tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31316212011-08-31T13:03:46.684+01:00Drunken ScotlandNo longer in use. Please see new site, www.columbiacritic.blogspot.comThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.comBlogger1201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1122674779292411752005-08-29T11:04:00.000+01:002005-08-29T21:40:06.383+01:00Site go bye-byeI've decided to retire my own personal site, for lack of interest and motivation. Instead, I'm embarking on the creation of a new group site that will include lively debate and discussion across party lines.Please visit the new site, just now operational, at The Columbia CriticThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1120841684316626302005-07-08T17:52:00.000+01:002005-07-08T17:54:44.326+01:00I'm not going to say anything about the London bombings right now (though if the Bush administration starts seeking to use as justification for Iraq I might explode). For now, I'll only place volatile London mayor Ken Livingston's speech here, thanks to Talking Points."This was a cowardly attack, which has resulted in injury and loss of life. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been injured, The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1120606519610260742005-07-06T00:33:00.000+01:002005-07-06T00:35:19.616+01:00I must bang the "Stop the OSAA" drum one more time and point everyone to an opinion piece that ran in the Portland Tribune today, calling for a reconsideration of the realignment plans. And yes, I wrote it. I cannot tell a lie.Let my people go!The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1120236236119172112005-07-01T17:41:00.000+01:002005-07-01T17:43:56.126+01:00There is a great post over on TPM Cafe about why Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices often "drift" over time to become more liberal than expected in their decisions, and why Democrat-appointed SC justices don't "drift" the opposite direction. It is an interesting argument about their sense of a place in history, and parallels are drawn to a similar argument about why newspaper reporters "The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1120160279764902762005-06-30T20:36:00.000+01:002005-06-30T20:37:59.766+01:00Well, the anti-OSAA ball keeps rolling in Oregon. My HS district, the Portland Public Schools, by far the largest district in the state, and also home to the most populous sports league, the PIL, has come out publicly in opposition to the 6A redistricting plans.PPS oppositionNow, if all works out, I should have an opinion piece running on the issue in the Portland Tribune tomorrow (cross my The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1120102117041553132005-06-30T04:20:00.000+01:002005-06-30T04:28:37.050+01:00I was randomly playing albums on my iPod at work today, and I happened to play two female groups in a row, which for me is a rarity, seeing how much male singers and groups dominate my 8,000 song collection. I got to thinking, since the women i spin are so rare, who are my favorites. Tegan & Sara (best album: So Jealous)Sugababes (best album: Three)Kelly Clarkson (best album: Breakaway)Anna The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1120004757374451352005-06-29T01:24:00.000+01:002005-06-29T01:25:57.380+01:00did he really say this?Bush in his press conference said we cannot set deadlines to leave Iraq because we don't want to make the terrorists think they can wait out the troops (and Rumsfeld has said the insurgency could last another decade)then a minute later, he says the reason he won't send more troops to Iraq is because we don't want the Iraqis to think we are planning on staying ... and The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119918098943945162005-06-28T01:17:00.000+01:002005-06-28T01:21:38.950+01:00I was under the impression that revenge was a goal that was supposed to be pursued subtly in Washington, in order to avoid looking like a petulant child. But baseball, of all things, seems to be interfering with the normal affairs of politicians.Among the numerous groups bidding for the Washington Nationals is one that includes billionaire financier and political bankroller George Soros, who The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119841125387386062005-06-27T03:58:00.000+01:002005-06-27T03:58:45.403+01:00This week's Time magazine reports on the Christian evangelism that is being encouraged at the Air Force Academy by the increasingly bold and intolerant establishment. This revelation, drawn out through reports in past weeks, after a long period of unproven allegations, only serves to increase the depth of my feeling that ROTC must be reintroduced to liberal campuses that have banned the program The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119757462832515082005-06-26T01:30:00.000+01:002005-06-26T04:44:22.873+01:00Check out the latest Zogby polling report for a fascinating picture of the changing political landscape. In a Bush-Kerry rematch, people are now saying they would choose in a manner that would lead to a 45-45 tie. Bush's poll numbers are his lowest ever, and he is now actively disliked by nearly 60% of those surveyed. Even in many Red States, his popularity is below the 50% mark.But those numbersThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119661253462120562005-06-25T01:58:00.000+01:002005-06-25T02:00:53.466+01:00As everyone who knows me understands, I'm in love with Jon Stewart. If he weren't Jewish, I would go to Massachusetts to marry him. Showing once again why he is the freshest thing on TV since Mr. Clean debuted on commercials, he pontificates about hyperbolic rhetoric in the U.S. Senate "reality show," and then goes on to discuss the devious "War on Christianity." It is Stewart at his satirical The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119478960913764962005-06-22T23:07:00.000+01:002005-06-22T23:24:09.023+01:00I've often argued, based on the fact that youth and young adult crime rates have been dropping for years, that violent video games do not lead to violence. A new study out shows that young men who play several hours a day show brain activity similar to that of someone engaged in actual violence. This does not, as the article points out, answer the larger question: do violent people tend to The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119472944036904132005-06-22T21:34:00.000+01:002005-06-22T21:42:25.586+01:00When I first read a collection of Thomas Friedman's columns, gathering his post-9/11 musings, I realized what had been nagging me about his writing for years--he is a generalist. More so than most mainstream columnists, he talks about the big picture, and somewhat repetitively too. My love for columnists Frank Rich and David Brooks stem from the fact that they love to ferret out new books, new The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119395078362952552005-06-21T23:59:00.000+01:002005-06-22T00:08:45.606+01:00I loved the BBC mini-series version of Pride and Prejudice, and I can't imagine the new movie version being released will trump it, or even come close in quality. But goddamn, how can anyone say no to this face, even if she is too pretty to be Elizabeth Bennet?.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1119034974970735642005-06-17T19:58:00.000+01:002005-06-17T20:02:54.980+01:00The French and the Americans hate each other. What's new? Also, and more on this later, the House Committee dealing with public broadcasting has voted to hack away at funding. Actions like these show the lie that is the Republicans claim that they are only trying to moderate the liberal bent of NPR and PBS--they honestly oppose solid news reporting and intriguing new commentaries if they don't The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118776508419334122005-06-14T20:11:00.000+01:002005-06-14T20:15:08.430+01:00A new Gallup poll shows that, much like OJ, Michael Jackson's popularity is highly polarized between white and black Americans, with whites opposing his not guilty verdict 2 to 1, and blacks supporting it 2 to 1.I find this surprising, in its parallels to the OJ trial, since while OJ was clearly black, Michael's racial affiliation has become murkier over the years. Where he was clearly once blackThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118727725648300892005-06-14T06:41:00.000+01:002005-06-14T06:42:05.653+01:00The Bend Bulletin does a long review of the effects of the OSAA's 6A reclassification plan, which provides good details, but does little to express the widespread opposition to the plan.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118645375033711572005-06-13T07:47:00.000+01:002005-06-13T07:49:35.040+01:00Do you ever suddenly remember something you once saw, and laugh out loud at the memory? That just happened to me a minute ago; I was browsing Facebook, and came across some genius' profile of "Peter Parker," which included the line, "I'm Spider-Man." Which of course made me think of the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch on SNL where Matthew Perry played Michael Keaton, and kept stage-whispering "I'm The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118597959009705102005-06-12T18:29:00.000+01:002005-06-12T18:39:19.016+01:00--John Kerry had lower grades at Yale than President Bush, including four D's freshman year. Who saw that coming? Imagine the campaign the Dems could have ran, possibly successful: "our man is more stupider than your man" or "representing the common man's grade: John Kerry" or "ask not what John Kerry can do for you, ask what you can do to help raise John Kerry's test scores" or "Yale: where The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118519236672148942005-06-11T20:45:00.000+01:002005-06-11T20:47:16.676+01:00From the Daily Show:Jon Stewart: Could the media today break a story like Watergate?Steven Colbert: No Jon, it lacks credibility.Jon: The media?Steven: No. The truth.andJon Stewart: "But Sen. Spector continued to fight, because he is a moderate Republican. A moderate Republican is a regular Republican who is sick or knows someone who is."The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118359947536698802005-06-10T00:30:00.000+01:002005-06-10T00:32:27.543+01:00Woohoo! I now have a job as an intern at the PR firm of Fleishman-Hillard's Portland office. F-H is the second-largest firm in the world; while their PTown office is small, it has a sweet layout, including a full-size pool table in the kitchen. And oddly, I am the only male working there more than part-time. Ladies, please!With that and my Chinese class at PSU, I'll be in downtown Portland for atThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118352011405933992005-06-09T22:16:00.000+01:002005-06-09T22:22:12.673+01:00What?! No fortune cookies?! 17 Chinese Restaurants Raided in Mich.On a more serious note, a new study contributes to the idea that the problem with cell phones is the distraction fromtalking, not the act of holding something in your hands. Depending on how loud activists get, I wouldn't be surprised to see a serious effort in the future to ban cell phone use while driving. Of course, biking The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118205914824843632005-06-08T05:44:00.000+01:002005-06-08T05:45:14.833+01:00This is my future:"I like to con people. And I like to insult people. If you combine con & insult, you get consult!"The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118199455292342492005-06-08T03:54:00.000+01:002005-06-08T03:57:35.300+01:00What imbecile greenlighted this project? Paul Anka doing swing versions of Bon Jovi's "It's My LIfe," Foreigner's "Eye of the Tiger," and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Sounds like shit. I mean, it is one thing to do covers of songs in which you transpose the songs into another genre; it is a whole 'nother tamale when you succeed in making them soporifically dismal. Rock Swings, the album The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1118089152958858192005-06-06T21:13:00.000+01:002005-06-06T21:19:12.966+01:00This is frustrating me to no end. The Oregon Student Activities Association, which governs high school sports in Oregon, is preparing to expand from 4 classes of teams to six, which, among other things, will tear apart the largest divisions in the state, including the 100 year old Portland Interscholastic League, all because of reasons that would be better addressed through selective changes.ReadThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117998147650231352005-06-05T19:57:00.000+01:002005-06-05T20:02:27.650+01:00A little bit of a disconnect in terms of reporting, wouldn't you say?From the NYTimes: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in an unusually blunt public critique of China, said Saturday that Beijing's military spending threatened the delicate security balance in Asia and called for an emphasis instead on political freedom and open markets.From the NYTimes: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117997332021234662005-06-05T19:42:00.000+01:002005-06-05T19:50:21.223+01:00Doesn't this make you want to read more? What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)The excerpt, from a column by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt, is the first of the new Freakonomics columns that The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117914382632635312005-06-04T20:44:00.000+01:002005-06-04T20:50:27.460+01:00My friend Reid says my blog is boring and needs: reidiculous25 (12:44:17 PM): your blog is boring. you should spice it up with some humorous anecdotes or scandalous photos.So here is a good anecdote. My AIM conversation with a drunk Reid. Bon appetit!reidiculous25 (9:45:28 AM): i hate youf uckehead fuckface dooshnozzleBiggerz (9:45:36 AM): hahahareidiculous25 (9:45:41 AM): fucks youBiggerz (9:45:The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117835901410942352005-06-03T22:42:00.000+01:002005-06-03T22:58:21.416+01:00It is the rare piece of writing that is powerful and meaningful enough to make me feel anything more than enjoyment at the strings of words expertly crafted. But I just read a short story that had such a simple elegance and meaning to it that I was literally breathless. "Monday," by Mark Helprin, is the tale of a successful construction company owner who yanks his men off every job he has to workThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117817894401560412005-06-03T17:53:00.001+01:002005-06-04T19:41:01.480+01:00Whenever semi-authoritarian governments conduct polls, they never release the logistics of the poll (who was interviewed, margin of error, etc.). Polls like these mean nothing without grounding. Besides, I'm very curious to know if Hong Kong residents really care little about the loss of political freedoms they've seen in the last 8 years.According to a survey conducted by Committee on the The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117689255312216742005-06-02T06:11:00.000+01:002005-06-02T06:21:51.836+01:00Angry Chinese Blogger discusses the fruits of three years of labor, a unified history textbook co-written over a host of conferences by South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese scholars, and points out how the existence of such a moderate, honest account has been papered over in China while riots have been occuring in reaction to the narrowly-distributed Japanese textbook which itself refused to The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117683182073680002005-06-02T04:31:00.000+01:002005-06-02T04:33:02.080+01:00I've long argued in support of ROTC on Columbia's campus, both to improve campus attitude toward the military, but also to help increase the flow of liberal-minded students back into the armed forces. I'm reading Evan Wright's Generation Kill, about the modern generation of troops going into Iraq, and ran across a quote that sums up my entire argument, out of the mouth of an Ivy Leaguer who The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117651044522243792005-06-01T19:33:00.000+01:002005-06-01T19:37:24.526+01:00Just a random thought. During lunch, I caught some of Star Trek: DS9 on cable, and it made me realize how much the health of the franchise depends on a strong captain figure in each show. In the shows that were highly successful and critically acclaimed (Star Trek, Next Generation, and DS9, if only in retrospect for the former), the captain was a dominant and impressive figure. Shatner as Kirk, The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117639656234516942005-06-01T16:22:00.000+01:002005-06-01T16:27:36.240+01:00If you are as scientifically uninclined as I am, you too might be a little concerned by the recent spate of coverage being given to intelligent design theory, which straddles a halfpoint between evolutionary theory and creationism, arguing in essence that cells are so complex that they had to be developed by some sort of intelligent creator, even if evolution did occur once those cells were The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117569692550520392005-05-31T20:57:00.000+01:002005-05-31T21:01:32.556+01:00The Chinese media is redefining the English language. According to the People's Daily online, "The majority of Japanese people opposed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's stance on China, according to a survey result released Tuesday by Asahi Shimbun newspaper on Tuesday."Some 48 percent of those who responded in the telephone survey said they do not agree with the premier's political attitude to The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117497743041757332005-05-31T00:57:00.000+01:002005-05-31T01:06:27.090+01:00I ran across a guest commentary in the Oregon Daily Emerald from May 24, in which the writer said that stories like Newsweek's Quran flushing report, based on actual allegations, but taking authority from the words of a respected anonymous source who turned out to be completely wrong, are examples of why the government should have the ability to censor media during wartime. The article is pretty The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117478541657116362005-05-30T19:41:00.000+01:002005-05-30T19:42:21.663+01:00My old compatriot from Boys State, Gordy Carlson, has a new site up and running. I won't tell you what it is about, but I think the address gives it away: "Liberals are just better"The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117436301424799912005-05-30T07:57:00.000+01:002005-05-30T07:58:21.430+01:00This is not sad, I swear...:: how jedi are you? ::The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117402214299011472005-05-29T22:29:00.000+01:002005-05-29T22:30:14.306+01:00American Idol politics? This from an e-mail exchange I had today...Not me: So I just had a random thought. I am serious about this, by the way. You hear about how on American Idol gets about 70,000,000 votes. In the pres election, there were 122,293,332 total votes cast (this is popular vote), but a smaller percentage of that was the "youth vote." In fact, I bet that a smaller number than The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117389593858012362005-05-29T18:56:00.000+01:002005-05-29T18:59:53.866+01:00James Kirchik, a senior at Yale, has a solid piece in the gay newspaper The Washington Blade about the problems with law schools banning military recruiters for DADT. He argues that by setting up an unassailable position of opposition that forces gay men and straight men who don't want to be seen as homophobic to abhor the military, schools are not only stifling debate, but are also keeping good The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117050152503788352005-05-25T20:38:00.000+01:002005-05-25T20:42:32.506+01:00I just ran across the contact list for my fellow counselors when I worked at Outdoor School back in 2000. I thought, just for fun, I'd list them and their "names" that were used with the 6th graders who attended the week-long program.Ninon Anker-Lagos "Estrella"Christina Baker "Rafiki"Allison Barisich "Pez"Jenny Bedell-Stiles "Colt"Lisa Blank "Summit"Laura Gayton "Gnute"Jessa HargerThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1117040626442315412005-05-25T17:52:00.000+01:002005-05-25T18:03:46.450+01:00Slate's Chatterbox ran an interesting result of a reader poll a few days ago; readers were "given" 25 dollars and asked to allocate them among the NY Times columnists to indicate how much they would be willing to pay to read each one, and then the totals were averaged out to rank the popularity of the columnists. Of course, this means, first of all, that there is bad news. In the near future, theThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116904838751466302005-05-24T04:18:00.000+01:002005-05-24T04:20:38.756+01:00Anyone know a good essay that responds to allegations from papers like these?"But the Left’s long dominion over the university—the last place on earth that lefty power would break up, conservatives believed—is showing its first signs of weakening. The change isn’t coming from the schools’ faculty lounges and administrative offices, of course. It’s coming from self-organizing right-of-center The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116889510557836622005-05-24T00:03:00.000+01:002005-05-24T00:05:10.563+01:00Wondering why I haven't posted in a few days? Look out the window if you are in Portland. You see that sun? Yeah, that's my excuse.I spent an hour studying Chinese syllables in the pinyin system today; I get the feeling I'm in for what is going to be a massive educational undertaking if I want to one day become fluent in Mandarin. Wish me luck.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116558848527326262005-05-20T04:06:00.000+01:002005-05-20T04:14:08.533+01:00The "articulate" black man. About a year ago, a friend proposed to me that there were certain words that were only used to describe a certain type of person, often due to an otherwise nonexistent respect for such people. One of the words he pointed out was "articulate" when used to describe a black man who could speak English eloquently. For whatever reason, I didn't want to believe that The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116555365869355942005-05-20T03:13:00.000+01:002005-05-20T03:16:05.876+01:00How odd it is to be a high-powered Ivy league student, looking back on past PR, journalism, and political jobs, and to find oneselves thoroughly intimidated, in the midst of internship applications to the likes of the mayor's office, by a concurrent attempt to find a restaurant job. It doesn't matter if you have a sterling GPA and saved children in Guatemala when you are looking to be a waiter--The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116372866311739062005-05-18T00:34:00.000+01:002005-05-18T00:34:26.316+01:00And now I head home, leaving Scotland behind ...The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116259479781023732005-05-16T17:02:00.000+01:002005-05-16T17:23:34.356+01:00Frank Rich continues to impress with his recent spate of columns on Conservative social hypocrisy and recklessness. Today he talks the classic Senate movie "Advise and Consent," and talks about the evolution of the 30-year war against homosexuality. Just How Gay Is the Right?The NYTimes is starting a new series on class in America, the first article weighs in at a lowly 6 full pages. It's a The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116184448143434562005-05-15T20:13:00.000+01:002005-05-15T20:14:08.150+01:00I was just informed my Vin Diesel link never worked. So click here, and just keep refreshing the page, for amazing facts about Vin. Vin Diesel once ate the country of Zaire for breakfast. Afterwards, he had terrible indigestion and shit out the Falkland Islands"The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116181993929204712005-05-15T19:32:00.000+01:002005-05-15T19:33:13.936+01:00Darth Vader has his own blog (Darth Side). If you even have a little bit of dork in you, check it out. Especially the post about Ewok kebabs on Endor.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116165222892059852005-05-15T14:51:00.000+01:002005-05-15T14:53:42.896+01:00May I just state that whatever the verdict against Michael Jackson is, he'll have lost. The sheer amount of bad publicity and revealings of his odd nature have finally alienated him to the mass of Americans. MJ is over. And thank God. His last CD was shamefully mediocre. His only hope is to have a clothing malfunction at his final press conference, maybe JT will reprise his role from the Super The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116159876283203192005-05-15T13:22:00.000+01:002005-05-15T13:25:24.763+01:00So apparently on the Family Guy scale, I'm a Lois. I sure hope it is the ass-whoopin' Lois from the Lethal Weapons episode where she beats up all of New York and some Superman bad guys, goes on to grab Peter's crotch and declare, "this is mine. This is where my babies come from!" Otherwise, I'd just be depressing housewife Lois.Which Family Guy character are you?See what you are here: Family Guy The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116092704604142022005-05-14T18:43:00.000+01:002005-05-14T18:45:04.610+01:00Rob Kremer, "scourge" of the public school system in Oregon, has a fascinating run-down on CIM/CAM testing standards in Oregon. As I have never been a fan of the standards (find me an Oregon high school student who is and I'll give you a buck), I recommend checking the piece out to get the brain juices churning.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116071900951723312005-05-14T12:17:00.000+01:002005-05-14T12:58:20.970+01:00Check out the new trailer for The Legend of Zorro. If you enjoyed the Saturday morning serial quality of its predecessor as much as I did, you'll love this:The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116029942647394222005-05-14T01:17:00.000+01:002005-05-14T01:19:02.653+01:00If you are at all interested in the issue of ROTC on college campuses, check this thread out over at Phil Carter's Intel Dump. I've been arguing ROTC at Columbia with another blogger for a day or so now, and I'd love new voices.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1116029224746394272005-05-14T01:01:00.000+01:002005-05-14T01:07:04.753+01:00After a long discussion about intelligent design and evolution while dining at the only good American restaurant in Scotland, The Filling Station, I ran across a splendid bit of question-raising at LeanLeft, where an "Alternative Intelligent Design Theory" has been proposed which basically posits that when man became aware of the world outside of his cave, he noticed the stars, and being unable The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1115552509140144362005-05-08T12:40:00.000+01:002005-05-08T12:41:49.163+01:00If there is only one thing you do today, click on this link.Vin Diesel once shat a full-scale replica of the TitanicThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1115475031834699052005-05-07T15:09:00.000+01:002005-05-07T15:10:31.930+01:00Why am I happy, despite having just worked a 15 hour bartending shift where I was projectile puked upon? Because critics are saying good or even great things about the final Star Wars movie, saying it is a great way to end the series, or even that it is the best movie since the Empire Strikes Back. Anyone else starting to feel a little bit like the old magic may be back for 2 final hours?The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1115341414214320882005-05-06T02:00:00.000+01:002005-05-06T02:03:34.240+01:00As I mentioned in a previous entry, I am a Google freak. After 4 hours of watching British election coverage today, I needed something to do. So I, umm, Googled myself. It was interesting, I swear! I found out that not only that the Google search engine is more self-promoting than I am, but that my "works" have been translated.First, I had looked for my blog on Google in the past and couldn't getThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1115294194070052802005-05-05T12:55:00.000+01:002005-05-05T12:56:34.100+01:00British Election ExtravaganzaWith the General Election tomorrow, turnout in many constituencies looks to challenge American turnout for dismality (if that isn't a word, it is now). It has become clear now that the surge in popularity the Conservative Party has enjoyed in recent months does not represent a serious challenge to Labour's hold on Parliament. While Labour's mammoth majority will erodeThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1115151753516368972005-05-03T21:17:00.000+01:002005-05-03T21:22:33.516+01:00Genius! BBC.co.uk has created H2G2 (how to get to, or something), a real-world Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, with entries written and edited by readers like you and me H2G2Wait a second, haven't we all heard of something like this before...? Yeah, Wikipedia (Wikipedia) a fabulous online encyclopedia that has been created in the same way over several years. So skip H2G2, because Douglas Adams The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1115027716418332492005-05-02T10:53:00.000+01:002005-05-02T10:55:16.416+01:00Check out this great election ad spoof for the May 5 British general election. And be careful who you go to bed with...they might never leave.Be Careful Who You Sleep Withhat tip to Andrew Sullivan for the linkThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114970811284129652005-05-01T19:01:00.000+01:002005-05-01T19:10:17.406+01:00A thought and a picture. The British music chart is so ridiculously distorted that I have a hard time ever taking it seriously. Every single week, invariably the singles chart is dominated by a song that is 30 years old. Does this country really have so much interest in re-released music? I mean, the war this week was between a re-release of a remix of a Elvis Presley song, Tony Christie's The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114947037531416612005-05-01T11:55:00.000+01:002005-05-01T12:48:30.153+01:00Tis a sad day for science fiction fans, at least for those reading the Sunday New York Times. Two articles leap out at you, one on Star Trek, one on Star Wars. While all the news might not be bad, the headlines sure are depressing."Is the Trek Over?""Is There Life After 'Star Wars' for Lucasfilm?"The first article is about the fact that the latest Star Trek show, the irritatingly insignificant "The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114822411050270072005-04-30T01:40:00.000+01:002005-04-30T02:24:06.420+01:00Having just caught Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy out here in Edinburgh, I thought I'd offer some thoughts, because reactions to the film, especially from the uninitiated, seem to include a lot of confused queries about what happened and what 42 meant.I thoroughly enjoyed the movie on a purely visceral level as it was a joy to watch. From the sperm whale to the Guide to the planets visited, theThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114740056264059742005-04-29T03:00:00.000+01:002005-04-29T03:04:42.590+01:00I'm a Googler. It's like an addiction for me--I see can see the legendary Bruce Dickinson exclaiming "Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription ... is more Google." The moment I meet you, I want to know who you are, not in real life, but according to the Gospel of Google. Are you even listed on the first page? Do you have the luck of an uncommon last name, or are you stuck deep in a The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114605287697762512005-04-27T13:34:00.000+01:002005-04-27T13:34:47.700+01:00I like lists. On my old blog, I used to provide, in the spirit of High Fidelity, a constant stream of Top 5 lists for my amusement and the reading pleasure of my "readers". So while studying for tomorrow's exam, I thought I'd just make up a random list. Today's list: Great CDs that don't have a single unworthy track -The Coral, The Coral -Marah, 20,000 Streets Under the Sky -Marah, Float Away -The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114590406687253462005-04-27T09:25:00.000+01:002005-04-27T09:26:46.686+01:00Oh how i want American TV. Luke Ridnour, the Seattle SuperSonics star guard (from the University of Oregon), somehow blocked 2 shots in yesterday's victory. If you've seen the 6'2 Ridnour, you'll understand why I would want to see these blocks to believe them.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114537899746784002005-04-26T18:50:00.000+01:002005-04-26T18:52:02.636+01:00Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, the best sports book of this new decade, has a great piece in the NYTimes Magazine this week about "types" of young baseball players and the pressure they face to conform to established stereotypes and expectations. Must read.Follow the LinkThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114530706861635152005-04-26T16:44:00.000+01:002005-04-26T16:51:46.863+01:00If you have an American computer, and you happen to be living in a different part of the world, you probably hate the "region" system as much as I do. Thanks to the infinite wisdom and greed of the movie companies, DVDs manufactured in the US are Region 1 and the UK, for example, is Region 2. Most computer DVD players read only the region they are sold in; my Apple Powerbook can switch between The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114530182515015612005-04-26T16:42:00.000+01:002005-04-26T16:43:02.516+01:00The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114471834163692502005-04-26T00:15:00.000+01:002005-04-26T00:30:34.166+01:00Recently, the BBC's flagship news show, Newsnight, was forced to replace its financial advice portion with a daily weather forecast, despite the opposition of the show staff. This is what transpired in the first four days of Jeremy Paxman, the show's anchor, providing the weather (transcribed by moi):"Day 1: and now, on the theory that while some people are interested in markets, everyone is The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1114046531925861462005-04-21T02:14:00.001+01:002005-04-21T02:28:04.540+01:00Travelogue Part Three: "Please, Take My Money! I obviously don’t need it because I am a rich American."If you are ever in Marrakech, I daresay your visit is incomplete without a visit to the bus station. Elizabeth and I were met at the front entrance, on the morning of the 29th, by a very nice guide who showed us where to buy our ticket, where to purchase food, and how to find our bus. At one The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1113919312229278852005-04-19T14:52:00.001+01:002005-04-19T15:04:31.570+01:00David Brooks delivers another social commentary of note in the NYTimes this week. Despite all the sex we see everywhere, from the Janet Jackson boob tube to 'Fitty's rapping, American youth are heading the opposite direction toward greater restrictiveness in their sexual attitudes. I won't try to explain the gist of the piece beyond that, go read it yourself, link below. Here are a few solid The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1113862646196528732005-04-18T23:09:00.000+01:002005-04-18T23:17:26.196+01:00I was going to put up travelogue part 3 today, but I'm postponing it until tomorrow. My cat, Nikki, had to be euthanized today after long-term medical problems that have culminated in kidney failure. This post, as short as it is, is in memory of her.This is her a few days ago: This is a picture I took of her a few years ago:Rest in peace NikkiThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1113515108066373042005-04-14T22:43:00.000+01:002005-04-14T22:45:08.066+01:00Due to the fact that I am going to be in Cardiff, Wales, until Sunday night for the FA Cup Semifinal game between Arsenal and Blackburn, I am postponing the completion of this travelogue until I return.-The ManagementThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1113343598552107542005-04-12T22:46:00.001+01:002005-04-12T23:16:03.520+01:00Note: As you can see, I'm having photo problems. Hope to have that fixed soon.-BrianTRAVELOGUE PART TWOMARRAKECH, CARE TO HAGGLE?Something I forgot to mention in the last installment. Most of the “toilets” in Morocco are holes in the floor, which you squat above. Think about that for a second … Oh yes, and they don’t seem to understand the notion of wiping your bum after you’ve shat. So often The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1113261792581522812005-04-12T00:23:00.000+01:002005-04-12T01:03:45.303+01:00A Travelogue in Five Parts (or Four. Counting is for ninnies)PART ONETo truly appreciate the epic nature of my spring break travels through Morocco, Spain, and England, it is necessary to envision a PBS documentary about the potato bug then double the fun and adventure quotient. Right about there is where my amazing trek rests on the scale of importance.My trip was not that of a college-age movieThe Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1113001277462849872005-04-09T00:00:00.000+01:002005-04-09T00:01:17.463+01:00Massive amounts of spring break updating on bridge diving, souk haggling, mercedes taxis, tapas, and Arsenal (complete with pictures) to start tomorrow...The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1112013991811637792005-03-28T13:43:00.000+01:002005-03-28T13:46:31.813+01:00Greetings from Morocco. Im about to head out for the day but wanted to leave a short post. Been to Casablanca before and now in Marrakesh; have had tailless monkeys on my head and chatted with the owner of Ricks Cafe in Casablanca. Tomorrow E and I are off to the famous Cascades DOuzoud waterfalls. Will update much more in the future. Ciao.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1111651458495268872005-03-24T08:03:00.000Z2005-03-24T08:04:27.946ZOff to Spain, Morocco, and England today. Back on April 9th with hundreds of pictures and no money!(And it looks like the Columbia housing lottery screwed me over. Ungrateful Ivy League administrators and their "random" lotteries)The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1111593814322573372005-03-23T16:02:00.000Z2005-03-23T16:03:34.323ZJust in case you go to Mt. Holyoke...vote for Layne Hilton for Social Chair. Here's my reason:Like Van Wilder of National Lampoon fame, Layne Hilton is all about the parties—throwing them, that is. I know, because I’ve had the pleasure of wearing beads and a mask at the Mardi Gras shindig she threw at the University of Edinburgh. While it wasn’t quite up to New Orleans standards of indecency, it The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1111492419387450042005-03-22T11:32:00.000Z2005-03-22T11:57:10.080ZEveryone wants a piece of Terry Schiavo. Some want her alive; some want her dead. What's a woman in a persistent vegetative state to do?Horribly tasteless humor aside, the Schiavo case, which I have barely been following in the past year, has become unavoidable--even from Scotland--in the past week. Parents v. Husband, Republicans in Congress v. the Courts. A recent leaked Republican memo The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1111331155615956672005-03-20T15:02:00.000Z2005-03-20T15:05:55.616ZMy predictions for today's eight games, having not even taken a glance at any of the lines for the games: (2) Connecticut over (10) NC State by 8(5) Villanova over (4) Florida by 5(2) OK State over (7) S. Illinois by 15(1) North Carolina over (9) Iowa State by 12(5) Michigan State over (13) Vermont by 8(5) Georgia Tech over (4) Louisville by 4(6) Wisconsin over (14) Bucknell by 9(1) Duke over (9)The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1111110308236901922005-03-18T01:41:00.000Z2005-03-18T01:45:08.236ZThe second round of games today brought no surprises, as Washington, Utah, Cincy, and Boston College all won relatively easy (Utah was close, but come on, did any really believe Bogut would go out in the first round?). The third round, in progress now, has great promise. At halftime of each game, all the lower seeds were ahead. Of course, that is now changing as the higher seeds' superiority The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1111088567758375622005-03-17T19:38:00.000Z2005-03-17T19:42:47.760ZEveryone loves a tournament. Who really enjoys watching people play chess? NO ONE. Yet call a bunch of games a "tournament," and suddenly you have TENSION, ADVERSITY, and HEROES. Take a sport like college basketball, already quite enjoyable, entertaining, and stress-creating, throw 64 teams together complete with numerical rankings to clarify who is "good" good and who is "bad" good, and you've The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1110546695291991302005-03-11T13:11:00.000Z2005-03-11T13:11:35.290ZOff to York, England for the weekend; pictures and tales of glory and fame when I get back.Cheers!The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1110213617438314142005-03-07T16:35:00.000Z2005-03-07T16:40:17.440ZI want to get into this whole "be a scientist" scam. The NYTimes website today fronts an article in which social scientists claim that decentralized groups like the Yankees tend to be more successful and more immune to outside criticism than close-knit groups like the Red Sox. There even is a hilarious locker room diagram of the Yankess which shows where they all sit and explains the influence The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1110112651723796092005-03-06T12:33:00.000Z2005-03-06T12:37:31.726ZOk, I need 8 more people now for fantasy baseball. And whoever is "anonymous," I can't add you to the league if I don't know who are you.The link is below, if you want to join. In order to join the league, follow the link, then click the "Sign Up Now" or "Get Another Team" button and follow the links to "Join a Custom League". When prompted, enter the League ID# and password below.League ID#: The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1110045929090026802005-03-05T18:04:00.000Z2005-03-05T18:05:29.090ZI'm starting a Fantasy Baseball league called "Jesus or Johnny Damon?"Anyone want to join?I need 11 people total.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1110039723627302722005-03-05T16:21:00.000Z2005-03-05T16:22:03.626ZI just ate the most delicious sandwich. I bought a roll at the Edinburgh Farmer's Market (where I also had a delicious hog's meat sandwich) and stuffed it with mature cheddar, garlic mayonnaise, fried egg, and grilled pork loin. MMMMMMM.That is all.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1110023053133719422005-03-05T11:41:00.000Z2005-03-05T11:44:13.136ZSometimes you just have to love reading the People's Daily, the major CCP mouthpiece in China:"China will enforce a 24-hour monitoring over the Internet during the imminent annual meeting of top legislature, or the Third Plenum of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC).Chatrooms and forums of major Chinese Internet portals will be monitored by "security guards" at these websites. Any messages The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1109968531528070702005-03-04T20:29:00.000Z2005-03-04T20:35:31.533ZI think I've finally come to terms that for as long as I am in Scotland doing a minimum amount of work, I'm going to be drinking constantly. Call me a fair-weather alcoholic--when I don't have a lot of responsibilities (as I do in NYC), I let myself follow an unguided path, which seems to be leading me towards the bottle on a highly regular basis. A glass of wine here, some brandy there, 3 beers,The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1109635948788579442005-03-01T00:04:00.000Z2005-03-01T00:12:28.790ZDespite my intense unproductivity here in Scotland, I have tried to do more with my time than play Halo and drink. Not much, but a few things. For instance, I have now read 9 novels/short story collections here: Hard Times, Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens; and Nightmare Town, Continental Op, Glass Key; and Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett; and The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1109333395949484642005-02-25T11:56:00.000Z2005-02-25T12:31:12.473ZAs an obsessive lover of music--not any specific type, era, or style--I often find it nearly impossible to explain why I like or dislike a certain song to friends. Since they can't understand that a song just "sounds" right or doesn't, what more is there to say if they cannot understand me by listening to the song? Over the past year though, I have had some recourse from my frustration. Nick The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1109250931764965792005-02-24T13:09:00.000Z2005-02-24T13:15:31.766ZSnow, snow everywhere, hey look, snow in my hair!For the third day in a row, it is snowing in Edinburgh. None of it seems to stick for long, but that doesn't stop it from coming down heavily at times. Looking out the window from the 8th floor of the Adam Ferguson Building yesterday, I was privy to a breathtaking view. Arthur's Seat, the cliff/hill/mountain thingy outside Hollyrood Park, was The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1108911379698309802005-02-20T14:56:00.000Z2005-02-20T14:56:19.696ZOff to Glasgow for the Electric Six concert ...The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1108779487272768242005-02-19T02:17:00.000Z2005-02-19T02:18:07.273ZWell I'll be damned. The Shins video for their song "new slang" (featured in Garden State, winner of the Grammy for best compilation sdtrk) follows a kid around as he wanders my fair home of Portland. How cool.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1108580069893131672005-02-16T18:34:00.000Z2005-02-19T02:20:58.353ZLooking back, it's been a long time since I've posted anything other than a "mission report," and while I feel like I need to give the landmarks their due, these posts really havent been about me or the University of Edinburgh as much. Of course, it is easier to write about trips--everything is new and different, and the lazy writer does not lack in source material or photographs.Life in The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3131621.post-1108346483613757102005-02-14T02:00:00.000Z2005-02-14T02:01:23.613ZGreen Day, the Garden State sdtrk, and Jon Stewart have all picked up Grammys. Good times.The Oracleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07578540096058517656noreply@blogger.com0