omg

2009-09-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

once upon a time is on my side of the moon dance with you make loving fun in the sun

2009-07-19T12:28:00.004-05:00

Ran about 10 miles last night. It was the latest at night that i've ever run. The day before this run I was spending time with an in-law who was visiting from Guatemala. We were playing with my iPhone, trying to see where he lived using the Google Earth application. After a few minutes of squeezing and spinning and poking and prodding the globe, I began to think about things from a broader

Stockholm Pride Project

2009-07-17T05:32:00.007-05:00

Taking a break during an all-night coding marathon, I analyzed my Twitter feed to find out "How Hetero" I was according to the ">Stockholm Pride Project. The test was very easy, I just plugged my twitter handle into a form and, blahdow, I'm 66% Hetero. I used words like "karaoke", "crotch", and "montrose beach" in my tweets, and that influenced my score apparently. Follow me on twitter here.

My Thoughts on Michael Jackson's Death

2009-06-26T10:50:00.008-05:00

I thought about quoting my facebook/twitter stream for reactions on the Michael Jackson death, but I'm sure you've already read plenty of your own, as it's hard to find anyone who hasn't updated with thoughts on his death. I was shocked and saddened for a few long minutes, he was a great talent who did contribute many things to pop culture. As a child I loved his songs and idolized his

Dreams and bulldogs

2009-06-14T11:28:00.015-05:00

There's this quote in this movie. I googled and googled it but I've resolved that I won't remember which movie anytime soon. A man says something like, "I've had the most interesting dream last night," and then his friend responds, "Dreams are always interesting to the party concerned."I keep dreaming that i've returned to working at the job that I had 3.5 months ago. There was some trivial

Running the Soldier Field 10 Mile

2009-05-27T15:24:00.001-05:00

Halfway There

2009-05-17T14:17:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I ran my longest distance since since shattering my foot and ankle in several places five years ago.

100 Miles of Running

2009-05-13T00:55:00.010-05:00

Today I logged my 100th mile of running since I started using the Nike+ system to log my miles ran. I started using it around the beginning of this year, when I had a 12'44" minute per mile pace. Since then I've managed to break under ten minutes. My next goal is to get my pace below 9 minutes per mile, with an (impossible!) longer term goal of running under an 8 minute mile for the Chicago

The Drunkest Nation

2009-05-12T13:36:00.004-05:00

A map showing the drunkest nations of the world. Greenland and Nigeria seem the most surprising to me. From The Atlantic.

What You Need to Know About the Pork Flu

2009-05-06T15:43:00.010-05:00

Today I planned to run 6 miles after a second round of interviewing for an internship position at the national headquarters of a highly regarded educational/non-for profit organization. The internship involved some research and web-related stuff, and there was also a need for English-Spanish translation. Let's just say that the pounding I received during this interview made running six miles

10 Miles

2009-05-02T16:44:00.005-05:00

Pretty ordinary run this afternoon. Saw some ten year olds rolling a blunt on a park bench. Or maybe they were 12. Made a "Grunge" playlist that included Presidents and PJ's Ten Redux. It's still going to take a lot more training to be anywhere near ready for the marathon.

Tomorrow's 10 Mile Run

2009-05-01T14:45:00.002-05:00

I created this using maps.google.com. You can view the 10 Mile LSD Run in a larger map

Snoring English Bulldog

2009-04-30T16:56:00.003-05:00

This is a thirty second video of my snoring english bulldog. You can see his cheeks flapping as he snores.

Cool Runnings

2009-04-29T14:46:00.007-05:00

Overall today's run was pretty nipply for the middle of April, although I did begin to warm up after a few miles. I was zipping my windbreaker up and down like a bored ten year old trying to make goofy noises with his zipper. I saw a young teenage couple sitting on a bench as I made my way around Hanson Park. They sat next to each other quietly, with their heads down, possibly dealing with some

Pillow Talk

2009-04-16T23:47:00.006-05:00

My wife and I were up late in bed last night, having pillow talk. For some reason I decided to profess my recent infatuation interest in Mexican pop singer Julieta Venegas. Besides highlighting her sultry voice and demure stage presence, I might've innocently tried to say something like I would tap that..."You have crushes on everybody," she said, hiding her amusement. "Like who?" I said. "Well

FML

2009-04-12T01:13:00.007-05:00

I've left my full-time job at Northwestern University in order to be able to focus more on completing my Master's degree. The job was great on many levels. I felt useful and fulfilled. Ultimately, however, there would not have been many future career options for me in that department. I'm studying fairly technical computer programming topics that, despite the wonderful workings of Microsoft Excel

Where The Wild Things Are trailer

2009-03-25T15:10:00.001-05:00

2009-03-14T18:56:00.002-05:00

Republicans blame Obama for stockmartket losses

2009-03-13T08:45:00.003-05:00

Two-thirds of Republicans said they hold Mr Obama responsible for recent share-price falls.Daily chart from The Economist

Tiny Tetris

2009-03-10T16:53:00.005-05:00

A link to the tiniest game of Tetris you will ever play. Below is a screenshot of the game on my desktop screen.via kottke.org

Bill Gates: Save the Planet

2009-03-09T11:31:00.006-05:00

Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have committed to spending all $30 billion of their Foundation by the end of 2100. This article from salon.com exhorts them to spend it on global climate change, as leading scientists predict we won't have a livable planet by 2100, unless major changes are made in our generation and consumption of energy.

Life after The Wire

2009-03-08T16:08:00.003-05:00

In the past few years there have only been a few shows worth DVR-ing to me. HBO's The Wire and Arrested Development on FOX were two. Both were masterpieces of their genre, and Arrested Development went out way too early. Thankfully, Micheal Cera has signed on to make the Arrested Development movie. So there are still a few more hilarious moments to savor with the Bluth family back together again.

Things Fall Apart: 10 Years Gone

2009-03-08T14:37:00.003-05:00

Friend Ivan has created an ongoing series in which he takes a look back at landmark films and albums released 10 years ago. This time, The Roots' Things Fall Apart gets treated.The Roots had made solid albums before, but this was the album where they let their freak flag fly and their experimental side was fully embraced.

The Family Guy is Overrated

2009-03-07T23:54:00.002-06:00

from latimes.com

Now walk it out

2009-03-06T12:52:00.001-06:00

lolrap.com

Why don't Americans believe in evolution?

2009-02-15T08:56:00.004-06:00

A recent article from the Economist examines the impact and future of Darwin's theory of Evolution. Why do some people chose to deny evolution? From the article:People are comforted by the idea of a designed and harmonious natural world, with themselves at the top. It is hard to accept that such a harmony has arisen as an accidental consequence of a brutal system with no principles beside the one

a growing family

2009-02-11T17:30:00.007-06:00

Besides moving into a new home and spending our first holidays together as a married couple, Ivette and I have gone through many changes in the past few months. One of the more happier changes is the addition of a new puppy to our growing brood.We decided to get another dog for several reasons. One of the reasons was because Ivette has been wanting a new dog for the longest time. I was resistant

sup eddie

2009-02-06T18:15:00.001-06:00

Sup man,It's getting to be a year since you passed away. I was fucking around at work today and looking for this Fleetwood Mac song that was in my head all day. I didn't find it, but I did find this older video of Fleetwood Mac from way back in the day - around the same time that Santana used to open up for them. Santana, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, all them, they all used to jam out in the San

Smile and the Cries

2009-01-06T21:53:00.006-06:00

Lowlights of 2008Drummer and one of my longest-lasting friends died WAY too youngSomething even worse and more unmentionable than that, but happening around the same time as aboveKiller stress from full-time work and part-time grad school on top of thatClose calls with work and wifey from the emotional fall-out from aboveNot as important, but still lost a nice chunk of my retirement account to

The Top Five Things of 2008

2008-12-08T17:07:00.010-06:00

In response to a friend, who recently posted a list of the Top Five Things of 2008 over at reallygoodmagazine.com. 5. Grand Theft Auto IVEarlier this year Rockstar games released what would be the fastest selling and most critically acclaimed video game ever. I blogged about it shortly thereafter. With a sophisticated narrative and depth of realism only hinted at in few games before it, GTA IV

Chicago GQ's City of the Year 2008

2008-12-05T06:04:00.001-06:00

GQ says that Chicago is the city of the year for 2008.

Redemption

2008-11-26T06:03:00.006-06:00

Last Thursday I woke up in the middle of the night with this searing pain in my chest. I was struggling to breathe as I stumbled my way into the bathroom. The pain was so severe and my breath so labored that for a few moments I wondered if I might be having a heart attack. Curled up along the bathroom floor, I was trying to guess if this was going to be my Heath Ledger moment. Couldn't be, he

Weekend Recap

2008-11-24T16:19:00.007-06:00

Friday night went out with the guys. The wifey and her female cohort watching the special edition DVD release of Sex and the City. I tried to make it through that movie once before and passed out somewhere in the middle. Last remember something about a male unit.Lots of drinky drinky in the hood. Cherishing time left there because we will soon be moving into another, less socioeconomically

This is not another Great Depression

2008-11-22T19:59:00.004-06:00

Article from Slate.com on how our current economic woes don't compare to the Great Depression. Instead of workers with 5 o'clock shadows asking, "Brother, can you spare a dime?" we have clean-shaven financial-services executives asking congressmen if they can spare $100 billion.... The world of 1929-33 was one that lacked shock absorbers such as Social Security and deposit insurance to insulate

NYT shows some Chicago love

2008-11-20T08:53:00.004-06:00

Article from the New York Times on the effect Obama has had on Chicago, and on the city's continuing rise.The wake of Mr. Obama’s victory offers a window into the two-fold psyche of the city: It is a big enough metropolis not to be easily fazed by events, though the fabric of the community is stitched just tight enough to burst in a rare moment of giddiness.

Bring Holly back to The Office!

2008-11-18T15:53:00.003-06:00

Article on how great Holly was for this season's NBC show, The Office. I think that she and Michael Scott made a great couple, and the season would've been deprived of something special if it wasn't for her appearance. Hopefully she comes back in some sort of plot twist. In the meanwhile, "Let's Get Ethical, Ethical":

Wired.com's Top 10 Amazing Animal Videos

2008-11-17T23:17:00.001-06:00

The Top 10 Amazing Animal Videos, from wired.com:

Michelle vs. Sarah

2008-11-17T22:32:00.007-06:00

Sarah Palin has a nice pair of legs. But Michelle Obama got back. From salon.com:Barack's better half not only has stature but is statuesque. She has corruscating intelligence, beauty, style and -- drumroll, please -- a butt. (Yes, you read that right: I'm going to talk about the first lady's butt.)And later:... Will the black aesthetic take over the White House, as many whites openly fear? As

Two birds, one phone call

2008-11-13T21:58:00.004-06:00

I'm notorious for being very difficult when it comes to maintaining a constant line of communication with my mom. She leaves like four or five texts and voicemails before I finally make the time to call her back. I figure I'm married, I live in my own apartment, and I subscribe to the Playboy en Espanol channel, why should I have to check in with my mom every week ... or month?With the holidays

2 minute Scarface

2008-11-13T12:30:00.003-06:00

A two minute version of "Scarface" featuring only the word "fuck":

Quaterly Review

2008-10-31T01:38:00.002-05:00

The past few months have made up a very eventful summer.In August I went to Lollapalooza and was front row for Rage Against The Machine. Got tossed around and listened to Zach moan about crowd safety. The next day I saw Kanye West. He sang a tribute about the south side, and I wonder now if he ever saw horrible things like the Hudson tragedy during his life there.After Lolla, the next weekend in

lolla thoughts

2008-08-01T01:06:00.000-05:00

Mosquito bites, sunburn, sweaty stinky people, dehydration, and breaking the seal... These are all common things to be concerned about when you're deep inside the crowd of a long rock concert.But now I have to add another concern to that list: my shorts. Just after my fiancee dropped me off outside of grant park, I tried to tighten the built-in belt on my shorts and pulled too hard and snapped

Back to Reality

2008-07-09T01:44:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, before we left for our trip, I blogged about the glory of leaving behind the trappings of the city, of getting away from things like heavy-walking upstairs neighbors and obnoxious parking tickets. Well, the gods of everything ironic decided to greet me with this in my mailbox upon our return:Yes, that is a picture of my subcompact 4-cylinder MPG king blowing a red light at a busy

Camping in Michigan

2008-07-09T00:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Ivette and I returned from a four day long camping adventure into the wilderness of an island just off the coast of northern Michigan, part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Campground. Armed with a backpacks full of camping gear, we made the six hour drive from Chicago to arrive just in time for a two hour long ferry ride from Michigan. Once on the island we made another two mile

Chronicle of a Facebook Romance

2008-06-26T17:56:00.000-05:00

[Via Alt-1040]

The War at Home

2008-06-25T01:05:00.000-05:00

I'd hate to blog about work. First of all, I could would most definitely lose my job because I work in research, and in research things like confidentiality and non-disclosure are imperative. Secondly, if there's one thing I've learned from my favoritest blogger of all time, it's that somehow your boss will find your blog and read about all the shit you talk behind her back. Then she will fire

Penthouse

2008-06-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

I was just at the drugstore standing in line behind a grown man who was buying the latest issue of Penthouse magazine. That's cool - who hasn't run to the corner in order to flip through a few pages of a soft-core porno mag on a late Tuesday afternoon?What stood out to me about this whole situation was that his 3 to 4 year old daughter was bouncing around right next to him in line. "Daddy can you

Celine Dion vs. Tim Russert vs. Bo Diddley

2008-06-16T16:24:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had dinner with a group to celebrate a friend's birthday. Most of the people there were unfamiliar with each other save for the birthday girl. For some ungodly reason, the topic of Celine Dion came up in conversation. Not knowing everyone's particular taste, I bit my tongue. I wanted to say something like, "Celine Dion has bigger testicles than a silverback gorilla" but no, I held

City Doldrums

2008-06-12T03:21:00.000-05:00

I really need to get out of this city.Living in the heart of Chicago for the past three years now, I've been reluctantly mastering the Art of Asshole. By Art of the Asshole I mean the ability to abandon almost any shred of human decency or respect for others.Stolen car radios, regular graffiti clinics on your building, wallet-emptying parking tickets and vehicle stickers, crazy drivers, bicycle

posts from the past

2008-06-12T01:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight i've posted about 50 more entries from my old online journals. This is part of my continuing effort to sweep up and organize the dusty pieces of my old blogs in order to retain some sense of cohesion to my identity, or who I understand myself to be. And this existential rambling that i'm doing right now is precisely the reason why i've been avoiding this task. Looking back, I've learned

Looking back, but moving forward

2008-06-10T02:34:00.000-05:00

Today I finished another marathon quarter-year of full-time jobbing while part-time Mastering. I feel relieved. Now that this school quarter is successfully completed, I can focus more of my time towards our upcoming wedding. There's tons of stuff to do: from the mailing of the invitations, to the hiring of the limo, to the the finalizing of details for Vegas. I could go on and on, but I will

erykah badu show

2008-06-02T06:54:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my fiancee and I went to see Erykah Badu and the Roots perform at the legendary Chicago Theater. It was a great show. During the between song banter, Erykah explained that the theme of the tour was centered around the concept of vortex. She said that there were natural vortices all over the planet, and that they were usually located directly underneath or above a black hole in

Diary of an angry white woman

2008-06-02T06:40:00.000-05:00

This is a video of a Long Island school teacher who was thrown out of a rules committee meeting for the Democratic primary. It's pretty obvious from this video that she is upset by the current political situation.youtube user rochha responds:Its bitches like her you just want to hit in the head with a sledgehammer and bludgeon her to death.

New My Morning Jacket

2008-05-29T23:18:00.000-05:00

I first saw MMJ opening for Pearl Jam back in '07. Holy fuck. Since then i've seen them several other times in Chicago and have never been disappointed. Their last album, 'Z' was near perfect. This gives their latest album, Evil Urges, a lot to live up to. Based on preliminary listens, they seem capable of redefining their masterpiece album with this latest release.Here is "I'm Amazed," the radio

Bringin the Weez

2008-05-29T22:58:00.000-05:00

Weezer is one of those bands that have wrapped themselves so heavily in this post-ironic rock band shroud that by now their music seems pure and honest. This song, I am the Greatest Man that Ever Lived, which comes from their upcoming red album, is probably one of their most ambitious since their Pinkerton days. Self-references and spoken word narrative notwithstanding, this piece actually

grilling fever

2008-05-24T15:21:00.000-05:00

This memorial day weekend I'll be joining my fellow countrymen in the great tradition of outdoor grilling. Not only will I be visiting friends to feast all weekend, but we are planning a cook-out of our own on Monday. Currently on the menu are pulled pork tostadas topped with guacamole as appetizers. I'll be slow-cooking 4 pounds of pork shoulder roast on the grill and then serving the pulled

Green Wedding

2008-05-21T20:14:00.000-05:00

This summer my fiancée and I are planning to get married. Following a popular but very important trend, we have decided to have a green wedding. This means that we are taking any and every reasonable effort to help minimize the negative impact that our wedding has on the world climate. We know that in the big picture of things our wedding is really a tiny event of little circumstance to the

Starfruit Review

2008-05-14T22:30:00.000-05:00

It seems that almost every week there is a new storefront popping up in our lovely neighborhood of East Village. Being as it was a nice day for a stroll, the significant other and I decided to stop into the newish Starfruit, a shoppe that serves a yogurt-like dairy product named kefir in smoothie or yogurt cup form. Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated in the Caucasus region. It is

Web Zen

2008-05-13T01:39:00.001-05:00

"Which are the advantages of having a blog?There are many advantages If I have a blog. If I have blog independently , I can use it without any risk.How do you intend to use your blog?I intend to use my blog to learn web lessons through your web sites."Random blog search.

Osama Bin Bloggin

2008-05-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

I've been tweaking with the site a bit and moved things around. I've also discovered a nifty migration tool from previous livejournal and blogger blogs. Blogger only allows 50 posts per day, though, so it's going to take a while to upload my 530+ unique posts from the past 7 years. Of course as I go through this process of housecleaning, there will be plenty of nostalgic "

Bioshock Movie

2008-05-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

Holy Crap. The writer and director for the movie based on the critically-acclaimed video game "Bioshock" have been selected.

All of the Simpsons Couch Gags

2008-05-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

The video below is a four minute compendium of the couch gags for all 19 seasons of The Simpsons.A good way to kill 4 minutes at work.

GTA IV Review

2008-05-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

In any class on the finer arts you'll come across this idea of verisimilitude. How a piece of art, or a work of literature begins to so closely approximate the reality it is describing that you can begin to experience it through the work itself, how a certain life begins to emerge from the work.Any great masterpiece has this quality. In The Grapes of Wrath, the accents and voices of Steinbeck's

Facebook vs. Myspace

2008-05-01T07:33:00.000-05:00

This is a hilarious video that does a great job of framing a situation that anyone with more than one social networking profile will be all too familiar.Thanks to Milt for the link

Delightful song of the day

2008-04-30T13:49:00.001-05:00

Dosh - If You Want To, You Have To

Dog falling asleep

2008-04-30T12:11:00.000-05:00

This is going to be what I look like in class tonight:Although this poor guy has it a lot worse as his nose was run over by a truck as a puppy and now he has trouble sleeping while laying down. More cute animals falling asleep videos here.

New Coldplay Song

2008-04-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

Visit the Coldplay website For all the bantering Chris Martin has done regarding the new Coldplay album - how it's going to have a different sound and be a major departure from the rest of their ouvre - this song sounds like more of the same to me. I mean sure, there's the distorted guitar, a rarity in their work, but besides that nothing really jumps out at me about this song. I was just hoping

She has a boyfriend

2008-04-30T08:11:00.000-05:00

This one is for any guy that has heard the dreaded "I have a boyfriend" line when introducing yourself to a girl.

Batman Vs. Batman: Starring my fiancee

2008-04-29T07:56:00.000-05:00

See more funny videos at CollegeHumorShort clip comparing scenes the original and most recent Batman major motion picture. My fiancee is running around in the crowd scene in the new Batman movie, which comes around the 01:18 moment. link

Morning news bits

2008-04-29T07:39:00.000-05:00

Jimi Hendrix sex tape reported. (New York Times)So now one of my childhood heroes is a cheater as well as a cheater? The kicker: Clemens was 28, she 15 when they first met. Confessions of a coffee baristalink.

Music Round-up

2008-04-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

Time for a round-up of some good finds hitting the musical blogosphere lately. Sterolab - Three Women Stereolab returns! How can you beat sweetly singing female vocals backed by warm, warm horns and organs? Then sprinkle on a dash of the occasional xylophone fill .. and you can't beat it! John Mckiel - War On YouNice shoe-gazer rock for a chilly rainy night alone in late April. Think Pete Yorn

The 10 Most Important Years in Video Game History

2008-04-28T13:10:00.000-05:00

The Wired Blog points to this GameTrailer video re-capping the 10 most important years in video game history, and I think they're pretty spot-on. Regardless, any video with the Final Fantasy theme song in the background is worth posting on my blog.

The Onion: Nearly 80% of roommates got so drunk last night

2008-04-28T10:24:00.000-05:00

Study: Nearly 80 Percent Of Roommates Got So Drunk Last NightFive years at Big Ten University and I can say that this story hits the nail right on the head.

GTA IV Reviews

2008-04-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

Grand Theft Auto IV, which is expected to make more than $440 million dollars on the week of its release alone, is also emerging as the highest critically-acclaimed video game ever made.Team Xbox:Is this our Citizen Kane moment?Game Informer:I now know how film critics felt after screening "The Godfather."... Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't just raise the bar for the storied franchise; it completely

Springer to give NU Law School Speech Despite Protests

2008-04-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

The Northwestern University Law School has approved Jerry Springer as the guest speaker for their 2008 Commencement on May 16th, according to the Chicago Tribune. There were some protests regarding this choice, but that was hardly unexpected as guests speakers at graduation are usually protested by one faction of students or the other.Wonder what Milt thinks of all this

Wii're amazed

2008-04-28T08:02:00.000-05:00

Johnny Lee is a researcher who has developed some neat new ways to utilize the Wiimote, the remote controller for the Nintendo Wii. This video demonstrates the use of the Wiimote as a sort of "marker" for a projected whiteboard, and also he shows how to use the Wiimote to create stunning 3-D environments on flatscreen surfaces.

Metallica changing tune

2008-04-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

Metallica, who helped to bring down the first ever giant of online music sharing, Napster, seems to be rethinking their position on the matter.Slashdot reports that the monsters of metal are considering a free online music distribution model ala Radiohead's and, more recently, Nine Inch Nails' release.Only time will tell if this move will revitalize the band's flogging album sales, or if the

paintballing

2008-04-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

Going paintballing today. I spoke with my mom on the phone earlier and told her what I was up to. She said that I should wear a cup.

V-eye-agra

2005-05-31T23:34:00.000-05:00

A few days ago it was announced in the BBC news that about 34 different users of Viagra reported going blind. 24 million people have been taking Viagra since it was first released. 34/24,000,000 = a tiny, tiny fraction of the people that take Viagra.Big deal right? Apparently not, according to the stock market. The day after the news was released about the Viagra/blindness link, Pfizer, the

Grad School

2005-05-31T23:29:00.000-05:00

Just got a call today that i've been accepted into the Marriage and Family Counseling program at Governor's State University. I'll begin studying for my Master's degree in August.

"Fraud Alert!"

2005-05-29T15:36:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I logged onto my bank account online with the University of Illinois Credit Union. Waiting for me in the inbox was a message sent out to all of the bank members from the bank's central office. After reading the title of the message, "Fraud Alert!", I was left with the immediate sensation that I had something to do with all of this. As I have graduated and moved out of Champaign and

Geeks USA

2005-05-28T07:23:00.000-05:00

Recently i've gotten back into playing video games online thanks a new broadband connection back here in Chi. Halo 2, it's been awhile.The online play at Halo 2 is generally populated by pubescent teenagers, young racists (mostly white), and creepy older guys. I fall into the creepy older guy category but it's ok! - Zach Braff from Garden State and the guys from Incubus play Halo 2 online as

Working Downtown

2005-05-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

Now that college is over I have begun working for the department of JPMorgan Chase which is responsible for processing INS applications for U.S. Citizenship. I verify what is on the applications by typing in what I see on the scanned copy of them on a computer screen. Despite the weird hours (11pm-7am) the job is not very demanding. As we are allowed to wear our headphones during work i'm

Star Wars

2005-05-19T20:40:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I stop to wonder what the fuss is about the new Star Wars movie. No wars are being ended, no children have been saved from starvation, and no huge tsunamis are sweeping over entire populaces. Nothing is really happening. Sure big time producers are making truckloads of money and millions of people are spending time truly enjoying themselves - there probably is lots of good that can come

Skirts

2005-05-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

There are many things that I will probably miss about college. One of those things are skirts - skirts and the girls that wear them. Girls wearing skirts in the the early spring were always a pleasant reminder of the warm weather to come. Even if I was too numb from drin- er, studying all night long, girls in skirts served as a heads-up that a brighter day was yet to arrive. Once the summer drops

Last Day of Classes

2005-05-04T16:36:00.000-05:00

Today I was walking out of the Psychology building after class when my academic advisor popped out of his office and called out behind me, "All done with classes, Martin?" Considering the volume of students that David Skadden academically advises, I was surprised to hear that he actually remembered my name. What was even more surprising, though, was realizing that today really was my last day of

Martin Cortez: Victim of Gang Violence

2005-05-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

Martin Cortez has been stabbed in the leg and bashed in the ribs with a steel pipe, according to a story about a violent altercation between rival Hispanic gangs a couple of weeks ago in Pennsylvania. Latinos in Pennsylvania? From the article: Garcia-Nino stabbed Martin Cortez in the right leg with a tire iron, police said, and then struck him in the right kneecap. Garcia-Nino then dropped the

Faith & Antagonism

2005-04-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

Sometimes all I can see is the bad in people and it breaks my heart. I can only see a person for their shortcomings, their failures, their blasphemies and hypocrisy. To counter this I usually try to think of something good about the person. If I can't immediately think of anything positive about them I tell myself to be patient, to ease off on casting judgement and to have faith that something

Wendy's Woman Gets the Finger

2005-04-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of Anna Ayala, the woman who claimed she found a severed digit in a Wendy's bowl of chili. After a while she was arrested for making the whole story up, but not before the Wendy franchise suffered a significant loss in earnings. Poor wittle multinational money machine. Anyways I was just curious as to what she looked like since i've been hearing so much about her on the news

My Fellow High-School and College Alumni is Dead

2005-04-19T22:23:00.000-05:00

"Three University of Illinois graduates were killed early Sunday morning after their car flipped over the median on Interstate 57, slamming into an incoming van." (Daily Illini)Ramadan K. El-Amin, 23, was one of dead.Ramadan and I went to Whitney Young high school together, sitting next to each other in Honors Spanish II during 7th period sophomore year. He was in a grade higher than me and

David Sedaris Tickets

2005-04-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I signed Ivette up for a chance to win a pair of tickets to see David Sedaris tonight at the Virginia Theatre here in Champaign. She never knew that I did, so when she got the call this morning saying that she won she was somewhat befuddled. She accepted the prize anyways. Once I found out about this I led us through a series of twirls and hops and kicks and jigs for a while in the

Life Happens

2005-04-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging a lot lately. There's this thing called "growing-up" that is supposedly filled with these things called "responsibility" and "obligation" that take much of my time away from blogging. (PS I fucking hate it when people make airquotes with their fingers while taking out loud. You know what i'm "talking about" cause you've probably done it too - back in the early 90s. What I

To Do List

2005-04-05T19:09:00.000-05:00

And now for my to-do list for the remainder of the evening: get groceries wash laundry x eat candy bar start on advanced statistics homework try to sublease apartment

RIP Schiavo

2005-03-31T09:30:00.000-06:00

Rest in peace, Terry Schiavo.Peace being the key word.

My 9 to 5

2005-03-28T17:49:00.000-06:00

Tried to wakeupGave myself a pep talkWoke upCalled landlordDid dishesThrew out garbageShoweredWorked on grad school applicationAteStudied for Advanced StatisticsWent to Advanced StatisticsWorkedDeposited check in bankRode bike home at a leisurely pace

Spring Break

2005-03-26T13:27:00.000-06:00

My girlfriend Ivette and I spent our Spring Break in Daytona Beach, Florida. Luisana graciously gave me a ride to Willard Airport to pick up our rental car last Saturday and by 1pm my wingperson and I left the chilly climate of Champaign-Urbana for the 19hr and 33min drive southeast.Our Yellow Chevy CavalierThe Spring Breakers in Florida seemed to be clones of the same clannish greeksters that

Terrorism is Effective

2005-03-16T18:52:00.000-06:00

Terrorism works. It worked recently to pull Italian troops out of Iraq. Terrorists took an Italian journalist hostage and demanded a $1 million ransom. They got their money and increased anti-war sentiment amongst the Italian population enough for the politicians to decide to pull out their troops.Terrorism went to work again less recently in Madrid, Spain last year. Terrorists co-ordinated a

Winnie the Pooh Bear Climbing a Tree on the Quad

2005-03-16T15:59:00.000-06:00

"Sometimes all it takes is a wink or nod from an unexpected place to vary the tedium of a baffling existence." -Bob Dylan, ChroniclesWinnie the Pooh was climbing a tree this afternoon on the Quad. I was soaring down the Quad on Ryan's bike a few minutes ago when I slowed down to get a better look at this dude wearing a Winnie the Pooh costume while climbing a tree. People flocked to him with

Rehab is for Quitters

2005-03-16T09:26:00.000-06:00

Open Mic Night

2005-03-16T09:17:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was open mic night at Espresso Royale Cafe on Goodwin in Urbana. I didn't know this when I went in for some hardcore XXX studying but when the "host" set up a microphone and amp directly behind my head on the table behind me, I got the hint. Miffed, I migrated upstairs. Hector was up there studying the variance and mean of a simple random sample drawn from the population of people who