I love sweet potato cheesecake.
Published November 02, 2008 @ 10:13PM PT
I just had my first slice of sweet potato cheesecake at Seattle's Sunlight Cafe (where every employee appears to be super-nice/awesome). It was easily the best dessert I've ever had.
Tricksters, voters, and the undead band.
Published November 02, 2008 @ 02:55PM PT
We visited Portland, Oregon very briefly on Halloween night and we'll be returning there tomorrow. While there, we were able to attend the Bus Project's Trick or Vote after-party. This year's Portland Trick or Vote effort, one of over 20 in the country, was for Oregon the biggest canvass in the state's history (and, interestingly enough, the record they broke was their own from 2004) and we were super lucky to see them celebrate (along with March Fourth):
60%
Published November 02, 2008 @ 08:20AM PT
We've hit 60% of our fundraising goal, which is pretty exciting. The Case Foundation is matching up to $5,000 raised on the website, which will help me continue to gallivant around the states, stick a camera in young people's faces, and philosophize about why we are what we are without being forced to reach too deeply into my student-debt sullied pocket.
Whatdya say?
The desire to purge and [more] authenticity.
Published November 02, 2008 @ 07:52AM PT
I am increasingly interested in moving to understand the generational embrace of authenticity-as-value (beyond its insisted-upon reality in the PR world). We have grown up to understand "orphan" as Punky Brewster, "restaurant" as T. G. I. Fridays, and "the 50's" as reruns of Happy Days and there appears to be a desire by some to move beyond these superficial comprehensions. Advocacy groups are struggling to break through this post modern, hyper-referential narrative in order to powerfully convey their messages. It is through the seemingly-refreshing glimpses of modernity via a post-modern juxtaposition that we're encouraged to look at other elements of our lives and ask if we're comfortable with the layers of reference that separate our experiences from their perception/processing of comprehension. We've met Gabriel the Garbologist, inspired by this desire, and listened to him talk about his process. I've discussed the folks from Ryan Is Hungry and their contribution to the emerging "Back to the Land" 2.0 movement. This trend is also exemplified by a growing number of buy-local campaigns, which aim to cut some seemingly unnecessary layers out of the process of consumption - not just to reduce consumption of oil and fossil fuels, but also to get closer to and understand the origin of product.
There is certainly a palpable desire to purge in most everyone I've met so far. It is as if the eldest of this generation have become conscious of the collective perception we were brought up in an abusive household and, understanding how this creates a chance that we, too, might become abusive, we are faced with either understanding the problem and living with and blaming it for everything, or acknowledging that we have a desire to live differently and pursue counseling to ensure that we don't make the same mistakes. I believe that on the whole we've realized that we have a desire to do things differently - I am still trying to understand if we have the skills (beyond abilities, which are enabled by all of the cool web tools we fetishize) to turn this into a post-2008 Electionland movement.
The Millennial's Big Day
Published November 01, 2008 @ 04:29PM PT
[Originally posted on JustMeans by Nathaniel Whittemore - these political opinions don't necessarily reflect those of Millennials Changing America or our sponsors]
Part of coming of age politically in the United States is wrestling with the American mythology and deciding what this place means to you. With that in mind, I've been thinking a lot about my generation this week. What it means to be young in the early 21st century – what challenges we face, what inspiration we find, how we're working to make the world a better place – has been a central exploration of my life since my very first year in college just after September 11th. This week I've had occasion to reflect on that exploration.
This election matters more for my generation than for any other cohort. While we're not yet in power, it is we who will wrestle with the long term consequences of the last few decades: fetishistic deregulation that has undercut our economic infrastructure and too often forced away the view that government has a role in preserving the public good – including the economic public good; arrogant (and poorly executed) wars that have destroyed our credibility abroad, cost billions of dollars (with billions yet to come), killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more; exorbitant national debt with little to show for it; torture, surveillance, and extra-judicial rendition which flout our conscious, our Constitution, the Geneva accords, and every other recognized form of international law; and a callous disregard for our national infrastructure and public education which could threaten our productivity and place in the world for decades. Perhaps above all, we inherit an environment poisoned and gasping in the face of an unsustainable consumption.
If I sound upset, I am. The greatest responsibility of any generation is to be stewards so the next inherit a world safer, more healthy, and more full of opportunity than before. Especially in the last eight years, this generational responsibility has been ignored, and we Millennials are not looking forward to the clean up.
Yet this laundry list of grievances is not all that our parents and their parents are passing along. Obviously there are capital resources from which to build, and the wealth of experience we can draw upon. What's more, the entrepreneurs and big thinkers who have driven the internet revolution have created new opportunities for human connection and ingenuity, and reminded us how powerful innovation can be.
But perhaps my generation's greatest inheritance is our unique philosophical outlook on making the world a better place.
From the Boomers, the generation of the 60s, we've received the tradition of American idealism and revolution; the progressive people power of the Civil Rights, Feminists, and Anti-war movements; a belief (sorry Sarah Palin) in the power of communities coming together and speaking truth to power. We grew up with less segregation and a more rooted belief in fundamental human equality and dignity than any generation before us.
From the Gen-Xers, the generation of the 80s, we've inherited an important skepticism. While for Gen-X, that skepticism tended to manifest itself as a disbelief in the power of government and a rejection of idealism, for us it's a more general skepticism of orthodoxy. We're more comfortable questioning the orthodoxy not only of government and of activism, but also of business.
Where it leaves us is as the inheritors of a tradition of American pragmatism, a skeptical idealism that believes deeply in our power to make the world a better place, but with the ability to learn, adapt, and if necessary, reject approaches to creating positive change that don't deliver on their promise.
It is this pragmatism that gets us excited about new movements in the world of philanthropy and business like social enterprise and social entrepreneurship. And it is this pragmatism, I argued earlier this week, that is one of the most important (and overlooked) elements of our support for Obama's candidacy.
It's not just that his age is closer to ours than it is to John McCain's, or that we're seduced by every platitude about hope and change that come our way (shock!). It's not even only that his programs – including a responsible end to the war in Iraq, new opportunities to serve our country and reduce the cost of education, and investments in cleaner energy that will be instrumental in improving our environment and our economy – are manifestly better for us.
In every measure, Obama is thoughtful, pragmatic, and fiercely committed. His life and politics embrace and reconcile what came before him to produce a deliberative, measured approach to governing that is not ideological, but at the same time not afraid or ashamed of big ideas and the power of belief. In this we see our aspirations for ourselves, we see our future, and we see America. And on Tuesday, we're putting him over the top.
Authenticity meets Garbology.
Published October 31, 2008 @ 03:50PM PT
In Spokane, we met with performance artist and professed garbologist Gabriel Brown. Here, he talks about his act, which often entails picking through garbage and panhandling, all while dressed in a business suit. Here, he discusses his methodology and the reactions he's come to expect.
The pursuit and mythology of authenticity among the Millennial generation has creeped into nearly every conversation we've had on the road. Beyond "authenticity" being "the next big thing" that advertisers are tripping over each other to fabricate and co-opt (in an "authentic" way, no doubt), there has certainly been an expression (mainly by older "Millennials") regarding an attempt to peel back layers that they perceive stand between their perception and reality (in a modern sense).
Who is victimized by hyper-surveillance governance?
Published October 31, 2008 @ 12:40AM PT
In an entry posted earlier today, I touched upon a question regarding Millennial activism and perceptions of / reactions to action in hyper-surveillance culture:
The brief conversation [...] was a reminder of what I perceive to be an extreme lack of caution with regard to law enforcement and government surveillance when it comes to online activism. There is, of course, a dialog regarding political rallying around candidates who support / fight against legislation that revolves around domestic spying, but what conversation, if any, revolves around a real, measured caution integrated into online advocacy and activism?
After posting the entry, I had remembered that Asher Platts, a former classmate and Maine-based activist that I respect very much, has been on the short end of side of the surveillance stick that many so-called Millennial activists might otherwise find unbelievable. Here – while offering the disclaimer that his political opinions don't necessarily represent those of Millennials Changing America, our sponsors, or me – I present Asher's take on his position as an activist in hyper-surveillance culture:
I would agree with Caitlin that in regards to personal information, people of our generation think of the internet as being a much safer place than it actually is, and are often too loose and free with personal information. My Facebook page contains very little accurate information, and I add friends that I don’t know regularly to try to use a “firehose” effect on anybody real or imagined who might be monitoring my social circle.
On that note — I’m not sure if you know about Facebook’s own checkered past and how it crosses paths with the Total Information Awareness Office and DARPA front groups who engage in venture investments in military intelligence technology. It’s interesting stuff. It also sounds pretty fringe/conspiracy theorist, so I’ll let you check into it yourself. It’s really neither here nor there in answering the question.
I’m an Eagle Scout, and as such, I had to take a series of citizenship merit badges. Citizenship in the community, state, and nation. Through these, I learned a lot about what it means to be an American, what our founding values are. Even if the ideals of America aren’t being put into practice, I take them very seriosuly, and live AS IF that America were real. Reality isn’t static, it’s a contant dialogue between the individual and society, and we have a far greater impact on the world and it’s abstract structures than we realize (abstractions such as Government, the Media, Public Opinion, etc)
I don’t know Caitlin’s full story, but I think that silence on things that matter ultimately lets those who seek to subdue and subvert us gain even more power by creating a climate of fear and mistrust. Frankly, the more people who express their dissident views, the more those who are supposedly monitoring us have to do to keep up with everyone.
This has two analogues. First more closely in 1960s era Soviet Occupied Czechoslovakia, and second, and maybe more readers will find it relevant, on the internet recently with the RIAA.
Vaclav Havel, dissident playwright in Soviet Czechoslovakia took note of this happening in his own country during his own time. He saw, as the Soviets cracked down, how the citizens were equally at fault for creating the political and cultural climate of despair — because if everybody expressed themselves and did so without fear, the government would have an impossible task of silencing the many. So in cracking down on a few, the rest fell into compliance and made the job of keeping dissidents in line easier. Ultimately, the Velvet Revolution changed that, and the citizens came out by the thousands in protest all at once. The government had no choice but to resign. Even with guns and tanks, it would have been impossible to put down a crowd that size.
Likewise, It was impossible for the RIAA to go after everyone using Napster or KaZaa, but the fear of being caught was enough to reduce p2p filesharing to a dribble. What the RIAA did was create a climate of fear, and they reduced the amount of online traffic to a manageable size where they could more easily start going after individuals, who, ignorant of copyright law, didn’t know that they werent’ actually doing anything illegal, and would offer to settle out of court for exorbinant amounts of money rather than face the empty threat of jail time.
I feel that the same goes for online activism, and activism in general. This culture of fear reduces the amount of traffic, reduces the amount of people freely expressing their opinions. And society closes on it’s own. It’s not that they are censoring us — no government has the ability to deny us our free will and individuality unless we let them — it’s that we censor ourselves. I don’t think it’s something anybody actively thinks of doing, or talks about with their friends. We just slowly change our behaviour to “get along” with as little trouble as possible.
In regards to my being wiretapped/monitored or whatever by Verizon. That was a very surreal experience. I’ve written about it on my blog which you can read here.
The sequence of events for me in regards to the Telecom Immunity bill was very very surreal. I ended up caucusing for Obama in the Democratic Primary in an effort to deny Hillary a fraction of a point enough to get her to lose a delegate. But after this, he voted for the Telecom Immunity bill, which he had said he would Filibuster (surprise, he didn’t.)
Up till then, I was hesitently supporting Obama. After that, my mind was made up, there was no way I could support a candidate who would vote for a bill that so blantantly violates the bill of rights, even expanding Executive Powers to the point of being criminal on their face. Especially with the foreknowlege that he may be the one in the executive office USING those new powers. It was too important an issue for me. But it was still abstract.
Then a while later, a friend of mine sent me a link to a list hosted on a leaked document storage website, which listed the people that Verizon had wiretapped or monitored phone calls for in the State of Maine. And I was on it. I couldn’t beleive my eyes. There were other people I knew on there as well, and people freinds of mine knew.
I contacted the Maine Civil Liberties Union, and they said that the Telecom immunity bill prevented me from sueing Verizon for violating my privacy. Now the issue was very real for me. You can not understand the injustice I feel was perpetrated on me by those spineless people in government. This was not just the Democrats having no spine, and being upset over that. I have been violated, and they voted for me to have no recourse. If rights were people, the Democrats and Republicans alike would all guilty of murder in my eyes.
I made up my mind that I would actively campaign against both Obama and McCain (both of whom voted for it) from there on out, and began actively advocating and promoting Nader and McKinney as alternatives to Obama, and Baldwin and Barr as alternatives to McCain.
More upsetting than political posturing in Washington having drastic effects on daily life of realy people, I’m upset with my friends who know that I was wiretapped, know that Obama voted for the bill, but still plan on voting for Obama. It feels like I was raped, my freinds know I was raped, but they’re voting for the rapist anyways, because he didn’t rape them, and the other rapist scares them more. It’s completely unconcionable to me.
As far as my being wiretapped, I think it’s more likely that I was wiretapped either randomly, or that it was as a result of being very active online with the Dennis Kucinich for President campaign. I had been in a lot of international press, including storming a Hillary Clinton event and locking arms with Ron Paul supporters and shouting her down for being a war monger while she was trying to make a media appearance in New Hampshire.
As I said earlier, I have very little accurate personal information listed online, especially not my telephone number, so I don’t know how Verizon would have been tapping my phone (especially since my carrier is Cingular/AT&T). It’s most likely that it was random, and certainly not related to any activities on myspace, youtube, or facebook.
