Beautiful Day & President Obama at My High School

This video is spot on!

Today was great! The weather was perfect and school was fun. We talked about the beginnings of WWII in American History, and we had a test in Microeconomics. And that's it! I also kinda went for a run in the park, but it was more of a walk. I'm lucky to have such a great park close to my house.

I ran into a girl I haven't seen from high school and she was kind of a douche, but that's okay - it probably has something to do with her plans to be a biology graduate student in Kansas. I don't know what part of that repulses me more. Oh, and as I was leaving I heard this conversation between a mom and her (apx.) 12 year-old son:
Mom: Andre, come over here!
Andre: I don't want to walk! (Andre's a little chubby, wielding a $300 cell phone)
Mom: Andre, you walk with me! If you don't, I'll take away your texting privileges! (I laugh out loud at this prompting a curious look from an old lady)
Andre: I don't care!
Mom: It's hot - you can't sit in the car!
Andre: It's hot everywhere!

In other news: the President came to speak at my high school today (former high school). It's hard for me describe the feeling, but I can't help detecting some irony in the idea of an intelligent public figure like President Obama choosing my high school, a place that I largely saw as a bastion of ignorance and conservatism, as the setting for his speech about progressive legislation. Simultaenously, at another St. Charles location, an anti-Healthcare meeting was being held. *sigh* St. Charles. I think it's about to thunderstorm...I love a good thunderstorm. Only a month until my birthday!

Alarm Clocks

Every one has an alarm clock. They're born with it. It's set by the universe. Some people are gifted in that they have an awareness of the alarm clock, but most are completely oblivious to it. It's quite old fashioned, the kind that actually ticks, with confident little gears inside. Tick tock tick tock. Most people's alarm go off at some point during their lives: some very early, some quite late. They wake up to find themselves a new person, and with this kind of alarm clock, it's always for the better. Some people put a pillow over their heads, which dulls the ringing, but doesn't mute it - waking up is slower for them. Others are so deeply asleep that they never hear the clock, like it's not there.

March 2010

Wow. The semester is going by so quickly. Spring Break for me begins at the end of March, and then a week after coming back, I turn twenty-one! Actually it's not that exciting for me. I hate getting older, and as far as alcohol goes, even if I were a regular alcohol drinker, it's not difficult to get someone else to buy it for me. Just another birthday for me. But I do plan to drink some alcohol, some fancy tequila.

I almost updated this blog several times in the last few weeks. I was going to write an entry about procrastination (really!), but I put it off and forgot about it. I was also going to write one about how my perfectionism hampers all aspects of my life.

My parents visited today. They cleaned up my apartment for me. I helped very little. It's wonderful. They also brought me a nice wooden bookshelf. Really brings my living room together. And I finally have a place to put that vase I bought in Palestine. I wish I had a story to go with that vase, like if I had met its maker in person. It was at the Lutheran church in Bethlehem - they provide university art classes. Painting, sculpture, and also things like cinematography. Documentary-making is a very relevant skill for students growing up in the West Bank who need the world to know what their lives are like. I bought my vase in the gift shop. It was like 140 shekels, but maybe not even that much. I think a female student made it, but I'm not even sure of that. Whatever the price was, it wasn't as much as that Swatch watch I bought from a watch-shop down the street. I was walking around alone. I was actually looking for a shop someone had mentioned that sold fake designer watches, but this wasn't that shop.
It was tiny, but there were hundreds of watches on display. I didn't want to buy one, but the middle-aged Palestinian man was so excited that I had walked in. Maybe I was projecting onto him an emotion that wasn't there, but he seemed extremely happy to have a customer. His wife quietly sat in the corner of the shop left of the entrance. She was very pretty, with an elegant head scarf, and I could feel her studying me as I asked to see different watches. One watch caught my eye - a silver Swatch watch. I asked to see the box. It was from several years past, though it looked brand new. I suck at haggling and I also suck at walking away. The price was too much, but I took out my Visa card anyway. I can't remember...I want to say that it was more than 400 shekels, which is around 100 dollars. While he was removing the links so it would fit my wrist I tried to talk to his wife. She smiled (again, extremely pretty) but shook her head because she didn't know English. The man was giddy the entire time: while he was adjusting the time, while he was swiping my credit card (I was half-hoping he wouldn't have a credit card machine, so that I could use that as an excuse to walk away), and while he was carefully bagging every thing. They both waved to me as I walked out. I immediately felt embarrassed and stowed the box in the pocket of my shorts. I felt like all the Palestinians on the street somehow knew about my ill-considered transaction, and I didn't mention it to any of the other people in my travel group. Back in my hotel room, I hid the box under the clothes in my suitcase and then recounted the entire experience to my mom via cell phone. That watch still doesn't fit me, but I still get happy thinking that maybe I made that man's day.

Une maison fantastique en France

Okay, one of my favorite procrastination tactics involves looking at things that are gloriously out of my budget. Recently I was looking at houses in France and stumbled upon this gem located somewhere in the Rhone-Alps region, which I take to mean that it's reasonably close to Lyon. The Sotheby's site calls it "La Tour Sarazin" or the Sarazin Tower. It was built in 1135, features 8,000 square feet of living space, 2 acres of land, all modern features (as of 2005), including a glass elevator, and also boasts 6 feet thick walls. And it's only 2,200,000 Euros. Compared to urban homes, 2 million for a mini-castle seems like a steal. I really like the kitchen. And sorry about the odd picture formatting: I couldn't arrange them like I wanted.

A new semester.

Hello world! It doesn't feel like it's been a month already since my last post. I've done so much in January, which is wonderful. I love being busy. When you're busy, life goes by faster, but when you look back, it really stretches out the time. When you're not busy, you look back and you can't remember anything! At least I can't. Like a lot of times at my previous college, when my brain's main activity was atrophying, I have no memory of what the hell I was doing, just the knowledge that I was probably bitching about some inconsequential flaw in northeastern Missouri's urban planning or watching a Stargate marathon. Thank goodness our dorms had cable. Anyway... I've been busy. My mom took me on a short cruise trip to the Bahamas, which was fantastic, but I went with the wrong expectations. I had never been on a cruise ship, so it took me the first day just to get used to every thing. It was so big! There were several restaurants, hundreds of activities, and lots of fun amenities to explore. We were still accidentally discovering things on the last day. We boarded the ship on Monday and disembarked on Friday. On Monday, with my jetlag, all I wanted to do was eat and sleep (and watch cruise ship TV, which is specially programmed for Royal Caribbean and for the most part is free of commercial advertisements), but by Friday I was wishing we could stay longer. It was a bit chilly, so no swimming or sunbathing. We actually needed jackets in the Bahamas; I got a bit windburned. Keywest was very pretty, and I would really like to go back and stay at one of the hotels. They have tons of shops and I love the buildings - they remind me of old New Orleans.

New Orleans. Pronunciation. I grew up saying New Or-LEANS. But many say New OR-lenz. But the original French pronunciation is like Noo-voe Or-Lee-Ahn... so, I'm going to say New Or-lee-enz. It sounds a little hyper-Southern at first, but it's closer to the original pronunciation.

My classes this semester have me excited. Advanced French, Comparative Political Systems, Intro to International Relations, Cultural Anthropology, and Microeconomics. I want to get A's this semester. My professor for Advanced French is actually French, which in my mind means better quality French instruction, provided they're bilingual. So far, she is the best French teacher I've ever had, and possibly also the most challenging. My teacher last year was from the Congo, and he'd occasionally rant about how kids learning English in other countries are already approaching fluency, while many of us still have the vocabulary of 5 year-olds. She's already telling us the same thing. "By this level of French, you should be able to write 2 pages double-spaced in French no problem [in addition to the 3 other assignments I've already given you all due in 2 days]. It's going to be interesting.

I've started looking at graduate school options. My parents and I can barely afford state tuition right now, so I don't know if graduate school is truly an option, without any extra support. More information on that later. And I'll be posting some pictures of the cruise.

Gay Marriage in Ireland

I love this commercial. Just thinking about the spirit of modern Ireland for an instant, I'd have to say that gay marriage will become a reality for them in the near future. (via American Irish) I like the name Sinead. I was just reading about when Sinead O'Connor performed on SNL and then tore up a picture of John Paul II on live TV...and then shouted out some anti-pope statement. So, yeah, Sinead O'Connor. I wish there was a video somewhere. Oh wait, there is.

Resolutions for a New Year

I'm twenty. I've resisted it, but I can't ignore the feeling that my unavoidable transition to adult life (or something close) has begun. My resolutions for this new year aren't very much different from those of 2009, but if for fear of my encroaching adulthood, then I think this new year is going to be different, with a more serious approach. Bad sentence? I've long feared (since senior year of high school) that my writing has become less effective at expressing my feelings, so I'm going to factor it into my New Year's resolutions.
It seems like a lot of people focus on one big goal. This year I'm going to exercise every day! This year I'm going to give up caffeine! I'm going to read at least one novel a month! All good ideas, but when I've set those goals for myself, I've found that ...I fail. SO. This year, I'm going to make up plenty of little goals that I make a little progress on every day. If I fail at one, then I have several others to distract me from the failure. Here's my list:
1. Eat 4 fruits and 3 vegetables every day. (This is one that I'm worried about, but I did improve in 2009)
2. Drink 3 cups of tea every day. (I really don't want cancer.)
3. Spend more time outside.
4. Go to campus every day and read the NY Times. (It's free on campus, I have no reason to be uninformed)
5. Spend 15 cleaning every day. (I usually clean once a week, by which time my apartment is halfway to becoming an episode of Hoarders.
6. Use more olive oil. (It's good for you! And I have a big bottle than I never use.)
7. Take more pictures and print more pictures.
8. Be more organized.
9. Write 2 letters a week. To anyone.
10. Write more. Period.
11. Listen to more classical music.
12. File all of my receipts. (And possibly Excel my living expenses, but I don't want to get too ambitious.)
13. Think about sex less. (going to a new school and being alone has definitely kept my right hand warm.)
14. Limit myself to one latte per week.
15. Practice music once a week.

One Life To Live

I'm not typically a fan of daytime soap operas (though I do know all the major characters of Day of Our Lives, thanks Mom!), but it looks like there is some interesting stuff happening on One Life To Live. Not only are there major characters who are gay, but ones who have an interesting ongoing relationship with good dialogue, not to mention a whole lot of make-out scenes, and even a bedroom scene! I'm imagining female retirees and stay-at-homers watching this - wondering about the reaction. I love it.

What I Did Last Night

What the heck? I don't know why iMovie put bars on the top and bottom?! I'll have to upload it again...meh.

Saint Louis Gentrification

I was digging around online looking for articles about the status of gentrification in Saint Louis, Missouri, my hometown. There isn't much, and of what I did find, there's nothing recent. Not looking good. In those articles/blogs that I looked at (the old ones), the idea of gentrification was being demonized, as simply a process that forces working-class populations out of their current neighborhoods. That's true: those with higher incomes must replace poor and working-class people as they leave their neighborhood for gentrification to really work. But to me, and to many of my peers, gentrification sounds like a really good thing, especially for St. Louis, a city that many readily describe as dying.

I can see how at first, gentrification may not seem like a win-win scenario. Rent prices rise, families can no longer afford to live in a neighborhood, one in which they may have lived comfortably for many years, and eventually they find themselves in a predicament to which relocation is the only solution. It sucks. But you know what sucks even more? The death of a city, firms choosing to relocate to other metropolitan areas with better reputations, and young adults choosing to start families in other cities with better school systems and safer streets. In my opinion, the on-going remixing of middle-class and upper-class with the working class is absolutely essential to the health of a city. At the moment, relative to other American cities, St. Louis features a dramatic segregation between the classes. Any St. Louis native can describe to you the difference between a typical North County citizen and a typical West County citizen. And weighing St. Louis County against St. Louis City? The difference in poverty rates, unemployment, and crime is shocking. Why is gentrification a bad thing for St. Louis? Are St. Louisans satisfied with high crime and a city that becomes a ghost-town at night?

I would like to see a St. Louis with good public schools and a bustling downtown. I'd like to know how far off it is, if it's possible at all. I want to know exactly what is needed to jump-start the gentrification of St. Louis. It would take more than a couple of billion-dollar companies, more than a few new condo developments. I'm going to look further to see if anyone with power/money has taken this issue to heart.

Photo: The Olive Street of 2010? I think we're gonna miss the deadline. Sorry 1910. (via)

EDIT! I didn't find any blogs that focus strictly on gentrification, but there are a few concerned about St. Louis urban planning: Dotage St. Louis, St. Louis / Elsewhere, Vanishing STL. All very good blogs.

It's Snowing!

Obama's Bow to Japan

 I love Japan. Japan has done wonderful things for my life. Sony anyone? Pokemon? Instant noodles? Japan deserves a high-five. But not everyone thinks so. Some Americans are still bothered by President Obama's bow to the Emperor of Japan a month ago. Now, anyone who's even briefly acquainted with Japanese culture knows that bowing is an important Japanese social custom - like saying "hello" when you answer the phone - if you don't do it, it's weird or rude. Actually, not returning a bow is probably worse than not saying hello...  Nevertheless some people are outraged by Obama's disgustingly blatant display of subservience to a foreign leader. Fox News anyone? 
I just want to say that I love how Fox News often includes commentary on how people feel, like when they say that the emperor and his wife looked uncomfortable. Did you ask them? Is there an interview on record, in which someone representing the emperor says that he, the emperor, was uncomfortable? No? Then don't include it in the story and pass it off as legitimate journalism. The addition of emotions into a report that may or may not have a basis in reality is no more than a subdued version of sensationalism.  
On the subject of "protocol" that "has been the constant since the country's founding" my thoughts would be that in the eighteenth century, our prime concern was not bowing to European powers - it probably wouldn't have been cool for George Washington to bow to George III. But Japan wasn't really on the map in the 1700s, much less our fourth largest trading partner. Surely, if "protocol" had been written properly back in the day it would read "don't let the President bow to people unless it's the Emperor of Japan 'cause that's what they fucking do in Japan!!!" Obama isn't exactly prostrating on his knees or kissing the emperor's rings. The end.

Oh, and here's this picture that I borrowed from Fox News. I thought it was worth noting that when I downloaded it, the suggested filename was "obama_japan_monster." Obama Japan Monster. Hmm. You're so totally a legitimate news organization. Good job, Fox News.

St. Louis Zoo Features Electronic Polar Bears!

I have high regards for the St. Louis Zoo (not only because I grew up in the St. Louis area). And I always like to go to the Zoo during winter to see the polar bears frolicking. They have a deep pool of water and big rubber balls - it's amusing to watch them jump in the pool and bounce and toss the balls up in the air and such. Well, not anymore! Apparently, polar bears are extinct at the St. Louis Zoo. And they've replaced them with electronic ones! For me this just echos that fact that polar bears are becoming increasingly rare in the wild, and eventually electronic zoo versions are going to be all there is for anyone to see. Also, I wonder if this could also be taken as a metaphor for the dwindling status of St. Louis as a relevant American city.


Huffington Post
River Front Times
PETA

Cool Photo of the Week

Battlestar Galactica 101.

*chortle*

I saw this on TheBobBlog. I thought it was funny. I'm not sure how I should go about citing photographs. I assume citing the stolen-from website is sufficient?
Also, I thought Metro was a newspaper for Swedes, but I just looked it up on Wikipedia and it seems to be all over the place. Cool.