Happy Birthday MLK Jr...

Well, Monday went by fast. Since it's one of the few breaks she gets during the school year, Siobhan came over to spend the day with me. I was a sleepy when she first arrived, so for about an hour or so, I slept while she watched me sleep/read a book. After I managed to drag myself out of bed, I made her hot chocolate and we shared a light breakfast before going back upstairs to my room... Shiv was determined to make me organize the chaos in it.

Since my organizational theory for my room tends to be "piles" and "stacks", she helped me hang up clothes, consolidate garbage, and collect some old clothes to give to charity. I think she was in awe of my packrat-ness, but hey... I've lived in that almost 20 years - it's bound to collect some artifacts. I suppose my room is a little bit cleaner now, but I can imagine that it's just delaying the inevitable... after awhile, I'm sure to return back to it's primal state of disorder, haha.

Afterwards, we went to see "The Hours" at Factoria... an interesting flick. I've only read the first couple of chapters of the book in passing, but supposedly the movie follows it pretty closely. I can see what all the hype was about... the movie is very well made, and the performances in it are quite good.

(spoiler warning)

Unfortunately, as well made as the movie was, I found myself disliking it. The philosophy inherent in the story and the characters lives just didn't jive with me - it just seemed a little bit too self-absorbed, self-centered, and yeah... a bit whiny. The movie is filled with female angst, but I couldn't sympathize much with their situations - I understand the conflicts each of three main characters faced was intensely internal and personal, but to me, it just seemed overly dramatic. I mean, it's not like any of the characters were immersed in such horrible circumstances that suicide was an option. There wasn't abusive husbands or children, there wasn't physical violence or even just emotional cruelty - just each of them had some sort of gnawing longing that drove them into wondering, "What is my life really about?".

I can sympathize with the depression that question brings... but to kill oneself? To leave behind dependent children and family, all for that? Seems selfish to me, but like I said before... I have probably a very male, a very Asian culture oriented view on the matter.

Anyways... I suppose there's something very spiritual about that... what Christians often refer to as "the missing piece in the soul/heart" that people have that comes from a broken relationship with God. Millions of humanity, running around, seeking solace and fulfillment in a thousand different things... academic success, material wealth, a beautiful BF/GF, fashionable clothes, fame, power... and none of it satisfies anybody for more than a few moments, and thus, the miserable state of humanity consumed by the desire for something it can't understand.

Like unplugged toasters and blenders... that's what people are. Unplugged, unconnected...

Oh yeah... being that it's MLK Jr. day, I was going to also write a long commentary on the sorry state of race relations in the US, but I'm sure you already knew that. On a random note, it's interesting to consider that there are 2 men, both named Martin Luther, who are responsible for altering history as we know it.

Back to race relations here in the US... to put things simply, when these groups celebrate MLK Jr. day this year:

-Most white people: They think racism has "ended" and gripe about affirmative action and people who don't speak English.

-Most non-white people: They read about A&F t-shirts, see the composition of Congress, hear Shaq speak "Chinese" and realize, we still got a long way to go...
posted by G at 3:41 AM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33