Archive for the 'Society' Category

14th of June, 2010

Posted by Doug in Society at 3:15 am

It is probably one of the most spectacular ways to end a journey as a poet, to be allowed that your ashes be interred with Shelley’s in Rome. Shelley was one of the great Romantics, in the true sense of the word. Broody, delighted, and utterly in love with the world, but also afflicted with personal tragedies. For Shelley, it was TB that led him to an early exit, and for Gregory Corso , it was cancer.

Corso lived one of the perfect poet’s lives. Although it’s not a life that anyone would willingly accept, if they knew the conditions ahead of time, it makes for some fantastic stories, and a biography that only gets better with time. He was born in Manhattan, in Greenwich Village, in 1930, and lived a lot longer than anyone would have suspected he could have. At age 71, the disease took him in his sleep, in what seems to be a rather peaceful ending to a life that was anything but that.

He was considered by many to be a kind of 4th wheel to the Beat generation inner circle. The only reason he never made it in as a full-fledged member was probably because of his age. He was ten years younger than the next youngest, and still green around the gills as a poet. However, his street cred was absolutely solid, with a history of petty theft and break-ins, and time spent in the Tombs, the scariest prison in all of New York. He even spent time in Bellevue , and that, for the Beats, was as good as serving in the Foreign Legion to the New Romantics.

His footprints here are not as easy to find as some of the other poets of his time, but the search makes them all the more beautiful. Visiting the city, staying at a boutique Manhattan hotel , and looking for signs of poetry and roses, the trail of Corso leads somewhere close enough to call it home.

15th of May, 2010

Posted by Doug in Government, Society at 12:26 pm

Beau Biden is in the hospital, although they have not yet released the reason why yet. At the time of the White House announcement Beau was awake, communicating with his family although he was still in the hospital. His father, Vice President Joe Biden was there as well to be at his bedside. Beau Biden gave up an opportunity earlier this year to become a Senator in favor instead to work on persecuting a pediatrician who is suspected of molesting over a hundred young children. It is hoped that the younger Biden will be on his feet again soon and able to get back to work.

8th of May, 2010

Posted by Doug in Education, Government, Society at 11:14 am

Obama is out there once again giving speeches. The biggest difference is that this time he is already president, although there are others. Last time his speeches were given at colleges, but this time it will be at a high school. This is not because he is moving down in the world, but because they won a contest in which the prize was him as their commencement speaker. This is part of his movement to show his support for exceptional schools and to provide support to those schools that need to improve.

7th of May, 2010

Posted by Doug in Society at 3:10 pm

Entering into a new rental agreement can be an exciting and scary time, both for the landlord and the tenant . It is the beginning of a long and sometimes difficult relationship, the tone for which is often set at that initial meeting. No matter which side of the paperwork you are on, it will take both of you to make the relationship and the agreement as pleasant and painless as possible.

One of the first things that both sides can do to make the relationship better from the start is to be informed of the laws, codes, and rights that the state mandates for rental agreements. While it is part of the landlord’s, or property manager’s, job to know these laws, it doesn’t hurt for the potential tenant to be aware of them as well. Not only will there be greater understanding when completing the rental agreement, but it will also help both sides keep their expectations in check.

The key to any good relationship is communication, and that includes the relationship between the landlord and tenant. The communication lines should be completely open when writing and signing the lease so that both sides understand and agree with it completely. When there is a problem or a dispute, both parties should be willing to talk it out and agree on a solution.

Regardless of the situation there will be times when you just don’t get along or can’t seem to get on the same page. This is why it is very important that you accepting of and get along with the person who will managing and overseeing the property because they are the ones you will be working and communicating with most of the time. If it is possible talk to family and friends about property managers they have used in the past and recommend. Every relationship requires work, but when it comes to your home you want the relationship to be as smooth as possible.

6th of May, 2010

Posted by Doug in Education, Government, News, Society at 11:36 am

With one of South Korea’s ships having been sank not very long ago, South Korea President, Mr. Lee must walk a fine line between kowtowing to his conservative base, and keeping the country stable enough that people still want to invest in the country. While he has a straight forward message about what they are going to do now, the situation is a little more complicated than it might seem on the surface.

5th of May, 2010

Posted by Doug in Society at 3:10 pm

The fascination with the automobile is something that seems to have been born even before there were cars. The machines caught on so quickly, and developed so fast, that it’s hard to believe they’re still an invention of the last hundred years or so. Most great-grandparents didn’t have cars their entire lives, which suggests how quickly they got into the public circulation, as well as the imagination of teenagers everywhere. The teenage fascination with cars is even more recent, where, in the 1950s, teens in post-war countries were growing up with these for the very first time.

It was a major shift in the consciousness of the public, and teenagers had a way to express their frustrations and get out some excess energy by putting it into their cars. The same sensibility has lasted to this day, and perhaps is even more prevalent now than it was back then. Whether someone is hanging fuzzy dice from a rear-view mirror, or souping up their Ford pick-up , the dream is still the same: to ride around in a mean machine. Definitions of what makes one car a potent street fighter have changed, and continue to change, but the mechanics of nostalgia are still the same.

It’s interesting to see how people, entering middle age, can re-visit their former teenage selves, when they get a wrench in their hand, but the change is almost visible. It doesn’t seem to matter, either, if they’re trying to renovate a classic, or working on maintenance with a Toyota pick-up repair manual in hand, it’s the manual effort of getting into the engine that sparks off the moment when the love of the car was born for the very first time. The 1950s might be gone, but there’s every reason to believe that the momentum of that particular moment in time hasn’t lost any speed. Speed is at the heart of car culture, whether it’s the tires on the road, or the voyages we make in our minds to a past that’s not so distant after all.

2nd of May, 2010

Posted by Doug in Society, Travel at 2:45 pm

To be Shanghaied used to be a bad thing, but with the upcoming World Expo being held in Shanghai everyone wants to go there. Like Beijing got a total makeover for the Olympics, so too is Shanghai going to be getting for this Expo and it is expected to be spectacular.

24th of April, 2010

Posted by Doug in News, Society at 10:30 am

CNN recently did a series of interviews with parents with disabilities finding out what they have to change to interact with their kid, as well as what is the same about such an experience as it would be for those without disabilities. In the past a lot of focus has been on children with disabilities, but the  whole thing is different when the parental unit, especially the mother has a disability that keeps her from being able to do everything she would otherwise be able to do. One mom who’s joints in her arms don’t work too well changes her son’s diapers with her feet, as well as doing a number of other things with them.

20th of April, 2010

Posted by Doug in News, Society at 5:42 pm

A man who jumped off a bridge today was saved by a complete stranger who after seeing him start to drown, took off his shoes and jumped in there with him. The video below tells the whole story as well as a few interviews. It has not been released who the man was who jumped, or why he did so.

19th of April, 2010

Posted by Doug in Entertainment, Society at 1:47 pm

Facebook is announcing a new feature soon. There has been no official talk yet, but it looks as though all the rumors point in the same direction. Soon Facebook will be announcing a button that allows you to “Like” web pages. With it being a little colder than becoming a fan, and takes most of the same styling of Digg, one wonders how well this will work out.