[chedda]

So the word on the street is that Barack Obama is busy breaking fundraising records, while other contenders are trying to drop out gracefully. Last I checked the figure was floating around $32 mil. This illustrates the extent to which personality figures into the elections. Regardless of party, the candidates with the strongest popular support share a remarkably similar agenda across the board. Hence the preference over personality issues. The fact that personality has long been a deciding force in elections notwithstanding, this one features a prolific cast of candidates perhaps unrivaled in electoral history. The candidates themselves will not only be a deciding factor in 2008 but, in all likelihood, the only factor. In light of this, people from all interests are taking the opportunity to put forward the candidate of their choice both inside and, as the case of Obama makes clear, outside the voting booth.

Life in the Abstract

Today has been the picture of afterglow calm; the epitome of a totally chill week, in the wake of a deluge of work. An inauspicious way to begin the documentation of, what is now, a sedentary yet satisfying life. As any social historian would be quick to point out, however, the fits are just as important as the starts. If the meteoric flash of work and success last week has been any indication, this fleeting time to chill out, max, relax, all cool has to be used to the fullest. So I started to document my life. It did not at all have the romantic spontaneity typically attributed to these decisions; rather, it just turned out to be the first successful attempt at something I had been trying to do for some time. I figure that, by following my life, if only for a few months, I'll be able to see through the objective lens of time all of my qualities, for better or for worse, and make more informed decisions based on this knowledge. Of course, this sounds way more technical and dehumanizing than it really is. Actually, it captures the essence of the fleeting, day-to-day humanity that characterizes life. By this project's end, I want to isolate that essence in a jar, drive out to the countryside, and let it out into the Elysium. Good luck?