Sacrifices for Sports

Well. Today is the last full day of my Thanksgiving break. Sad.

I will return on another 7 hour bus ride, which is always fun. It's quite alright though, because I will be returning to Boston in a little more than two weeks for my overly long winter break. There will be no song or vlog this weekend- sorry.

I don't have much to talk about now, so I will take a look at my Boston Globe here, and see what is on the front page.... "Northeastern calls an end to football."

This article is about how Northeastern is getting rid of football at the school because it lacks the money to "improve the team to meet the school's ambitions." You might wonder what the school's ambitions are exactly, that they'd cut such a huge college sport. Well, I would imagine that they are aiming for something above 3-8, which is where they stand now.

If all of the schools
With bad football teams cut them,
Picture the savings


Think about it. If every single college with a horrendous football team got rid of the team or cut funding for them, millions upon millions of dollars would saved every year. Students' tuitions would be less, dining hall food could be improved, people could get better education in general- all for the price of not going to a game that they know the results for in the first place. Besides, schools should focus on sports they're good at. For instance, at Cornell- everyone goes to the hockey games. Why? Because we're good at it. I don't think many people would notice if they got rid of our basketball team. Wait, no- we have a good b-ball team. Baseball, there we go- no one would care if we lost our baseball team.

Black Stands For Death. Friday Stands for Friday.

Well, that day we've been prepping for since yesterday is finally here. Black Friday! It's just like Christmas eve, but with no real bearing as a holiday. And yet, it's probably one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States. I went to McDonald's at around 12 last night, and there was already line of maybe 10 people outside of Target AND about a 12 person line at the McDonald's drivethru. C'mon people, it's McDonald's!

One question that's probably on most people's minds is "why exactly is it called Black Friday?"

Well, the answer is simple.

It's called Black Friday
Because it's supposed to be
A day of mourning


I bet you're thinking "why on Earth should we be mourning, when we have the opportunity to take advantage of some of greatest deals of the year!?" Well, the answer to that question is also rather simple: It is for mourning the death of dignity and reason, and for the rise of the further predominance of material-society. I can understand camping out to buy movie tickets or sports event tickets, camping out for a Boy Scout trip, or camping out to stalk someone- but camping out to save 50$ on that George Foreman Grill is just sad. Where is your dignity? Our culture has become far too object-oriented. Also, it becomes even more sad when you find out about all of the casualties. Imagine having a policeman knock on your door and be like "I'm so sorry, but your husband died after being trampled by a mob making their way to the computer aisle at Best Buy."

By now you're probably in tears, so I will stop depressing you. And have a happy Black Friday.

Giving Thanks For What's Important

Well, the day that we have all been waiting to arrive for years is upon us. Thanksgiving.

Now, the idea behind the Thanksgiving holiday is straightforward: You eat as much as you can, while giving thanks that you have the money to afford such an unconventional meal while people around the world would kill to have a fraction of the stuffing off of your plate. And then you can live the rest of your year not thanking people for anything.

This raises the question though: what exactly are we supposed to be thankful for? That we have everything we have? That we're still alive? That our cat got better at grooming himself and no longer has a disgusting back? Everyone has something different.

I think that people's
Thanksgiving thanks is a good
Measure of real age


For instance, if someone says that they're thankful for having their whole family alive and well, that their grandmother lived another year, or that they have enough support to stay at college- you can guess that they're mature and/or down-to-Earth. However, if they say that they're thankful for their 60-inch plasma TV, that they still have a lease on their Mercedes, or that they got what they wanted for their birthday- chances are they are five and/or have yet to realize what's important in life. And sometimes, a five-year-old might have more insight into this than a full-grown man.

College Life

Well, after an incredibly long car-ride yesterday, I finally arrived home. I was greeted by two incredibly excited dogs, an excited mom, and a clean room. Needless to say, that room will devolve to its former state soon enough. I can't help it, it's an affliction that follows me everywhere.

Now that I'm home and not at college, I have even less to talk about. I'd tell you about my house, but I try my best not to bore you too much, while at the same time preventing a crazy stalker from coming after me.

I will be going into my high school today and visiting some of my old teachers. You might wonder "why on earth would you want to relive those years?" And the truth is- I don't. But I do miss some of my teachers. Trust me, I would never go back for another year, but visiting for a day is not too bad at all.

I'd write about high school, but I feel as though that topic has been done and overdone and undone. And by now, between Twilight, Glee, and High School Musical, it's just far too easy to mock. But I'll do it anyways.

High school is just like
College, but minus the fun
And independence

Yes, believe it or not the two are very similar. Except at college, you (hopefully) aren't completely controlled by your parents, there is so much to do, and you can finally be free. On the other hand, you have much more work and... it costs an arm and a leg. But that's it for the cons. Other than that it's all pros. Yes, high schoolers- look forward to college. Unless you plan to go into engineering. Or premed.

Socioliloligy

Well, it's a beautiful Tuesday morning. Namely because I'm going home. I couldn't care less about the weather. I have a six-plus hour drive in front of me, which I expect to be tons of fun (I take any opportunity I can to make my legs fall asleep).

Yesterday, in the midst of my sociology lecture, I realized something: I have used the "add word" function in Microsoft Word during those lectures more than in any other context. Because of that, I realized the following:

Sociology
Is the science of making
Up words when you must


Seriously, sociologists will take any word- be it verb, adjective, noun, or adverb- and warp it to their needs. Some examples: homophily, deindividuation, derationalization, interactionism, or affectual. All of these words stem from already existing words, but are altered for the sake of the sociologist.

Here are some words that, if I were a sociologist, would coin: amazingness, awesomization, epication, disintelligentation, and idiotism. Maybe that's where a degree in sociology would come in handy...

Some of you are probably reading these words and asking the same question I thought of in lecture today: Was George W. Bush a sociologist? The answer is no, he was a bullshitologist. The two are relatively similar, except that the latter is not acquired with a four-year education, you're born with it. But it has many advantages, just look at these masterpieces of words: misunderestimate, subliminable, insticated, or ingrinable. All about as legitimate as the sociologists'.

Something to Talk About

Well, it's Monday again! This would be a bad thing, as usual, except for the fact that I am leaving for Thanksgiving break tomorrow! Also, I have a jazz concert tonight, 8 PM at the Carriage House. Be there. It should be good, and the Carriage House makes a damn good espresso (not that I would know- I don't drink coffee, but it sounds classier than "a damn good hot chocolate").

You know what I've realized? I have become significantly much less creative over the past month. And it thoroughly disappoints me. The truth is, I'm just running out of things to ridicule. And resorting to making fun of the news should only be done once every so often- or else I'd end up making every single post about Health Care reform, which, as interesting as it may be to some, is not necessarily the most appealing subject to most. It's rather sad.

Maybe I'm just forcing it or something. Who knows. In any case, it's becoming increasingly difficult to choose topics.

For this post, at least, I'll write about an experience.

I was at a Thanksgiving dinner last night (an early one that a frat had). After the dinner (which was scrumptious), there were a number of classic post-dinner party activities going on. One of which was, of course, Halo. And as I sat there, engulfed in the couch and immersed in the game, I realized something:

Nothing can make a
Room full of grown men scream as
Well as Halo can.


Really. People were yelling at the screen, yelling at each other, yelling at the Xbox, yelling at unnamed forces, and yelling at their own on-screen characters. It was actually thoroughly entertaining. Especially when everyone started killing their teammates. While we lost miserably to the other team, I'm pretty sure that we had far more fun.


The title is the name of some song I know.

Vlog Post 5: Freshmen

Fifth vlog entry is up! It's all about freshmen, alcohol, and ambulances. Use your imagination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLM-IH3u2f8

Would You Like Some Cheese With Your Whine?

Well, it's another Sunday. And Thanksgiving break is just a couple of days away. I must say, I'm probably a bit more excited for the break than for Thanksgiving- I've become used to stuffing myself.

But there will be plenty of time to post about Thanksgiving when it comes 'round.

I was just on CNN.com, and I saw an interesting video.

It's short, but it's more-or-less Mitch McConnell, the GOP Senate Leader (aka minority leader) calling Democrats arrogant for wanting to pass health care reform bill while "ignoring the wishes of the American people." I find this a rather funny statement. Why?

The minority
Is rebuking democrats
About listening


McConnell is telling us to listen to the American people and what they want. However, something tells me that perhaps the majority would be a better representation of what the American people want, considering that they are the ones who elect the Senators. To listen to "the wishes of the American people" is simply to listen to the loudest voices. However, even the loudest voice has the same vote as the mute. And I think that if the actual wish of the American people was to not have a reform such as this pass, McCain would be president, and there would be a republican house and senate majority.