lame

i have a few ideas floating around but have not put finger to pad for sometime ... a couple of posts will hopefully follow ... or will they?

For God For Country and For Me

Last weekend I returned to dear ol’ Yale to celebrate those bright college years. Why, you may ask? No, it was not harass people and pretend like I never graduated (although a good guess). My trip to New Haven celebrated the collegiate career of one Miss Liza Young and her admittance to the real world. Graduation weekend was a very special with lots of tears, pomp and circumstance. Monday at 2pm marked the end of an era for the Young household, as for five years our lives have been deeply connected to one institution. But, along with being about family, friends and one girls rite of passage, I found that graduation was a big boon to someone else who is near and dear to my heart ... me.

After sitting through the ceremonies again, I think that everyone should go to a graduation at least once a year. Being there was almost like committing to a new years resolution or being at a fraternal initiation to renew the bonds of brothers. It forced me to confirm my commitment to being an adult and – I can’t believe I am about to write this – make a difference in the world. Now whether I act on it or not is a different story, but at least I am questioning again my place in the world and not just going through the day-to-day drudgery.

- Never graduated Ned no more

Where have you gone Matt Pinfield

Either spurred by watching too many episodes of Mr. Show or maybe by the fact that I dusted off my copy of Superunknown, I miss the 90’s. And not just any part of the 90’s, but that time when society hit the peak of the post-grunge-gen-x-laziness-everyone-had-a-garofalo-crush-and-we-were-quoting-so-I-married-an-axe-murderer period. The reason for the longing of this bygone era is best embodied by the changes in one institution: MTV

Maybe with the exception of Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, MTV has sucked royally the past few years. Ever since the pop revolution of the late 90’s and the coming of the jackass-core culture, MTV only shows over produced pop or Date My Mom. MTV today would never air Liquid Television let alone the Maxx* as a full fledged show. The angst of the time and need to appeal to alternative/grunge culture cultivated risqué and progressive programming. Programming such as The State which you either you haven’t seen or think is the funniest thing of all time. I really don’t want my MTV today but I do remember sneaking upstairs to watch 120 Minutes when I was younger.

So until that time, I will be chillin’ with the weaze and singing porcupine racetrack.

I’m Ned and I’m outta hear.

* I really miss the Maxx (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maxx) . That show was actually the real catalyst of this entry.

The day the music died

I think I am a little behind on this story, but at least to me it is a rumor no more. If its in wikipedia it must be true. Beck is a scientologist. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. It just puts a new spin on his body of work. Maybe "Where Its At" is an ode to his electropsychometer? Lost Cause? The conclusion to his personal struggle with the myth of L. Ron Hubbard? He is constantly making personal stabs at a scientologist hymnal and we just don't know it. and that could be the real inspiration behind the "GameBoy Variations." So, many questions?

Anniversary of a different flavor

i found the article above refreshing in that it provided an account on the situation in iraq that at least felt somewhat removed from politics and ideology. This is not to say that there was an inherent bias in the authors description of the situation. plus, knowing me, i was probably drawn to it because it ended on a hopeful note.

- ned

the real world: creating a partnership with nouns

i know that the topic of corporate speak has been walked over more than these boot over you, but I have to honestly say that I miss adjectives. Adjectives and I go way back. Although we had known each other my whole life I think that we were formally introduced in the third grade. With recent neglect, i am pretty sure that they just feel used.

lastly, i vow from here forward to write much less about work (easier said than done when you spend 5/7 of your week in one place).

-ny

addendum: momma mia

i would also like to note that I spent half of the day with pizza sauce on my face and didn't know it. true story.

Plato's Cave vs. Ford's Assembly Line

To give back, to stop being a leech on society. All of these were motivations to go out into the working world and I certainly do come home at the end of day, cook myself a bountiful repast, and reflect “by Jove, Edwin you have certainly contributed.” But I don’t think that the direct switch from pulling to pushing onto humanity has been the biggest transition since leaving college. Instead, it has been a very closely related contrast of cultures. (Ed: I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence).

As a student, I was trapped in time, now every day is a new. Every year at school I could take comfort in the same parties, same places and the freshmen being freshmen. Now colleagues are “no longer with the company” and I realistically wont see them ever again. The Acropolis isn’t going anywhere fast for the art history major and that Thoreau is still by his damn lake for all intensive purposes to some. While the relevance of Henry Ford, the former king of capitalism, has faded behind Gates and Jobs to Journal readers. … etc.

This cultural difference is definitely tied to the push and the pulling (or blowing and sucking depending on how you want to think of it). The end goals of each place are different. In college, our goal is to grow, develop, mature. In the working world we get results and are always strive to one-up the next guy.

Of course, I am not so simplistic to say that the professional and learnin’ worlds are complete opposites. Ned the student would from time to time think of the next step. So, he didn’t want to be a total slouch and tried to get decent grades (Ed: just mostly a slouch). Other people are investing in the future of Ned the entrepreneur. They don’t want him to remain a complete bum so they try and give him some skillz. But, on Ned’s continuum of cultural crude, the worlds pre and post academia definitely are different.

Oh silly iron cage. Will you ever learn.

Pls advise,

- ny

ps: overly-serious blogs 1 : ironic blogs 0

my manifesto

In one of our first classes, a high school English teacher had everyone preface the sharing of their creative writing. “This is garbage but I am going to share it anyway.” With the mumbling of that phrase, we kicked our inhibitions to the curb, spoke freely, and dazzelled our audience. Well, two out of three ain’t bad … here we go.

I hereby declare this blog open for business! My guess is that this ongoing ramble will likely take a turn for the serious. I don’t know why, but my lighter side often passes on when I pretend to be profound and pompous.

Even with that chance, bear with me as I comment on life after college! Review current tunes! Observe the Current Events! Mock and Embrace Pop Culture! And forget to update my blog!