With spring among us its time to get the shorts and sandals out of storage unless your name is Andrew Meering, in which case you never put them away. Yes spring calls for barbecues, baseball, and most importantly 16-inch softball. No, that wasn’t a typo I said 16-inch softball. A ball that has a 16-inch diameter, don’t think about it to hard. It is one of the Chicago’s most underrated and historical sports, and it is finally coming to Northfield.
Yes the sport I grew up playing in our backyard lot, without gloves, and hubcap bases will be enjoyed by those who chose this spring term. After all like Tim said before, spring is to play, and if your not sure just listen to I Love College. 16-inch softball is great because anyone can play. The ball is so big its difficult to swing and not hit it, and no matter how hard you hit, it probably won’t go past the outfield. The large softball allows for easy catching with both hand and without the use of a glove. If my 9-10 year old boys and girls summer group could do it, I’m sure we all can do it 10 years later. Stay posted to hear about pick up games that will most likely be held on the stadium field or behind west gym.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Black Lights Were Just the Beginning
Okay, because of this video, I now think that the Synchro Show and Nonberg's Ebony dance should include some sort of black light component.
Watch and be amazed. It's really quite cool. I never would have thought of it, that's for sure. But I only think of get-rich quick schemes, so maybe revolutionary dance isn't my forte.
Watch and be amazed. It's really quite cool. I never would have thought of it, that's for sure. But I only think of get-rich quick schemes, so maybe revolutionary dance isn't my forte.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Day 3 - Moscow State
Today was nothing short of exhausting. I slept very well last night, and when I woke up I felt great, but now it’s 8:00 PM and I’m ready for bed. Today I met Galina’s son, Leonid; he ate breakfast with us and walked me to the Metro station. I met Laura and her host mom there, and we took the Metro to the University.
The Moscow subway system is amazing. I haven’t taken pictures yet, but each station has its own theme and aesthetic. Kievskii Station is the one closest to my apartment, and it also happens to be one of the oldest stations in Moscow. It was made of white marble with paintings on the walls and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There were thousands of people in the station; it was quite chaotic. To get to the university I have to take the Koltsonay Lineya (Ring Line) to Cultural Park station, and then I switch to the Red Line to get to the Universitetskii Vokzal (University Station). Laura’s host mom told us that the Cultural Park station is the oldest in Moscow, but it was very loud in the station and she was speaking Russian so I’m not sure. It was also white marble with chandeliers. The stations are all very warm, even standing several yards away from the door of a station is enough to stay warm in the Moscow cold. We all met outside the University station, exchanged travel stories, and set off for the University.
First, we got our student IDs, which allow is to get into any building. There are guards everywhere, it’s very disconcerting to know that you are always being watched (well, they’re supposed to watch you but from what I’ve seen so far they don’t really pay that much attention). Once we had our IDs we went to a classroom, in which Diane laid out the plan for the day. There are a few students at Moscow State who are going to be going along with our group excursions and sitting in on class because they are learning how to teach Russian. We met them, and then divided into groups. We had two of them with my group, Yulya (I guess the Russian form of Julia) and Varvara (Barbara?).
Now, let me say this: Russian girls are ridiculously hot. Especially at Moscow State. Nearly 90% of the girls I saw at the University were head turners, and I saw maybe 5 girls that made my "Hottest Girls I've Ever Seen" list. Just saying. I didn't get a picture of Yulya, but she'd be a good example of the average hotness at the University. I could go on, but there are more important things to discuss.
We had met in 1 GUM, or Humanities Building 1, and our group left to go explore the main Moscow State building. Pictures cannot do this building justice, it is by far the largest building I have ever seen. Not only is it tall, it is probably 150 meters wide as well. The inside of the building is as impressive of the outside. There are marble columns and staircases, golden railings, and there are 3 different rows of elevators, each with a specific grouping of floors that they go to. We, of course, went to the very top floor, the 28th. The geology department is located on the 28th floor. Once we got up there, we were able to look out on the entire city. Moscow is designed so that Moscow State, the Olympic Stadium, and the Kremlin are all in a straight line, so I was able to see part of the Kremlin from the University. Moscow is unbelievably huge, from the 28th floor it stretched as far as the eye can see. After the professors who were hanging around the geology department showed us the various buildings that can be seen, we went back downstairs and outside.
We walked on the square that leads to the stadium, up until it reaches a giant hill that offers a grand view of the city. One thing that I noticed is that all the trees are planted in straight lines, while the rest of the city is very chaotic and unplanned. My guess is that the trees were planned in the Soviet era as an example of planning and symmetry that is the basis of Soviet philosophy. Or maybe that’s reading into it too much. There were vendors selling Matryoshka dolls and Soviet propaganda all along the edge of the hill, and there were tall structures that serve as slides to go skiing or sledding down. The Moscow River is a very important part of the cityscape. To the left of a hill was a church, I don't know the English name but it was very beautiful on the inside.
I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take picture, so I didn’t, but it was filled with icons, candles, and many of the walls were covered with gold. After we left, we walked back to the University to see even more of the huge buildings there. The philosophy building is very big.
And so is the library. I was actually unable to find a good spot to get it all in frame, I'll wander around sometime and try to get a better picture, but here's what I have now.
The exam wasn't too bad, basically what I expected. I had a short interview with the professors, which consisted of them asking me to tell me about myself, which I've gotten to be quite good at. They seemed very friendly, so I'm very excited to take classes at Moscow State.
Moscow State is like Hogwarts, if Stalin had been in charge. The main building is huge and looks like a castle, the professors are stict but open, and the students there are very bright. Attending Moscow State will also give me a good idea of what life at a huge university is like, even though all of my classes will be with 3 other students from Carleton. Yes, that's right, 4 of us with a Moscow State professor. Oy. My group consists of Me, Travis, Nikki, and Charlie. Travis has been in my Russian classes forever, probably since 101, but he's also the weirdest person I have met at Carleton. He is a CS geek with a very odd sense of humor, so seeing him interact with Russian professors will be interesting, to say the least. I think that I got placed in the "can't speak Russian" group, except I don't understand why Nikki and Charlie got placed with me as well, because they're both 3rd year Russian students who speak very well. Class starts Tuesday, so we'll see how it goes.
After we finished at the University, we all went back to the University Metro station to meet our host families again, and Laura and I rode the bus back with Galina. Galina pointed out many buildings to us, such as a beautiful monastery that Laura and I plan to visit tomorrow. She also pointed out how to get to the Arbat, which is the main artisan street in Moscow.
If you have ever read about modern Moscow, you will know that a new swathe of buildings are being build called New Moscow. I live about half a mile from New Moscow. Last night it was too dark to see when I was walking, but today they were a very prominent presence in the skyline. I also live very close to the Evropeitsa square, which is now dominated by a huge shopping mall. Galina doesn't like the mall and wishes it were still a square, but it is a very modern building that could be the focal point of any American city. It's right across the street from the Kievskii station. Laura lives right next to the Evropeiska mall, and about 5 blocks from me.
When we got home, Leonid and his son, Maksim, were waiting for us. Maksim, Galina's grandson, is 4 years old and one of the cutest kids I have ever met. While Galina was making my dinner, Maksim made me play with him, he especially enjoyed climbing on top of a couch and jumping down so I could catch him. He had legos that he made into a robot, a dinosaur, and he went around pretending that Galina was a lion and he was a tiger.
So here I am now, sitting on my bed, and I was just interrupted by Maksim, who wanted to give me his dinosaur, robot, chair, lawnmower, and shovels. He's very cute, and it's interesting to listen to his Russian. It's difficult when I don't understand him because telling him that I don't understand doesn't really work. They were reading him books, and he was watching something while I was eating. Galina is a wonderful host mom, living here is really going to help me learn Russian.
Tomorrow, I'm meeting Laura at 11 to make our way to Cherry Towers, where about half of the group is meeting to buy Russian cell phones. Hopefully it won't be too expensive, but we'll see.
Oh, I forgot to mention my surprise at seeing a power plant in the center of the city. Smoke stacks are a very strange sight, at least coming from Wichita, where our power plant is like 100 miles away.
Also, you know how advertisements on the internet are like: "Free PS3!" or "Free iPhone!"? Well, on the Russian internet, advertisements are for a life-long green card in the US. Nice.
Another thing I forgot: last night I was reading a book about Moscow's history and it mentioned a monument that I drove by when entering the city that caught my attention but didn't understand. It looked like some very large jacks (as in the kids game) sitting on the side of the road. Turns out, they were a World War 2 memorial, marking how far the Nazi tanks got. We were about 15 miles from the center of Moscow. The jacks were actually tank traps. Crazy.
I also forgot to mention that on the streets, vendors sell all sorts of foods. Including bottles of beer that make 40s look like the children's size cup at a restaurant. Those bottles are huge! Ok. That's enough for this post.
The Moscow subway system is amazing. I haven’t taken pictures yet, but each station has its own theme and aesthetic. Kievskii Station is the one closest to my apartment, and it also happens to be one of the oldest stations in Moscow. It was made of white marble with paintings on the walls and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There were thousands of people in the station; it was quite chaotic. To get to the university I have to take the Koltsonay Lineya (Ring Line) to Cultural Park station, and then I switch to the Red Line to get to the Universitetskii Vokzal (University Station). Laura’s host mom told us that the Cultural Park station is the oldest in Moscow, but it was very loud in the station and she was speaking Russian so I’m not sure. It was also white marble with chandeliers. The stations are all very warm, even standing several yards away from the door of a station is enough to stay warm in the Moscow cold. We all met outside the University station, exchanged travel stories, and set off for the University.
First, we got our student IDs, which allow is to get into any building. There are guards everywhere, it’s very disconcerting to know that you are always being watched (well, they’re supposed to watch you but from what I’ve seen so far they don’t really pay that much attention). Once we had our IDs we went to a classroom, in which Diane laid out the plan for the day. There are a few students at Moscow State who are going to be going along with our group excursions and sitting in on class because they are learning how to teach Russian. We met them, and then divided into groups. We had two of them with my group, Yulya (I guess the Russian form of Julia) and Varvara (Barbara?).
Now, let me say this: Russian girls are ridiculously hot. Especially at Moscow State. Nearly 90% of the girls I saw at the University were head turners, and I saw maybe 5 girls that made my "Hottest Girls I've Ever Seen" list. Just saying. I didn't get a picture of Yulya, but she'd be a good example of the average hotness at the University. I could go on, but there are more important things to discuss.
We had met in 1 GUM, or Humanities Building 1, and our group left to go explore the main Moscow State building. Pictures cannot do this building justice, it is by far the largest building I have ever seen. Not only is it tall, it is probably 150 meters wide as well. The inside of the building is as impressive of the outside. There are marble columns and staircases, golden railings, and there are 3 different rows of elevators, each with a specific grouping of floors that they go to. We, of course, went to the very top floor, the 28th. The geology department is located on the 28th floor. Once we got up there, we were able to look out on the entire city. Moscow is designed so that Moscow State, the Olympic Stadium, and the Kremlin are all in a straight line, so I was able to see part of the Kremlin from the University. Moscow is unbelievably huge, from the 28th floor it stretched as far as the eye can see. After the professors who were hanging around the geology department showed us the various buildings that can be seen, we went back downstairs and outside.
We walked on the square that leads to the stadium, up until it reaches a giant hill that offers a grand view of the city. One thing that I noticed is that all the trees are planted in straight lines, while the rest of the city is very chaotic and unplanned. My guess is that the trees were planned in the Soviet era as an example of planning and symmetry that is the basis of Soviet philosophy. Or maybe that’s reading into it too much. There were vendors selling Matryoshka dolls and Soviet propaganda all along the edge of the hill, and there were tall structures that serve as slides to go skiing or sledding down. The Moscow River is a very important part of the cityscape. To the left of a hill was a church, I don't know the English name but it was very beautiful on the inside.
I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take picture, so I didn’t, but it was filled with icons, candles, and many of the walls were covered with gold. After we left, we walked back to the University to see even more of the huge buildings there. The philosophy building is very big.
And so is the library. I was actually unable to find a good spot to get it all in frame, I'll wander around sometime and try to get a better picture, but here's what I have now.
The exam wasn't too bad, basically what I expected. I had a short interview with the professors, which consisted of them asking me to tell me about myself, which I've gotten to be quite good at. They seemed very friendly, so I'm very excited to take classes at Moscow State.
Moscow State is like Hogwarts, if Stalin had been in charge. The main building is huge and looks like a castle, the professors are stict but open, and the students there are very bright. Attending Moscow State will also give me a good idea of what life at a huge university is like, even though all of my classes will be with 3 other students from Carleton. Yes, that's right, 4 of us with a Moscow State professor. Oy. My group consists of Me, Travis, Nikki, and Charlie. Travis has been in my Russian classes forever, probably since 101, but he's also the weirdest person I have met at Carleton. He is a CS geek with a very odd sense of humor, so seeing him interact with Russian professors will be interesting, to say the least. I think that I got placed in the "can't speak Russian" group, except I don't understand why Nikki and Charlie got placed with me as well, because they're both 3rd year Russian students who speak very well. Class starts Tuesday, so we'll see how it goes.
After we finished at the University, we all went back to the University Metro station to meet our host families again, and Laura and I rode the bus back with Galina. Galina pointed out many buildings to us, such as a beautiful monastery that Laura and I plan to visit tomorrow. She also pointed out how to get to the Arbat, which is the main artisan street in Moscow.
If you have ever read about modern Moscow, you will know that a new swathe of buildings are being build called New Moscow. I live about half a mile from New Moscow. Last night it was too dark to see when I was walking, but today they were a very prominent presence in the skyline. I also live very close to the Evropeitsa square, which is now dominated by a huge shopping mall. Galina doesn't like the mall and wishes it were still a square, but it is a very modern building that could be the focal point of any American city. It's right across the street from the Kievskii station. Laura lives right next to the Evropeiska mall, and about 5 blocks from me.
When we got home, Leonid and his son, Maksim, were waiting for us. Maksim, Galina's grandson, is 4 years old and one of the cutest kids I have ever met. While Galina was making my dinner, Maksim made me play with him, he especially enjoyed climbing on top of a couch and jumping down so I could catch him. He had legos that he made into a robot, a dinosaur, and he went around pretending that Galina was a lion and he was a tiger.
So here I am now, sitting on my bed, and I was just interrupted by Maksim, who wanted to give me his dinosaur, robot, chair, lawnmower, and shovels. He's very cute, and it's interesting to listen to his Russian. It's difficult when I don't understand him because telling him that I don't understand doesn't really work. They were reading him books, and he was watching something while I was eating. Galina is a wonderful host mom, living here is really going to help me learn Russian.
Tomorrow, I'm meeting Laura at 11 to make our way to Cherry Towers, where about half of the group is meeting to buy Russian cell phones. Hopefully it won't be too expensive, but we'll see.
Oh, I forgot to mention my surprise at seeing a power plant in the center of the city. Smoke stacks are a very strange sight, at least coming from Wichita, where our power plant is like 100 miles away.
Also, you know how advertisements on the internet are like: "Free PS3!" or "Free iPhone!"? Well, on the Russian internet, advertisements are for a life-long green card in the US. Nice.
Another thing I forgot: last night I was reading a book about Moscow's history and it mentioned a monument that I drove by when entering the city that caught my attention but didn't understand. It looked like some very large jacks (as in the kids game) sitting on the side of the road. Turns out, they were a World War 2 memorial, marking how far the Nazi tanks got. We were about 15 miles from the center of Moscow. The jacks were actually tank traps. Crazy.
I also forgot to mention that on the streets, vendors sell all sorts of foods. Including bottles of beer that make 40s look like the children's size cup at a restaurant. Those bottles are huge! Ok. That's enough for this post.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
I'm Pretty Sure There is Nothing Mexican about Abba's "Dancing Queen"
Tonight I went to a magic show. Yes, this was one of the Vegas-like shows provided by the hotel. But i like magic, so I went to it with my mom and sister. It actually was good. Like I said, I enjoy magic. I'm easily amused.
And now its over and I am sitting in the Lobby Bar, one of the 6 bars in the resort. I'm drinking a drink called the honeymoon. I drank a lot of margaritas earlier this week, but then remembered I hate tequila and that there are plenty of other drinks out there. I haven't had as much beer (however now I can say I've actually had a Dos Equis/XX), because I feel that in a tropical environment your supposed to drink fruity hard alcohol drinks. So I've enjoyed my share of honeymoons, blue lagoons, electric lemonades, and this one purple drink that i ordered by accident, but now cannot find it again (but it tasted like jolly ranchers).
So here I am surrounded by families and twenty-somethings socoializing and... get this... singing and dancing to the mexican band that is currently performing such mexican hits such as Man, I feel Like A Woman, Sweet Home Alabama, Womanizer, and now Billie Jean.
So for the past few days I've mostly laid around on the beach or by the pool, listening to some hidden gems on my iPod (when was the last time you listened to what you listened to in Jr. High?) and reading Tom Friedman's The World Is Flat. I've also had my laptop here and I have been Stumbling. Extra time is awesome. I wish I had more of it at Carleton. It's really nice to explore ideas, such as globalization (the topic of Freidman's book), and to explore the internet which is what Stumble Upon is all about.
SIDE NOTE: The term "globalization"comes up as a misspelled word. Isn't that a little crazy?
I guess what I am trying to get at is a deep and important question: What would you do if you had more free time? My mom saids she would work out more. I know I would read more. I love reading books that aren't for school. But i have hard doing it during the school year and more so with my summer job.
The REAL issure though is what is preventing you from doing those things that you wish you could do if you had more time? Because frankly, as college students we have a LOT of free time. Think about how much time we spent in class in high school, where school took up so much of our time. I know college has more work, but lets be real, we have a shit load of free time. Well sorta. Some of us spend our free time playing call of duty, some of us spend a little but more time studying and some of us engage in extra curriculars. But all I am saying is that if I really wanted to, I could read for pleasure if I wanted to. But instead, I choose to spend the last 30 min of my evenings with my roomates either playing Tetris Attack (by the way: Alfredo, don't forget to bring your controller backj from the Chi), watching the daily show, or making my self a pb and j.
Okay now i am just drunkenluy blambbling on. I spent a lot of time trying to correct my errors, but now i just dont carre anymore. A few too many honeymoons. And don't call me a bitch for drinking a girly drink... its delicious!
Is drunk blogging considered taboo? I hope to god not. Or else i'll need an intervention.
Well, here's to mexico and here is to coming back to Northfield!
Over and Out.a
And now its over and I am sitting in the Lobby Bar, one of the 6 bars in the resort. I'm drinking a drink called the honeymoon. I drank a lot of margaritas earlier this week, but then remembered I hate tequila and that there are plenty of other drinks out there. I haven't had as much beer (however now I can say I've actually had a Dos Equis/XX), because I feel that in a tropical environment your supposed to drink fruity hard alcohol drinks. So I've enjoyed my share of honeymoons, blue lagoons, electric lemonades, and this one purple drink that i ordered by accident, but now cannot find it again (but it tasted like jolly ranchers).
So here I am surrounded by families and twenty-somethings socoializing and... get this... singing and dancing to the mexican band that is currently performing such mexican hits such as Man, I feel Like A Woman, Sweet Home Alabama, Womanizer, and now Billie Jean.
So for the past few days I've mostly laid around on the beach or by the pool, listening to some hidden gems on my iPod (when was the last time you listened to what you listened to in Jr. High?) and reading Tom Friedman's The World Is Flat. I've also had my laptop here and I have been Stumbling. Extra time is awesome. I wish I had more of it at Carleton. It's really nice to explore ideas, such as globalization (the topic of Freidman's book), and to explore the internet which is what Stumble Upon is all about.
SIDE NOTE: The term "globalization"comes up as a misspelled word. Isn't that a little crazy?
I guess what I am trying to get at is a deep and important question: What would you do if you had more free time? My mom saids she would work out more. I know I would read more. I love reading books that aren't for school. But i have hard doing it during the school year and more so with my summer job.
The REAL issure though is what is preventing you from doing those things that you wish you could do if you had more time? Because frankly, as college students we have a LOT of free time. Think about how much time we spent in class in high school, where school took up so much of our time. I know college has more work, but lets be real, we have a shit load of free time. Well sorta. Some of us spend our free time playing call of duty, some of us spend a little but more time studying and some of us engage in extra curriculars. But all I am saying is that if I really wanted to, I could read for pleasure if I wanted to. But instead, I choose to spend the last 30 min of my evenings with my roomates either playing Tetris Attack (by the way: Alfredo, don't forget to bring your controller backj from the Chi), watching the daily show, or making my self a pb and j.
Okay now i am just drunkenluy blambbling on. I spent a lot of time trying to correct my errors, but now i just dont carre anymore. A few too many honeymoons. And don't call me a bitch for drinking a girly drink... its delicious!
Is drunk blogging considered taboo? I hope to god not. Or else i'll need an intervention.
Well, here's to mexico and here is to coming back to Northfield!
Over and Out.a
Day One
I'm going to post my first two entries in my Russia journal here. I'm stealing internet, and I'm kind of nervous because in Soviet Russia, internet steals you! Anyway, pics will be coming shortly, but you can read about my many adventures in the Motherland!
Wow. What an adventure, and I’m not even in Moscow yet! I’m currently sitting on the plane, it’s 10:00 PM my time but 6:00 AM Moscow time. I haven’t really slept at all, so I’m gonna have horrible jet lag tomorrow. Oh well. We’re flying by Iceland now, according to the screens on the plane, and we just flew over Greenland.
I woke up this morning, got on my plane, and flew to Atlanta, no big deal. Got to Atlanta, sat around the International Terminal, watched some Breaking Bad, laughed at CNN, and tried to read my book about St. Petersburg. While attempting to read, I was sitting by myself at the Moscow gate, about 5 hours before the plane was to leave, when an older man walked right up to me, smiled at me, and said nothing. I looked up, smiled, and looked back at my book, thinking, “Oh no, why me?” Then the man started mumbling in broken English, asking me about customs, when I realized that this man didn’t speak any English and had no real idea what he was supposed to do. At which I said, in Russia, “I speak Russian, can I help you?” The man’s face lit up with a smile, and I knew that I had made my first Russian friend. Turns out that this man’s name is Victor, he’s from Irkutsk, and he was in the US to visit his daughter who lives in Daytona Beach. He wasn’t sure whether he needed to go through Customs in the US or in Russia, so I took him to the information desk and translated for him. After that, we walked back to the gate and talked at length about Russian literature (he likes Pushkin), American literature (Hemingway), Siberia, Pushkin’s family history, and all sorts of other stuff that I know because I sold my soul to the Russian major. I also let him borrow my phone, at which he pulled out a wad of dollar bills and asked how much. I, being a good person, said, “Nothing.” I also helped him to order food at Panda Express. His wife is Chinese, so he claimed to be an expert. I think Victor might have been disappointed in the quality of our airport American Chinese fast food. He asked what Gatorade was, which I couldn’t really explain, but he bought it and claimed that they have some beverage similar to it in Siberia. Then, about an hour before take off, a man with bloodshot eyes, wearing a shirt that said, “My Indian name is Crawling Drunk,” walked/stumbled up to Victor and said hello in Russian. Then he asked about passports and visas. At this point the rest of the Carleton Moscow group showed up, so my attention was briefly diverted. When I started paying attention again, the two were embroiled in a conversation about Pushkin and World War 2. I think the drunk was arguing that the US entered the war late to hurt the Soviet Union. I thought it was funny that 2 Russians that didn’t know each other would end up discussing Pushkin and World War 2. In the end, Victor gave me his phone number in Irkutsk so when we fly to Siberia in May I can go visit him!
So now I’m on the plane, sitting next to a Physics major from Novosibirsk. His father lives in California so he makes the trip back and forth fairly often. He spent the last few days skiing at Lake Tahoe. He seems to be extremely intelligent, he would like to get his PhD in Physics in the United States, but has done all of his undergraduate studies in Novosibirsk. We discussed politics at length, such as the drinking age, legalization of marijuana, Putin, capitalism in Russia, and much more. He was very familiar with the in-flight movies. One thing that both he and Victor have in common is a love of Jack London novels, which isn’t surprising, but I hadn’t thought of it before. Jack London would be the most Russian novelist that America has produced.
I’ve already spoken a lot of Russian, discussed Russian culture in depth, and met 2 Siberians, and I haven’t even reached Europe yet! This trip is going to be amazing.
First day in Russia: very tiring. The plane arrived at 10:00 AM Moscow time, but 2:00 AM Wichita time. I didn’t really sleep on the plane, but once I got off the plane I was fueled by the adrenaline rush that took over my system. Going through Customs and Passport Control was very intimidating, Russian women in military uniform can be very scary. Also, the fact that I have long, blond hair in my passport photo didn’t help at all. Once I got out of the airport, we met Diane, who gave us train and bus cards, 500 Rubles, a plug converter, and documents. Then, Nikolai Nikolayevich drove Megan and I to our homestays.
Russia is not at all like I expected to be. I have never seen so many advertisements anywhere in the world. The shopping centers here make the Mall of America look like a small, scummy mall. There’s a huge Ikea about a mile away from the airport, and I also saw several МакДоналдс during our drive through the city. And what a drive it was. Russian drivers are INSANE. Especially Nikolai, I thought we were going to die about 10 times in the hour and a half it took to get from the airport to my homestay. Moscow is a huge, sprawling city, filled with high-rise apartment buildings that appear to have been built during the Krushchev era. It's very interesting to look at all the cars on the road, the range from old Soviet junk pile to Mercedes and Range Rover is astounding. And the advertisements... Driving through Moscow is an experience every American should have. Moscow streets are eerily similar to the set of Blade Runner.
But the most important part of my day was meeting Galina, my host mom. I think I might have gotten the best deal of anyone (except Nikki cuz she lives with 3 kids and an American). Galina tries very hard to speak English as much as she can, she's very friendly, and her apartment is very nice. I'd guess she's between 65 and 70, she's about 4 feet tall, and she says that her 4 year old grandson will come visit us. I took a nap right after I arrived and slept for 4 hours before I woke up. I gave her the gifts I brought after I woke up. She loved the dreamcatcher I brought her, and wants to put it up in her hallway. She also liked my photo album, especially the picture of the red tree in the yard of my house. After I gave her her gifts, we drank tea and she heated up my dinner. I had a vegetable soup with broccoli, potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes, which was delicious. I got to try Russian bread for the first time, which comes in round loafs and is more similar to sourdough bread than American bread. And the main course she made for me was spaghetti with chicken, which was very delicious.
After dinner I unpacked all of my clothes, and then she asked if I'd like to go out for a walk. Which leads me to my current location. I'm currently at a Coffee House (Кофе Хоус) that's a few blocks down the street from Galina's apartment. I made it very obvious that I'm an American when I walked in because I tried to order at the counter instead of realizing that it's a sit-down coffee house. Oops. But I successfully ordered a green tea, and here I am!
Moscow is becoming very Americanized, but on steroids. Coffee House is a chain, like Starbucks, but you can order beer, wine, or hard liquor. Again, I'm astounded by the amount of advertising I've seen today, it permeates life even more than in the US. Or maybe it's just less subtle.
I only saw a few churches during my drive to the apartment, and 2 building that look like the University. I live very close to Moscow State, as well as downtown Moscow.
Well, that's all I have for now. I'll post pictures at some point, I'm planning on taking about 400 over the next 4 days.
Wow. What an adventure, and I’m not even in Moscow yet! I’m currently sitting on the plane, it’s 10:00 PM my time but 6:00 AM Moscow time. I haven’t really slept at all, so I’m gonna have horrible jet lag tomorrow. Oh well. We’re flying by Iceland now, according to the screens on the plane, and we just flew over Greenland.
I woke up this morning, got on my plane, and flew to Atlanta, no big deal. Got to Atlanta, sat around the International Terminal, watched some Breaking Bad, laughed at CNN, and tried to read my book about St. Petersburg. While attempting to read, I was sitting by myself at the Moscow gate, about 5 hours before the plane was to leave, when an older man walked right up to me, smiled at me, and said nothing. I looked up, smiled, and looked back at my book, thinking, “Oh no, why me?” Then the man started mumbling in broken English, asking me about customs, when I realized that this man didn’t speak any English and had no real idea what he was supposed to do. At which I said, in Russia, “I speak Russian, can I help you?” The man’s face lit up with a smile, and I knew that I had made my first Russian friend. Turns out that this man’s name is Victor, he’s from Irkutsk, and he was in the US to visit his daughter who lives in Daytona Beach. He wasn’t sure whether he needed to go through Customs in the US or in Russia, so I took him to the information desk and translated for him. After that, we walked back to the gate and talked at length about Russian literature (he likes Pushkin), American literature (Hemingway), Siberia, Pushkin’s family history, and all sorts of other stuff that I know because I sold my soul to the Russian major. I also let him borrow my phone, at which he pulled out a wad of dollar bills and asked how much. I, being a good person, said, “Nothing.” I also helped him to order food at Panda Express. His wife is Chinese, so he claimed to be an expert. I think Victor might have been disappointed in the quality of our airport American Chinese fast food. He asked what Gatorade was, which I couldn’t really explain, but he bought it and claimed that they have some beverage similar to it in Siberia. Then, about an hour before take off, a man with bloodshot eyes, wearing a shirt that said, “My Indian name is Crawling Drunk,” walked/stumbled up to Victor and said hello in Russian. Then he asked about passports and visas. At this point the rest of the Carleton Moscow group showed up, so my attention was briefly diverted. When I started paying attention again, the two were embroiled in a conversation about Pushkin and World War 2. I think the drunk was arguing that the US entered the war late to hurt the Soviet Union. I thought it was funny that 2 Russians that didn’t know each other would end up discussing Pushkin and World War 2. In the end, Victor gave me his phone number in Irkutsk so when we fly to Siberia in May I can go visit him!
So now I’m on the plane, sitting next to a Physics major from Novosibirsk. His father lives in California so he makes the trip back and forth fairly often. He spent the last few days skiing at Lake Tahoe. He seems to be extremely intelligent, he would like to get his PhD in Physics in the United States, but has done all of his undergraduate studies in Novosibirsk. We discussed politics at length, such as the drinking age, legalization of marijuana, Putin, capitalism in Russia, and much more. He was very familiar with the in-flight movies. One thing that both he and Victor have in common is a love of Jack London novels, which isn’t surprising, but I hadn’t thought of it before. Jack London would be the most Russian novelist that America has produced.
I’ve already spoken a lot of Russian, discussed Russian culture in depth, and met 2 Siberians, and I haven’t even reached Europe yet! This trip is going to be amazing.
First day in Russia: very tiring. The plane arrived at 10:00 AM Moscow time, but 2:00 AM Wichita time. I didn’t really sleep on the plane, but once I got off the plane I was fueled by the adrenaline rush that took over my system. Going through Customs and Passport Control was very intimidating, Russian women in military uniform can be very scary. Also, the fact that I have long, blond hair in my passport photo didn’t help at all. Once I got out of the airport, we met Diane, who gave us train and bus cards, 500 Rubles, a plug converter, and documents. Then, Nikolai Nikolayevich drove Megan and I to our homestays.
Russia is not at all like I expected to be. I have never seen so many advertisements anywhere in the world. The shopping centers here make the Mall of America look like a small, scummy mall. There’s a huge Ikea about a mile away from the airport, and I also saw several МакДоналдс during our drive through the city. And what a drive it was. Russian drivers are INSANE. Especially Nikolai, I thought we were going to die about 10 times in the hour and a half it took to get from the airport to my homestay. Moscow is a huge, sprawling city, filled with high-rise apartment buildings that appear to have been built during the Krushchev era. It's very interesting to look at all the cars on the road, the range from old Soviet junk pile to Mercedes and Range Rover is astounding. And the advertisements... Driving through Moscow is an experience every American should have. Moscow streets are eerily similar to the set of Blade Runner.
But the most important part of my day was meeting Galina, my host mom. I think I might have gotten the best deal of anyone (except Nikki cuz she lives with 3 kids and an American). Galina tries very hard to speak English as much as she can, she's very friendly, and her apartment is very nice. I'd guess she's between 65 and 70, she's about 4 feet tall, and she says that her 4 year old grandson will come visit us. I took a nap right after I arrived and slept for 4 hours before I woke up. I gave her the gifts I brought after I woke up. She loved the dreamcatcher I brought her, and wants to put it up in her hallway. She also liked my photo album, especially the picture of the red tree in the yard of my house. After I gave her her gifts, we drank tea and she heated up my dinner. I had a vegetable soup with broccoli, potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes, which was delicious. I got to try Russian bread for the first time, which comes in round loafs and is more similar to sourdough bread than American bread. And the main course she made for me was spaghetti with chicken, which was very delicious.
After dinner I unpacked all of my clothes, and then she asked if I'd like to go out for a walk. Which leads me to my current location. I'm currently at a Coffee House (Кофе Хоус) that's a few blocks down the street from Galina's apartment. I made it very obvious that I'm an American when I walked in because I tried to order at the counter instead of realizing that it's a sit-down coffee house. Oops. But I successfully ordered a green tea, and here I am!
Moscow is becoming very Americanized, but on steroids. Coffee House is a chain, like Starbucks, but you can order beer, wine, or hard liquor. Again, I'm astounded by the amount of advertising I've seen today, it permeates life even more than in the US. Or maybe it's just less subtle.
I only saw a few churches during my drive to the apartment, and 2 building that look like the University. I live very close to Moscow State, as well as downtown Moscow.
Well, that's all I have for now. I'll post pictures at some point, I'm planning on taking about 400 over the next 4 days.
The 12 Steps to the Best Spring Term Ever™
I have been thinking over this spring break and I have come up with The 12 Steps to the Best Spring Term Ever™. These are guidelines we may choose to follow that will help us along in having the best spring term that anybody at Carleton has ever experienced. If we follow these guidelines, I'm confident of our success. This is a living document, much like the U.S. Constitution, and we may make changes and interpretations as needed. Thankfully, it will be the men of the Ocho (and any acquaintances lucky enough to be invited to join us) that will experience this Best Spring Term Ever™ as outlined.
The Best Spring Term Ever™ consists of the following:
1. Good music. We will enjoy good music at all times.
2. Outdoor cooking. We will cook outdoors as much as possible. We have the grill, which is great, but we can also cook other ways outdoors. I'm not sure how, but it is imperative that we take advantage of this. Alfie has already been thinking in the right way with his carne asada BBQ. This is absolutely necessary.
3. Outdoor sports. Remember vortex football in the fall? We must do that again, and this time our feet won't freeze off. We will also play stick ball. And every other possible outdoor sport. Whenever we can. Barefoot. As much as possible.
4. Minimal studying. Winter term is for studying. Spring term is for the opposite. So, if we don't study, our fun factor will inevitably increase, and after all, that's why we're at college.
5. Good weather. Given that we are omnipotent in the Ocho, we will control the weather. It will always be 70+ and sunny. This is as much about mindset as it is about the actual weather.
6. Rotblatt. We will do our best to be in the running for the Rotblatt All-Star Team.
7. Spring Concert. Enough said.
8. Baseball Challenge. I don't know how many of you know about this, but Alfredo and I discussed it and both agreed it was necessary for some Friday or Saturday night this Spring. It consists of the following: Watch a baseball game. Drink a beer and eat a hot dog for each and every inning that passes. Do this until you are unable to. Follow #2 when preparing hot dogs.
9. Plenty of Ocho parties. These are a given, but will definitely contribute to our fun factor as well. See Stadium 110 whiteboard for ideas. Party over here!
10. Live blogging. This has been discussed.
11. No inhibitions. If we throw ourselves fully into everything, we will enjoy it more. Don't hold back. We're only here for ten more weeks.
12. Beer (or other booze). We must do everything that is listed on this, uh, list, with the accompaniment of some type of refreshing beverage.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Gigapan
Gigapan (short for gigapixel panorama) is a commercialization of a robotics/cs project carried out by Carnegie Mellon and NASA. It's basically a robotic arm that holds your digital camera and takes a mosaic of pictures, coupled with some software that stitches the pictures together to create one giant picture. At $380, it ain't cheap, but several people have gotten their hands on one and have been using them.Gigapan.org is a site they set up to share these gigapixel pictures, and you can browse through each image like a google maps map. It's really fun to zoom in and see what's going on. My personal favorite is the one of Obama's inauguration: see if you can find the secret service agents, evil Dick Cheney, and the camouflaged snipers on the roof! There's also a host of other beautiful pictures, including ones of a Hawaiian Beach, a trading floor in Chicago, and the Alps.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Volcanoes are badass
Alaska's Mt. Redoubt, after months of seismic activity, finally erupted on Sunday. It erupted explosively 5 times in 6 hours. It sent plumes of ash 12 miles into the air. Ash is landing all over the state, forcing people to seal up their homes and cover up their cars, lest they become ash-breathing psycho mutants. It's not so great for air traffic either:
Mt. Redoubt has erupted several times before, most notably for five months in late 1989 through 1990, when its ash stopped the engines of a KLM jet in mid-flight. The plane dropped two miles before its crew could reactivate the engines.Imagine being on that flight.
So, Redoubt is like the bane of the entire state of Alaska, and the rest of us might see some effects too. When volcanoes erupt explosively, they inject tons of aerosols (fine dust particles) into the atmosphere, and these are often light enough that they don't fall right away (some linger for as long as 3-4 years). With the help of air currents, these clouds are distributed around the globe.
This messes up the atmosphere pretty effectively: for one, the aerosols can scatter incoming solar energy and absorb terrestrial energy in a process called radiative forcing, which turns out to be the same phenomenon produced by the greenhouse gases we all know and love. For another, CFCs that we've poured into the atmosphere (but not so much any more, thanks Montreal Protocol) can start chemical reactions on the surfaces of the aerosols, speeding up ozone depletion (and getting us all a sweet tan).
One nice thing is that Redoubt's aerosols should make for pretty sunsets all around the northern hemisphere, since they scatter light pretty well. Go out and watch the sunset in the coming days, look for a characteristic purple color.
So, in sum, volcanoes are badass and they make pretty sunsets, but they're also kind of dicks.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Mr. Cancun
You may or may not know, but I am currently in Cancun, Mexico. My mom like a month before today decided she “wanted a vacation god damnit” and my sister convinced her that Mexico was better than the south western United States. A few shady internet deals later, my mom had booked an all-inclusive vacation at the Club Solaris Royal in Cancun.
Let me take a time out and explain that this vacation is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. My family vacations when I was younger were long road trips to Yellowstone national park or a trip to see grandma and grandpa in Minneapolis or maybe even going up with family friends to their timeshare in Michigan. Never anything that really cost much money. My dad was (and is) famous for his… which word is more insulting; stingy or thrifty? But he’s not on this trip and my mom decided she needed “a real vacation.” Not that this vacation is costing much for her. $75 a person per a day. And that included all meals, drinks (we’ll get to this in a bit), some free tours, and all the facilities a Cancun resort would have. Oh but she does have to go to a 2 hour time share presentation.
And let me say… i only got here Monday morning, but its been kinda nice so far. And by kinda, I mean definitely. The food is good and abundant, the waves are humongous (and I was riding them in a way that both put the older buff bros on the beach to shame and in a way that would make A. Clark proud), and sun is out and the water is SO BLUE – like I’m talking picture perfect unreal blue. OP was fun last week, but I need the escape from everyone and everything.
But back to my shock. Because like I said, this is unreal and new to me. I don’t exactly feel comfortable here. And its taking away from the relaxation that this trip is supposed to be about. First off, I can’t even truly tell we are in Mexico. In the airport, most of the billboards had big English sentences and phrases. And everyone talks in English. My sister is getting so mad because she is trying to talk to them in Spanish (she’s fluent) and they just talk to her back in English. I feel like I hear more Spanish in the 110 when Tim and Alfredo are telling Nonberg that he eats dick (“come polla” for those who were wondering). Secondly, while the beach isn’t like MTv’s spring break, the rest of the hotel area is. I’m talking a Mr. Cancun contest, a swim up bar (which is AWESOME) and young sexy co-eds playing beach volleyball and drinking heavily and flexing their muscles or showing a lot of skin. So few of these people are college students though. Most of them are like 26-30 year olds. I heard one guy say he had been here for a week already and he had another two weeks until he headed back to the states… SOMEONE needs to grow up a bit… But maybe I’m just jealous that they are here with their friends and I’m here with the lady who birthed me and the girl who locked me in a closet when I cut her Barbie’s hair when we were younger. OH! But on the other hand, there are also a lot of young children too. And its really weird to see like kids playing volleyball in the pool so close to young adults who are downing margaritas and XXs.
Now to the alcohol: Its free and its always available. That being said, I have not gotten to slurring words level in my mother’s presence… yet. I still got 4 more days to go. So we'll see what happens.
God I could go on and on. For example, there are like free shows every night. And when I say show, I mean like Vegas shows. It’s trashy, cheesy and so touristy. I’ll have to post pictures, if possible. But a few images to help you understand and to sum it up: mariachis, a horny MC, a twelve year old girl (“the superstar of Mexico”) singing, refills of rum and coke, a tap dance solo that could only remind me of Butters from South Park, and a guy in an Aztec costume dancing in a not so Aztec manner…
Bottom line, this vacation has been a mix between honestly feeling uncomfortable with people who embrace and love the tourist/American in Cancun lifestyle and truly enjoying the 80 degree weather and lovely ocean and beach. In no way am I complaining. It’s just a new experience for me and I’m trying to relax and enjoy the ride.
I’ll keep the blogosphere updated with at least one more post. But to all of you in cooler climates, I’ll try to send some hot air your way. There’s a lot of it around this resort.
Thinking
So I was thinking again. Yes. Thinking. And I came up with this theory that actually isn't too crazy:
Hip-Hop is the modern form of Shakespearean wit.
By this I mean, Hip-Hop makes use of clever word play and rhyme to convey a message. While the message is not always profound, creative use of language is widely respected and adds to the meaning of the music. My most obvious example is, of course, "Yada Yada Yada" by Tech N9ne (and many of his other songs as well). The most respected rappers (artistically) are those who create sharp-witted rythmic rhyme, such as Mos Def, Black Thought (The Roots), Slug (Atmosphere), Tupac, and the Notorious B.I.G., to name a few.
So yeah, I was thinking about that earlier. Instead of packing.
Hip-Hop is the modern form of Shakespearean wit.
By this I mean, Hip-Hop makes use of clever word play and rhyme to convey a message. While the message is not always profound, creative use of language is widely respected and adds to the meaning of the music. My most obvious example is, of course, "Yada Yada Yada" by Tech N9ne (and many of his other songs as well). The most respected rappers (artistically) are those who create sharp-witted rythmic rhyme, such as Mos Def, Black Thought (The Roots), Slug (Atmosphere), Tupac, and the Notorious B.I.G., to name a few.
So yeah, I was thinking about that earlier. Instead of packing.
Be Kind
Los Angeles is known for its drivers. Heck if you see me whizzing around Northfield you would wonder why I was driving so aggressively in a small Midwestern town. Anyway I was driving on the freeway where apparently 80 is the new 65, when a car cuts me off doing 50 when I am doing 70. On the back of this car is a bumper sticker that says "Be Kind". I thought to myself "This guy must have this sticker because he pisses so many people off driving like he does." I love LA dearly, just not the drivers.
The Saints take on Franken/Coleman
The Saint Paul Saints announced their latest promotion today, "Count Von Recount," a two-faced bobble-head doll with Coleman and Franken faces and the body of Sesame Street's the Count. This is why I love the Saints.
In case anyone else is wondering what is going on now in the recount, the Star Tribune reports today that the judges that saw the case brought by Coleman contesting the recount will make a decision soon and it will likely be appealed. So it remains to be seen which will be decided first, Minnesota's second Senator or the outcome the game, which, according to the Saints, will not be official until at least a couple weeks after the game is contested.
In case anyone else is wondering what is going on now in the recount, the Star Tribune reports today that the judges that saw the case brought by Coleman contesting the recount will make a decision soon and it will likely be appealed. So it remains to be seen which will be decided first, Minnesota's second Senator or the outcome the game, which, according to the Saints, will not be official until at least a couple weeks after the game is contested.
Album Review: Dr. Dog - Fate
I'm going to begin this post wondering why I am even beginning this post (does that make sense?), since I'd rather that nobody else knew about the indie music I am enjoying and about which I am planning to write. Furthermore, I will respectfully request of all you loyal readers that you do not tell anyone about the indie music I am writing about, since I'd prefer to continue to listen to it, and if everybody knows about it it becomes uncool, I will be forced to delete it from my iTunes, and therefore will no longer be able to enjoy it (but I wouldn't enjoy it anyway, at that point, because it would be uncool).
iTunes tells me that the genre of Dr. Dog's album entitled "Fate" is "indie". I try not to pay too much attention to the genre of a specific group - I prefer to listen to music that I truly like. However, as we all know, I'm a pretty indie guy so I think that the simple fact I am now listening to this "indie" album helps with the personal image that I am trying to project to the world. I'll probably end up playing this album on my radio show, wearing my Waldo glasses everywhere, and feeling elite about this music (and other stuff that nobody else knows about).
But, let me tell you, their album "Fate" is currently just about the only thing I'm listening to. It's a really enjoyable album, and I would recommend it to anyone that has any interest in any type of music at all (but only if you can truly appreciate it, and if you won't tell anyone else so it stays cool).
The album starts with a delightfully mellow song "The Breeze", where Dr. Dog ponders the movement of time, asking the listener if we think we're moving too fast, or if we're stuck in time. Then, Dr. Dog encourages us to make a snow angel and freeze. Maybe that's the solution to controlling time. Snow angels. Finally, Dr. Dog gets quite deep and recognizes that, in the end, it's the breeze. And the breeze, ahh, it will blow us all away. This song ponders a lot; time, renewal, weather patterns, and eventually (I believe) death and the afterlife. I see "the breeze" as a clear metaphor of somehow moving on.
In the second track on "Fate", called "Hang On", Dr. Dog grapples with some identity issues that he himself is feeling. This is a common indie theme, but he examines it from a new perspective. He tells us he is not a stranger, and that we both get it wrong. It is unclear whether "we" refers to the listener and the Dr., or another unknown subject. But after this, Dr. Dog explains that he needs his heart mended, but in doing so, he belittles his own profession by explaining that he "don't need no doctor to tear [him] all apart" but rather just needs "you, to mend his heart". Again, who "you" is is rather unclear: listener? unknown subject? It's up for interpretation. Lastly, Dr. Dog once again weaves the subject of varying weather patterns into this track, mentioning how our unknown subject (or the listener, "you"?) thought that a hurricane was just the "rustling of the wind". Maybe we need a now-discredited Dr. to examine "your" nervous system? Are "you" feeling numb, and unable to differentiate between varying degrees of wind speed?
Perhaps the best song on the album is the third track, entitled (quite nostalgically), "The Old Days". This song is catchy, has a lot of repetition, longs for the old days, and does not mention any weather patterns in the lyrics. I find all of this rather refreshing, like a breeze or the rustling of the wind (but not a hurricane). The Dr. gets rather prophetic in this song, telling us that "down down down, the moon's going to fall down, thump thump thump, the house is going to fall down", and therefore we must go "back back back, back to the old days". Finally, as we go back to the old days, we must "wrap up the money, and save it for a sunny day day day". We are strongly encouraged to both save money with an eye toward the future, but at the same time go back back back to the old days. Once again, the theme of the speed of time, and even time-travel, is explored in this epic tune (and it's only the third track!). There are 8 more!
As the album continues, Dr. Dog wrestles with a variety of themes, conquering them all in his own unique, doctorly way. The sixth track, "The Ark" is evidence of a valiant attempt by Dr. Dog to tackle weather patterns (again!), war, love, religion, and human existence as a whole. All of these themes are discussed with the back of a rather chill guitar riff that helps the listener to understand these heavy, heavy themes. After explaining his how he built an ark and rain didn't come, how he built a gun but was unsure about war, how he tried to give more to his love but made her poor, he finally asks the question "what does it mean to be here?". I can't answer that, but he repeatedly tries, telling us "well, I know, because I can and I will". However inspiring this lyric is, it still doesn't really tell us what it means to "be here". But maybe that implied uncertainty is the essence of what he's getting at.
The second-to-last track, "The Beach" discusses weather patterns (again!), alcoholism, fate, marijuana, and memories. This is some heavy-hitting shit; the ominous and dark guitar that plays in the background as the Dr. examines these themes makes them seem ever more serious. It works quite well. With each successive verse, the Dr. explains a situation, such as running aground in a beach during a rainstorm as rain pours through the roof of a boat (how terrible), and then explains how "fate has a funny way of coming around". It's all deep, as previously recognized, but the Dr. does a good job of linking the themes and creating a bold and profound, yet easily enjoyed, track.
Overall, the album exemplifies the versatility of both Dr. Dog, but also the indie genre as a whole. I would highly recommend this album to anybody (but don't tell anybody else!).
Alright, I'm off to take photos of my feet and strum my guitar before I hop on my fixed-gear to go buy a new (old?) sweater at the vintage clothing store.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sweet things you can do with a phone:
Ok,
So when my mom (yes she was helping me out) checked me in for my flight home she told me "Dave, I sent your boarding pass to your iphone." I paused for a moment and then checked my phone. The next thing I know i have a new email that says here is your northwest boarding pass. Sure enough, when I opened the email a bar code appeared and all the information a boarding pass has. There was no way this was going to pass for a boarding pass (tehe) or was it.....?
So I get to the airport with nothing but my phone. I get to the head of the security line and hand my license to the tsa lady. The next thing I told her was that my pass was on my phone. She said well go ahead and scan it the machine. She said she didn't know how to use it, but thankfully its just like a scanner in the grocery store. So I held my phone to this thing and the next thing you know I'm cleared through security.
When I get to the gate I did the same same thing and scanned the bar code on my phone screen. I just think its a cool way to use less paper and take advantage of the smart phones.
When I got to LA I used my phone to take a picture of the new A380 Airbus (The double decker one). Just another cool thing about modern phones, the camera!
So when my mom (yes she was helping me out) checked me in for my flight home she told me "Dave, I sent your boarding pass to your iphone." I paused for a moment and then checked my phone. The next thing I know i have a new email that says here is your northwest boarding pass. Sure enough, when I opened the email a bar code appeared and all the information a boarding pass has. There was no way this was going to pass for a boarding pass (tehe) or was it.....?
So I get to the airport with nothing but my phone. I get to the head of the security line and hand my license to the tsa lady. The next thing I told her was that my pass was on my phone. She said well go ahead and scan it the machine. She said she didn't know how to use it, but thankfully its just like a scanner in the grocery store. So I held my phone to this thing and the next thing you know I'm cleared through security.
When I get to the gate I did the same same thing and scanned the bar code on my phone screen. I just think its a cool way to use less paper and take advantage of the smart phones.
When I got to LA I used my phone to take a picture of the new A380 Airbus (The double decker one). Just another cool thing about modern phones, the camera!
O-BA-MA on 60 minutes
Apparently it was all part of the CBS-Obama plan, but I got sucked into watching the Obama interview on 60 minutes after all of the NCAA tourney games. I don't know if anyone else saw it, but I thought Obama performed excellently. The link above has some excerpts and video; Politico also ran a pretty good article before it aired if that's too much.
I thought Obama's response to Cheney's critiques was excellent. Basically he just said that Guantanamo had done nothing to make us safer and that the Bush policies had damaged our place in the world, but delivered it convincingly with some good one liners.
I was a little less convinced that Obama has a solid plan to take on the economy and the whole AIG fiasco, but I think he was trying to connect to all of us "main-streeters" and show us that he understands how we feel about the economy and the Wall Street bonuses, which he did a pretty good job on. One thing he mentioned was that he had taken to reading ten of the thousands of letters that he recieved every day before going to bed each night, which does make it seem like he is at least trying to pay attention to us common folk.
It's interesting that this interview came out a day after Thomas Friedman blasted Obama's (and Congress's) handling of the AIG situation in his column. Friedman said that Obama should have gone on national TV for a fireside chat where he tells us:
Anyway, enough of my unsolicited political commentary. The U.S. is getting hammered in the WBC, I need to find something better to do.
I thought Obama's response to Cheney's critiques was excellent. Basically he just said that Guantanamo had done nothing to make us safer and that the Bush policies had damaged our place in the world, but delivered it convincingly with some good one liners.
I was a little less convinced that Obama has a solid plan to take on the economy and the whole AIG fiasco, but I think he was trying to connect to all of us "main-streeters" and show us that he understands how we feel about the economy and the Wall Street bonuses, which he did a pretty good job on. One thing he mentioned was that he had taken to reading ten of the thousands of letters that he recieved every day before going to bed each night, which does make it seem like he is at least trying to pay attention to us common folk.
It's interesting that this interview came out a day after Thomas Friedman blasted Obama's (and Congress's) handling of the AIG situation in his column. Friedman said that Obama should have gone on national TV for a fireside chat where he tells us:
exactly how deep the crisis we are in is, exactly how much sacrifice we’re all going to have to make to get out of it, and then calls on those A.I.G. brokers — and everyone else who, in our rush to heal our banking system, may have gotten bonuses they did not deserve — and tells them that their president is asking them to return their bonuses "for the sake of the country."I think Obama took a step in that direction with his interview, but he is certainly capable (as he showed in the interview) of doing more to instill confidence in the American people. I think Friedman is right that Obama needs to be more of an inspirational style leader, after all, that is why he was elected.
Anyway, enough of my unsolicited political commentary. The U.S. is getting hammered in the WBC, I need to find something better to do.
nationals 2009
Well, nationals is over; it's finally time to relax, and blog about it. I'm spending the day sitting on the couch watching the basketball tournament, but I'll take some time to give an update on the last few days.
The swimming was incredibly fast, see the 18 out of 36 national records that were set at the meet. The tech suits definitely made a difference, if you need more proof see the Santa Cruz 400 freestyle relay, where they decided to wear speedos instead of their tech suits and added 6 seconds from prelims. However, everyone seemed to fare differently using the new suits. I swam my first three races with a Blueseventy, but decided that I wasn't comfortable in it and swam better in the Lzr legsuit, so I switched to that for the last three races. Westby also felt that the blueseventy wasn't working for him and wore a Lzr jammer for his breaststrokes. Some people certainly swam well and even set records in both blueseventies and lzrs, but it seemed like they worked differently for everyone. The whole suit aspect of swimming is getting pretty complicated and ridiculous if you ask me.
Anyway, on to the actual swimming. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out for me. I dropped a little off my 200 IM and 200 breast times from conference. I missed the top 8 in my 400 IM but was happy to come back and take ninth with a better swim at night. I ended up in 25th with 34 points.
The women had a very successful meet, finishing in 17th with 49 points, their strongest finish since the Marsman era ended in 2005. The highlight from the first day was the 200 medley relay which finished 13th. The time was second in Carleton history only to their conference time. The highlight on the second day was Maggie's 200 freestyle. After a great swim in the morning she dropped another eight tenths at night to win the consolation final out of lane one in maybe the most exciting race for Carleton of the weekend. On the third day Kate just missed the top sixteen in her hundred breast but posted her best time ever which was just 0.45 seconds off the school record. On the final day, Kale took the school record in the 200 backstroke back away from Maggie finishing seventh for her first All-American citation, her final swim was the 4th time that record has been set this year.
The other non-swimming highlights included the CBS man stalking the Alexander's all weekend, the senior gifts of ten dollar chocolate bunnies (way better than flowers), the Haucks getting coaches of the meet and the Oles getting what appeared to be a mini-fridge for taking fourth, and dinner at the Loring Pasta Bar, which apparently turns into a salsa dancing club after 11 on Saturdays.
Thank you to everyone who was there cheering and timing and to everyone who wasn't there but was cheering anyway. It was a great meet.
The swimming was incredibly fast, see the 18 out of 36 national records that were set at the meet. The tech suits definitely made a difference, if you need more proof see the Santa Cruz 400 freestyle relay, where they decided to wear speedos instead of their tech suits and added 6 seconds from prelims. However, everyone seemed to fare differently using the new suits. I swam my first three races with a Blueseventy, but decided that I wasn't comfortable in it and swam better in the Lzr legsuit, so I switched to that for the last three races. Westby also felt that the blueseventy wasn't working for him and wore a Lzr jammer for his breaststrokes. Some people certainly swam well and even set records in both blueseventies and lzrs, but it seemed like they worked differently for everyone. The whole suit aspect of swimming is getting pretty complicated and ridiculous if you ask me.
Anyway, on to the actual swimming. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out for me. I dropped a little off my 200 IM and 200 breast times from conference. I missed the top 8 in my 400 IM but was happy to come back and take ninth with a better swim at night. I ended up in 25th with 34 points.
The women had a very successful meet, finishing in 17th with 49 points, their strongest finish since the Marsman era ended in 2005. The highlight from the first day was the 200 medley relay which finished 13th. The time was second in Carleton history only to their conference time. The highlight on the second day was Maggie's 200 freestyle. After a great swim in the morning she dropped another eight tenths at night to win the consolation final out of lane one in maybe the most exciting race for Carleton of the weekend. On the third day Kate just missed the top sixteen in her hundred breast but posted her best time ever which was just 0.45 seconds off the school record. On the final day, Kale took the school record in the 200 backstroke back away from Maggie finishing seventh for her first All-American citation, her final swim was the 4th time that record has been set this year.
The other non-swimming highlights included the CBS man stalking the Alexander's all weekend, the senior gifts of ten dollar chocolate bunnies (way better than flowers), the Haucks getting coaches of the meet and the Oles getting what appeared to be a mini-fridge for taking fourth, and dinner at the Loring Pasta Bar, which apparently turns into a salsa dancing club after 11 on Saturdays.
Thank you to everyone who was there cheering and timing and to everyone who wasn't there but was cheering anyway. It was a great meet.
Partay
The last 8 days of my life have been the most debaucherous, unholy, and sloppy days of my life. Which of course means that I've been having a blast since leaving Stadium, living with John, and then coming home. Here's a recap of what remains in my memory:
-Cook-out! We made burgers on the grill, had some PBR, and I got to have a day of spring term before leaving the US. Being able to grill and drink outside is my favorite part of spring term, so I'm glad I got to.
-Injuries! No drunken evening is complete without having someone disappear for 20 minutes, and then find her at the bottom of the stairs with a hurt ankle.
-Doomtree! John Knapp has expanded my musical horizons, and did so yet again this week by introducing me to the Minneapolis based hip-hop group Doomtree. Their "False Hopes" album is brilliant, look em up!
-Nats! Going to Nats was inspiring, I'm ready to start training for next year already. Ted, awesome job! I watched your 200 breast on NCAA live, so I got to see you swim all of your events! Also of note: Jake Koch in the 200 IM, Nelson's 2 firsts, Olaf's Medley relays, and diving was ridiculous.
-Beirut! Last night I went to my friend Aaron's house for his birthday (he's my Facebook husband) and completely owned at Beirut. Me and my friend Clayton got off to a rough start and were looking at 7 cups to our 1, but we made the same cup twice in a row and won. I made 5 in a row the next game, Clayton did the same the next, and the 4th game was closer, I don't really remember it. And then we lost.
-Tommy Emmanuel! I saw Tommy Emmanuel last night at the Orpheum, my favorite venue in Wichita. Tommy is an Australian guitarist who is one of the best 2 guitarist I've ever seen, I couldn't believe my eyes or ears for much of the show.
So now I'm at home, waiting until Wednesday, packing and getting ready. Most of my friends are back at school so the next few days I'll probably try to read the 4 books I have to read before Moscow...
-Cook-out! We made burgers on the grill, had some PBR, and I got to have a day of spring term before leaving the US. Being able to grill and drink outside is my favorite part of spring term, so I'm glad I got to.
-Injuries! No drunken evening is complete without having someone disappear for 20 minutes, and then find her at the bottom of the stairs with a hurt ankle.
-Doomtree! John Knapp has expanded my musical horizons, and did so yet again this week by introducing me to the Minneapolis based hip-hop group Doomtree. Their "False Hopes" album is brilliant, look em up!
-Nats! Going to Nats was inspiring, I'm ready to start training for next year already. Ted, awesome job! I watched your 200 breast on NCAA live, so I got to see you swim all of your events! Also of note: Jake Koch in the 200 IM, Nelson's 2 firsts, Olaf's Medley relays, and diving was ridiculous.
-Beirut! Last night I went to my friend Aaron's house for his birthday (he's my Facebook husband) and completely owned at Beirut. Me and my friend Clayton got off to a rough start and were looking at 7 cups to our 1, but we made the same cup twice in a row and won. I made 5 in a row the next game, Clayton did the same the next, and the 4th game was closer, I don't really remember it. And then we lost.
-Tommy Emmanuel! I saw Tommy Emmanuel last night at the Orpheum, my favorite venue in Wichita. Tommy is an Australian guitarist who is one of the best 2 guitarist I've ever seen, I couldn't believe my eyes or ears for much of the show.
So now I'm at home, waiting until Wednesday, packing and getting ready. Most of my friends are back at school so the next few days I'll probably try to read the 4 books I have to read before Moscow...
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