11.29.2010

Fall Photography 2010

I had the opportunity to take some great pictures this fall.



It feels good to be back in to it for a change.

11.28.2010

Chilili - Folk Dance (. . . LEGOS!)

My fantastic wedding and marriage to Sasha did not receive quite enough blog attention.

One of the best parts of  our reception was doing a few international folk dances with all the guests, led by my mom. More recently than the wedding Sasha, my sister, Jesse and I recreated one of the dances with Legos.



International folk dance is a great mix of history, anthropology and (you guessed it) DANCING.
I intended to include a picture of the dancing from the wedding reception but we don't have one that really captures it.

Here's what the dance really looks like:



And here's how to do it yourself:
http://www.folkdancecamp.org/07syllabus/Chilili%20(2007SFDC)%20E.pdf

11.03.2010

Election Fall-out

I would like to draw attention to a previous post of mine:
http://evancarroll.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-will-i-think-of-next.html

I think of our government system as on a continuum of evolution. It will either flourish, or become extinct.

Our national government is really quite young and there is no reason that it won't become extinct. Monarchies have lasted much longer. Dictatorships have lasted much longer. Smaller, social governing or self ruling methods of indigenous peoples have lasted the longest.

The reason we like (the U.S. of) America is because of its aspirations. It's an amazing concept. . . give every person the same chance at life, liberty and happiness. The question of course is how to deliver on this promise. . .

I am officially fed up with the crucifixion of the incumbent. . . unless of course you see the two major parties collectively as the incumbent. If you see it that way then I'm with you. . . let's get out our torches and pitchforks!

It's becoming more and more obvious that we are in a bi-partisan stagnation. Whatever happens in elections two years from now will surely be reversed in four years.

(This has officially been a rant.)All that I am trying to say is that unless we find a way to alter the two party system then I'm not going to expect much.

Right now instant-runoff voting sounds pretty good to me. It would allow people to vote for their favorite candidate without concern for political strategy. Americans have become too political. Politics - literally - are about maneuvering and manipulating, and that is simply not a positive way of thinking about things.

That is my stance: I'm not interested in politics; i'm interested in DOING things. I (perhaps naively) think that a country could be run this way. Give me my instant-runoff voting, and let us all vote for what we believe in.