How giddy can one man be? My first blog entry, ever, under any circumstances, and it falls under the cruel whip of assigned classwork. For those of you (and by "you," I mean "us") who are into leather, this should be delicious.
By way of introduction, I'm a second-year graduate student, doggedly plowing my way through the brave new world of electronic media. I completed my undergraduate work in political science in Florida, where they have barely harnessed electricity, let alone the concept of the fourth estate, so you may have to bear with me.
Most of my previously published writing has been in the vein of opinion espousal, which tends to qualify as journalism in about the same way James Caan qualifies as Italian, but that's my ball to drop (for the curious, previous attempts at humor and insight can still be found haunting the Internet). What I value most about the whole riggamarole--whether writing a weekly column or blogging--is the deadline. Looming deadline=productive writing (see also: panic attacks, self-medicating, alchoholism).
About 3/4 of my work has been dedicated to politics. The bonus with this subject matter in this day and age is that there's always plenty to work with (especially if surreality is your thing); the down side is that you eventually look back on a body of work that, when read aloud, reminds you of the a-hole you used to be (and by "used to be," I mean about three weeks ago). But I suppose that's the cross we all bear. What nobody ever tells you is that you're probably bearing it right on up to Calvary, so a bunch of Phillistines can play mumblypeg with your tenderest appendages.
At any rate, I plan to spend a little more time outside the beltway (as advised by my Karl Rove Day Planner and Life Coach Guidatorium, p.442), and tinker with the occasional item of interest which has nothing to do with our elected officials.
...wait for it...
Oh, hey, didja hear W. finally got the Firstdaughter #2 auctioned off? To the occasional White House aide, no less. Three thoughts:
1. Remember how Carter had Billy, and Clinton had Roger? I can't help but think that the only thing keeing us out of Bizzaro World, where W. is President Jeb Bush's occasionally embarrassing sideshow, is that W. has the combined force of Crazy J and Neal to make him look competent and focused by comparison.
2. Can you even begin to imagine what kind of a kegger this is going to be?
3. What, do you imagine, is the groom-to-be thinking? All I can say is that this must be true love, 'cause man, we are definitely entering the after-dinner-mint phase of this dynasty.
...sigh... I was doing so well...
Comments (3)
Interesting that you bring up Jenna's wedding. My initial reaction was to assume it's simply some PR ploy. As the Bush lame-duck presidency waddles to a halt, investigations further, and America grows even more restless with this never-ending war, what better way to divert the public's attention than having a wedding fit for an American princess? (And since Brtiney's hair hasn't grown back yet, Jenna'll do.)
To me, the bigger questions are: Will she wear white? And will MC Rove perform at the reception?
Posted by Ranjit | August 20, 2007 2:36 PM
Posted on August 20, 2007 14:36
Hello Ranjit,
This is Shawn and I’m responding to your comment about my blog on your blog to make sure you get it.
First of all, it’s good to know there’s another sports junkie among us and, secondly, thank you for your comments – you brought up several valid points. So valid, in fact, that I can’t refute any of them. So, instead, I’ll try to delve deeper into why I believe the things I believe.
I’m glad you brought up politics in sports. I guess I’ve become so accustomed to sports politics that I hardly think of them as politics at all. But you’re right, like it or not, they are there.
In regard to politics on the broader scale, I don’t know, something about them have never clicked with me. Too many times it seems like petty political differences create unnecessary rifts between people (who would probably get along just fine under different circumstances – the same with people fighting over religion).
I myself lived the first 18 years of my life surrounded by friends and family almost exclusively on one side of the political spectrum and I’ve lived the last four years of my life almost exclusively around people on the opposite side of the spectrum. But I’ve never been very savvy when it comes to politics, nor have I every felt any strong political convictions, so while some people might choose to blossom at this stage in their political lives, I chose to push politics aside.
It made making friends easier and saved me from getting in the middle of (what would be to me) trivial arguments. To this day, I can’t say for sure where my best friends stand politically and I like the feeling that, even if I did, it wouldn’t affect my feelings toward them.
With that said, it’s almost comical in that I’m the exact opposite when it comes to sports. Most of the time when I meet someone, I have a certain progression I go through to get to know them.
First, find out where they’re from.
Second, find out if they like sports.
Third, find out what sports/teams they like.
And if they turn out to be a Yankees fan, I’ll end the conversation politely and avoid speaking to that person ever again, assuming they’re an ignorant buffoon. Somehow, I’ve managed to amass three friends who like the Yankees! It puzzles me to this day!
But the things that make me so passionate about sports compared to politics are the sense of equality, the allure of the underdog and the ideal of good overcoming evil.
Baseball is my first love, so it’s ironic that I should bring up equality seeing how that’s one element the game is definitely lacking, but it has the other elements. Just look at the last six World Series Champions – none of whom are the dreaded Yankees!
But basically every other professional sport is played on a level field monetarily. Every sport (besides college football, of course) has a tournament in place to decide their championships. Every sport has underdogs and good vs. evil scenarios.
However, in politics, those elements just aren’t as apparent. Take the handout we read for Thursday, which provided further evidence that, in America, the rich are basically getting richer while the poor stay poor. Underdogs in society never seem to overcome and the government rarely seems to care. And when it comes election time, there might be an underdog running who actually wants to help level the societal playing field. However, underdogs rarely triumph in elections because they’re up against the supremacy of the incumbents. And that’s pretty much all I know about politics – or all I think I know, anyway.
But, while I don’t share your political zeal, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the fact that you’re both a political and a sports junkie!
Posted by Shawn | August 22, 2007 9:35 PM
Posted on August 22, 2007 21:35
No, man, you're responding to Ranjit's comment on your blog by posting a reply on my blog. Why don't we have an intern to keep these things running smoothly?
Posted by Ryan McG | August 22, 2007 10:10 PM
Posted on August 22, 2007 22:10