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| In Death, Dying, and Bereavement, we constantly talk about the dying process, naturally assuming that we are all going to live full healthy lives filled with decades of memories before we have to face the inevitable fact that our bodies deteriorate more quickly than our minds do. But what about when our bodies and our lives are taken from us far too soon in an act of rage? They're calling the tragedy at the Virginia Tech campus the deadliest U.S. shooting in this country's history, and it's in moments like these we all take one step back from the hustle and bustle of the lives we lead and realize how delicate life (even our own) actually is. Nobody is safe. A tragedy like this is just as like to happen at the University of Iowa or Pepperdine or Harvard. We are all vulnerable and none are immortal. As college students, though, we feel immortal. We feel that our lives are going to continue for ever, or at the very least for another half century, so when hear whispers of a student taking the lives of others who are only in their late teens or early twenties, not only are we outraged, but we're heart-broken. At least I am heart broken, and if I'm going to be more honest, I'm afraid. How does anyone justify taking the lives of three dozen individuals? Regardless of any motive for vendetta, more than 30 lives is inexcusable. 1 life is inexcusable. As I finish this class and reflect on all that it has taught me, I begin to wonder how the families, friends, and the university community will begin to grieve. The university president is calling this a tragedy of monumental proportions, and a tragedy this large can only be followed by a tragedy of monumental grievances. This may not be September 11th all over again, but for the individuals affected, it will feel no different. Time has frozen. My heart goes out to everyone immediately affected by these shootings. I cannot begin to fathom what you are experiencing. But now, university students and college campuses have lost their spirit of safety, and so my heart goes out to my fellow peers across this country. Be safe and sleep soundly tonight, but always remember, we are never immortal. | | |
|  | Currently Watching
Queer as Folk - The Complete Second Season (Showtime)
By Michelle Clunie, Robert Gant, Thea Gill, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison (II), Scott Lowell, Peter Paige, Chris Potter, Hal Sparks, Sharon Gless, Harris Allan, Sherry Miller, Jack Wetherall, Dean Armstrong, Christina Sauvé, Makyla Smith
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For those of you who know anything about me, you know that I have this hopeless love for television. Bad television, good television, reality television--I can find the best in anything and have it be the most incredible hour of my life. Mixing this passion with the medium of DVD obviously is a recipe for complete consumption of all cognitive processes. I experience the emotion that the director could only ever dream about for his audience though without ever fully thinking it would be realized, and here is why: television is restrictive. The very infrastructure of television prevents any true appeal to any emotion. It's all neatly bow-tied into a packed 44 minutes wth 16 minutes of commercials, and if you're lucky and happen to love a show on any premium channel like HBO or Showtime, you get an additional five to eight minutes of quality programming. DVD changes this and inextricably changes the experience. I like to think for the better; it's why TV on DVD is so popular, but I almost question if it's for worse.
I get too involved. That's the bottom line. I get lost in these worlds, and where one hour increments every week force the viewer to come back to reality and realize the emotion is only fictional, this medium allows for the loss of that control. I look back on any show that I watch entirely through on DVD. Six Feet Under, Queer as Folk, Friends, Lost, Alias. It doesn't matter the genre--given enough time with any of these characters, and they no longer just become characters. They become people--living, breathing individuals who you at obscure times question in your own head what they are doing at this very moment. Suddenly, I'm not the passive viewer; I feel the vindictive anger or the overwhelming pain that the character experiences, and I leave each episode (actually it's usually four or five episodes at any given time) completely dazed and awash with emotion. Later, I find that I've even started missing hanging out with some of these people, and I desperately want to see them again. I know this happens with television, but never to this magnitude. This is different. This feeling always only happens when I involve myself like this. I escape into their world whether it be New York, Pittsburgh, or Los Angeles, and I experience their lives with them, and I'm gone for so long, it's often hard to come back to this less colorful world unscathed.
TV on DVD. After a great deal of consideration, I like the feeling it leaves me. I'm challenged, refreshed, and find myself liking the closeness I develop with these characters--these people. Knowing this, however, also makes me realize that this capacity will inevitably destroy hearts and maybe even lives. Indeed, I'm almost certain even the directors didn't intend that. | | |
| Weekend. I have a feeling it's going to be a great one. The week absolutely flew by, and I'm totally ready for the weekend.
A few highlights of this week:
Monday -- Katy, Jon, Emily, and I watched High School Musical together, which is probably like the millionth time that I've seen it now. I'm listening to the soundtrack right now, so it's clear that I'm not even tired of it yet. I can't of don't want to get tired of it.
Tuesday -- Jon, Katy, and I spent million hours at the mall, Wal*Mart, Hy-Vee, and the rest of the great Coralville area. Jon left his lights on, so we had the ridiculous task of hunting someone down to jumpstart our car. However, I managed to snag the last remaining copy of the High School Musical soundtrack at FYE for Katy's birthday. I know it was her favorite present. I can feel it. Later that night, I blow off studying (surprise, surprise) and our new friend Doug, Jon, Katy, Emily, Maggie, and Allison, and Dusty all watch Rent together.
Wednesday -- Wine and cheese party at Katy's. We all fall in love with Moscato. I fall in love with Arrested Development.
Thursday -- Survivor, duh. This day was almost entirely worthless...my favorite kind. Shalee and I had Java House where I try a Swiss Berry Latte. Umm....yum? The evening finished with an obscene amount of genetics studying followed by an episode of Grey's Anatomy with Katy, Jon, Maggie, and Emily.
So this weekend is up in the air. I have a cog psych exam on Monday, so I suppose I should devote some time to that. Eh. We'll see. I think right now I'll go watch a movie... | | |
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