Way Back Machine

The virtual archive "Way Back Machine" has been recently pointed out to me by a classmate. Upon entering this seemingly innocent and very basic website is a plethora of information...a virtual encyclopedia of the internet. By simply typing in a website (such as facebook) one can instantly see the face of the website throughout it's evolution. Humble facebook.com and Mark Z. seem to disappear (even before the dreaded "new facebook") to a dowdy site named aboutface.com for office and co-worker use. Four corporate faces stare off the website on March 24, 2004 (when i was a freshman in high school). By August 6, 2005 Mark Zuckerburg's face against the classic blue and white background heralds the new facebook which was then available in only a few State and Ivy league schools. The history of facebook continues of course to include not only college students, but then high school, then corporations, then pretty much anyone...including my ex's parents (which is REALLY creepy).
85 million pages converge on this clustered website and the veiwer is able to see website chronology based on date. The rest of the website is completely uninteresting and is very techy and skeleton-like despite the awesomeness of being able to find what UMBC's website looked like in 2000...the website really doesn't seem that cool or note-worthy, although i did find an audio recording of "Silas Marner" for my English literature class. All in all this website has some interesting functions but the visual presentation is very lacking. Check out websites you loved but you thought was lost.

Amateur

If i had to think of one thing I am an amateur at and had to tell the whole world wide web it would be playing electric guitar and rocking out with my band...but seeing as that is not true I guess I will have to confess my slightly embarrassing hobby of writing poetry. I have been writing poetry since sophomore year of high school, and publishing it since then. Mostly I have published stuff in high school and college publications, but recently I published in the HCC "Muse" which took submissions from professors and students...so that was pretty cool. Honestly I really like the way poetry can be whatever you want it to be, it's not like painting where you have to take ten minutes to get out the easel, the paint the paintbrushes...it's on the spot you can write poetry pretty much anywhere. Sadly I can't really transform my love for writing couplets into an actual career unless I want to starve (which might be cool...better than weight watchers after all).The ironic thing is that I am taking an analysis of literary language and the poetry section of that class was horrible and I hated every minute of studying poetry that intrinsically. It's a catch22...be an English major and get to do what you want to do for your career..but suffer through James Joyce and tens of thousands of Old English sonnets to get there.

Facebook, SP, the end of the world?

With only two days to go until the fist election I have ever voted in, and only the second that my parents have voted in everyone seems to be divided both internally and also between each other. For me I'm mostly torn between the new and fresh ideals of a president that is not only of a different ethnicity than all the rest before but seems to appeal to ideals my generation; and someone who for the most part sticks up for the beliefs instilled in me since infancy. Somehow the green and libertarian parties are looking a little more golden as November 4th draws near.
Facebook is littered with signs for "Obama '08 pins" which users can buy for $1 and are "limited edition" (i would say very limited because the election is in like two days!)and links to "Obama kicking John McCain's ass" I feel like even if I did agree with Obama on most of his issues I would still want to stick up for the underdog. There are a decided lack of people on facebook who voluntarily call themselves "Republicans" on their info, and many people who are sick of the cacophony of debate and hostility between parties have just taken that information straight off the sight or posted themselves as "unaffiliated".
One person I can wholeheartedly support is Sarah Palin. Granted she has received what is, in my opinion, appalling abuse from the media and also news sources. Has anyone noticed that the two biggest targets of laughter and role play in this whole race have been Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, the only women contesters to take on the capsizing ship that is America? Besides my uncanny resemblance to her, and her very cool clothing and her brave face in this whole thing I also truly admire her for standing up for what she believes in even though its not viewed as being "politically correct" or "modern". It really makes me mad that people are bashing her all over the internet about how her makeover cost such-and-such when the male candidates are spending just as much on Armani suits...what is she supposed to appear in--camo?? The Democrats are truly pulling an underhanded move with the whole wardrobe crisis. Obama only a month or so ago decided only to take public funding..and now he has $150 million in public funding? seems pretty shady to me.
So in relation to the class and all class discussions, the proliferation of public debate as well as public spectacle are made all the more perverted by YouTube and facebook writers who really are just malicious and undereducated. For instance, many people I know use Wikipedia to write about political things, and indeed, to decide who to vote for. Most people know Sarah Palin for her moose-shooting technique and bouffant updo..but do they know what she is really about? They do. Or at least they think they do, a la buffet de Wikipedia the pick-and-choose eatery of day-old and engineered information. I agree with the author in the aspect that I am trying to be a professional writer and my field is looking more and more like a battle between angry 12-year olds and commentary on fashion faux pas. I do not agree with the overall cynisism and miserly way he puts out his proof...also I definitely see 1984 happening again...mostly likely with my generations view on socialism and big government. So I guess you could guess what is in my "political affiliation info" on facebook huh?