February 2007 Archives

Without spoling the plot, last night on Gilmore Girls: Rory goes to the library looking for a book for her gender studies class, specifically Judith Butler's Gender Trouble. Paris finds the book for Rory and hands it to her, cover-side down. While this slight degree of obfuscation might be enough to hoodwink the majority of TV viewers, I was not fooled by their Jedi mind tricks -- that book was not Gender Trouble! First of all, it was the wrong color; the actual book is one lighter than that shown on Gilmore Girls. Second, in no universe could a publisher fit Butler's rambling, impenetrable, profuse prose into the thin, flimsy paperback that Paris forks over.

Speaking of trouble with genders, check out what google returns when you search of "Gender Trouble":

Methinks the semantic web needs to attend sensitivity training :)

Update: I couldn't have been more wrong. A frame-by-frame playback via MythTV shows that Paris obtained the new, 2006 edition of Gender Trouble, the cover of which does not have the distinctive yellowish frame of the older version. And the book was cover-side-up when it was passed to Rory (who then turns the cover away from the audience). Whoops! Sorry, false alarm.

Here we go again. Today, the New York Times front-pages an article that claims Iran is the source of deadly roadside bombs in Iraq. The source for this accusation? Anonymous administration officials. No experts or skeptics were interviewed; no independent examination of the bombs themselves was completed. We're just supposed to trust the administration, who are so confident in their conclusions that they won't even stand by their claims. The ironic part is that the author of the piece, Michael Gordon, co-authored the now-obviously-false 2002 story about Iraq attempting to acquire nuclear weapons. Will the press (or, specifically, the NYT) ever learn?

See DK Diary and Glenn Greenwald for more in-depth coverage.

Yesterday was the first American politics General exam meeting. Yikes, the reading list is huge. In essence, we have to read 60 books in 90 days. Given that I read half a book yesterday, but it was for class and not generals, I think I'm already behind. Sigh...so much for any Spring Break plans.

I'm going to try and put up a counter that permanently displays at the top of this page and tracks my progress, but for now, here's what I have to do:

• Core list: 32 books
• Public Opinion: 13 books, 11 articles
• Political Psychology: 10 books, 21 articles
• Legislative Institutions: 5 books, 17 articles
• Plus review Formal and Quant

(I'm sure I miscounted, so future reports will be more accurate.)

In happier news, my favorite DC United player earned his first international cap yesterday. On July 14th, 2004, I watched D.C. United defeat Nottingham Forest in person and spotted 22-year-old midfielder Josh Gros as incredibly poised on the ball and as a pinpoint ball distributor. His calm, selfless play led me to adopt him as my personal favorite.

Yesterday, the U.S. shut-out Mexico in an international friendly, 2-0. Gros came on as a sub in the 68th minute and played right back, which is a more defensive position than his usual midfield role. Unfortunately, he didn't look too comfortable on defense, as the Mexican left wing beat Gros several times over the game's last 20 minutes. However, I thought Gros distributed the ball well and he won a couple of headers, demonstrating why he belongs more in the attacking end of the field. Perhaps with a bit more time, Gros will earn a starting spot in the midfield. But, for now, I'm just happy to see him represent the US.

I beg forgiveness today to the "father" of the Democratic Party, Mr Jefferson, for my recent transgressions. At a dinner party at a Prof's house a few nights ago, a fellow graduate student was telling a story that involved him and the descendants of famous people. As the story became more elaborate, Lauren accused him of "always exaggerating". To which I chimed in, "Yes, he's a regular Al Gore". Ouch--I winced internally and immediately felt guilty. Disgracing my former candidate's good name...well, I can only ask the blogosphere to absolve me of my sins.

Oddly, I was rewarded for this good behavior. On my annual shopping trip yesterday, I found two Docker corduroys and an Alfani thin sweater at $15 a piece. And $50 ACG Nike's; my old pair literally came undone during indoor soccer on Tuesday. It's difficult playing defense when the sole of your shoe is flapping about :)

Oh, and Princeton creamed Brown at the Women's Basketball game I attended last night. Maybe I should make fun of Al Gore more often...although that's probably not good for my conscience.