UMich TASP 2005

Hey everyone...

2011-04-25T00:21:00.000-04:00

...Hope you all are well. Just wanted to say hello while doing my part to keep the blog operational.

I miss you guys and am sorry for having been so out of touch. My life has been strange. Anyway, happy Easter, Passover, and spring.

Much love,
Sophie

California

2010-08-07T23:36:00.002-04:00

Hey, all!

The quick and dirty version is this: I'm in San Francisco working for Google Books. And I want to see you all. If you're ever visiting SF, let me know!

book recommendation

2010-08-06T16:13:00.006-04:00

I've been reading a lot this summer (for fun, for the first time in a long time, and I've greatly missed it). I just read Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, and enjoyed it so much that I just had to come here and tell you all about it. (ps I almost just wrote "tell yall all about it... I'm so Southern now.. crazy!!)

The book is a true account of a disastrous encounter between a Hmong family and the medical community. Lia, the youngest child of Foua and Nao Kao Lee, suffers from a really bad case of epileptic seizures, a condition that could leave her brain dead if she doesn't take medication. Yet her parents subscribe to traditional Hmong beliefs that seizures stem from spiritual causes, and rejoice that they will allow Lia to grow up to become a shaman, since she is patently intimate with the spirits.

Fadiman describes the history and origins of the Hmong people in Laos, then Thailand, and then of their diaspora around the world in great detail, and does such an excellent job of understanding their beliefs, culture and moral ethics. She does fall prey to romanticizing them a bit, as I couldn't find one instance of criticism in the entire narrative, but that didn't seem unpardonable to me. As an aspiring physician, some of their troubles with western medicine frustrated me beyond belief; yet I still finished the book with a much greater appreciation for the Hmong culture.

I leave for Boston next week and am thoroughly freaked! Wish me luck!

Requiem for Detroit, my ass.

2010-07-31T21:12:00.003-04:00

Hey guys, I'm extremely upset by this portrayal of Detroit (I wrote about it here, and I'm particularly curious about how it fits with your experience Isaac), but I think our old pal John Sinclair makes a brief appearance. See 2:15-2:35--is it him?

[OK, I can't embed it, so here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIgC5whSP8E]

Also, are you back in the motor city, Isaac? The program ends in a week and I think I'll probably visit my brother next Sunday or Monday. Could we meet up one of those days?

P.S.

2010-07-27T20:05:00.000-04:00

I am in Cambridge (not my usual one) this summer. I have a summer blog. Read it if you like. Comment if you feel like saying hello (or expanding upon an idea expressed or challenging an argument made)

Remember our game?

2010-07-20T07:10:00.000-04:00

Pirates vs. Ninjas
Jane Austen vs. Emily Brontë (in a fight)
Monkey vs. Robot
etc.

I think you need to see this.

Still representin'

2010-07-16T18:30:00.003-04:00

We sent the TASSers on a photo scavenger hunt of the city, and they got bonus points in the graffiti alley if they found TASP '05 on the gum wall. Guess what? It's still there:

Also, please note that in the upper right corner there's a copy cat from a later year that has not held up nearly as well. TASP '05: still the best.

What's next?

2010-04-24T19:16:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone!

Its been far too long. I hope you all are doing wonderfully! Congratulations Henrik (+ Edward) on your DS admission, even if you don't go there, that's a big accomplishment.

Now that I'm less than a month away from graduating I'm getting curious as to where our TASP cohort is heading. What's everyone up to? For those of you graduating, what's next?

I haven't been very good about keeping in touch with you all. I saw Nestor in New York over winter break and I saw Dylan over the summer, but other than that I think its been a couple years since I saw anyone else. Hopefully we can change that soon.

As for me, in June I'm moving to Detroit. Oddly enough I'm finding myself drawn back to Michigan. I received a grant through UC Berkeley to do a year-long project engaging youth in Detroit around community development and issues of the city using poetry and spoken word. I'm really looking forward to this. Despite the difficult situation, there are a lot of exciting things going on in the city. This summer Detroit is going to host two important conferences, the Allied Media Conference: http://alliedmediaconference.org: (June 18-20) and the US Social Forum: http://www.ussf2010.org/: (June 22-26). The Allied Media Conference connects independent media makers from across the country using media to build community and do social justice work. The US Social Forum is a convening of grassroots social movements from across the country and the world. They're expecting 15-20,000 participants to participate in a week of dialogues around grassroots organizing and sustainable movements for long term social change. I'll hopefully have an apartment by the end of June, so if any of you are interested in attending either of these conferences, you're more than welcome to stay with me. In general, if any of you want to visit Detroit in the next year you've got a place to stay.

If you're interested in seeing more about some of the work going on in Detroit, check out http://www.flypmedia.com/issues/23/ its a great multi-media article highlighting some of the cool stuff going on.

So what's up with you? Can't wait to hear about where ya'll are headed.

Best,
Isaac

Deep Springs part 2

2010-03-21T22:17:00.002-04:00

My brother Edward (UMich TASP '09) also applied to Deep Springs. And he too was accepted! He too has his doubts, but either way UMich TASP seems to have made a strong showing in the Deep Springs admit pool this year.

- Sam

Deep Springs

2010-03-21T11:43:00.002-04:00

Hello all who still take peeks at the cyberworld of our shared past - I seek your advice.

Here I am at University of Vermont, after a long yet fruitful battle with a parasitic infection. Chronic pain and indigestion were the main symptoms that caused me to withdraw from Oberlin, after which I took a year off for medical reasons and then transferred here in order to make the transition back to academia. The healing process is incredible, as I'm experiencing a vitality and clear-headedness that seems wholly new and distinct from an 'old' self, if such a thing can even exist. It's involved a lot of different practitioners and doctors from all ends of the medical spectrum, and I must say, my protocol has been quite in-ter-dis-ci-plin-ary in nature.

And so, I got all excited to apply to Oberlin again, in hopes of transferring back: the time spent at UVM and the help I needed from nearby doctors has been exhausted, and I'd say I've recovered to a certain degree. But during the application process, I became a bit intrigued by other institutions (as I am a sophomore now only), and applied to 5 other colleges, one of which was Deep Springs. And...I've just been accepted.

But after having visited the campus, gotten to know the half of the kids I may spend the next 2 years with, and completed the rigorous application, I have my doubts. Perhaps I've grown too old for such a thing (I'll be 23 by the time I'd finish)? Is the unique academic and intellectual attention and autonomy worth foregoing the Oberlin education and social atmosphere I worked so hard to retrieve? Is it worth prolonging my undergraduate education (I'd have to get my degree elsewhere after 'graduating' from DS, effectively stretching my Bachelor's degree between 4 separate institutions) simply to engage specific educational ideals that I hold? Do I need this specific institution to embrace those ideals?

Furthermore, and a bit more to the point, am I torn only because of the status and sense of elitism this mysterious place harbors? Is prestige, in the long run, even tangible? For any who read this, what is your experience with the supposed merits and benefits that accrue from attending an institution that is highly regarded? Does it really make a difference? Or is our education really, no matter where we go, entirely 'what we make of it'?

I can't tell whether I have doubts about Deep Springs because it really is the 'wrong' place for me to go next year, or if my fears surrounding it only reflect its potential in helping me truly grow not only as a student, but a friend and community participant. After all, the relationships I'd find myself in seem inevitably intimate and challenging.

I know that, all in all, this knot needs unraveling on my own accord and with my own effort, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask advice from a circle of peers that played a most formative part in the burgeon of my intellectual career. You all really inspired me in many ways that summer, and it's clear that my interest (and concerns) with Deep Springs is deeply embedded with my Nunnian roots. Any thoughts? I need to let them know by April 15th, just in case you're reading this after that date. Best,

Henrik

Isaac Miller in the News

2009-12-31T13:34:00.003-05:00

So I picked up the freshly delivered New Yorker a few minutes ago and found an article about the Berkeley student protests - which includes a direct quote from our very own Isaac Miller! Couldn't find a freely available online version of the quote, but this is the abstract of the article. Check it out if you can find a way to.

- Sam

2009-12-23T11:15:00.001-05:00

Just some pictures from, oh, like two summers ago? No, three summers ago. A reunion is always a good thing....

H

Remember when we talked about becoming factota?

2009-11-28T14:57:00.002-05:00

Well I'm not going to be one, but I am going to be a TASS tutor this summer, in Ann Arbor even. Will any more Pimentel siblings be passing through Telluride's programs this year by any chance?

Return of a Native

2009-08-31T17:36:00.005-04:00

I’m back.

Sorry this is as late as it is – I think it’s been the hardest post to write of any of mine on this blog.

Remember how you felt when you got home from TASP and people asked you about it and you just couldn’t put it into words? When I went home at the end of our six weeks of semi-monasticism I felt almost like I was leaving a whole world and entering another.

That’s a bit like what I’m feeling right now, but a lot more so. My level of “monastic” separation from previous life was a lot higher than at TASP (this is why I haven’t been posting on the blog) and two years is a lot longer than six weeks.

What we did at TASP was read, have discussions in seminar, hang out together, play Ultimate Frisbee, listen to music, and write papers, but that doesn’t begin to describe what TASP felt like. So when I tell you that I spent my two years inviting people to learn about the message of the restored gospel and change their lives accordingly by talking to them in the streets, on the bus, in their homes, etc., it’s true but it doesn’t really tell you the important stuff. I think part of what’s most important is that I have come to know, through personal spiritual experience, that the restored gospel is true. As that knowledge came to me, I also understood that serving as a missionary was the most important thing I could be doing with those two years of my life. I come home with no regrets.

I have also gotten to really know and love Northwest England, the people there, and the other missionaries that I worked with. Those people will be my friends forever. It's kind of sad to realize that I'm done, and that things are rolling forward over there without me.

On the plus side, I'm home and I can blog again! I still love this blog and you all despite my absence. My deepest appreciation to the stalwarts who have kept it alive. I’m eager to hang out with as many of you as are willing, especially the Bay Area ones (I’m at “home” in Jacksonville, Florida right now but will be back at Stanford in mid-September). Speaking of which . . . I need to report a TASP reunion! My sister Ruth and I went on a road trip from Jacksonville to Atlanta the other week to visit my aunt and uncle, and while we were at my aunt’s office at Emory, Ruth remembered that Sanju goes to Emory (yes, I hadn’t remembered up until then – I’ll hide under the excuse of “still adjusting to being back in America”). So we rang her up and dropped by for a quick visit:

We were on a tight schedule and Sanju had class the next day so all we did was eat popcorn and talk. But yes, Sanju is just as random as she was at TASP. Good times.

My brother Edward had an amazing time at his UMich TASP. He videoconferences with his TASPers on a regular basis and his always using his TASP's obscure lingo. A little taste of his TASP for you. I would definitely call that musicking, by the way.

Groetjes,

Sam

P.S. If you want to know more about my mission, please ask. I love to talk about it - I'm just never sure how much other people want to hear. : )

a whole summer gone and no blogging

2009-08-27T14:40:00.004-04:00

Friends, how have we let so many months pass sans communication? Can you believe it's been four years since we were all together on Hill Street? I spent the summer growing vegetables again, this time managing a community garden, and I've decided I really love soil and plants. Someday I'd like to have a farm of my own.

Right now, I'm learning the words for various vegetables in Hungarian while I study in Budapest for the semester. Has anyone spent time here before? Adam, you have, right? And Jason? I hope to get to Vienna sometime soon, too--what should I see?

Is most everyone starting senior year? Sam! Are you back?

Love to you all,
Emma

Big News!

2009-05-18T16:14:00.004-04:00

My little brother Edward is going to TASP this summer! He'll be at the UMich program, and I think living in the same sorority house (not certain about that, though). He's really excited!

-Ruth, writing and posting in Sam's stead, and with his permission

(PS Sam will be back in the US and back online in early to mid-August! Meanwhile, he is doing excellently and is very happy.)

Experiments in data visualization

2009-04-21T14:43:00.004-04:00

Hey pals!

I made two word clouds of our blog using Wordle for fun when I should have been working on my GIS lab today. The first is from September 2005, soon after we all parted our merry little teenager ways, and the second is from all the posts currently displayed on the blog home page. I probably could have altered them a bit to make them more accurate--and of course the data isn't adjusted for total number of words in each cloud. Man, I didn't do this very well. Anyhow, it's kind of a fun reflection on how our vocabulary and post content has changed over the years. Actually, I'd say our vocab has changed surprisingly little, other than that "married" didn't show up in our first few years of blogging.

Enjoy!

The Wallflowers_Empire in my Mind (alternate take studio)

2009-04-17T06:29:00.001-04:00

source: The Wallflowers

Lupe Fiasco meets Cornel West

2009-04-10T11:45:00.002-04:00

Hey guys,

last weekend my school had its biennial Festival of Faith and Music. It was three days of good tunes and great talks, but I especially wanted to share a link to an interview with Lupe Fiasco by Cornel West (who also gave an amazing lecture available for download). If you're interested, this link should take you there.

Hope you're all well,
Emma

reunion news

2009-02-02T22:38:00.002-05:00

I realized Charles and Dylan and I never posted after we met up in Boston a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd mention on here how totally terrific it was to see you guys, and that I can't believe it's been four years since TASP, and I sincerely hope that I will get a chance to see all of you again, preferably soon.

Gosh, sometimes I really miss our togetherness. For some reason, the other day I remembered the time the coffee machine was on the fritz. Weird. Also, Lisa, so good to hear from you! Congratulations to you and Jeremy!

I'm probably the biggest nerd alive

2009-01-28T22:09:00.003-05:00

and thought these videos were absolutely hysterical -

1. If you're ever tired of pipetting in lab...
2. If you ever need a refresher of organic chem
3. And if you miss Pinky and the Brain as much as I do

also, I post a lot of videos here, don't I? hmm

Good Bloggy

2009-01-27T17:55:00.001-05:00

Hello out there! I had a dream about TASP last night...basically, I had a chance to do it again, and I was clamoring for it. Also, I couldn’t find my car.
So, upon checking the blog, I find that there’s something of a blog reunion going on. I’ll participate! Here’s some news, minus the views:

-I recovered from being ill a few months ago. It was a long time coming. I was sick for two years!

-I will be going back into dance this year; I’m planning on an intense, full-time study of ballet.

-I’m married! Jeremy and I got married last June, and it was fabulous.

-I’m unschooling.

-I’ve decided to learn programming so that I might become a freelance web programmer as a part-time job. It beats waiting tables.

-I’m living in a restored Victorian farmhouse.

Those are just some of the big things, but there’s also been some more subtle interior changes. I’ll write more later! Love to you all!

January Boston Reunion

2009-01-01T17:39:00.004-05:00

MLK day then? Monday, Jan. 19. Who can make it?

how about a real reunion?

2008-12-29T22:36:00.004-05:00

Hey kids. Dylan's right. This blog is fading. And that is not our style. So while I'll repeat Dylan's call for a blog reunion (for instance, Matt Slayton: do you still read this thing? You never write.), I would also like to suggest a real reunion. I'm going to be making a pilgrimage to the land of Thoreau, Emerson , and Alcott this January, and since it's the first time I'll be in New England since all you east-coasters started school there, I'm going to do the egotistically obvious thing here and suggest that those of us who can try to get together.

I'll be in Concord from January 12th to 26th, with visits to Boston, Amherst, Cambridge and a few other places in between. Now, I realize that New England is not as small as it seems to someone like me who mostly leaves the Midwest only to cross North Dakota and Montana on my way to Washington (did I ever write about highway 2 on this blog? that is the way to travel west!), but, any chance for some meetings along the way? Charles: I at least expect to see you in Cambridge on the 20th. Will you be around?

OK, I won't be at all offended if the answer is no from all of you, because hey, even suggesting a get-together on the occasion that I'll be 'around' is a big step for a self-effacing Calvinist like me. That said, I'd appreciate a response either way, as no one's commenting on this post would feel like the equivalent of going for a high-five that is entirely unreciprocated, and, speaking as a girl who was second-to-last to make the basketball team all through middle school and therefore not a member of the athletic-social elite, this is a deep-rooted insecurity of mine.

Humbly yours,
Emma

A somewhat disturbing search term

2008-12-29T21:34:00.002-05:00

Periodically it's cool to look at our hit counter and see what search terms are leading people to our blog. Often these search terms are funny, enlightening, or interesting. Sometimes they're a little disturbing. Witness this one:

Location
Continent : North America
Country: United States (Facts)
State : New Jersey
City : East Orange
Lat/Long : 40.7639, -74.2126 (Map)

Search Engine google.com
Search Words does tasp check for plagiarism

I will be extra careful with NJ apps at this year's TASPlication reading day.

Not a real reunion post but...

2008-12-23T19:51:00.003-05:00

This piece of news had me stunned, but not that surprised. =)

But this SNL video that I just discovered, although it aired a few weeks ago, is AMAZING.

I'm home in California for the break and it is still so warm! What are you all doing for the holidays? Dylan, can you arrange for the glee club to come to Atlanta?

Blog Reunion

2008-12-22T23:56:00.003-05:00

Dearest TASPers,
This blog is dying again. This is understandable. We all have boatloads of work and wonderful friends at our various institutions of higher learning(?). But now we are (I assume) all on vacation, and while we may have wonderful friends at home, we do not (I assume) have boatloads of work. It is for this reason that I propose an immediate blog reunion. I have seen Jason this fall (at the Yale-Princeton Glee Club concert, see his facebook for photos) and I hope to see Isaac when the Yale Glee Club travels to Chico and San Fransisco as part of our Winter Tour. I miss the rest of you, and I hope to hear from you. As for me, here is all the news that's fit to display on 1440x900 pixel monitors:

* I am tremendously excited about Winter Tour. If all goes well, I will get to see not only Isaac, but also some cousins of mine who live in San Fransisco. Add to that getting to sing in Grace Cathedral and (in Eugene, Oregon) getting to run on Pre's Trail, and I can hardly wait to start musicking.

* I performed in a children's theater adaptation of the Princess Bride. This was absolutely as awesome as it sounds.

* I hope to go to the New York City TASPlication reading day. Who else is thinking of going?

* As mentioned in the last post, my friends at school and I have started a new litmag and writers' circle called Point. Our first semester has gone quite well; we've gotten submissions and met weekly to discuss them. This is a new thing for me; I was not a high school litmag person. That said, it's been a good experience, and it is nice to be encouraged to do some creative writing.

So there you have a disjointed, bullet-pointed summary of my recent activity. No analysis, no second-, or third-, or fourth-order insights, just the bare details. Might I hope for the same from some of you all?

All the best,
Dylan

A poem

2008-12-13T00:55:00.005-05:00

Stage

The first act is complete
and I begin again.
Faces harden to masks
and we now play.

A meaningless tossed rock
has begun a role
and now it careers
taking me where
I do not wish to go

Rolling without friction
fiction grows
tropes emerge
ruts deepen, laugh lines
tattooed upon a reluctant face,
a partner in its own gurning.

I must not be cast in stone
con-scripted and re-presented
before the game is up
and I am that I play.

I cannot flee the scene
and the depths of the perceiving
Eye circumscribe my self
sweeping strokes draw binding lines.

I extrude,
Bursting forth,
Cutting the lines that restrain me and
Tearing down the wall to
Speak of myself to the audience.

And yet I fear I am still, in their mind
Consistent.

On a related note, check out Point, the new literary magazine several of my friends and I are starting at Yale.

Our Audio Artifacts

2008-12-10T14:18:00.002-05:00

I was browsing through m CD collection today, and by chance came across a bunch of copies of the CDs we used to listen to together:

The TASP 4th of July mix, the Protest Mix, as well as discs 1 and 2 of "That's my song".

I think some committee made them, I remember as things began to wind down Charles was doing a lot of CD burning while we were all scrambling to get our websites finished. Being the last person to leave our abode, Adam put me in charge of making sure those TASPers who left without their copies got them in the mail somehow.

Send me your new address if you don't have some or one of them, and I'll send them to you in a timely fashion.

Punctually,

Henrik Martin Herb

So yeah, pirates win.

2008-10-31T11:37:00.004-04:00

On this happy Halloween just four days before the election, I would just like to say that I think this picture of Obama dressed as a pirates settles the age-old debate: pirates beat ninjas. Hands down.

The picture comes from YesWeCanHoldBabies.wordpress.com, and I have to say, this blog has given me the strength to make it to Tuesday. Please, all you lovers of cute, Democratic things, check this out. Best blog of the season.

Why I love my school

2008-10-24T01:44:00.004-04:00

Students make films like this one:

Another substantive post is soon to come. I have been thinking a lot about TASP lately, and I plan to do some more writing in the near future.

We grow old...we grow old

2008-10-04T12:53:00.007-04:00

We shall wear the bottoms of our trousers rolled.

I was in the Pierson College dining hall earlier this week when in walked a pack of freshman (they always travel in packs...I know I did). I could not help noticing that one of them was wearing a UMich TASP '07 shirt. TASP '07? I jumped up and greeted them (with perhaps too much enthusiasm), but underneath that enthusiasm I was running the numbers in my head. '07 TASPers are in college. '08 TASPers are high school seniors. And as for us, the magical specificity of our six weeks in '05 begins to fade and we become generic alumni/ae. For the '07 Michiganders I met, it is perhaps important that I appear generic. Their experience remains recent enough to be fresh (look at our blog from September of 2006) and so they must continue to believe that it was unique. I could see their unease as I reminisced with them about ΑΓΔ. Was their experience not special, not unique? I stopped short of reminiscing about the cult room, the couch room, the walls of watching sisters in the hallway. To share it with them would have been to take it from them.

We will always have reification and Christopher Small to ourselves. John Sinclair belongs to us and us alone. But Chris Alexander, Jason Chua, Henrik Herb, Meredith Hitchcock, Sophie Huber, Emily Jenda, Ridley Jones, Christina Law, Isaac Miller, Dylan Morris, Samyukta Mullangi, Matt Nestor, Sam Pimentel, Lisa Ruiz, Emma Slager, Matt Slayton, Charles Wu, and Bern Youngblood are not the sole property of TASP '05 UMich. We are claimed by, and claim, other people and groups. "TASPer" has been displaced as my lead marker of identity by "Yalie," "DSer," (now ex-DSer) "IPster," "Glee Clubber." This is good, in some way. By knowing me by ever-changing labels, those around me protect me from the fish-out-of-water nostalgia born of trying to live an old identity in new surroundings.

I wrote in a somewhat trite college essay of my conviction that "at Yale, I could find again the spirit of TASP." I have succeeded, to a point; I love Yale for many of the same reasons I loved TASP. And yet I realize now that what I really desire is not merely to find again the spirit of TASP, just as after Yale I will not merely desire to find again the spirit of Yale. I hope for a moment that can call up out of murkily-remembered themes and generalities a specific scene from our TASP and give that scene the vivid immediacy it had in the summer of '05 when it was a fresh-made memory.

I want my TASP madeleine.

My first quake!

2008-07-31T01:35:00.001-04:00

I've been unable to stop myself from talking about this to everyone I can get a hold of, so I thought, why not revive our blog with my new fabulous story??

So an earthquake shook up my town yesterday, registering a 5.3 on the Richter. It was my first one too, and when my entire house started to act like it was on wheels, I went and hid in the bathtub with my sister, because I couldn't remember if you did that for quakes or tornadoes. Silly me!

The phones went down for hours because the lines were inundated with frantic calls, and I think a couple rafters came lose in the backyard, but other than that, everything was okay.

Fact: Most hospitals are actually built on wheels - its supposed to lessen the impact and all because you roll with the shake, but it also makes even the tiniest ripple seem like you're going to die. Did you know that?

Meanwhile, back on the farm.

2008-05-11T17:20:00.002-04:00

First, warm birthday wishes to Bern. I think we should all drink a milkshake in honor of this day.

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm halfway done. I spent this past semester in Oxford at Wycliffe Hall studying history and literature. I never looked up any other TASPers, but I think I remember from the old wiki that someone from our year is at St John's, and every time I heard an American accent I wondered if it might be him. (Of course, the city is flooded with Americans, so really, the odds weren't all that good.) I think I've finally settled on a history/geography double major, and I couldn't be happier.

Right now I'm back working on the farm for a month and a half before I start a research job collecting oral histories about women in church office. My brother's getting married in August (along with half my friends and two of my cousins...we've entered a new season of life...). The research job only lasts through the end of July, and as a number of the other visiting students I was with in Oxford live in Pennsylvania, I'm planning a road trip out that way in mid-August. We'll see whether or not it actually happens, but I'll be sure to let the east coasters know if I venture any further into New England than Philadelphia.

Good luck to everyone with last exams left!

2008-05-09T03:27:00.004-04:00

BERN! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAAAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

In other news, reading period is eating me alive.

The BIG summer post

2008-04-26T21:42:00.002-04:00

Well, it looks like another summer (and another TASP) are upon us now; what are people going to be up to? Is anyone factota-ing or planning to for next year? I'll be in New York City again, you're welcome to visit of course. Has anyone else's college been swept by a Mr. Rick Astley? Someone managed to replace a video art wall with youtube right as prospective freshmen came in. But anyhow, summer is upon us! The pain is over! Kinda...

Top 5 Songs about sunshine:
1. Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
2. Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles
3. Sunshine Highway - Flogging Molly
4. Why Does the Sun Shine - They Might be Giants
5. Island in the Sun - Weezer

I'm obsessed

2008-03-11T18:04:00.003-04:00

Santogold- L.E.S. Artistes

Long time now

2008-01-29T12:11:00.000-05:00

Hey you all, it's been so long! I haven't been in the TASP circle for a while now, I talked to Isaac around the holidays but that's about it. I've been so out of the loop of a lot fo things though, ever since this dreaded TMJ, scoliosis, malocclusion, indigestion, blah blah blah thing has consumed my very livelihood. Charles, Dylan and Sam know of this, Isaac too, but basically, a soccer injury from years ago has progressed and progressed slowly into my body, and now my spine's all out of alignment. I've learned so much about the different realsm of health care though, all about cranio-sacral relationships, shamanic healing, rolfing, chiropractic care, acupuncture, yoga, ayurveda, qi gong, energy psychology - the whole she bang. I've become very interested in healing as a result, but only because my body seems to be forcing me to take care of itself. Unfortunately, this has all resulted in much physical pain, debilitating to the point where it's hard to talk at times, let alone hear myself think, play music.

But I've finally found someone who can aid me,a star from the the heavens. After all my searching, she was only a couple blocks away from my house, hiding on a corner back alley street. I'm thankful, but not fully healed. Soon though, finally though. For me, healing will mean many things. My body's muscles will finally be able to relax, after it has been so out of balance since the soccer injury. Apparently the muscles around my cranium and sacrum tightened up in a spastically instinctive reaction, causing my neck to be constantly lopsided and my jaw to move out of place. Thus, my entire body compensated. My shoulders, rib cages and collar bones are all uneven now, while my Sacrum, the bottom part of the spine, is shifting my hips and giving me serious knee pain. But the healing, this simple healing, will give me much more energy, it will improve my horrible sinuses, it will reduce my indigestion problems, it will finally let my jaw release, thus enabling my lungs and diaphragm to utilize their strength in an efficient way. I can't wait!

But still, it will take a couple more months or so.

Also, do you guys know of a supra-all-encompassing TASP directory that will let me know of any TASPers in Oberlin college?
Thanks

Hope all is fantastic and dimdiddilyumscious

Henrik the Herb

2008-01-18T16:19:00.001-05:00

hi guys, it's sophie
just posting to say hi, i'm alive, and I miss everybody very badly

back to Britney

2007-12-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

So I actually like her new single, Piece of Me. Well the lyrics are spunky enough...

in other news, her 16 year old sister, Jamie Lynn is three months pregnant.. ehhh

music updates

2007-12-05T00:13:00.000-05:00

Hey all, check out the server for some new tunes from Beirut and Patti Griffin from me. Best listened to together (not really). I think there are some issues with The Flying Club Cup, but Gulag Orchestar is wonderful. Do check it out. And now:

Top five songs to dance crazy to during the week before finals that are the second track on an album:

1. Glass Danse-The Faint-Danse Macabre
2. Bodysnatchers-Radiohead-In Rainbows
3. I Was Never Young-Of Montreal-The Sunlandic Twins
4. Pull up the People-MIA-Arular (has anyone listened to her new album? Meredith?)
5. (Please forgive me, I was getting desperate) Popular Americans-Allstar United-International Anthems (no seriously, my taste in music isn't usually quite this bad)

It's a crazy time of year, folks.

-Emma

Winter Season News

2007-12-03T11:10:00.000-05:00

Hello TASP,

Boy has term been a whirlwind of emotions, as I'm sure the rest of you feel, but hey, it's just a few weeks till winter break (we already got a dusting of snow here in Boston). Turns out I'll be working in New York from Jan. 7 - Feb. 1, so if you'll be in the area, we should arrange to meet. And perhaps more importantly, if you hear rumors of a cheap sublet in which I can stay, please do call me. Woohoo! Almost there...

Taspers making waves

2007-10-25T00:38:00.000-04:00

Hey-oh! Paul Wolfowitz isn't the only tasper worthy of a three page spread. Check this out from Smithsonian; it's Daniel Alarcon, who Jason told us about awhile ago. I read his short stories, but I'll have to check out the novel. Sorry, my scanner was a bit too small.

Anyhow, the issue was about kickass people 35 and younger. Others featured include Sufjan (although he's a grad from Calvin's rival college, I can accept that he's kind of awesome), Regina Spektor, and Reza Aslan. Check it out at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

Following the Trend

2007-10-24T12:26:00.001-04:00

Hey folks,

Just wanted to let you know that I finally gave in and started a blog of my own. Its only a couple days old, but I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I hope this will be a good way of keeping people abreast of what's going on where I'm at.

You can check it out at icemillions.blogspot.com

(the title is an only slightly ironic nickname given to me over the summer...)

Hope all is splendid.

Best,
Isaac

I keep on wondering if I sleep to long

2007-10-16T17:06:00.000-04:00

Actually I don't wonder that at all. The answer is decidedly no. I was just listening to one of our CDs and that was a line I just heard in Ridley's Cat Stevens song.

Incoherent whirlwind tour of this semester in my life:

I just finished six midterms and I'm still in a complete daze.
I started playing bassoon again. Good times.
I'm hoping to spend next semester in Oxford.
I love Beirut's new album. Check it out.
I ate in the dining hall on Sunday night for the first time since starting college. Yuck. Particularly awful.
And, I'm going to be in DC not this weekend but the next. Anyone else? Probably not, but I thought I'd check.

Appropriate check-in? I hope so. It's funny all the little things that remind me of you guys. I know I haven't been very good at posting lately, but know that I have often been communing with you in my memory.

Emma

A less descriptive title than Dylan's

2007-10-07T01:52:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so I'm typing this up because of Dylan and his stupid comments... and I thought I was immune to peer pressure..

So sophomore year has been ridiculous - refreshing, unexpectedly a lot more fun than freshman year, and HARD. I changed my majors and minors about 5 times in the first week of school and all because of silly scheduling problems too! It makes me wonder if I'm really serious about anything haha. I'm now no longer a creative writing major - I'm trying out global health right now, it seems pretty interesting actually

I have a story about the creative writing bit actually! So I had signed up to take an Intro to Poetry and Non-Fiction seminar with this amazing professor, but had to drop it at the last moment. And needless to say, I was pretty unhappy about the decision and was moping around about it when out of the blue, the prof emails me to ask why I'm no longer on his enrollment list and inviting me to his office to talk! (how sweet...) So I go, and tell him that if I had a choice I would have stayed with him, and he tried to console me by telling me that I didn't really need to take a class to write. But I said that deadlines kinda motivated me to write. And then he does the nicest thing EVER... he tells me that can be easily arranged, and that I should submit a poem to him every Monday for the rest of the year, and that we would meet once a month for lunch to talk about them. AND he's sharing all his writing exercises and everything for me! I am seriously stunned by his generosity. He's amazing. The end.

I moved to California this summer. Did I mention this before?

Also, Inorganic Chemistry is bleh... I strongly advise every pre-meder to stay away from this if they can help it.

hmm what else??? It's Fall break right now - a four day weekend - and most everybody has gone home. I'm staying back though and it's been sooo refreshing so far! Just sleeping in, working out, studying at my own pace.. heaven. At first, it was like - wait, I have leisure time? What? But yeah, I could definitely get used to this sort of life.

Oh and that reminds me, I caught sight of this on MTV in the gym today - it's pretty mindblowing. Check it out if you haven't already.

Oh and this one's just for fun.

Okay I'm done.

-Sanjukta

Reuniting, Musicking, Directed Studying and Running

2007-10-05T16:19:00.000-04:00

Post Time! This SHALL be a full-scale online reunion. I shallmake it so by actually writing a POST (unlike our dear pseudonymous Sanju, who had the nerve to call for a reunion without putting forth a post of her own). I'm also interested to see who still reads this blago-blag, so post a comment when you read this. I wonder how soon we'll get to 5 or so...

So I have seen a lot of Emily (because of Yale's crazy a cappella audition process...ask one of us about it some time), a little of Meredith, and met several other '05 TASPers (Joyce and Edgar from Cornell, and Amy from WashU). I have yet to meet any of the 2011 (ie. '06) TASPers, but I'm sure I will at some point.

Directed Studies is plenty of work, but it's also fantastic. We have to write a paper a week (or actually more like 2 papers/3 weeks, because every now and then we get a week off when we have a colloquium on something or other. The papers are due on Fridays at 11, so that pretty much kills Thursday night fun and games. I often leave the library around the same time that parties are getting out, and the contrast between my state of mind (not to mention sobriety) and that of the returning partygoers is pretty striking. The papers have as a rule gone well, and the seminars are the closest thing to TASP I've ever experienced. It's not the same, but it is enough to make me nostalgic.

Running is going fairly well, although I just learned that I have a (mild, very nearly healed) stress fracture that I've been trying to run on. I'm going to be more cautious now. I hope my coach is understanding. As you may have guessed, I'm on the track team...sort of. I didn't make XC but I'm training with the team, and there's a very good chance that I'll get put on the track roster (so long as this training doesn't get too derailed by the stress fracture).

Anyway, that's my life right now. I'm going to hear Emily's a cappella group give a concert on Saturday. They are incredible. In fact, Emily, you should post some Shades stuff to the music server so everyone can hear just how amazingly your group musicks.

Please do post everyone.

Best,
Dylan

Intriguing...

2007-09-19T03:45:00.000-04:00

http://www.karmaloop.com/products.asp?ProductID=20504

The jams have been kicked, apparently. And are now available in jacket form.

Damn. Its been far too long since I've posted anything. Or talked with any of you good folk. Exception, Sanjukta (I'ma respond to your email soon. promise). More astounding, Christina is probably within a 5 minute walk of me somewhere around campus on a day to day basis, but I still haven't seen her since welcome week of LAST year (2006). So in other words my communication has been on the weak tip.

Things are alright where I'm at. Four weeks into the semester, my classes are looking pretty neat. I'm in an International and Area Studies course on Global Poverty taught by Ananya Roy, who is easily the best lecturer I've seen so far at Cal. I'm also taking a Women's Studies in Religion course at the Graduate Theological Union (a couple blocks north of the Berkeley campus). The class has only met twice, but so far the reading has been fascinating (bell hooks and Simone de Bouvier what!) and the discussion on point, however I must admit it is a little intimidating to be in a class of entirely grad students, many of whom are working on their P.h.D.s, most of whom are married, and quite of few of whom have kids. Not to mention being one of three men in a class of 25 (one of two last week when one of my comrades failed to show), or being surrounded by a good number of ordained ministers/holy folk in a scattering of different denominations. Good to force oneself into those unfamiliar scenarios.

Today in my comp lit course on Literature and Colonialism the professor passed out a handout (in French) of a scene from the original Tintin in the Congo (Tintin au Congo for you Francophiles). We'd just read Heart of Darkness (and are now on Andre Malraux's The Royal Way, which is an adaptation of HoD set in French Indochina), and it was jarring to see the barbaric history of the Belgian Congo juxtaposed with the unabashed, cartoonish racism of a children's comic. I read Tintin studiously as a kid, and remember reading this book (in Spanish, oddly enough), and being simultaneously repulsed and fascinated by a tension that even then I knew existed in the text. A couple weeks ago, I read an article on Hergé (the creator of Tintin) in a New Yorker from this past May (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/28/070528fa_fact_lane). It referenced this same scene that we were looking over earlier today, where Tintin is teaching a geography lesson to a classroom full of black-faced, red balloon-lipped stereotypes of what Hergé imagined Congolese children to look like, and Tintin points to the blackboard and says something along the lines of: here, this is your country- Belgium, with (I'm quite sure, though not pictured) King Leopold off-camera smiling proudly from his personal ninth-circle. That's some bullshit right there.

Never really seen it painted so stark, but these caricatures are the scriptures I used to pore over (along with Asterix the Gaul, who sported similar racialized fantasies), and I can't help but wonder how these comics unconsciously shaped my view of the world and its earthlings (here, with unconscious conditioning, we hook in to my fourth class for the fall, a major pre-req social theory/cultural analysis course on the Self, where my professor is currently worshipping Freud). I mean if you look even at all closely at Hergé's work, you'll find the most simplistic and disgusting stereotypes taken to the extreme (witness his buck-toothed Japanese in The Blue Lotus, or half-naked, tomahawk-wielding natives in Tintin in America). I mean, sure, these books are a product of their time, but I'm a product of that product, and I don't know how much I like that.

In other news:

A Congolese student is trying to get the book removed from shelves... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/arts/08arts.html
Scroll down to "Tintin Prompts a Suit."

This year is the 100th anniversary of Georges Remi's birth.

Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson are directing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintin_(film)

... In conclusion ...

I mean, I love me some Tintin, but sheesh... thumbs down to having my mind warped at an early age.

Also, if you want to check a plethora of crazy good music for free, hit up: http://community.livejournal.com/black_man_land/

Its Russian, but in spite of that, or perhaps because of that, as it may be (Sophie), give it a shot, or multiple shots.

And in other other news, my sister Lilly turned 21 last night. Woo!

Also,
Shana Tova! Happy New Year!
A sweet and joyful one to all.

Isaac

P.S. I know we're all on our own respective hypes with individual blogs and other such nonsense, but if I can find some time to post here, I'll bet good money you can find some time too.

P.P.S. I'm not the only one who read Tintin, right?

OI!

2007-09-06T15:30:00.001-04:00

I think it's high time for a blogger's reunion...

Just some stuff

2007-08-07T01:44:00.001-04:00

Hey, it's great to hear from you guys! Muck farming really sounds like a made-up profession, like telephone sanitizer, but I'm sure it's far from invented for you. Bizarrely, the second generation of TASPers after us has just finished their program, releasing floods of pictures out on facebook. Conclusion: the Michigan program had better legitimate artistic skill with regards to painting the rock, but we clearly had more spirit. I mean, Poetry=Poop. How can you beat that for simplistic irony?

In other news, I started my own blog, to detail random trips and thoughts that might not belong here. It's at http://scripts.mit.edu/~cwuz/blog and its style may be based in no small part on Meredith's fantastic (and still regularly updated) Banana Theory. And to wrap it up in our very own fashion, here's my top 5 songs by the Who (Who? The Who!):

5. Baba O' Riley
4. Love, Reign O'er Me
3. Young Man Blues
2. My Generation
1. A Quick One

summer in the muck

2007-08-05T16:27:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,

How is everyone? A year older and infinitely wiser, I assume?
It's great to hear from you Lisa--and Henrik, I searched for you on Facebook but couldn't find you. Did you already decide that it isn't worth your time? Good move. I wish I had the guts.

I'm spending my summer on a muck farm called Trillium Haven growing all sorts of organic vegetables. Muck is a fantastic, fine soil that's pitch black when it's wet and miserably powdery when it's dry. Sadly, we're in something of a drought, and it's all together too dry too often. But with irrigation, most of the plants are doing okay, and it's in a low area, so the water table is only about 5 feet down.

I work about 50 hours a week, always outside and always moving. It's been tough, but it's good, because I've never had a real job before and now I know what it's like to seriously work my ass off. Everyone should have a blue-collar job at least once, I think. Organic farming doesn't even compare to working on a line, but it's something close. Our customers may be bourgeois, but the work is just as dirty.

In my spare time (of which there is little), I'm working as an assistant to an English prof who puts out a journal, copy editing articles and sending emails to contributors and reviewers. It's a good combination with farming, because the academic half of my family can respect that job, while the other half respects the farming (my mum's parents grew up working on muck farms not far from where I work now). It's great because I never have to apologize about what I'm doing. It's like everyone can say, "At last, you're actually working." They just have different ideas about what constitutes work.

In fact, I think different kinds of work compliment one another very well. It keeps you balanced and lends perspective to any sort of pain. When I'm sick of being inside at a computer, I think of the mid-day heat and am thankful for the walls and the roof and the shade. When my back is aching and I cut my thumb in a bed of broccoli, I think of the amazing pomposity of some professors and am glad to be scratching around in the earth.

All in all, it's given me lots of time to think about life and food and literature and how everything fits together. I've learned tons, too. I can drive tractors (small ones, at least) and slaughter chickens and identify different types of tomato rot. A farm is an excellent place to be curious, and it isn't half as boring as you'd think to read an English pedagogy journal cover to cover.

Anyhow, yeah, letters are great! Let's write some.

Love!
Emma

Chives inside one of our greenhouses.

Beans are a bitch to pick, but they sell like crazy at the farmers' market.
(I posted more pictures on Facebook too.)

Hey, All!

2007-08-01T07:31:00.001-04:00

It's great to read all of these blog posts again. You guys are so great.

I'm doing great. I read this great book called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was pretty...great.

Now I'm being facetious.

Anyway, I read this article online talking about Hillary Clinton's letters to a friend while she was in college. It was incredibly interesting to me. She sounded like...us. Like a TASPer. I thought that was pretty cool.

I know I should be a librarian because now that I have a lot of free time, I mostly read. And discuss books with other people who read. And attempt to discuss books with those who read, but are uninterested in discussing.

If you guys haven't discovered this already, you really should. It's a fabulous way to spend your time. I may be very late on getting to know lolcats, but perhaps I'm not. Let me know.

See you soon.

Reunion: the blog post

2007-07-16T17:24:00.000-04:00

Given the proclivity of blockbusters to have summer sequels, Henrik, Sam, Dylan, and I got together for a little TASP revival last week. Henrik bussed in from Vermont, Sam took the train from Rhode Island, and I took the subway down the street to Dylan's house for a weekend. We took a long time to catch up on life, not least because the MBTA (the subway one) decided that the one train Sam was on was express past my stop. Note this is the only express train on the Boston subway I have ever seen. Anyhow, somehow time passed, Mexican food was eaten, bubble tea was gobbled, Mr. Potato Heads were defiled, Family Guy was somehow involved, Youtube was browsed, and we talked the night away; it was 3 or 4 before we knew it. Those really late-night birds really get you if you're not careful.

It's hard to describe, but I find it really easy to pick up where we left off; I hadn't seen Henrik or Sam for two years, but it was like we were right back at 1322 Hill St., chattering away about people who can focus their eyes underwater, or linguistics, or international development, or park management. And of course, it was wholy TASPly, jumping from how to save the world to "top five movies you've seen in the theaters" to reminiscing about John Sinclair, who, by the way, actually has a somewhat maintained website at www.johnsinclair.us where he begs for more money.

Saturday the 7th (Sam's birthday!) we went to Crane Beach up in Ipswich, MA. The day was gorgeous and sunny, but the water was, in fact, "balls cold." Sam and Dylan are very brave, and they jumped in headfirst towards their shivery doom. Henrik and I are more umm... circumspect, and eased our frigid bodies in inch by inch, only to be foiled by a gonad-level wave. Oh, it was great. We put in some frisbee time, taught Sam how to throw forehand, and I managed to misapply sunscreen such that I now have uneven dark patches on my back. Back in Cambridge, we learned the proper method for eating steamed clams (it involves removing the membrane around the clam's foot) and cut up a magnificent cake that Dylan's parents made for the double birthday occasion (Dylan's 19th was the next day). Moral of the story: Dylan's parents are quite amazing cooks.

Quite aptly given our musical tendencies, we went out searching for some live music, and we found a great little jazz bar a few blocks from Dylan's house, playing some hot latin jazz (you want authentic? Most of the band couldn't speak English) with a crazy crazy drummer who had to change shirts in the middle of his performance. I seem to remember pictures from our walk home, and Henrik has them, right Henrik, nudge nudge? And that was that; we stayed up way too late again, shot flies with a fly gun, told stories, and Sam and Henrik were gone the next day. I gotta say, this was a wonderful break from the summer, and obviously, if any of you are around Boston, ever, come by and visit us. I'll be holding down the fort at MIT for... well, forever. On a related note, I have a day or two to kill in DC on the 27th, so if any of you boys or girls are around, do give me a shout. That makes it our biggest reunion yet, and you're always welcome to create a larger one. Maybe one day when the gods smile and none of us are busy.

-Charles

PS: I added links to some videos taken during TASP and the music server Issac and I set up

2007-07-08T14:47:00.000-04:00

DMO!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

College is finallly upon you...you better be living it up this summer! =)

2007-07-07T20:11:00.000-04:00

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA!!!!!!!

We miss your photogenic-ness!! Hope you're having a great summer!

The Day After

2007-06-26T13:10:00.000-04:00

I just read Sam's post, and I'd totally forgotten that yesterday was the day. 2 years?! I'm beginning to feel old, especially going into the last year of my teens in July. In celebration of being older and the anniversary, I present my summer hip hop mixtape:

Rock Out With Your Clock Out.zip

1. Crambodia (Pink Skull Remix) - Plastic Little ft. Ghostface Killah, Spank Rock and Amanda Blank
2. Put That P***y On Me (Diplo Tonite Remix) - Spank Rock
3. Gasolina - Bonde do Role
4. Kryptonite P***y - Yo Majesty
5. Shake 'em Down - XXXchange
6. We Are Clubstars (Bald Eagle Reheat) - Yo Majesty
7. Casting Agents and Cowgirls - Busdriver
8. Starz In Their Eyes - Just Jack
9. Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above (Spank Rock Remix) - CSS
10. Take it Easy - Amanda Blank ft. M.I.A.

Also, everyone should check out Slate Magazine (slate.com) if you haven't, already. Interesting pop culture commentary, and occasionally very funny.
e.g. "Life, Liberty and Politicians' Maddening Way With Words"
"A Harlem Dance Goes Viral"

Puerto Rico on Friday...

Today is the 2 year anniversary of my arrival at TASP, I just realized . . .

2007-06-25T22:05:00.000-04:00

Item 1:
I got my missionary assignment - I'm going to Manchester, England! I'm really excited. I think it will be a good two years. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to be able to blog while I'm out there. But I'll be sending out monthly email reports about what I'm up to, so I'm think I'll deputize my sister to post those here.

Item 2:
TASP reunion in Cambridge, some weekend in July! Charles, Dylan, and I (currently stationed in Rhode Island) are all pretty flexible, although we're particularly interested in the TASPer-birthday-ridden-weekend of the 7th and the 8th. If you think you might be free to make it up here sometime in this general timeframe, comment on this post and let us know. Henrik and Sanju, I know you're not TOO too far from Boston. Starting at 3 TASPers, this has the potential to be a record-breakingly-large reunion. So don't miss out if you can help it!

Hope everyone's summers are turning out splendidly! Research here is going well so far, although I've just barely started - I meet my supervising professor, who is Australian and hopefully sympathetic to callow undergraduates, tomorrow. I spend most of the day holed up in a windowless computer lab, but when I get out of work I have no homework and the world is beautiful. Also I have a room to myself, for the first time in my life, which has benefits.

Ruth sent the first report from TASP at WashU - they have no Internet in their frat house, but they also have no readings. Ah, TASP . . .

Groetjes,
Sam

Bay Area TASP reunion this week?

2007-06-02T15:36:00.000-04:00

Henrik, you mentioned you'll be in the Bay Area this week. Do you have specific plans for where you'll be staying/what you'll be doing? Isaac, are you also still in the area? Let me know what the situation is - I'm interested in meeting up with you guys at some point.

Groetjes,
Sam

P.S. Isaac, I still have your book, Hyperion.

I exist again!

2007-05-24T15:27:00.000-04:00

Hey all lovely taspers--I realize I am abominably delinquent, but I assure that it shall be made up in due time. (How, I have no idea; but the thought is there all the same)

At long last stolaf classes are over. I was kind of nonexistant for the last semester because I made the smooth choice of doubling up on physics classes. The rest of my schedule was made up by first year writing (a horrendous class that we, unfortunately, all have to take) It isn't exactly that I don't like to write, but that if I have to hear another prof announce that "the three keys to writing a successful essay are to make a point, make it clear and make it interesting" I am going to hurl. This is usually pronounced with the same air as santa clause unveiling a particularly gargantuan toy. They all seem to labor under the belief that we have managed to complete 12 1/2 years of schooling without ever having run into this tidbit. This particular class was made slightly more interesting by the readings consisting of mainly "graphic novels" (extended comic books), one of which turned out to be more than mildly pornographic.

Music theory, on the other hand was amazing. I have a new prof who had a fondness for challenging how the music dept runs things--a practice I intensely support. She had a little of john sinclair in her, though without the whole drugs/moving-to-amsterdam/actively-supporting-the-overthrow-of-the-american-govt thingimabobber. She is big into electronic music, so for a field trip one day she took a bunch of us down to see the virtual sound labs at the university of iowa. On the way back me and a couple others were late for a orchestra dress rehearsal. So she displayed her prowess at passing cars on the right while doing 110 in a minivan. twas exhilarating.

I'm having doubts about what to do with my life. I thought coming into college that I would try and get a physics degree and use it to study meteorology in grad school with freelance music on the side. I unfortunately, however, fell in love with particle physics. So now I am in a quandary as to continuing with the skies or going full force into the exceedingly fun practice of banging things together. And, of course, there is the long term significance to consider--doing some rough calculations, I figure that for the same amount of money we just spent in switzerland for the LHC, we could have... oh... fed africa for a year? We'll see what happens; I'm going to be working this summer for a prof crunching numbers for a project looking at glacier movement, so maybe that will rekindle my interest in metorology and climate.

To happier matters: as of the end of this school year, I am contentedly single. I realize that this seems an odd thing to brag about, but at stolaf it is truly an accomplishment. A 2/1 female-male ratio in my dorm, combined with the oft-quoted statistic that "80% of Oles marry other Oles" makes maintaining your status as a straight, vaguely polite, caring, single male about as simple as mounting a single-manned attack on normandy beach. It's not that I have anything against my female friends (truly--if any of you are reading this don't resent you at all : ), it's just that they have a tendency to equate a smile and occasional hug as evidence of your deep abiding love for them that only needs to be brought to the surface. Another piece of awesomeness is that the verb "to date" has been whited-out of every dictionary on campus. Two people can be "friends" or they can be "in a relationship" (as heralded by facebook), but "dating"?
qoi? Je ne comprendre pa?
April of senior year is crazy with couples getting engaged "like dominoes", as my sister put it.

In addition, this summer I get to tackle two other jobs; one is to continue my stint as a rock wall instructor--aka I get payed to climb. Second: My dad is a silvaculturist for the forest service and goes up to alaska for about two weeks every summer to take field data. This year he managed to get me approved to go with him as a volunteer crew rat. Which means I get to spend two weeks of august in the wilderness of the kenai peninsula.

Anyway, I have to go soon so I will leave you with one more piece of wisdom for old times sake. And assure you that even though I am a sporadic poster myself I read all of your posts and enjoy hearing about your lives

Top 5 right now

5. Louisiana Bayou--Dave Matthews Band
4. I Want it That Way--Backstreet Boys
3. You and I Both--Jason Mraz
2. Hammer to Fall--Queen
1. No Doubling Back--Jason Mraz

It's good to be back

-bern

Hello again!

2007-05-21T10:55:00.000-04:00

Hello all! It's Lisa here. I haven't posted for so long! But don't think I haven't been thinking about you. I love and miss you all!

A lot has happened since I last posted/talked to any of you. First of all, I'm sick. I have ME/CFS (myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome) and fibromyalgia. I've actually been sick with this for years, but this past school year it was especially severe. I didn't have it while I was at TASP, but it developed about four or five months after I got home. For the first couple years, I would just get sick a lot and have a lot of fatigue. The second half of my senior year, I was sick about eighty percent of the time. It seemed to improve during the summer, and then, two weeks into my freshman year at UCR, it came back. At this time, I was both working and going to school. The illness kept getting more and more severe. The symptoms now were nausea, horrible muscle aches and stiffness, joint pain, headaches, sore throat, extreme fatigue, "brain fog," and fevers. Various other symptoms came and went. I struggled with school and work, and finally, I had to quit my job at the beginning of January. I continued to struggle with school as my symptoms got worse and worse. I missed a lot of school during winter quarter, and tried my best to make it all up. Toward the end, it became clear that I would not be able to finish.

So, I have had to withdraw from UCR. It was devastatingly sad, but it was something I had to do. I adored my classes, had connected with great professors, and was loving the honors program.

It was really a difficult year. That's not to say that there weren't wonderful things as well as sad things. I'm still with Jeremy, and he is an amazing support, friend and partner. Our relationship has grown, and we have grown. We work hard to have a healthy relationship, and it has truly paid off.

Speaking of Jeremy: he's been published! I mean, he's had tons of short stories and stuff published before, but now he has a novel out! It's called Vacation, and Raw Dog Screaming Press is the publisher. It came out in April, and the word definitely seems to be spreading. Jeremy has done so much to get the word out, and in really unconventional ways. And more and more people seem to be responding. Several reviews are due to be coming out, including one on Amazon's blog. He'll also be reading for a popular podcast. It's all very exciting, and more and more people are finishing the book and giving feedback now. If you'd like to check out the stuff, visit his myspace at: www.myspace.com/jeremywriter.

Anyway, back to me. I tried quite a few of the medications that my doctor prescribed me for my illness, but unfortunately, all of them had terrible side effects, and none of them worked. Even if they had worked, they would have only suppressed my symptoms, and not helped heal my body. Recently, I tried a homeopathic medicine called rhus tox that helps my muscular and joint pain, and it works super well, with no side effects. This, combined with the path I was already on, encouraged me to look for natural cures to my disease. The most recommended treatment for ME/CFS was detox. I read what it had done for other people (real people, not advertisements) and decided to try it for myself. It's based on making the body stronger so that it can heal itself, instead of suppressing individual symptoms. That's where I am now. I bought a great book: The Detox Book by Bruce Fife. It's much better than finding detox information on the internet, where everything is pretty disjointed. It approaches detox from a very holistic perspective, which I love. I've started an ultra-healthy diet, and am going to try the rest of the cleansing techniques. I'll let you know how it goes!

Anyway, even though I've been very sick, I've been happier this year than I've ever been. There's lots more to tell, but I'll spare you this time, as this post is already so long. If you guys have any questions about CFS or anything at all, I'll be glad to answer!

I love reading all these posts. It's so great to see what you guys are up to. I miss you guys!

P.S. 60 days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!! (I hope I'm not the only nerd who's looking forward to it)

Happy Stinkin' Birthday!

2007-05-15T18:51:00.000-04:00

Oi! It's Chris's birthday!

Everybody dance now.

Happy birthday Chris!

Summer stuff

2007-05-03T04:31:00.000-04:00

I'm going to Rhode Island for the summer! I got into a computer graphics research program at URI (which is in the city of Kingston, not quite 2 hours south of Boston). Time for some serious reunion planning, Northeastern TASPers.

Also, one of the UMich 07 TASPers contacted Ruth and asked for advice about what to see and do in Ann Arbor and environs while at TASP. Suggestions go as comments to this post, please.

Groetjes,
Sam

Big news!

2007-04-30T15:05:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-26T12:38:00.001-04:00

I think I'm kinda done with freshman year.

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

2007-04-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-04-22T01:06:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-19T10:36:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-04-17T01:57:00.000-04:00

Mwahahahahaha. etc.

3 albums:

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

been a while, and a film

2007-04-10T00:09:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-09T23:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-04T02:25:00.000-04:00

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

hey I can post. Calllooh! Callay!

2007-04-02T23:27:00.000-04:00

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

New/Old Blogger Woes

2007-03-31T00:40:00.000-04:00

So...I've been monkeying around with blogger and it seems they have fixed some of the new-version-accounts-on-old-version-team-blogs issues (I can post again, woohoo!) but not others (I can't yet post comments, though I'm about to try a workaround). Still, it's my (biased) opinion that we should just let ourselves be coerced into switching the blog over. I think Jsn is going to have to do that (since he's the original creator of the blog).

Bay Area

2007-03-30T21:45:00.000-04:00

Right now, I'm in this little cafe called Sundance Coffee in San Fransisco, just exploring this wonderful area as Isaac is chattin it up with some other youth poets of the area.

Did you guys know that our beloved Isaac placed 1st in a competition that earned him a title on the Youth Speaks team? Pretty soon, he's going to be competing at an international competition (it's mostly U.S., but still). Let's give a nice round of snaps for our friend...

Isaac seems to be busy these days, as we all are, but nonetheless he calls Berkley his home with satisfaction in his brow, confidence in his eyes, and humbleness in his mouth. I'm sure you know that expression Isaac makes when he's talking of his marvelous pursuits.

Man, o man. This place is GORGEOUS. I love the Bay Area - oh how sweet the air smells, even in the midst of some ongoing traffic. I like it a lot here, I can see how my parents fell in love here, back in those days of progressive counter culture paradigm and transcendental interest. In my opinion, perfect location for a reunion. But then again, is this really going to happen? I mean, we were supposed to get something going, but I can't get a hold of Lisa or Christina, and Sam couldn't make it. WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING GUYS. Our blog is seriously on the downturn, a hige lack of posts these days. I feel like we're getting to that point in our lives where TASP has happened so long ago that we've all forgotten how wonderful it was. It's really easy to forget, isn't it? With this free time that I've been having, I have been looking through the blog entries, all the photo archives....I really miss you all. It's such a blast to see Isaac. I really think that we need to start makiung more effort to stay in contact. It would be a blast to see more of you all in your respective homes as well. I mean come on, let's switch this blog once and for all. Let's get the SHIT ON THE ROAD! Move it!

Enjoy your breaks. And if they've already fizzed into the unclear, foggy parts of your memory, I hope they went well.

Henrik

Speaking of Sam Jackson

2007-03-27T14:32:00.000-04:00

This song is based on Snakes on a Plane which is its namesake as well - by Cobra Starship, who played at an Atlanta club recently, and they were amaaazing!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zJhuwihy7FE

Check it out!

Getting people back on the blog

2007-03-27T12:58:00.000-04:00

It looks like Blogger's trying to force us into using the new version. In order for everything to get updated and enabling people to post comments, again, the original creator of the blog needs to move it to the new Blogger. Jason?

After that, it will ask everyone to move to their new accounts, and we should be back in business.

-Meredith

Sam Jackson: Renaissance Man?

2007-03-26T22:33:00.000-04:00

Leonardo da Vinci, step aside. The man of this century is Samuel L. Jackson. After a few well-publicized adventures as Jedi, snake tamer, and overall badass motherfucker, we find ole' Sammy in the movie Black Snake Moan, which has one of the more ridiculous plotlines of the recent past. In short, the diminutive and very topless Christina Ricci stars as a nymphomaniac in Deep South Mississippi who passes out in front of Sam Jackson's house and wakes up chained to his radiator, to be cured of her "sickness." Hilarity ensues. But, my dear hearts, that would not be enough to write a trite entry, so I really come to tell you of Sam Jackson and the blues. Imagine any Sam J line from Pulp Fiction. Now imagine that same voice singing in a low growl over blues guitar. It's really magnificent, and some excellent music from the swamp, profane, dirty, and organic. There's a scene of Sam Jackson jamming in a crowded bar that's worth the price of admission alone. What starts as a movie about the lonely life of a nympho is really a vehicle for the musicking debut of Samuel L. Jackson. Who knew?

-Charles

A server update

2007-03-19T21:14:00.000-04:00

So I've been completely swamped by work these days (just ask me about differential equations; I dare you), but I've also been putzing around with the media server. I've now set it up so it will stream directly to you in high quality through winamp or itunes or whatever program you use, so you can open and play files really really easily. Emma, this is just the thing for you :) just open up http://blacktie.mit.edu:8888 and the rest should be self-explanatory. It even has search and playlist functionality, if you want to press some buttons. I'll try to write some more when I don't have coding to do, but enjoy the sweet sounds. And really, upload some stuff.

-Charles

Also, as I have mentioned, we might be forced to switch to the "new blogger", lest we lose people to technological difficulties. Bleh.

ALSO

2007-03-19T00:24:00.000-04:00

How would people feel about my changing the template of the blog? Spicing things up a little?

-the girl who thinks that this question may not merit a separate post, but is giving it one, anyway

BLOG UPDATE SOLO!!! Bwananabwananabwanana...And in that mighty moment, she let the blogging rip

2007-03-18T23:44:00.000-04:00

Dear Those Who Have Shown Justine Timberlake Was Wrong by Acting as Living Proof that Sexy Never Went Anywhere:

I think that everyone should give at least brief life updates, no matter how boring. Even if it's short and along the lines of the Marquis de Sade: "We eat, we shit, we kill, we die."

So, I saw Sin City for the first time last night, and it was wicked good. I was skeptical when it came out, but I was pleasantly surprised. Also, tonight my dad and I went to this new Korean monster flick, The Host. If it's playing near you, it's totally worth seeing. It toes the line between horror movie and dark comedy, and very well. It's like an updated version of Godzilla and Mothra and other movies of the like: the personification of our modern fears as a monster wreaking havoc on a major Asian city with political under- and overtones coming out in the response of the government to this crisis. Where Godzilla reflected fear of being annihilated by an unstoppable force much like the atomic bomb, and Mothra reflected fear of being punished for our all-consuming love of capitalism, the oozy, snake-fish thingy living in a river in Seoul reflects the fear of being killed by a virus (SARS, anyone?) and being swept up in a pandemic while the government panics and the US interferes in its usual here-we-come-to-save-the-day, self-important fashion, doing little good and obscuring the issue. Meanwhile, the everyman who knows what's going on is ignored, and forced to take action with no help. So it's fun both as a movie and as an update of one of my favorite genres.

Also, Stacyann Chin, who was a performer in Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam, came to Yale, and she was awesome. She had these great little haikus that she'd sprinkle in at lightning speed, and she read excerpts from this new book she's working on.

And on the music front, Hanson came to New Haven. How do you like your washed-up boy bands? Blonde-haired, pop-rock brothers with a side of one hit wonder, please! They came to a master's tea (the masters of the twelve residential colleges bring various interesting people, like Art Spiegelman, Dr. Ruth, Meryl Streep, etc. to sit down and talk and drink tea and answer questions with a smallish group of students). The room was packed, and despite their best efforts to steer the conversation to questions about the music industry as a whole and the problems with major record labels, people just sort of nodded, smiled, and then asked about the lyrics to "Mm Mm Bop." It was lots of fun, but unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the concert later that night. It was sold out. Bah!

So I'm on spring break now, and I've been bumming around, catching up on pleasure reading. I just finished The Mists of Avalon (feminist retelling of Arthurian legend), and I'm working my way through the new Dave Eggers novel, What is the What, which is a fictionalized retelling of a man's escape and subsequent life after the genocide in Sudan. Oh, and you should all check out this short story writer, Clarice Lispector. She was a 20th century Brazilian writer, and her stuff is basically one, big, eloquent middle finger aimed at patriarchal society. Even if you're not particularly interested in the feminist element, her stuff is still worth it for the writing.

Finally, my Top Five Ska Songs:
1. Ban the Tube Top - Reel Big Fish
2. The Impression That I Get - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
3. Keasbey Nights - Catch 22
4. Bumble Bee Tuna - Mephiskapheles
5. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Relient K

Still a jack-of-all-interests, major-in-none,
Meredith

ARRRGH! Stupid Blogger!

2007-03-03T21:16:00.000-05:00

Blogger forced me to switch to the new Google version (maybe if I'd been sneakier, I could've evaded this, but I unwisely submitted). Now I can't comment on anything - whenever I sign in, it says I am not a team member of this blog. Can someone with more Blogger-expertise than I help me?

Commentless,
Sam

2007-03-03T17:59:00.000-05:00

Interesting anecdote: I recently signed up for MIT's prefrosh visit program, and the form had a place for "top five interests." Not content with such a shallow representation of my personality, I instead wrote down a like of my favorite Beatles songs. Here it is:

1. Day Tripper
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. Let It Be
4. Lady Madonna
5. Honey Pie

I'm in love but I'm laaaaaaazy,
-Charles

use your suffrage guys!

2007-03-01T17:19:00.000-05:00

Hey, I just found out that the seven wonders of the world are being relisted on July 7th this year (get it - 7/7/07), and the manner of selection involves US voting! (haha that's "us," not America -- psps I love that video!!)

Anyway, someone sent me the link to the voting site -

http://www.new7wonders.com/

You can apparently vote by a number of mediums, but this is the internet way.

You should vote! But even if you don't it's still pretty neat to check out the contenders. They're kinda magnificent. =)

Sanju

Motown Fix

2007-02-25T03:49:00.000-05:00

Last week, while I was in the music library looking for a recording of "Take Five" (I'm starting a jazz combo with a couple of other people and they want to play "Take Five", so I'm trying to figure out a bass line), I stumbled across "Hitsville USA", a 4-CD compilation of Motown hits! In fact, I believe Dylan had this very one with him at TASP. Good stuff, and rife with good memories.

5. Pride and Joy - Marvin Gaye
4. Cloud Nine - The Temptations
3. Shop Around - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
2. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Gladys Knight & the Pips
1. He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' - The Velvelettes

Groetjes,
Sam

I'm really bad at this

2007-02-20T15:04:00.000-05:00

So, weekend before last, I went to Boston. A bunch of my friends from home were, for various reasons, going to be reassembled in Boston, coming from Chicago, D.C., and Maine. They called me on Wednesday to get me to come, and I took the train down on Friday. And this impromptu trip up north led to the most beautiful of all things...

A TASP REUNION! And yes, I'm just blogging about it now, a week and a half later. Also, I forgot my camera. I told you I was bad at this.

Anyway, I swung by MIT to visit Charles late on Friday night. He showed me the wonders of MIT, and many there were. The collages on all the rooms of his dorm make Yale's dorms like pretty sterile. And the double-decker couch, the double-decker couch! So, Charles and I caught a bit of a movie I wasn't nearly drunk or male enough to appreciate, Super Troopers. I acquired, along with Charles' company for the evening, an excellent free map of Boston...from a loading dock full of MIT take-it-or-leave-it stuff, like a printer and paraffin wax. Anyway, I was staying at Harvard, so I had to grab the last T train. And of course I forgot my cell phone in the dorm. When Charles called it, his dormmates pretended that it was a wrong number, leading to the most confusing 10 minutes of my weekend.

On Saturday night, Dylan, Charles, a couple of my friends and I all met up at this bar called Pourhouse for dinner. Delicious burgers for $2.50. And all we had to do to get them was spend 45 minutes fighting our way up in line, past the other equally aggressive bands of ravenous college students. The free Boston map, and the fact that I never clean out my bag turned out to be handy, since my friend got off at a random T stop and was lost about five blocks from Pourhouse and needed directions. After dinner, we returned to my friend Alexandra's suite and played that game that I think was on "Family Feud"; you know the one where you have a word and have to make your team guess what it is my describing it? Yeah, we did that, and it got pretty intense. The only solution was to go eat ice cream, and so we did.

Also, funny story unfortunately not related to TASPers. Alexandra won a free lunch on Saturday at an Ethiopian restaurant for her and ten friends. She informed us while we were walking over that a man would be "talking to us until our meal comes." We found that sort of unusual, and she explained that he was a financial adviser. He thought we were a small business, and that we were ten of her co-workers, something she didn't feel the need to explain to us until it was too late. She and another friend, Sarah S., entered the restaurant. The man said, "Are you with Alexandra?" Alexandra said yes, and instead of saying that she was Alexandra, she just called the next girl to enter, Sarah P., Alexandra, pretending that Sarah was her. Not because Alexandra needed to, but because she was too lazy to correct him and decided to just call someone else Alexandra for convenience's sake. So we pretended we worked for a small business for twenty minutes and got a free meal. But we're never trusting Alexandra to plan anything ever again. Especially since the last time she was in charge of getting food, she accidentally ordered a $60 whole Peking Duck.

But anyway, the reunion was very exciting. It was an all around ace weekend. The guy in my Latin American Short Fiction class from another TASP wasn't enough of a fix for me.

A last note: I'm pretty sure I'm going to Bonnaroo this summer with some friends. Is anyone else in on that?

Oh yeah - Presidents' Day Eve addendum

2007-02-19T02:11:00.000-05:00

(and by the way, is it Presidents' Day or President's Day? I figure it belongs to at least George and Abe, even if other ex-executives may not always be deemed deserving of a national holiday, so I'm going with the plural version.)

P.S. I was going to address Jason's query about my prospective membership in the class of 2012. I'm turning 19 in July and, as many 19-year-old Mormon males choose to do, I'm taking two years off from school to serve as a missionary. I'll spend this time doing service and spreading the gospel, as well as possibly learning a new language. I don't know where I'm going it, but it could be almost anywhere in the world other than a warzone or a Middle Eastern/North African nation (countries where missionaries are either not safe or not permitted into). Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about it all. I plan to turn in my paperwork in May; this should allow me to find out where I'm going towards the end of July, perhaps, and leave around the beginning of September.

The two years of missionary work are going to push my graduation date back to 2012, hence my comment on Henrik's post. I think the toughest thing about my missionary service is going to be parting from my freshman class - they'll all be seniors when I return. But being a missionary is definitely going to be worth it.

Presidents' Day Eve Reflections

2007-02-18T18:22:00.000-05:00

Hurrah for Henrik getting into Oberlin! I'm psyched, even if it means California will be less one TASPer.

Anybody have definite summer plans yet? I'm applying for summer research programs in math, so far ones at University of Minnesota Duluth, Oregon State, and Cal Poly Pomona; I'm also looking at CS research here at Stanford, at UC Santa Cruz, or at University of Rhode Island. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find a programming job here in the Valley. On va voir.

School continues as usual: math, computer science, and writing. My humanities class this quarter is on the epic, and is featuring quite the selection of ancient/medieval depictions of gore, including the Odyssey and of course the Song of Roland ("Roland feels his death is near/Through his ears his brains are seeping"). My writing and rhetoric class has us researching violence in the media, so I'm preparing to write a paper about the rhetoric of America's Army (the US Army's new computer-game-cum-recruiting-device) in online gaming communities, comparing its role to that of Counter-Strike. To my surprise, I've discovered that the Stanford libraries have an excellent collection of computer and video games - including about 4 distinct versions of our cherished, mind-corrupting Grand Theft Auto.

I miss you guys. I was realizing recently that several of my acquaintances here remind me a great deal of individual TASPers - maybe my college experience is just an expanded version of the TASP experience-paradigm that I formed two summers ago, and I gravitate towards people who fit into the mold of my ideal TASP-like world. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I'd gone to Cornell instead and lived in T-House, so I could hang out with ex-TASPers and Nunnites all the time - but Stanford is pretty sweet.

Did any of you manage to get in on reading TASP applications this year? I was going to email the other Stanford TASPers and see if anybody had leads on how I could get involved, but I haven't got around to it yet and the hour is getting late.

5. Bad Moon Rising - CCR
4. Things Have Changed - Bob Dylan
3. Ain't Wastin' Time No More - Allman Brothers
2. Bientot - Coralie Clement
1. Crazy Love - Allman Brothers

Groetjes,
Sam

Good old Lyndon...

2007-02-13T03:04:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, on the escalator up from the boarding platform of the Downtown Berkeley BART station, I heard a chorus singing in perfect harmony, almost as if Christmas got misplaced by a month and a half or so. As I made it to the ticket machine level of the station I saw that the choir was in fact singing a clever little ditty about impeaching Mr. Bush, his guilt in mass genocide, etc. I started laughing uncontrollably, a state that was only aggravated when I noticed that this choir (they had a conductor and everything) were a bunch of LaRouche-ites. That's the best I've seen yet from their kind. I'm working on a scheme to pit the LaRouche cultists in gladitorial combat against the Scientologists who daily man the Powell St. BART stop in San Francisco offering free "Stress Tests" to passersby. Maybe I can reserve Memorial Stadium (which is about two doors down from my dorm, and the site of a tree-sitting encampment over the University's attempt to cut down a grove of adjacent oaks in order to build a new sports facility) and use the football field for the kind of violent, blood-filled ceremony our pigskin celebrities try to emulate, but only in expurgated mimickry.

Oh man,

2007-02-02T15:19:00.000-05:00

SOOOOOOOOO,

How are all the good ol' TASPers doing!? It's been a while since I've posted, I know, and yes I've been busy.......

Getting into OBERLIN! HAHA!

Last week I was accepted into the college early decision, and since then my workload here at the Idyllwild Arts Academy has been relatively obliterated (I still have 13 classes, but now they're much more manageable). The college process was so arduous and hectic and stimulating and degrading - man o man, I wish I would have just done it earlier. But all in all, things here in Idyllwild are going quite swell. My Jazz Guitar is improving drastically, I'm slowly understanding the fine techniques of shading when painting, I've developed a keen environmental eye, and my spanish has taken that intermediate step from literal to vocal. And of course, there are those other classes that are chewing my brain - like Isaac once mentioned in an earlier post, I feel like goblins are throwing their chemical potions into my cauldron like brain, as it slowly brews an encompassing vision.

In about a month I have an audition for the Oberlin Conservatory, the ultimate test of my skills. I'm not banking on anything, considering I've only begun Jazz Guitar this year, but according to some students who are there right now, competition is not fierce. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

But if I do get in, that means I'll be doing the rigorous, 5-year long Double Degree program. Something I've been warned about from other people, something I've been attracted to ever since I heard about the college.

But alas, I gotta go, this Blog is quite uneventful yet informative, but I have so much more to say! One day, when I have more time.

It seems all is well, as one could expect of you all. I can't wait until I see some of you again (any californians up for Spring Break?), and best wishes for the future.

Henrik

1. Whippersnapper - Wayne Krantz
2. Blue Tail Fly - Leadbelly
3. The entire Ry Cooder & Ali Farke Toure album
4. Birds, Wires - Michael Chorney
5. 4 on 6 - Wes Montgomerey

2007-01-25T23:51:00.000-05:00

Oh, and before I forget, EJ and Shades dropped into Boston last week. Dylan and I had some time to spare, so why not?

She was belting it:

And the obligatory photo op. Jason would be so proud!

The Happiest of Birthdays for the Danciest of Bagels

2007-01-25T00:53:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIDLEY!

Sorry about this

2007-01-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

but it's going to be a long one.

I was reading Meri's blog and came across this post.
and I decided that I didn't have anything to do and might as well make my own (it was a long day working the climbing wall.) And I didn't really have anywhere to post it except here (I would use facebook except some friends might recognize themselves in it)

so here goes

50 things I learned in my first term of college

A fold up card table has infinite application.

How to program computer code

How to make mulled cider.

How to hang out with a girl and not make her think I am flirting with her.

It sucks when she thinks I’m flirting with her anyway.

Legend of Zelda=Genius

In a choice between hanging out with your girlfriend and getting free food at a friend’s party, go for the food.

Malt-o-meal is God’s gift to mankind

When you can’t remember what the assignment is for Monday, but you have a vague sense of oppressive doom, don’t just pass it off and spend Sunday night watching a friend play grand theft auto.

Time alone is not unattainable—you just have to work harder for it.

Unrequited love is far more unpleasant for the crushee than the crusher.

Buying a new set of boxers is an investment.

There is no better emotion than to get through a day and feel like you actually got something done.

I am lucky, if for no other reason than the fact that I can leave my dorm door wide open, go to lunch across campus, and return an hour later confidant that nothing has been stolen.

Being the only sober person in a room is entertaining—but not for very long

I cherish a secret pride in being a nerd.

How to ask a girl out over facebook without the entire world knowing.

Some days, my mood is entirely determined by the contents of my P.O. box

I write better in the morning.

Just not the morning of.

Nobody will look askance at you for waltzing into the lounge in boxers.

There is a phallic symbol hidden in EVERYTHING.

It doesn’t matter that you know the dorm oven takes 2 hours to warm a quesadilla. STAY for the two hours and watch it because the instant you turn around to make a cup of tea black smoke and flames will begin to pour out of the oven.

How to go to a swing dance in Minneapolis where I don’t know a single person and still have a good time.

It is a bad idea to set your earphones on your computer keyboard and then come back an hour later and use said keyboard as a surface on which to cut fabric.

How to ingest lutefisk without wanting to hurl my insides over the balcony of the cafeteria.

Whenever possible, stop on your way to classes and take a pee in the bathrooms of the alumni building. They are guaranteed to be the nicest on campus.

Finishing a five page essay and then watching the entire five hours of Pride and Prejudice the night before a midterm is a perfectly reasonable evening.

A roommate who is adept at stealing dishes out of the cafeteria is a valuable commodity.

An XL shirt makes an excellent wall drape.

There are few things more frustrating than an internet illiterate professor.

You are never too old to enjoy a fort built out of couch cushions.

Never trust anything perishable to the refrigerator.

Laundry day=good day

Nobody is ever going to claim the one black thong left in the laundry room.

Sit in the front of the class. Even if you stay awake while sitting in the back, you will be distracted by the kid in front of you who has his laptop out checking facebook.

Some people just don’t require sleep. I am not one of them.

How to get through the cafeteria in 8 minutes flat.

I will never understand performance art.

When doing a group project, always volunteer to edit the paper. You will end up rewriting the entire thing, but at least it will sound decent.

How to dismantle a chair and sneak it into storage.

Don’t loft your bed. You may have a little less room with it on the floor, but you will have a place to sit and it won’t bang against the wall and make your neighbors think you are the world’s fastest lover every time you climb up into it.

90% of jokes will involve the cafeteria or the sexual assault hotline in some way.

How to sit and talk with a person I know absolutely nothing about.

How to carry fifteen pounds of groceries back on the bus.

It doesn’t matter how many times I hear it or how cheesy it is, Piano Man still makes me want to cry.

Ditto with American Pie

It is a good idea to wash out your Nalgene bottle occasionally.

Coffee is the devil. Six cups of tea a day, however, is a beautiful thing.

It doesn’t matter how long the line in the cafeteria is. Calzones are worth the wait.

There, I hope you didn't waste too much of your life reading that.

miss you all

-bern

New and improved: the TASPer Music connection

2007-01-15T14:53:00.000-05:00

Isaac and I came up with the nice idea of having a central music server so we can actually listen to one another's top five lists, and the server is now sitting in my dorm room. Check your facebook messages if you haven't already, because the instructions and such have been sent to you. Please start dumping whatever good music you have on the server, preferably in .mp3 or .m4a iPod format. Any concerns of "I can't get it working" can go here, but otherwise, enjoy :)

-Charles
PS: Does anyone know how to contact Henrik electronically?

2007: hopefully it will involve less Britney Spears coverage

2007-01-08T01:00:00.000-05:00

Hello again, most beloved and increasingly old TASPers!

I can't believe most of us have already finished first semester of freshman year. CRAZY. My dad was teasing me about how I'm 1/8 done with my college career. This is true, but I also thought the same things about high school, and it still took a long time to finish with that.

Winter break has been excellent, if not entirely restful. I'm heading to New York tomorrow to go see "The Magic Flute" with my dad. Then I'm going to wander the streets and The Strand on Tuesday and feel cosmopolitan while my dad does business things.

The only thing I'm nervous about it how I smell. I'm tempted to just leave it at that, but I'll go on. My mother and I went shopping a couple of days ago. Aside from an awkward run-in with a girl I hadn't seen since the 8th grade (and therefore didn't recognize until 2 minutes into the small talk) and her mother (who I'm guessing, knowing my middle school and D.C., called out to us because she wanted to know where I'm going to college), it was uneventful. Except for one thing: we swung by the perfume counter. MISTAKE.

I sprayed perfume on my wrist and wanted to keep the other one clean so that I'd have more skin to test blush and eye shadow on. The lady at the counter, trying to make a sale, insisted that I let her spray samples of "young and fresh" perfumes on each pinkie. I held out my hands, unsuspecting, and she coated them with two spritzes of perfume, point bank. I walked through the make-up section of Nordstrom, trying to keep my pinkies elevated and away from the rest of my fingers until they dried (It was of course when I was reeking that I ran into my former classmate). But my pinkies wouldn't dry; there was too much perfume. I eventually had to wipe them off on a tissue.

When the lady said "young and fresh," what she really meant was "baby prostitute." Two showers, multiple hand washings, and two days later, I still reek. My skin and nostrils gently weep. Let my plight be a warning to you all about trusting women wielding perfume bottles.

I've decided that, for convenience, the day begins at 6 a.m. It's just too hard to talk about today/tomorrow when you're up at all hours of the night. I call it Meredith Standard Time, or MeST. Therefore, even though it's technically Monday, it's still Sunday in my nocturnal-living-accommodating time zone.

Also, I have a big favor to ask of everyone. I'm hoping to get more readers for my blog, and there's a way you can help in under five minutes:

Go to http://2007.bloggies.com and nominate my blog for one or more suitable categories like Teen, New Blog, Humorous, Underrepresented... All you need is an email address and a couple other blogs to nominate for other/the same categories. The deadline's Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Best wishes for the new year,
Meredith

Top 5 Songs That Make Me Think Less About My Smelly Pinkies:

1. Can I Get Get Get - Junior Senior
2. Mishto! - Gogol Bordello
3. In the Countryside - Benjy Ferree
4. Blackbird - The Beatles
5. Love is Lies - The Buzzcocks

Window in the skies

2007-01-07T13:53:00.000-05:00

So, my cousin blue dotted this and overlooking a little bit of silly footage, I think it's fairly clever and says some things about music, which I'm sure we could infinitely analyze, scrutinize, or simply dismiss as obvious. But I still like it, so I suggest you check it out, ja?

And speaking of BlueDot does anyone else like social bookmarking? Because I love it.

Hey, is anyone else going to make it to the gala later this month? Calvin has a short January term, and we have break during that week after the term finishes so I'm looking forward to it, and it'd be awesome if more people could make it too. Ok. bye!

More Forceful than just a Recommendation...

2007-01-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

You must, and I mean must, go see Alfonso Cuarón's new film Children of Men. I saw it with a film buff friend of mine and we agreed that it is one of the more flawless movies we've ever seen. Accepting the conceit of the film (it's 2027, and there are no children: all women worldwide mysteriously became sterile sometime around 2010, and artificial fertilization didn't work either) might seem to require a major suspension of disbelief, but Cuarón's mastery reveals itself in how easily you are convinced to accept it without question. With a careful attention to small visual details and pieces of potentially throwaway dialogue, he crafts a fantasy world that feels real and immediate.

This world has gone halfway to the apocalypse. The end of childbirth has confounded the global problems that we face today by taking away people's senses of hope for and responsibility to future generations. It is suggested (though never stated by a reliable source) that most of the world has dissolved into anarchy. England (now a police state) is one of the last bastions of "civilization," but it is hardly civilized. Immigration is forbidden, and refugees are fenced off in camps.

I won't spoil the plot any further. I'll only say that what makes the film so impressive is that it simply WORKS. Small details that appear to be plot inconsistencies make perfect (and important) sense later on. The narrative is spiritual (and borderline religious) without being preachy, political without being polemical, serious without being heavy (there are even some very funny moments, albeit dark ones), and uplifting without being corny. I found the ending satisfyingly inconclusive; anything less would have cheapened the narrative that preceded it.

2007

2007-01-01T11:54:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope it's grand.

Um, this is rather unrelated, but do we need to switch to beta?

GREETINGS

2006-12-25T12:16:00.000-05:00

My Beloved TASPers,
Though we have not spoken as much as I would have liked this last year, it is my opinion that we are all becoming very successful and interesting men and women, and I love you all even more than I did when we were first acquainted. For myself, I have made many mistakes this semester, including but not limited to taking a month and a half to realize I'd have to study, not taking advantage of sleep opportunities, and taking excessive advantage of food opportunities, but I have learned learned learned. And now I feel as though I am truly wiser and certainly older (almost 19, ugh), and by the way, Telluride House is all I dreamed it would be and more (if you're ever in Ann Arbor, PLEASE be a guest in that pleasure-dome of intellectual and social delight--I want to see you all so badly). Hair is cut, and grows again, and is restrained and petitions for its freedom, and it strikes me that I am but a tendril on the oily head of life, yet I am rather happy now, which wasn't the case two months ago. The point is, WE DID IT, we survived our first semester (all except our perhaps wiser colleagues, Dylan, Henrik, and Sasha)! My heart is still full of love but the expression thereof is now more measured, more disciplined--my feet move now somewhat metrically. Oh, TASPers, we shall ever triumph! The point of this was to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, and beg everyone (including myself) to renew the bonds of communication, because I still have much faith in our love.
-Your hagly raisin-filled Bagel,
Ridley

In other news

2006-12-20T02:36:00.000-05:00

I'm typing this at my Dad's house. I had my last final today. Christian Monasticism final. And that was fine. Actually, all my finals went well. I feel like all in all its been an excellent semester. Next one is going to be better though. I can feel it.

I'm listening to my cousin's band's cd right now. Its really good. Awful story: the band's singer, a good friend of my cousin, died of super-sudden and malignant cancer a couple weeks ago. Pretty heartbreaking. The guy was only 21 and an amazing talent. Such a shame.

My grandma just sent me a copy of their cd. Very odd to be listening to this right now.

I'm going to go read about pirates. I'll post more later. Just wanted to keep the momentum going.

Be well,
Isaac

A proper posting to provoke a flood of more

2006-12-18T01:01:00.000-05:00

Hello fellow TASPers,

It's 1:01AM. I'm sitting in total darkness waiting for my execution by physics final to begin in the morning. And somehow, this seems all too familiar.

I can pick out a couple of cool happenings around here (I went flying with my advising group, put a zelda triforce on MIT's dome (http://web.mit.edu/unlocked/Public/zelda-triforce/pages/DSC_3468.html) , went to IHOP at 4AM, and maybe even slept some. But the thing is, I have no idea when anything happened. This semester has just been a blur of grueling weeks and fleeting weekends, ceaselessly pounding along. I love it here, but I'm to the point where I just need classes to be over so I can breathe normally again. Next month is Independent Activities Period, a no-classes exploration dealie-o, so I'll be working in the day and cutting frame members for Formula SAE at night. If any of you are going to be in Boston in January or early February, you should really stop by MIT. I'll launch a snowball at you with a homemade catapult, and I'll make you like it.

On a more serious note, I met a TASPer from the year before ours, and it just reminds me how lucky we were as a bunch to work so well together. Her TASP was fraught with the kind of sectarianism that plagued Jenny's year, and also was host to some really shockingly nasty behavior (hit me up sometime if you want to know). I suppose I never expected that other people would have had a really bad experience at TASP, so it just reinforces how all-around awesome we are. But you knew that.

As a final note, if you want to feel drunk without drinking a drop, try playing mario kart upside down sometime. Guaranteed motion sickness! And that's all the wisdom I have. Oh sweet physics, take me now.

-Charles