Welcome to BigFlax.com!
May 30, 2003
Have you been reading Kim Jong Il's LiveJournal? Because you should be.
I think we can all agree that the vandalism at CCI and
elsewhere this year is terrible. Not only is racism disgusting, but this particular
form of it is just cowardly. What, exactly, is being accomplished by writing a
racial slur on a door? Does it make you feel cool or bad or something? Do you
not like the people for other reasons but figured you might as well go as offensive as
possible in expressing your distaste? It's just stupid in addition to being ugly.
That said, the accusations of racism flying around this campus need to
settle the fuck down. Let's take a look at yesterday's Daily. Mike Blake says
that "All
the rhetoric that says racism is not alive (and strong) is false." Excuse
me? Alive, sure, but strong? This isn't Matt Hale marching outside of
Tech, you know. It's just a coward or two who thinks he's being a big man.
Hell, maybe it's not even that. Maybe it's someone's really tasteless idea of a
joke. Regardless of what it is, I can't do anything but take issue with
"strong." But then I don't know what I expect from the guy who wrote this
"guest
column," in which he basically accuses the entire state of Texas of racism and
proceeds to suggest that racism is sweeping the Northwestern campus. As bad as
racial slurs are and as strongly as the perpetrators need to be dealt with when they are
found, I don't think the actions of one or two people mean that racism is robust and
sweeping the campus.
Then in today's Daily came the news that Mike called
for the resignation of new EVP Bryan Tolles because, apparently, Tolles didn't
immediately give CaribNation a senator spot. His case was based on hearsay, which is
always fun. Bryan Tolles may not be the greatest guy in the world - in fact, I know
numerous people who would tell you he's not - but decrying him as a racist in front of the
entire campus is a pretty drastic step based on one person's testimony. Unless, of
course, you really like attention.
I know Mike Blake. He's not a bad guy in person. On a
political stage, though, he always seems to be grandstanding. Perhaps you noticed
the bit in his guest column where he gripes about how criticizing the Daily will
jeopardize his upcoming presidential bid, but that he's prepared to accept martyrdom.
How sweet. The Daily endorsed him anyway, but Mike Fong won. When you
consider how much less divisive a candidate Fong was, this should come as no surprise to
anyone. Blake then applied for the open SSVP post. He didn't get it. So
what did he do? He... bitched
about it to the Daily!
I wouldn't be surprised if Mike was a successful politician someday.
He certainly has the ambition. And on a larger scale than a 7,500-student
university, the fact that he's an attention whore will be good for him rather than earn
him resentment. Until then, though, my personal recommendation would be to cool it
down juuuuuust a little. Hell, the thought crossed my mind that this stuff
at Ayers is all just a publicity stunt to get more press for minority issues. I'm
not saying it is - I'm sure it isn't - but when Mike appears in half the articles in the
Daily, you have to figure he doesn't mind being in the spotlight.
May 28, 2003
I can't believe we're this close to June. What the hell happened? Anyway, a couple things. If you haven't seen the movie quote game in my away message/info, this is a note so you can get in on it if you want to. Winner gets a "fabulous prize." Also, I added Pearl, former NUR guy, to the Friends Page. Maybe this will make up for not sending him his Tournament Challenge money until just now.
May 24, 2003
Dillo
Day was actually somewhat nice for a change, which means A&O had to get a bunch of
bands I both had not heard of and couldn't have cared less about. The
"headliners" were Crystal Method, and if you think there's anything inherently
interesting about live techno... well, I certainly couldn't find it, nor could Drew, Rich,
or Paulionis. So I got to stay inside, not make my headache worse, and see the
fireworks from a much better vantage point. Earlier in the day I had actually
managed to sleep on the lakefill with hundreds of people around me and some jam band
blaring away. WATFO?
I also went back to Al's Deli today. Did you
know they have Nerds Rope?
But the candy counter, according to the sign, "opens at two." Aside from
the fact that that's hilarious, way to only have the candy counter open for two
hours. The line was almost out the door today - it took me half an hour to
get a sandwich - which suggests to me that Al needs to cave in and let someone else take a
turn. His name isn't actually Al, by the way, it's Bob. The deli has been open
since 1949, as it turns out, so Al must be long gone by now. I guess he only passed
his secrets on to one Sandwich Maker. This reminds me of Mostly Harmless,
which bothers me because I'd like to pretend that book never existed.
Anyway, I tried the sandwich Drew recommended -
turkey, Swiss, lettuce, grainy mustard, baguette. It was better than the other one
(though those baguettes will tear up your mouth like a motherfucker) but still not
something I did a happy dance over paying in excess of six bucks for, particularly when
the sandwich I get at Millburn Deli for five bucks is still way better. So, I
suppose I can recommend Al's (especially since the Millburn Deli is 800 miles away), but
it is not the best sandwich I've ever had, especially when you like vinegar as much as I
do.
Moving on to other reviews, and let's keep it brief as I'm already
rambling on a bit:
* Papa John's Chicken
Alfredo Pizza: Kinda weird. I don't have anything specific against
pizzas that don't use tomato sauce - pesto pizzas are great and Clarke's makes a good
pizza with barbeque sauce - but this was not a good example of one. In fact, it was
pretty gross.
* Mountain
Dew Live Wire: Do you like orange soda? Because that's all this
is. Code Red still tastes like Mountain Dew somewhat, but there's not even the
slightest hint of Dew taste left in Live Wire (though some would say that the predominant
Dew taste is horse urine and thus that this is not a bad thing). If you like
caffeine in your orange soda and there's just not enough in Sunkist to cut it, I suppose
you can drink this. Otherwise, while it is certainly not bad (I'd purchase it again
before I'd buy any of the other recent soda variations), it's nothing particularly
interesting either. I'd probably get Minute Maid first as it has a better orange
taste. (Oh, and the music on their website sucks. Be warned if you're going to
click there.)
May 22, 2003
Due to the location and times of my classes, I've decided to make Tuesday and Thursday movie days, at least as long as there's something I want to see. Today's offering: Winged Migration.
May 20, 2003
Saw The Matrix Reloaded today. It wasn't great. Review ahoy.
May 18, 2003
Shannon's 22nd birthday is tomorrow (she's old), but due to various scheduling whatevers, her party was yesterday. After a tasty dinner at Cozy (to which I had never been), we adjourned to Shannon's apartment for ice cream cake - the first time I had ever seen one that combined ice cream with actual cake, which was strange but good - and games. We played Cranium and Pit (I actually won once, and I must concede that this game is in fact way more fun in the playing than in the telling) and also there was a piñata which Chris and the Jons had gone in on. It was one of those that has strings to open a trapdoor, but why would you pull strings when you can get blindfolded and beat the hell out of it with a broomstick. Shannon gave it a number of good whacks, but it kept coming back and hitting her in the head, thus getting its own back. After a couple of attempts by Kim, I took a turn and was finally able to bash open the piñata, releasing a lot of Tootsie Rolls, Smarties, and various candies. Mmm.
May 16, 2003
Saw Bend It Like Beckham last night; review ahoy.
May 13, 2003
What is it about Mays that I never seem to update? Oh
well. The reviews for Matrix Reloaded
seem to get worse by the day, which isn't encouraging. At least I'm not some loser
who bought tickets a month in advance.
Went to Al's
Deli on Noyes today, since apparently it's great. What a weird place.
First of all, it's open from 11 to 4, which even for a deli seems like light hours.
It's also closed Wednesday - not Sunday, Wednesday. It appears to be
staffed entirely by two people: the old guy (presumably Al) who makes the sandwiches and
the guy who takes your order. Since only one guy is making sandwiches anyway, I'm
fairly sure you could reduce staff to one with little change in service speed. Al
should look into that, he might decrease his overhead. Maybe he doesn't like talking
to people or something. I was going to ask why Wednesday, but I figured they might
stare at me.
Sandwiches cost six bucks and change, usually - which, P.S., is damn
expensive for a sandwich. I got turkey, lettuce, onion, and aioli (garlic mayo) on
ciabatta bread, which was the "special." It's been the special for at
least a month, and I suspect it's still the special because they haven't run out of aioli
yet, even though Al appears to be trying really hard since my sandwich was absolutely
covered in that shit. I normally hate mayo, but it's okay (read: edible) when it's
flavored. It tasted fine while eating it - though not as good as a cheaper sandwich
at the Millburn Deli back home - but I currently reek. I tried brushing my teeth and
using mouthwash; that's almost got it, but it lingers.
According to Drew, I got the "wrong" sandwich. I'll
make a note of that. The other one (which actually features cheese, amazingly enough
- how a six-dollar sandwich can fail to feature cheese is beyond me) sounds pretty good
(minus more damn mayo - anyone who puts mayo and mustard on the same sandwich, which would
be true if you got this one unaltered, needs to be punched, by the way), enough that I may
actually go back, though I won't deny that it's the Nantucket Nectars Lemonade Fizz
that will really get me back in there.
On an unrelated note: Picture One | Picture Two - Separated at birth?
May 8, 2003
Went to Wrigley yesterday for the Cubs-Brewers game. I didn't bring a hat because it was overcast, and then the sun came out for a while. Even though it was only out for an hour, I got sunburned (only on the top of my forehead). What the hell? I guess the UV index was up, regardless of sun. The Cubs won, 2-1, in a really quick game - 2 hours 20 minutes. I spent more time in the theater for X2 on Tuesday.
May 6, 2003
Saw X2 today. It's pretty damn bad-ass. I'm not
sure how good this review is, but I
think it at least gets the point across.
I also went to Baskin-Robbins for the Berry Rampage sundae. It's
pretty damn bad-as... er, tasty. I'd say it was worth the walk to Central and Green
Bay. Shannon was disappointed because this particular franchise was not (not yet?)
carrying the Oreo X-Mint variety.
May 2, 2003
Have you seen this
article on CNN.com? I know the national motto has changed to "There's No
Such Thing As A Frivolous Lawsuit" recently, but even for a stupid lawsuit, this is
pretty stupid. Have I mentioned how much I absolutely hate people like
this? And I mean "loathe with a fiery passion." Attention, Blair
Hornstine: You got into Harvard, Stanford, Duke, Princeton, and Cornell. Does it
matter in the slightest whether you tied for valedictorian or not?
Obviously not, except maybe for your resume in the future - and even then, could it
possibly matter if you were co-valedictorian in high school versus sole
valedictorian? I'm really thinking not. Just get straight As in college and I can't
imagine it would matter at all.
But it gets better. "She has also filed a notice saying she
plans to sue the school district in state court claiming the dispute has humiliated her.
She said she would be asking for $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.5 million
in punitive damages." Punitive damages! And what are the
compensatory damages for? The only thing I can think of would be
"lawyers." Here's a tip: Don't sue!
Well, you're right about one thing, Blair: This dispute has humiliated
you. But it's nobody's fault but your own. You may be smart, but try learning
not to be so goddamn petty.
There's more! View last month's updates.
Thanks to Tabnet for the domain name and my parents for paying it off.
Want to send me mail? Here.
BigFlax.com is probably not legitimately copyrighted under the laws of any country. Just don't steal stuff and claim it was yours, please.
© 2003 Barren Malt Fox Productions
This page last updated: Friday, February 20, 2004 08:59:23 PM
