Thursday, December 11, 2008

Ode to my Green Galoshes


A haiku, appropriate for today...





In rain, others skip
away from puddles. But I
simply skip through them. 



Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Terrorists Your Game is Through

I know this is COMPLETELY out of left field, but I wanted to post this great article from the Op-Ed section of the Times. It's by Thomas L. Friedman and addresses how the Pakistani people should speak out against the radical terrorists who attacked Mumbai. 

Check it out here. 

I was nodding my head (up and down, that is) the whole time I was reading this. We've heard a lot of people say things like, "there's no negotiating with terrorists". Of course, those people are mostly war-mongers, but I think they're somewhat correct. I think of terrorists as that annoying kid in middle school who is ALWAYS being bad, always bullying people, talking back, and disrespecting everyone - but the worst part about the kid is that he just doesn't care about consequences or other people's feelings. You knew people like that in middle school, right? 

Because he didn't care, there was no way to reason with him. That's how terrorists are. They don't think that what they are doing is wrong, they've just been so indoctrinated in hate. So yes, to a point there is no negotiating with them. But that's why Friedman's article is so important, because it provides a solution that I agree is very viable. That is the terrorists own culture and community acting out against them, shunning them, making them realize that they are not acting for the common good, they are not in tune with the community, and no one appreciates what they are doing except themselves.

I think that's how change will happen in societies where terrorism thrives. It has to start within the society.  Terrorists have to be stopped by their own people, or else they will feel that their actions are valid and they will perpetuate. 

Anyway... I'm going to get back to work now but I just wanted to share that. 

Monday, December 1, 2008

Philly Sidewalks, Broad Streets

So last night I was up until 2:30 AM waiting for Will to get home from NH. His flight kept getting pushed back due to the wet conditions. But eventually he got in, we got like 5 hours of sleep, and now it's Monday and I'm back at work wondering exactly what I'm doing here (and wishing to God I was still in bed). 

Walking to work this morning felt like going through an obstacle course. We had to dodge some trucks that were parked right at the curb in the crosswalk, make sure we didn't get drilled into by some big construction equipment (that was so loud it practically made my ears bleed) and of course squeeze around the limping homeless people that take up 3/4 of the sidewalk. One man, who was waddling around asking people for quarters, had tucked his pants into his socks. I guess that's one way to keep your ankles warm? Or make a fashion statement? Not really sure what he was going for. 

It seems like there's always a construction project happening in this city. But I can't complain that they're keeping sidewalks walkable and streets drivable. It makes me think, though, about the budget problems the city is going through right now. We're very much in debt, which isn't surprising with the economic climate and other cities (ahem, almighty NYC) also faltering. But as with any situation like this, people are questioning what should be cut and what should stay. Mayor Nutter says he won't cut "core" services, like police forces, fire houses, and trash collection - which I think is important because we don't want more crime or dirt blowing through the streets (well... any more so than there already is). 

But he is going to cut things like library branches and city workers, and raise fees like parking tickets. (Read some of this here.) I want to jump on the bandwagon with my fellow English majors and proclaim the importance of literary outlets in the city, but I actually kind of agree with this move. I wonder how many people actually USE those libraries? And I know of lots of privately funded non-profits that work to ring literacy to the city. If they're so upset, why not get some rich donors to buy up a property and store books there? It's just as good as library. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for the government to promote reading since I think it's getting more and more unpopular as time goes on, but I think in a time like this, it's necessary to focus on getting the debt under control so that, in the future, we can have surplus to bring these services back and make them even better. 

In other news, last night I saw STELLA live and got their autographs after the show! How's that for arts and culture?