One is about the first Science Cafe, which was about water harvesting:
http://tinyurl.com/d5x2bp
My first restaurant review, which looks at Sultan Palace:
http://tinyurl.com/a7dcjr
And finally, my song for the inaugural Mix:
http://tinyurl.com/cuxbkr
Tags: journalism, work, food, reviews, science, news, music
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2008 has been a horrific and hopeful year. We've seen Chinese manufacturers save on production costs in exchange for lives — again. The FDA seems to be growing a spine for once. The Olympics were amazing. Zhang Yimou's opening and closing ceremonies were fitting. Michael Phelps — I doubt no one will be able to break his record. The U.S. is still fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Finally, 2008 will be remembered in the U.S. as a historic year in politics: One serious female contender for the presidency; one not-so-serious female contender for the vice presidency; the oldest presidential candidate; and the first black man elected to the U.S. presidency.
I'm not big on new year resolutions since I celebrate 2 new years every year (which is as wonderful as it sounds). It would seem weird to have two sets of resolutions within weeks of each other. Yet I'm sentimental enough to suggest improvements to myself around the first new year's eve. So in no particular order here I go:
Follow my passions.
Improve my cooking and writing skills.
Simplify my life.
That's it. Happy new year!
Tags: life, news, 2008
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Let's start with the event of the year: Sen. Barack Obama being elected as president! I knew that I'd see this happen during my lifetime, but I was never sure when. It's good to know that it occurred before I became 30. Now I'm 1 for 3 with presidential elections.
I enjoy making and reading these end-of-the-year lists since they often serve multiple purposes. The first is that they are a record of the American cultural zeitgeist. What did the critics enjoy and what did the general public enjoy? Where do I fall in this spectrum? Most hip-hop has been lacking this year. I don't follow the blues, jazz, country, metal, or R&B too closely or at all.
I think back to David Foster Wallace's introduction for the 2007 edition of the Best American Essays. He talked about Total Noise and Deciders (his caps) and what it meant to be a responsibly informed adult in the U.S. nowadays. He argued that it's impossible to read every published essay in the U.S. as a precursor to deciding on what's the "best." All any of us can hope to do is to be intelligent enough to know what we don't know and to approach such personal ignorance with a sense of humility so that we may begin to improve ourselves. Wallace's revelation echoes of Socrates, Mengzi, and the Buddha. I can only hope that I have been able to explore and map my own ignorance with these lists.
Movies
I haven't watched that many movies since August thanks to my job at the Daily Wildcat, but many of the movies I have watched have been great overall. However, there was a clear, definite winner.
Best movie: WALL-E
How brave is it of Pixar to take a chance on starting a movie with a 30-minute opening sequence with no dialogue? And with a big budget, "mainstream," animated film, no less. Beautiful animation, a story full of satire and playfulness, WALL-E boasts some great moments of humanity from characters made of pixels. I would even go so far and say that this movie is near flawless.
Next best movie: The Dark Knight
Another great movie that provides the new standard for superhero movies to come, and a good example of how make a better sequel. Christopher Nolan's version of Batman hits all the right notes: Bruce Wayne's conflict between his civilian life and his life as Batman; supervillains; gadgetry; and so on. Yet the movie transcends previous superhero movies in that the situations are grounded in situations that not only test Batman's sense of morality but also those in Batman's life such as Jim Gordon, Alfred Pennysworth, and Harvey Dent.
Best movie reissued this year: Chungking Express (Criterion Edition)
OK, so the special features aren't all that special, which is surprising since Criterion usually does a great job in this area. But the movie still holds up really well after all these years.
Other notable movies: Iron Man, Hellboy & the Golden Army,
Music
I've been trying to catch up on all the music released since the summer. Thankfully, many of the year's best albums have been spread throughout the seasons rather being unloaded during the fall and winter, which was the norm in recent years.
Albums (in no particular order)
- Hercules & Love Affair - Hercules & Love Affair
- Jamie Lidell - Jim
- Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
- Lykke Li - Youth Novels
- M83 - Saturdays = Youth
- Quiet Village - Silent Movie
- Q-Tip - The Renaissance
- Santogold - Santogold
- She & Him - Volume One
- Sigur Ros - Incredibly Long Title
- Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Songs (in no particular order)
- Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
- Shelby Lynne - I Only Want To Be With You
- Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
- The Roots - Rising Down
- Portishead - The Rip
- Estelle - American Boy (feat. Kanye West)
- Hercules & Love Affair - Blind
- Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook
- The Juan Maclean - Happy House
Happy House - The Juan Maclean
Books
This is somewhat new for me. I've always been lifelong voracious reader and the greater availability of a faster Internet connection has translated to many hours spent reading multiple online publications. Yet reading an article on a computer screen cannot compare to the tactile experience of reading something in my hands. The weight, texture, and even the smell of paper held in my hands is an experience that cannot be replicated with metal and electricity. (Sorry Kindle.) In spite of a shrinking publishing industry, a global economic depression in which we have yet to see the bottom and numerous cultural items that demand our attention, I don't think book reading will see a great decline in my lifetime. What may decline are the venues through which new writing may disappear, a different issue altogether. With that said, here are my book discoveries and delights of the year:
How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman
A great look into how doctors think, how they make mistakes in their thinking, and the consequences of these cognitive errors and assumptions.
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
A companion book to The Omnivore's Dilemma, Pollan distills nutrition advice into 3 simple tenets while providing the layout of the battle (and collusion) between business and nutrition.
Usagi Yojimbo Volumes 1-8 by Stan Sakai
Following the adventures of a ronin rabbit, Stan Sakai's comic book series is tasty melange of heroism, history, culture, and mythology.
Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
Bolland's recoloring of his collaboration with Moore adds to the tense, occasional banal atmosphere of the story. Great ending.
Doom Patrol Volumes 1-3 by Grant Morrison and various artists
People have talked about the deconstruction of the superhero, but few have carried it out to the same extent as Grant Morrison. "Fighting" a living painting was the most normal "villain" that the Doom Patrol faced in these volumes.
De/Compositions by W.D. Snodgrass
Speaking of deconstructions, a chance discovery at the university library yielded this collection of poems compiled and reinterpreted by Snodgrass. His versions of poems from renown poets demonstrate that the parts can indeed be greater than the whole. It also reveals the importance of editing.
Modern English Grammar by Bryan A. Gardner
Which brings me to this selection. Less repressive than Fowler but better than Follet, Gardner's approach to usage and grammar makes for a entertaining read, even if you don't care all that much about grammar. The mini-essays sprinkled throughout the text are interesting discussions into what makes English English. This book, and the following, proved invaluable during my time as the Daily Wildcat's copy chief.
On Writing Well (30th Anniversary Edition) by William Zinsser
A man who claims William Strunk and E.B. White as direct influences, Zinsser brings verve to his pages in his ongoing quest to perfect his writing. Reading his prose alone is a lesson well served on how to write simply and carefully.
Tags: music, movies, politics, 2008, books
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We have so many things fighting for our attention nowadays. Prior to starting this entry, I was multitasking: importing a CD to mp3s; listening to new music; browser tabs tracking New York Times articles, friends' blogs and online profiles, and best-of lists. In a time of information overload, it's a struggle to discern what sources of information are important and vital from that of ephemera.
Bree Nordenson's article in the latest issue of the Columbia Journalism Review presents a convincing case for how journalists and newspapers can adapt in our age of informational white noise. She argues that journalists and newspapers need to become guides through the information jungle we find online, rather the gatekeepers of the news. They are in a unique position to gather and disseminate a story from multiple angles.
Journalists need to become synthesizers on behalf of the public. One prime example of this role Nordenson cites is the subprime mortgage crisis and NPR. Listeners and even fellow journalists were confused by the complexity of the situation, so NPR News and This American Life devoted an hour-long episode to the topic titled, "The Giant Pool of Money." It became the program's most popular episode in its 13-year history. They followed up the episode with another episode and a blog called Planet Money.
We are in a position where, thanks to the Internet, access to multiple news sources are readily available with almost no monetary cost (unless you consider creating a user account costly). We should be able to discern the truth of the matter due to the multiple sources of information we have on hand. One website I use frequently is Metacritic. It compiles reviews from several sources and tries to calculate an average review score for the movie, DVD, TV show, video game, or music album. (They used to include book reviews, but unfortunately it has since been dropped from their site.) I stick to a handful of reviewers for my entertainment/cultural intake, and the website accomodates that most of the time. I can choose to read about the newest Amadou & Miriam album and find what my favorite critics are saying. It is so useful to have all of that information in one site. And that's what journalists and newspapers need to do now.
That isn't to say that there's no place for a straight news story. There's always a need for nothing-but-the-facts approach to an event. But with everything that's out there on the Internet—news sites, online magazines, personal websites, blogs, discussion forums, article comments, email lists, chatrooms, and so on—it is difficult to stay on top of the news. To stay informed nowadays can be considered a Herculean task, probably akin to cleaning the Augean stables with nothing more than a hand trowel.
I consider myself to be well informed on most subjects, but I sometimes find myself beleaguered by the array of online resources. What's NPR's take on the story? NYT's? Washington Post's? How about The Guardian or The Globe & Mail? What does The AV Club think of this album? Pitchfork? Village Voice? Phoenix New Times? What about that team blog? What is their opinion?
Then there are issues that go a little deeper. How do I handle the underlying biases? Should I be looking for a differing opinion in order to get a balanced view of a story? Is this critic/journalist/writer missing something I should know? All of these are questions I ask myself whenever I approach a topic, and it can be daunting to address them.
When confronted by this white noise of information, what can a reader do? Trying to convert pure information into knowledge and wisdom seems to be the challenge now. Granted, it's not necessarily a new challenge, but the scale of it makes it novel. I'll try to outline my process for dealing with this glut next time.
Tags: news, life, journalism
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I. Put your iTunes/Ruckus/Napster/etc. on shuffle.
II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
III. You must write that song name down, no matter how silly it sounds!
IV. Tag friends who might enjoy doing this.
1. If someone says "is this okay" you say?
"Wish I" by Jem
2. What would best describe your personality?
"The Two Lonely People (aka The Man and the Woman)" by Bill Evans
3. What do you like in a guy/gal?
"Groovin'" by Booker T. & The MGs
4. How do you feel today?
"Aunt Hagar's Blues" by Louis Armstrong
5. What is your life purpose?
"Only This Moment" by Royksopp
6. What is your motto?
"Honky Tonk Hiccups" by Neko Case
7. What do your friends think of you?
"Roots Natty" by the Gladiators
8. What do you think of your parents?
"Satisfaction (Live)" by Otis Redding
9. What do you think about very often?
"Africa Centre of the World" by Fela Kuti, remixed by DJ Spooky
10. What is 2+2?
"By the Throat" by Pretty Girls Make Graves
11. What do you think of your best friend?
"Anos Dourados" by Antonio Carlos Jobim
12. What do you think of the person you like?
"The Moon in June Stuff" by The Brunettes
13. What is your life story?
"One to Three" by Les Savy Fav
14. What do you want to be when you grow up?
"Sunshine" by Lupe Fiasco
15. What do you think when you see the person you like?
"Theme From to Kill a Dead Man" by Portishead (?)
16. What do your parents think of you?
"Scientist Ganja" by Dub Scientist
17. What will you dance to at your wedding?
"Sweet Savannah Sue" by Louis Armstrong & the Hot Sevens
18. What will they play at your funeral?
"Flowing Spring on the Rock" by Chinese Plucked Instruments Quartet
19. What is your hobby/interest?
"Dreams and Lies" by Laurel Music
20. What is your biggest secret?
"Best Week Never" by Patton Oswalt
21. What do you think of your friends?
"Destroy Everything You Touch" by Ladytron
22. What's the worst thing that could happen?
"bambi" by advantage Lucy
23. How will you die?
"Ogi no Mato (The Folding Fan as a Target)" by Ensemble Nipponia
24. Does anyone like you?
"Wow" by Kylie Minogue
25. If you could go back in time, what would you change?
"Underwater" by Ghostface Killah
26. What hurts right now?
"Kanske Ar Jag Kar I Dig" by Jens Lekman
27. What will you post this as?
"How High the Moon" by Art Tatum
Tags to anyone reading this!
Tags: music, lists
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Friday
Study microbiology
Arizona Daily Wildcat party @ 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Nick Seibel's after-party @ 8 p.m. (Possibly going - may need wine for that)
Saturday
Study microbiology
Courtney Johnson's arts desk party @ 8 p.m. (Will need wine/cheese/gifts for that)
Sunday
Study microbiology
Grocery shopping
Sleep well
Monday
Microbiology test @ 11 a.m.!
Eat celebratory lunch
Clean
Organize
Rest
Plan desk party?
Tags: life, school, work, friends
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Finals are approaching and my days as the copy chief at the Daily Wildcat are coming to an end. I'll finally have time between finals to catch up on the world at large and the music landscape.
One thing I'll need to do during the winter — aside from getting more sleep — is work on this blog's design. I haven't updated it in almost a year, and it shows. Another thing to work on is more frequent posts. Hopefully, with more free time next semester, I'll be able to post something at least once a week.
In working on the NutClub's blog (another project I need to revamp), I find that Wordpress offers a little more flexibility with its design than Blogger can afford.
Here's the plan for winter and beyond (Skip ahead if you don't like lists):
- Restore power to my bedroom and living room
- Finish my tenure as copy chief at the Daily Wildcat
- Prepare visual editing sheet
- Clean up desk and computer
- Finish my finals
- Clean up room
- Make plans with a certain someone (Too obvious?)
- Sort through old assignments and papers to see what's worth keeping
- Prepare writing samples and complete applications for Daily Wildcat
- Compose list of potential dietetics internships locations
- Reserve hotel room at the Oberlin Inn for journalism conference
- Prepare materials for the conference re: ethics, copyediting
- Sort through comics for donation or sale and for Rian
- Sort through clothes for donation
- End-of-the-year lists and gifts!
- Prep winter holiday gift for friends - something art-related.
- Computer clean-up
- Collect writing samples for studying
So, lots to do and little time to do it. I'm going to have make a step-by-step list to tackle each item.
Tags: life, work, school
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