;

The period is black and stark. It it small. It is authoritative. It shows nothing. It serves no other function than to terminate. It is definite by nature. It is the black dot that pierces the white of sentences. It subjugates each previous statement to its own.

The comma, it is unsure. The comma is submissive to its two indefinite parts, and it cannot rely on its own being to have meaning. Because it slips under the union of the cluster of dominant words that support it, it is unable to stand upon its own. It stands unrerect, for it lacks a defining quality that allows it to be its own.

The semicolon is what brings the two together; it commands a certain authority, but it remains open to the indefinite nature of the mind of the writer. The semicolon builds upon an idea; it elicits a certain memory from the reader. It is educated, for it continually pulls upon its predecessors and previous ideas to move forward; It is definite while still being indefinite; it terminates one but not without the conditions for another.

Very scattered thoughts on last night's Repulican debate.

I finally remembered to TiVo a presidential debate (yuss!). Last night it was the Repulican debate-- I missed the Democratic debate. Thank god for TiVo, though; seriously, two hours of political crap easily fast forwarded to the important parts. "I grew up as a blue collar worker's son in [insert middle-American town]..." boop-boop "Blah, blah, blah...What defines an American?..." boop-boop "the terrorists hate our freedom...". Some of the parts that I didn't fast forward through:

Immigration:
It's kind of odd to think that some of these candidates really believe that the answer to illegal immigration involves the impossible task of rounding up every illegal Mexican in the United States and deporting them and the ridiculous concept that building a bigger, badder fence (with robot-alligator moats, I would presume) can solve anything. Obviously, if the current immigration process isn't working, it needs to be changed; howerever, I'm hoping the plans purposed would be better than President Bush's "guest worker" plans.

Gays in the Military:
This one was kind of random. If anything, gay marriage is a far bigger deal than "Don't ask, don't tell" ( I was actually disappointed that the issue wasn't raised). Unfortunately, every single candidate agreed that the system is working. What?! No it's not! How is being dishonorably charged from the military based solely on sexual orientation working? I guess it's okay to discriminate against homos in the military; "we're at war."

Global Warming:
Basically, nobody had any insight that struck me as reasonable. The almost unanimous proposal from the candidates to solve global warming (global climate change, whatever) was to increase reliance on nuclear energy. Yes, nuclear emits nothing into the atmosphere, but there is one small caveat to that: nuclear waste only becomes safe after such a long time (6,000+ years half life, depending on the material). We might as well be living in a smog infested, oxygen depleted atmosphere than a radioactive wasteland. WHY does nobody realize this? It's common sense! Geez.

Abortion:
Okay, the big one. Personally, I don't know where I stand on this issue. Though I lean more towards the Pro-Life side, there are still some things that are pushing me into the gray area: I don't believe that this should be regulated at the federal level; and, though I believe in protecting an unborn fetus's opportunity at life, there are times in which a forced birth would be inappropriate. The candidates all took the Pro-Life stance. However, I think Giuliani is pandering and, based on his previous stances he is trying to cover up his past inconsistencies by stating he merely was Pro-State level regulation. Other than that, not much variety in the arguments of the candidates.

None of these candidates really impressed me, though Ron Paul did strike my fancy-- I could never see him as a president, however. Also, who the hell really cares if Mitt Romney is a Mormon? Granted, he does seem a little nutty, but I really could care less if he's a Mormon. Hey! according to Fox News, we already have a radical Islamic democrat running for president, so what's the big deal?

Dear DRM, you suck.

Today I received this CD from Lala.com, a completely legit and legal CD-swapping site. I placed the CD into my CD drive, intending to rip it through iTunes onto my computer-- again, completely legal. However, the folks at Sony BMG had plans otherwise: they a) encrypted the data on the CD so that it cannot be ripped onto a computer by making all the ripped files skip b) made me agree to a EULA and download some skeezy software of their own (which I didn't do) just to freaking keep a godamn CD on my computer. I don't want to go P2P the file; I don't want to make copies and hand them out; I WANT TO LISTEN TO SONGS ON MY COMPUTER! Now they have driven me to go find a way to illegally circumvent the data protection all so I can add this CD to my digital collection. It shouldn't be this much work: I legally own the CD! Sony tried to pull this crap recently, and they got into trouble. It's ridiculous. This is what causes people to pirate CDs. If people can't own the stuff they buy, they might as well steal it (not saying that I would). The RIAA is probably going to send me a cease and desist letter now for justifying illegal downloads. Whatever, I should really start supporting iTune Plus or eMusic.

Update: After three hours, thank you, Princeton!

Holiday Cheer (or lack thereof)

Oh, the holidays. The special time of year when B-list celebrities put out horrible Christmas albums and everyone pretends that small children sitting on a over-aged, over-weight stranger's lap is totally not creepy. It's the time of year when Hallmark movies tell us that the holiday spirit can save us from our abusive husbands and alcoholic daddies. Yet, I've recently come to notice that there's something ingenious about this time.

It seems that during these days, everyone is dutifully obligated to put on a farce of happiness. For one season, we are told to pretend we do not fully detest those with whom one is with. Oh, of course, gifts are given, but only to those to whom it is assumed the gift will be reciprocated. We have put so much meaning into the gift itself and the whole "aura" of the holidays, that we have become puppets of joy. Puppets who do what is normal and what is expected from claymation Christmas movies.

Of course, there are those exception to which my gripe does not apply-- those true moments when we give to who we care and the effort is appreciated. I am not saying that I hate the holidays, nor am I saying that our materialism is the fall of humanity. All I would just like to convey is that we can not wrap our apathy and irksomeness in a pretty bow and call it holiday magic.

Sunday Clean-up

Countless cleaning products claim to, "Eliminate 99.9% of all germs!" If these products do, indeed, leave our untidy lives immaculately tidy, then why are we beholden to the fact that we must clean again? This is why I find Sunday clean-up pointless.

Are we that blissfully ignorant to the fact that we can never truly clean? Furthermore, are we destined to clean the same mess until we can not clean anymore? If these cleaning products claim to kill 99.9% of all germs, why is it not also added that in a matter of seconds 99.9% of the germs will be back? We are adroit to the fact that if we do not clean religiously every week, we will fall into the unruly perils of untidy living.

This makes us bound to the implacable reality that we can never be content; and, yet, in vain we try each week to obtain the stainless perfection so striven for. It is disheartening to know that even when we seemed satisfied, the nagging probability is there that once we fulfill the temporary, we can never truly be satisfied.

Wal*Mart: Killing my soul, always.

Wal*Mart is without exaggeration one of the most evil places I've been to in a long time. Anyone who does not agree is lying, or has not truly seen its true evil. It is the type of evil unlike, say, Star Jones or Satan. This is a palpable evil; an evil that follows you because this is reality. One can not dispute that Wal*Mart is not pleasing to the senses: the psyche-ward white ceiling unrelentingly burning into one's retinas, the headache-inducing pleas for Susan to come to the customer help center, the gnawing cries of children's shattered dreams of having McDonald's for dinner, the vests (oh god, the vests); in general, a swarming cesspool of bad taste. Sure, Wal*Mart's monopoly on low-cost crap is great. But it is worth your sole? Your SANITY? Oh capitalism, you bitch.

. . .This said, I gots me some more jelly for my jelly samiches for $1! Mmm...jelly samiches.