classroom antics

You know how sometimes there can be someone in the class who is just a little weird? Whenever this person raises their hand and opens their mouth, you brace yourself. Maybe for something stupid, maybe nerdy, maybe incredibly cryptic. There's this girl who sits in front of me who just says the weirdest things. She's not stupid. She's just a little off. I'm gonna try to recreate the incident the best I can. We were discussing an article in which the writer made a statement that the very nature of ideologies is suppressive. He was of the mind that any ideology exists only to dominate minorities. So here we go:

Professor: So is Kellman saying that all ideologies are meant to suppress and dominate? I mean, could we say that his assertion is representative of his own ideology?

Daniel raises his hand.

Professor: Daniel?

Daniel: It seems problematic to me, because for there to be oppressive ideologies, other ideologies would have to be oppressed. So it'd be impossible for all ideologies to dominate if some need to be dominated for the dominant ones to dominate.

Professor: Interesting postulation.

Christy raises her hand.

Professor: Christy?

Christy: (gestures to the guy next to her) Matt and I are different. Matt's different than me. I'm different than Matt. It doesn't mean Matt's better than me, or I'm better than Matt. We're just different.

All stare. The Professor's smile is frozen on his face. Matt just stares straight ahead, not wanting to make eye contact.

I dunno. For some reason I just found that so odd and funny.

studio 7 on the sunset strip

Aaron Sorkin is one of the most clever writers I've come across.

For any who don't know, he created and wrote most of the episodes for "The West Wing." Though I don't usually agree with the politics of the Bartlett administration in the series, the show features amazingly smart and funny writing. If you subscribe to the more liberal side of issues, then you'll love this show, but I think even if you're mostly conservative(which I am), you can still enjoy it and atleast marvel at the genius of the dialogue and character development. The acting is good, too.

One other thing the show has going for it is its near dead-on accurate portrayal of the Executive branch goings on. This I only can surmise from comments made by my more politically savvy friends, so correct me if I'm wrong.

So, I just read the pilot script for Sorkin's new NBC series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Not sure if it'll be as popular as West Wing was, but it's certainly just as clever. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford(from "The West Wing"-amazing actor) play a writer/director duo hired to help save a struggling comedy show after some upheaval and layoffs.

So go rent "The West Wing." It's only seven seasons. You can do it. My roommate and I are already on the fourth and we've only been watching since last fall.

haha

back in the southeast

and what a crazy roller coaster ride of destiny this trip has been.

not really, but i've always wanted to sit back and say that after taking a long drive.

so after fort collins, co, i sped into nebraska where i met up with the lovely ross sisters and spent a magical evening at their uncle's lake house in lexington. i met a zealous young artist with a band called "refined," enjoyed a pop(soft drink) with the nebraska breeze whipping my face from the lake, and had a great night's sleep. nebraska is an under-appreciated state, i think. sure, there's lots of corn, but the green rolling hills on one side of the highway and the river on the other made for a very pleasant driving experience. kearney has all the makings of a charming little college town, though i regret i did not experience as much as i'd wished, for i had to return home after a while.

my home being the road, of course, as it is with all restless travelers.

so after nebraska there came illinois, followed by great amounts of heat and then missouri. st. louis then sometime during the night set me in awe once again as i neared her great arch. i don't care what you think of the city. that arch has got to be one of the most random, amazing things i've ever seen.

spend a night in a small town outside of st. louie and you begin to get tired. the next morning was a full drive through nashville, through atlanta, through athens, and then to my parents' house.

the last week has been my roommates and i struggling to move into our amazingly awesome house.