Did he just say that?

I heard about this on NPR this morning. Apparently a former secretary of education, who now has his own talk radio show, said this Wednesday:
"if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you
could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down."
You can read more about this here. Apparently he followed this statement by saying that it was morally repugnant to do this, but he never actually apologized for links African American babies to crime. Unbelievable.

what's wrong with this statement

So today, on Chicago Public Radio, I learned that the Chicago White Sox "clinched the division title today with their win over the Detroit Lions." I think that's quite a feat and probably one that has never happened in the history of whatever sport they're playing.

planning ahead

anyone have any good ideas they aren't planning to use for a halloween costume? i am drawing a blank, but i know i'm probably going to need something. HELP!!

Time to call it quits.

So I'm supposed to be doing this race this weekend. It's my final race of the season. But I feel like a marshmallow has taken residence in my sinuses. Not a good way to race. Gah.

On the plus side, my high schoolers have yet to eat me alive.

I don't get it

Donald Rumsfeld is giving President Bush his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."
"Oh no!" the President exclaims. "That's just terrible!"
His staff sits stunned at this uncharacteristic display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands. Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

Things I learned about Brunswick Corporation

Today, I went to a delightful presentation held by Brunswick Corporation. I learned several interesting things about their career opportunities. Let me summarize:

• Brunswick is a Fortune 500 company.
• The Leadership Development Program offers great exposure to senior management.
• The LDP is not a traditional rotational program.
• Brunswick is a Fortune 500 company.
• Brunswick offers diverse career paths to fit your needs.
• Each of Brunswick's divisions is a leader in its segment.
• Brunswick is a Fortune 500 company.
• Brunswick's new retail stores (Brunswick Home and Billiards) target female customers (reminds me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding: "The man may be the head, but the woman is the neck.")
• And, Brunswick is a Fortune 500 Company.
  

Overall, very interesting. I was dissapointed that I did not get to "press the flesh" with one James Sullivan, HR College Recruiting. Maybe Kellogg is not as good as Illinois.

Gripe of the Week

I don't claim that any of the following is reasoned out or based on any rational thoughts.

So, in class, several professors have warned us not to give in to the herd mentality that is pervasive at Kellogg. Their comments are directed toward job searches and class selections. But, it has become very clear that it applies to all parts of life here. I understand that a certain amount of peer pressure is going to be present in every group of people. It's natural. I'm fine with that. What I don't get is how all these people I see every day continually give in to the pressure and do things they have stated they don't want to do.

The prime example is tonight. Here's your background: I have closed the Keg more times in the last three weeks than I did all five years as an undergrad. There is almost a need for Kellogg students to go to Nevins, Bar Louie, and the Keg several nights a week. But, everyone that I have talked to about it says that they are tired of it. They're tired of going to the same crappy places with the same tired people and doing the same old things. They say that over and over again.

Tonight, there was an "Around the World Party" in the building above Panera Bread. The party was basically a progressive in different condos on one floor. The party opened up at 8 PM. People started arriving at 9:30. University Police kicked everyone out at 10:10. Earlier today, I sent an email to about 30 people offering to have them over after the party to hang out and enjoy a more low key night. About a dozen people replied that they would come over and that it was "a great idea".

Well, it didn't take long for everyone to start mooing outside the party building. I saw the momentum building early on. It only took a few key people to suggest that Nevins was a good idea. Everyone dutifully fell in line. All these people who were so eager to break out of the routine just gave up to the crowd. Jen and I came home. As we walked to the car, I told her that I thought the chances of anyone actually coming over were slim. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of those people (not just the ones who were coming here) are at the Keg right now.

The thing that really got me was not that they decided to forgo a stint at Casa Cardenas. I don't care and am actually a little relieved that I can relax a bit. What gets under my skin is that these are all people who are told day in and day out how special they are. They are the next generation of business leaders. They are intelligent, bright individualistic adults. Yet they give in to the crowd in a second. That's what gets me. Have some sense of personal identity. Have some control. Have a sense of what defines you. Right now, it seems that people can't get past the incredibly narrowly focused definition of "Kellogg student". I have to admit that I am disappointed.

It's 12:30 now. I expect to get a couple of phone calls in about 30-60 minutes about how people are going home and won't come over. My reaction will be the same for all these people, "Oh, really, well that's cool. We just hung out and relaxed. At least you had a good time. What's that? The same people? Yeah, the Keg does suck. I know what you mean. We should do something different. Yeah, I'll see you later."

Sheep.

Answers on a Postcard

Hey, has anyone else seen this PostSecret website? Apparently it's becoming quite the 'net phenomenon.

Basically, if you have a deep, dark secret, you put it on a postcard, mail it to this blog, and it gets posted (anonymously) for the whole world to see and read. Some of the secrets are silly ("I always lie about farting") but a lot of them are really poignant and a few are very sad. The coworker who sent me the link said it's like a release for her to read everyone's secrets every day, and that one of the currently posted secrets is hers. I can't figure out which one.

My personal favorite is "when you piss me off, I fuck up your film and blame it on your shitty camera." There's nothing like petty vengeance, even if it's just on a postcard.

Anyhow, check out the blog. Without getting too smarmy, it's actually a pretty emotional little site.

Egregious Dorkery

...is how my boss described this "song". Not that he has room to accuse others of such. I just laughed my ass off.

Unbelievable

So, I stepped on a sea urchin on January 15th. Last night, on September 21st, Andrik pulled what looked very much like a semi-disintegrated tip of a sea urchin spine out of the top of my pinky toe. It definitely felt like a sea urchin spine and my toe is red like there's been a spine in there for NINE months. It's just unbelievable.

Chirp... chirp...

I'm bored. Tell me a joke or something.

Avast, me hearties

Ye probably don't be needin' my remindin', but if ye be forgettin', today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

And, shiver me timbers, ye'll like be needin' one o' these here keyboards.

Update: Arrrrrrrrrr.

A little early

October is domestic violence prevention month, so this is a little early, but still worthwhile information. After our old cell phones have been sitting on the table for about three months, I'm finally trying to drop them off somewhere to be used for women in domestic violence situations (granted, it was andrik's idea.). Turns out that you can drop phones off at any Body Shop location as part of Call to Protect. If you are thinking of getting a new cell phone, I would definitely encourage you to donate your old one. That was your PSA for today :)

Now for something completely different

So, I have two favorite country songs right now. I think they say something about modern country music. Here are some lyrics:

Gary Allan
Nothing on but the Radio
With nothing on but the radio
Feel the music playing soft and slow
You and me and the lights down low
With nothing on but the radio

Keith Anderson
Picking Wildflowers
Baby whatcha say we go pickin' wildflowers?
Got a spot way back in the woods.
Sneak away for a couple of hours,
You and me baby, pickin' wildflowers.

Hey baby, Mother Nature is waitin'
And love's bloomin' like a cherry tree.
Let's buzz around,
maybe do some pollenating,
Dive on in like honey bees.


To me, this says country music got dirty. I like it. That's your music lesson for today :)

You might wanna check those figures

The following sentence appeared in an email that was sent to everyone at my firm today, in reference to the American Red Cross's relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina:

"More than 8,395,226 million hot meals and 6,632,910 million snacks have been served to-date"

I'm guessing either there's a whole lot more people in New Orleans than I realized, or someone at the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago doesn't understand the concept of "million." Or maybe it's, um, a rounding error. Yeah, that's it.

But ours go to eleven

I got a kick out of this story in the Onion, like a year and a half ago.

Then this morning I see this story published by a "reputable" news network.

Coincidence? I think not!

they didn't eat me

I taught my first class in Street Law at Marshall High School today. Thank god I made it out alive.

Pictures

So, here's the link to the Ofoto pictures. Warning, there are lots of them. But for those interested, there are definitely some good ones.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=14pzaawy.7cy5s98i&x=1&y=-k4irrb

My first time

For me, yesterday was a day of firsts. For your amusement, bemusement and comusement, I highlight them here.

1. First tequila shot (x2)
2. First time walking in woman's heals
3. First time doing the Can-Can in front of an audience
4. First time my team won first place in any talent contest
5. First time drinking from a community liquor bottle with undisclosed contents (it turned out to be Strawberry-Kiwi liquor - Eww)
6. First keg stand (20 seconds)
7. First time using the "numbered list" icon in a Blogger post

I wish I could insert an article to something interesting that I have read recently, but the truth is that I haven't read anything that would be remotely interesting to any of you all week. The only possible exception is an article in my Management and Organizations class about how HR can play a crucial role in turning workers into a competitive advantage, using Southwest Airlines as the example. It was an interesting article, but kind of old news these days.

Kellogg 20, Costa Rica 9

Per Jamie's request, I'm stealing Jen's thunder by posting the article that our group submitted to the Kellogg newsletter describing the trip to Costa Rica. Enjoy.
========================================

As its name implies, the Costa Rican Craziness trip was an exciting bonding experience interspersed with a few crazy moments and wild late nights. It began with a bumpy bus ride from the airport to the base of the Arenal Volcano, followed by a few drinks in the Tabacan hot springs. The next day brought a boat ride across a pristine lake followed by four incredibly scenic hours on horseback and a terrific dinner and night out. The safest ride of the trip was a thrilling zip-lining adventure through a forest canopy with spectacular jungle views. The group then headed to Tamarindo, a small beach town on the beautiful Pacific coast. The next day, each of us mastered a surfboard and conquered the jellyfish. After a fresh-caught seafood dinner that evening, ladies night at a club proved that brains coincide with rhythm. The next fateful day began with an ATV ride through the beaches and forest. The first trip was harm free; however the second group experienced an overturned ATV, with the battered yet determined rider walking away. The third group faced pounding rain and less luck. One rider fell 30 feet down an embankment. Always quick to react, other Kelloggers rushed to help. The next 30 hours brought with them astounding determination, feats of courage, strength and stamina, barbed wire injuries, cold, mosquito infestation, night driving to get help, bribery, a trapped ambulance, sleeplessness, and a Medivac ride to San Jose for thorough diagnosis. A few cases of mosquito- and food-borne illnesses were not enough to curtail the fun during the remainder of the trip, which included a sailing and snorkeling adventure and KAOS Olympics on the beach. While nine people in all were heavily involved in acquiring medical attention, everyone agreed that what was certainly the most accident prone trip may also have been the most fun.

Greet, Meet, Shake, Smile, Repeat

So Andrik is testy because we never have anything to say. I post all the time and nobody ever replies. I guess I'm boring. Or maybe it's because I can't figure out how to link fancy pictures in my posts like all of you can.

Tomorrow I start my MTV-style Campus Invasion Tour. Instead of bringing marginally talented bands and veejays, however, I'm bringing business cards, pressed pants and a laptop. The itinerary:
9/11 - fly to Atlanta
9/12 - Georgia Tech Career Fair
9/12 - fly to Madison (via Chicago; look longingly at apartment down below)
9/13 - University of Wisconsin Career Fair (engineering)
9/14 - University of Wisconsin Career Fair (finance)
9/14 - fly to Des Moines (via Chicago again), drive to Ames
9/15 - Iowa State Career Fair
9/16 - fly back home

And that's just week one. The following week I hit University of Illinois (twice) and Purdue. The week after that, Michigan and Michigan Tech.

My constant companion on this odyssey is Brunswick's lovely career fair display board, which is housed in a giant hard plastic tube with wheels. It looks sort of like golf clubs, if the golf clubs had faulty latches that spring open without warning. I'll be pulling the case through the ticket lobby at O'Hare, and SPROING the latches will open, and thousands of dollars worth of undergraduate recruiting paraphernalia will spew out across the floor.

Since the airlines don't look kindly upon checked luggage that opens without warning, my task for today is to figure out how to secure these latches. I've already tried those plastic zip ties, but they aren't long enough to loop through the entire latch. So this afternoon I'll be lugging the monstrosity to The UPS Store and see what they suggest I do.

By the way, are we going to hear more about Costa Rica or what? So far all we've heard about are sore asses and brown phlegm. I'm hoping there's a little more to the trip than that...

spot-on

I apologize for dirtying the blog with his image, but this is too perfect not to note.

Fill in the blanks

Don't you people have anything interesting to share? Hasn't something funny happened at work? Are our ideas so homogenous that we can't even get a good rant/rave going? Didn't you see that History Channel show that reminded you about that time in World History class when you were listening to a lecture about the Elizabethan era and almost saw Christin Clark's nipple when she bent over to pass a note to Heather Abrams?

For my contribution I have the following -
Things I did not know a week ago:

1. Among top tier business schools, Kellogg is known (by far) as the party school.
2. If you pour Budweiser, Bud Lite, Miller Lite, Olde Style, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Milwaukee's Best into a red plastic bucket, it tastes an aweful lot like just Bud Lite.
3. Bangkok's original name has hundreds of letters in it.
4. Companies pay thousands of dollars to be able to just show you their name if you are in business school.
5. Pseudo-best man at our wedding, Simon, has been forced to take a semester of law school classes at UCLA because Tulane is more useful as an aquarium right now than a school.
6. Pat Robertson has the power to kill people by summoning God's will.
7. Ex-NUMB trumpet player Dan Gander is in my MBA section.
   
8. If you scream until your lungs burn, then spend the next four days talking loudly in smoke filled bars, getting four hours of sleep a night and screaming some more, the phlegm that comes out of your throat has a little bit of a brown color.
9. How to spell "phlegm".

That's all I got for now. I have homework to do.
Later.

Episode 1

Hi all. We're back in civilization and busier than ever. Andrik is probably going to be absent for a while, since they've got him going at Kellogg all day with drinking all night every night. I'll let him tell you all about that stuff. I'll start telling you guys about our trip. I'm at work without pictures, so I'll add those later. For now, you're getting episode one of a mini-series. Just enough to get you started. You'll get much more as I find time to write :)

So, the KAOS (aptly named as you'll see later) adventure started on Saturday with a BBQ at Clark Beach. We met our fellow travelers and made some quick friends. We hung out for a few hours, then met back up at 3:00 AM to take the cabs to O'Hare. So the trip started with no sleep for anyone :) You'll note this as a trend.

Our entire KAOS group (one of very few whole group pictures)

Andrik eating guavas off a tree on the roadside in Costa Rica
(with Joanna and Danika, more on them later)

The first day was a long travel day. It was a three ish hour flight to Houston, then a 4 ish hour flight to Liberia Costa Rica. The flights were followed by a three hour bus ride to the base of the Arenal Volcano. The Arenal Volcano, directly outside of our hotel room

The bus ride was fun with people getting to know each other and the drinking began. We spent the night at the base of the volcano (literally) and spent some time in the hot springs, which were awesome. Apparently, the volcano spends 90% of the year under cloud cover due to its elevation, but we got lucky and could actually see the lava coming down (even if it was only a little bit). Rocks red from magma the size of cars tumbled down the volcano and the whole thing was pretty cool. No pictures turned out, unfortunately, but trust me that it was pretty freaking awesome.

Us with giant active volcano
(this picture was takenimmediately outside of our hotel room.)
You can also see that I did not have my V8 that day :)

So ends episode 1. Stay tuned for picture additions to this post and for episode 2. Here's your preview: Man our asses were sore!!!

After the Storm

So my lighthearted "Big Easy, Big Trouble" post from last weekend looks almost quaint now. I figured the water would come. I thought the water would recede in a day. Never in a million years did I think we'd see the things we saw last week.

I won't stir up everyone's sentiments with political rantings and ravings, since I'm fairly certain everyone in here feels the same way I do. We fucked this one up big time. And the whole world was watching.

I think Time magazine sums up last week best:
... a time when the country feels like a collective primal scream over seeing their countrymen left suffering.

I'd scream, but I think I'd be hoarse before I'd be satisfied.