I received this message on Facebook today. It is not spam, and I have not made any edits except to redact identifying information. Maybe those trendsetters who are dumping Facebook are on to something. Hi Fellow BC ’02 Alumni Happy belated holidays of 2010. Hope everything is going well for all of you and your […]
There’s been a lot of talk lately, what with Scott Brown’s election, the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, and the inability of the Democrats to pass health care reform, about the rampant incompetency of Congress and voters’ frustration about the legislative process. Larry Lessig, who’s leading the charge of the Change Congress movement, has come […]
I have a problem. I’ve been trying to be a good Westerner and keep up with international news when it breaks, but I have a really hard time finding a set of good, diverse sources covering those issues. Let’s take the events a few weeks ago in the Philippines. I must have first heard about […]
“Really, I trained my mind to be flexible,” Deo said. “Some of the stuff I learned was, be willing to know that even when you think you know for sure, always leave room for uncertainty. And someone who always agrees with you is not necessarily your friend. You can always learn something good in a […]
Since it’s the holiday season, I suppose I should give public thanks to those little things that I find awe inspiring in my day-to-day existence. One of the most inspiring has got to be the hot shower. It’s a measure of our prosperity that we take utterly for granted the practically limitless amount of hot […]
I just finished writing my statement of purpose for my grad school applications on the need for transparency paired with robust, public-interest media in order to counteract corruption in the policymaking process. Almost as soon as I’d hit save and finally, after weeks of agonizing revisions, put the piece to rest I opened the New […]
NPR recently profiled a new book about mixed-race America. Looks really interesting, and the stuff in the interview with the authors about the “what are you?” question obviously resonated.
Stranger: Where are you from? Me: Ummm, I live in Cambridge? Stranger: No, I mean, originally. Me: Well, I grew up in Michigan [awkward pause] Stranger: But where are your parents from? Me: My dad’s from Chicago and my mom’s from upstate New York [another awkward pause] Stranger: yes, but what is your nationality Me: […]
I have approximately 50 books sitting on my shelves at home that I should be reading (because I buy books like I buy shoes) so it’s saying something that Zeitoun skipped the line. It was worth it. Zeitoun is Dave Eggers’ latest about a unique family from New Orleans and their Katrina experience. Abdulrahman Zeitoun […]
Note: Again, as with part one, I’m a little late with posting this. The weather finally changed, and it’s been absolutely idyllic as a result. Karst is beautiful, and reminds a lot of the area of Portugal we visited in July, but somehow more remote (maybe it’s the more significant language barrier). One funny footnote […]