Thoughts On Being An American July 14, 2008
Posted by Will in random thoughts.Tags: random thoughts
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The United States of America recently celebrated its 232nd birthday, and three weekends ago I was questioning just how proud I am to be an American – it was a rather mixed moment.
I found myself saying the Pledge of Allegiance on the last weekend of June. I did it so much in elementary school, it’s kind of like picking up a bicycle after years of not riding it – you still remember how to do it just fine. It’s a good thing I could recite it so well too, because I actually went into autopilot about halfway through. As I was saying the words my mind started asking, “How do you feel being an American now?”
With the country’s worldwide popularity at one of its lowest points, combined with my feelings on the current administration of the country, I wasn’t exactly sure if I could say “I’m proud to be an American.” It’s just unfortunate that when the world thinks of America, they think of our President and/or his decisions. Or assuming that we all just sit here, thinking no one else is important, not bothering to think outside the country or learn another language. But it’s not our leadership that defines who I am as an American, it’s my decisions. And, of course, I am incredibly proud – and eternally grateful – of the freedoms I enjoy as an American. But beyond that, I can do my part to help the country, or I can build a business so I can help those in need in and out of America, and I can represent my views on what I think the country should do or wish the country would do.
I AM PROUD to have the men and women in our armed forces represent our country, and saddened at the same time that their loyalty and honor is attached to the poor decisions of our leadership. Those women and men, along with my fellow citizens that work to make a difference in this country and world, those leading a healthy and happy life, are who I am proud to stand up next to.
Personal Blogging vs. Aggregate Blogging July 11, 2008
Posted by Will in random thoughts.Tags: blogging, random thoughts, social participation
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I’ve been participating in the social world of the Internet for a while now, but the act of blogging is still relatively new to me. I’m slowly working on getting Wide Angle Lenz on a customized design and making it my own, and have some pretty cool ideas for it moving forward, but I could be posting more regularly, figure out who I want on my blogroll, network it better, etc., etc.
Something I have been thinking about for the last couple of days was sparked by a Twitter post by @kevinrose
hmm, Pownce (notes/files/links), Digg (stories), Twitter (short updates), FriendFeed (aggregated comments), do I still need a blog?
It’s definitely a valid point. Why are some of us focused on the upkeep of our personal blog, when we could go on Twittering, Digging and Flickring all we do, all feeding into one place – our FriendFeed account. I would imagine this is what FriendFeed wants, all of us to start using it as our blog. Considering the 40+ places that the site aggregates, I certainly like how easy it is to set it up once to spit out the various places I leave a mark on the Internet. So instead of saying “You can find me at Twitter, del.icio.us, Flickr, and Facebook,” why not just say “Check out all I do online at FriendFeed.” There is also a new site out called Posterous that allows people to simply email content to one place, and a profile is created for you. I really like the design of the site, but it will not replace blogs.
Replacing personal blogs (not for a group, institution or business) won’t be happening until FriendFeed offers personalized profiles, because it’s that personal touch/design that adds so much to the reading experience sometimes. When it comes down to it, yeah, the content of the site is king, but if every single personal blog looks the same, it’s just going to get boring. There’s no doubt that FriendFeed will offer personalization – just like Twitter and Pownce do (the design options for Pownce, by the way, is awesome) – but until they do, I’m still going to be trying to roll out a completely unique site that express who I am, what I think and what I do.
What do you think? Would you use FriendFeed as your “blog” if it was personalized?
Post Flood 2008 Thoughts July 10, 2008
Posted by Will in random thoughts.Tags: Flood 2008, random thoughts
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I know the world has been inundated with Flood 2008 coverage, but I wanted to hop on the bandwagon for a minute and express some of my thoughts on the whole thing as my city frantically tries to pull itself together, knowing it’s not going to get the help it needs fast enough…
We all see natural disasters on TV or online, but this is the first one I have been able to walk up to. I spent a lot of my K-12 years in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and nothing too major happens from a weather point of view. Blizzard here, tornado there, but nothing on the same scale as this flood. The day it was really bad, that Thursday, was a day of awe and shock. I know, cheesy right? But I get what it means now.
At the end of Thursday I was on the SW side of town and needed to get to my apartment, which was on the NE side of town. This is a good 15-minute drive normally, but it took an hour this time. My friends and I took Interstate 380, which goes right next to downtown Cedar Rapids. Heading towards the city was a very eerie feeling. The entire downtown area and surrounding communities were without power, the sky was full of low, dark thunderstorm clouds, there wasn’t any rain but lightning was going off all over the dark area of the city, and the water was up to the Dairy Queen logo on the sign for the interstate drivers.
It’s a weird feeling to look at what is happening to communities, historic centers, theatres, and downtown buildings you drive by almost daily, and feel the desire to just stare in awe and complete fascination as the water engulfs it all. Then you remember this is a horrible, horrible thing and the guilt kicks in, and the hopelessness for the city rumbles at the bottom of your stomach.
Buildings are collapsing and the city is talking about leveling the entire 100-year flood plan, which would be hundreds (if not thousands) of structures. My heart goes out to those that are directly effected by the waters of the flood and hope that our city – and all the other effected regions – get the attention that is necessary to get this city back on its feet and people back in homes.
My microphone didn’t work when I went downtown to film and interview, but I will be getting that prepped with some music and put it up as soon as possible. Check out my Flickr photostream for photos taken from my phone.
Thank you to everyone that has done something to assist with the recovery. Every little bit helps.
