I was poking around on YouTube and I came across Obama's January 2007 announcement that he'll be forming an exploratory committee. An exploratory committee! He hadn't even yet decided to run. It's helpful to watch a video clip like this and to reflect on how all the time that has elapsed since then. When we remind ourselves of how we started, then we can begin again. And keep going.
04.28.08 "All the things that go through my mind"
Dear Middle America,
The other day I was sitting in a waiting room, and lying around was a New Yorker from last year. Reading this article helped give me some much-needed perpsective on Obama's Pennsylvania results. Although I prefer to say that he didn't lose Pennsylvania, but instead that Clinton won (semantics, at least in this case, is everything), the numbers basically say that Obama did, in fact, lose. And that has been bumming me out --- that is, until I read the aforementioned article. I thought it was interesting that Obama is now kind of back to where he was last Thanksgiving, which is strangely both recent and far away.
I'll always remember the day that Obama lost in Pennsylvania, because that's the same day that I was rejected for a job that I'd been pining after with gusto. I thought about how Obama is some man, some figure, who is completely disconnected from my life in every relevant way. He has nothing to do with me. He is a stranger. Although he has the capacity to be "my" president, the use of the word "my" is relatively meaningless. If he does become president, he'll certainly make choices that will affect my life, but in the end he's not "my" anything. Yet I find myself drawn to him in a surprisingly personal way.
One of the arguments against Obama's candidacy is that he's too inexperienced. The Democratic contest is being called a marathon of "personality politics", and my main argument for supporting Obama is just as subjective as personality politics but is nevertheless true. We all should support Obama if only because he's something different. Since the 1990s, our leadership has been Bush-Clinton-Clinton-Bush-Bush. And that's not counting the Bush vice presidency. Hello?
I've been known to write a good letter. My letters have incited either fury or admiration. Once, I was called a "good man" because of things I said in one letter in particular. Four years have passed since I wrote that letter. The person who called me a "good man" is no longer in my life because of reasons that, well, proved I'm not so much of a "good man". When I write a letter, I try to say everything I want to say, but I also try to understand what will be empathic for the recipient. It's my way of reaching out for an agreement. I don't think Obama's candidacy is a letter, though. It's a promise. Let's look back at everything he's said during his campaign. Let's examine how he's said those things. Let's look at his record and separate everything into Pro and Con columns. Can he keep his promise? Ultimately, the reason he has my vote is because he has the uncanny ability to both craft a good letter and make a promise. He is a good man and he will be a good president.
Obama's voice is totally and absolutely the freshest voice that has descended on Washington and the American people in a long time. But is he ready? Will he need on-the-job training? The answers to those questions will be endlessly debated in other arenas in which logic is the main imperative. But here, within my space, I think we should all get behind him if only because this man has truly put himself out there on behalf of what he believes in. Whether or not he's adequately experienced seems immaterial compared to the heart he injects and infuses into every promise he makes.
Injects and infuses: his every word penetrates with the sharpness of a syringe. That's where he differs from other candidates, because I believe he isn't just saying things that he think should be said, or that the people might want to hear. He is the bravest, most honest candidate to come in a long time, and he says what needs to be said even if it might be unpleasant for his candidacy and toward other people. Also, he has never struck me as particularly incendiary. When he speaks, his aim isn't to divide. He's merely stating what might be right and what might be wrong, and how the two might be mended. He is a progressive, and I use that word with absolutely no caution at all, knowing that it's been co-opted by fundamenalist thinking. Progression is not an agenda; it is a genuine desire to grow, to take those brave steps forward. But no one likes to leave their comfort zones, and taking forward steps can be scary. There are people out there who have seized on that nervousness. Not Barack.
Words versus actions --- can he deliver? Given the choice between experience and enthusiasm, many employers are apt to make their choice based on hard facts obtained from the résumé and reference checks. Certainly, Barack's references check out. As the employer, the American people might prefer that he spent more time on the senate floor, or perhaps combat zones. In terms of the American presidency, waiting might be dangerous. What difference does a few years make? And if he hasn't yet learned the hard lessons --- so what? Barack doesn't seem like the type who'll be stumped by a foreign language or caught in the headlights of The Pet Goat. He has the heart of the people and he is the heart. It always seems more convenient to forget the heart and remember the adrenaline: the finger that will push The Button, the hand that will answer The Call. I believe that Barack can lead us with his heart, but at the same time, he is already wise enough to know what to do with The Button. The evidence might not be as concrete as some want it to be, but he's shown that he is thirsty for the chance to prove himself in a job that he clearly loves. So many others have lied and manipulated to get that job. And what is Barack's crime --- heart? Just give him a shot. In terms of the American presidency, the alternative will be worse, and it already has been.
Very truly yours,
Joe
04.24.08 "Reshuffle and regroup"
Sometimes these things just don't work out. On the same day that Obama lost Pennsylvania, I was rejected by Barnes & Noble. Finding meaning in that seemingly unrelated coincidence makes me feel better, somehow. I haven't even heard a peep from Borders. That's OK. My formal education beckons.
04.14.08 "Welcome Barnes & Noble "
Today I was contacted by Barnes & Noble because of an application I put in several weeks ago. To those from B&N who are accessing this website, welcome and thank you for visiting. Please click here to access my bookseller candidacy site. Although the site was authored with Borders Group in mind, please rest assured that both the knowledge and energy that I have for bookselling are universal!
Oh, and for everyone else, don't forget to do your taxes! Haha... I did mind last month. Yep, I suddenly realized that if I didn't get them overwith before mid-March passed, then I never would. Whew! Also, yay being a starving student! I ended up qualifying for all these tax credits that I never knew existed...
Please note: The candidacy site is enhanced with images and sound. Broadband connection recommended.
04.06.08 "The family in me"
Thanks for visiting! You're probably reading this entry because I have presented myself as a candidate for employment with the Borders Group, and in particular, the new concept store opening in Alameda. To view my candidacy site, please click here. Once again, I am grateful for your visit and consideration!
02.23.08 "WonderCon 2008"
Wasn't planning on going this year, but I had to when I heard that Mulder, Scully, and company were gonna be there. Gillian Anderson is more beautiful than she always is.
I would go hetero for her.
ELSEWHERE AT WONDERCON: "Uh, I like him on Pimp My Ride..." ---reaction from a fellow X-Files fan when I told her that Xzibit had been cast in the movie
"Brian Austin Greene is gonna be here tomorrow! ...hello?" ---woman on her cell phone
"You're too young to be a Golden Girl." ---reaction from a woman after she read the pen name I'd chosen for my ID badge
"Can I have your name... Dorothy? Oh." ---cute barista at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
"I'm liking how you rock that Obama hoodie." ---the same X-Files fan who was flabbergasted about Xzibit
"It's not looking good for her." "I know. We'll be fine with whoever we get, though." ---two chicks on the bus after they saw my hoodie
02.20.08 "Better with age"
I'm really impressed with the new layout of the WritersMarket.com website. In 2004, when I first joined, that site was such a mess.
02.15.08 "Boo-urns"
Aww, man. Both Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry have today off. This is not a good morning, America!
02.12.08 "Inquiring minds"
I'm now on Goodreads. Add me through "Linus Castillo"!
02.11.08 "Self-Made"
The writers strike, for all intents and purposes, is over. Now the cleanup begins. How appropriate that a cinematically apocalyptic scenario should come to mind: it's like survivors returning to the cities after they've been reduced to smithereens by alien invaders. Where do we go from here? At least in movies, all you need is a rousing speech for people to start picking up the pieces again. The trouble with the entertainment industry, capitalism, and the human condition altogether is that they are all used to doing things their way. We are stubborn creatures. We did, after all, coin the expression, "Why fix it if it ain't broke?" Even if the thing is broken, no one fixes it if it works for just most people. We're incapable of being purely altruistic. It's why telepathy is such a big storytelling device in science fiction.
Everyone's now saying that the face of TV and movies will be forever changed. Since practically everyone has a TV, that's where the big changes will be the most evident. Most TV shows won't be back until next season, and even then, thay might not have the same writers. Will the TV season format still be the same? Ever since I was a kid, people have been kicking around the idea of getting rid of sweeps, but they seem to have stuck around. Is this recent strike enough to kick Hollywood's ass on a few things?
Mmm... ass. But I digress.
AFL took a long-ass break. My last true-blue AFL blog entry is dated August 2006. The first entry? March 2000. Hard to believe.
It's also hard to believe that AFL meant anything to anyone else but me, and for a while, it sort of did. Back when the word "blog" didn't make the global pulse go boom-boom-boom, I started AFL on a whim --- some high shcool friends had opened a free Diaryland account. I didn't even give my "blog" a name until at least a few months later. (I'll have to go back and scour the old entries to see when, exactly, that happened. Going back through my old entries is a bit of a daunting process because, as anyone who's done this sort of thing knows, you're not just re-reading old musings. Short of literal time travel, you're practically reliving.)
After that initial "whim", I got sucked into the online community of other diarists, and I stayed that way for --- whew --- quite a while. I say "whew" because, in writing that, my mind breezed through random years of blogging. 2001, 2003, 2005... each a cornerstone of some important personal development, some (melo)dramatic lesson or coming-of-age moment. My life up to now feels like it's been one big coming-of-age. I don't know if I'll ever resurrect that treasure trove of personal shit for public consumption, but I've decided that I'm not ready to let go of AFL. Not now, maybe not for a while.
I'm not sure where all that blogging got me --- probably nowhere, at least in terms of my career. All that blogging at least documented my personal growth and, for the most part, it seemed to entertain quite a few strangers every so often. I wonder if those strangers ever think about what they read here, and the person behind what they read. How presumptuous of me to think someone is out there thinking, "Gee, I wonder whatever happened to AFL!" (And long-windedly amending the thought with, "Not AFL as in the labor people, but that website by that one guy...") Anyway, until I can come up with more appealing content, this rudimentary design is what you'll see. I'll eventually come up with something, though I'm taking suggestions... hehe.
01.30.08 "The Rescue"
Whew. Managed to snatch the domain from backseller hell. Is that really possible now? If you let your registration lapse long enough, someone can snatch it up just "like that"?
frogslife.net will now be sticking around for a zillion years. Or until 2017, which is a zillion years when you're 25.
Dear Middle America,
The writers strike, for all intents and purposes, is over. Now the cleanup begins. How appropriate that a cinematically apocalyptic scenario should come to mind: it's like survivors returning to the cities after they've been reduced to smithereens by alien invaders. Where do we go from here? At least in movies, all you need is a rousing speech for people to start picking up the pieces again. The trouble with the entertainment industry, capitalism, and the human condition altogether is that they are all used to doing things their way. We are stubborn creatures. We did, after all, coin the expression, "Why fix it if it ain't broke?" Even if the thing is broken, no one fixes it if it works for just most people. We're incapable of being purely altruistic. It's why telepathy is such a big storytelling device in science fiction.
