home!

so i've been home for the past few days now being done with work and free for the rest of my summer vacation (which amounts to about three weeks) - spending this first week catching up with friends and eating yummy food, then going on a family vacation to hawaii! (yes, so so excited) and depending on how crazy that all is i may or may not post again before school starts...

so until then. enjoy the warm weather that actually feels like summer :)

theater: the torch-bearers

I forgot to mention that I saw The Torch-bearers last week - thought it was funny but considering its all star cast, it definitely could have been better. Play within a play plot line. In any case, the set was amazing and partially made up for some of the plays other faults.

movies: the quiet american

So yesterday I watched two movies with the same name based off of the same book. I'd gone into it knowing they were very different but hadn't realized to what extent til I was about half way through the more recent one, made in 2002. The older one, in black and white, was made in the late 1950s. I'm almost hesitant in saying that I liked the newer one better but I think that it is more for the changes in the plot line then anything else. Plus there's the issue of finding the highly different ending of the older one more fitting than that of the new one, but unfortunately I can't mesh what I like best about both into one great movie so I must choose. The story is of a British journalist and his Vietnamese girlfriend. When a quiet, young American shows up, he changes both their lives when he falls for the journalist's Vietnamese girlfriend. Amidst the chaos of war (French Indo-China, the Communists, and maybe a third force?) it is only natural that disaster ensues. However, the two take very different takes on said disaster. The first paints the young American as wholly idealistic, good, and essentially innocent, whereas the second takes a much darker view of him, pointedly exposing his involvement with the CIA and a mysterious third force. In both movies, my perception of all the characters was vastly different, especially given the different endings - in the older one, the journalist ends up alone, whereas in the newer one, he gets his Vietnamese girlfriend back. I know that the latter movie tried to stay closer to the book (based on the novel of the same name by Graham Greene) and I only wonder what the book's ending was. In any case, I suppose since I'm to choose which one I like better and discuss it with my professor, I'd be inclined to recommend the latter which stars Michael Caine and Brendan Frasier (but for reasons other than that I've heard of the actors).

woohoo!

Congrats to Sonia Sotomayor who just got confirmed by the senate to be a Supreme Court Justice! Now let's see what the "Wise Latina" can/will do.

movie: whatever works

I also saw Woody Allen's new movie Whatever Works recently. It was funny because at the end of the movie Jessica Hecht shows up as a psychic and she's actually here in a play that I saw last night (see next post) and so I was watching going why does she look so familiar? Well, it's because I see her everywhere around town, as in at the coffee shop and walking around with her kids. Movie stars Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood along with Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr., and more. I thought it was a pretty good movie - although the twist at the end came rather quickly. Definitely a good amount of funny too. The plot could be called too contrived but I think it works well with the cast and the story.

theater: what is the cause of thunder?

saw this play last week on Thursday. thought it was overall pretty good but I wasn't the world's biggest fan of the ending which is too bad since it made me less of a fan of the entire thing. it's about a soap opera star and her screen life and home life and about how crazy, like literally insane, she is/becomes. the two actresses in it were very talented which also made the play more enjoyable of course.

art: sol lewitt

when family visited the other day, we went to mass moca (my first time since i've been here...sad i know) and though there were a bunch of exhibits that i really liked, my favorite was the sol lewitt exhibit. i really like contemporary stuff that brings it back to basics, but not just in a red circle on a white canvas kind of way, in an innovative way too. the style of having the work painted directly on the walls and covering the entire thing only adds to the impressiveness. it's divded into phases of the artist's life and by the last floor, the walls are bursting with color. anyways, check out the mass moca's website to get a glimpse at the stuff, although really, pictures just don't do it justice.

movie: away we go

like i said, lots of movies. but this one was really good, like legitimately good and i would definitely recommend it, starring john krasinski from the office and maya rudolph from snl, it's a cute, funny, touching story about a couple that's about to have a baby and is looking for a place to call home. on top of the good story, there's allison janney and jim gaffigan, maggie gyllenhal as a crazy hippie person, and a fabulous soundtrack.

holy jellyfish.

I just saw this picture as I was scrolling through CNN's international news with its accompanying article. This is absolutely crazy! If the whole crisis wasn't so devastating to the coastal villages in Japan it would be funny. But it's not funny :( The jellyfish destroy fisherman's nets and then ruin whole catches which are the basis of these people's livelihoods = economic devastation on top of economic crisis = bad news. Too bad, these things look cool but I can see how much damage potential they have too. Especially when you think about them in large groups.

what i'm listening to: taylor swift

so that everything's not just text, here is one of my current music obsessions if only because the music video is so cute/sweet/disney movie in four minutes.

theater: true west

yea, i document my lives based on shows and movies and events. i probably have more opinions and feelings than show up here, but they haven't come to mind as much recently when i'm in a blogging mood or moment.

so yesterday (yes! almost caught up!) i ushered for the williamstown theater festival's production of true west. it was the preview performance so not everything was to be perfect but still i was not too impressed. i'm not gonna lie, i didn't like it very much. the acting was pretty good though some of the intenser moments/screams could have been more real - but i wasn't a big fan of the plot line, maybe it's because i'm not a very big fan of westerns, who knows. in any case, the fact that i was sort of waiting for it to be over is generally not a good sign.

what does it say about me that i walked out of the kid's musical the festival put on (schmoozy togtherness - about a girl who loses her imagination) much more content and pleased than i did walking out of true west? i don't really care actually, i'm learning more and more to just go with my gut and try not to think about it too much (speaking generally now...it really doesn't matter with theater productions). hopefully it's a good trend.

movie: harry potter and the half-blood prince

i guess i'm going to see a lot of movies...anyways, last tuesday i went to see the midnight premiere of hp6 which was exciting for several reasons. 1. it was midnight, anything is more exciting at midnight 2. i have not gone to see a harry potter movie in theaters ever i believe 3. i went with really cool people 4. the actors are starting to learn how to act 5. luna lovegood is the BOMB 6. i thought the movie was pretty good

ok, so the ending was not as epic as it could have been. i still thought the movie overall was good. it helps that i haven't read the book since it came out, so i didn't do all the nitpicky things i probably would have had i read it recently. also i LOVE awkward romantic moments of which there are PLENTY. the movie in general is a lot lighter than the fifth one but in a good way (according to me).

now i'm going to have to go back and read all the books. again. teehee. i feel like that's a good thing to do over the summer - we'll see if i actually get to that or not aha.

movie: public enemies

so last, last tuesday (i think i've mentioned this before...blogging in bunches? well here's another handful) i went to see public enemies with johnny depp with some friends. i'd say it was a fine movie, not excellent, not horrible but somewhere in between. worth seeing once but probably not again especially considering how long it was. i really liked the actor who played depp's love interest although that story in itself was a bit too contrived for me. to take off my friend's reaction, it should have been more surreal - they had a lot of untapped potential in that area. to me, it really just seemed like they were trying to fit too much into a movie and so everything came out half-baked. still, the 2.50 i payed to see it was worth it. and johnny depp is still an amazing actor.

art: dove/o'keefe

a few weeks ago (i forgot about this until just now and want to write it down before i forget), i went to the clark art museum and saw a special exhibit comparing and contrasting dove and o'keefe, most particularly each's earlier works. overall i thought it was a really interesting exhibit, unlike many people i know, i happen to like georgia o'keefe even if some of her southwestern scenes are less exciting and her paintings enormously feminine. dove's offer a constrast of masculinity and inspiration that is fascinating.

anyways, that's all for now, perhaps more later.

theatre: children by a.r. gurney

while i'm posting (i tend to do this in chunks anyways), i thought i'd just mention the play i saw, let's see, on thursday night. it was a play about family and children and grandchildren, but, as with everything in life, it was more than that too. about choosing, about living, about greiving, about moving on, about winning, about losing, about life. but then, the best plays are like that. they leave you somewhere - you don't know where - but it's somewhere and half journey is walking out of that theater in some kind of messed up form of discovery, recalling the experience. that's what i love about plays and musicals and shows - you can spend the entire show just being there, listening and watching, and it's not until the end when you actually think about it. it's that digestion period that somehow intrigues me. anyways, now that i've told you nothing about the play, i'll tell you that it was very well done and i think i am, thus far, rather a fan of a.r. gurney's plays (he also wrote love letters which a friend of mine was in this past winter).

i believe that whole incoherent ramble is my cue to stop.

happy fourth

so me and a friend of mine went to the parade down spring street today and it was surprisingly excellent - veterans, lots of fire trucks (who knew we had so many?), tractors, ponies, horses, covered wagons, goats, bicycles, brownies (the girl scouts, not the food), antique cars, and more that i'm forgetting. as we sat there, we did a lot of people watching waiting for the parade to start and get to where we were sitting on the curb. sooo many people on spring street, it was crazy. but anyways, we talked about how all the little kids were dressed up in their patriotic red, white and blue, but probably had no idea of what they were celebrating. things sort of get less exciting once you get to the point where you actually know what they're about - when you're little everything's really exciting or really sucks. at least that's the way it seems.

in any case, i realized that though i'm truly not patriotic at all, this was a fourth of july that i have, so far, enjoyed. it was great to see all the townsfolk who seem to be almost non-existant during the school year except for at a rare few moments and even if i'm not patriotic, i'm glad that i live here and that we celebrate this even if i only say that because it brings people together. despite the screwed up government (which, fingers crossed, is getting better) and the huge problems that never go away (think isms), i can't think of somewhere that i would have rather grown up. i don't know what it's like to live in another country but if i'm honest, i liked growing up here - i like the freedom of speech even to stay stupid things, that i could vote in the last election, among other things. living here, i've been blessed and altogether luckier than i should have been.

so on that note, happy fourth! and enjoy the fireworks! (even if they are bad for the environment =] )

what i'm listening to: lighthouse family

this is probably one of their most well known songs, free, but i'm falling in love with all of their songs - especially wish and high.

summertime.

so it's now been summer for more than a month - although anyone looking at the weather can clearly see that it is not summer yet. i'm spending the summer doing research with one of my professors from first semester and a former president of my college - they're writing a book on a leadership theory that they developed together. the book has a whole slew of case studies so that's mostly what i've been researching recently. it's pretty interesting but it involves a lot a lot of reading and so because of that i'm not reading thay many pleasure reading books, but at least my reading for work is interesting! i started researching mandela and mugabe and have since moved on to fox (founder of quaker movement) and noyes (founder of oneida perfectionist community in ny). all of which i should get back to since i took a long weekend and need to do some catching up from!

oh, and a few weeks ago, i finally saw up, which was excellent. it was refresing to watch a movie that didn't revolve solely around its plot and had a crotchety old man as its protagonist (and a cute chubby asian kid). it was so...human. the plot had surrealness to it, but the characters were completely real. anyways, i'd definitely recommend it.

"we have an obligation to listen"

Interesting NY Times Op-Ed that I think is a really important thing to be reminded of every once and a while. It can be really dulling to listen to or read the news because it seems that all you hear about are numbers of deaths and mass atrocities and nuclear testing on top of all that chaos that is your daily life. Or is at least my daily life.

In any case, I definitely know that feeling of giving up on changing the world. Gandhi says to "be the change you wish to see in the world" but there are definitely days when I feel like being that change is impossible. No one's listening anymore. It seems like all this change is just being thrown against a brick wall that's not going anywhere. But all of these issues and scary news events involve real people with real stories and lives and problems. Where has all the empathy gone? Where has all the motivation and action gone? I mean why are we criticizing Sotomayer because she has empathy. When did it become a bad thing? Even if we are talking about the Supreme Court, we're still dealing with people. Not automated answering machines and banking systems.

insanity. (tv quote)

"Were they always this insane?"

"Maybe they were always this insane but it was colder out so they moved more slowly and you couldn’t see the insanity."

irony break.

a new brain.

saw a musical on saturday night as well called a new brain. short version: i thought it was pretty good. long version: the music was great, but the performers were at times lacking - some counting issues, and the lead didn't have great stage presence or a great voice. on the plus side, one of the other main characters had just a great voice and according to a friend who's seen a professional production of it, this guy was pretty close to what it was supposed to be.

sadly i can't find the words to my favorite song from the musical which was "the music still plays on", but i did find the words to another song that i liked "heart and music" - it's hard to get a song from its lyrics because really you're only getting a bit of it but i figure its still worth a try.

MINISTER
Stories of passion
Stories of friendship
and tales of how romance survives

GORDON SCHWINN
I have so many songs

MINISTER
Stories of yes-es
of frogs making messes
and poor unsuccessful and fat people's lives

GORDON SCHWINN
Stories of living
Stories of dying
and ways we can deal with our fear
Stories of horses, parental divorces
and how rich or poor, it's a very small sphere
where we appear

But you gotta have heart and music
Heart and music
Heart and music get along

ENSEMBLE
You gotta have heart and music
You gotta have heart and music
Heart and music make a song

GORDON SCHWINN
If I only had the time
What I would write for your delight

MINISTER
Stories of illness

GORDON SCHWINN
Stories of illness

MINISTER
Songs of improving

GORDON SCHWINN
Songs of improving

ENSEMBLE
And everyone talks about change

GORDON SCHWINN
I have so many songs

ENSEMBLE
Stories of stillness,
of people not moving

GORDON SCHWINN
And throwing out books when things turn out too strange
We rearrange

ENSEMBLE
But you gotta have heart and music
Heart and music
Heart and music get along (you gotta have heart and music)

You gotta have heart and music
You gotta have heart and music
Heart and music make a song

Oh, you gotta have heart and music
You gotta have Heart and music
Heart and music get along

Oh you gotta have heart and music
You gotta
Heart and music make a song

You'll always get along with your heart
With your heart and music

GORDON SCHWINN
Heart and music make

ENSEMBLE
Heart and music make
Heart and music make a song

Heart and music make a song

tripping on feminism.

so had a women's center board retreat today and we went around and talked about how all of us had gotten involved in women's issues etc. which forced me to think about how i had sort of fallen into feminism and gone on that (still continuing) journey. at first i thought it went back to junior year of high school and sitting next to K in mr. g's gender imbalanced econ class. but then i remebered that really it went back to init (bccj leadership initiative) and gender night which had been an infuriating, self-discovery kind of night that was complex and emotional. i wish i remembered it better...what was written, what was said...i just remember shaking.

i realized today that aside from getting into women's issues and feminism because all the inequalities and problems infuriate me, i also got into them because for most of my life, if i was stereotyped, it was as an asian, but never as a woman. which to me is a curious thing that i'm going to have to think about a bit more. (i'll let you know if i come up with anything good).

political identity in northern namibia

ah, great talk. but since it is almost 2 in the morning, this will be only a quick hit and details may or not follow as i have somehow allowed myself to become part of a cosi fan tutte production that will take over my life next week. woohoo.

take back the night

so last wednesday night my college's rape and sexual assault network (RASAN) put on the event take back the night which is a march and protest aimed at bringing greater awareness on rape and sexual assault and creates a safe space for victims and friends of victims to tell their story. i'm really grateful that this college even has a sexual assault and rape hotline because even though thankfully i've never had to use it, it's nice knowing that it's there because even within this bubble of college, rape happens. it happens to and it has happened to members of this campus and knowing that there are people to talk to is something that not many other colleges offer (or at least not to the extent that they should).

it's a powerful thing to walk in a group of people, holding a candle, in complete silence. the thoughts that run through your mind are completely unpredictable but more profound that you could ever imagine.

i was struck by the stories told. both by one brave individual who had been raped over the summer and by numerous others who spoke at the open mic portion. i think it's really important to put a face to the stories. i only wish that people could "take back" more than just this one night. it's such a big issue, it affects so many people, and yet it's still not treated the same way that numerous other equally serious crimes are because there is such a big stigma against it, about consent, about what to do when it happens within a relationship. starting the dialogue, learning how to talk about it. those are important first steps that i'm glad to be able to undertake.

oops.

oops again. i am getting really bad at updating this. i'm trying to think of what has happened over the past couple weeks since i last posted - must have been something but i wonder what it was...midterms? possibly. papers? another possibility. still begs the question of what i've been up to...today had big polisci diplomatic simulation that was 6 hours so i'm glad that's over finally (with the moral of the story being we were not well equipped enough to be doing this and heads of states and obstructionist nations cause huge problems. oh, and not to become a diplomat).

oh. i've thought of what else has been going on and i think i need a whole post for it. so just hold on.

giles li

yesterday saw giles li, a community activist and slam poet (who coincidentally works in a community center in my grandmother's condo building) perform and talk as the keynote speaker for asian heritage month. really liked his performance and his poems none of which i remember well enough to quote but i always find it amazing how much word twisting and texture can go into these poems that are also embedded with meaning both for the poet and for the listener. even though most of his poems cover pretty serious stuff, he kept the show light with lots of talking and stories and some acoustic guitar.

here's one of his poems that he didn't perform, but that i found on his website and really liked (remember what i said about some of his poems being serious/a bit of downers):

For Bang Mai, 16
stabbed to death on July 11, 2004 in South Boston

The sky is getting darker.
We’re losing our stars one at a time
to streets that don’t hear prayers
and calls to stop the violence.

Our sons are dying in the city scenes they call home
as their mothers send breakfast-time chants in their direction,
keeping them safe until streetlights come clean
to serve as makeshift guardian angels.
A generation disappearing before its light has a chance
to shine through,
etch its shadow in our minds,
decorate our night sky with spirits
we can remember without having to try.

A generation disappearing, begging for blessings
from anyone who might have them to give.

It’s harder to notice stars from the city
because lights from the ground
make them harder to see.
Another one of our stars has fallen to the ground,
and all we can do is keep our heads up,
eyes toward the heavens,
and wish there was an answer that
would keep our night sky from falling,
falling,
trying to lull us back to sleep.

But it’s hard to find sleep tonight,
because looking into the sky,
we know another one of our stars was taken
before his time.

copyright Giles Li, 2004

vietnam and iraq: lessons for obama

two excellent historians talking about the vietnam war and the iraq war and what lessons we can draw from them for the present day situation. (basically the title of the talk said it all).

more on this later if i get a chance.

betrayed

quick hit on a play i went to see on friday night about iraqi interpreters during the war and how their views on america evolved over the course of the war and what it was like to be working for the americans - i.e. how dangerous it was, but how they were still always seen as threats by the security in the green zone, how the woman translator of the trio was killed because she wouldn't wear her hijab (sp?) when all she wanted to do was be able to ride a bicycle through the street. The two men were also divided societally because one was Sunni and one was Shia but they were still good friends.

the end was particularly poignant and i wish i could remember some of the exact lines but the two remaining interpreters (both male) end up leaving iraq for sweden because they can't get visas to america even though their skills would probably be more useful there. one talks about how he has to burn all these things, all these pieces of history, before he leaves.

i can't even begin to imagine how hard it must to feel a mortal need to leave one's home country. or even to see it being torn apart by war and strife and suffering.

beyond blond: diversity in scandinavia

so despite being sick as mentioned below, i did still go to the international studies colloquium today which was on what the title of this post says it was one. for the most part. there was a lot more on gender equality, stereotypes, sexuality, that kind of thing than diversity in the more commonly connotated meaning of the word. prof. martin talked a lot about how scandinavian women have, for quite a long time (1930s-), been portrayed as blond and beautiful but that scandinavian women are in general relatively radical given their portrayal in books and plays and movies (think ibsen's a doll's house, hans christen andersen's little mermaid, i am curious yellow, others which i've forgotten...) and often challenge the stereotypes of marriage and women's roles and sexuality. anyways there was more to that part, and not as much on the part that i think is really interesting which is...the part that first pops to mind when you hear beyond blond. immigrants in scandinavia. (ok, maybe it wasn't the first thing, but it was close). so apparently there's at least one town in sweden (i think it was sweden) that had a town that was 40% immigrants and that there used to be a 18-month integration program for immigrants for language help etc. that has now been cut down to 6-months of language and job help etc. (more appealing i'm sure to an immigrant family). but that all aside, i guess as the center-right wing has taken over they created this ministry on immigration and something else i can't remember (you can tell my mind is like a sieve right now) that many have disparagingly retitled the ministry of racism - i guess the government uses that ministry as a facade for harassing and discriminating against immigrants which just sucks since they seem to have a lot of immigrants up in scandinavia. so i would have liked to hear more about what this effect might have for the future of immigration in scandinavia which on many issues has been rather progressive. after all, the first openly gay head of state (iceland pm) is a part of scandinavia. and they've done all kinds of stuff relating to maternal and paternal leave before other western nations as well. anywho, just something to think about and something i would not have stumbled upon any other time.

sick.

so i'm sick. which amazingly is the first time i've been this sick at college (yay my immune system for lasting that long in a college dorm). anyways everyone's been really sweet about checking to see how i am and generally just being nice (not that they aren't usually) but being sick does also mean that i've felt justified missing out on some stuff here and there that normally i might have gone too. as my friends say: you're sick. you have a real excuse.

tim be told

just saw the band tim be told tonight and they were most excellent, really enjoyed it. the lead singer has a great voice and i really liked his piano accompaniments and lyrics.

---

GRAVITY’S HOLD


Verse 1
A little longer I’m thinking
give me my space so I can face it alone
I’ve always been one for sober reality
can’t find the pieces for the increasing unknown


Chorus 1
I sigh
just try to convince me I’m not entirely sold
well I’m watchin’ and I’m waitin’ till the sun comes up
I’m slippin’ into gravity’s hold


Verse 2
he said its fun for the moment
when I grow up, I’ll give it up later on
one day he’ll snap back to sober reality
leave it to fate, look it’s too late and he’s gone


Chorus 2
I sigh
it’s been the same new generations too old
the deceiving and the lying as the saints fall down
we’re slippin’ into gravity’s hold


Bridge
what if one day I fall away
and I believe what the Pharisees say
what if I pray just to find its all fake?


Chorus 3
I’ll fly
fall into grace, don’t have to face it alone
well I’m laughin’ and I’m dancin’ till the sun comes up
I’m slippin out of gravity’s hold

why blog?

considering how rarely i've been posting lately i've been wondering why i even have a blog...it started as a way to get some opinions out and act as a sort of journal for my college experience which in twenty years i will not remember all of and then morphed into something that just had random stuff - news quotes, song lyrics, comics, events, etc. but i don't even really put everything in here. so i doubt it will effectively chronicle my college frosh year. maybe it'd be better to write it on paper which is definitely something i'm considering. i think i just feel as though i'm more likely to put something down if i'm typing than if i'm handwriting and i want to put something down even if its just a title or a picture.

i guess there's just that part of me that needs the practice and aspires to be more eloquent. i wish i could twist words into prose or poetry or something more meaningful than the semi stream of consciousness that ends up here. but in the end, beautiful or not, it means something to me that the words still end up somewhere.

frazz

abduction of boys in china: nyt quote of the day

"a girl is just not as good as a son. it doesn’t matter how much money you have. if you don’t have a son, you are not as good as other people who have one."

su qingcai, a tea farmer in China who paid $3,500 for a 5-year-old boy

so this was the quote of the day today in the new york times and my only reaction really is ew. ew ew ew ew ew. i mean i have others too. like how still in china girls just aren't as good as boys - the stigma clearly thrives given the article this comes out of about how there's a lucrative business in kidnapping and selling boys. and that's not even half the problem...i mean i know it's not the focus of the article but how much must it suck to be a girl there. you have to be good so your parents can be proud of you and you have to make up for the fact that you're a girl and not a boy. egad. it's sad that people see such justification in buying up boys to make their family better.

end of march?!?

wow. so i've officially been horrible at updating during march with a grand spanking total of 3 (4 with this one) posts. i will have to blame midterms and spring break the first of which sucked so much i didn't feel like writing and the second of which has been so relaxing that i've been staring at screens other than my computer's (a nice change of pace - TVs, movies, video games, all kinds of good stuff like that). in any case, will be back to school next weekend which i sort of look forward to and sort of don't want to come. looking forward to because i miss my college friends but not looking forward to because i don't like my classes enough and part of me feels guilty for that and then because i don't like them as much i don't work as hard as i probably could and part of me feels guilty for that too. also, i have lots of work to do before i go back that i don't want to do...

this past weekend i took some time off from spring breaking at home to travel down to hartford, ct to participate in the SOAR conference aka society organized against racism (in new england higher education) which was pretty interesting although much better at talking about stuff than actually coming up with anything about what to do about it or how to think about what's going on. some interesting speakers from the 60s, including charles mcdew who started SNCC. maybe i'll write more thoughts on that later, or put up some of my notes from the conference.

midterms.

excuse the list.

1. international studies colloquium: ethnic minorities in georgia
2. log lunch: the environmental consequences of the border wall between the u.s. and mexico
3. dance dhamaka performance
4. glengarry glen ross

i think that's it. but i forget. there may have been others between this and the last post. oh well.

alvin lau

just saw slam poet alvin lau and was reminded how great poetry and spoken word are for laughter and meaning and back in split seconds. how it stays with you even after the perfomance is over.

two samples that have particularly great messages

pakistan and afghanistan

and narcotics.
and working in the foreign service.
and i can't really remember anything right now.

oops.

sooner or later

Pull the hair back from your eyes
Let the people see your pretty face
Try not to say anything weird

Save your questions without answers
'Til your old enough to know that things ain't as they appeared

Before you go out in the sun
Cover your skin and don't get burned
Beware the cancer, it might kill you when you're old

Be first in line, raise your hand
Remember everything you hear
And playing in the rain is worth catching cold

Sooner or later
We'll be lookin' back on everything
And we'll laugh about it like we knew what all was happening
And someday you might listen to what people have to say
Now you learn the hard way

We only want what's best for you
That's why we tell you what to do
And nevermind if nothing makes sense

'Cause it all works out in the end
You're just like us without a friend
But you can build a privacy fence (Yeah)

Somethings you have to learn them all on your own
You can't rely on anybody else
Or the point of view of a source unknown
If it feels good and sounds nice
Then it's your choice don't doubt yourself
Don't even think twice

Pull the hair back from your eyes
Let the people see your pretty face
You know they like it when you smile (Find a reason to smile)

Try not to focus on yourself
Share that love with someone else
Don't let the bitters bring you down (Down)
Don't let anything bring you down

yes, they could, so they did: nytimes op-ed

“Why this mad, insane plan to travel across India in a caravan of solar electric cars and jatropha trucks with solar music, art, dance and a potent message for climate solutions? Well ... the world needs crazy ideas to change things, because the conventional way of thinking is not working anymore.”

-Alexis Ringwald, a Fulbright scholar in India

via nytimes

slumdog millionaire: movie comments

while perhaps not as good as hyped up to me, the movie was definitely worth the five bucks it cost to go see it. and i was glad that something with that much "realness" made it big in hollywood and that maybe something is being done about the exploitation of children by some who were not even aware of such a problem before. interesting to me that the jamal from this movie will be playing zuko in the upcoming avatar movie, presumably as a way of subduing the outraged apa community over the all white casting of the main characters in the movie. however, he doesn't seem to me to be the right kind of person to play zuko's character, but at least there is some asian representation in a movie based off of almost all asian themes.

but back to slumdog, i thought the way in which the movie was told was nicely laid out with some really gripping moments, maybe a bit predictable and cliched in ending, but certainly not in plot development. i'd definitely recommend seeing it.

[interesting soundtrack...wonder why m.i.a. was in there even if she is sri lankan, and wonder why that last song was in spanish...]

gaza: personal reflections

international studies colloquium (how do you spell that...) that was a panel of students who had recently spent time in the area - talked about their views and the views of people they talked to. i thought it was very interesting and a new, more intimate and personal view at what happened and how people felt about it on both sides. solution? seems distant and nearing impossible.

sadness: the wall, how long it takes to cross borders if you are remotely arab looking, the destruction.

tim wise and attempts to claim this college

for now i'll just put the title of the talk because i haven't time to reflect. and i may forget to do that. or i may just forget what he talked about. the event took place on a day which attempted to "claim" this college with a variety of speakers and workshops. we got the day off and everything. effective? who knows.

"between barack and a hard place"

summary: we do not live in a post-racial world.

courage campaign video

this is straight up a great video, made in response to ken starr's call to invalidate 18,000 same sex marriages in cali - this is human. this is life. this is real. and this isn't the kind of future i want to have to look forward to.

[and as a cherry on top, i really like regina spektor and this song is perfect for this video.]


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

interesting headlines

South African Dock Workers Boycott Israeli Ships

As Israel blocks aid ships from reaching Gaza, dock workers in South Africa are refusing to unload Israeli goods at their ports. The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union says it will no longer unload Israeli ships in solidarity with Palestinians. Last year, South African dock workers refused to unload a Zimbabwe weapons shipment in protest of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.


Clinton: Obama Admin Will Follow Bush Stance on Hamas Boycott

At the State Department Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated the Obama administration commitment to follow the Bush administration policy of boycotting Hamas.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “I would only add that our conditions respecting Hamas are very clear. We will not, in any way, negotiate with or recognize Hamas until they renounce violence, recognize Israel and agree to abide by, as the Foreign Minister said, the prior agreements entered into by the PLO and the Palestinian Authority."

The US position has been criticized in part because it refuses to impose the same conditions on Israel. Israel refuses to renounce violence, recognize a Palestinian state and abide by agreements, including a pledge to freeze settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

via DemocracyNow

aha.

global gag rule overturned! and boo gillibrand

so in good and exciting news, obama overturned a rule prohibiting the u.s. from funding international family planning groups that promote abortions or provide information about abortion services. closely following the 36th anniversary of roe v. wade, this is a good step forward especially considering that on many levels knowledge of abortion and the ability to get one safely are about health for women internationally. besides, somebody needs to combat all the lies that anti-choicers produce.

on a negative note, from what i've read so far on kirsten gillibrand, hrc's senate replacement, she's really not my cup of tea and while it's nice that there's another woman replacing hil, i wish she were more progressive. apparently she: opposed legislation that would grant equal tax treatment for employer-provided health coverage for domestic partners, opposed legislation to grant same-sex partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents the same immigration benefits of married couples, opposed former governor Eliot Spitzer's plan to offer driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, is a supporter of gun rights, and supports an extension of Bush's tax cuts.

also, having spent enough time at the gym watching her campaign ads of the last election, she (and her opponent) just ran so many negative campaign ads that i have a hard time liking her just off of that.

so the conclusion is either that i'm too progressive or she's not progressive enough (especially considering that she represents one of the most progressive states in the nation...)

big day! inauguration day

out with the old and in with the new.

i won't lie. i'm excited to have a new president sitting in the oval office and spent this morning slash afternoon in front of the tv watching cnn, listening to aretha sing, being disgusted by the prayer made by the anti-gay pastor man person (seriously uncalled for, much too long, and in my opinion highly inappropriate)

and finally, watching obama give his speech which was very practical and yet still filled with hope and promise as any good inauguration speech should be.

in keeping with the last long post of mostly not my writing, i decided to add on the text of the speech. as a little keepsake of today.

---

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce
and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.
To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true.
They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing.
The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

(text via cnn)

remember but don't stand still

on this special day of remembrance, martin luther king jr. day, there's more than just a day off from school for kids and more than just a day off from work for some adults. i won't deny the greatness of a three day weekend, but it's also a day for reflection and remembrance of the strides and struggles that have brought us here today. and a day to re-realize that the fight's not over, the battle is not yet won. we are not the nation that mlk dreamed about because there are still hate crimes based on appearance. and there is still widespread inequality. while the infamous "i have a dream" speech is quite lengthy, i've attached some excerpts (long ones, because i think it's very good and i feel as though most people haven't read through it before or have only read parts of it) - if you want the full text or to listen to the audio clip, here's where i went for it.

but remember also that there was more to king than just the "i have a dream" speech, and more to him than straight up civil rights. and he didn't exactly choose to be a leader of the civil rights movement. leadership was, in many ways, thrust upon him, but he willingly took up that mantle. and, most particularly later in his life, he became actively opposed to the war in vietnam and wook up a poor people's campaign to address economic injustice.

another interesting piece to read written by king (i won't add it here, this post is already too long) is his letter from birmingham jail.

so take some time today to reflect and read and remember that there's still work to be done. social justice is not here yet, but i remain hopeful.


---
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

[...]

Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

[...]

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

[...]

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

real talk

i seem to have a lot of time for perusal of some really interesting online blogs (time probably comes from it being winter study and having significant break time between classes - but i feel like this and some extra reading (and sh, some more tv and movies) are a pretty good use of my time)


this is from a post on feministing.com that quotes Al Sharpton that i thought was rather poignant


"There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people's bedrooms and claim that God sent you," Sharpton told a full house on Sunday.

"It amazes me," he said, "when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being [relegated] into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners."

the end of white america?

"we aspire to be post-racial. but we still live within the structures of privilege. injustice, and racial categorization that we inherited from an older order. we can talk about defining ourselves by lifestyle rather than skin color. nit our lifestyle choices are still racially coded. we know, more or less, that race is a fiction that often does more harm than good, and yet it is something we cling to without fully understanding why - as a social and legal fact, a vague sense of belonging and place that we make solid through culture and speech."

an excerpt from "the end of white america?" - an article in the atlantic monthly by hua hsu

i could totally go for a beach and some greenery right now.

routine hearings

went to a really interesting theater production - or i don't even really know what to call it. in any case it was this show where everyone received an audio head set that played different media clips from the late 1900s to present day and audience members sat on a "stage" and posed depending on their reaction to what they were hearing. so in the first stage, everyone sat in chairs and if, for example, you were drawn in by what you were listening to then you leaned forward, and if you were ambivalent then you turned to the left and covered your right ear and there were four different poses. and everyone had different media clips at the same time so people are both having different reactions to the same media and same reactions to different media etc. etc. then, in the second stage, everyone was reaction to media again but this time with walking forwards and backwards or standing still and staring at the ceiling (for distracted). this was really interesting cuz people were walking in circles or walking all around the grid on the "stage" and then every once in awhile someone would just stop where they were and look up. it was especially cool when we were doing the practicing of the movements that went with whatever adjective we were feeling and we'd be moving forward, say, to show that we were drawn in, and then the narrative would tell everyone to act distracted and the entire group would stop and look up at the ceiling - it's kind of hard to explain but i promise it was really cool. the last stage of movement was freestyle so people were just really doing whatever they wanted in reaction to the media clips they were listening to at the time - so some were lying on the floor for parts, or leaning on each other, or one person had their shoes tied on top of his head...just lots of different stuff. for the final part of the production (this was really really cool) we watched a video of everything we had done on fast forward and sometimes you could tell who you were and sometimes you were just one of the dark bodies on the screen - very interesting...

if you're confused about it, i understand, it was definitely an unorthodox production, but i'm glad that i went.

summer musings

so while summer seems a long way off (especially considering that we have been in the single digits for the last few days), i'm one of those people who plans things early. and actually its really not all that early since a lot of programs' deadlines are fast approaching.

options to consider:
1. study in china (intensive chinese)
2. get an internship in washington d.c.
3. do research with prof.

things of note:
1. applied to government sponsored program, probably won't receive
2. need to apply, chances of getting? i have no idea.
3. need to find out more about it - he's writing a book on leadership with a president emeritus and it probably would be interesting but...housing? stipend? living in the middle of nowhere for even longer?

hmm. hmm. what to do. especially since aside from more info on the third option, i wouldn't find out about the others until march...

excerpt from chinese cooking reading

"life is jiaozi; the years one spent in life are the wrapping, and the life experiences one has had are the fillings, which contains the entire spectrum of taste: sweet, sour, bitter, hot and all" - cui yongyuan

don't play with your food

super cute playing with food art

a compilation of finished product pics: http://www.baekdal.com/design/art/dont-play-with-food/

the artist herself's website abt the process: http://annathered.wordpress.com/

college reads: the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian

so a project of my college's committe on diversity and community is to try and get lots of campus to read the same book and their choice this year was sherman alexie's the absolutely true diary of a part-time indian which i thought was a very interesting book and was also a very quick read. it examines the crisis faced by a boy caught between the world of the reservation and the world beyond the reservation in a comical, yet serious, story. i've never read much about life on reservations before and the interactions between the indians and the whites in the surrounding area are very telling of the wrongs that have been done and continue to be done to indians in america. i'd also recommend alexie's poetry - at least what was read to us on opening night of this "event" was very good.

--

I wept and wept and wept because I knew that I was never going to drink and beacuse I was never going to kill myself and because I was going to have a better life out in the white world. I realized that I might be a lonely Indian boy, but I was not alone in my loneliness. There were millions of other Americans who had left their birthplaces in search of a dream.

I realized that sure I was a Spokane Indian. I belonged to that tribe. But I also belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the tribe of basketball platers. And to the tribe of bookworms.
And the tribe of cartoonists
And the tribe of chronic masturbators.
And the tribe of teenage boys.
And the tribe of small-town kids.
And the tribe of Pacific Northwesterners.
And the tribe of tortilla chips and salsa lovers.
And the tribe of poverty.
And the tribe of funeral-goers.
And the tribe of beloved sons.
And the tribe of boys who really missed their best friends.
It was a huge realization.
And that's when I knew that I was going to be okay.

j-term

so its been awhile but finally back at school for j-term having survived both finals and the chaos that always accompanies holidays - now all that has to be done is to figure out what to do with loads of free time...maybe actually get around to reading some books =]

class should be fun - chinese cooking (still can't believe i made it in as a frosh) looks to be delicious and educational (woohoo reading packets) and useful

that's all for now. we shall see what else is gonna go on for the next month aside from the momentous occasion of the presidential inauguration. broomball? road trip? hibernation? tea? crosswords? relay for life? hmm.