Podcasts, Anyone?

I love listening to podcasts. They are free, can be as informative as books, and in my opinion, a much better "time-waster" (or maybe more of a "time-filler") than listening to music. (And I really love listening to music, so that is a bold statement.) Anyway, if you haven't checked out iTunes podcasts before, you should definitely download a few and see what sparks your interest.

Some podcasts that I currently subscribe to are Best of YouTube, Freakonomics Radio (especially interesting if you've read the book Freakonomics), NPR: Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Stuff You Should Know (possibly my favorite), TED Talks, and This American Life.

Finally, this is less of an opinion and more of a question: Is anyone in AmCon an avid listener of podcasts?!? Which ones do you recommend? Why?... Happy listening! :)

The Tea Party Movement and Its Effectivity

Last class period we shared some of our own opinions about the Tea Party Movement with the rest of the class. I realized quickly that many of my own classmates do not support the Tea Party, dislike the Tea Party, or have negative opinions about the Tea Party. This does not surprise me, because I know that while the Tea Party may stand for some positive causes such as encouraging people to become more actively involved in government, they are also portrayed as having radical members in the media who stand for causes that my classmates may not support. What surprised me though, was that many of my classmates didn't seem to think that the Tea Party is very effective, or that it could have the potential to be much more effective. I feel that the Tea Party has actually been extremely effective in gaining support. When I think about all of the coverage that is done every single day on the Tea Party- It has to be the single most talked about issue in America for months now... The movement does not seem to have hit a plateau either- it keeps building, and the most recent election is a reminder of that. Now I think that GOP is strongly picking up on the importance of the Tea Party Movement for its own candidates and what it means for the future. Just as I'm going to write about in my paper, I think that the GOP and the Tea Party Movement are deeply connected and not divided in their ways. I would like to remind my classmates that just because you may not agree with the Tea Party Movement and their motives, that does not mean that they have not been successful. I'm sure that as we all begin working on our papers at least a few of us will discover reasons behind the Tea Party's success and appeal, and the rising number of Americans who support it. I'm excited to see if me or any of my classmates have paradigm shifts.

Tea History and The Tea Party

In reading MacFarlane's article titled The Empire of Tea, I was intrigued by the immense history of tea.  I don't think I quite understood just how important tea has been, until after reading that article.  One of the historical facts highlighting the popularity and importance of tea during the 18th century was the actual economic boost it  gave to commodities.  Tea's popularity gave rise to the demand for production of ceramic's in Britain.
"The containers holding the tea, the tea caddies, had to be made, and the tables for serving the tea from, and the biscuits and cakes to accompany the drinking on appropriate side-plates, and the chairs and screens and fireplaces which would provide the elegant cosy setting.  So a consumer boom was launched in the first third of the 18th century, serviced by craftsmen and the expanding profession of general grocers, tea tasters, and auctioneers."
I thought that the economic growth of these tea commodities were interesting because I've read recent articles citing the increase of sales in powdered wigs due to the popularity of the Tea Party.  "The Tea Party movement, touting principles based in the Constitution and the Founding Fathers, has boosted the economy by fueling the sale and rental of anything symbolic of Colonial times — costumes, flags, even powdered wigs," states The Pittsburg Tribune.  This article in the Wall Street Journal also talks about how the rising demand for powdered wigs has spiked sales and vendors of the product.
Ultimately, the Tea Party movement has interestingly, such as tea did during the 18th century, generated an economic growth for a commodity.  

Tea Party: The Easy Target

I think that the Tea Party is an easily-attacked political movement that should be taken very seriously.  After reading many of my classmates forum postings and their opinions on the Tea Party, I found many articles presenting the Tea Party in a bad light.  I just wanted to point out that any political party will have some number of people with radical and/or controversial ideas.  These views may not support the entire party, but they become points of focus because they make for great news stories.  And while they may make for interesting articles, I think that the Tea Party stands for a lot more than just a few radical ideas, and they should be taken seriously.  

I've been reading the Wall Street Journal (almost) daily since I came to St. Olaf, and there never fails to be an article about the Tea Party every single day.  The movement is new, it's uniting, it's more and more mainstream, and it isn't stopping.  On Wednesday, Professor Rohn stated that we (as students) should be concerned with the Tea Party movement because it is our generation's movement.  I disagree with this statement slightly- I would say that the Tea Party movement is not the political of our generation, but of this time period, and perhaps even this decade.  

Because of that reason, I think that it is even more important than a generational movement because it reflects views of people from any age.  And now, to answer the tough question: What is the Tea Party movement?  ...No, no one exactly knows what it is, but in my opinion it is a group of people who are dissatisfied with government, namely large government control.  The movement is unhappy with the lack of control by "the people" and its goal is to bring control back to "the people".  The Tea Party has passionate members who are really just not satisfied with how things are going in America. I am quite positive that come election day, the people of the United States will be even more concerned with the Tea Party and its effect on politics across the country.     

Benjamin Franklin: Humble Beginnings

"[My father] sent me to a school for writing and arithmetic, kept by a then famous man, Mr. George Brownell, very successful in his profession generally, and that by mild, encouraging methods.  Under him I acquired fair writing pretty soon, but I failed in arithmetic, and made no progress in it."

This statement was so surprising to me.  Benjamin Franklin, one of our founding fathers, failing at arithmetic?!?  It seems too preposterous to be true.  When I think of someone like Benjamin Franklin, who was so successful in his lifetime and still maintains to be regarded with the upmost respect, it's hard to believe that they could fail at anything.  The statement itself actually gives me a lot of hope, though.  To me, it makes one of the greatest American leaders relatable and down-to-earth.  The fact that he included that information about himself also says a lot.  I shamefully admit that if I became famous, I would not want other people to know probably any of my greatest faults and weaknesses.  I admire that Franklin was bold enough to state that arithmetic was something that he was just not good at.  Next time I get down on myself about one of my academic weaknesses, I'll kindly remind myself that even Benjamin Franklin struggled with math.

Home

Being home last weekend was really nice.  I loved eating my mom's cooking, seeing a lot of my old friends and family, and sleeping in my own bed.  The strange thing is that one can be away from "home" for a good amount of time and still call it home.  Things are comfortable in that place and people are just like one remembers them.  I wondered if when I went home for fall break, even though it had only been a couple months, people would think that I had changed.  Or worse, would I think that my friends or family had changed?  The truth is, it was almost easier to fit right back in because I had taken a step out.  Leaving a place that was so engraved in me made me realize who I truly was by myself.  At home, the people around me shaped my actions and the vast majority of people that I knew in my town, I had known my entire life.  Here, I realize what type of a person I am because my actions are based on just my own individual choices.  No one is here to judge my plans or scrutinize my actions, and I'm very thankful for that.  Although the first few minutes with my friends back home might have been slightly awkward, (making small talk, asking impersonal questions), we quickly recognized our prior friendship and the bonds that we have with one another.  I realized that it isn't so hard to fit in even after being gone for a month or two.  I'm glad that my family and friends don't make me feel like an outsider even if they no longer know the details of my life.

To Infer

I'm really enjoying our class' study of symbolization through objects.  I have always thought that a lot can be said about a person through what they buy, wear, eat, etc.  Basically, I think that a person's choices can shape who they are.  Not only do the choices they make shape themselves, but they also shape how others perceive them.  In colonial America, this is extremely important because I think that the colonists no longer wanted to be seen as Europeans.  Through their choices, we can see that colonists were balancing a fine line between this sort of European-ism and American-ism.  They differentiated themselves through their clothing, houses, commodities, etc.  Because they originated from England, many of their styles had English characteristics, but certain American traits as well.  We talked today in class about clothing and how American clothes were generally more "rough" and also more expensive.  English clothing was much more ornate.  In the portrait of Paul Revere, he is seen to be wearing "American" style clothing.  We could debate the reasons behind this, but ultimately, I want to raise the question: Did New Englanders put that much significant thought into the clothing that they wore and the symbolism behind it, or were there choices based off of convenience, popularity, and other factors?