Oh my god, I love the New York Times.

Economic Scene

An iPod Has Global Value. Ask the (Many) Countries That Make It.

By HAL R. VARIAN

Published: June 28, 2007

If an iPod costs $299, who gets that money? You might be surprised.

College is over.

I'm free and done, and I don't have to do any work ever again.
It hasn't hit me. But it will. Oh it will.

Yeah. I'm tough like that.

Hooray Internet!

We're stealing internet from the neighbors in the apartment. This is the first thing I saw with the new internet:

Kennedy- Your Mama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHa81UKTamk

It can't be embedded, boo. But it is an entertaining video. So watch it.

Today is the kind of day that I live for.

Long weekend

I'm not going to have time to recover from this weekend. Its the last week of classes EVER! And since I partied it up hardcore (ha!) this weekend, with moving in, working two days straight, and MIT senior ball (which was amazing! -thanks Brentan ;) ). I should have been asleep at least an hour ago.



Come visit me in my apartment! I want visitors.
(Really, this apartment is consuming my life!)


And also, yay for parties. There seem to be a lot of them this time of year, and this time in my life.

And also, check out this NYTimes article, because it really sums up how I feel about Grey's:

The New Modern Woman, Ambitious and Feeble

So I may not think that it is Ally McBeal's fault, but what is up with ditzy ingenuous? Why can't women have sexy, SMART idols to follow on TV? Ones who are equal with their male co-stars? I know I've been guilty of watching a little too much Sex and the City, but at least those characters didn't always let the men they dated and lust after define who their characters were.

no more school...

I can't do it. I cannot do school any longer.
I'm done. But I still have 4 more projects!

Lets see if I can make it through finals like this.

Ruhlman and apartment

Yesterday was the Ruhlman conference and I presented with Jamie and Laura about our project from last semester's class, Economics of Globalization. It went well, and I'm really happy that people asked us tough questions at the end. It felt like a conference, a dialog that way, which is what I like to see at Wellesley. It happens so rarely. Students are shy to critique their classmates. This is us after the presentation. Look at our relieved faces!
Also, tomorrow is move-in day! I'm borrowing Emily R's car and I'll move most of my stuff, and then most of Brentan's. I slept on my new bed last night, and it is WONDERFUL! Comfy and big. When we have more stuff set up, I'll post pics again!

OK Go in real life!

I saw the most amazing thing at MIT's Lipsync show the other night. I was amazed. I almost couldn't believe what was happening in front of my eyes. Watch it.
Crazy MIT kids!

Marathon Monday Pics

The Scream Tunnel (late in the day, so not really a tunnel anymore)


Haley and I playing DDR
Happy faces!

Marathon Monday Update

Yesterday, the famous Marathon Monday, best day of unschool at Wellesley College, did not quite hold up to its reputation.

• Yes, I did get my first Marathon Monday free beer that I was unsuspecting because of the rumor that there was to be no beer.

• Yes, there was a noreaster, but it mostly just spit on us and did not make us wet.

• Yes, the cool picnic was held inside, but they just had shitty pizza, but Brentan was able to eat. There also was no music, but there was Dance Dance Revolution that I did with Haley.

• Yes, the marathon started two hours earlier so it did not last the whole day and was therefore not as fun.

• Yes, I did not do any homework so now I am drowning in it and should be doing it now.

Party in the pub.

A poem

When I was younger (in high school) I valued poetry, art, beauty. What has happened? Where has my creativity gone? Why haven't I pursued the values of aesthetics? I homage to my younger years, I will write a stream-of-conscious poem.

A tight squeeze, a single drop of rain.
Embrace me, embrace me, embrace me,
Now and again.
The nutty brown flavor pattering around the rim, I sit next to him.
I sit in the cafe, next to him
But alone, outside, the pinch of salty water pummels to the pavement
The other side of the street shines more brightly than the dark side of the moon.
Embrace me. I should say so.
This circle goes around and around, like the friendship that doesn't end, like I hope to be, like I hope to have, and hope to hold it.
He does, and will, and the drop falls, and shatters the street into pieces that pierce the shop windows that reflected strangers' faces.

Its that time of year again....

When I freak out about schoolwork and get a little overwhelmed that I *won't* finish it all. But this year, my very last semester, I am trying very hard to prevent that. I have a list and I am progressing. I just hope all the excitement of other things (like a new apartment, senior gala and ball, etc) won't distract me too much.

What the hell. It is SENIOR SPRING!
Go crazy!

April

Today is the second day of April, and I experienced a few great April Fool's jokes yesterday. The best in a few years at least!

Facebook used some subtle messages in the news feed. My favorite:


Multiple huge, gigantic threads appeared on Community using Harry Potter character pseudonyms. Hermione Granger was running for CG President, Lord Voldemort entered the system, and George and Fred Weasly wreaked havoc like usual.

However, Google had by far the best April Fool's jokes, mostly because I believed one of them:
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/more.htm

I really believed that Google would send me paper copies of my emails, though I didn't quite understand why they would. But their explanation of targeted ads made sense, especially since that isn't uncommon in their other services. What caught me off-guard though were quotes like, "I've always felt uneasy about the whole internet thing," and "Gmail Paper is made out of 96% post-consumer organic soybean sputum, and thus, actually helps the environment."

Also check out Google's other jokes:
http://www.google.com/tisp/ (ridiculous)
http://www.google.com/googlegulp/

Google was so realistic, especially since I was just browsing the numerous services Google offers. Web, images, video, news, maps, blogs (including the one I'm writing on now), books, froogle, groups, patents (!), scholar, and a million more at http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

The apartment

New things

So of course it has been a while, but I was on Spring break, relaxing on the beach and playing hard on the field. I woke up to several divine sunrises over the Atlantic and laughed my head off.

But tomorrow I get a brand new first apartment! Brentan and I are signing the lease that will allow us to live on Comm Ave with beautiful views and sun and horrific green carpet.

And tonight I get to see the Decemberists in concert, right here at my very own school.

Yay! Life is happy.

Much Too Little, Too Late

President Bush's tour through Mexico and Central and South America (highlighted in the NY Times article "Answering Latin Left, Bush Pledges to Help Poor") is hypocritical. While Bush has been focusing on wars about oil and forcing US democracy in the middle east, the governments and people of the southern West hemisphere have been acting.
I don't blame Hugo Chavez in trying to find an alternative to the market system that hasn't been working in Venezuela. His instillation of anti-US sentiments isn't unreasonable either. Bush has condoned building a wall to block off all southern nations!
Bush's trip is most likely the sightseeing tour of a lame-duck president. (Just look at the picture in the NY Times article!)

Mad and Wet

Ice melts and
Water drops trickle
Down low, wet and moist on the brown, but not dead, grass
Crunchy leaves still swing from oak branches, making small shadows
On snow below
Blue sky peeps out from behind high gray clouds
Its early, earlier than usual
Halfway through March and I can smell spring

B

This is the man I love.

Dictatorship?

Do you ever feel like you belong to an organization that is run like a fascist dictatorship? Cause I sure do. Ok, so it may be more like an oligarchy, but I have no representation! So our "president" who was "democratically elected" likes to make up rules that people seem to follow without question.

No meat for meals.
Only certain times are designated to spend with certain people.
If you complain, you get punished by being excluded from future events.
Some events are exclusive to the "elite" members, other members can watch, but may not participate without previous approval.

This "president" decides everything. Why? Why do I have NO power?
I am capable of being responsible for myself, I do not need someone to "take care" of me, thankyouverymuch.
So many choices, so few to make for myself.
So why don't I stop it, exclude myself.
Because I just have two and a half more months! (And then I can be free from this hell)

Madeline Albright is speaking for graduation. Should be great, and hopefully interesting. I can't wait to get out of this place and have an apartment of my own (with my someone special). I also can't wait for it to truly be spring!

I'm going to see Pan's Labrynth tonight. I hope its as good as everyone says it is.

30 some years from now

When I'm 50 the world will be a different place. Technologies and economies will advance, beyond what I can imagine.
But one thing that I can clearly see is a reduction in prejudice and hatred. At least I hope so. Many of today's (American) leaders have been influenced and lived in a society with prejudice. Anyone over age 60 lived through the civil rights movement and women's liberation that brought much attention to the persecution of the groups. But when I'm 50, and my peers and I are leaders in the US, we will have grown up in an era in which many efforts were made to make women and people of all races equal. Not all of the efforts have succeeded, and I recognize a few instances when equality was not on the table--but true progress has been made and will be made. General society will accept the diverse communities we all live in. Maybe not completely, but better than now. My generation has lived through the gay rights movement. One day, most likely in my lifetime, gays and lesbians will have equal legal rights as straight couples EVERYWHERE.
I am excited.

No one is illegal

This YouTube video is interesting. I'm appalled at the childish behavior of a political group at a supposedly intellegent university (but not that surprised). Even though the Republican group is trying to raise awareness of the illegal immigration debate, their behavior is clearly racist. I love debating about immigration policies, but the Republican group was NOT holding a debate.
David Laska's (the NYU Republican Campaign and Intern Chair, who looks and acts like a defensive, naive asshole) arguments about illegal immigrants living in fear are legitimate, but what the US needs to do is try to quell the fears and accept the people who contribute greatly to our society, and not ignore or try to dismiss them. His "satire" of catching the illegal immigrants is not making a clear point about illegal immigration. It is disrespectful, counterproductive, and racist, as the people in the video discuss.

I love that the response is huge protest. I love that many of my peers care about issues of immigration and racism and will act.

Post #1

So this is my first post on blogger. Hmmmm.
I'm so attracted to blogs.

I downloaded Picassa today between my classes. It seems like an iTunes for pictures. So easy to use, but I hope it doesn't mess with my computer like iTunes does. What other music software is good and easy to use? I get so confused with Winamp.
I feel inspired to check out this computer stuff (which I'm not usually likely to do) because I'm reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. Friedman has sofar discussed the beginnings of computers and the internet and web browsers, and I just read the part about how open use software changed the world. So I know Picassa and Blogger aren't open use, but I don't know how to program anyway.
The book hasn't lived up to how my dad described it so far, but I'm not even a third through.