Random Writings
Some of my writings from THREE years ago. The lovely thing about the internet, is you can preserve things in their original status forever (or until the site goes under)
I look back on where I started and can’t help cringe, but that’s a sign that I’ve improved, right?
In other writing news: taking advantage of not being employed or in school full time and going for the full FIFTY THOUSAND Words goal for National Novel Writing Month. I had fallen behind but managed to catch up on Sunday where I wrote seven thousand words in one day.
I put off actually starting the Luther Paradox reboot enough to use it for NaNoWriMo. And I’m 45k + along and enjoying myself. Sure I’ll have a lot of editing to do once I finally finish the story (which won’t be on November 30th) but this is the first time in almost six months that I am enjoying writing again.
But once I have gone through the project and revised it, I’ll start posting at least segments of it here. I’ll never “live-blog” my NaNo story like I did two years ago. That was a mistake looking back.
Editorial Archieve
This post is more for my personal use than anything else. I am going through the Hofstra Chronicle website, and tracking down all of my columns. So I can quickly access them, if I ever need too.
Adjusting the Political Parties – 9/30/10
On the spate of LGBT youth suicdes – 10/14/10
“School Pride” Extreme Makeover School Edition – 10/28/10
Keith OlbermannSuspension – 11/11/10
~Semester Break~
Obamacare in the Courts – 2/10/11
South Dakota’s law on justifiable murder – 2/24/11
Libya and Sheen’s destructions – 3/9/11
News Story: Catholic Students Push for New Chapel – 3/16/11
Homophobia at the NYC St. Patrick’s Parade – 3/24/11
Presidential Campaign Speculation Already – 4/7/11
I’m pretty sure that’s all of them. I know I missed out on an column right after Spring Break when I came back swamped with work and a deadline that I missed.
The Luther Paradox
Or the story that finally breaks my writing drought after three months.
I was sitting in my History of Christian Churches classes last year, learning about the Reformation, when a story idea came to me. What if Martin Luther had been prevented from posting his 95 Thesis? What if there was a time travel element – if the person who stopped Luther was from the future… if he was a time traveling mercenary? I played with the first draft during National Novel Writing Month in November and got to about 20,000 words before I realized my story wasn’t going anywhere plot wise. I had focused far too much on my protagonist, giving him a back story that was quickly turning him into a Mary Sue character. There is a reason why I never bothered posting anything I wrote back then.
I decided to reboot my own story and start again, playing around with the plot until I picked a starting point that would just jump right in. I don’t want to give too much away in case of spoilers but I’m hoping to weave a tale that combines religion – the Catholic Church specifically – and Time Travel.
Finally writing again after the summer drought feels good, but my confidence is shaky (actually, that’s nothing new). I have decided to post the first two thousand words for feedback.
~~~~
Two Years – Back on the Horse
Celebrating my two year Blog-versary! As you can see from the stats, I’ve had several ups and downs, but I’m finally back on the writing horse after spending the summer off basically.
All it took was an idea from a class on Christian History, focusing on the reformation. For now I’m calling it The Luther Paradox.
Bunker Hill Day
On Sunday the 12th, the neighborhood of Charlestown celebrated its annual parade for the Battle of Bunker Hill.
In recent years city officials have debated the budget and considered getting rid to two Suffolk county holidays that celebrate important moments during the early revolution war. It would be an attempt to save money as employers get the day off for these holidays which are extremely local. The first day is March 17th, known as Evacuation Day, when the British left Boston. People not in the know have joked Boston gave itself Saint Patrick’s Day off so people could drink the whole day. The second is June 17th, the date of the Battle itself. (The parade is always celebrated on the Sunday before the 17th, while the actual day is saved for an exercise at the Bunker Hill Monument.)
Politicians with local ties to the neighborhood come to the annual breakfast held before the parade and hosted by the Bunker Hill Associates. While the debate has waxed and waned on Beacon Hill, these politicians have picked up a sentiment stating that we couldn’t have had July 4th without June 17th.
Interestingly the holiday and parade celebrate a military defeat rather than a victory. The rag-tag Continental (or just Massachusetts) militia held Breed’s Hill through three separate advances by the larger, better trained British Army. When they finally gave up, it wasn’t for lack of trying, but because they ran out of ammo. The British, in taking what turned out to be a rather in consequential hill, suffered heavy loses and learned an important lesson. These patriots were serious and would not roll over.
Perhaps I’m biased as I have lived in Charlestown and experienced these celebrates my entire life, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to get rid of this holiday. However I disagree that the battle of Bunker Hill lead to Independence Day just over a year later. Considering the path the Colonial powers and the British were taking both before June 17th and after, the fourth of July and the Declaration of Independence would have happened in some way sooner or later.
Four Years
Four Years spent at Hofstra University, diligently working though classes, living out my college experience with friends, clubs/activities and the required horrible food. (okay Lackman wasn’t that bad, but it was pretty expensive) I started my last semester with the intention of making it my best, and getting the most out of the time I had left. I also intended to blog more, and we all know how well that turned out…
But I took 15 credits, including a thesis project for one last honors college requirement, and a journalism class to see how the “other side” wrote. Even though I was the only senior in the class, it was still a rewarding experience. I have a flair for journalism and I kind of regret not taking more classes. My GPA this semester is the highest I’ve ever gotten, with 3 A’s and two A- ‘s.
|
Undergraduate Course work |
|||||||||||
| Subject | Course | Course Title | Final Grade | Attempted | Earned |
GPA Hours |
Quality Points |
||||
| CRWR | 190I | ART OF REVISION | A- |
3.000 |
3.000 |
3.000 |
11.10 |
||||
| CRWR | 199 | HONORS PROJECT | A- |
3.000 |
3.000 |
3.000 |
11.10 |
||||
| ENGL | 292F | QUEER VICTORIANS | A |
3.000 |
3.000 |
3.000 |
12.00 |
||||
| GERM | 104 | ADV GERMAN LANGUAGE | A |
3.000 |
3.000 |
3.000 |
12.00 |
||||
| JRNL | 011 | NEWS WRITING AND REPORTING | A |
3.000 |
3.000 |
3.000 |
12.00 |
||||
|
Undergraduate Summary |
|||||
| Attempted | Earned | GPA Hours | Quality Points | GPA | |
| Current Term: |
15.000 |
15.000 |
15.000 |
58.20 |
3.88 |
| Cumulative: |
111.000 |
111.000 |
111.000 |
408.30 |
3.67 |
| Transfer: |
15.000 |
15.000 |
0.000 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| Overall: |
126.000 |
126.000 |
111.000 |
408.30 |
3.67 |
Outside of the classroom, I strove to live my life to the fullest. I worked part time, assembling a book of world records. I also worked to get a discussion group started for gay and spiritual topics and restarted the honors college blog (huhc.wordpress.com) I also got closer to friends I had met the semester before, close enough that saying good bye was not fun. I’m glad we can stay in touch thanks to the internet…
It turned out I saved the best for last as this was easily my best semester ever. I’m sad school is over; I really did love it.
Veterans Preference vs Language Skills
Boston civil servants have long used veteran’s preference to get returning vets into jobs such as the police and fire departments. This year, BFD has asked to set aside 15 of 50 spots in their academy class for people who speak Spanish.
And well, I let the quote speak for itself.
But a group of military veterans, normally given preference for the jobs, has challenged the decision. Alleging in legal documents that the bilingual requirement is being used to “recruit people of color into the uniformed ranks,’’ the veterans have asked the state Civil Service Commission to investigate.
(emphasis is my own)
So when did knowledge of a language determine your skin color? I’m sure this wasn’t the only line of reasoning the veterans put in their legal documents, but this quote makes them seem very racist. Later on in the article, the lawyer for them complains about how they came back from serving in Iraq/Afghanistan to find the rules have changed on them.
And there’s even more background, like how the BFD was legally bound to hire/diversify at a one to one ratio meaning for every white candidate they hired, they needed a black or Hispanic one as well. That rule was disbanded less than ten years ago and since then the department has hired a group that is 88 per cent white.
I don’t really understand why the veterans are so angry. The department finally realized they need more staff who speaks Spanish when they respond to calls from Spanish speaking people. Boston has a huge Hispanic population in one neighborhood, and significant populations in other neighborhoods that are on the other side of the city. In other words the Hispanics are basically all over. It’s time the department should diversify again.
The veterans can always apply again next year, right?
Election Season Already?
Yep, Obama officially filed, so have numerous GOP candidates. But, interestingly enough, none of the big names, such as Bachmann, Palin or Trump (seriously?) have filed yet.
So who has filed? New York’s own Jimmy McMillan who represented the Rent is Too Damn High party in the Gubernatorial race last year. He’ll be on the GOP side, even though he is not a Republican because he doesn’t want to directly challenge Obama. The bizarre thing is McMillan wasn’t the craziest candidates during the race for Governor. There even was an ex-stripper.
The election is only 19 months away – literally! I guess potential candidates should start forming those exploratory committees and file their papers. Time’s a wasting for precious campaigning!
I’m just thankful the mudslinging hasn’t started yet. That’s the second worse part of election season after it’s length. Excuse me for not wanting to watch grown men and women, one of whom will be our future leader, degrade themselves by getting dirty for the whole country and world to see.
But… can’t help thinking here we go again!
Nov. 6, 2012 is still 19 months away. That is 580 days.For every one of those days from this point onward, politicians will be strategizing and spreading their message in preparation for Election Day. It doesn’t matter whether they are Obama, or are one of his numerous potential Republican opponents. They will form exploratory committees, amass signatures, generate press coverage and build websites.
Chapel on Campus?
Should there be a Chapel on Campus? I think so. At first I was indifferent, but when I heard that my Catholic friends were pushing for one, I knew what I was going to write for my second Journalism story. And it was just a story for a while, but it seemed that right after I submitted the piece for a grade, I realized that I would love to go to a prayer room on campus and just quiet my mind and heart for a few moments a day. It’s hard to do that in my room (tv, internet, music, etc) or really anywhere else on campus.
(When asked just to picture my thoughts and feelings, I immediately call up the fight in Deathly Hallows as Harry is trying to escape: everyone is hidden inside a thundercloud, but they’re flying so fast it’s even more chaotic than a thunderstorm.)
Anyway I got an A on my story. I revised it and sent it to the Chronicle which published it this week. You can read the (hard news) piece here.
