Saturday, October 20, 2007

More Observations

Yes, I am well aware of the timestamp on my posting...don't worry about that.

I just felt compelled at this hour to comment on a few things I noticed tonight:

1) Whereas most chicks in Texas are complete wusses when it comes to the slightest chill, the midwest/East Coast girls here do not appear to be bothered by the crisp night air.

2) Walking out of the library at 2 AM to the sight of a multiple braces of Chris-Chris dudes and their respective generic hot girls in f me boots is...really strange. It makes sense though, given the geography of the campus, as the quickest route from South University (the street I live on), to certain parts of the west part of campus (where many of the bars are), is through the Diag (makes a diagonal line through Central campus, so basically the hypotenuse of the right triangle to drinkage).

3) It appears there is a direct proportionality between a girl's hotness, and her predilection towards PDA. I detest watching or participating in PDAs. Therefore, it is implied that higher levels of female hotness here at UM are accompanied by a commensurate loathing from me. QED. Okay, so maybe that proof sucks, but I need the practice for a test on Wednesday, so, if you don't like it, eat me.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Two community quick hits I want to deliver here from the thriving metropolis of Ann Arbor:

Everybody here is all about Ron Paul. I even walked past a house that had been converted into a sort of Ron Paul campaign office for Ann Arbor. It's kind of awesome. When he came here last week and spoke in front of the graduate library a couple thousand people came out to the Diag to witness the spectacle.

Okay. Imagine how great it is to do a nice little run to Central Market or Market Street to grab some optimized beer. Now imagine a place that's 10 times better. Okay, you got the picture in your mind yet? Now, imagine a place 100 times better. That would be The Beer Depot here in Ann Arbor, with over 600 beers represented within their walls, including a plethora of Michigan microbrews. It's like walking through the extensive wine rack aisle at Central Market, except all the individual bottles are different beers. Completely, completely genius. Can't accentuate that enough.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Mitchell, this one is for you buddy.



"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Monday, October 15, 2007

Screw the Patriots.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Thursday, October 11, 2007

The Real Inconvenient Truth

Let me be the first person to call Turkey a WAHmbulance

I don't know if any of you are familiar with the subject matter of House Resolution 398, but you are about to be well-versed in it.

Essentially, the bill declares that the United States officially recognizes the actions of Ottoman Turks during World War I, resulting in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians, to be an act of "genocide".

The verbiage of this bill is not a new concept; it has come through the House previously, though it has never garnered the support that it has this time around, and has never been passed by the House Committee of Foreign Affairs, nor brought to the floor of the assembled House (which in all likelihood will occur for Resolution 398).

It is an ATROCITY that to this point the US does not officially acknowledge the systematic extermination of the Armenians during World War I. Clarence Ussher, who was an American doctor in Turkey during World War I actually documented such actions in his memoirs! In many European nations, publically denying the Armenian genocide is a fast track to a prison cell (France recently passed a law in this vein). It is made an even more egregious offense, because recognizing the event at this point would be, as our administration has put it, inconvenient. As former A&M President Robert Gates avered, "his opposition to the resolution Thursday, saying the measure could hurt relations at a time when U.S. forces in Iraq rely heavily on Turkish permission to use their airspace for U.S. air cargo flights." So, in addition to waging an illegal war effort, now we condone the premeditated and truculent annihilation of a group of people. Fantastic. The executive branch of the government has lobbied quite heavily against this bill, but it does appear it will at least reach a vote on the floor of the full House.

Naturally, the subject is still one of intense controversy. It remains to this day an incredibly divisive issue, as Turkey has always reputed its involvement in such activities. While I was not in Turkey around 1915-1917, I can say that I am fairly certain my great-grandfather did not immigrate from Armenia during that period just for the hell of it. Our administration using the excuse of being "inconvenient" to further another activity of extremely dubious legitimacy as a reason not to recognize the Armenian genocide, sickens me to the core of my being. And anyone who knows me, knows that political issues rarely trouble me to the point of a diatribe...but in this case I felt a rant was appropriate.

And thank your lucky stars I'm not Coach Fran, or would I have already found a way to charge you 2500 bucks to read this opinion.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."

Sunday, October 7, 2007

I overheard two dudes talking in front of me as I was coming out of the weight room on Friday morning, and the conversation went something like this:

Concerned dude 1 - "Man, I really gotta get serious this weekend, I'm totally starting to lag behind."

Sympathetic dude 2 - "Yeah man, I totally here ya."

Naturally, I figure the concerned dude is referring to spending a weekend concentrating on his studies, and otherwise looking to augment his academic standings. Not so much, as the conversation progressed:

Concerned dude 1 - "Yeah, man, it's just these guys we play with are so intense. If I can't get some serious hours of Halo 3 in this weekend, they are going to start excluding me from the group."

Sympathetic dude 2 - "Yeah man, I know what you mean.

I REALLY wish the only concern I had was upping my frag count on Halo 3. Alas, there has been no gaming for me in quite some time, and likely won't be until mid-April, once I've finished my first two semesters here (assuming of course, I make it that far). Classes continue to be a real bear for me here, but all I can do is fight through it and hope that's enough to remain at this University.

"Moreover, I advise that Fran must be canned."