Voting Matters

I had a fight with my housemate the other day. He says he's not going to vote. I think he should. Here are the top 10 reasons I think Cameron should vote.

1. It's our civic duty, and blah blah blah.

2. The president. Yes, it is unlikely that the California electoral votes will go McCain, but if you want Obama to be president, you should vote for him! (Or McCain, I guess...)

3. Prop 4. (Parental notification 48 hours before a minor under age 18 can get an abortion.) This is a terrible prop that has appeared on the ballot numerous times in various forms. This matters. It needs to be shot down and it could be decided by one single vote...you never know.

4. Prop 8. (Amends the CA constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, outlawing gay marriage.) This is a terrible prop. It creates second-class citizens. It is absolutely absurd. It needs to be shot down and it could be decided by one single vote...you never know.

5. History. Your own personal history. You don't want to tell your grandchildren that you didn't vote in the historic 2008 election, do you? You want to be able to get one of those hip bumper stickers that says "don't blame me, I voted for Obama" if McCain wins, don't you?

6. Hot poll workers. You never know.

7. Apathy breeds apathy. Apathy is bad.

8. Cameron is relatively educated about the issues. If you're educated, you should vote! At least you're canceling out the uneducated votes.

9. Karma. Think about it.

10. You get a cool sticker.

Why Voting for Sarah Palin [McCain] Because She's a Woman is Sexist

I would say I'm a feminist. Not radical, but a feminist. I think there are lots of problems with many radical feminist groups, but that will have to wait until another time. Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, is running for vice president on the Republican ticket.

OK, so I'm not a Republican. I'm nowhere NEAR a Republican. If I ever vote for a Republican you will know that there is something seriously wrong in the world. (Not that it's all cakes and daisies at the moment...) So I acknowledge that my political bias plays a role in my belief that voting for Sarah Palin just because she's a woman would be sexist, but I do feel the same way about Hillary even though it's less ridiculous because HELLO it's Hillary Clinton vs. Sarah Palin.

So, for like a gazillion years women and men were not treated equally. Then came suffrage which sounds horrible but is actually really good. Then came WWII which changed women's roles in the US forever. The 50's, Vietnam, blah blah blah...I could talk about changing women's roles in US history forever but I won't. The point is, women have been striving for EQUALITY for a reallllly long time.

Think about it...if Sarah Palin were a man, everyone would think he was an idiot, ill qualified to be holding the second highest office in the country, and the media hype would be about as crazy as it is surrounding Joe Biden (who?).

Why should these self-proclaimed "feminists" be going out and voting for this incredibly stupid woman just because she is female? It's bound to be embarrassing later if (knock on wood) she does become vice president, or worse, president (AH!!!). These "feminists" are giving Palin special treatment--their votes--because she is a woman.

SPECIAL TREATMENT! ONE SEX OVER THE OTHER! Isn't that what we've been fighting against for generations?

Reverse sexism exists, and if a "feminist" doesn't see that, she (or he) is probably really stupid to begin with and would think Sarah Palin would make a good VP even if she were a man.

How National Public Radio is Ruining My Life

I feel like I have three listening choices while driving on my way to work:

1. NPR

2. Ryan Seacrest

3. My iPod

I suppose I have a 4th one...

4. Nothing

Generally, I choose number 1 because I can't stand Ryan Seacrest and I'm too indecisive about my iPod and it distracts me.

So, I'm driving down the 110 through downtown at a snail's pace while listening to Anne Taylor or Robert Siegel or Michele Norris...and all they're talking about is gas, gas, and gas. All the while I'm watching my gas gauge slip further and further toward that terrible letter 'E'--the bane of my existence. "Oh crap," I think, "the truckers are striking in Europe again." "Oh crap, oil prices hit a record again." "Oh crap, I live so far away from work."

Then I get to the 105 and I'm sitting on the on-ramp for 20 minutes and they start talking about the economy. "Stocks hit bear market numbers today..." or "Record unemployment rates..." or "Tough getting jobs out of school..." or "Value of the dollar still dropping..."

These are just the obvious ones.

Then they have these guests on, like lawyers, doctors, historians, analysts, writers...the list goes on. EVERY SINGLE TIME anyone with anything REMOTELY interesting to say (that I think is smart and agree with) I always decide--DECIDE--that that's what I'm going to do for a living. So I get home and I say to my roommate, "Liz! I decided I'm going to be an international human rights lawyer!" The next day, it's "Liz! I'm going to be a politician!" The next day, it's "Liz! I'm going to go to law school and then become the youngest person ever to be appointed to the Supreme Court!"

I think she's starting to get sick of it. Sorry Liz!

Then there's the really really sad stuff that they report on, such as the earthquake in China, terrible conditions in the world's hospitals, the WAR(s), or just random sad stories from around the world. Sometimes they are VERY upsetting but often there's really can't do anything about it!

And of course, there's the election. Now that Hilary has endorsed Barack Obama, everyone's looking to November. All of this talk is just making me freak out worrying that John McCain will actually win.

This is not good for my blood pressure.

NPR is Ruining My Life.

But I cannot stop listening to it.

Does ignorance truly = bliss?

"Viva la Vida" versus "Narrow Stairs"

Disclaimer: This writer does not actually know anything about music as an art. Please keep this in mind as you read. For real reviews of the following albums, click on the links below.

Rolling Stone's review of Narrow Stairs

Entertainment Weekly's review of Narrow Stairs

Rolling Stone's review of Viva la Vida

Entertainment Weekly's review of Viva la Vida

Last Tuesday, British rock band Coldplay released their fourth album, Viva la Vida. On May 13, Bellingham, Washington-based band Death Cab for Cutie also released a new album, Narrow Stairs. (Technically, Narrow Stairs is Death Cab's sixth studio album, but it is arguably their fourth mainstream album, and the first two were LPs.)

The music of these two bands has served as the soundtrack for many an angst-filled teenage life. As many twenty-somethings will now tell you, Death Cab and Coldplay played a large role throughout their pitiful high school existences. I am no exception.

Needless to say, I was excited when I found out about the new albums. I downloaded them from iTunes soon after their respective releases.

Narrow Stairs was out first. Death Cab's previous album, Plans, released in 2005, was good. Not as good as Transatlantacism (2003), but good. Enjoyable. There are some fantastic songs on that album. The Photo Album (2001) is definitely Death Cab's best album, but that does not diminish the grandness of Transatlantacism or Plans. Although I have always enjoyed Death Cab, was nervous about the new album from the moment I heard the single "I Will Possess Your Heart" on the radio. Death Cab has become so ungodly popular in the past 4-ish years, and I was worried how fame, fortune, and pressure would affect their newest music. Well, it's still got the classic Death Cab feel, but it's no Photo Album. It's not even as good as Plans. But it's good. I do feel a bit ripped off though, considering one of the tracks on the iTunes version is some guy reading the album credits. Not so pleasant when you're laying in bed listening to the soothing voice of Ben Gibbard and then some guy comes up through the headphones and assaults your ear canals.

The best tracks on the album are "Bixby Canyon Bridge", "Grapevine Fires", and the lovely 1:59 "You Can Do Better Than Me." The lyrics throughout the album are stunning as per usual for Death Cab. Where Coldplay's lyrics seem generic and cliche ("Every door I ever tried was locked.")

I knew right away that Viva la Vida wouldn't disappoint. After being somewhat let down by the 2005 album X&Y, I could not be more thrilled with Coldplay's new album. It is wunderbar! No song on this album is alike in any way, except for the fact that a couple of them have to do with death. Personally I would rather have a sincere, great song about death (as in Viva la Vida) than a crappy, weepy song about love (as in X&Y). Of course, Viva la Vida has its songs about love, but they are not so weepy and whiny. If Chris Martin came and sang them to me, I wouldn't gag!
The sounds on the new album aren't exactly "new" but they are certainly an update of the quintessential Coldplay sound. And it is music to my ears! My favorite track on the album is hands-down "Strawberry Swings."

So, in summary, if you're can only pick one album to buy, get Viva la Vida.

Comps, aka AHHHHHH!!!!

Here at Occidental, every graduating senior must complete a comprehensive project in his or her chosen major field. In Economics, it's a test. In Film, it's a short film or a critical studies paper, depending on the emphasis. For my major, history, it's a long paper and a presentation. The paper is something like 20-30 pages and a 15-minute presentation. Yesterday I attended the first round of history presentations. They were interesting, I guess, but mostly I just freaked out the whole time because I don't have a topic.

I know, I know, these seniors probably didn't have topics at this time last year, right?? WRONG!!! Many of them have been researching since they were sophomores. Many of them have traveled to their areas of interest and dug around in archives and discovered some crazy stuff. Well, I have no idea what I'm doing.

I am very glad Occidental has comps. Other schools, especially public and/or larger schools, don't have anything resembling Occidental's comps project. Take some classes for four years and here ya go, here's your degree! Comps is a way to showcase what you've learned and done in your four years (or, in my case, three years) at Oxy. Comps also prepares you for grad school, if that's your thing...(???)

I want my comps to be AWESOME. I might even do honors (I should decide that...), but I don't have a topic!!!! Here's some of my ideas, most of which I hate:

1. The JFK Assassination: Did Oswald act alone? This would be especially interesting from a historiographical point-of-view.

2. Local resistance movements in Africa and/or Asia during the Decolonization Period.

3. Medicine and Ethics in concentration camps during WWII and modern implications (I'm writing a 12-pager on that right now actually.)

4. My most recent idea: Terrorist groups in Post-War Europe...did they accomplish anything? What made them "terrorists"? How has the meaning of "terrorist" changed since the '60s and '70s? etc etc...

Any other brilliant ideas...? Let me know because I'm about to have a nervous breakdown....

Get People to Like You!

Friends, I have spent pretty much my entire life trying to get people to like me on some level or another. That's what we're all trying to do! Here are some things I've found especially helpful when trying to get people to like you.


1. Bake. You cannot go wrong with baking. Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies (from scratch), or homemade honey whole-wheat bread, or homemade brownies (yum) or a grapefruit meringue pie. Whether for a stranger, a classmate, a friend, or a roommate, baking will always make people like you, at least until their cookie is gone.



2. Leave little notes for people. When they go to the bathroom write in their planner "Hey, buddy, hope you have a fab-u-lous day!" It will make them smile. Hopefully.

3. Remember their birthday. Less difficult in the days of Facebook now, but they will appreciate it nonetheless. Send an e-card!! People really like that.

4. Speaking of e-cards, e-cards are wonderful. To congratulate on a promotion, to send get-well wishes, to say happy birthday, or just to say Hello! e-cards are great. Even better when they are unexpected!

5. GUM. Gum is a GUARANTEED people pleaser. Carry gum with you everywhere. When you go for a piece, offer one to everyone around you! Casually, of course. People love gum!! Plus, you will be minty fresh, and no one likes someone with bad breath.

Follow these tips, and you'll be the most popular kid in school!!!

This could be you!!!!

Home is where all your crap is?

That's a picture of my house.

HA! Yeah right.

Actually, this is me in my living room--


I know, I know. Not bad. I actually love my house. But that's beside the point.

This year has been different at school because my friends and I moved off-campus. Now that we have a house, it has become home. When we call each other and say, "Yo, where you at bro?" If we say "home" that doesn't mean Minnesota or New York or Concord, California. It means we're at our house in LA. Our new home.

I can no longer call the place I grew up "home" because I only spend a couple of weeks a year there. My parents turned my old room into an office, so now when I visit, I sleep on the floor, the couch, or in my brother's room. When people ask me what I'm doing this summer, I tell them I'm staying here in LA and going to visit my parents for a week or so before I start work here. Then I ask them, and they say, "I'm going home...I mean, to my parents' house." It is a transition period for everyone.

I'm not "homeless" in the normal sense of the word. I am lucky to have a warm bed and a roof over my head every night, but is it really "home" when I know I'm only going to be there for another year or so? All my crap is there, sure, but really I'm just squatting until I get out in the real world. I don't have a permanent address. Hopefully someday I will....eek! Until then, I'll just call my house in LA "home."