Mayor Sam Adams

Up here in Portland we have a mayor that has had some intrigue over some sexual misconduct. It came out that our openly gay mayor had sex with an 18 year old intern.

Immediately, people were calling for his dismissal, and I found myself in a couple of interesting discussions on the morality of a mayor who would have sex with someone that the media referred to as "a teenage boy".

While it's easy for me to say that sex and politics should be separate, I might have a different opinion if our mayor had been some crusty old fat fart who molested a 16 year old girl or boy. But that wasn't the case.

It seems to me that we have some sort of sexual hangups that are impacting our collective judgment toward our good mayor. It is not simply that we want him to behave like a "man of politics" - by now we should be well aware that most politicians behave immorally some way or another. Instead, it is a projection of our own collective values and issues upon our public servants. Do we really want someone who behaves like a priest, or is it that we just don't want to hear about homosexuality openly? I have my own opinions about what we want and don't want, as I'm sure that you do, too.

As a side note, it's interesting that he didn't "break the law", but if he had decided to marry the young man (who is old enough to die for his country but not old enough to have sex with a mayor), he wouldn't be able to because the state and nation don't recognize gay marriage.

Catch 22


-bk

Book thoughts...

I was in a meeting earlier today and we found ourselves talking about the future of the book in all of its possible forms. I have several shelves at home covered with books that I never even read, but the aesthetics of the whole thing sets my mind at ease as I ponder all of the knowledge contained therein.

But my computer has been acting up a little bit. And my old Ipod won't hold a charge. And as the days go on, more and more little technological impurities find themselves in the various things that plug into the wall in order to work.

But those books are still there...

It's not like there's some sort of equivalent to a harddrive crash for books. You won't be reading a book and then find that you can't turn the page past page 167, or the white page turn blue, or random scenes of porn just start popping up all over the page. Maybe it's possible, but not likely.

There is something pure about the words on the page. Only fire can wipe the data. Or maybe a lot of water. Or lightening. But power surges? You're fine.

-Dennis Edmons

The answer to the Ebook question

While the answer could be "42", it doesn't really answer the question effectively. Kindles seem pretty cool, but eff their pricetag. This has led some people to think that books, once they make the transition to Ebooks once and for all, will now only be accessible by the people who can afford the damn readers.
And if you care about freedom and accessibility of information, you would be worried about only the rich people being able to read. But there are some exciting things out there in the world. And at the recent CES down in Vegas, everyone seemed to be talking about the revolution of the netbook, which is a good thing. What's happening is that we are moving closer and closer to having a personal link to the world with us at all times.
Now, we could stand around and debate on whether or not this is a good thing or not, but that's not what this is about. It's about connection, linking, and all that stuff. It's coming whether or not we like it. Embrace it people, embrace the devil...

-bk

The future of gaming...

So, if you don't know already, I've jumped into the World of Warcraft. At first, I was going to use it as a sort of jumping off point for some sort of social research into the nature of online communities and whatnot.


Big mistake.


It's incredibly fun to wander around, skinning beasts and enchanting weapons. Maybe a little too much fun.

But I was intrigued when I found this story about a craft fair in Azeroth. What a great idea. Now people can get together without having to kill a bunch of fel dragons and vampiric mistbats. Instead they can sit around an congregate and socialize with their community in a wholesome fashion. I've heard stories of church meetings, dance parties, and fishing tournaments as well. When will Facebook combine with Warcraft so we can pass little green patches and snowballs with fellow trolls and orcs now?

-bk

ahhhhh, back into the grind...

well, i'm back. not really sure where i was or anything (i'm pretty sure i was stuck under a foot and a half of snow, but i'm not 100% sure). and one of my new year's resolutions was to not make any resolutions that i would break, so i'll stop short of saying that there will be a lot of fresh new content updated regularly on this blog. i mean, for christ's sake, i was snowed in with power and internet and didn't blog a damn thing. well, happy 2009 and see you in the interweb.

-bk