Winning the Future

I finally got a chance to really study the State of the Union transcript. Our president is a beautiful speaker. But more importantly, he had some very positive and aggressive ideas to help our country do big things. I certainly hope they work.

I also spent over an hour updating myself on the current political situation in Egypt. I am worried for the people there. I hope this ends positively and ElBaradei handles things well. As you are aware of my emotional attachment to this region, you shouldn't be surprised that I have a few requests: Most importantly, please pray for the Egyptian people. Pray that the violence will end and that they somehow end up with a democratic government that will continue their alliance with Israel and strong ties with the United States. I know, it's a rather large prayer.

My second request is in two parts. First, for those of you who I know are keeping abreast of the situation, you might appreciate the updates that come from this article. I found them immensely helpful with a lot of great links to other good news sources. Second, and more important (almost as important as prayer), I know there are readers and/or followers of this blog that do not pay attention to world events. This is important. Please read the article for a basic understanding of what is happening here. I don't ask you to do this very often. Again, "What's Happening in Egypt Explained."

A personal effect of all this news coverage is that it's tipped the scales on my Twitter debate: I've been up in the air about creating an account for several months now. I feel like some uses are totally ridiculous (the personal uses) but some---marketing, news, networking---are beneficial and potentially crucial in my chosen line of work. Social media knowledge is a much more frequent requirement in the job market than it was even a year ago. So at some point this week I'll be setting that up (and probably following all the suggested links through the MotherJones article).


Finally, a minor personal achievement of sorts. I, too, am doing big things. In my magazine class I have been assigned the role of Assistant Publisher for the magazine we will create. The project is much like Stowaway, and I'm excited to be working on a magazine again. We decided as a class to create a food magazine---not cooking, but food. Each issue of the magazine (if it were to continue on for years rather than these four months of class) will feature a specific food item: chicken, apples, corn, etc. For each item, we will provide some recipes, but also a variety of other interesting information such as its history in the country, its biological makeup, customs or traditions using the food, linguistic connections (i.e. "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"), superstitions, etc. A smorgasbord of information on one food item. And so my question to you is this:

What is your opinion of the magazine name On The Table based on the description I provided? Both positive and negative reactions are welcomed and encouraged. We want to test it and see if people feel the chosen title is representative of the magazine content.