march 2003 28 march 2003 another response has been added to the war dialogues section in london diary. i've been drowning myself in news coverage thus far. i've been avoiding watching all of the talking heads on television news reports. instead, i have been listening to the democracy now radio reports in the morning and reading my news online. i'm starting to feel that news is more real when you hear it or read it. on tv, they seem to spend an awful lot of time on fancy graphics, interactive maps, hairspray & makeup, etc. just the facts, please. i'll pass on the propaganda. in unrelated news, take the time to enjoy some total yogurt. always go for full fat, better flavor -- and if you get the handy snack pack, you get delicious GREEK honey on the side, mmmm. that may have sounded like a commercial, but it wasn't. it was merely this morning's breakfast. enjoy your weekend. remember what you have. 25 march 2003 two of the alternative online news sources i was reading have been shut down since yesterday and for how long, who knows? i'd like to know what people are reading to get their information, if they even have a desire to be informed about the things that the mainstream media is not reporting. i definitely tune into my mainstream media on a daily basis, but i like to keep an open mind and be exposed to news that is not so much after flash and ratings. i also want to read about the stuff that's been swept under the rug, like the civilians that have been hurt, the non-participating countries that have been on the receiving end of our missiles, what that $75 billion dollars is really going to pay for. clearly the war has really been on my mind lately. since this is more of a cultural community, i wanted to take a break to say that i saw Pinback play on sunday night at the bowery ballroom and it was awesome. good escapism and inspiration. 24 march 2003 ugh. that's the first word that comes to my mind most hours of the day recently. i am so disgusted and saddened by the events of the last few days, since this war officially began. i am appalled that our country is violently attacking another country who supposedly has weapons of mass destruction. the thing is, don't we have tons of weapons of mass destruction? are we the only country who is allowed to have them? why does anyone have to have them? that i do not understand. some of you may have agreed or disagreed with what christine had to say about protesting this war in iraq. a UK friend of hers had a lot to say in response to her commentary and i think it's worth reading different points of view. in fact, christine wanted me to open up the discussion by creating war dialogues in her london diary section. you can find her original commentary as well as response and rebuttal there. i expect that others will have their own commentary to add. since i last wrote, i have been thinking of what it is exactly that i want to say to the people that are reading this. what it is that i feel or think about this war. i believe in peace first, and mediated communication. i don't understand this war that is costing us billions upon billions of dollars. i believe that we need to worry about our own country and set good examples rather than ambushing other countries in the name of humanitarianism, when the clear motivator is money and greed. oil. oil. oil. i am hoping and praying that this war does not go on forever and has as few casualties as possible. i am saddened by the POWs that are captured and those that have already been killed. it tears my heart into pieces that many of these soldiers perhaps entered into the military to create a better life for themselves, to earn a decent salary for their families, to further their education. the armed forces definitely advertise themselves to offer all of these benefits. what you don't realize is that one day you might have to go out there and kill other people in the name of someone else's interests. i do, however, support the troops that are there. maybe they did know what they were getting into, and perhaps they are motivated by wanting to make this world a better place. in theory, it seems simple enough. i just can't understand what seems right about lobbing missiles at people from miles and miles away. i don't get it. so what i hope is that this war is over really soon. the best case scenario would be to accomplish whatever our deluded goal is quickly and with as few casualties as possible. i am not quite sure what else i can do right now, but try to stay educated by tuning into alternative media, encouraging dialogue, listening and talking with my peers. what else can i do? let's all help each other deal. thanks for reading. peace. 22 march 2003 the 'deadline' passed and america has officially launched war on another country. i am troubled by the fact that it's so much easier to use such incomprehensible force rather than finding more peaceful solutions. i am also amazed by the amount of conflicting opinions out there, even within my own peer group. but as americans, we have this thing called free speech which is what's going to allow me to print this piece by our famed london diary columnist. click here to read it. 17 march 2003 if you didn't already gather from my picture below, my family dog oscar died on saturday morning. it doesn't feel real to me yet since i don't live with my parents anymore, but it still makes me very sad. this is the first pet i ever lost. i'm trying to remember some fond memories: the way he sat by the screen door while we pulled out of the driveway, how he greeted my mom every day she came home from work, how he would go out in the yard and just sit in the middle of it sometimes and not make any noise, how much happier he looked after he got a haircut since you could actually see his eyes, the day we got him and he was as big as my hand, the reason we chose him: because out of the litter of puppies, he was the one that just sat on a blanket while the other ones jumped around and barked. you'll be missed oscar!! xoxo 16 march 2003 need i say more? 13 march 2003 ooh! want to stay safe in the event of a terror attack? please be sure to read these helpful instructions. i actually think they are a lot more useful than the ones provided by the ready.gov site. enjoy! 12 march 2003 so last night i was walking through the union square subway station and for the first time, i saw what i had been hearing about -- soldiers in camo with HUGE guns slung about them. sure, i have seen the national guardsmen all over the city since september 11th, but i suppose there are certain places that always seem safe to me, and maybe union square station is one of them because it's the station i hit the most. i thought about their big guns and how little they could really do to help an actual terror situation. i think what they create more is anxiety and fear in people, perhaps also confusion, apathy, or anger. hard to say really. i am just so sick of this war crap. that could be because paying this month's rent is on the top of my to-do list, not saving the world. in a lot of ways, it's become rather confusing to be an american under a leader with his own personal agenda, with complete disregard for the state of international relations. maybe i don't know anything. i try to stay informed with my Mother Jones and my UTNE -- and of course i check the completely biased cnn several times daily. i just don't want to deal with it. i want to do my part to be a good person on the human level. i am not out for world domination, as an individual or as an american citizen. so it goes. bon voyage, joseph! miss ya already... 10 march 2003 later on... michelle attempts to go underwear shopping in japan. read all about it in letters from japan. 10 march 2003 it's been requested that i update this thing, by a friend who is nearly on his way to italy. i suppose he wants to catch up with me before he goes. all i have to say is - go puma! friday night, my friend cowgirly had a crafty party at her crib which was so much fun. under normal circumstances i would have a ton of new pics for the she's crafty section, but stupid me accidentally deleted all the photos in my camera because i thought i downloaded them to my computer already. i am hoping i never make that mistake again. it's the equivalent of shooting a really great roll of film and then opening the back of the camera and exposing all the film because you thought you rewound it. ouch. in any event, hanging with the crafty girls (as in getcrafty) was completely awesome. they are a good group of ladies. my niece turned sweet 16 last week and i am way behind on sending her a card / gift. if she's reading, i wanted her to know that i didn't forget! what a bad aunt i am! i hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! got plans this friday? go see yearbook rock out at galapagos in williamsburg. spring is almost here, let the countdown begin! april 2004 march 2004 february 2004 january 2004 december 2003 november 2003 october 2003 september 2003 summer 2003 may 2003 april 2003 march 2003 february 2003 january 2003 december 2002 november 2002 october 2002 september 2002 august 2002 summer 2002 april 2002 feb / march 2002 january 2002 december 2001 november 2001 sept / oct 2001 july / aug 2001 june 2001 may 2001 april 2001 march 2001 february 2001 january 2001 december 2000 november 2000 october 2000 september 2000 summer 2000 copyright © 2000-2005 - www.stellargirl.com