Update

I apologise for the infrequency of the updates on my blog, the internet situation has been incredibly frustrating, to say the least. I have been gathering some new knowledge and ideas for Mr. P. and the World. Traveling to other parts of the world gives you a perspective on events that you would not be able to gather within the United States.

I have been witnessing the start of yet another Italian government, after the last one fell over the garbage situation in Napoli. Its interesting to hear how pessimistic the Italians feel about their country, they are not happy about Berlusconi but see very few other options for government. In the same vein, the Italian youth are very pessimistic about their future, many in the universities see their careers continuing after college. One of my professors related a story of how one architecture student could not get a job for lack of opportunity and luckily got an opportunity to obtain a green card to the United States where she now works.

It puts the situation in the United States in perspective, as bad as our economic crisis is, in many parts of the world economic pessimism has become a way of life. Hope is something that is in short supply in some areas of the world, and it appears like it is beginning to creep into our own country. It makes one think about the importance of remaining positive and not letting the world get you down. As much as the world may seem a dark and scary place, we cannot let ourselves give up. Many countries continue on as they always have, but as Americans, especially those that grew up in the 90s, we expect as certain amount of success. Everything is cyclical, even the Great Depression, that most horrible of economic and social crises, came to an end.

Keep all this in mind, the world has a way of coming back into balance.