Are you voting today in the Stanford ASSU elections?

Whether you are a graduate student at Stanford (or undergraduate), click here to vote in the ASSU 2009 elections at

https://newassu.stanford.edu/ballot/

As a graduate student, you will vote for the ASSU Exec, Graduate Student Council (GSC) representatives, and vote up or down Join Special Fees for programs such as Club Sports on campus.

According to the ASSU web page, "The [ASSU} executive president and vice president's job is to represent the student body in meaningful ways to university administration, through policy creation and enforcement, and through advocacy for student issues. BOTH graduate students and undergraduate students can be part of the executive slate and their committee, since the executives are expected to represent both student populations."

With budget cuts taking hold across campus, Vaden announcing mandatory health fees every quarter, and a mental health support system that a Stanford task force has found to be in need of strengthening, times are a'changing. In the wake of broad sweeping economic and political changes, from the collapse of Lehman brothers to the inaugration of a mixed race President, Stanford has been looking inward to adapt and outward to continue its commitment to public service both globally and locally, right here on campus.

These challenges in mind, we would like to join The Stanford Daily editorial board and various student coalitions on campus to unofficially endorse David Gobaud & Jay de la Torre for ASSU Executive, the only slate to feature both a graduate student and an undergraduate,

David Gobaud (Computer Science BS, MS '10)
Jay de la Torre (Urban Studies BA '10)

"In these difficult times, we are running to unite the student body behind shared priorities: promotion of student wellness, diversity in all its forms, preservation of front-line staff jobs, and sustainability. We are also committed to addressing grad-specific issues including dependent health insurance, affordable housing, and lobbying for efficient immigration."

Make your voice heard!

Click here to vote in the ASSU 2009 elections. For more information about the elections, visit http://elections.stanford.edu/

The ballots close on Friday night, April 10th.

Here's the question - if you have a 3.9 GPA and are a member of the National Honor Society, should you be required to take a test to prove your proficiency in English.

If your parents are Laotian immigrants, apparently you do.

Meet Lori Phanachone. Because of her racial, immigrant, and ethnic origins, Storm Lake High School (in Iowa) has determined that she needs to prove her ability to speak English despite the fact that she is an honors student.

Why? Because she indicated that at home, she and her parents do not speak English.

Lori Phanachone is protesting this action. She finds the requirement that she do so is motivated by prejudice on behalf of the school system.

All her accomplishments do not matter to Iowa school officials, only her ethnicity and immigrant status.

Because of her refusal to conform, they are threatening her very future (threatening the scholarships she has been offered by colleges).

Just another example of racism and prejudice rearing its ugly head in America .

Remember the Sarah Haskin's show "Target Women," which I posted about around Christmas time?

Sarah has been a subversive feminist comedic take on ads targeted at women (for a while) and is very funny, and, at least in the blogosphere, has a following.

So, why does Jimmy Fallon's "Target Demographic" routine seem to be an imitation of Sarah's "Target Women" current_tv show?

The presentation, the name, the subject (women) - everything seems so eerily familiar?

Are the writers for the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show seem to be so out of ideas the first week in that they have to imitate Sarah Haskins (and imitate her badly)?

Here's Jimmy's "oh so original" late night comedy segment:

and here's Sarah's take on skin care ads:

I enjoyed seeing Aziz Ansari at the Punchline in SF this January (yes, this review is way late).

The Punchline is a much better venue in which to enjoy comedy than Cobbs - the seating is more comfortable, the food is better (though the service is slow), and you don't feel like you are packed into a room like sardines.

Ansari was pretty funny, though his act was uneven and didn't flow as well as it could have. This was, I think, due to the fact that our show was being recorded since he was putting together a CD and (as he explained) at each show they were recording different bits so that they had a wide choice for the CD. I think my perception of the "unevenness" was also due to my personal preference - he tried out some comedy for an upcoming Judd Apatow file, Funny People, in which he would be playing a (somewhat misogynistic) comedian called Rodney (to his credit, he did include a warning first).

I didn't find most of the "Rodney" humor funny as it consisted mainly of "Rodney" talking about receiving blow jobs at various locations and a DJ uttering quips about the location, except that I did find the DJ quips for the location of the White House and Toys 'R Us hilarious. I have to say that this bit will be forever linked with the Obama campaign slogan for me.

I enjoyed the second half of the show (where part of his act included discussing how he messes with his 17 year old cousin on Facebook) and found it funnier than the first half.

After the show, we bought some of his t-shirts (and got them signed), and in the brief, 5 minute interaction we had with him and watching him interact with other fans, he came across as a genuinely nice person. A word to the wise - the Punchline does not have an ATM machine and we couldn't use a credit card to purchase his items. So anyone who wants to purchase stuff from the comedian afterwards should be warned to go to the ATMs downstairs first (and spare yourself the trouble of having to send a party member for cash).

Even when he is uneven, Ansari is still funny, and one day I hope to see him in a group performance with the other members of Human Giant.

I bought two tickets to see Aziz Ansari (of Human Giant) when he comes to the Punchline in SF this month. Woo-hoo!! He's pretty funny. Look for a review of his show at the end of this month.

In Sept. we got to see Patton Oswald at Cobbs, it was great. Patton had a whole bunch of new material, and then he riffed on the audience. He was pretty quick on his feet.

We parked at the BART parking lot and took the train in to SF and a taxi to the club because we couldn't figure out where the bus stop was. As far as the venue for comedy goes, you do have to arrive at Cobbs at least a half hour before the show (we were a half-hour early and the room was pretty full). Ticket were around $25, plus a handling fee, and there was a two drink minimum (which seems to be a standard). We hadn't had dinner so we ordered a hor d'oeuvre at Cobbs. A word to the wise - this place does comedy well, but not the food. The hummus plate I ordered was pretty bare, and pretty bland.

Continue reading "Nightlife in SF - Aziz Ansari and Patton Oswald" »

Merry Christmas from the Stanford Blog!

Continue reading "Xday" »

After running laps on the Stanford track, a friend invited me to dinner at Sprout Cafe, one of the newest restaurants to hit the downtown Palo Alto dining scene.

As somewhat of a foodie myself, I wasn't sure what to expect -- was this going to pablum, bland, or food for once executed with some savoir-faire? Fortunately it was the latter, and am happy to say that I highly recommend that students and Stanford visitors alike visit this burgeoning new cafe.

Located right next to American Apparel on 168 University Ave, Sprout Cafe is a shiny new restaurant (4 months old!) run by a Vinh Vi, a former civil engineer and graduate of the California Culinary Academy.

As one of the editors of an online Guide to Sustainable Deliciousness at Stanford, I interviewed Sprout Cafe owner Vinh about his experience running this new, local business.

Vinh stressed that he and his peers worked hard to ensure that the food served was prepared with the freshest local and organic produce possible. I could tell that the food was made with love, as I quickly dived into my Seared Ahi Tuna salad with black beans, crunchy red onions, and a casual but tasty balsamic / olive oil dressing on the side (I designed my own salad, but sandwiches are available and soon, entrees will be on the menu). The bread, which came from the reknowned Acme Bay Area bakery, was also a delight, which is rare to find for such an affordable cafe on University.

Vinh told me that he wanted to strive to offer great food at reasonable prices, and even mentioned to me that Stanford students are currently eligible for a 10% discount if you show your student id card. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a bit hungry just writing this blog post!

If you'd like to get (one mile) off campus, I strongly suggest you give Sprout Cafe a try. They serve organic salads, gourmet sandwiches on Acme (!) bread, fresh squeezed juices and organic teas. Finally, catering is available for student groups who want to make a tasty, local, and sustainable choice in the foods they serve!

(In my experience, Stanford Catering has a way to go in these domains, but lets do hope the winds of freedom and sustainability do blow up their way some time.)

Sprout Cafe, 168 University Ave next to American Apparel (between Ramona and Emerson)

(For phone number, hours, and more details, see the Palo Alto Online review or the high ratings on Yelp.com.)

By now you may have seen one of the delightful breakdowns of the way women are targeted in the media by Sarah Haskins in her delightfully skewed Target Women analysis.

She covers everthing from Twilight to Disney princesses to yogurt and cleaning products.

I was particularly struck by her irreverent analysis of jewelry commercials because during this holiday seasons it seems that jewelers are striking particularly hard at consumers and I can't go 15 minutes without hearing a jewelry commercial on either the tv or radio.

The phrases "he went to Jared" and "every kiss begins with k" are making me grind my teeth together.

THIRTY DAYS LATER, Barack Obama is our President, but the battle for Marriage Equality in CA goes on.

Proposition 8 passed by a slim margin of roughly 52% to 48% but the California Supreme Court will soon be considering lawsuits that seek to invalidate the Proposition, which some say "is a substantial revision of the state's Constitution, and therefore requires legislative approval".

Back on the Stanford campus, vigorous activism and debates continue to evolve. Seven days after the election, the Stanford BSU (Black Student Union) organized an open discussion titled "Blacks and Prop 8: Why Did So Many Blacks Vote Yes?", asking students and community members to take a deeper look at "what's behind the Black community's support of the Ban on Gay Marriage". Student members of BlaQS (Black and Queer at Stanford) also met separately to explore BlaQS's role in facilitating these challenging conversations, and to draft open letters to larger community regarding the intersection of black and queer issues.

In mid-November, a Stanford undergraduate sent an e-mail to the_diaspora@ titled "Call me wrong, call me narrow-minded....", where she stirred up further controversy and garnered a litany of replies. Similarly, a recent Stanford Daily op-ed post titled "The Right Angle" has received dozens of comments online.

Thirty days later, student activists at Stanford continue to organize, from planning future discussions on these topics, hoping to draw members and panelists from a diverse set of people of color, religious, and queer communities. We are also taking part in ongoing efforts to transition from work on Proposition 8 to the larger Marriage Equality campaign. For example, a number of Stanford students attended this week's Peninsula Marriage Equality Coalition town hall meeting in Palo Alto, and early next week the Emma Goldman Society for Queer Liberation plans to hold office hours in the LGBT-CRC to re-focus and re-group student efforts in this space.

Thirty days later, what can you still do?

Continue reading "The Fight for Marriage Equality: 30 days later" »

It’s that time of year again…no not Thanksgiving…well, yes, but also….(drum roll) the Facebook fbFund competition! The competition is an opportunity for new entrepreneurs to receive funding for applications they have created. It may seem hard, but the purpose of this competition is to bring new depth to the incredibly deep pool of apps that already exist on Facebook. The 2nd round of the competition is going on right now between 25 apps that have been selected out of a group of over 600. The top 5 of these remaining apps that get the most votes by Nov. 30 will receive over $225,000 in funding.

I was browsing through the apps in this year’s competition -- which range from apps where you can "give thanks" or create digital wedding books to those letting you browse wine lists or compare prices. One of the stand-outs this year is an application called Daikon. This app was made by Stanford students (surprise, surprise), and is in fact the only Stanford-submitted app in the competition (this surprised me, given all the application hype going on last year on campus). The basic idea behind Daikon is that it lets you build your own application without any coding or programming knowledge whatsoever. Think DreamWeaver but for Facebook. Yes, you can get your friends to add the app after you make it, and yes, you can publish it in the Facebook app directory so strangers can add it too.

In terms of functionality, the apps you create with Daikon can do a wide range of things: from selling t-shirts to promoting an event for a student group to even making a Hannah Montana fan club. What's cool is that you can actually make useful stuff that helps in daily life (yes, Hannah Montana is important). The app interface is good, but I did have difficulty figuring out how to actually get my finished app published on Facebook. Fortunately the developers included a step-by-step wizard to help you when you get to this part. Overall I liked this app a lot, and would love to see it become a permanent fixture of FB. My advice to the makers –- add more widgets and templates to let people create more types of apps. I give Daikon a rating of 8 out of 10.

You non-engineering majors should check it out here (just kidding engineers -- you can check it out too)
And vote for it in this year’s competition

Here's the promo:

Daikon from Yuri Yamaguchi on Vimeo.

Today at noon, Stanford students will unexpectedly gather en masse inside Stanford's student union (Tresidder Memorial Union), to protest the passage of Proposition 8 and remind California residents that the passing of Proposition 8 sends a destructive message to the nation's gay youth.

According to one study, one in three queer and questioning youth in America attempt suicide. "On November 4, Florida, Arizona, and California banned same-sex marriage. Arkansas banned adoption by people 'cohabitating outside a valid marriage' after banning same-sex marriage in 2004. With the passage of Proposition 8 and similar legislation across the country, what messages are we sending our youth?" said Amanda Gelender, a student activist on campus and founder of the Stanford Theatre Activist Mobilization Project (STAMP).

The protest hopes to fan the flames of an ongoing revival in student activism on the Stanford campus. There has not been such a level of organized activism on the Stanford campus since the 1970s, observed one Stanford dean. In fact, many students today feel that the fight for marriage equality and related issues are quickly becoming the civil rights movement of their generation. "It is important to send a poignant message to the Stanford community and LGBT youth everywhere, letting them know we not only support but affirm their queer identities and legal rights," said one Stanford graduate student majoring in Political Science.

Today's protest is part of a larger set of activist efforts on the Stanford campus, including on-campus sit-ins and the largest organized "No on Prop. 8" phonebank in all of California so far. Organized by the Stanford Student Coalition for Marriage Equality (SCME), hundreds of students reached out to thousands of undecided voters across the state. On the day before the 2008 Presidential Election, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom spoke to an audience of hundreds outside of Stanford's Old Union building.

Beyond the borders of campus, tens of thousands of American citizens have taken to the streets to protest Proposition 8 and show solidarity with marriage equality activists. Online, nearly five hundred Stanford students have registered on Facebook to attend the nationwide JoinTheImpact.com rally, which will take place simultaneously across the nation on Saturday at 10:30 am PST.

Gavin Newsom speaks to Stanford students in front of Old Union, VINCENT CHEN/The Stanford Daily

Two-hundred and sixty five Stanford students gathered today at the Women's Community Center on campus for a "MEGAPHONEBANK MARATHON to Defeat Prop 8", according to a representative from the Stanford Student Coalition for Marriage Equality (SCME). This makes the effort the single largest phone bank organized this year in California to Oppose CA Proposition 8.

Proposition 8, which would amend the state constitution to eliminate the right for same-sex couples to marry, has been a key focus for activism, campaigning, and education this political season. Stanford's White Plaza has been a host to a number of Student rallies, from an early October rally featuring Candace Gingrich to rallies which brought in speakers and celebrities from all over California.

In related news, a Stanford Computer Science student launched an iPhone-based (mobile) Guide to California Propositions [in Plain English].

This iPhone-based guide is intended to help voters quickly read about California Propositions as they face long lines to vote come Election Day, and can be found at http://rspace.stanford.edu/. Users can quickly browse the California propositions, read short summaries of each proposition, and follow web links to find out more information about each ballot measure.

For more information on California Propositions, please see the California 2008 ballot measures on Ballotpedia.org, and rock the vote!

I've always disliked Apple for very specific reasons: its insistence on closed and propriety systems and its general hipsterish I'm-so-much-cooler-than-you-simply-because-of-my-computer's-branding attitude being among the top reasons.

But, I could never deny, nor would I ever try, that they have not pushed the envelope as far as technology goes. The company has found a way to consistently be at the forefront of innovation (that something may be known as Steve Jobs). But in that way, I respect Apple. They make gorgeous products (even if they're prettifying and borrowing heavily from BSD) and they get people to buy them.

But these ads cross the line.

Continue reading "I've always disliked Apple, but this is getting ri-god-damn-diculous" »

Every Stanford fan I know practically had an aneurysm when they heard Jim Harbaugh's critical comments about fan support. We know that Jim Harbaugh will someday leave Stanford, and by someday we don't mean in Joe Paterno years. No, it will likely be sooner rather than later. But it would be terrible to lose Harbaugh because of something within our control, i.e. attendance. If a Notre Dame or a USC or an Alabama (hypotheticals all, of course) happened to come calling, then whatever. I could deal with that. But I'd hate it to be because of something that seems to be within our control. Particularly when it would seem that the old verities about Stanford football have been swept away so dramatically and so quickly by Jim Harbaugh's regime: contrary to common belief, Stanford football can play tough, Stanford football can recruit well, Stanford football can finish close games. So I decided to undertake a study of Stanford football's attendance, to see whether Stanford football does, in fact, have a problem when it comes to fan support. Though the raw attendance can't tell us why these statistics are the way they are-they can't tell us if we happen to have Cal and Notre Dame scheduled the same year; they can't tell us about the economy-they can give us a small clue about the state of Stanford football fan support. I've decided to start with 2006, the first year of new Stanford Stadium. If anyone can find data prior to 2006, I'd be grateful. (Source is cnnsi.com. The data are available if you e-mail me at datahir AT stanford DOT edu)

Continue reading "On Attendance" »

The headline, perhaps, strikes you as overly cynical, backhanded, or somehow insulting. It’s not meant that way. I mean it like this: relief. I mean it that way because of Maurice Jones-Drew taking bubble screen for 20 after bubble screen for 20—yes, the exact same play over and over again—to lead #5 UCLA back from 21 down, all while I knew down at the depths of my stomach that oh god oh god we’re going to lose and while in the center of my heart I hoped that we could somehow hold them off. And yet, after that disaster I somehow managed to keep some sort of faith in Stanford, only to have Brady Quinn execute a two-minute drill on is in the last game in old Stanford Stadium to dash my hopes once again.

Continue reading "Stanford Football Doesn't Blow One" »

I don’t want to cause a panic, but I’m wondering: what is going on with the Stanford endowment during this financial panic? The endowment is, I assume, investing for the long-term, but, on the other hand, a major dent into the endowment would probably result in reduced spending. This, of course, is not even touching on donations, which I assume will lessen during this recession. So I’m guessing the financial picture for the University, as with many institutions and companies, does not appear particularly rosy at this time

Chris Marinelli did not lose the game last Saturday. Despite the undue focus on Marinelli, and the suggestion that “next time he ought to keep quiet” from the Notre Dame alums in the NBC broadcast booth—(wait, you mean they weren’t alums? But it makes so much sense!)—the offensive line played a pretty good game. The running game was strong once again, and the five sacks given up were partially mitigated by these two facts: 1) two of them appeared, to my untrained eyes, to be the tight end’s responsibility, 2) Tavita Pritchard is the QB they’re protecting for. No, he’s not slow by any means but still, his decision-making is poor. All this, and we’re down two starting guards: Gustav Rystedt hasn’t played a game this season and Chase Beeler was held out at game time. Whatever they’re paying Chris Dalman for his zone-blocking scheme, it’s clearly not enough.

Continue reading "Chris Marinelli Did Not Lose Against Notre Dame Last Saturday" »

Officially released Oct. 4, the iStanford App from Terriblyclever Design purports to be "Stanford University in the palm of your hand." How accurate is that? Read on to find out...

Continue reading "Review: iStanford App for iPhone/iPod Touch" »

Now that school has started, if you're like me, you find yourself on a limited budget with limited time to prepare breakfast in the morning.

My solution - oatmeal!

Now before you say "yuck!" hear me out. As a kid, my parents believed in a hot, nutritious breakfast, and oatmeal was a staple. Unfortunately, and my parents also believed that sweetener, especially white sugar, was bad as well. This means that many a morning bowl of oatmeal was bland, sprinkled with cinnamon and the occasional raisin and augmented by a small drizzle of honey. Yuck! Because of this, I've always found oatmeal a bit bland and the flavors that go with it (cinnamon and sugar, apple cinnamon, ect.) less than exciting.

One word - cranberries. Cranberries, and occasionally some nuts (like, say almonds) add a nice zing to an otherwise dull food.

If you make oatmeal yourself, you can find yourself eating a healthy, tasty, easy and quick to prepare meal in the morning, low in sodium, high in fiber, and one that will stick with you until lunch.

What you need -
quick cooking oatmeal (you can buy this pretty cheaply by the pound at Country Sun)
dried cranberries (I got at Trader Joes and keep in the freezer so they won't spoil)
dried nuts (ditto)
sugar (or some kind of sweetener)
a microwavable bowl
a microwave
measuring cups
5 minutes

Continue reading "Cheap and Tasty Breakfast for the Grad Student on the Go" »

GoStanford.com

It has been reported by various media outlets that Stanford offensive tackle Chris Marinelli had some pretty tough words for the Notre Dame team and their fans on the eve of their nationally-televised game tomorrow afternoon (11:30am PST).

Marinelli supposedly does not have much respect for the Notre Dame defense, pointing out (correctly) that the the Fighting Irish have one sack for 200 blitzes this year.

Marinelli, speaking in an interview to CardinalReport.com, also said: "We are going out there to mash them up, and that's all there is to it."

Let me say...I sure hope so! The thing about trash-talking is, we gotta come out and batter them now. We have to live up to

While the Athletic Department tried to clean up the mess earlier today, the truth is, I'm kind of happy to see Marinelli say that. He was a bad-ass already, and saying this only confirms it. More importantly, it shows the truth about this team. The Cardinal's got some fire in its belly; it's hungry and it is relentless.

Predictions for tomorrow?