Freedom Tower.

The designs for the replacement for the World Trade Center towers destroyed by hateful bastards are being finalized, according to MSNBC. The new building will be more "blast-resistant" to truck bombs. As I recall, truck bombs aren't what brought the towers down. Anyway, the whole thing is supposed to be the tallest and safest building in the world -- and extremely beautiful to boot.

But who the hell would want an office in what amounts to a really big tombstone? Why the hell can't they leave it (that spot) alone and maybe put a park there of some other memorial? I suppose we're really stupid enough to believe that no one will blow this one up, unless this one comes with its own squadron of F-22s to intercept potential suicide planes.

But then again, the evil-doers will find a way around that, too.

The way I see it, it's almost...disrespectful to put another giant building structure. I mean, there's getting on with our lives. And then there's creating a shiny distraction so that we forget what happened and the thousands of people that died at that spot one day. This is, of course, not to mention the pragmatik concerns about putting another target there.

What do you think?

Starbucks' logo.

We talk a lot about Starbucks here, and I've certainly done my own share of Starbucks defending on my own blog. But this article has nothing to do with why you should or should not get your daily (or hourly) dose of the gods' nectar (anything with a substantial amount of caffeine) at Starbucks. It's entirely about the logo, something about which I've often wondered and always been too lazy to look up. It's a good article, from a good blog. Read it; you know you want to.

Student loans and coffee habits.

This is a very interesting article from the Washington Post detailing the ways in which today's college and graduate students pad their already-huge student loans with extra funds to finance their three-dollar-a-day specialty coffee habit.

I will readily admit to having a daily coffee habit, although not one that is quite so expensive (closer to two dollars per day). I will also admit to having used student loans in the past to pay for living expenses beyond tuition, but I like to think that this was for things like rent and groceries, not fun trips to Starbucks.

The article itself seems to conclude that it's going to be very difficult to convince students to see the big picture: that sacrificing their coffee luxury today means saving thousands of dollars in the future. It's not news that students today are taking out more loans than past generations and starting their adult lives heavily in debt. College is a whole lot more expensive than it used to be. But we've also come a long way from the days of my grandfather, who, according to the stories my mother told me, lived on nothing but cheese crackers while he was in college. Should it follow that because so many of us are living on borrowed money that we are not entitled to small luxuries like a daily latte? On one level, I'm tempted to say a resounding yes. There's something to be said for paying your dues and all of that. Once you get out of school and get a real, paying job, you can enjoy all the lattes you want without doing serious damage to your credit rating (I guess; I'm still in school).

On the other hand, though, those student loans are going to be a part of my life for a very long time. The article makes the argument that taking out extra money for lattes is more than a drop in the bucket, and I don't disagree that it doesn't make sense to dig yourself in deeper than you need to. But maybe a cheaper coffee habit would be better than foregoing it all together. It's going to take me twenty years to pay off those loans; I might as well enjoy a cup of coffee along the way.

Switch to a nice au lait, college students. Similar flavor but cheaper than a latte.

Weddings.

Last night was the big interview with the Runaway Bride, as she has been dubbed by the media (ordinarily, I would link to a related website, but as you'll see, I'm not doing so to protest the ridiculous amount of attention this case has gotten. I well realize, though, that in writing about it at all, I give it more attention).

I refused to watch the interview last night but am familiar enough with the story: girl freaks out about insanely large wedding, girl runs away, girl pretends to have been kidnapped by ethnic minority, girl is found and has to repay police department for the money they spent looking for her. It seems to me that most of the coverage of this story has been of the usual, superficially voyeuristic sort: "Ooh, isn't that weird?!" I'm probably not the first to suggest this, but for me, the real value in this story is what it suggests about the modern wedding industry.

Having experienced the stress of planning a wedding in the recent past, I remember that it didn't take me long to realize how ridiculous most of the expectations were. Bridal magazines, for all their commercial gloss and hundred pages of ads, do warn you that wedding industry professionals will play on various emotions to get you to empty your wallet. My wedding was nowhere near as large at the Runaway Bride's reportedly was and was also consciously non-traditional, so I found that what required the most energy was making people understand, both inside and outside of my family, that I didn't want the usual white-wedding pap. Reactions to this ranged from acceptance to anger to blank-eyed incomprehension. For example, when told that I wanted a vegetarian reception, one potential caterer paused and insisted, "But your guests will be expecting meat. You have to have a carving station." I wanted to shout, "Why are you arguing with me?!"

But as much of a pain as that was, I imagine that acquiescing to the "standard package" of wedding stuff -- carving stations galore, a dozen bridesmaids in dyed-to-match shoes, getting given away by your father -- probably involves its own stresses. Perhaps a good rule of thumb is that if your wedding is wigging you out so much that you have to run away, call it off and elope. Of course it's hard to fight against the desire to have a perfect wedding in the conventional sense. Every woman wants to feel special on that day (men, too, I'm sure); every one wants to feel as though his or her wedding is the most extraordinary, pulls out all the stops. I just wish there was an understanding that you can accomplish that without mimicking what's in the bridal magazines. There's limited room for variety in the conventional wedding, and no room for contesting all those wedding norms. If you choose to do so, it'll be a long road and a lot of explaining why you don't feel the need to have a carving station. But maybe in the long run, it's worth it.

Fragile.

Geez, everything makes us sick or kills us these days, huh? Can't eat raw meat. Okay, humankind has known this for a very long time. Now, we can't eat high-heat meat? Read on.

Photo Friday: Sport.

From Chris, for this week's Photo Friday challenge, Sport.

Loquacity.

We've been very talkative around here lately, no? I'm glad for that.
No nasty language though, and that makes me feel like I'm somewhere else. Where's the immaturity?
No photos, either, so here's one.
They say that Space Pens write on anything, and they do. This is what a guy will do with a Space Pen to a Panera Bread cup when he's had too much coffee on a Saturday afternoon.
There, photos and swearing.
Feels like home.

Schiavo autopsy.

As I was watching CNN, a brightly colour BREAKING NEWS ticker flashed onto the screen to (promptly) announce that Terri Schiavo's autopsy had been completed. Abuse allegations were dismissed early on, in a clear and concise manner. Call me a crazy conspiracy nut (which I most certainly am), but there are numerous articles and interviews which directly contrast the doctor's conclusion.

I believe a deep-rooted, dark and twisted form of ideals, better known as the Protocols of The Learned Elders of Zion, are being executed. Euthanasia is being pushed forward. Pushed in what direction? The socially accepted one, where sex, corruption, and bad music exists.

Where does one draw the line between sheer madness, and some cynical plot? The more I read, the more I find the world is one big lie - The Truman Show. Critical thinking is essential if we're to "break out" of Plato's Cave.

On theories.

Hi everybody!
It's good to be back on Blog Collective. I just finished reading a very interesting post on theories at another blog. I admit to being one of those people who promiscuously bandies about the word "theory." To defend myself a little bit, though, I only do this as a substitute for using even less applicable, more specialized words like "philosophy" or "ideology" for people's ideas.

Anyway, the post made me think about whether or not I have any of my own half-cocked theories by which I live my life. I like to think of them instead as little morals, earned from experience, dispensed only when solicited (unsolicited advice is a huge pet peeve of mine) and only with the best of intentions. They seldom make any grand statements about the universe or existence. For example, when at a university library with a copy shop nearby, always check out your book if you can, make copies at the copy shop, and then return the book. Library copiers are usually more expensive and break down easily. Or, a more recent discovery, try not to get a graduate degree in a field that differs from one's undergraduate major. You will have a lot of catching up to do.

My less pedestrian insights are probably only of interest to me :)

Welcome, new members.

I have intros and photos of some of the new members, but I won't be a jerk and post something like that in the name of someone else. I suggested posting photos of ourselves, so here is a photo of Chris and myself, from my wedding in October 2003. Yeah, that's me in a hemp suit, and that's Chris in the snug (!) pants. He's allowed to wear those, though; he works out. Chris and I have known each other for twelve years, since we were in Boy Scouts together, even though we haven't lived in the same state since January 1997. He is venturing to Southern Illinois again this summer, though, so stay tuned, possibly for drunken antics and definitely for caffeinated adventures.

I think introducing myself would be to repeat myself. Most questions can be answered via my other blog.

The obvious question: Why blog collectively? Good question. Any ideas?

Dangerous books.

Behold, the most dangerous books of the 19th and 20th centuries, according to some conservatives. This makes me sick. Truly.