And you thought Ashcroft was bad...
The President's new choice for Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, actually had to come out last week stating he was against torture. In any other administration, this would be obvious. Not so with Gonzalez, whose memos last year called the Geneva Convention "quaint" and not applicable to prisoners of the War on Terror. Some say his attitude contributed to the Abu Ghraib atrocity. He certainly has a human rights record worthy of intervention by Amnesty International. People for the American Way has issued a statement of opposition to his appointment, citing substantial evidence of this record. At MoveOn.org, you can donate money to fund their anti-Gonzalez TV ads.

Happy New Year, world.

Goodbye '04
Now Playing: "Step Into My Office, Baby," Belle and Sebastian
This is it! The decade's halfway through. So much has happened in the five years since fanatics everywhere were worrying about Y2K! Two disasterous deadlock elections, two wars, and many tragedies, including 9/ll and this week's awful tsunami in Asia. If you haven't yet, consider giving money to the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, or one of the many other agencies ready to aid the suffering victims overseas.

I can't say it's been a particularly great year. In fact, it's been pretty bad as far as the world is concerned. However, this is a new year. Maybe new good things will happen.

Here are my own resolutions:

1. Be more patient
2. Keep my hands away from my face
3. Get in better shape to train for Muir Trail 2.0
4. Do something for my own pleasure every day

O Come All Ye Faithful
We got our Christmas tree yesterday and I decorated it! It never really feels like Christmas until that amazing fir smell fills the house. It feels so great to be done with school.

I can't believe how much Christmas is being exploited, and I'm not just talking about commercialization. In Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, an organization is trying to . That' not such a bad thing, right? Think again. They are petitioning to add "Merry Christmas" to the red-lighted "Season's Greetings" sign on the main government building and selling yard signs that read, "We believe in God. Merry Christmas."

Ok.

It would be one thing if these people were merely trying to reassert their faith, reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas (hint: it's not shopping). However, in today's context I can't help but see it as threatening. And it gets worse: one church in Raleigh, N.C., recently paid $7,600 for a full-page newspaper ad urging Christians to only buy from merchants who include "Merry Christmas" in their ads and displays.

Religion is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in our country, and more and more politicized. A survey by Cornell University found that 44 percent of Americans believe that Muslim Americans should have restricted freedoms just because of their religious beliefs. Unsurprisingly, most of them were Bush supporters. I guess nobody told them that Muslims also believe in God.

A Dilemma...
Now that I'm back in sunny SoCal, should I get rid ofthe snowy background? It feels kind of wierd. :) hee hee hee I'm home!

Got one last task to do and then I'll be thruuuuuuuuuu!

Homeward Bound...
Now Playing: "Going to California," Led Zeppelin
Going home tomorrow, work is almost done. Skies are blue and winter's closing in. Another semester gone.

Soon I will be done...
Archaeo Ceramics Paper: 15 pages (check)
Music Exam: 2 hours (check)
Lit Paper: 9 pages...on Faulkner! (check)
Knowing 3 of your classes are over: Priceless.

Study break
Laugh. Under the plains of heaven and under the threadbare trees, laugh. Forget forget forget and just laugh laugh at the toil and the winter for they will not bring you down. Your head is filled with useless words and your feet are caked with winterfilth and your hair is crusted with tears and cold wind but your eyes are bright and your heart is not yet failing. Burn that light. Burn it to the end. Burn that light in the dark of the unknown and the horror of the possible, until the unknown is no longer dark and the possible is no longer before you but behind you. But to laugh you must first forget, and to forget, you must first know hope.

No business like SNOW buisness...
Now Playing: Stravinsky, "Rite of Spring," because I'm writing a PAPER on it!!!!
It snowed this afternoon! For a little while it was really coming down. Things would be so much happoer if it would stay on the ground.

Instant Poem for the Dawn of Reading Week
The carols are playing in the rooms of the dorm
And hot mugs of cider are keeping us warm.
There's laughter and music and toil and druge
And all we've been eating is cookies and fudge.
While visions of finals swirl 'round in our brains
We dream of the day we'll be free from our pains.
Our classes are ending, we're wating for snow,
And two weeks drags by fast and rushes by slow.

A quiz for finals month!

It's 12/1. Do you know where your mental state is?

1. It's December 1! How do you feel?
a. Only 15 days to go! I can make it!
b. Only 15 days to go?? Eeeeeeeeeeeeep. Better hurry up.
c. Time means nothing to you when you're in HELL!

2. How's that weather?
a. With the leaves gone, the buildings stand out so much better!
b. It's gray and gloomy outside. Bleh.
c. ::Cough cough:: It's virus season is what it is.

3. There are Christmas songs playing! How do you feel?
a. I love Christmas! It gives me hope
b. AAAAAHHHH it's coming too soon and I'm running out of time AAAAH!
c. If I hear one more sleigh bell jingling I'm going to poke my eyes out with those candy canes.

4. Any wishes for this holdiay season?
a. I wish they served eggnog in the dining hall like last year.
b. I wish I had taken classes with less writing.
c. I wish college had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

5. Complete the phrase: Whatever doesn't kill me...
a. ...makes me stronger.
b. ...might initially make me stronger, but over the long run gradually and insidiously weakens me until it finally does kill me.
c. ...doesn't make a difference. I might as well be dead.

6. What about those papers and finals?
a. They're tough, but if I put my nose to the grindstone I'll mangage.
b. Alternating between extreme stress and denial. And I seem to have lost my nose in the last grindstone (aka October).
c. ::mooaan::

Answers:
Mostly a: You're in good shape. Despite the challenges, you're optimistic and full of holiday cheer.
Mostly b: You're being realistic. Yeah, it may seem like a downer, but you've got a big job to do and it's just not gonna be cool.
Mostly c: Let me guess...do you go to Yale?