Ramblings

Well, well, well I find myself on the road again. Going to some places that I've never been, but I'm proud to say I'm on the road again. Yes work does indeed find me hitting the byways, airways and hallways of America. I created a blog for prospective students that will probably be updated more than this one. Feel free to keep an eye on it. Here is a rundown of my fall travel schedule. 9/21-9/25: Tampa, FL 9/25-10/1: Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD 10/3-10/7: Secondary duty in Redlands, CA 10/9-10/14: CA's Central Coast 10/17-10/20: Las Vegas, NV 10/24-10/29: Primary duty in Redlands, CA 10/30-11/4: Sacramento, CA 11/6-11/8: Reno, NV/Tahoe, CA 11/9-11/18: In office and Local High School Visits Those are the dates and places I will be out. You can also e-mail my new gmail account , although my juno account now gets forwarded to it. If you want an invite let me know. Hope to talk to you all soon. - Phil

Chaos, absolute chaos. As images and stories come out of the Gulf Coast one cannot begin to imagine the actions of those on the ground and by rescue workers. Like I told a co-worker today it just goes to show how close all of us are to being mere animals when we are denied the expected neccessities of modern living. And though many will discount any claims of racism now, years from now when all of this has been studied racism will probably be a key factor in the extent of this disaster and its' aftermath. Images of dead bodies floating in the cities of Louisiana and lying besides those of the living are probably the most unnerving. With no infrastructure it becomes easier for us to see how things like the Bubonic plague and other calamties that faced humanity in the middle ages could be so devestating. FEMA Director Michael Brown called out those who did not heed warnings from officials and said they will ultimately bear responsibility if rescue workers are unable to get to them be...

Many of you know that I am a news junkie and that I studied to become a journalist and have made a detour for the time being. Tonight I learned that one of my childhood hero's, Peter Jennings , died tonight from lung cancer. And for journalist across the world respects are being paid to a man who covered all of the major stories of the last forty years. Tonight as I was lying around the house I felt something different. Something that was so palpable it caused me to come back to this blog after many a time away. Upon hearing the news I have to say I welled up a little. You have to understand for a better part of my life Peter Jennings was the guy I aspired to become. Ask my mom and sister I literally used my old dot matrix printer and Atari computer to print banners hi-lighting the ABC News programs of the time and I would spend everyday watching World News Tonight then retelling the news to a fake audience and camera. Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather belonged to the older generation but ...

The title comes from an Alexander Pope poem entitled, Solitude. Now in this new year it is becoming more and more apparent that Solitude is the root of one's own problems. This new year we have seen disastrous floods in California, a devastating Tsunami's aftermath and the dawn of a new era in Israel. It has been pondered that we are now living in the end times. Fifty years ago a devastating Tsunami hit Chile and the Hawaiian islands and the the Cold war was beginning its' reign of terror. Then it was suggested that those people were living in the end times. Now I do believe in God but my heart has yet to devote myself to religion. It seems though that if the Bible is to be taken as God's words that we have always been living in end times. The Bible tells us that earth is not the beginning but the end of our suffering and our punishment for original sin. In times of great sadness and awareness of earth's frugality and hostility towards human life we mus...