Before going any further, please watch (or read the transcript of) Senator Obama's "A More Perfect Union" speech that he delivered in Philly this morning. For those who don't know, he was indirectly prompted to discuss race as a part of a public acknowledgment of charged comments of his friend, supporter, and former Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama unambiguously denounced the criticized comments.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed....

Now Obama could've simply distanced himself from the reverend, but instead he respectably distanced himself from only the specific statements that he disagreed with. Unlike the typical American politician, who would've thrown their pastor under a bus (or their mother—if they believed it would save them embarrassment or win them political pointsl), he kept his words as authentic as possible and used the opportunity to actually properly bring up the taboo issue of race.

He went on to publicly admit that he has a a deep-rooted, inseparable relationship with Rev. Wright, and just as with family, the relationship is a complex one. We're supposed to have a separation of Church & State; I feel Obama reminds us here that one's religious adviser is not—and should not— be one's political adviser.

But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

I respect Obama's candor; it seems so unfortunately alien to modern politics.

I've felt (before today at least) that Obama has tended to navigate around matters of race in the interest of playing it safe. However, I think this speech was anything but a comfort zone. It was courageous and risky. He accurately called out the distinct plights of all races within America and reminded us that these problems, as tough as they are, could only exist in a great, multicultural society with a history such as America's.

Again, please check out the speech for yourself, but I found these to be some of his most profound points.

• About the subtext of comments like those of Rev. Wright that are heard among congregations across this country:

  ...the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning.

• On resentment among middle-class Whites and how it has been exploited by Republicans:

  ...they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

• On redirecting this resentment:

  Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

• On his challenge to Blacks to identify shared struggles:

  For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans....

• On ignoring matters of race:

  We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

Thanks, Barack Obama, for inspiring one of the laziest writers I know to take some time to get some thoughts out. My hope for you is as strong as my hatred for the current president.

So lame, it's not really news worthy. I don't want to take up anyone's time (not that anyone reads my stuff) reading too much about this - might as well write about what I had for breakfast (coffee and toast, but it felt more like a midnight snack as I never really went to bed). I just need to jot this down as a note to myself more than anything else to never let this happen again.

Honestly, it's not that bad, there's wifi, swapped the Chuck Taylors for some slippers, just had a bloody mary, snacking on some snacks, and the iPod was recently loaded up with tunes from Medeski Martin and Wood, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monche, Kanye West, and Little Brother that I haven't yet heard. Still, I think I should know how to fly by now After all, I'm not a kid anymore; some hippies say my Saturn is returning.

The goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, or other "good" kids are now going to Facebook. These kids tend to come from families who emphasize education and going to college. They are part of what we'd call hegemonic society. They are primarily white, but not exclusively. They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities.

MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, "burnouts," "alternative kids," "art fags," punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn't play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm. These are kids whose parents didn't go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school. These are the teens who plan to go into the military immediately after schools. Teens who are really into music or in a band are also on MySpace. MySpace has most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers.

...of course, this can read like broad generalization without allowing yourself context. So don't go yapping your mouth without reading the whole thing.

I certainly approach this subject with my own biases that aren't secret at all. In fact, it's plastered on my MySpace profile. Primarily from the perspective of someone who has worked on the Web for the past 8 years (yet also as a John Q. Public user), I loathe MySpace and wish I could take all my friends with me to Facebook. (Fwiw, I used to love Friendster too, and I thought Orkut was decent). To my earlier point about the above quote providing only an illustrative takeaway, I'd never classify myself—not now and certainly not when I was a teen—as hegemonic. But I digress, as the article certainly wasn't about me at all. I often forget I haven't been a teen for a long while. Perhaps, if I'm so inspired by how uninspiring MySpace is, I'll write some more on how MySpace is not....well, my space.

So now, in addition to being a web usability and aesthetic train wreck, MySpace can now come with a social stigma too! Just as one's realization of being perceived as underclass can manifest into a "Fuck the world, and I know you're looking at me!" sentiment offline, I wonder how the MySpace kids would react if presented with this information. How would they metaphorically add more piercings or let their pants sag lower?

Although Facebook was love upon account activation for me (so was tribe.net, by the way) and MySpace the opposite, I continue to maintain accounts on both (Tribe too). After all, it's the Network Effect at work here, and I'm interested in keeping touch with all my people, not just my informed friends, those who were fortunate enough to leap across the digital divide sooner than others.

I left New York 3 years ago to live in beautiful Northern California, one of the best decisions of my life. When I get homesick (and I regularly do), I try to remember that the feeling can be remedied by a visit. I try to make it back a couple of times a year. New York gets a bad rap (particularly from Californians I know) about the Summer's humidity and lack of cleanliness. I say get over it; it's one of the best times to be around if you're looking for ubiquitous fun. I got into New York yesterday and have been living like I never left from the second I got here. Tons to do while I'm in town for the week, but I wanted to jot down some notes about initial impressions and experiences.

Arrival into Brooklyn

It was rough landing at 8am and trying to get from Newark (I'd rather not call it by its new name, "Liberty") Airport to Greenpoint, Brooklyn via the Airtrain, NJ Transit, and Subway (E to G Train). I chose not to tune out the workd with my iPod the way I used to before leaving; I thought it would be grounding to remind myself of the sounds and other stimuli. Funny how this stuff I used to tune out is now a novelty for me. I also needed as few distractions as possible. The transpiration channels are really great for people who use them everyday, but I'm so out of practice. I probably made 45 minutes of bad, sleep-deprived decisions. I finally made it to my good friend Alana's place around 10:45.

P.S. 1

Alana seemed to have the same amount of rest (or lack thereof—she mumbled something about a BBQ that went on until 5am) as I, but we were both ready to do nothing else than get ready for P.S. 1's Warm Up party. It was an amazing gathering of music, creative people, and art installations. The security staff wasn't at all fond of me; I seem to annoy those types, and I somehow managed to piss of about 4 of them. A new record for me. We thought I'd surely get ejected before the end of the day. Luckily, that didn't happen.

Water Taxi Park

Someone thought it would be a good idea to dump sand all over the ground in L.I.C. and make it look like a beach, a beach off of the East River? While surfers, real beach lovers, and everyone else I know who loves the outdoors would cringe, it was actually a great venue of an urban party. The Manhattan skyline painted the background, while people got to take their shoes off, drink, and dance. My friend, Greg, described it as more of a construction site than a beach; that's probably more accurate. I bumped into many new and old friends that night. We stayed until the thunder storms got a little too inconvenient.

More to come! My phone continues to ring, and there's so much to do. I just don't want to forget these times. Hopefully, jotting this down will help.

Hello, World. Long-time viewer, first-time caller. I've been wanting for a long while to get a personal weblog up, but there had always been some (seemingly) good reason to procrastinate or not give it the priority it deserves—not anymore. I'm not sure what exactly had been holding me back; maybe it's partly that working on the Internet can make one overly critical about what's worthy of being published to it. Or my former idea that, if you want to stand on your soap box, you must first build it, sand it, finish it, and paint it all before being able to stand on it and express yourself. Feh, I hereby declare that it doesn't need to be so deep. Time to have some fun and join the online conversation that you've all been having without me.

So, Why?

Why even blog? Like I said, I want to join the online conversation. I spend a good chunk of my life online consuming and interacting with information. I'd like a way to have more of an online identity and a voice than my shared photos, music, social network profiles, and anonymous comments allow me to have. I know know some pretty cool bloggers too who've certainly been a source of inspiration for me (thanks for that).

Thanks for stopping by. I hope something compels you to return.