literary roundup

And why not? Here's what I've been reading over the past few months (most recent first), with perhaps the odd comment or two. For all of you out there studying exactly what it takes to be just like me. . .

currently reading: The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin
Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott
Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris -- if you are a Christian (or, really, a follower of any religion) and want to read something that flys in the face of pretty much all of your deeply held convictions, this would be the book to read -- it makes you think, which is a good thing; Harris really would like to see the eradication of all religious practice, pretty much
Affluenza by John DeGraaf, David Wann, Thomas H Naylor, and Vicki Robin -- I'm sort of stuck at about halfway right now on this one
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (audiobook)
Sex God by Rob Bell (also on audiobook -- which I may just decide to do with any future Rob Bell books)
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott -- thanks to my friend Mel, whose book was laying around while I was staying in her room, even though she didn't probably know I read it
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

good advice for the young'uns

My generation of Americans (and those younger than us) are at this unique point in history where we've grown up largely under the assumption that, generally, we have the right (which is actually more of a luxury) to pursue the college degree(s), career(s), and goals we decide are best for us -- and that, in some form, the resources exist somewhere for those things to happen. This is different than my grandparents' generation, and even to some extent my baby-boomer parents. I never heard the struggles about "life purpose" and choosing a career that "fit" them. My grandpa (dad's side) worked in an industrial factory of sorts. The basic idea was that you did work so you could provide for your family. There wasn't all this angst over making the "right" decision, not "wasting time," fear about not being good, etc., that I know I went through (and am still going through) and that many college students go through. Add in trying to "discern God's will for my future" and it gets even more fuzzy at times.

I ran across this video -- I don't even know what the main idea behind the series is, but this particular video caught my eye because these college-age students were interviewing Ira Glass, who hosts This American Life on NPR. While I'm not an avid listener by any means, I do have an appreciation for the quality of the storytelling craft of the show, and I really respect his work.

I found this to be interesting because it shows the typical questions many college students are asking, and how Glass responds -- one of the main things he said was, basically, don't be afraid if you are really horrible at what you're doing for a while, or that you're wasting time, because you'll eventually have a sense if it's what you should be doing or not. I think a lot of us get really hung up on the idea that we'll be bad at what we try, so we don't want to take the risk or try the wrong thing, when really, as Glass points out, we'll probably be bad at it for a while until we get experience behind us.

Anyway, you can watch it for yourself, I thought it had some valuable insights into young adult culture.

roadtrip nation -- Ira Glass interview

turducken -- wiki-style, with a side of mashed potatoes

I'm celebrating Thanksgiving this year by. . . going to work at 7 am. But then, when I'm done with that, I'm heading over to Joe and Bev's house. Joe and Bev are a fabulous couple from my church who have invited me over to join their family for Thanksgiving dinner. They also have invited my roommate and I over for dinner once a week ever since I moved here (in exchange, I am their "coffee dealer," as well as spitting in Joe's morning Starbucks brewed coffee whenever I happen to be working mornings as part of his vip customer status).

Apparently we are having something called "turducken" for dinner -- it is a turkey, stuffed with a duck, and then stuffed with a chicken inside of the duck, with layers of stuffing in between each meat.

I decided to hop on over to Wikipedia for more info on the subject, and also since my roommate's gone and I'm really, really bored.

"Turducken -- Wikipedia"

The article also mentions other offshoots of the dish, many I wouldn't know how to begin to pronounce (turgooponducheasanishuail? bustergophechiduckneaealcockidgeoverwingailusharkoolanbler????). And let's not forget whole stuffed camel, sure to be a hit at your next Christmas office party.

But my heartiest congratulations (and laughter) go out to Peter "Pookie" Thornhill, who invented the "turdbutt" -- a pork shoulder (aka a Boston butt), inside a duck, inside a turkey. Oh, to leave such a legacy for my own children.

On a sidenote, also mentioned in the Wiki article was this clip from the Daily Show describing Turduqen, a delicious new solution to the current tensions between Turkey and Iraq.

a semi-pleasant surprise

More Campaignicity -- Huckabee: God wants us to fight global warming

This Salon.com article was a bit of a refreshing take on environmentalism from presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Unfortunately as it points out, Huckabee is "light on specifics," and it is hard to see how, realistically, energy companies (and the general public) will somehow straighten up their collective attitudes toward oil dependence and consumerism without some sort of specific regulations -- although I do also appreciate the need to avoid hyper-regulation of private citizens, our track record as a country isn't showing itself to be too hot in the personal responsibility category, especially in the area of the environment. One other major flaw in Huckabee's stance is his support of corn-based fuels. Although he does agree that there should be some transition away to other biomass-based fuels, he still sees the need for corn to play a part in future fuel development. However, from what I've read and heard so far, corn-based ethanol is not really worth the effort as far as reducing emissions due to its production processes, and the use of corn for fuel could inflate corn prices (and may be starting to already). That may be good for US farmers, as Huckabee mentions, but it could be devastating for food needs in third-world countries, many of which have corn as as a staple crop. Check out Study Says Ethanol Pollution Could Rival Gas and Would More Biofuel Use Threaten Food Supplies? from NPR.

More than anything, however, I do appreciate that Huckabee's willing to stand on our responsibility as Christians to care for the environment. I'm not totally up on how other candidates are posing this value, so this is not some sort of post casting support on a particular campaign. I am still undecided, friends, and really, I'm not thinking at the moment that ultimately Huckabee's going to make the nomination phase, out of pure speculation.

Just something that got me thinking today, and thought I'd share.

Happy Belated Blogiversary

Dear Bloggie,

Hey friend! I noticed tonight that, as of last month, we have now been together for over two years. Happy Belated Blogiversary! And you thought I'd forgotten. . . .

Blog, you've stood by me through all the ups and downs of life, patiently listening, drafting, and posting without judgment, always willing to lend a binary hand. From the first post, when I had no "clue where I'll be in 6 months or what I'll be doing," to the present, still not having much of a clue what the future holds, you've remained constant, unshakeable.

Oh, if these links could talk. We've had some good times together, you and I, and we've weathered the storm well. Remember back when Blogger joined forces with Google and we had to re-group? Whew, that was a close one. And that time when I decided to update your template? You bore the changes beautifully, without complaint.

But I digress. Here's to you, Blog, and to a beautifully written, well-trafficked future.

And Now for Something Completely Unimportant

Pressure Mounts to Restart Writers Talks -- article about the Writers Guild of America strikes in Hollywood

While the jovial picture in this article may say otherwise, apparently Governor Schwarzenegger loves his David Letterman, and he's not going to take it anymore. LA's mayor, who has a long name that is hard to spell, is also fed up with the looming end to new epsodes of The Office, and has jumped into the mix of those who really want TV to go back to normal and are pressuring both the writers and the producers to reach a quick settlement.

This past Friday was the harrowing five-day mark of the strike. The scene of picket lines in Hollywood paints a pitiful picture of writers languishing on the warm, sunny, low-humidity streets, eating nothing but free muffins and donuts handed out by Jay Leno and other celebrities, and being forced to enjoy live entertainment from artists such as Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. Cries of "At Least My Tivo Gets Me!" could be heard ringing through the streets. There is no doubt that the life of a striking writer is anything but glamorous.

In a sense, there may be a a positive side to all of this -- the strikes could be a new venue for illegal immigrants, who aren't afraid to fill the high-paying, publicly visible, backbone-of-society jobs others in Hollywood are unwilling to cross picket lines to fill. So if you habla the espanol, these next few months are the perfect time to catch the new shows that are sure to roll out once this new crop of writers finds its voice. Or rather, its pen.

However, some alarmists are beginning to wonder if this may be another subversive Al-Qaeda attack, noting that the strike has garnered at least equal or better airtime with coverage on important foreign issues, including the war in Iraq. It is rumored that this may be a contrived distraction, or even a subltle yet powerful act of terrorism, in hopes that America, once deprived completely of its primetime and late night television, will be forced into a desperate bargaining position. Analysts note that, while perhaps farfetched, this theory is gaining steam with those groups of people who like to blame everything bad that happens on terrorism and/or anyone who is not an American.

I would tell you that I will keep you posted on any updates to the situation, however, due to the lack of the sheer magnitude of the issue's importance, this will be my first and final commentary on the matter. You may now thank me profusely.

[Update 11/18/2007: I need to say -- I think I was a bit too harsh on the WGA members who are striking. In the interest of fairness and justice, I think they are striking for valid reasons, and I know writing overall is often not the most lucrative career. Plus, it's unfair to enjoy watching shows that are good because they are written well, and at the same time implicitly criticize them for pursuing a fair share of the profits made off of them. Most likely none of them will read this anyway, but it needed to be said. Plus, I need to cover my butt in case I ever decide to take writing seriously. But mostly, because it's the right thing to do. Now, in the whole scheme of things, it's still not the most important thing going on in the world, and I think it's received a bit too much coverage in the news, but still.]

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Today marks the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Each year, an estimated 160,000 Christians worldwide are killed because they follow Jesus -- that's about one person every three minutes. My church is hosting a special prayer service tonight at 5:30 pm at Freestone Park if anyone is in the Gilbert, AZ area. If you're not participating in a special group time of prayer, or don't really know much about persecuted Christians, take some time today to find out more about the stories of the Christians who don't enjoy the same freedom we have here in the United States. Here are some websites to get you started:

Voice of the Martyrs
Gospel for Asia
International Christian Concern
Open Doors USA

an illustrious day in the life

Or, Good Reasons Why I Don't Keep a Meticulous Journal

Saturday, November 10, 2007

10:00 am – wake up to alarm clock; realize it is Saturday and decide to go back to sleep
11:15 am – wake up to internal clock; realize it is still Saturday and decide to take time waking up
11:42 am – decide to roll out of bed, finally
12:30 pm – wake up enough to make a bowl of instant oatmeal
12:35 pm – sit down to computer to work on powerpoint for church
1:08 pm – turn on NPR to list en to “Whady’a Know?”
1:33 pm – decide I can’t think in two different modes at once and turn off radio
2:45 pm – still working on powerpoint
3:56 pm – seriously, why is this taking so long?
4:27 pm – it's not like this is rocket science
5:02 pm – finally finish powerpoint
5:07 pm – reheat leftover pasta dish; make self delicious smoothie using available items of frozen banana, strawberry yogurt, and Wal-Mart brand coffee creamer
5:09 pm – realize A Prairie Home Companion is on; turn on radio to listen
5:49 pm – turn radio off due to excessive country music content since show is almost over anyway
6:18 pm – try to email powerpoint to Nicole to review – unsuccessfully
6:23 pm – try again to email powerpoint
6:28 pm – dude, what is wrong with Hotmail?
6:35 – decide to switch to gmail soon and give up on emailing powerpoint; send token email to Nicole to explain why Hotmail is a jerk
6:45 – read Bible; decide to “be strong and courageous” and “wait on the Lord”
6:52 pm – decide to move to room to finish reading and so that roommate will not find me when she gets home – no way she will ever look in my room!
7:37 – roommate finds me! shoot
7:44pm – roommate emails Powerpoint successfully to tech guy at church – see, I told you, Gmail is way better
7:48 pm – get ready to go to work
8:14 pm – head to work
8:22 pm – arrive at work; hang out in back room
8:30pm – 12:26 am – various barista-esqe tasks, including, but not limited to, taking drive-thru orders, learning exciting tasks such as washing dishes and cleaning equipment apart, making witty repartee with fellow baristas, reminding myself not to touch my face while I’m working, and deciding which expired goods to take home with me for the night.
12:28 am – Oh, yeah, and making drinks
12:29 am – drive home; turn radio WAY UP for 6 minute drive home
12:35 am – arrive at domicile
12:48 am – discover internet is not working – bummer
12:54 am – mend piece of clothing to wear at church
1:02 am – decide I am too awake to go to sleep yet; decide to sit down and write about random items for a bit
1:07 am – find old Chagall Guevara mp3’s and start listening
1:45 am – take off headphones and wonder what that loud high-pitched sound was . . .
1:48 am – hiccup, and realize previous troubling sound was self hiccupping unawares
1:51 am – decide this is funny enough to build entire blog post around; start writing
2:12 am – decide I am going to be really tired tomorrow morning at church if I do not go to bed
2:13 am – remember I was going to use this time to work on flyer for tomorrow night. . . oops
2:14 am – decide I still need to go to bed
2:18 am – ok, seriously, I am going to bed now
2:19 am -- *click*

Too Little, Too Late

APU Backs Stephen Colbert's (now defunct) Campaign for the Presidency . . . sort of

In my literary internet ramblings recently I happened to stumble across this article from the LA Times about Stephen Colbert running for president in South Carolina. I was surprised, to say the least, to see the ad off to the right of the page -- look closely at this screenshot I took (if you follow the link directly to the article, the title of the article has been updated since I read it, but the articles are the same).
Do you see it? That's right -- our own Free Methodist Azusa Pacific University. If I didn't know it was probably just a coincidence in advertising, I'd say it was a clear challenge to our other FM institutions -- get with the times, kids. There is no bad publicity! Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for Colbert, who, despite the numerous prayers of hundreds of APU students, was denied a spot on the South Carolina ballot by the state's Democratic party, crushing the only chance during this campaign year for having debates actually worth watching.

This recent discovery reminded me of a time a few months back when I was watching a rerun of House on the USA network, and a commercial break told me that this particular rebroadcasting of House had been made possible by the United Methodist Church (I am not joking about this one). Apparently God is a big Hugh Laurie fan.

Clearly, this is a bandwagon the church needs to hop onto! Pretty soon, denominations across the US could be sponsoring Super Bowl ads, private spacecraft, and reruns of all kinds.

Jesus, who was too busy weeping over the pervasive consumerism plaguing Christianity, was not available to comment.

What it is Like in Arizona

Many people ask me about What it is Like in Arizona. I thought I would take a moment to attempt to answer this oft-posed and weighty question.

Arizona is a faraway, magical land. It is everything you hoped for, but never imagined possible. It is a veritable haven for all who traverse its shores. It is, in fact, all that and a bag of tortilla chips.

OK, while it may not be quite as nice a piece of hyperbole as all that, it is, as many have surmised, different. However, let's not focus on our differences here, people. Deep down, all the states are really just pieces of tectonic plate trying to make it through the geological eras, after all.

And really, Arizona is not as strange as people think. It's quite a bit like Michigan, really, only without the massive bodies of water, forests, abundant rainfall, the UP, distinct seasons, Ann Arbor, Euchre, high unemployment, snow, humidity, Mackinac Island, or car industry. So really, living in Arizona is almost just like being home, only not.

There are a few differences, though, I suppose. They go to school year round in my area, for one thing. There are palm trees growing here, although they aren't native and most likely were dropped by migrating swallows. Or migrating celebrities, I can't remember which. Personally, it feels a bit like Florida, since that's the only place I've seen palm trees before. However, although this can be disorienting, I am quickly reminded by the lack of oceans that I am not, in fact, in Florida.

Also, the Phoenix area is a lot bigger than Jackson. Who knew?

Another thing I have noticed is that here at the apartment we are (I imagine) paying pretty good money to live on what they like to call here, "a lake," which is most definitely not "a lake" and more like an "oversized concrete pond filled with reclaimed water, whatever reclaimed water is," something you aren't even allowed to swim in. I mean, in Michigan, shoot, we swim in almost anything -- lakes, ponds, ditches, oversized mud puddles, you name it. Now, I don't fault my roommate's choice of apartment, since she's from central Ohio and doesn't know better about what real lakes are, but I'm not fooled, and it sickens me that the city of Gilbert continues with the public deception of those who live on the Val Vista "Lakes" system. More like "flakes," fake lakes, I say angrily to myself in my head whenever I lazily enjoy the serenity of one of these faux water attractions.

Hrm, what was I talking about? Oh yes, What it is Like in Arizona. Well, nothing else really stands out too much. I do enjoy the mountains on all sides, low humidity, sunshine, diversity, and well-planned streets, but those things are hardly worth mentioning and come with the territory. Other than that, there are people who live here, kids who attend school, retirees who drive slowly, fish who swim, and birds who fly.

That's What it is Like in Arizona.

Haiku

Um, what is that smell
Rising from the kitchen sink?
Salmonella stench.

The Unemployment Times

This just in -- Watching old videos of The Colbert Report online 8 hours a day is not actually considered a "real job." Unpaid cell phone bill to follow.

Then, we'll talk with my roommate Rebecca, who knows how to ask the tough questions, such as, "When are you going to get up off that loveseat?"

Also, we profile Nicole, a bright young twenty-something who is the last of a dying breed of native Arizonans.

After that, we'll show you an exclusive exposé on why I'm quite happy here on the loveseat, thanks, and what about all those times you play your piano alone in the dark while quietly humming to yourself, anyway?

And keep checking back for our "Special Edition," where we discuss which of the presidential candidates' names are the most fun to pronounce, and what impact this may have on their chances at the polls.

But first, I cringe as you decide it's time to read something that's actually funny.

Note: I wrote this before I got a job. Just so we're clear, friends. Now I only watch videos online four hours a day.

Part III: You Say , 'Tempuh', I say, 'Figure out How To Say Tempe'

October 19, 2007

After the t-shirt guys, the crowd was ready. Ready for Obama. Unfortunately, I did not realize that there are "opening acts."

Come on, woman who looks like my friend Thad's aunt Nell in a red church-lady suit. You claimed we had three great universities in our state, and then only named two! (Note to self and other potential candidates: do not talk about other universities than the one you are speaking at, especially at state schools with football teams. Duh.)

Then there was the MC-lady, whose name I am also not sure of. This listening and copious note-taking thingy is hard.

We also had Liz, the Undergraduate Student Body President, who said something that was supposed to be a cheer, but apparently no one really knew what she said, and still may not. When asked if we could repeat the cheer with her, we enthusiastically responded, "No," and then she said whatever it was again. But it was OK, because we still clapped for her. You go, girl!

After her was Ed Ableser, the State Representative for Arizona District 17. Finally, we were moving up in the power ladder! Ed talked about a lot of things, and then mentioned that we need a president for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not torture, wiretapping, and the pursuit of war."

Then there was another State Rep, David Schapira (I think, I had to Google the district and that was the closest name to what I thought he said). He said something about "truisms," at which point I spaced out a little and wondered if that meant they were actual truth, or related to "truthiness"(also here), or what. Then I was back, and the was on to talking about his kids, and how he will tell them after Barack Obama is elected, "I was honored to live in the time of Barack Obama." Wait, I thought elections are next year -- don't we still get a chance to vote! What's the deal here? Am I not a desired voter???

At that point, David had said that Barack was coming out. Yay! And then someone else came out, oops. Tomas Chavez, who was a veteran and had been in Iraq for two years. He said that the first year, he had been wholeheartedly in agreement with the war and being there. By the second year, he found it hard to return, but "did it for the guys who were over there, " and is now committed to bringing them home. Hmmmmm.

FINally, and I do mean finally, Barack Obama came out on stage! The man of the hour (add more time if you are a RAPID ENTRY PASS holder). The crowd cheered! The crowd was on their feet (which, most of us were already forced to stand anyway)!

Barack greeted the crowd. "Hellooo, Tempuh."

Wait, what? Oh my word. No, he did not.

Pet peeve alert! Not saying a locality's name correctly in front of a large crowd of people from that locality is sort of a glaring mistake. Almost as bad as talking about a rival state school from another town, see note above.

Fortunately, things went a little more smoothly after that point. Obama is definitely a charismatic communicator, and the speech held the crowd's attention pretty well. A major part of his platform, which I'd read about in other places, is that of unity and working across party lines. He made a major point of not just being against issues, but standing for something.

He talked about many issues -- Iraq, paying for college, Katrina, energy, healthcare, etc. The East Valley Tribune wrote a pretty good recap here, so I will spare you from re-hashing all of the details. One item I picked up on caught me, since it is something I have some pretty strong opinions about. He mentioned the death penalty, and that he had worked to make sure innocent people were not on death row. I noticed the subtle point he made -- not that he is against the death penalty, he just wants to make sure the innocent aren't killed wrongfully. That fascinates me -- it's not something I've researched yet with the other candidates, but I generally get the idea that a more liberal stance would be against the death penalty (which always confuses me that you can be in favor of individuals choosing to have abortions but against state & legislative bodies choosing to kill criminals -- am I the only one who thinks that doesn't totally make sense?).

Overall, it was a good speech, full of hopeful ideals. Much of it was not new to me, as I'd read a good amount of it online before I went. I did appreciate the idea of unity and bi-partisan politics -- whether that is ever going to be close to being a reality (or even an issue, depending on which party ends up controlling Congress next year) in a time where it may be directed at parties who don't really care about being united, thank you very much. It also makes sense why so many younger voters are supporting him --I think my generation is pretty sick of petty, divisive politics in general, and how Congress somehow isn't really getting much done besides throwing each other out of office, investigating mounds upon mounds of bad decisions that have been made by various agencies/offices, and driving the country further and further into debt. At least the idea of someone aware enough to at least try to do that is better than what we have at the moment, we think.

Obama also talked about a lot of things that could, done well, be pretty good -- providing health care to every American (at the level that Congress receives, no less); "closing the achievement gap" in education; bettering foreign diplomacy by meeting not just with friends, but enemies as well; changing energy standards; and making student grants and loans more available for college. Good things. What he didn't say was how any of these things would come into place (or how they would be paid for). Seriously, the focus health care has been in the works at least since Clinton, and obviously the SCHIP votes recently have shown us how much progress has yet to be made -- we can't resolve issues on a program already in place, much less realistically think any form of universal health care program is going to come in the next 4 years.

At any rate, I will keep watching to see what Obama does, along with the other candidates. At the moment, I still remain healthily undecided -- I have to say that he did resonate with me on some issues, but I am still remaining skeptical until some concrete action points come into discussion from the ideals and policies on which he and other candidates are running.

So, I guess this means I'm packing away my new t-shirt . . . for now.

B.O. and the Campaign Trail: Part II

October 19, 2007

Part II: Who Wants a Free T-Shirt?

It was finally THE morning!! My alarm clock rang, and I shut it off. Just 15 more minutes. . .

My internal time-clock went off. Whoa! I am not leaving two hours early as I intended! I rushed out the door, clutching my RAPID ENTRY PASS and my map, my notebook (so that I could take copious, responsible voter-type notes), and my camera (so I could take pictures to "put on my blog," i.e. sell online).

I arrived on campus just in time--visitor parking was full, and what I assumed to be the RAPID ENTRY PASS line was a million miles long. No matter! I am an important voter! I told myself, and found a parking spot in front of a nice house a few blocks away, purposefully avoiding reading the words on an official-looking sign stuck in the ground a few feet away from my car. I marched towards campus, on a mission for the truth from Barack Obama. Or at least, for the strategized, carefully crafted declarations of intention from Barack Obama's campaign team.

Have I mentioned my outfit? I can tell that I haven't, since you are still reading this.
Being new to the "campaign trail," I figured that, when in doubt, it is usually smart to blend in with the crowd. What would a college-aged Democrat wear to show her appreciation of "like, the most totally amazing presidential candidate ever"? The idea came in a flash -- I would make a t-shirt! It was cheap, environmentally sound (recycling clothes), and would make a statement, but without blowing my "undecided" status to crazed campaign volunteers that might be hanging about, waiting to pounce.

The next decision -- what would I write on it? I thought long and hard about this one. It was not easy -- "Obama '08" has been overdone, and there were plenty of those shirts hanging around. "Barack U Rock" was catchy, but a little too Dr. Seussical. Finally, I arrived at the perfect design, and brushed out large letters in bright blue fabric paint:

B.O.

It was beautiful -- like an e e cummings poem, brief but descriptive; simple, yet profound. Just to make sure people did not miss the message, I painted it on both sides of the shirt.

Getting back to the rally . . . I walked up and joined the line of RAPID ENTRY PASS holders, noticing that there seemed to be many more people at the event than I anticipated. Ergo, the RAPID ENTRY PASS line was more like a SLOW LINE OF PEOPLE WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE THE STAGE ONCE THEY ARE ALLOWED TO STAND ON THE GRASS JUST INSIDE THE GATE, WHICH, SERIOUSLY, DOES IT EVEN MATTER AT THIS POINT? I also noticed, that, despite this, many people in line around me were unfazed, and seemed to be joyful, almost laughing, you could say, as they nudged their friends and pointed at my beautiful t-shirt in admiration. "Yes! I am happy to be here, too! What a great day to be a Dem-O-Crat! B.O. For Pres! Whooo!" It worked!! They were convinced that I was "one of them" and I passed safely through the crowd and Obama volunteers, who I could have sworn parted just a little to allow me to walk through.

Finally, I handed in my RAPID ENTRY PASS at the gate. I was in! The seats were all full, but no matter, I took my spot in the crowd, just left of the press stage, just barely able to see the microphone once in a while, whenever a) the press decided they could return to the spacious press stage area and NOT stand in our only line of sight, or b) the tall guy in the white dress shirt at the front of our group decided he needed to shift his weight.

And then we waited. Curiosity got the better of me, and I struck up a brief conversation with Jeremy and Laura, who were standing immediately in front of me, but not in a way that my view was obstructed. I could tell already that these were savvy students! I asked them a few questions, and they gave me permission to post their answers and their picture on my blog, even after I explained that nobody would read it anyway. They both are ASU Tempe students. Jeremy is a Sophomore kinesiology major, originally from Michigan, and Laura is a Junior social work major, originally from New Jersey.

LD: So, why are you here today? Are you supporters? Just curious?
J: I'm a supporter of Barack Obama, I have been for a while. Unless Al Gore decides to run.
L: I just want to be more informed, and be current on the campaign.

LD: Are either of you affiliated with a political party?
J: Yes, Democrat.
L: (nods) Democrat.

LD: And Laura, what about you? Are you supporting a particular candidate?
L: I'm undecided.

LD: Are there any particular issues that stick out?
L: There are lots of issues that are important to me-- the war in Iraq, healthcare, the environment.

LD: For you, Jeremy, was there a particular issue that made you decide to support Obama?
J: For me, the main issue has been foreign policy.

At that point, the crowd started clapping, and we turned our attention to the stage. Two men were on the stage, one holding a "WHO WANTS A FREE T-SHIRT?" poster, and the other with the free shirts. I thought that this was a bit obvious -- of course we want free t-shirts, we are either in college or paying for college loans. Besides, I didn't need their t-shirts -- mine was waay better than theirs.