Never close enough

January 5, 2009 – 5:02 pm

I’m getting really tired of this, Carmel grading scale.  You are bent on screwing me over semester after semester. It’s like you dangle accomplishment in front of me and then yank it away as soon as it’s within my reach.

On my English final, I needed a 94% to get an A.  I needed to get 102 of the 108 questions right. I got 100. If I could have answered just two more lousy true or false questions about MacBeth or King freaking Arthur, I would be happy right now. But here I am, sitting with a 92.36%… 0.14% from an A… in an otherwise easy class… damn it.

Then there’s French. Got a 91% first quarter, a 92% second quarter and a 91% on the final. My French grade has been stuck there for two years now. Someone isn’t trying. And it’s not me.

With 4/6 grades in, I’m sufficiently filled with hatred for everything.

By Stephen | Posted in School | Tagged , | Comments (1)

New Years resolutions

December 31, 2008 – 1:09 pm

I’ve always thought the practice of New Years resolutions was a lame fad designed to exploit middle-aged women - the American Idol of self-improvement if you will. But last January, I started jogging every day. I kept it up throughout the year, and I saw my times and distances double, triple and quadruple. I even ran a 5k race in October. Needless to say, I am giving New Years resolutions a second shot.

By 2010, I will have:

  • upped my daily jogging times
  • run a 10k
  • started marathon training
  • been accepted at one of my top 3 colleges
  • chosen my top 3 colleges
  • bought a Mac
  • designed more
  • fully submerged myself in the elitist hipster Mac culture
  • devoted a small portion of every day to reading
  • become a more organized and eloquent writer and speaker by blogging and videoblogging
  • learned more practical mechanical and handyman stuff: changing oil, building stuff, etc.
  • more fun… if you know what I mean

I’m being ambitious, so I expect the collective internet and Anonymous itself to hold me to every last resolution.

By Stephen | Posted in Offline | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

Top 8 albums of ‘08

December 30, 2008 – 11:16 pm

2008 was an epic year for music. Both my digital and physical music collections saw frequent additions.

8. Oracular Spectacular by MGMT “Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel,” and the whole cd for that matter make this an especially catchy electronic album.

madeinthedark7. Made in the Dark by Hot Chip This techno album consists of 13 songs of amusingly varying tempo. Fun little details in Made in the Dark range from the “Sounds of the Studio” game inside their best song to the British technopop band’s pronounciation of “privacy.”

6. In Ghost Colors by Cut Copy Not quite techno and not quite alternative. Cut Copy’s latest album screams awesome 80’s dance music.

5. Consolers of the Lonely by The Raconteurs The Raconteurs’ second album is a perfect follow up to the classic Broken Boy Soldiers. There is something undeniably natural about The Raconteurs’ classic rock and blues influenced style despite the big hooks and complicated solos.

4. Conor Oberst by Conor Oberst It’s been entertaining watching Conor’s music mature. This album, which I now see as a necessary departure from Bright Eyes, reminds us of his talent and rank as the best contemporary American songwriter.

chunkofchange3. Chunk of Change by Passion Pit The six songs of Passion Pit’s premier EP sent me on a trip down BitTorrent lane looking for similar music. Unfortunately, I still haven’t found anything that resembles their solid electronic and rhythmic flavor. In the last month, each track has been caught in my head for at least a day.

2. Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes Gregorian plainchant, both clean electric and classical guitar, echo and slur make this the “sophisticated” disc I like to leave playing when people come over. This disc is nearly unparalleled in the indie rock scene.

vampireweekend 1. Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend One of the rare “pop” bands that has some talent. “A-Punk” and “Mansfard Roof” easily made Vampire Weekend the catchiest album of the year, while the powerful arrangement of guitars, orchestral strings and arpeggios throughout the rest of the disc make it the year’s most perfect album.

The Spinto Band’s Moonwink is worth mentioning too. Since I just downloaded it, I still haven’t had a good listen. But if Moonwink is anything like Nice and Nicely Done it is another happening indie rock album.

Also see:

By Stephen | Posted in Keepers, Music | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Blagojevich’s last stand

December 20, 2008 – 9:41 pm

Governor Blagojevich has promised to fight until his last breath. In yesterday’s press conference, he expressed his intent to answer every last charge in court. “And when I do,” the Governor continued, “I am absolutely certain that I will be vindicated.”

My first reaction to this was one of mere astonishment. What is he thinking? They have tapes - audio tapes - of him personally discussing past, present and future bribes. If he thinks he can survive a trial, he is beyond mad. That’s almost more delusional than a governor with a 13% approval rating running for president. Oh wait.

But as someone who tries to see things from more than one perspective, I started thinking about how he could defend himself. How could Blagojevich explain the tapes and “vindicate” himself in court? I called up my defense attorney friend, and he agreed the Governor’s best shot is to:

  • Challenge the legality of the tapes themselves. This would be difficult, but if the wiretaps are illegal, the prosecution would lose their best evidence.
  • Frame the talk as… talk. An even more difficult defense, he could try to spin the transcripts as meaningless tough talk: “When I said the seat was ‘fucking golden’ I wasn’t really inviting bribes. That was just a figure of speech. I was joshing y’all.”

I suspect he will try the first. Or maybe something else entirely. This trial will be as unpredictable as it is despicable.

By Stephen | Posted in Illinois | Tagged | Comments (0)

Don’t tax iTunes

December 17, 2008 – 7:14 pm

New York’s Governor came out with his new budget yesterday. The plan will increase income with 88 new or raised taxes. Governor Daniel Paterson’s proposal taxes soft drinks, movie tickets, spa visits, cable and beer. Should Paterson’s budget pass, New York will be the first state to tax legally downloaded mp3s, tv shows and movies. Prices on all “digitally delivered entertainment services” will go up four percent.

Allow me to say this is completely and fractally retarded. While the recording industry (hand in hand with the federal government) is throwing million dollar lawsuits at kids for downloading seven mp3s, state governments are making it even more difficult to obtain digital content legally.  The government should be going out of its way to embrace and adapt to the internet marketplace. Taxing “digitally delivered entertainment services” will bring about more piracy as the state makes it harder for legitimate online retailers to take off. Amazon and iTunes have certainly become more popular, but the industry is still so new that there is no guarantee they will survive with higher prices.

It’s time we elect some people who understand technology.

By Stephen | Posted in Internet | Tagged , | Comments (0)

hello!

Welcome to badoh, the online home one of one Stephen and greatest website in the multiverse. Read more...

RSS Latest keepers