Sorry, that was mean. When was the last time someone used a psych joke? (not counting Raff. I know Raff loves 'em.)
But I did want to let you all know that I'm not gone completely, or for good. I'm currently fully entrenched in the world of fiction, which is largely alien territory, and it's going better than expected. Grad school applications are well under way, and perhaps more importantly I've got a few projects brewing that I'm pretty happy with.
I'll be back. I can't tell you when. But I'll be better for it.
In the meantime, I've been thoroughly enjoying Pat and Suzy Corc's London blog. I eagerly await the European beer tour.
Thanks for reading...
February Zizzle-Zot Reader of the Month
Congrats, Kevan "K-Han" Hanson!
November Zizzle-Zot Reader of the Month
Conratulations, Thomas "Mr. Antagonist" Helgen!
October Zizzle-Zot Reader of the Month
Congratulations Jake "Swajac" Swanson!
September Zizzle-Zot Reader of the Month
Congratulations, Drew "Werd Yelof" Foley!
August Zizzle-Zot Reader of the Month
Congratulations Christopher "I log on while I get my Late Night log on" Casselman!
July Zizzle-Zot Reader of the Month
Congratulations Joe "Joey" Ritchie!
June Zizzle-Zot Reader of the Month
Congratulations Patrick "P Corcs" Corcoran!
Zizzle-Zotians' Favorite Actress
You all couldn't make up your minds, so at the request of Joey I give you Jessica Alba!
Zizzle-Zotians' Favorite Actor
Johnny Depp, you've got the chops.
Zizzle-Zotians Think You're Bad at Acting
Paul Walker, you stink! (Vin Diesel, you're no prize, either).
Zizzle-Zotians' Favorite Board Game
Zizzle-Zotians' Favorite Superhero Team: It's a Tie!
Zizzle-Zotians' Favorite '90s Sitcom
Congratulations, Friends!
Zizzle-Zotians' Favorite '90s Nickelodeon Show
Zizzle-Zotians' Favorite Cereal
21 comments:
Don't you love how Pat said his Beer blogs were coming soon and then nothing!
Maybe he'll do them today!
Gruber, your alive! Great to hear from you. Sadly I didn't get to see you along with many other people when we were in the cities this last weekend. I DO need to call you sometime however. Keep your phone near by.
BRAINS!
Gruber, you should write an election reaction blog... if you would be so kind. It would create a forum to express ourselves in the respectful yet open environment we always have had. I would like to get my thoughts out there and hear what my good buddies have to say and I'm sure so do others.
I'd be interested to hear what everyone thinks.
If there is anyone out there, I thought that this article was kind of interesting. It is a really short piece on how america has treated bush.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251
.html
delete the space and paste in the address bar
I would also be down for an election reaction...
Gruber please hear our cry! And get to work!!!
I like that article Kevan. To me it is so true. I think America has lost it's integrity and is spiraling down a path to destruction.
Patrick and K-Han (AKA Loyal Zotians),
That article is very true in my eyes. Through these last years Americans have treated Bush like shit and basically put all the blame on him. All these same Americans that put all that on Bush, are the same Americans that just voted in the new president based off Popularity and not off of political issues, it's just crazy.
I really am worried what's going to happen with the newly appointed government officials, and I’m not just talking about Obama, but rather who is surrounding him.
I mean take MN for instance. We almost voted in Franken (which is yet to be decided), are we retarded???
I personally am going to do my best to back Obama and hope that he pulls us out of the turmoil we are in, but I have to say it’s hard to back somebody that really seems to be pulling America in the wrong direction (Socialism???).
Well I best get back to work so that I can keep supporting MN welfare and keep putting money into Social Security which I will never see!!!
Here's another article that I found pretty interesting. It's titled "What to Expect from an Obama Administration."
Although the description of the author doesn't shout that he is Republican, the tone of the article makes me think that he probably is.
Either way, it walks through the biggest items on Obama's agenda, and discusses the consequences.
Pat and Joe, AKA fellow loyal Zotians, I thought you two might like this.
As for you liberal lefties (that was in good humor, don't get mad), take the time to read the article so that you know what you have done.
I really wish I knew how to paste links, but here's the address in chunks again...paste and delete the spaces.
http://www.thebulletin.us/site/inde
x.cfm?newsid=20197795&BRD=
2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8
The thing that gets me is that people think it matters. We've all lived through the same 8 years and now...NOW the country is gonna go to hell? Change can be scary, but it isn't necessarily bad.
As for the first article: The president doesn't deserve my loyalty simply because he is my president. This is an extreme comparison, but would you label Germans who stood up to Hitler disloyal? Yes, unfair, but the point is that no man (or woman) you've never even met is entitled to loyalty.
That said, I'll agree that Bush has been treated like s%$!. Does he deserve to be? The economy is destroyed, we're in two unwinnable wars, and the global community thinks we're a joke.
Now follow me here:
Either you think it's the president's fault, his responsibility, which means that it's only sane to dissaprove of his performance, or you think our current situation was caused by factors beyond his conrol. If you think that the economy, use of the military, and international relations are factors beyond the control of the president, then you can't be worried that President Obama can lead us into ruin (it's not in his power).
You dig?
America took a small step towards reconciling past wrongs with future promise. Embrace it.
As far as the second link, it's easy enough to go online and find articles supporting the position you already hold. The tricky part is giving a fair shake to both sides.
Welcome back Grubies!!! I am excited that you piped up! Now let's keep the ball rolling...
i knew you could be drawn out.
How are the novels coming along?
I really don't have time to read the articles, but I do want to respond to a few comments.
Obama's election was based on merit as much as any modern president. Yes, there will always be an element to American politics that mirrors a student council election, but that doesn't explain why he was able to round up endorsements from some of the brightest minds in America (and quite a few republicans to boot).
The fact of the matter is, the only people who think that Obama is a "radical" of any variety are either uninformed, have a political stake in making such a claim, or are pretty much radicals themselves.
The socialism charge is (in my opinion) garbage. Using the incredibly loose definition they pinned on Obama, to a certain degree, every one of us is a socialist. "Socialism" has turned into nothing more than a scare word, used to ignore detail and replace it with something that is universally rejected. Actually, it's kind of like calling someone a Nazi.
McCain called Obama a socialist because he didn't choose his words carefully when speaking to a random person on the street, yet a month earlier, he called on the federal government to nationalize 9 major lenders. It was contradictions like this that made people like me go crazy during the election.
The fact is, the kind of proposals that Obama has put forth are certainly debatable, but in all cases reasonable. Considering how far Bush has carried us, a return to the middle does seem like quite a jolt, but if you can find a significant difference between Obama's economic policy and the ones that ruled during the 90's, then I'd like to hear it.
This, to a certain extent, is what we meant when we said that the politics of fear was defeated this time around. There was a manufactured attempt to frame Obama as someone to be feared. At worst, a muslim sleeper agent, at best, an ultra-liberal.
Nothing will be a better response to these many accusations than Obama's presidency itself. However, if I'm going to be blunt, for relatively objective political observers, the writing has been on the wall for many months.
As for the Bush Presidency, if people think he has been good for our country, all I can say is that I have a very different opinion (one where he, in fact, deserves to have plenty of stool rained down upon him). As Bush said himself, the only true judge will be history.
I'm interested in the concept of nationalism right now as I am doing a project on it regarding postcolonialism. I see a huge difference between the nature of a lot of democrats and republicans. Groobs' post made me think of this regarding his loyalty to the president. It's interesting why some are loyal simply on grounds of nationalism, and some give it little weight. I read this last night that seems a fitting quotation:
"The dangers of a national bourgeoisie using nationalism to maintain its own power demonstrates one of the principal dangers of nationalism-that it frequently takes over the hegemonic control of the imperial power, thus replicating the conditions it rises up to combat."
Now analyze where Early America (Non-native) has been (under English hegemony: Rev War), and see where we have come. I cannot help but see this quotation coming to fruition in America. Europeans came to America to escape a hegemonic system, toted themselves up with nationalism, and then we came to situations like, Vietnam, Bush and Cheney (the whole administration), and Henry Kissinger.
Whatever the case, nationalism runs fluidly in twenty-first century America and has profound effect on how many Americans see themselves. (For the good or bad, you choose.)
PS HOGS PLUS JOEY EQUALS FUN!!!!
Quote came from
Ashcroft, Grifiths and Tiffin. The Postcolonial Studies Reader. 117.
I actually think "nationalism" has less of an impact in modern politics than many people assume.
I think it's more common for parties, ideologies, or movements to hijack the sentiment of nationalism.
For instance, a few years back, Shaun Hannity boldy proclaimed that it was unpatriotic to challenge or question a president during wartime. Yet, when Clinton was bombing Bosnia, Hannity announced that he didn't think the then current president had the moral fiber to lead American troops.
Raw nationalism exists, no doubt. In my opinion, it produces mostly positive, but some negative consequences. However, the trend I keep witnessing within the conservative right is one in which they begin to consider themselves the standard bearers of national pride. Loving one's country, instead, becomes an excercise dedicated to loving a particular ideology's vision for the country.
Much like the great prophets of this world, I think it's ever important to ask who is using America's name and for what purpose.
well put
Are you back yet? I check everyday.
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