Survey

Dearly Beloved Siblings,

I've created a survey that will initially take a bit of time to fill out.  But the future benefits, including time saved, will outweigh the time it takes up front.  I love you so much, and probably still will if you don't do the survey, but I still would really like you to do it soon!  I think it will be especially helpful for Secret Santa (and you should tell me when you guys draw names for that).
Thanks!

Your Dearest Belovedest Brother,
Nick

Ferguson

As you are hopefully aware, there's a lot of discussion going on right now about the events in Ferguson, Missouri.  I've read a fair amount about it, though most of it from websites and articles that avoid moderation like a Congressman.  I've also read plenty of emotional facebook rants, sprinkled with profanity, taking positions at opposite ends of the spectrum.  From all of my reading, I have come to one conclusion: I don't care what your position on the issue is, just please, for crying out loud, be intelligent about it.

I can't stand reading these articles where Michael Brown is portrayed as a gentle giant, just on his way to visit his dear grandmother one afternoon before heading off to college the next week.  He assaulted a police officer after robbing a liquor store.  I'm not saying he was a bad person, or even that he deserved what happened.  I'm not even touching those issues right now.  What bothers me is when some people ignore information that doesn't agree with their stance.  I think it's dishonest.

Another thing that bothers me is ignoring the larger issues entirely.  This case has brought up a lot of legitimate discussions that need to be had about things like police militarization, gun violence, attitudes towards police, and racial profiling.  These are really important issues, and they need to be addressed if we want to improve society.  But some people refuse to acknowledge that these are issues simply because they don't think this case represents those issues.  They say that the officer was justified, and race/violence/other issues had nothing to do with it.  I don't know if that's true, but even if it is, even if race had nothing to do with it, it's still a legitimate issue.  On the other hand, it really bothers me when people posted, following the announcement that the officer would not be indicted, things like "Another case of the justice system failing us," and similar things.  The American media and people have a real problem: they assume guilt.  They assume they know whether or not someone is guilty, and once they've made up their minds, nothing will change them.  We don't know exactly what happened, and we don't know (and I don't think we can know) the degree to which the officer is responsible.  We cannot assume someone's guilt.  One of the foundational principles of our justice system is "Innocent until proven guilty."

So, before I descend from my soap box, I urge you to think and be intelligent when you express your opinions and when you read others' opinions.  Kind of the same points I wanted to make in my post about the Arab-Israeli conflict.  Please be intelligent.  The world needs more people willing to stand in the middle and look at all views critically without getting carried away by emotion.
And now I'm stepping off the box.

Karaoke

Last night I did karaoke for the first time (in public, that is).  It was a nice little jaunt outside of my comfort zone, though that may come as a surprise to some of you, since you only see the witty, charming, affable side of me.  Singing is not one of my strengths, nor is performance of any kind, especially when I'm the center of attention.  But I think I was able to tough it out because it was a group of people that I've gotten to know pretty well and that I feel pretty comfortable around.  I sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" with my friend Logan.  Turns out that one isn't really in my range, but there's not much you can do once you've started.  It was a lot of fun, and I had a few ideas for songs that I didn't get to do because of time.  But it's something I think I'd like to do again.  We should do it for New Year's!  Along with Just Dance.  I also added it to my list of dates to go on.  In the future, though, I'm going to make sure I find a song that's in my range before I go.

Stars!

I try really hard not to read too many of these random things that people post on facebook because it can waste a lot of time.  However, I really like stars and nature and pretty things, and this video is all of those things.  It's just a short three minute video.

Enjoy!

New Page: Books

I've just put up a new page like the Movies page, but for books.  There are more details on the page, but it's basically the same idea.  I've got some favorites, as well as a list of books I'd like to read.  As always, I welcome comments and suggestions.

New Pages

I've just added a couple pages to the site.  They should appear at the top of the page beneath the blog title.  One is date ideas, including both dates I have done and dates I would like to do.  May they inspire you in a moment of need (especially you, brothers, since you should be planning more dates than the girls).  The other page contains a list of favorite movies as well as movies I'd like to see.  I enjoy quality movies, so maybe next time you think "what should I watch?" my list can help you along, or maybe give you ideas you may not have thought of.
Have fun with them!  If you have questions or suggestions for anything, let me know.  I like to hear your ideas too.