College Football

If there's anything I've learned from watching the commercials during Capital One Bowl Week it's that I need to own American Pie 4: Band Camp.

- adam

Life and Romance in 160 Characters or Less

"'You can send a quick little message saying you're thinking of her,' the operations research analyst said. Then 'you start paying attention not only to what the message says, but you care about the response time.' There's a meta-message: The shorter the response time, the more she cares."

- adam

dino comics

http://www.qwantz.com/

Genius.

- adam

ps - go see "the squid and the whale." now.

10 Things To Do In Europe (10-6)

10) Go to the goth bar in Aix-En-Provence: Mounted skulls on the walls, stalactytes growing in the back, sullen 40-year-old overweight dudes with shaved heads in leather pants, etc. etc. etc. Let's not forget the drink menu including "Satan's Semen" . . . you don't even want to know.

9) Aufsturz in Berlin: Indie rock club in Mitte Berlin which includes cheap drinks (red-bull and vodka for 4 euros) a guy and girl duo indie-pop band from Hannover in which the girl lead singer knew about 50 words of English (coming out to about 4 per song) and a guy drummer in a rabbit suit. Hit-song, "Phantom Love, Phantom Pain." Oh and who could forget "The Pedestrians," the strung out Manchester band whose claim to fame was opening for Pete Doherty's "Baby Shambles."

8) Cafe Zapata in Berlin: Bar in Tacheles building in East Berlin. Former squat building that includes art spaces and bars. Lots of audio-visual performances, interesting graffiti murals, and amusing lap-top djs nights. Plus a giant-ass metal dragon that breathes fire when you tip the bartenders.

7) Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit @ Foam Fotografiemuseum in Amsterdam: "The exhibition is presented as a journey through the life of Cartier-Bresson. It gives a chronological insight into what attracted him and influenced him at different times in his life. The unique material, much of which is shown for the first time, provides an unprecedented and unparalleled insight into the legendary Henri Cartier-Bresson. Not only are visitors given a sense of how certain photos were originally used, they also discover how in the course of time these photos became twentieth-century icons."

6) Barney's Coffeeshop (2nd shop) in Amsterdam: This is the second location of Barney's famous coffeeshop that opened about two weeks ago according to the Irish owner Derry. Cannibus Cup winning quality stuff (gotta try the Willie Nelson), in a low-key beautiful asian-fusion cafe. One of the few shops I went to that didn't have happy-hardcore blaring. Definitely the best coffee shop I visited in Amsterdam.

- adam

I Got A Bridge To Sell Ya

"THE year is 1899, and a saucy con artist named Peaches O'Day is trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. She succeeds, too, passing it off to a gullible fellow who pays her $200 and receives a bill of sale reading, 'One bridge in good condition.' As punishment, she is run out of town, but she returns in triumph, disguised in a black wig as the French entertainer Mademoiselle Fifi, and goes on to be elected mayor of the city."

For You, Half Price

- adam

Thinking before drinking

"From midnight tonight new licensing laws in England and Wales will allow for longer opening hours, and in some cases permit 24-hour drinking. Mark Oliver casts an eye over his pint at a controversial law change."

Yay bars open past 11pm!

- adam

Life on the tracks

Blah. I just spent over 12 hours on a train to get back to Virginia only to drive up to Trenton, NJ tomorrow morning at 9am. The train was so crowded that I slept in the lounge car and my headphone jack on my laptop is still busted and thus I can't watch the movies I forgot to bring. . . But hey, it's thanksgiving and at least a totally sweet meal is coming from all this. It's just that I was home two weeks ago for surgery anyway so all this travelling is kind of wearing on me.

Just being back in DC for a few minutes made me hella happy. It suddenly struck me how odd looking people in the mid-west are. There's just an inherent stylistic profesionalism of attire in north-east cities that can't be found in Cleveland, Ohio. Plus, there are far fewer fatties.

- adam

Thanks For Your Support

Ugh. I'm really tired of putting energy and money into setting up IFS events and have tiny turnouts. It's FREE, the least you could do is stop by for 5 minutes and see if you like what's happening on the screen. I'm especially tired of personally asking people to come well in advance of the actual event and them simply ignoring my requests. It's not as if I'm asking you to do anything but sit in a chair and watch a screen.

It just seems like people can't be bothered with anything but school and hanging out with their friends these days. Maybe I should just stop wasting my time/energy/money, since I can't even convince my closest friends that it's worth it. It's not even that I'm more upset than I am disappointed. Not many people seem to understand why I feel this way, but I guess that's b/c very few of my friends actually produce anything. And that's the ultimate irony, all we do is watch movies anyway.

This is really sad.

- adam

Days are for work/Nights are for parties

It's been a few days since the last post. Needless to say, things have been fairly busy.

Friday was the Keep haloween party, which was pretty amusing despite the broken tap which prevented any reasonable amount of beer from being served until well into the night. Somehow I got doped into being one of the guys to carry the two full kegs out and put them into the "bartender's" car, drive with them to the 'Sco and use their taps to put the keg beer into large plastics buckets which were then ferried back to the party. After this whole excursion, I wasn't even allowed to drink the beer b/c the dumbass bartender who I did a favor for wouldn't allow me to drink as I'm not 21.

Sunday I made a trip with Dave, Maggie and Lydia to Cleveland and hit up the record store where I found a whole bunch of Motown 45s and a Small Faces LP. After that we bumrushed the thrift store, as it was closing in 10 minutes, and I was able to snag a pretty sweet green sweater vest.

Other recent acquisitions of mine include:
1. "The In Crowd: The Ultimate Mod Collection 1958-1967." 100 tracks on 4 discs. It's as if I did two months worth of singles searching in one fell swoop. Pretty fucking spectacular.
2. The Complete New Yorker. 8 discs of every archived issued of The New Yorker from 1925-2005, plus yearly updates. I love the discount I get from my job at the Oberlin Bookstore.

As for more recent ongoing, everyone decided to be lame tonight and do work as opposed to hanging out or going to QBs. I don't know how many times I have to explain this to people, THE DAYTIME IS FOR GETTING SHIT DONE. Nightime is there for a reason, partying.

- adam

Lady Day

Good morning heartache
You old gloomy sight
Good morning heartache
Thought we said goodbye last night
I turned and tossed until it seems you heve gone
But here you are with the dawn
Wish I forget you, but you’re here to stay
It seems I met you
When my love went away
Now everyday I stop I’m saying to you
Good morning heartache what’s new

Stop haunting me now
Can’t shake you nohow
Just leave me alone
I’ve got those monday blues
Straight to sunday blues
Good morning heartache
Here we go again
Good morning heartache
You’re the one
Who knows me well
Might as well get use to you hanging around
Good morning heartache
Sit down

Respect

Sometimes I feel bad about being as judgemental as I tend to be but I have this deeply ingrained notion that the actions of the people I choose to associate myself with do in fact reflect upon me. Thus when my friends act inappropriately it places me in a position of association with that behavior. I suppose it's not my place to tell people what they should and shouldn't do if it doesn't directly affect me, however it pains me to see people that I have respect for act as if they have no respect for themselves. It's very difficult to maintain a positive outlook and focus on the reasons why I choose to maintain frienships with people when I would be appalled with myself if I acted in a manner similiar to they.

I want to have friends that I respect. And in the end how can I respect a person if when placed in their shoes I wouldn't respect myself?

- adam

Glory Days

I just got back from a screening of "Nosferatu" with a live musical score by the "Silent Orchestra" which was absolutely spectacular. I never would have expected a two-man accompanyment to be so entrancing in that the patterns formed by the instrumentation sounded so contemporary yet so fitting to the cinematic material.

I just had to pull out a stitch from my upper-right wisdom tooth extraction spot b/c the doctor apparently forgot to remove that one. And thus, the gauze goes back into my mouth (just when i thought I was done with this shit!).

Thus, I'm sitting in my mother's house watching college football and I just came to the odd realization that these athletes I''m watching on ESPN2 are my age or younger. I've always had the conception of "growing up" to be a star athlete (not in the sense of myself becoming a start athlete, but in the sense of the sports stars I see on TV being way older than me). Now I feel somewhat like I'm watching a Pop-Warner football game.

Heading back to Oberlin tomorrow b/c I start work at the bookstore Monday @ 9AM. Fuck yeah! Having a job is totally rad, as it means I can actually pay my rent. Though i do wish I was able to stick around for Sunday (DC United playoff game) and Monday (partying with Stefan). Such is life though, and when it comes down to it I'll take this job over either of thus (hell, if I leave early enough I can watch the game on TV).

I've been tossing around the idea of using IFS monies to fund an Oberlin College Student Film Festival at the end of the year. It would definitely be a lot of work, but it would be really interesting to pull off and it's totally where I want to see the focus of IFS head in the future.

- adam

Maverick N.Va. Judge Tosses Out DWI Cases That Presume Guilt

"A Fairfax County judge who believes Virginia's drunken driving laws are unconstitutional has begun dismissing cases, including five DWI cases in a week, and has threatened to throw a veteran prosecutor in jail for arguing with him."

"Judge Ian M. O'Flaherty made it known in July that he felt Virginia's DWI law unfairly deprived defendants of the presumption of innocence if breath tests showed that they had a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher, levels at which people are presumed to be intoxicated."

"As it does in all states and the District, Virginia's drunken driving law states that, for anyone with a .08 or higher reading on a breath test, 'it shall be presumed that the accused was under the influence of alcohol intoxicants at the time of the alleged offense.'"

I would definitely say that I agree with Judge O'Flaherty, there is a persumption of guilt inherently held when it comes to suspected incidents of DWI. In addition the notion of forced breath tests or immediate persumption of guilt is absurd.

- adam

Strange Geometry

If you haven't already, you need to find yourself a copy of The Clientele's lastest album "Strange Geometry." A keyed down contemporary version of '60s British pop. The quintessential Brit vocal style has been perfected (less reverb on this effort) and matched with compelling musicianship.

In other news, the family cat is back in good health after apparently eating a rat that had itself just eaten rat posion. She was lethargically sick for a few days but a few trips to the vet and $1,000 + later she's back to her usual self (banging on my door until i let her into my room and then out onto my balcony). Judging by the cost of all this I'm going to go ahead and say I would of solved this problem with a car ride to the woods, but my dear mother is quite the cat lady.

About 9 hours until wisdom teeth surgery. I'm hoping the nitrous, anethesia, and pain pills will make the swelling, soreness, and possible blood spitting up worth it.

- adam

I fought the law and kinda won

So I had court earlier today and it was definitely the most amusing time I've ever heard in a court building. Of particular note:

* My lawyer was basically blind, cane and everything (which isn't particularly funny, but he kept handing me forms that I'm totally sure he couldn't have read)

* The prosecutor asked if my lawayer "wanted a piece of him" and my lawayer said "I don't want a piece, I want the whole thing."

* Apparently I had "pissed off" (I never actually met him, but I guess prosecutors get angry when you yell at cops) the prosecutor (also a professor at Oberlin) to such an extent that he threatened to schedule my trial in between Christmas and New Years.

* The two court officers had a half-hour conversation in which they talked about babies, thanksgiving, and guns. Note, these weren't seperate conversations, in one fell swoop they talked about eating thanksgiving dinner with sleeping babies in one arm and then going to the gun range.

Anyway, the important part is $250 fine and no record suckas! Which of course means, fundraising party is in the works!

- adam

Twee As Fuck

Finally something worthwhile in the Pitchwork weekly article section.

"As of the mid-1990s, there were a hell of a lot of kids like this in America: Happy pop geeks in love with all things pretty, listening to seven-inch singles released on tiny labels, writing songs about crushes, and taking a good deal of pride in the fact that everyone else found their music disgustingly cute and amateurish and girly. This is the story of how they got there-- a partial history of the indie pop project, and a beginner's guide to what it meant."

- adam

My house is alternatively too warm or too cold depending upon what room you're in.

Like everyone, I always want that which I cannot have.

I've still yet to figure out what it is I want to do in the upcoming months. As I was watching movies in my house earlier tonight I realized that leaving Oberlin would perhaps be a greater amount of work than it would really be worth. I'm already established here, and in actuality when it comes to academic issues, Oberlin (though obviously imprefect) has enough resources to keep me satisfied. And when it comes down to it, whatever I decide, academics should be the primary focus as they simply haven't been on my radar often in the past few years (the obvious cause of a lot of my issues).

On the other hand, when it comes to social aspects, it really is impossible to predict whether or not I'll be satisfied if I stay in this environment.

As I was outside on my porch I came to the realization that I enjoy interacting with individual people outside of a college environment. When school is in session there are too many people around vying for the focus of myself and others. Personally I like to give and have the attention of the people I'm with for more than a few minutes at a time. All of this makes me long for a situation in which I don't see everyone I know (which in such a small place is everyone) everday. I like having to make plans to hang out with people and actually focusing on relating to them when I do get to see them. It just feels more sincere that way.

- adam

Beyond Human

"Many of the fans milling into this year's postseason baseball games have been wearing authentic major league uniforms, with GUERRERO, say, or OSWALT, stitched on the back. True, society has traditionally encouraged kids to fantasize about what they'll be as adults. But most of the people I've seen in $200 regulation shirts are adults. What they're fantasizing about is an alternative adult identity for themselves.

Why do they do this? The message in their clothing is aimed not at others but at themselves. It is a do-it-yourself virtual reality."

On another note, I'm still broke, so maybe I'll join the Army since they apparently like to give away money. I mean, hell I want to spend some time as a foreign correspondent anyway so I might as well get a free gym membership out of the deal.

- adam

Clean living under difficult circumstances

I slept 14 hours the other day for absolutely no good reason. And I just realized I'm out of meds, though I suppose it doesn't matter since they're obviously not working particularly well anyway. The day or 2 of mind-numbing sickness, however, isn't going to be particularly fun.

When Sasha grows a beard, he turns into his evil twin.

Court on Tuesday. Driving home on Tuesday. 6 hours alone in a car. Awesome.
Everyone has mid-terms except for me. Obviously. Bored.

I still need a job. And to figure out where I want to be past December. Friends and money, can never seem to have both.

- adam

Old Glory

For when the metal ones decide to come for you. And they will.

- adam

Top 10 Quotes From This Weekend

"Hey! Fuck You!" - Willie

"Go back to the diaper factory! Baby!" - Erica

Girl: It's just like being hit really hard with a pillow.
Jason: Yeah, with a stake attached to it.

Gus: Do you want to take a second run? (In reference to gnarly crash during skid competion)
Cate: Fuck No!

"Team Sweat! Fuck Shit Up!" - Team Sweat

Drew's sister: We're not related by blood.
Drew: Uh . . . yeah you are.

Jason: Punch her in the face!
Adam: Crowd wants Dragon Kick!

"I got lanced . . . in the throat!" - Willie

Jason: Willie's gonna fuck his shit up.
Freddie: 1 point for Jason.

Drew: Nobody ever invites me to anything!
Adam: Uh, that's because you'd just pass out.

- adam

I'm Mean Because You're Boring

The social scene at this place has been boing the hell out of me. Don't get me wrong, my friends are rad as fuck and the Bike Olympics yesterday was spectacular (Team Sweat, Fuck Shit Up!) but I haven't met a new person I'm interested in talking to in weeks. Oberlin has been such a dead scene for me and I really need to work on finding something better to do than watching the same people get drunk and act like 15-year olds at every party. Drinking, while making people more sociable, makes people less intelligent and unfortunately when the weekend comes that's all anyone on this campus (myself included) wants to do.

AC made an interesting point yesterday about the party scene around here: "No one you ever want to talk to is at the party." I think I'm starting to agree.

- adam

Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death

Bleh. These changes in weather from warm to cold have caused me to suffer from an head cold. I pretty much feel fine (aside from a slight headache), but by nose is either stuffed up or runny. This all-in-all I find to be far more annoying than actually being sick, as it's like I'm waiting for the sickness to come so I can get it over with, but instead I'm perpetually semi-sick.

The first screening for IFS is on Thursday, and I'm fairly hyped about that. A few people have expressed a strong desire to see the film which is always good. Though I am fairly uncertain as to what the crowd will be like considering all the events going on this week. Also, I feel split between my desire to bring films that I'm interested in as opposed to the usual leftist based viewpoints that IFS screened films have held in the past. Further, I'm constantly wondering whether or not screening films is the best use for our budget as screening rights tend to amount to hundreds of dollars per film. I want to focus more on the next semester and actually setting up film-making workshops and talks by directors. However, it's difficult to know where to start with making the right contacts for this.

I still feel like I'm wasting to many hours in the day. Yet whenever I'm in those actual hours I rarely want to do anything else than sit and have idle conversations with people. Lack of motivation is a persistent issue especially since I often feel that the things I think I should be motivated towards doing turn out to be things I don't actually like doing.

- adam

Rainy Friday

It's funny how from one day to the next everything seems to be gelling so perfectly and then all of the sudden a bunch of things fall apart at once. Mainly, I'm uncertain as to whether or not this little project of living in Oberlin without taking classes is going to work out as apparently the people who make my pay check have figured out that I'm not currently enrolled and have thus notified my employers. One of my jobs has already e-mailed me saying that I can't work my assigned shifts since I'm not an enrolled student. Thus 1 job down, 2 more to go.

I'm really uncertain as to what I'm going to be able to do once I lose the other two jobs as expected. And thus I'm scrambling to find new jobs in order to pay my rent (which I've already signed a 10 month contract on) and buy food. If worse comes to worse, I'll have to move back home, and maybe even get sued by my landlord. Maybe though since the next part of rent is due till December he'll let me of the hook.

And to top it all off it's back to the friend zone, a brotha can't get no love.

- Adam

Ball State Media Study

"The average American spends more time using media devices —television, radio, iPods and cell phones — than any other activity while awake, says a new study from Ball State University. The Middletown Media Studies 2 (MMS2), the most comprehensive observational media use study ever undertaken, also found participants are adept at managing their use of two or more types of media at the same time."


"'As a society, we are consumers of media,' Papper said. 'The average person spends about nine hours a day using some type of media, which is arguably in excess of anything we would have envisioned 10 years ago.'"

Workin' For The Weekend

I think I'm starting to get that anxious feeling I've always gotten when I fall into any routine. Even if the I don't mind the work I'm doing, I've never been able to get over the fact that I have to do it on some sort of schedule: "Monday = do this, Tuesday = do that, ad infitinty."

Some kid at my dishwashing job yesterday asked me what my "stance on economics was?" This was an awkward question, as we had spoken only briefly before that, but I managed to answer "I love free markets." And that was the end of the conversation.

Yesteday a woman tried to hand me information about setting up some sort of active resistance to get George Bush out of office. I told her, "I'm a Bush supporter. I'm a libertarian." She looked dejected, and I smiled a little bit on the inside.

- adam

A Winner Is Me

A winner is me.

- Adam

Oberlin + Adam = ?

Finished "Absolute Beginners" started "Drugstore Cowboy." Wrote and article on Slumber Party Massacre 2 "with" Drew. It's funny how one second you can be so involved with someone and the next you're nothing more than passing acquaintences. More waiting, but I really shouldn't expect anyting. If only people could just know what they felt and come out and stick with it. Though I suppose that wouldn't really change the result in the end. I hate being single.

= Adam

See Previous

Well I'm glad that previous situation worked itself out and everyone is happy. Oh wait, hahaha, no, no it didn't and no they aren't. Man emotional maturity is the best.

= Adam

Thunderbird

" 'WHAT'S THE PRICE?' the classic Thunderbird theme song, a rollicking, country tinged number, famously asked. The answer: 'Thirty twice.' Its has been almost a half a century since Ernest Gallo, paterfamilias of the legendary E.&J. Gallo Wine company, introduced this sickly sweet fortified wine, and it's still a bargain. Nowadays, 750ml of Thunderbird, the size of a standard bottle of wine, sells for under five dollars."

A celebration of our favorite wino wine

= Adam

I can't read minds.

Tonight was pretty shitty. I spend a vast majority being ignored by people who certainly weren't ignoring me two days ago. Yet as far as I can tell there would be no reason for this change in situation. Why can't people just say what they feel as opposed to leaving me to wonder what the hell is going on?

= Adam

This Day In Music

What song was No.1 on the day you were born?

- Adam

Odds on the OC

While Seth is away in prison, Summer uses Captain Oats as a dildo—3,500/1

Oddjack

- Adam

Project Censored

"JUST FOUR DAYS before the 2004 presidential election, a prestigious British medical journal published the results of a rigorous study by Dr. Les Roberts, a widely respected researcher. Roberts concluded that close to 100,000 people had died in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Most were noncombatant civilians. Many were children.

But that news didn't make the front pages of the major newspapers. It wasn't on the network news. So most voters knew little or nothing about the brutal civilian impact of President George W. Bush's war when they went to the polls.

That's just one of the big stories the mainstream news media ignored, blacked out, or underreported over the past year, according to Project Censored, a media watchdog group based at California's Sonoma State University."

SFBG on Project Censored 2006

- Adam

I Sleep In A Drawer

"Dozens of voters have registered in New York City claiming to reside at addresses that correspond to city, state, and federal office buildings, public and private schools, churches and clerical offices, and major cultural attractions, a review of Board of Elections records conducted by The New York Sun found."

City Voter Rolls Riddled With Doubtful Registrations.

- Adam

Post-Summer Vacation

Spending the vast majority of one's day watching DVDs of old TV shows and sippin' 40ozs can be quite wearing on the psyche. That of course is an untruth, what it has done for me however has made me realize how nice it is to be in a place where you and the people you enjoy spending time with have exceedingly large amounts of free time. It's almost as if the past few days have been a dream that I'm wrestling to keep, in the sense that soon enough campus will be filled with people who create drama and classes that drain free time (other people's free time of course).

I finally signed the lease on my apartment. Thus, it's looking like the experiment of mine involving living in the world of the working man is finally getting off the ground. I only hope that working in a college environment won't be too distracting so as to prevent me from having the energy to do anything but go to work and waste time with friends. If that is the case, I'll likely feel like time has stood still around me whereas everyone else has continued to move on with their lives. Fortunately, I am excited about the work I have planned for IFS and if I can manage to get the job I applied for in the Archives department I should be able to distract myself with various historical documents.

All-in-all though, things are looking fairly nice. I find working to be far less stressful than classes and it should be a good period of time to offer me some perspective on what the hell it is I'm doing with my college education.

- Adam

I bought an espresso machine today

Anyone who wants to come over to my house (once I figure out where that will be of course) for espresso is welcome. Especially if they bring me 1) booze 2) cigarettes or 3) hand drawn pictures to put on my wall.

- Adam

3 Days until Oberlin, totally psyched to be back around people I know. Totally not psyched for the inherent drama involved with being around people I know. Saw Red Eye, to this day it annoys me when weak heroine characters triumph over thier attemted murders. Have at least 1 room to look at on Thursday as well as an job interview and multiple applications to fill out. Not being broke and homeless is totally gonna help me pick up chicks.

- Adam

When meat is not murder

"It is the ultimate conundrum for vegetarians who think that meat is murder: a revolution in processed food that will see fresh meat grown from animal cells without a single cow, sheep or pig being killed."

Would you eat steak if it had been grown in a petri dish?

- Adam

Monday Op-Ed

ON Aug. 5, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain announced his intention to carry out a series of new antiterrorism measures, including deporting foreign nationals who justify the use of "violence to further a person's beliefs"; authorizing the denaturalization of British citizens who engage in "extremism"; and legislating a new "offense of condoning or glorifying terrorism."

What You Can't Say Will Hurt You

- Adam

Philadelphia Story

"We're going to show you what a real Philly apartment looks like," he said, unlocking the door to reveal a spacious one-bedroom flat sparsely decorated with CD's and copies of music magazines. "As you can see, it has hardwood floors, lots of light and very high ceilings," he said. Then Mr. Kreslins paused and delivered what he knew would be the kicker: "Rent is $800 a month. Heat and electricity included."

The Next Borough

- Adam

Anticlimactic Twilight Zone Episodes

The Garden

"A spaceship crash-lands on an unknown planet. The two surviving astronauts, a man and a woman, realize the spaceship is damaged beyond repair and that it will be impossible for anyone to come rescue them. They find they are able to live easily off the bountiful vegetation, which provides everything they need—indeed, the setting turns out to be idyllic. Eventually, they procreate and start a family on their new planet. This couple becomes known to later generations as ... Richard Benson and Margaret Wilson, crewmembers on NASA's lost Voyager mission, which disappeared after failing to follow proper emergency procedures."

- Adam

A Big Drug Party

"The so-called Justice and Peace Law is meant to defuse Colombia's drug-fueled civil war, but it is turning into a windfall for the country's cocaine traffickers and the cocaine market in the United States and around the world."

Cheap cocaine on the way, thanks to a new Colombian law.

- Adam

A Community's Last Days

"In the first of a two-part series, MARK MacKINNON visits a defiant, but doomed, community. These are likely some of the last chapters to be written in the history of Kfar Darom, a battle-scarred Jewish outpost in the heart of the Gaza Strip."

Settlers pray for a miracle to stop Sharon

- Adam

Bible/School

"When the school board in Odessa, the West Texas oil town, voted unanimously in April to add an elective Bible study course to the 2006 high school curriculum, some parents dropped to their knees in prayerful thanks that God would be returned to the classroom, while others assailed it as an effort to instill religious training in the public schools."

Bible Course Becomes a Test for Public Schools in Texas

- Adam

Civil Rights for the Missing

"Eleven days after a young, pregnant woman who is black and Hispanic disappeared in Philadelphia, the national media are giving her the type of attention they previously devoted to white women."

Hey, I'm all for equality in the media, but MISSING PEOPLE ISN'T NEWS!!!

Disappearance draws media's gaze. Bloggers call for same attention as Aruba case.

- Adam

Polanski V. Vanity Fair

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair's editor, said in a statement after the verdict: "I find it astonishing that a man who lives in France can be permitted to sue a magazine published in America in a British courtroom. And that he can do so without ever having to show up in person.

"Furthermore, as a father of four children, one of whom is a 12-year-old daughter, I find it equally outrageous that this story is considered defamatory to a man who can't be here because he slept with a 13-year-old-girl and has been a fugitive from justice for more than a quarter of a century."

Polanski Wins Vanity Fair Libel Suit

- Adam

V

V for Vendetta

- Adam

Flaking Out

Well I'm burning bridges yet again and this time I've only been at work for a week. I managed to sleep through work on both Wednesday and today, and today I managed to sleep for an entire 16 hours.

I need to figure out how to treat this condition as soon as possible. It's gotten beyond the point of frustration. Having your sleeping patterns disrupted beyond your control is the most annoying personal issue I've ever dealt with. Everyone else just thinks you're lazy or unmotivated or don't care. And then trying to come up with an explanation for why you missed work and didn't call ("Because I was asleep . . ."), yeah that sounds great.

Most of all it's frustrating because it bothers me to deal with "flakey" people. Yet becuase of whatever is wrong with me (we're thinking Generalized Anxiety Disorder) I've become the epitome of flakes.

At this point I'm sincerely considering placing myself under some sort of house-arrest with my only scheduled tasks being taking my meds and meeting with a therapists as often as possible.

- Adam

Nation States

NationStates is a nation simulation game created by Max Barry and based loosely on his novel Jennifer Government.

Libertaire.

- Adam

Survival of the Fittest

"A recent study has predicted that more male Asian elephants in China will be born without tusks because poaching of tusked elephants is reducing the gene pool, the China Daily reported Sunday."

Tuskless elephants evolving in China due to poaching

- Adam

Ray Guns

"Scientists are questioning the safety of a "Star Wars"-style ray gun due to be deployed in Iraq for riot control next year."

Scientists worry about Pentagon’s new ray gun

- Adam

So this post is quite unusual compared to the typical fare you've all come to expect, by typical I of course mean a series of links to other random pages I've stumbled across. In fact, I think I've already used the term "I" more than I ever have in the history of this damned project.

Anyway, I can't figure out whether waiting at my desk for people I'm trying to interview is the bane or blessing of my existence as an intern. On the one hand I don't have to actually do any work while this happens, yet on the other hand I don't get to do any work.

Emily owes me a new hat, what with her absurd subway antics. I suppose it's alright though as my previous hat was about 2 washes away from having run it's course. Now I just need to come up with some sort of amusing quip to write on the front of this next one as it's apparently going to have a blank front on it.

I still desperately need to find a job in Oberlin or the surrounding area if my plan on living there next year is going to succeed. Unfortunately the camus online classfieds are little help, and I'm dreading trying to convince my mother that going back to Ohio without a job already waiting for me is a good idea.

Poughkeepsie is still fairly boring as hell. The two upsides are, a prevalence of friends to shoot-the-shit with and a fairly centralized location to anywhere else on the northeast. Basically I find myself doing fairly typical guy stuff (tv and poker) on weekdays and spending my weekends visiting folks in NYC or the CT. An odd note, I've suddenly become aware that I don't have a single female friend in the area nor do I have any friends particularly in to all things indie. I guess i'm just too cool for my own party.

- Adam

Prayer 'no aid to heart patients'

Praying for patients undergoing heart operations does not improve their outcomes, a US study suggests.

- Adam

Did I Write This?

Yes, yes I did.

- Adam

More Fun With Scientology

The adventures of Xenu, intergalactic overlord.

- Adam

Reassuringly Elephants

Beware of the beer that turns you into an ostrich:

Stella Artois Ad

- Adam

Stella?

"The STELLA series premieres June 28th, 10:30/9:30c on Comedy Central. The scripted half-hour series follows the absurdist adventures of Black, Showalter and Wain, who will also write, produce and direct the show."

Stella.

- Adam

Gay Vague

"Well, how about that guy you see in the locker room, changing out of his Prada lace-ups, Hugo Boss flat-front pants and Paul Smith dress shirt and cuff links into a muscle T-shirt and Adidas soccer shorts. Does he wear that wedding ring because he was married in New York - or in Massachusetts?"

Gay or Straight? Hard to tell

- Adam

Unclear on American Campus: What the Foreign Teacher Said

"The teaching assistant, a graduate student from China, possessed a finely honed mind. But he also had a heavy accent and a limited grasp of spoken English, so he could not explain to Ms. Serrin, a freshman at the time, what her report had lacked."

Foreign TA's On the Rise

- Adam Khatib

C.D.M.A. 1xEV-DO

"PLENTY of technologies can get you online wirelessly these days, but there's always a catch. Wi-Fi Internet hot spots are fast and cheap, but they keep you tethered to the airport, hotel or coffee shop where the hot spot originates. A Bluetooth cellphone can get your laptop online, but at the speed of a slug. And smoke signals - well, you know. The privacy issues are a nightmare."

Beyond Wi-Fi: Laptop Heaven but a Price

- Adam

Keep the House Quiet

I would totally kill this kid myself.

- Adam

Failed Summit Talks Expose Union Abyss

"Something shattered in Europe on Friday night."

- Adam

Courts Reign Supreme

"Unelected judges aren't thwarting the will of the people — they're channeling it. Which is a blessing, and a problem."

Center Court

Grisly Effect of One Drug: 'Meth Mouth'

"From the moment on Thursday when the young man sat down in Dr. Richard Stein's dental chair in southwestern Kansas and opened his mouth, Dr. Stein was certain he recognized the enemy. This had to be the work, he concluded, of methamphetamine, a drug that is leaving its mark, especially in the rural regions of the Midwest and the South, on families, crime rates, economies, legislatures - and teeth."

Meth Mouth

- Adam

Tell Them

What better way to notify your sexual partners of their possible exposure to an STD than through a cleverly worded E-card? Telling people potentially devestating news to their face is for suckers.

Internet Notification Service For Partners Or Tricks

- Adam

Letting Go Of God

An excerpt from Julia Sweeney's upcoming one woman show that ran recently on the NPR program "This American Life".

Letting go of God

- Adam

Freakonomics

"Adam Smith, the founder of classical economics, was certain that humankind's knack for monetary exchange belonged to humankind alone. 'Nobody ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another with another dog,' he wrote. 'Nobody ever saw one animal by its gestures and natural cries signify to another, this is mine, that yours; I am willing to give this for that.' But in a clean and spacious laboratory at Yale-New Haven Hospital, seven capuchin monkeys have been taught to use money, and a comparison of capuchin behavior and human behavior will either surprise you very much or not at all, depending on your view of humans."

Monkey Business

The Old Negro Space Program

The Shocking-But-False Story Of America's Blackstronauts

Learn the amazing history, or past, if you will, of NASSA and it's brave, or corageous, if I may, Blackstronauts.

- Adam

Mix tape dinosaur

"In a new book, Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore and his hipster pals lament the demise of the mix tape in the age of the iPod."

Lost in the mix

Personally, I find the argument that mix tapes are inherently better than any other mix format as pretentious as collecting vinyl.

- Adam

The Force Is Totally Not With You

"Two Star Wars fans are in critical condition after apparently trying to make 'lightsabers' by filling fluorescent light tubes with petrol, British media reports say."

"Lightsaber" Duel Leaves Two in Critical Condition

-Adam

Get Your Smoking Shots

"The world’s 1.3 billion smokers could eventually have a powerful new way to kick the habit - a vaccine against nicotine."

Nicotine vaccine may stub out smoking

-Adam

Making out with boys!!!

My name is Adam and I like to make out with boys...especially Willie Thurlow, because we have a radio show together called "Make Out with Adam and Willie." Tune in every Thursday at 9 pm to hear the sweet, sweet sounds of making out!

-Lydia

Where the Good Old Days of Bashing A Pretty Woman Over the Head and Dragging Her Away Still Count . . .

More than half of Kyrgyzstan's married women were snatched from the street by their husbands in a centuries-old custom.

"Such abductions are common here. More than half of Kyrgyzstan's married women were snatched from the street by their husbands in a custom known as 'ala kachuu,' which translates roughly as 'grab and run.' In its most benign form, it is a kind of elopement, in which a man whisks away a willing girlfriend. But often it is something more violent."

Abduction, Often Violent, a Kyrgyz Wedding Rite

Maybe I'm just a gentleman (or a moral absolutist) but the last time I looked proving your manhood didn't involve having to kidnap a your bride.

-Adam

Interview with Richard Dawkins

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explains why God is a delusion, religion is a virus, and America has slipped back into the Dark Ages.

"You won't find any opposition to the idea of evolution among sophisticated, educated theologians. It comes from an exceedingly retarded, primitive version of religion, which unfortunately is at present undergoing an epidemic in the United States. Not in Europe, not in Britain, but in the United States."

The atheist

-Adam

The Legendary NWA Quiz

Prove that you ain't no punk muthafucker with the one and only original NWA lyric quiz that is actually worded in proper english grammar.

The Legendary NWA Quiz

And remember there is in fact no telling when Ice Cube is down for a jack move.

-Adam

The Nuge Strikes Back

Today's Lesson:

Duck Hunt + The Nuge = Greatness

Ted Nugent's Clock Tower Rampage

-Adam

Sin City

Sin City was basically a composition highlighting all of the negative aspects that cause me to dislike comic books set in a cinematic form. I don't see why and how the concept of restricting the cinematography of a film to match the restrictions of the panels of a comic book is good idea? The same can be said of the dialogue, why waste what appears to be an interesting premise based upon attention grabbing characters by restricting a film to a form of dialogue restricted to tiny speech bubbles? In the end Sin City felt too cartoonish to actually be fully engrossing continuing the problematic paradox of establishing poignant situation matter in an simplistic, and overall restrictive, form of media.

Why Ted Nugent is My Hero

Article published Apr 17, 2005

Ted Nugent to Fellow NRAers: Get Hardcore

The Associated Press

With an assault weapon in each hand, rocker and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent urged National Rifle Association members to be "hardcore, radical extremists demanding the right to self defense."

Speaking at the NRA's annual convention Saturday, Nugent said each NRA member should try to enroll 10 new members over the next year and associate only with other members.

"Let's next year sit here and say, 'Holy smokes, the NRA has 40 million members now,'" he said. "No one is allowed at our barbecues unless they are an NRA member. Do that in your life."

Nugent sang and played a guitar painted with red and white stripes for the crowd at Houston's downtown convention center.

He drew the most cheers when he told gun owners they should never give up their right to bear arms and should use their guns to protect themselves if needed.

"Remember the Alamo! Shoot 'em!" he screamed to applause. "To show you how radical I am, I want carjackers dead. I want rapists dead. I want burglars dead. I want child molesters dead. I want the bad guys dead. No court case. No parole. No early release. I want 'em dead. Get a gun and when they attack you, shoot 'em.

Random = Creative?

Artist vandalises cars with key

An artist who randomly vandalised nearly 50 cars for a project said the owners should be happy they were part of his "creative process".

Mark McGowan, 37, will exhibit pictures of himself scratching the vehicles' paintwork in London and Glasgow.

He said he had "keyed" 17 cars in Glasgow's West End in March and 30 in Camberwell, south London.

The Met police said the act was criminal damage and if allegations are made they will be investigated.

Mr McGowan added: "I do feel guilty about keying people's cars but if I don't do it, someone else will.

"They should feel glad that they've been involved in the creative process. I pick the cars randomly.

"I got the idea when my sister and brother-in-law's cars were keyed. Is it jealousy that causes someone to key a car? Hatred? Revenge?

"There is a strong creative element in the keying of a car, it's an emotive engagement."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Clearly this would be criminal damage and if we receive any allegations we will take them very seriously and investigate."

Meanwhile, Strathclyde Police said: "We are aware of Mr McGowan and have no comment to make at the moment."

His work will be displayed on Wednesday night in a launch party at The Arches, an exhibition venue in Glasgow.

Monkey nut

It is the latest in a string of bizarre stunts by the postgraduate in history of art from the prestigious Goldsmiths College in London.

Mr McGowan, who has described himself as "the British alternative to David Blaine" nailed his feet to an art gallery last year - in protest against leaves.

In 2003, he attracted the media's attention when he pushed a monkey nut with his nose for seven miles to 10 Downing Street in a protest over student debt.

Michelle Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Arts Council, said it was unlikely Mr McGowan would receive any funding.

"He is more likely to get a visit from Strathclyde's finest than any funding from us."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4454485.stm

Published: 2005/04/17 17:07:16 GMT

© BBC MMV

I Want Your Skulls, I Need Your Skulls!!!

Vt. Teen Accused of Stealing Corpse's Head

MORRISVILLE, Vt. (AP) -- A 17-year-old Morrisville youth was being held on $100,000 bail after police said he raided a tomb in a cemetery and removed a head from a corpse.

"We had a person voice their concerns about information they had heard on the street," said Chief Richard Keith of the Morristown Police Department.

Keith said police at first could not believe what they had heard. But when they went to Morrisville Cemetery and investigated, they found that someone had broken into a tomb, broken open the casket and removed a man's head.

"We had the funeral director come to the scene and we pulled the casket out. Yes, indeed, we found remains and they had been disturbed," Keith said.

Nickolas Buckalew, 17, later was arrested and charged with unauthorized removal of a dead body. He pleaded innocent to the crime.

Police believe they have a strong case against Buckalew because remains and evidence were found in a silo near the suspect's home outside the village and one-fifth of a mile from the cemetery.

"Within minutes we found the duffle bag with the remains in it and tools that were used to enter the tomb and the casket," Keith said.

The victim's widow, the only family member in the area, was told of the vandalism.

"The widow was in shock," the chief said. "She did not want any information. She did not want to know any details."

Authorities are not sure of the motive of the crime. Court documents said the suspect allegedly talked of using the man's head as a bong or a pipe for smoking marijuana.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Yet Another Reason Why the Elderly Shouldn't Drive

WFTV.com
Elderly Woman Hits Husband, Salesman, Car, Tree, Wall

POSTED: 6:58 am EDT April 15, 2005
UPDATED: 12:03 pm EDT April 15, 2005

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- An 81-year-old woman preparing to take a test drive at a car dealership hit her husband, a salesman, a car and a tree before running into a wall.

"She must have panicked," said Joe Sica, sales manager at Honda of Fort Myers.

The new Honda Accord shot backward after Dorothy Byrum got behind the wheel and apparently stepped on the wrong pedal Wednesday.

The open car door hit her 88-year-old husband, Robert, and the salesman. Then the car struck the parked car, the tree and the wall. The air bag deployed, and Byrum was not injured.

Her husband was knocked down but was in good condition the following day. The salesman was released after treatment and is expected to be out of work for about a week, Sica said.

The car was written off.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

-Adam

Bloc Party

Finally the Bloc Party LP is here. NME declares Bloc Party to be the best band of 2005 and while that remains to be seen Silent Alarm is incessantly danceable (if there is one thing this band can do it's make whitey dance) and more than a few of the tracks will without a doubt get stuck in your head.

Bloc Party: Official Website

-Adam

Fun With The Interweb

Check it:

Theory Cards

Now you can pit Postmodernity's special skill of being "virtually critique proof" vs. the ability of Duchamp to "confuse the hell out of anybody" in a portable trading card format! It's kind of like Magic, except with the eminent social theorists of our time. Watch out though, I hear Weber has a pretty mean lightning bolt spell.