Changes Are a Coming….
Hello everyone, I’m back. I doubt that any of the old readers are really checking this site on a regular basis much anymore after my last hiatus. I stopped blogging for a bit because, quite frankly, it became work. I always said that I would continue to post here as long as it was fun and didn’t feel like a chore, but never the less, a chore it became.
As you can probably tell by now, there is a new format. If you look up in your browser address area, you will also notice that the address is different. That’s right, look up, you see it? No more leftlean. Why you ask? Because, like I said in the title, changes are a coming.
One of the main reasons why this site became a chore is because the focus was strictly on politics. I suppose I could have left the web address the same and just wrote about other things and sprinkle some politics in here and there, but I think that’s misleading. With a site titled “leftlean” it is just too restrictive. With a title like that, if I start writing about movies, or people I don’t like (not that I plan on doing that) it would just look stupid.
So, the new website title is my full name. I did this for a few reasons, one of which is that I don’t want to be restrictive about topics to write about. I also felt like I can always have the option to change the format/content of the site if it’s just my name. The final reason why I decided to change the title of the site was passion. I used to be very passionate about politics, and still am to an extent, but politics has been very frustrating lately. At this point, I feel like it just doesn’t matter who’s in office. It’s still the same shit different day. Don’t get me wrong, I am significantly happier with Obama in office than I was before with president dumb shit, but in my opinion, Obama has been a big disappointment. I wish that I could say that it’s not Obama’s fault and that he’s doing the best he can, but at this point I just don’t believe that.
With all that being said, hopefully anyone still checking this blog will enjoy the new format. I’m not going to promise to post every day or to stay topical. I’m going to write about whatever I feel like. The only promise that I’m going to make is that I will make this site as well written as possible. I have a passion for writing, and that is the only reason why I opened this site back up in the first place.
As of right now, the comment section is closed. I hadn’t checked the site in a couple of months and came back to find 786 comments. Most of them were crap, some were spam, there were some decent ones in there, but I wasn’t about to go through 786 comments and try to decipher which ones were real and which ones were trolls, therefore I deleted all of them, so there. I will open the comment section back up at some point. For now, all the comments that made it through the first time are still there.
Thank you to everyone who checked the site on a regular basis, hopefully the new format won’t piss you off that much. Good night and good luck.
Smodcast
Recently I have added a new addition to my podcast list. Smodcast, a podcast done by writer/director Kevin Smith along with his producer Scott Mosier is my new favorite thing to listen to. Smodcast is absolutely hilarious.
For those who don’t know, Kevin Smith is the director who made Clerks I, Clerks II, Jersey Girl, Chasing Amy, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Mallrats, Dogma, and Zach & Miri Make a Porno. Smodcast is not about movies or movie making, although these subjects are touched upon from time to time. Smodcast is simply a kind of general talk podcast that is absolutely hysterical.
For the last week and a half, I have been catching up on previous episodes, all of which can be found on the Smodcast archives. I am in no way associated with Kevin Smith or his movies, aside from being a big fan. This podcast is quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever listened to, anyone who enjoys Kevin Smith films or crude humor will love Smodcast. Check it out and thank me later.
Inside Information & Minor Changes
In case you haven’t noticed, my blogging has become a little less frequent than I would like. I apologize for the inconsistency, but I have been extremely busy with other projects. Unfortunately, this trend is most likely going to continue for the next week or so as I get caught up on other responsibilities. I am also planning on making some minor changes to this blog, which I will explain in a little more detail in a moment.
If anyone cares, I am a while male in my late 20’s. I currently live in South Florida, but I have also lived in Montreal and New York City. I am back in school taking college classes. This week is final week, one of the major reasons why my posting has been a little infrequent lately. I have also decided to seriously peruse another passion of mine, writing screenplays. As much as I love writing this blog, these other obligations have put a major dent in my available free time recently.
With that being said, I am going to make some minor adjustments to this blog which I think people will like. This blog was created with the intention of strictly focusing on politics. I am still going to keep politics the main focus of this website, although I would like to write about some other topics here and there. There are times when I just don’t feel like ranting about how the right-wing is pissing me off, and quite frankly, sometimes there are slow news days where there just isn’t that much interesting crap to talk about. So every once and a while, maybe a couple of times a week, I am going to simply blog about what’s on my mind and what’s going on in my life.
I think that these small changes will be good, and I would rather make these changes now while the website is still new rather. I sincerely hope that this change isn’t going to piss anyone off. My intent is to make the site better, not worse. I also think that these changes will allow me to post with more consistency. Like I mentioned above, there are some days where I’m just not that interested in writing about politics and rather than taking these days off, I would rather just write about what’s on my mind. I feel like this will make the whole experience of reading this blog more personal and more interesting.
I hope that people continue to read this blog. If you think this idea sucks, then by all means, let me know. I do truly think that this change will make for a more enjoyable experience at LeftLean. Again, I also think that this change will allow me to post more consistently because I don’t have to worry about finding some way to make my thoughts of the day tie in with politics. This change will simply give me more freedom and hopefully give you a more enjoyable reading experience. Thank you all in advance.
Comment Section Question Answered
I have decided to address a question that someone asked in the comment section a little while back. I was asked why the site requires an email to post, and also why the comments have to be approved by me before going live on the site. There are a couple of reasons why I have the comment section set up in this manner.
The reason why the site requires an email address in order to post comments is simply to stop fake comments. The internet is loaded with bots that will come to websites and post unwanted comments, such as promotion for other sites or products which can get extremely annoying.
The reason why I require comment moderation, meaning I have to approve comments before they go live on the site, is because I want to make sure that I read all the comments. I am in no way trying to censor comments. If you hate my blog and want to tell me how much you hate the site or me, I really don’t care. I require the comments to be approved so that I have to read all the comments. When I log into the back end of the site, all the new comments are highlighted. I like this feature because it forces me to read everything that people post.
So, that’s the reason why I have the comment section of this site set up the way it is. I think that this is pretty much how most blogs are set it up. If you don’t like it, you can send me hate mail or hate comments, I promise I will let them through.
The 2010 Census
In an effort to earn a little extra cash, I decided to help out with the 2010 Census. Sure, the work is mildly degrading, but at $15 dollars an hour for very little work, I decided to give it a go. I thought that most of the other people working with the Census might be college students looking for some extra cash, or recently unemployed professionals also looking for a little extra green. My assumptions were completely incorrect.
The Census apparently draws in people who, let’s just call them below average intelligence. I don’t want to come off as some arrogant intellectual who thinks that everyone else is dumber than I am; this is truly not the case. But believe me when I tell you that the incompetence that runs rampant among Census workers is stunningly scary. These are literally, people that have to be instructed how to properly enter their name on a Census form. I think that a requirement for employment with Census must be that you are able to fill out a Census form without assistance. I am truly scared for the future of this country. I am not sure if people have always been this dumb and I just never realized it, or if I have just been blind to the rampant ignorance flooding our society.
Two Amazing Novels to Consider
I’m going to take a bit of a break from politics today to tell you about another author that I have become extremely fond of. Khaled Hosseini is an author and a physician who was born in Afghanistan and currently lives in San Jose California. Mr. Hosseini has written two novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, the latter of which I just finished reading. Both novels have Afghanistan as the setting, and both novels begin pre Soviet invasion. In addition to A Thousand Splendid Suns, I have also read The Kite Runner and seen the film that was adapted from it.
The Kite Runner is the story of a young boy named Amir who grows up in a privileged household in Kabul and befriends the son of his father’s servant. The novel takes us through the interesting and often time sad life of Amir. The Kite Runner is an amazing novel that spent quite a bit of time on the New York Times bestseller list, as did his second novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. In addition to The Kite Runner being a great story, it also teaches the reader a great deal about Afghanistan and the country's culture. The novel shows us the horrors of Afghanistan under Taliban and Soviet rule, and gives the reader a better sense of what life was and is like in a country that has been ravaged by years of war.
A Thousand Splendid Suns is equally as good a novel as The Kite Runner. A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of two Afghan women, Mariam and Laila, and how their lives cross each other. A Thousand Splendid Suns also takes us through the history of Afghanistan, and how different peoples’ lives were affected by the Soviet invasion and then rule under the Taliban.
I really don’t want to give anything away as far as the plot line of these novels go. If you are considering reading either one of these novels and want to learn a little bit more of what they are about, you can clink the links that are imbedded in the titles found in the first paragraph of this post. If anyone has seen the film version of The Kite Runner and liked it, you will absolutely love both of these novels. The film doesn’t come close to doing the novel justice.
Both of these novels are excellent. The stories are unique, and Mr. Hosseini’s ability to tell a captivating story is tough to match. There is a reason why both of these novels have spent a significant amount of time of the New York Times bestseller list. Both novels are also listed on Amazons best books of the year, 2003 for The Kite Runner, and 2007 for A Thousand Splendid Suns. I don’t often recommend authors or books, but both of these novels are absolutely amazing. I haven’t met anyone yet who has read either one of these novels and didn’t thoroughly enjoy them. I hope you will give Khaled Hosseini a try, he is an amazing author that has made a significant splash in the literary world after only publishing two great novels.
Boys Beware
As much as us progressives like to complain about how slow some Americans are to become accepting of everyone, this video demonstrates how for the United States has really come over the last fifty or sixty years. The title of the video is “Boys Beware.” The video is an actual public service announcement from the 1950’s that warns young males of the perceived threat from homosexuals.
The PSA features a boy named Jimmy, who is looking for a ride home after a long day of playing baseball with friends. Jimmy decides to get home by way of hitchhiking, or as the video calls it, “thumbing a ride.” A man named Ralph decides to pick Jimmy up. In the video’s defense, Jimmy does look like a fairly creepy guy, although not nearly well enough dressed to be taken seriously as a homosexual. Although Ralph seems nice, as the video points out, he has a “sickness of the mind.”
What is the sickness you ask? According to the video, Ralph was a homosexual who “demands a relationship with a person of the same sex.” Ralph isn’t simply interested in a consensual relationship with another male, he demands it. According to this ridiculous PSA, we have to be careful around “the homosexual” because, although they may look normal, they have a “disease” which is “no less contagious than smallpox.” The video instructs us to be aware of men who act “too friendly” or “overly personal” because that nice person may be an evil homosexual. The video concludes by telling us to beware of the homosexual because they may “appear normal.”
There are so many things wrong with this video. First of all, why is hitchhiking portrayed as no big deal? Was hitching a ride a common occurrence back in the fifties? I find it odd that little Jimmy should be scared of a gay man, but hitchhiking, that is no big deal. This video really demonstrates the level of ignorance in regards to homosexuality that was common in this era. The idea that that being gay is some sort of mental illness is crazy, although I would guarantee that many people today still think this is true. The video also falsely claims that homosexuality is contagious; this is also something that I think people still believe. The notion that you can somehow catch homosexuality like it is some sort of cold is completely false, I’m sorry, but if you believe this, your level of ignorance is unfathomable.
I think that this absurd video really shows how much more progressive this country has become over the years. There are still obvious signs of bigotry and ignorance all around us on a daily basis, but as this video shows, things could be much worse. Don’t get me wrong, there is no doubt in my mind that there are a significant number of people who still think like this. But nowadays, if you spoke about homosexuality being a mental disease or being contagious, most people would think that you are an uneducated idiot.
The way that we view this video today, is the same way that I believe people will view the subject of gay marriage years from now. Up until 1967, interracial marriage was illegal in many states. Most people would now condemn a person for speaking out against interracial marriage. People who argue against interracial marriage are now classified as racists, bigots, and intolerable of others. This is exactly how this generation’s children will view gay marriage in the future.
As far as the United States has come in regards to equal rights and civil liberties for people of all races and genders, we have a long way to go. Hopefully we will get closer to equality for everyone sooner rather than later.
The Man in the High Castle
The whole health care debate has left me a little burnt-out. The news has been flooded lately with debates about the health care bill, crazy tea party idiots, and new polls telling us how Americans feel about the bill. I think that I have said everything there is to say about the health care argument and how I feel about it. I have decided to take a day off from politics, and go off topic for this post. I am going to tell you about my new favorite author. I didn't know about this author until recently, and I’m assuming that many other people haven't heard of him either.
My new favorite author is Philip K. Dick. This man wrote the stories that were responsible for the films Blade Runner, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and Total Recall. In January, I picked up a copy of Mr. Dick’s first novel, The Man in the High Castle, and absolutely loved it. The Man in the High Castle is a novel that presents an alternate reality of the United States, post World War II. Here is the description that is found on the back of the book:
“It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war-and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan. This harrowing, Hugo Award-winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to awake.”
Since January, in addition to The Man in the High Castle, I have also read the following titles from Philip K. Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (the movie Blade Runner was adapted from this novel), Ubik (which is found on Time Magazine’s top 100 novels of all time list), Flow My Tears the Policeman Said, The Divine Invasion, and a number of short stories written by Dick, including Minority Report and Total Recall.
I never before considered myself a fan of science fiction writing. But after reading the above referenced titles, I have decided that I am now a fan of the genre. Even if science fiction is not your thing, I highly recommend checking out this author. Mr. Dick will show you how entertaining and interesting science fiction novels can be.
Weekend in New York
Check out this video from the party I attended last Friday in New York City.
Racism Everywhere
I got back from New York City late last evening, and let me just say that my first experience with Jet Blue was terrible. I generally fly on Delta, but I found a very cheap flight on Jet Blue, so I decided to give them a try. My flight to New York was delayed for an hour and a half. On my flight back home, there was a four and a half hour delay. In both instances, Jet Blue claimed that the delay was due to weather. Let me point out that there was no rain or snow during either one of these delays. I wanted to get the Jet Blue bashing out of the way, now on to my point.
As I sat in the airport, waiting for my plane to finally board, I met a nice woman in the terminal waiting area. I was reading a New York Times article about the health care debate, when this seemingly intelligent woman decided to strike up a conversation with me. She mentioned that she lived in upstate New York, and was in Florida visiting her elderly mother (it seems that every New Yorker has a mother or grandmother living in South Florida). In our brief conversation, she mentioned that she watched Fox News, and was especially fond of Bill O’Reilly. I told her that I was a liberal and preferred MSNBC, but that I thought all the “news” pundits from both networks were biased and not real journalists. We proceeded to chat about health care, taxes, President Obama, and immigration. When I brought up the topic of immigration and how to handle illegal immigrants, I sensed a bit of mild racism towards Hispanics, but nothing to get alarmed about.
After about 15 minutes of casual conversation, our plane was finally ready to begin boarding. We both stood up and got in line. As we were waiting, this woman asked me if there was anyone on Fox News that I liked, I mentioned to her that I thought Shepard Smith wasn’t so bad. I in turn asked her if there was anyone on MSNBC that she could tolerate, she couldn’t think of anyone. I then brought up Rachel Maddow, thinking that perhaps this woman would be supportive of a successful, intelligent woman like herself. What came out of this woman’s mouth next shocked me. Keep in mind that this woman has only known me for about 20 minutes, and also knows that I swing left. In reference to Rachel Maddow, she said, “I really can’t stand that ugly smug dyke bitch. I wish they would throw her off the air already.” I was speechless for about a minute. I then mentioned to her that Rachel Maddow has one of the highest rated programs on MSNBC. This woman said that she didn’t care about Ms. Maddow’s success, and that it was terrible that they allow a dyke on television. To avoid an argument, I told this racist woman that I needed to use the restroom and walked away.
I really was appalled at what this woman had said. I would expect a comment like that from some uneducated idiot, but this woman seemed completely normal. She was well dressed, well spoken, well educated, and successful. This just goes to show the extent of the bigotry and racism that runs rampant in this country. This woman, who barely knew anything about me, showed me her true colors in less than 30 minutes of casual conversation. I have come to the realization that we have underestimated the extent of racism and bigotry in America.
Archives
Recent Posts
- Inception
- The Lunatic’s Manual
- Hoping Against Hope
- Changes Are a Coming….
- Smodcast
- Ubik – An Alternate Ending
- Inside Information & Minor Changes
- Comment Section Question Answered
- The 2010 Census
- Bill Maher Becomes a Teabagger
Favorite Podcasts
Friends of Mine
