quadruplify | Nov. 22nd, 2008

So any hopes I have on enjoying this weekend have been shot by a 6-8 page paper due Monday evening. WOE. :( Fortunately, I hope to do an outline and start it tomorrow, and finish it Sunday and Monday afternoon, because I'm a real eleventh-hour procrastinator like that. XD I know no one likes writing papers, but I especially loathe doing them; for me, they're exercises in extreme mental masochism to the point where I get jittery, more antisocial than I usually am, and worst of all, paranoid. That's why they take so long for me to do, even though when you think about it, 6-8 pages goes by FAST. What can you possibly say in 6-8 pages? But I figure that as long as I plan it out and pick out relevant quotes beforehand, and do half and half each day, I should be fine. I hope. Of course, it's going to take up my whole time, and I'm inevitably going to get distracted by the wonders of teh intat00bz. >_>

It's not like Thanksgiving break will be better. First and foremost, I have a 10-page paper due the Monday we get back. (Insert a sarcastic "Nice!" here.) It's for Enviro Policy, and I haven't decided the topic yet, LOL! Though finding the topic isn't the hard thing, it's the research. Though I've never had to go to the library and actually leaf through a book to do research just yet, and I'll see what I can do so I don't have to this time around. Anyway, I got about four days to do it over break (not including Thanksgiving Day -- why the hell would I work then?), which means less than 3 pages a day, if I don't fall into old habits like I usually do and leave it all for when I get back. I also have to read Into the Wild in its entirety -- then again, I don't have to until the Wednesday we get back, and it's only 200 pages, so I can finish it up when the big-ass paper is off my back. Not to mention catching up on Econ reading and doing a 6-page problem set due the Monday we get back -- these aren't too painful, but the professor is absolutely horrible and I haven't been learning much at all in his class. Oh yes, and a paper here too, though I don't know what it's supposed to be about exactly, will probably be quite short, will probably not be due immediately after break, and only counts for 4% of my grade in the class. Therefore, no worries about that. And then there'll be Japanese, but the homework is usually minimal and we'll all supposed to be preparing for doing a skit the Thursday we get back. Apparently I get to play some moose god, which doesn't make sense at all but sounds totally awesome as well. XD

Anyway, this just shows that I think too far ahead and I have way too much time on my hands to think about this stuff. And I needed to let this out of my system -- that's one reason I have this LJ in the first place, anyway. I know I shouldn't be worried too much, and to put things in perspective -- but then again, I'm a college student. This is my life, and putting things in perspective is not something I'm expected to do with my life just yet. :D

OK, interesting links!

Scientists discover long-lost Furby-look-alike

I want to say one word to you. Just one word. "Adorable." There's a lot of things about this that are absolutely adorable. XD

RIP John Galt

I admit that I haven't read any Ayn Rand at all (another thing I should make the time to do, along with all the other things I want to read and watch and do in the near future), but I have read enough about her philosophy -- and heard opinions from a friend (whose opinions I trust highly) who has read some of her novels -- to know what it is and what she advocates. As my brain is fried after a long week and it's late and I don't have the time or energy to write a more thorough, thoughtful response (as it usually is when I write these things), I'll only say this: while I certainly have great respect for Rand's opinions concerning the individual in the social realm, I have always believed that her beliefs and philosophy were frighteningly extreme, and her opinions on the economy are overly simplistic and have absolutely no basis in the way human beings really work. Yes, I know the article is from the Daily Kos, and yes, I know its author is anonymous, but s/he expressed my discontent with Objectivism and similar philosophies in a way I would never be able to do myself (without meaning to brag, I believe I am a capable writer, but not when it comes to politics). The articles explains how and why, for better or for worse, Rand's ideas became the basis for our current -- and failed -- economic policy. (I know some people would argue that there's still plenty of "immoral" regulation of business and industry, but I know enough about American history to know that there was much more before Greenspan and Reagan came along.) Whatever you do, please please PLEASE read the comments; most of them (not all -- this is the Internet after all) are very insightful, thought-provoking, and intelligent, from people who agree (mostly) or disagree. Here are a few comments way down on the page that I liked, that would potentially be missed if you just skimmed them:

www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/134#c134
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/227#c227
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/588#c588
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/622#c622
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/376#c376
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/470#c470
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/590#c590
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/514#c514
www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/10/26/18615/754/677#c677

In the comments, I also found this hilarious comic spoofing Atlas Shrugged, a book that, like Catch-22, I expect to give up on halfway through. XD

And speaking of jobs and the economy:

The Job

Does this remind you of anything? ;-)

And finally, with Thanksgiving next week, here's a little something from William S. Burroughs. I don't fully agree with everything he says, but it's still rather interesting.

Got my radio show in less than 8 hours, so I really ought to be going to bed soon. Take care, everyone.

EDIT: Almost forgot! If you've been keeping up with the latest political news, you know there's a recount going on in Minnesota over the extremely close Senate race between Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D). Inevitably, during this process ballots are going to get challenged. This website shows you what such challenged ballots look like. How would you deal with them? Looking at these ballots makes one realize just how contentious and painstaking a recount really is.