Meilee in DC

Lemon Ricotta Cookies and the Most Wongerful Time of the Year

2011-12-22T19:27:00.001-08:00

So my sister is a bit of a baker. And by a bit, I mean she has flashes of domesticity about once per year.

Went to San Diego last weekend, and our Sunday activity was baking up a storm for friends and family.

This year's baking extravaganza included:

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

and what do you know, good ol' zucchini bread

You know you are jealous and wish you were a Wong. You'd be even more jealous if I told you that the previous day was spent sitting on the beach eating turkey and avocado sandwiches. Ohhh yeahhh San Diego!

Happy Holidays, y'all!

DC Restaurant Week: Lyon Hall

2010-08-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

So I know I have a TON of posting left to do from CA (still haven't even gotten to the wine subject yet!) but I couldn't resist sharing a positively delightful experience from Clarendon last night.

HH was cancelled due to the Continental's propensity for massive flooding during a rainstorm, and the fact that it is basically the only bar in Rosslyn. So, we decided to check out a new place for Restaurant Week which I have been neglecting thus far this year. I had been hearing little snippets, all positive, about this new place in Clarendon called Lyon Hall, at the corner of Washington and Highland literally a block from the metro. (Also made the sad side-discovery that Clarendon Grill is closed? Or at least the windows are all covered in butcher paper.) Regardless. It was a GOOD IDEA.

Restaurant week this year is $35.10 for the set menu dinner, including app, entree and dessert (as always). However, THE R-WEEK MENU AT LYON HALL IS NOT SET. YOU GET TO PICK FROM THE ENTIRE MENU. (minus charcuterie). You pick one item from the left column (apps and salads), one item from the center column (entree, steaks or sausages) and one item from the right hand column (desserts!). Instead of 3 X 3 X 3 possibilities...I get 10 X 20 X 5??? The math is overwhelming!

G picked a Stella (classic but boring) but I picked the "Summer Set" flight of beers ($13) which included a seasonal (some kind of kolsch which the server described as "grassy" but didn't overwhelmingly taste like mowing the lawn), Früli Strawberry (a strange but true favorite of mine from my days sampling everything at the Dovetail), Allagash curieux (kind of a kick in the mouth, in a good way) and our fave of the bunch, the Yards IPA. Delicious!

"Summer Set" (L-R): Seasonal (kolsch), Strawberry, Allagash, IPA

On to the good stuff! Starters: Shrimp Cocktail (which unfortunately I can't eat), which came on a bed of ice with some kind of kelp-like substance and the world's tiniest bottle of Tabasco. We asked the waitress and she said the shrimp were from the Gulf. G said they didn't taste oily.

Please excuse the iPhone crap picture quality.

Plum Salad with little plum wedges, radish and duck prosciutto and lemon dressing. Yum!

Entrees: G got the Halibut which was crispy on the outside and perfectly cooked on the inside, and the menu said with "grilled peaches/snap peas/lemon balm sabayon."

I went out on a limb and got the Bockwurst with "lemon mustard-Bock Beer jus/spaetzle/carrot salad." Was not disappointed! Apparently all their sausages, charcuterie, chocolate and bread are made in-house. The sauce was fantastic, and mixed with the spaetzle was almost, ALMOST as good as my fave spaetzle at Leopold's in Georgetown. Carrot salad looked kind of like weird red-and-white ribbons and lent some crunch but not much else. Overall: DELISH!

Desserts were pretty good, but I was already pretty stuffed! G got the Chocolate Praline Cake (which had peanuts and I couldn't eat) that came with a nutella shooter (acc. to the waitress, nutella, heavy cream and ice) and I got the chocolate profiteroles. He said his was good, and mine wasn't too chocolatey - just how I like!

Profiteroles (AKA [ice] cream puffs)

Grown-up chocolate cake and chocolate milk?

Overall, a wonderfully pleasant experience and a great deal for Restaurant Week!

Johnny Garlic's: Kinda Meh

2010-08-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

Urbanspoon failed me yet again (why do I even keep that app?) and by ACCIDENT we happened upon nor cal TV personality Guy Fieri's restaurant, Johnny Garlic's, in Santa Rosa, CA. (We had gotten a hotel nearby.)

Fairly nondescript exterior. Plenty of parking though!

And a rockstar interior! (no overpowering garlicky smell, unfort.)

We were pretty hungry for lunch but the interesting rotating wild game of the day was just bison (boring) -- and when you are tantalized with the possibility of rattlesnake or wild boar, not sure how you could settle for bison, which you can get just fine at Ted Turner's restaurants all over DC. Not wanting to totally ruin our palates before drinking copious amounts of wine, we opted for the lunch menu.

G got:

Tequila Lime Chicken Sandwich ($9.50) and garlic fries (+$1)

I got:

Bourbon Buffalo Meatloaf Sandwich ($11.50) and garlic fries (+$1)

Sandwiches were pretty good, ciabatta was soft and chewy, and who doesn't like fried onion things? Mine was nice and barbecue-y. The only thing that was disappointing was the garlic fries. Like, aren't those supposed to be a signature item at Johnny GARLIC's? They were drowning in olive oil which mixed with the powdered parmesan to form an unpleasant paste and made the fries soggy. Where were my little pieces of diced fresh garlic and parsley mixed in with extra crispy fries? The kind of garlic fries at Pluto's were the kind I grew up eating -- those are true nor cal garlic fries!

Overall, it was a decent meal, just kind of mass processed (kind of a bad thing) and full of Guy Fieri memorabilia (not a bad thing). There are just so many places to get amazing garlic fries (including the ones we got at AT&T Park in San Francisco for the Giants-Cubs game) in Nor Cal that it makes me sad that these particular ones are the ones representing us to the world on national television.

Guy, I love you and your nor cal pride, but you gotta step these things up a little!

This Week in California

2010-08-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the radio silence, but we've been on vacation this week in California. Tons of pictures of delicious things to come! Below, a fruit tart from the Davis Farmers Market. YUM!

Ice Cream Club

2010-08-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

Saw on a DC blog recently that a local chef was starting an ice cream club with new delicious flavors every week, for the month of August. If you know me at all, you would know that ice cream is my favorite food. I totally jumped at the opportunity.

Through yesterday's rain-and-windstorm, I made my way to the corner of 13th & Corcoran to pick up my quarry. My delicious, delicious quarry.

Haven't had a chance to try anything but the banana bread crunch, which was totally awesome. Real banana ice cream - none of that bright yellow Laffy Taffy fake stuff here - with crunchy chocolate covered things inside (banana bread?). Can't wait to try the rest when I return from vacation!

WongFirst: Rogue States

2010-08-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Forced the DC Trojans Social Committee to come to this burger place on Connecticut for our meeting, and I wasn't disappointed! I roll past this place on the bus every day on my way to work and I was sure curious.

I looked at the menu beforehand and it seemed like just another fancy burger joint - but everything was $7! (Fries not included.) Anything that looks that good for $7 is prob worth the trek up the hill into the wilds of Dupont. Check out the menu here.

I got the Rogue States burger ("house spice blend, chipotle, cilantro") recommended to me by the cashier ($7), sweet potato fries ($3.50) and a coke ($2). Cooked perfectly medium, the correct amount of spice (interesting but not mouth-burning), and the sweet potato fries were DELISH. I mixed up a little bit of their chipotle mayo, which tasted like smoky bacon, with ketchup and I had the best french fry sauce ever.

A bold interior design scheme.

Oooh pretty.

So you can get an idea of the sheer size of this thing.

To be fair, my dining companion's burger (ordered "pink") came totally, completely well done. She sent it back, and her second burger was, as she said, "mooing on the plate." I think it may have something to do with the fact that when I arrived first and ordered, there were only two other people in the restaurant, and it had gotten slightly busier once my friend arrived. Overall, worth a shot if you've never been, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way for it. Except for the sweet potato fries if I had a hankering!

Latest Find: Whole Foods cupcakes

2009-04-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Over Easter weekend, we needed something quick and easy to bring over to a family friend's place. Surprisingly, the Whole Foods in Clarendon has a ridonkulous bakery. I was hoping for a cake shaped like a bunny that G had spied a few days before, but unfortunately it had been sold. Instead I bought a dozen gorgeous, huge cupcakes that were $1.99/each! Definitely delicious, and definitely beats a $5 designer cupcake that's half the size and for which I waited in line for 45 minutes.

Chocolate Caramel with Hazelnuts, and a Caramel center!

Yum yum, delish! And they looked very nice on a cake stand outside while all the neighborhood kids were hunting Easter eggs in the yard!

The Shawarma Wars: Shawarma Spot

2009-04-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

As an embedded journalist in the Shawarma Wars (aka Adams Morgan, DC) I figured I'd try my hand at reporting what I know and love best, and that is eating. With the proliferation of shawarma/falafel places within a 1/2 mile radius of my apartment -- I can think of at least 5 off the top of my head -- I think someone needs to help cut through the fray. I cannot by any means claim to be an expert on shawarma in terms of authenticity, but I can definitely say with confidence that I am pretty much an expert on deliciousness.

Before my walk to class yesterday I decided to stop and get some sustenance at Shawarma Spot on the AdMo 18th St. strip. At first glance the place seems like a hip, modern Middle Eastern joint, with black tables and their logo prominently displayed Andy Warhol style on the walls. I ordered a chicken shawarma ($6.95), fries ($2.45) and a can of Coke ($1.45).

Like all the other places, they offer you a selection of toppings to put on your shawarma. Rather, THEY put on your shawarma. I opted for hummus, cucumber and tomato salad, pickled red onions and tzatziki sauce. The chicken itself was soaked in some kind of liquid, and had the texture of chicken fajitas, and was not spicy at all. The hummus had a perfectly smooth consistency, like the kind you might find at the grocery store. I kind of like to be able to crunch a bit of garbanzo once in awhile, but to each her own. They definitely don't skimp on the toppings! Shoestring fries were hot and crispy, and tossed in some kind of spice that you could see on the fry but not taste. I'm usually a voracious ketchup eater, but the small thing they provided was plenty.

The oddest part about the whole scenario was the bread. It was almost like a ciabatta roll, but with a much lighter texture. So much lighter in fact that the bread couldn't really hold up to the dense toppings and began to sprout fault lines on the bottom half of the bun. It was also not toasted, which I have come to expect from eating shawarma at other places in town.

Also, not that this would be a common experience for a potential diner, but apparently a contractor from the gas company came in and was making a huge fuss about finding parking for his enormous truck in Adams Morgan. Read: probably impossible. There was much shouting on the phone and storming in and out. ("Dude, what is your PROBLEM?" "DC Police use alleys as emergency access, and my truck WILL be ticketed and it WILL be towed!") Eventually, thanks to your eagle-eyed reporter, I spotted a car pulling out on the street and directed the proprietor's attention to it so that they could continue getting their gas problems fixed. The dude came back and was still shouting on the phone while using some kind of hand-held meter with a wand, crouching down outside the front door, I assume to check for a gas leak.

Quite strange. I finished my food and high-tailed it out of there before any more unpleasantness could occur. Overall, I think I give this place 2.5 stars. The meal was filling, but the gas company drama was more memorable than the food. The flavors were pretty bland and I'm pretty sure I'll be heading somewhere closer and tastier in the future.

DC weather = cruel temptress

2009-03-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

Despite the now three "real" winters I've experienced in my life, I have yet to learn how to navigate spring. The effing weather has now tricked me thrice, and each time I yearn more and more for the predictable (read: seasonal change-free) weather of LA. I thought it was really real this time, I even saw those adorable little early yellow spring flowers poking out of a flowerbed a couple days ago. People were out in skirts and shorts, wearing colors other than black and in a generally springy mood. But today, the flowers r ded, I had to shut my windows because the balmy Sunday breeze had turned into 23 degree windchill that woke me up overnight. Bastards.

Despite having the world's easiest schedule, graduate school is still somewhat kicking my ass. I forgot how to read things other than blogs and papers for work, I forgot how to write papers for school that aren't in newspaper article form, and I forgot all of my post-Tudor era British budgetary history which is apparently required to fully understand American public policy. Who knew. That said, I'm having a generally awesome time. I love the heavyacademic feeling of walking onto campus, at least 50% of my professors and the fact that this is probably bumping me up into a higher median salary range. And hopefully I'll learn something practical and interesting as well.

Recently rounded the corner on 10 mos. w/G which puts it over the top as the longest relationship I've ever had...twice as long as the next one down the list. I must say this entire thing has been characterized by the most intense normalcy I've ever experienced. In situations long past, I think I took a page from my social worker parents and got close to people I thought I could fix. Which of course, is simultaneously self-serving and self-destructive, and a terrible idea for anyone who wishes to sleep at night. It's a beautiful thing to not have to talk on the phone for hours and listen to circular logic and assorted pointlessness, to be able to have my own life and my own friends and my own thoughts. To be left alone when I need to be, to go on random adventures for "culture" and to just generally feel comfortable in one's own skin. Cheers to normal!

Cutest Victory Ever

2008-11-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

(www.yesonprop2.com)

Can everybody say awwwwwwwww, cute little bacon!! Free the Chickens!

Victory!!!

2008-11-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

Consolidated district:

Candidate Votes %
Mariko Yamada
84,807  66.8%
Manuel Cosme
42,218  33.2%

and just in Yolo County:

Mariko Yamada (DEM)	42,557	71.6%
Manuel Cosme (REP)	16,840	28.4%

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your well wishes and prayers, and THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard for Barack Obama all over the country. We changed the world yesterday.


And now I think I need a vacation. :o)

Wong!

ONE. MORE. DAY.

2008-11-03T23:28:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been almost two years since we started this long, long road, but if all goes well tomorrow I pray that Mom will be in the State Assembly! The Vacaville HQ has been buzzing, 160 volunteers on Saturday, and more and more roll in every day. It is the most encouraging thing I have ever seen. Senior citizens, college students, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, disabled and even kids who can't vote yet are showing up at the Democratic HQs all over my county and the one next door, asking to be put to work. Calling swing states Montana and Nevada for Barack, calling neighboring cities and counties for tight state races, going out into the most rural (and snowy!) areas in Nor Cal to knock on doors and tell people why this is the most important campaign of our lifetimes.

300 calls to Lodi, Calif. 84 burritos. Hundreds of targeted homes. Today was a crash course in campaign day prep. I ended up with a nearly dead pay-as-you-go campaign cell phone, two perfect wallcharts (!!) and hands covered in green marker but I felt pretty awesome today.

I proudly voted by mail for Barack Obama in Fairfax County, Virginia, last Friday. I went through two applications, one rejection, several PDF forms and 18 emails back and forth with the elections office, but I got my vote. I got my voice. Tomorrow, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP. The polls mean nothing. Votes are everything. Exercise your civic responsibility and your constitutional rights.

http://www.voteforchange.com

Vote proudly tomorrow, if you haven't already, and hopefully in 24 hours we will all get to celebrate! Or take a nap.

heiwa,

Wong

World's Most Emotional Ballot

2008-10-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

Somebody stole our No on Prop. 8 sign. But apparently the Yes on 8 people in Sacramento claim that 25,000 of their signs have been stolen over there, at a cost of about $2 each, so who knows. They caught some of the hooligans with 53 signs in the trunk of their car. Luckily, they had no affiliation with No on 8, unlike McBush's self-mutilating Texan harpy.

And so the Sign Wars continue. 7 days to go!

home on the range, and the range is racist

2008-10-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

I've taken a brief hiatus from DC to head home to California, where I've been on the campaign trail with Mom for exactly two weeks.

From the (seemingly) Democratic and diversity-loving stronghold of northern CA, I've had an interesting time observing the intersection of fear and politics. For those of you who didn't know, my home is in Yolo County, which is a largely rural county in the Central Valley. While Sacramento, our neighbor to the east, is both the state capitol as well as the most diverse city in the nation, it turns out that it is also home to the same breed and caliber of unabashed racists as we've seen over the course of this oh-so-long campaign in other states. A few of my favorite selections below:

Tina Graham, Dickenson County, Virginia:

"I never really thought about whether or not that I was racist, or however you want to put it," said Tina Graham. She fears Obama would focus on African-Americans at the expense of poor white people like herself. "It's just the fact that I think that he will represent them, and what they want, and what they need. ... They're his people, they're his race." (NPR.org)

Gayle Quinnell, Lakewood, Minnesota:

"I don't trust Obama. I have read about him. He's an Arab." (AP, Reuters, CNN, where has this not been?)

And of course, my favorite:

Plantation Descendant "Obama Monkey" friend in Johnstown, Pennsylvania:

I must say that John McCain was admirable in immediately "repudiating" (everyone's fave word these days) these distasteful and uneducated remarks by his backwoods supporters. But, that doesn't mean that the average white voter doesn't scare the crap out of me.

So, what's going on here, you ask? What does my home state of northern California have to do with a county in western Virginia that has a total population about half the size of where I went to undergrad? Or a Minnesota township that's basically Canada?

Well, holy shock to my system, Sacramento is just as racist as Obama Monkey Man from Scarytown, PA.

The Grand Ole Party of our neighbor to the east, the capitol city of the 7th or 8th largest economy in the world, is publishing this sort of horrifically bigoted drivel on its website, Sacramentorepublicans.org.

(Sacramentorepublicans.org)

(Sacramentorepublicans.org)

ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME. I apologize for yelling, but seriously. Seriously?

The leader of the racism wolfpack, Craig MacGlashan (husband of Sacto County District 4 Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan, no less) initially didn't give, but later retracted his ignoramus statements, saying:

"At first, I did not realize how offensive the material was, and in the rush to move past it, I didn't take it seriously enough." (Sacramento Bee)

The offending "campaign materials" have been taken down, proper apologizing and falling over oneself to make things right, and firing of the volunteer responsible have all happened in rapid succession. But this B.S. makes the Palin mind tricks of free associating "Obama" and "terrorist" in the same sentence seem tame by comparison. If this level of gross insanity, misinformation and idiocy exists in my own backyard, Lord help us all.

< /end angryblog >

Vince Young needs a hug

2008-09-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Acc to ESPN.com acc to The Tennessean, Vince Young needs a great big hug. Maybe some ice cream and a few episodes of Sex and the City.

NBC.com

Apparently he's upset because the fans booed him. He had a bad day. He had to go have a little meeting with the team psychologist. But oh wait, maybe since you threw nearly twice as many interceptions as touchdowns last year, the fans might have a good freakin reason to boo you.

And you know, being in the NFL is hard. Everyone is just as big as you, just as talented, talks just as big a game. But the difference between here and college is that you're not the top of the heap anymore. You're just another dude, another young player, who needs to prove himself with STATISTICS, not merely your college reputation. So maybe you should stop being a prima donna and get some points up on that scoreboard for your team.

Mrs. Young, Vince's mama, had this to say:

"But he will be fine if people are prayerful and help my baby boy out. He is a young man. He just needs a lot of love and support."

Not so tough now are you, Mr. Longhorn?

I love Muppets

2008-03-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if the old adage "If it bleeds, it leads" has been replaced with power, money and sex (the first two being the same thing). We find ourselves under siege by the Wonkette-dubbed "Days of Spitzmas" and suddenly the horse-faced hooker's single is the #1 download on some silly mp3.com spinoff?

Also, at dinner last night, a couple friends and I were talking about the downfall of various American political leaders. Couldn't Spitzy have Larry Craigged it? He's still in office, back on his committees, serving the great state of Potato until his retirement before the next hunting season. What about our dear friend Sen. Vitter? He's still kicking too!

One of said amigos works for the D-trip and was off gallivanting about in Illinois, kickin some ass. Too bad it was largely ignored. I still think it's cool. :)

[Does anyone else think Silda Spitzer is incredibly beautiful?]

I think Silda, Wendy and Dina McGreevy should get together and start a First Cuckoldess Club. Suzanne Craig can come too. If she gets over her homophobia.

I love America.

Now to be completely self-indulgent, I think I've hit the bigtime:

Vanity Spared: Eliot Spitzer as Beaker

One more: we are officially more attractive than Philadelphia.

Have a wonderful day my DCites!

I will drink the Obama kool-aid

2008-03-07T23:50:00.001-08:00

bitchardson

2008-01-09T19:02:00.001-08:00

WHO CALLED IT

teh Hillz wins!

2008-01-08T20:13:00.001-08:00

and then Jiffy and I decided to simultaneously watch CNN and add our ridiculously pertinent commentary.

Rebelfox64 (11:11:09 PM): please stop talking

Rebelfox64 (11:12:09 PM): she said absolutely nothing of substance in this speech, nothign at all

End the war the right way? What is the right way?

Rebelfox64 (11:14:05 PM): UGHHH plugging the website

11:16pm What actually was the percentage of young people that voted for Hillz? Or did she just find every one of her supporters under the age of 25 and stick them behind her for the TVz?

11:18pm Short and sweet. That was good.

Rebelfox64 (11:18:46 PM): nah, i was not a fan

Fine, Jiffy.

Here are Wong's reactions:

- Dear Bitchardson, save your money and your sanity, and go the way of smarties Biden and Dodd.
- Dear O-bomb, please don't take it for granted, and continue working hard.
- Dear Evangelical Voting Bloc, WHERE ARE YOU. McCain is actually scary to democrats. Pls vote for Mittsy and/or teh Huckz. Kthxbai.
- Dear John Edwards, we like you, like, tons!!!!!11!!11!!!1!one!!! But, methinks you will be VP once again. Sors. But think of it this way...instead of playing canasta with Sarkozy and Modelkozy, you can be secretly doing things to make America better! Like Dick Cheney but opposite!!

11:25pm "Politics tonight just got a lot more interesting." Yes, Lou Dobbs, yes they did.

and to close, Jiffy's reactionz:

Rebelfox64 (11:26:42 PM): Mike Gravel: You got less votes than Kucinich -- apparently that is indeed possible. Por favor drop out
Rebelfox64 (11:28:02 PM): John Edwards: I, too see you as Veep yet again. Sorry man. Apparently the south shall not rise again.
Rebelfox64 (11:29:07 PM): Obama: Change your campaign song to "We Gotta Take the Power Back" by Rage Against the Machine and keep on kicking.

Rebelfox64 (11:29:49 PM): Hillz: Please lose. Gracias.

(Signed, Sealed, Delivered was just a teensy bit presumptuous.)

Hooookay, that's it for this New Hampshire primary. Can't wait for teh Carolinuh! Good night America!

NEW HAMPSZ LIVEBLOG

2008-01-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

slamdownburnside (9:42:50 PM): new hampshire!

Rebelfox64 (9:43:36 PM): ugh, i'm disappointd to see obama lose to hillary

slamdownburnside (9:43:42 PM): he hasn't lost yet

slamdownburnside (9:43:46 PM): it's 39-37

Rebelfox64 (9:43:50 PM): welll goin by CNN

Rebelfox64 (9:43:51 PM): ah really

slamdownburnside (9:43:51 PM): with 42% in

slamdownburnside (9:43:53 PM): oh

slamdownburnside (9:43:56 PM): i'm watching cspan

Rebelfox64 (9:44:03 PM): that's probably better

slamdownburnside (9:44:03 PM): I think they're only apart by like 3,000 votes

Rebelfox64 (9:44:06 PM): i'm just reading cnn's predictions

slamdownburnside (9:44:11 PM): oh

slamdownburnside (9:44:12 PM): it's the same

slamdownburnside (9:44:16 PM): with 43% reporting

Rebelfox64 (9:44:25 PM): i'm gonna turn on c-span, good idea

slamdownburnside (9:44:34 PM): I like cnn

slamdownburnside (9:44:45 PM): I first became an anderson cooper fan watching his primary coverage in 2000

slamdownburnside (9:45:03 PM): bitchardson is on now

Rebelfox64 (9:45:24 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (9:46:02 PM): omg ron paullll

slamdownburnside (9:46:15 PM): i don't even understand

slamdownburnside (9:46:19 PM): he has a small army of paultards

Rebelfox64 (9:46:29 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (9:46:33 PM): yeah surprised cnn is even showing it

slamdownburnside (9:46:59 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (9:47:02 PM): he's not even viable

slamdownburnside (9:47:08 PM): but now and again I get terrified that he could win

Rebelfox64 (9:47:13 PM): yeah what is wolf talking about

slamdownburnside (9:47:20 PM): oh, i'm on cspan still

Rebelfox64 (9:47:28 PM): oh hehe

slamdownburnside (9:47:42 PM): i'll switch

slamdownburnside (9:48:20 PM): oh wow

slamdownburnside (9:48:22 PM): cnn is much louder

slamdownburnside (9:48:24 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (9:48:26 PM): this is scary

Rebelfox64 (9:48:29 PM): what are they chanting

slamdownburnside (9:48:38 PM): no idea

slamdownburnside (9:48:40 PM): omg

slamdownburnside (9:48:43 PM): i have to find this youtube

Rebelfox64 (9:51:03 PM): haaahaha

Rebelfox64 (9:51:06 PM): mike gravel, 180 votes

slamdownburnside (9:51:24 PM): http://wonkette.com/341590/meet-president-ron-pauls-cabinet

slamdownburnside (9:51:26 PM): sad

Rebelfox64 (9:52:02 PM): haha, paultards

slamdownburnside (9:54:03 PM): isn't that scary?

Rebelfox64 (9:54:13 PM): haven't watched it just yet

slamdownburnside (9:54:18 PM): ah

Rebelfox64 (9:54:21 PM): listening to a-coop still

slamdownburnside (9:54:24 PM): well prepare thyself

Rebelfox64 (9:54:28 PM): commercial break, there we go

slamdownburnside (9:54:29 PM): commercial!

slamdownburnside (9:54:49 PM): cspan still has the paultard himself

Rebelfox64 (9:57:40 PM): yeah, tad scary

Rebelfox64 (9:57:50 PM): still, i think i would vote for paul before huckabee

Rebelfox64 (9:58:09 PM): with his monstrously retarded plan to replace income tax w/ sales tax

slamdownburnside (9:58:18 PM): omg

slamdownburnside (9:58:21 PM): teh huckz

Rebelfox64 (9:58:26 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (9:58:28 PM): and mr. mom huckabee

slamdownburnside (9:58:31 PM): she's scary

slamdownburnside (9:59:13 PM): "can we dream of the day when we don't have the federal income tax or the federal reserve system, and instead have peace and prosperity?"

slamdownburnside (9:59:17 PM): MORE LIKE ANARCHY

Rebelfox64 (9:59:20 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (9:59:22 PM): yeah seriously

Rebelfox64 (9:59:30 PM): man cnn has a lot of toys

Rebelfox64 (9:59:35 PM): look at this thing

slamdownburnside (9:59:34 PM): oop, going back

Rebelfox64 (9:59:50 PM): wooooah that's so cool, that's like out of minority report

slamdownburnside (9:59:52 PM): you're my cnn commercial notification

slamdownburnside (9:59:54 PM): WOW

slamdownburnside (9:59:56 PM): that is cool!!

slamdownburnside (10:00:02 PM): microsoft

slamdownburnside (10:00:26 PM): i think giuliani made a huge mistake

Rebelfox64 (10:00:39 PM): eh, i'm not sure

Rebelfox64 (10:01:14 PM): the states that send the most delegates matter the most... and I kinda respect him for not thinking voters are so dumb they think to themselves "OH NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTED FOR MCCAIN THAT MEANS I SHOULD VOTE HIM TOO DUUOOOOOOOYYYY"

Rebelfox64 (10:01:14 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:01:22 PM): but people do

slamdownburnside (10:01:28 PM): sometimes by super tuesday

slamdownburnside (10:01:35 PM): the front runners are riding so much momentum

Rebelfox64 (10:01:38 PM): yeah.. voters are that dumb unfortunately

slamdownburnside (10:01:37 PM): and people are sheep

slamdownburnside (10:01:41 PM): hahaha "duooooy"

slamdownburnside (10:01:43 PM): good work

slamdownburnside (10:01:49 PM): omg

slamdownburnside (10:01:51 PM): is that donna brazile

Rebelfox64 (10:02:01 PM): not sure who she is

slamdownburnside (10:02:01 PM): "senatuh clinton"

Rebelfox64 (10:02:03 PM): haven't seen her before

Rebelfox64 (10:02:05 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:02:05 PM): oh ok

slamdownburnside (10:02:30 PM): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_Brazile

slamdownburnside (10:02:49 PM): who the crap is that

slamdownburnside (10:02:53 PM): nondescript white dude

Rebelfox64 (10:03:03 PM): bill something...

slamdownburnside (10:03:09 PM): bill dude

slamdownburnside (10:03:38 PM): "issues are going to move to teh forefront"

slamdownburnside (10:03:44 PM): I could be a better commentator than him

Rebelfox64 (10:04:42 PM): ah it's bill bennett

slamdownburnside (10:04:47 PM): ahh

Rebelfox64 (10:05:11 PM): right wing

slamdownburnside (10:05:14 PM): dood

slamdownburnside (10:05:17 PM): I totally called donna brazie

slamdownburnside (10:05:24 PM): brazile

Rebelfox64 (10:05:27 PM): although it hink i overheard a-coop call him bill schneider

Rebelfox64 (10:05:28 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:05:33 PM): schneiderz

slamdownburnside (10:05:37 PM): maybe there are two bills

Rebelfox64 (10:05:52 PM): there are

slamdownburnside (10:06:03 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:06:06 PM): obama's closing the gap

slamdownburnside (10:06:11 PM): it's down to 2,000 votes

Rebelfox64 (10:06:16 PM): haha the touch screen again

Rebelfox64 (10:06:17 PM): sweet

slamdownburnside (10:06:36 PM): i love the touchscreen

slamdownburnside (10:06:38 PM): so cool

slamdownburnside (10:07:04 PM): durham

slamdownburnside (10:08:32 PM): http://www.verminsupreme.com/

slamdownburnside (10:08:59 PM): he got 12 votes

slamdownburnside (10:09:15 PM): mittsy!

Rebelfox64 (10:09:25 PM): hahaha what is this

slamdownburnside (10:10:40 PM): http://wonkette.com/342543/the-real-winner-of-new-hampshire

Rebelfox64 (10:11:15 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (10:12:07 PM): did you hear about colin powell's near endorsement of obama

slamdownburnside (10:12:31 PM): omgz relaly

slamdownburnside (10:12:34 PM): +really

Rebelfox64 (10:12:36 PM): yup

Rebelfox64 (10:12:47 PM): he gushed about him on some show

Rebelfox64 (10:12:52 PM): sounded like he had a man-crush on him

Rebelfox64 (10:12:53 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:13:05 PM): it's like pat robertson endorsing 9iu11ani

slamdownburnside (10:13:10 PM): oh man

slamdownburnside (10:13:10 PM): intense

slamdownburnside (10:13:25 PM): battle

slamdownburnside (10:13:39 PM): i love the music they pick

slamdownburnside (10:13:43 PM): richardson had U2

Rebelfox64 (10:13:57 PM): heh yeah

slamdownburnside (10:13:59 PM): and tom petty

Rebelfox64 (10:14:00 PM): can't tell what edwards has here

slamdownburnside (10:14:07 PM): and now edwards has some country

slamdownburnside (10:14:08 PM): omg

slamdownburnside (10:14:15 PM): that's that actor from desperate housewives!!!!!!!!

slamdownburnside (10:14:29 PM): wow

Rebelfox64 (10:14:31 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:14:33 PM): so much harmonica

slamdownburnside (10:14:34 PM): ouch

slamdownburnside (10:15:23 PM): edwards hw is at an old mill?

slamdownburnside (10:15:26 PM): +hq

Rebelfox64 (10:15:29 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:15:35 PM): oop

slamdownburnside (10:15:38 PM): hillz is pulling ahead!

Rebelfox64 (10:15:53 PM): bahhh

Rebelfox64 (10:16:00 PM): you rootin for anyone?

slamdownburnside (10:16:02 PM): cut her

slamdownburnside (10:16:06 PM): whoever can beat hillary

slamdownburnside (10:16:07 PM): so

slamdownburnside (10:16:10 PM): obama or edwards

Rebelfox64 (10:16:11 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:16:12 PM): or john mccain

slamdownburnside (10:16:13 PM): LOL:

Rebelfox64 (10:16:20 PM): lol

slamdownburnside (10:16:49 PM): if mccain or giuliani are up against hillary

slamdownburnside (10:16:50 PM): so help me god

Rebelfox64 (10:16:59 PM): hahaha

Rebelfox64 (10:17:08 PM): who would you sooner vote for, mccain or giuliani

slamdownburnside (10:17:20 PM): well

Rebelfox64 (10:17:33 PM): politics aside, mccain gets huge points from me for hosting saturday night live

slamdownburnside (10:17:33 PM): i saw mccain speak two summers ago and was resoundingly unimpressed

slamdownburnside (10:17:40 PM): hahah yes true

slamdownburnside (10:17:41 PM): but

slamdownburnside (10:17:51 PM): giuliani used public funds to take his mistresses on vacation

slamdownburnside (10:17:55 PM): and I think that's douchey

Rebelfox64 (10:17:57 PM): yes indeed

Rebelfox64 (10:18:03 PM): between those two i'd go with mccain for sure

Rebelfox64 (10:18:10 PM): but yeah, i still hope it's obama

slamdownburnside (10:18:12 PM): i hope so too

slamdownburnside (10:18:12 PM): OMG

slamdownburnside (10:18:16 PM): the GMC commercial song!

Rebelfox64 (10:18:19 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:18:31 PM): it looks like teh hillz is up

Rebelfox64 (10:18:41 PM): diiiiiieeee hillz

slamdownburnside (10:18:46 PM): she's so awful

slamdownburnside (10:18:51 PM): she got votes bc she cried on tv

slamdownburnside (10:18:51 PM): wtf

slamdownburnside (10:18:53 PM): stupid americans

slamdownburnside (10:19:13 PM): in ah-o-wuh

slamdownburnside (10:19:21 PM): good point

slamdownburnside (10:19:23 PM): 48 states left to go

Rebelfox64 (10:19:34 PM): of course you say that when you're losing

slamdownburnside (10:19:41 PM): what is that actor's name

slamdownburnside (10:19:46 PM): he's the plumber

slamdownburnside (10:19:47 PM): from DH

Rebelfox64 (10:19:48 PM): my guess, he's VP nominee again

slamdownburnside (10:19:52 PM): that's what I'm guessing

slamdownburnside (10:19:56 PM): obama-edwards would be killer

Rebelfox64 (10:20:01 PM): yeah

slamdownburnside (10:20:05 PM): he blinks a lot

Rebelfox64 (10:20:08 PM): hil of course would never be second fiddle

slamdownburnside (10:20:23 PM): i went precinct walking with my mom when I was home

slamdownburnside (10:20:27 PM): and it's really sad

slamdownburnside (10:20:32 PM): life is hard for people

slamdownburnside (10:21:14 PM): JAMES DENTON

slamdownburnside (10:21:16 PM): that's his name

Rebelfox64 (10:21:24 PM): hmm?

slamdownburnside (10:21:29 PM): the guy from DH

slamdownburnside (10:21:33 PM): he's cute

Rebelfox64 (10:21:34 PM): ah

slamdownburnside (10:21:37 PM): and a southern democrat

slamdownburnside (10:21:38 PM): !

slamdownburnside (10:21:40 PM): apparently

Rebelfox64 (10:21:46 PM): yup you're right

Rebelfox64 (10:21:51 PM): about who he is that is

Rebelfox64 (10:21:51 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:23:10 PM): lol

slamdownburnside (10:23:13 PM): who knew!

slamdownburnside (10:23:25 PM): I hope he gets there

slamdownburnside (10:23:28 PM): go johnny go!

Rebelfox64 (10:23:43 PM): he's very likeable

Rebelfox64 (10:23:57 PM): i wonder if he woulda beat bush

slamdownburnside (10:24:00 PM): maybe

slamdownburnside (10:24:03 PM): kerry was such a disaster

slamdownburnside (10:24:07 PM): I wanted to kill the democratic party

Rebelfox64 (10:24:08 PM): has the same folksy, i'm your pal delivery

slamdownburnside (10:24:08 PM): ooo

Rebelfox64 (10:24:10 PM): yeah.

slamdownburnside (10:24:13 PM): my family is a big labor family

slamdownburnside (10:24:23 PM): big labor, small business

slamdownburnside (10:24:24 PM): lol

Rebelfox64 (10:24:31 PM): did the family wong vote in the 04 primaries

slamdownburnside (10:24:34 PM): oh yes

slamdownburnside (10:24:38 PM): the family wong were deanites

Rebelfox64 (10:24:42 PM): ah

slamdownburnside (10:24:43 PM): my parents are crazy liberals

Rebelfox64 (10:24:48 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:24:56 PM): they're supporting edwards this time

Rebelfox64 (10:25:10 PM): pu tthat digital camera down sheesh

Rebelfox64 (10:25:10 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (10:25:25 PM): he needs to stop blinking

Rebelfox64 (10:25:27 PM): sign of nervousness

slamdownburnside (10:25:36 PM): hahahaha

slamdownburnside (10:25:38 PM): yeah that's what I thought

Rebelfox64 (10:25:46 PM): i know because i do it on TV when i'm adlibbing

slamdownburnside (10:25:47 PM): my roommate says it's bright lights

Rebelfox64 (10:25:49 PM): if i have it memorized i don't

slamdownburnside (10:25:50 PM): she's clearly never been on stage

slamdownburnside (10:25:50 PM): ha

slamdownburnside (10:25:56 PM): right

slamdownburnside (10:26:04 PM): nervousness

slamdownburnside (10:27:51 PM): oh wolfy

Rebelfox64 (10:28:00 PM): i think mccain's got the republican nom in the bag

Rebelfox64 (10:28:35 PM): too many won't vote for romney because of the mormonism, huckabee is way less electable, and giuliani's lost all this momentum

Rebelfox64 (10:32:04 PM): bahhhhhh

Rebelfox64 (10:32:08 PM): i think hill's got hampshire

Rebelfox64 (10:33:01 PM): let's see who FNC has anchoring this coverage

Rebelfox64 (10:33:18 PM): ughhhh brit hume

Rebelfox64 (10:33:26 PM): why not shepard smith, whyyyy

Rebelfox64 (10:33:29 PM): the one likeable FNC personality

slamdownburnside (10:34:23 PM): AP called clinton!

Rebelfox64 (10:34:26 PM): hmm...

Rebelfox64 (10:34:27 PM): yeah..

Rebelfox64 (10:34:33 PM): AP jumped the gun methinks

Rebelfox64 (10:34:40 PM): i would wait for 70% at least

slamdownburnside (10:35:13 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:35:15 PM): this is so intense

slamdownburnside (10:35:17 PM): yeah bc it's so close

slamdownburnside (10:35:18 PM): actually

slamdownburnside (10:35:23 PM): sorry my roommate came by to chat about it

Rebelfox64 (10:35:26 PM): yeah

Rebelfox64 (10:35:28 PM): no prob

slamdownburnside (10:35:29 PM): I don't think mccain can take the country

slamdownburnside (10:35:32 PM): he's too middle of the road

slamdownburnside (10:35:38 PM): which is why he gets a lot of democratic crossover

slamdownburnside (10:35:57 PM): the heart of the republican voting bloc are socially conservative evangelical christians

slamdownburnside (10:36:03 PM): I think it'll be huckabee

Rebelfox64 (10:36:09 PM): eh....

slamdownburnside (10:36:10 PM): or maybe romney if enough people forget he's mormon

Rebelfox64 (10:36:14 PM): i think his idiot sales tax will kill him

Rebelfox64 (10:36:18 PM): i don't think people are that stupid

slamdownburnside (10:36:17 PM): possibly

Rebelfox64 (10:36:23 PM): i think either mccain or romney

slamdownburnside (10:36:28 PM): well, giuliani could make a comeback

Rebelfox64 (10:36:34 PM): maybe

slamdownburnside (10:36:37 PM): but i really think his "focus on the big states" was a huge mistake

slamdownburnside (10:36:40 PM): he is getting zero buzz

slamdownburnside (10:36:42 PM): like, zero

slamdownburnside (10:36:52 PM): oops

slamdownburnside (10:36:56 PM): the touchscreen malfunctioned

Rebelfox64 (10:37:05 PM): hahahahahh

slamdownburnside (10:37:06 PM): ohh sad

Rebelfox64 (10:37:10 PM): that is youtube magic

slamdownburnside (10:37:09 PM): this is so bad

slamdownburnside (10:37:11 PM): TECHNOLOGY

slamdownburnside (10:37:14 PM): YES it is

slamdownburnside (10:37:15 PM): oh man

slamdownburnside (10:37:20 PM): i bet it's already on youtube

slamdownburnside (10:37:22 PM): right now

Rebelfox64 (10:37:24 PM): he pressed it like 10 times

slamdownburnside (10:37:36 PM): college towns!

slamdownburnside (10:37:39 PM): yeah way too close

Rebelfox64 (10:37:48 PM): yeah goooo college towns

Rebelfox64 (10:37:56 PM): except they're forgetting no way college students bother to vote in the primaries

slamdownburnside (10:38:07 PM): also

slamdownburnside (10:38:10 PM): I hate brit hume

slamdownburnside (10:38:12 PM): he's the worst

Rebelfox64 (10:38:15 PM): hahaha

Rebelfox64 (10:38:18 PM): no, o'reilly is the worst

slamdownburnside (10:38:22 PM): yeah, no one's back at school yet

slamdownburnside (10:38:23 PM): OMG

slamdownburnside (10:38:28 PM): JENNY used to watch bill every day

slamdownburnside (10:38:31 PM): while she was making dinnr

Rebelfox64 (10:38:34 PM): yeah... i remember

Rebelfox64 (10:38:35 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:38:36 PM): hates

slamdownburnside (10:38:47 PM): cnn is not yet prepared to call the race

Rebelfox64 (10:38:49 PM): oooh man-reporter candy crowley

slamdownburnside (10:38:48 PM): good call

slamdownburnside (10:38:51 PM): hahahahaha

slamdownburnside (10:38:54 PM): not eye candy

Rebelfox64 (10:38:59 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:39:02 PM): omg

slamdownburnside (10:39:16 PM): did you see that washington post article about all of hillary's "change is good" nonsense

Rebelfox64 (10:39:24 PM): ah, nope

slamdownburnside (10:39:28 PM): it was like "if hillary stole any more from obama's campaign she'd be charged with grand larceny"

Rebelfox64 (10:39:44 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:39:51 PM): ahh KT Tunstall

Rebelfox64 (10:39:52 PM): glad the post called her on it

slamdownburnside (10:39:55 PM): good choice hillz

Rebelfox64 (10:40:08 PM): you can tell what's playing over the crowd?

Rebelfox64 (10:40:09 PM): i didn't hear it

slamdownburnside (10:40:14 PM): yeah

slamdownburnside (10:40:17 PM): it was the intro to "suddenly I see"

Rebelfox64 (10:40:24 PM): ah that is a good choice

slamdownburnside (10:40:34 PM): not quite as good as "I won't back down"

slamdownburnside (10:40:35 PM): but

slamdownburnside (10:40:36 PM): good

slamdownburnside (10:40:38 PM): it's more upbeat

slamdownburnside (10:40:42 PM): less chuck norris

slamdownburnside (10:41:07 PM): damn bitches

Rebelfox64 (10:41:38 PM): cnn's gonna call it for hillz in less than 10 i say

slamdownburnside (10:41:53 PM): oh yeah

slamdownburnside (10:41:57 PM): as soon as they're 100% sure

slamdownburnside (10:42:15 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:42:20 PM): hillary and obama have HUGE parties

slamdownburnside (10:42:21 PM): insanity

Rebelfox64 (10:42:26 PM): yeah seriously

slamdownburnside (10:43:32 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:43:34 PM): fenty's there!

slamdownburnside (10:43:45 PM): light skinned black dudes gotta stick together I guess

Rebelfox64 (10:44:01 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:44:07 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:44:23 PM): how did the polls get it so wrong

slamdownburnside (10:44:53 PM): oop

slamdownburnside (10:45:00 PM): i see adrian fenty's bald head

Rebelfox64 (10:45:05 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:45:52 PM): did I tell you?

slamdownburnside (10:45:53 PM): i saw him

slamdownburnside (10:45:59 PM): at drag (queen) races

Rebelfox64 (10:46:00 PM): ah?

Rebelfox64 (10:46:03 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:46:04 PM): dupont

slamdownburnside (10:46:37 PM): oop

Rebelfox64 (10:46:39 PM): ah yes

slamdownburnside (10:46:38 PM): hillz!

Rebelfox64 (10:46:40 PM): i knew it

slamdownburnside (10:46:44 PM): good prediction jiffy

Rebelfox64 (10:47:07 PM): turn your sign around bozo

Rebelfox64 (10:47:18 PM): haha upside down 'clinton country' sign

slamdownburnside (10:47:25 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:47:28 PM): i was JUST thinking that

slamdownburnside (10:47:30 PM): idiots

slamdownburnside (10:47:34 PM): OMG jiffy

slamdownburnside (10:47:35 PM): what if

slamdownburnside (10:47:38 PM): each candidate wins one

slamdownburnside (10:47:41 PM): obama - iowa

slamdownburnside (10:47:44 PM): hillz - NH

slamdownburnside (10:47:50 PM): edwards - carolinuh

slamdownburnside (10:48:19 PM): romney can have wyoming

slamdownburnside (10:48:20 PM): thats fine

slamdownburnside (10:48:22 PM): who cares

slamdownburnside (10:48:23 PM): lol

Rebelfox64 (10:49:02 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (10:49:13 PM): wyoming moved up it's primary to this week i think

Rebelfox64 (10:49:15 PM): they wanted to matter

Rebelfox64 (10:49:17 PM): didn't work

Rebelfox64 (10:49:19 PM): no one visited

slamdownburnside (10:49:23 PM): who cares

slamdownburnside (10:49:24 PM): lol

Rebelfox64 (10:49:27 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:49:26 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:49:35 PM): they are always shiny faced youngsters and old black ladies

slamdownburnside (10:49:37 PM): at obama things

Rebelfox64 (10:49:41 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:49:48 PM): love it

slamdownburnside (10:50:09 PM): i think he finally slept last night

slamdownburnside (10:50:11 PM): he's more on it

Rebelfox64 (10:50:47 PM): has biden dropped out? not even as many votes as gravel hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:51:33 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (10:51:34 PM): yeah

slamdownburnside (10:51:39 PM): he has

slamdownburnside (10:51:59 PM): biden and dodd dropped out post-iowa

slamdownburnside (10:53:00 PM): i liked biden a lot

slamdownburnside (10:53:02 PM): just not viable

Rebelfox64 (10:53:59 PM): really, i didnt' like him

slamdownburnside (10:54:26 PM): Truly, this is America’s greatest moment. This means that a) Obama’s fans will be kind of sad for a while, and b) Bill Clinton is at Skull & Bones sacrificing one of John Edwards’ poor mill-workers’ babies to Satan. Everybody is truly a winner tonight, except for Mike Gravel.

slamdownburnside (10:54:28 PM): teehee

slamdownburnside (10:54:30 PM): (wonkette)

slamdownburnside (10:54:44 PM): I mean, I liked his politics

slamdownburnside (10:54:49 PM): i'm a bleeding heart liberal remember

slamdownburnside (10:54:51 PM): not really so much anymore

Rebelfox64 (10:55:10 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (10:55:13 PM): ah wow

Rebelfox64 (10:55:18 PM): obama going after giuliani big time

slamdownburnside (10:55:21 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:55:24 PM): he thinks he's already won

Rebelfox64 (10:55:30 PM): not using 9/11 to scare up votes, nice

Rebelfox64 (10:55:33 PM): calls it like it is

slamdownburnside (10:55:35 PM): patriots

slamdownburnside (10:55:39 PM): terrorism

slamdownburnside (10:55:41 PM): nuclear weapons

slamdownburnside (10:55:55 PM): if there are any more buzzwords he's going to start producing honey

Rebelfox64 (10:56:06 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (10:57:25 PM): what is even going on in america right now

slamdownburnside (10:57:32 PM): it's just like the college football season

slamdownburnside (10:57:36 PM): it's anybody's game

Rebelfox64 (10:57:44 PM): hehe

Rebelfox64 (10:58:00 PM): FNC still showing obama

Rebelfox64 (10:58:01 PM): i'm surprised

slamdownburnside (10:58:15 PM): oh

slamdownburnside (10:58:18 PM): well

slamdownburnside (10:58:19 PM): he's big

slamdownburnside (10:58:26 PM): they're going to show hillz whole thing too i bet

Rebelfox64 (10:58:35 PM): ugh, hillz

slamdownburnside (10:58:38 PM): declared the destiny of a nation

slamdownburnside (10:58:39 PM): wow

Rebelfox64 (10:58:42 PM): how does it work out that none of the speeches go on at the same time

slamdownburnside (10:58:42 PM): good work obomb

Rebelfox64 (10:58:46 PM): do they just give each other that courtesy

slamdownburnside (10:58:47 PM): coordination?

slamdownburnside (10:58:50 PM): yeah I think they do

slamdownburnside (10:58:51 PM): also

slamdownburnside (10:58:58 PM): I liked his "They said this day would never come" speech

slamdownburnside (10:59:02 PM): it was emotional

Rebelfox64 (10:59:17 PM): i wonder if he's using a prompter

slamdownburnside (10:59:18 PM): wow

Rebelfox64 (10:59:20 PM): major points to him if not

slamdownburnside (10:59:34 PM): no idea

slamdownburnside (10:59:44 PM): wow

slamdownburnside (10:59:52 PM): JFK and MLK references in the same sentence

slamdownburnside (10:59:58 PM): he's got a good speechwriter

Rebelfox64 (11:00:18 PM): yup

slamdownburnside (11:00:24 PM): dude

slamdownburnside (11:00:27 PM): i want to be a speechwriter

slamdownburnside (11:00:29 PM): I'd be so good at it

Rebelfox64 (11:00:31 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (11:00:47 PM): is this yes we can thing new

slamdownburnside (11:00:47 PM): i used to write our sorority president's addresses every year

slamdownburnside (11:00:49 PM): i think it is new

slamdownburnside (11:00:51 PM): NICE music

Rebelfox64 (11:00:57 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (11:00:56 PM): here I am baaaaby

Rebelfox64 (11:00:58 PM): yeah

slamdownburnside (11:01:01 PM): signed sealed delivered

slamdownburnside (11:01:02 PM): i'm yours!

Rebelfox64 (11:01:22 PM): i think i'd run with 'we built this city on rock 'n' roll'

Rebelfox64 (11:01:25 PM): hahaha jk

slamdownburnside (11:01:24 PM): high drama, wolfy!

slamdownburnside (11:01:28 PM): HA

slamdownburnside (11:01:31 PM): you would

slamdownburnside (11:01:34 PM): rock n roll presidency

slamdownburnside (11:01:58 PM): i can't believe john mccain

slamdownburnside (11:02:01 PM): it's so cray cray

Rebelfox64 (11:02:33 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (11:04:11 PM): humanized herself?

slamdownburnside (11:04:13 PM): what is this

Rebelfox64 (11:04:16 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (11:05:06 PM): haha

Rebelfox64 (11:05:10 PM): even commenting on the music choices now

slamdownburnside (11:05:51 PM): hahaha

slamdownburnside (11:05:54 PM): I already did that

slamdownburnside (11:05:58 PM): omg

slamdownburnside (11:06:00 PM): i should liveblog

Rebelfox64 (11:06:08 PM): haha

slamdownburnside (11:06:11 PM): I'm posting our entire conversation

WHAT IF

2008-01-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

Obama wins Iowa.
Clinton wins New Hampsz.
Edwards wins South Carolinuh.

OMGZ the primaries are as crazy as NCAA football!

end of an era

2007-12-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

End of Semester processing for FALL2006-SUMMER2007

Inbox
Information Technology Services, Accounts to meileewo

show details 11:19 PM (5 minutes ago)

from Information Technology Services, Accounts
reply-to consult@usc.edu,
to meileewo@usc.edu,
date Dec 5, 2007 11:19 PM
subject End of Semester processing for FALL2006-SUMMER2007
mailed-by usc.edu
11:19 PM (4 minutes ago)

Dear student account holder:

Our records indicate that you either graduated more than six months ago or are not currently enrolled in fall 2007 or spring 2008 classes. As a result, access to your email.usc.edu and UNIX Student Computing Facility (SCF) accounts will be disabled on the evening of Wednesday, December 19, 2007. Access to USC central services, including myUSC Portal and Virtual Private
Network (VPN), will also be disabled, as will access to many departmental services.

Though your email (email.usc.edu) access will be disabled, email forwarding will continue to work for a limited time. Instructions on how to forward your USC email to another address are available at the following site:

http://www.usc.edu/its/email/help/forwarding.html/.

If you are not currently registered and have not yet taken steps to save the data in your email and UNIX accounts, please do so by noon, December 19th. After that date, you will be charged to have your email files restored. For more information about file restorals of disabled and expired accounts, please see Section 5 of the following website:

http://www.usc.edu/its/policies/procedures/index.html/.

If you are registered for spring 2008 classes and have received this message in error, please contact the ITS accounts office at accounts@usc.edu.

If you are a staff member who took a class in spring or summer 2007, the disabling of your student account will not affect your staff email account or your staff UNIX account and related central services.

because I'm a good soldier of Troy

2007-11-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

November 29, 2007

The Honorable Antonio R. Villaraigosa
Mayor
City of Los Angeles City Hall
200 North Spring Street, Room 303
Los Angeles, California 90012
Fax: (213) 847-0680

Dear Mr. Mayor,

I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for your support of the University of Southern California remaining a tenant of the Memorial Coliseum.

As a recent graduate of USC I was very upset to hear that the Coliseum Commission might not renew our lease and allow us to make very necessary renovations to the building. As I understand it, the school is offering $100 million to make upgrades to return the Coliseum to world-class status. I also think that allowing USC more say in our now 80-year residency at the venue is not too much to ask. The contributions that USC has made and will continue to make to the area and the city as a whole far outweigh any notions of an elusive NFL stadium.

I am a Trojan, my mother is a Trojan and I hope someday my grandkids will be Trojans too. The Coliseum lease is not only important to us in the practical sense of having a place to hold events, but also in terms of our historical presence at the stadium. Trojan traditions are extremely important to us. We are grounded in this storied 127-year history, and this gives us the strength and passion to excel at what we do. I recently returned to campus for homecoming celebrations, as many of us alums do, and I cannot fathom the loss of community that would occur if our home games were moved to the Rose Bowl.

I was saddened to read Commissioner Bill Chadwick’s comments in the LA Times this morning. He said, "I think it would be great if they played at the Rose Bowl for two years. At the end of that two years, the leverage we would have in negotiations would be spectacular." This Marie Antoinette attitude does not reflect a spirit of friendship or even compromise. I truly hope that your positive influence may change the opinion of the Coliseum Commission members so that my school and the venue that we know and love may return to the bargaining table to reach a fair and fruitful agreement.

I know that you went to UCLA, but fight on, sir!

Sincerely,

Meilee M. Wong
Class of ‘07

pie. pie. pie. pie. pie. pie.

2007-11-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

When I went home for T-giving last week, naturally my mother freaked out that we didn't have enough dessert to bring to Auntie Ellen's annual gathering.

So for some reason, my sister started blasting Alicia Keys (as I found out later) at 8 a.m. and I had nothing better to do than get up and bake up a storm! What did I choose? PIE.

I don't particularly believe that "baking is an exact science" (sorry Alton), so I poked around online to find general proportions for things and went to town. My first pie adventure: Pumpkin Pie.

First, I set about making crust. I "cut" a stick of (cold) butter into some flour and baking powder (I tossed in some salt because I thought it needed it) with my fingertips, until I got that "coarse cornmeal" that everyone talks about. Moistened it up with one egg, and froze my dough ball for about 1/2 hr.

I carefully sprinkled my work surface (which happens to be my parents' large glass cutting board) with flour, and plopped my dough ball in the center. I carefully floured my rolling pin, and rolled out from the center, going around in a circle until I had a somewhat pie-shaped, 1/4 inch thick round of pie crust dough. Excited about my accomplishment, I lifted up one edge of the pie crust to fold it over for easy transfer to my glass pie dish. Crumble. I bristled at my crust. No matter. I pushed the rips back together, retrieved a large plastic pancake spatula and attempted to lift up the edge again. Crumble crumble. Undeterred, I worked my spatula around the entire 360º outer edge of my crust. EVENT OF MASSIVE CRUMBLE. Little bits of pie dough were molded to the board, and my crust was in a shambles.

Result: FAIL

Lesson: Freeze dough ball longer.

While my hastily re-formed dough ball was re-freezing, I set about making my pie filling. One can of pumpkin puree, check. (Thank you, Barefoot Contessa, for erasing my shame.) One egg, check. Brown sugar, check. Nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, check. Condensed milk...condensed milk...uh oh.

Result: SUBSTITUTE COCONUT MILK.

Lesson: Coconut Pumpkin Pie?

I whisked everything together until I got the consistency of a melted milkshake. Then I covered with saran wrap and returned the whole thing to the fridge so as to allow my dough to finish freezing.

In the meantime, my father had decided that we needed to bake an apple pie "because that's what The People want." If by "The People" he means some kind of Wong Proletariat...no matter. Anyway, during the pumpkin madness I had sent him to the store for reinforcements so by the time I'd whisked my pumpkin to soupy happiness, we were off and running on the apples.

Peeling done with a vegetable peeler, coring done with one of those semi-useless "apple cutters" that look like sinister covered-wagon spokes, last minute corrections to remove seeds and cores done with a paring knife. (Thanks Dad.) I tossed the apples with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and let them rest. Simple!

Time for crust #2. The apple pie recipe called for twice as much flour, the same amount of butter/baking powder, and one egg. I threw in a dash of salt because I thought it needed it. The difference here? Spooning one tablespoonful of ice water in at a time, slowly, until the dough came together. I liked this better than the first crust...I didn't have to rely on my one egg for all my moisture, I could tailor it to what I needed. And I ended up with a larger quantity of crust in the end. Enough so I could cookie-cutter a duck for my final project...

Bored with waiting for the dough to freeze, I poked around in cabinets until I found...Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder. I wonder what this would taste like in pumpkin pie...so, I retrieved my pumpkin filling and whisked in a couple tablespoons. No visible color change, but what about the taste?

Once the dough balls had re-frozen, my pies came together like the last 5 pieces of a massive puzzle. Pre-baking the pumpkin pie crust using dried beans to keep its shape, I poured in my filling. For the apple, I rolled out half the dough, poured in the apples, and rolled out the other half on top. Cutting vents and trimming excess dough. With a little extra, I cut out a duck and plopped it on top of my pumpkin pie.

An hour and a little bit later, this is what we got:

Coconut Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Homemade Apple Pie

Well, how did I do? Well, in competition with three other pies (all store-bought) of pecan, mincemeat and plain pumpkin, there was one slice of my apple left and two slices of my pumpkin at the end of the night. Not bad for my first foray into pie-making.

Things to remember:

Chocolate makes pumpkin filling taste burnt, even if it's not.
A half tablespoon of nutmeg is far too much, no matter what the recipe says.
Fuji apples are much sweeter than Granny Smith. Add lemon juice or other appropriate acid.
No one understands ducks. Avoid.

Other than that, I think this was a fantastic learning experience. All I gotta say is, watch out for Baker Wong at Christmas!

squirrelly republicans

2007-10-26T06:35:00.001-07:00

Soo...I visited my old office yesterday, and apparently the second floor of Cannon just recruited its latest member:

Supposedly, Issa's office put out nuts for it. Don't squirrels have rabies?

EJIA III: wanderings in wyoming

2007-08-20T05:35:00.001-07:00

Saturday, August 4, 2007

As I had just returned from China, jet lag got the best of me and I had the annoying habit of popping awake at 6:30 a.m. every day. Thankfully, as the trip wore on, we slowly changed time zones and I got progressively onto a normal schedule. We took our time Saturday morning, sitting around on our pajamas and listening to Spring Awakening on Matt’s computer. Framed pictures of family – both his biological family and an untakeably cute snapshot of the three roommates – sat on his desk.

Matt – like the Mormon mother he is – took the six of us to a nice breakfast place out on one of the logically numbered streets. The café was in an older part of town full of trees and stately homes. As he pointed out things along the way, I realized just how intense the history and tradition of Salt Lake City was, and how important it is to their culture and faith to know all of these facts. Still fresh from China, it made a particularly strong impression on me as “root-seeking” and ancestor worship are intrinsic components of being Chinese.

After a leisurely breakfast, Emil had to go to work and we had to be on our way. Unfortunately my copy of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim took a nosedive into a puddle, and the Mormons hopped to the rescue. Matt procured a plastic bag while Mike filled up my Nalgene with ice water and I felt incredibly mommied and fussed over. Although our visit was insanely short, I was so excited to see all of them again and hang out in the safe haven of my Mormon family.

Brian: Don’t you want to wipe off the book?

Meilee: ::wipes book cover on shirt::

Brian: No wonder your parents thought you were a lesbian.

Meilee: What?

Mormon sendoff: Meilee, Matt, Brian, Mike and Ben #1.

We took one last picture before we hopped back on the road, and we were off. Stopping briefly to procure more mini-DV tapes, triple A batteries for my dad’s anti-iTrip and a bottle of Advil, we rolled out of Utah and into Wyoming. Another state conquered!

Salt Lake City to Denver

Green River, Wyoming. Land of gas prices fully $1 less than LA.

I found Wyoming to be an incredibly beautiful place –a vast, raw wilderness that was completely foreign to me. It was like what I would imagine America was before we built over all of it with concrete, asphalt and humanity. Vast plains stretched to the horizon before us. Mountainous land formations jutted out of the landscape, bathed in streams of sunlight slicing through the shadows cast by backlit clouds. I had no idea of the actual physical size of anything, as there was absolutely nothing man-made in sight to provide perspective. We puzzled over the ubiquitous lengths of fencing along the freeway, sometimes stretching on for tens of miles, sometimes perpendicular to the road, sometimes repeating in parallel formation like some kind of backcountry Andy Warhol painting. With some help from Treo we determined later that they were snow fences, which apparently prevent unmanageable amounts of snow from blowing onto the highway. Who knew. Brian wondered aloud if that was the type of fence that they tied Matthew Shepard to.

Somewhere in the wilds of Wyoming. Notice the fencing.

Accompanied by Melissa Etheridge on Brian’s iPod, I lost myself in thought. Like visiting Stonewall in New York, or going to Manzanar in the eastern deserts of California, Laramie for me is a marked place in history, A place where an incredible act of hate was allowed to happen, an irreversible injustice that will color the heart of that place forever. When we finally got to Laramie, we filled up Casey’s tank and quietly went on our way. It was just like any other place, with houses and stores and a university right off the freeway. Brian wondered how the folks living there felt about The Laramie Project – which was the first thing we ever did together freshman year – and how they accidentally were thrust into the national spotlight. Even though my mom later admonished me for not seeking out the Matthew Shepard memorial, I think our brief stop was enough. Laramie is just like any other place.

~~~

In a scene to be repeated countless times during our travels:

Meilee: Where ARE we?

Brian: Wyoming.

Confederate grill: yeahhhhh.

Gosh Darn ~~Beautiful~~ Hottie Picture #3

Our traverse across the entire state of Wyoming complete, we entered “colorful Colorado.” As we turned south on I-25 to head towards Jodie, we encountered our first spell of real “weather.” We didn’t let a little downpour stop us, and neither did a motorcyclist who gamely donned a poncho and continued on his way.

Into the storm...

Singing along to HSM, no doubt, for the 12th time.

Poncho man!

As we approached the Oxman landing pad (Jodie’s dad installed massive business-park style lights on his front lawn, lining the driveway), I was SO excited to see my roommate. Jodie and I have been having lunch together – at least once or twice a week – since freshman year and she is undoubtedly one of my best friends from college. Barb and Gar are doing great, and they were incredible hosts as usual. It was one of Jodie’s high school friends’ birthday, so we headed out to Benihana which was surreal to say the least. We sat in the dining room area, since the wait for the grills was 45 minutes and we were all hungry. Even though we were literally the only table in that entire half of the restaurant, the service was pokey and terrible. At least three servers were just standing around with vacant looks on their faces. I tried to make eye contact with a waitress and she looked at me and turned her head. We were also subjected to a ridiculous man singing on the K-TV (that’s what they call it in China). I took a video because no one would believe it.

Meilee: I’ve never eaten sushi this far from a coast before.

Brian: The sushi is better in Japan.

At the end of the meal, Brian still hadn’t gotten his soup. And when they finally did bring the soup, they said, “Oh, did you want your salad too?” No, he doesn’t want the salad that was included in his meal, and should have come probably more than an hour ago. Why would he want that? Idiots.

Stopping by a grocery store on the way home, we got Oreos and then vegged out watching TV in Jodie’s living room with cookies and milk. Just like old times. Funny that no matter where we are we always do the same thing. I can’t wait to come back and visit!

EJIA II: getting started with a bang. or a lurch.

2007-08-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 3, 2007

Our longest day by far, about 9 hours and 45 minutes, the first day of our Epic Journey was going to be a bellwether for the rest of our trip. Would our old-person joints be able to handle driving for hours on end? Would my car be able to make the long trek? Would we kill each other from the sheer amount of togetherness? Did I bring enough snacks?

Davis to Salt Lake City

Departing Davis in the morning, about 10 a.m., went off without incident. We magically crammed Brian's and my entire lives mainly into the trunk of Casey - my genderqueer car (he prefers the male pronouns). My dad cautioned us about rednecks and Mormon missionaries, and my mom, as usual, said to watch out for Republicans. And she was actually being serious. Brian shot video of us pulling out of my driveway, and we rolled out of the circle like the gangstas we are. I wasn't concerned. I knew I would be coming back to Davis, if not right away, someday.

Brian attempting candid photography while the car was in motion,
probably not 45 seconds after departure from the Wong homestead.

Brian: Why is my mouth so big?

Meilee: . . .

We rolled through Reno, pausing for food and for gas at a station that still used carbon paper credit card receipts. (Oh Nevada.) We continued driving along until we hit Valmy, Nev., a tiny hamlet that was nothing more than a couple of buildings on one side of I-80 and a rest stop on the other. I think the scenery triggered our first of many realizations that we were actually in the middle of nowhere.

Gosh Darn Beautiful Picture #1

A few stories about RtMers' photo shoots and a cow grate later, we'd meandered off to a handpainted sign informing us of the two major sights in town.

Brian and the sign and the vastitude of nothingness.

It was seriously the most creative we would be, probably for the rest of the entire trip. Whoops.
If leaving the forested foothills and rugged backcountry of California for the gravel and desert scrubland of Nevada seemed difficult, oh boy, we had not yet met Utah.

Gray skies, gray road and salt flats for as far as the eye could see.

Brian: You know, we could get kidnapped and murdered out here and no one would ever find us.

Meilee: Stop it.

Brian: YOU stop it. No seriously, are you seeing this? I can't even tell where the salt ends and the sky begins. We could seriously just disappear and no one would ever know

Meilee: No seriously, you're freaking me out.

As we rounded the corner on the Great Salt Lake, we got SO excited. Less than 15 miles to go! Our first day nearly complete! Our favorite Mormons right around the bend! Brian whipped out this plastic whistle that my mom gave us before we left and gave it a celebratory toot. (I later 'misplaced' said whistle.)

Then the car lurched.

Casey consumed some vegetable matter along the way. I.e. a tumbleweed.

Meilee: Uhhhh, what was that?

The car lurched again.

Brian Uhhh, I know what that means.

Rolling to a stop on the shoulder, we ran out of gas. Completely. DOH. To be fair, Brian warned me at both a half tank and a third of a tank, but I said we should wait until a quarter tank. And we both completely forgot. I have never, ever run out of gas before in my ENTIRE life. But I guess there's a first time for everything. And honestly, if this hadn't happened, we would have 1/3 less of the total photos taken on our roadtrip. We are so bad at this.

Watching the sun set on the side of I-80E in Utah.

Gosh Darn Beautiful Picture #2

Waiting for the Allstate truck driver in our flip-flops, sweatpants and Bluetooths.

Meilee: Ew, why are there so many bugs?!

Allstate man: Welcome to Utah.

A tiny man in an orange vest with a tiny yellow SUV came to our rescue, with 3 gallons of gas that we paid him $5 for. What a deal. He told us he'd gotten kicked out of the Army, and had moved back to Logan, Utah, where his dad lives. Brian and I both refrained from asking about
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

FINALLY making it into Salt Lake City, land of logically labeled street names!

We stopped at literally the FIRST gas station we saw, and never let the tank get below a half-tank for the entire rest of the trip. I am not joking.

When we finally landed at the Mormons' apartment three hours late in SLC, greeted by hugs and kisses from Matt Kulisch, I don't think I'd been happier to see a familiar face in a very, very long time. Between a late-night brewery dinner with six gays and a waitress who told Matt that he touched her coot*r, a screening of the mockumentary "Lords a'LARPing," and a very very special fashion show, the earlier stress of the day had all but dissipated. The Mormons' futon next to a terrarium holding a very poisonous toad was a welcoming place to crash on our first night on the road.

Emil, Brian and Matt at the end of a slightly harrowing Day 1.

Welcome to life on the road with the Murphy-Wongs.

epic journey into adulthood I

2007-08-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

I know that I should be blogging about China, but I have a ridiculous amount of material to sift through and the Epic Journey is much fresher in my mind. Despite the complete absurdity of the trip - Brian had just been at his eventual destination and I am at this moment in San Francisco on business - I'm really pleased that we made this trip happen. So worth it beyond words.

Los Angeles to Davis

Two days after getting back from China, and a few days after he got back from New York, Brian and I hit the road in Chloe to drive up I-5 to Davis. We must have looked so silly flipping the top down on the convertible in order to hoist suitcases directly into the backseat. The car was completely packed full, even after dropping off ridiculous amounts of stuff at Goodwill.

I'd been back to LA several times since I'd officially "moved out" of G-Unit, but it was a little bit different this time. G-Unit itself looked and felt different than I remembered it, but over the two years I'd spent there it became more than just a place I slept. I thought of that first night when Radford and I were terrified of each other, but soon I got used to the orange bathtowel sets and she got used to my jokes about black people visiting snowy climates. Watching a lifetime's worth of Laguna Beach, Real World/Road Rules and Work Out with Jodie. Our first theme party. Our elaborate dinner parties and our ever-expanding liquor "cabinet" a.k.a. top of the fridge. Rushing out the door to make sure we got to campus in time for BBQ chicken calzones. Using a DDR pad to control our DVD player. Hearing our neighbors scream "shut up, bitch" at each other. The trash throwers. Climbing alleyway fences and ripped jeans. All of these things made my college apartment at once quirky and endearing. I shut the door behind me for the last time, and college really felt over.

The drive home went off without incident, and soon the Murph was in Davis for the first time. It was such a role reversal since I'd been out to visit Potomac so frequently. I took him to a couple of my favorite restaurants, the Davis Farmers Market, Davis High, my elementary school and the Nugget. He experienced the whirlwind that is my mother and her two BlackBerrys. It was also quite an adventure selling Chloe, which required a couple trips out to Roseville and the obligatory question (this time from a Carmax employee) if we were married. However, New York City is not a kind innkeeper for cars, and what was done must be done.

We took pictures. For posterity. And so we can show the grandkids Brian's first car.

Chloe and Brian in front of my house in Davis.

Chloe, you were a crappy, ridiculous car that ate batteries and hated turning left. But we shall miss you anyway.

Next up...the journey begins...

just go to vegas already.

2007-07-15T01:14:00.001-07:00

I. Hate. Ron. Artest.

can we just get that out there?

The latest non-news from my beloved Sacramento Kings is that the NBA is suspending our 'star player' for allegedly engaging in a domestic altercation with his wife, Kimsha. Surprise, surprise...you beat up your wife and you get a smack on the wrist.

I remember when Artest was first traded to the Kings last year, and it was all I could do to keep flashing back to that ridiculous Pistons-Pacers brawl in 2004. Artest commits a hard foul, Ben "Giant Hair" Wallace shoves back, and suddenly the entire arena erupts into chaos? Well, watch for yourself, and remember fondly:

This, along with countless other minor acts of violence and just generally being a hoodlum, leaves a sour taste about the character of this man. (Who can afford to make such rash decisions/not care about losing $5 million.) I remember watching with my mom, who remarked, "Ron Artest is a punk. So is Ben Wallace."

Word to my mother.

RON ARTEST YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY.

What the crap happened? What happened to my Kings team? My Kings were Chris Webber (pre-injury, after he returned he threw the entire team's rhythm off/potentially derailed the best playoff run we've had in the years I've lived in nor cal), chain-smoking Vlade Divac and his ridiculous local car commercials filmed with his Slavic sidekick Peja Stojakovic, and Lawrence freaking Funderburke. Fundy only played like 5 minutes/season, but I loved him all the same. (Didn't he have a master's degree or something? And doesn't that automatically disqualify you from participating in pro sports?) (And thank God we still have Mike Bibby...fight on, sorta!) And who could forget Rick Adelman, who looked like he was going to have an aneurysm on the sidelines everytime anything - good or bad - happened on the court.

My Kings had heart, and they united the sporting soul of my sleepy farming valley every time we went on a failed run to the championships. I remember the days when the biggest thing we had to worry about was bringing enough cowbells to drown out the Lakers fans in Arco Arena, making snide comments about Rick Fox's haircut/Devean George's lack of hair and enjoying every second of the Shaq/Kobe sibling squabble. SO L.A. Do you remember? When we spent more time lucking the Fakers than hating our own team? I do.

Dear Maloofs,

Please take your team to Las Vegas already so they can play next to your huge casinos full of hopeless people and cigarette smoke. It hurts my heart to watch the (mis)management of the Kings over the preceding years, so please just take them to a place where trashy sideshows like Ron Artest belong. I am so over all of it. Sacramento does have its share of problems, but we are a different breed of people than most places. I know that people complain about "fair-weather fans" but this is not about winning or losing. This is about tearing the fabric of something that used to unite our region and stand for something positive. Now, this is just sad. And we deserve better than what you have wrought upon us.

Sincerely,

Wong

FINAL: Women watch out...it's not only rap

2007-04-24T22:50:00.000-07:00

The denigration and objectification of women in American society is a story as old as Adam and Eve. Throughout history, the idea that Eve is simply a rib, a lesser component of Adam, has led to the subordination of the female gender in government and the social power structure. This insidious cultural facet has sunk deep into something that surrounds us on a daily basis, follows us everywhere and that we barely notice. As important and valuable progress the 19th Amendment and Title IX are, equality for women in music is trampled, flouted and outright ignored.

And it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Shut my mouth, slap your grandma
There oughta be a law
Get the Sheriff on the phone
Lord have mercy, how's she even get them britches on
That honky tonk badonkadonk

Using what used to be a singularly "hip-hop" term, country artist Trace Adkins has become a crossover artist of a different sort. Possibly influenced by the popularity of hip-hip culture, and possibly in an effort to join the mainstream, country music has checked out of its squeaky clean phase and into another level. "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk," a decidedly non-mainstream country song, borrows a word popularized by Missy Elliott and Tracy Morgan through a song and Saturday Night Live sketch, respectively, to measure a woman's worth through the validity of her rear end.

"While I am not a fan of rap and hip-hop and its objectification of women and glorification of violence, I think it is getting more attention than it deserves in the Imus controversy. Lily-white country music has ... current songs that equally denigrate women." (Dennis George, The Morning Call, 20 Apr 2007)

Some other crossover songs, such as Run DMC & Aerosmith's catchy collaboration on "Walk This Way," are highly successful. However, some collaborative genres, such as reggaeton, have spawned exploitative subcultures. A mix of rap and Latin cultural music, reggaeton has become highly successful in both a niche market and with some mainstream crossovers including the ubiquitous "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee and Pitbull. Although these songs are also quite catchy, the reggaeton movement has inspired a form of dance called "perreo." As shocked as I was to view Nelly's "Tip Drill" music video in class, I was even more horrified at the fully-clothed "perreandos," or people who engage in perreo.

Example of Perreo Dancing

"What you're seeing mostly, though, is, you're seeing repetitive images of women as boy toy, as sex kitten, as sex objects. And I think that's a problem." (Byron Hurt, Paula Zahn Now, "Hip-Hop: Art or Poison?" broadcast 21 Feb 2007)

Popularized as a dance style in Puerto Rico, the word "perreo" is derived from the word for dog in Spanish, ostensibly to convey the idea of the "alpha male" and the submissive female. As in "Tip Drill," women are commodified like objects to be owned and used. This is a harmful culture, because by portraying women as objects, you lose their humanity in the process. It is just as wrong as slavery, prostitution or selling a kidney on ebay - you cannot put a price on people ... a price on a human life. As this mindset begins to spread throughout other genres, I predict that this will be a step backwards for women in music.

"I strongly believe that hip-hop is more misogynistic and disrespectful of Black girls and women than other popular music genres such as the blues. The casual references to rape and other forms of violence and the soft-porn visuals and messages of many rap music videos are seared into the consciousness of young Black boys and girls at an early age. The lyrics and the images--and attitudes that undergird them--are potentially extremely harmful to Black girls and women in a culture that is already negative about our humanity, our sexuality and our overall worth." (Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, President of Bennett College, President Emerita of Spelman College, Ebony magazine, March 2007)

The destructive force of misogyny in popular culture today is in fact the most dangerous for the audience it is trying to reach - young black women. In a world where women struggle in general to achieve and maintain equality, the epithets and condescension offered by male artists in a position of power are extremely detrimental to the advancement of young black girls and women, and to the progress of women in general.

Alright nigga, that's enough
Stop, look and listen; get back to your position
Kim got your dick hard, startin fights in the yard
Hotter than a Pop Tart fresh out of the toaster
Niggaz do anything for a Lil' Kim poster
Eses, Bloods, Crips, all the thugs

Up North in the hole, they all wanna know
- "How Many Licks?"

Female hip-hop and rap artists are barely any better. For every Beyonce that sings about being a "Survivor," there is a Lil Kim who encourages - nay, promotes- a lifestyle of promiscuity and self-imposed objectification. I would never want a daughter of mine to have life goals that included being a pinup girl on the cell walls of a state penitentiary. This goes far beyond the traditional ideas of Women's Liberation and the "free love" 1960s. This is taking women's sexual liberation so far off point that it resembles a near-illegal (and certainly immoral) exploitation.

"But the most explicit music is often what sells the best. And that's what gives hip-hop a bad rap. Some critics call it violent, materialistic, and exploitive of women. Others worry that it's lost its socially conscious message." (Paula Zahn, Paula Zahn Now, "Hip-Hop: Art or Poison?" broadcast 21 Feb 2007)

I was once chastised by the assistant director of a major student services department for my ideas about post-feminism. I explained that by acting and thinking at school and in the workplace as if I were equal to a man, which I am, I conducted my own daily exercise in feminism. The woman, in her late 30s, demanded to know how I could be "post-something that isn't over yet" and asserted that I would "never be equal to a man." This diatribe, much like the "liberation" images in today's popular music, is so extreme that it is actually detrimental to progress. The bra-burning feminists of previous generations are now completely out of touch with today's youth, and are no longer equipped with the tools to speak to a mass audience. Unfortunately, however, hip-hop and rap music have found a scarily effective medium on MTV and BET.

“What value can there be in descriptions of Black girls and women as ‘bitches,’ ‘ho's,’ ‘skeezers,’ ‘freaks,’ ‘gold diggers,’ ‘chickenheads’ and ‘pigeons’? What could possibly be the value to our communities to have rap music videos that are notorious for featuring half-clothed young Black women gyrating obscenely and functioning as backdrops, props and objects of lust for rap artists who sometimes behave as predators?” (Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, Ebony magazine, March 2007)

I think the eventual turnaround in this horrible trend will come with time, education and the continued work of individuals and groups with schoolchildren.

"I see more and more black students in my AP classes - middle class kids as well as kids from poor backgrounds. Reinforced by a wave of African immigrants, these high-achievers are beginning to set the tone for other black kids in the school." (Patrick Welsh, teacher, "Millennials Rising," p. 165)

My generation was one of social promotion and relaxed standards of excellence. But as the world's population grows, the competition to get into schools and jobs will grow right along with it. Although controversial, mandatory testing for public schools has greatly contributed to the "power of the new 'standards' movement in public schools ("Millennials Rising," p. 157). As children grow up more educated, their standards for intelligent entertainment will rise as well.

Perhaps with this accomplished, we will experience a return to core/American values. What will happen when today's young people have children? I remember listening to my mother's Motown records, and my father's Beach Boys collection when I was a child. Somehow I doubt that tomorrow's parents will be excited about spending quality time with their children listening to "Grillz" or "Nasty Naughty Boy." Popular music's staying power has drastically plummeted. What will the legacy acts be in 25 years?

“And this is a serious concern of, who is watching our households from a higher order? Or who is basically putting it into the households or into the minds of a younger demographic that really kind of shouldn't be exposed to the lifestyles of adults?” (Chuck D, Paula Zahn Now, "Hip-Hop: Art or Poison?" broadcast 21 Feb 2007)

The vast majority of today's popular hip-hop and rap music is a cancer spreading quickly through the ranks of our youth. Whether they are cognizant of it or not, the casual listener of such pop music is being exposed to ideas that would make Simone de Beauvoir cry. Whether they "just listen to it for the beats" or have been so brainwashed that they accept this misogynist rhetoric as a reflection of the times, our children's iPods are wholly inappropriate places for the abuse of women to reside. I invite you to join me in rejecting this music as a hateful anachronism, and thank you for joining me on this semester's journey.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS GATHERED FROM LEXIS NEXIS, JSTOR, PROQUEST OR PRINT SOURCES

We're All In This Together

2007-03-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

My roommate was watching PBS and this documentary, "The Boomer Century," was playing. What first struck me was the quality of the soundtrack - Beatles, U2, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, The Eagles. The documentary focused mainly on the fact that the Boomers are hitting the first waves of seniorhood, and what that means for our country's economy, culture and future.

It was a funny dichotomy to be watching The Boomer Century while reading Millennials Rising. This book is a textbook - assigned reading for my class - but this is probably the first time I've ever read something that validated the lives of my peers and myself.

"I just do not understand '90s children." - Boomer mother, after her 16-year-old had her and her husband arrested for growing marijuana in the basement.

I will never forget when my father called me a fascist on Christmas two years ago. My mother called me a conservative for demanding that her deputy remove her nose ring at work. The generation gap between Boomers and Millennials is smaller than that between the Greatest Generation and Boomers. But just as my grandparents didn't understand what my parents were doing, my parents don't understand why we are acting like our grandparents. Instead of continuing along the precedent set by previous generations, Millennials have overcome inertia and forged our own path.

This book is the answer to what we've all been wondering...even though the media makes my generation seem like depraved, soulless video game zombies and self-absorbed, frighteningly thin Malibu Barbies, why are none of my peers in real life fitting this stereotype? The Boomers and the Generation Xers are projecting upon us this false reality of who they think we should be - making us feel strange and abnormal for NOT doing drugs, NOT having sex, NOT wreaking havoc, and actually caring about our country, our environment and ourselves.

There are bad seeds in every generation, but apparently the media has created this standard of the superficial teen, while the vast majority of teens have more in common with our grandparents than with the newly minted 30-somethings. Our parents, the Boomers, were pot-smoking, free-loving flower children. The Gen Xers were professional slackers - punk and metal footsoldiers of rebellion for the sake of rebellion. I agree with Howe and Strauss when they say that Millennials refuse to be labeled in succession. We are not the Echo Boom. We are not Generation Y. We are not Tony Snow's next circle of hell. We have the poise, intelligence and confidence to grasp, embrace and leave our imprint on the new millennium at hand.

It's hard to ignore the mistakes of our forefathers. Burdened with their decisions, we will be paying for them for the rest of our lives, as will our children and grandchildren. But somehow at the same time, Howe and Strauss comment on the pervasive optimism throughout this generation. Despite the mountainous climb we face to make the world better, we've all got eyes on the prize. We smile and do our work quietly. Why? Because our "I feel" upbringings have given us a quality that the world has not seen since the 1920s - hope. I can't explain it, but even in the face of impossible odds we know that we can make a difference.

"To laugh often and much; to win respect of intelligent people and the affection of children . . . to leave the world a better place. . . to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.music.ME

2007-03-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

With the advent of customization, people are looking for personalized services when they come online into the internet music community. Services such as music.com and myspace music allow aritsts and bands to have a centrally located homepage which is also part of a larger social networking system.

Music.com is primarily an online store where artists can hawk their wares. Artists can set whatever price per song or album they choose, and there is a set fee or percentage that the website charges per transaction. Like iTunes, songs are 99 cents and a user can pick and choose individual songs if they don't wish to purchase the entire album.

Myspace music, on the other hand, is primarily a social networking tool that has a music feature integrated into it. It is extremely useful for small or local bands in that they have a place to post pictures, show dates, blogs and most importantly, their songs. Along with having a host for their songs, bands can become "friends" with other bands or individuals on the website, and thus keep their fan base apprised of their latest updates and records.

Myspace recognized the popularity of this service, and jumped on the opportunity to create its own record label, Myspace Records. It may seem like a strange idea to merge a social networking site with a record label, but really it makes a lot of sense. The record company has a built-in talent pool - the bands using their myspace.com capability - along with a built-in customer base. The people who are already "friends" with the band on myspace would probably support them when it came time to purchase a new album, and the opportunities for direct marketing are endless. This was a brilliant move on the part of Myspace, which was formerly relegated to the back seat as a creepy version of Facebook.

Alternative Spring Break

2007-03-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break this year I did a service project instead of going on vacation, to a place where my family had been imprisoned for 4 years during World War II. The project required a lot of physical labor, outside in the sun, and I took this time to do a lot of personal reflecting and to get to know my groupmates a little better. What struck me was that even though we were working in spaces often smaller than 10 X 10, some of them whipped out their iPods and plugged themselves in as we were working. At first I was slightly irked by it, but then I realized that these kids have never known life without some sort of iPod-like device. After four years of music school, I still don't have an iPod, but this device is completely impacting generations of kids and how they interact socially.

Instead of plugging in, I took some time to think and wrote this after the trip:

When I felt the sun burning into my skin, the dryness of the air squeezing the moisture out of me, and the wind and sand whipping into my body I sort of began to understand what happened to my family. There's this weight around your heart and your soul when there's nothing but desolate stretches of wasteland and emptiness as far as you can see. It feels like hopelessness and desperation and an intense loneliness - like your neighbors and your state and your country have turned their backs and abandoned you in this horribly Godforsaken place. That your freedom, something so sacred to Americans, could be taken away for an interminable amount of time. I wanted to cry but everything was so dry that I couldn't.

I wanted for nothing more in the world than for my Grandma to still be alive so I could call her and tell her what I was doing. I wanted to ask her so badly where my family's barracks were, if she had visited the gardens that I shoveled out from under many feet of overgrowth and windblown sand, where the fire station where my grandpa volunteered was, and where my aunts and uncle had gone to school. Who the man was in the story she told me years ago, that was playing catch with his grandson and wandered too close to the perimeter to retrieve a ball and was shot by the military police because he only spoke Japanese and didn't understand when they told him to move away. But mostly I wanted to tell her that people were coming to Manzanar every day, and looking at the museum and that there were park rangers here from all over the U.S. who cared so deeply about protecting the site and its history. That I was doing
something small but important - helping other people to remember what had happened here and the things that are so much more important than differences and fear and hysteria. When I saw my grandparents in the roster of prisoners, and saw a photograph of my aunt going to
Pilgrimage in the museum there, I knew that what I was doing was important, and I want my kids to do this too. Learn the history of our people but not the anger and hate that I felt for so long.

Causing a Ruckus

2007-03-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

In yet another attempt to force college students to stop downloading, the music filesharing service Ruckus has introduced yet another platform into the fray. You can download music onto your desktop for free, and share it with friends too, all legally. The catch? If you want to move your music off of your desktop and onto a mobile player, you have to pay. And it's not compatible with iPod. And the music, of course, is encoded with DRM.

The popularity of downloaded music is huge, and continues to grow. But the problem of illegal downloading has cramped the progress of the industry. It doesn't make sense to allow people to use the music "however they want," but people have gotten used to it and are rejecting DRM.

The University of Southern California, previously subscribing to Napster in a highly unsuccessful campaign to stop downloaders, recently began providing the Ruckus service to its entire student body. Coinciding with 125, the subscription was touted as a leap into the digital future. Interesting, but I don't think it will work. People are so used to BitTorrent, DC++ for public schools and other services that they have absolutely no problem "stealing" media. And when they aren't able to find what they want, people automatically go to iTunes. The 99-cent song/$9.99 album model makes everything seem like a deal, and in theory, you will then own that song forever - at least for your own personal use. For the subscription model, as soon as you get rid of your monthly service, you no longer have access to the songs. And this, for many people, is a deal-killer.

¿Puede la música latina ahorrar la industria?

2007-03-05T22:02:00.000-08:00

In a time where record sales are pretty much universally tanking, there is one beacon of light in the shipwreck. The Latin music market has actually been growing slightly every year in terms of sales, giving the labels a bit of hope in a time of drastic changes. Unfortunately, this is a false hope.

The demographic that listens to Latin is quite different from your average consumer. The purchasing power driving these sales are reluctant to use the interne t, or may not be savvy enough to be able to use downloading software. No matter what format the consumer is interested in, the demand for Latin music will continue to grow. And it is only a matter of time before the the digital revolution comes to Latin America.

In my experiences with my students at a local middle school, I found the Spanish-language boy band Rebelde extremely popular with the next wave of Latino young people. Part of the reggaeton revolution, rapper Pit Bull - who is slated to perform at the Shrine Auditorium - also commands an impressive sway over a younger, more technologically advanced fan base. As these fans grow older and begin to purchase music on their own, I predict that their purchasing method of choice will soon become digital downloads.

The trend is already implementing itself. Although iTunes, Napster or BitTorrent might not yet be household names in Latin America, times are changing. Digital downloads have increased by 15 times since 2005, with high quality ringtones for wireless devices comprising a good amount of that increase. This already shows a shift in the Latin American culture in general. With the explosive popularity of mobile devices, consumers are becoming less and less reluctant to forgo the CD format.

Big Bad RIAA vs. Little Red Trojan Hood

2007-03-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

My ninth grade physics teacher always said that for every action, there was a consequence. And in this case, USC students must now come to terms with their misbehavior.

Today the Daily Trojan announced that the school has agreed to help the RIAA catch illegal downloaders - ostensibly students - on campus. The school provided access to information about how their networks are used, and rightfully so, but USC has been put in a difficult position. Do you protect your students or do you obey the law? Kind of a catch-22.

Right or wrong, USC will soon deliver letters to 20 students detailing their downloading misbehavior and offering them a settlement. However, even taking the settlement is bad news because the RIAA may fine you up to $150,000 per infringement, so for every song (file) swapped. Even if you do manage to avoid going to court, it will be expensive regardless.

The record labels have to deal with new and creative downloaders every day. For example, in Japan downloads to mobile devices total almost 350 million while downloads to PCs are only about 23 million. Kids in Japan have already moved on and are downloading directly to their phones, and comparatively ignoring their less-portable desktop computers.

So through all of this, there are going to be 20 very unhappy college students tomorrow. But it all comes back to my personal adage: Why pay for something you can't use however you want, when you could get the exact same thing for free off a file-sharing program that is DRM free?

How Bluetooth Faced Extinction

2007-02-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Although it may seem as if Bluetooth is making its first foray into the music industry, this is definitely not the case. Strangely, the famously wireless company has now released a desk-bound stereo set that is Bluetooth enabled. The idea behind this device is that you can easily play music beamed from your Bluetooth-capable mp3 player directly to the stereo. Sony has also come out with a Bluetooth-enabled amplification system that is even simpler. However, from $150 - $300 per system, I could be very easily convinced to burn mix CDs and physically pop them into a player.

What seems strange is that unlike the rest of the industry that is moving quickly to embrace the demand for portable, all-in-one devices such as the iPhone, some Black Berrys, etc., Bluetooth has created a non-portable, single function device.

Perhaps before they had tried to market Bluetooth-enabled mp3 devices such as the Diva Gem, which comes in three colors. And even earlier, the Sony HBM-40, a simple Bluetooth music-and-phone. Although perhaps these devices didn't sell that well when they were first introduced several years ago, but I think this type of device could be very popular today. People want portable, functional, durable devices that offer them wireless convenience. So before we all start wearing our music players, i definitely think this type of device would be more popular with today's consumer than it was when first introduced.

Dell's latest effort

One giant step backwards for mankind

2007-02-25T01:31:00.000-08:00

It appears that the record companies are not willing to let go of DRM. Not only has Steve Jobs' plea to the record companies fallen on deaf ears, but music purveyors are finding new and more intrusive ways to bring DRM into our lives!

The RIAA is still hunting downloaders, most recently releasing a list of the top offenders in terms of college campuses. The worst offenders? Ohio, Purdue, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Tennessee and the University of South Carolina. They have sent out 15,000 complaints to the schools, which is triple the amount sent last year. And despite everything, music sales are still going down, which they claim is due in part to piracy. However, even though the record companies are working in concert to stop illegal downloading, a student at Amherst (the sixth worst offender on the list) said: "You know, downloading is such a part of student culture that college kids will never stop."

In another step back, BitTorrent has broken down and joined the ranks of the new Napster. They are planning to launch a site called the BitTorrent Entertainment Network which will legalize the software in the eyes of the law. However, just like iTunes, BitTorrent's legal material will be encoded with DRM. It makes sense...this company had been vilified in the eyes of the record labels, which were hesitant I'm sure to take on this deal. However, with Google's purchase of YouTube, the validity of the online video download market is quickly growing.

A recent study claims that 62% of record executives think that dropping DRM - so that people can use the songs on any mp3 player - will encourage people to increase online sales. So where's the action behind those words?

iCompetition

2007-02-12T01:48:00.000-08:00

Surprise, surprise RIAA. Despite your campaign to hunt down the downloaders (with tacit approval from the Big Four), about 1 billion illegal songs are still traded every month. Suing grandmothers and 12-year-olds may be a scare tactic, but it's clearly not an effective one. Since the iTunes Store was launched in 2003, more than 2 billion songs have been sold through its 99-cents-per-song model. However, compared to a potential 44 billion songs illegally traded through P2P software - such as Gnutella, BitTorrent, Kazaa, the old Napster - the iTunes Store seems like small change.

The threat of a lawsuit doesn't seem to faze the small army of illegal downloaders. So instead of laying the heavy hand of the law upon them, why don't we encourage them to behave otherwise? How can we make the concept of legal purchase more palatable to a mass audience?

Convenience! Steve Jobs has already come out in opposition to digital rights management in his open letter to the Big Four last week. His iPhone concept is tying into the idea of convenience. Consumers can download any track from the iTunes Store, anytime, anywhere with a click of the touchscreen. A company in Europe and Asia actually beat Jobs to the punch with their MusicStation concept.

Omnifone is a company that operates in Europe, Asia and South Africa, and their MusicStation is quite a slick program. It works on almost any music phone, 2.5-3G, and allows you to download any digital track in their system for a weekly flat rate of £1.99 or €2.99 (slightly less than $4 US). Unlimited downloads for $4 a week? I'll take it! Downloaded directly to my phone, with PC compatibility? Even better! However, there is one pitfall. Just like the iTunes Store, the MusicStation digital tracks are encoded with DRM.

The current use of DRM by the record companies is not encouraging consumers to walk on the good side of the law. Why pay for something that you cannot use freely, while you can download a DRM-free track for nothing and be able to do whatever you want with it.

When will the record companies let go of their chokehold on digital music? If they want to survive, they need to change.

ribbit

2007-02-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

For all the work that record labels do to prevent downloading, a popular symphony in England has avoided the issue entirely by offering their tracks online for free download through a music management company called BlueFrog. The Lancashire Sinfonietta has 10 songs posted on their website, and they allow the user to use them however they wish - burning to CD, uploading to an mp3 player, and they even have the CD album art and booklet available for download and printing. They also offer their CDs for £7.50 on the same website, which is about $12 or $13.

To download the songs, the user must register with the website and provide very minimal personal information (name, email and country). Then the site provides you with a "passcode" to download the songs. They say that they won't sell your personal information, so I'm guessing that they just use the information to track and market to their existing fan base.

Their press release notes that "this is great for people who want to try out classical music for the first time as there's no need to fork out for something you're not sure you're going to like." So BlueFrog and the Sinfonietta are effectively providing an on-demand sample of classical music so users can try it out for free. And, you are not "borrowing" the tracks. The absence of DRM sets this model apart from the Napster and Ruckus model.

However, at the same time, I realize that the British model is quite different from the American system of capitalism. The arts receive many times more funding from their government - through regional Arts Councils - than they do here, and they probably aren't as concerned with "stealing." The Lancashire Sinfonietta is probably not going to bankrupt itself by offering its tracks online for free. Despite the differences in how the recording industry works in the U.K. and America, I think the record companies here could take a lesson from this model. Offer some tracks online for free, and allow users to do whatever they want with them. If they like what they hear, they will come back for more. And when they come back, they'll bring their credit cards with them.

the only music student without an ipod

2007-02-02T13:45:00.000-08:00

When I was sitting in class last week, the Professor asked everyone if they had an iPod, a Zune or "other." I thought to myself, I am probably the only person in class who doesn't have anything at all. I don't even own a CD player anymore.

I remember in junior high my father bought me the Rio 500. It was light and about the size of a deck of cards, and ran on a card - 64 mb. Seems puny now, but at the time it was the coolest thing in school. I think it held about a CD's worth of music...maybe less.

First I was waiting for a generation that didn't break down as much. And then I was waiting for something smaller. And then I was waiting for something with more storage. And then I was waiting for something that had the storage of a video iPod in the size of a Nano. And then I realized that I hated Apple products.

I think they finally may have invented something that makes everyone happy. The iPhone is on Cingular and is a cell phone, iPod and web browser, all in one. It is a high function device and works just like an iPod. The touchscreen allows you to call someone by touching their name in your address book. Also, the iPhone has Safari loaded on to it already. And as I understand it, Safari is basically impervious to computer viruses. However, some applications that I like to use, such as Google Chat, don't work on Safari.

One big problem, and I think the majority of my classmates' foremost concern, is that if you lose your iPhone you're totally out of luck. But at the same time, you have less electronics to keep track of so maybe you'd be less likely to lose it.

Maybe the iPhone is enough to break me. Maybe I will finally get an iPod.