Saturday, January 31, 2004

never mind

ooh, as i was posting, mike called sarah, his girlfriend as well as a car owner, and SHE wants to go too! We are golden!
posted by julia @ 6:50 PM 1 comments

folk/bluegrass guy at Daily Grind!

Emily Rogers called today from Philadelphia to specifically recommend that I go see this guy play his own songs in a clwhammer banjo style tonight at the Daily Grind. His name is Andrew Bgjashhjjie.........well, i forget his last name, but I know it started with a B and it was kind of embarrassing or unfortunate. Anyone (preferable with a car) want to go?

posted by julia @ 6:48 PM 0 comments

Drunk blogginhh like a motherfulcker!

What a fucking day, fir4st we take over the Borad ot Directors, then teaching jphotosynbthesis to mol3cualr cell biology class, then winning kick-off, and and then celegrating by torquing it in a Union Stall and in bed with Tool (shotting it on the daoor: optional). Fantastic!

Also: Tool says "nosely motherfucker Bran MuffiN, motherfucker~! yeah!" And if you see Lugz, ask him about his "buttered sausage" for sure.

peace out, boyeesaz,;
sahs a & Tool.
posted by sasha @ 2:35 AM 0 comments

Friday, January 30, 2004

Shaking things up, part I

Goshen, 30.01.2004

Dear Ms Stoltzfus,

My name is Sasha Dyck and I am a senior Molecular Biology major at Goshen College. While perhaps I am just emotional about finishing up my last months here, I feel now more than ever a deep love and respect for this college and all the opportunities it has given me. I love its diverse community, its academic rigor coupled with caring professors and its encouragement of mind-opening cross-cultural experiences. Coming from secular Montréal, Canada, I have also grown to respect and value the religious education that I have received at GC, not only in the classroom but also through many conversations with friends and faculty. And lastly, I have always appreciated the openness of GC administrators, who consistently make time to talk to students and answer their questions.

GC students, as I’m sure you know, are some of the most campus-conscious in the nation. I can think of no other institution where the hot topics, even at parties, are the college’s latest enrolment numbers, the decision-making process of a housing plan, the progress of an administrative search committee or the state of the endowment as compared to other benchmark schools. This is boring stuff! And yet we care. We care so much. We pour so much of our time and energy (if we had money, we’d give that too) into helping the college out in any way we can. Why? Because we know just how special it is. We know that we’ve come to a unique spot here among the cornfields of Northern Indiana, and that it needs all of our help to keep it great.

I’m not sure about the members of the board of directors (having never met them), but it seems likely that it is this same feeling that motivates you to do your job. I think we could probably agree on a lot of things—were board members and students ever to speak to one another—and most important would be our love of Goshen College. From that common ground we could have great conversations, I’m sure. Students have many ideas and opinions about the state and future of the institution, and while these are partly due to our youth and naivety, the majority are born out of deep feelings of love and commitment that we all share for Goshen College.

And yet, despite the fact that students have time to think about the state of the college, live in the state of the college, want to share their opinions about the state of the college and overall improve the state of the college, their voices are seldom heard. When I first came here, there was a Board of Overseers who approved plans, many of them proposed by the Strategic Planning Committee. My second year I was elected President of the Student Senate, and so got an honourary seat on the SPC. I enjoyed that year a lot. We made many good decisions, I felt, and always worked to refine the processes by which we included the on and off-campus “stakeholders” in those decisions. Our ultimate goal was always to achieve “buy-in,” and the more “buy-in” we got from “stakeholders,” the happier we were. Last year the SPC was reformed as a two-day meeting, taking place yearly, to which only a few students were invited. I helped approve that plan, in large part because it seemed that it would continue the listening and gaining of “buy-in” from the various “stakeholders.” Recently I heard that “moral owners” have replaced “stakeholders” as the people to whom the board (by now conveniently re-christened the Board of Directors) are responsible and will listen. “Fine,” I thought, “semantics. This isn’t a big change.” And yet it seems I was wrong, terribly wrong. Moral owners, it seems, are those members of the Goshen College community who either have graduated, have jobs and give the college their money, or decision-makers from the Mennonite Church who, for the most part, have never set foot on the hotbed of radical liberalism that they consider to be the GC campus.

Ms Stoltzfus, this is not Cornell. Students at GC care, and want to feel that their voices are being heard. Why else have I stayed up all night writing you this letter? We want to know about what topics you and the board will be discussing, we want to engage with you on these topics and exchange visions and ideas for the college. We want, if not a seat at the table, at least to know that you will have us partly in mind as you make the big decisions about Goshen College’s future. We want moral ownership in the institution where we study, work and live; the institution that takes all of our money and then some; the institution and community that we are all so proud to love and call our own.

Peace,

Sasha Dyck
posted by sasha @ 2:35 PM 0 comments

Brickskeller

Not a bad place, actually. I finally got there last night, hanging out with other law students. I can never remember their names, so I just assign them names of people I know from Goshen who they look like. Kristin Buller spent her junior year of undergrad in Australia, ran into a Great Hammerhead while swimming, is scared of genetically engineered food, and is just all around more interesting than I expected. Anyway, you can get Victory Hop Devil there, which is perhaps my favorite beer. And while nothing is cheap in this town, it's not as expensive as a lot of other places.

In other news, grades weren't as good as I'd hoped, which is kind of depressing. But I do have four interviews next Saturday, which is kind of good, though who knows if any of them will pan out into a job.

And happily I got my housemate to loan me her laptop battery, so I'll have two for the train ride to Pittsburgh. I have to prepare an oral argument for next Wednesday.
posted by weiss @ 12:23 PM 0 comments

Beautiful Propaganda!
Wow, Kate! That Anti-FTAA poster is really nice work. I'm surprised I've never seen it before. I must have had my head in a puddle...

posted by Unknown @ 4:56 AM 0 comments

To Danny King

I'm really not crazy; I was merely reciting lines from one of my plays to myself as you passed me on-campus today. (I should really stop that.)
posted by D-Bo @ 4:09 PM 0 comments

So they're shouting at us "this is a private club! you can't be here!" but we just start singing the wedding march really loud and no one can hear them. And hey, if your club is so non-partisan what's with the giant pictures of Bush 1 and 2 on the wall? And the big wooden elephants by the door? And then the police show up. "Police need a raise! Police need a raise!" we shout and they have to leave. But they're back soon in larger numbers and we're out on the sidewalk, marrying Common Sense to Social Policy in front of a bunch of hill staffers who are all nervous about large numbers of noisy black people.

Definitely better than Constitutional Law class, though Heather tells me that Professor Colby spilled his soda on his jacket during class, which I regret missing.
posted by weiss @ 2:30 PM 0 comments

While we're doing shameless self promotion...

Check out mennonot.deviantart.com

posted by Unknown @ 6:34 AM 0 comments

call the tin monkey
i really think people should check out the new intro to my web site, it's top quality and i put a lot of work into it
*also, i should note it's best if you add your own sound effects/smoke some crack
posted by kate @ 5:27 AM 0 comments

Rest

"Get some rest" everyone tells me. "How much did you sleep last night?" they will ask in the morning. I know they are sincere, but still it seems quite cruel to say such things to someone who knows she will likely see the dawn before she returns home.

Oh Record, you are a demon lover. You chain me to you every week to fulfill your needs. And in the morning, I am spent.
posted by celestial @ 10:30 PM 0 comments

Blank Blog
Hey, it looks fine to me. If you have a lame-ass browser or monitor, that's not my fault. But fine. I changed it.
In other news... Property: Still Easier than Eighth Grade Math.
posted by weiss @ 1:10 PM 0 comments

Blank Blog
somebody (I'm not going to name any names, but his name starts with a "j" and ends with "osiah") posted a picture that, despite it's tiny appearance, is actually quite long. this causes the picture to go the whole way down to the bottom of side bar so that it can fit on the page.
posted by meg @ 11:48 AM 0 comments

what's with your mom's a blog?
posted by kate @ 10:31 AM 0 comments

What's with the blank blog?
posted by julia @ 10:12 AM 0 comments

USPS Job

So I've got this here interview with the USPS Legal Department. I'll maybe consider taking it if I can get an internship in the labor and employment law section. But I just think it's funny to have an interview with the postal service.
posted by weiss @ 5:51 PM 0 comments

Bizarre Oscar nominations

1. Even though it was a curious move to nominate Johnny Depp for best male actor for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, I can't help but smile. (This is his first Oscar nomination ever.)

2. And who ever thought we would see the day when Bill Murray is nominated for best male actor (Lost in Translation)?

3. The Christopher Guest-written song "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" (A Mighty Wind) was nominated for the music (song) category.

Finally, I highly recommend seeing the Clint Eastwood-directed Mystic River (nominated for best picture), a suspenseful murder mystery. (I can't help but love Sean Penn and Tim Robbins!)
posted by D-Bo @ 12:25 PM 0 comments

NCOR folks arrive safely home after a long and treacherous journey

posted by meg @ 11:42 AM 0 comments

we're back already!
all of us are safe and sound and some even managed a little trip to the pub last night.


i miss DC


i hate school
posted by kate @ 11:33 AM 0 comments

Well, I got a voicemail from Kate saying that she left a bag at my house. No description of it, though, so I'm waiting for that and a guess at where it might be before I dig around. But anyway, at least Kate isn't dead. Well, rather wasn't dead at 5:48pm.

I went over to Duane and Ellen's house today. Duane asked me how much SIP pays. I guessed two to three thousand. Duane said he could get Celeste a job in DC that pays that much, no problem.

Here's a good soup. I omitted the bacon and doubled the butter. Plus a lot more thyme. Oh yeah. You could definitely increase the garlic.

2 (14.50 ounces) cans tomatoes, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon sugar
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
6 slices bacon, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup butter
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup gin
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
1. Combine tomato, garlic, thyme, paprika, sugar and tobasco in a blender and puree.
2. In a soup pot, saute bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels.
3. Add butter to pan with bacon drippings, melt butter, add mushrooms and saute until golden.
4. Add gin and bacon, stir, add tomato sauce and simmer 15 minutes.
5. Add cream, season with salt and pepper and serve.

posted by weiss @ 9:48 PM 0 comments

I tried calling around, but I got no answer. Did the NCOR people get home okay?
posted by weiss @ 3:20 PM 0 comments

No class no class no class! I have all day to work on my memo!
posted by weiss @ 8:49 AM 0 comments

Conversation on the Train

Last evening on the train platform at Virginia Waters, I met this scruffy looking guy with a flannel and a mustache. He looked like you average working class chap. I asked him if I was on the right platform and we got to chatting about urban wildlife (mostly foxes and gray squirrels in the UK). He was on his way home after a few beers at a local pub (he says they're all turning into family restaraunts and Japanese tourist attractions).

After describing the privatization of the British rail system and the disaster its been, he called Maggie Thatcher an anarchist for econstructing all the best parts of the British government (the national health, education, an public transportation system). He said she turned England into a property-owning democracy, thereby abandoning everyone else.

When I asked, he said he couldn't call himself a socialist, because they all did stuff, whereas he defined himself by what he didn'do. Turns out he's quite the anti-materialist. Not only does he not own a car, he doesn't have a bank account because he doesn't believe in usury. And here I thought Cliff Kindy was the only person who still used that word.

I love public transportation.
posted by Unknown @ 4:57 AM 0 comments

Technology hates me!

First I get a PDA that I think is wonderful until it got the brilliant idea to routinely delete all of my information on a full battery. Then I got a (Verizon) cell phone for Christmas that chose to routinely go dead on a full battery. So, I go in to get it replaced. Today is the first full day I've had this new phone and it's doing the same damn thing! It's a conspiracy; electronic beings get some sort of sadistic pleasure out of tormenting me. I'M SICK OF THE GAMES, YOU ELECTRONIC ASS-LICKING SHITMONGERS! (On top of that, today was the first of many eight-hour play-practice Sundays and those really suck.)
posted by D-Bo @ 2:05 AM 0 comments

Break-Dancers Perform for the Pope

Also: Break it, hamster!

Plus a music video about things that take a lifetime to master: love and breakdancing.
posted by sasha @ 9:31 PM 0 comments

PunXfordean.org
but even better than that: bush in 41.2 seconds

posted by eric @ 7:39 PM 0 comments

Well I said goodbye to the NCOR visitors, and headed back to my house. Goodness. I am once again reminded of how cool Goshen people are, how much better they are than GW people. Also good: Red Room Ale. But anyway, housemate Angela's Episcopalianization went well today. Now I have to work. I have to work. I have to work for what I have.
posted by weiss @ 7:11 PM 0 comments

If You Liked "Fresas"...

...here's a collection of short stories in which you might be interested. The Forbidden Stories of Marta Verneranda
Cuban-born, NY dwelling Sonia Riveria-Valdes wrote this fictional account of a grad student conducting interviews of cuban americans and embarrassing situations that they have been in. Her object is to chart people's sense of personal shame vs. societies expectations of them. Apparently, lots of these stories deal with awkward/non-traditional/unfaithful sexual experiences. AND you can read it in Spanish OR ingles!
posted by julia @ 6:51 PM 0 comments

Cuban SSTers

For those of you who have gone to Cuba or are planning to go, Film Club will be of special interest to you; we will be watching "Fresa y Chocolate," which is probably the most popular Cuban film of all time and was very controversial upon its release. For those of you who haven't been to Cuba and aren't planning on it, feel free to come anyway. (This weekend, Sunday, at 10:30 P.M. in the Umble Center.)
posted by D-Bo @ 11:08 PM 0 comments

Rob, how about...

an "Insane Clown Posse Toddler T-Shirt"? Or maybe a picture of my street in Mount Real? Rushed thinking about conflict? A cute song by the cellist from B&S? The latest Kid Koala CD?

Just let me know, boyee.

posted by sasha @ 5:07 PM 0 comments

Cash Unearthed

So I woke up to Democracy Now, like usual. And right after a story about that Canadian who the Department of Homeland Security sent to Syria to be tortured, they played Redeption Song, and I said, "That's Johnny Cash." And then they brought in a piano playing bass and I thought, "That's gotta be Johnny Cash." And then another voice broke in and I said, "That's gotta be Joe Strummer." And then I sang along quietly and cried.
posted by weiss @ 8:24 AM 0 comments

Joel, Ben, Sasha, and Landon strut their stuff



posted by Unknown @ 7:17 AM 0 comments

sweet
If I continue to save/invest $100 per year, and do not make any withdrawals from that savings/investment account, I should be a millionaire when I am 134 years old.

posted by kate @ 10:07 PM 0 comments

So this guy I know (Hendrik, Gail's partner, the tall German guy who works for the Watch) started a hunger strike last week. Somebody who was supposed to be released last Wednesday is still in jail, so Hendrik has stopped eating. I don't really know him that well. I've met him a few times. But I feel like I should give some show of support. Are there Hallmark cards for this?
posted by weiss @ 2:11 PM 0 comments

Everybody wants a feel.

OK, seriously. What is it with people randomly (and blatantly) fondling my ass? It's an everyday occurrence anymore. I don't even need to ask for it; they just can't keep their hands off me. I should stop hanging around theater people.
posted by D-Bo @ 12:39 PM 0 comments

Green Fluorescent Protein Tagging is in the house!

Check it out
posted by sasha @ 12:09 PM 0 comments

The Real State of the union
What the rest of the world is reading. Funny how it takes a British paper to get the facts straight...

posted by Unknown @ 4:55 AM 0 comments

Traffic was beautiful today, clogged up and motionless to high heaven. Perfect biking weather. A driver honked at a line of motionless cars in front of him and a small white woman in a black hat yelled "What! Where can you go!" at him. I laughed.

Also, I have to give a speech tomorrow. It's technically an "oral argument." I have to argue that this dude should get an extension of time to file his response. I practiced giving the argument to the poster of Jesus and my mirror. I feel like I'm in sixth grade again, giving an oral report to a class. Good grief.

And am I the only person here who cares about the Pixies reunion? I really hope not.
posted by weiss @ 11:23 PM 0 comments

OMG FOOD
%:#) (5:30 in caps) @ the fellowship hall at college mennonite!FREEEEEEEE!
posted by kate @ 4:21 PM 0 comments

Sigh
Democracy crumbles under cover of darkness, by Congressman Sherrod Brown.
posted by sasha @ 10:24 AM 0 comments

mundane events in the life of me
so i was biking along, thinking about nothing, my computer was on by back and i had some papers in one had, when all of a sudden i found my self rockin' a single knee slide across the ice. i have no idea how i got there, i guess my back tire slid out or something, anyway, computer was not hurt, nor my knee, or even any part of me. hee hee
posted by kate @ 1:06 PM 0 comments

Drink or not, either way you're fugged

Tuesday, Jan 20 at Brick House. 9pm. The infamous State of the Union Drinking Game. Tool's suggested beverage: Busch. We'll see you there.
posted by sasha @ 11:24 PM 0 comments

Ooh, I want me Lucky Charms!

There's nothing more annoying than somebody trying to do an accent and failing miserably. I apologize in advance and feel free to kick my ass if I start doing it (attempted Irish accent) around you. I really need the practice! (Aah, the memories of Matt Stauffer threatening to kick my ass if I kept speaking in a British accent while in Cuba. Good times. Good times.)
posted by D-Bo @ 10:47 PM 0 comments

I went to Baltimore to see Sarah today. She lives in a very nice house by a graveyard. The graveyard used to be severely overgrown and little by little the residents of Jonah House are clearing it away, just like my pioneering ancestors. Except that they're in the middle of Baltimore.

In other news, how 'bouts that there Pixies reunion?
posted by weiss @ 9:26 PM

links don't work
mike, the christmas mp3 and the sara's number mp3 don't work
posted by meg @ 7:37 PM 0 comments

On our way to NCOR
anarcists from goshen that will be attending: Kate Schrock, Hannah Esh, Ben Beachy, Katie Ho, Meg Schrock (maybe...I still have to decide if I'd rather do ncor or rehanna's senior recital, arrgh), Katie O, Susan Wenger, Erin B-something, Andrea Milne, Alisa...um, I don't know who else... but I think someone else, I'm pretty sure nathaniel and cory aren't going, but I'm not sure... we'll find out
posted by meg @ 12:59 PM 0 comments

Amish in the City

Since the Beverly Hillbillies reality show didn't work out so well, the execs at UPN have decided to try for an Amish Reality Show. The show will follow 5 16-year-old Amish kids through "Rumspringa" with a twist. The five teens will be matched up with five "mainstream young adults" of UPN's choosing in a house in a city.

When asked why they would allow television producers to manipulate and massage a ceremony that will literally alter the course of these kids' lives, one exec replied, "The Amish don't have as good a lobbying group."

posted by Unknown @ 11:56 AM 0 comments

FEAR NOT
with terror at an all time high rubber house has replaced it's carbon monoxide detector with a terrorist detector
posted by kate @ 8:57 PM 0 comments

Jesse:
word.
snow:
sweet. they're expecting some everyday this week!
snowboarding anyone?
Alisa:
?
posted by kate @ 11:49 AM 0 comments

More Fun Than 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)!

And these guys are even from GW! Hey, at last something interesting from this place.

But guess who showed up today? Katie Yoder, older sister of Sarah Yoder. She went glasses shopping with both Tims and Jeff. Tim 2 does not wear glasses, but was along to make sure that Tim 1 didn't buy something he would later regret. That and carry stuff. But anyway, she reminded me that Sarah and Ashley are now in DC and I haven't thought to call them up and say "hi," a grievous error on my part. I definitely have to plan to hang out with them at least once or twice. But not next weekend! (Meg, who is coming?)

In case you're wondering, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) says that if you "use" or "carry" a gun during a drug offense you get extra time in the slammer. Seems clear and obvious, doesn't it? Well, unsurprisingly it isn't, though many thanks to the Supreme Court for clearing up a lot of what "use" means in a 1995 decision titled United States v. Bailey. What exactly that darn cat was doing with a loaded 9mm and 30 grams of cocaine wasn't explained in the opinion.
posted by weiss @ 4:50 PM 0 comments

Overview of the 2004 Presidential Race

By Darlisa Crawford
Washington File Staff Writer

The 2004 race for the White House begins with the Iowa caucuses on January 19, and then, a little more than a week later the New Hampshire primary on January 27. These initial election events are considered to be the official start to the campaign season, and their outcomes will set the tone for the primaries and caucuses that follow, state by state, until early June. On March 2, "Super Tuesday," 10 states—California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont—will hold primary elections or caucuses. Many believe that the eventual Democratic nominee will be known soon after this date. President Bush, running unopposed for the Republican nomination, is certain to be his party's candidate.

This year there are nine Democratic contenders—former Senator Carol Moseley Braun, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, Senator John Edwards (North Carolina), Congressman Richard Gephardt (Missouri), Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts), Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Senator Joseph Lieberman (Connecticut) and Reverend Alfred Sharpton.

In recent elections, presidential candidates have begun their campaigns more than a year before the first caucuses and primaries. The media, public opinion polls and fundraising test a candidate's popularity long before any votes are cast. Therefore, candidates must get their message out and attract new supporters early in the process. They also need to
maintain their momentum and continue to bring in funds through the lengthy election cycle: the primaries, the political conventions and the general campaign.

Another reason getting off to a fast start is crucial is the increasingly early scheduling of primaries and caucuses, a phenomenon known as "front-loading." Various states, hoping to play a more decisive role in the process, have scheduled their primaries and caucuses early in 2004. Other states—Colorado, Kansas, Utah and Washington—have reacted to this front-loading of the campaign calendar by canceling their primaries altogether in the belief that a late primary will have little impact on the outcome, and choosing instead to save the millions of dollars required to stage an election.

Results from the primaries and caucuses gradually lessen the number of candidates, as some contenders drop out, and determine how many delegates will be pledged to each candidate. The delegates come together at their parties' national convention, held during the summer, where a final selection is made for the presidential and vice presidential nominee, and their policy positions, or "platforms." The Democratic National Convention will take place July 26th -- 29th in Boston, Massachusetts. The Republican National Convention will take place in New York City from August 30th -- September 2nd, the latest a Republican national convention has ever been held.

The financing of campaigns remains an issue of great attention and controversy. The McCain-Feingold Law, recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, places some restrictions on how money for political campaigns can be raised and spent. Despite these limitations, however, candidates and parties will spend many hundreds of millions of dollars on television and radio advertising, direct voter outreach and so-called "issue ads" promoting political positions on specific issues without endorsing a candidate by name. The federal government also provides funding to help national candidates finance the campaigns for their parties' nominations, but several candidates, including President Bush, Senator Kerry, and Howard Dean, the current Democratic front runner, have opted out of this system, believing they can raise more funds by themselves. This decision will free all three candidates from a $45 million spending limit, which is imposed on any candidate who receives such public funding. All three candidates believe they can raise larger amounts than $18.8 million in public subsidies through the nominating conventions for their campaign.

At the general election on November 2 voters across the country cast their votes for president. But a nationwide popular vote does not determine the winner. In actuality, voters have selected a slate of "electors" to the Electoral College, a system written into the U.S. Constitution by the Founding Fathers. In all states except Maine and Nebraska, the party that wins the popular vote commits all of its electors—each state is entitled to as many electors as it has U.S. senators and representatives in Congress—to the winning candidate.

On December 13, 2004 the electors will meet and vote for president and vice president. The two-party electoral system of Democrats and Republicans requires an absolute majority of the 50 states or 270 electoral votes, since there are 538 total electoral votes. The votes are certified by state authorities and sent to Washington, D.C. where on January 6, 2005, the votes will be counted by the president of the Senate, with the full Senate and House of Representatives in attendance. At that time, the candidate officially becomes the winner and president-elect.

The inauguration of the new president takes place at noon on January 20, 2005, ending an election process that began early two years before.
posted by sasha @ 5:16 PM 0 comments

The event you've all been waiting for...the Law School Prom!

Come join your friends at the Four Seasons for a night of great food, good(?) dancing, and fun!

Where: Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown,
2800 Pennsylvania Avenue

When: Friday, January 31st, from 9pm until 2am

Dress is formal. Bring your ticket and GW ID.

Open bar for wine and beer from 9-2; 3 drink tickets will be given to each person at the door for liquor drinks.

Tickets will be sold beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 20th, for $50. Get your tickets early, as ticket prices will increase a few days before the event.

Dinner will be continually served for three hours and includes:

Dips:
Hot Artichoke, Brie, Spinach and Garlic Dip,
Corn Chips with Sour Cream, Guacomole, Salsa and Cheese Dip,
With French Baguettes, Toasted Bagel Chips

Calzones:
Vegetarian, Three Cheese and Sausage and Peppers

Assorted Gourtmet Quartered Sandwiches:
Roast Sirloin Beef with Creamed Horseradish on Sourdough,
Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Relish on Potato Bread,
Country Ham and Emanthaler with Pickled Mayonnaise on Onion Rye,
Goat Cheese, Tomato and Lettuce on Oven-Dried Tomato Bread

The Pizza Board:
Foraged Mushrooms and Goat Cheese Pizza,
"Quattro Formaggio," Four Cheese Pizza with Sliced Tomato & Basil,
Traditional Pizza with Italian Sausage, Tomato Sauce & Mozzarella,
Charcoal Grilled Vegetables with Fresh Mozzarello & Basil Pesto

Desserts:
Assorted Cookies, Triple Rich Brownies and Tea Cookies

Coffee, Decaf Coffee, and Tea Selection

Yeah right, like I have $50.

posted by weiss @ 11:54 AM 0 comments

You've got a friend in Japan
So i was browsing my favorite news source, the onion, rather than sleeping, and after two innocent clicks i found myself in the middle of a disturbing mix of Hello Kitty, Japanese porn, and plush computer products...

posted by kate @ 11:29 AM 0 comments

if you were standing behind me right now
you could see my crack
posted by kate @ 5:03 PM 0 comments

National Conference on Organized Resistance

Meg, who all is coming to NCOR? I'm excited to see you all. Where will you all be staying? Can I catch a ride? I could house a carload here probably, which would get me a ride out to that crazy little corner of the District where AU is located.

posted by weiss @ 11:01 PM 0 comments

Mr Rogers

In 1969 the US Senate had a hearing on funding the newly developed Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The proposed endowment was $20 million, but President Nixon wanted it cut in half because of the spending going on in the Vietnam War. This is an audio clip of the exchange between Mr. Rogers and Senator Pastore, head of the hearing. (thanks to Debby Scott & vaxcave.com) Listen to your heart melt.

posted by sasha @ 9:19 PM 0 comments

Summer Jobs

So I go into the CDO to look up the addresses of some of the places I'm applying to. Good grief. I find another dozen I should apply to as well. It's a lot of work, but the dream of a 9 to 5 that pay$ is enough. If I had a 9 to 5, I'd be home now, watching TV and not worrying about briefing for Property.
posted by weiss @ 7:10 PM 0 comments

the cave
the party was from the cave, and you should have been there, what's up with most of your house not coming?
posted by meg @ 3:42 PM 0 comments

fire-breathing dragons


and derek, the moral of the story is not "don't let people borrow money, ever", it's "keep track of who borrowed you money and get it back quickly."
posted by meg @ 5:00 PM 0 comments

BBC News Presents:
One customer who placed an order was told: "You don't need a couple of Whoppers. You are too fat. Pull ahead."

posted by joel @ 10:24 PM 0 comments

Bitter

The moral of the story: Don't let people borrow money ... EVER!
posted by D-Bo @ 6:25 PM 0 comments

It's official.

I have sold my soul to the theater and I'm not even a theater major! I'm doing three things for ACTF this next week. I'm performing "Captice Audience" again for a local group. I'm in a big show for NWP (Carthaginians) and another big show at GC (TORBA). And I'm still planning on auditioning for the one acts coming up here. (And, on the very rare occasion when I have time to, I help with construction at NWP.) There has to be something wrong with me. Pray for my grades and my mental state this semester.
posted by D-Bo @ 11:41 PM 0 comments

So today when, unlike yesterday, I am biking very cautiously, is the day when I get yelled at.

I'm following this other biker who cuts between a stopped SUV and a parked car. He has to slow to do it, so I slam on the brakes and cut around the left side of the SUV. The driver hops out and says "Hey, hey!" I stop and look at him. "You hit the car!" he says. I say, "No man, it wasn't mean. It was a guy ahead of me, I swear." This sounds like a pretty lame excuse, but happens to be true. Also, wouldn't the driver have noticed that any impact was on the right side of his vehicle and just a second later I am coming around the left side? Damn yuppie. So he's staring at me all hostile like and I just pedal away. He's stuck in traffic, what can he do but call the MPD on his cell phone. And like they'll care.

Also, winner of last night's "Most inappropriate hypothetical casting for Lord of the Rings:" Jim Carrey as Saruman. Oh yeah. Grant Rissler gets the props for that one.
posted by weiss @ 11:42 PM 0 comments

guilty pleasures
sport of the day: "brakeless ice biking"
i think i'm going to go pro
and maybe someday start a naked circut
posted by kate @ 1:24 PM 0 comments

Ethiopian churches

The Ethiopian stone churches built by Lalibela are solid yet elaborately hewn, and, I would have thought, indestructible.

On a related note, I was shopping in an import store in Adams Morgan and heard a woman call to a young boy with dreadlocks and a rasta hat, "Lalibela, put that down. Don't break it." I thought of whispering to him that his name means, "bees recognize his greatness." But I might have frightened him.
posted by celestial @ 12:26 PM 0 comments

Lots of running around, trying to prep for classes and also get application forms out for various summer positions. Might get a position in boston, though I'm aiming for working with Zack in DC this summer at his little place called the People's Law Resource Center.
posted by weiss @ 12:22 PM 0 comments

good day
you know it's a good day when your aesthetics professor admits that he had to look up the term aesthetics when he was asked to teach the class.

on a similar note: thank god for iChat.
posted by eric @ 8:04 AM 0 comments

Was Saddam held by Kurdish forces, drugged and left for US troops? And did he then spit on US troops and struggle to get free? Does he have "cancer of lymph glands"? Only one Google News search, and already so many questions...

posted by sasha @ 3:41 AM 0 comments

Q: So... bad day for almost getting hit by cars, eh?
A: Yes... and mostly my fault.
posted by weiss @ 11:53 PM 0 comments

I walked into Biblical Literature, section 1, this afternoon, and found a sea of shining first-year faces. Apparently, no one else caught on to my plan to leave Bib Lit until senior year, so that in case I transferred I wouldn't have squandered those 3 credits.

But, there I was. Turns out Paul Keim is funny. He is quite energetic and mobile. And he has an attendance policy. I would comment that attendance policies make me feel like I was 16, but when I was 16 I went to an alternative magnet school, skipped classes regularly and never went to assemblies, so maybe it's not the best comparison.

I think my greatest challenge in the class will be making sure my average isn't above 80. I'll take my credit and leave, thank you.
posted by celestial @ 4:12 PM 0 comments

Resumé Paper

So I went to the fancy paper shop today. I was wearing the old jeans, the hooded sweatshirt, and the shirt with the bleach stains. The fancy paper shop was a lot nicer than I expected it to be. There were two people working there with desks where presumably you could meet with them while they recommended paper to you. Also, there were little pillows that said "Maid Wanted" or "Man Wanted" that you could buy.

They (the people, not the pillows) warmed up to me as soon as I told them that I wanted resumé paper. So I bought 50 sheets for $12 and ten matching flat envelopes for $11. So expensive, but hey, if it gets me a job...

Over break I was watching Alburn's movie of my Hour After (thanks Alburn!) and I thought, "You know what? Mike's guitar solos are better than I realized at the time, being as I was all nervous about making everything work out and not able to focus on particular elements very well. His solos on Safe From Harm were especially good." So I thought I'd just say that now, since I didn't do so at the time.
posted by weiss @ 6:16 PM 0 comments

Celeste, totally with you on the Pub tip. What a time. Could barely ask for more, especially after seeing timis getting down to "Hey Ya". Now I can pass out a happy man.

Also:US soldiers sent home for beating prisoners of war. Oh no!
posted by sasha @ 3:07 PM 0 comments

The Delights of Goshen

I'm tired of college. If I had more than two semesters left, I would take a year off.

I am glad for some of the delights of Goshen, though, such as the place of refreshment across from the county courthouse. I made my triumphant return last night after conquering the dragon in my path of last semester, Eight-A.M.Botany-lab. After downing my second glass of cheap libations, I felt that familiar sting in my eyes, maybe it was the smoky room with poor ventilation, maybe my own emotion, but I knew I was home.
posted by celestial @ 1:42 PM

what happened to my blog?
posted by kate @ 1:01 PM 0 comments

ZEEKY BOOGY DOOG WEEEE I AM A BANANA PEANUT BUTTER JEL
YATTA!!! WE DRINK RITALIN BUT YOU AIN'T GOT DRUGS YET URE
NO BEATLES FOR YOU SHE KICK MUH DOG MA SPOON'S TOO BIG
oh no
posted by meg @ 12:55 PM 0 comments

the subject of virginity
until recently i was a toasted peanut butter and jelly virgin. finally out of sheer curiosity i tried it and in all honesty, it didn't live up to the rep that i had been given*. today i was eating a toasted bagel with peanut butter and half of it fell into the trash. thank goodness life isn't a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

many people i've talked to in my years have raved about how the toasted PB&J brings the sandwich to a whole new level, but when i tried the jelly was gross and warm and the peanut buttder turned all soupy, and the soft cool bread i so dearly love is crusty and sharp, all in all a big poo if you ask me
posted by kate @ 12:40 PM 0 comments

Robin:
Tim Godshall told me later that he ran into you.
I'd say it depends which monologue you'd get to do. Some of them are definitely better than others, but that's true about most things that aren't commodities.
posted by weiss @ 9:07 PM 0 comments

Sara!


posted by meg @ 8:18 PM 0 comments

Potomac river



It is tragic about Chris, whatever he was wearing. Which river did they find him in? Because if it was the Potomac, perhaps it was the pollution that killed him rather than drinking.

On another note, ah sweet dopamine. How I love the gym.
posted by celestial @ 6:17 PM 0 comments

Chris Bartok

The Deans told us today that it seems that Chris's death was an accidental drowning. Heather says after class, "I heard that they found him in the river in only his underpants. I don't want to spread rumors or anything, though." She really said underpants. I doubt this is true, though I'm not sure why. Maybe I just don't want to believe anything that makes it more tragic. It was the Friday after exams were finished when Chris drowned. He probably just got too drunk. There's a memorial service this Friday after classes.
posted by weiss @ 4:19 PM 0 comments

New Years Past

• 2000 - Plans with rest of friends bomb, so spend an actually decent evening with Rachel Hoover in downtown Lancaster watching the Red Rose drop. Later came home and made out on my parents' couch and watched bad movies.
  
• 2001 - Stuck at my grandparents' house in north-west Ohio, waiting for ride to Goshen after my family had returned to Lancaster. Watched a good British movie on PBS, then a science program about kelp. Went to bed around 11:30.
  
• 2002 - Agreed to work at 6am the next day, so convinced my parents to rent Red and went to bed after watching the ball drop.
  
• 2003 - Went to DC. Partied at the Black Cat with Schrocks, their friends, Celeste, Celeste's friend Emily. Good time, kick-ass band. Kissed Meg.
  
• 2004 - Couldn't get any info on where the People Tournament kickoff party is. Think it might be at Tim Godshall's parents' house near Mount Joy. No one is answering cell phones! #$&!! Mother suggests I just go see if it's there, so I do. It's not there. It's amazing how many people are out on the road at midnight on New Years, and how much better about your circumstances the right CD can make you feel, especially when it's your sister's and a clear sign that she's developing good taste. Katie, I called you but you weren't there and after I couldn't find Tim's I didn't feel like going to the New House. Sorry.
  

p.s. I am aware that the review I linked to completely sucks ass.
posted by weiss @ 6:28 PM 0 comments

speaking of mars landers
my uncle designed the robotics for that thing on a nasa grant. but they decided that his system worked too well for what they needed - so they came up with a cheap and simple option. have they no respect for quality? i wonder if he still has that mock-up in his basement... i could use it for something...
posted by eric @ 3:14 PM 0 comments

Arriving today (after a brief stop in Pittsburgh): Nate, Alburn, Cory, Sasha and... Michael Dyck! So, a little heads up to the housemates, he'll be chilling with us til about Saturday. And he's way cool.

Oh boy.
posted by sasha @ 9:55 AM 0 comments

Another Try
Gospel Herald, 1991

posted by Unknown @ 12:36 AM 0 comments

Irony

Pronunciation: 'I-r&-nE also 'I(-&)r-nE
Function: noun
Definition: 1. Meg Schrock blogging to correct someone's spelling
2. incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result
posted by D-Bo @ 1:45 PM 0 comments

y'all missed somethin' fun!

posted by kate @ 12:20 PM 0 comments