Not One of Life's Little Joys

Writing a fellowship applications and/or statement of intent is not one of life’s little joys. In fact, it is quite possibly one of life’s little terrors. I simply detest, yes I said detest, writing these things. It is hard. It requires the ability to articulate clearly my goals – professionally and academically. I do not have this ability. So far, I can only see like…five days into the future. So the rest, I have to make up based upon vague understandings of my dreams.

This takes a lot of mental energy, articulating vague, made-up intents. That is why I have been putting this off for weeks. I wrote some half-hearted paragraphs this weekend. As I look at it now however, half-hearted doesn’t look to good on paper. So I have been sitting here for like four hours now, trying to write and organize this thing and it’s far from done. Bleh.

Good thing my roommates came home and equipped me with brownies and white wine left over from the dinner they went to – yes, the one I missed because of this application. The brownies, white wine, my trusty Mac and Paramore are keeping me company and giving me the necessary stamina to persevere in this situation.

Looking on the bright, blue, sunny side however, perhaps I will finish this within the next few hours, turn it in and wow the application committee. If that happens, then all this pain would have been ultimately worthwhile. This dream has no chance transforming into reality while I am writing this nonsense though.

So on that note, back to work.

Garbage is Magic

Once, when I was little, I saw David Copperfield make an entire train disappear on T.V. He didn't even use any fancy digital tricks. It was pretty crazy.

Like the disappearing train, the disposal of garbage has always seemed like magic to me. I mean, I throw away an endless stream of napkins and broken stuff, put it at the end of the driveway on Thursdays and.... kazaam! It disappears that day. Gone, into the magic land of Puff the Dragon. I mean, yeah, I heard about areas like landfills and whatever in elementary school - but who has actually ever seen a landfill?? That's what I thought.

In my ripe old age of 25, rational has begun challenging my belief in "magic," and the land of Puff the Dragon. So I decided to look up what exactly, happens to my garbage. Thanks to the City of Minneapolis website, I learned that our garbage doesn't actually go into a landfill. Apparently Hennepin County garbage goes to the Hennepin Energy Resource Facility. Description as follows:

Located in downtown Minneapolis, the HERC facility uses mass burn technology to convert 365,000 tons of garbage a year into electricity that is sold to Xcel Energy, Inc.

Hmmm... interesting. Magic is real after all!!! Well, besides the toxic gases released by this burning. Perhaps the repercussions are more positive than those of a landfill however. Plus, Minneapolis does not have a cloud of fog that continues to linger over the city like Phoenix. Yuck.

You know what's definitely not magic though, electronics recycling. Most of the electronic waste we "recycle" magically disappears from the U.S. and magically reappears in a mysterious land called "Asia." There, poor citizens make a living off of the valuable parts of the waste, and the rest... ends up seriously polluting the land and sickening the people. More good news on Wired Magazine's blog.

Ok, well that is enough on the magic of garbage for now. There are many other magic things in our world that I will discuss at a later time. Perhaps the most magical among this list is the Internet. Oh oh that's magic.

Having a baby won't save a troubled marriage, research finds

Wow. This news, found yesterday in the Chicago Tribune, is utterly shocking. I ALWAYS thought that throwing a baby into a troubled marriage would heal a marriage better than love potion #9 and counseling from Dr. Phil combined. Turns out I am wrong.

Dang! Good thing I learned that before having a baby to fix marital problems that may or may not arise in my future. I am so thankful that researchers at Berkeley put in the time, effort and money to conduct a study that has inhibited my potential future mistake. I mean, the results were so... unpredictable and surprising. Who would think that the continuous cries, sleepless nights, decrease in discretionary income and elimination of a social life WOULDN'T fix a marriage.

Please. It was my hope that society was beyond such a research study as this. Babies are amazing and all, but obviously, if a couple is looking for a fix - they might just be better off trying cocaine. (OK DISCLAIMER: I was joking please don't do cocaine. Pray. That is a much better solution.)

Best Ecards This Side of the Moon

This is the best Someecard EVER. Well, one of the best. Another good one was "Sorry you're an atheist and have no one to thank on Fridays."












Another good ecard would be "Thanks for letting me know of your grandfather's death by inappropriately posting a picture of his open casket on your facebook profile."

Any other suggestions? I love Someecards.

Al Jazeera - A Perfect Fit in Toledo

So for school I am attempting to research some specific content on Al Jazeera - the Middle East's largest news network based in Qatar. Al Jazeera's popularity is unprecedented. Launched in 1996, the network currently reaches an estimated 40 - 50 million viewers worldwide. It's popularity is undoubtedly due to the network's promise to deliver news from a non-Western perspective, and uninfluenced by government propaganda. Al Jazeera has proven the latter promise true, as it has already angered several Middle Eastern governments with its content.

Recently the network branched out to English-speaking audiences and launched Al Jazeera English, a station headquartered in Washington, D.C. Although the English-language station is hugely popular in Britain and other countries, it has been, well in some ways, censored here in America. See, the station is a bit controversial. Western governments accuse it of delivering terrorist propaganda since it allows announcements from Osama Bin Laden and other threatening figures to air in its newscasts. However, the station also carries legitimate, important news stories from a perspective Americans (in my opinion) should see. For instance, Al Jazeera is the only network Israel has allowed to broadcast from Gaza during the current crisis. That's just one example.

Pros and cons aside, I'm not sure I can make a judgement on Al Jazeera's purpose quite yet. In fact, the above information detracts from the original point of this post - which I have yet to make (I got a little carried away above, apologies). So here we go. Try number two to get to the point.

As I mentioned, Al Jazeera has been somewhat censored in the U.S. Most cable companies have chosen not to pick it up, due to its controversial nature. However, there are three U.S. cities that the station does broadcast in. Obviously, one is Washington D.C. So what do you think the others are?? New York? L.A. perhaps?? Wrong. One is Burlington, Vermont (never heard of it) and the other is um, TOLEDO, OHIO.

What??? Toledo, Ohio? Are you serious? That is the most random city ever. I mean, Vermont is a fairly wealthy, educated state so I can see its potential, but Toledo? I thought that was an industrial town. I guess I just don't see it as a fruitful market for Arab media. People in Ohio would probably confuse "salaama" for "salami."

But hey, what do I know. Toledo seems to be a little treasure in a jar of clay. Apparently they have a hot dog bun museum as well. I drove through the town on my way back from D.C. last month, but all I could see were smokestacks coughing their contents into a gray sky. Perhaps the smokestacks were hiding the variegeted true nature of the city.

So that was my point. If you want to watch Al Jazeera English you can look it up online, or, take a road trip to Toledo, Ohio. I would choose the latter. I mean, who knows what else you will find within its boundries. Toledo is full of little surprises.

Quote of the Week

My professor (a middle-aged, really smart Asian man), after telling us to look at Second Life because of it's relevance to our class topic:

"When you go on Second Life though, you have to watch out for naked people. Last time I was showing students Second Life and naked people just popped onto the screen from nowhere."

That is like, the best thing I have learned in any class all semester! Ha ha. I will definitely keep my eye open for naked avatars on Second Life:). Beware.

Undergrad Dreams of Baby. Now.

Recently, I overheard this undergrad venting about how much she "just feels like she wants a baby, like now!"

I am not sure of the prior context to this comment, but the conversation continued by her saying that a journalism career wouldn't allow her to have a family for at least ten years after college, since it takes that long for you to establish yourself.... and, what age do you graduate college at?

(Insert five second break to mathematically figure it out)

Ouch. The answer is 22. That means you won't be ready for a child until age 32!! Quick! Switch majors while your future child still has the potential to be born without a fifty percent increased chance of having down syndrome!

Then, the guy next to her chimes in that 25 is a good age to get married.

I agree. Not a bad age.

Oh college.... a time when I thought I could actually plan out my life. Personal life included.

They have so much to learn...

A Note

Dear Isaac from the Fray - 

I am wondering if you would perhaps marry me. I would normally prefer to be asked for my hand in marriage instead of asking - however - I just listened to your new album and it is that amazing. So I am making an exception.  You can thank the song "That's Enough for Now," for leading me to bend my own rules. 

Please let me know soon. We would have a fun life.

From, Me.

On another note here are some random facts I learned today (other than The Fray's new album rocks), for your viewing pleasure:

The term "rock 'n roll," actually used to mean "sex" in some musical circles back in the 1930s. Scandalous.

The term "Motown," was coined because Motown music originated in Detroit - the Motor City. Who knew? I can't believe so many successful musical acts have hailed from Detroit (e.g. Eminem, Kid Rock, and all of Motown. Well, besides the Boyz II Men who describe themselves as "motown philly." My new knowledge tells me that "motown philly" is an oxymoron. Get it right BIIM).

Time to catch the bus.