News Media

I think the news media has a lot of problems. They've been compromised by money. They want to retain viewers so they resort to simplistic shock tactics, sensationalizing non-news in attempt to garner the biggest immediate response. Or they get pundits that are clearly there just to be inflammatory and pretty much grossly misrepresent information to their viewers in the process. There is a minority, of private news companies that have integrity, and reporters who care about information first and foremost, and would rather honor their viewers than advertisers.

Politics

As the second-wave feminist saying goes- the personal is political. I don't understand people who view politics as some far off arena that doesn't affect our daily lives- every aspect of our living is dictated by politics, micro and macro. That is why I am a political science major, planning on minoring in gender studies starting next semester. I think there is a lot of fear and ignorance in politics, which leads to inaction or marginalization and I want to break through it to make the biggest difference I can as a person.

Books

I don't read nearly as much as I'd like to. Well, proper books that is. I'm always reading things on the internet. But as far as long narratives go, my attention span always proves to be too short. Whenever I'm in a down period of inspiration, I read either a novel or a book of poetry and it usually stimulates my creativity. My favorite book is The Autobiography of Malcolm X, it is consistently motivating and moving. I think my favorite series is the Harry Potter series as books, I also am a burgeoning fan of Cormac McCarthy (I've been trying to finish Blood Meridian since the beginning of first semester).

jobs

The closest thing I've had to an assembly line job is working at Gallery 37's photography program. It was the summer session of 2009. We had to go out and take pictures of Chicago, for some committee we knew nothing about and knew nothing about us. From obvious things like the lions in front of the Field Museum to trying to find the right neighborhood shots that brought the city to life. The committee's preferences seemed to be always frustratingly vague.

After taking the pictures, we developed them in an old fashioned darkroom, a fairly painstaking process full of trail and error. It could take an hour day's work to attempt to develop one picture properly. Then at the end of the year, we chose from hundreds of photos to a few dozen.

American dream

The American Dream is something that at times seems wonderful, yet elusive, and other times horribly coercive- a fake set of ideals that were never realized and perhaps never will be. Personally, I assume it is starting your own business, having a family, and having money to put them through college. For the country, the Dream is economic, gender, race, sexual, age, and physical equality that would allow any and everybody to get that business and support that family.

Oftentimes, politicians (and those who tumble underneath them) are quick to allude to some mythical Golden Age that no one has ever actually known. There was always discrimination against women and minorities and homosexuals and the disabled (still is), so this golden age only refers to white male farmers or business owners? Because the 70s had Nixon. The 80s had crack and Reagan. But it sure is great rhetoric that works on a lot of people thirsty to wrap their hands around something.

Movies

Ever since moving out into Dekalb, my consumption of new movies has slowed considerably. The only movie I can think of that I've gone to see are Alice in Wonderland and Precious, both with my friend Sasha, both during breaks back home in Chicago, and neither of which I had any intention on seeing until perhaps the day the idea came about.

all the moves I've wanted to see- Kick Ass, Avatar, Greenberg, Where the Wild Things Are, Death at a Funeral, Shutter Island (which I later watched on the computer), I haven't seen. It makes me feel out of touch- I haven't watched more than two minutes of the Oscars this year (Ben Stiller's painful Avatar spoof), because I hadn't seen any of the films except Precious. I haven't been that out of touch, literally, since perhaps 7th grade. Maybe not even then. Oh well. I'll just have to become more vigilant about watching movies on the internet. I mean...going to pay to see them.

Tv shows

I generally stopped watching television a couple of years ago. An older kid I thought was really cool sent me a facebook invite to Turn Off Your TV Week to take a stand against advertising and consumerist culture. So I did (besides that weeks episode of Lost), and never really went back.

I still spend time on the internet, at least six hours a day is a conservative estimate. During this time, I'm aware that I am bombared by way more ads than I would be if I were watching television but still- I simply don't enjoy television anymore.
Besides LOST, which is my favorite show, and is nearing the end of its final season. That is incredibly emotional for me! I will do anything for my LOST. I still have a wealth of knowledge concerning South Park, The Simpsons, the first five seasons of 24...and not much else. Oh! and the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network. That was my haven for the first few years of high school, without a doubt.