Okay, so I've been busy...This'll be in relative date order rather than importance as usual so that I can keep track easier (if you didn't understand that, that's fine; I do).
5*4 Points:
1. Labor Day- Never really understood what the meaning of Labor Day was, except that we're supposed to get a day off. Better hit up Wikipedia; seems like a thing that I should know about.
2. Tour of Missouri- Despite cycling being under a cheating cloud, apparently quite a few thousand (six figures I hear) turned up all across Missouri to watch this race, which featured some big names, like Levi Leipheimer, and the Discovery Team. It's sad that this is the last year of Discovery, but Lance Armstrong gave them quite a legacy, didn't he?
3. Larry Craig renegs on resigning- Don't understand his decision; there's major backlash against him, especially in his party, but if he thinks he's "innocent", then oh well. The Republicans aren't going to take back Congress with his help anyway.
4. Steve Fossett Missing- Happened earlier this month and still hasn't been found. And apparently nothing has been found that could've went wrong. I remember how attached to the TV I was when he was making his treks around the world in his balloon...hopefully something will happen with this story.
5. Fred Thompson declares candidacy- Automatically he leaps into the top fourth of the field in the Republican party, but do people really think he has a chance, when he's more well known for Law & Order than for being a senator?
6. Michigan and Notre Dame- Two of the most storied football programs losing really bad games in the first week. Michigan has somewhat recovered, but Notre Dame's probably toast. What happened to Charlie Weis learning from the best? Does he need to resort to cheating as well, or shouldn't he have done that previously?
7. Hurricane Felix- Second category 5 hurricane in a season is a record, says the 9/5/07 edition of USA Today. Hurricane seasons are weird every year, supposedly, and they will continue to be that way, especially with global warming. Why do experts keep saying "This year is weird"?
8. Luciano Pavarotti Dies- But what a legacy he's had; perhaps the best opera singer in the world, if not ever. Sadly, we all probably saw this coming a while back, but still something we hoped would be delayed for a while longer.
9. New TV Season- Everybody's talking about the influx of "geek" shows, with Chuck, The Big Bang Theory, Reaper, Aliens in America, and others. And they all seem alright, or watchable at least. Maybe being nerdy is the trend now, or maybe, with this being TV, they like to show the non-mainstream.
10. USA Today turns 25- Without the hotel aspect dominated, it probably wouldn't have, or even today, survived. But a functional newspaper for those on the go especially, and congratulations are in order.
11. Petraeus Briefing- General David Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, has argued that troop pullback in Iraq may not be a good idea, obviously chafing Democrats in Congress. He also said that security in Iraq was improving, while also saying that religious militia groups have too much power for security to be turned over to local governments. If you think about it, perhaps this makes sense, but still a little contradicting, no?
12. 9/11 now six years ago- Seems like we have all forgotten the lessons 9/11 was supposed to teach us. Patriotism, peace, freedom, and of course life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have seemingly all gone out the window. Please don't make it take another terrorist attack for us to be reminded again (Congress...).
13. Bill Belichick caught for cheating- As harped on before, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined, as were the Patriots themselves, for videotaping the New York Jets' signals. However, Goodell has levied a fine that is not harsh at all ($500,000 against Belichick and $250,000 against the team, as well as a first round draft pick IF they make the playoffs), taking a hit against his tough-guy stance against all things wrong. The Patriots can survive that; give them something more lasting.
14. Vanessa Hudgens nude photos- Was she underage, was she overage, were they for Drake Bell, were they for Zac Efron, were they for his enjoyment, were they to make him come to her instead of Ashley Tisdale...glad to know we're following this more than, say, national security?
15. Bush to pull back troops in Iraq- But not because it's been the right thing to do, but because he says the missions have been successful. Someone's drinking Kool-Aid.
16. Sopranos wins best drama- Fitting way to go out for one of the most popular dramas of all time. The panel loves creativity (obviously being involved with performing arts), perhaps they enjoyed the ending, as opposed to the rest of us...
17. O. J. Simpson arrested for armed robbery- Oh, O. J., O. J., O. J., O. J., ... when will you know that crime doesn't pay? You've just got arrested, and now you'll contest it, but is this thing worth a replay?
18. Federal Reserve cuts key interest rate- Trying to boost the economy, especially housing and financial markets. Apparently this will drop the prime lending rate banks have, and the cost of a home-equity line, which bodes well for us consumers, right? (This was all pulled out of USA Today from 9/19/07...better hit up Wikipedia again).
19. Jena Six- Sure, racial tension still exists, but weren't we supposed to have moved past such horrible incidents as this one decades ago? Hanging nooses on a tree was bad, retaliating was just as bad. Charging all six for attempted murder among other things with minimal chance for bail (one has been freed on bail, apparently from an anonymous donor)? A little much, isn't it?
20. Dan Rather sues CBS- CBS ditched him very ungraciously, which shows how much business honors loyalty and hard work. But a $70 million lawsuit? Oh dear.
My 20 points will come later (perhaps tomorrow, perhaps this week, perhaps 25 or greater next week or later...I'm rhyming a lot today), so as to not hit y'all with a huge submission today.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
5 Points for 9/3
1. Alberto Gonzales Resigns- Finally. He's botched the firings of nine federal prosecutors, wiretapping, the Ashcroft fiasco, torture approval, and others. What could've been a historic legacy, with him being the first Latino in such a high position, is now a disgraced one.
2. Tony Snow Resigns- They're just dropping like flies over at the White House, aren't they? Who's next, the Prez and the VP, who are long overdue? Only a year and a third...But anyway, good luck to Snow and his battle with cancer, though I doubt that he left his press secretary position for anything other than this reason, despite his saying that it was about the money. Perhaps more money for chemotherapy treatments, maybe?
3. Larry Craig Resigns- The Republican exodus from Washington is so contagious, it's affecting Congress also. Out of all the people in the world, the ones I cannot tolerate the most are hypocrites (and those who commit wrong deeds and do not repent). Of course, Craig had to play up to his conservative constituency in Idaho and keep proclaiming his straightness, but sooner or later if one keeps telling a lie as big as what his sexuality is, it's going to catch up to him. On the flip side, I do doubt how true the police's report on Craig's alleged actions in the Minneapolis airport, but I doubt they would put on a total farce, and Craig would fight the report rather than give up his job.
4. Wildfires in Greece- The Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has said "We are living through an unspeakable tragedy." And it is. 64 people have been killed already, and an unthinkable 500,000 acres have been burned. Reports are that some of the more historical sites have been saved, such as the site of the ancient Olympics, and thankfully so; thousands of years of history gone up in smoke in a few days would be unthinkable.
5. Georgia wins Little League World Series for Second Straight Year- And what a thriller it was, a walk-off home run by Dalton Carriker in the eighth inning (a standard Little League game lasts seven) and a brilliant performance by Warner Robbins, GA reliever Kendall Scott for five innings after Tokyo got a 2-0 lead after two. But what happened after the game was much bigger. Georgia celebrated its championship with the joy and pride that comes after such a great accomplishment, but after a few minutes went to the Japanese team that was crying in the middle of the field, picked up the ones that were curled on the ground, and hugged each and every one of them. Just thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes. The win was big, but in my mind the sportsmanship showed by both teams is even bigger. Congrats to both.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601167.html
My 5 Points-
1. School started Wednesday- Possibly the hardest semester I'm going to have to endure so far. Quantitative Physiology and Biochemistry, for some reason, I put in the same semester. Good luck to me. I must say that I'm not that scared of Biochem, but more scared of the fact that I'm not going to put as much time into it as I should. QP, from what others who have taken the class say, is not that hard, but the amount of work required makes it so. And on top of that, there's the Thermo that requires practicing problems, and the Technical Writing and the Psychology, in which I fall asleep and cannot get the lecture notes that the professor says is the most important for tests...
2. Bet with Ai-Lin- So we have this bet as to who would work out more over the semester, with a Haagen-Dazs ice cream riding on it (ironic, isn't it?)...While she does ten minutes a day of yoga/pilates usually, when I work out I go at least an hour at a time of running and sometimes another hour of lifting, and then there's sports games like soccer (which I must say that I miss and in which my skills are degressing, the few that I had anyway). She's more consistent, I go in streaks. I'll keep you updated; so far I'm leading by about 100 minutes.
3. Biochem Homework- Back to academics for a minute, as this requires its own section. I printed out the first biochem problem set on Thursday, and after one look at the assigned problem, I practically got scared, as at first glance it looks really complicated. After a few hours of pondering, I realized that most of the question was extraneous (hopefully) information, but that doesn't take away from how potentially hard and time-consuming this class is going to be. Decisions on what might happen forthcoming.
4. Came home for Labor Day- I miss home. I miss the big bed, the showering without flip-flops, the bathroom where everything is your own, the walking barefoot everywhere in the house. Glad I came back, even if for only a few days. And I realized I concentrate better at home (though it could improve; only got Biochem reading done so far...more tomorrow).
5. Seki's- Saw Chris (friend/classmate from Wash U), a couple whom my parents know from my days at Japanese School, and Dr. Frank Yin, the chairman of the Biomedical Engineering department at Wash U. I have realized I need to work on my manners when seeing people in public (stand up and shake hands, introduce parents, etc., actually wave, not raise the back of your hand), but thankfully he's a nice person and very chill (I got to see him in shorts:). And when he stands up when you go over to say bye and introduces his wife again, you know he has a lot of respect for students (and also perhaps to furtively teach me a lesson). Also had a good conversation with the Japanese couple; I might remember their son a little, though not really probably because they mentioned him, but otherwise everything was just general greetings and catching up. With Chris it was just a wave; he was with friends himself.
2. Tony Snow Resigns- They're just dropping like flies over at the White House, aren't they? Who's next, the Prez and the VP, who are long overdue? Only a year and a third...But anyway, good luck to Snow and his battle with cancer, though I doubt that he left his press secretary position for anything other than this reason, despite his saying that it was about the money. Perhaps more money for chemotherapy treatments, maybe?
3. Larry Craig Resigns- The Republican exodus from Washington is so contagious, it's affecting Congress also. Out of all the people in the world, the ones I cannot tolerate the most are hypocrites (and those who commit wrong deeds and do not repent). Of course, Craig had to play up to his conservative constituency in Idaho and keep proclaiming his straightness, but sooner or later if one keeps telling a lie as big as what his sexuality is, it's going to catch up to him. On the flip side, I do doubt how true the police's report on Craig's alleged actions in the Minneapolis airport, but I doubt they would put on a total farce, and Craig would fight the report rather than give up his job.
4. Wildfires in Greece- The Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has said "We are living through an unspeakable tragedy." And it is. 64 people have been killed already, and an unthinkable 500,000 acres have been burned. Reports are that some of the more historical sites have been saved, such as the site of the ancient Olympics, and thankfully so; thousands of years of history gone up in smoke in a few days would be unthinkable.
5. Georgia wins Little League World Series for Second Straight Year- And what a thriller it was, a walk-off home run by Dalton Carriker in the eighth inning (a standard Little League game lasts seven) and a brilliant performance by Warner Robbins, GA reliever Kendall Scott for five innings after Tokyo got a 2-0 lead after two. But what happened after the game was much bigger. Georgia celebrated its championship with the joy and pride that comes after such a great accomplishment, but after a few minutes went to the Japanese team that was crying in the middle of the field, picked up the ones that were curled on the ground, and hugged each and every one of them. Just thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes. The win was big, but in my mind the sportsmanship showed by both teams is even bigger. Congrats to both.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601167.html
My 5 Points-
1. School started Wednesday- Possibly the hardest semester I'm going to have to endure so far. Quantitative Physiology and Biochemistry, for some reason, I put in the same semester. Good luck to me. I must say that I'm not that scared of Biochem, but more scared of the fact that I'm not going to put as much time into it as I should. QP, from what others who have taken the class say, is not that hard, but the amount of work required makes it so. And on top of that, there's the Thermo that requires practicing problems, and the Technical Writing and the Psychology, in which I fall asleep and cannot get the lecture notes that the professor says is the most important for tests...
2. Bet with Ai-Lin- So we have this bet as to who would work out more over the semester, with a Haagen-Dazs ice cream riding on it (ironic, isn't it?)...While she does ten minutes a day of yoga/pilates usually, when I work out I go at least an hour at a time of running and sometimes another hour of lifting, and then there's sports games like soccer (which I must say that I miss and in which my skills are degressing, the few that I had anyway). She's more consistent, I go in streaks. I'll keep you updated; so far I'm leading by about 100 minutes.
3. Biochem Homework- Back to academics for a minute, as this requires its own section. I printed out the first biochem problem set on Thursday, and after one look at the assigned problem, I practically got scared, as at first glance it looks really complicated. After a few hours of pondering, I realized that most of the question was extraneous (hopefully) information, but that doesn't take away from how potentially hard and time-consuming this class is going to be. Decisions on what might happen forthcoming.
4. Came home for Labor Day- I miss home. I miss the big bed, the showering without flip-flops, the bathroom where everything is your own, the walking barefoot everywhere in the house. Glad I came back, even if for only a few days. And I realized I concentrate better at home (though it could improve; only got Biochem reading done so far...more tomorrow).
5. Seki's- Saw Chris (friend/classmate from Wash U), a couple whom my parents know from my days at Japanese School, and Dr. Frank Yin, the chairman of the Biomedical Engineering department at Wash U. I have realized I need to work on my manners when seeing people in public (stand up and shake hands, introduce parents, etc., actually wave, not raise the back of your hand), but thankfully he's a nice person and very chill (I got to see him in shorts:). And when he stands up when you go over to say bye and introduces his wife again, you know he has a lot of respect for students (and also perhaps to furtively teach me a lesson). Also had a good conversation with the Japanese couple; I might remember their son a little, though not really probably because they mentioned him, but otherwise everything was just general greetings and catching up. With Chris it was just a wave; he was with friends himself.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Harry Potter Late Review
I forgot to mention yesterday that I went to Old Country Buffet for the first time in a while (now Hometown Buffet...I still call it OCB), and went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix after. So why not make up for that by doing a (late) review of the movie?
I must say that despite the new director, the fifth edition of the Harry Potter franchise was quite up to par, as much as the last two and the first one at least (I have not seen the first sequel, so I cannot comment on that one, though I've heard it's the worst of all of them). However, the turnover in direction is a good thing, as each new director brings a fresh and objective viewpoint to each movie, so movie-goers will not be bored with the same old tricks from the previous directors.
As far as editing, sound, special effects, and lighting, and the other technical aspects that make up the movie, those were quite effective and well done. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on these things, but from a casual movie-watcher's perspective, I was quite satisfied with these criteria as a whole. There was no fluff; all scenes contributed to the movie and the plot. This isn't an easy feat, especially with adapting such a huge book, but the movie was able to get the basic gist of the plot while not skimping on details and still telling a full-bodied story. The one scene after Sirius dies where Harry screams in anguish while Professor Lupin tries to hold him to prevent him from doing anything drastic was quite well-played. The complete removal of sound and putting the scene in slow motion makes the audience focus on the horror and anger in Harry's face, making the picture more poignant, and with sound present, it'd be just another scene and would perhaps take away from the emotion that the audience is supposed to feel along with Harry. I'm not sure if this is a commonly employed technique, but very nice touch regardless.
All the child actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have really grown into their own. Maybe it's because they've played the same characters for more than a decade that the characters are now part of the actors' alter egos. Or, they really have improved their acting skills. Either way, they did a fine job. The complex emotions that Harry is supposed to feel is not a walk in the park, and Radcliffe was able to show all sides of Harry, the anger, anguish, fear, love, courage, and everything else. It's still too early to call him a legend, but I must say if he keeps this up and is able to translate his skills to other movies, he's going to be quite good. The Ron and Hermione relationship still seems a bit forced when played out, but as Grint and Watson get older it should be able to come easier.
Even the side actors did well. Of course the veteran adult actors are always good, with Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, and others. Naming the adults is like naming a who's who of British acting superstars, and they all sure flexed their muscles again with this installment. I always like to see more of Smith as McGonagall, because in the books she's such a complex and fun character, but understandably after the first two books she's just there as a necessary connection. Perhaps because my favorite book in the series was the first one and she was such an integral part is the reason. Katie Leung has improved, but she still has much to work on, this being only her second movie.
I'll admit that I haven't read the fifth book, but I would have loved to have seen some of Rowling's trademark dry humor in the movie that was present in the previous ones. Again, I know it's hard to strip down an 870 page book into a two hour movie without taking away a lot, but a little more here and there to break the tension would have been nice.
For some reason I thought Hermione's hotness peaked in the last movie. Did anybody else think so? Cho did get a little prettier, though she was more up-and-down in this movie. (Sorry, side note, as I am a guy).
It's been a summer full of major blockbuster pictures, from the very good (Ratatouille) to the awful (apparently Evan Almighty) with many in between. The Order of the Phoenix is admittedly only a bridge between the fourth and seventh books, and the only thing advancing the plot is the death of Sirius, which seems kind of forced by Rowling just to prove that Voldemort is pure evil. However, the movie is a good and entertaining watch, and ranks up there with the better movies of the summer. To the director: Harry and Cho's kiss was a little sloppy; you might want to have Hermione and Ron practice a little more before going on camera for the next time.
I must say that despite the new director, the fifth edition of the Harry Potter franchise was quite up to par, as much as the last two and the first one at least (I have not seen the first sequel, so I cannot comment on that one, though I've heard it's the worst of all of them). However, the turnover in direction is a good thing, as each new director brings a fresh and objective viewpoint to each movie, so movie-goers will not be bored with the same old tricks from the previous directors.
As far as editing, sound, special effects, and lighting, and the other technical aspects that make up the movie, those were quite effective and well done. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on these things, but from a casual movie-watcher's perspective, I was quite satisfied with these criteria as a whole. There was no fluff; all scenes contributed to the movie and the plot. This isn't an easy feat, especially with adapting such a huge book, but the movie was able to get the basic gist of the plot while not skimping on details and still telling a full-bodied story. The one scene after Sirius dies where Harry screams in anguish while Professor Lupin tries to hold him to prevent him from doing anything drastic was quite well-played. The complete removal of sound and putting the scene in slow motion makes the audience focus on the horror and anger in Harry's face, making the picture more poignant, and with sound present, it'd be just another scene and would perhaps take away from the emotion that the audience is supposed to feel along with Harry. I'm not sure if this is a commonly employed technique, but very nice touch regardless.
All the child actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have really grown into their own. Maybe it's because they've played the same characters for more than a decade that the characters are now part of the actors' alter egos. Or, they really have improved their acting skills. Either way, they did a fine job. The complex emotions that Harry is supposed to feel is not a walk in the park, and Radcliffe was able to show all sides of Harry, the anger, anguish, fear, love, courage, and everything else. It's still too early to call him a legend, but I must say if he keeps this up and is able to translate his skills to other movies, he's going to be quite good. The Ron and Hermione relationship still seems a bit forced when played out, but as Grint and Watson get older it should be able to come easier.
Even the side actors did well. Of course the veteran adult actors are always good, with Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, and others. Naming the adults is like naming a who's who of British acting superstars, and they all sure flexed their muscles again with this installment. I always like to see more of Smith as McGonagall, because in the books she's such a complex and fun character, but understandably after the first two books she's just there as a necessary connection. Perhaps because my favorite book in the series was the first one and she was such an integral part is the reason. Katie Leung has improved, but she still has much to work on, this being only her second movie.
I'll admit that I haven't read the fifth book, but I would have loved to have seen some of Rowling's trademark dry humor in the movie that was present in the previous ones. Again, I know it's hard to strip down an 870 page book into a two hour movie without taking away a lot, but a little more here and there to break the tension would have been nice.
For some reason I thought Hermione's hotness peaked in the last movie. Did anybody else think so? Cho did get a little prettier, though she was more up-and-down in this movie. (Sorry, side note, as I am a guy).
It's been a summer full of major blockbuster pictures, from the very good (Ratatouille) to the awful (apparently Evan Almighty) with many in between. The Order of the Phoenix is admittedly only a bridge between the fourth and seventh books, and the only thing advancing the plot is the death of Sirius, which seems kind of forced by Rowling just to prove that Voldemort is pure evil. However, the movie is a good and entertaining watch, and ranks up there with the better movies of the summer. To the director: Harry and Cho's kiss was a little sloppy; you might want to have Hermione and Ron practice a little more before going on camera for the next time.
5 Points for 8/26
Yeah, I know, perhaps I should change the official date of posting to Sundays. But it's my blog, and I haven't gone to sleep yet, so let's say it's Saturday even though it's not.
1. Michael Vick pleads guilty- Pretty much what was expected, especially with his cohorts already entering guilty pleas and planning to testify against him. As Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch would say, "How will the NFL remember the Michael Vick era?" At least he has enough money to bum around for a while as he finds a job as a movie extra or something.
2. Utah Mine Rescue Complications- There was talk of drilling one more hole, and then giving up if the six trapped miners couldn't be found. This is a very touchy subject, as three rescuers have already been killed during search operations, but families would be devistated if at least the bodies of the six who were originally trapped weren't found. I've stated both sides, and I'll let you decide this one.
3. Floods in upper Midwest- Again, more examples of the weird weather we've been having in the United States this summer. My Grandma from Taiwan actually called one night at midnight to ask if we were okay. Of course, we're far from the flooded areas in both location and weather (again, we were in a drought before Friday's huge storm), but it was a nice gesture on her part.
4. China Airlines plane catches on fire and explodes in Okinawa, Japan- Miraculously, all 165 on board the Boeing 737-800 are perfectly fine. Apparently a hole in the fuel tank prompted the incident. As mentioned elsewhere, this is another blow to China Airlines and its attempt to shake its reputation as being unsafe. We'll see if this is China Airlines' or Boeing's problem.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/08/19/plane-fire.html
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2007-08-24-china-air-update_N.htm?csp=34
5. Jenna Bush engaged- Not the one I thought would get engaged first; in my opinion Barbara's hotter. But congratulations to her, probably the only good thing going for the prez recently.
My 5 points
1. Move in day yesterday- Got a few things in on Wednesday before my dad left for temple stuff in Austin. Got most of the rest of the things into the dorm yesterday morning. It's nice going to school in St. Louis, because I can just go home and grab something that I forgot or have my parents drop it off, no worries at all.
2. Gave tour after moving in- Not as chill as past Saturday tours, especially now that the campus is back to bustling again, with upperclass move in day today. In fact lost a few people in the crowd. Hopefully they won't hold that against me. Ran into Connie while looking for a room to show (friends from Chinese School back when we were in elementary school). Glad she picked Wash U. over Berkeley. And she let my group take a look at her room, which was nice. Hopefully she and her floormates don't get annoyed with all the tour groups this year looking for rooms to show prospective freshmen, although by winter it's probably bound to happen, unfortunately.
3. Went to dentist on Tuesday- Specifically took a day off from work just for that. Found out I have a cavity in the same tooth that I got a filling last year, and apparently it's in a very odd place. At least it doesn't hurt, so I can wait the month or so it'll take to get my regular dentist to fix it. My theory is that this probably happened because my regular dentist didn't perform the procedure last time; it was the other guy who's now coincidentally gone. Go figure...though he seemed okay up to the filling point last year.
4. Back to work this week after a week's hiatus- Kinda got somewhere, but not really. I had double-checked my ECG's with Peter's program to make sure the times and signals lined up, but for some reason Eric's program, the one I'm using to obtain stats from my files, messes everything up. Hopefully this'll be worked out next week.
5. Finally got to exercise this week- Lost weight, gained some muscle, and kind of starting to show a six-pack. We'll see how long that lasts through the school year, both the exercise habit and the physical attributes. Made a bet with Ai-Lin to see who exerciese more over the semester. She thinks she'll win; I give her two weeks before she gives up. Saw the person who blocked me on AIM last week, but she was with someone else, so I didn't have a private conversation with her. What's perplexing is that when she sees me she'll still smile and say hi, and make some small talk. I don't understand this; anybody care to explain it for me?
1. Michael Vick pleads guilty- Pretty much what was expected, especially with his cohorts already entering guilty pleas and planning to testify against him. As Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch would say, "How will the NFL remember the Michael Vick era?" At least he has enough money to bum around for a while as he finds a job as a movie extra or something.
2. Utah Mine Rescue Complications- There was talk of drilling one more hole, and then giving up if the six trapped miners couldn't be found. This is a very touchy subject, as three rescuers have already been killed during search operations, but families would be devistated if at least the bodies of the six who were originally trapped weren't found. I've stated both sides, and I'll let you decide this one.
3. Floods in upper Midwest- Again, more examples of the weird weather we've been having in the United States this summer. My Grandma from Taiwan actually called one night at midnight to ask if we were okay. Of course, we're far from the flooded areas in both location and weather (again, we were in a drought before Friday's huge storm), but it was a nice gesture on her part.
4. China Airlines plane catches on fire and explodes in Okinawa, Japan- Miraculously, all 165 on board the Boeing 737-800 are perfectly fine. Apparently a hole in the fuel tank prompted the incident. As mentioned elsewhere, this is another blow to China Airlines and its attempt to shake its reputation as being unsafe. We'll see if this is China Airlines' or Boeing's problem.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/08/19/plane-fire.html
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2007-08-24-china-air-update_N.htm?csp=34
5. Jenna Bush engaged- Not the one I thought would get engaged first; in my opinion Barbara's hotter. But congratulations to her, probably the only good thing going for the prez recently.
My 5 points
1. Move in day yesterday- Got a few things in on Wednesday before my dad left for temple stuff in Austin. Got most of the rest of the things into the dorm yesterday morning. It's nice going to school in St. Louis, because I can just go home and grab something that I forgot or have my parents drop it off, no worries at all.
2. Gave tour after moving in- Not as chill as past Saturday tours, especially now that the campus is back to bustling again, with upperclass move in day today. In fact lost a few people in the crowd. Hopefully they won't hold that against me. Ran into Connie while looking for a room to show (friends from Chinese School back when we were in elementary school). Glad she picked Wash U. over Berkeley. And she let my group take a look at her room, which was nice. Hopefully she and her floormates don't get annoyed with all the tour groups this year looking for rooms to show prospective freshmen, although by winter it's probably bound to happen, unfortunately.
3. Went to dentist on Tuesday- Specifically took a day off from work just for that. Found out I have a cavity in the same tooth that I got a filling last year, and apparently it's in a very odd place. At least it doesn't hurt, so I can wait the month or so it'll take to get my regular dentist to fix it. My theory is that this probably happened because my regular dentist didn't perform the procedure last time; it was the other guy who's now coincidentally gone. Go figure...though he seemed okay up to the filling point last year.
4. Back to work this week after a week's hiatus- Kinda got somewhere, but not really. I had double-checked my ECG's with Peter's program to make sure the times and signals lined up, but for some reason Eric's program, the one I'm using to obtain stats from my files, messes everything up. Hopefully this'll be worked out next week.
5. Finally got to exercise this week- Lost weight, gained some muscle, and kind of starting to show a six-pack. We'll see how long that lasts through the school year, both the exercise habit and the physical attributes. Made a bet with Ai-Lin to see who exerciese more over the semester. She thinks she'll win; I give her two weeks before she gives up. Saw the person who blocked me on AIM last week, but she was with someone else, so I didn't have a private conversation with her. What's perplexing is that when she sees me she'll still smile and say hi, and make some small talk. I don't understand this; anybody care to explain it for me?
Sunday, August 19, 2007
5 Points for 8/19
I'll try to make this one quick.
1. Karl Rove leaves White House- Disliked by Democrats, but hailed by Republicans, obviously for putting George W. Bush into the White House twice, despite the shortcomings of the candidate that are so obvious now. One cannot take away his shrewdness in regard to political strategy, but you have to wonder if he left because of Bush's tanking rankings, and/or to put himself in a good opportunity to help a 2008 candidate, like Rudolph Giuliani? Either way, this is not the end of the road for Karl Rove.
2. Hurricane Dean pounds Jamaica- The hurricane season has finally kicked off. Already eight people have been killed with winds reaching 160 mph. There are stories that some residents have decided to stay in their homes rather than seek safer shelter, and while I don't believe that is a prudent move, I've never been in a hurricane while these people go through it annually, so maybe they know what to expect and feel that they can ride it out. Either way, good luck to them.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/tropical_weather_211
3. Officer Norvelle Brown killed in St. Louis- Since I am from St. Louis, this has led off all the local newscasts since the incident happened. It's very unfortunate that these even happen, especially a senseless one by a fifteen year old. While understandably there is not enough manpower to have all cops paired up, there is no question that this would provide more safety to all officers (Brown was alone when he was shot). Thoughts and prayers to Officer Brown and his family.
4. Tropical Storm Erin provides some dazzling dramatic rescues in Oklahoma- If anybody has seen video of these rescues on the news, they're pretty remarkable, with helicopters plucking people out of the water, having them fall in again after dangling from the helicopter, and then rescuing them again. It's also remarkable what weather can do, even a tropical storm in Oklahoma making waters rise up to the tops of some houses.
5. High School Musical 2 premieres- As I'm not a tween, I can't imagine how big this movie is (I'm getting old). Honestly, I had never even heard of High School Musical until I was reading about it in Newsweek a few months after the first movie had been shown. The story seems cheesy, though wholesome, and definitely appeals to the tween population. Disney strikes again.
My 5 points
1. Finally done with orgo- Not as well as I would have liked, but much, much better than last year. If I weren't so focused on grades, the subject material would be interesting, but alas, all academic subjects cannot have appeal because learning for the sake of learning is ruined by tests for the sake of grades.
2. Gave final tour of the summer (maybe) on Saturday- Saturday groups are really chill; they're less tense than weekday groups, ask less unnecessary questions, and go with the flow of things (it is a weekend with less stringent schedules, so that helps I guess). But giving tours on Saturday is worth it just because the weekday fuss isn't present.
3. Baseball- Watched a lot of baseball (mainly due to the many rain delays at Wrigley this weekend, so the two hour game in effect took six). Not the most pleasant game yesterday from the Cardinals' standpoint. It always seems this year that it's only one bad pitch or one bad inning that gives the Cardinals their losses, such as Looper's and Reyes' pitches the past two games. If these didn't happen, think of how much better the Cardinals would be in the eyes of everybody who follows baseball.
4. America's Got Talent- Also got to watch for the first time in more than a month; I was proud that I got to see the first auditions for seven of the final eight. Julienne Irwin has a wonderful voice, but she is often off on her notes; I didn't think she'd even make it to the final ten or so, but props to her for proving everybody wrong (including Piers Morgan and me). My bet is on either Cas Haley or Terry Fator; they're both really good and wildly entertaining in their own rights. Beyond that, I was torn between whom to vote for, so I voted for Cas ten times and Ai-Lin voted for Terry ten times. Cas sang two really good songs well, and that turtle of Terry's is cool.
5. Cell phone calls- Not only do I have a problem with Facebook now, but with people not returning my phone calls as well. A massive rant will be forthcoming very soon, now that I'm done with orgo.
1. Karl Rove leaves White House- Disliked by Democrats, but hailed by Republicans, obviously for putting George W. Bush into the White House twice, despite the shortcomings of the candidate that are so obvious now. One cannot take away his shrewdness in regard to political strategy, but you have to wonder if he left because of Bush's tanking rankings, and/or to put himself in a good opportunity to help a 2008 candidate, like Rudolph Giuliani? Either way, this is not the end of the road for Karl Rove.
2. Hurricane Dean pounds Jamaica- The hurricane season has finally kicked off. Already eight people have been killed with winds reaching 160 mph. There are stories that some residents have decided to stay in their homes rather than seek safer shelter, and while I don't believe that is a prudent move, I've never been in a hurricane while these people go through it annually, so maybe they know what to expect and feel that they can ride it out. Either way, good luck to them.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070820/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/tropical_weather_211
3. Officer Norvelle Brown killed in St. Louis- Since I am from St. Louis, this has led off all the local newscasts since the incident happened. It's very unfortunate that these even happen, especially a senseless one by a fifteen year old. While understandably there is not enough manpower to have all cops paired up, there is no question that this would provide more safety to all officers (Brown was alone when he was shot). Thoughts and prayers to Officer Brown and his family.
4. Tropical Storm Erin provides some dazzling dramatic rescues in Oklahoma- If anybody has seen video of these rescues on the news, they're pretty remarkable, with helicopters plucking people out of the water, having them fall in again after dangling from the helicopter, and then rescuing them again. It's also remarkable what weather can do, even a tropical storm in Oklahoma making waters rise up to the tops of some houses.
5. High School Musical 2 premieres- As I'm not a tween, I can't imagine how big this movie is (I'm getting old). Honestly, I had never even heard of High School Musical until I was reading about it in Newsweek a few months after the first movie had been shown. The story seems cheesy, though wholesome, and definitely appeals to the tween population. Disney strikes again.
My 5 points
1. Finally done with orgo- Not as well as I would have liked, but much, much better than last year. If I weren't so focused on grades, the subject material would be interesting, but alas, all academic subjects cannot have appeal because learning for the sake of learning is ruined by tests for the sake of grades.
2. Gave final tour of the summer (maybe) on Saturday- Saturday groups are really chill; they're less tense than weekday groups, ask less unnecessary questions, and go with the flow of things (it is a weekend with less stringent schedules, so that helps I guess). But giving tours on Saturday is worth it just because the weekday fuss isn't present.
3. Baseball- Watched a lot of baseball (mainly due to the many rain delays at Wrigley this weekend, so the two hour game in effect took six). Not the most pleasant game yesterday from the Cardinals' standpoint. It always seems this year that it's only one bad pitch or one bad inning that gives the Cardinals their losses, such as Looper's and Reyes' pitches the past two games. If these didn't happen, think of how much better the Cardinals would be in the eyes of everybody who follows baseball.
4. America's Got Talent- Also got to watch for the first time in more than a month; I was proud that I got to see the first auditions for seven of the final eight. Julienne Irwin has a wonderful voice, but she is often off on her notes; I didn't think she'd even make it to the final ten or so, but props to her for proving everybody wrong (including Piers Morgan and me). My bet is on either Cas Haley or Terry Fator; they're both really good and wildly entertaining in their own rights. Beyond that, I was torn between whom to vote for, so I voted for Cas ten times and Ai-Lin voted for Terry ten times. Cas sang two really good songs well, and that turtle of Terry's is cool.
5. Cell phone calls- Not only do I have a problem with Facebook now, but with people not returning my phone calls as well. A massive rant will be forthcoming very soon, now that I'm done with orgo.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
5 Points for 8/12
1. Massive Heat Wave in United States, Including St. Louis- It's been nine straight days or so of temperatures above 90 degrees in St. Louis, sometimes even topping 100. Obviously the heat index is almost at or above 100 for these past nine days also, and no relief is in sight for the foreseeable future. Buckle in, everybody; the weather's obviously making up for lost time, as we've had a pretty mild summer before this month.
2. Billy Graham in the Spotlight- His relationship with the White House and the Presidents was the subject of an ABC News special on Friday, and he's on the cover of Time Magazine this week. For one person to have such an influence on the whole country and its leaders (eleven of them, apparently) is remarkable and speaks to the magnitude of trust, wisdom, and comfort this man can give.
3. Six Utah Miners Trapped in Coal Mine- Still no contact with them as of yesterday, so hopes have leveled after a roller coaster week. The mine owner has said emphatically that the cave-in was caused by an earthquake, when the U.S. Geological Survey has said that the "earthquake" readings they got were actually from the mine caving in. At least he's trying to save his butt so business can go on later. But a shameful and completely transparent attempt at a cover-up nonetheless.
4. Barry Bonds hits 756- Finally it's over. In fact, he hit two more home runs right after he hit 756, which shows that the pressure is finally off. Now San Francisco has to find another way to generate revenue and fill AT&T Park. Possibly start winning?
5. Rick Ankiel Called Up to St. Louis- A new chapter begins in this storybook second career of his. What a way to come back after retiring from pitching two years ago, when he was frustrated with his suddenly diminished pitching talent that never got back on track. In the past three games, he's batting above .400 with three home runs and six runs batted in. Now watch him break 758...
My 5 Points-
1. Wash U. offers new internet and cable package- This is an outrage. Wash U. already charges us upwards of $45,000 a year in miscellaneous charges, including internet that should be part of tuition, not a separate option for students. Now, the price has been raised $100 due to the addition of wireless internet in the dorms, among other things. Cable TV was added as part of the package, and then taken off to be "free" to students, while the price of internet access has not gone down. Personally, I can live without cable TV and wireless in the dorms. I do not want to pay $240 for all these features when all I need is ethernet access that I grudgingly paid $135 a semester when it, again, should be included in the tuition. Wash U. is basically a business that only cares about making money. What a shame for such a "fine institution for higher learning".
2. Orgo- Entering my last week. I do not understand sugars (though I haven't started reading the chapter yet, so we'll see). It's going to be a fun week, with a test on Tuesday and a test on Thursday, both on arguably the most I've had to know for a test this summer.
3. TpTe Project- Slowly but steadily reaching my goal of obtaining results. Peter (lab technician/resident computer genius) is what he is, a genius. He's been able to fix any problem that's come up. Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from here to the end, though past experience says I'm going to have to call him a few more times to help me out with programs that aren't doing what they're supposed to do.
4. Tours- I always get tours that ask so many questions that I end at 12:40 when I should be done by 12:15. Got a tour that didn't ask that many questions on Friday, and I actually ended on time. These are so rare though that I sometimes don't know how to handle myself when the visitors don't respond after I ask if they have any questions. I've been getting good reviews apparently, says Andrea, and she and Mary Cissi have offered to give me recommendations when I apply (again) to be a Student Admissions Committee member in the fall. Hopefully these will help me get over the hump of rejection.
5. Cardinals- Watched the game today against the Dodgers. The best game I've seen in a long time (I don't have cable, so I don't get to watch that many anymore). Quite satisfied, especially with Braden Looper continuing the recent success of starting pitching, and Ankiel having a big day.
2. Billy Graham in the Spotlight- His relationship with the White House and the Presidents was the subject of an ABC News special on Friday, and he's on the cover of Time Magazine this week. For one person to have such an influence on the whole country and its leaders (eleven of them, apparently) is remarkable and speaks to the magnitude of trust, wisdom, and comfort this man can give.
3. Six Utah Miners Trapped in Coal Mine- Still no contact with them as of yesterday, so hopes have leveled after a roller coaster week. The mine owner has said emphatically that the cave-in was caused by an earthquake, when the U.S. Geological Survey has said that the "earthquake" readings they got were actually from the mine caving in. At least he's trying to save his butt so business can go on later. But a shameful and completely transparent attempt at a cover-up nonetheless.
4. Barry Bonds hits 756- Finally it's over. In fact, he hit two more home runs right after he hit 756, which shows that the pressure is finally off. Now San Francisco has to find another way to generate revenue and fill AT&T Park. Possibly start winning?
5. Rick Ankiel Called Up to St. Louis- A new chapter begins in this storybook second career of his. What a way to come back after retiring from pitching two years ago, when he was frustrated with his suddenly diminished pitching talent that never got back on track. In the past three games, he's batting above .400 with three home runs and six runs batted in. Now watch him break 758...
My 5 Points-
1. Wash U. offers new internet and cable package- This is an outrage. Wash U. already charges us upwards of $45,000 a year in miscellaneous charges, including internet that should be part of tuition, not a separate option for students. Now, the price has been raised $100 due to the addition of wireless internet in the dorms, among other things. Cable TV was added as part of the package, and then taken off to be "free" to students, while the price of internet access has not gone down. Personally, I can live without cable TV and wireless in the dorms. I do not want to pay $240 for all these features when all I need is ethernet access that I grudgingly paid $135 a semester when it, again, should be included in the tuition. Wash U. is basically a business that only cares about making money. What a shame for such a "fine institution for higher learning".
2. Orgo- Entering my last week. I do not understand sugars (though I haven't started reading the chapter yet, so we'll see). It's going to be a fun week, with a test on Tuesday and a test on Thursday, both on arguably the most I've had to know for a test this summer.
3. TpTe Project- Slowly but steadily reaching my goal of obtaining results. Peter (lab technician/resident computer genius) is what he is, a genius. He's been able to fix any problem that's come up. Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from here to the end, though past experience says I'm going to have to call him a few more times to help me out with programs that aren't doing what they're supposed to do.
4. Tours- I always get tours that ask so many questions that I end at 12:40 when I should be done by 12:15. Got a tour that didn't ask that many questions on Friday, and I actually ended on time. These are so rare though that I sometimes don't know how to handle myself when the visitors don't respond after I ask if they have any questions. I've been getting good reviews apparently, says Andrea, and she and Mary Cissi have offered to give me recommendations when I apply (again) to be a Student Admissions Committee member in the fall. Hopefully these will help me get over the hump of rejection.
5. Cardinals- Watched the game today against the Dodgers. The best game I've seen in a long time (I don't have cable, so I don't get to watch that many anymore). Quite satisfied, especially with Braden Looper continuing the recent success of starting pitching, and Ankiel having a big day.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
5 Points for 8/5
5 Points for 8/5 (well, 8/9 now)
1. Minnesota Bridge Collapse- Obviously the biggest story of the week. It's sad that it takes such a big tragedy to raise any issues, not just with bridge safety, but with anything else. If there are deficiencies with something, shouldn't there be steps taken to minimize its potential damage, and haggle over costs when you absolutely have to? I'm sure there are a lot of things the government is spending on that doesn't even need to exist. Obviously thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families, and hopefully the eight missing can be found soon.
2. South Korean Missionaries in Afghanistan- Their church has apologized for sending missionaries to Afghanistan and has suspended missionary operations until further notice, as they have now put South Korea under massive amounts of emotional stress. While one has to be safe when going to dangerous parts of the world, there is no need to indefinitely suspend missionary operations and apologize to the government for fulfilling their goal. Religion can be a big and saving part of human life, and to go and try to help those in need, whether physically or spiritually is a good deed, and one that should not be apologized for.
3. Rupert Murdoch Acquires Wall Street Journal- At least the partnership fits; Fox News has a conservative slant, as does the editorial board for WSJ. Is anybody else concerned that Murdoch will compromise the journalistic integrity of the Wall Street Journal? The New York Post, for one, is not known for having high quality articles. Nor is Fox News very newsworthy, either.
4. John Roberts Suffers a Seizure on vacation- Apparently it was nothing, but once a person has suffered two seizures (he had another one in 1993) the risk of getting another one goes up drastically. Let's hope, for his sake and the country's, that he doesn't fall into that category.
5. Cardinals gain ground in NL Central, then go 1-5 against two last place teams- Story of the season; just can't get anything done. They took three out of four against the first place Brewers to get to within six games of first place, and while the Cubs and Brewers are playing top level teams, the Cardinals falter against two of the worst teams in the league. At least we got Joel Piniero, right?
My Points for 8/5 (now 8/9)
1. Car- I'm not a bad driver. I just have trouble in tight spaces. Such as the back lots for the houses along Forsyth. My back right door has a huge dent from trying to maneuver around the corner of a house when trying to get out. It's ugly, but at least it's only cosmetic and doesn't affect the functionality of the car itself.
2. The Simpsons Movie- The plot was a little lacking for a feature film, especially at the end, but it was still servicable. The main point, getting laughs from the audience, was very effective. One weird thing was seeing a tw0-dimensional film/The Simpsons on the big screen, since we're so accustomed to 3-D/seeing them on TV. However, this was worth waiting the eighteen years for.
3. Orgo- Going swimmingly. Still not where I'd like to be, but much better than last summer, and that in itself is more than I can ask for.
4. Gas Prices- So a few weeks back I heard a report on KMOX while gas prices were at 2.90 or so that gas prices were going to continue to rise through Labor Day. I go out that morning and I see prices at 2.83 or so. Despite a few fluctuations, gas prices have now come down to 2.53 as of this morning. I must say that I'm enjoying this little "break" (although I yearn for the days when I used to believe that gas prices were stuck on 99 cents, or even at 79 cents before prices started rising after that). It does kind of suck to see prices this low and quickly fill up that night, and then come out the next morning and see that the price has dropped. I was never good at game theory.
5. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air- Now my new (old) favorite show. I can't believe I crack up so much watching it; Will Smith's got major talent. I love how the show portrays a rich family, but the props are obviously fake and cheap, kind of like the cheap furniture that's made to look elegant. And Ashley's kind of hot.
1. Minnesota Bridge Collapse- Obviously the biggest story of the week. It's sad that it takes such a big tragedy to raise any issues, not just with bridge safety, but with anything else. If there are deficiencies with something, shouldn't there be steps taken to minimize its potential damage, and haggle over costs when you absolutely have to? I'm sure there are a lot of things the government is spending on that doesn't even need to exist. Obviously thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families, and hopefully the eight missing can be found soon.
2. South Korean Missionaries in Afghanistan- Their church has apologized for sending missionaries to Afghanistan and has suspended missionary operations until further notice, as they have now put South Korea under massive amounts of emotional stress. While one has to be safe when going to dangerous parts of the world, there is no need to indefinitely suspend missionary operations and apologize to the government for fulfilling their goal. Religion can be a big and saving part of human life, and to go and try to help those in need, whether physically or spiritually is a good deed, and one that should not be apologized for.
3. Rupert Murdoch Acquires Wall Street Journal- At least the partnership fits; Fox News has a conservative slant, as does the editorial board for WSJ. Is anybody else concerned that Murdoch will compromise the journalistic integrity of the Wall Street Journal? The New York Post, for one, is not known for having high quality articles. Nor is Fox News very newsworthy, either.
4. John Roberts Suffers a Seizure on vacation- Apparently it was nothing, but once a person has suffered two seizures (he had another one in 1993) the risk of getting another one goes up drastically. Let's hope, for his sake and the country's, that he doesn't fall into that category.
5. Cardinals gain ground in NL Central, then go 1-5 against two last place teams- Story of the season; just can't get anything done. They took three out of four against the first place Brewers to get to within six games of first place, and while the Cubs and Brewers are playing top level teams, the Cardinals falter against two of the worst teams in the league. At least we got Joel Piniero, right?
My Points for 8/5 (now 8/9)
1. Car- I'm not a bad driver. I just have trouble in tight spaces. Such as the back lots for the houses along Forsyth. My back right door has a huge dent from trying to maneuver around the corner of a house when trying to get out. It's ugly, but at least it's only cosmetic and doesn't affect the functionality of the car itself.
2. The Simpsons Movie- The plot was a little lacking for a feature film, especially at the end, but it was still servicable. The main point, getting laughs from the audience, was very effective. One weird thing was seeing a tw0-dimensional film/The Simpsons on the big screen, since we're so accustomed to 3-D/seeing them on TV. However, this was worth waiting the eighteen years for.
3. Orgo- Going swimmingly. Still not where I'd like to be, but much better than last summer, and that in itself is more than I can ask for.
4. Gas Prices- So a few weeks back I heard a report on KMOX while gas prices were at 2.90 or so that gas prices were going to continue to rise through Labor Day. I go out that morning and I see prices at 2.83 or so. Despite a few fluctuations, gas prices have now come down to 2.53 as of this morning. I must say that I'm enjoying this little "break" (although I yearn for the days when I used to believe that gas prices were stuck on 99 cents, or even at 79 cents before prices started rising after that). It does kind of suck to see prices this low and quickly fill up that night, and then come out the next morning and see that the price has dropped. I was never good at game theory.
5. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air- Now my new (old) favorite show. I can't believe I crack up so much watching it; Will Smith's got major talent. I love how the show portrays a rich family, but the props are obviously fake and cheap, kind of like the cheap furniture that's made to look elegant. And Ashley's kind of hot.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
5 Points for 7/29
1. Michael Vick indicted on dog fighting charges- Another NFL player gets into trouble with the law. While Vick obviously has not been proven guilty, if these allegations are true, Vick is in massive trouble, especially with a dog-loving America. It doesn't matter if he grew up with dog fighting, as he apparently did. It's inhumane how cruelly dog-fighters treat these animals and Vick deserves every bit of his sentence, again if he is proven guilty.
2. Tim Donaghy bets on NBA games- Less disgraceful than Vick in the matter of life and death of sentient beings, but in regards to sports much more serious. Apparently he reffed a Spurs-Suns playoff game, and who knows what might have happened if the NBA had a clean official working (probably not much, as the Spurs were far superior in that series anyway, but it's the principle of the matter). Moral of the story: stay away from the mob.
3. Chili recalled for fear of botulism- When will the FDA get its act together and pass tougher guidelines for food processing, especially when it comes to meat? If there is something in food that causes abnormalities in a person, that food should not even hit the open market, much less still be on the shelves in stores after being recalled.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19994676/
4. Barry Bonds one away from tying Hank Aaron's home run record- While I don't care for Bonds much more because of his sour personality and attitude to fans, reporters, and even teammates, and wish that this situation were not happening, it's inevitable that he's going to break 755. I wonder how he's gotten past performance-enhancement tests, but if one looks at his stats, his recent drop-off correlates with when MLB put more stringent tests into place. Perhaps he's stopped using, if he did (innocent until proven guilty), but again, the inevitable will happen.
5. Simpsons Movie comes out- Finally, after nineteen years, the long-awaited feature film of America's favorite bumbling yellow family. Hopefully, they don't turn it into three continuing season-ending episodes like Family Guy did with "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story". It's a clever formula though: being lazy by using the movie for regular work and making more money by selling the episodes as a movie.
My 5 Points
1. Test tomorrow- Hopefully I'll be able to bounce back and do well. This semester again has been eerily similar to the last one so far, with the first test being just below the cutoff, and gaining back one point due to grader error to be a little less below the cutoff but above the average nonetheless.
2. Tpeak-Tend project- The beats and the times are lined up for the EKGs in my research project at the HRV lab that I've been doing for the past three years. Hopefully things will finally work out, as the aforementioned problem has been the biggest roadblock so far.
3. Working out- I don't nearly exercise as often as I should (due to needing to devote all my time to orgo, I believe). I've been trying to get a six-pack since freshman year of high school, and never succeeded. Somehow I've lost ten pounds since being at home, which usually happens because I don't eat as much at home as I do at school. However, the process has been slower than usual, which probably means I need to work out sometime.
4. Missed Lion King to study- While I did waver when asked initially if I wanted to see it because I didn't know my schedule then, as time went on I got excited at the prospect. And then my professor had to schedule a test on Monday when the tickets were for the Saturday before. I love my life sometimes.
5. Cafe Napoli- Went to lunch with Ai-Lin on Wednesday. The waiter warned me that the insalata caprese that I had ordered was really small, so I added an appetizer to that, which ended up being served as my main dish somehow. Anyway, the tomato and mozzarella salad was perfect, almost like Italy, with think tomato and cheese slices and a nice balsamic vinaigrette and fresh basil. The eggplant parmesan was two huge slices of eggplant smothered in tomato sauce and melted cheese, and would have been good as an appetizer, but too simple and heavy as a main dish. The bread was fantastic (I love bread) with the right touch of sourness and a hint of cheese, and the fact that the bread was not warm actually worked in its favor. Props for having olive oil and parmesan cheese on the table for dipping/seasoning.
2. Tim Donaghy bets on NBA games- Less disgraceful than Vick in the matter of life and death of sentient beings, but in regards to sports much more serious. Apparently he reffed a Spurs-Suns playoff game, and who knows what might have happened if the NBA had a clean official working (probably not much, as the Spurs were far superior in that series anyway, but it's the principle of the matter). Moral of the story: stay away from the mob.
3. Chili recalled for fear of botulism- When will the FDA get its act together and pass tougher guidelines for food processing, especially when it comes to meat? If there is something in food that causes abnormalities in a person, that food should not even hit the open market, much less still be on the shelves in stores after being recalled.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19994676/
4. Barry Bonds one away from tying Hank Aaron's home run record- While I don't care for Bonds much more because of his sour personality and attitude to fans, reporters, and even teammates, and wish that this situation were not happening, it's inevitable that he's going to break 755. I wonder how he's gotten past performance-enhancement tests, but if one looks at his stats, his recent drop-off correlates with when MLB put more stringent tests into place. Perhaps he's stopped using, if he did (innocent until proven guilty), but again, the inevitable will happen.
5. Simpsons Movie comes out- Finally, after nineteen years, the long-awaited feature film of America's favorite bumbling yellow family. Hopefully, they don't turn it into three continuing season-ending episodes like Family Guy did with "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story". It's a clever formula though: being lazy by using the movie for regular work and making more money by selling the episodes as a movie.
My 5 Points
1. Test tomorrow- Hopefully I'll be able to bounce back and do well. This semester again has been eerily similar to the last one so far, with the first test being just below the cutoff, and gaining back one point due to grader error to be a little less below the cutoff but above the average nonetheless.
2. Tpeak-Tend project- The beats and the times are lined up for the EKGs in my research project at the HRV lab that I've been doing for the past three years. Hopefully things will finally work out, as the aforementioned problem has been the biggest roadblock so far.
3. Working out- I don't nearly exercise as often as I should (due to needing to devote all my time to orgo, I believe). I've been trying to get a six-pack since freshman year of high school, and never succeeded. Somehow I've lost ten pounds since being at home, which usually happens because I don't eat as much at home as I do at school. However, the process has been slower than usual, which probably means I need to work out sometime.
4. Missed Lion King to study- While I did waver when asked initially if I wanted to see it because I didn't know my schedule then, as time went on I got excited at the prospect. And then my professor had to schedule a test on Monday when the tickets were for the Saturday before. I love my life sometimes.
5. Cafe Napoli- Went to lunch with Ai-Lin on Wednesday. The waiter warned me that the insalata caprese that I had ordered was really small, so I added an appetizer to that, which ended up being served as my main dish somehow. Anyway, the tomato and mozzarella salad was perfect, almost like Italy, with think tomato and cheese slices and a nice balsamic vinaigrette and fresh basil. The eggplant parmesan was two huge slices of eggplant smothered in tomato sauce and melted cheese, and would have been good as an appetizer, but too simple and heavy as a main dish. The bread was fantastic (I love bread) with the right touch of sourness and a hint of cheese, and the fact that the bread was not warm actually worked in its favor. Props for having olive oil and parmesan cheese on the table for dipping/seasoning.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
5 Points for 7/27
My fault. Just haven't been up to posting lately, and been busy with class. So for the next few weeks posts are going to sporadic. Sorry. And it was a slow news week three weeks ago in the outside world, but we'll make it up today with ten (count them, ten!) points each. So here we go.
10 Points-
1. Lady Bird Johnson passes away- Everybody has been talking about her legacy as an early environmentalist before being green became popular, and rightly so. She was a forerunner to the modern environmental advocate, even having a bill named after her, the Lady Bird Bill, because of her tireless efforts to help beautify America. What should not be overlooked is the fact that she was a strong supporter of her husband, President Lyndon Johnson, during a tumultuous time in the nation's history, even overcoming her fear of public speaking so that she could campaign for Johnson.
2. Wildfires across California- Just devastating, especially when hundreds are asked to leave their homes for fear of safety, and firefighters trying to control the blaze for days, sometimes even weeks at a time in the middle of nowhere, with limited resources. Is there any way to control these fires before they get out of hand, even if it is started by nature (lightning strike)? Or should people not live so close to such potentially dangerous places?
3. Los Angeles Archdiocese settles sexual abuse cases- $660 million for 500 people. Money really solves everything, huh? Of course, Cardinal Roger Mahoney had to make the obligatory statement of how he could not give the victims their innocence back, but those are just words, really. And their innocence obviously can't be given back. Thus the only option left is money. A sad situation all around.
4. Earthquake hits Japan- Kashiwazaki, in northwestern Japan, was hit with a 6.8 magnitude earthquake. As devastating as this event was, Japan is no stranger to these disasters unfortunately. So why is it that these tragedies cannot be mitigated with preparation and foresight? I doubt it is because people get complacent when nothing happens for a while (read: 9/11 in the United States). And then reports are that a nuclear power plant is having trouble due to radioactive leaks, flooding, fire, and electrical problems because of the earthquake. Shouldn't such a place be ready for even the worst-case scenario?
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2007/2007-07-24-01.asp
5. Final book of Harry Potter comes out- More than eight million sold in the United States, and seventy million in the whole world in the first 24 hours. Is Harry Potter really that good? It's a quick read, with compelling storylines (that get ridiculously crazy as the series goes on; it seems like Rowling is adding stuff to make things she wrote earlier make sense) and interesting characters, but is it so magnificently grand that it requires the largest first printing of a book and thus holds the record for most books sold in the first 24 hours? I like my Huckleberry Finn, thanks very much. Maybe in a hundred years the series will be considered classic children's literature, but it shouldn't deserve that much attention now.
6. National League loses All-Star Game again- And for the second year in a row, there is controversy over managerial decisions late in the game. Arguably the best hitter in baseball, and the only Cardinal representative, Albert Pujols, doesn't even get to play at the discretion of his own manager, Tony La Russa. The argument is should Pujols have batted for Aaron Rowand with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. And my answer is: don't question Tony. There's a reason he's won two World Series, been to the playoffs seven of the past eleven years, and the third winningest manager of all time: he knows what he is doing. St. Louis should really give him a break; he's done much better than fan favorite Whitey Herzog already.
7. Roger Federer wins Wimbledon again- The best tennis player hands down currently, and arguably one of the best all time. His dominance over most aspects of the game and his professionalism and class (read: absolutely minimal controversy surrounding him, if at all) make him a wonderful role model for all tennis players and others. Eventually, someone's going to accuse him of cheating. What a sad world we live in.
8. Tour de France- Even after all the accusations of doping and cleaning house of all the top riders in the world who are alleged to be cheating (is there a correlation?), apparently those in charge still have not done a good job saving the sport from controversy. Now Union Cycliste Internationale president Pat McQuaid, the head of cycling's world governing body, says that it would be best if Michael Rasumssen, the Dane accused of alleged doping who is the current leader of the 2007 Tour de France, did not win the race. So now the body that governs the sport are rooting against their own athletes? Even Bud Selig isn't so stupid as to say he hopes Barry Bonds has a career ending injury sometime in the next few days so that he won't break Hank Aaron's record. And then Rasmussen is taken out of the race for "violating team rules". I think we all know what that means.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2007/news/story?id=2945911
9. David Beckham comes to the United States- The only controversy caused by his arrival is how amazing his wife's show, "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America" was, that NBC decided to make it a special instead of the six week run it was originally scheduled for. Seriously, most people know that Beckham will not single-handedly push soccer to the top of the list of sports in America, and quite possibly Major League Soccer will maintain the status quo, but at least the Los Angeles Galaxy got some exposure, which was the point all along: to let people know that there's actually a professional soccer league in the United States.
10. Padraig Harrington wins British Open (or the Open Championship, depending on who you are)- What a finish. Sergio Garcia goes into the final day leading, then loses his lead, and a bunch of people who are atop the leaderboard drop out one by one, including Harrington with his double bogey on the eighteenth hole. And Garcia missed a put for par on the eighteenth to go into a four hole playoff, which Harrington won by one. As dramatic as golf can get.
More 10 points
1. Finally done with half of Orgo- Great. Now five more weeks to go. Did okay, almost as well as I would've liked, but still fell short. Story of my life. At least much better than last year, and this proves that I actually learn material despite my grades, as everything was quite familiar.
2. Brio and Waitress- Went to one of my favorite restaurants, Brio, in Plaza Frontenac, and saw Waitress with friend Ai-Lin. There were some cheesy moments (in the movie mind you) but got a good laugh.
3. Saw Sicko- Actually saw it the next night with Ai-Lin because she needed to see it for her Med Prep class. While it's obvious that Michael Moore only tells his side of the story, the facts he presents about the American health care system, especially compared to those in other countries, are disheartening to hear. The system is cruel, especially with the insurance companies and their tactics, and shows one of the downfalls of the current capitalistic system with all the money-grubbing. If Cuba can treat its own patients and others (people that Moore brought while trying to get them medical attention at Guantanamo Bay), and have inhalers there for five cents that cost over $100 here, something is definitely wrong. Especially with the grim pictures that we paint of Cuba, this is ironic.
4. First two weeks of Orgo 2- Didn't do that well on the first test, but beat the average (by one, but it still counts) after getting one point back on grader error. Exact replay of first semester. Let's see if things play out to be exactly the same, except hopefully a little bit better this time. Shouldn't be too hard, considering how close I was.
5. STARS students done- Had two STARS students (Students and Teachers as Research Scientists, a summer program that assigns students to do research at labs in St. Louis I attended before senior year of high school) this year working in the Heart Rate Variability lab at the Washington University School of Medicine, and they finished last week. Hope the papers that they wrote, which are judged by professionals in their respective fields of research, turn out well.
6. Temple- Worked on restoring the brook and pond at the new location for Fo Guang Shan St. Louis Buddhist Center, which really was carrying rocks from the parking lot and placing them in the brook. Others tried to clean the pond at the bottom, and when we turned on the water again, it was still as dirty as ever, though I'm sure we made some headway. There's actually a fish living in the pond. I don't know if there's anything else, but even one fish is cool.
7. Saturday Tour- Andrea from the Washington University Admissions Office called me on a Friday Afternoon to ask that I give a tour Saturday morning last week. Probably the best group I've had; they asked no questions and just took every word I said. Polar opposite from the one I wrote about last time. Lab Sciences 300 was not open, so that was the one mishap (someone rolled her eyes when I talked about the sorority suites and the old law in Missouri, but usually people chuckle, so I'm going to ignore her reaction), but otherwise it was a nice, relaxing stroll, though I had to do it backwards. Even ended on time this time, which usually never happens with me.
8. Kemper Art Museum- Dropped into the Kemper Art Museum after the tour just to see what it was like, and it was pretty nice from what I saw. The coin collection was a bit disappointing; I was expecting more of a display of various different numismatic materials rather than a select few that are shown for informative purposes above anything else, and the hologram of Ben Franklin is scary. The other parts that I saw were actually quite interesting, and the docent who asked me to leave my water bottle at the front desk was very cordial, unlike most in his position. I'll be returning to check out the whole museum, definitely.
9. Pizzeria Uno/Wapango- Had a craving for Uno deep dish pizza lately, and satisfied it when I went there with my mom last Tuesday for dinner. Uno is quite an underrated restaurant, in my opinion. I don't know why it never has a packed house when I go (on weekends, obviously, not on Tuesdays). Also tried out this South American-inspired restaurant in Chesterfield Mall called Wapango. The salad my mom ordered was huge, so I didn't get to finish my dish (which is really sweet for an entree of vegetables and rice, but good nonetheless). The appitizer we ordered reminded me of high quality crab rangoons without the crab, and the mango salsa on the side was very good. Even the cute little and the accompanying dips (black beans and a cilantro oil) were good. I don't quite remember the names, unfortunately, but it comes with a high recommendation. Service was kind of lacking, but it's a new restaurant. It'll work out its kinks.
10. Facebook- This requires a rant all by itself. Definitely will talk about my qualms relating to Facebook (and others) sometime before the summer is over; possibly in my next column if nothing of note comes up before then, whenever that will be.
10 Points-
1. Lady Bird Johnson passes away- Everybody has been talking about her legacy as an early environmentalist before being green became popular, and rightly so. She was a forerunner to the modern environmental advocate, even having a bill named after her, the Lady Bird Bill, because of her tireless efforts to help beautify America. What should not be overlooked is the fact that she was a strong supporter of her husband, President Lyndon Johnson, during a tumultuous time in the nation's history, even overcoming her fear of public speaking so that she could campaign for Johnson.
2. Wildfires across California- Just devastating, especially when hundreds are asked to leave their homes for fear of safety, and firefighters trying to control the blaze for days, sometimes even weeks at a time in the middle of nowhere, with limited resources. Is there any way to control these fires before they get out of hand, even if it is started by nature (lightning strike)? Or should people not live so close to such potentially dangerous places?
3. Los Angeles Archdiocese settles sexual abuse cases- $660 million for 500 people. Money really solves everything, huh? Of course, Cardinal Roger Mahoney had to make the obligatory statement of how he could not give the victims their innocence back, but those are just words, really. And their innocence obviously can't be given back. Thus the only option left is money. A sad situation all around.
4. Earthquake hits Japan- Kashiwazaki, in northwestern Japan, was hit with a 6.8 magnitude earthquake. As devastating as this event was, Japan is no stranger to these disasters unfortunately. So why is it that these tragedies cannot be mitigated with preparation and foresight? I doubt it is because people get complacent when nothing happens for a while (read: 9/11 in the United States). And then reports are that a nuclear power plant is having trouble due to radioactive leaks, flooding, fire, and electrical problems because of the earthquake. Shouldn't such a place be ready for even the worst-case scenario?
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2007/2007-07-24-01.asp
5. Final book of Harry Potter comes out- More than eight million sold in the United States, and seventy million in the whole world in the first 24 hours. Is Harry Potter really that good? It's a quick read, with compelling storylines (that get ridiculously crazy as the series goes on; it seems like Rowling is adding stuff to make things she wrote earlier make sense) and interesting characters, but is it so magnificently grand that it requires the largest first printing of a book and thus holds the record for most books sold in the first 24 hours? I like my Huckleberry Finn, thanks very much. Maybe in a hundred years the series will be considered classic children's literature, but it shouldn't deserve that much attention now.
6. National League loses All-Star Game again- And for the second year in a row, there is controversy over managerial decisions late in the game. Arguably the best hitter in baseball, and the only Cardinal representative, Albert Pujols, doesn't even get to play at the discretion of his own manager, Tony La Russa. The argument is should Pujols have batted for Aaron Rowand with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. And my answer is: don't question Tony. There's a reason he's won two World Series, been to the playoffs seven of the past eleven years, and the third winningest manager of all time: he knows what he is doing. St. Louis should really give him a break; he's done much better than fan favorite Whitey Herzog already.
7. Roger Federer wins Wimbledon again- The best tennis player hands down currently, and arguably one of the best all time. His dominance over most aspects of the game and his professionalism and class (read: absolutely minimal controversy surrounding him, if at all) make him a wonderful role model for all tennis players and others. Eventually, someone's going to accuse him of cheating. What a sad world we live in.
8. Tour de France- Even after all the accusations of doping and cleaning house of all the top riders in the world who are alleged to be cheating (is there a correlation?), apparently those in charge still have not done a good job saving the sport from controversy. Now Union Cycliste Internationale president Pat McQuaid, the head of cycling's world governing body, says that it would be best if Michael Rasumssen, the Dane accused of alleged doping who is the current leader of the 2007 Tour de France, did not win the race. So now the body that governs the sport are rooting against their own athletes? Even Bud Selig isn't so stupid as to say he hopes Barry Bonds has a career ending injury sometime in the next few days so that he won't break Hank Aaron's record. And then Rasmussen is taken out of the race for "violating team rules". I think we all know what that means.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2007/news/story?id=2945911
9. David Beckham comes to the United States- The only controversy caused by his arrival is how amazing his wife's show, "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America" was, that NBC decided to make it a special instead of the six week run it was originally scheduled for. Seriously, most people know that Beckham will not single-handedly push soccer to the top of the list of sports in America, and quite possibly Major League Soccer will maintain the status quo, but at least the Los Angeles Galaxy got some exposure, which was the point all along: to let people know that there's actually a professional soccer league in the United States.
10. Padraig Harrington wins British Open (or the Open Championship, depending on who you are)- What a finish. Sergio Garcia goes into the final day leading, then loses his lead, and a bunch of people who are atop the leaderboard drop out one by one, including Harrington with his double bogey on the eighteenth hole. And Garcia missed a put for par on the eighteenth to go into a four hole playoff, which Harrington won by one. As dramatic as golf can get.
More 10 points
1. Finally done with half of Orgo- Great. Now five more weeks to go. Did okay, almost as well as I would've liked, but still fell short. Story of my life. At least much better than last year, and this proves that I actually learn material despite my grades, as everything was quite familiar.
2. Brio and Waitress- Went to one of my favorite restaurants, Brio, in Plaza Frontenac, and saw Waitress with friend Ai-Lin. There were some cheesy moments (in the movie mind you) but got a good laugh.
3. Saw Sicko- Actually saw it the next night with Ai-Lin because she needed to see it for her Med Prep class. While it's obvious that Michael Moore only tells his side of the story, the facts he presents about the American health care system, especially compared to those in other countries, are disheartening to hear. The system is cruel, especially with the insurance companies and their tactics, and shows one of the downfalls of the current capitalistic system with all the money-grubbing. If Cuba can treat its own patients and others (people that Moore brought while trying to get them medical attention at Guantanamo Bay), and have inhalers there for five cents that cost over $100 here, something is definitely wrong. Especially with the grim pictures that we paint of Cuba, this is ironic.
4. First two weeks of Orgo 2- Didn't do that well on the first test, but beat the average (by one, but it still counts) after getting one point back on grader error. Exact replay of first semester. Let's see if things play out to be exactly the same, except hopefully a little bit better this time. Shouldn't be too hard, considering how close I was.
5. STARS students done- Had two STARS students (Students and Teachers as Research Scientists, a summer program that assigns students to do research at labs in St. Louis I attended before senior year of high school) this year working in the Heart Rate Variability lab at the Washington University School of Medicine, and they finished last week. Hope the papers that they wrote, which are judged by professionals in their respective fields of research, turn out well.
6. Temple- Worked on restoring the brook and pond at the new location for Fo Guang Shan St. Louis Buddhist Center, which really was carrying rocks from the parking lot and placing them in the brook. Others tried to clean the pond at the bottom, and when we turned on the water again, it was still as dirty as ever, though I'm sure we made some headway. There's actually a fish living in the pond. I don't know if there's anything else, but even one fish is cool.
7. Saturday Tour- Andrea from the Washington University Admissions Office called me on a Friday Afternoon to ask that I give a tour Saturday morning last week. Probably the best group I've had; they asked no questions and just took every word I said. Polar opposite from the one I wrote about last time. Lab Sciences 300 was not open, so that was the one mishap (someone rolled her eyes when I talked about the sorority suites and the old law in Missouri, but usually people chuckle, so I'm going to ignore her reaction), but otherwise it was a nice, relaxing stroll, though I had to do it backwards. Even ended on time this time, which usually never happens with me.
8. Kemper Art Museum- Dropped into the Kemper Art Museum after the tour just to see what it was like, and it was pretty nice from what I saw. The coin collection was a bit disappointing; I was expecting more of a display of various different numismatic materials rather than a select few that are shown for informative purposes above anything else, and the hologram of Ben Franklin is scary. The other parts that I saw were actually quite interesting, and the docent who asked me to leave my water bottle at the front desk was very cordial, unlike most in his position. I'll be returning to check out the whole museum, definitely.
9. Pizzeria Uno/Wapango- Had a craving for Uno deep dish pizza lately, and satisfied it when I went there with my mom last Tuesday for dinner. Uno is quite an underrated restaurant, in my opinion. I don't know why it never has a packed house when I go (on weekends, obviously, not on Tuesdays). Also tried out this South American-inspired restaurant in Chesterfield Mall called Wapango. The salad my mom ordered was huge, so I didn't get to finish my dish (which is really sweet for an entree of vegetables and rice, but good nonetheless). The appitizer we ordered reminded me of high quality crab rangoons without the crab, and the mango salsa on the side was very good. Even the cute little and the accompanying dips (black beans and a cilantro oil) were good. I don't quite remember the names, unfortunately, but it comes with a high recommendation. Service was kind of lacking, but it's a new restaurant. It'll work out its kinks.
10. Facebook- This requires a rant all by itself. Definitely will talk about my qualms relating to Facebook (and others) sometime before the summer is over; possibly in my next column if nothing of note comes up before then, whenever that will be.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Is Every Special Event in Baseball a Classic?
Fall Classic, Midsummer Classic, Spring Classic, Opening Day Classic, Free Agent Classic, New Player Classic...okay, maybe only the first two are real, but should the Major League Baseball All-Star Game be considered a Classic?
It does happen in the middle of the summer, so the "Midsummer" part is not a misnomer, at least, but fans do not really pay attention to the game anymore. Nor do the players, as a matter of fact. They are only there as an obligation as the faces of Major League Baseball, and when you are Manny Ramirez, that is up in the air too.
Can something be called a Classic when Major League Baseball has to make an exhibition game meaningful by putting home-field advantage in the World Series on the line to get fans to be interested in the game? The players could care less either, as they are joking around on the field and apparently are not that interested in winning at all.
The biggest issue with the All-Star Game, year in and year out, is the matter of who made the team and who got snubbed. And as usual, this year is no exception.
The fans got the starting lineup in the American League mostly right, as each of them lead or are near the top batting average-wise at their positions. Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are virtually tied in home runs and RBIs, but Posada is hitting forty points better than Rodriguez, so that is one qualm I have with the fans' decision. But hats off to them for choosing someone from the Midwest rather than another Yankee.
Most of the pitching staff for the AL deserve their invitations also, except for Gil Meche, who is below .500 and has a middling ERA. Mark Teahen and David DeJesus, with their decent output and making bigger contributions day in and day out for the Royals, would have been better choices for the Royals' representation, and Mark Buehrle, who has put together a nice year for a struggling White Sox team would have been a better selection than Bobby Jenks, who is also below .500 and also has a middling ERA. Add Jeremy Bonderman to fill the last pitcher's spot, since having three closers is enough for an all-star team.
Of course, if DeJesus or Teahen were added, that would mean one person from the bench would have to be taken off. Grady Sizemore is batting about ten points better than DeJesus and Teahen, and has considerably more home runs and stolen bases than either of them, but somebody has to take a hit because Meche should not be on the team at all. And Victor Martinez represents the Indians contingent quite adequately.
Usually, relievers who are not closers should not be on the team, because their stats could be easily duplicated and surpassed by starters and closers, who also are more important to teams in the grand scheme of things. Hideki Okajima with his stunning ERA and the number of homers he has given up barely makes the team because of the fan vote, and rightly so, just beating Jeremy Bonderman and others less deserving. Okajima has been dominant this year, but as a setup man, Jim Leyland made the right decision to let the fans vote if he should make it or not.
The National League team is an entirely different story. There are too many Mets in the starting lineup, especially at the expense of those putting up better numbers this year. Miguel Cabrera is beating David Wright in many of the main hitting statistics, and is contributing more to the Florida Marlins than Wright is to the Mets. Bonds, Griffey, and Beltran, while having decent seasons, are not the best in the NL, and Griffey should not have received the most votes out of anybody, especially since he's not having a sensational year. Matt Holliday, with his league-leading batting average, Carlos Lee, and Eric Byrnes or Aaron Rowand would have been better choices, as their averages are higher and other stats are about the same as the starting three.
The pitching staff also requires a look. Brian Fuentes, with his 4+ ERA should not even be considered, especially if Colorado already has a representative with Holliday. While his bad outings all came after the announcement of the rosters, he didn't have all-star caliber stats before anyway. Understandably, Tony La Russa was looking for a lefty to play with the matchups just like he always does, but on a roster full of starters and closers who routinely pitch to left-handed hitters, adding southpaws just to be lefty specialists is not as necessary as it is during the real season. Everybody else looks decent, although no names pop out as sensational short of Jake Peavy and Brad Penny. Jason Isringhausen has been hurt by the lack of save chances from the struggling Cardinals, but considering his remarkable turnaround from last year, only blowing two saves, and with the Cardinals still winning those games that he blew, would be a suitable replacement for Fuentes. Or, with four relievers already on the roster besides Fuentes, Chris Young should not have been subjected to the fan vote. At least Fuentes is injured and has been replaced by Brandon Webb, though he is having a good, not great, year.
The bench for the NL seems okay, especially since those who were named are better at their respective positions or teams this year than those who weren't, no matter how unsensational their stats are. Eric Byrnes is a worthy candidate, maybe even over Alfonso Soriano, but the difference is just details. Edgar Renteria would have been a better candidate for backup shortstop than J. J. Hardy, with superior stats and a bigger name, but Hardy was the players's choice, and the players know more than we do, so it's hard to question their decision.
Chris Young, again, should have been named in the first place, with a 2.00 ERA and a good won-loss record. Jason Isringhausen would have been a good candidate to take his place. Also, Carlos Zambrano, no matter how many wins he has and how big of a name he carries, should not have been considered, especially with his mediocre start and an ERA still above 4.00. But that doesn't matter, as he apparently finished last in voting anyway.
Once again, the American League seems to have the stronger team, both in stats accumulated this season so far, in name, and in quality. The American League should have no trouble continuing their ten game unbeaten streak, even with LaRussa's penchance for exploiting every matchup he can.
It does happen in the middle of the summer, so the "Midsummer" part is not a misnomer, at least, but fans do not really pay attention to the game anymore. Nor do the players, as a matter of fact. They are only there as an obligation as the faces of Major League Baseball, and when you are Manny Ramirez, that is up in the air too.
Can something be called a Classic when Major League Baseball has to make an exhibition game meaningful by putting home-field advantage in the World Series on the line to get fans to be interested in the game? The players could care less either, as they are joking around on the field and apparently are not that interested in winning at all.
The biggest issue with the All-Star Game, year in and year out, is the matter of who made the team and who got snubbed. And as usual, this year is no exception.
The fans got the starting lineup in the American League mostly right, as each of them lead or are near the top batting average-wise at their positions. Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are virtually tied in home runs and RBIs, but Posada is hitting forty points better than Rodriguez, so that is one qualm I have with the fans' decision. But hats off to them for choosing someone from the Midwest rather than another Yankee.
Most of the pitching staff for the AL deserve their invitations also, except for Gil Meche, who is below .500 and has a middling ERA. Mark Teahen and David DeJesus, with their decent output and making bigger contributions day in and day out for the Royals, would have been better choices for the Royals' representation, and Mark Buehrle, who has put together a nice year for a struggling White Sox team would have been a better selection than Bobby Jenks, who is also below .500 and also has a middling ERA. Add Jeremy Bonderman to fill the last pitcher's spot, since having three closers is enough for an all-star team.
Of course, if DeJesus or Teahen were added, that would mean one person from the bench would have to be taken off. Grady Sizemore is batting about ten points better than DeJesus and Teahen, and has considerably more home runs and stolen bases than either of them, but somebody has to take a hit because Meche should not be on the team at all. And Victor Martinez represents the Indians contingent quite adequately.
Usually, relievers who are not closers should not be on the team, because their stats could be easily duplicated and surpassed by starters and closers, who also are more important to teams in the grand scheme of things. Hideki Okajima with his stunning ERA and the number of homers he has given up barely makes the team because of the fan vote, and rightly so, just beating Jeremy Bonderman and others less deserving. Okajima has been dominant this year, but as a setup man, Jim Leyland made the right decision to let the fans vote if he should make it or not.
The National League team is an entirely different story. There are too many Mets in the starting lineup, especially at the expense of those putting up better numbers this year. Miguel Cabrera is beating David Wright in many of the main hitting statistics, and is contributing more to the Florida Marlins than Wright is to the Mets. Bonds, Griffey, and Beltran, while having decent seasons, are not the best in the NL, and Griffey should not have received the most votes out of anybody, especially since he's not having a sensational year. Matt Holliday, with his league-leading batting average, Carlos Lee, and Eric Byrnes or Aaron Rowand would have been better choices, as their averages are higher and other stats are about the same as the starting three.
The pitching staff also requires a look. Brian Fuentes, with his 4+ ERA should not even be considered, especially if Colorado already has a representative with Holliday. While his bad outings all came after the announcement of the rosters, he didn't have all-star caliber stats before anyway. Understandably, Tony La Russa was looking for a lefty to play with the matchups just like he always does, but on a roster full of starters and closers who routinely pitch to left-handed hitters, adding southpaws just to be lefty specialists is not as necessary as it is during the real season. Everybody else looks decent, although no names pop out as sensational short of Jake Peavy and Brad Penny. Jason Isringhausen has been hurt by the lack of save chances from the struggling Cardinals, but considering his remarkable turnaround from last year, only blowing two saves, and with the Cardinals still winning those games that he blew, would be a suitable replacement for Fuentes. Or, with four relievers already on the roster besides Fuentes, Chris Young should not have been subjected to the fan vote. At least Fuentes is injured and has been replaced by Brandon Webb, though he is having a good, not great, year.
The bench for the NL seems okay, especially since those who were named are better at their respective positions or teams this year than those who weren't, no matter how unsensational their stats are. Eric Byrnes is a worthy candidate, maybe even over Alfonso Soriano, but the difference is just details. Edgar Renteria would have been a better candidate for backup shortstop than J. J. Hardy, with superior stats and a bigger name, but Hardy was the players's choice, and the players know more than we do, so it's hard to question their decision.
Chris Young, again, should have been named in the first place, with a 2.00 ERA and a good won-loss record. Jason Isringhausen would have been a good candidate to take his place. Also, Carlos Zambrano, no matter how many wins he has and how big of a name he carries, should not have been considered, especially with his mediocre start and an ERA still above 4.00. But that doesn't matter, as he apparently finished last in voting anyway.
Once again, the American League seems to have the stronger team, both in stats accumulated this season so far, in name, and in quality. The American League should have no trouble continuing their ten game unbeaten streak, even with LaRussa's penchance for exploiting every matchup he can.
5 Points for 7/7/2007
A little late (by half an hour), but I haven't gone to bed yet, so it still counts.
I thought I'd do a week-in-review sort of thing on Saturdays because there are only so many topics I can cover in a weekly column in the blog, so every Saturday I'll touch on a few things from the week both in the outside world and my life (hey, it's still a blog, isn't it?).
5 Points for the Week ending 7/7/2007:
1. Bush commutes Scooter Libby's sentence:
-Probably happened under pressure from his conservative buddies, especially Karl Rove, since Libby took the fall for Rove in the trial and Rove probably doesn't want to owe a huge debt to Libby, although the $250,000 fine and the two-year probation is still pretty big. Bush probably also wanted to reward one of his few remaining loyalists, especially with an approval rating below 30% that sends an obvious message about what most people think about this president.
2. Muslim doctors behind thwarted UK bombings.
-Scary, isn't it, that those who are charged to take care of and heal the sick and wounded would themselves try to do the total opposite, to kill and hurt innocent victims. I have always wondered what would drive people to commit crimes that are absolutely mind-boggling, even if they have their own made-up reasons. The fact that these would-be terrorists were supposedly well-educated (through books, obviously not through common sense) and more well-off would even think of performing such a heinous act makes me wonder even more.
3. America celebrates another birthday.
-Happy Birthday America; let's see how much longer we will be able to keep celebrating. Whomever invented fireworks and decided to make them a staple of July 4th is a genius.
4. Rosters for next week's Major League Baseball All-Star Game chosen.
-Now time for the usual debates: who got snubbed, who shouldn't be going, should all teams be represented, are players obligated to go, etc. The rosters are mostly right every year, and I actually think fans mess up the roster more than the team-representation rule. More on this later today.
5. New 7 Wonders of the World named.
-Who knew that Latin America would take up almost half of the new list? And if the Pyramids of Giza get a free pass, why isn't it the 8 Wonders of the World? Maybe that's why these people are in liberal arts and not math. While I had not heard of the Statue of Christ Redeemer before this list was announced (I've probably known it's existence, but never connected it with a name), it is a pretty worthy member, as are all the others, of this acclaimed list considering the time period in which it was built and the material it was made with.
5 Points in My Life:
1. Still not doing as well as I'd like in organic chemistry.
-Performing much better than previous attempts attempting to master this notoriously difficult subject, but there's still room for improvement. Getting 90%s on the next test and the final next week would help, but unless you're a genius or are not taking organic chemistry at Wash U., how is that possible? Besides staying up 24/7 and going bald from tearing your hair out, obviously.
2. Ratatouille is very good.
-Went to see it with my parents, and if the scene with Anton Ego reminiscing doesn't send chills up your spine, then you obviously have no love for your mother. Pixar triumphs again with it's eighth feature-length film; the characters are well-developed and perform their roles quite adequately, the graphics are a visual treat, and the story, while obviously unrealistic (but then, remember it is a Disney movie) is very well written. Definitely the best movie I've seen all year, and my early prediction is that it receives the Oscar for best animated feature film to make up for the one that Cars should have won last year. Happy Feet, while cute, just wasn't as good, but Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman have more star power than Owen Wilson and Bonnie Hunt, I guess.
3. Attended Paul Kariya's press conference.
-The Blues are really trying to be a fan-friendly team, trying to bring back the fans who abandoned them these past two years, and so far, they're on the right track. Opening the press conference to introduce one of the bigger stars in the NHL to the public was an unprecidented and very suave move. I was actually really impressed that Kariya, after performing multiple interviews and with the many Blues people trying to guide him back into the arena, would stick around and sign autographs. He even brought his own silver Sharpie (good for signing black pucks). And John Davidson got in the act too, signing autographs in a zone that the security staff deemed off limits to the public, and even shaking hands with fans, talking to them and answering questions. Very classy. Too bad all I had for them to sign was a receipt from Racanelli's that I dug out of my wallet, but it beats running to the team store to buy an overpriced item and then coming back to find the opportunity missed.
4. Got a new washer and dryer.
-After 17 years of the same washer, and about 7 of the same dryer, my mom decided to donate them while they still worked and buy totally new ones. They still look weird, especially the white, sleek, new style with front-loading clear doors and many, many buttons replacing stoic old-style top-load tan washer and pull-down door dryer with a few buttons and one big knob on each, but at least the washer won't make a massive racket while washing bedsheets and pillows, hopefully.
5. Led the weirdest tour ever in the history of my giving campus tours.
-So it's only been four so far, but I started out with a group of about fifteen, and ended with two (plus the admissions officer in training who was shadowing me). On most tours there's always the one parent who will constantly ask questions, which is a good thing, so that every possible bit of information that students need to know about the school is extracted, but I swear I had four of those parents on Friday. When I paused in the Lien Library to talk about housing, we were in there for a good twenty minutes (fifteen more than usual) due to the massive number of questions, and I probably saw five tour groups go in to see the rooms and walk back out. And another ten minutes or so was spent in the room itself talking about alcohol (an important point, but seemingly unrelated to the topic at hand), and after I gave the general school policy, more questions were asked digging deeper into the obviously touchy topic (now they were just being nitpicky), and the person who was shadowing me had to jump in and respond (thank goodness she was there, as she had done tours for four years and was an RA for two). She also jumped in when a girl very pissily asked why freshmen weren't allowed cars (community bonding, explore St. Louis more in depth, and just not enough parking spaces, easy city access by Metro) when my answers did not satisfy her (apparently she lived near Kansas City; whoop-de-doo, I live in Chesterfield and don't have a car). And most of the group split because they needed to grab lunch before interviews/info sessions/other appointments, since the tour ran forty minuts longer than it should. How about taking the tour guide's answers at face value and not nitpick? It's okay to ask questions, but don't ask more than necessary if you want the tour to end when it should, right?
I thought I'd do a week-in-review sort of thing on Saturdays because there are only so many topics I can cover in a weekly column in the blog, so every Saturday I'll touch on a few things from the week both in the outside world and my life (hey, it's still a blog, isn't it?).
5 Points for the Week ending 7/7/2007:
1. Bush commutes Scooter Libby's sentence:
-Probably happened under pressure from his conservative buddies, especially Karl Rove, since Libby took the fall for Rove in the trial and Rove probably doesn't want to owe a huge debt to Libby, although the $250,000 fine and the two-year probation is still pretty big. Bush probably also wanted to reward one of his few remaining loyalists, especially with an approval rating below 30% that sends an obvious message about what most people think about this president.
2. Muslim doctors behind thwarted UK bombings.
-Scary, isn't it, that those who are charged to take care of and heal the sick and wounded would themselves try to do the total opposite, to kill and hurt innocent victims. I have always wondered what would drive people to commit crimes that are absolutely mind-boggling, even if they have their own made-up reasons. The fact that these would-be terrorists were supposedly well-educated (through books, obviously not through common sense) and more well-off would even think of performing such a heinous act makes me wonder even more.
3. America celebrates another birthday.
-Happy Birthday America; let's see how much longer we will be able to keep celebrating. Whomever invented fireworks and decided to make them a staple of July 4th is a genius.
4. Rosters for next week's Major League Baseball All-Star Game chosen.
-Now time for the usual debates: who got snubbed, who shouldn't be going, should all teams be represented, are players obligated to go, etc. The rosters are mostly right every year, and I actually think fans mess up the roster more than the team-representation rule. More on this later today.
5. New 7 Wonders of the World named.
-Who knew that Latin America would take up almost half of the new list? And if the Pyramids of Giza get a free pass, why isn't it the 8 Wonders of the World? Maybe that's why these people are in liberal arts and not math. While I had not heard of the Statue of Christ Redeemer before this list was announced (I've probably known it's existence, but never connected it with a name), it is a pretty worthy member, as are all the others, of this acclaimed list considering the time period in which it was built and the material it was made with.
5 Points in My Life:
1. Still not doing as well as I'd like in organic chemistry.
-Performing much better than previous attempts attempting to master this notoriously difficult subject, but there's still room for improvement. Getting 90%s on the next test and the final next week would help, but unless you're a genius or are not taking organic chemistry at Wash U., how is that possible? Besides staying up 24/7 and going bald from tearing your hair out, obviously.
2. Ratatouille is very good.
-Went to see it with my parents, and if the scene with Anton Ego reminiscing doesn't send chills up your spine, then you obviously have no love for your mother. Pixar triumphs again with it's eighth feature-length film; the characters are well-developed and perform their roles quite adequately, the graphics are a visual treat, and the story, while obviously unrealistic (but then, remember it is a Disney movie) is very well written. Definitely the best movie I've seen all year, and my early prediction is that it receives the Oscar for best animated feature film to make up for the one that Cars should have won last year. Happy Feet, while cute, just wasn't as good, but Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman have more star power than Owen Wilson and Bonnie Hunt, I guess.
3. Attended Paul Kariya's press conference.
-The Blues are really trying to be a fan-friendly team, trying to bring back the fans who abandoned them these past two years, and so far, they're on the right track. Opening the press conference to introduce one of the bigger stars in the NHL to the public was an unprecidented and very suave move. I was actually really impressed that Kariya, after performing multiple interviews and with the many Blues people trying to guide him back into the arena, would stick around and sign autographs. He even brought his own silver Sharpie (good for signing black pucks). And John Davidson got in the act too, signing autographs in a zone that the security staff deemed off limits to the public, and even shaking hands with fans, talking to them and answering questions. Very classy. Too bad all I had for them to sign was a receipt from Racanelli's that I dug out of my wallet, but it beats running to the team store to buy an overpriced item and then coming back to find the opportunity missed.
4. Got a new washer and dryer.
-After 17 years of the same washer, and about 7 of the same dryer, my mom decided to donate them while they still worked and buy totally new ones. They still look weird, especially the white, sleek, new style with front-loading clear doors and many, many buttons replacing stoic old-style top-load tan washer and pull-down door dryer with a few buttons and one big knob on each, but at least the washer won't make a massive racket while washing bedsheets and pillows, hopefully.
5. Led the weirdest tour ever in the history of my giving campus tours.
-So it's only been four so far, but I started out with a group of about fifteen, and ended with two (plus the admissions officer in training who was shadowing me). On most tours there's always the one parent who will constantly ask questions, which is a good thing, so that every possible bit of information that students need to know about the school is extracted, but I swear I had four of those parents on Friday. When I paused in the Lien Library to talk about housing, we were in there for a good twenty minutes (fifteen more than usual) due to the massive number of questions, and I probably saw five tour groups go in to see the rooms and walk back out. And another ten minutes or so was spent in the room itself talking about alcohol (an important point, but seemingly unrelated to the topic at hand), and after I gave the general school policy, more questions were asked digging deeper into the obviously touchy topic (now they were just being nitpicky), and the person who was shadowing me had to jump in and respond (thank goodness she was there, as she had done tours for four years and was an RA for two). She also jumped in when a girl very pissily asked why freshmen weren't allowed cars (community bonding, explore St. Louis more in depth, and just not enough parking spaces, easy city access by Metro) when my answers did not satisfy her (apparently she lived near Kansas City; whoop-de-doo, I live in Chesterfield and don't have a car). And most of the group split because they needed to grab lunch before interviews/info sessions/other appointments, since the tour ran forty minuts longer than it should. How about taking the tour guide's answers at face value and not nitpick? It's okay to ask questions, but don't ask more than necessary if you want the tour to end when it should, right?
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Let's Get Started
At first I thought that blogging was just a fad. It seemed like an easy way for people to get on the internet and have a web page dedicated to themselves, to talk about anything they wanted. It was a skewed way to provide news, information, and opinions, especially since these were coming from outside sources, people who had no checks to monitor what it was they were saying and how they were reporting it. "Oh, it's just a phase, it'll pass by, and eventually it'll settle into it's niche little community on the internet," I thought.
And now, blogging is a popular and inseparable part of the internet. Where one goes online, one finds blogs that discuss absolutely every imaginable subject possible. Of course, you, my good reader, probably already knew that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Obviously, my opinion has changed about this "fad". If a reputable newsman like Brian Williams can blog, there is no reason why my previous feelings about untrustworthy sources and whatnot should linger any longer.
Blogging apparently started even way before most of us knew what the internet was, before it became a mainstream and ritualistic part of our daily lives, apparently right when the internet was developed. For those who weren't shy and wanted their fifteen minutes of fame, they could talk about absolutely anything that was going on in their lives and in their minds. Events, thoughts, feelings, opinions, and random junk appeared just because it could, and no one could stop them. It was like they had their own personal Us magazines following them around, reporting all their movements, except these "magazines" were online and edited by the subjects themselves. For those who didn't care, what better way to let the outside world know "Hey, I'm here! I matter! And I'm going to make you mind me!"
Of course, with the boom of the internet age, with the ease of obtaining any bit of information one can imagine, also came the ease of posting any bit of information one can imagine, thus explaining the surge in popularity of blogging. The openness of the '90s obviously helped, with more and more people revealing themselves to the outside world, their personal lives and opinions, and the outside world, so captivated by this newfound wonder, gobbled up every bit of information possible. A classic cycle of supply and demand.
As blogging spread, more ways of engaging in this newfound art were explored. Different subjects, from the regular of reporting the news, to the formerly very taboo, such as one's sex life, found their ways onto this global message board. Nothing was off limits, and the people have taken full advantage of that. Of course, the online personal diaries remain a popular staple; the juicy stories of people's personal lives will always remain a hit with our nosy human race.
In the future, this blog looks to explore anything and everything, from worthy news stories and other current events, sports, entertainment, and other exciting things, all with what I believe to be a common sensical point of view, as evidenced above. This blog may excite you, it may depress you, it may anger you, and it may make you feel something unexplainable. But the main thing is that this blog will make you think. Hopefully. At least these subjects will make you think. And just like what a blog was originally meant for, this blog may feature some personal tidbits. And obviously opinions are always included.
You read because I wrote.
And now, blogging is a popular and inseparable part of the internet. Where one goes online, one finds blogs that discuss absolutely every imaginable subject possible. Of course, you, my good reader, probably already knew that. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. Obviously, my opinion has changed about this "fad". If a reputable newsman like Brian Williams can blog, there is no reason why my previous feelings about untrustworthy sources and whatnot should linger any longer.
Blogging apparently started even way before most of us knew what the internet was, before it became a mainstream and ritualistic part of our daily lives, apparently right when the internet was developed. For those who weren't shy and wanted their fifteen minutes of fame, they could talk about absolutely anything that was going on in their lives and in their minds. Events, thoughts, feelings, opinions, and random junk appeared just because it could, and no one could stop them. It was like they had their own personal Us magazines following them around, reporting all their movements, except these "magazines" were online and edited by the subjects themselves. For those who didn't care, what better way to let the outside world know "Hey, I'm here! I matter! And I'm going to make you mind me!"
Of course, with the boom of the internet age, with the ease of obtaining any bit of information one can imagine, also came the ease of posting any bit of information one can imagine, thus explaining the surge in popularity of blogging. The openness of the '90s obviously helped, with more and more people revealing themselves to the outside world, their personal lives and opinions, and the outside world, so captivated by this newfound wonder, gobbled up every bit of information possible. A classic cycle of supply and demand.
As blogging spread, more ways of engaging in this newfound art were explored. Different subjects, from the regular of reporting the news, to the formerly very taboo, such as one's sex life, found their ways onto this global message board. Nothing was off limits, and the people have taken full advantage of that. Of course, the online personal diaries remain a popular staple; the juicy stories of people's personal lives will always remain a hit with our nosy human race.
In the future, this blog looks to explore anything and everything, from worthy news stories and other current events, sports, entertainment, and other exciting things, all with what I believe to be a common sensical point of view, as evidenced above. This blog may excite you, it may depress you, it may anger you, and it may make you feel something unexplainable. But the main thing is that this blog will make you think. Hopefully. At least these subjects will make you think. And just like what a blog was originally meant for, this blog may feature some personal tidbits. And obviously opinions are always included.
You read because I wrote.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)