Potpourri and Such

Well hello and hello.

So I just can’t stop thinking about the World.

Knowing I leave in ten days for the most excitingly historic, architecturally rich, conveniently juxtaposed region of the world is truly mind boggling. By conveniently juxtaposed I mean Turkey and its perfect geographical location. How Istanbul, once a powerhouse economic capital, the second Rome if you will, straddles the Bosphorus, looking north to the Black Sea and south to the Sea if Marmara—the crossroads from West to East, Europe to Asia. But even that is not the only reason I can’t stop thinking about the World.

The G8 conference is in full swing this week and host, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, is trying to pull her industrialized and coal laden weight to sway the most hegemonic and hedonistic of powers to commit to serious and meaningful environmental change. But before anything even began, there was already a ‘no’ from Washington. George W. Bush is still being himself. And to no avail to the rest of the world—or even the US—he will continue to be the ignorant, selfish, illegitimate president of our poor United States. Merkel wants W to commit cutting greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2050. Sounds simple, right? Not in the minds of an oil-slicked, blood-tainted Texan. Especially since the Republicans only started believing in "global warming", or perhaps more properly, "climate change" not even a year ago. Talk about a flip-flop.

As for the Democrats, they’re pissing me off too. I found it absolutely appalling that Obama, Edwards, and Clinton took part in an Evangelical Christian Q&A session. Obama quoted the bible; Edwards paid it all to the lord above; and Miss Hil said it was the lord who helped her through her marital woes. Bullshit, bullshit, and bullshit. If we haven’t noticed already, it’s organized faith that seems to be screwing up our world the most…Jerry Falwell anyone? Or wait, what about "radical Islam," you know the new fascists of the world? And how about those born again son of a bitches? I think maybe the Jews have it the best: clean penises, an embattled homeland that no one really gets involved with unless they are there, and christ, even their most conservative of sects has allowed for gay clergy and same sex union blessings. But at the same time, none of them have it. Maybe the Buddhists. But I don’t know.

Now perhaps you found that all a bit rude. Fine, take it that way. The thing is I have no problem with faith, none at all. In fact, I consider myself to the a spiritual person, in an agnostic sense of the world, of course. Which is why I have such a massive problem with FAITH AND POLITICS, together, in the same topic. People pushing their god on my, espically in political ways is simply absurd and an invasion of my rights and privacies. They do not mesh, faith and politics, just look at Iran and Saudi Arabia, and the new secular problems boiling about in Turkey. We are indeed a secular state, but day by day, the all mighty and downright horrifying church hacks away at our separated governmental institution. The Separation of Church and State is so simple and yet it is under the most vicious of attacks by the most hypocritical people in the world. Morals? You want to talk about those religious morals? How about lending a hand in Darfur, that would be moral, would it not? A genocide has been occurring there for how long, and what the fuck have our moral l eaders done…nothing. They simply said, "Not on my Watch." Well, W., clearly you didn’t learn how to read a watch while blowing coke off your gym teacher’s ass and snapping your towel at other locker mates, prancing about at Yale, knowing nothing about the world around you…and all the while your future wife kills someone. But that would be to simple, sending troops to a region in need, where we know there is a problem, and people of mass destruction are killing hundreds of thousands of people day in and day out. But then again, we’re bogged down in a quagmire and our troops are truly stretching thin. Cheers to them, our strong and brave troops, regardless of their duties—they’re simply following their Commander in Chief who unfortunately happens to be the most stubborn son of a bitch on the planet.

Ha.Hmm.

What a rant. Whoopse. Anyway. Connecticut has been interesting. Besides preparing for my graduation party non-stop, there’s not much else one can do in the western hills of Norwich, Connecticut. Well that’s not true either, but do you want to hear about the drinking and the toking and the absurdities past ensued?

Either way, I’ll tell a quick graduation story.

It was the night before the big day, the 22nd of May….
My family was in town for the night, Mom, Dad, and Joel, Betty and Amanda, too. Off to dinner we went, never expecting what happened to indeed ensue. We were at Choice Kitchen on 28th and 3rd and to our great surprise, they serve happy hour drinks to the dining tables! Well, that did it. Martini’s all around, everyone. And like that, the laughs got louder and the stories more outrageous. The Sox were playing and of course my brother was overtly cheering them on, just to be the asshole he is, but oh well. It was great nonetheless. From dinner, we started walking back up third towards their hotel.

Dad had expressed earlier that he would certainly get thirsty on the walk back to the hotel, so we’d have to stop for a drink. Knowing my brother and my father, we stopped by Joshua Tree. This place is kinda odd, but crazy too. They have big screen TVs muted with sports playing while the best of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, blasts away. Joel was immediately frustrated because our drinks were not coming fast enough damnit, and how was it possible that there was only one bartender and one server for a bar full of people!?! Well, after our first round of drinks, shots were necessary. Mom and Bett split, so we just kept drinking. An hour probably went by and Amanda finally called.

I had to run and meet her at Grand Central, maybe five or six blocks from where we were. And so I did. Running all the way, I finally caught up with friendy and she immediately handed me my grad present: a bottle of Van Gogh Vodka, one of the finest of Vodka’s without question. She hadn’t been drinking, so I immediately opened the bottle and we started chugging it as we walked back to the bar. My dad called me wanting to know what we’d want for a drink when we got back. Fucking sweet. We walked in the door and there were our drinks, and the shots Joel surprisingly ordered as well. We stayed for a few more drinks and out the door we went.

Now, my father is a working man. He’s up at 0530 every day and the more and more wasted he got, the less he could believe how many people, his age, older and younger, were still out drinking. He asked the bartender I can’t count how many times, "Don’t these people have to work tomorrow?!?! It’s Tuesday!" But it’s New York…it doesn’t matter what day it is.
We walked up the street a bit more and Dad realized he was "parched." So, we stopped for a few more drinks and a few more shots, and holy shit, were we bombed. After snapping some hysterical pics, I pointed them in the direction of their hotel and Cooter friend (Amanda) and I jumped into a cab, bound for the Heights. We arrived, and off we went to a far off place, high above where our minds typically function. Devon came over. Supposedly, I fell down a lot.
It happens.

So morning comes. We’re supposed to be at 2 Gold for Bloody Mary’s with the girls, but by time I got out of the shower in which I didn’t even wash myself, we were not making it. I was in a tremendous amount of pain, though somehow, it wasn’t affecting me…yet. We jumped into a cab, and pulled up at Radio City just as my family was arriving as well. My brother looked distraught and beat, my father’s eyes squinty and just a big sluggish. I didn’t take my sunglasses off. We snapped some pics and off I went into what would become a pit of hot air and cramped bodies. Fun, though difficult to manage when you’ve only consumed nothing.

I fanned myself the entire time with my graduation ticket. People took pictures of me and told me how much I reeked of booze…which is how I learned that I didn’t wash myself in the shower, only my face when I realized it. But through it all, I made it. Across the stage at Radio City, I shook the hand of our "retiring" president all the while taking jabs at classmates and speakers, laughing it up with the friends surrounding me. What a day it was, and the weather was perfect too!!
I spent the entire day and night recovering. And frankly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Cheers.