Spamalot
Yesterday I went into NYC with a friend to go see a show on Broadway. We didn't have tix ahead of time, so we really didn't know what we were gonna see, though we were thinking about the Lion King, Wicked or Spamalot. We ended up buying tickets for Spamalot off a scalper (I am my father's daughter: playing the dumb blonde, got him to give us the tix for $10 cheaper than the price he quoted my friend....heheheh...). Spamalot is a musical theater adaptation of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The movie is absolutely RIDICULOUS, and it takes a long time (or a lot of alcohol) for one to truly appreciate it. And while the show was essentially the film word-for-word on a stage, it was still pretty hilarious. Not the best show I've seen, and certainly not as good as The Producers, but entertaining and worth the effort/cost nevertheless. It starred David Hyde Pierce ("Niles" on Fraser and Yale graduate) who was pretty hilarious and Tim Curry (who is a bit of a waste of space on stage). They ripped off a lot of techniques from The Producers - gaudy, over the top satire of the musical theater genre, lack of "PC-ness" making fun of/celebrating gays and Jews, allusions to other big Broadway shows, etc.) But it wasn't terribly clever in doing any of this. (I just found this review that perfectly sums up exactly how I feel about the show: Spamalot.) I was looking for a little more creativity than just a reproduction of the film on stage, but it was still pretty good, and had moments of genious (ex: the scene at the French castle where they heartlessly made fun of the French for about 15 minutes, also David Hyde Pierce's song about not succeeding on Broadway if you don't have any Jews.)

Perhaps the funniest moments came after the show's official end, where David Hyde Pierce annouced a collection for a couple of charities including the Red Cross "which is coming in handy, now that apparently the world is ending," and then encouraging the audience to stand and sing "the song [from the show] that they've been singing at Scooter Libby's house all week: Always Look On the Bright Side of Life". Well played.
- posted by Nicole @ 8:30 PM

 
The Boondocks
I just found out that they're making my favorite comic strip into a TV show. The strip is called "The Boondocks", and it's absolutely HILARIOUS! It's this little 10-year-old black kid who's ridiculously precocious and intelligent, who comments on everything from George W. to Puff Daddy. It's real SMART humor. I LOVE it! I wonder if the show will be any good though. I'm kind of skeptical.

But ANYWAY, I was reading an article on the new TV show at NYT.com today, and the article included an interview with the strip's creator, Aaron McGruder; he had some really fabulous quotes:

"We should all have a healthy fear of Oprah....Oprah has the power to lay waste to entire industries with a mere utterance. That's a power that you have to respect. And ultimately I respect it."
- in reference to an episode where Oprah is kidnapped by two thugs

"He's not even going to be able to smell the White House unless he's a member of Skull and Bones or any of those close-knit secret societies that really aren't so secret anymore."
- on Senator Barack Obama's chances of ever sitting in the Oval Office

Ok, I'm reading back over these, and I realize they're a lot funnier in context, so you should go read the article. And you should read the comic strip.
- posted by Nicole @ 8:20 PM

 
I am either weird or extremely well-educated
I listen to a french (online) radio station while I study for my Russian tests. If I study late enough, I catch their morning show.
- posted by Nicole @ 2:20 AM

 
triage (TREE-azh)
n. the sorting of assigned texts and allocation of time to pages and especially assignments according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the sanity retained by a college student during midterms
- posted by Nicole @ 12:08 AM

 
YEA!
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me-ee, happy birthday to me!!!!!
- posted by Nicole @ 5:09 PM

 
The End of My Youthful Teenage Years
I thought I'd take this opportunity to blog as a teenager for the final time. My youth is rapidly decaying - I mean, RAPIDLY. We're talking like 5 hours left. I hope it doesn't hurt...I'm scared....

However, the constant flow of cards, gifts, chocolate, flowers, expensive jewelry, small puppies, etc, has been just lovely. I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO loved!!! Yea! I have the best friends and family in the entire world!!! HOORAY!
- posted by Nicole @ 6:37 PM

 
AGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
By what evil twist of fate was I born in the middle of college midterm season?????
- posted by Nicole @ 6:51 PM

 
Quote of the Day
"I think about being a traveler when I grow up, so I have to learn as many languages as I can."

-Raul Freire, 9 (a fourth grade Chicago student, fluent in Spanish and taking classes in Chinese, quoted in this article in the NYT about the growing number of Chinese language programs in the US.)
- posted by Nicole @ 1:16 PM

 
Ed Helms is the Coolest Person I Know
Oh my God - tonight was the much-anticipated Fall Show. WITH ED HELMS FROM THE DAILY SHOW! I had very high expectations and was not disappointed in the least. He was absolutely HILARIOUS! SOOOOOOOOOO FUNNY! I haven't laughed that hard for that long since I went to see the Producers on Broadway. He's truly a master of his craft. He did a nice balance of making fun of us Yalies ("This isn't a college, it's fucking HOGWARTS!"....*thunderous-cheering-and-applause*), making fun of himself, making fun of the president, and - why not? - making fun of Yanni. The last bit he did on Yanni almost killed me, I was laughing so hard (Should you ever require it - and, now, I have absolutely no idea why you would - the plural of "Pegasus", according to Ed Helms, is "Pegasi"...). The man is a genius. I'm so glad that YCC could get him to come here. When I look back over these four years, this will definitly be one of those very special occasions that stands out in my mind.

(PS: The other acts sucked, but I didn't even care, Ed Helms was SO good.)
- posted by Nicole @ 10:42 PM

 
The Deluge
It has been raining here for the past 9 days straight. Seriously. I have not seen the sun since last Thursday. In fact, it's been so long, that I fear when yellow thing in the sky returns, people may stop on the street, bow down to their knees, and begin to worship it. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. Now, I like rain just as much as the next person with a birthday in October - I love napping when it rains, I even love reading or *gasp* studying in the library when it rains. But walking across campus to go to class: NOT COOL. I'm seriously beginning to think that God may be reconsidering that promise - you know, the "I promise never to FLOOD THE ENTIRE EARTH EVER AGAIN" one. 40 days and 40 nights, that's all it took: WE'RE ALREADY A QUARTER OF THE WAY THERE!
- posted by Nicole @ 10:35 PM

 
Happy Birthday, Hugh Jackman!
Hugh Jackman, one of my favorite Aussies, turns 37 today!
- posted by Nicole @ 10:42 PM

 
Politics of Food Aid
One of the greatest sources of conflict in international trade fora is the agricultural subsidies that developed countries like the United States and the European Union dish out to their farm sectors. These subsidies keep global food prices unnaturally high and prohibit the development of local agricultural sectors in less developed countries, particularly in Africa; this is particularly critical because agricultural is often the biggest or only sector of the economy for many developing countries.

The situation is further complicated by US food aid practices. Various aid organizations dump food into African markets to relieve famine and either sell it at really low prices or give it away for free. This procedure undercuts the local producers. African economies will never be able to get on their feet and move away from dependence on aid if the policies we employ to "help" them undermine long-term development objectives.

A bill has recently come up in Congress to improve this predicament. The bill would make it so that programs like USAID (US Agency for International Development) and other governmental aid agencies would buy the food from LOCAL producers, acomplishing the goals of mitigating the humanitarian crises associated with famine as well as contributing to the development of the agricultural sectors of the economy in these developing countries. Sounds like a great idea, right? That's because it is, and many other contries have begun to employ similar procedures for the distribution of food aid.

Unfortunetaly, this bill was killed by the American farm lobby (a very, very powerful lobbying force in Congress). They would rather the government buy expensive American-grown products, and then in addition pay shipping and trasportation costs to send them overseas to Africa (and, of course, this takes a very long time, so more and more people die just waiting for the food to get there). In addition to being expensive and inefficient, it is very selfish, narrow-minded.

There was an article in the NYT on this today, but other than that there hasn't been very much press on it.
- posted by Nicole @ 2:30 PM

 
Russian
We learned the Russian word for "hooligan" the other day, which I think is really important. You know you've attained fluency when you can really level a decent insult.
- posted by Nicole @ 11:45 PM

 
Everything is Illuminated
I'm having a wonderful weekend with my folks - we're having a really good time. Last night we went to eat at a really nice Italian restaurant over in Worster Square, called Consiglo's. REALLY good food.

Then today - since the rain pretty much preempted our apple-picking plan - we went to go see Everything is Illuminated. It was a fabulous film! (It was directed by a former Yalie, Liev Schreiber.) So hilarious at parts, and at other so moving. It's the best balance of comedy and depth I've seen in a long time. This film conveys so much meaning, mostly by what it leaves unsaid. It's quite impressive. Elijah Wood is excellent - he's an incredible actor, and he's so young! Most of the humor comes from the Ukrainian character Alex (played by this guy Eugene Hutz) - he is absolutely hysterical. I was SCREAMING I was laughing so hard. He's a translator for Elijah Wood's character, as he searches for his family's roots in the Ukraine ("Please excuse my speaking of English, as I am not so premium with it."). I even understood a little bit of the Russian! YEA! It's a very emotional story, very well done.

Also, thank to all you wonderful family members who sent gifts, food, etc! We had a little birthday party for me last night, and I opened all my gifts! Thank you so much! I LOVE everything! *snif-snif* It's nice to know I'm not forgotten out here in the Have...
- posted by Nicole @ 3:49 PM

 
Ralph Fiennes
So, The Constant Gardener made me fall head over heels in love with Ralph Fiennes (sorry, Barb - I disagree). Which is why I was SO excited to learn that he's playing Voldemort in the next Harry Potter movie!
- posted by Nicole @ 3:22 PM

 
Google Toolbar
I've been busting my butt with school work this week because the parental units are coming to New Haven this weekend for Parents Weekend. (NB: The convoy departs on Friday, so any gifts, food items (perishable or non), letters, pictures, expensive jewelry, small puppies, etc will have to be given to them before that time....not that I'm expecting ANYTHING.) But I procrastinated some tonight by downloading the Google Toolbar. It looks pretty sweet, right there next to the Merriam-Webster toolbar. I think it's going to change my life in profound and meaningful ways. I have very high expectations. I also like that it has a popup blocker, which is something I've been meaning to install for a long time. Plus, it gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing that I contribute to Google's growing domination of all things internet....and beyond!
- posted by Nicole @ 1:32 AM

 
I Hate Economics
This week in my seminar on transatlantic (EU-US) relations, we covered economics and trade relations.....*yawn*....It doesn't help that I don't understand the stuff AT ALL. I seriously understood about 25% of the readings for this week - and that's 25% of the parts I actually read, not including the whole sections I skipped over. I
seriously just do not get it. Blah blah blah, exchange rates, something about currencies being "pegged to the dollar", whatever that means; then there was some business about an "overvalued dollar" or something, and then some trade deficit stuff. It might as well have been in Chinese.

But it was funny because Howorth (my amazing British professor) started out the seminar by saying that weeks like this were good because they remind us why we do political science and not economics. God, is that for sure! (At least he hates it too. He said he fell asleep as he was rereading the articles on the train that morning.) He also admitted that he "knows absolutely nothing" about economics - which means there's hope for me! I can be successful AND not understand inflation! Of course, he's like 15 times more brilliant than I am....
- posted by Nicole @ 1:29 AM

 
More Constant Gardener
I have not been able to stop thinking about this film since I saw it. It is a truly extraordinary film.
- posted by Nicole @ 3:19 PM