It was a graveyard smash

I was working in the lab late one night, when my eyes beheld an eerie sight. For my monster from his slab, began to rise. And suddenly, to my surprise...

After many, many switchbacks

This tiny village sits high up in the Julian Alps of Slovenia. To reach this place above some clouds, we drove along a very narrow road with lots of steep switchbacks. Sometimes taking the wrong turn and getting off the highway works out pretty nicely.

Yearning for patriotism

A sense of camaraderie is something I have always valued. Growing up, I loved team-based, field-day-style relay races both because they were fun and because of the rewarding feeling of accomplishing something together. (I still love these types of games, and will readily challenge anyone to a dizzy bat race). On a national level, I think many people feel the same way. Who doesn't yearn for an excuse to exhibit his or her latent patriotism?

Moments of marked significance fill our country's history. Many are quite controversial, but some of those remembered most fondly evoke powerful feelings of hope and unity. Looking at pictures like this makes me long to be celebrating V-J Day in Times Square. The swelling feeling of shared exhilaration and relief would, I think, be overwhelming. Or what about being present as Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the Mall? Or chucking British goods overboard at the Boston Tea Party? Or experiencing the tension of the space race and watching Neil Armstrong step onto the moon? All of these moments were set against the backdrop of hardship- World War II, segregation, the Revolutionary War, the Cold War- yet all symbolize a united effort to overcome. This is the feeling that I long for so much.

Should Barack Obama win next week's election, it is my hope that history will view that moment in the same glowing light. McCain supporters may not be immediately moved to celebration. But an Obama presidency would inherently represent a huge dent to racism and foster lofty aspirations in a new generation of minority children. His popularity abroad would automatically improve our standing in the world. And his pragmatic, reasonable approach would hopefully inspire a new breed of goal-focused, bipartisan political decency. With all these factors working in his favor outside of his policies, I find it hard to believe that a President Obama would not win widespread respect.

A moment is approaching. You can hear it when Obama speaks and see it in the faces of his supporters and volunteers. Accounts of early voting in many states tell of long lines and eager people. My favorite depicts the significance of this election to a multi-generational black family in Indiana. I might be wrong, but I think this is going to be a very, very big deal. And, frankly, to be a part of it makes my eyes tear up.

Windbag-ing welcome

My friend Maggie (n.s.) and I bonded initially over a bag of M&M's and a silly game called Mafia. Since then, she has become one of my closest friends for good reason. We share many interests, including delicious food and politics, which frequently leads to long-winded conversations. Maggie has that rare combination of intelligence, motivation, and exceptional people skills, and I have no doubt that she is going to do something great in life. For now, she's helping homeless people in Brooklyn. You can read all about her adventure here.

A good time for thinking

Sometimes I like to turn off the radio in my car and just listen to the engine hum as I accelerate. The noise created by the wind and the wheels on the pavement is at once more pronounced and more subtle without the competing din of radio music. I think there's something oddly therapeutic about the muted sound of the road.

Well-rounded nerdiness

I generally look back at my college experience as unequivocably positive. From the beginning, I kept a good circle of friends. The members of it changed over time, but it has always been a supportive, fun group of people. I achieved marked success as a student leader and won an award (earning a massive 50 cent raise) at my on-campus job. Academically, I always maintained a solid GPA (in fact missing graduating with honors by a fraction of a point, which I blame on a pair of sinister study abroad professors and will perhaps complain about some other time). College was very, very good to me.

Despite this, I find that I have some regrets. As I was watching the Terps win national championships and familiarizing myself with the College Park bar scene, I forgot to be intellectually curious. Reading, something I loved growing up, became a rare chore and studying, something I did the night before a big exam. Every semester, I picked classes that I knew were easy, assuring myself that I would like them for this reason, no matter if the topic was boring. Even in interesting classes, I expended minimal effort. And year after year, I got A's and learned little.

This has not particularly hurt my career, but, in retrospect, it damages my sense of self-worth. My friend Maggie recently told me about her visit with a professor - comparing thoughts on politics, current events, and books they'd read. He obviously thought highly of her as a student and now respects her as an intelligent adult- on some levels, a peer.

I'm envious of this relationship both because it sounds rewarding to discuss the world with someone brilliant and because I used to have that rapport with my teachers as well. In high school, I was an engaged student. I would participate often in class and occasionally ate lunch with my Spanish teacher. They recognized my maturity and intellectual curiosity and treated me differently because of it.

In college, I allowed this to fade. It would be easy to blame this on large lecture classes, but that's not the cause. I took two seminar classes with the same professor that Maggie visited. Like her, I think he's brilliant and would love to talk to him and pick his brain. But he probably doesn't remember my name. And it's because I didn't prepare for class by reading, never had anything meaningful to contribute to group discussions, and regularly raced out of the room once class was over, never staying to chat or visiting office hours.

Granted, I was usually leaving class to go to a club meeting or hang out with my friends- all things that I really enjoyed about my time at Maryland. The value of the leadership skills I developed and the friendships I made in college is boundless. My memories are roundly positive. But as I get older and more entrenched in life as a "grown up," I'm starting to regret lost opportunities like this.

Which is partially why I now try to read about as regularly as anything else and educate myself about both current events and history, since they're so frequently connected. When I hear of an old name or event in the news that I recognize but know nothing about, I make a note to look it up on wikipedia. Kind of lame, yes. But I feel better for trying again.

Buckets of love

Another cool place I've been: Korcula, an island off the Adriatic coast of Croatia. European tourists love Croatia, because it's beautiful. For some reason Americans have been slow to catch on. This place is absolutely idyllic. And they serve mixed drinks in sand pails with colorful straws, which certainly doesn't hurt.

Hail alma mater

This weekend marks homecoming at Maryland. Since I still live in the area and have season tickets to the football games, homecoming is not particularly novel in any way for me. But the atmosphere will be energetic, and hopefully I'll get to spend time with some friends who I haven't seen in awhile.

I volunteer for a group called the Young Alumni Committee. It tries to emphasize the importance of recent grads to the success of the Alumni Association, and works to build stronger connections between these young alums and the university. Tonight we have an event that I planned- the Young Alumni Homecoming Kickoff. I'm excited to see how it goes - and a little nervous. I hope that it works out well. Not just because I planned it, but because I have a vested interest in bettering UM.

Creating a strong bond with recent graduates will hopefully lead to a lasting relationship between these alums and the university as they get older. This is one of those big picture things that will take time to develop. I'm impatient to see the results, and to relish the subsequent sense of accomplishment. For now, though, I'll be happy with decent attendance, people having fun, and not screwing up my introductory remarks. The open bar should help with all of the above.

Where Gaston tries to kill the Beast

In the category of "cool places I've been" is the top of this castle in Segovia, Spain. Spanish monarchs used to live here. And then Disney used it as the model for the animated castle in Beauty and the Beast.

Congressional donkeys

As October winds down, it's difficult to think of anything but politics. I've been paying pretty close attention to the Senate races this election cycle and, in a lot of ways, I'm torn.

On one hand, I am a young Democrat. I grew up with Clinton in office, but did not really develop political awareness until Bush. So from the time I knew anything substantial about the world until 2006 (with a brief blip earlier in the decade), Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress and the presidency. Needless to say, I was rooting very, very hard for legislative Democrats in 2006. Now, in 2008, with the prospect of electing a Democratic president and widening the margins in Congress, part (most?) of me wants to see this trend continue. It would be great to see what Obama could do, particularly with a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Two things, however, give me pause. For one, our country, for whatever reason, is a mess right now. We are fighting two bleak-looking wars and most people warn that the rotten economy is going to take awhile to get better. No matter the cause of these disasters, the next president is going to have to be very careful when making tough decisions about resolving these issues. The quick, popular solutions may not be the smart ones. I'd like to think that Obama will take a measured approach, but with a Democratic congress at his back, it may be easy to get caught up in partisanship. Sometimes having dissenting viewpoints (from a strong Republican congressional presence) is the only way to craft thoughtful policy.

Democrats need to tread lightly. A national crisis doesn't have to be a political disaster. FDR is remembered fondly for doing the best he could to guide the country through the Depression. But if the economy continues to worsen and the party in power looks hapless, a wave of Republican opportunists will be waiting to pounce, just as Democrats did on the Iraq war in 2006.

This relates to my second reservation about a strong congressional majority. A lot of the politicians that lose out in these waves are the genuine good guys. Decent, moderate people, willing to reach across the aisle to get things done. Case in point: Lincoln Chafee lost Rhode Island in '06, and it appears Gordon Smith may lose in Oregon this year. And although some polls suggest they would be in danger in a Democratic wave, the nasty ones (like Mitch McConnell and Saxby Chambliss) are not the ones knocked from power. We need more pragmatic, independent-minded legislators in both parties. Not fewer.

For me, this point is somewhat moot. I live in DC, and therefore am not represented in Congress with a vote. (Just a Delegate, Eleanor Holmes-Norton, who is awesome). Still, I'll be watching the elections with a great deal of excitement. And just a little trepidation.

sjw125

I've learned a lot from my friend Sarah. Casting aside various feats of collegiate beer consumption, perhaps most important is her belief that being informed about the world is both a part of everyone's civic duty and a prerequisite to voicing an opinion. She is one of the most intelligent people I know and you can find musings about her life in Texas here.

Fall in the capital

On the continuing theme of why I love fall (and DC) so much, here are some photographic reasons. The leaves weren't as colorful as I thought they'd be, so another excursion might be forthcoming.

We need more Colin Powells

Colin Powell is a great man.

Most people already have a great deal of respect for him. The reasons for this esteem span the spectrum from his years of military service (including a very tightly-planned Gulf War) to his resignation after 4 years as Secretary of State, seen by many as a silent protest of the reckless policies of the Bush administration. I have always appreciated Powell's moderation; his endorsement of Barack Obama this weekend further cements his lofty position in my mind.

It is not so much the fact that he endorsed Obama, though this alone demonstrates a willingness to think in an independent, non-partisan way, but rather his eloquent reasoning behind the decision that impresses me so greatly. Colin Powell is a Republican who understands the peril of making this election about some constructed vision of Americana, of casting Muslims, intellectuals, people who live in blue states, and Barack Obama as dangerous outsiders. All of these people, marginalized by the McCain campaign and subjected to the jeering hatred of the people at his rallies, are Americans. They are just as American as "Joe the Plumber" and it tears at the foundation of our country to insist otherwise.

My favorite part of Powell's endorsement speech is this:

"Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

You should watch it- he's an excellent speaker. He goes on to describe a touching photo of a (Muslim) mother draped over the grave of her son, a decorated soldier. We're all Americans. Colin Powell gets it. I know that there are more Republicans like this. Please stand up to your party.

Some simple pleasures

More things that make me happy:

• Fridays
• Chipotle for lunch for the second time this week
• My alumni association mug that says "Terpnation" on it but is otherwise all black... until you pour in a hot beverage

Political decency... and apples

Last night Barack Obama and John McCain gave speeches at the Alfred Smith Memorial Dinner, a charity fundraiser in New York. I had never heard of the event, but it is apparently a long-standing tradition that presidential candidates attend (along with a who's who list of politcal figures) and "roast" each other. It was really funny, and done in good spirits also. Seeing Obama and McCain laughing together was a refreshing change from the bitter campaigning. It's unfortunate that politics can't be lighthearted and good natured more often.

Part one of McCain's speech and the rest of it. Most of Obama's speech and his closing remarks. Watch them, it'll make you feel good.

Something else that makes me feel good: fall. Can you envision anything more delicious than picking a crisp apple from a tree with colorful leaves? Me either.

Grumpy old man

The last presidential debate was held last night, at Hofstra University in New York. Bob Schieffer (a grandfatherly man who is, for lack of a better word, kind of huggable) was the moderator. I watched pretty closely, and thought Obama did a decent job repelling McCain's attacks. I was kind of surprised, however, by the post-debate coverage, and by the online punditry this morning. Maybe it has something to do with the sites I choose to read, but McCain's performance was pretty universally panned.

Watching these debates, I am predisposed to conclude that Obama wins each time because I believe in what he says. Last night I thought that McCain was cranky seeming. He kept interrupting and grimaced in some very unappealing ways. But I got the sense that he was getting his point across relatively effectively. Following the debate, I still would have argued that Obama won, but I assumed that McCain's aggressiveness would be better received, at least by those rooting for him. Apparently the number of people who fall into that category is increasingly small.

It comforts me to read opinions like Andrew Sullivan's. Conservatives who have rational backings to their views. People like this see Sarah Palin as a farce - scion of a dying neocon contingent of Bush's Republican party. They recognize the danger of stirring up mob-like, hateful emotions by using false, angry rhetoric. Overarchingly, reasonable people like this acknowledge the virtue of decency. They know that policy and character are not inextricably linked, that there are assholes who are Democrats and Republicans alike, and, above all else, that blind partisanship serves no one.

Far too often people, myself included, forget this. John McCain's ornery negativity plays right into this idea. Luckily, I believe that Barack Obama gets it. And that, more than the D next to his name, is why I think he'll make such a fantastic president.

On my way

I'm wary of blogs.

I don't fully understand the technology behind them and I realize that, in this age of electronic big brother, nothing posted to the internet is ever truly private. Blogs are frequently guilty of excessive whining, ranting, and political partisanship. Too often blogs take on the shape of public diaries- chattering, stream of consciousness style writing that is difficult and uninteresting to read. (Everyone needs an outlet, but part of the point of making a blog public is to post material that others may get something out of.) Yet I like blogs. I spend a lot of time reading them and, hopefully, will enjoy writing one as well.

So I'll give this a shot. Partially because I need something to fill the slow stretches at work, but also because I am occasionally struck by the urge to share my thoughts. And this seems like a good platform from which to do that. I make no promises about the quality of my writing, and don't particularly expect that anyone will be interested in reading my posts. Still, I'll do my best to not ramble.

I hope to be able to use each post as a snapshot of sorts. A picture of my life and how it's affected by the world around me at any given point in time. I don't know who Carl Sandburg was, but he apparently once said something that I like enough to stick at the bottom of the page: "I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way." That is how I plan on treating this blog (and, ideally, my life). So if you're interested in this particular adventure, welcome.