New vlog post is up! This one covers some current events, and my point of view is a little objective- so please don't watch if you might be offended by a pro-choice view or by anything relating to moon-water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ-AFfuQNEI
Enjoy.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sexual-Story-Saturday Sequel!
It's Saturday! And you know what that means!
Limerick!
There once was a gal from Manhattan
But traveling was her one passion
She went everywhere
On planes in the air
And legs in a similar fashion
Hopefully you get it. It's pretty blatant.
Today is another gorgeous fall day, and more than anything else: It's the weekend! At long last. Although I know I said pretty much the same thing yesterday.
Lucky for me, I got most of my work out of the way last week, so my only real work now is my essay for my seminar. And my essay for my medieval studies class. And my two research paper peer edits for Survey of Jazz. And all of the reading I need to do. So yeh, not much at all.
Today will be pretty chill, I predict. Procrastination!
Expect a vlog post at some point or another this weekend.
Limerick!
There once was a gal from Manhattan
But traveling was her one passion
She went everywhere
On planes in the air
And legs in a similar fashion
Hopefully you get it. It's pretty blatant.
Today is another gorgeous fall day, and more than anything else: It's the weekend! At long last. Although I know I said pretty much the same thing yesterday.
Lucky for me, I got most of my work out of the way last week, so my only real work now is my essay for my seminar. And my essay for my medieval studies class. And my two research paper peer edits for Survey of Jazz. And all of the reading I need to do. So yeh, not much at all.
Today will be pretty chill, I predict. Procrastination!
Expect a vlog post at some point or another this weekend.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Euro-peons
Well, today is finally, at long last, Friday. But it's not just any Friday. For those of you date-ly impaired people, today is Friday the 13th. And you know what that means...
A week and six days until Thanksgiving!
And lucky for us, our central campus dining hall, "Okenshields," is kind enough to remind us of that fact... with Christmas decorations? That's right, all of their decorations are already up: hanging ornaments, Santa Clause hats, crucifixes, the whole shebang. I won't talk about this dilemna though, since I already ranted about it in my post "The (Storefront Decoration) Nightmare Before Christmas" back a month ago when I first noticed Christmas decorations here and there, and the sound of Christmas in the air (the chimes playing Christmas carols...).
Now onto other previously-not-talking-about topics.
Remember my post yesterday in which I talked about those musicians? Well I discovered another musician who is absolutely amazing. His name is Jamie Cullum, and he has a fantastic jazz cover of Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music." All of you probably haven't heard of him. The reason? He's European (I can hear all of you going like "ohhhh, that explains it" on the other side of the interwebs). You know who else is European? Melody Gardot (I was tempted to say Hitler, and I'm sure some of you expected that), the lady I linked to the other day. Mika, who I linked to a while ago, is also European. So why is it that all of these fantastic musicians that are huge in Europe are mostly unknown here (well, not Mika, but the other two)?
The answer is today's haiku:
I have no idea
Why on earth Europeans
Have such great music
Were you expecting a straight answer? I considered something making fun of them, but then I realized that a tactic such as that would not really help my case and point. Although they still are great fun to mock.
One reason I suppose may be that Europeans' culture does not promote vanity as much as Hollywood does. Why is this relevant? Well, Jamie Cullum, who has all the makings of a pop star, looks like a cross between Dwight from The Office and Elijah Wood. And as a result, girls do not fall head over heels in love with him, something required for popularity in America. Talent is not nearly as important as being dreamy, case and point: The Jonas Brothers. If looks were not an issue, I think the popular music in America would be closer to being on-par with Europe's.
Sorry for the bad joke in the title, but I couldn't help it.
A week and six days until Thanksgiving!
And lucky for us, our central campus dining hall, "Okenshields," is kind enough to remind us of that fact... with Christmas decorations? That's right, all of their decorations are already up: hanging ornaments, Santa Clause hats, crucifixes, the whole shebang. I won't talk about this dilemna though, since I already ranted about it in my post "The (Storefront Decoration) Nightmare Before Christmas" back a month ago when I first noticed Christmas decorations here and there, and the sound of Christmas in the air (the chimes playing Christmas carols...).
Now onto other previously-not-talking-about topics.
Remember my post yesterday in which I talked about those musicians? Well I discovered another musician who is absolutely amazing. His name is Jamie Cullum, and he has a fantastic jazz cover of Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music." All of you probably haven't heard of him. The reason? He's European (I can hear all of you going like "ohhhh, that explains it" on the other side of the interwebs). You know who else is European? Melody Gardot (I was tempted to say Hitler, and I'm sure some of you expected that), the lady I linked to the other day. Mika, who I linked to a while ago, is also European. So why is it that all of these fantastic musicians that are huge in Europe are mostly unknown here (well, not Mika, but the other two)?
The answer is today's haiku:
I have no idea
Why on earth Europeans
Have such great music
Were you expecting a straight answer? I considered something making fun of them, but then I realized that a tactic such as that would not really help my case and point. Although they still are great fun to mock.
One reason I suppose may be that Europeans' culture does not promote vanity as much as Hollywood does. Why is this relevant? Well, Jamie Cullum, who has all the makings of a pop star, looks like a cross between Dwight from The Office and Elijah Wood. And as a result, girls do not fall head over heels in love with him, something required for popularity in America. Talent is not nearly as important as being dreamy, case and point: The Jonas Brothers. If looks were not an issue, I think the popular music in America would be closer to being on-par with Europe's.
Sorry for the bad joke in the title, but I couldn't help it.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
SONG: [Insert Cliche Here]
New song is up! Tell your friends. Or don't. I don't really care. Well, maybe I do. But only a little. Kind of.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvRySYyTqeU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvRySYyTqeU
Turning Every Holiday Into Canadian Thanksgiving!
Well, apparently yesterday was Veteran's Day. And I didn't realize it until somebody told me at around 2 o'clock. Why is this, you may ask, that I have such blatant disregard for our country and all of its rituals? Well, it's simple
The Cornell does not
Believe in holidays or
Patriotism
That's right. Holidays to Cornell are about as real as the Tooth Fairy or separation of church and state (sorry for the spoilers). Labor day? Veteran's Day? Professing your love for America? Unimportant. Yom Kippur? Rosh Hashana? Being Jewish? Nope, not legitimate excuses for holidays. Diwali? Nope. Canadian Thanksgiving? No, although it doesn't really count as a holiday to anyone, does it? In any of these cases (well, most of them), the holidays that are generally accepted by our country as legitimate excuses for days off are not accepted by Cornell. We do get Columbus day, but they pull a cheap shot and make it the same weekend as our "fall vacation" so they really only give us one real day for that break.
On the bright side, next year Labor Day will be given to us as a real day off. However, classes will start a day earlier to compensate.
In other news, our Winter break will still remain ridiculously long so that you do end up stranded at home weeks after all of your friends have left.
The Cornell does not
Believe in holidays or
Patriotism
That's right. Holidays to Cornell are about as real as the Tooth Fairy or separation of church and state (sorry for the spoilers). Labor day? Veteran's Day? Professing your love for America? Unimportant. Yom Kippur? Rosh Hashana? Being Jewish? Nope, not legitimate excuses for holidays. Diwali? Nope. Canadian Thanksgiving? No, although it doesn't really count as a holiday to anyone, does it? In any of these cases (well, most of them), the holidays that are generally accepted by our country as legitimate excuses for days off are not accepted by Cornell. We do get Columbus day, but they pull a cheap shot and make it the same weekend as our "fall vacation" so they really only give us one real day for that break.
On the bright side, next year Labor Day will be given to us as a real day off. However, classes will start a day earlier to compensate.
In other news, our Winter break will still remain ridiculously long so that you do end up stranded at home weeks after all of your friends have left.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Squirrels? More Like Churls
Well, today is waffle Wednesday. Again. I suppose it's my way of coping with the horribly long Wednesdays I always endure.
Recently I've taken to discovering new musical artists. Don't ask why, it just sort of happens when I research for my Survey of Jazz papers. Two such artists, who I highly recommend are Melody Gardot and Kesang Marstrand. I already have both of Melody's CDs, and will likely order Kesang's soon (you can buy the physical CDs online, and for an average fee have her sign them).
Now, on to more serious business. Squirrels.
Recently, I've noticed that a lot of the squirrels here are becoming fat. Well, more fat than usual. This might be due to their storing up food for the winter, OR, maybe it's all a conspiracy.
Squirrels may seem dumb,
But that is precisely what
They want us to think.
That's right, I can tell. These creatures are actually fiendishly smart, and are plotting against us. You ever notice how squirrel-y the squirrels here are? I'll tell you: too squirrel-y. Looking so smug and happy with their acorns and tree climbing, hoping we'll never suspect. They're up to something, I'm telling you. The other day, as I walked to my dorm, their was a squirrel walking in the same direction, maybe 20 feet to my left. Every time I would stop, he would stop. When I continued, he would continue. I swear, he was mocking me. Squirrels? More like churls. These guys are fiendish beasts. They are definitely planning something. Now to figure out what....
In the meantime, I propose that more and more people get squirrel-proof bird feeders. It seems to be the one problem that the squirrels can't solve, and is highly entertaining as a result. It's like watching a drunk person try to solve a basic problem: hilarious, but if they knew that you were watching them they would not hesitate to end you.
Recently I've taken to discovering new musical artists. Don't ask why, it just sort of happens when I research for my Survey of Jazz papers. Two such artists, who I highly recommend are Melody Gardot and Kesang Marstrand. I already have both of Melody's CDs, and will likely order Kesang's soon (you can buy the physical CDs online, and for an average fee have her sign them).
Now, on to more serious business. Squirrels.
Recently, I've noticed that a lot of the squirrels here are becoming fat. Well, more fat than usual. This might be due to their storing up food for the winter, OR, maybe it's all a conspiracy.
Squirrels may seem dumb,
But that is precisely what
They want us to think.
That's right, I can tell. These creatures are actually fiendishly smart, and are plotting against us. You ever notice how squirrel-y the squirrels here are? I'll tell you: too squirrel-y. Looking so smug and happy with their acorns and tree climbing, hoping we'll never suspect. They're up to something, I'm telling you. The other day, as I walked to my dorm, their was a squirrel walking in the same direction, maybe 20 feet to my left. Every time I would stop, he would stop. When I continued, he would continue. I swear, he was mocking me. Squirrels? More like churls. These guys are fiendish beasts. They are definitely planning something. Now to figure out what....
In the meantime, I propose that more and more people get squirrel-proof bird feeders. It seems to be the one problem that the squirrels can't solve, and is highly entertaining as a result. It's like watching a drunk person try to solve a basic problem: hilarious, but if they knew that you were watching them they would not hesitate to end you.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Writer's (Butcher) Block
You know what I hate? When there's something you know that you need to do, but for the life of you can't remember. Last night I set my alarm for about 30 minutes early so that I could do something, but now that I'm awake, I have absolutely no idea as to what that something was. I think it may have been laundry, in which case I'm all set since I just put it in, but I'm still not positive. Oh well, hopefully it wasn't anything too important.
Remember how earlier I talked about how summer in Ithaca goes straight to winter? That may have been a bit of a hyperbole. Right now is what I would refer to as autumn. It is, and has been (minus yesterday's outlandish weather) around 50 degrees, which is prime fall temperature. And it only snowed once in October. Normally we'd be walking to class in the snow by now. I blame global warming.
I hate writer's block. And because I can't think of anything to talk about, I think that is precisely what I will focus my post on.
Writer's block is an
Issue for all real writers.
Unless they're seven.
You ever think about that? I remember being a little kid and writing about absolutely anything, be it dinosaurs, dinosaurs fighting ninjas, dinosaurs with jetpacks, robot dinosaurs, dinosaurs debating healthcare reform, dinosaurs making sandwiches (which is especially hard for t-rexes), or dinosaurs building a rocket ship to save their species. I just never ran out of ideas, and could write for hours upon hours. Now a days I struggle to come up with an idea for the simplest blog post. I often wish I could go back to those good ol' days. It's like all of those avant-garde artists who try to seem like kids: By which I mean people such as William Faulkner, who, like a kid could not string two sentences together; Ornette Coleman, whose "Free Jazz" sounds like a 5 year old on a piano; or Jackson Pollack, whose art looks like a 3 year old who had a little too much fun with a paint brush. Of course, this is precisely what the artists intended, and why people like them (and yes, I do like them... 1 of the 3 at least).
Back to my point: I feel like if I had my writing abilities that I do now and my ability to come up with endless ideas when I was a kid, I would be the juggernaut of blog writing. It would be like if McCain and Palin combined to form the ultimate presidential ticket, with experience and good ol' Alaskan know-how. Wait....
Remember how earlier I talked about how summer in Ithaca goes straight to winter? That may have been a bit of a hyperbole. Right now is what I would refer to as autumn. It is, and has been (minus yesterday's outlandish weather) around 50 degrees, which is prime fall temperature. And it only snowed once in October. Normally we'd be walking to class in the snow by now. I blame global warming.
I hate writer's block. And because I can't think of anything to talk about, I think that is precisely what I will focus my post on.
Writer's block is an
Issue for all real writers.
Unless they're seven.
You ever think about that? I remember being a little kid and writing about absolutely anything, be it dinosaurs, dinosaurs fighting ninjas, dinosaurs with jetpacks, robot dinosaurs, dinosaurs debating healthcare reform, dinosaurs making sandwiches (which is especially hard for t-rexes), or dinosaurs building a rocket ship to save their species. I just never ran out of ideas, and could write for hours upon hours. Now a days I struggle to come up with an idea for the simplest blog post. I often wish I could go back to those good ol' days. It's like all of those avant-garde artists who try to seem like kids: By which I mean people such as William Faulkner, who, like a kid could not string two sentences together; Ornette Coleman, whose "Free Jazz" sounds like a 5 year old on a piano; or Jackson Pollack, whose art looks like a 3 year old who had a little too much fun with a paint brush. Of course, this is precisely what the artists intended, and why people like them (and yes, I do like them... 1 of the 3 at least).
Back to my point: I feel like if I had my writing abilities that I do now and my ability to come up with endless ideas when I was a kid, I would be the juggernaut of blog writing. It would be like if McCain and Palin combined to form the ultimate presidential ticket, with experience and good ol' Alaskan know-how. Wait....
Monday, November 9, 2009
The Future of the Complicated Series of Tubes We know as the Internet
I have something to say. Something specific! Without stopping to think of a topic!
In the news, I came across this article.
It's about Rupert Murdoch, and his plans for the future of the internet we all know and love.
Here's a sentence from the article which pretty much sums it up:
So now on to my haiku:
Murdoch's use of
The internet really must
Not be extensive
First of all, take a look a the handsome feller here:
It's a good think that the NYTimes has a monopoly on online news, or else they would just completely fall into oblivion. Wait a minute? What's that you say? There are other places to get news? Google? Wikipedia? CNN? Yahoo? AOL? BBC? MSN? ABC? FOX? NBC? Bing? Ask.com? Twitter? Facebook? MySpace? Boston Globe? LATimes? Chicago Tribute? Or almost any site one could find with a quick Google search (or already set as one's homepage)? Wow, who knew.
So, let's think about this for a minute. Murdoch's strategy for one of a thousand different free news sites (which, might I add, is not even one of the most popular) is to make its users PAY for content they can find anywhere else for free? Which begs my earlier question:
Has Rupert Murdoch used the internet before?
In the news, I came across this article.
It's about Rupert Murdoch, and his plans for the future of the internet we all know and love.
Here's a sentence from the article which pretty much sums it up:
"He is planning to make newspapers like The Times and Sunday Times chargeable online."
So now on to my haiku:
Murdoch's use of
The internet really must
Not be extensive
First of all, take a look a the handsome feller here:
http://lanceturner.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/rupert_murdoch.jpg
There you go. Now with that image in mind, here he is, planning to make the New York Times Online and such chargeable (to clarify, he does not own the NYTimes, so he's merely speaking about his plans for world domination starting with the highly successful newspaper industry). Let me think of what this reminds me of... perhaps actual newspapers today? Well, those are doing absolutely great, right? I can imagine that applying the principles that are causing physical newspapers' downfalls will do wonders for the online market... in opposite land.
It's a good think that the NYTimes has a monopoly on online news, or else they would just completely fall into oblivion. Wait a minute? What's that you say? There are other places to get news? Google? Wikipedia? CNN? Yahoo? AOL? BBC? MSN? ABC? FOX? NBC? Bing? Ask.com? Twitter? Facebook? MySpace? Boston Globe? LATimes? Chicago Tribute? Or almost any site one could find with a quick Google search (or already set as one's homepage)? Wow, who knew.
So, let's think about this for a minute. Murdoch's strategy for one of a thousand different free news sites (which, might I add, is not even one of the most popular) is to make its users PAY for content they can find anywhere else for free? Which begs my earlier question:
Has Rupert Murdoch used the internet before?
A Fishy Tradition
Well. I just took my sociology exam (the reason for this late post), and I must say: I don't think I failed that badly this time around. And by failed I mean do worse than the median grade.
Now, on to more important topics, which I have yet to think of.
In the news for the weekend, the Maroon 5 show was a success. They showed up and gave a good performance, without being too out of it. They were actually surprisingly fit. They came to Ithaca, went golfing, went to play tennis, and did some of that sweaty yoga stuff (that you do in really hot rooms). I also got to wheel Adam Levine's wardrobe, if you know what I mean.
On Saturday, Cornell destroyed Harvard in a fantastic hockey game that I was not in attendance at. And now that hockey season is upon us, I think that's where I'll start.
To throw fish at a
Rink of Bostonians seems
Counterproductive.
Think about it. If the rink reeks with the smell of fish, all of those Harvard kids are probably used to it by now. Whereas the Cornell people won't be. In theory this might affect performance, except that it doesn't really matter, since Cornell schools them anyways. And it's funny. What's possibly more funny is that there are threats up about people being kicked out who bring fish, and their tickets being revoked. Until the police do full cavity searches, fish will still be brought in, is all I have to say.
Also, here's an interesting article about the history of fish-throwing traditions here: http://onfrozenblog.com/2008/11/22/cornell-hockey-traditions-include-throwing-fish.html
Now, on to more important topics, which I have yet to think of.
In the news for the weekend, the Maroon 5 show was a success. They showed up and gave a good performance, without being too out of it. They were actually surprisingly fit. They came to Ithaca, went golfing, went to play tennis, and did some of that sweaty yoga stuff (that you do in really hot rooms). I also got to wheel Adam Levine's wardrobe, if you know what I mean.
On Saturday, Cornell destroyed Harvard in a fantastic hockey game that I was not in attendance at. And now that hockey season is upon us, I think that's where I'll start.
To throw fish at a
Rink of Bostonians seems
Counterproductive.
Think about it. If the rink reeks with the smell of fish, all of those Harvard kids are probably used to it by now. Whereas the Cornell people won't be. In theory this might affect performance, except that it doesn't really matter, since Cornell schools them anyways. And it's funny. What's possibly more funny is that there are threats up about people being kicked out who bring fish, and their tickets being revoked. Until the police do full cavity searches, fish will still be brought in, is all I have to say.
Also, here's an interesting article about the history of fish-throwing traditions here: http://onfrozenblog.com/2008/11/22/cornell-hockey-traditions-include-throwing-fish.html
Sunday, November 8, 2009
"Sunday, Bloody Sunday!"
New vlog post up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYWKWDhsN4A
Hope you enjoy. I'm up today at this ungodly hour to work the Maroon 5 show. The love I show Concert Commission...
The title is from a U2 song (which you should recognize), and is representative of the fact that I am up this early.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYWKWDhsN4A
Hope you enjoy. I'm up today at this ungodly hour to work the Maroon 5 show. The love I show Concert Commission...
The title is from a U2 song (which you should recognize), and is representative of the fact that I am up this early.
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