:: Pedantic Platitudes ::

:: Saturday, February 21, 2004 ::

Well, it is with sadness that I announce that it is time for Pedantic Platitudes to go on hiatus. For more than a year, I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts, observations, and rants on this page. It was fun. We laughed, we cried... we wanted to vomit. Unfortunately, I must now take a break from blogging for an unspecified length of time. Hopefully, I will start posting again in the future. Please e-mail me if you would like to be notified when Pedantic Platitudes will be updated regularly once more. A big thank you to all the readers who have made it enjoyable for me to share the daily goings-on of my life.

:: SL 4:48 PM [+] ::
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Tonight, I went with a friend to see this year's Hasty Pudding Theatricals production. The Hasty Pudding Club is a very famous Harvard tradition; it is the oldest college theater group in the country. The tradition, however, is a bit whimsical and wacky. Although females can participate in all other aspects of the business and production, only males actually perform onstage. Males play both male and female roles in each year's musical, and hilarity ensues. Basically, it's a very well-done Broadway-style musical / drag revue.

This year's musical was written and composed by a bunch of people who were in the Freshman Musical last year, so I made an extra effort to see the show. Seeing the show made me sort of upset that I missed the show last year. I didn't realize it was such a big deal around here. In fact, when the Hasty Pudding had its Man and Woman of the Year ceremonies this year, it was reported on national news and television. The show runs for over a month, and it is very professional.

The show was absolutely hilarious. Puns (both clever and horrible) were thrown carelessly left and right, and the songs were a delight to listen to. We really enjoyed ourselves. The show, "As The Word Turns," is a tale about three spelling bee contestants who are aiming for first place. In their effort to do that, they face intense training with overbearing parents, a strange love triangle among each other, and a nefarious scheme by Russian communists who plot to sabotage the spelling bee by stealing its main dictionary in order to steal vowels from the English language. I really had an enjoyable time.

After the show, we met up with some more friends, and we went to have ice cream at Baskin Robbins. I got a cone with margarita-flavored, sorbet-like ice cream. I also got juice because I was thirsty. It was Pineapple/Mango/Passion Fruit. Yum! I then with another group of friends to hang out at the Quincy Grille for a short time.

Quote of the Day: "[Stomach Growls] Gee, I really shouldn't have eaten that Mexican... child."

:: SL 11:01 PM [+] ::
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I got to sleep in a bit today. It was nice to get more sleep, since I had stayed up pretty late last night. After lunch, I went to participate in a couple of psychology studies, which got me some needed cash. I then stopped by the music store and got the new Kylie Minogue album, as well as the soundtrack to Avenue Q, a musical I really want to see because it is a parody of children's shows like Sesame Street but much raunchier and adult. Songs include "What Do You Do With A B.A. In English," "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist," and "The Internet Is For Porn."

Tonight, I went with a bunch of friends to Alewife, where we attempted to find a bowling alley. Unfortunately, there was none to be found. Instead, I hosted a get-together in my room with all of my friends. It was a bunch of fun, and we danced to music from iTunes and chatted and read my miniature copy of "Sex for Dummies." I very much enjoyed myself.

Quote of the Day: "Oh, can we not use car metaphors?"

:: SL 11:35 PM [+] ::
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Useless news of the day: Oldest drivers more likely to die in crashes

"Drivers over 85 were nearly four times as likely to die in a crash as middle-aged drivers, according to the study released Wednesday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The study found that as drivers grew older, they suffered increasingly from decreased perception and motor skills. Frailty also caused serious injury and death in crashes that might not kill younger people."

No, really?

:: SL 5:44 PM [+] ::
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Today, I got up early to run some errands and make arrangements. I then went to talk to one of my psychology professors for a quick meeting. I then went to take a test, which really wasn't too bad because I had studied so much.

I then went and had dinner with some friends. I was going to go to a sneak preview of the movie Eurotrip with my British friend because I had received tickets, but when we got there, we were told that they had overbooked the theater and that there were no more seats. What a bummer and a let-down; we were getting so excited about seeing this film, which not only makes fun of Europeans but Americans as well.

Tonight, I went to a tea party with some of my friends. I had some wonderful green tea. I also snacked on some candy and a bagel. We conversed lively for some time, and then I returned to my room. Later in the evening, I visited with a couple more friends. I am currently in the process of loading songs from my CDs onto my trusty laptop as MP3 files. This way, I won't have to carry all my CDs everywhere, since I only listen to music on my computer nowadays. Especially now with iTunes software, it is convenient to make MP3 files that are very nicely labeled with title, artist, album, length, etc. And, if I ever decide to get an iPod in the future, it will make it all the easier to get these songs onto the gadget. Good stuff.

Quote of the Day: "Save a horse. Ride a cowboy."

:: SL 5:43 PM [+] ::
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Random, Interesting, and Weird Facts on Biology, Sex, and Sociology:

There exists a "supercolony" of Argentine ants that stretches from the coast of Portugal all the way to Italy.
The sea squirt is like a tadpole with a brain looking for a home. When it finally finds a home, it anchors itself there and then eats its own brain because it requires too much energy to sustain the brain.
The female spotted hyena has a protrusion that looks like a phallus; when its first offspring is born, it comes through and breaks open the phallic structure.
The male angler, which is many times smaller than the female, fuses itself permanently to the female to provide sperm; it becomes a parasitic "living testicle."
The penis of a male bedbug can drill anywhere into the body of the female bedbug, and the sperm cells eventually reach the ovum.
The male earwig's penis breaks off and is left in the female earwig following copulation; it serves as a sperm plug.
A female peacock produces more eggs when it mates with a male peacock with a longer tail.
Right whales mate with the female on her back while two males extend their 12-foot long penises to copulate with her at the same time.
A male dolphin has a prehensile penis, meaning that it can wrap around objects.
Young male killer whales copulate with menopausal females.
The longest sperm in the animal kingdom: 6 cm coiled up in fruit fly.
Barely weaned male chimps practice copulation with females, including their mothers.
Male Gelada baboons mount each other and engage in mutual masturbation when they are in all-male groups.
In the highlands of New Guinea, "young men inseminate the boys nightly, so that they might grow." Semen is viewed as a life force in the culture. The young men eventually marry, but if they outlive their wives, they return to have sex with young boys.
Of the 24 spices used worldwide for food preparation, only two do not have antibacterial properties.
Human twins raised apart will still end up having very similar IQs.
Mothers and daughters tend to have the same menarche (first menstrual period for women) age.
Ten to fifteen percent of proclaimed biological fathers are not!
Individuals with only one sibling have a 51% probability of receiving a kidney from their sibling if needed; individuals with many siblings have a 0% probability.

Indeed, Evolution of Human Nature (AKA "Sex") was a wonderful class last semester.

:: SL 1:50 PM [+] ::
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After my exam today, I went about running a couple of errands. I then had a quick dinner and went to The Forum at the Kennedy School of Government, where the Rev. Jesse Jackson was giving a speech. He is famous for his fight for equal rights and fairness, as well as for being a great speaker. His speech started a bit shaky, but as he gathered steam and became more passionate about his subject matter, he became more emotional and powerful in his words. I liked what he had to say, and it was nice to hear from someone famous again at The Forum. Tonight, I did a lot of studying. For a break, I went to have a snack in the dining hall. I also chatted with some friends.

Quote of the Day: "What magnificent testicles!"

:: SL 1:49 PM [+] ::
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Today, I did a whole lot of intense studying, which is typical of what you would expect from a student. Because I was awakened early by the loud music of my inconsiderate neighbor, I became rather drowsy in the afternoon. Thus, I decided to take a short nap.

Following my nap, in which I had a strange dream concerning fancy hotels and fancy catered snacks and fruits, I went to a fairly early dinner with my friend. A lot of friends joined us later on. I then returned to my room to study.

Tonight's Brain Break was nice; we got Eggo waffles, which are most delicious when toasted and lightly covered with a thin spread of butter. I then stayed up late studying.

Quote of the Day: "I was expecting quality, but instead I got nudity."

:: SL 12:24 PM [+] ::
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Today, I went with a big group of friends to Chinatown in Boston to have dim sum at the China Pearl restaurant. It was a wonderful excursion. We feasted on dumplings, buns, pastries, and various fried foods, all in small sample sizes typical for dim sum restaurants. There were salty foods and sweet foods. Because the portions were very small, we could try a variety of different dishes. It wasn't too expensive, either. We all left very full. After I returned, I took a nap in the later afternoon.

Tonight, the dining hall served ice cream! It was exciting to have ice cream. I then did a bunch of studying. At 9, I went to visit a friend in Quincy House, and we watched Alias, a television show on ABC that my friend is obsessed with. After some more studying, I went to an amusing tea party. We played the big party game Mafia and then listened to pop music while dancing. Following the enjoyable get-together, I returned to my room to do some more studying.

Quote of the Day: "He's just broadening his sexual horizons."

:: SL 12:09 PM [+] ::
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Because I am so prurient: Harvard approves student sex magazine

:: SL 1:22 PM [+] ::
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Well, today was Valentine's Day. It could very well be the most depressing day of the year, but I choose to still be cheery, holding out for the thought that there is such a thing as love, if not for one special individual, then for all my friends.

Today, I did some studying. I then spent some time with some friends for dinner in the dining hall, where they had DYO (Decorate Your Own) cookies for Valentine's Day, in addition to various sweets and candies.

I then joined up with a bunch of friends and took the bus to Allston, where we went to a Columbian restaurant to celebrate the birthday of one of our friends. My friends blindfolded her and led her around town and onto the bus to get to the restaurant. It was a wonderful meal. The food seemed to be most authentic, and I appreciated the opportunity to experience the flavors of another culture. I had a type of steak in sauce, which came with rice and beans and a salad and potatoes.

After I returned to campus, I visited another group of friends who were having a party for Valentine's Day. I joined them and played a bit of Super Mario Brothers on the original, old-school Nintendo Entertainment System. It was fun to play video games once again. Someone else then played Duck Hunt. I miss these old video games.

Tonight, I did a lot more studying before going to bed.

Quote of the Day: "There's a big difference between Victoria's Secret ad copy and my journalism!"

:: SL 1:17 PM [+] ::
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It's time for the disturbing Shockwave animation of the week!

Bang Bang Bang!

"I don't want to talk to you; I just want bang bang bang!"
"You want me to do things to you like the sun and the moon. Idiot! I don't have time."

:: SL 5:50 PM [+] ::
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Today, I did much studying. In the afternoon, I went swimming at the Malkin Athletic Center. It was a nice workout, and I felt good exercising after having so many sweet and fatty foods yesterday. I then had dinner with a bunch of friends.

After doing some studying, I went to a fun tea party. After learning about style and fashion from a couple of our friends, we headed to the Quincy Grille, where we got a bunch of snacks and had a jovial time. I then returned to my room to organize my MP3s to put on iTunes.

Quote of the Day: "We can visit the ice hotel and just chill."

:: SL 5:49 PM [+] ::
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Today, I got to sleep in. I then studied for much of the day. In the late afternoon, I went with some friends to have tea at Lowell House. It was a wonderful occasion; we snacked on delightful baked goods and drank tea lightened by milk and sweetened by sugar. It was themed to Valentine's Day, and there were pink-frosted cookies and brownies, in addition to the usual bread pudding, cucumber/cream cheese sandwiches, and fresh fruit.

I then had dinner with some friends I hadn't seen in quite some time. It was nice to catch up on the latest news. After studying for some time, I went to a study break, where we enjoyed cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. I tried the Key Lime cheesecake and the peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake.

Following a meeting, I went to a tea party with my friends. We had a blast playing "The Surrealist Game" and laughed so hard at the results. We then watched another episode of the British comedy series Father Ted, another hilarious activity. I then returned to my room to do some reading and studying.

Quote of the Day: "Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder."

:: SL 5:46 PM [+] ::
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Wow, I can't believe I haven't signed onto AOL Instant Messenger in an entire week! Yay for eliminating distractions.

Today, I went to my classes again. Social psychology was most interesting. We talked about how psychology studies are designed and conducted. We also talked about ethics in psychological research. One study, done in the 1950s, looked at what would happen if people knew they were about to die. They had a subject lie down and receive a shot under the impression that it was an immunization shot. Then, the experimenter said, "Oh, oops… um, I'm sort of new at this, and I think I might have injected an air bubble into your system… um… you're going to die within the next 30 minutes." Well, they found out that the subjects just stayed there where they were for 30 minutes, waiting to die. I think ethics for psychology research have come a long way since then.

I then went swimming again at the pool. It was definitely refreshing exercise. I then went to dinner, where I talked to a bunch of friends. I then went to the music library to check out a CD.

Tonight, I went to a formal! It was fun; I dressed up in a nice shirt and tie, and I joined my dressed-up friends to go into Boston to the posh Park Plaza Hotel, where the formal was being held. We snacked and drank soda and danced the night away. When I returned, I spent time exploring thefacebook.com, a new website that's basically a rip-off of Friendster.com except it's only for students here.

Quote of the Day: "I've got hos in different area codes."

:: SL 5:45 PM [+] ::
...

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

:: SL 3:29 PM [+] ::
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Today, I went to my classes. Today's lecture for personality psychology was amazing. The professor delivered such fascinating information in such a humorous manner. He received applause at the conclusion of his lecture.

This afternoon, I went swimming for the first time here! I went to the MAC (Malkin Athletic Center), where I've always seen the pool and wanted to go swimming but never actually did it. It was nice to swim once again. I haven't done much swimming ever since the gross MBHS pool was shut down. I hope to start swimming regularly now.

Tonight, I did some studying and then tried to go to sleep, like that's possible.

Quote of the Day: "And somebody's a-grabbin' my butt."

:: SL 5:40 AM [+] ::
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Today, I went to my classes, which ended up going to 6 p.m. because my tutorial is two hours long and goes until that time. After classes, I went to dinner with some friends.

Tonight, I went to an Open House at the residence of our house master. There, they served the delicious Monkeybread in all its cinnamon-y goodness. There were also a bunch of other delicious snacks and treats. I then went with a couple of friends to the Quincy House Open House, where we got a lot more snacks.

The view from their masters residence is spectacular, offering beautiful views of Boston and Cambridge. After a quick meeting, I returned to my room to do some studying.

Quote of the Day: "Britney Spears and her gang of gay fashion designers are conspiring to destroy the sanctity of marriage."

:: SL 3:17 PM [+] ::
...

This afternoon, I went to the library to do some studying. This took up a majority of the afternoon. I went to dinner, where I learned that my friends were going to have a board games night.

After doing some work, I went to a study break, which had a wonderful assortment of fresh fruits and cakes. I then went over to visit my friends to play board games. It was most amusing. We played a game called Pounce, which is delightful in all its low-tech glory.

We also played the game Trouble after we had a break for pizza. We listened to a lot of music on iTunes, also. When I got back to my room, I ended up downloading iTunes because it allows me to legally listen to the MP3s of a lot of other people who live around me. Yay for music.

Quote of the Day: "I found out that the pH of our drinking water was like acid, and then I didn't like it anymore."

:: SL 4:53 PM [+] ::
...

Today, after having lunch, a couple of friends and I watched an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that was done as a musical. It was amusing how the characters randomly burst into song and were so self-referential about it. I have never seen an episode of the series, but this episode stood pretty well on its own. I pretty much understood what was going on, despite my lack of knowledge about the show.

This afternoon, I cleaned up my room and started organizing some papers. I then went to the Malkin Athletic Center, where I exercised on a stationary bicycle for 30 minutes and then ran a mile on a treadmill. Afterwards, I had a quick dinner and went with a bunch of friends to see the closing night of Eve Ensler's masterpiece The Vagina Monologues. It was another wonderful production; the performers were all energetic and emotional in their segments. There was a stunning performance of my favorite monologue: "My Angry Vagina." I also now have a new favorite: "The Vagina Workshop." That piece was done by a performer who put on a British accent. It was spectacular. The audience really got into the humorous monologues. The more serious monologues dealing with violence against women were especially emotional. They also performed a new monologue, which I got to hear performed by Eve Ensler when she visited a couple of months ago; it was a shocking and eye-opening portrayal of the violence experienced by women in the Middle East, especially in light of the recent wars.

After seeing the show, my friends and I went out to get ice cream for some people and pizza for others. We then chatted and joked in a friend's room.

Quote of the Day: "I'm going to buy you a t-shirt that says, 'Doesn't play nice with other kids.'"

:: SL 10:52 PM [+] ::
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It's time for the disturbing Shockwave animation of the week!

This week's disturbing Shockwave animation is left over from the Chinese New Year:

Monkey

The caressing, groping, spanking, and fingering are especially disturbing.

Here's a bonus!

Disturbing Shockwave game of the week:

Morbid Yeti Penguin Bashing Game

My high score: 315.

:: SL 6:15 PM [+] ::
...

Today, I went to my statistics class in the morning. I then ran some errands, and while waiting for the Harvard ticket center to open so I could buy tickets, I stopped by Newbury Comics next door and found a couple of really cheap import singles, one of which was from an obscure British pop group called AllStars, which I had never heard of before. After I got my tickets, I had lunch and listened to my new CDs. One of the songs was pretty catchy, and I tried to look up some information about AllStars online, but there's not very much information about them. So obscure.

After taking a nap, I helped my friends prepare for their big party tonight. My friend needed a place to store her stuff so it wouldn't get trampled on during the party in her room, so I let her put her stuff in my room. I helped with putting up some lights in their room. I then did some reading and had dinner with a big group of friends.

Tonight, I went to my friend's party, which had a Mod theme. Everyone dressed up in Mod fashion for girls and boys, and there was a black and white theme, with black and white M&Ms and Oreo cookies. My friends also invested quite a bit in the drinks. They were black and white, too. A ton of people showed up, and the party overflowed from the room into the hallways. It was such an event, probably the biggest party in a while. Apparently, people in other houses were hearing about this "Mod party" because it was such a hit.

As everyone left from the party, a core group of friends and I chatted into the night before cleaning up the mess made by the party.

Quote of the Day: "Ewww... That's so Russian!"

:: SL 6:09 PM [+] ::
...

I saw the most disturbing television commercial today. It featured Lassie trying to protect the little boy from a mountain lion. Lassie then starts doing Kung Fu a la The Matrix, complete with "bullet-time" slow-motion. It was most frightening.

Today, I didn't have a class until the afternoon, but I still got up early to go to a slew of appointments and meetings. After lunch, I went to my Personality Psychology class. It looks to be fairly interesting. The professor is offering this class one last time before he leaves to write a book, so he's going to make this final semester the best one.

After class, I went for a short walk to the Harvard Business School, where I visited their "chapel," which was this big greenhouse with lots of beautiful ferns and green plants and a waterfall fountain and pond. The plants could survive during the wintertime because they were in the greenhouse and there was a heater to keep the temperature just right. I enjoyed seeing green plants again.

In the evening, I had dinner with some friends. I then went to an "Academic Advising Jamboreel," where I got some helpful advice on my concentration, which is now Cognitive Neuroscience (which is still in the psychology department). Tonight, my friends had a big tea party. We chatted and some drank rum-flavored tea and tasted rum cake brought back from the Bahamas by a couple of friends who had gone there for intersession.

Quote of the Day: "There are fish balls in this soup? I didn't know fish had balls!"

:: SL 10:10 PM [+] ::
...

We arrived in the very early morning at the Boston Logan International Airport. Luckily, there were not any loud children or babies on the flight. However, I still didn't get much sleep because the television screens playing the in-flight movie (Under The Tuscan Sun, of which I watched a little) were bright and kept flashing in an epilepsy-inducing manner. After we picked up our luggage, my friend and I took the T back to the school, carrying our heavy bags up and down many stairs. We finally got to school just before 7 a.m. We later had breakfast together.

Today was registration and the first day of classes for the new semester. I went to The Coop bookstore and got some notebooks and then went to my first class: a psychology statistics class. I then found out that the meeting time for one of the classes I wanted to take had been changed, so after a meeting with my tutor and lunch, I went back to the William James Hall and sat in on this semester's Social Psychology class. So far so good; the classes all seem interesting, and the professors really seem wonderful.

Tonight, I had some dinner (there was turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes, just like Thanksgiving) and went to an appointment. I eventually made it back to my dorm, and after doing some writing I went to bed fairly early because I barely got any sleep the night before.

Quote of the Day: "If I were a linguistics concentrator, I'd care more."

:: SL 6:21 PM [+] ::
...

Alas, my time here in California is over. I am heading back to school to start a new semester. It was a nice week, though. I enjoyed being back in California.

Today, I had lunch with a good friend of mine who I just had to see before leaving. We enjoyed sandwiches at Subway and conversed for some time. I then walked back home and started packing for my trip back. I read some news and checked my e-mail. Some bad, nay, devastating news arose, but the issue should be resolved in a timely manner.

In the late afternoon, my mother and I headed to the San Luis Obispo County Airport, where I boarded a plane to LAX. There, I saw a couple of friends from school who were on the same flight as me. We shared what we did over our break and our plans for the new semester. We all boarded the plane to Boston, which left at about 9:30 p.m.

Quote of the Day: "Life can't be one continuous ABBA CD."

:: SL 3:27 PM [+] ::
...

Ah, the pitter-patter of heavy raindrops on the roof. 'Twas a rainy day today, so I spent most of it inside. I watched the family business while my mother took my sister to SLO-town to get clothes for when she goes on a band trip to somewhere cold.

In the evening, we had fish and chips from the fish market on the waterfront. I then pulled out some old DVDs that I haven't seen in quite some time and watched select scenes from them. After watching some television and listening to music, I started to read. Later, I watched some more Dilbert episodes.

Quote of the Day: "There's something inherently sexual about those kiddy rides in front of supermarkets."

:: SL 11:40 PM [+] ::
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I spent most of today engaging in the activity of reading. For lunch, my sister and my mother went to SLO-town to have lunch at Sakura, which is a Japanese restaurant. It was alright, but it no longer compares to Tsurugi, which is the Japanese restaurant at The Creamery.

This afternoon, I did some more reading. As the sun began to set, I went for a walk to the waterfront, where I watched the water lap gently against the rocks in the bay. After returning home, I watched a couple of episodes of Dilbert while having dinner (a submarine sandwich from Kona's). Tonight, I watched a little of the movie Evita and then read a lot more.

Quote of the Day: "I don't think I could hang out with normal people; they'd shun me... as they'd shun all of you."

:: SL 1:28 PM [+] ::
...