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***Entry 298***
Monday, December 23, 2002
03:21 p.m.
No Updates/No Progress/Happy Holidays
Well...We still don't have an internet connection @ 942. I'm back @ the Negative Space abode with little to say. In case I don't have access to a computer w/ internet, Happy Holidays.
I hope to be back on the blogosphere sometime soon w/ a review of the Biennial @ the Corcoran...which is something I hope to visit today. Well...
***Entry 297***
Sunday, December 22, 2002
06:06 p.m.
Some Quick Un/Important Updates
Joanne said last night that I have a style I present in the blog. At some point [not right now], I want to wax theoretical on the way my personality is reflected in this blog. I don't think it is even *vaguely* representative of my complete personality or even my complete life. There's so much that I can't write on the blog, that would evoke a more solid understanding of me...But, I need to save these thoughts and move on to why I can't talk about them now...
Our house internet connection is down. Unfortunately when we switched phone companies, Verizon cancelled our DSL service as well. Since it is Sunday, we can't resolve this issue until tomorrow morning. So, here I am blogging @ the Negative Space house. Fun but limiting...Unlike my house, I can't simply stay on line forever. So, I'm going to try to keep a lot of ideas in the brief stage...
I missed the DC IMC retreat meeting today because I slept in. I needed to because I was simply exhausted from last night's dancing. I went to Georgetown with a friend and found it simply unbearable to walk through the crowds. Clearly, I need more exercise. I should just go out and dance more often.
I might go to the Black Cat tonight with Joanne, but I might just stay home.
In more important news, the folks working on the Collective Book on Collective Process sent me an email requesting a link to "A Critique of Consensus Process." I consider this an *extremely* positive bit of feedback. I know I've said, over and over, that I didn't expect this large of a reaction to my work, I still remain shocked at how people are responding to it. After all, Chapter 1 is pretty dense theoretical stuff and Chapter 2 makes some glaring generalizations. The fact is, the work is my *undergraduate* thesis. There's a lot of room for improvement--in both fleshing out the arguement I make and my own development as a more profound political thinker. "A Critique of Consensus Process" is certainly an improvement over the somewhat dormant "Zoe's Diary project. I'm trying/I'm learning. And someday, I will be able to say more.
***Entry 296***
Sunday, December 22, 2002
04:25 a.m.
Rave On...
Just got back from Avalanche. [I know I missed Simply Jeff's set, but sorry, I'm physically exhausted.] It was a hot party even though most of the people there were [in Jill terms] tourist ravers. That is, I didn't know many people there. I saw John there. He was dancing so we didn't get to chat.
I danced *so* much in the mainroom and in the drum + bass room. My body is drained from all that energy, but, like I said, it was a hot party.
One thing I'm just not sure about: I was supposed to be guest listed +1 for this party; however, my name wasn't on the list. So I had to wait for Jill to find one of the heads of promotion in order to get in for free. But, it all worked out...I got in for free. Chris Strohm [my +1] got in for free. And we raved on.
I'm in such a cheesy mood, I'm tempted to say "PLUR." And really mean it. This is unusual, folks.
***Entry 295***
Saturday, December 21, 2002
08:41 p.m.
More Randomness
1. I went upstairs at about 3am last night...As I entered my bedroom, I heard screaming downstairs and a bottle breaking outside my window. Turns out my housemate Marisa was threatened with a knife in her bedroom by a random [read: no one I knew, no one anyone else at the party knew] who admitted he just walked in off the street. He was kicked out of the party and he screamed about it all the way down the street.
2. I went to a ghastly "restaurant" in Dupont today: China Cafe. They have a neon sign boasting of "TOFU" on their front door and they serve the most unsalty/unflavorful Chinese "Cuisine" I've ever had. While Jill and I were there eating, a man passed out in the front of the restaurant. An ambulance arrived and EMTs took the man away in a stretcher. Moments later, said passed out man, walked back into the China Cafe. Sat down exactly where he had passed out earlier and had a conversation.
3. Joanne has set up another blog of her essays. They are all worth reading, even if you disagree with the premise behind some of them. I've discussed my feelings about "Don't Waste My Mind" before...but I just read "Disconnect." It is the perfect description of the transient-DC-culture. I have to admit that I don't agree with her conclusion: But more than that, this is a recommendation to those of us with souls, to avoid Washington, DC. It will either bore you to death or eat you alive.
Another possibility when residing in Washington, DC [a place I call "city"], is to look around for all the *strange* random events and compile them in a blog. I'm not sure it is the most exciting thing to do, but it helps promote sanity in this sometimes *too* arbitrary "city."
***Entry 294***
Saturday, December 21, 2002
02:20 p.m.
Some Observations on Party Behavior
Super thanks to everyone who came out to my graduation party last night. I had *such* a great time hanging with out old/ new friends. However, I have to state that my number one objection to parties is that I never get a chance to *really* talk/catch up with my friends. I'm not trying to sound overly confident about my "popularity" but it is difficult to talk about anything substantive when there are so many other conversations/people around.
That said, I apologize to anyone who attempted to hang out with me last night...
***Entry 293***
Saturday, December 21, 2002
01:10 p.m.
Substantive Attempts/ Attempts at Substance
Exhibit A is a post-story about declining DC population. A comprehensive evaluation of Exhibit A will show you that city employees like to avoid those pesky estimated numbers and like to use their own rationale for determining whether city is continuing to grow or in a state of [ahhhhhh!!!] decline.
As shown in Exhibit A, Mayor Williams is taking a slightly different approach to the statistics. He says,
"There still is a positive rate of growth in the city as opposed to negative," he said. The Census Bureau estimate "is an aberration, I would say."
Let's see: Census Bureau statistics or Mayor "Signature Scandal"/ "Tony the Rat" Williams aberration. You decide for me, I'm kind of struggling here...
On the other hand, it seems *completely* reasonable to blame city's population decline on the end-all-be-all cause...
"We have to wait and see what the trends are," Passel said. "We're talking about a year that had September 11 in it. It wasn't the kind of year that people were flocking to come to the District, either as tourists or perhaps to move here."
Oh yes, that always works. Perhaps that's the most substantive answer I can give right now. Does Exhibit A deserve anything more conclusive?
***Entry 292***
Friday, December 20, 2002
07:58 p.m.
Excitement/Disillusionment and Brief Thoughts on the "Potential" Problem
The weekend of *fun* begins soon...Tonite is my graduation party w/ three deejays: Toby Roberts, MoJo Jones and Ken Lazee. [see below/bottom entry on this page for more info...]. Tomorrow is Avalanche...And Sunday is the DC IMC retreat and the next Crash the State of The Union meeting...So I'm excited!
On the other hand my early grade reports are problematic. I'm *so* close to graduating with a 3.5 gpa, but here are my preliminary grades:
History of Women in Modern Western Society--A
St. Mary's Project [read: "A Critique of Consensus Process"--A
Contemporary Chemistry--B-
Modern Political Thought: B+
Seriously, though. I have a 3.449 gpa now [so...close...right...] and the B- is related to my end of college cockiness. Namely, I didn't know the answer to the final question on the exam and I wrote..."In my last act as an undergraduate I state: I don't know. I don't know the answer. I'm never going to know the answer." Which, I guess, is something that professors *don't* want you to say. [ha ha ha]. I'm trying to figure out why I got a B+ in Modern Political Thought. Unless my final essays were really poorly constructed/synthesized, I really don't have a clue why I deserved that grade.
My housemates keep telling me that I shouldn't be concerned about this because we are having a ***hot*** party tonight, but I can't help but wonder what I could have done to pull [at least] an A- in that class. Arrr...
And now to the [drastically limited] potential discussion. Here's my problem: everyone I know complements me by stating that I have so much potential. But, what good is potential if I can't progress toward reaching it. That was vague, sure, but honestly what I'm trying to get at here is that saying someone has potential, is not exactly complementary. "Potential" implies: "perhaps someday you will be successful, but right now, you're not exactly living up to it." If you want to flatter me tonight, tell me that I'm talented *now.* Don't tell me I have "potential."
***Entry 291***
Thursday, December 19, 2002
02:53 p.m.
Defending with Support
My defense of a plurality of anti-war perspectives is getting a little support here. Libertarians take note, I have attempted to defend you all as well.
But, I'm at work--it's my last day--so I should avoid posting more right now...
***Entry 290***
Thursday, December 19, 2002
12:02 p.m.
Arbitary Disconnections
I'm out the door--commuting two hours for a two and a half hour day...and then commuting two hours back. Obviously, this doesn't make any sense, but the job--teaching anger management and empathy skills to middle school students--was close to my college. Now, that I'm back in the city, I'm trying to avoid that endless commute by getting a job up here. I had a great interview yesterday with a wonderful organization...
Since you probably want to read something more invigorating than news of my employment, I direct you to Julian who wrote a long, intricate post about game theory and the war on Iraq. During the presentation of "A Critique of Consensus Process" [last week!], I mentioned Julian's thoughts on election reform and how game theory can be used to show the defects in IRV [Instant Runoff Voting...] Fun.
Which leads me to the final idea in this entry--[after all, I'm running out the door...] Joanne and I were talking last night about coordinating a Quintessential Washington Salon--or something loud, and dramatic sounding--because intellectual extravaganzas are rare in this city. I'd write more on this, but I've *really* gotta go...
***Entry 289***
Thursday, December 19, 2002
01:02 p.m.
Back on the Blog Despite This...
Via Chuck O, I have read this post-piece about the potential implications for blogging. Chuck O has some sound observations about the piece; namely, that corporations should not dictate the interpretation of freedom of speech. I've been thinking about this dichotomy he presents: Either you have total freedom of speech or you have no freedom of speech. Personally, I'm always trying to see the "third way" [I'm still reclaiming this word from the Clinton-Blair legacy...] whenever I'm presented with a dichotomy. However, I think his interpretation is sound--any limitation on freedom of speech nullifies the concept.
The article itself quotes Pam Farr who apparently is also searching for that middle ground.
"With the advent of cyberspace, we've had to evolve these polices," Farr said. "Somewhere between First Amendment rights and total repression there is a practical middle ground."
Except that a practical middle ground would be completely instable and thus, a slippery slope.
[As much as I would like to talk about some recent theories re: democratic agency and constitutionalism/rights that were relevant to "A Critique of Consensus Process," it would largely be to serve my own interests. Additionally, I'm exhausted from a long, interesting night.]
***Entry 288***
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
06:44 p.m.
Changing Plans
I had signed myself up for some International Blog Meetup day [don't feel like putting up the link right now...do a google search], but I didn't get any comprehensive information as to where to meet, etc. Joanne uber-blogger, per se... had warned me about this. But, I didn't listen until *much* later.
So, I changed my plans and had dinner to catch up with a friend and now I'm heading out again. In the post-college Zoe world, things move quickly.
***Entry 287***
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
01:35 p.m.
Getting Involved [Again]
Having spent the last few months working [almost exclusively] on "A Critique of Consensus Process," I'm returning [with a revived passion] to activism. Currently, there is a call out for a DC IMC meeting re: The new DC IMC space @ the Flemming Center.
The short version of this Call to Action reads:
The DC Independent Media Center has collectively decided to move
into the new Flemming Center at 9th and P Streets NW in January.
Opening a new center presents a tremendous opportunity to
reconstitute how the DC-IMC is structured and functions to best meet
the media needs of people and groups in the DC area, as well as to
bring new people into the dynamic process of creating independent
media and to reach out to people who once worked with DC Indymedia
but no longer do so.
To initiate this process, we invite you to attend the first planning
meeting this Sunday, Dec. 22 at 1pm at the American Friends Service
Committee, located at 2211 14th Street NW (near Florida and 14th
Streets NW). The intention of this planning meeting is to develop a
“day-long retreat” to begin the process of reconstituting the DC IMC
structure, media making processes and decision making as we move
into the new Flemming Center.
The meeting is open to all and we'd especially like those interested
in getting involved in Indymedia for the first time and who haven't
seen a clear route "in" to join, and those who've previously worked
with the IMC and have moved on to new things or away from the IMC to
get involved again.
This kind of announcement brings me great hope that people are committed to improving the DC IMC by making the new space more hospitable to a mulitiplicity of ideas. The retreat idea, hopefully, will usher in a new age of deliberation in the DC IMC, which could lead to *even more* media democracy. I am excited.
***Entry 286***
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
12:38 p.m.
Don't Overgeneralize My Generation/ My [Former] Peers
There's a muliplicity of problems with this article which attempts to use the author's experience at Yale as the basis of understanding how my generation operates. At the risk of oversimplifying [what? on a blog?], I would submit this article to the category called [simply?] "more asinine observations on what wrong with my generation."
But, that would be undue criticism of an author who has *clearly* taken a long time to formulate his opinions on: dating, the importance of gpa's, majors, career choices, student politics, and the politics of academe. Not, to mention, he has combined such disparate ideas into one [nominally] solidified article. If the sarcasm threw you off, the point is, this article simply has *too* much to say about the people who were until yesterday, my peers. [The ability for me to act condesendingly to college students is only starting to hit me...] Furthermore, what he has to say about my former peers, is likely accurate only for the small minority enrolled in prestigious universities.
That is, the author *is* overgeneralizing my generation. But, the problem may just be that he doesn't even do it well...
***Entry 285***
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
11:48 a.m.
The Politics of Endorsements
Sen. Santorum of Washington Interns Gone Bad infamy has endorsed [racist] Sen. Lott. According to the post-article [linked above], Santorum said...Santorum said yesterday: "Senator Lott's comments in the context of a defense authorization signing ceremony sheds important insight into the ways in which he knows and respects Senator Thurmond and his contribution to the country."
*sigh* Should we oppose Sen. Santorum as well as Sen. Lott? I don't think there are *any* doubts about it...
***Entry 284***
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
04:25 p.m.
Completion Notification/ Meeting Announcement
As of 4pm, I have finished my undergraduate work. I will receive my grades next Tuesday--but they will only determine whether I graduate with honors, or just graduate. I will be back in the city shortly--hopefully, with enough time for the State of the Union organizing meeting.
That meeting, will be at
Meet tonight 12-17-2002 at 7 PM
320 Funger Hall located at G.W. University 22nd
and G Streets, NW
The closest train stop is the Foggy Bottom station on the Blue/Orange Lines. I hope to see you there.
***Entry 283***
Monday, December 16, 2002
06:31 p.m.
5 in 10="a predominant sense"???
I don't know if it is poor writing and analysis or just poorly contrived polling, that created the absurdity that is: The predominant sense, however, was that it is time to move on. Fully five in 10 said, "It's time to forget about what happened in 2000.". Did I miss something important while studying political science? I hardly believe that half reflects a "predominant sense."
This silly, misleading quotation comes from this post article about Gore's decision not to run. Since last night the political bloggers have been all over Gore's announcement. I wrote on the deadly political implications of a Gore 2004 candidacy before [***Entry 218*** is particularly telling...] so I don't feel like regurgitating them now.
What I do feel like stating is that by tomorrow at 4pm, I will be finished with my finals and my life as an undergraduate will be over. My "predominant sense" is that I am excited...
***Entry 282***
Monday, December 16, 2002
03:38 p.m.
A Few More Observations about Blogging and the Mainstream Media
I presented my [nominal] conclusions for the "A Website of Her Own" blogging essay/"research paper" today in class. Although, I turned it in late, I was surprised to find that I was given a A- for my work. Congrats to me, again.
Anyhow, one of the ideas I mention in that essay is derived from Lisa Guernsey's [somewhat] recent piece on gender in the blogosphere. Guernsey's conclusion, that the mainstream media is to blame for the predominance of male bloggers, is one that I assign credibility to these days.
Yet another example of this is in post-media critic Howard Kurtz's piece today on the Lott scandal. Kurtz notes that: In the meantime, Lott was pummeled by a number of online Weblogs -- particularly by conservatives who agree with him on many issues -- in a way that helped force the story into public view.
Kurtz has using bloggers' contribution to the media for months now. He clearly sees them as contributing to media democracy; however, by focusing attention only on the usual blogging suspects [Andrew Sullivan, Instapundit...], his concept of media democracy remains infantile. That is, Kurtz is equipt enough to see that the future of media democracy lies in the blogosphere. But by upholding a patriarchial value system with respects to participation in the media, he can't quite grasp that that future is one without gender boundaries.
***Entry 281***
Monday, December 16, 2002
02:02 p.m.
Sad Stuff
I learned early this morning that my friend Carol had been hit by a bus while riding her bike. Chuck O writes that her family is requesting privacy right now so I'll extend my sympathy via this entry. Carol, get well soon. You are a rockstar and an amazing activist. I'm so happy we met... Although she is out of critical condition now, I'm hoping she recovers completely...quickly.
***Entry 280***
Monday, December 16, 2002
01:44 p.m.
Think Weekend!
Periodically, I try to update my readership with the *hot* upcoming cultural events in the place I lovingly refer to as "city." This weekend is particularly festive. Start preparing now...
1. 20 December [Friday]: DeeJays Toby Roberts, MoJo Jones and Ken Lazee will be spinning @ my graduation party. Come celebrate me, me, me, and perhaps the holidays as well... Check here for more details!
2. 21 December [Saturday]: Avalanche the next party from DC Skillz. If it is anything like the last party, Thriller, it will be worth checking out.
See you around.
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