Television History before our Eyes

The U.S. Presidential Election of 1960 was unlike any other. It changed the landscape of political campaigns and brought to the forefront of the battle – the use of the television screen. It was the first televised presidential debate between the young dashing John F. Kennedy and the pale sickly looking Richard M. Nixon. Of course I wasn’t alive, but the stories from my grandparents and mother watching it on the big TV screen resonated with me as a student of politics and as someone who worked in TV. I always wondered what it would have been like to be the first generation to watch the TV debates unfold into what we now expect from every presidential cycle.

Well guess what? I got my wish.

Tonight the first ever election TV debate for England’s Prime Minister is about to hit the TV screens. I would argue that most Americans don’t know much about UK politics. Yes, this is true. But I bet even those interested in politics had no idea that the UK never had a televised political debate between those running for the office of Prime Minister. I will admit I certainly had no idea before I moved to London.

But tonight it all changes. I get to witness history being made. I get to watch television history unfold before my eyes. I will one day tell my grandchildren or some random children I meet on the street in 30 years that I was sitting at home in London with a bag of popcorn and orange juice watching Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg battle it out with words. Of course by then the television will be extinct and we will be wired with some sort of Apple device where we can watch anything anywhere. But enough about the future, today is about the moment and tonight is about history being made on the big TV screens of everyone living in the UK.

Of course no one resembles the young dashing and charming JFK, but I will say that Gordon Brown could definitely play the role of Nixon. Poor Gordon, I actually like him. Whatever the case may be, I do have one word of advice for all three men if they happen to read this blog. Make sure to wear make-up and look tan. Make-up makes all the difference. Even young dashing Kennedy knew that. He sent out his aide to buy Mac make-up after declining make-up from the TV studio in front of Nixon.

Good luck to all three men and may the best man win.

Happy Birthday Dawn Le

Last year I moved into a flat with Dawn Le. Dawn serves three functions in my life. She is my landlady, my flatmate and most importantly my friend. After living with a crazy gay couple for 6 months I decided to get up and pack and hit the road for new housing. I wanted out of a crazy house with crazy people. Well I wasn't able to escape the crazy, but I did leave behind crazy mean vindictive people, crazy cruel jokers, and crazy lunatics for a crazy loving, crazy cool, and crazy fabulous friend who is celebrating her 28th birthday today. We did the partying Saturday night at Proud Cabaret.

Playtime is Coming to an End

Death is easy. Life on the other hand is hard. Life sometimes feels stifling. You get up and go to work or even before that you have to make breakfast for the kids. Everything can seem like a constant struggle to fit into that weekly schedule. I am 'economically inactive' (aka unemployed at the moment) and my schedule is busier than when I was working. A sudden spurt of free time means I get to spend more time with friends, date more, and even check out movies at 2pm in the afternoon. The only time I can remember my life being free of social schedules was when I was a child.

Being a child is fun, carefree, and relaxed. All you need is imagination and spirit. But over the past decade that too has changed. Most children now in the U.S. have more scheduled in their diary for a week than I do the entire month. One day it's piano, the next it's football, the next it's baseball, Boy Scouts, swimming, you get the picture . Parents of course now schedule play dates. When I was a kid I woke up gathered the kids on my block or neighborhood and we played stick ball or baseball in the street. We didn't schedule anything. We just played until our parents called us in for dinner. I still like to just wake up and follow the wind.

But it appears the social scheduling for kids is getting even worse. In Today's NYT there is a piece about hundreds of schools now scheduling and overseeing recess time for kids. David Elkind in the NYT who would generally be opposed to this kind of structure for kids is actually in favor this time. I, on the other hand think kids should be kids and find this continued structure and scheduling to be an alarming trend. It suppresses imagination and fosters children to grow up to live in a society where everything has to be structured and scheduled and coached. I just don't see the fun in that.

I love traveling and meeting people in a cafe in a foreign country. Sometimes I talk to random strangers on the beach or in the theatre or even on the bus. That is what life is all about. Life is about living it. Life is about free time and figuring out what to do with it. So many of us turn 30 and 40 and realize that we are not happy with life or what life has become. In an age of so much wealth and prosperity the levels of anxiety and depression continue to rise. I am not sure how a more structured recess time will lead to happier and more developed children.

I know I am not a parent, but I am a child who values his freedom. Let your child grow up and make mistakes and learn from life. Let them figure out what road to take and sometimes that means letting them go down dead end streets only for them to come back and make the right turn. Life is made up of happy moments. Their is no coach, no psychologist, no parent who can create happy moments in life. Those moments just come when you least expect them.

Remember you can't schedule happy moments. They come and go just like the wind, but they never leave our memories.

Escape The City

I met Susie about 2 years ago when I was looking for my first job in London. She was a career adviser at LSE and at the time was starting her own career consultancy firm where she now works with individuals and corporations on a one to one basis. Simply put, Susie is awesome! and her advice and guidance is invaluable.

After reading my blog she knew exactly where I was coming from: I was someone who had spent the past few years of my life unsatisfied with my career path. It wasn't rewarding, it was boring, and it left me feeling unfulfilled. I wanted to feel alive, like I was contributing, like I was part of something. So many of us feel that way in life and so many have chosen to stick with the same rut and carry on. But some of us have chosen a new path and now there is a place paying attention to us and employers are even listening closely. Take a look at Escape The City.org

Escape the City: Introduction from Escape the City on Vimeo.

Work is so Passe

Two weeks ago I quit my job. I decided it wasn't the right fit for me and so I moved on.

Everything so far has been great. My friends are jealous that I don't have to wake up and rush into the office. I feel so much more relaxed and I'm happier right now than I have been in the past 3 years. But, there is one problem. The delicate social problem that I am dealing with is this:

How do you answer the question "What do you do? and keep your self-esteem?

'Unemployed' sounds so negative
'Looking for work' sounds so desperate
'In transition' sounds so lost

and I am none of the above. From now on, the answer is clear.

'At the moment, I'm economically inactive.'

Suddenly it is the thing to be. Last week the British government reported that there are 8.16 million 'economically inactives' easily outstripping the 2.45 million in the UK who are unemployed.

So what is the definition of 'economically inactive?' Basically it's people who are not working or actively looking for work.

You would think one would be ashamed to be not working. But my ancestors are Greek and I take pride in my Greek heritage. After all it was Aristotle who believed leisure was the highest pursuit in life. According to Aristotle: 'Leisure is the end towards which all action is directed.' In ancient Greece it was perfectly acceptable to devote yourself to thoughts, literature, music, art, and science.

Obsession with work is a modern idea and one that I have never really accepted. So it seems the Greek way may be catching on. Monday afternoon at 2pm I decided to take myself to a movie and the theatre was packed. Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 I met up with an 'economically inactive' friend for a late lunch at a nearby cafe and we had to wait to get a seat. One woman sitting behind me at the movie theatre turned to her friend and said, 'Doesn't anyone work anymore?'

So from now on I will be wearing my economic inactivity with pride. Yes, I may soon be as poor as a church mouse that invested in Lehman Brothers, but I do comfort myself with one thought: Aristotle would have been proud.