Michael Jackson was born a black boy... became a white woman... then... an alien
Okay, there's no way I could go forth onto a career in film and media culture without dedicating two hours to the much rumored Michael Jackson "documentary" on 20/20 tonight. If you missed it, you missed it. If you saw it, you will agree that Micheal Jackson is the perfect mascot for everything dysfunctionally absurdly wrong in America. I don't even know where to begin, but that "man" is so screwed up.
Sweet defiance. My mother never actually gave me "permission" to go to Boston tomorrow. I guess my plan as of now is to get up early and put some things into my bedroom. The only major complaint that she has is that she wants her unused on a daily basis living room "back." I am still planning to go, planning to arrive by 4pm, and I guess my return is hinged to how I am feeling, either Saturday or Sunday. This seems to be the difference between being home and being in college. For the past four years, I have lived in acceptable squallor and gone away almost every weekend. Now, I am home, bored, and want to go 2 hours away and it requires a big discussion and what have you and her telling me that I can't go. Just the same, I have every intention of going. Considering that she's getting 2-dog sitting weekends and full week out of me when she goes to Las Vegas at the end of the month... well, let's just leave it at that I am going to Boston tomorrow, probably debating at BU, going to a party at Katie's apartment and then catching up with the invalid Aaron on Saturday.
Stepping out my selfishness... there's too much going on in the world right now to comment effectively. The nicest thing about being sick and retired is that I have enough time to catch CNN and all important national (and international) addresses. I watched Colin Powell the other day, and well, he was credible. It was a damn good presentation. I also stayed on and watched Jack Straw's comments immediately following Powell's address. Straw seemed to hit the nail on the head for me. He upfrontly said that Britain doesn't want to go to war, but unless the Security Council is willing to back up their words with force, then the UN will be rendered as weak as the League of Nations. The threats of continued terrorist activity and rycine (sp?) are very real for the UK and I don't know... these aren't problems that will be solved by either diplomacy or force (together or separately). I don't know, international relations are terribly fickle and complex - but this regime is a real threat, Bhagdad is a dangerous and unchecked sphere of illicit activity -- before you add in the nuclear component. The thing about nuclear weapons is that they are designed never to be used, they are a chip, a bargaining tool that allows deterrence logic to reign. In this current context, I don't know -- how far can you push someone who might use them, or a conventional or biological weapon that is equally as deadly and tragic in scope. I am certainly not the only American asking this question. I'd like to see this solved diplomatically, quickly, with as few citizens (or soliders) killed in the process - but I think we might be passed that.
posted by lmjasinski at 10:52 PM
