(SP) "The Counting Crows is playing 'Round Here,' and I'm not having fun, cause you're not here with me."

Actually, I'm currently listening to "Raining in Baltimore,"(we miss you Evan :}) but you get the point...I'm still working out the kinks in how I'm going to do this posting business (i.e. how often, how long etc.). The only substantive thought I've had about it tonight has been that my posts will generally be of two types: academically substantive posts and socially substantive posts. I think I will somehow flag the posts (for the lazy reader) so that if you don't want to read about my personal exploits (hey - I wouldn't want to read about them) or you are particularly interested in reading my posts about philosophy etc. (heaven forefend), then you can plan accordingly, thereby conducting your blogging experience expeditiously with a minimum of ennui. For the sake of browsing ease, I think I will include an "SP" (as I have done in the title above) if the post is going to be a more social post, and "AP" if the post is going to be academic. You have now been warned.

I was actually all set for this to be my first "AP," but I don't really have the time or the inclination at this point to go to that effort. I was going to talk about the Hegelian notion that there are no truths independent of time. The main reason I didn't actually end up posting on this, though, is that I don't feel like I grasp it well enough myself to exposit...perhaps sometime soon, because it's interesting...but I still can't help feeling like there's something intellectually sinister going on just beneath the surface. I have to continue working with the material, which, incidently, is not much help (This is a gross understatement. Read: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND HEGEL'S "Phenomenology of the spirit." YOU'RE BETTER OFF NOT KNOWING). Separating out Hegel's prose in to serviceable chunks (because of excessive use of ambiguously referential indexicals) is akin to trying to separate a brick into american cheese-like slices with a kitchen knife. If you succeed at all the result will be very jagged and probably not usable for any practical purpose; not to mention that you're likely to ruin your knife in the processs <> Man holds up post-op kitchen knife - "This is your brain on Hegel." But I digress...

I have always wondered something about the people who flyer on Bruin Walk. I wonder about what causes them to select certain target individuals to recieve their "product." Now, there are certainly groups who target particular genders or ethnicities. I am not really concerned with why these groups target me specifically or ignore me specifically (isn't it obvious in each case?). What I am more interested in is why the volunteers who seem to be equal opportunity flyer-ers ignore me or single me out. Part of it can probably be chalked up to the fact that I'm always listening to music and mouthing along with it. And often, because of the nature of my music, I look angry and so I probably (and justifiably) weird some people out...but there are still people with whom I establish eye contact (and who seem to be giving flyers to everybody else) who either enthusiastically stuff their piece of paper in my hand, or just watch me pass by. I don't have an answer to my own question, but it's something I am going to pay closer attention to...One thing is for sure, it's not because these people are so perceptive that they can tell that I will be interested in what they're selling - The only flyer I got yesterday was from the Armenian Christian Outreach and it asks, "Which American organization recieves millions of your tax dollars and murder's people?"...give up?...Planned Parenthood. Boy are these people barking up the wrong tree, don't even get me started.