Spiny Norman's blog

And I see that not many people besides Ava herself have either.

I finished an opinion piece yesterday and I hope that all of you like it. If not, then please, share your criticisms so that I may improve.

This is an interesting feeling, delving like I am. I never thought that I could do things like I’m doing this young, and I can understand why most kids my age feel so detached; by the news, the world, what happens in said world. It's easy to feel disenfranchised, but at the same time we've become very patient- too familiar with the phrases 'when you're older' or 'when I grow up'. As if we have to wait to do anything, but we all age at the same rate, so we will always be younger than the preceding generation... too young to do what needs to be done. Eventually, typically (I would say around the age 22), we realize that we now have to fend for ourselves- paying our own bills, buying our own food. Though this may have been going on for a while now, but with this also with this comes the realization that we could become involved in the process that influences these things. And we become engrossed, even to the point of possibly watching C-SPAN, but most likely not...

There's mine.

I guess this is the mutual frustration felt by some of you too, that we don't really matter a whole lot. We get to 18, finally we can vote, but it mean anything? All I seam to have is the ability to change a few minds but a lack of ambition seems to prevent me or making me fear actually doing something important.

A fear of failing....

A fear of nobody actually giving a shit....

I want to be alright with where I am, I mean I'm a city employee and a Rotarian, I'm constantly organizing volunteer groups at school, worked at countless fund raisers. But it doesn't seem to matter. I don't want to be the one who makes decisions, I just want to be listened to quite carefully by those that do.

To put it blatantly, power is what I want, not the power of a mafioso or a drug lord, but intellectual power. To be my own definition to put it that way. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this frustration.

Though he isn't who I support as far as a candidate. I must admit I have great respect for the man, or at least his pre-election persona.

I'm sure some of you will disagree with me but before the election he was the only Republican I would have ever considered voting for. I don't agree with him on quite a few issues: he's pro-life and anti-civil unions.

But there there are many issues I do agree with him on: Pro-gun control, pro-campaign finance reform (McCain-Feingold Act), Anti-'enhanced interrogation', and Pro-immigration. I also agree with him on matters regarding social matters-

'Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan and Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right.'

Until he decided to speak at Liberty University, founded by Falwell, his long time friend, Jon Stewart, confronted him on The Daily Show by saying-

I would like all of you to watch this video. It's essentially a synopsis of business/war politics in the worlds major powers. Described by one of my favorite writers: Arundhati Roy, the author of 'The God of Small Things'. Plus a GREAT soundtrack.

But it's 64 minutes long.

But if you'd like to download it for free (legally) visit this link.
http://www.weroy.org/watch.shtml

Hope you enjoy.

Sorry, having trouble with the HTML so here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNF1a-ZG1uc

I've just finished Super-Toys Last All Summer Long. It's the short story that the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence was based off of.

I really enjoyed the movie which I bought on DVD the first day it came out, which was a few years ago and I had never had the ambition to read the short story. What was interesting is how the story came to be a film: Stanley Kubrick read the story and began writing a screenplay, unfortunately he died before he finished it. Quite a while later Spielberg found the unfinished screen play and decided to try and finish the little that was left and began filming, deciding to dedicate the film to Kubrick's legacy.

For Anyone who enjoyed the film will see the significance in the very brief story. I you haven't seen the film, I recommend it, it's depiction of the human elements of technological advances, as well as social and political aspects.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.01/ffsupertoys.html?pg=4&topic=

I have nothing to add to this.

This is a more creative piece I did a while back, I hope you like it. If you don't, please leave an angry comment rife with profanity... m'kay....

Do you know where I am?
I’m lost in the crowd
Pushed one way
Shoved another
Pulled deeper in the crowd
I should have brought a map
It’s like a moral mosh pit
Everyone is yelling
Like the man in front
He’s saying things that I don’t like
But I’m still trying to be polite
Tapping on shoulders and quaintly asking “excuse me?”
But I’m not being heard
In this crowd
Of yelling
Of screaming
Of pushing and shoving
But I’m still here
Still being polite
Though not being heard I think I’ll keep trying
Until the noise starts dying
Maybe then I’ll be heard
Instead of tapping on shoulders
Trying to get to the head of the crowd
To talk to the man in front
About the things he says
And the things he does
Without yelling
Without screaming
Without pushing or shoving
Just being polite.

I'm glad it's launch day, I'm not sure the details that are entailed with the act of being 'launched', but I'm optimistic.

Don't make the comments too thought provoking because I'm not feeling terribly well today...