Misanthrophile

Is it wrong to love misanthropic characters? It is true, they won't return your love, and, in fact, they will probably hate you for it. However, there is just something so appealing about someone who dislikes everyone. Maybe they are so attractive because of the possibility that you could be the one person they do like. After all, it is no great feat to be loved by a humanitarian, but to be even liked by a hater of everyone is something wondrous.

Amputation Is Not Cutting the Fat

Stony Brook University says that it must make "strategic cuts and streamline operations at its various locations." Trimming expenses to the amount of $55 million can be a harrowing task. However, it would behoove the university as a whole to spread those cutbacks out over the expanse of its holdings; rather than focus the reduction in one area. It is like an overweight man cutting off his leg to lose weight, rather than dieting to benefit the body as a whole. The man may weigh less, but he has lost a major part of his body and is now off balance. President Stanley argues that "we must be fiscally responsible and live within our means," but how can the students of Southampton, who have called this campus home for the last two years, be expected to live without any of the "means" necessary? How does shutting down a facility that houses many programs which are unavailable anywhere else, adhere to President Stanley's assertion that we must "not stray from the core elements of our missions of research and teaching;" especially when those programs are vital in the "research and teaching" of sustainable practices that may very well save our planet. This may only, as Stanley says, "impact a small number of students," only 500 or so (not to mention staff and faculty), but it seems such a large impact on such a "small number" is grotesquely disproportionate.

-quotes taken from an article by Lee Lutz at northshoreoflongisland.com

And Justice For All

I finally got my court date in the mail for that speeding ticket I got in Southampton. It only took them two months, and my "conference date" with the prosecutor to discuss a "plea bargain" isn't until the middle of May, but at least I'm not wondering anymore. I find it interesting that there is "prose" in the word prosecutor. There must be something profound in that, but I'm not drunk enough to figure it out. I'm sure I will be disappointed when I actually meet this PROSEcutor person, and find that there is not a literary thing about him or her. This world saddens me with its failure to compare to those ideas of the world that we have in our heads, and sometimes let slip onto pages. I will have my day in court, but it will not be as dramatic as that sounds.

Should I stay a student so I can get student health insurance?

I haven't had health insurance since undergrad. I'm about to finish my MFA and enter the wonderful world of looking for a job that is beneath the level of my degree. Leaving the student life for the professional life is forcing me into an unbalanced state of mind, which will require me to be on several medications that I will not be able to afford. So, I must shop for health insurance, but it is so ridiculously expensive. However, if I am a student, taking at least nine credits, I will be entitled to student health insurance, which is significantly cheaper. My plan is to further my education, perhaps a PHD, and work for the school that I will be getting the degree from in exchange for tuition reimbursement and a stipend (standard PHD deal). This will not only enable me to be eligible for student health insurance, but also to be able to continue to defer my student loans. Should this plan fail, my backup plan is to buy a motorcycle, move to Canada, and teach creative writing to Mounties.

Cake for Breakfast

I'm not eating cake. All I have with me is a grapefruit, but I am listening to Cake on my Ipod...and it is breakfast time. This reminds me of Bill Cosby, when he did that bit about giving his kids chocolate cake for breakfast...and he gave them grapefruit juice too. Ha.

Blogone

This is my first blog, which I've entitled Blogone. It's not as boring as it seems. It is not just the words "blog" and "one" put together. It's actually a new word blogone, pronounced sort of like bologna if it were spelled blogona and instead of the "a," creating the "ah" sound, it ends with an "e," creating the "ay" sound. So, you say it like this, "BlahgOnay." The "O" is capitalized to show emphasis. It gives it a kind of Italian flare. Anyway, my future blogs will be more interesting...to some...blind simians....So, thanks for reading my blogone. Hmmm, maybe Bloguno would have been better. Sounds like a game. It is a game that I've just invented. I called it. So there.