TOPIC: HOTEL RWANDA

So…I have nothing to do today, so I walk for about 4 hours all over Baltimore.  It’s what you have to do to explore a place when you don’t have a car.  I finally made my way to the Charles Theater, possibly the most historic movie theater in Baltimore.

The first movie playing when I arrived was Hotel Rwanda.  I’d heard it was good, and it certainly was.  The movie takes place in Rwanda in the early ’90′s, and reveals a portion of the ethnic conflict between the Hutus and the Tutsis.

“What’s the difference?” asks an American journalist in Rwanda. 

“Nose type and other facial features mostly.  The Belgium’s divided us up like that.”

After an apparent peace treaty is signed between the two groups, the Hutu President is assassinated by a Tutsi, leading the Hutus to begin an all-out ethnic cleansing of every Tutsi.  They burned their houses, dismembered them w/ machetes, killing hundreds and thousands of them. 

Don Cheadle runs a hotel which becomes a makeshift refugee camp for Tutsi orphans and adults.  His character was truly altruistic, and he used his political connections that he had earned from hosting diplomats at his hotel in an attempt to protect as many lives as possible. 

The movie was powerful.  Definately entertaining, and thought provoking.  While the murders were going on, one character asked, “where is the world?”  Cheadle’s character remarked that when the world saw footage from the journalists, all would be well.  The journalist was not so optimistic. “People will watch and will feel sorry…but after that, they’ll go back to their dinners.”  Ain’t that the truth.  Recognizing that it would take a bigger effort, Cheadle tells a group of people to call every important person they know to let them know of the tragedy’s occuring in Rwanda. 

“We must shame them into giving help,” they said. 

Another thing that hit me as I watched this movie, which is based on true events, is how little concern our media (and as a result, the general public and politicians) have for Africa.  This was an African Holocaust, and yet most people will never even know it happened. 

Now…after watching this movie, I did not feel the need to go to Africa and help the starving children.  I didn’t feel the need to learn all I could about Darfur, which I know nothing about except that there’s another round of murder going on there.  But…it did make me reflect on my own desires to do good in the world, although in my own way.  It would be a waste of energy for me to get angry and upset by this movie, although I’m glad to know that some people will and will then dedicate themselves to addressing those types of issues.  It comes down to picking your battles. 

There was another scene where a bus of white foreign diplomats, (i think they were diplomats), were being escorted out of the hotel.  One person on the bus pulled out a camera to take a photo of the refugees whose lives were hanging in the balance.  Two emotions hit me, first, the “how sad that they’re leaving and photographing those who might be dead in a day,” and, “well…there’s not necessarily anything that person could do.”  There are two sides to every story!

TOPIC: just journaling

So…I came back to my friend’s apt. in Baltimore for the weekend.  So many days I spent just sitting on the computer, thinking, writing, reading other people’s sites, all the time feeling simply as though I wasn’t really going anywhere.  I spent more time w/ the computer than w/ people.

I had two really good conversations yesturday.  I’ve recently caught up w/ an old friend, and we had a long talk about a wide range of topics.  This one talk helped put a lot of things in perspective for me regarding finding balance in life. 

“Today is perfect.  Today is ideal.  Today is the best days of our lives.”  We were talking about how people get nostalgic…things were better when people played in the streets on not on video games, but things were also worse when people couldn’t communicate on cell phones and through the internet.  If we’re always searching for something better, we may never be satisfied.  So embrace today.

We also discussed comfort zones.  It has become natural to criticize our culture, although, in most cases, what people criticize is other people’s cultures within our culture.  “Too many people are addicted to technology.”  “Too many people are obsessed with their jobs.”  “Too many people never travel.”  We make these judgements about others, without taking into consideration what makes them comfortable. 

Pick up any spiritual type book or magazine, and it’ll talk about “getting more out of life,” as if people can say, I’m getting more than you are out of life.  What does it mean to get more out of life?

My friend said he enjoys working long hours.  He enjoys the challenge.  Most people end up working in an office, and they are highly satisfied w/ the work they are doing.  My search in life is not a universal search, but a personal one.  There are varying ways to get the most out of life.

I keep thinking of Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting…he had all this potential to be “great” at something, but was using his abilities.  He could have done “so much” with his life, as if being a sheep herder or doing construction did not constitute doing “so much.”

Anyways…another part of the conversation revolved around comfort of being in one place.  The comforts of home, of family, of the familiar.  Since college, I’ve been jumping from place to place…does this mean that I am never content w/ one place?  Does this mean I’ve been constantly unhappy?  Or…is does the act of moving around represent my comfort zone?  Maybe that’s my constant, seeing new places, new people.  Movement is what excites me.

In the last week or so…I’ve begun to take life less seriously.  When I was thinking about politics everyday, I walked around in a haze.  I thought, “everything looks ok outside, but I know the world is actually in a bad state.”  I thought about all these things I couldn’t see that were real, all the ugliness in the world. 

Now…I have been unable to follow or pay attention to politics.  The Social Security debate rages on, and I know nothing of it.  When John Muir did his hike across Australia, he was probably the only person on the planet to not know about 9/11.  Politics matters and doesn’t matter at the same time!  I have to rely on others to be informed to mold the world in a “good” way. 

Question…so many people criticize capitalism because of America’s use of it, especially regarding foreign policy.  I was reading that 6% of the US economy is a war economy, even when we’re not at war.  But…what about Switzerland, or other countries who are just doing their thing peacefully?  Capitalism as an ideology is not wrong…the people running it have simply done so in a war-on-their minds manner.

My life has been given meaning through the existence of problems.  If we had a world w/ no poverty, no disease, where everyone lived forever, where would we get meaning and purpose from?  I believe people do altruistic things partially because they want to eradicate them, but, mostly out of a psychological need to feel like they have purpose.  Because…being compassionate “feels good.”  I was reading in Utne magazine about how the brain reacts to feelings of compassion.  They put probes on the brain of a buddhist monk, and even when they showed him gory images of burn victims, rather than register negative emotions, the side of the brain that registers joy would light up, because the monk immediately felt compassion towards that person.  Maybe…we’re psychologiclly wired to be altruistic.

To further make myself an open book…I have viewed my life as a living story.  Out of certain psychological needs, I have chosen to pursue a life that has the appearance of adventure, of compassion, of importance.  I’m not really an altruistic or adventurous person, I generally act in order to gain some other benefit.  Maybe to feel good.  Maybe to have a good story.  Maybe to challenge myself.

I’ve seen myself bounce from being an idealist, to being a realist, to being somewhere in between.  In more of a balance.  I do still have concerns…because w/out idealists who put their own lives at risk, life might not be as good as it is for many people.

I was also browsing a magazine called Tikun, which I believe stands for repairing the world in Hebrew.  In one article, they mentioned how the shofar, the rams horn blown on Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year, is meant to “awaken us from our slumber.”  I’ve often argued the same thing…that we “sleepwalk” through life.  I feel less adamant about that now…why is sleepwalking necessarily the wrong way to live life. 

I think…psychologically, I have experienced more “joy” doing certain things and living a certain way, versus other ways.  Ultimately…I think the goal of life is to experience the most joy.  He who dies w/ the most joy wins…that sort of thing. 

On another note…I’ve recently come face-to-face w/ the reality that I am a meta-thinker, and I hate using phrases that I’m not really sure about, but, I think my head is generally not in the moment, instead, I’m thinking about the moment.  Instead of watching a tv show, I’m thinking about what it means to be watching tv.  Instead of being fully involved in a conversation, I’m thinking about my role in the conversation.

Recently…I’ve been becoming more observant of things.  Thinking less about myself as a central character, and more as just a part of everything. 

Well…now I’m kind of rambling.  My posts are rarely pre-thought out, I just right what I’m thinking at that moment.

Last night I watched the movie the mosquito about killer life-size mosquitos.  Scary shit.

TOPIC: THE BANFF FILM FESTIVAL…ALONE ACROSS AUSTRALIA

Anyone want to hear an inspiring story, look up John Muir.  This guy hiked 1600 miles across Australia, south to north, the first person to ever do this alone, without any re-supply!!!  He carried a 300lb. cart that included his camera gear to film himself, and the hike took about 120 days.  Through the deserts, he found water in the footprints of camels, for food, he had a rifle to hunt a bird, and found as many as 50 different species of fruit and vegetables.  He also traveled w/ his trusty Jack Russel dog.

A truly amazing film, Muir’s wilderness skills were beyond belief, mostly taken from the native aboriginals.  When he lost his sleeping bag, he found himself sleeping between two fires to stay warm.  Needing 4-liters of water a day, he often spent 4hours a day boiling the salt out.

So…why did he do it?  For the adventure.  To push his limits.  To get in touch w/ a primitive way of life that is almost extinct today.  He had an upbeat Australian “no worries” attitude for most of the trip, occassionally making comments like, “I don’t feel lonely, just very very alone,” as he wandered as a spot in the dry desert.

Also…saw some videos of extreme skiing, people skiing off cliffs w/ parachutes, a woman who went to the extereme NE of Russia scouting white water kayaking, mountain bikers who could control their bikes like gymnasts, hopping their wheels on hand rails.

Then…last night I had a dream about traveling, the world map was all disjointed, so I could walk from Aus. to Costa Rica since they were next door to each other. 

I woke up the other day w/ an extreme feeling of fright.  I realized how directionless I am socially and career wise.  After Aug., my life is a big ?  I’ve made plans to travel w/ a friend, and I know how much travel makes me feel alive, but the thought of it also scares the shit out of me. 

It’s really hit home how different my upbringing is from a lot of people.  There’s someone I work w/ who grew up as a youth-at-risk, being sent to boarding schools and other programs for drugs.  He spent a year hitchhiking, he’s smoke w/ his mom, he ran away from school and after getting arrested, once bailed on the police after being let out on bail.  He went to festivals, following bands like the Dead.  He’s completely changed his life now and wants to help others who grew up like him.

For people like this…the idea of just traveling or exploring the world is natural.  It’s what they know.  What do I know?  I know college degrees, health insurance, nice houses, cars.  The life I dream of living runs contrary to so much of the life that “I know.”  I hear stories of people doing crazy and exciting things, and feel jealous and judging at the same time.  I can’t escape my upbringing.

Yes…this was a good week, I’m in a better situation in many ways than I have been for most of this year, and I’m certainly going to have some interesting stories coming up.  But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still rather conflicted by life.  My first year after college was a year to remember and dream about, while this year is one I wish would just pass. 

Towards the end of my book…I wrote something about what I would do if my book failed at its mission. “If this book doesn’t spark a conversation, if nothing changes, than I won’t feel as though my ideas were wrong, only that they failed to lead to change.  So…I’d quicly move on and do something less “world changing” but still equally fun and exciting.  Well…I’m here in Baltimore because I’m clinging to my dreams of changing something in this world.  My #1 goal has to be having a real sit-down talk w/ the executive director here, and telling my entire story.  If I can find a way to work my visions directly into Outward Bound, than I have done the exact right thing by working here.  If not…as I’m preparing myself for, my life will be as millions of others my age find life, completely in the air.  I can’t even imagine what’s next, and I’m afraid traveling will just become an escape, since I don’t know what I want to do with my life.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE.  Wow…feels good to finally say that.  Now, I’m just like everyone else, I’ve become the stereotypical 20-something.  I don’t know what my dream job is anymore. 

Topic: 2 second update

It’s day #4 of training at Outward Bound Baltimore…starting to feel settled, meeting lots of friendly and interesting staff.  Yesturday learned all the gear and got aquainted w/ the ropes course (jumped off a 30ft. telephone pole for good measure).  Today…discussing adolescent psychology and behavior.  Been playing lots of random and goofy camp type games like Ping Pong hockey…where two teams lie on their bellies and try blowing a ping pong ball across the other teams’ goal line.  Enjoying the community living environment…days are long, little free time, up at 7am to go for a run, usually up till 9 doing activities…last night was practicing all sorts of knots.  Looking forward to some R&R this weekend, and in a few weeks, will be putting it all together and leading courses.  Taking things one day at a time…

-dan

I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he’s not careful.

-Yann Martel

Topic: Travel and Starfish

I was thinking of going to Australia in the fall.  Then, I had a conversation w/ a friend who just got back from 6mos. of travelling, her boyfriend is from Argentina and they spent 6 weeks there.  Argentina sounds like a good place to go. 

Yesturday, my roommate’s friend came out w/ us, he’s been playing tennis around the world, in Spain and Venezuela.  The other day a camp friend of mine just returned from 7 months in Israel, teaching English.  And…I still have a friend in New Zealand, in his 3rd year of travel since college.

I think when you’re travelling, every place becomes special.  The food store you shop at, the mall, the buses and taxis.  Even days when you do nothing, are still exciting.  You can just wake up and think to yourself, “holy shit, i’m in Africa,” or wherever you are.  And it raises every experience to another level.

I’ll admit, the only thing really holding me back from living abroad indefinately is family.  When I go out and know that I’m only going to be around Americans, it makes me think, “i know there’s more out there, i want to experience it.”  I want to be around accents, and rugby, and soccer, and new words, and new foods, and new attitudes.

Have you ever spoken to someone who has said, “I’m lucky to live where I live?”  People who live in a place that’s truly worthy of people to come and visit?  Maybe it’s near a beautiful beach, a city of music, a city w/ a buzz.  A city where everyone somehow is in agreement that they’re not just random people in a city, but that they’re random people in a special place.  Places where most people will have shared a common experience, where there’s certain things that are must-do for the area.  Here’s a few places that make my list

Whistler, British Columbia
Coffee Bay, South Africa
Cape Town, SA
Boulder, Colorado
St. Louis, Mo. (in the spring)
Granada, Spain
San Sabastian, Spain
London, England
NYC

These are places where I’ve felt that each day I want to explore.  I want to hike, I want to find a cafe, I want to find a bar, I want to hop on a bus somewhere, I want to open up the guide book and see what else there is.

Well…right now I’m in Baltimore, and so I’m going to the one place where I can have it all.  The Barnes & Nobles travel section.

Also…I left a comment on this site regarding a post about waste and the wealthy. 

There’s a story my camp director used to tell about starfish, i forget exactly how it goes.  But…it involves a boy on a beach, where tons and tons of starfish have been washed up on shore.  The boy is picking up a starfish, one at a time, and tossing it back into the sea.  Another person comes back and says, “Why are you wasting your time, you’ll never get all the starfish back into the water?  You’re not making any real difference, what you’re doing really doesn’t matter.”  The boy responds, “It matters to that starfish!”

So…is that the point really?  The world is full of beached starfish, some of us work to help the individual starfish, some of us work to address the whole problem.  If the rich spent their money on helping starfish instead of on trips around the world in fancy planes, the problem would be solved, and those who are picking up starfish one-by-one would feel as if they’re making a bigger difference.

It does tug at my heart a bit knowing that less materialism and more humanitarianism would help a lot of people.  But…people choose to do different things with their time and money.  Cristo decided to make people happy through a $21 million dollar art project (although the NYT reports that number may be inflated…although i couldn’t see the reason or newsworthiness of the article).

The issue at hand is the attitude of the person making a critique.  “Schools are bad!”  “The rich are uncaring cheap bastards!” Only through that kind of anger will improvements be found, but, there will always be starfish left behind, so how do we find a balance between anger and humanitarian work out of idealism, and pleasure and apathy out of an acceptance than we’re not going to achieve the ideal.

I haven’t thought this issue out all the way through.  What I’m trying to piece together is how to fight for good in the world, while also accepting the bad. 

I need to re-read Nick Hornby’s book, “How to Be Good.”  It describes a person who become truly altruistic, literally giving away everything to help those who need it, to the point that even those w/ good hearts view him as a bit crazy. 

How do we reconcile our good hearts, with our desire to enjoy life?  Our desire to lash out at those who spend lavishly, while we still embrace some degree of materialism?  If we are to criticize a person for not using their wealth to help the starfish, are we not also to criticize a person for not using their time to help the starfish?  How do we reconcile the fact that we might help the life of one starfish, but, ultimately, starfish live and starfish die, regardless?  Unless we address the underlying manner in which starfish co-exist, we will continue to have the tragedy of beached starfish…should we spend out lives desperately scambling to help as many into the water as possible, knowing there will only be more, or is it ok to accept the fact that w/out a systematic change, helping one is as “good,” as helping many?  Again…the idea of all things in life being relative reveals itself.

I think systematic change requires leadership…either in the political or non-political realm.  There’s no question that Bush has a bigger responsibility than a celebrity to use their money to address social issues.  Obviously, the amount speant on the inauguration in a time of great world need following the tsunami, represented not just waste, but represented a message that addressing hunger and victims of natural disasters isn’t really as important as we say. 

I think this post is actually leading to a point…the point being that anger tends to be used in an unproductive manner.  Are you a complainer, or are you someone who is doing something to lessen the need for the complaint to exist.  To complain about how the rich waste their money, to me is just complaining about the rich.  What’s the solution.  Are you arguing that they should be taxed more (either their income or their extravagant purchases?) so that extravagant wealth and spending can be used to address social ills?  Or…are you arguing that gov’t money should be used in a more efficient manner to address social ills instead of things like propaganda and inaugural balls (not sure if the inauguration was paid for by us or privately?).

The ultimate question is, what are you doing w/ your anger? 

A couple of years ago…I decided that the first thing I would do w/ my anger, is to be self-reflective.  It’s easier to criticize others than to look w/in.  I realized I needed to make sure I was living fully, before I could worry about others.  I also realized that I was in no position to ever really judge others (1…because i’m not perfect, and 2…because you never know the full extent of a person, if someone grew up rich and that’s all they know, then i can’t judge them, just as i won’t judge a pro-athlete who lived in the slums for now enjoying the material life), and the best I could do was to lead by example.  This is important not only because if you’re not setting an example to follow, then your complaints are hollow, but also, as a practical matter, it’s more useful to pander to those you seek to change, than to anger them.  After a while…you come to see all the rich and political elite as evil, when, in actuality, those are the very people you’re going to want to help push your cause.  After my anger subsided from being lashed at towards others, and then focused on myslef, I ultimately came to realize that it is the system (which for me represents the education system), that needs to be addressed.  You can’t change people, but you can hope to change the system that produces the types of people we see today. 

So…to dharmabum if you’re reading this, I didn’t mean in anyway to lessen your anger, or to pass any judgement on you.  I applaud your beliefs, I share your beliefs, but I just wanted to give you some perspective on what to do w/ them.

TOPIC: POLITICAL REVIEW

If you’re reading this page from the link in the Political Review, good on ya!!!  Obviously…the hope was to get people to talk about this, and if you made it this far, you obviously care about some of the issues I wrote about.  Hopefully my site will be one avenue for jumpstarting discussion, but ultimately, you need to make this discussion grow, and then some good might come from this.  If you’re not a xanga user, you may need to subscribe (it’s easy and free, literally 1-2min.), and then you can leave comments.  So…if you have any general thoughts, feedback for me, please leave a comment.   

Just so you know a bit about this site…it’s my online journal.  I post everything from my favorite cereals (see last post), to my thoughts on how to create a more ideal university.  Recently this site has become a debating ground on political issues, and I’ve had libertarians, democrats, and socialists chime in.  The debates get lively, and tend to be informative, especially with the ability to link to other people’s sites, and resources. 

If you go back, you can trace some of my story post-Wash U.  Go back a year on the calander, and you can read some of my posts from when I was in South Africa last year.  You can also see the process I went through in self-publishing my book, College Daze,  that touches more in depth on the issues in my article.

OK…enough about me, let’s hear what’s on people’s minds!!!

For those of you who haven’t seen the article, here it is:

Washington University: In St. Louis, or an island of it’s own?

For all the talk about “the Wash U Bubble”, it is disappointing how little discussion there is of how to improve the student body’s general lack of knowledge and concern for the “outside world”.  So, for those of you interested in creating a better learning community at Wash U., here’s some ammo to get you interested. 

The National Survey of Student Engagement just came out with their 5^th annual report (http://www.indiana.edu/~nsse/html/report-2004.shtml).  The data includes 160,000 first-year and senior students randomly sampled from more than 470 institutions, and highlights the relationships between educational practice and aspects of students’ success.  Under the category, “disappointing findings,” they note, “Two-fifths of first-year students and a quarter of seniors ‘NEVER’ discuss ideas from their classes or readings with a faculty member outside of class.”  In another report, “Greater Expectations,” (www.greaterexpectations.org), The American Association of Colleges and Universities notes, “change is urgently needed.  Even as college attendance is rising, the performance of too many students is faltering.”  In a section about barriers to excellence, the report states, “a college degree more frequently certifies completion of disconnected fragments than of a coherent plan for student accomplishment.”  It’s interesting to note that a reason attributed to the increase in college students, “the world is complex, turbulent, and more reliant on knowledge than ever before,” makes little sense as the students attending college are disengaged because, “educational practices invented when higher education served only the few are increasingly disconnected from the needs of contemporary students.”  

In the fall of 2003, I conducted a student survey of my own at Wash U titled, “Rate your educational experience,” and rather than bombard you with data, I will display the people behind the numbers, as noted in their open ended comments: “[College] gets in the way of learning about the real world.  Lack of relevancy.  Outside the classroom is where most of the learning gets done in terms of personal growth.” “I feel that by attending a prestigious college, I will have a better chance at success after college.  However, I think this has more to do with the fact I attended the college, not what I learned.”  “I often feel as if education has become more about grades and less about the actual knowledge you graduate with.”  And my favorite: “Too expensive.  Hounded by money.  Inadequate career prep.  Indifferent professors.  Grub was good.” 

The problem is real, but the lack of discussion makes me pessimistic that students, professors, and administrators will begin to take on the innovative tasks necessary to engage students.  I understand there are many students who are frustrated by their learning experience at Wash U., but out of apathy or other social pressures, they prefer to keep their criticisms personal, rather than voice them.   I have also spoken to several deans and professors on this campus, and was somewhat surprised to learn of their similar concerns about the educational climate at this school.  However, faculty voice in campus publications is almost non-existent.  One unfortunate reason for a silent faculty is the fear of losing their jobs or political positioning amongst other faculty.

This silence amongst students and faculty concerns me, not only because it prevents the necessary dialogue to bring forth changes that can enhance student engagement academically, but the silence also has an unintentional effect of creating bad habits of political and civic engagement.  The habits of keeping institutional criticisms to ourselves rather than made public (whether out of fear or apathy), as well as allowing media to create an appearance that things are well when they are not, or dedicating themselves to sensationalist news rather than addressing the most critical issues of the day, are grave threats to our democracy.  Universities such as Wash U. need to consciously create intentional environments that will promote both students and faculty alike to be engaged in school affairs, as well as in civic and political affairs outside of the college bubble.

Without serious discussion between all the affected parties, it is of no use for me to argue for a more progressive educational climate.  It is of no use for me to argue the benefits of increased service learning (an emphasis at Portland State University), a de-emphasis on grading in favor of written evaluations (practiced at Prescott University), student taught courses for credit on various topics of student interest, from the Simpsons, to Social Security (practiced at UC Berkeley ), encouraging entering freshman to take a year off to mature before college (practiced at Harvard), a willingness to give credit for experiential learning (practiced at Antioch College), school wide emphasis on social justice (practiced at Evergreen State College, or to reverse the trend of Creating barriers to dissuade and prevent students’ access to the widest of study abroad opportunities (practiced at Wash U).  The important thing is that this school, one of the wealthiest and most well respected in the country, recognize the need for some serious self-reflection.

It shouldn’t be hard to see how wealth and prestige does not automatically create a healthy educational environment of engaged students, just as it shouldn’t be hard to see how the same applies for our country.  The relationship between higher education and politics runs quite deep, and improving the system of higher education can not only serve as a model for how to affect positive change outside of the college bubble, but ultimately, what happens (or doesn’t happen) on campus is intimately tied to society at large.  Your average Wash U student doesn’t read a newspaper, doesn’t follow politics, is unaware of the realities of the city in which they reside, and is therefore wet clay, free to be molded  and shaped by those in power.  What’s worse, they’re also able to be molded by each and every class they take in college.  From b-schoolers (you think they realize when they’re being taught right-wing economic theory?), to psych majors (are they being shown how corporate America benefits from pushing materialism on people, and then by pushing medication to solve the ensuing depression Americans experience?), to education majors (are they aware that they are not being exposed to or taught about such progressive forms of education as expeditionary learning?), and even political science majors (are they aware that liberal professors dominate conservative professors 9 to 1 nationwide?), all students are affected. 

It was only in my last year of college that I really began questioning the educational institution I had been a part of for 16 years.  And I’ve come to realize, it doesn’t matter whether or not the system is set up to keep people ignorant, or whether the system was designed to disengage students so they would obey, rather than question, authority.  (One explanation I’ve heard for the current direction of higher education is that after the Russians launched Sputnik in 1958, the United States put large resources into the maths and sciences to keep up in the Cold War weapons race, essentially demoting the idea of a liberal arts education and all it stands for, into the shadows of much educational rhetoric today).  The bottom line is, there is no question a school like Wash U. is not doing half the job it should (and could) be doing to engage its students and help them to see their role as informed and responsible citizens.  The only question left is who else wants to talk about this?

Topic: Sideways 2 – The Cereal connoisseur

This is a topic of interest to me, right up there w/ politics, psychology, and life itself.

1) Life – my go to cereal for any meal of the day

2) Frosted Mini Wheats – by themselves, they’re not so good, but once they’re a little soggy, they’re money!!!  Need to budget the milk appropriately to ensure you’re not left w/ dry mini wheats.  Also, it’s a rare cereal that can really fill you up, so it’s advised to not fill the bowl too high.

3) Oatmeal Raisin Crisp – one of those cereals that i literally wolf down.  A great late-at night cereal, one where the cereal compliments the milk, creating a refreshing experience.  

4) Raisin Bran Crunch – i should actually group all the raisin cereals together.  The “flakes,” are considerably better than regular Raisin Bran, which is too branny for me.

5) Raisin Nut Bran – Hands down the best raisin out there.  They add a light dough to the raisin, making it almost cookie like, but still good for you.

6) Banana Nut Crunch – this starts of a great series of Post cereals.  Add bananas for a real treat.

7) Great Grains – I love this cereal, although it’s one of the more difficult to eat.  Each spoonful requires a good deal of chewing, and then usually a finger to swipe some of the cereal out of the corner of your mouth and from your teeth.

8) Smart Start – I’m not sure how a cereal this simple can be so good.

9) Quaker Oat Squares – This should really be higher up on the list.  Like Smart Start, there’s no tricks to this cereal.  As a snack without milk, this cereal is probably one of the best, since the squares are easy to eat, but don’t taste as dry as Frosted Mini Wheats would.

10) Cinammon Toast Crunch – I only eat this when I’m at camp.  And…then I eat it everyday.  It comes in little individual sized boxes, and I’ll eat 2-3 per morning on avg.

11) Coco Krispies - Also another camp cereal.  It has coco in it, need I say more?

12) Honey nut Cheerios, Apple Cinamon Cheerios – Texture wise, cheerios are one of the best tasting cereals.  Each spoonful is full of cereal, unlike others where the cereal itself is more luggy.  Lightly sweet.  Occassionally end up w/ too much milk left over.

13) Basic 4 – Healthy, sweet, good for breakfast, dinner, or last-at-night.  The ingredients are more like rice than flakes, substitute cranberries for raisins. 

14) Honey Bunches of Oats – Like eating air, a nice light cereal.

15) Clusters – the squirrel in the commercial likes this cereal for a reason.  A crunchy flaky cereal, similar to its others

16) Wheat-a-bix – A South African cereal, that I’m fairly sure we have as well.  Comes in bricks, 2 or 3 bricks is enough for a meal.  It’s like eating an unsweatened mini-wheat, so you’re going to want to add lots of sugar.

Of course, combining cereals is always highly recommended.  Occassionally, for dinner, one might try taking a traditional cereal and microwaving it, creating a warm mush-like meal.  I tend to not add much to cereal, although bananas never fail.

Topic: euro trip

rating…funny