Calliope
Sunday, October 29, 2006
21st Birthday!
I had a really good birthday season this year (hehe, I say birthday season, because I like to draw it out over a period of at least a week). Due to the storm, my parents were delayed a week in their visit to New Haven, but at least we got to be together on my actual birthday. We had lots of nice, expensive dinners, and Mom and I went to see The Prestige (which I will review later, but suffice to say it's the best film of 2006 so far). It was Parents' Weekend, so they got to see my Glee Club concert, which went really well; I'm glad they were there for it.
On Saturday at midnight, Beth and Abby and I opened a bottle of Italian champagne that Nana sent to me and had a little celebration - it was a lot of fun. I figured there was no point in going out and getting wasted, since it wouldn't exactly be the first time, so it's all sort of irrelavant. Also, I don't do vomit. On Sunday I played a concert with my orchestra and totally rocked my solos in Liszt's Les Preludes. While I was rocking said solos, someone stole all the credit cards out of my purse. A millennium of bad karma be upon them for stealing from me on my birthday. At least I got the cards cancelled before they were used, so in the end I only lost a little cash and a whole lotta pride. (I was like, "Self, are we in South Africa again?") But in spite of it, I still had a really good birthday, and I got lots of awesome presents which totally made up for it!
Last night, the celebration continued with a birthday dinner with all my friends at Istanbul Cafe (one of my favorite restaurants in New Haven; I'd be hard-pressed to say whether Istanbul Cafe or Meyhane was better...)
OH! And I almost forgot! Friday night was the senior Masquerage Ball - the biggest senior class even of the Fall semester. It was SO much fun! (Though, I must admit, it probably would have been intolerable if it hadn't been for all the intense pre-gaming we'd done, just because there were so many people crammed into such a small space.) It was held at Oracle, one of the sketchy New Haven towney clubs. Nick was a pirate and I was a pirate wench (complete with a British accent. For some reason, when I get drunk, I start talking in a British accent, and the funny thing is, the more I drink, the lower class it gets. It all starts out rather Etonian and Oxbridge-like, but by the end of the night, it's pure cockney.) We went with Abby and Roger and Beth - and we all had SUCH a good time! The whole night was really great. It started out with JE Senior Happy Hour (themed "Beers from Around the World"), and then I went out to dinner with Nick and a couple of his friends (who are really cool guys - very stimulating, intellectual conversation and FANTASTIC cappuccino!), and then we had a small pre-Ball party in our room. So, it's been a really good weekend! I think I've adequately celebrated my 21st birthday :)
Election 2006
I just wanted to relate a little tidbit I found while I was poking around the Brookings website: The Congressional elections are largely being seen as a referendum on Bush's foreign policy. If Congress swings Democratic, it will force the administration to acknowledge its mistakes (which it has thus far been loathe to do, apart from a few disingenuous, politically-motivated concessions and alterations of standard rhetoric), and consider revising their strategy. It will also put pressure on Bush to fire Rumsfeld. The fact that Rumsfeld still has a job is absolutely ludicrous. As Secretary of Defense, he is directly responsible for the utter failure of operations in Iraq. His tenure in that office is best characterized by a succession of poor judgements, miscalculations, tragic mistakes, and an arrogant obstinance that refuses to reconsider strategy that has obviously failed. He has got to go. That way, the generals who are actually on the ground in Iraq will not be afraid to report what is ACTUALLY going on there, giving an accurate reflection of reality and offering suggestions for how to deal with
it.
It is really important to think about this election in macro terms. The broader picture is essential. Many have remarked how they have become disappointed and disillusioned with Bush since the 2004 election. And unfortunately, we are stuck with him for two more years. A democrat-controlled congress will go a long way to mitigating the effects of his reelection. This is a way of sending Bush a message that he does not have the support or "mandate" he claims. He has squandered it, if indeed he ever had it. A Republican controlled congress will only reinforce his belief that Americans support what he is doing, and that he should continue to carry on with business as usual.
I don't know if I can adequately convey just how weak America is right now, internationally. We. Have. NO. Power. No credibility. North Korea just shot off a nuclear bomb, and there is absolutely NOTHING we can do about it. We can't send in troops, cuz we don't have any more. We don't even have enough to send to Iraq an adequate-sized force to stabilize the country. We have no allies who will support us because to do so is politicall ruinous (see the unfortunate case of Tony Blair). We are completely at the mercy of countries like Russia and China, and all because Bush squandered the political capital that was invested in this country after September 11th. We are MORE - not less - vulnerable to terrorist attacks because of the way he has propagated the War on Terror. This "war on terror" has got to stop, at least in its current form. I really don't know if I can convey just how bad things are right now.
I think people particularly in this country, are dangerously unaware of politics. We have grown complacent in our prosperity and in the longevity of our democracy, but it is such a fragile thing, and it requires constant maintenance and attention. It's disgusting that as the "leader of the free world", we have some of the lowest voter turnout rates in the world. We take our democracy for granted, and have consequently allowed our overzealous leaders to erode it. It is time to take it back, or at least stem the tide of the degradation of democratic values.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Friday
I had a really great day a couple of Fridays ago, but then mid-terms hit and I never got a chance to blog it, so here it is...
The day started like most Fridays - with a 7:30am wakeup call so I could make it to Hot Coffee, Hot Issues. Every Friday morning in this gorgeous Victorian mansion on a hill, the World Fellows Program hosts a coffee hour (plus scones, muffins, fruit, danishs, bagels, and other assorted goodies) and speaker, who leads a discussion on a particular issue that is currently in the news. (You know it's GOTTA be good, if it can get me up at 7:30 am!) This week's topic was "Britain After Blair" - my inner anglophile rejoiced. The woman who gave the talk was thoroughly entertaining and insightful, illustrating her lecture with all the British wit I've come to know and love. I realized that I know FAR more about the British parliament, its parties and potential leaders, than I (will likely ever) know about the American congress. It's kinda funny actually.
I then went to the International Opportunities Fair, so I could stop by and talk to the people who ran my study abroad program. When I got to the interstudy booth, I found that I have - in fact - become their posterchild. There I was, on the cover of their new brochure, in addition to being featured in two other pictures on the inside. I pointed this out to the interstudy guy and he looked nervous, like he was aware that they had never actually ASKED if they could reproduce my likeness....I though about suing...except my vanity interceded because it was flattered....
After Saybrook rehearsal, I went to the first JE-sponsored senior happy hour! Read: open bar every Friday for those of us who happen to be graduating in May. They realize we're drawing ever closer to the age where they can start to hit us up for donations to the university, so they like to keep us fat and happy. And they do a pretty good job. This particular week was martini-themed. I discovered that I have an affinity for French martinis, as well as cosmopolitans....
I ended the day with a film screening of Howard Hawks' "Only Angels Have Wings" (in 35mm!) starring Cary Grant, hosted by the Film Society. It was a pretty good movie, but it's more about the experience of seeing old films in 35mm, since one doesn't often get the opportunity.
So yeah. It was just a really good day. Shame it took me so long to get it down, since I prolly lost a lot of details, but it simply couldn't be helped.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
"Capitolism", or Why I Love Communists
Communists are a constant source of amusement to me. I mean, they're just so funny! In addition to their ridiculous political ideas that run counter to human nature in the most fundamental way, they often do stupid things. I was sitting in Willoughby's (my favorite coffee shop in The Have - best coffee in town, hands down) and I happened to glance out the window at the billboard (advertising lower mortgage rates, or something) across the street, which I discovered had be subjected to...well, let's say the creative expression of our communist friends. To express his (or, I guess maybe her) rage and sense of injustice, this particular communist had spray-painted onto the billboard: "Capitolism Sucks." No, seriously. Now, maybe he was actually trying to make a very subtle political statement, but I'm gonna go with....probably not! BAH! I laughed till I cried....then I went back to drinking my $5 latte....
