Invictus

Invictus
by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Chemistry

Untitled

We go through life worrying, always worrying, something.

Trapped, it feels like, four walls ubiquitous, everywhere.

Where is the release? One step forward two steps back.

Dreams procrastinated and then forgotten.

The reality of a commercial life.

Escape is always in sight, available, but rarely pursued.

Fear overcomes, doubt, established responsibilities.

The wishful getaway not taken, will the chance return?

If given the chance.

Intrinsic is the feeling to do good,

Want and ability is another question.

Charles Dickens, "Great Expectations" (Excerpt)

We spent as much money as we could and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acquaintance were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did. To the best of my belief, our case was in the last aspect a rather common one.

Charles Dickens, "Great Expectations" (Excerpt)

That was a memorable day for me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.

Philip Larkin, "Days"

What are days for?

Days are where we live.

They come, they wake us

Time and time over.

They are to be happy in:

Where can we live but days?

Ah, solving that question

Brings the priest and the doctor

In their long coats

Running over the fields.

US Space Program

President Obama in today's Twitter Town Hall responded to a comment about the United States' space program. The question obviously encompasses the end of the space shuttle program. I strongly agree with President Obama's response saying that the space shuttle program has become the status quo and that we need to discover a new frontier in space. He goes on to say that he would like to see breakthrough technologies that would give us the ability to go to places faster and also to reach Mars.

I agree. It is time to discover and expand new technologies and get out of the narrow space shuttle idea box that the United States is in.

All of the Above

Vindictive, bullying or just plain annoying? Probably all of the above. Today, President Obama will be holding an unprecedented Twitter Town Hall where "tweeps" can ask questions to the President about jobs and the economy, but the Republicans are out to ambush the online event.

The purpose of political Town Halls is to hear from the constituents - the common citizen - about a certain topic affecting them and in turn the representative answers the question. These types of meetings (in this specific case an online meeting) gives the sense of a personal touch, a one-on-one, and humanizes the relationship between constituent and government official. The President cares about the common man and wants to hear from them their genuine questions about jobs and the economy. However, the purpose of Town Halls will be diminished with the Republican ambush.

Why ambush the President's Town Hall and prevent him from answering questions from everyday Americans? Maybe the Republicans want to make him look bad? Or catch him in a gaffe with their loaded questions? Or viscerally they want the event to fail. Nevertheless, the purpose of the Republican ambush is negative. Oh, and they aren't trying to hide it, all throughout the social media sphere, Republicans and Republican politicians are asking their constituents to join up in arms and giving them loaded talking points to ask the President.

The Republicans can't be stopped with their ambush. It is their right. They have the right to participate in this Twitter Town Hall - everyone is invited. However, I do have an issue with their purpose. Town Halls are meant to enlighten and educate. The Republicans mean to sabotage and hinder. It's OK though, I am content inside. All this energy put into flooding the Twitter Town Hall, I wonder if the Republicans know that the questions are being moderated.