"White Noise"

A great book I read recently is "White Noise" by Don DeLillo. It won the National Book Award in 1985 and was in TIME magazine's list of 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. It was mainly about the contemporary, plugged in milieu that we live in, and humans' fear of death. The protagonist in the story is Jack Gladney, a professor who teaches Hitler Studies. The book has numerous vignettes to portray the society we live in. One is about a chemical plant near Gladney's home accidentally releasing a cloud of gas that may be poisonous. Another is about Gladney's wife, who takes drugs to remove her fear of death. DeLillo's saturnine view of technology for the most part predicted the future. "White Noise" was written before the explosion of the internet, and before Prozac existed, both of which DeLillo alluded to in the book. All in all, White noise was enlightening, and it belongs on the "To-read" list of anyone intrested in modern society.

College

When people ask me what college I want to go to after telling me about how they want to go to X University because they know it's "right" for them, I usually give a laconic "I don't know." Some people are amazed I don't know where I would like to attend and coin it as disinterest in college, but I am amazed at how some people do know where they would like to spend the next four years of their lives. To me, it seems as a lot of my friends want go to a certain school over another school for jejune reasons. When I ask why they want to go to a certain school many of them resort to the standard, hackneyed response of, "it just felt right when I visited." My parent's say I'm aloof from the issue of where I want go, but in reality I think about it everyday. I'm not looking for specialized programs or anything like that, so in truth most colleges look the same to me when I visit. I could see myself going to any of them. At this point, where I attend college will probably be a capricious decision.

Obama's Nobel

An issue that interests me and that I have followed closely since it began is Obama's reception of the legendary Noble Peace Prize. Obama's reception of the Nobel is causing politicians to have qualms concerning the "danger" of the prize. Some politicians feel that it will be a political "lead weight" for Obama, and other feel it was undesearved political bunkum. However, what those politicans don't understand is that the Nobel is not always awarded for a destination reached, but also for the herculean efforts of setting things on the right path, which is exactly what Obama is doing. Supporters of Obama's reception of the Nobel say he won it partly for not continuing the malevolent torture policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney. Conservative talk show media has taken a rather splenetic stand against Obama's reception of the Nobel, all for the wrong reasons, in my opinon. While Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize may remain a contested issue, I believe that Obamas reception of the Nobel is a Lilliputian matter compared to some of the biggest issues that face our country today, like healthcare, and Afghanistan.

I believe that aliens built the pyramids. (seriously) 

I believe that Google has all the answers.

I believe that you are the master of your own destiny.

The Red Wheelbarrow
 
by William Carlos Williams

so much depends

upon  a red wheel barrow  glazed with rain water  beside the white chickens.

I like this poem because after reading it, you can vividly imagine what the Red Wheelbarrow looks like. These two sentences invoke

real images in your mind. I not only see the red wheelbarrow, but the white chickens too, and the farm and pastoral land that probably 

surrounds them. 

I think Williams is trying to say that people don't truly understand poetry. Perhaps he is saying that poetry is more important and plays a bigger, better role in our lives than the news does.

What Is Success?

I'm 53 years old living in Oregon. My rustic mansion is spacious and beautiful, situated on 20 acres of lush green, pastoral land. Inside my house the biggest room is the library. I cherish this room more than any other, because in my spare time when I am not being a lawyer, I love to read. My library has towering bookshelves and rows upon rows of books, fantasy and non-fiction alike. In my garage, I have a sporty mustang, and a Kawasaki racing motorcycle. On weekends I go out on tracks with it, and sometimes use it in place of my car. There is no better feeling than going 60 miles per hour down the highway on a motorcycle with the wind screaming by you. My job provides me with enough money so I never have to worry about running out of money. Besides riding my motorcycle on weekends, I go down into california and hang out with my buddies, watch movies, and go to clubs. My wife usually comes with me, but sometimes has a girl's night out. Success. I'm 53 years old doing whatever makes me happy in life. That, is the definition of success.