What January 20 Means to Me

On January 20, the world will bear witness to the most significant presidential inauguration since George Washington took the first oath of office in 1789. This day will mark the culmination of half a century of fighting for equal rights, and the beginning of a new age of equality in America. It will be the end of an era of fear, and the start of an era of hope. Barack Obama will face an array of domestic and international challenges, but he brings with him the promise of a more progressive plan for ensuring the continuing success of our nation.

It is clear how significant this inauguration is to the country at large. But that leaves the question of what it means to me personally. When I cast my vote on November 4, I did so with anticipation coursing through my body. With Obama having gained momentum in the polls during the previous month, I knew that this time, for the first time, I was likely voting for the winner. The idea that the candidate who I had supported with donations, volunteer time, and enthusiastic writing was on the verge of winning the presidency was a thrilling thought. The economy in a tailspin, foreign relations tense, and equal rights once again a divisive issue—the time was ripe for someone with a broad and measured worldview to rise up and do something. For me, Obama was this man.

As the youngest president since Kennedy, he is the voice of a new generation. A generation that is technologically savvy, comfortable with people from different backgrounds, and conversant in the international language of the 21st century. I consider Obama, a biracial man born in Hawaii and raised in Indonesia, to represent me better than any other candidate who ran for president this year. His victory has reinvigorated my interest in politics, and has got me rethinking my current advertising career path in favor of something more beneficial to society. This is the power Obama has; to inspire a generation to action in the same way JFK did, to bridge all sorts of demographic barriers and bring citizens together.

I have no doubt Obama is the right man for this delicate time, and for the future. He listens carefully, he speaks carefully, and I am confident he will govern carefully. To say I am excited about the next four years is an understatement; though America and the world face many urgent problems, I feel we are at a turning point in history, beyond which we will emerge stronger, wiser, and more united. On January 20, I will be immensely proud to call Obama my president.


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Kooza....Wow

Today I was lucky enough to see Kooza, the Cirque du Soleil production that is in Atlanta through March 1.

My jaw stayed shut for about three minutes the whole night (the intermission notwithstanding).

Each piece was stunning in its spectacular choreography, daring, and imagination. From contortionists twisting themselves into human Möbius strips to a man doing vaulted flips while wearing eight-foot stilts, Kooza has tricks of all sorts. The constant characters throughout the show are The Innocent, a boyish pajama-wearing character, and The Trickster, his silent, Willy Wonka-esque guide through the world of Kooza. Together they experience the stunts and wonders of the other performers along with the audience.

I highly recommend this incredible show; the scale of the sets and skill of the cast members is just as stunning as anything in Vegas. You’ll leave the tent with open eyes, an open jaw, and a renewed sense of wonder in human ability. Keep reading...

Christian Creativity

As an arena for self-expression, Facebook enables all manner of intriguing displays of individuality. Beyond the basics--the lists of favorites and About Me section--there are also thousands of add-ons and applications to make one's profile unique. There is one part of the profile, however, that is often overlooked for its potential for distinguishing oneself. For most people the answer to "religion" is a simple encyclopedic response, such as "Baptist" or "Jewish-Reform." But being part of the generation of customization, many on Facebook have taken to classifying their religion more loosely and personally. Consider the following:

Jesus is my superhero.
In Christ alone my hope is found.
follower of Jesus
jesus saves me every day
Jesus, Mary, Joseph and a camel... I'm Christian!

I find these declarations of faith quite interesting, and have started collecting new examples that I come across. Please submit any you find in the comments! Keep reading...

Fascinating

In book design, as with many things in life, simplicity is better. With hundreds of thousands of books released each year, publishers must make their titles stand out and communicate to prospective buyers instantly. Sometimes this is as simple as featuring the author’s name big and bold (John Grisham, Sue Grafton, etc.), and sometimes it is with a straightforward photo or illustration.

And many times it is the title. Titles can be mysterious or informative, plain or controversial, but one rule is common across genres and designs: rarely the title more than four or five words. Many times, in fact, it is far less: one word. A title should be memorable, easy to recommend or request as a gift. A title strives to be as short as possible, without becoming generic. If it sounds generic (House, Baseball, etc.) the design must step up to make it stand out.

There is a part of the bookstore that trades in these catchy one-word titles more than any other: the history section. Here a browser can find all sorts of intriguing titles—for example Coal, Wood, Drink, Salt, and Cod. Each of these books takes a single subject and explores its place in history. The appeal lies in the magnification of a seemingly mundane object and its concomitant contextualization in the grand story of human history. This naming technique could theoretically be almost infinitely adapted : War, Computer, Book, etc., simply by distilling an otherwise obscure or complicated matter into a neatly defined title. This makes the book appear to be the definitive source on the subject at hand, a must-read for anyone with an interest in that topic.

As a bibliophile myself, I am consistently drawn in by books like Cod and Wood. I may not have cared a whit about Cod before, but seeing an entire book written about its significance suddenly makes me very curious. Reading books like these enables one to experience history from a new perspective. Rather than reading a linear account of 18th century European commerce, one sees the role that the cod trade played in this story. It’s a fascinating and enjoyable way to digest potentially dry facts and events, and a niche genre of non-fiction I highly recommend.

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The Roller Coaster That is Sports Stardom

Walking through the mall a few weeks ago, I saw that a group of football players from my (SEC) alma mater were signing autographs outside one of the department stores. I had had a class with one of them, and decided to stop by and say hi since I hadn’t seen him in a while.

He sat at a table with four other former Division I stars, all dressed in their jerseys and looking as strong and fit as ever. Several of them had been drafted in late rounds by NFL teams, but none of them had managed to make the final cut. When I asked my friend what he was up to, he told me he was living at home and looking for a job.

This confession startled me, but also brought me to an important realization. This football star, a big man on campus only 18 months ago, and briefly a member of an NFL team, was now in (nearly) the same situation I was. (I have a job.)

I realized there must be thousands of Tonys out there, athletes on the brink of making it big, but who fall just short. Athletes who excel in competitive NCAA Division I sports, but are not quite good enough to get paid to play. It must be incredibly crushing to the self-esteem of an athlete who has dominated for so long to be so close to his lifelong dream, and yet unable to go all the way. To be in the top .01% of one’s sport, but due to a bad combine or an inopportune slump failing to get that million-dollar contract that the guy next to you gets.

Many of these millions of near-pro athletes find themselves returning to regular life without having developed other vocational skills, devoting themselves in college instead to their athletic career. Furthermore, they likely suffer to some degree from depression, haunted by what-ifs and denial. To be thisclose to stardom, mansions, Ferraris, and rings and then a week later be living with Mom is not an easy situation to come to terms with.

There’s not much I can do to help console them, as I am incapable of fully empathizing with them, but I feel the NCAA must do what it can to reach out to those who dedicated themselves to collegiate athletics, with the dream of playing professionally, only to find themselves just shy of that goal. Hopefully the NCAA already does this—tries to help its graduates find work and fulfillment—for their success outside of athletics is crucial to our success as a sports-loving society.
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