Ubiquitous Academicians

I should warn you, this post will hardly be titanic in expanse. In fact, it exists simply as a reminder of my continued existence, a phenomenon many of you may be rather surprised by. My life of late has been weighed down by several pursuits, many of which I have enjoyed, and many of which I have not. All, however, especially when coupled with a prolonged bout of writer’s block and a lack of interesting topics, have served the dubious function of preventing me from adding my writings to Ubiquitous Academician.

I have, of late, began my education in the ways of saber fencing, which was a most exhilarating experience for one who has fenced foil most of their life, and perhaps a longer post on the subject is in order.

Also, I have for quite a while wished to write a pair of posts, on the subjects of open-source software and keeping one’s computer organized, both of which I hope to write and post soon.

Your writer

The other day, I was preparing to structure a post condemning my writing partner, Ethan, for unjustly going after Hillary Clinton again and again, sometimes for what I consider to be minor faults. Then I realized something, something that is only furthered proved by her attitude during her most recent wins.

It’s all about the pride now.

Any candidate who had the good of the Democratic Party in mind would have, in Clinton’s position, stepped out of the race long ago to allow the obvious forerunner to hit the November elections with momentum and support. They would realize that prolonging the nomination is splintering and weakening the party. They would put their pride aside and do what is for the best of the Democratic Party.

Clinton’s not a candidate who has the good of the party in mind.

Even though she cannot win at this point unless she gets, perhaps, ninety percent wins in all the remaining states, she continues to pour money into her campaign and pretend that she stands a chance. The truth, however, is that she can’t stand to lose. She’s like an immature child in that she can’t accept lost, so she’s going to be sure to take her opponent, Obama, down with her.

This prolonged division in the party is allowing McCain to pull far ahead of both candidates (recent polls indicate that he would win against either.) And, at this rate, unless Hillary pulls out and throws support to her party and not her pride, we’re going to see another Republican—no, another Bush–sitting in the white house.

Ugh.

Your writer,

We really should write about something other than politics.

In case I ever forget, I’d like everyone on this planet to remind me - never, ever get the endorsment of Hillary Clinton, for anything.

Anything at all.

I didn’t watch it. But, I heard about it. At the Kentucky Derby, the horse that Mrs. Clinton endorsed had a bit of bad luck. Lots, actually. She ended up euthanized.

I’d recommend reading the full story here.

I feel terrible. I really do. It’s very unfair to the horse, that something like this should happen.

On a positive note, one of these days I bet I’ll think of something other than good old Hil’ to write about.

I just hope she doesn’t agree with me.

How does she manage? Now, judging by the fact that I parodied a Britney Spears title for my title (no, I don’t own the CD. I did once, for about three hours before I broke it up into tiny pieces and trashed it. No, I didn’t spend money on it - it was a “gift” which I valued approximately between argyle socks and a battered map of the Horn of Africa.) you must be thinking I’m referring to Britney herself. No, I’m not - I don’t talk about wacky celebrities. Instead, I’m referring to Hillary Clinton (Hooray! Another unfounded rant by Ethan about Mrs. Clinton!) who managed to win Pennsylvania.
Now, for a word on how she did it. Apparently, she won over the large body of blue-collar “Average-Joes” and their wives. How? Well, I’m about to analyze this.
Let me say, first off, if I was a Pennsylvanian Average Joe, I’d be severely insulted. While Mr. Obama went bowling and ate at a diner, Mrs. Clinton downed a shot of whiskey followed by a chaser of beer. How’s that for an idea? I bet Bill came up with it… “Say, honey, here’s a thought: These blue-collar guys drink a lot, don’t they? Wouldn’t that be a good way to make them think you’re like them?”
Right. Because I want a president like that in the White House. Like I want that Britney Spears CD.

Hello all.

Of late, I have been offered the distinct honor of a place in the oh-so-hallowed order of the Ubiquitous Academicians, on account of my continual disability to post to Zealous Couch Potatoes, which I had until now called my blogging home. Let it be known that I hold no animosity toward Zealous Couch Potatoes, or its couch potato-in-chief, the illustrious Michael Allison, but, due to what appears to be a technical error, I can post there no longer.

I found myself complaining about this deplorable state of blog-homelessness to Ethan, who, as I’m sure you all know, is the co-owner of this blog, and he made the kind offer of a seat here. Drinks were not shared, politicians were not bribed, wars were not fought, and here I am.

Ethan and Nick forced be to sign a solemn oath that I would uphold the Ubiquitous Academicians standard of clever, intellectual blog posts, and I shall try as hard as possible to uphold this. I am certainly looking forward to my hopefully long and undoubtedly interesting tenure here.

I realize this post is rather brief, but I encourage you, the devoted reader, to await further material from both myself and my esteemed co-authors.

Last Friday night, I watched Lions for Lambs, a political, thought-provoking film directed and starring Robert Redford. Lions for Lambs is put together quite interestingly; there are three section of the film which are transitioned between throughout the course of the movie. One section stars the aforementioned Robert Redford as a professor meeting with a gifted, but disaffected student. Redford tries to coax his student into participating more and attempting to make a difference in the world. The next section follows two soldiers spearheading a new plan in Afghanistan. These two soldiers were students of Redford, but, against his wishes, they decided the best way to make a difference would be to put their lives on the line. Lastly, we have a portion starring Meryl Streep, an experienced journalist, interviewing Tom Cruise, an up-and-coming Republican senator. Cruise’s character, who is one of the minds behind the new strategy in Afghanistan, is revealing the plans to Streep while simultaneously attempting to justify many of the United State’s failings in the war.

The movie itself is rather lacking. It is essentially made up of a number of lectures that use far too many words to explain relatively simple concepts, which can be a bit tiresome, and Tom Cruise continues to disturb me, but the underlying message is a good one. Lions for Lambs tells its audience that, in this day and age, every person should become involved in defining events of the time. The film explores both participation in political and military change, but it does not point either out as the definitive path, rather, it communicates the more general political or moral theme of participation in change.

I might not recommend this movie, but I can fully support the message behind it.

Your writer,