I haven't written in a week and a half. That's a record for me now. It's ok though, cuz' I'll get in the groove again. I have four term papers to write in the next three weeks (one which will be submitted to a cognitive science journal) so I know I'll be looking for tons of ways to procrastinate at my computer. And here is one of them!

So there's been lots going on lately, both in my life and in the world. I woke up this morning feeling absolutely amazing (after a piece of toast, a One-A-Day, and a raspberry Emergen-C). I attribute that to almost-good health and to over twelve hours of sleep last night. Yup, I went to bed before most eight-year-olds do. It was a good day though, so it was a good wear-me-out feeling. Corey and I gave our major presentation in front of an education class in NWCA. The auditorium seats around 250-300, but it's eighth week, so I'd say we spoke in front of a good 100-150 people. Not bad eh? When I'm a professor I know I can fondly look back to yesterday as my first lecture-sized teaching experience. I had been on campus all day either in work or in meetings or attempting to put together my term papers, and then I helped out with Bruin up Books for a bit. I started filling out my paperwork for my REAL JOB, so that was exciting. Anyway... so what else is going on... well there's Ryan, so you'll have to meet him if you haven't already. Weekends in Santa Barbara have been nice, almost like a vacation at the end of the week (not that I've really been doing all that much work otherwise... and I know that pisses you off...) He took me out to this dinner at Lawry's on Valentine's Day, and it was quite the adventure. #1, we didn't have reservations, #2 it took him over three hours to drive down to LA because of Friday afternoon/long weekend traffic. Anyway, as we're tredging along Olympic Blvd. towards La Cienega, we astutely notice these helicoptors (ok, I thought they were planes flying directly towards us) and wisen up and start listening to the news. It turns out the Wash Mutual over in the Flint Publications building on Wilshire and La Cienega had been robbed. They gunned one robber down and were frantically searching for the other one. So they police blockaded portions of the streets off around the intersection of Wilshire and La Cienega. And where is Lawry's located? Good ol' Wilshire and La Cienega. :) It sucked that it took so long to drive there with all this police traffic, but we got smart and parked in a residential area and walked over to the restaurant. We walked right in and were seated within minutes... lots of people completely missed their reservations because of all the traffic, which was prime for us. :) I had the English cut, a side of spinach, and a glass of 2001 Pinot Noir. It was all very romantic (police sirens and all).

So how about that war, eh? I've been trying to have intellectual conversations with people about this war business. Basically this is what I have concluded. Is there a threat? Sure. Is this threat worth killing thousands of innocent civilians along the way? I'm not so sure. Shouldn't we not be doing stuff without the support of other countries? Generally yes, unless their only reason for not supporting us is to keep lines of trade open. What do I think of the millions of people who marched through the streets all over the world in protest of the war or in support of the war? Arun put it best (leave it to the Canadians): "those who know the least shout the loudest." Does all this focus on the middle east take away too much from important domestic issues? Hell yeah. So should we go to war? I can honestly say I do not support nor oppose it. Why can't I form an opinion? Because I believe there is so much going on behind the scenes that we as common Americans are oblivious to. The media filters what it wants to tell us, and what it does tell us it skews in every which way possible. Thus I find it extremely difficult to form decisive opinions on such matters. And it doesn't help that I think everyone in power (Democrats and Republicans alike) are rich old white men who will hurt anyone in order to keep things peachy keen for themselves and their families.

AND (this is unrelated to the war) people need to realize that "diversity" is such a fucking buzz word that they don't even know what they're talking about when they use it. Yes diversity is important when it comes to institutions of higher education. But this is a diversity of experiences, beliefs, and perspectives that we're talking about. If this diversity is related to or a result of racial differences, then great, we have racial diversity. But on it's own I think the focusing the importance on strictly racial diversity is a load of crap. Master status or not, it's not race that defines us; it's how our environment around us deals with our race and how we choose to embody the element of race into our lives. Take Mell and I for example. On paper, when talking about race, socioeconomic status, level of education, and educational opportunites, we're exactly the same. But if you talk to us, you'll very quickly realize that we have very different experiences, beliefs, and perspectives. So stop focusing solely on race. Why don't you take the time to hear what people actually have to say about their lives?

Other things that need to self-clean (besides the oven):
-my room
-the dishes (dishwashers do not count)
-the counter
-the stove
-the kitchen floor
-all floors, especially carpeted ones
-the coffee table
-bathroom counters
-toilets
-my car

1 week, 4 trips to Ralphs, 2 with Matt, 1 with a matching scarf and knit hat set. :)

this application has unexpectedly quit my ass.

being called Miss Angela

Went to 99th St today. These kids are so bright and have so much potential, but won't have the opportunities to realize it... how do we make those opportunities exist? I don't know exactly. Clinton was on Larry King Live last night. All political schmoozing aside, one of the greatest things he said was: yes, he's making TONS of money right now, and it's because of the greatness of America that he was fortunate to have those opportunities to succeed, and because of that, it's his time to give back to the nation. People don't all earn their wealth through hard work; it's because the doors are wide open for them. Eh, more on this thought later...

Because my father is under the impression that people go through clutch plates like clean underwear.
long pause, looks upward...
So, quickly.

Too much hype usually kills everything for me... but not so much here. Saw Chicago tonight. Overall very good. Very true to form. Broadway hits Hollywood with a bang.

Richard Gere as Billy Flynn in a tap dance sequence montaged with a performance of pure law genius. Worth the entire $7.00.

more fun stuff... I'm on a roll...

There supposedly was an Affirmative Action Bake Sale on campus yesterday. Someone PLEASE tell me you saw it... and tell me ALL about it...

Now I feel lame in asking this, cuz' I feel like I should know these arguments, but isn't affirmative action (in its current implementation) based on the same foundations as racial profiling? How can people argue that something that is so blatantly wrong in one case can be right in another case?

Wow, so diggin deeper, there's SO MUCH behind all of this stuff.

1. Have conservatives been fighting all along in higher education to get their side of the story included? It's a very noble fight. These are institutions that are supposed to train people to think. If they're being taught to think within the constraints of a bounded body of thought, then they're not really fulfilling their purpose.

2. How does this all relate to other schools of thought, say, high school biology? Do they teach both evolution and creationism in these classrooms now? How do we expand curriculum to include other cultural perspectives without going way over our heads?

Editorial: Professor bias doesn’t always hinder learning
look, even the Daily Bruin is talking about this... and don't you love, like all editorials, how the title will say one thing, the bulk of the article will say otherwise, and it'll all try to wrap up to the conclusion that the title designates... yeah...

The question of whether students' education is compromised by the political biases of their professors has come up recently in various media. Concern emerges from the belief that students will mold their intellect and ideology around the ideas communicated by their professors, rather than formulate their own belief system based on an unbiased education.

Professors are biased; that's the bottom line. At UCLA, about 90 percent of professors in the political science department registered with a major political party are Democrats. It's understandable why conservative students might feel they are in the minority, when so few openly Republican professors teach their classes.

But a professor's political preferences do not necessarily inhibit him or her from establishing a productive, diverse learning environment. Bias exists because professors are just as human as students, and so have developed sets of values throughout their careers that often affects the orientation of their research. Often time these biases may not come through at all because the subject matter for many disciplines, such as engineering or the physical sciences, does not actively ask students to think about controversial issues as much as classes in the political science, sociology or public policy fields would. That the biases exist, though, should not be regarded as the problem: biases become problematic when they lead to unintelligent political banter that can hinder student education.

Many professors and teaching assistants of liberal persuasions are known to off-handedly joke about the president or the Republican Party for the sake of joking, not education. Though seemingly innocent, unsubstantiated humor has the effect of belittling the values students in the classroom may hold. When their values are made the subject of professors' amusement, students will be less likely to voice those values and challenge the positions taken by their professors. Conservative students are already "surrounded" by liberal peers; to have the professor make light of the classroom minority is unfair. It defeats the whole purpose of college. College should be a safe place for the free interchange of ideas leading to personal intellectual enrichment.

Professors cannot separate themselves from their ideology, especially when teaching about politics and contemporary social issues – and there's no reason why they should try to. Teaching students about the research they have done supporting their ideas about society will help students on the same ideological plane develop a foundation for their own ideas. However, professors must also make certain to create an environment where students who disagree with them have no reservations about contradicting them in class. Having an open, frank debate about political issues where multiple ideological frameworks are analyzed and students are allowed to grow no matter what their political persuasions are is the ideal.

It's not productive for professors to pretend they are neutral, or to compromise the extent of the research they present in class in an effort to seem unbiased. Intelligent debate is key. And this can be accomplished through a relationship of mutual respect between professors and students which emphasizes student learning regardless of personal biases.

Disclaimer: This is just a fun little semi-superficial exercise I choose to engage in. To all the potential husbands out there, do not let this deter you. Good god I sound like Mell... :)

Reasons why Randall is my ideal man (feel free to add):
1. He's SO ROSS, but won't admit it.
2. I fit 9/10 of his "What makes a woman attractive list." Next on my agenda: learn how to drive stick.
3. He's childishly funny, yet captivatingly profound.
4. He's interested in the complexities of the human brain, both physical and superphysical.
5. He has a true appreciation for his background and his future.
6. He's a Bruin.
7. My parents would actually approve for once.

to be continued...

plastic tubing at 23 cents/foot .23 x #of feet
purchasing spray-on shellac $5.99
saying "I should sleep with this!!" free
being funnier than an episode of Friends Priceless

I've found one of my paper topics. ADHD and its treatments. Am I really that interested in this topic? Not really. Then why am I writing about it? Because I'm pissed off that today's class was so incredibly one-sided in discussing the issue. Even when I was fishing for a sliver of support for the other side of the argument, I got no answers to my question. I mean, it really shouldn't be that big of a deal, especially since I generally agree with what the professor and random-guy-in-back-with-degree were saying, but the implications of it all really began to piss me off afterward. We're in an institution of higher learning where we should be encouraged to do just that: learn. There are very few topics in the social sciences that can be conclusively decided upon one way or another. Each side has its supporters, and each side has its adversaries. I fully believe that we should be taught to search through both sides of the argument before coming to conclusions for ourselves. I agree that professors and the like should have their own opinions about the topic and should be able to voice such opinions, but I also think that they should be qualified as opinions and not be discussed as if they were absolute fact. They know we're impressionable, they know we're barely educated about any of these areas which they study with years of experience and expertise. But their experience still does not justify this narrow-mindedness when it comes to not allowing students to explore all sides of the argument in order to form their own opinions.

And this is just an education class. I can't even begin to fathom what goes on in the realms of more controversial disciplines. Last week there were tons of articles talking about academia's reaction to Bush, revealing that over 90% of poli sci professors here who identify with one of the two major political parties are democrat. Yes, I need to watch my influences, especially lately, but really, some diversity here please? Fuck all this racial business. Skin color does not equal diversity. It's a diversity of ideas that really matter in an insitution of higher education, and granted these ideas may stem from a variety of experiences including being of a minority status, it's not all about race. So stop fixating on it. And now that we're looking at people's ideas--and political affiliation governs so many aspects of these ideas--we see how grossly unbalanced this department is.

I've never taken a poli sci class before (cuz' you all know how much I detest politics), but I'd imagine that one-sided arguments can be much more prevalent than in my ed classes. It makes me sad, then, if this is really true, because as much as we'd like to think we're perpetuating the concept of learning and discovery, we may just be feasting on these spoon-fed opinions with little thought otherwise.

So note to self when I'm a professor: express opinions, justify them as opinions, empower students with the resources to form their own opinions, and for the love of god, fucking answer questions when asked.

"That would be the BEST DAY! Ang would knock out a cow and we'd eat it!" -Arun
"Is your computer making sexual advances toward you?" -Tony
"I don't care about wind blowing through trees, you eighty year old moron" -Tony
"With that tan-in-a-bottle shit" -Arun
"That's a shaky palm tree. That's funny." -Leah

I love my roommates.

reading in the hot tub downstairs. (just kidding)

"So Helsinki is beautiful this time of year..."
"Yes it is"
(long pause)
"Uh, I gotta get going"

"So Helsinki is beautiful this time of year..."
"Yes, especially the snow."

and his name really WAS Konstantin