Friday, August 3, 2012

One Giant Game of Telephone

The United States Congress has only a 13% approval rating.


Tonight was an educational experience. For the first time in a while, I engaged in facebook argument with a friend about something of the political nature. Thirteen hours ago my friend posted an emotionally charged outcry, which at about one hour ago I responded to with an equally emotionally charged comment. We went back and forth for the good part of the past hour, bringing a culmination of feelings and fact into the debate. We argued, we challenged one another, we cited our personal experiences.

At the end of all of it, we discovered that the article of news in question was a fake. A simple lie made up by some unknown force. We were happy, because although we were on different sides of the argument, the event in question really sucked for everyone involved.

Time to get hokey (not that I wasn’t already headed in that direction). We engaged one another in political discourse for an hour. And it was all moot. The question at hand was a non-issue. But I learned a lot about this friend, and about the issue. I hope in some way that he learned a little from me too. And together we sorted the fact from fiction. Two twenty-something kids living on opposite sides of the country with vastly-different life experiences just got more accomplished than the United States Congress: we had a political discussion that ended with the discovery of truth.

So go forth and discuss, argue, yell, research and challenge each other. Otherwise the world is just one giant game of telephone. 

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Books & Bikinis

I like to spend my summer days relaxing at the lake and reading a book. Or just reading. Actually, I spend most of my summer days stressing out about submission deadlines for my MFA program and writing frantically. But I like to imagine that I'm chilling out with a book in-hand by some swimable body of water.

Luckily, the folks over at Matchbook have put these two favorite things together. Behold: bathing suits matched perfectly to your summer reading material. Don't worry guys, they have some lovely ensembles picked out for you as well.

The book: Lethal Seduction by Jackie Collins
The first sentence: “What’s the best sex you’ve ever had?”
The cover lettering: Bernard Maisner
The bathing suit: Betty Black & Lime Swimsuit by Mandalynn. $95.
image from matchbook.com