i'm a satellite in deep space; these signals are never decoded by the emptiness.

Currently Playing:
Give Up
By The Postal Service

life is long, friends. this cd was out on my shelf, so i put it on, and it's reminding me of a time when my burdens were lighter. the only thing you'll always have is yourself, but you can count on yourself to always be there, and it's a powerful thing that music can take you to a better time for you. memory can be painful, but in some cases, it can be a reassuring comfort in the unbearable discomfort of the present.

i wish hurt out of this world for the ones in my life who are suffering. i would take you all to a place of happiness and ease and love if i could just figure out how to get there myself. please try to love yourselves as much as i love you.

walking in circles makes me dizzy

Currently Playing:
"Make War"
By Bright Eyes

dear massive viewership, i promise i'll finish what i've started as soon as my school stuff and health are back up to speed. sorry for the delay. for those that haven't noticed, at least all the photos from the trip are up in my gallery. i want to get some more photos up soon, too.

i hope you're all doing well, out there in your respective lives. don't forget small gestures can make someone's day a lot better, and just listening goes a long way when someone's hurting or lonely. i'm grateful for the very real experiences in my life, even if they're difficult, because suffering is really the one thing we all share. but let's not get into buddhism right now, shall we?

today i put my sunglasses on. i felt three years younger. and by younger, i mean more detached from the world. maybe i should leave them where they were.

deadlines are falling like hail all around me. i should get a job.

to those of you i've seen much less of lately (you all know who you are), let's not let it stay that way. i'll be your friend for as long as you'll let me.

and a few concluding thoughts for the night: hope springs eternal, but then again, stupidity tries.

wanna help me with an assignment?

Currently Playing:
piano tomfoolery
By etranz

okay, so i have to write this essay for my American Constitutional Development class, and i'm having a hard time figuring out how to answer the question. it's supposed to be a reflection paper, where we discuss our point of view on the question. so here's the topic:

"What do you think that American civil liberties/civil rights would look like in a system without judicial review? Why?"

For those who don't remember their government basics, judicial review is the power of the courts (state and federal, and especially the Supreme Court) to declare legislation or governmental actions unconstitutional.

Generally speaking, judicial review has expanded and protected civil rights and civil liberties, particularly through upholding the Bill of Rights and applying it to the states via the 14th Amendment. And it's judicial review overturns laws that impose upon civil right & liberties. For instance, if the damn Patriot Act ever gets thrown out, it'll be because the Supreme Court rules that it's unconstitutional. But beyond that, I can't think of too much more to say. I think judicial review protects individuals from unwarranted government intrusion and disenfranchisement. I think it's valuable and necessary. But maybe I'm just not thinking out of the box enough to see any other side to the argument.

What do yall think? Don't be embarrassed, now, I love getting comments, and I'm even soliciting them, so please chime in below!

second round of photos

Currently Playing:
s/t
By Beachwood Sparks

that right, folks, another big batch of photos is up. it's actually pretty much all i did today...man, the things i do for you people.

just kidding. ; )

there are nasa co-op photos, gubment photos, more family photos, some photos of me and ethan, and one more photo of owen. hope you enjoy them! we're all the way back through may 2004 now. i'll try to get some more up this weekend.

with every technological advancement...

Currently Playing:
Gimme Fiction (shh, don't tell)
By Spoon

hi everyone,
it's been a hectiquiet couple of days for me, busy (not) going to class and (avoiding) doing lots of homework. not too much to report that's not morose.

but today, i've been struck with a bit of a dilemma, and i want yall's feedback. sound good? so here's the deal: i'm on this social-networky website called facebook (see my sidebar). it's pretty much a big rip-off of friendster, but it's somewhat unique because it's organized around college/student life. part of this student focus is that you can select the high school you attended from a list (which then goes into your profile), and you can search for everyone else who attended your high school very easily. i've found and been found by lots of friends and acquaintances this way already, and we've added each other to our lists of friends.

so here's the real issue. today, i received my first friend request from someone who must have found me by this high school search *that i never really liked.* i mean, damn, i give everybody a chance, but she was consistently bitchy to me in middle and high school. so what do i do? on the one hand, it's just a stupid list on some website, and really, wouldn't it show that we've both matured and buried the hatchet if i accepted her friend request? what if this is some peace offering for the time she and this other girl humiliated me in a 7th grade pre-algebra class? on the other hand, doesn't it make my friends list kinda meaningless if i allow people on there that i never was friends with? should i have to deal with bad memories every time i look at my list? if i approve the request, will this girl think i approved of her behavior all along? i just don't know. my instinct is to ignore the request, but then guilt kicks in, feeling like i'm being immature.

i know, i know, this isn't important, but i think it raises some interesting questions. so what would you do?