On the Other Hand...

Have you all heard about this "Occupy Wall Street" thing that's going on? According to the movement's website, OccupyWallSt.org, it is

[a] leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants.

Yes, I had to look up Arab Spring as well. Here's the Wikipedia link.

Anyway, basically it seems that lots of people who are angry about the credit crisis and student loans and I guess anything else generally, are occupying the physical (yet symbolic!) space of those of those viewed as the oppressors, i.e. the "1%".

There is also an "Occupy DC" movement. They do not have a website, or rather they do, but it's is under maintenance -- how typical DC.  It's taking place about 3 blocks from my office and consists of a tent-city filled with people who are angry about the credit crisis and student loan debt*, etc. and trying to make a point about it to Congress and the White House I guess.

I knew Occupy DC was happening, but I didn't realize there was a whole tent city thing happening until I saw it on the news this morning. The Park Police just granted a four-month permit extension to this leaderless resistance movement, so there will be people camped out on Pennsylvania Avenue into the winter.  (I'm thinking the Park Police must have a lot of student loan debt too). The Channel 8 reporter interviewed a few folks who said they'd Occupy DC as long as it took. What is it exactly? Til they wipe your student debt? Give you a house for free or at least under market value?

My initial thought was "where are these people going to go to the bathroom and shower?" (The Regan Building?). My next thought was, maybe you should get a job instead of camping out in Freedom Plaza for four months. That might help you solve your problems (yes, I know the job market is still terrible).

These thoughts aside, I do sort of admire these people. They are actively doing something to change what they feel are problems in this country and that is admirable. It's the same kind of admiration I feel for people who quit their jobs to pursue something they love like blogging full-time, or running a start-up company -- paths I see as requiring huge leaps of faith to follow.  Paths that I am far to risk-averse and enamored of my health insurance coverage to traverse. 

But you know, on the other hand, though I find the drive to take political action honorable, I don't get the sense this group really knows what they want or what they want to accomplish.  I can't really get behind that, so I'm back to wondering why they don't get a job....I think [The Husband] is whispering Republican propaganda to me in my sleep.

*a lot of these people seem angry about debt from college tuition, so student loan debt is going to be my catchall for describing what the protesters are angry about.

The Day I Reached the End of the Internets (Again)

It's been one of those weeks. Not too busy, but busy enough to be annoying, and yet slow enough that I've reached the End of the Internets at least twice this week. Before lunch. Sigh. I no longer have a Facebook Account so I've had to really work hard to fill the void in my internet life. I used to be pretty good at keeping myself entertained, I recall I had many go to websites endless hours of internet surfing. And then I got engaged. Even though I'm pretty confidant I was a pretty reasonable bride, I pretty much exclusively read wedding blogs for the duration.* Those all bore me a bit now, and I can't for the life of me remember what I used to look at on the internet. I supposed I do have a few new sites I like: Day Old News (just found this one today, reminds me of old school Go Fug Yourself) Go Fug Yourself (ok, this is actually an old favorite, still good for a gasp now and then, but the site overwhelms with bells and whistles these days). I Hate Everything (Thank, Mary Frances) Slate (When I remember it there are usually some good things there) And then of course random blog click-through and stalking. I read the Times every day. The Washington Post is sadly becoming a bit obsolete in my life. I still read Carolyn Hax regularly, but the actual news portion of the online Post is just dull and a bit trivial. "Pets Celebrating the Holidays," "Krautheimer <3 Obama," (and yes that's with the emoticon) "Christmas Showdown: Santa versus Jesus." These are all stories on the front page of the Post online right now. I hope Katherine Graham isn't turning in her grave at too fast a clip. So what are your favorite "go-to" get me through the 3 o'clock lull? Please share. PLEASE. Especially you grad school people. I know you're holding out on me. I KNOW IT. *In my defense we were engaged for a long a** time and I do event planning for work, so I couldn't help it.

Finally!!!!

Seriously, I have been saying for years, that someone needed to work with MTV to develop their "True Life" series into a product that could be used in high school health classes. How much more engaging would that be for high schools kids than watching cautionary videos produced in 1981 about the dangers of marijuana or whatever? According to this entry on WaPo's "The Check-Up" blog, The Kaiser Family Foundation worked with MTV last year to create "16 & Pregnant" videos and discussion guides for use in health class! The materials are even available FREE! Amazing! And it is about time. The big debate, as discussed in the blog entry, seems to be whether show-casing (that seems like not the right word here at all) these young women in a reality tv format, glamorizes teen pregnancy too much. I really don't think so. Have you watched the show? I'm 26 and married and it practically makes me think twice about kids. None of the people on the show (the new moms, the new dads, the parents of these new parents) have it easy. I have always though MTV did a really good job of presenting the subjects and subject matter in "True Life" in a well-balanced manner. They don't condemn, they don't glorify, it doesn't appear that there is editorial interference in the production--in other words, the don't Laguna Beach this series. Others may feel differently, but that's how I see it. I love that MTV and Kaiser are doing this! I really hope there are schools out there using it!

Sorry, What?

Earl is the most powerful hurricane to emerge this year and the most-threatening hurricane to the East Coast since Hurricane Bob in 1991. That's an interesting statement, WaPo. I seem to remember a Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and not having power or water for a week, and oh, my college, which hadn't closed since the Civil War closing school and sending us all home for an extended "hurricane break."