Official People

Day Without Immigrants

2006-05-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

Today I participated in a rally/protest/boycott against HR4437. This was one of many such events today across the country (and world).

I have never participate in a rally/protest/boycott because I often feel that it is not an effective form of social change. But I felt compelled on this occation to show my solidarity.

As a Caucasian-American or rather, just simply white, too often I feel belittled in the "diversity" dialogue on my colleges campus and around the country. I often feel like it is forgotten than I, and all whites, are "ethnic" as well. Ethnic and racial are words that do not include the meaning "not white." I have a family history that I am very proud of. Immigrants who came to this country for a better life, to do work, to become citizens.

It is for that reason that I felt it necessary to show solidarity in this movement.

When did our country begin to close its borders? One argument I hear for HR4537, and the sentiments that are a part of it, is that they are illegal imigrants. That if they want to come into this country, they should do it legally (this argument is outlined in this ridiculous piece by Lou Dobbs on CNN.com). But what makes them illegal? It is that we have cut off many of the means by which these people could enter the country legally. There is no longer the mechanisms needed so desperately that would ease the "illegality" of these immigrants.

As an aside, though something which I thought about today, is our absurd policy on Cuban Refugees. First, our stance on Cuba itself is outdated and counter-productive in my mind... so how can we continue to send people back to Cuba? Our "one foot in, one foot out" policy in terms of which refugees (and yes, they should be considered as such as long as the U.S. Government deals with Cuba the way it does) is not enough. Sending people back who are fleeing Cuba is the wrong policy and hypocritical in light of our policies.

And finally, to bring this issue into the context of a previous post, here is another example of a musical group being political. The Bad Plus, one of my favorite bands, put up a blog-post expressing their support of the rallies today.

2006-04-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

A letter from my friend/roommate to the Pitzer College Student body.

Dear Fellow Students,

This a ridiculous discussion. In fact, it isn't a discussion at all. People at Pitzer need to realize how homophobic they are, even if it is subconcious. Saying that something is "gay" to mean that it is bad is just as ignorant and hateful as using the word bitch, nigger, spic, chink, kike, jap, kraut, hebe...the list goes on. Why is it that for most of the students at Pitzer the term "gay" doesn't fall into that category? I can't tell you how many times people here have said "that's so gay" around me and then gone, "Oh, sorry. But, I didn't mean it like that...I meant, like stupid...you know?"
Emails to us from students saying that we should be wary of using words like "bulldozer," "dork," "lame," or "rule of thumb" are stupid and immature. If you don't care enough not to call things "gay" anymore then just shut up and keep being ignorant. Don't try to justify or intellectualize it by looking up the origins of some words on the internet, for example. Stop with the double standard.
So many students at Pitzer are so up in arms about environmental issues, worker's issues, and racial issues. What about gay issues? I guess gay issues just aren't "popular" or "cool" enough for most Pitzer students to want to do something.

Thanks,

Garth Greenan

2006-04-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

Kohoutek isn't a waste of money, it went off great this year, and I'm sure was cause for both the left and right to come together and celebrate.

Falun-Gong & Fiscal Waste

2006-04-21T01:59:00.000-07:00

I was told today by a politics professor friend of mine that the Chinese spiritual practice Falun-Gong advocates homophobia, and considers homosexuality to be degenerate behavior. China's firewalls now may not be such a bad thing after all (at least as far as Falun-Gong is concerned).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong
http://www.religioustolerance.org/falungong1.htm
http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/1724264.php

Oh, and by the way, Kohoutek is a waste of money. Instead of giving money to a bunch of bands, we could put it towards class trips or giving back to the community, or scholarships or junior and senior art/media projects. Discuss.

What Does Karl Rove Do Now, Other Than Cry?

2006-04-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

As you surely could not have missed, Karl Rove has been, shall we say, "demoted."

Many are asking what Rove did wrong (that article from CNN.com points to things "falling through th cracks). We must remind ourselves of what brought Rove to his, until-recently, powerful position. As Bush's presumed strategist, confidant, and well, over-seer, Rove was the brilliant political mind behind the man that some American's saw/see as dumb.

Rove is a classic case. in my opinion, of having the muster, but not the execution. Often we'll hear the phrase, or something along the lines of, "If you're so good at it, why don't you do it yourself." Bush was electable because of Rove, was reelected because of Rove, and the Democrats were partially destoryed by Rove. But That's what Rove does, elections. He's not a mastermind behind Iraq and Social Security. He may mold what directions Bush needs to head in, but he is obviously not the kind of mind that creates the actual policy.

And nor should he be. Not as a knock, but the world of politics is obviously divided between two large groups: enablers (campaign heads) and faces (the politicians). The third group, who actually do the policy writing, are the ones behind the scenes that are getting the work done (obviously). Rove tried to bridge the gap from enabling to creating, and it's not an easy jump. Few can do it. Campaign managers often find themselves possibly sticking on somewhere, but they sure do not find themselves at the top of the political food-chain.

Rove's demotion should come as no surprise. What should have been the surprise was when he was given more powers. While not necessarily shocking seeing as it came across as a reward, Rove took the job and obviously the Republicans have suffered emencly for it.

Gu-Ger and China

2006-04-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today I heard a very informative and balanced report on China's internet censorship on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer podcast. The report talks about a company called UltraReach that provides technology to Chinese citizens to get around the "Great Firewall". The report includes a round table discussion on the issue. They deal with the impact of companies like Google and their choice to cooperate with the Chinese government and its censorship requirements. It's the dilemma faced by the Yahoo's, Microsoft's, Cisco's and Skype's of this world as they try to enter the Chinese market
Interestingly, Google recently rebranded itself as "Gu-Ger"--'Valley Song' or 'Harvest Song,'. China will China's painfully long march to a free society must be homegrown. In his 1993 address, published in the American Sociological Review (1994, Vol. 59), professor Seymour Martin Lipset wrote:
"Democracy requires a supportive culture, the acceptance by the citizenry and political elites of principles underlying freedom of speech, media, assembly, religion, of the rights of opposition parties, of the rule of law, of human rights and the like. Such norms do not evolve overnight."
Google cannot itself make China a free country--it will take time, and it will have to come from the people themselves (if the government will allow it that is). We'll just have to wait and see (and not let China buy out an eighth of the American economy.

"Impeach the President?"

2006-04-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

A lot of news is flying around about Neil Young and his supposed record full fo anti-Bush sentiments.

The record, recorded hastily (though that is nothing new for Young) is entitled, "Living With War" and as you might guess from the title, it's a record very upset with the Iraq War/War on Terrorism.

I'm not going to debate if his record will be any good or if anyone will end up giving a darn.

What does interest me is a question which more people ask, I myself ask, and creates a strong divide between liberals and democrats... what is the place of entertainers in politics?

I recall seeing the rock band Wilco a few times before the 2004 Presidential election. Lead singer Jeff Tweedy took a pause during the show to encourage audience members to vote, and to vote for John Kerry. A large chunk of the crowd yelled and cheered. A small number booed, or told Tweedy to stick to hit music. I felt alienated. My opinion was that I knew I was voting for Kerry, but I didn't need someone to remind me of that and I didn't pay for a political lecture.

The debate extends to groups like the Dixie Chicks. In a genre (country) dominated by conservatives views (at least on the surface... and as an aside, when did patriotic songs become a conservative thing?) the Dixie Chicks were willing to take a stand on politics and they paid a heavy price for it.

Likewise, many country artists (Toby Keith, etc.) have supported Bush and made a large fuss about how so many entertainers should shut their mouth about politics and Bush-bashing (an oxymoronic statement obviously).

But I've reexamined my view of being preached to by someone I paid money to see. Yes, I paid for a rock concert, or a book reading, or a lecture, but is it not anything more than using your spotlight to take a stance. Yes, this is the common view of those who do not have problems with political rants at conerts, but should any single person, no matter who they are or in what setting, not use a moment in the spotlight to get their opinion across.

In Rome and Greece, in the 1920's, on the backs of trains... forever... people have used the moments they get of attention to explain their views, to state their case, to hate-monger. Is is wrong? The human voice is so often forgotten, so often are politicians words held to a higher regard than the factory workers... should anyone not use their public image to be... well... a public figure?

If Neil Young is inspired by how poor of a job he believes Bush to be doing, then that is what inspires him. It is no different than love or heartbreak or anything that inspires a million terrible songs and a few good ones.

A New Face

2006-04-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

We're taking on a new face here at Official People. Tyrus and I didn't really have a mission when we started out but now we've readjusted ourselves and we think we have come up with something that will work.

Official People is going to be a political blog, but unlike the repetitious ones which dot the internet. Tyrus and I agree on many things but could not be more different. I'm from New York, he's from Malibu. I'm straight, he's gay. Tyrus is fiscally conservative and I'm all about giving away the funds. We come from different backgrounds and came to this college (Pitzer) for different reasons.

We want to examine what politics look like through our eyes. Neither of us are Politics majors, we're not protesters and we're not strongly involved in politics (though I'm on student government).

We want to look at what two well-informed college students have to say about politics. It may seem mundane or boring, but as perhaps members of the upper 2% of college students who do follow the news and politics, we're only a few classes and papers away from those politics majors, only a few moves away from becoming overly active campaign boosters, only a few steps away from the march... but something holds us back and that something is the political landscape.

What does it look like to us?

2006-03-22T00:33:00.000-08:00

Its almost time for "Big Love", we go into tech at the beginning of next week, and open thursday night. I'll post production pics as they come.

In the mean time, watch this funny video I found:

This Is The Dawning

2006-03-21T19:11:00.000-08:00

5 REASONS TO HAVE A DRINK TODAY
1. It's the first day of Spring.
2. In 1952, the first rock concert was held on this day. Axl Rose is drinking tonight so join in on the fun.
3. It's Kevin Federline's birthday. He'll be giving his kid some booze, get some yourself.
4. It's Iranian New Year's (Nirouz)
5. Two men were spotted around the colleges today where cover-alls, ski-masks, sunglasses and handing something out. The world is ending, have a drink.

------------

There seems to be a commerical of some kind being shot on Pitzer's campus, and there are about 50 old people walking around, it's quite strange. They're very quiet and are constantly reading their lines. Maybe's it's an ad for Applebees?

It's All Relative Baby

2006-03-20T17:02:00.000-08:00

5 REASONS TO HAVE A DRINK TODAY:
1. Albert Einstein publised the Theory of Relativity 90 years ago
2. The War in Iraq started 3 years ago. Do what the president will be doing and drink a tallboy.
3. Because Bird-Flu is not here yet.
4. Because Bird-Flu will be here any minute.
5. Because I bought a ski mask today.

Some Backup

2006-03-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Kevin Garvey, movie reviewer for life, had this to say about V For Vendetta:
aflyingshark: i give it two erections
aflyingshark: up, way up

Halaby is Burning

2006-03-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

So Ned is sitting right next to me, having finished burning a huge ammount of music from me. So maybe I'll make some suggestions... and then maybe bitch a bit.

So Ned mostly took whatever he wanted, but I forced him into some stuff.

1.
David Thomas Broughton The Complete Guide To Insufficiency - a sheerly amazing record. Think Nick Drake, darker sounds, deeper voice. The record was recorded live in a church and the echo-y sounds show through.

2.
Owada Nothing - An incredibly simple rock record. It's barebones and bare lyrics (sample, "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10... Thirty Thirty"). I first heard this record, of all places, being played in the Pompadeu (the Paris MoMA). It's worth finding and is, if not just a novelty, a great record.

Two is good for now, more later.

A gripe: Why is the Daily Show and the Colbert Report just not mixed into one show? Not mixing and matching, but why doesn't Comedy Central transform that hour into something more like Fox News, maybe add another show, to mock the other styles used on those shows, it would be great and I think help them. What am I talking about?

Father Knows Best

2006-03-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

FIVE REASONS TO HAVE A DRINK TODAY
1. It's Father's Day in Spain
2. Today, in 1865, the Battle of Bentonville began. Mr. Cullen is certainly drinking to that.
3. It's Bruce Willis' birthday. Something tells me he'll be canoodling with an Olson Twin tonight.
4. Because DW-40 works for about 3 days.
5. Because Spring Break is over. Take as many drinks as necessary.

More updates later.

Oh the places they'll go

2006-03-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd pass this along from DeadSpin. I still have no idea how CBS is the #1 network in america (and why the guy from CSI: Miami say that so depressingly...

Something inplied in the score of the Bradley vs. Pittsburg game...

R for Return

2006-03-18T22:11:00.000-08:00

Let the resurection begin!

Tonight I will bring this blog back from the dead, from obscurity, from the cutting room floor of King Kong (what was cut... anything?)

So rather than describe the new shiz, you'll just see it.

Tonight, Josh, Eric and I saw V For Vendetta and let me tell you: amazing. I can't think of a flaw other than maybe the last scene (won't spoil). The effects are great, plot superb, and well... for the fact that the main character has no facial expressions, it worked perfectly. Lighting was especially great, amazingly shot.

The fact that there were about 5 subplots, somehow, did not deter from the movie as a whole, worked perfectly and while the story is complex, there is no way to lose a sense of what is going on.

_______________

Other stuff to update the general public on:
- Spring Break is coming to a close, quick recap: HOLY CRAP I WENT SKYDIVING! Most incredible moments of my life, I want to do it again so badly.
- Kohoutek (Pitzer's Music Festival) is in trouble cause our headliner backed out... I actually am now in e-mail contact with The Mountain Goats as they were born out of Pitzer, but they can't do it, will just be coming back from New Zealand, but he's dying to play again here.
- The blog is back.

Okay, new feature: 5 REASONS TO HAVE A DRINK TODAY
1. It's the day after St. Patrick's Day.
2. People all over the world are protesting today, and you're about to have a drink.
3. This blog is back, the world order is return, the chaos theory is proved invalid.
4. Adam Morrison is a porno-god in the making - Gonzaga advances.
5. Parliment was blown up (well...)

Bonus Drinking Game of the Day:
Watch V For Vendetta and take a shot every time you see the Guy Fawkes mask. If you make it to the end of the movie, take a shot. If that doesn't kill you, wow.

BONUS, BONUS Drinking Game
Take a shot everytime the word "bullocks" is said in V For Vendetta. This could actually work.

2006-02-21T00:04:00.000-08:00

I gave a lecture today about cubism and the music of Schoenberg and Stravinsky to the seminar on Picasso class. It went over quite well.

2006-01-19T00:44:00.000-08:00

It seems that my luck is changing for the better. I'm getting over my stress-induced cold thingy, and while I still need to find a class or two to take I think I'm coming to grips with myself and what it is I want to "major" in.

Professor Leabhart is going to use an essay i'm writing about rythmic patterns found in Drecroux mime as a section of a paper he's working on to publish in Mime Journal and the Journal du théâtre. I'm also eating a small bag of peanuts right now--always a good thing.

The Biggest

2006-01-09T23:24:00.000-08:00

The Biggest Pimp, in the world.

Is the NSA tracking me for this?

Old Rt. 22

2005-12-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

I had another great sleep last night, waking first at nine, again at ten, again at eleven, and then that nice five-to-ten minute bursts of sleep which are so enjoyable.

I was not really hungry when I woke up so I took a shower first. I was a littel weary of the bathroom next to my bedroom because of incredibly small size of that bathroom as well as the triangular angle coming down from the sloped roof. So using the one by the study I'd been using as technology center. Amazingly, despitehaving not been used in about five years, the water was neither dirty nor smelly, and I enjoyed the experience greatly.

I did make the breakfast I promised myself last night, though the Tofurkey cooked much faster than I had expected it would, and within a minute they were ready to be eaten. Having to pay extra attention to the Tofurkey, the undersides of the Sunny-Side Up Eggs got a little to crispy underneath. Eating the breakfast, like any meal eaten alone, went incredibly quickly and within three minutes.

I was really not at that point, or at any point today, in a mood to write. I thought a bit more about submission, and where I'd like to send some of my stuff. While I'm not trying to get recognition for anything, I want feedback and I think this would be an excellent way, though I'm sure most will be negetive, which will be good as well. I am thinking of many places and nothing has gone further than this thinking.

I then turned my thoughts towards departure and starting preparing for such. I decided to do the dishes (though I was not sure when the wash would be over and how that might affect my departure). I was torn, though a petty tear, of how much Orange Juice I could drink so as to not be wasteful. Drinking two more glasses took about an hour, while I played some bass, cleaned the living room (sweeping ashes, fluffling pillows, some minor trash). At around one I finally resolved to get going and cleaned the rest of the house, kitchen, upstairs, turned off all the lights, packed my bag (which included some shirts I had found in the cubbard in the room next to mine).

I headed home, incredibly pleased with the trip as a whole. Before i did leave I wrote a note to Joe thanking him, sorry that our paths did not cross. Driving was fine, but a section of Route 22 was out for some unknown reason and I was forced to drive about ten miles on Old Route 22, which is a gorgeous road. I soon realized that part of the road was what my parents used to take, though I was unsure why. I recognized this by a bridge the road goes under, making it a one lane (for cars in both directions), where I was forced to slow down, honk, and then proceed slowly. This part of that road used to terrorize me when I was a kid for some reason. Then that ended when I turned back onto Route 22 in Wassaic, and a smooth journey the rest of the way to Brewster.

A Family of Three

2005-12-27T19:56:00.000-08:00

My walk started with heading towards what used to be my mothers Rose Garden. Still fenced off, but covered in snow, the garden has fallen into general disarray as my mother has not been up here in over a year (well, neither had I). It had fallen to pieces well before that though, probably sometime around my parents divorce and certainly expedited by her marriage to Frank, and us then spending weekends on Long Island.

I started walking up a path I had rarely walked as a child; I had a memory of the path but neither where it led or its terrain. The path is short really, only 200 feet or so, all in plain site. To my surprise, within a few minutes I realized I was walking on ice. But what had distracted me was the frayed remains of some sort of shack I had never noticed before. It's wood gray and moldy, like all the other abandoned structures on the property. I wanted to get a closer look but for fear of how thin the ice might be and what terrain I might approach, I was forced to turn back.

I then walked along the edge of the lake from the house, down to the part when it is nearly on Berkshire School Road, over the bridge by the dam (whose water seemed to be at a level I had never seen as high) and around on to Giberson Road. Giberson, I had noticed last night, has a "Road Closed" sign on it, but the first thing I saw was a pick-up truck approaching. I waved hello and kept walking, starting to walk up Giberson towards what is/was Storm Field's property; land he bought immeadiately after she bought it. In the distance I saw 4 figures, I could not tell whether they were approaching or walking away. I got distracted from them looking into the woods and out over a corn field with only the roots sticking up in the winter. In about ten minutes I was within shouting distance of the four, which I soon realized was three and a dog. As we got closer I was not sure when was the right moment to say hello, at what distance it was necessary. The older man broke the silence, saying "Hey there" and I noticed with him were two young girls, maybe 6 or 7. We spoke for a few minutes about the road closure and how a tree was blocking the road further up (last night it was incredibly windy... but who knows how long the tree has been down for). Soon we were both on our ways and eventually I reached the top of a small hill and walked over it, making the man and girls vanish.

There I first noticed a bunch of trash on the side of the road (a road, I should mention, which is dirt and rock and rarely traversed even when open). I am used to there being some dumping around the property, but the objects dumped caught my eye. Two household cleaning object, a box for boots, some covers for lights that you might find in a school, and a tire. Quite an odd mix to be dumping I thought.

Further up I saw a tree with a large red dot on it, and on the other side of the road a like-dot on another tree. Also, some pink tape was on some brush and I soon noticed that the "WARNING: NO TRESPASSING" signs had changed from a blank "Name" field (our property) to a "Heaven Farm" name. I had never noticed this before, the signs were newer than ours, and this is why I think maybe Storm Field no longer owns that land.

I walked a bit further but the road was now entirely ice, with no place for me to walk or get a grip on the road in my boots, so I headed back, retracing my steps, stopping at the garbage again and taking many photos of the road.

I then turned into the woods, from the normal access point, which we used when I was younger and the prospect of camping there was incredibly tempting. I walked on the overgrown foot-path (long since grown now that few people walk there), stepped over the same tree I remember all these years, and remarked how many of the trees seem stripped of park, but not in a malicious way. The trees on the ground were often scorched in large places from lighting. I walked passed where we used to camp and headed towards the general area of where I knew we had a bench overlooking the pond.

Either the bench had been moved or it had truly been that long, but brush with pricks had grown all around the bench, and I was not able to reach it. I did notice that sitting on the bench was a knit hat, quite strange, obviously left by someone who ventured into the woods here but left without it. It used to be quite often that we would catch young kids or just random hikers in the woods on our property, but it seems that that time has long passed, it's overgrown as I mentioned and there is almost no litter on the ground.

I turned back, it had already been two hours of walking, but I noticed something on the ground that at first startled me. I thought I saw a snake but in fact, it was a power line, a colorful one. I followed it towards the dissapeare idissapearto dissapear, and then followed it about two hundred feet into the woods, where I lost it. If Joe appeared when I headed back I intended to ask him about it, but he persuitid. In my persuit of the wire, it either went underground (as it had already been covered mostly by brush and dampness) and walked back to the house, taking a slightly different route and enjoying the cold air hitting my face abusively.

As an update, I finished the book on Sheffield, which seems to show the town as one dominated by a few family's when it comes to politics, heavy on religion, and short on library's, housing, and economics. Amazingly, Teddy Roosevelt passed through, slowed down, but never stopped here. Makes sense.

I started a fire because the sun had gone down a few hours earlier and it was getting cold. When the first logs were dying I headed into town to get dinner, pick up a pizza at a new place in town (the only place). It's a diner of sorts, looks to be owned by a Greek or Italian family, I couldn't tell. On the wall were lots of pictures of a young girl, presumabely from prom. One of them had the text to a poem over it, entitled, "If Tomorrow Starts Without Me" or something like that. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a young girl, same complexion and hair color, so I assumed it was her in all the pictures. But as my eye turned towards the kitchen, I noticcondolancer condolancef condolance, some involving the words "[passing] of your sister." And it clicked. Looking again, the picture with the poem had a note under the text, "In memory of [girl's name I could not read] and unborn baby]" and then the date, I think it was October 10th. Below it was a small clipping from a newspaper with one of the same pictures of the girl, but the text was too small, I could not read it. Something in me made me desire to know how she died, she was 25 or 26 (that was the only part of the story I could read) and was pregnant, so I wondered what happened.

I headed back and ate the pizza in the living room by the fire, it was terrible and I regret buying it. I should have made breakfast for dinner, but I'll just have breakfast tomorrow. I have it all planned out. TTofurky, sunTofurky up, Tofurky and Orange Juice. Then I need to clean the house (I want it to look like I was never here) and then sometime in the late afternoon I'm heading back down towards the city.

It has been productive here, ten new poems I like, a clear head (refoundot rerefoundnd a refound love of it here. I really want to find out more about the history of this house (the book never mentioned it, despite its age and the towns small area). But that will have to be saved for another time, maybe summer, when the bugs are worst and there is more light.

No Snow

2005-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

I awoke at several times during the night, most noteworthy at about 5am, extremely thirsty. Being as there was only a clock in my room, it was pitch black, overcast clouds allowing no light outside: the prospect of making it downstairs for water was bleak. I did manage to slip into the bathoom and grab a few hand-cups of water and look myself in the mirror (my tossing and turning had taken its toll on my hair). The faucets in my bathroom are incredibly small and designed so that the hand can barely fit under them. My parents, for whatever reason, elected to give me the smallest bedroom in the entire house (there are three larger ones) and since then I've come to call it my own, refusing to take another (like last night, when I could have taken any room I liked, but stuck with the room in which I could not lie down on the floor of the width of the room, it's too small).

This morning I awoke at 9, which I was quite happy about. Having fallen to sleep at 1am (the earlier time since arriving back on the east coast). I turned over to just lie out for a bit, but quickly fell asleep into one of those odd occurances where it seems that you fall asleep very fast and everytime you look at the clock an hour has passed. It was a great feeling.

I made my way downstairs, making sure to dress myself so that I did not appear to be partially naked when Joe, the house keeper, arrived (which he has yet to do, not big concern). Grabbing a glass of fresh orange juice from Guido's, I took a cup of yogurt upstairs to the office/den which is mostly filled with old slides of China my father kept, an outdated TV, several old and tacky pieces of furnature and a fireplace. That is where I set up shop in an electronic sense, with the computer here and the phone line running across the room to the desk which has, oddly, been moved to a side of the room, no longer facing out on the lake: a development that deeply saddens me.

I've wasted away about an hour playing bass and reading a bit more about Sheffield. Sheffield apparantly has always had problems with organizing an education system and many privately owned schools dotted the area, 14 at one point (for a single town of about 2,000 at the time).

It's 2:30 and I plan on going out for a walk once I clear my lunch plate. It's 30 degrees outside and I plan on bundling up and wearing my boots so I can head into the woods a bit. I will take my camera with me, maybe share some of the photos at a later time.

2005-12-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

So I arrived at sometime in the later part of the afternoon, here in South-Western Massachusetts.

The clock on my fathers pick-up, which I drove up here, was wrong and my cell phone was tucked away in my pocket, so I don't really know what time I got here. The house seems to be in good condition, very clean, very warm (thanks to Joe, the house keeper, who came by yesterday [I suppose by his note] in which he turned on the heat, oppened a few of the fireplace flus and turned on lights).

I first went to Guido's, which used to be the fresh vegetable paradise. In the wake of most of the mom and pop places closes around here about 8 years ago, Guido's opened, with its lighted sign, nice design, and credit card machines; it felt like a really upscale supermarket. And everyone expected it to suck. Well, it didn't, everyone loves it, they support local farmers, it's really great.

Well, sometime recently Guido's went all organic, and with it, heavily vegetarian, which is great for me. They have an amazing assortment of soy products, imitation meat, and other great stuff. So I shopped there, got vegetables, corn, tofu stuff, fresh OJ, fresh cider, water, yogurt.

So I came back, and it was quite dark by then. I relaxed for a while, played my new bass and lit the fire, which was great. I've missed the great fireplace here, it truly warms the whole room. After an initial scare that Joe had, in fact, not opened the flu, I was actually confident that he had, and that there was just a lot of smoke. Opened a few windows and the problem was solved.

Dinner was no problem, though turning on the kitchen fan was, and I sipped over a bottle of wine for most of the night, playing bass every now and then.

All the while I've started reading a book called, "Sheffield: Frontier Town" which seems to simultaniously put forth that Sheffield was both at the forefront and the back of the revolutionary movement. While it at one point, being the first town to do so, declared its independance from England, it also never joined with the fight led by those in Boston to denounce English rule. That, coupled with the fact that the people who first settled here got along with the Indians incredibly well (better than anywhere else, just about) and the fact that the area is described as "secluded, hidden from the world and perfect"... not my words, but I wish.

I've written five new poems since arriving, and that was over the course of an hour, as well as one new song, with melody and all. Plus I took a song from the band and added the slightest change, makes it much bigger; having an electric bass is going to greatly improve our sound I think. I'm going to figure out a new way to update the poems page on my website (http://www.benkramer.com/poems) but until then, sorry.

Terrible Timing

2005-12-25T22:57:00.000-08:00

What a terrible time to try to get back into blogging. I leave for Massachusetts tomorrow, a three-day personal getaway. I'm planning on listening to records a lot, reading a lot, writing a ton (more than anything else... this is the big push, for what I don't know yet), and hopefully going for some nice walks. I'm hoping the lake is frozen so I can walk across it.

It's strange that I used to be scared of the house my mom has there, I love it very much and want to go to it whenever I can (it's been over a year now) but I always feared it, maybe because of its age. At 234 years old, it outdates this nation, and the first occupant was the town priest... so it's a bit scary.

It was later privately owned and for many years used as a hunting lodge, before a man, Mr. Shieb (or something to that effect) decided to make it his private home. He promptley ripped out a huge chunk of the land and built a lake there. With three small islands (why leave them in I have no idea... tough tree trunks?). Amazingly he tied the water source in from another lake (that is fed from the nearby Appelacian Mountains) and let it run towards the marsh that is on the other side of the road. Quite remarkable.

Since then my mother has done a great job of maintaining it, though through an accident some old (dating about 125 years) wallpaper of hunting scenes was destroyed. The marble, which makes up 1/3 of the house, it quarried from the same marble as one of the sections of the Washington Monument and in the woods across the lake there are huge chunks of it, moss growing over, that were cast away when not used.

So I go there. If I can get on the internet (going back to old AOL dialup) I will update. We've not updated in forever so I don't think anyone will check.

the clouds are moving away

2005-12-15T01:52:00.000-08:00

So I can now take a bit of a break from this hellish time of year. Finals are almost over…almost. I had my Civil War and reconstruction final this evening, and while I have been dreaming about the Civil War for the past two nights I’m actually a little (just a little) sad that the class is over.

I need to decide my major. Fuck ethnomusicology—not enough research papers and analytical thinking. This will be my task over winter break….that and not getting fat.

2005-12-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

My sleep/wake schedule is totally fucked up. In short: too much napping, not enough working. 3 days until my proposal is due, and 5 days until my research paper on african american spirituals in the context of antebellum northern protestant churches is due. Hell.

Oh the pain, oh the glory

2005-12-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

Last night saw the beginning of what many hope to become a new institution here at Pitzer, and perhaps the nation:

MONSTERSBALL

yes, it's a sport, it's an activity, it's... painful

Here are the rules:

- Any number of people can play, odd or even, but teams should have about the same number of players
- Players can wear pillows as pads, or not wear pads, but there is no mercy
- Each player may use any type of non-metalic stick (hockey stick encouraged)
- The ball should be bigger than a softball, soft but not pansy soft, and brightly colored
- The goal is to first kick the shit out of everyone around you (your team or not) and second, to put the ball in a goal
- The goal can be anything, as small or large as desired
- Seriously, beat the brap out of each other, there are no rules

So last night we played the game and well, it was amazing. One Charles Magnuson described it as "the greatest night of my time at Pitzer" while Brian Anderson exclaimed "Ow!"

No one knows who won, but we're all in a lot of pain and dying to play again.

I hate this time of the year

2005-11-30T03:15:00.000-08:00

There is so much work to be done, yet I am progressing so slowely! My brain hurts.

North Korea is fascinating.

http://www.korea-dpr.com/

just do it

XXX

2005-11-28T01:28:00.000-08:00

In a story on The Drudge Report a switch board operator was fired for telling a caller that X-ing President Cheney's face on a recent broadcast was "free speech."

Quote:
"
Laurie Goldberg, Senior Vice President for Public Relations with CNN, said in a release:

"A Turner switchboard operator was fired today after we were alerted to a conversation the operator had with a caller in which the operator lost his temper and expressed his personal views -- behavior that was totally inappropriate.'"

God, those prick Switchboard operators and their expressing personal views. Take it from Laurie Goldberg, one should never express personal views.

New blog!

2005-11-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

I'll keep posting here... but... I have a new blog, one that will be updated every day!

Ben Responds To Spam

T-day and a return to the grind

2005-11-27T23:24:00.000-08:00

I had a reasonably good Thanksgiving. It was nice to be home and sleep in my big bed and use my shower with the window in it, and jump on the trampoline and read in the bamboo. I should have gotten more work done. There was a bit of awkwardness surrounding my father’s absence (which was to be expected), but other than that the family is in good fettle. There was a massive amount of extremely good food (my grandmother is a goddess).

There is a great deal of work that I need to plow through in the next 3 weeks—I’m a little scared. This is the most unpleasant part of the semester.

My roommate should only be allowed to call his prospective boyfriend while in a secluded room. My ears have been violated.

someone's gotta say something

2005-11-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

So Thanksgiving:
I elected to stay out here in California, to do work mostly asnd get stuff done.
Yesterday, myself and four others went to Pasadena where we helped serve Thanksgiving Day meals to the homeless and those of low-incomes. It was a great experience, IU'm glad we were able to do it.

For the meal, two other students and I went to the Assistant Dean of Students house, where most of his family had gathered together and had a fantastic meal. There were all kinds of stuffing, I cooked a Nut Loaf for the vegetarians which actually turned out really well and pumpkin pie that was to die for.

We then proceeded to have a second thanksigiving meal (how, i will never understand) that consisted of the food cooked by several other students at my apartment (I donated my kitchen). We ate in one of the dorms, at a long table with candles and all, it was great. Then we went bowling and by the time we were done we were all ready to sleep for hours, and I sure did.

Today:
- Oil Change, boo ya

Press!

2005-11-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

So, as some of you may know from my old blog, last April saw the launch of the best website on the internet:

Chan Ho Park In Compromising Positions

which was started by Mike and I after a spring training game in Arizona.

Well, it took several months, but we started getting some press:

Dead Spin

as well as come mentions in some Gay/Lesbian Blogs around the web:
Big Gay Picture

Towle Road

Well, it's nice that our little baby is getting some love. Mike and I are gonna update the site soon with some even better pictures and captions, and hopefully find even more pictures of Chan Ho.

AHH!

2005-11-18T02:25:00.000-08:00

For the love of god Kramer--just go have sex with Chuck Norris! Hopefully it will cure you of your strange semi-sexual obsession with the man!

More Chuckism

2005-11-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

When Chuck Norris has sex with a man, it is not because he is gay,
but because he has run out of women.

Macgyver can build an airplane out of gum and paper clips, but Chuck Norris can kill him and take it.

Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia
Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean.

Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets
the information he wants.

If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds till." After you ask, "Two seconds to what?" he roundhouse kicks you in the face.

Chuck Norris only masturbates to pictures of Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris appeared in the "Street Fighter II" video game, but was
removed by Beta Testers because every button caused him to do a
roundhouse kick. When asked bout this "glitch," Norris
replied, "That's no glitch."

Chuck Norris lost his virginity before his dad did.

Since 1940, the year Chuck Norris was born, roundhouse kick related deaths have increased 13,000 percent.

Filming on location for Walker: Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris brought a stillborn baby lamb back to life by giving it a prolonged beard rub. Shortly after the farm animal sprang back to life and a crowd had
gathered, Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked the animal, breaking its
neck, to remind the crew once more that Chuck giveth, and the good Chuck, he taketh away.

Chuck Norris is not hung like a horse... horses are hung like Chuck
Norris

There are no disabled people. Only people who have met Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris does not have AIDS but he gives it to people anyway.

Chuck Norris uses ribbed condoms inside out, so he gets the pleasure.

There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another
fist.

Chuck Norris once lined up to kick the winning field goal of a high
school football game. When the football went flat, he persuaded the
referees to let him kick the field goal with a 3 month old child.
Chuck roundhoused kicked the baby 60 yards through the uprights and then proceeded to bang every girl in the stadium.

Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are
trademarked names for his left and right legs.

It was once believed that Chuck Norris actually lost a fight to a
pirate, but that is a lie, created by Chuck Norris himself to lure
more pirates to him. Pirates never were very smart.

2005-11-17T17:50:00.000-08:00

Into The Woods at Seaver Theatre. See It. Its Good.

so... nothing

2005-11-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

So I spoke with Ms. Llamas. I always appreciate the condesending tone.

So she has no idea, though I suspect she does, of whether I will get a roommate or not. One option is that I could ask a different Mike, who lives with Kinzel who is moving on campus with my current Mike. Under this idea, Mike would take one room, I'd take the other, because we're quite different people... cleanlinesswise. I think this would be a great idea if we end up with roommates, both of us.

So... I know nothing.

mon coeur pleure pour le kramer...(vraiment)

2005-11-15T21:03:00.000-08:00

I sympathize greatly with my good friend and colleague—Leticia Llamas is indeed an individual worthy of investiture in the category of “heinous spiteful bitch”. I point to this week’s reprehensible shortage of toilet paper—a shortage which inflicted horrors of such an intimate nature upon the good-hearted people of Mead Hall. Let us remember this time of strife, that it may bring us together and unite us—not simply as human beings, but as creatures with a digestive tract.

The rooming situation is indeed something of a quandary, and I understand where Kramer is coming from—he has a great living situation (with a kitchen, no less) and I’m sure Mike is a really great roommate. I fervently hope that Pitzer won’t condemn Kramer to a hellish future (I don’t think they will), but institutions have a mind of their own (much like the Borg, actually—only less green).

On another note, I just felt as if something snapped/gave way on the right side of my pants…I don’t think anything ripped…no, I can’t feel a rip…hmm…I’ve also never heard of someone ripping their pants while sitting down.

The semester has been hurtling forward at an unbelievable speed—I can hardly believe that it is almost thanksgiving and that soon thereafter it will be finals (that period of one’s life which Bette Davis commonly referred to as the “time of hell!”…actually not), and then off home for a month. It seems too early for all that change.

I have tended to avoid writing anything too personal here, as I assumed that the purpose of a blog is to record, hold and display little light-hearted vignettes and little quaint insights into current topics. In other words, there is no personal gravity to a blog. And why should there be? After all, most people (except perhaps those in the arts) don’t tend to want to read someone’s roughly-hewn and badly written raw, dull accounts of life—its boring! An example of this would be “April 9th, in the year of our Lord,1644 A.D.: Today was fucked up. Nothing happened. Oh, and dinner was okay.” Conversely, those who are doing the writing are sometimes uncomfortable with the prospect of conveying their deep thoughts, desires and contemplations for mass consumption—(I don’t think I need to explain why)—that’s what a diary (or that atrocity, livejournal) is for. Nevertheless, this unfiltered material is more interesting and potentially impacting thing which can be written, as we humans enjoy seeing the humanity in one another—seeing that others engage in the Promethean struggle of daily life. Good writing, good theatre, good poetry, good film, good art, good dance, good music—anything which comes from a creative process which touches on a facet of life in turn touches and affects us. This is why reality TV is so popular, this is why people cry after seeing the film “The Elephant Man” (or the play, for that matter). Yes, its all a farce and a lie—but there is a kernel of truth that impacts us because we have the magical ability empathize and a willingness to selectively dismiss what we know to be true. I should be writing an essay now (notice the shift from the levity of the beginning of the entry to the analytical, un-edited voice of the present section), but I wanted to purge this thought from my system before I let my mind shift into history-mode. In any event, while I’m not abandoning filtration in its entirety, I will be cognizant of that which I have discussed and will endeavor to show at least a glimmer of my humanity and my foibles. In short, this will now be a more humanist blog—which comes from a place a little closer to my heart.

ahhhh fuck

2005-11-15T01:18:00.000-08:00

I don't know why but this housing thing is really weighing me down (see two posts below). I'm really concerned that I'll get stuck with someone I really clash with like last year. I'm not mad at Mike, but he's made his situation better and possibly much worse. I mean, there's a possible upside: an apartment for two with just me in it... but knowing pitzer they'll find a way to fuck me over.

I'm gonna make the case if they try to bring me on campus that I bought a couch, fridge and such for an apartment on the assumption I'd be here for a full year, this is truly irritating.

Leticia Llamas will be getting a visit from me in the morning, if she can stop being such a rude, hateful and unhelpful person for 5 minutes.

Borat, No!

2005-11-14T22:02:00.000-08:00

Borat! Be Careful!

the gem of the piece:
We do not rule out that Mr. Cohen is serving someone's political order designed to present Kazakhstan and its people in a derogatory way," Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev told a news briefing.

they really do talk like Borat over there in the 9th largest country

Rooming

2005-11-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

So Mike has just informed me that he and another friend of ours were able to find a room on campus and are going to take it. I don't blame Mike, he is the hardest working student I know, in the spring he will have baseball, he really needs to be on campus, it makes life much easier for him.

But now I need to figure out what is going to happen to me. Do I get a new roommate? Where is this person coming from and do I get any say in who it is? Do I get a single? Do I get forced back on campus if there is room? If I don't like the person I might get as a new roommate then I may petition to move "off campus" officially if I can find a place.

Basically, this just sucks. I'm gonna miss Mike, he's one of my best friends, a great roommate and the nicest guy in the world. But again, if anyone deserves to be on campus, it's him.

Oh, and Tyrus, Chuck Norris is an American Hero. Look it up in any textbook, on any subject. A Civil War book, a geology text book, any work of fiction. It's all there.

2005-11-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

Who is Chuck Norris?

enough

2005-11-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

enough of tyrus's depressing, complaining posts (i love them, though):

30 little known facts about Chuck Norris

1. Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

2. Chuck Norris built a time machine and went back in time to stop the JFK assassination. As Oswald shot, Chuck met all three bullets with his beard, deflecting them. JFK's head exploded out of sheer amazement.

3. Chuck Norris recently had the idea to sell his urine as a canned beverage. We know this beverage as Red Bull.

4. Rather than being birthed like a normal child, Chuck Norris instead decided to punch his way out of his mother's womb. Shortly thereafter he grew a beard.

5. Chuck Norris lives by only one rule: No Asian Chicks.

6. Takeru Kobayashi ate 50 and a half hotdogs in 12 minutes. Chuck Norris ate 12 asian babies in 50 and a half minutes. Chuck Norris won.

7. The original theme song to the Transformers was actually "Chuck Norris--more than meets the eye, Chuck Norris--robot in disguise," and starred Chuck Norris as a Texas Ranger who defended the earth from drug-dealing Decepticons and could turn into a pick-up. This was far too much awesome for a single show, however, so it was divided.

8. Chuck Norris was the fourth Wiseman. He brought baby Jesus the gift of "beard". Jesus wore it proudly to his dying day. The other Wisemen, jealous of Jesus' obvious gift favoritism, used their combined influence to have Chuck omitted from the Bible. Shortly after all three died of roundhouse kick related deaths.

9. Chuck Norris's girlfriend once asked him how much wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. He then shouted, "HOW DARE YOU RHYME IN THE PRESENCE OF CHUCK NORRIS!" and ripped out her throat. Holding his girlfriend's bloody throat in his hand he bellowed, "Don't fuck with Chuck!" Two years and five months later he realized the irony of this statement and laughed so hard that anyone within a hundred mile radius of the blast went deaf.

10. To prove it isn't that big of a deal to beat cancer. Chuck Norris smoked 15 cartons of cigarettes a day for 2 years and aquired 7 different kinds of cancer only to rid them from his body by flexing for 30 minutes. Beat that, Lance Armstrong.

11. Chuck Norris once shot a German plane down with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"

12. When Chuck Norris's wife burned the turkey one Thanksgiving, Chuck said, "Don't worry about it honey," and went into his backyard. He came back five minutes later with a live turkey, ate it whole, and when he threw it up a few seconds later it was fully cooked and came with cranberry sauce. When his wife asked him how he had done it, he gave her a roundhouse kick to the face and said, "Never question Chuck Norris."

13. Chuck Norris frequently signs up for beginner karate classes, just so he can "accidentally" beat the shit out of little kids.

14. Chuck Norris took my virginity, and he will sure as hell take yours. If you're thinking to yourself, "That's impossible, I already lost my virginity.", then you are dead wrong.

15. Chuck Norris can make a woman climax by simply pointing at her and saying "booya".

16. Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, until Chuck Norris roundhouse kicked her into a glacier.

17. When Chuck Norris plays Oregon Trail his family does not die from cholera or dysentery, but rather roundhouse kicks to the face. He also requires no wagon, since he carries the oxen, axels, and buffalo meat on his back. He always makes it to Oregon before you.

18. In one episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Chuck Norris replaced Carlton for one scene and nobody noticed.

19. Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.

20. Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

21. Chuck Norris punched a woman in the vagina when she didn't give him exact change.

22. Chuck Norris has every copy of National Geographic in his basement. He also has the ability to lift every single one of them at once.

23. Chuck Norris ruins the endings of Harry Potter books for children who just bought one for the hell of it. When they start crying Chuck Norris calmly says, "I'll give you something to cry about," and roundhouse kicks them in the face.

24. Chuck Norris found out about Conan O'Brien's lever that shows clips from "Walker: Texas Ranger" and is working on a way to make it show clips of Norris having sex with Conan's wife.

25. Chuck Norris once tried to sue Burger King after they refused to put razor wire in his Whopper Jr., insisting that that actually is "his" way.

26. Chuck Norris once went to a frat party, and proceeded to roundhouse every popped collar in sight. He then drank three kegs and shit on their floor, just because he's Chuck Norris.

27. At the end of each week, Chuck Norris murders a dozen white people just to prove he isn't a racist.

28. Chuck Norris doesn't have normal white blood cells like you and I. His have a small black ring around them. This signifies that they are black belts in every form of martial arts and they roundhouse kick the shit out of viruses. That's why Chuck Norris never gets ill.

29. If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

30. The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.

its more than crisp....

2005-11-11T22:07:00.000-08:00

Its a fucking freezing Friday night and the semester is coming to an end. I have two term papers and a choral motet due before the end, and a large music theory test coming up in a week and a half. The weekends are dead! The weekends are dead! Long live the weekends!

its more than crisp....

2005-11-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Who the hell is Chuck Norris?

Stress becomes me

2005-11-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Stress. Loads of it. Tons of it. I've got it in excess. What the hell am I going to major in, and how can I possibly go abroad and still do it? AHH!

Let's Get to the Good Shit

2005-11-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

CNN.com gives us some great breaking news: Australian Terror Suspects Caught, Tornado Coverage... and... An actress ironically breaking her arm, while singing a song ironically singing a song about an accident!

Wow, if only Anderson Cooper were there to catch her.

Abroad!

2005-11-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

Yes yes, I forgot to mention one more thing….I think I have a pretty good idea about
a) what major I’m going to be creating
b) where I’m going to apply to go abroad (I’d prefer to go next fall)
c) what fellowship I’m going to whomp myself into applying for
d) what time I’m going to do laundry tonight
I would write it out for all to see (probably just Ben though, since I’ve seen no evidence that anyone else is reading these…which is okay, it just takes time….and a bunch of baboons with pea-shooters….), but I don’t want anyone to borrow my idea(s). Lets just say, ethnomusicology, middle-east, a year and 11.

Met a Pitzer alum from the class of 1971 (when Pitzer was still a woman's college). What a cool lady.

Oh, and I've started looking at internships for the summer (either in addition to or instead of taking Arabic at UCLA). I'm looking at doing a legal internship (for a litigator most likely), doing something at the music center (which would be amazing), or at the San Francisco Opera (which would be amazing, and in which case I would try to take Arabic at UC Berkeley). In the meantime though, I have a load of papers to fill out....I expect that creating my major will involve a great deal of bureaucratic spelunking.

sundays

2005-11-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

The Bob Marley festival was great—I especially liked the music, which was far better than anything I heard last year at Kouhouteck (that’s not how you spell it). One thing that I don’t like about the big parties that we have at Pitzer are those ugly “beer gardens” which are glorified chicken wire held up by posts thrust into the ground. Inevitably, the ground of “the garden” gets so trampled that the grass nearly dies and looks horrible for weeks until it grows back. They also dominate much of the prime grass-sitting area on the mounds which is unfortunate for those of us who don’t want to drink beer. Maybe we should have a more “bar-like” atmosphere, where people go to a relatively small paved area to get their cups filled then saunter back to be close to the music. I’m sure that its illegal though. I should probably ask N. to explain to me why its good to kowtow to the beer drinkers among us.

Its Sunday. I hate Sundays. It’s the calm before the storm. The flurry of work before diving back into another week. Not that I don’t look forward to another week (well, actually I really don’t), but it’ll be over before I know it.

Bob Marley Festival

2005-11-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

So last night was the 3rd Annual Bob Marley Festival here at Pitzer, and as this year I had found out that I was required to help out, I was quite involved last night.

We had six bands, five of which were professional. A large, larege number of people showed up, upwards of 400 at one point I would say.

I pretty much offered myself up as a gopher/gener-get-stuff-done guy. I did this same thing for the other music festival, Kohoutek, last year. I really enjoy doing stuff like this, concert problem solving, making sure stuff gets done and being satisfied seeing all those people having fun.

A lot of people seem to think I like the attention that might come with it (there actually isn't any, I stand back and talk to managers, facilities people, Campus Security)... a few said I was trying to grab attention by making this one, really long announcement, which I think is unfair. I'm not attacking anyone, but at certain times no one was stepping up to get shit done, so I just went. I was trying to maintain my festival duties with helping the grilled cheese making fundraising for Kohoutek and still seeing my friends.

At the end of the night, around 2am, I was barely able to move but had had an incredible time.

Sadly, I will hopefully not be here next year for the fest (awkward sentence) as I am hoping to be abroad.

On that, originally I was dying to go to China, but I have to be hoenst about my problems with language and how difficult it is for me to master. Mandarin would be impossible, and try as I may, I know, without just discouraging myself, that it's a lost cause. Becuase of that, an experience there would be horrible.

The program that really interests me now is in South Africa, in Durbin. It combines a media studies component. Obviously, I'll be missing out on the language part of going abroad, but I think I have a lot to gain. One of the required classes is about the New African Movement, something I studied very intensly last year and now know a lot about. Prof. Masilela taught a great class on some of the amazing African writers of the last 150 years, and I would love to pursue that subject even more while studying in the place where it all happened.

2005-11-02T23:04:00.000-08:00

Here is the short of it:

I was Janet Reno for Halloween--I would post pictures of my fabulous costume, but they are on someone else's digital camera.

The flu descended upon me late Monday night. While it has been far less severe than the last one (at least in the ache department) it has been unpleasant nevertheless. Thankfully it seems to be dispersing, as I just now noticed that my throat isn't nearly as sore.

Its time for a vacation. Yes, yes I know what you’re thinking: “but tyrus, its 5 and a half weeks before the end of the semester and this is the most juicy and intense part of the semester when all your knowledge comes together in beauteous ways to create large papers and make great and potent presentations! And just imagine, pretty soon it will be time for those wonderful wonderful blue books!!!!”

ugh

Right, I have another paper to finish now (the second today actually), but first I think that I will go to the gym to celebrate my now semi-soar throat.

Oh, and I think that Senate rule 21 is really rather cool.

Harry Reid is Christ?!

2005-11-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

What?! Who knew???

The Last Press Conference:

Drumming

2005-10-28T02:31:00.000-07:00

upon reading this an actual college essay i couldn't help remember with great fondness writing mine. seriously, i loved the process.

the essay i wrote for oberlin, which apparently got me in, was such a blast to write, i must find it and share. when you feel like you really have nothing to lose on something so serious as an application, it's just a great experience.

looge anyone? (g)

2005-10-28T01:08:00.000-07:00

My brain is a bit tired and headachey so this may make little sense...

Claremont, Claremont, Claremont.....don't get me wrong, I love going to college here and wouldn't have it any other way.....most of the time. But occasionally I am reminded just how insular the 5C's really are. We're far enough away from LA to prohibit regular involvement in the various cultural/social scenes (not to mention venues and Saturday-evening activities like MOCA or LACMA or nice restaurants. Oh, and if I ever EVER hear another idiot try to argue that Upland or the Village has these things too, I’ll kill him/her). We are an island on land, we have a relatively small combined student body, and basically rely on each other for entertainment and some modicum of sanity.

“10 percent” = 600
“2.8 percent family research” = 168
“1.7% Canada survey behavior 2004” = 102

Something just isn’t right…

Just so you know...

2005-10-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

OUR WEATHER FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK, will be much like what we’ve had the past few days, with scattered clouds and a 20% chance of rain beginning tonight and continuing into tomorrow. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 60’s during the day and upper 40’s at night. Saturday will be the beginning of some warmer weather and clearer skies. The weekend highs during the day will be in the mid 70’s, at night we can expect temperatures in the lower 60’s to upper 50’s.

So I'm starting to work for the classical music department of KSPC, and I've just been given a thick stack of CD's to review. I am scared and excited at the same time. Now its dinner time (then on to a documentary at Scripps).

BAD PLUS

2005-10-27T02:04:00.000-07:00

Just got back from seeing the Bad Plus at the Roxy with Fred. Second time seeing them out here, just amazed. On the old blog I posted a poem I wrote after seeing them, well here's one after this:

They are perfect cohesion.
You almost wish there to be a flaw,
some small human mistake
that would make this all believable.
The effortless effort:
contortions, arms whips,
an almost anxious movement of the body.
Out in the sea of bodies,
below the stages cliff,
there are so many different storms:
silent and steady; thunderous and violent;
and more than any other: shocked.
What practice could yield this skill?
There must be some hidden knowledge,
some deal with the devil,
there is no explanation for the
joy and pain we get from it.
We can only live for a few songs at a time
and then wonder what life is without them
in every moment.

Cartas al pie de un árbol

2005-10-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Good lectures make me happy. I'm not talking about class lectures one sits through on a day to day basis, (though I do enjoy those too sometimes),its the "extra-curricular" lectures--those once-in-a-blue-moon talks/lectures/shows/films/workshops that pop up throughout the semester--which can be the most satisfying. Any given day or night of the week there is at least something going on. More often than not, there are several of them, and one has to pick (or guess) which would be the most interesting. The first half of freshman year I went to a ton of 'em--ranging from a corporeal mime presentation at Pomona to a lecture on Hamiltonian mathematics at Mudd. Variety is a must--the more random or divorced the topic is from the familiar the more essential it is to go. I don't take notes, I certainly don't bring a tape recorder...I listen and when some idea or connection or method strikes me, I absorb it and tuck it away. The key is not to go overboard, lest they all start to run together, that and its best to be eclectic in what one chooses. Those things which bridge a discipline or two are a must.

Good lectures make me happy. I'm not talking about class lectures one sits through on a day to day basis, (though I do enjoy those too sometimes),its the "extra-curricular" lectures--those once-in-a-blue-moon talks/lectures/shows/films/workshops that pop up throughout the semester--which can be the most satisfying. Any given day or night of the week there is at least something going on. More often than not, there are several of them, and one has to pick (or guess) which would be the most interesting. The first half of freshman year I went to a ton of 'em--ranging from a corporeal mime presentation at Pomona to a lecture on Hamiltonian mathematics at Mudd. Variety is a must--the more random or divorced the topic is from the familiar the more essential it is to go. I don't take notes, I certainly don't bring a tape recorder...I listen and when some idea or connection or method strikes me, I absorb it and tuck it away. The key is not to go overboard, lest they all start to run together, that and its best to be eclectic in what one chooses. Those things which bridge a discipline or two are a must.

I didn't have all that much homework this evening (thank heavens), so I decided that I would be a good college student and go to a documentary at Scripps ("Grey Gardens"). Well, I was late, so that didn't happen, so instead I went to see a play at Garrison theatre (also at Scripps). Cartas al pie de un árbol (Letters at the foot of a tree), was (as you might have guessed) performed in Spanish by the Mexicali a Secas theatre group. Now I haven’t taken Spanish since high school, and since there were no super or surtitles, my understanding was limited to the basic plot, and the physical comedy. The play essentially follows an elderly woman named Mama Sorda (the woman in the picture) who leaves a part of Mexico which is plagued with drug wars to go search for her blind son who has fled to the United States with a friend in search of work and fortune. Meanwhile, her son is trying to cross the border and return home to his mother. It played like a classical Greek drama—there was a crossroads of fate, a chorus (of mariachi musicians), and a bedraggled Tiresias-like character who I think used the word fate a lot and continually referred to “el norte”. It was a good show overall. The way some of them moved was particularly interesting (especially the blind son)—its hard to describe, but there was a slightly fragmented and piece-by-piece (muscle by muscle) kind of approach to some actions (that's not to say that they did things slowly, rather that they did things in a clearly defined manner. In the end, I’m glad I went to it.

Can't wait to see this

2005-10-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Ever read The Drudge Report and wonder if life isn't just one big movie? I mean, look at those action shots. FEVER PITCH!

No no, back to more important things

2005-10-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

So within the next few days many are expecting that there will be some law being thrown around Washington... but that's not what's important. Condi Rice doesn't actually have Devil Eyes, that just the liberal media trying to convince their ignorant liberal followers that she's the devil play thing:

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifDEVIL EYES!

In Jim We Trust

2005-10-26T01:04:00.000-07:00

Today at lunch Jacob and I founded a new religion, or rather, Jacob is the messenger and I am but the story teller, but now... this:

Jesus Appears in a Fucking Tree!

Is this it?

2005-10-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Is this the war we want to be fighting?

Everyday Americans should not be dying for an unjust cause

The situation

2005-10-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

I've been sick, Tyrus is lazy.

Let's piece together my neighbors. I have 3 apartments in my stairwell/area... one below, one below and to the right, and one to the right.

Below me is a Chinese Family, Kirk at the head. Mike and I jokingly think eight people live in the apartment cause we see tons of people going in and out. What we know for sure is that Kirk is married, has a boy and a younger girl, stays up late watching TV and on the internet when his kid is also awake and that his son's best friend has the same name as I do (heard about this twice). Not to be racist, but Kirk really does have trouble making sense and when he tried to explain to me that his internet was not fully working, I could barely understand him and so to be polite, said, "I will look into it."

Beside us is an African-American family. We've seen the husband once and the son once, but I know they're in there. The wife is a very nice woman who is going in and out all day, she is a nurse of some kind. They have on their door a wreth which says "Welcome Spring!" As you may have noticed, it's late October. Also, a child's collage of an owl in on ther door. On their car is a sticker which says, "Beam me up Lord." I have no idea of what to make of that.

Below and to the right is, well, I don't know. I know a kid lives in their with their mother. Today the mother and I formally met, after trading hellos and such a lot. She is a barber and told me she just moved here from Orange County. Told me that if I needed a cut to come in ("I specialize in long hair."). They always has guests over and seem to be the most active.

So that's the situation. Mike and I live up here like a mysterious couple who rarely are seen around.

Dane Cook

2005-10-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

So I figured I'd give it a shot. Dane Cook is really popular right now, I've barely heard any of his stuff... so I sent an e-mail to his booking agency, to ask about what his price is if we could get him for Kohoutek (our annual music/arts festival at pitzer).

Well, the very nice agent at Cook's booking agency was very nice, called me back, and asid that our budget for headliners was not quite what Dane normally got. He asked if I wanted to know Dane's real cost or other comics in our price range. I figured that the only way we could justify having a comic at Kohoutek would be if it were a big star, I asked for Dane's price. "He goes for about $100,000... though with your close proximity to L.A., that can get knocked down 15-20%." I said thanks, explained it just couldn't happen, and continued on my day.

This is what dissapoints me: it's not that we can't get Dane Cook, cause again, I don't know his comedy, it's that Pitzer's financial situation is so fucking shitty. The only true disadvantage I feel going to Pitzer is that for a lot of school, getting a comic at 80grand is a drop in trhe hat, and at Pitzer, that's over four times our entire budget for such events. Kohoutek used to get amazing artists and now because of costs we still do, but we're unable to get really attractive headliners that can really make people show up for the festival.

Don't get me wrong, I think the festival is perfect, it's just that, I think of what it could be if we had more money. Fundraising can only go so far, annonymous contributions can only go so far. It's just a pain to know that we bust our asses off while many other kids at other schools have it so easy with getting good outside entertainment.

Yale

2005-10-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

So I visited Yale yesterday/last night to visit Ned and Sophie. It was very nice, I'd never really been around the campus. What I got from it is that the feel is really the same as any other college, but I kinda felt their halls/buildings were a little less inclinded for socialization. There are apparently 13 dining halls at Yale, one of which I ate at this morning and I must say... ehhh. It was okay, I'd probably still go with Pitzer brunch (amazing, I know).
_____

Now let's talk about important things: the movie "Field of Dreams"

So Ned, Sophie and I flip to this movie late last night, about 20 minutes in, and we tried to explain to Sophie the idea behind it and... it amkes no sense. Ned and I have been debatting ever since what exactly is going on... is the field the past? Is the past coming and visiting the present?

My theory involves the idea that every person has a purpose a moment or series of moments that define ones life. This would explain why Shoeless Joe Jackson is stuck as ballplayer rather than the man kicked out of baseball, Ray (Kevin Kostner)/the protagonist is there to build this field, it's so he can be reunited with his father... and why Moonlight Graham/Dr. Graham ends up back as a doctor. It is not as a ballplayer that defines his life but as a doctor, meaning that Ray's daughter must fall out of the bleachers to help him make that transition. James Earl Jones, as Terrance Mann, is a story writer, which is why he can go into the corn field but possibly live to tell about it.

The finaal piece is the idea that once someone from the past steps off the field they grow old/something happens, who knows. Only one person crosses the line from the field onto the rocks that lead to the stands... Moonlight Graham who instantly becojmes a much older man, like he was earlier in the film during the one moment that Ray seems to time travel... but Graham died many years before, so he's existing in the present even though he should be dead. So really, who knows what would happen if Jackson or any of the other ball players would have crossed the line.

Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa.

Gee, but it's grea to be back home

2005-10-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

Fall break and the rain is falling...

Arrived in nyc this morning, didn't sleep a wink on the Red Eye, slept for 5 hours and I feel like shit. Yay! It's good to be back home, excited to see my folks, great to have Ruggels right here (poor guy is having a nightmare right now, woofing in his sleep).

As for what Tyrus said about China, I too, plan on being there. It's a dream of mine to get ot China and what better time than the Olympics. I also think the threat of terrorism would be minimal as I don't think anyone knows where China really stands on anything these days.

Planned for the time home: visiting Yale, making a film about my right arm, eating the food I missed so bad.

After graduation

2005-10-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

Thats right....I've made up my mind. It may be a few years in the future, but what better time to kill two birds with one stone (visit a communist country and go to the Olympics).

Now I just need to think of when I can go to the Middle East....

No longer

2005-10-10T00:09:00.000-07:00

I can wait no longer. Tyrus claims he's busy, and then i see him at brunch, so he can't be THAT busy.

Anyway, Kevin, Nate, and I played our first "show" (aka, Motley open mic). Here's the killer set-list:

Kevin tuning (me awkwardly walking off stage)
Big Ideas (nate's song, nate and kevin on guitar, me on bass)
If You're Coming Back... (my song, kevin on guitar, nate on "drums," me on bass)
Widow Woman (kevin's song, kevin on guitar, nate on "drums," me on bass)

It was a lot of fun, I looked down most of the time and didn't mess up, so i'm happy.

who knows, pitzer open mic next?

refusal

2005-10-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

other than this post, i refuse to post until Tyrus gives us his "text to follow"

2005-10-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Text to follow shortly.

t.

well being

2005-10-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

I am better, thank goodness. Nevertheless, I was told to gradually (we’re talking over the course of a week) introduce fruits and veggies into my diet. I feel somewhat emaciated and stretched, though that might just be because it's a Monday…..

Creepy

2005-10-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

So my father was in town this weekend and we watched two fo three Red Sox-Yankees games. Very exciting, we're headed to the playoffs again, hopefully for a long time.

Sunday has slowly become my busiest day. I had/have 5 meetings today:
Other Side website meeting
Budget Committee
Student Senate
Student Activities Committee
Bob Marley Festival
Kohoutek Musical Festival.

Whoa! is me.

Creepy astronauts:

Oct. 1st, 2005

2005-10-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

Overheard tonight outside a CMC party:

girl with arm around guy: "Wait, where are we going?! I am NOT going back to your room."
guy with arm around girl: "Fine, we'll go to your room."

Later
Girl: And then we totally went to second base.

__

So suffice to say it was a strange night. I was there, and then told stories outside of Sanborn Hall for about two hours to a mostly captivated audience. I'm not really a huge fan of performing, why I don't do acting. I really don't like memorizing a script, I prefer improvisation and getting a feel for people listening to you, trying to make them follow along and keep them interested. And then I normally like to keep really quiet and just slowly head off. It's just my style, I guess.

Mike just walked in, he needs to drink water but not do the dishes (so he hasn't have THAT much to drink).

swab?

2005-09-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

To Kramer and everyone else in the world, I apologize for my extended silence--believe me, I did not choose to succumb to a gastroenteritis.

Getting sick in college really sucks. Not only is there the feeling of vulnerability which comes from being physically compromised, there is the added insecurity of being away from home (this is especially true when suffering from a never before experienced malady). As we are so close to fall break, the amount of homework is skyrocketing, and missing classes (even out of necessity) makes one shudder. It also helps to have a tolerant roommate—I am grateful to mine, (Garth) for his sympathy and help during the past few days.

I despise the “brat” diet. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it.

The new student health services building (shall we call it Baxter II?), is really quite nice, and surprisingly large! The waiting room was nicely populated with a smattering of morose-looking students who were either doing homework or were nursing some minor physical injury. One guy was delicately icing his pinky-knuckle, while his girlfriend rubbed his shoulder and mumbled things to him in a remarkably high-pitched voice (a la Shirley Temple). There was a fellow there who had apparently poked his eye on a bramble of some sort the night before. When the lady at the window asked how it happened, he exclaimed loudly “I MIGHT have been SLIGHTLY inebriated…..SLIGHTLY!, OK?! JUST SLIGHTLY!”.

The woman who took my temperature (by putting a small tube slightly inside my ear canal) had fingernails with blue and white tic-tac-toe grids on them (though one could argue that they were more like graph paper, except with the colors reversed). Wanting to be sociable I complemented her on them, and asked if graph paper was the inspiration. I don’t recall ever having a blood-pressure cuff pumped up so much—it actually hurt. I used to have a rubber bladder from an old sphygmomanometer that my father gave me after the nylon cuff-cover had broken. It made a good squirt gun, but I always wanted to turn it into a bagpipe…

The doctor (well, registered nurse—but there are so few of those around nowadays that it practically counts as med school), was amiable and kind—her stethoscope was cold (oh so very cold), but she was nice. She said that had I been in a few days ago she would have probably ordered blood work, stool samples and three different types of swabs…needless to say, I’m glad that I waited. The prognosis is that I should be much improved by Monday (she had me schedule a follow-up just to make sure), and I might be able to eat tofu and rice by Sunday. She gave me a hand out (which I half-expected to say “So, you have diarrhea”), wrote me a note to show my professors and off I went to the Hub to fetch me some Pepto Bismol…ugh.

Tyrus speaks!

2005-09-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

BenWKramer: update the motherfucking blog
ElTyRex: i was working on something last night
ElTyRex: but then i threw up and went to bed
ElTyRex: i'll update it
BenWKramer: fun!
ElTyRex: i have a stomach infection
BenWKramer: fun

Umm... la da

2005-09-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

So I have a teacher... let's call him Al Walk-tell, and I currently take two classes from him. Well, he constantly compares himself to great figures in history, mostly really really strong men. And he's up there in his years and it was funny the fiurst five times, really, I laughed. But nowwww... not so funny.
So his little schticks that I guess get people to love him so much are growing kinda old. I still think he's a fab teacher, doubt me not. But alas, it is not his antics that entice my heart, no. It is his words and wisdom.

What happened to the last part of that post?

Tyrus

2005-09-29T00:28:00.000-07:00

Tyrus is really lagging on the updates, which I think in turn makes me lethargic... we have to right the ship. This fire is outta control.

Tyrus, if you are checking this... your own blog, come on damn it. you're an interesting fellow... entertain the masses.

leave comments for tyrus to support him.

sign me up

2005-09-27T01:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my golly golly me, I cannot wait for this:
The O.C. video game

Seriously, I want to meet the genius.

its like the moose you never knew

2005-09-26T02:58:00.000-07:00

right, so I seem to be able to write random sentences, but I can't write a paper about the paradox of American freedom being born out of a slave-based system (in the southern colonies). I've got my quotes all lined up! My thesis sucks, but that can be fixed in the morning. I'm not very good with topic sentences right now--its too late/early in the day... Maybe some sleep will cure all ills.

um.......hmm.........maybe?......no, no.........*sigh.....

2005-09-26T02:36:00.000-07:00

Writer’s block………….shit.

Flipper's gonna put a cap in yo ass

2005-09-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

holy crap: Dolphins Carrying Loaded Weapons Missing After Hurricane Katrina

A Little Baseball

2005-09-24T17:25:00.000-07:00

The Red Sox game just ended (I'm a huge fan if you didn't know that already)...

So the Sox just pulled out a great victory of the O's, Renteria with a clutch single to score two runs in the top of the 9th.

And with the Yankees loss, the two teams are tied for first in the AL East (and both 1 game back in the Wild Card to the Indians [holy shit]).

So it looks like it will come down to the last three games. I think anyone who thinks about baseball knew this would happen. It's made all the more sweet that it looks like one team won't make it (as opposed to one winning the division and one winning the wild card, and almost surely seeing each other in the ALCS). I'm extremely excited, I almost would rather have the season end during the season than the playoffs (though obviously I would love to see the Sox get into the playoffs and have a long and plentiful time there).

Too many "()"s in this post.

Cooking Report

2005-09-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

So I will dedicate this time (between the 9 and 10 hour) to a cooking report. Each Thursday, several friends come over and watch the best TV show ever (The O.C., silly!) and I cook. The past two weeks were great. I made three different dishes each time, try to spice it up, mix things around (a zuccinni/egg/cheese spread was especially popular).

Tonight I intended to make three. One was a zuccinni boat stuffered with some yum yum stuff like onions, peppers, garlic, some great sauce and stuff. That didn't happen, I didn't have a casserole dish, tin foil, and one of the other ingredients.

So the things that did work (I will post the recipes later):
Mexican Breakfast Wraps, with egg, green pepper, onion, tomato and some other good stuff (better than just a breakfast burrito). Served that with a salsa which was amazing.

The other was a Avocado-Lime Dip which Mike and I now swear by. It is a bit sour but tastes amazing.

As I said, I will post instructions tomorrow.

Nightshade! Camels! Thesaurus! Quebec! Toast!

2005-09-22T01:20:00.000-07:00

As I was jogging through the colleges this evening (well, actually just a few minutes ago), I noticed something somewhat odd at Pomona--there was no one outside. No one! Not one person walking or sitting or talking on a phone outside. In truth, I just assumed that they were all inside when actually I didn't run across anything human. There were 3 people walking around CGU--and it has like 1/10 of the on-campus resident population that Pomona does....wtf? This is not the first time that I’ve noticed this Pomona phenomenon, its just that tonight the lack of people was soooo obvious when compared to the other colleges (where there were as few as 3 or 4 at CGU to 20 or 30 at Harvey Mudd). I think I’ll start a facebook group called “Pomona Students have narcolepsy”.
In other news, this week has been filled with work (for some bizarre reason), and I still feel like I’m moving through it all much to slowly. Does that mean that I’m not going to party this weekend—heck no! But I will be forced to do homework on Friday afternoons….
My 6 classes today weren’t all that bad, and I only started to feel tired after mime class. Now its time to finish an ethnomusicology paper—and by that I mean go to sleep and do it in the morning.

(and the subject line is completely random—a product of my silly, sleep-deprived mind)

This is amazing

2005-09-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

Amazing Sidewalk Art

The Truth and the Facts

2005-09-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to write a paper. You would think it would be fun, it's comparing Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live to The Daily Show. But nothing can come to me. I'm not even procrastinating, I'm really trying hard here, but now I just resolved to tell the unknown masses (you) about it. Thanks for your help.

Of Pack Animals and Beasts of Burden

2005-09-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

I am tired. Kabuki was hard--I don't think that I'll ever be able to walk like a little Japanese girl.

New Jews

2005-09-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.theredalert.com/features/silverjews.htm

There you can see a new interview with David Berman, head-honcho of the Silver Jews (whose new record "drops" in October). Look out for the horse, football, and Duran Duran references.

The First Post

2005-09-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, the time is here. Tyrus Emory and I have started a blog together. Get ready for a mix of politics, sex, education, baseball, random thoughts and above all else... college randominity.