In Which I Suffer From Writer's Block

So it has been a little while since I've updated my blog, but in my defense I've been pretty busy. Let me bring you up to speed:

Earlier this month I finished my first semester of grad school in NYU's Public Relations and Corporate Communications Masters of Science Program. Finals were a little bit stressful, but ultimately I got the grades I was hoping for and am happy to get the first semester under my belt.

I've heard a lot of people make the claim that grad school is "easier" than undergrad and that the real trick is getting into a program. I don't necessarily believe that. See while my GPA this semester was significantly higher than 95% of those during my undergrad work, I feel as though I had more work in 3 classes than I typically did during my 5 class course load as at UConn. Is it possible that grade inflation is the culprit in my high GPA? Sure, I mean I've always been a "B" student my entire life and it seems strange that all of a sudden I'm getting "A's." But there are also other explanations such as : 1) I'm paying for grad school out of my own pocket and am more motivated to succeed and 2) after being away from school for 2.5 years I am more mature and treat schoolwork like a job now.

Either way, I'm glad the semester is over - even though I have already started summer classes (6 days, sweet break NYU).

The other big part of my life that came to a conclusion last week was the Jersey City Municipal Elections. I had been working for Mayor Jerramiah Healy's team as a press assistant/speech writer/office manager etc. etc. The candidate I did the most work for was Nidia Lopez in Ward C. After a hard-fought campaign I am happy to announce that Mayor Healy won reelection on the first ballot with over 50% of the vote and Nidia R. Lopez pulled off a major upset by not only defeating established JC politician Jimmy King, but on the first ballot no less.

The win for Nidia was especially historic because it made her the first Hispanic Councilwoman in the city's history.

Here is a photo courtesy of the Jersey Journal:

(Yours truly far left)

So that's where I'm at right now. Been kind of busy but now things are calming down as I await word on my next job.

Only problem now is, I have no friggin' idea what to write about.

It's about 10:30 p.m. and I'm listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Texas Flood." Staring blankly at the screen. I scribbled down a couple of ideas over the weekend, so for the hell of it I'll just throw them out there in the next couple paragraphs:

During Robert Prsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" the author makes a very eloquent point about how those who rely on their "faith" really rely on nothing. Prsig uses the sun rusing as a metaphor. He doesn't have "faith" that the sun will come up tomorrow, he knows it will. No matter what may happen on our planet with people, there is an indisputable fact that the sun will come up. However, when someone says they believe in something and that their "faith" in Christianity (or whatever other institution) is strong they are really expressing doubt.

Too me it's funny that those who get so riled up over how strong their faith is, really are stuck mired in a battle with doubt. People fight wars and die over a concept that is riddled with doubt. Does that seem stupid to anyone else?

That's about as far as I got with that one.

The next one is an idea that my friend Jeff and I have had for years. I thought about elaborating on it, but in light of the new Terminator movie this idea kind of goes out the window.

You know what the best thing about the Terminator trilogy is? They're the prequils to the Matrix movies. Think about it, the third Terminator movie ends with nuclear war and the machines becoming self-aware. Now what does the Matrix start with? Hmmm, let's see: human beings have been reduced to living underground because they nuked the hell out of the planet (I know that technically skynet nuked the planet in the Terminator movies, but it's not implausible to believe that the world never found out that's what happened), the Machines are running the show and the resistance has just found it's leader and is hoping for a turning point in the war.

Yeah I know it's a stretch, but kind of fun to think about.

Ok that one was probably pretty painful, but hey that's writer's block for you.

The last one I'll share for you is just three words on one notebook page. It simply reads:

Dane Cook Sucks.

Can't argue with that. He really does suck.

Anyway I'll be back tomorrow with Cover Song Thursday's, hope somebody enjoyed this entry.

Cover Song Thursdays: Cash Kills It

In many ways this Nine Inch Nails cover by Johnny Cash has become more famous than the original.

Now I'm not one of those music snobs who believes that a cover can never be as good as an original. But I have to admit, when somebody told me that Cash was covering "Hurt" I was more than skeptical. Nine Inch Nails's Downward Spiral was one of my favorite albums growing up and "Hurt" has a special place with me. If I could put together one CD full of songs that remind me the most of my high school years, "Hurt" would definitely be on it.

Reluctantly I listened to the Cash version and, lo and behold, the man in black absolutely killed it. Nearing the end of his life, Cash's older solemn voice gave new life to the song. For me the song changed from a typical remorseful song of events passed and wondering what could have been, to an old man at the end of his life looking back on the wrongs he committed.

Anyway, enough waxing poetic. Enjoy the tune.

Cover Song Thursdays: STP does Zep

Ok, so here's a new feature I'm trying out on my blog: "Cover Song Thursdays." Basically it is exactly what it sounds like. I'm going to pick a band that I like and highlight them covering another band's material.

First up is Stone Temple Pilots covering Led Zeppelin's "Dancing Days" off of Houses of the Holy.

Covering the greatest rock and roll band that has ever lived is no easy task. Other than this song, I have only heard two other bands cover Led Zeppelin and do them justice (Tool's cover of "No Quarter" and I once saw the Flaming Lips perform an awesome version of "The Song Remains the Same.")

Anyway, here's Stone Temple Pilots covering "Dancing Days." Enjoy!

Torture: A Sin That Americans Will Have To Live With Forever

This is not the type of post I wanted to write on a Friday afternoon. Originally, my plan was to upload a clip of the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering the classic Ramones song, "Havana Affair" as part of a new idea I had that would highlight one cover song a week.

However, with this dominating the news I think it needs to be discussed. There is no more debate, the secret is out: during the course of the Bush Administration the CIA and military regularly tortured terrorist suspects.

Now I don't want to hear about how, "waterboarding isn't torture. It's a 'enhanced interrogation tactic.'" That is complete and utter bullshit. Waterboarding is torture. You don't believe me? Watch the video yourself:

"Creates the sensation of drowning..."

How can you watch that video and say that waterboarding is not torture?

Also this whole argument about how it is effective is bogus. Time and time again torture has been shown to be ineffective in obtaining credible information. If a person is being tortured, they will say whatever it takes to make the practice stop. If you have 10 suspects and one of them has information, if you torture all 10 of them you will get 10 different leads. Is it possible one of them is correct? Maybe, but all the time and manpower that will be wasted on pursuing the nine other leads leaves our country even more vulnerable to attack.

September 11, 2001 was an awful day for all of Americans. It's very painful for me to think about. I went to High School right outside of NYC and I knew people who lost loved ones on that day and I thank God every night that I wasn't one of them. Until about two years ago I still had nightmares right around 9/11 of that day. I never want to see that happen again.

Torture couldn't have prevented 9/11 (what could have was top security documents in August of that year that said "Bin Laden determined to strike inside the US" but that's not the point right now). As a means of interrogation, torture is not effective and it won't prevent future attacks on the United States. What will prevent further attacks on the United States is multi-national cooperation of law enforcement agencies and military's. However, the international community will not help us if we are breaking international law left and right.

During the Cold War against the Soviet Union one of the constant weapons of propaganda the Soviets used against the United States in the 1950s and 1960s was the treatment of blacks in this country. The Soviet Union mocked our freedoms by pointing out the fact that black people in this country were being treated as second-class citizens. The civil rights movement in this country really gained steam with Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson not just because it was the right thing to do morally, but it took a weapon out of the Soviet Unions arsenal.

Never underestimate the power of human rights when fighting an ideological war, be it against Fascism, Communism or Terrorism.

Look, no matter what way you look at it torture is an evil and illegal practice. Torture is illegal in international law and under our own United States constitution!

All we have in this country is the rule of law. We were founded on laws, there is no history of monarchy or theocracy that we can hearken back to for guidance. We are a nation of man-made laws and if we begin to violate them left and right, the very fabric of our country is dissolved. So for no other reason than for the survival of our country, we should not be torturing people.

Additionally, there are so many in this country who take their personal guidance from the Bible and other religious institutions. Can they really say that torture is not an affront to our Judeo-Christian beliefs? Jesus Christ, son of God, was tortured and died for our sins...and now we are treating people no better than Punchos Pilot. It is sickening.

Fox News' Sheppard Smith says it best (I know, right? Fox News of all places has the guts to say it):



This is truly an awful chapter in American history. I'm not going to go on a rant here and list all the other regime's throughout history that have tortured, but needless to say we are not in good company.

However, we do have a chance to do something about it.

We can hold those who advocated this horrible practice accountable. We can prosecute them, put them on trial and send them to jail. It is the right thing to do and while it will not erase what we have done, it will acknowledge at least that we know it is wrong.

It won't be easy. Torture apologists will claim it is no more than a political witch hunt with Democrats trying to score points on Republicans. Well let me make one thing clear: this is not a partisan issue.

Just like the Bush Administration was responsible so were Senate and House Democrats who new about this, but sat complacent. The six Democratic Senators who confirmed Michael Mukasey for Attorney General in 2007, even though they knew full well he supported torture.

History is watching us right now, how will we act? Will we acknowledge the evil or simply brush it under the rug?

Why I Love "The Office"

NBC's "The Office" is by far one of the best shows on television today and possibly in my generation. It's witty, clever and overall absolutely hilarious.

While it's fair to say that the various actors, writing and character development are all integral parts of the shows success and appeal, the real reason why the show is so good is because the writers and producers seem to genuinely have a great time making it.

Take the web site .

This web site has EVERYTHING. It's got the obscure "Creed's Thoughts" blog, Meridith's "Sex and the Electric City" blog and Schrute-Space.

These guys are so into what they are doing, there is no limit to what they can and will come up with.

Now my favorite character on the show is Andy Bernard. I don't know what it is about the guy, but every thing that comes out of "The 'Nard Dog's" mouth cracks me up. So imagine, how pumped I was to see this web-only promo video they put together for "Here Comes Treble."



This is classic stuff.

Hopefully they keep this show going forever, because I've never seen an episode I dislike.

Teabaggers need to get a clue

I am really getting pissed off with this whole idiotic Republican "Teabagger" movement. It is a dishonest campaign of misinformation and it's time for the facts to come out.

Here you have a bunch of rich Republican hacks, lying to an ignorant minority about a tax increase that will not affect a full 97 percent of the population.

Here are the facts:

* The Obama Administration is planning on letting the Bush tax cuts expire in 2011.
* This means that the tax rate for Americans earning over $250,000 a year will increase 3.6% from 36% to 39.6%. Furthermore, Americans making over $200,000 a year will see an increase of 2% from 33% to 35%.

So to recap, if you make under $200,000 a year you will see ABSOLUTELY NO TAX INCREASE. At most, the richest Americans will see an increase less than four percent.

Nationally, this increase will hit less than 3% of the population.

Yet to listen to these GOP hacks you would swear that the British were coming and they could kiss their money good bye.

You really have to hand it to these Republican Governors. The hubris on their part to deny much-needed stimulus aide to their people, while rallying them against a tax policy that benefits much of the state is remarkable.

Check out Texas Governor Rick Perry today, talking secession in the Lone Star State:



Un-F'n-believable.

So what is Perry talking about?

Texas
Percentage of population earning over $200,000 a year: 3.9%
Amount of aid Governor is costing the state through rejecting stimulus funds: $5.13 Billion (2nd overall).

Ok so let's see if I get this, in Texas less than 4 percent of the population will see a maximum 3 percent tax increase?

Ohhhh the horror!

Meanwhile, if you look past that 3.9 percent in Texas that make over $200K a year, the median income is a paltry $47,548/year - good for 28th in the nation. So with half of his state making less than $47,548/year, Rick Perry has shown that he is more concerned with thee 3.9 percent making more than $200,000.

What a joke.

Like Sublime? Thank The Clash.

Anyone who has hung out with me in the last two months knows that I have been on a huge Clash kick. It pretty much started in February when a few friends and I visited the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame Annex in the city, where the museum had an exhibition on The Clash. Though I had always liked the band, my knowledge of the group basically started and ended with the album London Calling. However, after visiting the museum I now have every album on my Ipod and a collection of live bootlegs.

Additionally, anyone who has been friends with me over the last 10 years knows I also love Sublime. The origins of this love-affair date back to being 15-years-old and blasting "The Wrong Way" on my friend Dan's boombox during hockey practice.

What I and many people who I encounter cite as their reason for appreciating Sublime was the band's diversity in music. In particular what was impressive was the bands seemingly effortless blend of punk and reggae music. Certainly to their credit, the band were masters at this and though other groups such as Slightly Stoopid and Pepper have tried to duplicate the sound, there is still no substitute for the Bradley, Eric, Bud and Lou Dog.

Yet, what very few people of my generation realize is that the road that Sublime traveled was actually built two decades earlier by The Clash.

Now The Clash are by no means unappreciated and this blog post is not intended to diminish Sublime while building them up. I'm simply writing this to show that all rock has it's roots somewhere.

Check out these two side-by-side comparisons between Sublime and The Clash:

First up, the classic "Same in the End" off of Sublime's self-titled album.



Ok, one quick caveat here. Obviously the use of distortion in rock music really hit its peak in the 1990s. During the Clash's era, distortion wouldn't even be considered.

Now, the Clash's "Police on My Back."



You have all the basic elements of punk there and, generation gap notwithstanding, the two bands are similar.

Now check it out as both bands switch it up and drop some reggae beats on us.

Sublime's 5446/Ball and Chain (I know that 5446 is actually a cover, but for the sake of showing their ability to play the genre, please stay with me):



Now The Clash mixing things up with some reggae of their own with "Revolution Rock."



So there you have it, the evolution of the punk-reggae genre.

P.S. I also want to recommend The Clash Live at Shea Stadium for anyone who wants to hear more from the band. It's really one of the best live albums I have ever heard.

Opening Day: One of The Greatest Days of the Year

I love baseball.

As long as I can remember I have been in love with the sport and, of course, my favorite team the New York Yankees. I started playing the game at 5-years-old. However, unlike most kids across the country at that age I never played t-ball. In my hometown we had a pitching machine that fired actual baseballs at you from about 40 feet away. It was a spinning wheel on a tripod about four-feet-high. I remember one time my friend Walter ran right into the machine while going after a pop up - he looked like Freddy Krueger for about a month.

I kept playing baseball every summer until I was 19, when work and the lack of a local team kept me from playing. Today, with the exception of the occasional beer-tainted softball performance, my playing days are unfortunately over.

Yet every year on this day I get as excited as I was 20 years ago, back when I would read biographies on Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth.

I'll spare you all the rest of the tired cliches; the hope springing anew etc.

Yet today's terrible Yankee performance aside, I'm pretty optimistic about the pinstripes chances this season. Assuming the team can stay healthy, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better rotation in baseball with Sabathia, Wang, Burnett, Pettite and Chamberlain on the hill; there's no off day for opponents. Granted, I know that this isn't Andy Pettite circa 1996 or even 2003, but the guy is still a big game pitcher and will rise to the occasion (see 2007 ALDS losing effort).

On the offensive side I have a little more cause for worry. The Texeira addition was a great move, but the bottom of the lineup is weak. Nady is a .280 25 HR 85 RBI hitter at the absolute best, i'm still not convinced Corey Ransom is an actual person and Brett Gardner, while extremely quick and showing improvement every day has a lot to prove. Combine that with an injury prone Hideki Matsui, recovering Jorge Posada and a Robinson Cano in limbo and you really are banking on the top three (Jeter, Damon and Texeira) to carry the offensive load.

I don't even want to get into Alex "Total Embarassment" Rodriguez. That will be another post for another day.

Yet, if this team gels (and based on the dumping of some of the more abrasive personalities Giambi, Abreu and Mussina it's definitely possible) they are going to be contenders.

But enough about the Yankees...

One thing I can never understand is people that say baseball is boring. Now as you all slap your collective foreheads, hear me out.

Ok, I'm not as oblivious as to not admit that baseball is a slower moving game from a tempo perspective than soccer, hockey, basketball and football. From that perspective it is a "slower" moving game.

However, to call baseball boring in my opinion is the telltale sign of someone who doesn't really understand the game.

Baseball is really a thinking-mans sport. On every pitch every single player on the field needs to know what they are going to do and what everyone else on the field is going to do, when the ball is hit to them.

You need to know exactly how to pitch to each hitter, how to get him out on a 2-1 count with runners on second and third base. The hitter in turn, needs to know exactly what that pitcher has up his sleeve, whether that pitch that's coming at him right now at 85-miles-per-hour is gonna cut away from him and, if it does, whether or not he's going to be able to slap at it the opposite way for a base hit.

It's a chess match, with one team trying to think not only about the hitter at hand, but two or hitters ahead.

It's a chess match, but every move is determined in the blink of an eye.

For someone to say that baseball is boring is simply watching it the wrong way. You can't watch baseball like you would a hockey game, there simply isn't enough stimulation there for you. However, if you really study the game and understand everything that's going on, there is no sport that offers the excitement and intrigue that baseball does.

For those of you who are looking for some eye candy in this post, check out my fantasy baseball team:

First Post

Welcome to my blog.

If you are here it means that you are either interested in my opinion on things, have too much free time on your hands or a combination of the two.

A little bit about myself, I'm a 25-year-old graduate student at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies in the Public Relations and Corporate Communication program. I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2006 with a double major in Journalism and History. Over the last three years I've worked in Democratic politics, first as a Press Secretary for the Connecticut House of Representatives (Feb. 2007-June 2008), as a Field Organizer for President Obama's campaign (Oregon Primary, Michigan and Nevada in the general election), as a temporary Staff Assistant for Congressman Steve Rothman (NJ-9) and now as a member of Mayor Jerramiah Healy's re-election campaign in Jersey City.

Though I've been working in Jersey since January, I actually live on East 20th Street in New York City. This means that unlike most of the millions of people that surround the tri-state area, I actually commute out of the city every day.

My politics are progressive, my favorite baseball team is the Yankees, I love nearly all rock and roll, I am a coffee addict and I've been to 44 out of the 50 states in this great nation.

At the risk of getting too cozy right away, I'll leave you all with a video of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing "Venice Queen" at Slane Castle in Ireland. This is an amazing concert and the best song of the night (I also refuse to use the phrase "in my opinion" on this blog because, who else's opinion could it be?).

What's really awesome about this song is that for the first two minutes or so, guitarist John Frusciante is recording the guitar riff that will play throughout the remainder of the song. Check it out, if you're an RHCP fan or a rock fan in general you'll love the video.