speaking of the thesis...

When I chose Woody Allen as the subject of my thesis, I didn't know he was such a sex symbol.

Apparently he was. 

Go figure.

hipness squared

So guess who got to be the super cool kid who went to the library on a Friday night?! 

You guessed it...

me.

To spice up my academic expedition, I walked around the 5th floor of the library like a pirate. I found my copy of Discontented Discourses,  gave a quick nod to the grad students who were in the lobby, and made my way back to my room. 

At the least there's a big upside to writing a film studies thesis, namely that when I can't stand the pages and pages academic analysis anymore, I can pop in a movie. 

It's not such a bad gig.

another reason not to club baby seals: Animal Collective says so

I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I think it's really cute that Animal Collective has taken such a strong stance against clubbing baby seals. Part of it's certainly because many celebrities take up causes for the sake of taking up a cause; bottom line, it's good PR. On one hand, I'm not terribly opposed to this because it often brings attention to good causes. Of course, on the other hand, it's frequently an act of band-wangonism and therefore not always sincere and informed advocacy. I took particular issue with the Rock the Vote campaign simply because the message boiled down to: "hey you! you're young, you like celebrities; if celebrities tell you to vote, you'll totally do it!" 

Another part is probably because the members of Animal Collective aren't out-and-out celebrities, at least not red-carpet-walking, tabloid-making celebrities. Instead, they're just a couple of guys who make really good music that a lot of people listen to. They seem well-informed and sincere. Plus, baby seals? That's pretty cute. 

http://iguessimfloating.blogspot.com/2009/10/news-animal-collective-save-animals.html

cookies! beer! FOOTBALL!!!*

I'd be curious to know if there's been a statistically significant increase in the number of heart attacks in Michiana during this particular college football season. If so, it's certainly thanks to Notre Dame's insistence on bringing every single game this season (the only exception being the season opener against Nevada) down to the last few terribly dramatic minutes. 

I have my fair-weather tendencies when it comes to football in general. Los Angeles has no team, so I'll follow the Chargers when they're doing well. I enjoy a good Super Bowl here and there, even if my fondness of the game is often exceeded by my fondness for the commercials (and from time to time, the half-time show). But I do like Notre Dame football and I do go to the home games. I've even been to an away game (ND@USC, 2006, we really just don't need to talk about the second half of that game, but it was a good overall experience). That being said, last season was a bit of a snoozer and a bit of a heartache (with the GRAND EXCEPTION of the Michigan game where all the forces of Mother Nature came together for a great game followed by some fantastic quad-sliding. On the subject, I would like to formally apologize to the staff of North Dining Hall for entering the dining hall soaking wet, I hope you understand). 

But this season, oh man, this season you'd have to be crazy to even think of leaving a game early for a quick nap or to avoid the lines at candle light dinner. I'll admit I don't know everything about football, when I won Madden against my brother it was only because my play-calling was so creative and random that it was impossible to strategize against. However, at the same time I've never had any patience for the drunk girls who, even after three and half seasons of college football, still don't know the difference between a touchdown and a touchback. The point is, I know enough to follow the game. And these are games to follow. 

So while we may not be back to the glory days, we're sure as heck doing a lot better than we were. At least this time around, the games are exciting, even if they are too close. And more than anything, we're winning this season! 

Except that we didn't beat USC. We came close, but ultimately we lost. Campus was quiet, more depressed than I'd seen it in a while. We came so, so close. We were down to the very last second. I wish the final score could have reflected just how close we were, practically sitting on the goal line with one second on the clock, a second that we had to fight for. And in an instant it was all over, but we weren't the victors. There really isn't much else to say on the issue. I wanted to win. We all wanted to win. But we didn't. However, I'm not the only one who is still proud that the game was as close as it was. USC is a formidable opponent and even in defeat, we still took them down a peg.

Football is an odd sport if you think about it too hard, but it's interesting. I like college football because I actually know some of the guys on the field. We're not besties, but they're friends of friends, guys I go to class with, people I talk to and eat with and party with. It means something to cheer them on and support them, it's part of the community that's such a central part of the the identity of our school. 

I'm waxing poetic a bit, and I don't really mean to, but I started this post because I didn't know how to deal with Saturday's loss, so I just put a few thoughts on the page to see where they would take me.  I took a pretty sentimental turn in a post that was only meant to say, golly gee, it's been a wild ride this season, and oh boy, I've loved every minute of it. Football isn't the be all and end all for me, but it's a lot of fun, and I'm really glad I've gone to every home game. I've almost lost my voice several times, I've made some friends, and I've gotten sick from the wind and the rain, but there's something vaguely primal about creating in-group, out-group distinctions and using them as a reason to scream and jump around for a few hours. There's also something to be learned in dramatic structure, how the game itself tells a story. It's a story of war, it's a story of life, of wins and losses and good things like that. I'll stop myself before I get any farther into sentimental rambling. But this season has been a series of awesome stories, of victory snatched from the clutches of defeat and defeat where there was so much hope. A little part of me wants to go reread the Trojan War now, but I'll spare myself. 

*the title of this post came from watching a Michigan game with some friends where it was decided that Jimmy Clausen probably keeps Keebler cookies in his fanny pack, if this isn't true, I don't want to know

spotlight: more than this provincial life

Man oh man, it's mangela, and she's got a blog, and it's got comics, and it's awesome.

so shout out to my good friend mangela, I miss you my dear:

More Than This Provincial Life

the internet, because the more i have to do, the less i get done

As each day passes, I am one step closer to my latest foe, the Graduate Record Examination. Each morning and each night I vow to lock myself away from the world and dig deep into the depths of academic prose, GRE prep books, and various papers, abstracts, and theses. However, with each passing day I am reminded that I am not a super-intelligent alien robot. This repeated realization still chokes me up. Moreover, not only am I human, I am an easily distractible human.

And it was a beautiful day outside. 

So I took a walk. And then I fed some geese. And then I took a nap. And then I checked my email. And then I was completely overwhelmed by the internet and got lost somewhere between lastfm and tumblr. It happens.

You call it procrastination, I call it a mental health day (and I don't think I'm the only one who would call it that).

Start around 2:20

the triumphant return of TURQUOISE LOVE

August didn't get any blog love; but hey August, don't lose heart, you win some you lose some. 

If too little love is a problem in any arena, I've got just the solution: Turquoise Love!

That famed, that legendary, that ever so slightly infamous internet radio show born on a wintry night after a Cloud Cult concert in northern Indiana nearly two years ago...

IT'S BACK!

Turquoise Love will be making it's triumphant return in full glory this semester. The four original DJs will be reunited on the air waves for the first time in over a year, and it promises to be nothing less than magical.

TURQUOISE LOVE

FRIDAYS 12pm-1pm EST

wvfi.nd.edu

Featuring DJs:

"Win a Date with" Danny McRae

Michelle "The Indie Asian Sensation" Nguyen

Stephanie "Big Gunz" Jazmines

Shannon "Rock 'n' Roll" Mathers

Kids* on the west coast - wake up Friday mornings to the latest, the greatest, and the most absurdly fun that music has to offer

Kids on the east coast - witty banter and silly musings for your turquoise lunch?

Kids in the midwest - call in and win a date with Danny McRae! you're close enough to take us up on the offer!

Kids abroad - party at all hours!!!

*it should be noted that term "kids" and similar and related terms here-in does not imply an 18 and under crowd, but is instead used in a more generalized and colloquial sense to evoke this relative hipness and youth of those people attracted by all things Turquoise Love, it should also be noted that the term is not meant to alienate other listeners, as all are young and hip when they partake of Turquoise Love, especially Danny's mom, my favorite listener

So tune in, turn it up, and IM requests to: wvfiradio

Tired of waiting? Check out the website in the mean time:

Turquoise Love