Parties pt. 1: The Jungle II

I am going to start a blog mini-series on parties. From now on, every time I am instructed to write about whatever I desire, I will discuss a party that I have been to and why I found it enjoyable. This week's party is:
The Jungle II @ Colab (South Atlanta)
This was, by far, the best party I've ever been to in my entire life. After driving through the ghetto for what seemed like forever, my friends and I finally arrived at a grassy parking lot fenced in by barbed wire. We followed others who were walking for a short bit until we arrived at the entrance to a massive, abandoned warehouse guarded by its owners who were diligently watching all who entered and kicking out kids that were unruly, too young, or who detracted from the atmosphere. The front of the warehouse had a wrap-around deck filled with kids who were chilling out and enjoying conversation. Upon entering the warehouse, there was a long hallway filled with vendors of glow sticks, paint, art, t-shirts, alcohol, etc. After rounding the corner there was a room with chill music playing and filled with beanbag chairs with people lounging and smoking giant hookahs. The next room we saw was medium-sized and pitch black except for black lights. This room had a DJ who was playing electro and trance music. As I continued on, I eventually wound up in the largest room in the warehouse: A massive pavilion with a 3-story high ceiling the size of a college basketball court. On one side of the room, the Disney movie The Jungle Book was being projected as high as a movie screen projection on the concrete wall with multiple couches, chairs, and beanbag chairs surrounding it. On the other side of the room was a DJ blasting a variety of electronic music genres with 2 subwoofers/speakers the size of smart cars blasting the music to a room filled with 300 dancing people. Accompanying the music was a spectacular light show, several small dancing stages, and glitter falling from the ceiling. As I continued through the warehouse I wandered into another room lit only by black lights. Everyone in the room was painting with neon colors, every wall of the room was covered in intricate designs, people were painting one another and throwing paint around, so basically paint was everywhere. Despite my best efforts, I got paint in my hair, on my clothes, and even in my car. After exploring the inside of the party, I wandered outside to the back deck, where there was a deck bar, several tables with chairs, and several people spinning fire staffs and other ablaze objects in perfect time to trance music. Upon leaving the deck I saw a small, half-globe shaped, enclosed, white tent and became curious as to what was going on inside the tent. My friend and I ventured inside to find a small projector was displaying color changing lights over the walls of the tent, resembling a planetarium. After enjoying every room and aspect of this party for several hours, the cops eventually shut everything down and took the owner away in handcuffs around 5am. Unfortunately this was the end of Colab and there has not been a party there since. :'(

Internet-Assisted Suicide

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201010/suicide-nurse-mark-drybrough-chatrooms-li-dao?printable=true
The article I chose to analyze is about how a middle-aged man from Minnesota urged several people to end their lives over the internet. The author of this article used creative and compelling anecdotes to appeal to the audience's sense of emotion while at the same time presenting a valid argument about internet crime in the 21st century. Although they can be just as appalling and physical crimes and ruin just as many lives, internet crimes tend to go unnoticed by authorities in many cases. What was most shocking to me about this article was general apathy shown by the authorities towards the beginning of the investigation of this man. I believe that if the authorities had been more diligent and had taken the initials claims more seriously, the man would have never had a chance to reach the second girl and perhaps she wouldn't have ended her own life. No one should ever underestimate the power of peer pressure in decision making, especially if the person being influenced is emotionally or mentally vulnerable, as was the case with both of this man's victims. I do not understand what would compel anyone to pressure others into killing themselves, especially a man with a house, a wife, and 2 children. Hopefully with the news of this story coupled with a more diligent police force investigating internet crimes, no one will ever have to suffer what these people suffered again.

My Identity

I am first and foremost someone who loves God and tries to live through Him, this is the largest part of my identity. This is solely a result of my own personal experiences and not the result of my upbringing; although my parents made an attempt to raise my as a Christian, it took God's hand interfering in my life before I actually became Christian. Although I am a Christian I do not follow a specific sect of Christianity as I believe that unity, not division is what Christ wanted his followers to practice. I try my hardest to not come off too boldly with my religious views or shove them down other people's throats because I definitely respect other people's spiritual beliefs. However, anyone in my life who has any sort of a real, deep closeness with me shares at the very least my love for God and Jesus. The second largest chunk of my identity is my involvement in and connection with horses, without which I would be a very miserable person. I made the decision to devote my entire life to horses when I was 13 yrs old, and since then I have realized that I will not be happy in my life doing anything else. My dream is to compete in the Olympics in equestrian show jumping, which is a sport in which men and women compete in the same event on horseback and the goal is to navigate the horse over a pre-determined course of various obstacles as quickly as possible without knocking any of them down. Another huge chunk of my identity are people who matter in my life, all of whom I have an undying love for. I cherish friends and family and consider myself to be extremely social. I become unhappy if I go for more than a day without any meaningful interaction with my friends, and extremely unhappy if I go an extended amount of time without partying. To party is, for me, an extremely important aspect of my social life and emotional health. I love to celebrate life with my friends and will become very depressed if consistently denied the chance to do so.

Factory Farms in my Backyard

The effects from factory farms are all around us in Georgia. Georgia is a mostly agrarian state and has been for almost its entire history. The recent influx of factory farms in our state is polluting our air, water, landscape, and the quality of the food being produced. I remember going to Lake Lanier one summer when I was younger and seeing the water with a brown, oily tinge to it and filled with garbage. As my family floated through the lake on our friend's boat, we saw a car tire coated in what looked like animal feces bobbing up and down in the water. I kept wondering why the lake had gone from blue and clean to filthy and brown in just one summer? After reading that article and watching Food, Inc., I believe that the reason why our state is becoming more and more polluted is because of factory farms in our backyards. The sewage being pumped into a small pond affects not only that pond but the surrounding environment and the small streams that stem from it. These streams will carry the pollution downstream and eventually end up in our major rivers (Chattahoochee) and our reservoirs (Lake Lanier, Lake Allatoona, etc). The fact that our environmental agencies have been doing little to nothing to prevent or correct this pollution is disturbing to me, but unfortunately not surprising.

Tomas Tranströmer

Tomas Tranströmer is a famous and talented Swedish Poet whose prose is unique, bold, often convoluted and difficult to understand, and fascinating to many people. His poems tend to have dark undertones and break ground on deep subjects including the mind's inner workings and the state of the world's politics. I read Tomas Tranströmer's poem "National Insecurity" and I was both intrigued and impressed by his work. I believe that the subject of the poem is the current state of world politics, how greed often takes precedent over what's best for the people and how a veil is placed over people's eyes as citizens and consumers. In this poem he vilifies the media when he says "the demon merges with the opened newspaper." He also makes an allusion to our planet being destroyed by human greed over resources when he says "so the demon merges with the opened newspaper." When Tranströmer says "The mother-turtle flees flying under the water," he is alluding to our planet and how it is being destroyed by human greed over resources. The title of the poem, "National Insecurity" is a social commentary on how vast miscarriages of justice, destruction of communities and the environment, and the general rotting of America is carried out under the guise of national security. I like this po because the reader has to read it several times before the full, complex meaning is absorbed. I also believe it is possible for this poem to have different meanings to different people which is perhaps why Tomas Tranströmer has become so popular.

Industrialized Food Industry

The first time I watched Food, Inc I was completely shocked by the reality of large scale food production. I believe that the industrialized food industry is contributing to the cause of obesity in America. Americans believe that fast food is cheap when in fact the food is expensive when one considers the health and environmental costs. Although organic meat is more expensive than industrially produced meat, this increase in price will cause consumers to buy and eat less meat if they choose to no longer eat fast food. I personally have made the life choice to no longer consume any fast food. I won't eat McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Stake n Shake, Sonic, KFC, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-a, or even Subway. I have cut back extensively on my intake of fatty, sugary, and salty foods. In addition, I'm am starting to only eat meat that is USDA-certified organic. As a result I feel healthier, look healthier, and have lost almost all of my body fat while maintaining stronger muscles and bones. I have even noticed changes in my mood and mental state. I am more frequently in a better mood and I tend to have a sharper memory. Even though I have an extensive history of endometriosis among the women in my family, I believe that due to my diet I have kept this disease at bay. I would not only highly recommend anyone and everyone to watch this wonderful documentary, I would also urge anyone who wants to become healthier to look more closely at their diet and to stop eating fast food.

Different Kinds of Jumps

I really sincerely hope anyone who reads this takes the time to read about different kinds of jumps. When I say jump, I mean an obstacle comprised of a horizontal pole held by standards used to jump horses over. There are different types of jumps used in horse jumping competitions, called horse shows, in order to test the horse's ability to bravely jump any type of obstacle. A jump with a single pair of standards holding poles with no other element is called a vertical. This I find amusing because the pole that the horse jumps over is actually horizontal. A jump with two sets of standards holding poles a few feet apart is called an oxer. An oxer creates depth in a jump instead of height only as is the case in a vertical jump. A liverpool jump is a vertical or oxer with a long, thin pool of water sitting directly underneath, slightly in front of or slightly behind the center of the jump. This type of jump tests a horse's bravery because many horses are afraid of jumping over water. A jump placed exactly 1-3 strides in front of another jump so as to be jumped as a pair is known as a combination. Combinations may be comprised of 2-4 jumps that can be verticals, oxers, or liverpools. A triple bar is a single jump that is comprised of 3 sets of standards holding poles placed a few feet from each other. The first pole is the lowest, the middle pole is medium height, and the pole on the end is the highest. This type of jump tests a horse's depth perception. An average show jumping course used in competition is comprised of 10-12 jumps or jump combinations to be jumped in a specific, pre-determined order. Whichever horse can jump all the jumps in order without refusing to jump or knocking over any obstacle the fastest wins the competition.

Weight Discrimination

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/07/opinion/puhl-christie-weight/index.html?hpt=op_t1
For today's op/ed assignment, I chose an article about how weight discrimination affects Americans running for political office, namely a potential presidential candidate named Chris Christie, who is overweight. The author presents the arguments that not only can you not necessarily tell a person's health by their body weight, but also body weight is in no way an indicator of a person's character or value. I absolutely agree with the author that body weight should not have as heavy and influence as it seems to have on people's opinions of each other. The fact that only one state in the country has a law protecting overweight and obese people from discrimination is shocking to me. If we have laws protecting people from discrimination based on gender, race, religion, disability, and veteran status by their employers, then why should we not have laws protecting overweight and obese people from discrimination by their employers? Harshly judging people for being overweight is not only cruel, it is often innefective at correctly judging someone's value, character and worth. The author cited a poll that showed that most people, but women especially, favor the creation of laws protecting people from weight discrimination in the workplace. I believe that women favor it more strongly because women are often more the subject of harassment based on weight than men due to our society's heavy placement of a woman's worth on her physical appearance. For this reason, I believe that the creation of weight discrimination in the workplace laws would benefit not only overweight employees, but society as large by addressing a social problem.

The Apocalypse

If a horrible disaster were to hit Atlanta rendering us all without food, supplies, or transportation, I would have an ace in the hole. My horse Atreyu is not only an awesome jumper, he is also brave and handy and unafraid of loud noises and scary situations. He listens to me extremely well and performs beautifully under pressure. Basically, he is the perfect horse to survive the apocalypse with. The first thing I would do is pack a few necessities in a backpack and start hiking down to the stable where my pony is located. I would then put on his endurance saddle (complete with saddle bags and a fleece seat cover), tack him up and ride him south to the ocean. There I would join a commune of survivors and we would work together in our small, communist society and protect each other from outside harm. We will get food by fishing and get around by horseback, living in huts made from brush and reeds on the beach. However, if the disaster is merely a disaster and not the end of the world, I'll just put on my hiking boots and hike up the interstate to my ex boyfriends house. His parents have a bomb shelter, their entire life savings, and a years supply of food and potable water below their house. This kid is extremely infatuated with me and would have no problem taking me into his bomb shelter should a natural disaster occur. The downside to this, of course, would be that I would be forced to spend extended amounts of time in a confined space with this kid. Perhaps survival would be worth it, though.

Riding Atreyu

My horse, Atreyu, isn't really crazy. I like to tell people he is because it's convenient way to describe his personality. But he isn't psychotic or dangerous as he may appear, it's just part of his personality, who he is. He gets extremely excited by the notion of jumping or galloping, sometimes so much so that he works himself up into a frenzy. This is all a part of his breeding (Morgan and Saddlebred blood) and his past training to be a high spirited, animated, fancy cart horse. He can pull carts quite well, just as he can lift his little pony legs in the perfect, snappy motion so desired by cart horse trainers. But what Atreyu is best at is jumping. He lives to jump. Circle, run, jump, turn, look for the next fence. Oxer, liverpool, triple-bar, combination. In fact, there is nothing he loves on this planet more than throwing himself over various objects as fast as he can. At first glance it may appear that my job is simply to hold on and point him to the next fence, but riding, especially riding Atreyu, is much more complicated. I train, guide, direct, and focus his energy. Using subtle movements of my hands and legs, shifts in my weight, soft vocal cues and my own energy, I tune into him. I understand him and his mood and quirks. I accept him fully for who he is and I work with his personality rather than against it. I control his speed, pace, rhythm, gait, bend, the way he holds his body, the amount of strides to a fence, and how he holds himself over a jump all at the same time. Riding Atreyu is about trusting him and expecting the same trust in return.

Occupy Wall Street

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/08/opinion/martin-occupy-wall-street/index.html?hpt=op_t1
For today's op/ed assignment, I chose an article explaining the motives and characters behind the recent and popular political movement called Occupy Wall Street, where thousands of Americans have gathered to protest in Wall Street. The author argues that even though one might disagree with the statements the protesters are making, no one has the right to criticize the protesters for gathering to criticize the government and corporations. Our country was founded on the principle that the people have the right to criticize their leaders and protest government policies. Without this fundamental right, America would not be as well off as it is today. It is through protest that the people enact change within our congressional system and throughout society at large. The author argues that the Wall Street occupiers are just in their cause, claiming that the favoring of corporations over individuals and families and the corporate greed in our country is not only obscene, but ripping the country apart. Our country seems to be returning to a point where a single elite class controls the entire system, a rapidly growing lower class is being trampled, and what's left of the middle class is slowly disappearing. Without people like the Wall Street occupiers willing to stand and say "enough," this system would not change. As long as the government continues to cut breaks to big companies that treat their workers and consumers with disrespect, there will be citizens willing to occupy Wall Street in protest.

The Pursuit of Happyness

My favorite movie of all time is The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith. The plot of the movie is about a troubled man living in the early 80's whose wife just left him due to financial issues. He is struggling to care for his son and keep both his young son and himself off the streets of New York City. The movie focuses on extremely mentally and emotionally trying difficulties in the man's life, including trying to care for his son, sell bulky and outdated medical equipment to prevent going homeless, repairing said equipment at a homeless shelter, and aggressively studying how to become a stock broker all at the same time. he finds himself frequently at the bottom of the totem pole, but never loses hope in himself or his family's future. The most touching scene in the movie is when his son is trying to play basketball and his annoyed father attempts to convince his son that he will never excel at the game. Disheartened, the son drops the basketball, at which point the father tells his son to never let anyone tell him he cannot do something, not even his own father. At the end of the movie, Will Smith's character wins a job as a stock broker and eventually becomes a millionaire. This movie embodies the American dream and is as charming as it is motivating, subtle, raw, and moving.

Livid Moon

The following is a poem I wrote about the moon. Every time I look up into the night sky and see the moon, I get a tingle down my spine. I could stare at the moon for hours, especially when the sunset reflects red and orange shades onto its surface, giving it an amber glow. Sometimes I feel like I have a special, spiritual connection with the moon, and the following poem is my attempt to capture this connection in writing.

Livid Moon

That ephemeral beauty on a chosen night

Lighting Earth with a purer light than found in day

Blacking out, blinding out envious stars, vain sprites

Bless those souls who dare kneel in wondrous awe and pray

Lighting Earth with a purer light than found in day

Creeping from behind the dark illusion of time

Bless those souls who dare kneel in wondrous awe and pray

Watch it grow and gain weight, screaming, white beams align

Creeping from behind the dark illusion of time

The last silver sphere on a sinister black wall

Watch it grow and gain weight, screaming white beams align

Breathing fire captured from the day onto the pall

The last silver sphere on a sinister black wall

The final white flame in a heart devoid of light

Breathing fire captured from the day onto the pall

That ephemeral beauty on a chosen night

Sarah Palin

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/06/opinion/granderson-palin-presidency/index.html?hpt=op_mid
For today's op/ed, I chose an article about Sarah Palin. This opinionated article argues that although many public figures and ordinary people like to criticize Sarah Palin's intelligence, she is, in fact, quite smart in her decision not to run for president. The author of the article makes some interesting points. Why would Sarah Palin go through the money, scrutiny, and mental and emotional hell of running for the presidency when she already has such a cushy job at home? Yes she is scrutinized, but nowhere near the extent she would be if she were running for president, much less elected. She is smart because she realized that she can influence important political decisions, elections, and legislation without having to run for president. Her position in the public eye is at the moment in the best interest of her, her family, and her followers. Sarah Palin does not have the desire to be thrown into the political fire any more than she has already, nor does she have the desire to tackle the most difficult job in the country during one of the most politically and economically tremulous states of our country in recent history. I applaud her for having the courage to step down and realize that she can have just as much influence on the sidelines as if she was actually playing the game.

The Athens Newspaper

As any Georgian would know, Athens is more known for its ridiculous parties and massive football games than for its semi-newsworthy events. This is why I find this particular Colbert clip ridiculous. I believe the intended message of this clip is that the classic American newspaper is in some parts of the country as old, outdated, and decrepit as the unfortunate subjects of this video. In this age of readily available information technology, most people receive their news over their phone, through the computer, or on the t.v. This video implies that the only people not receiving their news technologically are old, backwoods hicks and that it is through their efforts alone that the classic American local newspaper is kept alive. As for the image of this state, between backwards, sexist, and racist legislation, to horrific problems with our schools, to the recent, highly controversial execution, I believe this small clip will have little bearing on the already tarnished reputation of Georgia. However, I do believe that this Colbert clip paints an extremely unrealistic picture of Athens, GA, which every college student knows has the capacity to be an as lively, technologically advanced, exciting town as any other. In reality, Colbert could have chosen any small town in the country to do this parody on, but I believe he chose a town in Georgia because of this state's reputation for being backwards and stuck in the 1800's.

My Gift Shop Review

The documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop definitely caught me by surprise. What started out as a simple documentary about street art turned into a secretive view into the lives of street artists, how and why street art has become so popular, and an almost disturbing commentary on the commercialization of art. What I took away from Exit Through The Gift Shop was that art is quickly becoming about who you know and how much money you have as opposed to how much talent you possess. I believe that the documentary is a cleverly re-arranged collage of various videos that contains a different meaning and purpose than what the videos were originally intended for. I don't believe that the documentary was a complete fake, however, I do believe that Banksy created it for the purpose of enlightening the general public about what I'm sure he considers to be a disease in the art world and to attempt to preserve his personal ideals of art, the art world, and the motives behind the creation of art. Who decides what is and is not art? The art collectors with the most money to spend. It seems to me that a piece of work only becomes art if someone is willing to fork out big bucks for it. This documentary is about the commercialization, demoralization, and watering-down of the art world and how the elitist and consumerist aspects of our society have rubbed off onto the art world.

The Dying Post Office

What do I believe should be done about the post office? First off, although I do understand that email and social networking replaces the vast majority of mail, I also understand that there are some things that absolutely must be delivered by mail, such as a signed document or a check. I personally believe that our country still needs a postal service, even in this age of advanced technology. I also believe that it is not the government's job to bailout or save the post office. So how does it go about saving itself? First of all, there is no way the postal service will stay in business unless it lays off thousands of its employees. It needs to drastically shorten its days and hours of business to 3 or 4 days a week. Although this will bring inconvenience to millions of Americans, it would bring less inconvenience than if the entire United States Postal Service were to shut down altogether. The fact that our country is having this problem has brought global embarrassment, but it has also brought us an opportunity to see how other countries have organized their postal services and how they have kept their mail system from failing. Our country has been through worse and pulled through, so I'm sure that this problem with our postal service will be overcome and the United States Postal Service will recover.