kuodachrome's Xanga

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 05:21:48 GMT

i had an amazing time at the josh ritter concert. probably my favorite show so far. if you get a chance, i'd definitely see him.

life seems to be calming down...
-housing situation still in dookie town, but what can you do?
-my ankle is still super stiff, but i went on a short jog today and even went to the gym.
-wisdom teeth are 80% healed.
-classes are doing ok. still don't feel like i've started school though. i should try to learn something eventually. i did walk out of my first class though in utter frustration. it got ridiculous. some folks are idiots in my class. people need to learn that questions like "can you repeat what you just said?" and "can you go back a couple slides?" should not be asked. all our classes are podcasted, all of us have laptops with the lecture slides... also, people need to learn that some questions are better reserved for after class or a personal appointment with the professor.
-excited about thanksgiving and driving cross country with the brother. it's his birthday today i think. maybe i'll give him a call.

gotta run, going with a friend to buy a flatscreen tv that is on sale. goes on sale at midnight! hahaha. i'm not the one buying it... just in case you were wondering.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:37:47 GMT

Monday, October 15, 2007

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:31:33 GMT

Global warming is a concept that's been around for a while now, but it's finally becoming universally accepted by most folks. Some of you think this is due to the undeniable facts presented by scientists or maybe it's due to Al Gore's little flicker film, but the seeds were planted much earlier by a little band called Weezer. In fact, six years ago before this whole global warming and environmental movement became the hip thing to care about, Weezer was already on the ball and came out with one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Like all things that push the boundaries and force us to ask ourselves the tough questions, the green album was at first rejected. Years later, credit is finally going to where credit's due.

The Green Album really encompasses what the Green Movement is all about. Clocking in at around 30 minutes, the album is exemplifies efficiency. No filler. No fluff. No half assed "hybrid" nonsense here. Now, I know I know. You're thinking, "this guy can't be serious! Green was pure pop record with no substance. Doesn't come close to Blue or Pinkerton." That's where people have it all wrong. Rivers knew that change doesn't come easy and to make that pill a little easier to swallow, he coated it with sugary delicious pop.

In the song "Smile" Cuomo asks the listener to "give me a chance if you can force yourself". He tells us that the writing was on the wall in the song "Photographs" where he repeats that "it's in the photographs!" Next thing you know, Gore's showing photographs of glaciers and mountain ice caps disappearing. "Hash Pipe" is really a song about our addiction to foreign oil. Island in the sun? Can he be any more obvious? The message is there again and again. Cuomo really hits the nail on the head when he pleads in the classic rock anthem"Simple Pages" to " kick it on back, kick it on back, kick it on back to what you know."

Here, Rivers becomes the modern day Thomas Jefferson and reminisces about a simpler time. A time when America was a nation of small farmers... an "agrarian republic". Forget about 9/11. Forget about the Patriot Act! What happened to a small government? A limited federal government? Cuomo begged the listeners to remember the simple things. In the end of the day, it's all about putting food on that plate. Subsistence. Jefferson, like Cuomo, believed in a nation of small farmers. Land ownership allowed economic self-sufficiency and personal independence, which are the hallmarks of republicanism. "Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue..." -TJ

Green by Weezer was more than a rapidly thrown together album with ingenious marketing, but really a call for change. While the rest of the album can be considered cryptic in its message and a master work of subtlety, the album closes with the emotion filled "O Girlfriend" which has drawn comparisons to Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" where we find Cuomo hoping that his message has been heard and that the listener feels not only a sense of urgency, but also outrage. Power chords symbolically scream as Cuomo ends the song and the album with the words "Now, I just want to shout".

The true genius of an artist is often not fully realized and appreciated until the death of the artist, and while Weezer is far from dead, the albums following Green (Maladroit and Make Believe) marked the death of the Weezer sound. Coincidence? I think not.

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Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins has an album called Rabbit Fur Coat. I like it a lot.

Friday: path test, class, mercer orientation, stars in science TG, quilt show, hung out at amber's.

Saturday: woke up before 6 am, mercer clinic, saw over 130 animals, got out of there around 3 pm, hung out with jon bh (boba at lollicup, dinner at Vallejo's (valley joe's), etc), got a choc shake at in n out back in davis with rell).

Sunday: went to berkeley, thai temple, spice of life festival, at at gypsy's, coffee at strada, back to davis, pretended to study.

micro test tuesday. pharm test friday. peace.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:18:47 GMT

Before going to Taiwan this summer, I loaded up my laptop with a ton of music. I figured I'd want something to help remind me of home. The funny thing is, I really didn't listen to much music this summer. But now that I'm back, I'm drowning myself in music. Interpret freely.

I saw The Shins last Friday at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. It was a fun show.

I'm seeing Josh Ritter in SF in a couple weeks. I might be more excited about seeing him than I was about Simon and Garfunkel or Paul McCartney. Crazy talk, I know. Josh recently came out with a new cd and it's fantastic.

I thought about writing more when I started, but I'm tired and must study.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:28:18 GMT

i hate filling out forms. i cannot express how much i hate filling out forms. i had to go to an hour long meeting about filling out forms. it was almost as bad as filling out forms.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:26:30 GMT

i forgot to mention that i have a new found love for snowy. i'll be honest, i like monte way more than i like snowy, but after watching snowy come to the rescue and lunge at fairly good sized aussie shep and go all crazy, i don't mind it so much when snowy sleeps on my bed and gets her hair everywhere. oh, so there is currently a dog in the house. not sure if he'll be staying or not, it's not my dog, but the dog came into my room and had a standoff with the cats. monte got scared, ran away onto my bed, the dog started to follow, but snowy was between them, and when he got closer to snowy, snowy leapt from my bed directly towards the dog and swatted a zillion times at his face. the dog got scared and ran away. then snowy chased him down and put him in a headlock. it was amazing.

you need to keep in mind that snowy is at least 19 years old and has a good amount of bullet lodged in her right shoulder. i mean, props to david of david and goliath fame, but the kid was young, not old and crippled.

but yeah, everyone should go watch superbad. the world would be a happier place.

also, rite aid closes at 9pm. i really wanted to go buy some thrify's ice cream. coconut pineapple to be exact.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:01:29 GMT

NEVER buy that stuff. Hansen's Diet Ginger Ale is quite possibly the grossest drink in the world. do you know what the saddest part about it is? despite randomly choosing drinks in Taiwain, i never came across a drink so disgusting, but then i get back to the states where i can actually read the labels and i somehow buy the world's grossest diet ginger ale. i didn't even realize it was diet until i started drinking it and was like "why is this so gross?"

Superbad is an excellent movie.

Had a pretty worthwhile lab today. we went over the physical exam for a horse, gave IM and IV injections, and placed a jugular catheter. it was fun since we got to secure the catheter by placing sutures. we used a "field technique" for the suturing which meant we threaded suture material through a 19 gauge syringe needle and used that instead of a regular needle. practicing sterile technique and using sterile surgery gloves was fun too.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:27:04 GMT

Outlook 2007 calendar is fantastic. My life is way more organized. Without getting into too much details, I now have a calendar that is super easy to update, has my class schedule, has my own personal schedule, and a schedule that includes all the club and group meetings/events. It's amazing.

For gmail, did you know that firstlast@gmail.com is the same as first.last@gmail.com?

I finally have a new cell phone. It was free, so I can't complain. It also plays music which I'm excited about. The best part is that the call quality is way better than my previous phones. The only downside? I still hate talking on the phone, so it really doesn't matter.

The biggest challenge of my day is eating without spending too much money. After being in Taiwan during the summer, this has become increasingly harder. I'm so used to going out and buying every meal and spending like 2 dollars. I'm not even sure what a fridge is for anymore.

The only good thing about have a bum ankle is being called the gimp by all my classmates. I lie, the best part is being able to lay around all day watching 24 and not feeling guilty about it. I'm on season 6: episode 3.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 12:37:29 GMT

How do you pronounce Tully's Coffee?

A. Tull-lees
B. Tool-lees
C. Toll-lees
D. other

Answer.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:12:16 GMT

"sons are like birds flying upward over the mountain"