FINALLY you can search by first name.

Yes, that's right. StanfordWho has been re-designed for a more efficient and user-friendly experience.

Scout.com

Stanford Football fans, do not despair!

Well, you maybe can despair for this season, the 2007 campaign, but by 2008 we should be on our road to recovery, fighting on with "enthusiasm unknown to mankind," as Head Coach Jim Harbaugh put it.

Why? We've just signed one of the hugest recruits in the history of recent Stanford football.

Palo Alto, introducing Andrew Luck (get the post's title now?), the #6 ranked QB in the nation. He has just verbally committed to Stanford Football.

TheBootleg's headline says we've "struck gold in Texas." According to the Houston Chronicle, Luck led the Spartans to a 10-2 record and a trip to the area round of the Division II Class 5A state playoffs last season. He passed for 2,909 yards and 27 touchdowns with only six interceptions while completing 69 percent of his passes. Damn.

According to Scout.com, Luck's also the top student in his class of 500 and got a 1900/2400 on the SAT, as a sophomore.

It seems like he's legit, on both the athletic front as well as the academic. The only thing that scares me is that verbal agreements are not binding, meaning Luck can always pull the carpet out from under our and Harbaugh's feet.

Andrew, buddy, please don't do that, ok?

The day before I departed for Beijing, my Father asked me if I was concerned about my Chinese language proficiency, particularly since I hadn't been to China in a number of years. I was, I explained, but also suspected that the words and phrases would all come rushing back once I set foot on the mainland. Once I needed to speak the language, it would be there, somehow. For me, there is something thoroughly unenjoyable about speaking Chinese in the States, primarily because most of my interlocutors are far more fluent in spoken English than I am in spoken Chinese. When it comes to the question of "your tongue or mine?" I will almost always concede to the instincts of my conversation partner, regardless of how badly I'd like to brush up on my tones.

As it turned out, necessity reared its ugly head even before the flight attendants could press PLAY on the third, crappy film feature. Somewhere over the dead center of the Pacific Ocean – Mapquest "intersection of Terrifying Depth and Total Oblivion" for the precise address – my aisle-mate stood up abruptly, took four belabored steps in the direction of the bathroom, and collapsed in a heap on the floor. She was a middle-aged Chinese-American woman, heavy-set, with a kind but somewhat peculiar personality (in that born-and-raised-in-the-Bay-Area sort of way). At the start of the flight, she struck up a conversation almost immediately, telling me about her upcoming trip and asking me about mine. She was on her way to Beijing to study Mandarin, which she hoped to use with her fourth-grade class (her first language was English, her second Cantonese).

I’ve never been on a cruise. It’s like orientation in your freshman dorm except there’s nowhere to hide.

We just shoved off an hour ago and the wooziness-inducing swaying is making me feel drunk.

Unfortunately, I’m not drunk. Our introduction to the ship’s crew and activities, however, merited at least a couple shots of bourbon. (I’ve never had bourbon. I’m pretty sure it’s what Doris Day drank in That Touch of Mink, though. This has nothing to do with being on a cruise, but I like Doris Day.)

A few people have posted videos of the fireworks and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert at Frost Amphitheater last Tuesday. Here's one for those who were out-of-town:

Yesterday, the Stanford Band also performed at the Redwood City 4th of July Parade. Lots of video of that if you're curious.

Times Online:

Mr Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 per cent on the $46 million he made last year, without trying to avoid paying higher taxes, while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30 per cent. Mr Buffett told his audience, which included John Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley, and Alan Patricof, the founder of the US branch of Apax Partners, that US government policy had accentuated a disparity of wealth that hurt the economy by stifling opportunity and motivation.

I read this article today and I think it really says something about this country and about Warren Buffet. He is a great man who has donated 37 billion dollars to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - which is dedicated to bringing innovations of health and learning to the global community. Even with all his money Buffet doesn't think of himself as better or more worthy of consideration than the average American.

America has a huge disparity in income between its richest and its poorest citizens. In 2000 the richest 5% made 19x more than the poorest 20%. Studies show that Income disparity makes a huge difference in a person's health and happiness. (Stanford's own Prof. Salposky)

Most people still say that America is a land of opportunity - that if you work hard, you can fashion a great life for yourself. But the heavy taxes that affect the middle class all but assure that you'll never become super-wealthy.

It seems like those who can afford to pay higher taxes are the ones that don't have to. Too bad. I'm glad someone wealthy is talking about it.

Next year, we'd like to invite some influential bloggers to campus to speak. If you had your pick, who would you invite?

As you no doubt know, the five-second Dramatic Chipmunk video has taken the Internet by storm, spawning an entire series of Star Wars knock-off videos, chipmunk remixes, and dramatic staring contests. BustedTees has a dramatic chipmunk shirt. There's even a Facebook App.

For everyone who thought the Internet would usher in the reign of the lowest common denominator, here is your Exhibit A.

I'm with Dan Hopper when he says he's come to believe that "not all of these videos are actually made by people, but merely willed into existence by the Internet."

If you're curious about where the original video came from, click here.

Check out this new video from Jack Conte '06. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in Music, Science, and Technology, Jack turned down admission to USC Film School in hopes of making a living in the indie music scene. He just released a new EP and is about to head out on a West Coast tour. I'll be posting an interview with him soon, but I thought I'd share this new video he sent me. Pretty cool. Special props for accordion, Jack.

So for my job, I had to drive back from SFO yesterday in a Chrysler Aspen, which you can see on the right. It's an awful car, representative of the poor ideas of Detroit these days. It bounces like a mechanical bull, turns like an elephant around a dime, accelerates suddenly and flightily like a little girl from a bee; it is a poor car. It has some superficial luxury but is totally unworthy of whatever was paid for it.

Point being is that the problems the American auto industry are having is partially a part of the labor problems and costs therein (the conventional reason for Detroit's failures), but mostly because the cars made there are crappy engineering-wise. Clearly what probably happened is that Chrysler thought, "Well, it's an SUV and luxurious, so whatever." Whatever pretty much happened. That's the attitude that led to Ford leasing its hybrid technology.

Ch-Indie Cred

On July 7, I headed to Ch-Indie Fest II, an outdoor independent music festival with a name you could only get away with in China. Accompanied by my friends Andrew, Frances, and Alex, I can tell you that the solemnity of the anniversary on which it fell (seventy years since the Marco Polo Bridge Incident) was out of sight, out of mind.

The fest was held at 2 Kolegas, one of the more popular venues in the Beijing music scene these days, from my understanding. The club of my Beijing youth, Scream Bar, relented to the bulldozers over five years ago, and I still don't think I've recovered. For a few months, I held a Thursday night residency there, playing for fifty RMB and all the Tsingtao beer I could handle. Tsingtao is a light beer and it goes down easy. Which is all to say, I could handle a lot back then.

One of the most interesting aspects of the 2008 presidential campaign to me is observing the ambitions of the different candidates. Each of them, it seems, has this overbearing desire, an ambition, to be the President of the United States (POTUS). This sounds banal. What I mean, however, is the desire for the presidency seems to be rooted in personal psychology rather than position papers. It's all about being the POTUS.

Like, for example, Mitt Romney. He can't stop talking about his father, George Romney, a popular governor of Michigan who lost the 1968 Republican nomination to Tricky Dick himself, Richard Nixon. G. Romney was leading in polls until he doomed himself by opposing the Vietnam War. Would Romney be running if his father never made the attempt? It's hard to say. How much of a father-son dynamic is there?

Before a live interview with Michael Moore on CNN, Wolf Blitzer runs a short video segment claiming that Michael Moore "plays loose with the facts" in his new documentary, Sicko. Boy did that make him angry. Check it out:

For Moore's online rebuttal of CNN's claims that he fudges the facts, see here. It's quite well-cited and shows that CNN isn't being very honest, either.

By the way, I saw Sicko and loved it -- if not for its balanced treatment of the issue, then for being a reality check on the downsides of our system. And as an artistic piece, it's priceless. I relished the absurdity of the scene where he sails to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with three ailing 9/11 rescue workers on a little dingy, demanding that the 9/11 heros get "some medical attention, the same kind that Al Qaeda is getting."

"They don't want any more than you're giving the evildoers, just the same."

Guantanamo Bay being, of course, the only place on American soil that provides free, universal health care.

D-22, Beijing, July 11, 2007

Today was some day. Like most mornings, I woke at 6:30am without the aid of my alarm clock (praise be to jet lag), and stumbled into my office at around seven. Waiting for me were the edits for my introductory chapter which, I'm happy to report, should be finalized within forty-eight hours from the time I get back to work tomorrow.

More importantly, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Professor Wang, the man with whom I conducted oral histories back in 2003 as part of my dissertation research. Four years since we last met. Four years. Unreal. The cab ride to get there took over an hour, due to Beijing's unbelievable traffic these days, 50 minutes of which I spent experiencing hypertension. The driver, a nice fellow, had an absolutely booming voice, one which nearly caused me to have a panic attack. He told me all about the woes of Beijing cabbies these days - believe me, there are many! - and by the end I felt as if I'd just spent an entire set with my ear up against the loudspeaker. But then I saw Professor Wang...

IvyGate reported on a Facebook group called "THE Princeton ’11 Party Crew," and specifically, the breathless reporting by one group member of his alcohol-related activities. This member, interestingly, is one Antonio Villaraigosa Jr, who, of course, is the son of the embattled LA mayor, who himself is watching his chances to succeed Arnie just slip right out of his hand. The Princeton Facebook group is here, and IvyGate's backup of the incriminating wall post is here.

This of course caused Villaraigosa Jr. to delete his posts, and everyone on the Princeton group to freak out. One wall-poster put it at its pithy best: "We got screwed...yay." I'm not sure why Ivy Leaguers act the way they do, but I noticed further back on the Princeton group wall posts, some Harvard girl was posting that her school was better: "However, Harvard is widely recognized as top dog. While I don't hold anything personal against any of you, it's fun to acknowledge the reality that Harvard parties dominate any of your "get togethers."

And then I also noticed that a Stanford student went ahead and stuck the Cardinal into the inane debate about which campus parties harder: "But you guys sure are ripping them off. Stanford had a '11 party crew group long before you guys made one. I think the display of envy is apparent. = )" The Princeton and Harvard people agree, in response that "Stanford isn't worth our time."

What is amazing about all this is that none of the students have actually attended college.

Yes, they may have partied during their Admitted Students Weekend or whatever (Stanford is alone among top schools in its draconian dry policy), but that hardly means anything when upperclassmen are trying to get clueless high school seniors drunk.

I think it hit the proverbial fan when media-and-gossip-gadfly blog Gawker picked it up, calling it "Fun with Facebook."

Here's a republished article from 1982, about the author getting his first computer:

"Computers cause another, more insidious problem, by forever distorting your sense of time. When I first saw the system in the back room at Optek, I was so dazzled by the instantaneous deletion of sentences and movement of paragraphs that I thought I could never want anything more. When the scientists at Optek warned me about certain bottlenecks, I had to stifle my laughter. In particular, they warned me that I might grow impatient with tape recorders as a way to store data. You have to understand, they told me, it can take five or ten minutes to load a long draft into the computer from tapes, whereas a disk drive (which would add a thousand dollars to the cost) could do the job in seconds. Typical vulgarians of the machine age, I told myself. How could they imagine that I would object to five or ten minutes, when I had been spared Darlene?

Three weeks later, I was griping constantly about the tapes and scanning the pages of Byte magazine, looking for a good deal on a disk drive. Ten minutes was intolerable when everything else happened in a flash..."

It's a pretty funny thing to read in retrospect, especially the part quoted above, seeing as the emphasis is always faster, faster, faster.

Mondaire Jones, our Exec VP, has just distributed a flier asking students to submit ideas for the name of the new Old Union eatery to olduniondining at gmail dot com. I can only imagine, after the results of the contest for naming Tresidder's cafeteria, that someone will suggest "Union Cubed," and that the naming committee will think it's just too cute to resist.

By the way, before we try to name it, how about telling us what's unique about it? If it's just another unhealthy Cyber Cafe-esque Stanford Dining attempt, let's not mince words with the name. "Fatty" or maybe "Freshman 15" will do.

Continue reading for the contest guidelines...

I am married.

Anyone who has read my postings here will know that occasionally I refer to the hubby or the spouse.

I have a partner, and we have been married. In August we will have been married for four years, which is just a blink of the eye compared to my parents, who have been married to each other since they were 18.

I have been married for four years and I am childless.

This is an issue.

Not for me, not for my husband. God knows the middle of a dissertation is not the time that I want to contemplate spawning, and hubby wants a permanent job before I get knocked up (and incidentally, wants me to stop referring to having a child as spawning).

It’s a problem for my parents (specifically my mother) and other members of my family.

My Rant Against the Student DIS-Advantage Card

To the Class of 2011: Listen up.
To all Classes before: Comiserate with me.

Two years ago, perhaps to the day, I received yet another pack of mail from NSO [New Student Orientation] or FDO [Freshmen Dean's Office] or some other acronym'ed place on campus. This particular one suggested I buy 2 things. One was a sweatshirt/t-shirt combo from the Stanford Store. I did so, because I wanted to have a cool Stanford hoodie and all of that. (The deal still exists, here). The second was the option to purchase a Student Advantage card. I did this, too, since I figured I would want to have access to the myriad of savings the card brought with it.

The sweatshirt I still have (and wear) but that Student Advantage card was a mistake. Here's why. I never use it. In fact, now that I think about it, I can't think of one person who does, or one reason why I should. The thing is, the card offers little-- if any-- local deals, and the most frequent thing it does is periodically spam you with its latest ripoff, er, "deal." I know, I know, it looks great-- savings from Urban Outfitters or Amtrak-- but it's actually useless.

I don't know, maybe I'm weird and I'm the only one who stupidly bought one. Or maybe everyone else bought one too and actually uses theirs. (If that is the case, please let me know in the comments section below). All I know is that the damn thing was a waste of money for me.

It was Thursday before graduation. Senior Dinner on the Quad that night had been somewhat chaotic, but ultimately delicious and a nice opportunity to say goodbye to friends and reminisce on the old days.

My friend (who asked to remain anonymous) and I, doing quite well for ourselves after several glasses of wine, decided to take a stroll around the Quad. Oh, our beautiful Quad.

Once we passed under an arch to start walking through the arcades, it didn't take us very long to reach the plaques and time capsules of years past, and soon we came upon the placeholder for the 2007 plaque, which was covering our class's time capsule.

I had received the e-mails from our class Presidents requesting "suggestions" for items to go into the time capsule. Because every other request for suggestions from the Presidents had been disappointing (hello Gioia), I hardly even paid attention, and didn't send in any ideas.

But as I stood there looking at the covering over the capsule, I suddenly regretted missing an opportunity to make a mark on the history of the Class of 2007. We attempted to remove the covering over the capsule.

Surprisingly, it came right off. We didn't know it at the time, but most of the "official" items going into the time capsule had been removed for the night following the capsule ceremony, while the plaque was not yet sealed in place. All they had left behind was a green Energy Crossroads Conference bag, a crumpled dollar bill, unattractive women's lingerie, and some other stuff.

Feeling that the capsule was overly female and not gay enough, we set ourselves on a mission to find and bring back items that would more adequately represent the Class of 2007. To be sealed in our Time Capsule for all of time.

Here's what we came up with:

Where am I and how did I get here?

"This one is your wife and this one is your lover," the bartender explained, pointing first to the glass of ice cold water and then to the flute of complementary champagne. It was approaching midnight, and here I was at the Agnes B Fashion Showcase, surrounded by models and Chinese cultural icons. But let me rewind the tape a bit and explain how I ended up here...

First, the title: it refers to the long-held Western belief that “All swans are white.” This was a belief given up in a second once Australia was discovered and a black swan sighted. What the experts had counted upon was untrue and it unsettled ornithology. That anecdote is the whole point of the book: you cannot predict anything with any great degree of accuracy.

刘力扬, aka, Supergirl

[The harrowing conclusion of Look for me in the Chinese tabloids. For those who missed Episode One, you can find it here.]

When we arrived at Agnes B, I felt about as sexy as a compost bin. Here I was, in a room full of professional models wearing a BBQ-infused "Brooklyn" t-shirt and slightly baggy brown pants. Applying my analytical prowess to the situation, I very calmy and dispassionately concluded:

There is no way in hell anyone is going to talk to me.

Looking around, I could not help but think, "how did I get roped into this one?" Down the street, my Korean BBQ chums were dancing up a storm, and here I was desperately trying to remain invisible. But it was my fault. Upon receiving my old classmate's text, I immediately replied in the affirmative. What else can you expect from a single, 28-year-old man when he receives a one-line text message which reads:

"Who wants to party with some models on Friday?"

Your summer-at-Stanford correspondent does not have much to report, as campus has been pretty much dead.

But not quite dead. or maybe undead. Several (!) parties occurred on campus, both at SRC (Manzanita) and Mirrelees. I know, I am amazed too. How these engineers and physicists have time to party, between their lab assignments going late, the three classes they're taking, and the MCAT's to study for, is beyond me. But party they do. The proliferation of cheap beer is alarming, and somewhere, somewhere, someone has to be drinking Charles Shaw. Please, people. For me.

Also, in case you didn't know, grad students play that "angles dangles" drinking game, much like undergraduates do. Your correspondent was terrified of finding a former TA playing a game that seems to be suited for the ages of 5 to 7. Fortunately, none where to be found.

The best part of the weekend, however, was the Chelsea FC versus Club America football game. Despite the determined efforts of a drum-playing, dancing, banner-waving, feet-stomping America-supporting section in the upper row, Chelsea was able to overcome an early goal to win 2-1. Stanford Stadium was maybe 80% full, much to this correspondent's surprise. ESPN claims that 47k came (stadium capacity is 50k) but that's not true. The article goes on to contend that "The Club America supporters were out in full force. Huge blue and yellow streamers were strung through the rafters, a constant stream of ticker tape rained down, and the fans barely stopped singing and chanting for a second." Here's also the SF Chronicle's article.

Your correspondent was rooting for Chelsea FC, of course, and taunted friends supporting the other side with insults like "God Save the Queen!" and "The sun never sets on the British Empire!" Strike a blow for maturity.

This upcoming weekend's highlight will most likely be the "Summer Jam 2007!!!" It's an ASSU party, and judging by the rampant successes we all know the Mausoleum Party and Full Moon on the Quad to be, it's going to be rollicking, good, clean fun. It also clearly merits the three exclamation points. We elected these people, remember.

It appears to be planned by Vice President Mondaire Jones and Senate Chair Priyanka Sharma. So far, 68 confirmed guests, who are all obviously coming because "having fun at Stanford is mandatory!" as the event's description contends. The Facebook link is here.

I'll put the over-under on event guests at 100, and their average length of stay to be just 15 minutes, enough to pillage the food table and leave. Those physicists need to eat.

But the real highlight of this upcoming weekend will be the release of HP7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Stanford Bookstore is hosting a Harry Potter-themed breakfast on Saturday at 8AM (this may be the only time the entire summer I will willingly get up at 8AM). There's a Quidditch broom-decorating contest, a costume contest, and more. In other words, it will be a million times better than the ASSU party. Borders in Palo Alto is also having an event, which is described as "An evening of wizardly activities, fantastical games, and stupendous giveaways!" Borders' events starts at 9:30 on Friday night, with book proliferation (it's much more dramatic to say that instead of something banal like "distribution") occurring at midnight.

The Stanford Bookstore's event description is here (it's PDF).

Rick Perlstein of the New York Times asks "What's the Matter with Colleges?". He wants to know why colleges no longer lead our society in culture like they did in the 60's and 70's and even 80's. The main reason is that there are a lot more people IN college today.

I'll be honest, I did not like this essay and my response is not going to be politically correct. Rick Perlstein seemed to me to be a stuck up rich literary nerd who is longing for the good old days back when he was in school, oh so long ago (1988-1992). He talks about reading forbidden books, going to see jazz masters play, inviting and engaging with intellectual and cultural luminaries, spending countless hours debating issues in the dorms.

But in contrast, today's colleges lack this cultural and intellectual vigor. One college student complains that "people here are so insanely uncreative, and they're proud of it." The main problem in his eyes was that his classmates "had to spend their entire high school experience studying for the SATs or something and didn't really get a chance to live life or experience things."

To me that sounds exactly like something a rich white kid would say.

Jason has challenged us here at the SU blog to respond to the NYT College Essay Contest “Why College Matters.” I’m actually not eligible to enter the contest as I’m not an undergraduate, but as someone who became a freshman one year after Rick Perlstein graduated from the University of Chicago (yes now you can start calculating my age), I would like to throw in my two-cents

I disagree with Jason a bit, and agree with Perlstein a bit, but then again, I find the Perlstein doesn’t even seem to be able to articulate his exact grievances. Instead he relies on comparing/contrasting a couple of anecdotes and over generalizes the extent of the problem today while comparing it to a happy yesterday that never existed (so I also agree with Jason a bit too).

The main complaint of Perlstein’s meandering essay is that the culture the students bring with them into college (a culture of overscheduled commitment to resume builders which, in a way, homogenizes students and stifles their creativity) combined with a college culture which infantilizes students (think of all the complaints about drinking and party policies in the Daily) has led to the slow demise of a once great cultural innovator.

Since I'm ineligible to enter the NYT contest I won't necessarily try to be coherent or, to appease Perlstein, attempt to be all that creative. Creativity, with Perlstein's blessing, is no longer something that I possess. Nor will I feign pretense and write in overly grammatical, awe inspiring prose--I'm now allowed that right? So it goes.

The first thing I want to take issue with is perhaps Perlstein's subtle intimation that students these days don't "[enhance] their social life with special celebrity guest speakers". Is he serious? Today's corporate climate makes it pretty unlikely that a simple phone call will get some big shot writer to show up at your dorm. But you know what? I've seen some great speakers myself. I'm interested in politics and have had the opportunity to see all the current Democratic presidential candidates speak in person (excluding Gravel), having finagled my way into the 2004 Democratic National Convention. I even got to chat and shake hands with Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Wes Clark (who I still consider a candidate).

Student groups have brought Dennis Kucinich and John Kerry to campus. Does Perlstein find nothing special about having the first African American female Senator come to our campus? Her pioneering spirit has made her a personal hero. Bart Ehrman, a writer of early Christianity, whom I enjoy reading and learning from was on campus recently. Does that count as anything to Perlstein? I sure found it exciting. I'm sure all readers here have at one point attended a talk with some public intellectual or artist they find exciting. (I realize the repeated use of such a banal word as "exciting" is very uncreative. I'm allowed as much, right?)

A couple months ago, iinnovate, a Stanford-based podcast on innovation and entrepreneurship, had the opportunity to interview Sam Altman '07, co-founder and CEO of loopt. loopt is a mobile "social mapping", or friend-finding, service which allows you to connect to your friends in real time over your cell phone.

This week, loopt launched its service with Sprint, its first major US carrier. This gives loopt a 56-million user base, and equally important, the ability to change the way individuals interact with their phones. It certainly isn't about talking anymore! The loopt team understands that there is a lot be done in the social and mobile space and is working hard to get its service onto other tier-1 carriers.

"The most common mobile question in the world is 'Where are you?' and we're excited that loopt will be able to answer that question for Sprint customers who choose to participate," said Sam. "The way we communicate on the mobile phone is about to change forever, as loopt on Sprint puts an end to missed connections and facilitates real-world interactions."

Sam and the other three co-founders started loopt after spending three months in 2005 at the Summer Founders Program by Y Combinator, a startup incubator.

For more, see loopt's blog and the press release.

(Because I couldn't resist a Perlstein response! Even a rough one.)

Nonscientifically gathered top three answers to the question “How’s it going?” or “What’d you do today?” at Stanford:

1) “Procrastinated.”
2) “Nothing.”
3) “Chilled.”

These types of answers aren’t just a Stanford phenomenon either; nearly every student at college that I’ve talked to answers similarly. And, nearly always, these answers are accompanied with an apology and guilt. There’s a certainty, on the part of the answerer, that others are working much harder and more productively, and yet, the answerer does not want to distinguish him- or herself too much from the crowd. And so a retreat into a sort of comfortable average: one that perceives itself as having the ability to work harder and wastes a ton of time.

One of the last things I can remember my mom saying to me, before she left me at Stanford was this: “You’re going to have so much fun at college. The time will just fly by.” And she paused after she said this; I could tell she wanted to go back.

She was right, of course. I bet most current college students would agree. College is fun, and we’ve expected college to be really really fun since at least high school. All of us have seen Old School, okay?; we’ve seen Animal House, we’ve seen Billy Madison; and we expected it to be more than parties: we’ve seen the inspirational stuff too, we’ve seen Good Will Hunting and that all that sappy stuff.

So college has been pumped up for all of us. It’s that gateway between being a kid and being an adult; we start getting to have adult fun with kid responsibility. We were all expecting college.

Those expectations come with a weight, and that weight is why “Procrastination” is the most popular answer to the question “What’d you do today?”

This attitude ultimately shows exactly why college is just as important as in the Sixties, just in a different way and with different attitudes for different times.

Tim Ferriss is the author of "The Four Hour Work Week"


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Timothy Ferriss recommends you check email only once per week, don't read the newspaper and don’t save for retirement. These are only a few of the taboo recommendations found in Tim’s book, “The 4-Hour Work Week.”

It would be easy to dismiss Tim’s advice as lunacy if it weren’t for his impressive list of achievements. Tim used his time-saving technique to learn six languages, become a National Chinese kickboxing champion, and a Guinness World Record holder in tango, all at 29. Tim now adds author of the #1 business book in America according to the Wall Street Journal to his long list of accomplishments.

Tim candidly discusses the contents of his book, his life philosophy and how he propelled his book to #1 using blog marketing. Tim's ability to use technology to do more with less time and money is impressive and fresh.

- Nir

I know a lot of Stanford liberals support Barack, but I'm afraid a President Obama would be just another President Bush. This is based on reading Barack's recent article in Foreign Affairs: I urge you, read the **whole** critique of Obama's Foreign Affairs article by Pierre Tristam-- and read the foreign affairs article itself. See if you want another President who believes in American exceptionalism, the need for a larger military, and a continued presence in Iraq at our "facilities" (aka permanent military bases).

I do appreciate his stance on nuclear weapons (ratify the CTBT and ban new weapons technology) but he "leaves the option on the table" to use military force against Iran to prevent a nuclear Iran. This threatening rhetoric does nothing to solve the problems between the US and Iran, and if the US actually destroyed an Iranian nuclear reactor, it would set back the Iranian program for a couple of years at most. More significatly, it would make the United States and our embassies around the world a viable target for the strongest terrorist network in the world: Iranian funded Hezbollah. Attacking Iraq was clearly a mistake, given the quagmire we're in today, but Iran would be much much worse; we would very likely face immediate retaliation on the scale of another 9/11.

Obama's reference to global warming and the need for renewable energy is heartening, if not substantive. First, he talks about using Biofuels, which are not a solution at all. He mentions renewable energy, but will there be tax incentives for people to install solar panels on their houses? Or incentives for coal-burning energy plants to shut down to make way for wind farms? Despite the considerable length of the Foreign Affairs article, it is very slim on details, making Barack seem all talk and no direction.

All in all, Obama does not have my vote for the Primary.

Kevin Drum points to an article in the LA Times on housing forclosures. Wow!

I'm not sure who else cares about the housing market, but as someone who's generally interested in fiscal policy this is a bit alarming. Wow.

Breaking news! The Facebook group "The Stanford Party Crew of 2011" has wizened up under scrutiny, and not only is the message board down, but one has to request to join. Because your correspondent is fearful of getting rejected from such an elite group, that just might be the end of mocking that particular group.

But do not fear! Your correspondent is sure, certain, confident--that there will be many drunken freshmen at the first parties of the year, and many pleased Sigma Chis. Watch out, Class of 2010 girls. Your position is about to be usurped in the eyes of that red-faced "really nice guy" in the pink polo holding the red cup. Class of 2010 boys, however, should take heart. You might actually have a chance with a girl that doesn't live in your freshman dorm.

Second item on the menu today is an ongoing feature over at Gawker: a vote for "America's Most Annoying Liberal Arts College." Stanford isn't on the list, of course, as it isn't a liberal arts college. Duh. We're a research institution, a place where humanities majors feel oppressed, and to make themselves feel better, buy as many Moleskines as they can find.

Your correspondent is personally surprised that Reed only received 4.4% of the vote. At a University of Chicago (that notoriously free-market institution) information session, the speaker made a crack about Reed burning SUV's in the main quad. It's still unclear whether it actually happened or not.

This correspondent is left wishing that the contest was instead "Most Annoying University." This would be most interesting. Who would make the list? Who would win? The self-righteous pricks from Harvard? The preppy douches from Princeton? They've managed to establish their own colony at Stanford--Sigma Nu. The angsty trendsters at Yale? Or should we look lower down in the rankings--the people who chose a good football team, and as a result, live in Indiana? That would be Notre Dame.

Third, and finally, your correspondent is pleased to report that the ASSU party on Saturday WAS NOT A DISASTER. Surprising, isn't it, considering the ASSU's track record of Mausoleum, FMOTQ, and this year's Senate?

But how on earth did the party actually go off successfully? There are a few reasons:
(1) One needed a "college ID" to get in, meaning that most high school students here for a summer program could have gotten in. Strike one for sketchy.
(2) Everyone pregamed so extensively that most people walked in completely sloshed.
(3) There honestly wasn't anything else to do.
(4) Everyone had already inhaled the last HP book in one go.

That's all for this period of time's installment. Your summer-at-Stanford correspondent, over-and-out.

I have a hunch that I have a greater affinity towards The Simpsons than most readers of this blog. (My blog bio says one of my ambitions is to write an episode. Seriously, it does say that.) The knowledgeable Simpsonophile will note that I have at least one reference to The Simpsons in every conversation. I've noticed, however, even the most obvious references are missed more often when I'm conversing with undergrads as opposed to my grad school friends.

Maybe its because I'm a bit older than the average reader. I'm old enough to remember many of the Tracy Ullman shorts and got to see most of the first few seasons in their original versions, unedited for syndication. I always felt a bond with Lisa in many ways even as I was often no more mature than Bart or Homer. Maybe it's because I'm just nerdier or dorkier. I remember fondly the "Simpsons drinking games" while watching back to back episodes (sometimes even a third). Whatever the case, I'm a likely to be a bit more obsessed with The Simpsons than the average person in general. That's how I went into The Simpsons Movie: an obsessive, nostalgic, factoid-full fan. I wasn't really disappointed (More after the jump. No spoilers, don't worry)

in yet another, extremely nerdy way (at least I'm not cleaning the stove this time), I waste time by creating a graph entitled:

my view of the internet

disclaimer: this graph does not represent any real numbers and definitely falls under the category "snark." also, I am not available to make up numbers for corporations.

I just received the new Lively Arts 07-08 season catalog in the mail the other day. I took it carefully out of it's envelope, and upon feeling the quality of the paper, I knew something was different.

"What does art tell us about ourselves?
When does collaboration lead to innovation?
What fuels creativity?
Can art inspire change?"

These are just some of the questions listed on the outside cover of the catalog.

In an exciting, bold new way, Lively Arts has completely transformed into not only a "presenter," but an "engager" in the performing arts, and their materials reflect a celebration of the radical questioning and challenging nature inherent in their 07-08 lineup.

After being blown away by the radical cover design (which is also reflected on their website), I slowly opened the catalog to page one.

The first thing that struck me was their vision for the season, captured in the signature phrase, "What inspires you?" used throughout their materials. In their own words:

"Stanford Lively Arts is engaging in the performing arts in bold and exciting ways. Join us and share the powerful experience of live performance as we explore new ideas, pose questions, and contemplate answers."

Themes of innovation and engagement run through all the performances scheduled for the next year, and are reflected in the marketing strategy. Outlining a new way of thinking about performances, Lively Arts divides their shows into four thought-provoking categories:

• Extending a Vision
• Narrowing the Divide
• Confronting America
• Creative Chemistry

Personally, after reading the short descriptions of all the performances scheduled, there are only maybe one or two out of ALL 36 shows that I'm not that interested in. Suffice to say, I am COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY by this year's season, and I am going to try to get to as many shows as possible, because this is a revolution in the performing arts hitting campus in the fall.

Please take the time to read through the upcoming season and support the arts at Stanford!

Where in the world is Professor Mullaney

When the balding Chinese man in his sixties began to pound the information counter repeatedly, his voice growing hoarse from berating the stunned airline attendant, I knew that the situation had truly taken a turn for the worse. It was the early morning hours of July thirty-first, nearing one a.m., and the Taiyuan airport had become a temporary base camp for about five hundred displaced passengers. By slamming his half-empty bottle of Wahaha against the table, the man was engaging in what in Chinese is known as yifen (义愤), or "righteous anger." In layman's terms, this translates into (a) a crowd of justifiably perturbed people led by (b) at least one vociferous spokesperson who the larger group openly resents yet quietly endorses (c) surrounding a much smaller number of official personages who (d) endure unceasing emotional abuse from the crowd's advocate for as long as it takes - but rarely with any outcome that (e) is beneficial to the onlookers.

The official, in this case, was the Deputy Director of Taiyuan Airport, who was flanked by a silently weeping flight attendant, paralyzed with fear, and four completely ineffectual security guards. My traveling companion Emily and I were on our way back to Beijing after a brief, five-day visit to Urumqi, in China's northwestern province of Xinjiang, and Dunhuang, site of the famous Buddhist caves in the neighboring province of Gansu. Although scheduled to touch down around eight o'clock in the evening, a smooth return was not in the cards. Come nightfall, Beijing was trapped in the heavy embrace of an unrelenting thunderstorm which, when viewed from the window of our Airbus A320-214, invoked memories of the debut episode of the new Battlestar Galactica: one massive nuclear burst here, another there, an even larger one over there. The flight path went something like this: Dunhuang to Lanzhou to Beijing* to Hohhot to Beijing* to Hohhot* to Taiyuan (where * indicates cities which we enjoyed from the air, but where weather did not permit us to land).

But let me rewind a bit, and explain what I've been up to in China over the past few weeks. Stay tuned...

Thomas S. Mullaney
Assistant Professor
Modern Chinese History
Website here