Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the death of Chris Farley. He was a noted actor and comedian, best known for his memorable characters and sketches on Saturday Night Live. His life was cut tragicall short due to his problems with alcohol, drugs, and weight control.
The reason that I bring this is up is that rarely can I watch something over and over and still laugh out loud. Almost all of Farley's work does this to me, and incredibly, so many others. Rarely does a celebrity death make me think any differently about my life, but Farley's death really shook me when it happened, and it still saddens me ten years later. I remember going to friend's houses on Saturday nights to watch SNL, and then quoting the sketches all week long while in school. Farley seems so much a part of my youth.
I was telling Erica about the tenth anniversary of his death last night, and she reminded me that she "never really watched SNL" back then. I'm going to work diligently to bring her up to speed on classic Farley sketches thanks to YouTube. I think I'm going to start with this one:
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
You Sicko!
Like much of the country, we received a lot of snow this weekend. Four inches to be exact. In fact, we barely left our little apartment this weekend. We managed to traverse the snow at one point, to acquire Chinese food goodness, and a couple of movies. We rented Sicko, directed by Michael Moore, which investigates the American health care system, focusing on its for-profit health insurance and pharmaceutical industry. The film compares the non-universal and for-profit U.S. system with the universal and non-profit systems of Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Cuba. It is quite an eye-opening documentary (I guess that is the point of documentaries—no?) It’s very much worth seeing as it carefully shows why universal health care is so elusive. Basically, Sicko shows that a system that provides health care has too many inherent flaws in it to be effective and just if it is a for-profit business because maximizing profits means denying care to keep costs down. I was also humored at the attempts of those who greatly benefit from the current system (i.e., HMOs, shareholders, members of Congress, corporations) to liken universal health care to socialism. Great comedic value. Check it out if you haven’t already.
In case you were wondering, the Chinese food was not as good as the movie. But, any Chinese is good Chinese in my book.
In other news, today was the annual “Secret Santa” gift exchange here at KF. I received a great gift – a very cool chip and dip set, complete with chips and homemade salsa. It is quite amazing that a place so quiet and taciturn on the whole can become so vibrant and full of cacophony over something as simple as a gift exchange. It goes to show that environments can be shaped, and cultures transformed with intentional efforts.
I’ll be glued to tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup, as it has major implications for my fantasy football title, and thus a considerable amount of money.
In case you were wondering, the Chinese food was not as good as the movie. But, any Chinese is good Chinese in my book.
In other news, today was the annual “Secret Santa” gift exchange here at KF. I received a great gift – a very cool chip and dip set, complete with chips and homemade salsa. It is quite amazing that a place so quiet and taciturn on the whole can become so vibrant and full of cacophony over something as simple as a gift exchange. It goes to show that environments can be shaped, and cultures transformed with intentional efforts.
I’ll be glued to tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup, as it has major implications for my fantasy football title, and thus a considerable amount of money.
Friday, December 14, 2007
A Meeting I Enjoyed
I get to attend some pretty cool meetings here at Kettering. I feel very fortunate for that. I attended one this morning that had some fascinating moments.
We had two folks here today (one from Mobile, Alabama and the other from New Orleans). They work in community organizations who were instrumental in Katrina relief efforts. The woman from Mobile told a story that really got to all of us. Before I retell the story, I should say that the purpose of the meeting was part of an ongoing effort this semester to understand communities. We're interested in what makes a community work as it should, what makes people engage/retract from community life, how communities change the ways they do politics, amongst other questions. The folks from the Gulf region were here to talk about their experiences in communities in crisis. On with the story:
Not long after the levees broke, a young couple with their two babies escaped to the rooftop of their apartment building to avoid being swept away in the rising water. Once they ascended to the top, they were greeted by another couple, who did not have children. They waited for helicopter rescue, and were met by a helicopter shortly thereafter. The childless couple that had been there first let the other couple board first and said that they would wait for rescue at a later time. It was important that the young babies find shelter and food first, they felt. Upon boarding the helicopter, the mother and father asked the other couple to hold their babies momentarily while they boarded the helicopter, as it was too difficult to try to navigate the rescue ladder and hold the children. Well, what was supposed to be a matter of moments turned into quite a bit longer, as the helicopter abruptly took off once the parents were on board. The helicopter pilot said it had reached its weight limit and couldn't return. He assured them that they would be reunited again soon. It wasn't until a fireman came into the temporary housing complex where thousands of stranded residents were taking refuge that the babies were reunited with their parents. The complex was apparently silent when the firefighter walked in, as everyone in the complex came to know of the young couple's tragedy over the course of the two weeks they shared together.
What an emotional story. There are many lessons to take from the story, but the one I took was how powerful we can be as citizens when we engage to help others.
We had two folks here today (one from Mobile, Alabama and the other from New Orleans). They work in community organizations who were instrumental in Katrina relief efforts. The woman from Mobile told a story that really got to all of us. Before I retell the story, I should say that the purpose of the meeting was part of an ongoing effort this semester to understand communities. We're interested in what makes a community work as it should, what makes people engage/retract from community life, how communities change the ways they do politics, amongst other questions. The folks from the Gulf region were here to talk about their experiences in communities in crisis. On with the story:
Not long after the levees broke, a young couple with their two babies escaped to the rooftop of their apartment building to avoid being swept away in the rising water. Once they ascended to the top, they were greeted by another couple, who did not have children. They waited for helicopter rescue, and were met by a helicopter shortly thereafter. The childless couple that had been there first let the other couple board first and said that they would wait for rescue at a later time. It was important that the young babies find shelter and food first, they felt. Upon boarding the helicopter, the mother and father asked the other couple to hold their babies momentarily while they boarded the helicopter, as it was too difficult to try to navigate the rescue ladder and hold the children. Well, what was supposed to be a matter of moments turned into quite a bit longer, as the helicopter abruptly took off once the parents were on board. The helicopter pilot said it had reached its weight limit and couldn't return. He assured them that they would be reunited again soon. It wasn't until a fireman came into the temporary housing complex where thousands of stranded residents were taking refuge that the babies were reunited with their parents. The complex was apparently silent when the firefighter walked in, as everyone in the complex came to know of the young couple's tragedy over the course of the two weeks they shared together.
What an emotional story. There are many lessons to take from the story, but the one I took was how powerful we can be as citizens when we engage to help others.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Thursday Will Be a Good Day
There are a number of reasons why today is going to be such a good day.
1. The Mitchell Report comes out today. For those that have more productive hobbies than following baseball mercilessly, this is a MLB commisioned report into steroid usage in baseball over the last 20 years or so. It's a 400 page report, and the biggest news is that it will name 80 players by name who have used steroids in the past. A lot of controversy surrounding the report, but pretty fascinating stuff. It will be one of the most important days in baseball history in the past decade. Expected time: 2 pm.
2. Office Christmas Party! Let the open bar, awkward conversations, expensive food that I can't pronounce, and schmoozing begin. It's at a fancy place downtown, and Erica will accompany me. I'm so lucky. Well, not that lucky. I have to wear a suit all day at work today. Expected time: 6 pm.
3. NFL game on Thursday night. Who cares if it's on NFL Network and only people with Direct TV can see the game? I can follow the stats online. That means it's fantasy football playoff season. I'm currently in the semi-final game in my fraternity alumni league, which I dominate. It's a great source of second income. Expected time: 8 pm.
4. Thursday is apparently the day of the dove. Can't argue with that. It's on a T-Shirt.
5. Free lunch at work. This happens roughly 4 times a month, but the importance can't be underscored enough. I don't have to pay for food, and it will be entirely prepared for me. And it's fantastic. We have in-house caterers here at the foundation, each of whom are very excellent. Expected Time: 1 pm
There are probably many more, but this looks like it for now. Hope your Thursday (or whatever day you're reading this on) is equally stirring.
1. The Mitchell Report comes out today. For those that have more productive hobbies than following baseball mercilessly, this is a MLB commisioned report into steroid usage in baseball over the last 20 years or so. It's a 400 page report, and the biggest news is that it will name 80 players by name who have used steroids in the past. A lot of controversy surrounding the report, but pretty fascinating stuff. It will be one of the most important days in baseball history in the past decade. Expected time: 2 pm.
2. Office Christmas Party! Let the open bar, awkward conversations, expensive food that I can't pronounce, and schmoozing begin. It's at a fancy place downtown, and Erica will accompany me. I'm so lucky. Well, not that lucky. I have to wear a suit all day at work today. Expected time: 6 pm.
3. NFL game on Thursday night. Who cares if it's on NFL Network and only people with Direct TV can see the game? I can follow the stats online. That means it's fantasy football playoff season. I'm currently in the semi-final game in my fraternity alumni league, which I dominate. It's a great source of second income. Expected time: 8 pm.
4. Thursday is apparently the day of the dove. Can't argue with that. It's on a T-Shirt.
5. Free lunch at work. This happens roughly 4 times a month, but the importance can't be underscored enough. I don't have to pay for food, and it will be entirely prepared for me. And it's fantastic. We have in-house caterers here at the foundation, each of whom are very excellent. Expected Time: 1 pm
There are probably many more, but this looks like it for now. Hope your Thursday (or whatever day you're reading this on) is equally stirring.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
My Brother
This is my first attempt at embedding video on my blog, so I hope it works. I didn't want to get in a habit of posting videos here, but this one is very special.
This video stars my brother, Scott. He plays the role of a sniper in the United States Army. He is very good at this role, mostly because he plays a sniper in real life. He is the third person to talk in the video. (Please note his use of the term "instinctual" as confirmation that it is indeed him.)
More importantly, Scott has served our country overseas in the Iraq war for one tour, and is about to embark on another tour in Afghanistan in the spring. We wish him the very best, and rest easy knowing that people like him protect our country, which allows all of us to do whatever it is that we do. Check the video out, and let me know what you think in the comment section.
This video stars my brother, Scott. He plays the role of a sniper in the United States Army. He is very good at this role, mostly because he plays a sniper in real life. He is the third person to talk in the video. (Please note his use of the term "instinctual" as confirmation that it is indeed him.)
More importantly, Scott has served our country overseas in the Iraq war for one tour, and is about to embark on another tour in Afghanistan in the spring. We wish him the very best, and rest easy knowing that people like him protect our country, which allows all of us to do whatever it is that we do. Check the video out, and let me know what you think in the comment section.
Friday, December 07, 2007
And They're Off....
Today is an important day for my sanity.
With this, my last application for graduate school (Ph.D.), I am finished applying.
It was a long, ardous journey. I applied to ten schools in all. They are:
University of Minnesota
Boston College
Ohio State University
Penn State
University of Michigan
UCLA
Stanford
New York University
Loyola (Chicago)
University of Maryland
The application process was surely long and expensive. Tons of forms, each with their own nuanced requirements. Each school ranged in application fees from $40 - $110. The GRE cost me $140. In sum, the whole expenditure cost me roughly $800. I hope I did everything correctly. If not, I'm sure they'll let me know. I should start getting letters back in late February/early March. Keep your fingers crossed!
With this, my last application for graduate school (Ph.D.), I am finished applying.
It was a long, ardous journey. I applied to ten schools in all. They are:
University of Minnesota
Boston College
Ohio State University
Penn State
University of Michigan
UCLA
Stanford
New York University
Loyola (Chicago)
University of Maryland
The application process was surely long and expensive. Tons of forms, each with their own nuanced requirements. Each school ranged in application fees from $40 - $110. The GRE cost me $140. In sum, the whole expenditure cost me roughly $800. I hope I did everything correctly. If not, I'm sure they'll let me know. I should start getting letters back in late February/early March. Keep your fingers crossed!
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