I haven't decided how I feel about this yet: The Spitzer Scandal Explained by a 3 year old.

DrownWatch with Borat

Phone call from my mom after she got back home after the match today:
"Vaelu, have you and your roommates forgotten how to use a razor? It's ok if you have, I can send you guys some instructions."

Barack Obama likes to bowl. Therefore, we should go bowling more often. (I won't comment on how I'm considering not voting for Obama since he's left-handed. Left-handedness is a sin, as we all know.)

Linux developer gets laid.

I actually remember reading this last year about McCain. Personally, whoever the next president is, it will be an improvement over the last eight years. With certain candidates only a slight improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. And that's why statements like this kinda make me a want to bang my head against a wall.

Reverend Wright's response to the NYT about their story that discussed Obama's decision to not have Wright give the opening to Obama's speech when he declared his candidacy for president.

Tintin! And that kid from Love Actually.

First of all, a live-action trilogy of Tintin movies is apparently in the works. This is rad.

Second, Captain Haddock will be played by Andy Serkis. This is super rad.

Refill a Brita filter

This article made me remember Mr. Pibb, an omission from the drinks in Usdan of epic proportions. Mr. Pibb was perhaps the only good thing about Mocon (aside from Dave, but he made it over to Usdan), and the dining center can't even manage to bring it over...even if the dude didn't get his degree.

Presidential Spending

World Beard Championship

apparently this is where the funny internets go?

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=97759aa27a0c99bff671

a mosaic

i laughed.

Dog's stop alligator attack!

Science vs. Religion: The Ultimate Smackdown.

Amusing.

Barry Obama decided that he didn't like his nickname.

Top 10 list of the most inaccurate movies

O hai!

Bill Richardson Endorsing Obama

for the doctor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snood

check out definition #3.

The Uplifting Story of Rico Banderas

This is for stupid Edward Bauer.

I won't lie, I haven't read through this completely because it's long and I'm going to play tennis soon. It has a lot of info on the feasibility of using solar power to power almost 70% of the US. Take a look.

Gotta love funny/weird signs (and yes, I know that I take lots of things from Digg...I like to think I'm doing the filtering for you)

Checking in

Alright, Pauri yelled at me and I cried (no I didn't), so now I'm a blogger.

First of all, panda comic: http://www.south20th.com/index.php?date=2008-03-12. Mildly NSFW, if you consider a standing-up red panda or the back of a housecat's head to be a pornographic image.

Second, an essay about Gary Gygax, the recently deceased co-creator of D&D: http://www.websnark.com/archives/2008/03/lower_the_flags.html. This is the kind of shit you're gonna get from me on this blog, let me just warn you right now.

Anyway, I'm back on campus, rehearsing for Big Love and trying to get some work done on my thesis. The play's coming along pretty well, and I'm excited for it in a big way. It goes up April 10-12, and y'all should really buy tickets now, since there's somewhat limited seating. You can do so at the box office in Usdan, and tickets are only four dollars. I hope you'll all be able to make it.

Finally, an anecdote:

Over the first week of break, when I was at home working on my accursed thesis, I went out to dinner one night with my sister, father and grandfather. We had pizza at a great brick-oven place in Portland, it was very nice and delicious and low-key. At one point we were talking about my plans for next year, and my dad expressed his usual support and happiness regarding my planned artistic endeavors. He's a tax lawyer for the state of Maine, you see, and has always found it pretty unfulfilling. This particular evening, though, he said something that caught me off my guard and made me realize something about myself that's puzzled me for years. He said,

"Hell, I'd rather be out working on a farm or something than working at a desk for the rest of my life."

Can you guess how he pronounced rah-ther? Yes, i knew you could.

I stopped him and asked him to repeat the sentence, explaining that I too pronounced "rather" in that fashion and could never figure out exactly why. At this point my grandfather laughed, cocked his head to the side in a bemused fashion, and in a perfect Patrick imitation said:

"Oh, I'd raaaaaah-ther..."

And then stopped, because he was laughing at us. Ah well.

"The dry records carry all the emotional punch of a factory worker’s time card, showing where she was for much of her eight years in the White House but telling nothing about what she was saying, thinking or doing."

This article made me remember a Daily Show episode towards the end of the summer when Obama was on, and John Stewart was asking him about the idea of Hillary Clinton as the experienced candidate. The entire audience (and I) got a chuckle out of Stewart asking whether being First Lady "counts," or whether somehow Bill's resume gets sort of added to hers (which, in a sense, could be argued for). Now while everyone jokes about it, it seems as if her time as First Lady does in fact count, because otherwise she wouldn't really be the more experienced candidate, as Obama spent 97-04 in the Illinois Senate before his time in the US Senate. If we are going to discount his time prior to the US Senate gig, don't we have to dismiss her time as First Lady? Once we do that, we see 2-3 more years in the US Senate during which she didn't introduce nearly as many bills as Obama has in his short time there. She did accomplish quite a bit, but a good portion of it (especially on healthcare for children-the focus of her more recent bills, as well) with the help of Ted Kennedy. (Check out the Daily Kos article that details Clinton and Obama's bills that were introduced and/or passed).

On a slight tangent, we see her on the news talking about how her healthcare plan (which most people will agree is better/more comprehensive than Obama's) actually is a universal healthcare plan, whereas Obama's doesn't take care of a huge percentage of people. She's right. But she shouldn't attack it too much, as it is very similar to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) program that she and Ted Kennedy got through in 97. SCHIP was successful in that the amount of children that gained medical insurance increased, but did nothing to increase the range of eligibility for medicaid. To get to the heart of the matter, she chose not to aleviate the problem that was in place (mind you, no one has, Kennedy doesn't really even go here), but rather, chose to find a way around it. I don't know that I have a problem with this, but how much can she criticize Obama when his healthcare plan basically is a more comprehensive form of the SCHIP program?

2D or 3D?

From the Huff Post: Michael Yaki comments on Obama's speech from yesterday.

Black Guy Asks Nation for Change

More fucking panda comics

http://www.lefthandedtoons.com/154/

this time with science

Wesleying has a link to this piece on Obama from the Hartford Courant, but while Wesleying wants to focus on the comments (which are funny as hell), I found the article pretty interesting in its discussion of what type of campaigning black politicians will have to do after Obama.
Oh shit and it's written by Professor Price from Wes y0...Rock On.

Frozen Waves

Clinton: Delay the Delegate Count

This is nerdy and awesomely funny.

The Unknown

Chicago Tribune article on Obama.

In South Beach now til Tuesday, then back to Wes on Wednesday. This week has been ridiculous and the next couple days are only gonna be more so. (Lots of Wes people here by the way that aren't on the tennis team, including our neighbors)

For the panda doctor

Maybe this is the sort of thing the Dr. will be able to change in this world as a doctor/philosopher:

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/panda_demands_abortion

Much love from Alabama (cradle of the Confederacy, lest we forget),

Geds.

http://www.zefrank.com/byokal/kal2.html#html

found on digg, where else? just in case you needed something else to waste your time with.

This is really clever marketing: http://www.weekendcontent.com/?p=153

he is with panda

some more things to post on the doctor's door:
http://www.nataliedee.com/030908/come-on-give-him-a-push.jpg

i saw the tarbox ramblers at a bar in somerville with my dad last night. if you haven't heard their stuff 'steal metallica's music' has got you covered. really awesome bluesy, folksy stuff. also for the record, davis square in somerville (near tufts) is an all-around pretty cool place y'all should check out if you're ever in massachusetts. not quite as big a deal as harvard square, but less well known/yuppified or whatever. we should go sometime, there is ice cream and a good bbq restaurant and a movie theater and stuff.

It's 1:37 am...and I've been waiting here at the West Palm Beach for the last member of our team to arrive since 9:45. Not the worst of it though, as Garrett (one of the frosh) has been here since 4:45.

do you sometimes wonder about TEH BEARDZORZ?

the doctor:

How do you maintain your beard?  Do you touch up the neckline or upper
> boundaries?  What's the best way to do so?

me:

this should be a post on our new blog.

anyways, i use a mix of electric clippers, your regular razor dealie, and
sometimes scissors.  the clippers, just like at the barber shop shorten
the whole thing.  but, especially using various attachments, you can also
just use them to neaten things up.  ie, use a large attachment so that all
your facial hairz are a uniform length.  i also vary the attachment i use
on different parts - i've been tending to leave my chin a bit longer, and
shaped either kinda squarish or kinda pointy, while my mustache i shave
closer.  i use a razor for the neckline and upper boundaries, makes it
neater and sharper.  last time i actually pushed the top off my chin a bit
more than i intended and i almost had a pauri style chin-strap goin' on.


oh snap, i have such as blogged.

Enthusiasm tilts towards Obama in Pennsylvania.

Somehow, being the First Lady counted towards Hillary Clinton's foreign policy experience. This doesn't really make much sense to me (or to the Chicago Tribune).

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-experiencemar07,0,51719.story

This makes the great point that no candidate really ever has foreign policy experience...until they get to the White House.

Superdelegate breakdown

From the Times

Should college athlete's be paid?

I stumbled across this article from the csmonitor that talks about the idea of paying athletes at schools across the nation: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0307/p09s01-coop.html?page=1

I still go back and forth on this issue, but if someone wants to pay me to play a sport at school then I'm all for it. (This article is not talking about Division III college athletes)