my first car. My checking account and the Earth have already phoned and expressed their extreme enthusiasm. Please leave me a wide birth on the roads, I'd love your car to not have to feel the wrath of a run-in with my Bianchi. PS: everyone needs a helmet and lights on their beautiful wheeled wonders!!!! That goes for the motorized variety of bikes as well. Your head is a precious commodity, so keep it safe and off the road.

Tornado strikes close to home

2008-05-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

The recent spat of tornados struck Kandi's home town. A reported EF5 tornado struck just outside of New Hartford. The winds of the tornado reached 205 MPH and wrecked havoc for 46 miles. This tornado also destroyed a large swath of Parkersburg and tragically there was some loss of life in New Hartford and Parkersburg. We are extremely thankful that Kandi's family was not injured in the storm. After living in Ohio, I now realize how well Iowa uses its warning systems to alert people to severe storms. This EF5 could have killed many more if Iowa's storm alert system had not been in place or if the population ignored the alarms. I hope this tragic circumstance will help to further advance our understanding of violent storms and how to alert the population as fast as possible to the coming danger.

Mac Mad

2008-05-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

My name is Kyle Poorman and I am an ifolk. Please join me in reciting our creed: What Would Steve Jobs Do! I am apple mad and I cannot wait for June 10th @ 10am PST. Do you know what happens then? The Great Oz bestows us with better gadgets and stops the rumors for one day. The Great Steve will hopefully dazzle so my istock rockets into the stratosphere. I am praying to Steve for an extra special day so my stock will reach 300 by December. I have started an apple crazed blog. http://iowaapple.blogspot.com/

Garden

2008-05-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Kandi and I have begun to garden!!!! Would you like to join us and garden as well. We would love to share photos, advice and stories. If you are currently residing in Ames, we would love to have other folks garden with us. We were unable to truly garden in Ohio, but we are now ready to take a huge step and begin our very first independent garden. Our plot is situated to the South of University Village. Peter Mauro, one of my coworkers, was able to help us secure a plot. Our plot shares a fence with Peter's plot and I am hoping that we are still friends after my giant amish pie squash outweighs his giant pumpkin. Although, I am guessing that we will both harvest a bounty of wonderful organic food in the fall. I am also hoping to secure the use of a lot near our apartment for a further gardening project. We are planning to grow a wide-variety of food producing plants. I am so excited about our new project that I have started another blog to chronicle our experience. Please check out our garden blog, http://iowastategarden.blogspot.com/

Obama Donation

2008-04-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

We are two weeks from the Pennsylvania primary!!! I supported Obama in the caucus in Iowa and I will continue my support through November. Given the extraordinary nature of the campaign and the need for a change in Washington, Barack Obama was the first political candidate I supported with a contribution of cash. I voted for Al Gore when I was 19 and I volunteered for Howard Dean, John Kerry, and Barack Obama, but I had never given any money. I feel a bit ashamed considering that I have tended to be politically transfixed over the last years since Al Gore lost the Presidency, but being a person of meager means, I have held back. I am glad to join over a million people in donating to Barack Obama. He is in a position in which he must take on two opponents at once and therefore needs war chest bigger than any in the modern political era. Please consider giving to Barack Obama because a donation of a few dollars by a few million people can change the world. Barack Obama can change the way we do business in America and help us establish a more perfect union in our great country.

Ames

2008-04-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

Kandice and I are living in Ames currently. We are both attending Iowa State University again and we are trying to plan our future lives. It looks as though we will move to France next year. I will be teaching English to French school children. I will endeavor not to mumble while teaching. Currently, I am enjoying studying French with a great professor named Jean-Pierre and Kandice is taking an extensive set of economics and mathematics courses. I am also laboring to take an economics course with Kandice. We are both taking Economics 455 which is a course on international trade. I must admit that Kandice has been the driving force behind my success thus far in the course. With her steadfast knowledge, I would have succumbed and given up on learning the intricacy of trade.

Rage On

2007-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE! One day only! Zach is back! April 27-29 at the Coachella festival. Who will make the pilgrimage? Who will raise a fist and dance to guerilla radio one more time?

Govern

2006-11-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

Our most recent national elections changed the make up of defacto governing power within the United States. The power to govern now rests with both political parties, as both political parties are able to explicitly block each others national legislative advances. Failure to face down ideology and embrace pragmatism will only worsen our current sorry situation.
Our elected leaders have poured millions of dollars into campaigns in an effort to win the right to govern. Now our leaders must govern and worry not about popularity or campaign cash or the presidency. Our leaders have a mandate to act in the interests of the American people, not to act in the interests of themselves. The outcome of our elections are only the beginning of governing. The true task of governing hinges upon collectively questioning our path in the world. Government must investigate, test, rethink and doubt continually. Legislation should not be haphazardly thrown together or hastily voted through Congress. The Congress must debate, investigate, and doubt assertions made by all who come before it's committees. The Congress must not hold true to a rigid ideology. Ideals must be malleable, as they often take on totally new shapes as other ideas are bonded to them or stripped away in course of the governing process. To achieve a more perfect union our elected leaders must continually question our current path. Recognizing failures and changing our policies should be viewed as a strength, not a weakness. Failure to adapt our policies to a changing reality should be viewed as incompetence. Hopefully the new configuration of Congress will check the imcompetent policies of our failing executive. America's place in the world depends upon the governing principles of our elected leaders. PLEASE RESTORE OUR TRUST AND QUESTION EVERYTHING!!

I Love Zidane Even If He Headbutted An Italian

2006-07-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Zinedine Zidane quite possibly is the greatest football player to ever grace the world. Sorry Pele or George Best or every other Brazilian player, but Zidane was in a world of his own. He deserves the golden ball trophy even with a malicious headbutt to an opposing player. He is a flawed human and he deserves our forgiveness for a selfish act. His flaws make him more of a hero. He is not a robot, but a person. People make grand mistakes and Zidane made a gigantic mistake, but he also deserves the mantle of greatest football player ever. He carried two teams to World Cup finals and was victorious in one. Without Zidane the French team would be a shell. With Zidane, France outplays every team in the world. The Italians played a worse game, but won on chance. Penalty kicks are chance and should be eliminated from the World Cup. Thank You Zidane for inspiring the world and teaching us a lessen on gigantic mistakes. You may wonder your entire life about what could have been, but we will marvel at what you were and what you may still become. You have meant so much to the impoverished, the downtrodden, the discriminated against. You illustrated that humans are equal everywhere. Your social statement was on the pitch and your hard work hopefully has inspired many to strive for grand heights. Yes Mr. Zidane you made a critical mistake, but mistakes are made and life goes on. We love you ZIZOU and I hope you do not retire. 2010 and is not far away and the cup is in South Africa. Allez Les Bleus!!!

Kyle has a new work blog

2006-06-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, I speak about myself in 3rd person. I have a new blog http://cupojoepickerington.blogspot.com/ for the coffee shop. As the new manager of the Pickerington Cup O' Joe, I have started a blog to update the masses about the store. I write about new drinks, new ideas, recycling and sustainable coffee shops. So please go to the site and link to it. Yeah, they (coffee gods) put me in charge of a coffee shop. OH MY. The barbarian god has a coffee kingdom. Lions and Tigers and Lattes.

futbol

2006-06-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

Jon and I have become world cup stars over night. I have fashioned myself after the soccer greats from Czech Republic. They destroyed Sam's kids yesterday even though I thought the US team would not be tread upon. Anyway as I shook my depression off after our humilation, Jon and I started training for the 2010 event. We trained on an uneven pitch in Goodale park and perfected the use of the head. We will move to the feet tomorrow or the next day. Hopefully on Saturday the US will destroy the Italians and Ghana will knock off those Czech destroyers. No matter if the US seeks glory or goes down in flames the world will have to deal with Jon and I on the pitch.

Four Seasons City Farm

2006-06-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

Our community building project has grown. The four seasons city farm has gone from eight garden sites to fourteen. I cannot claim I had a hand in establishing this amazing program or even helping it grow. I have just been lucky to be dragged along by my friend Jon! We do have a new website that Jon and I built two nights ago. I am really excited about the site. You may visit it anytime you please and hopefully soon you can comment on the blog. It is a simple website, but as we go we will spruce it up. The site is like our gardens, it will grow gradually. www.fourseasonscityfarm.org

Garden in the sky

2006-05-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Kandi and I have a little sky garden of our own. About a week ago Kandi decided that our planters should be used for sensible items, not the twelve foot tall sunflowers and other largish plants I tried to plant in them last year. To my own defense, the planters looked extremely beautiful even if the sunflowers only made it to about three feet tall. This year we have planted spinach, pepper plants, chamomile, chives and basil in our little apartment balcony garden. It's not much, but I think we will get some wonderful organic produce from our garden in sky.

City Farming

2006-05-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

An amazing Columbus group is at it again this year. City Farms is back and bigger than ever!! We are gardening!!! We are getting dirty!! We are growing organic produce, educating people about food production, donating a sizeable amount of produce to food banks and beautifying abandoned urban plots. Four Seasons City Farms just had a plant day and here are some of the pictures. Given that these are the initial pictures, I cannot wait for the gardens to get into full regalia in mid-summer. JON THE PICTURES TURNED OUT WONDERFULLY!! Check out the website: http://www.cityfarms.homestead.com/

World Cup Fever

2006-05-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

How many days is the world cup away? How many? How many? 32 DAYS AWAY HURRAY!!!

US squad for Germany:
Goalkeepers: Kasey Keller (Borussia Monchengladbach), Tim Howard (Manchester United), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Cory Gibbs (ADO Den Haag), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Eddie Lewis (Leeds United), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)
Midfielders: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City), John O'Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (DC United), DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Bobby Convey (Reading)
Forwards: Brian McBride (Fulham), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo).

AL GORE

2006-05-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Almost six years ago Al Gore won the 2000 Presidential election, but did not become the next President of the United States. Two years in the future we may very well see a resurgent Al Gore pip Hillary Clinton for the democratic nomination and destroy the Republican challengers for the presidency. We need Al Gore!! We need a man willing to face the problems that America and the world have. We need him to tell us the inconvenient truths and lead us to the tough answers. We need a leader that realizes that without the environment there is not an economy. The environment is the basis of all things and Al Gore understands this elementary fact. We need a leader that makes conclusions based upon facts and not a leader that makes a conclusion and tells his staff to go find the facts that supports his position. We need a person who looks to the future and worries about the shape of our country and our world. We need a leader that restores the moral might behind the American government and the American people. We need a person who will uphold the rights of all people and will not support torture or indefinite detention as tools of American power. We need a leader who believes in checks and balances and will not include signing statements on laws that the president signs. According the Charlie Savage, George W. Bush has inserted more than 750 signing statements that declare his intention to not uphold portions of the law that he just signed. If you would like to know more about these signing statements cut and paste this link. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/05/opinion/edbush.php
WE NEED AL GORE!!! GORE IN 2008!!!

New School

2006-05-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE NEW SCHOOL!!!

Happy 25th Birthday Kandice!!!!!!

2006-05-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

Kandi crossed the quarter century mark exactly 10 days prior to this post!!! If you have failed to send your love on the subject of birthdays you better get on with sending your love. I have pledged to make this the year of Kandi and hopefully we will travel to Europe together as a gift for passing the 25 year mark. Kandi, thanks for being a wonderful lover!! I do not deserve you!!! Happy 25!!!!!!!!

Our Camping Adventure

2006-05-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

Kandi and I braved the great unknown on April 22nd and 23rd in the spirit of celebration. We celebrated Kandi's 25th birthday and we also observed Earth day. I wouldn't say that we exactly camped. We had all the intentions of camping, but after a lot of hiking and a hearty meal prepared by myself we tried to take advantage of our new tent. By taking advantage, I mean we tried to rest, relax and sleep through the night. We learned a few things about ourselves: never camp near to a wooded area and always be cautious of coming and going cars. Well actually we learned that we were both scared someone would come marauding out of the woods and hack us up with an ax and I was scared someone would drive over our tent. Needless to say we did not make it through the night. At the first sound of thunder we tossed in the towel. No one wants a wet tent to pack up the next day and we did not have the internet to tell us the severity of the storm. We did snap some wonderful photos!!!

I missed my half birthday

2006-04-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

Never will I turn 25.5 again and I have missed it. Yesterday I flitted the day away without the very notion that I was missing a world event. I missed my very own half birthday. I did not eat cake or blowout 25.5 candles. Let my plight be a lessen to the world. Times for celebration are scarce and to allow a half birthday to go uncelebrated is a travesty of gigantic portions. So happy 25.5 years plus one day to myself, I am going to have my cake and eat it too.

Purged

2006-04-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

Would you believe that hundreds of thousands of Ohio voters were summarily purged from voter rolls before the 2004 elections? Would you believe that these voter roll purges were not sanctioned by state law? Would you believe that these purges took place in traditionally Democratic strongholds? Investigative journalists from The Free Press have uncovered that 308,000 voters in heavily Democratic Ohio counties were wiped off of voter rolls without the sanction of state law. Please read the full article here www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2006/1832

How many votes did George W Bush supposedly win Ohio by? 119,000. Can you truly call a nation a democracy if the elections are stolen?

St. Mary's

2006-04-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Southampton looks like they will survive in the Coca Cola Championship Football League as they have been hovering close to the relegation zone as of late. Hopefully next year they can make a push for the Premiership. GO SAINTS!!!! If you would like to adopt the Saints as your favorite English Football club please do so in your heart. Who cares about Man U or Chelsea or Arsenal, you cannot go wrong with the team that plays at St. Mary's. S-O-U-T-H-A-M-P-T-O-N!!!!!!

19th century tough

2006-04-11T07:38:00.001-07:00

Today I proclaim myself a titan of fortitude and honorary person of the 19th century. What makes one eligible for these honors? The answer is that one must face a great test of pain, suffering and tribulation all the while withstanding those crushing forces. Today I am a 19th century human because I withstood a cavity being filled without the use of a numbing agent. That is right, my dentist drilled, buffed and filled without any drugs to lessen the ordeal. Ok so it only took 10 minutes and even though I was not administered any anesthesia the process did not hurt at all. But still I did it without the use of a net and Dr. Reed's assistant did not hold my hand. I AM A GOLDEN 19TH CENTURY GOD!

Italian Election Extremely Close

2006-04-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

The election in Italy has taken a Bush V. Gore turn. The left leaning coalition has claimed victory, while the incumbent right leaning coalition disputes the left's victory. I wonder if they have butterfly ballots in Italy or an overzealous secretary of state named Katherine Harris? Harris was working with the Bush campaign while she was also head of elections in Florida. I wonder if Prodi and Berlusconi have some ringers in charge of counting ballots? I wonder how the Italians are dealing with a long election night? On those fateful nights in 2000 and 2004 I was distraught. Welcome to an evenly split green state and white state Italy. WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF PARITY. I have read that parity cripples a parliamentary democracy. My solution for the blame in this instance is to level it at the US. We have invented everything cool and have exported it around the globe for all to experience.

Foy

2006-04-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Foy does not have a new blog, but I have just added a link to her awesome blog. Read it!!!
http://foyupdate.blogspot.com/

Lions and Tigers and oh god dentists OH MY

2006-04-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

Like most 25 somethings I have neglected my cleanings and appointments to see the dentist. My mother will be very ashamed when she reads this post, but I have 2 excuses. First of all, I am terrified of tooth problems. That point seems counterintuitive because if I am terrified I should be visiting the dentist every other Tuesday. The reason I have neglected going to el dentisto is because I want to be ignorant of my tooth issues. I am like the scare crow in the wizard of oz, except I don't want the proverbial brain, because if I have the proverbial brain I will be scared to death like the lion of actually having to get my teeth worked on. Reason number two for not going to the dentist for over a year is because I do not have dental insurance. With that being said, I mustered up all the courage a young lion like myself could conjure and went to the dentist last week. I was told by my dentist that I have one cavity and that my gums are very angry with me. My comedic denist also joked that about how I did not have insurance and that was fitting since my name was Poorman. Thanks DOC!!! Today I return to the Dental Faculty Clinic at The Ohio State University for a cleaning and tomorrow I go under the drill. OH MY!!!

Santos/McGarry WIN!!!!

2006-04-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

We finally won one, damn it's only a TV show.

Paper Ballot

2006-04-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

The United States is in need of election reform. I propose a paper ballot counted by hand!! REVOLUTIONARY!

Surprise

2006-04-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

Life is ever changing and if it is not changing than all is not right with the world. I was surprised by my sister today and everything in the world is alright. I LOVE CHANGE!

Stolen from Meier's Blog, A Genuine Thought

2006-04-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

Expectation is the Force to Fight Against

By Jon Meier

In my study over the past five years of nonviolent movements and nonviolent strategies for social transformation, as well as from my study of Walter Wink's The Powers That Be, I have reached the following conclusion: In order for true reconciliation and transformation to occur, expectations must be challenged and denied.

In other words, if we want to change the world, we have to do the unexpected. Over and over again.

Our lives are ordered by our expectations. I expect to get up in the morning, to eat breakfast, to go to work, to go to class, and to not have anything happen between these events.

Whenever something happens to me that I don't see coming, I am confused by it, and I am forced to deal with it, even if only to write it off as "a strange occurence."

Politicians expect protests. They expect rallies. They expect marches and people screaming in the streets. I hate to say it, but these types of actions aren't going to do a damn thing to transform the world and bring about reconciliation (though, perhaps, they might be effective in creating the type of pressure necessary to stop a current political trend, if the rallies themselves are unexpected, as in the case of Ukrainian citizens per their 2004 election).

The mistake that activists are making, I think, is that rallies and marches have become organizing principles and, hence, are treated as ends in themselves. This creates a situation where activists are trapped in their own expectations.

What has become of this type of organizing (i.e., organizing that is focused on creating more rallies and more marches) is the erroneous belief that large numbers of people are required to bring about transformation.

I want to stand firmly against this belief. Instead, I would like to argue that one person, acting in an unexpected way, can be (but is not necessarily) more powerful and more effective than a million people doing what is expected (like marching in an anti-war rally).

Firstly, I would like to offer a reminder that there aren't a large number of people determining the fate of our world right now, though it may seem as though the whole world is against "us." In fact, to use an illustration from The Wizard of Oz, sometimes it seems like there is just one guy behind the curtain who projects his voice and operates his machine in such a way so as to create the illusion that he is omnipotent, omnipresent, and the majority.

In short, a very few people -- albeit, extremely wealthy people -- have convinced us that they represent the majority of people on this planet. In our buying into this myth, we have effectively handed them our power.

Similarly, if a few people remain in control by deceiving the masses, then I want to assert that a few people can override their control by creating creative actions to reverse the deception and use it against the powers. In other words, a small group of people, when acting out of creativity and a sense of urgency, can create the illusion that they are the majority, even if they are unable to gain the majority's support right away.

And how can we do this? I would offer, by thinking in terms of doing something that is unexpected and creative. This, I think, should be the framework for progressive activists (and, especially, people of faith), even though it is extremely vague.

Waiting Game

2006-04-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

Waiting on decisions from NYU and The New School has made the mailbox and the inbox a place of dread (Washington SUCKS) and anticipation. Contrary to the belief among science folks getting into graduate school is a difficult affair. I should know! COME ON NYC GET ON WITH IT! I want my life back and I do not want the mail person to think that I am a crazy stalker.

S is for Silvio

2006-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Silvio Berlusconi the prime minister of Italy is fighting a pitched battle against a center left coalition led by Romano Prodi to lead Italy. Elections to determine the shape of the next Italian government commence today and conclude on Monday. I must admit that I want the Italian elections to continue because of the comic nature of Silvio Berlusconi and his off color deeds and statements. Mr. Berlusconi has likened himself to Jesus Christ and warned the Italian people that his opponents have "priest eaters" in their ranks. Berlusconi declared this about Italian voters, "I trust the intelligence of the Italian people too much to think that there are so many pricks around who would vote against their own best interests." He has also claimed that the Chinese communists boiled babies for fertilizer and his opponents were followers of Stalin, Pol Pot, and Mao. If these comments were not enough, Silvio has prohibited himself from having sex until after the election. His sexual frustration may have gotten the better of him at a recent TV interview when the questioning turned tough. Reacting to a line of tough questioning, Silvio clasped the hand of the interviewer and proclaimed that she was a disgrace and a typical leftie before stalking off stage in disgust. Even with a multitude of gaffes and apparent madness Silvio Berlusconi has not been politically destroyed by the left. The outcome of the election is up for grabs and who knows who will win. I am endorsing Romano Prodi as of this second because I believe his leftist coalition will unite Italy and because I do not believe in demonizing political opponents. Even though Silvio is the comic candidate his rhetoric does nothing for Italy or the Italian people. I expect big things from Mr. Prodi if his government wins the endorsement of the people. I expect big laughs from the concession speech of Mr. Berlusconi!!

I must thank the BBC for the research and reporting that enabled me to write this post. The BBC is truly the best news source in the world and I give all credit for this post to the British Broadcasting Corporation. Thank You John Reith for your amazing leadership and vision!!

125 Nuclear Weapons on The Wall

2006-04-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Bush administration has proposed a major initiative to revamp the nations nuclear weapons cache. By 2022 the US government plans to have the capacity to produce 125 nuclear devices per year and oh by the way everybody else in the world that currently does not have nuclear weapons you cannot have them and that means you Iran. Why does the United States need to build 125 nuclear devices per year? Good question considering that we can already blow up the world 10 bizzillion times over already! I propose the US begin the process of dismantling all nuclear weapons and lead the world in an effort to rid the earth of the vile devices. According to my research the United States has not built a nuclear weapon since 1989 and we should keep it that way. Does the Bush administration believe building new nuclear weapons will convince Iran and North Korea to discontinue their nuclear programs? Does possessing nuclear weapons deter terrorist groups? The answer to both questions is a resounding no! Again the United States is telling the non-nuclear world to do as I say and not as I do. Secondly, a nuclear deterant strategy will not work against a terrorist group that is not affiliated with a state because terror groups without links to territory cannot be deterred by weapons designed to decimate large amounts of land and large civilian populations for they have neither large amounts of territory or adherents. I call on congress to nuke the funding for this program back to the stone age so I don't have to ask my lovely girlfriend for a Geiger counter for my birthday. Nuclear Power=Good
Nuclear Weapons=Death For The World

125 nuclear weapons on the wall
take one down pass it around
one less major city in the world
124 nuclear weapons on the wall
take one down pass it around
one million less people in the world

Declassify Now!!!!

2006-04-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

It's nice to know that our President understands secrecy. Secrecy breeds distrust, misunderstanding and deceit. I heed George W. Bush's ideas of secret declassification. According to the testimony of I. Lewis Libby Jr., as reported first in the New York Sun, the President declassified items in the prewar intelligence estimate on Iraq in an attempt to rebut early criticism of that war. Basically, the President declassified material in an attempt to gain politically. I urge the President to go further and open America's books to the world. We should declassify most, if not all, classified information for political gain. The declassification of American secrets would do more for the spread of democracy across the globe than toppling dictators on false or faulty pretenses. Democracy is not won through the application of the M16 or M1A1 Abrams Tanks, democracy is won through the application of certain ideals. The ideals that built America into a tolerant, pluralistic society were not the ideals of militarism, but the application of the radical idea that all people had rights. Our recent tangent towards secrecy has sent shock waves around the world. America, the champion of democracy and rights for all people of the world, is now willing to circumvent the rights of almost all people in the world, including its own citizens. As rights have become less and less important to the United States, secrecy has become the norm in the halls of government. The US government is even re-classifying documents that it had declassified. When information came to light that the government was spying on its own citizens without court approval, the focus for the Justice department was finding the leaker, not inquiring into warrantless wiretaps on American citizens. My country should end all secret programs and operate as a state that believes in true transparency. The beauty of America is openness and tolerance, and therefore, to build a world of trust and mutual understanding, we as an American people must give up secrets. We must declassify a large portion of our documents and open our records to the world. Therefore, I call on George W. Bush to continue to declassify any and all "secret" items as an example to be emulated by governments and people across the globe.

Comeback in the works

2006-03-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

I have intiated talks with a private Catholic school to come out of retirement and teach tennis. I have decided to pursue a position at Bishop Hartley and I hope everything works out.

5 years 2 days and counting

2006-03-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

I have been dating Kandi for 5 years and 2 days. From the ISU to OSU and every stop in between we have walked happily together and have had much laughter. If you all wanted to purchase us a five year date-a-thon gift, we are registered with apple computer and we will accept trips out of the country and items that will allow us to hike the Appalachian Trail or the West Highland Way in Scotland.

Mulling a Tennis Comeback

2006-03-25T23:22:00.000-08:00

I have given myself a midnight deadline to decide whether I will come out of retirement and volunteer to coach tennis with a high school tennis team in Columbus. On Friday, I was lucky enough to get back on to the court for the first time in many years and I still have the drive to play and teach. I believe they will have to offer me an incentive based deal with a sizeable signing bonus, but anything is possible with my agent. If I do come out of retirement, Roger Federer better look out! PLAY TENNIS AMERICA!! By the way did everyone know that Wilson makes pink tennis ball? They are super sweet!!

The New School

2006-03-25T23:08:00.000-08:00

If the New School will have me, I will attend. I pledge today the 26th of March that if I am accepted to the New School that I will be headed to New York City. Thanks to my best friend, girlfriend, and partner, Kandi I read the history of the New School and I was amazed by the focus on openess and progressive thought. You can read about the history of The New School by using this link: http://www.newschool.edu/history.html

I believe societies need to be open to ideas, no matter what those ideas may or may not be and who proposes those ideas. A world of secrecy and censorship breeds resentment and hate. I applaud The New School for its embrace of new educational ideas and its focus on progressive movements. I was taken by the idea of a University in Exile and I am excited to hopefully be a small part in the on going history of a wonderful institution.

I look like the Burt's Bees Balm Fellow

2006-03-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

UNCANNY!

A Prayer For A Democrat Majority

2006-03-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

Our voters, who art in blue, red and purple states,
hollowed is your vote.
Thy voice be heard.
Thy vote be counted,
In cities and rural counties.
Give the democrats a majority back
and end the failed republican experiment,
as they have led our country away from our core ideals.
The democrats will lead as out of fear
and deliver us a great society
for they are the party of FDR, Kennedy and Clinton.
A party for all people.
Amen.

Ben Harper's Released a New CD

2006-03-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

Ben Harper has released a double CD and is now available on Itunes and in music stores. I ordered the special addition CD from the website which I pre-ordered. It is the first CD I have purchased in a long time. I have purchased many songs from itunes, but not on CD's. I really enjoy the new Harper CD and believe it is some of his best work. I do not know if it will topple "Fight for Your Mind" as the best Ben Harper disc, but I have to admit it is an amazing work. Buy it from ITUNES RIGHT NOW!!!!

The New School Essay

2006-03-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

I had to write an essay for my application to The New School in NYC. I thought I would post the essay for fun. I think that you could call this essay the Poorman doctrine. If the Bush doctrine is pre-emptive strikes, my doctrine is personal realization that actions have consequences and those consequences effect everyone on earth. I want to move this world in a direction where life is sustainable and that we live in balance with the earth. We must end exploitation and promote a just existence.

Kyle Poorman
The New School
Application Essay

Interdependence between nations and individuals is the key to realizing an equitable and sustainable planet. Our shared responsibility for each other’s existence must become paramount. Therefore, a web of multi-layered organizations focused on the education, health and safety of each individual must be developed along with global agreements on labor, the environment and trade. These flexible organizations must be responsive on the local level. As a robust structure of international, national and local level organizations appear, the opportunities of each individual will be improved. These diverse organizations must offer a broad spectrum of services that previously were scarcely offered or not offered at all.
Achieving a just and sustainable existence is a long-term goal, and in the interim I want to help with the transition to a world based upon the interdependence of its constituent parts. I believe my place in the world will be as an advocate for change. My belief in equality and sustainability permeates across my personality. Therefore, I want to continue my education by earning a Master’s degree in non-profit management at Milano The New School For Management and Urban Policy. I believe non-profit organizations will take the lead in a transitioning planet, and therefore, I want to attend an institution that is not only leading in academic pursuits, but is also focusing upon service to the community at large. I believe non-profit organizations are flexible instruments for change, can be extremely responsive to local issues, and are easily decoupled from governmental disputes.
As a volunteer for Four Seasons City Farms, I have experienced the very beginnings of this grand transition. The group’s gardens have a multi-pronged approach. The organic food produced benefits local volunteers, community members and food banks. The gardening offers an opportunity to educate a broad community about food issues, while the act of gardening instills a sense of community and uses abandoned inner-city lots to produce food and beautify our community.
As an advocate for change, I believe leadership begins in local communities and radiates out to regional, national and international endeavors. I have worked in electoral politics and continue to believe that the speed and flexibility of non-profits must be partnered with good governance. Local communities are the beginning of leadership, but change will not occur without a strong commitment to equality and sustainability at the highest levels of government. Therefore, my ultimate professional goal will be to lead governments to create a framework for governmental and non-governmental groups to begin to realize an interdependent society. I believe that educational training from the The New School, coupled with my undergraduate degree in History will enable me to draw on a vast array of tools to affect our world positively.

Washington State is LAME

2006-03-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

The state of Washington is on my list. It is on the list of states that are lame. You all wonder why Washington is lame, well it is not because of the weather. I actually like rainy weather. The state has fallen out of favor with me because the University of Washington did not accept me into graduate school. I received an email late at night last week telling me that I was not good enough for the History Department in Seattle at the University of Washington. So sorry Seattle, I did not want to go to school at the University of Washington anyway. I do not want to settle for a state that has a fair apple crop when I could possible go to a school in the Big Apple. Yeah that's right Seattle, I like NYC better than you. Stephen Colbert may even put Washington State on the treat down because I just down graded their stock. The state better look out it might be delisted from the list of acceptable states and we may only have 49 stars on our flag. Would I be crying if Washington was swallowed by Oregon, hell no. I would call it Staticide, you know that is legal in Oregon.

Jonathan Meier has a kind of new blog

2006-03-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

So since I have been neglecting my blog, I have neglected to update all my loyal readers about the best mother fing blog around. Yeah I know you all thought vegans could not have blogs, but they can. Yeah I know you all thought seminary students could not work calculators let only computers, but they can. I know you all thought Jonathan Meier was to busy saving the world to write a blog, but I guess he can save the world and write a blog with his free hand. I have to tell you that Jonathan Meier has a blog. Can a get an amen from the installed user base. http://organicvulnerability.blogspot.com/

BEST MOVIE EVER

2006-03-22T14:07:00.001-08:00

I have just watched one of the greatest movies of our time. It is an Italian film, but it was captivation and breathtaking and just plain amazing. The movie is 6 hours in length and I would have watched 24 hours worth of this film. It is called "The Best of Youth" and is worth more than 6 hours of your time. The story follows the lives of two brothers from the 1960's until the present day and chronicles life decisions and the consequences of those decisions. It is also a film very much about family and how families work and do not work and how love works. I first heard about this film on NPR and then read about it in a local alternative paper and I admit that I had extremely high expectations for the film and even with those expectations I was blown away by the film. I have to thank my amazing girlfriend for convincing me to watch "The Best of Youth" instead of going to see V for Vendetta. I have heard great things about V, but if I would have missed "The Best of Youth" I would have missed one of the greatest films of all time. That is right you heard it here first!!! It has topped the Poorman greatest films of all time list.

Modernist Paper

2006-01-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

Kyle Poorman
10 January 2006
Modernist Paper

Epic Fragmentation

Using Virginia Woolf’s declaration that “on or about December, 1910, human character changed” as the underpinning of modernism, the period must be viewed as an epoch of change, illuminated by the impetus toward the destruction of over-reaching societal narratives. Claiming a divergence had occurred between many types of human relationships, Woolf asserted relations between “masters and servants, husbands and wives, parents and children” were altered enabling a breakdown in many human institutions at the same time. The multifaceted breakdown of society’s narratological understanding engulfed a variety of institutions and provided broad subject matter for analysis. Studying the implication of the breakdown of societal understanding, it is necessary to narrow the topic in an attempt to fully grasp micro level modernism.
The breakdown of the personal narrative as captured through the change in narratological tools used in the modern novel is the topic most applicable to my study. Focusing on two literary tools used to give the narrator more flexibility to portray a character’s thoughts, feelings, and words, I endeavor to show a relationship between the rise of free indirect discourse and stream of consciousness to the fragmentation of the personal narrative in society. Portraying the fragmentation of characters through literary techniques provides a framework to tie evidence of a changed individual to the formal techniques of a novel.
The following is an analysis of the use of free indirect discourse and stream of consciousness in two major modernist works, Ulysses and Mrs. Dalloway. Scrutinizing the link between the development of new applications for literary techniques and the explanation of a fragmented personal narrative, I contend that the fragmentation techniques were the antithesis to the bildungsroman or coming of age novels written in the nineteenth century. The coming of age novel focused on the wholeness of a person, mirroring the societal narrative. Breaking away from the structure of the nineteenth century novel, modernist authors developed new techniques to explain the inner workings of individuals. To explain personal fragmentation, new literary techniques were molded around the representation of thought.
The use of outward characteristics to explore the personal narrative was a distinctly nineteenth-century technique that was criticized by modernist authors for being unable to communicate emotions and thought. Woolf contended that nineteenth-century writers could only describe the world outside their characters. Using the example of an old woman, Woolf pointed out that readers only understood her through material surroundings, such as her estates, her water bottles, and the amount she paid for her gloves. Woolf wanted to strip away the physical descriptions in an attempt to realize the “imagination” of the old woman. Writing about physical description as the only way to know characters, Woolf penned, “the tools (literary tools) were the wrong ones for us to use.” Modernists strived to depict people through individualized thoughts, feelings and words, rather than through the physical characteristics of the environment in which the characters interacted.
The dual narratological techniques of free indirect discourse and stream of consciousness applied in James Joyce’s Ulysses and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway invoked an innovation of the narrator that provided modernist authors with specific tools to capture the fragmentation of the personal narrative within society. The literary tools of free indirect discourse and stream of consciousness featured by Joyce and Woolf enabled the narrator to transcribe the inner workings of individual characters through a modus operandi approximating thought coupled with reaction to stimulus. The following analysis will explore the literary innovations of free indirect discourse within Mrs. Dalloway and stream of consciousness within Ulysses.
Free indirect discourse combines elements of both third person narration and indirect discourse, often earning the tag of dual voice narrative. The literary device allows the narrator to be more flexible and quickly shifts from intimate to distant, often merging the narrator’s third person voice with the character’s voice. This tool allows the narrator to remain in third person while using the language pattern, speech pattern and thought pattern of a character without switching into first person. Allowing the narrator to transform into a character’s thoughts and words enables the author to inject poignant thoughts that explode to the surface of the narration and for emotions to ripple through the dialogue. For example, the metamorphosis between a narrator and a character is used in the third paragraph of Mrs. Dalloway. The paragraph reads, “What a lark! What a plunge! For so it had always seemed to her when, with a little squeak of the hinges, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air.” Noticing that the two exclamations are the intimate thoughts and not the discourse or speech of Clarissa Dalloway, the reader is alerted to free indirect style. The example interjects a micro level burst of Clarissa’s personality in the context of the narrator’s voice.
Free indirect discourse approximates human thought by allowing a brief infusion of a character’s words and thoughts to cut into an on-going interior monologue supplied by the narrator. This tool allows for a broad sweep of understanding and then a quick burst from the character, simulating the way humans think and interact. The narrator tracks the macro level narrative of the brain, while sharp interjections of thoughts, emotions and desires are the basic tenets of personality.
The abrupt nature of free indirect discourse lends itself to the modernist period. The technique offers a splintered view of psyche and illustrates the fragmentation of the personal narrative by using the occasional burst of thought to break the smooth meta-narrative.
Theuse of free indirect discourse within Mrs. Dalloway can be used as a tool to analyze the fragmentation of the personal narrative. Woolf’s work revolves around Clarissa Dalloway and the events of a single day leading up to a party being thrown by Clarissa. Woolf uses a number of characters throughout the day that represent her thesis of human character change. She engages the reader in a dialogue about the breakdown of societal narratives that encompasses many issues. Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Smith are the two characters that best depict personal fragmentation and will be the subjects of the examination of character by free indirect discourse.
Clarissa Dalloway’s first appearance is interlaced with free indirect discourse, priming the reader’s understanding of the novel. The narrator’s intention when using the tool of free indirect discourse is to show a fragmented Clarissa Dalloway. Woolf fractures the nineteenth-century concept of the wholeness of characters when Dalloway is introduced. For example, as Clarissa walks to the flower store, the narrator creates a disjointed narrative by interjecting her voice with the description of her journey. Her thoughts bounce into the smooth narrative. Additionally, as Mrs. Dalloway is thinking about an old love interest, Peter Walsh, Woolf inscribes, “she never wrote a letter and his were dry sticks; but suddenly it would come over her, If he were with me now what would he say?” Interjecting Clarissa’s voice enables the narrator to discuss feelings about an old love interest. Offering a fragmented view of Clarissa’s relational situation, the narrator, using Clarissa’s voice, interjects dissonance as she contemplates Peter Walsh. Questioning the wholeness of the Dalloway marriage, Woolf uses free indirect discourse to illuminate the fragmentation of Clarissa’s personal devotion to her husband. The author causes a fragmentation of the narrative by introducing the word ‘me’ into the passage. The interjection of ‘me’ is subtle, but offers a clear example of a narratological tool used to make the reader experience fragmentation in the text and reading.
As Clarissa reaches a point at which her personality is being subjected to scrutiny, free indirect discourse is used to augment the scrutiny, forcing the reader to conclude that Clarissa’s character is fragmented. For example, a string of lines use free indirect discourse to illustrate fragmentation as Clarissa is confronted by the suicide of Septimus Smith. As Clarissa is contemplating Septimus’ suicide, the narrator puts forward these lines,
“she did not pity him, with all of this going on. There! The old lady had put out her light! The whole house
was dark now with this going on, she repeated, and the words came to her, fear no more the heat of the sun.
She must go back to them. But what an extraordinary night!”
The reader is alerted to the fragmentation through the interspersion of free indirect discourse throughout this section. The one poignant word ‘there’ draws the reader’s attention to the discourse, and what follows is a slew of morphing between the narrator’s voice and Clarissa’s voice. Clarissa’s personality is also scrutinized when Peter surprises her in the middle of the day. The narrator frequently slips into Clarissa’s voice when she is confronted with Peter’s love affair with a woman in India. Clarissa’s comfort level raises questions about her personality development. Linking the ideas of comfort and personality in this sequence in Clarissa’s bedroom, the author refers to the fragmentation model by noting,
“ In love! She said. That he at his age should be sucked under in his little bow-tie by that monster! And
there’s no flesh on his neck; his hands are red; and he’s six months older than I am!”
Personal fragmentation of Clarissa’s psyche surfaces as the narrator recalls her specific thoughts through the use of the phrase ‘I am’ at the end of the passage. Clarissa’s fragmented personality is revealed through the technique of free indirect discourse in every instance that her psyche is vulnerable to foreign forces.
Linking free indirect discourse to Clarissa’s physical state focuses the narrative more succinctly on her fragmented personality. Clarissa’s physical illness within the work establishes an image of the breakdown of the body. She is described as being “almost white” from the illness. Being a 52-year old woman, Clarissa is described as “very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time outside, looking on.” The narrator demonstrates a fragmentation of her personality by setting up a paradoxical description. As Clarissa is neither young, nor old, but both, she is portrayed as less than whole, not fully embodied in her physical state.
Clarissa Dalloway’s emotional fragmentation is best understood through her vacillating thoughts about love. Clarissa is unsure about the concept of love, oscillating between thoughts of Peter Walsh, Richard Dalloway and Sally Seton. She wrestles with her thoughts as the day progresses, admitting her uncertainty about not wedding Peter. Clarissa willingly admits that she often “argued” with herself about Peter’s wedding proposal in St. James Park, “still making out that she had been right…not to marry him.” Even though she rationalizes that not marrying Peter was the correct decision, she agonizes over the fact that Peter is in love with someone else. Further fluctuation occurs as Clarissa congers the memories of “this question of falling in love with women.” She questions whether her past relationship with Sally Seton was love. A kiss Clarissa shared with Sally is central to her memory. The kiss is described as “the most exquisite moment of her whole life…the whole world might have turned upside down.” It is evident that Clarissa is still searching for the definition of love as she admits that her husband Richard’s kisses are not the most exhilarating in her life. The fact that Richard cannot utter “I love you” to Clarissa indicates fragmentation. Clarissa comprehends Richards attempt to show affection by stating, “she understood,” insinuating that Richard’s presentation of flowers was enough to foster a sense of love. The inability to express, comprehend or define love furthers the fractured wholeness of Clarissa, and her personal fragmentation is identified through her incomplete ideas about love.
Using punctuation to underscore the concept of fragmentation, Woolf marks the major shifts between narrator and character by an exclamation point, drawing attention to the interjection. An exclamation point appears at key points when Clarissa’s voice enters the narrative. The exclamation points are used when Clarissa walks to get flowers and when Peter surprises her at the party, illuminating the importance of free indirect discourse to the narrative. The exclamation point is a visual fragment in the narrative. Woolf uses the point as a visual queue to illustrate the complete fragmentation of the characters.
The narrator also uses free indirect discourse upon introduction of Septimus Smith, a shell-shocked veteran of World War I. The discourse elucidates Septimus Smith’s mental fragmentation. Free indirect discourse allows for Smith’s thoughts and voice to be recognized by advancing apparent delusional tendencies. A first glimpse of his dementia, coupled with free indirect discourse, is portrayed in the lines, “There was his hand; there the dead. White things were assembling behind the railings opposite. But he dared not look. Evans was behind the railings!” The scene finds Smith viewing a fellow soldier who was killed during the war. Septimus’s vivid fragmentation would be less immediate without free indirect discourse. The apparition of Evans would have been contrived as a false event through the narrator’s voice. The appearance of Evans is catalogued through Septimus’s thoughts using free indirect discourse, a technique that is designed to mimic thought and interaction. The reader’s image of Smith is not biased by the narrator’s view. Septimus encounters Evans in his own mind, and fragmentation is revealed through the technique of free indirect discourse.
Septimus Smith’s change in personality embodies the change from the nineteenth-century model to the modernist model of personality. The description of Smith’s pre-war life lacks free indirect discourse because the author is comparing Smith’s personal narrative to the nineteenth-century personal narrative. Without the discourse, the narrative is not broken by conjecture and is not fragmented. Septimus was an up-and-coming worker at Sibley’s and Arrowsmith’s before the war commenced. He yearned to be a poet and fell in love with a girl that marked his poems with a red pen. Her corrections embodied nineteenth-century thought, as they only dealt with grammar and never with substance. Foreshadowing the breakdown of the meta-narrative, the corrections of Septimus’s poems are the symbol of a bankrupt system that destroyed itself in World War I. That destruction changed the idea of the personal narrative forever.
The destruction of the war occurs following the description of pre-war Septimus Smith. Evans’s death during the war invokes the use of free indirect discourse, marking a clear breakdown in Septimus’s character. Woolf displays a rational plan to link the narratological term to fragmentation when she records,
“when Evans was killed, just before Armistice, in Italy, Septimus, far from showing any emotion or recognizing that here was the end of a friendship, congratulated himself upon feeling very little and very reasonably. The war had taught him. It was sublime.”
It is not a coincidence that free indirect discourse fails to occur between pages eighty-three and eighty-six as pre-war activities are discussed. The author draws a clear demarcation line to entrench the thesis that the narrative of fragmentation is based around the literary technique.
Septimus’s experiences in war traumatized him, leaving him a fragmented character. He was incapable of living in the old society after the war. Reacting to his personal fragmentation, his wife enlisted the help of psychiatric doctors to make him complete. The attempts to rebuild his psyche fail in the eyes of the old society. The doctors’ final diagnosis was to send Septimus to an asylum, but he was unwilling to conform to society and committed suicide. The discourse continued to build as the narrative progressed towards his death. The occurrence of free indirect discourse increased proportionally to the escalation in fragmentation of his personality. The last moments of Septimus’s life are described through free indirect discourse as he was poised to commit suicide. The narrator concludes, “He did not want to die. Life was good. The sun hot. Only human beings-what did they want.”
Septimus’s suicide is the image of modernist subversion. His death is a metaphor for modernism. He was unwilling to conform to past institutions or societal conventions. The breakdown of grand narratives occurred because a drastic change in relationships between people had pre-ordained a breakdown in the social fabric. Smith did not want to commit suicide, but he realized that his relation to the rest of humanity was severed.
Unlike the previous section of the essay that focused on the staccato structure of free indirect discourse, the rest of the essay will focus on stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness is the “narrative technique that records multifarious thoughts and feelings of a character without regard to logical or narrative sequence.” An author provides an abundance of impressions and emotions to explain the complexity of human thought for a single moment. The interjections range from internal to external and have little logical order.
The possibility for irrationality in stream of consciousness shows fragmentation. Stream of consciousness allows a forum to be formed around a character’s mind by using any thought in any sequence. The device allows the modernist author to portray fragmentation by analyzing every feeling, thought and emotion.
Molly Bloom’s stream of consciousness in Ulysses is a case study of fragmentation. The volume and complexity in the eight sentences that span fifty pages fully distinguish stream of consciousness from free indirect discourse. A character’s thoughts are not carefully spliced into the narrator’s vision. Stream of consciousness is a massive web of internal and external conditions amassed in the narrative.
Molly Bloom’s stream of consciousness is rationally ordered. Her thoughts are orderly, yet contradictory, flowing between many topics from Leopold Bloom and Boylan to marriage infidelities and finances. The topics advanced in her psyche clash to further the thesis of personal fragmentation. Joyce follows a pattern of contradictory paths as Molly moves between topics. For example, Molly is aroused thinking about her next tryst with Boylan, while feeling affection for Leopold at the same time. The great advancement of stream of consciousness is the construction of the complex and contradictory nature of human thought and emotion. A character is not pigeon holed into a tiny ideological hole. A broad nuanced understanding of the complexities of human fantasy, decision-making, emotion and internal dialogue fills the consciousness narrative, enabling James Joyce to draw out the depth of fragmentation in a character.
Molly’s unstable marriage is the key to understanding the fragmentation of her character. The fragmentation of Molly and Leopold’s marriage is evident. Within the stream of consciousness, Molly contemplates Leopold’s marital infidelities and her own affairs, even looking forward to her next meeting with Boylan. Molly contemplates the first time she met her husband and compares the virility of Leopold and Boylan. Their relationship is listing and elucidates fragmentation of the personal narrative. At the end of the novel, the relational ties between the two are still unclear. The final line of Penelope finishes, “I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will yes.” In her own mind, Molly has recommitted herself to Leopold, but the stream of consciousness is not clear. It is unclear whether Molly is referencing her husband or another character. Even if Molly is recommitting to Leopold, the nature of stream of consciousness is not conducive to long-term statements. Stream of consciousness is a complex but momentary snapshot of the inner workings of a character. Although Molly may have recommitted to Leopold in that moment, the ephemeral nature of stream of consciousness disallows broad conclusions.
The stream of consciousness also illuminates misconceptions. Molly’s fantasies about Stephen’s cleanliness and friendless are misconstrued from earlier accounts in the novel. Focusing on a specific fantasy about Stephen, Molly attests,
“dew theres no danger besides hes be so clean compared to those pigs of men...Im sure itll be grand if I can only get that handsome young poet at my age Ill throw them the 1st thing in the morning.”
From prior knowledge provided in the novel, Molly’s fantasies about Stephen are misconceptions. Allowing for fallibility in stream of consciousness fuels the thesis of fragmentation of the personal narrative. In addition to Molly’s fragmented personality, her perception of external events is open to inaccuracy.
The eight sentences comprising the chapter of Penelope lack proper punctuation. The fragmented grammatical system reveals Molly Bloom’s stream of consciousness. The fragmented nature of the chapter must be extrapolated to Molly’s personality. Every word that appears on the page represents her thoughts. A lack of punctuation can be construed to mean that humans do not think in grammatical sentences. Stream of consciousness is inherently fragmentary since human thought does not form complete sentences, raising the question as to whether any personality is complete.
Literary tools used to express new conventions and new convictions enable the study of broad historical contexts by examining literary innovation. Subversion of broad meta-narratives is uncovered while looking at the narratological innovation in modernist novels. The depths of human psyche are accessible to research by specifically charting the demise of the personal meta-narrative through the use of literary devices like free indirect discourse and stream of consciousness. Within modernist novels, modernist authors used literary devices to subvert the grand societal story of personal wholeness by fragmenting certain areas of characters lives. Relating the novel to a broader historical base, extrapolation of the fragmentation of a character’s personal narrative to reality demonstrates that the modernist period brought on great uncertainty in peoples’ lives. Investigating the narratological tools used specifically in the modernist period to convey fragmentation and uncertainty, we can conclude that changed human character unearthed within fictional narratives reflects societal narratives. Free indirect discourse and stream of consciousness were used in an attempt to capture the breakdown of grand narratives. The destruction of grand meta-narratives is apparent in novels, which were the building blocks of new literary ideas that mirrored the changed relations within society.

The Lion, The Witch, and This Movie was Lame

2005-12-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Please veto any plans to see the first screen version of the Chronicles of Narnia. The movie was marketed and slanted in a fashion that suited the ideology of fundamentalist Christians. The allegorical movie represented a move to make and market movies to the growing evangelical movement. After the 'success' of the Passion of the Christ, this film moved in. Sending out materials to evangelical mega churches and marketing it to a faith- based audience, this movie smacks of playing to the crowd. I know you all are thinking that I should be blaming CS Lewis, but I am not. I believe the creative license of the script and the director have stolen the greatest parts of the CS Lewis tail. Christianity is not about dying for the original sin of others, it's about forgiveness, and love. There were plenty of parts within the CS Lewis novel that could have been drawn out. Also I do not know how this movie received a PG rating. There is slaughter in this movie. There is battle and it involves young children. I did not like the movie. I was not impressed by the visual representation of Narnia, nor was I impressed by the acting. The only acting I fondly looked up was done by the youngest member of the caste. I thought Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings were much better stories and movies. NARNIA=LAMOIA!!! The rating I give the movie is 0 out of 4 Poorman's!!!

Modernism

2005-12-22T12:02:00.000-08:00

I am reworking a paper I wrote on modernism to use for graduate school applications and I am planning on posting the document in its completed version to get some feed back. So please be looking for it in less than two days. Please be honest!! I need feedback, not ego boosts. I already have a large enough ego to take up the entire state of Ohio.

Holidays in Missouri

2005-12-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

Kandi and I will be spending Dec.24-26 in Missouri visiting with my family. This will be our first visit to my Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Gary's vacation home on the Lake of the Ozarks. We wish all of you a merry holiday season. Please relax and show some good cheer to friends and family. Do not be a scrooge! If you are planning on being an Ebenezer please know that ghosts will visit you in the night. IS THAT YOU JACOB?

Strong Democrats

2005-12-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

WAY TO GO DEMS!!! The flurry of activity this week at the US capital saw a rejuvenated Democratic party. They stood up for ordinary folks and forced the majority party into disarray. Keep it up Dems!!!! The Dems stopped uncle Ted by nixing drilling in ANWR from a defense appropiations bill, they won a procedural battle on lame budget cuts that will hurt the elderly, the poor and students and stood up against the US patriot act. Yes, the budget cutting measures were passed by the Senate, but the vote was 51-50. There were defections from moderate republicans!!! The victory on the budget bill came because the Democrats forced the House to vote on the bill again. By forcing a re-vote in the House next year, the majority party will have to explain why they are cutting 40 billion dollars that is mostly earmarked for social programs that aid the impoverished, the sick, the elderly and students, while they try to pass 70 billion dollars worth of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. 2006 is an election year and Republicans are extremely vulnerable and will not want a protracted debate on budget cuts and tax cuts. The Senate has also re-authorized only a six month extension on the patriot act, which means that hearings on Bush wiretapping will occur while the debate and voting on the patriot act takes place. The DEMS are finding their collective spine!!!

World Cup Prediction

2005-12-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

The USA will win the alleged group of death with ease and surprise the world. I predict three pool wins, but as of yet I cannot predict the knock out stages.

House Bill 3

2005-12-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

COLUMBUS, Ohio – (December 9, 2005) – Despite the heavy snow storm and bitter temperatures, Jonathan Meier, a 23 year-old divinity student and Columbus resident, is continuing a prayer vigil and hunger strike at the Ohio Statehouse to signal his disgust and distrust with House Bill 3 – the vote reform bill proposed and supported by GOP lawmakers. Early this morning, Meier was joined by Kyle Poorman, a 25 year-old voter organizer from Columbus.

Meier says that the demonstration is his way of highlighting the injustice of House Bill 3.
“Most people don’t realize that this legislation, if passed by the senate next week, would make it virtually impossible for homeless folks to vote, would make it virtually impossible for groups to register large numbers of voters, would eliminate oversight of voting machines, and would cancel our right to challenge election results.”

Why prayer and a hunger strike? Meier says that his Christian faith calls him to “constantly pursue social justice and illuminate social ills, and, often, this call requires personal sacrifice.”

The Ohio Senate is expected to vote on House Bill 3 next week. Meier affirms that he will continue praying and fasting until that point.

“Who gains from this legislation?,” Meier asks. “Instead of addressing the long lines at the polls, instead of making it easier for people to register and to vote, Republican lawmakers put forward 424 pages of legislation that will set up roadblocks to our democracy. I, for one, do not trust a vote reform bill that is purely a partisan act.”

Confessions of a wannabe soccer hooligan

2005-11-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

I confess I want to be a soccer hooligan, but Southampton was relegated from the Premiership. Would I really give my body up for Manchester City? I do love Claudio Reyna, but not enough to give up on the Saints just yet. I will admit to harboring thoughts about joining Sam's Army, but how cliche. I do not want to be a cool hip soccer/ football fan, I want to be a hooligan. I want to be a crazed marauder. I want my exploits to morph in to legendary tails and finally pass into myth.

Book and Movie Reviews

2005-11-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

Beginning henceforth I, (state your name) Kyle Poorman will review one movie and one history book per week. The first movie will be "A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT." The first book will be "American Prometheus." Expect the reviews in less than one week from today.

Review Pledge Before Reading

2005-11-17T18:59:00.000-08:00

I pledge allegiance to my blog
and to its creator (Me) for which it stands
one ego boost indispensable
with politics and humor for all.

First Skill

2005-11-16T15:06:00.000-08:00

I have recently begun to learn the skill of knitting. Knitting will be my first actual skill that I know. If we are ever faced with a post apocalyptic world, I will know how to knit clothing. I could probably also carry on a verbal history, but my first concrete skill will be knitting. My first project is a scarf. I am told it is one of the easiest items. Kandi is a much better knitter than I am. She recently produced an amazing golden hat for me. The hat was made with fair trade, hand spun wool from Uruguay. Kandi is also working on a laptop bag. Little good that laptop bag will do after a nuclear holocaust, but at least it will look pretty. Look out world, Kandi and Kyle are on our way to be fashion designers. We are taking our progression towards the fashion world one needle at a time.

Prediction For Saturday

2005-11-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

IOWA 35
MINNESOTA 14

The great battle against the team from the great laked north will be no match for the Poorman Hawkeyes. The University of Iowa will trounce the Janke Gophers. Do you want to put a little wager on the American Football match Benny?

Poorman 102
Janke 101

I will always win!!!!!

Getting Lucky

2005-11-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

PUSHING POORMAN IS RANKED #1 on the world's greatest search site. I would like to thank everyone who made this possible. Without out your links and clicks, PUSHING POORMAN would not be the first site to come up when one types into google "Kyle Poorman." I would like to thank the academy, my family, my lovely life partner and best friend Kandi, my friends and most of all my adoring fans. Without the fans, none of this would have been possible. I do not care how self centered pushing poorman has become, it all has really been for the fans, groupies and hooligans that love me. Right now I am #1 in the BCS, AP, Harris and viewers polls. God has shined on my site and now I am shining back. Amen google god.

Rewriting History

2005-11-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

In a toast to George W. Bush, I will rewrite my personal history to better suit my pursuit of becoming President. I apologize to all my homies who thought I was born in Iowa. I was really born in New Hampshire, but quickly moved to Iowa. Yes, I stopped off in South Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania on the way back just to get the feel of those states. So basically I was born in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. I am a son of those states. I consider them all my rightful birthplaces. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to deliberately smear my character and I will not stand for that. I will not stand for those who say I was born at Mary Greeley Medical Center, they are just plain wrong. I also have a sister that was born in New York, California and Iowa. Between us the electoral map is mine and I will sweep the early primaries and that amazing Iowa caucus. Never mind the critics who think I am only from Iowa. It doesn't matter that only 36% of people believe me when I tell them about my childhood. I knew Spanish and French by the age of six and I attended public school and private school. I was a star cross country, football, basketball, track, soccer, volleyball, and chess player. No one letter more times and in more sports and activities than I did. The only sport I could not grasp was tennis. Tennis is a sport for losers. I finished with a 4.0 and I failed zero courses. Let me write that again zero courses. I do not care who has that fake HS transcript floating around out there, yes math was a challenge and I did not show up all the time, but I still failed zero courses. My ACT score was a 36!! I know CNN is reporting in the 20's, but they are unpatriotic. I mean we are at war here. Those liberal media outlets are all hurting the cause. Turn to the Fox to get the real scoop. They report and I decide. College was a smooth ride for me. I alternated between Harvard, Yale, Berkeley and Columbia. No, I did not attend Central College, DMACC and Iowa State. No I did not do extremely poorly my first two years. I know you CBS's, NBC's, ABC,s and Rather's out there want to peg my final GPA at 3.55. That is just plain false. I aced every class. I know you all think a mid college turn around is heroic, but I did not need to turn my self around. I did not need to recover from a lot less than a 2.0. I am a machine. I will not admit mistakes because I have made zero. By the way I have not failed ever. NEVER!!! TO BE CONTINUED...

White Phosphorus

2005-11-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

The US admits to using White Phosphorus in Iraq as an incendiary weapon, something the Pentagon had denied earlier. Although the US is not a signatory to a treaty forbidding the use of White Phosphorus incendiary weapons against combatants in civilian areas, some 80 countries including the United Kingdom are signatories. White Phosphorus munitions used against civilians is considered a chemical weapon by various advocacy groups. In the run up to the war in Iraq President Bush often used the fact that Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against his own population as an argument for the war, but in Fallujah the United States Armed Forces used White Phosphorus in a manner considered by some to be the use of a chemical weapon. If the United States wants to bring freedom and democracy to the globe, we must not use these types of weapons or even consider that an armed conflict will lead to a safer world. The greatest gift America can give to the world is as an example. We must be the beacon of freedom not the bestower of the swift sword of freedom. We must show that all people have rights and that United States defends those rights no matter what happens. We must not hold prisoners without trial. We must not call politicians that question policies of a President accessories to terrorists. We must not use weapons of a questionable nature and we must not abuse prisoners under our control. We must be the upholders of all laws, not just the ones that suit the short term good of the United States.

Election Update

2005-11-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

Five of the six candidates the League of Pissed Off Voters endorsed ended up winning!!!! The four ballot initiatives that we fought for so valiantly lost, but not to worry the League will go on. We are in the process of examining our wins and losses. We are putting everything out on the table and we are trying to move forward in a manner that will benefit everyone. We have made one huge observation. WE NEED MORE LEAGUERS!!!! WE NEED YOU!!!

Thanksgiving

2005-11-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Kandi and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our apartment next Thursday. You are all invited to attend. We are hosting mostly chemistry graduate students, post graduates and any one else who decides Iowans know more about Thanksgiving than anyone else. This will mark our first attempt at hosting the gathering. I am planning the menu today, although I believe it will be part pot luck and part planned. I am told that our friends from other amazing countries around the world will be bringing cuisine from their respective cultures. I believe it is my duty to represent the First Nation at Thanksgiving and remind everyone that American culture did not begin with a landing at Hispanola or at Plymouth Rock. I realize that we do live in a city named after a famed Genoese sailor, but this Thanksgiving I am going to embrace the histories and traditions of the peoples that called America home before European contact. This focus on nativism has been prompted by my belief that I have First Nation heritage. That being said, I am going to try to prepare some classic American Indian dishes. I have never prepared any dishes like this before, but I believe Thanksgiving is a great time to try. On a tangential note, it is funny how new world items have been identified with old world countries. Take the tomato for example, it was discovered in the new world, but has been identified with Italy. The potato is also new world fare, but the Irish stole it. Blame Bono for that one. Please attend our Thanksgiving even if you live in far flung hobbit holes like Iowa, California, New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, France, Greece or Israel. If you cannot make it in person, please accept my thanks to you for your friendship.

SORRY

2005-11-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

There are 20 billion excuses I could use to tell all of my loyal readers about my failure to post new blogdates, but they would all be lame. LAME!!!!! I am sorry!!!

Sit Down Stand Up she said she was "just a person who wanted to be seated on the bus….I want everyone to remember me as a person who wanted to be free

2005-10-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

The impetus behind the initiation of the Montgomery bus boycott died yesterday. Rosa Parks sat down and the Civil Rights movement stood up for rights being withheld by a sick nation. Rosa Parks must be an example to all of us!! One action can start a movement. One action can alter a nation, a world and a universe. Rosa Parks stood up for her human rights by sitting down and refusing to yield to the pressure of a segregated nation. Thank you Rosa Parks! You will be missed, but your presence will always be with us. Your example will yield strength to new activists fighting for supposed inalienable rights withheld. Your deeds will remind us that actions seemingly so mundane as sitting on a city bus can spark rapid reform and your life must remind us that the fight for Civil Rights is on going. We still face inequality each day and we all must stand up like Rosa sat down.

40 hour club

2005-10-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

When Billy Wimsatt graced Columbus last week with his presence he asked members of the Columbus League of Pissed Off Voters how many hours we could volunteer before the election. Miles, a member of the League steering committee enthusiastically cackled 40 hours. Miles exuberance led to a rash of 40 hour pledges and the hope that issue 2,3,4, and 5 will be enthusiastically embraced by Ohio voters. Billy believes that issues 2,3,4 and 5 are the most important initiatives on the ballot throughout the nation and I agree with him, but the most important part about elections is turnout. I would like to urge each and every one of you to volunteer for a cause, a campaign, or for a get out the vote organization. If we all put in 40 hours before the election, the turnout will most certainly be higher. A higher turnout signals that democracy is working and the voices of the citizens are brought to School Boards, City Councils, State Houses, Congress and the White House. Your voice will be heard when you vote. So vote early and vote progressive!!!! YES on ISSUES 2,3,4 and 5 in OHIO!!!!!

APPLE-REVOLUTION (my thoughts on apple computer and Jesus Jobs)

2005-10-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

The latest incarnation of Apple's ipod has the ability to play video, but the real revolution revealed in Steve Jobs keynote was the ability to buy individual TV programs immediately after those programs aired. Purchasing TV programs for 1.99 will revolutionize TV. The itunes TV store will allow people to own their favorite programs immediately. Yes, they could TiVo the programs and have them for free, but I believe that the 1.99 price point is affordable enough for people to forgo the TiVo. There is also a vast library of passed TV episodes that could be placed on Apple's site. As with the introduction of itunes, people are questioning whether the public will stop using illegal methods of procuring TV programs and movies and switch to a legal method. I think the success of the itunes music store can speak to the need of a mainstream legal download service for television and movies. Who better to craft such a service than Apple Computer. The initial offerings of ABC TV programs, Pixar shorts and over 2000 music videos will hopefully only be an initial pilot to a full fledge TV and movie download store.

League Founder With Reform Ohio Now Author

2005-10-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

Bill Wimsatt and Herb Asher will grace Columbus Ohio on 21 Oct @ 1:30pm Ohio State University Mendenhall Lab 100

Do not miss the LEAGUE voter guide release party!!! OCT. 21 6pm@ Little Brothers 1100 N. High

Booking Photo

2005-10-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

SMILE TOM!!! YOU WERE JUST BOOKED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING AND CONSPIRACY!!! HOW DOES IT FEEL?

This photo is Tom DeLay's mug shot after an arrest warrant was issued by a Texas state court yesterday.

Attack of the cons

2005-10-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

Kandi and I were attacked by the black converse bug. Look out!!! Without warning your feet may sprout black converse shoes. My symptoms include totally black detailing on my shoes, where as Kandi has some white on her shoes. I do not believe the disease is airborne, but just in case avoid Journeys or any other converse reseller. If you do not heed my warnings, the converse demon will remove 40$ from the account of your choosing and a new pair of amazing shoes will be kicking around your house soon. May the converse be with you!!

Voter Guide has arrived

2005-10-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have finished a postcard voter guide, but I am not sure if it will be printed. Our first league voter guide has already been printed, but I have been told we may have another print run.

Bush pushed down to 39%

2005-10-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

George W. Bush has slipped to the lowest approval rating of his Presidency. 39% of Americans approve of George W. Bush. Unfortunately Bush is only losing support among Democrats and Independents. In the latest USA Today/ Gallup/ CNN Poll 85% of Republicans still approved of Bush. Only 8% of Democrats approve of the President. Where is the disconnect? With 68% of Americans saying they are dissatisfied with the direction the country is going, the Democrats have a huge opportunity. It is time for a change!! The midterm elections are only a year away! It is time to get behind progressive candidates that will stand up to the White House and the Republicans in congress. The Republicans have been running the country for half a decade now and their track record speaks for itself. We are fighting two wars, we have a ballooning deficit, the majority leader of the house has been indicted, the majority leader of the senate is under investigation, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby along with the entire West Wing are under a investigation over the leaked name of a covert CIA operative and the former Chief Procurement Officer for the Bush administration has been indicted just to name a few things. The President is destroying the federal government by placing unqualified political appointees in places of extreme importance. One would have thought he would have learned his lesson with Mr. Brown, but in a move that smacks of cronyism he nominated his personal lawyer of over a decade to the Supreme Court. It is time for a change!!!

CENTURY CLUB, I am a quarter of the way there

2005-10-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

On 13 October 2005 I entered the quarter century club. I was inducted by my parents, Aunt, Kandi and Nate at a private ceremony closed to the media. My mother's celebratory feast set the tone for the next 25 years. The shear volume of food coupled with the aromas and presentation made me optimistic for the years ahead. If my 25th Birthday was celebrated in such a lavish fashion, I cannot wait for the years ahead of me. Luckily my Aunt was able to attend my graduation from youthful adult to just plain adult. My Aunt has been present at almost all 25 occasions along with my parents. We were missing my sister and my Uncle Gary. I had hoped my sister could have made it, but she sent her love via text. Gary's excuse was professional, he had to teach a class. This was also my first birthday without my grandmere. I hope I can live my years in similar fashion to her amazing years. To conclude this post, I offer a toast to 25 years of living and I hope for lifetime of happiness and laughter.

Everyday Friends

2005-10-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

We need to found a commune. A commune designed to keep friends together as everyday friends. Returning to Iowa elicited my yearning to be close to all of my far off friends. Our time in Iowa was quite short, but we hung out with a few far off fellows. It was wonderful to see Nate, Ross and Jess. We also briefly bumped into Laurence and the crew, but our schedules and Stomping Grounds slow service did not match up. To the rest of our far flung friends, we love you. We love you in Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, California, Iowa, Oregon, France, Israel or wherever our beloved reside. The real question is where do we start the commune at? Should we start an organic farm? Our friend Garth was going to start farming in northern Iowa this year, I wonder if he has. Although, I am not advocating a northern Iowa location. We could find a warmer, friendlier climate somewhere else in the world.

Iowa Nuptials, Ushering Home

2005-10-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Kandi and I returned to Iowa this past weekend for her brother's wedding. I helped usher in the wedding on Saturday. Quite literally, I ushered in one third of the guests. Performing the job of usher was quite entertaining. Using my vast knowledge of formal occasions, I decided to follow the example of Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred. Everyone that I ushered into a pew received my best conjured English butler. Never having witnessed a Catholic wedding, I was quite amused at the amount of movement in the service. I was informed that we would not encounter a full mass, but was blind-sided by the engaging Priest Dennis, or shall I say, Priest Dennis Miller. The comedian's homily was informal, practical and funny. Kandi and I first encountered the good Priest at the rehearsal dinner. We were fortunate enough to be seated across from him while we ate. During the meal, we learned that Priest Dennis lived between two frats. One of the frats was notorious for urinating off of the balcony and the other was notorious for spending Halloween dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller every 20 minutes for the entire night. When the frat brothers get too crazed, the Priest takes his newly purchased pop-up camper to a campground to sleep. The good priest is also a huge fan of John Stewart and is looking forward to Colbert Factor (it's French, bitches). Priest Dennis also listened to Air America, but was thwarted by Serius radio when they dropped the programming. Maybe after Benedict we will have Pope Dennis.

Each portion of the Harper/ Jauer wedding was meticulously planned and carried out succinctly. The wedding concluded hitch free and I must admit to having a little to much 'fun' at the reception. I imbibed a few to many glasses of bubbly. Having 'fallen asleep' sideways across our hotel bed, I surprisingly awoke without a splitting headache the next morning.

I want to wish the newly wedded couple the best and if they have the chance to ever read my blog, they should know that Kandi and I are world class competitive board game players. We will not lose a board game challenge ever again!!! So study up newlyweds.

anti-bob jobs

2005-10-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to find employment in a thrilling field, I have decided to use a tactic called anti-bob job hunting. Yes, I did just make up anti-bob, but that is fine with me. I want to find a job that makes me feel like a rockstar, a job that I'm thrilled to do. Therefore, this week I am going to compile a list of rockstar jobs and apply to all of them. I have decided I will do this every week until I get an anti-bob job. I concur that I did get my hair cut, but I am not a BOB. Does Bob look like this?

Lingua Franca

2005-10-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Lingua Franca is Italian for Frankish Language. The term is used today to denote the dominant or diplomatic language used around the world or portions of the world. The Lingua Franca in Europe for many centuries was Latin, but it transitioned to French around the 16th century. Beginning in the 20th century, English became the lingua franca across the globe as it was adopted as the language of business. The switch to English no doubt began with British imperialism, but was solidified after the United States rise to superpower status after WWII. The point of this exercise was to inform everyone of our (Kandi and I) desire to take a French course at Ohio State. We will be learning a Frankish Language, although no longer the lingua franca it used to be. There are still portions of Africa and Asia that use French and therefore it may still be known as a regional Lingua Franca. We will hopefully be beginning our French course next Tuesday. Kandi is worried that everyone in the class will laugh at her pronunciation. I have assured her that if she just listens to me, she will be speaking perfect French immediately. Everyone should take a continuing education course. Hopefully the course will be fun and truly educational.

Take the home tour at 840 Neil Ave.

2005-10-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on Future Plans

2005-10-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

Kandi and I seek adventure and have thus felt inclined to search for options outside of Ohio. We are weighing a giant leap across oceans and other graduate schools. I am going to apply to Berkeley, Columbia, NYU, Washington, UCSD, Stanford, and UCLA. At each school except Columbia I will apply to the History department. At Columbia, I am going to apply to the Earth Institute. Columbia offers a one year masters program in Environmental Policy at the Earth Institute that looks quite enticing. For updates to future plans please check back regularly. Hopefully with constant checking my blog will make it to google. Do not worry I will be the one constantly checking my own blog, how else do I keep myself updated on my own life.

Get a hair cut and get a real job

2005-10-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

I want to inform the world that I just dropped 5 lbs. in 30 minutes. In the aforementioned thirty minutes I lost my dirty hippie image and morphed into a Jake Gyllenhaal look a like. Grocers in the Columbus area may again decide to card my alcohol purchases and my fellow employees at the Cup O' most assuredly will be shocked. The staff of STA travel and our roommate Katie wore expressions of disbelief when I appeared changed and Kandi informed me at lunch immediately after my studio posh date that my hair reaches the level of exceptional. For the record, I recommend Studio Posh to my fellow Columbusonians. Studio Posh delivered a great hair cutting experience and they took care the details involved in sending my hair to locks of love. The package to Locks of Love ships out in a few hours.

She asks me why I'm such a hairy guy

2005-10-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

1.5 hours until I lose the hippie locks which is significant because my hair has grown to be at least 1.5 feet long. In a pre-memorial for my brown strands, I procured the song HAIR off itunes. I thought it would be a fitting tribute to my long, lovely, luscious, lengthy brown hair.

Improv Latte Art-I stirred it and voila.

2005-10-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Homeless in Pickerington

2005-10-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

There is a homeless man living in a disabled SUV that is sitting behind my coffee shop. What is funny about this situation is that I was working with the person who owns the blazer and I had the dubious task of informing him about his new house guest. To give a bit of background about the situation, I must inform the public that the owner of the blazer has not taken care of his disabled truck after a half of a year has passed since the vehicle's last use and in the process of its eternal rest behind cup o' it has been vandalized and a window was smashed out. After work last night, my co-worker and I were standing outside around midnight and I witnessed a person moving in the back seat of his old beaten up blazer. At that exact moment our constant jokes about homeless people inhabiting the flat-tired gray beast became a reality and the humor of our jokes were deflated. It was just funny that our jokes came to pass, but it wasn't funny that a human being had to live in a the back of a truck. Homelessness is unacceptable!! Every human deserves a shelter, a home, an opportunity. We live in the wealthiest country the world has ever witnessed, we need to defeat poverty and homelessness.

League of Pissed Off Voters/ Indy Voters/ La Liga and other such names

2005-09-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

The League of Pissed Off Voters passed some hours together yesterday in an attempt to clarify our endorsement slate, production of endorsement slate and various other topics. Our wide ranging discussions were enhanced by my hosting talents. I ensured our members were well nourished with snobby cheese and bread coupled with strawberries, pumpkin cookies, chips and salsa. The pumpkin cookies hit the spot and do warrant a letter of thanks to Giant Eagle.

Our meeting went well as we have focused our efforts and set up a timetable to complete our voter guide. My design expertise has been tapped to design our voter guide. Our schedule leaves us little time as our voter guides need to be printed by Oct. 21. Hopefully my first attempt at document design goes smoothly. I will be able to produce a proper voter guide, but I may have to compromise my personal minimal style because of funding concerns. Everything will have to be smaller unless our funding budget gets bumped up. Lorraine would like to produce 37,501 voter guides. I do not know if 37,501 is realistic right now as our funding is extremely limited. We are advocating printing off voter guides wherever possible, sending them out electronically and printing them off on personal computers and distributing to our friends and neighbors. We will also have them conventionally printed, but without proper funding we will have to get creative. Jeff and Lorraine have offered to sell their bodies. I will gladly sell them and take 50% of the profit for administrative fees.

Lorraine's daughter Tulia performed her duties as ambassador to the world of witches and wizards quite well. Not only are we working on a voter guide, but a treaty between the league and Dumbledore's Army. I think the new alliance could bring considerable clout to the league in both the magic and non-magic worlds. By the way, Tulia is the league's resident Harry Potter expert and the cutest leaguer by far and her energy outstrips all of us combined. Tulia for President of the muggles!!!

THE VOTER GUIDE IS COMING 10/21/05

Edited By Kandi "Rules" Harper

Pushing Myself

2005-09-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

I conjured this blog in an attempt to become a better member of humanity... Future posts will illuminate my journey.

Disorganized Political Superhero

2005-09-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to push myself to become an active member of planet earth, I have begun a blogging journey. By blogging about my daily life, I will invariable have to participate in activities that are exciting to blog about. These activities will take me out of my mundane life and transform me into a superhero of mythic stature.

In all seriousness, I am having a League of Pissed Off Voters meeting at my house tomorrow and I do feel like it will be worth blogging about even though I may be risking a future black listing if the Republicans stay in power much longer. The meeting begins at 730pm Sept. 29th at 840 Neil Ave. The meeting will be dealing with the upcoming election and Reform Ohio Now. I am looking forward to the meeting and I hope that I can finally participate civically in a meaningful way.

In more mundane news, I worked my barista job as I have for the last year. I must admit to my adoring fans that I have cracked into the secretive world of latte art. My self training is paying off as I am becoming more adept at forming leaves and I am a pro at making hearts. Oh do I love latte foam and froth. In other Barista news, I stopped a homeless man from stealing from our tip jar today. This action brought up a grand moral dilemma, how does one react to a poor person stealing? I thought about allowing him to keep the money, but decided against that because I thought it would reinforce a destructive behavior. I am extremely sympathetic to poverty issue and I often wonder how does a homeless person break out of their specific cycle of poverty? Many people state that "they should just get jobs." How does a homeless person get a job? Do they have references? Do they have a phone number or proper identification? Do they have suitable clothing to wear to work? Do they they have reliable transportation to get to work? These are just a few of the very superficial questions one must first ask. I will not even touch on biased employers pre-judging the character and disposition of a homeless person. Anyway getting back to the man who tried to steal our tips, instead of giving him the cash I asked him not to steal any longer and I also inquired if he wanted anything from the store. He answered that he only wanted a coffee, so I gave him a coffee with cream a sugar. Poverty is a serious issue and I will likely be dealing with it in great detail in my life and in this blog.

On another front, Kandi and I have decided to fly back to Iowa for her Brother's wedding. I felt the wrath for my inability to make a decision today, because after months of debating the merits of driving verses flying, I pulled an "I don't know" out of my hat when asked about the subject. My "I don't know yet" brought a justified condemnation from Kandi. She was not hesitant in informing me of my inability to make a timely decision. Needless to type, I quickly back tracked and excepted defeat, while rashly choosing to fly to Iowa. Yes, I say rashly because in this decision I have failed to wait until the last possible second to decide. I must admit that I often have a hard time making decisions. I like to debate and talk and ponder and wonder and argue, but I have a hard time quickly staking claim to a decision. I like all the pro's and con's in front of me and still I have a hard time choosing a side sometimes. I have to work on being decisive. I also have to work on being cleanly. I want to be an organized and cleanly person, but these concepts are extremely hard to grasp. When I am an academic, I wish for organized thoughts and arguments presented in a logical order, but I often cannot accomplish this hope. As a Barista I strive for cleanliness, but fall well short. I must work diligently to accomplish these simple virtues.