This week I watched two provocative documentaries on contemporary journalism, Vlado: 30 years later and Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent. Coincidentally and much to my fascination these works intersected at an interesting crossroad of political discussion.

In 1975 a Vladimir “Valdo” Herzog, a young journalist in Sao Paulo, was abducted by military police, subjected to electro-torture, bound, gagged beaten to death. His death was classified as a suicide; military officials even staged his bruised corpse against a wall with a belt loosely dangling around his neck for a photo-op. The state run media reported that Vlado was a KGB agent who was using his progressive articles to subvert the Brazilian state. However, the soft-spoken reporter was merely guilty of exposing the hardships of the Brazilian people. How could these simple truths, these seemingly benign facts threaten a military dictatorship and ultimately cost a man his life?

These simple truths, as Noam Chomsky explains, are exactly what gum up the works of any political system and cause the casual observer to think beyond the mainstream media’s regurgitated messages.

How wide is the political spectrum in this country?

Think about it for a second

Does anything that falls outside of “Democrat” or “Republican” talking points ever headline the New York Times?

Every society in the world consists of a political hierarchy that privileges some ideas and disparages the rest. It is clearly the case that the de jure level of freedom of thought varies greatly from the de facto conditions a society places on ideas. Brazilian censorship laws of the 1970s, for instance, are examples of the state legally seeking to prohibit certain forms of expression. However, turning our focus to the United States we observe a nation of unparalleled legality to safeguard expression. Yet the upper echelon of political life controls expression on a national scale.

At this point, many of your heads are bubbling with buzzwords like “conspiracy theory”, “commie” and “socialist”. This is good. The system is working.

Now, pull yourself out of that mainstream media soup and think. Of course GE, Exxon, Goldman Sachs, Wal-Mart, Newscorp, and Disney aren’t sitting around a table calculating the next move in their diabolical plot to charge 10% for potato chips. Rather the people who make the decisions on what to report and publish see the world through the lens of the upper 10% of society. Their life experiences make them uninterested in anything that comes from sources other than the ones they have come to trust and these trusted sources vary minimally in political ideology.

As for the rest of us, Chomsky explains, “You have to work. That is why propaganda is so successful. Very few people have the time or energy or commitment to carry out the constant battle that is required to get outside the mainstream media”. In other words, we are simply overburdened by our roles in the lower rung of the political hierarchy analyze the messages fed to us.

The other day someone asked me ; Why does everyone these days tweet, Facebook, or Blog about every single insignificant opinion that pops into his or her head?

Well, I think it is because we crave to be heard in a society that listens to so few. Just a Vlado hoped to stimulate debate in a time of dictatorship today’s Internet users want to reach out to others on topics that would never make front-page news.

Our society is not devoid of democracy the political power-structure tends to avoid democracy. The Internet provides us with the opportunity to share our ideas with more people and circumvent the major news outlets. However, this is a footnote of my discourse.

In the end the task of changing the status quo is on us.

I’ll leave you with this

To write is to think, to speak is to fight and to question is to embrace Democracy.

courtesy of stuntkid

Jailbait tragically  was unable to go on tonight, since Laura was previously engaged by attending the gasteroenteritis gala (ga-ga-glamorous!).

BUT we will be on in full form next week, and here’’s a sneak preview:

1. Fortune Teller- Forest Fire
2. Stratosphere- Junkie XL
3. Nothing Ever Happened- Deerhunter

Followed by Ithaca College’s Caution Children. I’ve played several shows with them and we often exchange big hugs; rock’n’roll, catchy and jumpy, I <3 them. Their religious fans from both IC and Cornell turned out for yet another great performance. The old electric piano never fails, and great guitaring, drumming, bassing, and even saxophoning back the bearded singer with his megaphone and a beer. My one concern was that I was giddy as a schoolgirl and quite possibly a tool… but it’s cool.

I missed BLOW!, but I’ve played with them before as well and can give you the lowdown. Two guys with various guitars and effects loop on layers over electric drums for a mellow dancing mood. Their gigs all over the area are totally worth checking out.

Oh, btw, this show was at the Nines on Saturday, 3.6.10.

LET’S JUST HAVE FUN!

SamBam

In leather jackets, The Plurals played about an hour of punkish rock, covering Black Sabbath to Husker Du to the Smashing Pumpkins. But they also melted faces with tunes of their own doing, a certain “post-rock punk-pop (AKA “post-fun”).” It was generally moshable, loud and fun, though it lacked a particular rawness or energy or something of true punk rock. But I think they’re post that anyway. Anyway, Tommy the guitarist really did melt faces, inciting the praise of palm-up spirit fingers, Nick on bass rocked solid between bottles of Andre to the face, and Hattie kick snare crash bam boom banged with girl power.

About 40 or 50 folks gave the dining room a bit too much elbow room, but those who were there were enthused, and I personally partook in a bit of moshing myself. At one point the fire alarm went off and we begrudgingly exited, and the curb filled with many more peeps from the woodwork. Word on the street was that some drunk mistook the fire alarm for a light switch… drunks do the darndest things. But a cigarette-break-length inspection verified that indeed the building was not burning down, and everyone shuffled back in. The Plural’s played for another while, finishing with an encore.

Then Elsa and the awesomeAWESOMES played. If you didn’t already know, uh, yeah, that’s my band. And it’s actually just me, with my own electronic music plus drumkit and singing and somersaults (an awesomeAWESOME band with real people also exists). I started out a bit rough with some new songs and a just a sip too much of fine champagne. But then my usual electroTetris catchy pants dance & bass straight from the Future flowed everyone right into the Robo Boogie. Also, I had on my buddy’s neon spandex ski suit, which was from the Future and awesome–thanks Jerome.

So: The Plurals rocked, and they were awesome dudes and dudette to hang out with, and hey, they’re from Michigan! Elsa and the awesomeAWESOMES did the dance, and hey, that’s me!

LET’S JUST HAVE FUN!

Samanarama

Finally listen to an in depth discussion of whose in and whose out of the NCAA tournament.  Is your team on the right or wrong side of the bubble???  All your answeres here!

Remember, tThe Heat Check airs every monday night from 8-9 PM.  Tune in live at www.sloperadio.com and remember to be art of the action by calling in live at 607-821-2522.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=360574109

Due to copyright issues, music featured on the show will not be podcasted to iTunes. The full hour-long episodes will be on the grassrootSound page of slopemedia.org immediately after the show airs.

The diversity at Cornell University is endless; however, it is rare to hear about fashion groups around the campus. Thus, I am personally bringing to you the details of one of Cornell’s best kept fashion secret – Feedbak.

The summer of 2008 brought together two Applied Economics and Management (AEM) students, Mac Bishop and Jeff Aziakou. The duo shared an interest in the fashion industry. They wanted to transfer what they were learning in the classroom to real world experiences in the fashion industry. They reached out to the faculty of Cornell’s Fiber Science & Apparel Design (FSAD) department for advice. Professors Anita Racine, Susan Ashdown, and Van Dyk Lewis  were very receptive to the project and helped recruit the group’s original members. Five design students, who ranged from freshman to seniors, were selected.

Feedbak’s initial focus was to partner with apparel companies to provide market research  from the collegiate demographic. The organization’s first partner was Pendleton Woolen Mills. The Portland-based company sent the student organization a variety of  product samples. Feedbak organized focus groups and product testing sessions to gather opinions from Cornell students. The student designers also recommended technical modifications.

**Written by Taylor Nieman, Edited by Jeff Aziakou and Mac Bishop

While there have already been several articles dealing with the event itself, I had the exclusive pleasure of going behind the scenes and interviewing Chi Chi LaRue herself. For those of you who are unaware of who this amazing person is, Chi Chi (born Larry Paciotti) is a porn director, entrepreneur, and drag queen. This is the second year she has DJed at Filthy Gorgeous, and she has loved every minute of it.

My friend Stephan and I met her in the Commons at Starbucks and since Chi Chi was going to be out of character, we did not know what to expect.  When I first saw him, I was a little surprised. He was tall with blonde hair, an impeccable sense of fashion, chic glasses, and just like any other businessman, he was standing their playing with his iPhone. As soon as he saw us, he gave us the biggest smile, shook our hands and proceeded to follow us into the coffee shop.

Larry told us he was from a little town called Hibbing, Minnesota, which is known for turning out stars as it is also the home of Bob Dylan. After high school, he completed two years of college before moving to Minneapolis where he started doing “hag drag,” as he called it. He and his friends called themselves the “Weather Gals.” He confided in us that he grew up as an overweight, shy, gay kid whose only escape was drag. When he dressed up he became an outgoing fierce woman who made fun of herself to get some laughs. While he did drag for fun, he worked in an adult book store where he discovered his (healthy) obsession for the sexually obscene.

In 1987, a friend of his convinced him to move to L.A where his career in porn began. Upon arriving in sunny L.A, Larry soon found himself back in the adult business. He originally had no intentions of working with porn, but he was familiar with adult products and started out selling them. When they saw how much he knew about the industry, they quickly moved him on up. He told us that at first he was mesmerized by porn because he was so “fascinated that these people were so open and free with their bodies.” Before he knew it, he was working on porn sets. However, the company he was working for would not let him direct, so he quit and took his business to Vivid where he started directing all types of porn. He is a self-taught director and claims that he initially had absolutely horrible movies and it took him time to acquire a knack for it.

Larry then told us of the first porn scene he ever worked on. It was a girl on girl movie and he was completely embarrassed. At the time he was 24 years old and had never seen a naked girl before. He laughed as he told us he couldn’t even look at them and that while he was holding the mic and looking away, he accidentally let it fall right in their faces. “I’ve come a long way since then,” he said.

Advocating safe-sex is one of Larry’s biggest priorities. He is a huge proponent of condoms and spreading safe-sex awareness, and has even issued several public service announcements (“Safe Sex is Hot Sex”). He referred to himself as the “catalyst for condom usage” because when he started in porn, condoms were rare. When Vivid told him that he wasn’t allowed to use condoms anymore in his movies, he refused to work there and quit straight porn and went out on his own. Despite quitting at Vivid, his porn directing is still thriving and he even divulged us his ideas for his next movie (which I won’t spoil, but trust me, it’s hot!). He started DJing 5 years ago and since then has worked in famous clubs all over L.A. working with various celebrities. He says that “being a DJ is narcissistic” so instead he calls himself a “Drag Queen Juke Box.” “I love to put on a show.”  Another addition to his growing resume is the opening of his own store in L.A., “Chi Chi LaRue’s,” where he sells all types of adult items including drag clothes.

This past year has been especially rough for Larry.  Since last year’s Filthy Gorgeous he has lost 130 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. He was afraid that his rapid weight loss would ruin Chi Chi’s personality (which centered a lot on being a fat drag queen) and that he would lose his fan base. However, fortunately neither has happened, and Chi Chi is hotter and more fabulous than ever.

We were both surprised to learn that Chi Chi has appeared on screen on several occasions. Most notably she was in Prince’s movie “Purple Rain” and made an appearance in a Madonna video. Her celebrity contacts don’t end there; she is close friends with the likes of Boy George and has worked with Jenna Jameson on several occasions. In 2007, Out magazine listed her as one of the top 50 most powerful gay men and women in America along with the likes of Anderson Cooper and Perez Hilton. Needless to say, Chi Chi is a pretty big deal.

Larry told us that he doesn’t believe in marriage and he finds a lot of straight porn to be very misogynistic. “It can be so degrading to women,” he admits, “A lot of straight porn has become like a Jackass video. It’s like whatever crazy things they can do to a girl, they do it.” He prefers directing gay porn, and many porn stars are requesting to be directed exclusively by him.

Once Stephan and I arrived at Filthy Gorgeous that night, we barely even recognized the tall blonde man with the scruffy beard we had interviewed only hours before. Standing before us working the stage was the fiercest drag queen I had ever seen. The event would not have been nearly as amazing as it was if it wasn’t for Ms. Chi Chi LaRue. She is, in every aspect, chic, fabulous, and gorgeously filthy.

Disclaimer: no one takes responsibility for this egregious, without recourse, political opinion and commentary.

This script (rough draft) was originally intended for Slope TV, and if it had come to fruition, Annabel Fowler and Ivan Friedman would have been correspondents and administrators for the show. Enjoy.

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HEADLINES

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David: Hello everyone, and welcome to the world’s best basic cable news chronicle, The Cornell Crone.

Mandy: I’m Mandy Milch

David: And I’m David David

Mandy: And here are the headlines

David: Merck unveils its newest pharmaceutical product, Happiness in a can. The drug causes 30 minutes of absolute euphoria with no side effects or risk of addiction, leading Harvard Philosophers to append to the old adage, “you can’t buy happiness,” … “unless you’re at Walgreens.”

Mandy: Ithaca fire department burned down today. Captain Dan says they just couldn’t make it there in time.

David: Demanding an explanation for rolling blackouts in the area, citizens were appeased after the president of a local power company explained the factory has gone green with patina.

Mandy: Cornell dairy filed for bankruptcy this week claiming the cows had milked them for all their worth.

David: In arbitration this morning, TCAT offered discount passes to the 40 pedestrians who were crippled in last month’s bus accident.

Mandy: Cornell sues itself for defaulting on 2,000 financial aide loans. The prosecution opened by telling the judge the defense is not to be trusted.

David: California lowered world carbon emissions this week by sinking into the Pacific; an ensuing tsunami lowered it by another quarter.

Mandy: The pothole on state street was finally filled in this morning with a Chevy Buick. Ithaca officials have harped on this stroke of good fortune and have set up a city council meeting to discuss the sustainability of fixing the remaining potholes in the same way.

David: And now on to our top stories

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STORY 1

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David: Under the auspices of its freedom of information act, Cornell University has taken a brave new step in the fight against data suppression. For more on this story we join our very own electronic data analyst Shitzu DoucheCanoe at the Starbucks on the corner of Dryden and College Ave.

Shitzu: thanks David, these are very exiting times indeed. Within the poetry stained walls of this humble establishment, the brisk smell of hazelnut, café, and flaming lamppost serve as a proverbial celebratory incense on this most auspicious of days. Several hours ago a liberation front the likes of which our great nation has not seen since the third quarter of the 18th century reveled in victory with battle spoils of blueberry bran muffin and grande caramel macchiato. I’m here with the protagonist in this heroic story: Jack Dan Thomas the third. Nice to have you with us Jack.

Jack: nei ta be hair Shitzu.

Shitzu: now Jack, tell us in your own words the happenings of this day of days.

Jack: wail, I done take my work ta break witt me ta dat dair starbucks and got up ta git a drank and some’dat dair PEECH coblar squares. And when A got back my majic box dun disa’pered.

Shitzu: he is of course referring to the vessel of success in this story, his laptop computer.

Jack: dat’za wan.

Shitzu: and how many pieces of data were liberated?

Jack: 450 hundred social security numbers, names, addresses, account numbers, an Jack’s nudy pics.

Shitzu: 45,000 daring daggers of information suppression quelled, you sir are a hero.

Jack: An nun of it wulda happened if it wern’t da first da month, cause my walfair check wouldn’t hab been in yet and dat der starbuck’s expensive.

Shitzu: and how were you rewarded upon leaving this affordable establishment?

Jack: I dun been promoted to dean of information security.

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STORY 2

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Mandy: Hold on Shitzu, I’m going to have to interrupt you, we’ve just gotten word of a tragic development

Shitzu: hi mandy I stand at the precipice of the college town bridge where a brave soul decided to take her own life. Today at 2:00 in the afternoon Kitty Meaw ran a beeline up college avenue, passed onlookers at college town bagels, and nonchalantly did a combination summersault back hand spring off the bridge, a move she had previously perfected last year at varsity swim finals. Now, none of the people surrounding this incident elected to appear on camera, but they did give us the following statements off the record. Kitty Meaw’s owner had this to say: kitty Meaw was a good cat, a staunch advocate for the inhumane treatment of pigeons and squirrels alike, and rarely developing urinal tract infections. She will be missed. Cornell’s dean of publicity appended thusly: I think that it strikes all of our hearts when a feline decides to take its own life. We are a human family, and when a pet dies we all feel the effects. I just wish that Kitty Meaw would have come to us first you know, if only she had meowed for help to one of our numerous grief counselors, I can’t help but feel that she would still be here today. Finally Kitty Meaw’s grief counselor stated flatly: she called me crying that gas, tuition, and even milk had gone up in price and she just couldn’t afford it all. I asked her whether she wanted her grief counseling to be billed to her bursar or her credit card. She responded that she no longer had bursar and hung up before I could tell her that that is a shame because bursar is just a great program that really pays off in the long run, you give cornell a few hundred or thousand dollars at the beginning of the semester…. And then I stopped writing. A bleak ending to my report of this cowardly and senseless act.

Mandy: Which brings us to our next story…

Shitzu: today at 2:00, Mickey’s son, Macabre Mouse, became accidentally lodged in Kitty Meaw’s mouth and was hurled into the gorge. He will be missed. Officers are standing by and will be fishing them out tomorrow after the rain has subsided.

(This will be filmed on the sunniest day we can get)

(break here for our sponsors)

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STORY 3

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David: Well congress is back in session and as their first act, the Senate has finally passed Obama’s energy bill. Now some republicans have been arguing that such a bill stifles entrepreneurs and hurts our country’s businesses, but few have actually read the bill and argued with a strong grasp of its inner workings. Here with us today to discuss its provisions are American business leaders Clarkson the Clerk, Jackson the Janitor, and Jetson the jetsam. I apologize your name is rather hard to pronounce (pan to jetsam, no response, it is a block of wood). Thanks I bought it at Hermez, hahaha. Now Clarkson, explain to us the flatBag, one of the tools of the energy bill’s carbon emissions audit.

Clarkson: Well the flatBag is a polyethylene bag, no bigger than an ordinary trash bag, which can be used for the collection and measuring of personal carbon emissions. FlatBag is actually short for Flatulence bag.

David: What is the cost to consumers for buying this FlatBag?

Clarkson: The flatBag is actually a pivotal piece of equipment with nanotechnology laced into every seam. The going market price is $30,000 dollars per bag.

David: how affordable!

Clarkson: and if you can’t afford to buy the flatBag, the cost is just passed on to another consumer who can. Society has an obligation to pay for you if you are in need of medical assistance, but unable to afford such assistance for yourself. Well the environment affects everyone’s health, so passing on the flatBag cost is really just a direct corollary to this self evident truth.

David: so how does the flatBag work?

Clarkson: well, as I mentioned earlier, nanotechnology is laced into every seam. The flatBag uses this technology to monitor the emission of any gas coming from the person’s dorsal side. This information is sent directly to the National Institute for Carbon Emissions And Sustainable Services or NiceAss for short. Where it is scrutinized and tested for good consistency. If an officer detects an overabundance of emissions, the individual has the opportunity to buy Carbon credits from a neighbor or friend who has not yet used them.

David: and what if someone doesn’t comply?

Clarkson: if a repeat offender refuses to comply within the 60 day grace period, a group of 3 officers vote and if they deem this person is a danger, they peacefully stop the individuals carbon emissions.

David: how do they do that?

Clarkson: Without oxygen there can be no carbon emissions. The FlatBag simply cuts off the individuals oxygen supply until compliance is achieved. If the individual has a complaint he can simply send a letter of redress to our liason office in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Personal visits welcome.

David: Now Clarkson I’m going to have to stop you here, it seems we’ve run out of time. Thanks for coming; I hope to see you all in the future, and Now onto Mandy with this week in television.

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STORY 4

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Mandy: I’m here with tonight’s guest, the producer of a new reality series, “The Sun May Never Rise”. Ruth Bader Ginsberg, tell us about how you came up with your original show.

Ruth: Well Cornell University has always resented its studentry, and I just woke up one morning and realized “what show has more intrigue and action than that of an entire campus embroiled in frustration.”

Mandy: Now, I’m told that the show follows students who have lost there dignity and livelihoods, as they run from building to building pleading with officials and trying to find an administrator with the power to improve their situation, only to be sent back where they started. One must ask, what are the inherent legal issues that a producer of such a show must consider.

Ruth: Listen, this is how I explained it to my 8 coworkers, think of the constitution. Is it really relevant any more?

Mandy: That’s a rather childish question.

Ruth: Of course not, if it were, any common citizen could carry a gun for personal defense. It is a document that displays archaic and unnecessary ideals for a modern industrial society. By the Transitive property, inalienable human rights are also no longer relevant, and with a stretch you can also show that human dignity is in the same bag.

Mandy: I never looked at it that way before; it’s such a convincing argument.

Ruth: I dabble in the art of debate.

Mandy: Tell us some of the things that we can expect to see in the show’s pilot.

Ruth: In the first episode we’ll collude with the local weather station to increase sunshine forecasts by 60% to raise then shatter hopes. We then announce a 10% increase in the $47,000 tuition, to take effect retrospectively last fall. Now you may think that this would be enough to create a hubbub since we’ve done something previously illegal, but the sad truth is that kids today are quite docile, a considerable hurtle for reality television.

Mandy: I know what you mean, my heavyset assistant placidly eats his daily pittance from the trough we’ve provided him, and regularly falls asleep standing up. (Mandy’s eyes gaze off into the distance, as she gives a pleasant smile)… Could you possibly give us a sneak peak of the rest of the season?

Ruth: Certainly. Several weeks after tuition has been collected we plan to move the Human Ecology school to a janitorial closet in Stimpson Hall. During the last month of classes, students will find the janitorial closet filled in with a slurry of concrete and human waste, no note will appear on the door, and all evidence of the school’s existence will be stripped from our records.

Mandy: A truly progressive move in reality television.

Ruth: I like to think I’ve made a difference.

Mandy: Well that’s our show, Ruth thanks for coming

Ruth: Thanks for having me.

Mandy: This is Mandy Milch signing off

This seems a little contradictory; in an environmentally conscious class, why were most people wasting ink and paper when they could be storing their information digitally, with no waste? An answer to this MIGHT be that using a computer uses more energy, and therefore more resources than paper that can be recycled. But I’m convinced that using a laptop with only the Word application running leaves less of an environmental impact than paper and pencil. . A running laptop on power-saving mode and with the screen dimmed only uses 45 Kilowatts per hour. However, paper has a much more widespread carbon footprint: trucks to take loggers to the forests, deforestation for raw materials, processing, manufacturing, disposal, etc… Unless someone personally chops down a tree in his backyard and hand-crafts all his notebook paper, he will have a hard time convincing me that using paper for all the notes taken in class is more environmentally-friendly than taking notes on laptops.

I think there are two main reasons why people choose to write with paper and pencil instead of typing on a laptop. The first is that it is more of an emotional experience. For this particular class, we were assigned “place journals,” in which we write about our sense of place in the schema of environmental change and events, how it affects us on a more personal level. I chose to write this journal in a small, lime green moleskin notebook, with a blue ballpoint pen, rather than typing it. I put a lot of mental preparation and thought into what I was going to say before writing it. It would not be such a meditative experience to type all of my journal entries into a database. Maybe it’s because I write more slowly by hand, and must think more deeply about what I am putting down on paper. Or because writing with care to how the letters look— my calligraphy— is more of an artistic creation than typing.

In this respect, I enjoy paper and pen more than computers. The same applies to books. E-books have been circulating and getting more attention and use lately. Especially with the upcoming Ipad, I predict e-books are going to only get more and more widespread. Now, it seems the emotional aspect of reading may be completely annihilated by the presence of e-books. Reading a novel used to be a hands-on experience; it is turning into a way to get information simply and efficiently.

But back to the act of note-taking: I don’t think this act is a particularly emotional experience. When I am taking notes in class, I’m trying to write quickly, so I can keep up and get down what I think is important from the professor. Also, my handwriting is atrocious when I am trying to write quickly at 8:40 in the morning; certainly not an artistic creation. So is the rest of the class deluded, trying to put emotion where there shouldn’t be any?

This leads me to my second theory: writing with paper reminds us of a simpler, more innocent time. Technology is scary.

Yesterday, I discovered my place journal in the bottom of my backpack, soaking wet from a water bottle accident. It is currently a soggy blue mess. Although I was disappointed that my creation was ruined, I wasn’t devastated. If it had been my laptop in my backpack at the time, this would be a different story.

Simple resources from nature are fragile, breakable, and must be treated delicately. High-tech devices are far more dependable, easier to rely on. Technology was born to make our lives easier, to store any information needed at any time and any place. Somewhere along the line of progression, we changed from being grateful to being completely dependent on technology. This is a terrifying thought. Although it is probably less likely that I will destroy documents on my computer than misplace a notebook, if something should happen, the consequences would be far worse.

With my place journal, I bought it, used it, and ruined it. All of these things are direct results of my physical actions, which I completely understand. And if like paper and pencil are revered for being simple and honest, then technology is despised for the opposite reason: it is too complex to really comprehend. Much like society, it seems beyond our control, and may be progressing too fast for our minds to catch up. My biggest fear is that progression and technology, even for the climate’s sake, is going to leave all traces of emotion behind and make human connections obsolete.

Maybe writing with notebooks in class is a protest against the progression of society.

Recently, I found a solution for my note-taking dilemma (conformity or inefficiency?) I now take all my in-class notes using “notebook layout” available for Macs. You can choose how the notebook paper looks, and even “scribble” in the margins, almost like a real notebook!

And as for my place journal, I may attempt to dry it out, or I may purchase a new one (with recycled paper, of course). But you can be sure I will be more careful with it. And you can definitely be sure that, more than any Word document saved to a hard drive, I will treasure it.

Tuned in.

Usually love you Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, but you guys are not cutting it. A few jokes with lots of awkward silence. Literally am sitting here cringing because you are making such uncomfortable comments. All they did was point out random actors and make strange (not funny) comments. Maybe the funniest part of their intro was the appearance of floating seeds from Avatar, but even that was a little lame.

My favorite moment was the close up on Clooney. Boy did he look happy to be there… Neil Patrick Harris was..well, Neil Patrick Harris. No matter what he says or does, I’ll always love him. What is with Baldwin’s british accent? Taylor Lautner agreed with me by the looks of his expression.

Robert Downey Jr. rocking the sunglasses. I’m obsessed with him. He and Tina Fey, a better comedic pair than the hosts of the show.

The John Hughes appreciation segment made my night. He directed every astounding movie from the 80’s, ones that have shaped the film industry for sure.  When all the actors from his films walked on stage I got the chills. Orgasm.

Did anyone catch the acceptance speech interruption drama that happened on stage for “Best Documentary Short”? Burkett was her name, i think..she said something like “Let the woman talk.”  Oh boy. another unfortunately uncomfortable moment.

Haha Ben Stiller dressed in blue, what a comedian.  “I see you. I want to plug my tail, my braid into you dragon.”

Surprise of the night: The two big wins for The Hurt Locker”..not that it wasn’t a great movie, but I really thought that Avatar would win one of the two awards, those being “Directing” and “Best Picture.” What’s great is that Cameron and Bigelow (director of Hurt Locker) are divorced. What a great way for her to appear triumphant.

Overall…eh. Wasn’t that great. I’m so glad Sandra Bullock took “Best Actress”-she really deserved it.

Much love,

LR

Dear Cornell +World,

Before we embark on this journey into the joys of nutrition, we have an important disclaimer: we are not nutrition or fitness experts. Nutrition from A to Z is our  attempt to help you (and ourselves) with all things health and fitness.  My name is Alina and I am a Nutrition major concentrating in Dietetics.  I’m a vegetarian, hate treadmills, and looove Spanish food (sin onions, though).  My buddy Chris is also a Nutrition major, focusing in Exercise Science, and maintains his manly frame as a proud member of the Cornell Track Team (shoutout).  We love health and people, and we despise advice that straight-up doesn’t work.

Our Stats Don’t Lie:

We polled a bunch of you last week, asking what health things you were most interested in as college students:

• 56% want to know how to get in shape and tone those thighs (Chris, you have a lot of work to do this semester).
• 44% want to know how to lose that Santa belly before summertime (Amen).
• The rest of you want to learn how to eat and cook well, where to buy healthy food in C-town and on campus, and how to get more energy in this crazy, stressful world that we call Cornell.

Chris and I would really like to thank everyone who took our poll.  Your opinions are extremely important to us, and rest assured that your questions will not go unanswered this semester.  (Give us your opinion! To participate in this week’s survey, just follow the link:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7BW5PG2)

A. EAT BY YOUR OWN RULES

Summer is creeping up on us, and we’ve already forgotten our New Year’s resolutions to go to Noyes every other day and only eat green salads for the rest of the semester.  Maybe you’re that tenacious dude who gave up Jumbo cookies for Lent only to find yourself eating an extra handful of fries for dinner instead.   Or you’re like me, and have not slept in approximately two weeks, refuse/don’t have time to pack weird lunches, and end up eating 99c mini (or not so mini) muffins from Olin Libe Cafe before running away into to the stacks (and not for a night of fun, either).

We all have our own set of pre-crafted excuses that we like to hide behind when we make poor food choices.  But hold on–let me stop myself for just one second.  When I say “poor food choices,” I don’t mean that I believe in “eating right.”  Eating is a complex and, sometimes hilarious, phenomenon, and our food choices are an art in and of themselves.

However, what we eat matters a lot.  It determines how we feel, how we look, and how we perform.  If you are perfectly satisfied with all of the former points, then keep doing what you do, and be happy the way you eat at present.  Seriously!  But if you want to improve your health and how you feel about yourself—inside and out—take a good look at your diet, and you will usually find all of the answers right in front of you.   And the best thing about it—it’s totally in your hands (slash mouth).

We only live once, man.  There is no reason to wait to be the people we want to be.  Even beyond health, eating should be a pleasurable experience.  Plus, deprivation, unnecessary stress, and discomfort are not things that I would ever elect to feel when I am eating dinner.  The point: we got this.  We need to figure ourselves out, determine our goals, and make small changes we can live with.  And that means eating by our own rules, and still making major progress.

Most of you want to lose weight before summertime.  I’m right there with you.  Ultimately, when it comes to diet, that means we’ve got to eat less (calories).  Thankfully, there are many different ways to do that.  It doesn’t mean we have to completely change how we eat now.  Instead, it means we should use ways to tweak our diets to reduce our overall intake.

–> Tip of the Week: “I know you’re thirsty, say ahhh”

I call this tip the Trey Songz diet.  Simply put, drink more WATER.  Try to avoid sodas, juices, vitamin waters, iced-teas, mocha lattes, kool-aid, or whatever else you drink religiously.  This is probably a tip you’ve heard over and over again, but only because it is so important.  Drinks can have A LOT of unnecessary calories in them, and replacing calorie-filled drinks with water is probably the easiest way to jump-start your weight-loss goals.  Not only can you cut some major calories this way, but this will start making you think more about what you are ingesting.  Also, when you drink more water, you become less dehydrated, and have MORE ENERGY.

Here’s a quick example of what I mean.  Let’s say you normally drink a tall whole-milk mocha latte from Starbucks in the morning (200), an 8 oz can of Pepsi with Lunch (100), and 2 bottles of Vitamin water throughout the day (250).  Now replace all of these things with regular water (or perhaps black coffee in the AM).  You are cutting 550 kcal per day.  Whoa.  Weight-wise, that means that JUST by making this one change, you would be easily losing over 1 lb. per week (and still eating how you always do).   Try it out for yourself!

–>   Fun Food Find of the Week: Poquitos at Manndible

A great, CHEAP way to eat a delicious, well-portioned, healthy, fresh lunch or dinner if you are doing some intense studying at Mann is to order a Vegetarian Poquito.  It is a fun mix of rice, beans, salsa, cheese, and veggies served in a 12 oz. soup cup that costs just under 4 bucks.  Ask them to give it to you without the sour cream, and maybe share the free chips it comes with with a friend, but definitely give this Poquito a shot.  Happy Prelim Week!

B. GETTIN’ TIGHT WITH TAIT

Based on our poll, most of you want to get in shape.  Here at Cornell, it’s definitely not easy squeezing in gym time, but if you neglect your physique (like most of us tend to do), squeezing into those Freshman-year vintage Levi’s will be impossible. Toning up is not as hard as you may think (pun intended).  Remember, doing just one exercise a day is not going to burn off 2 years of Cornell Dining damage, Thirsty Thursdays, or late night Louis, however, that certainly does not mean that small changes won’t work in the long run. TRUST.

Move of the week: Getcha Toe Circle On

Take less than 5 minutes out of your day when you wake up and/or before you go to sleep to do some toe circles. These can even be done in bed for those of you are looking for flat abs with as little effort as possible.  For those who are a little more ambitious and seek to roll out of bed at some point, the floor provides a great medium to get your toe circle on.

How to Perform a Toe Circle

• Lie flat on your back with your arms at your sides, keeping your hands and palms down and your feet together.
• Keeping your legs straight, raise your feet 6 inches above the bed/floor and point your toes.
• Move your toes in a circle slowly and smoothly, a couple circles in each direction then bring your legs back down to rest.
• As you get used to the movement, and feel more comfortable doing more circles, this is an exercise that can help firm, tone, and strengthen your mid-body.
• Do 2 sets of 5 in each direction.  Try to do it once in the AM and once in the PM, or add to your regular exercise routine.

Want to see if these moves are legit?  E-mail us at NutritionfromAtoZ@gmail.com to be our official workout tester.

I started at the Stewart Ave. bridge trailhead, a bridge with a stupendous view of Ithaca and the lake, and walked east along the gorge trail. From the bridge the Ithaca Falls are just below.  The trail isn’t so close here to the water; it is a steeper rock face. No one else was on the trail. My goal was to find the littering red house I had heard about. Soon I spotted it up towards my right on the slope. A Red Bull can, some bags,  wrappers, clearly a regular drop from the above. By now I was alongside the Johnson Museum where the trail rises to the gorge lip.  I walked up and located the offending house.

Chi Psi.

They are a “family of gentlemen in pursuit of excellence” that inhabit the red house and chuck some trash behind the house for kicks. I might be mistaken in this observance since littering might be part of Chi Psi’s “sharing of traditions and values” or how they “nurture maturity”. My walk ended here and I returned to West.

Does walking in a nature setting and then experiencing man quite abruptly by some trash still make nature natural?

the only thing that i would be particularly upset about tonight would be if Christofh Waltz didnt win best supporting actor he was really great, i think i still flinch a little when he comes up

the hosts for these shows…horrific so stupid sometimes kudos to the celebrities to dealing with them .

helen mirren if i could look like her when i was her age i would die happy she looks fantastic!

nice gum morgan freeman…

not liking the dress j. lo its a little too pink maybe? SJP  I LOVE YOU!!!! her dress is fantastic. amazing. obsessed.

miley cyrus you suck. you are too young. sorry, not an actress. go away.

i always forget the power of the celebrity in making me SO HAPPY. i dont know if this goes for anyone else but the oscars makes me giddy like no other

gabourey’s dress is BEEAUTIFUL

meryl streep looks fantastic i hope she wins tonight.

ill be back with my thoughts/complaints of the night later

enjoy the awards!!!!!!!!

PP

This is the FULL episode.  The abridged version with just the first 2 topics can be found at cornell.edu/video.

Basically the premise of the movie is in the future we can buy all these artificial organs ( Artiforgs.. not artifrogs as I read before) on credit. The problem is that if you dont pay for your new eye, spleen, heart etc on time Jude Law will come kill you. Nice.

The website, www.theunioncares.com is like the official company website for this organ lending fiasco. It is so creepy because in part, it could totally pass as a legitimate pharmaceutical company like Astra Zeneca or Pfizer. It has those video testimonials of an old couple on the beach thanking The Union for their new liver or whatever. Then there’s the little kid with big eyes saying that The Union ” saved my mommy” .

Im definiely a closet sci-fi fan, I saw “A.I” in Japan when it came out and probably understood 1/5 of what was going on but I still really liked it. Go figure. Repo Men definitely has that weird “what-if” creepy but exciting, cant look away potential and I personally can’t wait.

Oh, and I also cant wait for the OSCARS!!!!

the most recent buzz coming form the academy is actually BANNING the Hurt Locker producer, Nick Chartier for violating campaign standards becuase of somehting he said in an EMAIL. I understand you souldnt be bashing other nominees but this is Hollywood…people talk shit there is no way you can try to stop that and to punish someone for an EMAIL? Here is the highly offensive comment:

vote for the hurt locker and ” not the 500$ million dollar film”

kind of makes you think is this some crazy publicity move to boost ratings????

potentially live blogging this Sunday. will confirm.

CYA

PP

This week, I interviewed Meghan Murphy and Mark Wienand from the Ithaca Biodiesel Coop. We discuss the science, politics and infrastructures of the growing biofuel industry, and opportunities for students to get involved. Also some music and the Soundboard.

music_

track_artist_album

Class Of 73 Bells_Prefuse 73_Preparations & Interregnums

Dead Ghost_Bark Bark Bark_Haunts

Symphony No. 10 in e minor – second movement_Cornell Symphony Orchestra_The Cornell Symphony Orchestra Live from Bailey Hall

Your Lips Are Red_St. Vincent_Live on 89.3 ‘The Current’ Minnesota Public Radio

links_

Ithaca Biodiesel Cooperative_www.ithacabiodiesel.org

The Marcellus Challenge_www.sustainabletompkins.org/programs/marcellus-challenge/

Fuel [the Josh Tickell film]_www.fuelthefilm.com

VegPower_www.vegpower.com

From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank_ISBN: 0970722702

Biodiesel America_ISBN: 0970722745

National Biodiesel Board_www.biodiesel.org

Meghan Murphy’s articles
on Renewable Energy World_www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/author?id=10

City of Ithaca: www.ci.ithaca.ny.us

Cornell Symphony Orchestra_www.arts.cornell.edu/orchestra/

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros- Om Nashi Me

The Temper Trap- Sweet Disposition

Broken Bells- Vaporize

Animal Collective- My Girls

The Robot Ate Me- A Hole in the Plane

Teddybears STHLM- Yours to Keep

The National- Brainy

The Fratellis- Acid Jazz Singer (req. Odis Ponce)

Beach House- Real Love

Coconut Records- West Coast (req. Cody Martinez)

Regina Spektor- Samson (req. Jessi Pachek)

El Ten Eleven- Sorry About Your Irony

The Cool Kids- A Little Bit Cooler