This is my attempt to mimic a Derek-like sarcasm in meme form. Being Derek is harder that I thought:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Pretty much the majority of people. Abe Lincoln, Washington, Jesus, Che, Mohammad, Octavius. They were all named before me.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
The last time I cry will probably be sometime in the distant unforeseeable future, if thins go my way.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Not as much as I like my hands drawing or cooking.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I think I'd like to have a goat over for lunch. He/she would probably eat all my waste products, reducing my carbon footprint.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
I've had some in the past I always forget to get their numbers and never hook up with them again (the kids).

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Well I'm pretty good friends with myselef now, so if I were someone else I'd still be me, and I'd still love me.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
I did one time, in college but not since then. Not saying I wouldn't try it again if the situation came up.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Where else would I keep my exogenous material? Certainly not on my windowsils.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
I would I could only in a box with a fox.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I don't really have a favorite. I really like maize, oats, wheat, rye, rice and of course barley. Buckwheat also ain't bad.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
I like to keep my shoes united and usually I slip them off then unite them.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Again, I try not to pick favorites, that what caused them "to all scream" for ice cream.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Usually their location or proximity to me. Then their velocity/acceleration.

15. RED OR PINK?
Depends on what the object in question. I prefer my wines red and my blushing cheeks pink, as nature intended.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My unrelenting humility and modesty.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Baseballs.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
That would be quite a demand, but it would be interesting to find out if Kim-Jong-il likes his handwriting.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
No colors. I'm in Black and White this morning.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
I keep trying to say exacTly what I am listening to right then but every time I read it, it keeps changing.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
African American.

23. FAVORITE SMELL?
http://www.thesmell.org/

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
I try to stay off my phone for fear of me crushing it under my feet.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Facebook is an alright guy.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH
Walking where it's okay to pee (hiking) but I like to watch from places I can pee, while walking.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Yes.

28. EYE COLOR?
See 27

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
I tend to keep them in my pocket. Either in my phone or in my datebook.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
I don't want to limit myself to one food here so I'll go with a whole group:
delicious.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
I don't find it necessary to distinguish. Scary movies with happy endings are just as great as calm movies with sad endings. Okay I'll be honest, calm movies with sad endings sound pretty bad.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
I was watching Forgetting Sarah Marshal. It was on the TV for a few days until Ian picked it up and moved it to his room. I think there may have been something playing on the TV at the time.

33. What color shirt are you wearing right now?
Black and white, no colors today.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
I know I've summed things up before, don't know that I've ever winted. I suppose that makes me a summer.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
I find these dichotomies exclusive, however, both Hershey's products are not vegan so I no longer ingest either.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Apparently.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Obviously if I am answering this question then I'm not.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Notebook, by Toshiba.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
my finger

41. What did you watch on TV last night?
we have couches now so it's no longer necessary to sit on non-conventionally sat on pieces of furniture such as TV.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S).
http://www.thesoundla.com/

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
I find rolling Beatles unnecessary and cruel. I mean, there's only two left.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Geographically: Missouri
Structurally: Outside
Philosophically: High school
While running bases: Second

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Two: humility and modesty. Didn't we cover this?

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=born%20netherlands&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

47 WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
I always hear you only gt back what you input. So I suppose that means my own.

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Myspace lurking. This is actually not a joke.



PS I have a girlfriend now. If you don't already know her, you should meet her:

I'm thinking I need to do things with my hands more often. I think I'm going to work on that.

So me and the housemates had our first big sit down and discuss our shit meeting tonight. Basically me and my roommate are filthy and one of our housemates is clean. This causes all our problems. I think everything seemed to work out but then again I always feel more optimistic about these things. It's so weird because it all got me excited. We had real, open discourse for a few hours and it was amazing. I love that type of community. We didn't settle down to a vote because if we did there would be people that were being forced to do something they didn't want to. We worked to consensus. I think this is the first time I have sat down and worked through differing opinions to the point of consensus. Not even in Food not Bombs could we do that properly (I guess that's because people didn't sign a contract to be in close proximity to each other for nine months). Well this whole experience just resolidifies the idea in my head that I'd really like to live in a collective or co-op house as my next residence. Maybe I'm not ready, but I'm definitely willing, and I think that may be just as important, if not moreso.

It's a fine day this morning. The dawning of a new era...

or something.
Barrack Obama. Barrack Obama and his audacious hope. As Many of you know I don't posses the same kind of faith in the areas of government that others tend to. Not that I have no faith in Obama, I just think my faith is different. There's a lot I want to say about this day and I don't think I can make it into a coherent, flowing myriad of ideas so I guess I'll do more of a list, but I'll still try to connect it all somehow.

It makes me sad and upset that the American people and the Obama campaign were not "allowed" to mention race throughout the year before the election but then literally the night he got elected it was all of a sudden safe to talk about how he is the first Black president. On top of that, Obama is more white than Black (what is Black is more directly African than African-American, which is an important distinction), but for whatever reason the nation still conforms to the one drop rule and Obama is fully Black. But Obama couldn't've talked about race, or he'll end up like Cynthia McKinney (CA Green Party endorsed presidential candidate this year) who "cried racist" and was publicly criticized for doing so (for an awesome analysis of how/why these events occur find a copy/borrow mine of Racial Paranoia which is written by John L. Jackson Jr., the same author as that blog). It sucks too that the emphasis is on Obama's race (remember, race doesn't exist, has no basis in science and is a complete social construction) now because if his vision of hope, by some miracle, matches up to all the varying visions of hope his supporters subscribe to then he will be accepted as the example of what Black people "can and should be." If one Black guy can make it, then any Black guy can and race/racism is no excuse for shortcomings (lets not forget the legacy of disaccumulation left for the many disenfranchised Blacks/minorities, not to mention overt racism which can and does keep the American dream from being realized). I can't tell you how many times I heard "America is officially no longer a racist nation" the week after Obama's election. Plenty of people still can continue racist beliefs while still viewing Obama as an exception. Take for examples the of the two couples who claimed they'd "vote for the nigger." [example 1, example 2] On the other side, if Obama does not live up to the expectations of hope and change (which vary pretty dramatically based on what the people who hold them desire and need) then I think it would be hard for future prominent minority politicians to overcome the comparisons that will be made between them and Obama (made both by the media and subconsciously by the people).
Part of me even wants to say that I wish there had been prominent Black candidates for presidents before Obama that had media coverage and a chance at winning but then lost so that people wouldn't exoticize Obama so much as "the amazing successful Black guy." As with all things, time will tell what this guy is gonna do.

No matter how much we work.
We Play.
No matter how old we get.
We Play.
No matter how wise we become.
We Play.
And we can never let that go. We can never stop playing. If we stop playing, we begin to lose our freedom.
And we can never lose our freedom.

Can you come out and play?

I've been thinking about some pretty heavy things lately because we are all so out of touch with the world. Does anybody know anyone who has lost their home in the economic crisis? There are 300 million people in the United states, at least into the hundreds of thousands, if not a million people have lost their homes. You'd think that proportionately I'd know someone (being generous 1/800 Americans has lost their home, I surely am somehow in contact with more than 800 people). I see boarded up houses every now and again, but I still feel detached from this crisis. Does anyone know anybody who has lost their house? Their job? Even had to refi? I need this to feel more real, I need to be connected to it.


Also I was considering the other day, we (human race) have soooooo many nuclear weapons. We all hate each other. How is everyone NOT scared of impending nuclear war? I mean, nuclear war is kinda scary.



ETA: Remember when John McCain was a real person? Before he had to become Mr. Republican?
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/ynews;_ylt=AoU4dfFuFv7EBlcAClDLqtYGw_IE?ch=4226716&cl=11097521&lang=en

Also Bush got a pair of shoes thrown at him in Iraq today. The second half of the video isn't exacTly objective journalism but the first half gets the point accross:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/ynews;_ylt=Asn9fAecDEMabTiEaSDb.bQGw_IE?ch=4226714&cl=11097716&lang=en

Sometimes the smallest things make me wonder just how much I am being lied to.

In the 1960s in California there was a strong counter culture brewing. Some individuals in this counterculture chose to live their lives the way they wanted to: free from the mainstream culture. These were the communalists. Symbolized here by psychedelic rock. The others chose to fight for the right to live freely while still in the midst of the society keeping them from doing so. They wanted to live freely and wanted be able to still be in interaction with people who were maybe more... content with their situation. I will call this section of the counterculture The New Left. The New Left had to work in a system with the cards stacked against them (much like the civil rights movement happening [primarily] on the East Coast, but I don't want to make that analogy). Working within this system means you have to have majority approval. That may not be, and almost never is how a person wants to live. That is, they were inhibited from living freely, as the communalists. You could emblemize The New Left by something like powerpop or maybe progressive rock is a better analogy. That's not really the important part.
Alright now here is my point. Looking at my situation historically, I am in the same position, I have to make the same choice the counterculture had to make 40+ years ago. There are about 1 billion movements I can join that will stunt me personally and keep me from being free but will keep me fulfilled. Anyway I see this in the music I listen to. While I do have to pick how I'm going to live my life, I don't have to chose which music I listen to. I can listen to (old) Against Me! and I can listen to Yelle. It is just funny to see something you read about in school, something that is always referred to in past tense forming in front of you. I watch this video and I have to think to myself "people are going to use her as an example of the culture she represents." I was reading about mod culture and how they were trying to represent not growing up by wearing clothes and making movies that were about pretending to be something else. Just having fun, just living life. That is what Yelle is doing, and it looks fun, but is that who I want to be? Isn't that kind of ignorant? I honestly don't feel the need to "find my true self" by just "living" but the journey seems fun, and that's really what it's all about right? So who will I model myself after, Yelle, or Against Me!? The choice isn't black and white, but it is definitely a choice I have to make. As many of you know my choice has always been Against Me! but my true struggle is to try and hold to Yelle.
Also I have a long Barrack Obama entry from election day that still is not finished so stay tuned for that one, it's not to be missed. Though it might break my theme of musical analogies to social situations, maybe I can make something work. Let me know what you (dis)agree with about my assessment.

-Erikson

If you haven't ever heard of Yelle, this is what I'm talking about:

Don't you agree?

Alright. Here I am. Livejournal. What's up guys.
I miss reading and writing here. I always kind feel like I have betrayed this community. I used to be so animatedly supportive of this community and tried for a long time to keep it alive after the great (myspace) migration. Sorry it took so long for me to answer your poke Savannah, I hope this entry is to your liking and to anyone else who happens upon it.
First, a bit of housekeeping: I now live and study in Santa Cruz CA. I'm studying Community Studies so I can be Barrack Obama when I grow up (only blacker and an anarchist). I'm pretty settled in, got some new friends, and maybe soon I can start emmersing myself in the local scene(s). Anyway this part is always boring when I come back and read my last entry from six months ago so I think I'm done with recap.
So let's talk about the subject that I know is on everyone's mind: Funk Music!
No seriously I'm really posting my first entry since March about funk music. I have always thought that the 70s and 80s showed a different era of race perception in America. Of course my opinion here is formed primarily and perhaps solely on media portrayal, so I never pledge allegiance to the accuracy of this thought. My reasoning here was that at this time, there was relatively little difference in character writing in movies for Blacks and Whites, and when there was, it always seemed more egalitarian to me. Funk, I always felt, conveyed this notion better than any other media of the time. Have you ever seen performances of funk artists like George Clinton, or Sly and the Family Stone? It's a bunch of black guys, white guys, and even sometimes asians and women. Just turn on VH1 Classic there is a 1/4 chance it'll be just one such performance. I think it is because funk style (clothing particularly) never quite identified to me as similar to black or white culture. It simply was funk culture. This especially carried on to the 80s in music videos (New Order is the example that comes to my mind). The people in their videos seemed to be of various races (whatever it is that race means, but let us it here to consider the traditional form of the word referring to skin color and nationality).
Well anyway the reason I bring this up because in the reading for my Racism class I found something interesting out. During the 70's blacks made a sharp income gain as demand for white-collar work increased and deindustrialization of the American economy began. America was in a period of economic prospering. This meant the job competition was low. When job competition was low, discrimination was also low. You could say this is either because in times of prosper white have to hire blacks because bodies are needed to do new work. The way I choose to look at it is that competion in hiring breeds a need to protect white privilege (by hiring white). Historically racism tends to only exist when trying to maintain white identity and/or white privilege. Not to say there wasn't racism in the eras of funk and new wave, in fact this is where mortgage loaners (mainly FHA), urban renewal, and the public housing market destroyed black families' chances of ever owning homes and redistricted many into black ghettos. What I am saying, is that in popular culture, my idea of racism strongly losing a foothold in this era was actually somewhat spot on.

Well anyway, this entry got longer than I wanted it to be, and I tire regardless of this fact. Looking forward to see who still reads this stuff.

I got into Santa Cruz and Davis.

...and I thought I was feeling depressed.

I'm not sure why, but I haven't felt like actually coming on here and posting. I think about it from time to time, but never actually write. I'm trying to be more expressive and creative lately too (mostly because I feel kind of smothered, and I haven't created in a while now). But here I am.

I was working 40 hours and more which might be okay if it was any kind of set schedule, but I was getting called in for alternate shifts on my day off while I was sleeping and the like. Anyway, I decided that I'm going to work less so I can do nothing for a while, (it seems like I'm always doing SOMETHING lately). Hopefully doing nothing will lead forward into something productive, which is really where I am lacking lately: productivity.

I just realized this morning that my birthday is a week from Friday, which is weird because there is a big clump of birthdays around this time, and it's like they are all getting warmed up for mine. Anyway I have no plans and no ideas and will probably do nothing.

I really can't wait to move. Not that I hate my current situation or anything, but I just want to live outside of this (wonderful) city for a while. I'll be back, don't worry. The UCs lied to me though, I could know if I'm accepted as soon as March 15, but as late as April 30. grumble grumble

Next time you see me, give me a nice warm hug. But wait before you do, I don't want a greeting hug, I want a surprise, mid-hang out hug. :D

I apologize for this entry, I just wrote it as a sort of record, and to somewhat make sense of things

( Blah blah blah I'm sick )

Well anyway, I hope you all are doing better than I. You kids going to the desert this weekend say hi to Scotty for me.

Feeling a bit detached as of late. I've been ignoring established relationships to try to create new ones. I feel I both need to create new ones and to commune with old but I can't do both very well. There is a lot I want to do right now and I'm pretty much doing none of it. I'm working toward it somewhat though, I think. I need to create. That will help.

I am not meant to work so monotonously.
I need attainable challenges.
I need to go home.

My mother knows me well.

For all who I have not shown this winter.http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Merry+Christmas/
Rock and roll died on August 21, 2003

Once again I hope all is well in everyone-else-land. If I haven't seen you believe that I miss you. If I have, believe I am glad to have.

-Erikson

P.S. This song has been my favorite non-traditional Christmas song for years now. I will one day sing it with my long awaited love.

Busy Busy Busy.
Been working lots lately, plus with finals and holiday events have not had time for much. I have the same things on my to do list everyday. Everyday they are just past on to the next day. I have a list a mile long of things to do this winter break, I hope I can do even half of them. We still have no tree here, and I know I won't be able to get one in the next couple days, and if I don't who will? Hopefully someone. I had a million things to say to you all but now I can't remember one.
Any who desire to see me should come to Turtle Shouse tonight for the Andrew Jackson Jihad show or to the ugly Christmas Sweater ride this Saturday.
Food not Bombs Sunday?
January holds Toasters and numerous Back to the Grind shows as well as as many out of city excursions as possible.

-Erikson

Many people in the past have said they've "outgrown their lj handle." I was thinking today that maybe that's true for me. Probably not though.
my brother just quoted to me from the Railway Gazette "The last couple of weeks have been an interesting one." Badly spoken but coincidentally applicable.
Operation Ivy said "They call it youthful idealism/and even I'd have to agree with them/but some of us grow up, and it's still there"
I always think staying busy makes time pass slower
but I also think that when I'm generally doing nothing time passes slower.
Change must make time go slower.
Adjustment adjustment adjustment.
It's kind of funny how I want a house, and not necessarily a home.

I work at Office Max.




he who have the sharpest knife
he live the longest life
'till somebody take it from him

ex-darlin,
forget about callin
for to sleep, not in love, tonight
is where I'm fallin

Got to see Kim Jenkins today. Sooooo good. It'd been so long. Happy times. Job interview with Office Max tomorrow. Exciting? I am and I'm not. It sounds like Devin talked me up nice, so I think I should get it. It'd be nice working close, and the man I talked to on the phone who I assume would be my boss seemed pretty cool. It's at 1:00 so think positive thoughts for me if you would. I feel like I have so much to do lately. The job stuff, UC applications/TAG school in general. But it all seems to be working out for the best.

-Erikson

I am deathly ill. I literally slept 13 hours of the day today. Eating sucks, breathing sucks, sleeping sucks, but waking up is awesome. That's the only time I want to do anything.

I saw a tortoise yesterday for the first time outside of captivity (they are protected/threatened). It was the highlight of my weekend.

I guess that is all. I just wanted some sort of interaction. Ha. Computers.

-Erik

ETA: The winner for the interchange style, naming type, Bernstein event was "Riverside Squeeze" my mom's was, according to Bernstein's email "a close second" and his favorite. He is still going to put her in the column though, for that reason.

Election Day.

Make sure to vote for city council and School Board positions.
and if ya don't know, don't vote! *Opinion Spoiler:...esp. if you were gonna vote for Betro.

I really really like what Gardener and Gage have done for our communities.


If you don't know your polling place then you can just vote at The Registrar (2724 Gateway Drive)

Polls open at 7:00am and close at 8:00pm