Saturday, March 31, 2001

I arrived in D.C. at 4am today because I was in a production of Tartuffe last night, and I had to be at my cousin's Bat Mitzvah this morning. I took the shuttle back because there's another show tonight. And. I just got the boot from NYU. Not too happy about that. Nope, nope, nope.

:: posted at 3/31/2001 04:44:00 PM | link | | ^top

Monday, March 26, 2001

"Always remember that no [wo]man is worth your tears,
and the one [wo]man who is will never make you cry."

:: posted at 3/26/2001 03:03:00 AM | link | | ^top

Saturday, March 24, 2001

I am a big believer in gun control. I think that it works; I think it makes sense; and I honestly cannot understand those who oppose it. All it does is save lives-- how can you disagree with that?

I am deeply distressed by the recent wave of in-school violence. It started up again with the Santana High School shooting in Santee, CA, the worst massacre since 1999's tragic Columbine. But how far have we come if two years later, the same thing can happen again?

I myself have been quite active in the cause. After hearing about PAX, I opened a branch at my school. We organized letter-writing campaigns, poster campaigns around school, brought in a speaker, facilitated discussion -- anything and everything to try to protect our school from the tragedy that had befallen others. I even made this little website before I knew what HTML was. (Note: It has not been updated in about two years.) I went on the Million Mom March in May of 2000, and I really felt like we -- the anti-gun violence movement -- were making a lot of progress. Suddenly, maybe perhaps because the George W.'s the president, I've been feeling not quite hopeless, but certainly discouraged. But I know we can't give up. It's too important.

:: posted at 3/24/2001 02:33:00 AM | link | | ^top

Sunday, March 18, 2001

In honor of St. Patrick's Day (which I realize was yesterday), I'd like to announce, without a twinge of embarrassment, that I am a huge fan of Irish music. It all began when I heard the song "Lover of Light," the second song off the second release of world music band Afrocelt Sound System. I call them a "world music" band, because I don't know what else to call them. The song "Lover of Light" combines traditional Celtic pipe music with African drums and a techno beat. Believe you me, it's worth a listen. Anyway, so that planted the interest in Irish music. And recently, I've been hearing all this super Irish music on the radio because they do these great Celtic music shows on WFUV, a local NPR station broadcast on 90.7 here in NY. Anyway, so that's me and my little Irish confessional. I didn't even mention my minor obsession with Riverdance or my soft spot for Irish accents!

:: posted at 3/18/2001 05:13:00 PM | link | | ^top

Thursday, March 15, 2001

This is so cool. And it's not often that you hear me saying that something scientific is cool.

:: posted at 3/15/2001 04:30:00 PM | link | | ^top

I've been researching Paris life between the years of 1880 and 1930. I have to say, the 1920s was a fine time to be in Paris. All kinds of American writers and other Bohemian sorts flocked to Paris for the sheer excitement and vivacity the city possessed. Cool.

:: posted at 3/15/2001 10:09:00 AM | link | | ^top

Monday, March 12, 2001

I'm feeling sleep deprived. Sigh.

:: posted at 3/12/2001 05:07:00 PM | link | | ^top

I actually bought the videotape of an Ani DiFranco concert I was at. Honestly, when am I going to sit down an watch two low-recording-quality hours of a concert I've already seen, live? I should become a wiser consumer. Oh well.

:: posted at 3/12/2001 12:16:00 AM | link | | ^top

Sunday, March 11, 2001

A new, cleaner look for .righter rants. (And look! Now you can contact me!)

:: posted at 3/11/2001 12:34:00 AM | link | | ^top

Saturday, March 10, 2001

Today I went to an open mic night hosted by the Youth Network of Refuse & Resist, an organization fighting against police brutality, and for reproductive rights and the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal. It's an interesting platform, a bit on the random side. It's certainly a hyper-radical group, and I don't agree with all of their ideology. But their hearts are in the right places. The event I was at, Act Your Rage (no website available), gives angry, oppressed, and activist youth a forum to vent their frustration and express themselves. Most of the expression took the form of rap, with some poetry and some impromptu speeches. The vibe of the evening was great; I left really inspired. (For those in the NYC area, Act Your Rage takes place on the second Saturday of every month at Judson Memorial Church, which is right by Washington Square Park.) Anyway, events like that always make me question my right to argue against injustice when I, in my privileged little life, am "reaping the benefits." Of course I'd rather that we live in a more equalized and respectful society, but with society the way it is now, I lucked out. I always try not to take my life for granted, because I truly am so blessed.

:: posted at 3/10/2001 11:59:00 PM | link | | ^top

There's something about music that's too wonderful to put into words. I've even started listening to music while I'm online. Just tonight, I was with all my friends. One was playing guitar, the other was playing the djembe (awesome bongo-like hand drum). We were sort of singing, sort of just moving to the beat. Then suddenly, there's just this tangible energy in the room. I don't know. There's something magical about music. <-- cheese :-)

:: posted at 3/10/2001 01:37:00 AM | link | | ^top

Friday, March 09, 2001

Well, I'm back, if only for a little while. And, miss them or not, it's time for me to take you on a little tour of my ever-active mind. Please, let's begin.

We start in the political, sociological (made-up word?) part of my brain. Here we find that I've been thinking about how life is unfair. I can be as dreamy and ideological as I want, but that just doesn't change anything. Getting to be ideological and dreamy is a luxury I too often take for granted. I was thinking, specifically, about the income gap between whites and blacks. Clearly, there's still a problem of racism in this country. I would never deny that, sad though it may be. But this income gap is tremendous! And thoroughly unjust. We can't keep lying to ourselves, telling ourselves that America is the land of opportunity and freedom, when we have numbers and cold hard facts staring us in the face, illustrating otherwise. Sure, America's the land of opportunity-- if you're a rich white male.

Moving along to the intellectual, academic sector of my brain (a very small area, hidden in a dark corner toward the back), we find a curiosity regarding the events leading up to World War I. There are two things which most people agree are key: the alliances formed involving numerous European nations and the assasination of Archduke Ferdinard. Simple enough? Oh no. I find World War I immensely confusing. There's a lot of interesting trivia about World War I, though. Did you know that the first time they tried to kill Archduke Ferdinand, he deflected the bomb they threw toward his car down onto the street with his bare hands? Go Ferdinand!

If we travel eastward, we come to the woman part of my brain (what part of my brain isn't woman?!). Here, we will discover that I have been "surfing the feminist web." I've come across a few Sassy-esque webzines/magazines, including BUST, A M P : : : M I N I Z I N E, and Bitch. Names like that are a sure sign that feminism is alive and well -- at least in some sense of the word. I also stumbled across Adios Barbie, a fun little body image site. (Check out the "Feed the Model" game, which is super fun for about three minutes, at which point you suddenly realize it's an insult to a) skinny girls and b) your intelligence.)

I hope you've enjoyed this quick tour of my mind as much as I have. Can you believe I spend everyday with all this stuff just floating around my head uncensored? Imagine.

:: posted at 3/09/2001 12:25:00 AM | link | | ^top

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