Big news!

My sister Ruth just got her acceptance to WashU TASP 2007! Callooh! Callay!

I think I'm kinda done with freshman year.

Exams aren't really fun. And neither is saying goodbye. =(

Quick poll: What are you people doing this summer? I'll be staying here in Boston to do some econ research. If anyone's planning a trip to New York or anywhere within a train-ride's radius, I can make it there for a weekend.

Ha HA!

Now I can comment! Hooray for Charles! The blog rises from the ashes.

Quick spring break recap: I went to Southern California with a Stanford student-led program to explore issues faced by the Cambodian immigrant community in Long Beach. A FASCINATING experience. We (about a dozen of us) had studied Cambodian history and current political/socioeconomic issues all through winter quarter, but it was something else again to go down to Long Beach and spend all week talking to people who survived the 1970s Khmer Rouge and are now setting up local grassroots organizations to bind the immigrant population together and help them get their problems addressed. I felt a little bit Cambodian coming back. I guess you don't always realize it, but there are highly-concentrated, tightly-knit immigrant communities scattered all over this country with their own strong and distinctive cultures. It's incredible to get a glimpse into one of them.

In the final weekend of Spring Break, I met up with Henrik and Isaac in San Francisco (see pictures below). Isaac was performing at an arts extravaganza; they stopped me at the door because it was a 21-and-over show, but Isaac came outside and pulled strings until they let me in. Isaac was amazing, of course, his poetry prevailing over the noisy and distracting atmosphere. Then we all went over to Berkeley and stayed up until 2 AM talking in fine TASP fashion. Yay reunions!

My family's moving to Jacksonville, Florida at the end of the summer. That's not too far from Ridley's stomping grounds, I believe. Perhaps a Northern-Florida-centered TASP reunion is somewhere in the works . . .

Also, my sister Ruth got a TASP interview last month! Decisions come out in the first week of May, so we're all getting antsy. !!! Speaking of Ruth, she alerted me to the existence of an interesting musicking website: www.bandtoband.com. Fun for math and music people alike.

A quick top 5 (evidence of my recent Motown addiction) before I hit the sack:
5. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
4. Looking for the Right Guy - Kim Weston
3. Papa Was a Rolling Stone - Undisputed Truth
2. You Met Your Match - Stevie Wonder
1. Satisfied Feelin' - Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston

Groetjes,
Sam

Good god. I'm up because of a 10:00AM fire alarm, the first thing my confused ears hear are evacuation orders. Feel my pain.

And the reason for my pain:
Top 5 in Really really late night music (by decreasing lateness):

1. John Lee Hooker
2. Daft Punk
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. The Faint
5. zee Beatles

There's nothing like electric blues right out of the sticky delta night when you're holed up in the frigid north doing psets. Trust me.

Yes! I can post again...

Mwahahahahaha. etc.

3 albums:

Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
Gutterfly by Lifesavas
Bayani by Blue Scholars

been a while, and a film

Hey Everyone,

First, I apologize for my extreme lack of blogging. Although I may not post or comment often, I am reading up on all of you (through this and facebook.)
I guess I'm passively enjoying your accomplishments, exploits, and trials, but I thought I should make some sort of appearance on our blog.
It first hit me when I was talking this '07 tasp hopeful through her interview that it's been almost two years. Is time bothering anyone else? Not to mention that one quarter of college is done and I don't know what the hell I've done for a year.

If you have similar sentiments and worries, let me know, but for now (and Charles has already seen this) I wrote and directed the second place winning film in Froshlife, a first-year film competition at Duke where each freshman dorm makes an eight-minute film in two weeks.

I've included the link here, and I hope you get a chance to watch it.

http://www.duke.edu/froshlife/movies/movies07/refmovies/Randolph_ref.mov

Hope you like it (and specific congrats to Isaac),

Matt S.

Reunion, part II

No pictures this time, but Isaac seems to be quite the reunion man lately. Ridley and I got to see him perform in the national poetry slam invitational in Ypsilanti last weekend, and it was mind-blowingly incredible. I want to spend the rest of my life just listening to poems. Berkley made it to finals, and Isaac performed fantastically. Also, we stayed in the Telluride House (after only two and half years of jealous waiting...those TASSers...) and met all kinds of cool Telluridians. Oh! And Adam was there! And his girlfriend Bernadette, who is way to cool for him. ^__^ So, in summary, I had a fantastic Easter Break.

Wishing you similar L.L. love,
Emma

P.S. Pictures from spring break, reifying in New Mexico:

Reunion

Here are some pictures of a West Coast reunion (of a sort):

hey I can post. Calllooh! Callay!

Great news, not much time.
I'm going to Ann Arbor next weekend to see Isaac and Ridley! Hooray for poetry slam competitions!
Also: music festival here last weekend: Sufjan Stevens, Anathallo, Neko Case and Emmylou Harris. I sat third row center for Emmylou, whose voice pretty much sums up my childhood. It was fantastic.

So, that's an update into my TASPly musicking life. Hope you all are well!
Emma