iMedia News

I got a promotion (and a raise) today!

No longer am I Assistant Editor but Associate Editor and in charge of the Creative Showcase section for the site. Hurrah!

Its said to be the fastest hire-to-promotion in iMedia history. Drinks on me tonight friends!

Top 6 of the Week

Here is my list of Top 6's for the week. Why top 6 you ask? Its a pretty number.

Top 6 Sites:

Gawker
This is where I get my dose of New York Publishing gossip and delight in the daily mortification of deserving debu and celebutards





KCRW
If you have yet to hap upon public radio and KCRW in specific it's due time you tune into 89.9fm in the morning and listen to Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic. You can listen to streaming radio or archived shows on their site. They also simulcast their playlists so you can look up any songs you enjoyed.





Pandora
Another great tool for music junkies. Pandora lets you make playlists with your favorite artists and with which they match other musicians they think you would like in the same musical category. It's free and you get to discover new artists (and skip past others you don't like).





PerezHilton
Ah yes, the Whore of all Media. You may remember my personal experience with Ms. PH and my vow to never visit his site again. Alas like crack addict I find myself sneaking it, needing it, craving it. For the most up-to-date celeb gossip PH knows where to get the dirt and I know where to go when I want my fix.


Nerve
For really cutting edge culture, art, photography, literary and of course sex editorial Nerve is the place to go. Where else could I read my horoscope and the new film at Sundance in which Dakota Fanning gets raped?







LAist
An unpretentious and knowledgeable site dedicated to Angelenos-- Everything from UCLA undie run to concerts, theatre and other LA events that would go unnoticed if I did not venture to the site.




Top 6 Tracks:

Postal Service, Such Great Heights

Lily Allen, Littlest Things

The Decemberists, Los Angeles, I'm Yours

Cold War Kids, We Used to Vacation

The Shins, Gone for Good

Peter, Bjorn and John, Young Folks

note: I'll be trying to download a widget which will allow you to listen to these songs on this site. Updates tk.

ALSO!!!! Tune into UCLAradio.com to Listen to Philosopher's Corner, a musical field trip presented by my friend Christina Gubala. It's sure to be super duper.

Mostafa Tabatabainejad Sues for Money, I mean Civil Rights

If you were privy to the video of Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a 23-year-old UCLA senior getting tasered last month, or heard anything about it you probably felt the same sense of shame and disapointment in the UCPD as I have-- but recent news of his filing a FEDERAL LAWSUIT against UCLA for "unspecified monetary damages" because they "violated the Americans With Disabilities Act" in regards to his "Bi-polar disorder" have left me...wait...

Hold on! PUT ON THE BRAKES! WHAT?!!?!

FEDERAL CASE? CIVIL RIGHTS?

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 by Bush I. The act is meant to protect people against discrimination based on disability.

I don't know about you but I think people born with disabilities which severely affect their quality of life would be pissed that Mr. Tabatabainejad is saying he was being discriminated against because of his bi-polarity.

When Tabatabainejad said that he suffered from bipolar disorder, Duren allegedly responded that he "didn't know what bipolar has to do with standing up."

Don't get me wrong I believe that excessive force was used on Mr. Tabatabainejad but do I think it requires a federal case? Do I think his civil rights were infringed upon? No, I don't.

Everybody knows that if you are going to Powell during night hours you have to have your UCLA ID or you will be removed from the library. They do this to protect students studying in the library from robbery, theft and assault. There are signs everywhere making this statement and as a SENIOR Mr. Tabatabainejad would have known this fact. The fact that he refused to produce his ID and remove himself from the library shows arrogance-- who knows, maybe his disability isn't bi-polarity, maybe he is just a jerk.

Tabatabainejad, who is of Iranian descent, was concerned that he was being singled out because of his ethnicity, so he told the guard to make the same request of any other student, the suit alleges. The guard refused.

It's shameful for Mr. Tabatabainejad to make this case about race, which it is so obviously not, at a time when middle-eastern and American relations in the U.S. are at such a fragile state. I haven't seen anything so disgusting since the O.J. Simpson case.

On top of that think about all the student loans, tuition and other funds being drained from UCLA students and Alumni that would go to this guy if he won his case. When an article says, "unspecified monetary damages" it means EXPLOITATION.

Shame on UCPD for using excessive force, you are there to protect the student body. We are not the enemy.

Shame on you Mostafa Tabatabainejad for exploiting this unfortunate situation to drain UCLA and the community of students who STOOD UP FOR YOU after the incident.

Aaron Sorkin to LATimes, "WAH!"

Apparently Aaron Sorkin, creator of the new show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and previous hit West Wing isn't too pleased with recent articles published about his SNL inspired show.

Just a few pull quotes from these articles:

"While Sorkin accepts the criticism that the show comes off to some viewers as too smug or arrogant – even though he personally doesn't necessarily agree with the assessment - he deems Tinseltown’s major newspaper as shameful for printing such stories." --LA Times


"After watching episode two of STUDIO 60 I must let you in on a little secret. People in television, trust me, are not that smart. Not even close." --Ken Levine on his blog.

"We live in the age of amateurs, and we can all go on the Internet and find people to say mean things about any show, But everybody's voice ought not to be equal." --Aaron Sorkin

I found this interesting since I had penned my qualms about Studio 60 after it's
first few shows and wasn't aware until now of the backlash Hollywood people and viewers have been having with the show. The "Aaron Sorkin thinks you're stupid," attitude I didn't really get, I personally liked the writing of the show and thought it was witty. I didn't agree with the idealic representations of Hollywood heavy hitters (come on you're fooling yourself if you think THEY are the good guys, or nearly as glamorous as they are depicted on the show), and while I liked the backstage stories I am a little annoyed that we have yet to see any of the sketches, personally I think they couldn't pull them off as successfully as they pretend they do on the show.

Anyways, I found the quote from Ken Levine's blog to be hilarious and from what little experience I have with the hollywood crowd, true. Sorry Mr. Sorkin, you're going to have to get over this idea of living in an "Age of Amateurs," because haven't you read? The Person of the Year was "You." Well, not you but us, Everyman, the people who write blogs and post video, and have myspace profiles. Us "amateurs" are what drove business last year and aren't going to stop anytime soon.

Note to Mr. Sorkin:



Dear Mr. Sorkin,

Your show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is quite funny, I don't mind spending my Monday nights watching the witty repartee between Chandler er... I mean Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford. The show is humorous, and engaging, but please Mr. Sorkin, Get over yourself.

All the Best,
Me.

Some People Get It

iCaramba!!!

My anti-Apple rants have not always made me popular amongst my iPod worshipping, Mac totting compadres-- and with the announcement of the new iPhone, the entire world seems to have turned into drooling, bonobo mac addicts and I felt like the little kid walking through the cafeteria desperately searching for someone to sit next to.

Finally it seems as if the cool kids are asking me to sit at their table.

The NY times wrote an article on Sunday about apple's new iPhone titled, "Want an iPhone? Beware the iHandcuffs." It seems as if Randall Stross has touched upon the reasons I have for so long been an anti-apple advocate.



First off, the phone is astronomically expensive. Secondly, Cingular (which is soon to be known solely as AT&T--say goodbye to Cingular you'll never hear that name muttered in profesional media outlets again,) has signed on as the sole provider for the phone (screw that). Lastly after going through great pains to find a phone (that I liked) that played music I ran into a conundrum, nearly the same conundrum which led Melanie Tucker of NorCal to sue Apple this year. Apple's "Fairplay" copyright standards inhibit me to play music -- which I paid for legally -- on my MP3 player because it is in a un-convertable M4A format.

Here is how FairPlay works: When you buy songs at the iTunes Music Store, you can play them on one — and only one — line of portable player, the iPod. And when you buy an iPod, you can play copy-protected songs bought from one — and only one — online music store, the iTunes Music Store.



Imagine how pissed off I became when I realized the album I had just payed for (which is a huge step for someone coming from the Napster generation,) and that I now legally owned was worthless to be because I wouldn't be able to listen to it on my chosen music player. After adding this onto the litany of reasons why I hate apple (faulty battery in brand new iPod, refusal of apple to replace it because I don't have a receipt, overpriced laptops or dare I say 'consoles' since they are nearly impossible to fix yourself), I quickly removed iTunes from my computer and shoved my battered and defective iPod under my bed.

Apple defends itself stating that the DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), is enforced by record companies and not by Apple themselves. I have to agree once more with Mr. Stross when he says

This claim requires willful blindness to the presence of online music stores that eschew copy protection.
Its also interesting to note:

Apple’s statement is a detailed treatise on the subject, compared with what I received when I asked the company last week whether it would offer tracks without copy protection if the publisher did not insist on it: the Apple spokesman took my query and never got back to me.

You'd be kidding yourself if you thought it wasn't all about the money. Apple is creating a Monopoly on music downloads and the portable music playing market by refusing to work towards the best interests of it's consumers-- all consumers, including us PC users.


So if anyone knows a good online music store that doesn't impose totalitarian infringements on their files, let me know.

In the Year 2000

Apologies for the delay in posting anything in the past week(s). I have actually uploaded posts only to delete them or take them down.

I would like to make some predictions for myself, In the Year 2000...

I will go on a diet only to realize "treating" myself to a little desert after starving myself all day will result in adult diabetes.

In the Year 2000...
I will abdicate my role as the biggest bitch in the world to other more deserving candidates.

In the Year 2000...
After well-meaning attempts to learn Bulgarian have taken up most of my time between January and August, I will meet Boyan's family for the first time and inevitably embarrass myself by speaking like a two-year-old caveman, "I like food."

In the Year 2000...
Freelancing will become second nature as thousands will read witty and well punned articles that don't have sentences like, "It’s fun to use, cute to carry and cool to just have it!" in them.

In the Year 2000...
After buying our tenth bookcase, Boyan and I will decide the couch to be more useful in the kitchen.

In the Year 2000...
I along with the help of Boyan will convince the world that Steve Jobs is running a communist organization and the iPhone has new and unknown brainwashing technology. All of this after finding/creating a music download system that rivals iTunes.

In the Year 2000...
I'll begin baking bread, which would inevitably end my diet.

In the Year 2000...
After going to the doctor to have my allergies checked I'll find out I'm allergic to: wine, chamomile and work among other things.

In the Year 2000...
I will train for some sort of athletically superior sporting event, and have to take out a loan to cover my hospital visits afterwards.

There are many more things I could predict I am sure. Leave your predictions for The Year 2000 below.

It's Her Birthday

Happy Birthday Janea!

If you were here I would force you to eat some sort of
high caloric and fatty desert.
Then I would force Apple Smirnoff down your throat,
and hold your hair back as you vomit.

That's how much I love you.

To my Best Friend

Happy Birthday Joanish
Lots of Love

In case you weren't sure

UCLA is superior. Thank you.

If they are timely...

What am I? A Psychic?

Gawker Book Club: Extra-Timely Edition

Some people like to say that living well is the best revenge. Well, living well is pretty good revenge, but the best? We think that'd have to be something along the lines of: writing a roman a clef about your evil ex-boss that's being published at around the same time that said ex-boss is getting fired and dragged through the mud in the media. Congratulations, Bridie Clark! You're one lucky bitch, and your book, Because She Can, is the next subject of our occasional Book Club. If you've sat around the coffee table with us for previous installments of the Club, you recall that the way this works is that we flip to a random page and give you a little dose. But this time, we're going to focus on the bits of the book that squeaked most narrowly through what must've been the most scrupulous legal read EVER. After the jump, our heroine's job interview with Rudith Jegan. Okay, okay, "Vivian Grant."

Gawker just LOVES to talk about Ms. Regan. For more of Gawkers coverage, see here.

Holiday Funnies

Thanks, Britta.

Because I can't

While doing some further investigation into how a MediaBistro editor could find this blog out of the millions out there, I found that my blog had been linked to an article they had written in late September.

Just shows how careful you have to be.

Oh, Gawker Media Mole and FishBowl LA, how I wish I could talk. I'm sure all the other anonymous sources that have been spilling the beans will give you plenty to write about; just find the ex-Regan Assistants/Editors support group.

One thing is for sure, Bridie Clark couldn't be publishing her book at a better time.

Technorati

For those of you who aren't immersed in media market lingo on a daily basis, Social Networking sites are those we refer to fondly as facebook, myspace, friendster and the like.

There was a huge uproar when facebook began it's feeds a few months ago. Labeled as the "Facebook Riots," It seemed as if (even if only temporarily) people did not want other users to have access to their every-day online movements. After a huge public apology by Mark Zuckerberg and assurences of preservation of privacy through the site, feeds have become an everyday part of the facebook experience.

What I think Mark Zuckerberg and other Social networking geniuses (I use the word genius lightly here) tapped into was that people want information. I know you are thinking, well...ok, people want information big woop right?

No, no, my friend, People want information about you! User Generated Media sites or UGM's for us Media Marketing professionals, exploded this year through sites such as YouTube, Wikipedia and yes, Facebook and Myspace.

You think people don't notice when you change the background on your myspace page? Think again. Linking your blog to your myspace page or mentioning past jobs is harmless right? Nope.

I have had run-ins in the past with saying too much on a previous xanga, and in the past three days I have been contacted by both LA Weekly and FishbowlLA wanting to interview me because of a friend I have on Facebook, and information they accessed through Myspace and this blog.

I think I already said too much in that entry but I'm glad I held my tongue just enough to keep me out of trouble.

Either way it's just a bit astounding to know how much access people have to information about you. People put restrictions on their comments pages because of a fear that future employers may read something inflamtory which would steer them away from wanting to hire that candidate. The information is out there, like it or not, and as much as I have rejected this archaic fear of posting personal photos, essays, and opinions, I am starting to think it may be wise to think twice before posting something that could be potentially damaging.

If you haven't already "googled" yourself (besides being an internet dinosaur) you'd be interested to see some of the stuff that will come up.

So since I have been become such an internet celebrity, Keith Olbermann or Andrew Sullivan, if you are reading, I'd love to sit down with a cup of coffee and pick your brain(s).

Oh, and I'll buy.

Judith Regan Fired

I can't say I'm very surprised, I think elated would have to be the word.

It's days like these I wish I hadn't signed that confidentiality agreement.

Apparently Judith got fired for making some anti-semtic statements towards her lawyer. Jane Friedman doesn't exactly have a soft spot in her heart for the hard hitting publisher so Judith giving her any room to budge during this controversial time was not a smart move. I've heard and heard of Judith saying some pretty awful stuff. She's pretty much uncensored and foul mouthed and its nice to see her have to finally face her consequences. There are millions of snubbed employees jumping for joy right about now.

If you want to read the LATIMES article they did a good job of laying the story out.

'Offensive' phone call by publisher preceded her firing

An Inconvenient Truth

Just finished watching An Inconvenient Truth and if there were ever a movie to get you off your ass from mere guilt then this would be it.

Boyan and I have been always been fans of documentaries and more recently have had our eyes glued on BBC's new TV series Planet Earth as well as the Discovery Channels' Discovery Atlas. While these documentary shorts are focused on showing parts of the world with a new perspective, An Inconvenient Truth goes a step beyond by telling us how close we are to losing the beautiful and balanced climate which has made life on earth sustainable for so long.

I am not an environmentalist by any means. I don't vote Green, I eat meat, If I could afford fur I am sure I would wear it, but there are things about how humans abuse the environment that is truly upsetting to me.

1. Public Transportation: I've always had a problem with the public transportation system in Los Angeles. If you have visited any other major city in America or abroad and used public transportation you can't help but see fault in the way the city addresses mass transit.

It is true the city is stretched out over a large area, it is also true that our ability to create an underground subway system is limited, but other factors that can be changed are prohibiting the improvement of mass transit as well as pollution and traffic (such as, wealthy beach residents not wanting undesirable tourists bus-ing in from downtown or the fact that cars are such a status symbol in Los Angeles).

I am just as guilty as everyone else for driving my single passenger vehicle to work everyday. I am going to try to take the bus at least one day a week if not more, that is a promise.

2. Population: The population is growing at such an astronomical rate and our economy is struggling to keep up.

Two things that need to be addressed for this problem.
- Accessibility of Birth Control and Sex Education. It is down right irresponsible to promote abstinence while saying No to birth control. Teen pregancy cost U.S. Taxpayers 9.1 Billion dollars in 2004. Its a serious problem that is being inhibited by ignorance and moral issues which should have no place in politics.

Paul Ehrlich wrote an article in New Scientist magazine at the end of September addressing the problem of population and said, "Much of today's population growth is occurring is rural regions in the developing world..." It is safe to assume that a majority of these people have access to little or no birth control or sex education.

-Which brings us to Illegal Immigration. He went on to say that, "an increasing number of young people migrate to cities and to wealthier countries looking for a better life." Well, yea it's an obvious point but one that needs to be said. Illegal immigration leads to higher birth rates, (anchor babies or children born in the states insuring it's American citizenship), poor health care for those residents, and exploitation of immigrant workers. Numbers of working-age people are said to rise by 3% per year.

"Expanding populations also create rising demands for food, energy and materials. The strain this puts on ecosystems and resources in developing countries is compounded by demands from industrialized nations keen to exploit everything from timber and tropical fruits to metals and petroleum."

Its alarming how interconnected these problems tend to be, and how small changes can make a big difference in combating negative consequences.

In the end helping our environment does become political. An Inconvenient Truth harbors good intentions but there is a political message hidden between its statistics and charts. It tells the tale of the would-be President and how things could have and would have been different if he had not been cheated in Florida. Gore mentions the failure of the White House to uphold its promises of curbing Global Warming while clearly demanding citizens to "Vote for Candidates" dedicated to environmental issues, a thinly veiled way of saying Vote Democrat.

My own little speech is enough to show how interconnected saving the planet and the politics of our country truly are. It all seems to fall back on the faulty practice of dictating policy based on issues of morality. NO- it's not a crime to teach REPRODUCTIVE science in the classroom. Telling your children that sex is something you do only after you are married and abstinence is the only birth control is not going to prevent them from having sex-- but it will most definitely insure that if they do have sex it will not be done safely. Making sex education and birth control available is not enabling them, it's making them educated and preventing pregnancy and disease.

Protecting our borders, TRULY protecting our borders and penalizing businesses that employ illegal workers is not HARSH-- it is our right. It protects the workers from being exploited and protects tax payers from expenses created by these workers. It protects our citizens from terrorism and crime. Maybe even working with the Mexican and Central-American governments by helping them build their own economy would make their citizens want to stay and build their own economy.

Small things make a difference. Like I said before I am going to begin taking the bus more often. I plan on bringing my own bags to the grocery store. I already recycle but I will make sure I recycle more consistently and with a wider range of products.

The entirety of 2007 will be spent preparing for the 2008 elections and the two major changes I hope to see abound will be the expulsion of moral politics and the Christian conservatives (I am hoping people will see the failure of Bush as a signifier that putting religion over politics has devastating consequences-- pertaining to issues such as the war in Iraq, gay marriage [which in the future will be known as the SECOND Civil Rights movement], protection of roe v. wade if not a federal definition of sex education and birth control for minors) and a nation wide initiative to curb global warming (Kyoto anybody?).

The logic behind a country who refuses to accept the development of governments based on Islam in the middle east while try to create a Theocracy in the states is beyond my own comprehension. Are we saying that a government based on Islam is WRONG because it only exists in the form of Islamo-facism? What would the U.S. be if our government policy was dictated based on principles of Christianity? Christio-facism? Whatever it may be I am sure the founding fathers would roll in their graves. It's irresponsible and damaging to the health of our nation.

We only have 50 years before major consequences from our irresponsible consumption will occur and we have to start today to ensure a future for tomorrow. A Change is going to come. It's already at least six years past due.

Works of Journalistic Genius

For those of you who are interested in what I do everyday, please take a look at these Pulitzer worthy news pieces at iMedia Connection.






Sony Caught in Fake Blog Scandal

Ex-Myspace Chair Pushes ".tv" Domain

MingleNow Bridges Social Networking Gap

On a personal note...

What a complete disaster this past two months have been. No matter how much you prepare yourself for the tempestuous life you face as an aspiring writer/editor/journalist nothing can ready you for the past couple months I have endured.

Disappointment both pecuniary and privately, from friends and family—I have learned that though strong I may be in spirit, the damage of alcohol, tobacco, and self-inflicted woe does take its toll on my person.

I do believe that I have finally found a job, one that can foster my bank account to fruition unseen since my departure from Regan- lambasting from Huffington Post, and abdication from WNWN magazine. As assistant editor for iMedia connection I will finally be amongst people of amiable accord and demeanor and I thoroughly look forward to the stability that comes from a forty-hour work week.

These past months have made me recognize how truly blessed I am to have friends who love me, family who supports me and finally a man that will take the brunt of my frustration. A thank you would not suffice in expressing my gratitude to those who have truly been there for me, but my love is always with you and I hope that I can be there for you if you are ever in need.

Boyan told me this morning that he “caught” me dreaming. I had to try to remember if I had been having any late night trysts with Brad Pitt before he expressed his concern with my tightened and flexed muscles and eyes darting back and forth underneath my eye-lids. While he thought I was having a nightmare, my mind had been creating images of danger and delight, of pets and palaces that only exist in the deepest of our imaginations. It may be that my creativity is heightened by my inactivity these past two months, or maybe I have a spirit that always seeks something greater then can be attained in reality, either way it can be describe as an in satiated need to explore the inner layers of my mind through words and ideas. God guide me in the pursuit of expression as I walk down the valley of prepositions, pronouns and plot s. May I be able to elicit in words the beauty of life through it’s intricacies.

Hollywood Propaganda?

If you have yet to see Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, you should try and catch it Monday nights at 10pm on NBC. It’s a great show with some amazing actors (Matthew Perry and Amanda Peet to name just two of a very large and impressive cast) which depicts the struggles of Hollywood heavy hitters—the public's interference in their personal lives, the pressures of network sponsors as well as the social lives of celebrities and producers alike.

It's fun, well written and exciting to watch, but recently I have noticed a few things that have been making my ears perk up with curiosity.

It made me posit the question, "Is Hollywood using propaganda to regain the trust of Christian conservative right?"

I know, Hollywood and Christian Conservatives sounds like a contradiction in terms but hear me out.

The show has begun painting what used to be considered the evil liberal world of Hollywood as just a few people who, sure have made some mistakes in the past but are trying to forge ahead in the name of uncensored media.

Danny Tripp (played by Bradley Whitford) is the executive producer and recovering (recently relapsed) cocaine addict who the audience grows to love for his hard hitting approach to the show and dedication to his best friend, head writer, and all around fuck-up Matt Albie (played by Matthew Perry). Matt Albie and Danny Tripp return to the show after being forced to leave for making controversial criticisms of Bush directly after 9/11 and have returned with new fervor and an interminable desire to make the show better and uncensored in political topics (the show is, by the way, modeled after SNL).

The newly appointed President of the network, Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet) after entering the show as the bad-ass bitch who bossed around the Network Execs and fostered the growth of the new Studio 60 was in our most recent episode brought back down to reality after an expunged DUI comes back to bite her and is plastered all over the news.

So where is the propaganda? Examine the evidence:

1. A bit called "Crazy Christians" is taken out of the line-up when network execs forcibly pull it, which is the catalyst for the previous executive producer of the show to blow-up on screen resulting in his being fired and Matt and Danny being hired.

2. The same bit is preformed on their homecoming episode despite conflict with the network and their sponsors. What happens? They get great ratings.

3. The two main characters both struggle with substance abuse problems, but we are supposed to put that aside and love them because they have such great personalities (sound familiar?).

4. The News sketch decide to drop a bit which criticizes a high school in a rural town after they pull their performance of Grease (it's too sexual) and decide not to perform the Crucible (it casts Christians in a bad light) because the small town of 4000 people are "Just trying to raise their kids," and "50% of the town works in a bakery which makes bread." Salt of the earth people, and "Why are we making fun of them" etc. bla bla bla.

5. One of the main actresses Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson) is criticized for being a born again Christian, and they play on the idea of her spiritual superiority. For example, they are having electricity problems from some sort of natural disaster and they have no idea how to fix the wires which seem to be severed from the power source. So:
Lights are off, "It's just that God loves me and hates you guys,"
"Oh yea prove it,"
Lights go on.

Funny yes, but what are they trying to say?

Inevitably they pull the Christian joke and replace it with a bit about silencers on guns in Minnesota and a bear's reaction to the new law. And yes, it's stupid.

Is Aaron Sorkin trying to say, "Hey, we Hollywood types aren't bad guys, yea we may have made mistakes in the past, yes maybe we poke fun at the president and Christians, but we know when we are wrong and we know when not to go too far."

I'm not quite sure, but it's weird, It freaks me out, and I guess I'm just going to have to tune in to see why this show chooses to be so borderline on issues of religion with the cast and with the jokes they air on "Studio 60."

I love my Bebentze

For all of you who didn't know or hadn't figured it out by noticing the "slight" accent of my fiancee Boyan, yes I am marrying a foreigner.

Within the past week I have commenced my study of Bulgarian, a language as complex and beautiful as a spider web with a alphabet complicated enough to make even the cunning linguist wince with anticipated difficulty. Reading, writing and pronoucing the cyrillic alphabet has proven difficult for me, I even have a big poster board with the alphabet written out in the style of a first grade classroom. But I am truly excited with the idea of being able to speak to my future mother-in-law, even more excited to be able to curse with Boyan in public places.

Never-the-less, I love my fiancee, he is remarkable and so wonderful to me and I thought I should share this with everyone. Yesterday he gave me my birthday present (he says he goes by the orthodox calendar which I know to be not true, but cute anyways) and he got me the wallet I've been drooling over at flax for some time.

Its a long, white leather wallet pressed with alligator imprints and inlayed with pastel, floral asian accents. Truly beautiful.

I am so excited to have him in my life and can't wait to experience all the exciting things to come.

Thank you Boyan. Obichum Te.

He's also incredibly handsome and anyone who has met him can speak of his wonderful character. Aren't I blessed?

China scares me

Let me tell you why...

Besides the fact that millions of American stocks and bonds are now owned by the Chinese government, besides the fact that their population has now been estimated at 1,313,973,713 as of July 2006, and despite the fact that it is now the fastest growing economy in the world—China has insurpassible nationalistic and communist linked robotic citizens who don't seem to care how hard they work to get ahead, nor how their success benefits anyone else but their government.

I admire and fear their work ethic, their ability to work 14 hour days in the fields, sacrifice their entire lives towards a goal of olympic proportions, even their dedication to a culture which has been fostered from a civilization which is now the longest lasting in the history of the world.

Babylon fell, Rome fell, Ancient Greece is only remembered in classical tragedies, but China has remained a mystery to outsiders for centuries and only now do we seem to understand a little bit more into the personalities of the people who have built a country on the sweat of it's citizens and the spirit of their ancient culture.

If you haven't seen Discovery Atlas: China Revealed on the Discovery channel, then you are truly missing out on a beautifully done (maybe overkill on the special effects and over voiced narration, but overall well done) documentary that covers the expanse of china's land and the different groups of people—from northern mongolia, the eastern capital of Beijing, southern rice patties in PingAn and desolate western deserts—from its richest entrepreneurs to it's poorest laborers—it truly captures the heart and soul of China.

The part most frightening was when they showed thousands of boys from ages 4 to 18 practicing syncronised Kung Fu (or WuShu) training at WuShu village. What was a 2000-year-old practice developed by monks for defense and spiritual enlightenment is now used to as training for the army and police. Cut to: hundreds of chinese children in primary school singing the national anthem:

Arise,
Ye who refuse to be slaves!
With our very flesh and blood,
Let us build our new Great Wall!
The peoples of China are in the most critical time,
Everybody must roar his defiance.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Millions of hearts with one mind,
Brave the enemy's gunfire, March on!
Brave the enemy's gunfire, March on!
March on! March on! On!


Just a tad bit frightening no? Every minute 34 new chinese children are being born, which is 7 million in one year. They say that if the chinese continue to mulitply and consume natural resources that at the rate they are going we would need an entire new planet earth just to support china in 30 years. Which adds to the recent article in New Scientist which stated that if the earth's population does not curb it's consumption of natural resources and continues to over-populate the world, we will need two additional earths to support the population by 2050.

It is just astonishing to me how hard working they are, how self-less they can be and maybe that is what is scary. They have a spirit and national pride unhindered by communist control and unparalleled by any other country on earth.

It is hard to look past these things and see the beautiful side of China, because it truly is astonishing. I hope that with all their progress their ever-increasing influence on the world stage will be beneficial to western nations.



Otherwise I guess we better start learning Chinese. Ni Hao Ma.