Tonight's Debate

My favorite question from the Democratic debate tonight (directed to Senator Clinton):

"You have claimed that your presidency would bring real change to America. I am 38 years old, and I have never had an opportunity to vote in a presidential election in which a Bush or a Clinton wasn't on the ticket. How can you be an agent of change, when we have had the same two families running Washington for the last 30 years?"

Zing!

I don't dislike Hillary as much as some, simply because she is fairly graceful in the unenviable position of trying to run for president without being seen first and foremost as a woman. Doesn't mean I'm voting for her, but I respect her. I would love to hear my housemates' opinions on the way the elections are shaping up...

Also. Spotted in the audience: Pierce Brosnan, lookin' hot.

Also also. My housemate came in, slightly intoxicated, saw Senator Obama on the screen, and ran over and patted his face. Someone is a fan.

Election Commentary

So I read an article in the New York Times about the primaries that asked the question what was going to happen to the black female vote? As Allison more bluntly put it all black women must be asking themselves "Do I vote with for my skin or for my vagina?" Clearly, a tough decision! But it makes me think about the poor white Democratic male voters who just don't have anyone like them to vote for in the election, unless they pick the falling behind John Edwards. While I do think that it is great to see candidates who aren't the typical white male, we must ask ourselves if this really is as much progress as one would think? They still are all representative of the upperclass and besides that the media's focused attention on what will happen to the "black vote" or the "women vote" and now the conflict over how black women will vote just goes to show that we still cannot get beyond appearances in society. Why does personality or identity matter so much for presidential elections? True it is important to have dynamic leaders with personality, but don't we also need to think about what their visions or goals are instead of just their racial or gender identity. True race and gender do matter in society, but when will we as a society begin to see that identities are complex and composed of so much more than race or gender. We need to look at class, sexual identity, age, and so many other nuanced elements that intersect to make issues so much deeper than just black and white or male and female.

Words of Wisdom: Steve Martin Edition

Steve has a message for us and I think it's indispensable. Enjoy. Feel free to share your own words of wisdom and advice.

Loj Fashion

The Loj - not devoid of a good fashion sense while saving the world. Some of you might have seen me carrying a giant brown bag around the house lately... a sweet Christmas gift from the 'rents. Best part is, completely void of any animal by-products. Check out Matt & Nat online, especially their promotional collection, which sells their bags 40 percent off.

www.mattandnat.com

Focus the Nation

Mrs. Frazzle's hit the nail on the head. The Loj is truly a snazzy place.

I thought I'd take a moment to blog first about one of the most exciting things coming up for the Loj ladies: Focus the Nation! Taking place January 31, 2008, it's a nation-wide "teach-in" on global warming solutions for America. The ultimate goal is to unite people across the country in political activism and awareness. It is a great feeling to be part of something big - and maybe this is a baby step toward the sort of unity that humankind could someday achieve? Kind of makes me nostalgic for Star Trek. (Actually, I just wanted an excuse to post a picture of Captain Picard on a blog.) Some of us have been working on Focus the Nation initiatives for a long time, and all of us will no doubt take part in some way that day, so it should be pretty exciting.

Events will kick off Wednesday night with a free screening and discussion of the 11th Hour at the Hamilton Theater at 7.pm and a live streaming of the 2% solution at 8.pm in Persson Hall. There will be panels all the next day, from 8:30-11:10.am and 1:20-5:30.pm on a variety of topics, from climate change and social justice to coastal communities, political activism and climate change, and local food options for Colgate. There'll also be a gallery tour before lunch, free vegetarian lunch from noon-1, and an opening and artists' talk on the Canary Project at 4.pm. There'll also be communal vegetarian dinner from 5:30-7:30.pm, with closing remarks and discussion with students and local politicians, and another free screening of the 11th hour at the Hamilton Theater that evening. The excellent band Tally Hall will close this exciting series of global warming awareness events on Friday night, opened by Colgate's own Earthman Embassy.

The full schedule should be posted soon here. Keep an eye out!



After that we head up to the excellent 'daks for a weekend of outdoor appreciation OE-style. Can't wait.

Well that's all for me-

Looking forward to posting my next installment, aka What's in my Loj cupboard?, Part I of XI: a self-investigation of mystery, wonder, and tastiness

Relationships

Although I may have rolled my eyes...I wrote this last night for a class...get a tissue.

With whom I’m in relationship:
I spent a lot of time over winter break thinking about next year. And among all the onslaught of worries of location, career, apartment, and salary…I realized the only thing I care about is my friends. I live this year in the Loj with ten stunning ladies. Some of these girls have been my friend since freshman year, and others I only met a couple of months ago: but all of them are now my life-long friends. Not only do I look up to each and every one of them for their passion and dedication to environmental and social justice…sometimes, they look to me. Whether we are laughing over a common prank, or caving into consumerism discussing new Patagonia deals…nothing we do exists on just this superficial level. The prank causes us to discuss favorite memories of the pranked and future bonding mischief; Patagonia, the environmental ethics of said company.
This is not a common Colgate living situation. We cook Community Supported Agriculture produce weekly and discuss why we should (and for the most part do) boycott bananas. Whilst debriefing Friday nights downtown, instead of talking about what she was wearing at Nichol’s we speak of racial tensions. We put on our puffy jackets instead of cranking on the heat. But our house relationships go beyond breaking life in the bubble down.
For me, the real importance of the relationships I am in with each person living on 70 Broad happens in the kitchen. It is the 100% sincerity with which my friend greets me that is truly refreshing coming down the hill. While I am dicing up some onions, she walks in, grin on her face, waving, “Hiiiii!” and proceeds to ask me with authenticity how I am. And she means it… This is what sets these relationships apart from those I have outside the house. It is so unaffected. We cook together, don’t clean together, show genuine interest in each other’s curious new Eastern remedies.
I am in a relationship with these girls because we are so similar...in ideology, in life approaches, in world-views. Alternatively, I am in a relationship with these girls because we are different. I am already in a relationship with myself…I need differences to challenge me, inspire me, keep me stoked about life. We differ in socio-economic backgrounds, in geographies, in styles, in how and by whom we were raised, in concentrations. The differing passions and majors have inspired me to learn more about social justice and, even to take the course (as many of friends are self-proclaimed feminists).

Welcome to Loj Blog

The Loj is a house at Colgate University dedicated to environmental action and social justice. Eleven people live there. This morning over our cereal we discussed a house blog. Here it is...