June 28, 2010

• Featured Grownups: July Topics

  

  I like to say I don’t blog like most people, and even while I’m in the process of “fading away” here on the Xanga service, I’ve been posting at least something once a week, and hopefully these sporadic pieces have been interesting for whatever readers I have left. Thought I’d do a piece for the old Featured Grownups group this week, but since I don’t blog like most people, and they’re only just voting on topics for the month of July, I’ll post the topic list like it’s a blogthing, and give short answers to each prompt. Here we go. Oh, the topic post to which I’m responding can be found HERE.

  1.What major world issues affect you and/or your country and community?
  After over two months, the BP offshore oil rig disaster and subsequent gush of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico seems to be in danger of being pushed farther and farther to the back of the top news stories as other things happen in the world. This will prove to be one of, if not the most devastating man made disasters in history. Forget the finger pointing. In the case of an earthquake or hurricane, the disaster ends, and the healing begins. This disaster just keeps happening, and there is no end in sight. And this year’s hurricane season in that area is about to begin as well, which is sure to hamper any long term plans at plugging the leak. When crude oil first began to pour into the gulf, I started worrying about this, even before it became “news.” Mankind has gone too far (literally) in his quest for mining the planet of it’s resources.
  2.My first…new music in long while.
  I will shamelessly admit that for the past couple of months or so I’ve been becoming a fan of Stephanie Gemanotta, the notorious Lady Gaga. I even subscribe to her YouTube channel! At first she just sort of came off to an old music fan like me as a post technopop material girl, but I think her skewered fashion sense and dance pop rhythms are kind of infectious. Her videos are like little movies. It’s refreshing that she comes from the New York art scene, and not from the Disney Channel or American Idol. My favorite song is “Paparazzi”
  3.Write a letter to your younger self.
  Dear Mike. Don’t drink any more beer. Instead of spending 3/4 of your paycheck at a bar on Friday night with your friends, put the money in the bank. You’ll need it later. Trust me. And you don’t really need to drink as much as you do. Heck, you don’t even remember half of what happened the next day anyway.
  4.What do you worship, follow, or believe in?
  The Universal Mind which connects us all, past, present, and future. Then, now, and forever.
  5.What do you wish you had the courage, motivation, or drive to do?
  I don’t seem to be motivated to create anything this year, either with photography, or writing, or anything else that usually provides fodder for my blog or “online existence.”  And what’s strange is that as much as this might seem to be bothering me, I’m completely satsified with my day to day existence.
  6.What are your favorite summer memories and/or activities?
  I still remember the exact time during one summer long ago when I realized that these meandering timeless days would sometime end for good. I was 12 at the time, and I don’t think I’ve wasted one moment of my life in the subsequent years. (Well, maybe a few moments on Friday nights back in the late 70s and early 80s.)
  7.Write about a paradox.
  I’ve been waiting for so long to find the right partner and soulmate to complete me that I’m afraid I’m going to die alone without ever having found her. This is the paradox of my romantic intent.
  8.What are you reading this summer?
  I actually started a book, “A History of God” by Karen Armstrong.
  9.Tell us about a special skill you have or achievement you have accomplished.
  I was going to write that sometimes it seems to be an accomplishment just to be around. But since I’m on Xanga right now, I’ll admit that it’s an achievement that I’m writing another blog entry. (Even though I’m doing it the lazy way using prompts from Featured Grownups.) It isn’t even the blog entry I was going to write, but that one has been rolling around in my head for years, and still hasn’t worked it’s way to the word processor yet. And by the rate I’m going, I’ll finally post it at a time when it’ll only get 10 comments, and yet the “Top Blogs” will contain nothing but rants about how there’s no quality content on the service. Just sayin.
  10.How does your nation fit into the global community?
  My nation, the U.S., has always wanted to be the world’s police force, but most of the world doesn’t like this attitude one bit. And now after over 200 years of inviting the tired and poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free to our shores we seem to want to barricade all our borders and begin asking everyone for their “papers”. However I’d really like to think that I belong to the “nation of man” instead of to any one ideology or government. I pledge allegiance to the United States, but I also pledge allegiance to the diversity of humankind, and forever hope that someday humankind will will be able to at least agree to disagree in a more pleasant manner.

    

  • 10:47 am
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