Thursday, September 26, 2002

With all the talk of bloggers running for president (here's two potential candidates I'd support) I was wondering. Are there any politicans with blogs out there? It would be a wonderful way for them to keep in touch with their constituents and publish their thoughts and views about issues. It would also help prove that they're actually doing something and allow them to easily get input from the people they represent. On the other hand it would mean that they'd have to be honest about what they thought and take definite positions. So maybe there's a good reason there aren't any politicians in the blogosphere.

Wednesday, September 25, 2002

I am, with rare exception, neither eloquent nor persuasive. Luckily, I have a blogosphere out there to learn from. This post by Stephen Green puts beautifully one of the many things I wish I could get across to my fellow students. This country has done things badly, yes, but we have also done many, many things well. Our past failures must be studied and examined and we must always question, but don't let mistakes of the past tie our hands in what we need to do today.

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Buffy Blog Burst!


I am a come-lately Buffy fan, but I try to make up for that by being overly obsessed. I had seen bits and pieces of the show before, but come on: Buffy the Vampire Slayer? How can a show with that name not be stupid.


It all started last October when I sprained my ankle at dance practice on Thursday night and was hence unable to go to NYU and visit a friend as I had planned. I was rather depressed about this and so spent all of Friday night lying on the couch in the common room and watching TV. After the first-ever US episode of Iron Chef, hosted by William Shatner, a rerun of the musical episode of Buffy came on. I had heard a bit about it and I love musicals so I gave it a try. Instantly I was hooked. Even without knowing anything about the plot and very little about the characters I could tell that this show was something special. Luckily for me, at the time FX was showing two episodes a day so by January I had pretty much caught up on most of the show's backstory and mythology. I now own seasons 1 and 2 on DVD (I can't belive season 3 doesn't come out until January!) and am a regular reader of (though I have yet to post on) many online discussion forums.


Buffy is a show that infinitely rewards devoted fans and repeated viewings. The dialogue is always witty and intelligent and the amount of continuity throughout the show's seasons is amazing. It is a show that allows its characters to grow, evolve, and change like few other shows do. It allows you to escape into a fully formed world of demons, magic, and super heroes every week. And an all new season starts in just 3 hours!

Monday, September 23, 2002

Vodkapundit asks: 'Do they not teach economics in college anymore?' I can tell you, yes they do and even at a liberal institution like Brandeis the economics department is amazingly sane. I think the problem is that most students haven't had an introduction to basic economics. Most high schools require economics to graduate, but we all know how well the public school system is doing there. I learned more in 2 weeks of college econ than I did in an entire semester in high school. I would dearly love to have Introduction to Economics be a requirement for graduation. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but learning a bit about how the economy and markets actually work might combat some of the huge anti-free-market bias that exists in many of the social science departments(*cough*sociology*cough) and make for some less isolated, more realistic students. And maybe it would stop those damn hippies from trying to take away my EZMac!
Well, to go along with my post below about U.S. News and World Report's college rankings, apparently Seventeen magazine has ranked the top 100 coolest colleges. And surprise: Brandeis is number 77. Although this time there's no contest with the sister as Bryn Mawr is infinitely cooler at 32. A bit of home-town pride in here, though: Rice University, which is about 45 minutes from my house is number 1!