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Wassup 2008
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Whoops

Definitely meant to be in bed by now. Alas. Still, the comic above was worth it. And now to bed...O-chem exam this afternoon, Italian tomorrow morning. Wheeeeeeee. I'll let you know if I survive.

A week to the election!

Go Phillies!

Seriously, f*ck the Rays. This is the only time I will mention the ALCS until at least the beginning of next season, if ever again. F*ck the Rays, and all I have to say of the catcher situation is that of Varitek, Kevin Cash and David Ross (seriously? Ross?) I would much rather have Tek and Cash. Anyway, go Phillies. I'm dubiously claiming the right to cheer for them (born in Philly!)

In other news, apparently Sarah "Maverick" Palin's threads cost a bit more than she let on. Remind you of anything? Next thing we know she'll be having a tell-all during the next Olympics.

Also, I'd like to point out that Andrew and I were Mavericks long before the Republican machine stole the term. Go Princeton debate! I still throw down the sign all the time (see above). If I see McCain and Palin doing a secret handshake that in any way resembles ours, then I'll know for sure something's fishy.

One last note: Orgo is cruel and unusual. Homework over reaction types that we haven't covered in class is just too much. Bleah. SN2 and SN1 have been learned. E1 and E2 await...and then more. Whee! Also, bacteriology rocks. Looking forward to either immunology or virology in the future. And at some point, macrobiology. Tufts was on campus today (a guy from the - get this - Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine). Hehe. Aside from scaring the crap out of me (82 admitted out of >750 applied!), it was pretty interesting. Also, I think I may go abroad after all. Now to find a program that fits my interests. Scotland or England would be fun...

Last note (for real this time!): Food would be appreciated if sent from home. Perhaps in exchange for NYT crossword puzzles? They're mostly Thursday and Friday because I do all the others, but I've managed to get doubles of some of those. We're talking about maybe a dozen to fifteen puzzles...we could make a deal, I feel. And now...music!


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It's almost Halloween

The year goes on, sometimes crawling, sometimes racing. I have another round of tests in the next two weeks; it's very strange to think that the semester is close to half over. It still doesn't feel like I've been here very long, although I wouldn't mind going home for a bit. Just a bit, though. Three months at home takes more time than this to wear off completely.

Heard "Gone" from Golden Smog in the dining hall today, and was a little bit excited to hear it there. A sampling of music from the so-called "supergroup." And a little bit extra. Daniel out.


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Fiddling with Regularity

I'm back to the late night routine again, and we'll see how regularly I can keep it up. Pumped with adrenaline right now, though, so I won't be getting any sleep for a while. And why am I filled with energy? Because the Sox just came back from 7-0 to win 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth, that's why. Amazing.

Other notable events of the night: Met Congressman Mike Michaud, a perfectly likable person. But I would personally have to vote (if I were voting in Maine) for Professor John Frary simply because he's a character. There was a debate, but I couldn't make it.

I was too busy attending a talk by Nobel Laureate Robert Curl, and being amazed at how people take the Nobel as a token of knowledge in all areas. The talk was not actually about chemistry but about living with technology, and consisted of warnings against nuclear proliferation and a focus on population problems and carbon emissions. Then the question and answer session brought up topics like the political structure of the world and education. Not to complain about the illustrious man, but I look forward to tomorrow's talk that will actually concern chemistry.

So for right now, I'm going to coast into the weekend and try not to think about the fact that it's Parent Weekend and I'll be working at the bookstore pretty much nonstop for the next three days. Which pretty much eliminates my weekend. So...yeah. For now, sleep.

More Late Night Posting

I meant to go to bed long before this...ah well. I'm awake, so I'll be productive. Sort of. Got my absentee ballot in the mail today; lots of parties on there in the presidential column. An irrational part of me (the irrational majority?) wants to vote for Bob Barr just for the heck of it. But no, I'll vote for Obama. Mr. Change got my vote when he got the nomination. And of course I relish the chance to vote against Mean Jean, even if she is injured. We can only hope that Wulsin didn't pay somebody to have Schmidt whacked. She clearly didn't get her money's worth if she did.

Nice to see the casino issue making it to a vote again. Dunno if it'll pass or not, but I doubt it. Don't know how I'll vote on it, either. So...yeah. That's fun.

Still debating whether to go abroad next year or not. Studying at the University of Edinburgh would be fun, and the biology program there is supposed to be good. Right now, though, I don't know if I really want to go. The program's in the spring of junior year, which would make applying to veterinary schools fun. And by "fun" I mean annoying. So that's still up in the air. Also, I think taking the MCATs (VCATs?) would be "fun" if I was in Europe. Eh.

Listening to the Avett Brothers right now; good stuff. Little list below if I decide to put the effort into making one. Alright, I put one together. It's down below.

Fall break is over and done with; it gave me the chance to read more than I have been lately. Neil Gaiman's "Graveyard Book" is really good; thanks again to my friend Dan who got me an autographed copy. "City of Thieves" is also quite good; I read an advanced uncorrected proof, but I think it came out in May. I also reread a story by Tobias Wolff, "Old School." Mrs. Harding gave me that one a few years ago and it's a fantastic read, as is most of Tobias Wolff's work. Right now I'm working through Susanna Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," which is really good, quite long, and a bit difficult to read. I've also got another advance copy of a book called "Germania," which came out last month.

So that's my reading history over the past four days. On to other mediums...the Winterpills' new album is fantastic. Been listening to that. Other than that...music follows.

I think that's exhausted my supply of words for this night. Going to sleep now would probably be a good idea; I drove to Portland and back to get winter clothes from my grandparents' house, and as great as the Honda CR-V is to drive, it was still tiring. Little bit of a car review: (keep in mind my limited experience) more spacious than it looks, handles well for a larger vehicle, seats were comfortable. The shifter was in a strange place; it was in the style of a sedan, but without the center strip between the front seats the shifter had to go in the center console, beneath the fan controls and the radio. No serious complaints, though. Zipcars are awesome.

Well, as promised, there is music. I'm going to bed. Tomorrow (today!) should be fun...Nobel laureate Robert Curl will be speaking, and the Red Sox play after (even if the past few games have brought only pain. Right then, sleep.


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I Can Hear the Bells

Every morning, nine o'clock. First the bells ring, then Hail Canada plays. Or rather, Hail Colby Hail. Difference: the words.

Anyway...started this post quite a while ago. Notables: Red Sox win, proceed to ALCS starting Friday night. I've been cast in the role of Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, which is what I'll be doing for all of January. Also, added a bald eagle to my lifelist today.

And that's pretty much it.

I see skies of blue...Clouds of white...

For the first time in a long time, there are clear skies. Or mostly clear. Weathermen would call it partly cloudy. But the important thing is that it's not raining for once.

Important things: The Red Sox are up 2-0 over the Angels, to my joy and my friend's (an Angels fan) anger. The Cake concert was excellent; also the Winterpills were amazing, and I got their new album.

Answers for Andrew: Yes, Yes, and it went pretty well. Ah, Perry debaters...

Music for everyone!


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And the world continues to turn

Despite the fact that September has flown by and all of a sudden it's October. My first O-chem exam is in slightly less than 15 hours, my first bacteriology exam is next week, and I'm writing a five page paper for Friday. So, you know. Fun.

But on the bright side, Google has not taken over the world yet (that we know of), the Senate has passed the bailout, the Giants are 3-0, and the Red Sox just won their first playoff game. Also, I have successfully completed a Wednesday New York Times crossword puzzle for the first time.

Incidentally, the Times reports that Barack Obama was actually looked at by John McCain on the Senate floor during voting on the bailout. I'm really looking forward to watching the debate tonight. I know this is before my time, but I'm really hoping for a "You, governor, are no Hillary Clinton" moment. Unfortunately I don't think Joe Biden is capable of such concise statements. I plan on enjoying bilateral amusement. Hopefully my absentee ballot will arrive soon.

My mind tends to wander at a late hour. Also, I had a Vault at about noon, and since I don't drink much caffeine (I try to keep to water or juice at meals) the effects are still sticking with me. But anyway, speaking of voting and exercising rights, I assume everybody has heard of the Amethyst Initiative? Right now the president of Colby, Bro Adams, is not supporting it. Shocking! This may change, or not; I know that there was a group of students in the student government who were going to petition him to sign. Because nothing says good policy and sincerity like signing on pain of student protest.

Disclaimer: the following was written without being thought through, and the only reason it appears here is because I spent ten minutes writing it and don't feel like deleting it. Read on at your peril.

And to continue with my rant, student protest has been big on campus lately. Not actual protest, of course; the students here are too secure in the world to actually need to change anything. No, this protest is quite a bit more impotent. A little background: the Student Programming Board (SPB) opened the events calendar with themed dance: a luau, as it were. Soon after the student body found out through campus wide emails (it's called the Civil Discourse (but don't let the name fool you) and comes out every morning) that some students (two) had been offended by the dance. Turned out that part of Colby's diversity includes Hawaiians, and they'd been offended by the themed dance. So they demanded an apology; the SPB dallied; the offended party became even more inflamed and gathered some of the more "socially conscious" students to their side; the SPB apologized and was deemed insincere (a formal apology was brushed aside because the phrasing was not personal enough); terms like white privilege were thrown about...the end result is a multiculturalism rally on the steps of the library tomorrow afternoon.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I'm all in favor of social awareness and avoiding racism. But for an entire month we've had all sorts of minorities competing for the label of "most discriminated against," and I'm frankly sick of it. My one contribution to the fray pleaded for rationalism, which of course was shouted down as what a typical white and privileged student would say. Right, I'll keep that in mind. Note to self: apparently going to high school among more diversity than most of these people have ever seen is an invalid argument in the face of being part of the white majority...oh wait, that doesn't work.

One of the more annoying features of Colby is that we live in a nice insulated bubble, free from the actual cares of the world. This is a good thing in many ways, but when it comes to issues such as the economy (I won't claim to know exactly what's going on, but at least I keep up with events) or racism, we've forced ourselves into a corner. Without any real issues to deal with, we invent our own. And this is how a school dance with a luau theme that offends two students embroils the better part of the student body in a sudden wave of cultural awareness and white guilt.

If you're still with me, I deeply apologize for you having to read the previous. Here's some music to make up for it.


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