In Retrospect

I originally intended this to be a sort of journal, or maybe even a time capsule, where I could come and peruse past versions of myself...but it's too goddamn embarrassing. I cringe when I see the person I was, and all those things I thought I'd done so well on are just terrible. (Worse yet, I don't seem to have changed very much since then. Personal growth what.)

I think I finally understand why adults don't remember what it was like to be a kid. Everything looks awful, is tinted with sepia (which if you think about it is sort of shit-colored, except diarrhea shit, which just makes it worse), in retrospect. Might as well forget it, no?

Team America

It's sort of funny to see vestigial Cold War conflicts rising in Georgia at the moment, although Bush's entire eight years (aaargh...) in office have been marked by a rather strong and suspicious drive towards democracy. (I say suspicious in the context of his interests. What good is democracy in a state without infrastructure, unless that democratic government is loose enough to allow for the fulfillment of U.S. interests?)

But I wonder: with this conflict, is America finally showing a descent from power? Are we no longer the world police?

About goddamn time, I'd say--but it makes it all the more important for doves--so basically a majority of Democrats--to take office. There is no need for an American empire; in fact, it might be a bad idea economically and environmentally.

The Olympics: What People Can Do

Opening ceremony last night (was watching it on TV, don't think I could afford the tickets to the actual event)...totally amazing, really well choreographed, etc., etc....would have been much better without the constant commentary from the NBCites.

Seriously. Every two minutes they were all, 'whoa so many people' and 'mindboggling' and 'wow, no hydraulics! human labor?!' With a population of over one billion, what did they expect?

Irritation aside, though, it's particularly interesting to note how Americans react to a massive use of labor as opposed to complete automation primarily directed by one person.

Seems to relate to the fundamental clash of eastern and western views: community vs. individual.

Funny, because the Olympics seem to include both. Individual events, relays...how much you rely on your country....

Also, America's fear of being overtaken by other countries. No empire can last forever; we need to deal with this fact before it's too late and we're all embarrassed. I mean, there was this sort of phobia of the amount of people that countries like China are able to mobilize visible the whole time: the shock of 2008 tai-chi masters; 15,000 individual performers...amusing. We are still terrified of mass armies.

(Really funny: Dubya talks about all the people in India and China using up the world's food supply...half those people are starving. There aren't all that many 400-pound Asians around.)