Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Sing...The 2011 Fall Semester Wrap-Up

We all know that I am a huge fan of movies.  From science fiction to wonderful warm stories that can only happen in real life and are portrayed beautifully albeit more perfect than real life really is.

I'm a big fan of Julia Roberts' movies.  She always seems to pick such great projects that inspire all of us to generate our own million dollar smiles at the same time she does on the silver screen.  From Eat Pray Love to Mona Lisa Smile, even Sleeping With The Enemy, she always finds some unique story to help tell.  But have you ever noticed that the stories she tells are always about women who overcome odds?  I realized that today as I was laying down overcoming a nasty bout with the flu that decided to turn itself into a nasty sinus infection, taking both ears along for the painful ride.

I guess I was just pondering the fact that the women I find so fascinating are the ones who just won't quite seem to lay down and submit to what the status quo seems to want.  It reminded me of the fact that I constantly question everything around me, asking "Why does it have to be this way?  Why do we have to conform exactly to what other people believe just for the sake of acceptance?"

I was engaged in a heated discussion last night over why I am not religious, why I don't want to listen to people when they try to tell me what to do or be tolerant when they give me their version as to why things are right or wrong.  When it comes to listening to people about things like that, I'm rather indifferent but I react very defensively if feeling attacked.  I think people will believe what they want and it's not for me to say what they should or shouldn't do, believe or pursue.  Yes, I get frustrated when things seem so plainly obvious but are overwhelmed and obscured by narrow viewpoints. At the end of the day though, I always go back to the fact that it is someone else's opinion, and whether I share it or not, I have to accept it.

I guess I just won't compromise on my belief system.  It's not that my point of view is any more valid than anyone else's, I guess I just want to have the freedom to believe as I do and not be judged for it.  I don't think that is too much to ask, is it?  My opinion doesn't often gel with other people's.  It is just part and parcel of being a human being because after all, we're all unique individuals, why shouldn't our opinions vary?  But I guess I've reached the point where, what's the old expression?  "I've become set in my ways?"

During the fall semester in my 332 class, Media Planning and Buying, it was a very interesting ride.  We had guest speakers a plenty and Scorsese really gave it his all, although planning and buying media is not his forte. The TA for the semester JJ, was a real doll, and in the middle of her teaching section, she brought up The Asch Experiment.  But here, take a look for yourself:



I hope you took time to watch that those two minutes because I sat painfully through it in class with my insides screaming out, "NO! Speak for yourself! Don't follow them!"  I don't quite know what it was, but there I sat absolutely upset and unhinged by the fact that the guy didn't put his foot down and cry out "You're wrong!"  Is it that our need for acceptance goes so deep that we are fearful of even beginning to express ourselves in our own way?  This of course was compounded by the fact that I was the one person who sat up in class and didn't take kindly to the powers that be telling Scorsese that the students in the class were to be used as data farmers for the university radio station to find leads for underwriting.  Unlike our friend in the video there, I actually spoke up and blatantly said I didn't care for being pimped out as free labor for the semester.  As you can guess, that little project stopped right there because I guess all Scorsese needed was for a student to speak up and express their dismay at something he already didn't like.  So, after receiving a round of applause and quite a few pats on the back after class, our assignments became hypotheticals, which made it easy on all of us.

The next part of 332 was really about the guest speaker who came in and spent time with us, Ron.  He was fantastic and Scorsese encouraged us to ask as many questions as our hearts desired on his topics.  We learned the strengths and weaknesses of all sorts of media and the three weeks we had Ron hanging around were fantastic.  So in all 332 was fun, it was a casual class that we just had to participate in to get the most out of it.

Then of course we go to 202, Electronic Media.  Ok, I won't lie, I took the class just for the professor, Doc L., not for the actual course content.  Doc L. is a fantastic guy and he makes learning fun, he also helped me understand what will go on behind a camera when my future television commercials will be shot.  I actually used more of my storyteller's background (thanks Grandma) to edit and put together video in a compelling way than I did anything else.   At the end of 202, I had to direct a live news show and well, it didn't go as well as I'd like but I will say I did go with my strong points, I just did some quick coding to put together a fast website for it as was mandated for my group's project.  For my group project, I edited the intro, I edited my story and then directed the show and created the website.  Let's just nickname me "Atlas" and leave it at that.   At your own risk, here is a link to my final project:  The Fifth Element.  And yes, that's me on the screen in some sections...as I repeated a half a dozen times, "I've got a face made for radio."  I neither want or need the attention that seems to be a narcotic for people who want to sit in front of the camera.  My favorite quote from the class was actually from another student named Carl as he was directing his show:  "Kill the talent."  The last thing I'll say about it is this:  Ever see the film Gone in Sixty Seconds?  Go to the part where Donny is in the car with the student driver girl who can't drive and nearly kills both of them..."I can't swim, I know I can't swim, so you know what I do?  I keep my ass out of the pool!"

Let's do my Afro-American Studies class before I get to the goods of my strat class.  AAS 101 sucked the honker.  Sorry to say it, but it did.  The content was really fascinating but when the professor doesn't have office hours you can go see him on campus and a list of shortcomings, well, I learned a lot, got to read a slave narrative and learned a lot about Afro-American history.  But you guys know me, I'm color blind, I don't care if someone is blue, green or aquamarine, if they're good people, I love them all the same.  However, I got to take a look at a tragic part of American history, and although we can't undo it, it's a lesson that human beings, no matter who they are, where they are from or what they believe, all deserve love just the same.

Let's wrap up with 463, IMC Strategy class.  Oh man, hard work!  Scorsese let me know right off the bat that I am no strategist, instead I'm a tactician which still has tons of nutritional value, it's adequately summed up in the fact that I don't think in the same way as hard-core strategists.  I'm not insulted in the least with that at all!  We all have to embrace our strengths and strategic thinking is just not one of mine.  I think it's a skill I'll acquire more over time, and something I can do instinctively, but if I overthink it (which I am very prone to doing) I blunder it.  Oh well.

However!  My group project was really good.  Oh how I love my teammates!  Yes,  I love my girls!  They were fantastic!  After playing Atlas in 202, it was so nice to have a group that just worked their fannies off!  We were called "Bernbach's Acid Trip"  and Doc S. got a really big kick out it.  Just FYI, Bill Bernbach was one of the greatest creative minds in the history of advertising.  If Bill was tripping on acid, what would he think of?  Strategy.  Hence "Bernbach's Acid Trip."  When we showed Doc S. our final project "leave behind" (which is a strategic plan that you leave behind with the company you just pitched) his face lit up.  I can tell he's counting on me to really sparkplug the team this spring.

When we did the pitch in class for Scorsese, which is actually getting up and presenting the work, I really knocked the audience dead because my team had me as the lead off hitter and oh boy did I grab them and really wow'd them with my public speaking skills.  When I asked Scorsese about my speech style he said, "You were very extemporaneous."  I had to look that word up.  Yes me of the big vocabulary had to find out that extemporaneous means "without rehearsal" or "without notes" in a persuasive, fluid style.  Yes, the storyteller rears her head again because I really grabbed them and took the audience with me on a journey.  It was beautiful!  I was so proud!  Great moment there!  The other girls in my group really went to the nines and by far my favorite was Nat, she absolutely just sang it to the world, so proud of her!  And yes, you guessed it, Scorsese gave us an A.

But in all of it, the five months of work, the wonderful people I got the opportunity to work with and be inspired by, I felt like it was one of my easier semesters.  I guess I found it easy because I was doing what I love to do, and when you do that, it's never hard.  I spent time with wonderful young women who had conviction in their work, who wouldn't just go with the flow, but instead sought knowledge in their own way.  To witness that, I was very lucky.

I think it is important to not compromise on what you believe or how you seek knowledge.  I don't think it's ok to be a lemming and follow the crowd off of the cliff.  The one gift we get as human beings is the ability to think and choose for ourselves and I think it's a gift we should never take for granted or waste.

Socrates said, "The wisest man in the world knows that they know nothing."  I love the saying, "The bravest person in the world is the one who can confidently say 'I don't know.'"  I always thought the most brave thing was to say "I don't know" then having the courage and tenacity find out for yourself.  It's not just going with the crowd, it's breaking free of the shackles of conformity and making up your own mind, believing what you want to believe.  Courage is standing up and being yourself.  I have seen first hand those who would subdue others just for the sake of forcing someone to conform to their twisted belief system.  Don't be a victim of the status quo, raise your voice, believe in yourself enough to summon up the courage to be different.  Different is good, and when we embrace the differences it allows us to see the universe in a whole new way.

The biggest thing I learned about myself this semester:  I am not a lemming.

Today's song of the day is for those who don't compromise, My Chemical Romance's "Sing."  Raise your voice every single time they try and shut your mouth...

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The L33T G33K.

In the ever-tenuous genre of the computer savvy, there is a term for those of us who are keyboard cowboys, software samurai, keepers of the comics or just plain mouse jockeys.  We're geeks.   But, there is a breed of geek that goes beyond just playing the games, collecting the comics, praying for a natural 20 on a 20-sided die or playing with the carefully coded software.  They are the makers of the games, the artists behind the characters and the coders behind the software.  Inside the world of the computer savvy, the best of the best of hackers, geeks and technophiles are called "Elite."  Hence, it's why I refer to my best friend Barry as an elite geek or to use leet speak, "l33t g33k", who took this n00b and had a hand in making me into who I am today.

An homage to the Elite Geek circa 2006 that I created for a graphic design school project.
The inscription to the right reads, "Music to Code by."
My best friend Barry is an enigma.  He's the guy all geeks want to be.  He's handsome, dashing, debonaire, and he just so happens to have a kick-ass ponytail that is naturally the color of a raven's wing.  He has an immense sense of style, from snakeskin jackets to every last detail that if you didn't know better, you'd think he is a rock star.  But, he's a geek.  He's the guy who finds his way into the very elite parties at Comic-Con and he's a countless-computer-language knowing geek with a sense of web design that would make even the most elite artist cry.



Almost 9 years to the day ago, Barry was hugging me and telling me goodbye as followed my ex and began my journey to the great white north along with the very painful three years I would spend in Montreal.  Tonight, I hugged him and told him goodbye as he prepares to follow his girlfriend to Houston.

Two weeks ago, I got a note on Facebook asking me if I was going to go to his going away party.  In shock that he was actually moving away, I made plans to make sure I was there for him, just like he was for me.

I couldn't get over the irony of what was happening.  My best friend is one hell of a guy and it's killing me to see him go.  He was there when my thyroid exploded over a weekend in Santa Monica and he brought me a smoothie and ice cream to ease my very sore throat as we tried to figure out in vain what was happening to me.  He has been there for me during every up, down, sideways, backwards and forwards for close to 13 years. He's backstopped me for so long, always encouraging and always there with a quick quip to make me laugh even in the worst moments.  When he said goodbye to me as I was leaving nine years ago, he did try to talk sense to me as I was leaving by saying, "Why are you marrying that tool?"  That should tell you how well Barry knows me because he was right, I should have never left.  But, I couldn't bear to tell him the same thing because his girl is real sweet and I don't see anything wrong with her.  At the same time my gut was just screaming out from past experience that this whole thing is not a good idea, but it's his life, he's got to do with it what he sees fit.  I have no right to project my issues on to his (very similar) situation.

When he met his girlfriend, I figured that my presence wouldn't be a very good idea. As experience has taught me extremely well, no woman ever cares for another woman, doesn't matter the type of relationship, talking to their guy, it doesn't matter if it's texting, e-mail or a phone call, it's usually not very welcomed, so I politely kept silent.  Barry knows that if he ever needs me, I'm only a phone call away, and I know if something important goes down, I need to keep him in the loop.

Even though I don't talk to him very often, I make sure to keep track of my pal.  He's on the web all the time, sitting on the couch with the rest of the guys on the Ugly Couch Show.  I had to laugh at the latest episode because of course the show is about all things geek, but there's Barry sitting on the couch with a t-shirt sporting a "recognizer" from Tron.  Yep, that's my best friend, he knows the true value of Tron, just like I do.  LOL.  In turn, Barry keeps track of me by coming here the same as you do to check on me.

But still, here we are nine years later and my best friend is about to undertake a similar journey as my own and I can't help but hold my breath and hope everything will go well for him.  I keep trying to remind myself that he's not me and the future could hold a very different destiny for him.  But even with that, it still rips my heart out of my chest to see him go.  His girl is very sweet, she's geeky, fun and very beautiful, but she's fighting against an army of Barry's friends (and his mom) who just don't want to see him go.  It's rare to be in the presence of a true elite geek and well, between all of his hi-jinks, the endless number of stories that just cannot be repeated because of their sheer immaturity or just plain bad luck along with some things you don't even tell your kids you did, he is beloved by all of his friends.

Barry, just like I found out nine years ago, is in for one hell of a culture shock.  Vegas, for all of it's good and bad parts, is a 24 hour town.  You can get anything you want, need or desire any time of the day or night.  In my experience, it doesn't work like that in really any other city on the planet.  Cities like New York can say they are 24 hours a la "the city that never sleeps", but they're really not, at least not like Vegas.  On top of that, Barry is going to Houston, which by rural Texas standards is like taking a trip to the moon, but by Vegas standards it is going to be like going back to the Bronze Age.  No 24 hour grocery stores, and worst of all, last call at a bar in Texas (that is if you don't live in a dry county [Barry, you need to read about that]) is 2 a.m.  For those of us who live in Vegas, we have no idea what the words "last call" means because we can just pick up and move the party to another place that will keep the libations flowing.  It doesn't work that way in Texas.  Not by a long shot.  Last call for alcohol is a very set rule and well, they don't break it, not for anyone.  When last call hits, the party has to be taken home because that's the only place you can get an alcoholic beverage (if you can get your hands on it and are smart enough to store some before hand for just such an occasion) after 2 a.m.

Then, there is the whole fact that Houston (along with a good majority of the south) is right smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt, where it's "amen, hallelujah and pass the collection plate" almost 24/7 and if you're not a God-Fearing Christian, you stick out like a sore thumb.  Lucky enough though, Houston is very progressive and it's the home town of people like BeyoncĂ© and Brent Spiner (there's a Trek reference for you, the one and only Lt. Cmdr. Data is from Houston, but you do notice that he lives in New York now, right?  That is for a reason that I will not touch with a ten foot pole, but also notice that I'm from New Braunfels (just 175 miles away from Houston) and I live on the West Coast for pretty close to the same reasons.  LOL!!!!!  Bwahahahah.  Sorry.  LOL!)  But I take my hat off to Houston, they're doing good, as far as accepting new ideas and accepting the 21st century, considering where they're at. (I'm so afraid some shit-kicking hick is going to look at him and say "Get a haircut" and Barry giving them a one-finger salute for their trouble.)  Although Texas is in a SEVERE drought situation (some cities have already run out of water) they've got jobs a-plenty to be had, right, left and center, so I do see the logic of going there.

But whether I like it or not, Barry's moving away.  So let's get to the fun of the party, shall we?

Tonight, the night started out downtown at Casa Don Juan, a very hole-in-the-wall-ish "Authentic" Mexican restaurant and I sat thrilled seeing at least 50 people sitting, eating, laughing and talking together that have all known him for as long, if not longer than I have.  I could see the broken hearts from a mile off as I asked what was going to happen on the couch on the Ugly Couch Show now that Barry is moving.  The response, "Well, we'll soldier on" was all that could be replied.  It was apparent how his absence from all of his activities, from work to play, were affecting the people who love him so much.  I even got misty-eyed a few times along the way knowing that my pal is going to be so far away.

After dinner, the party moved on to a place called "Herbs and Rye" on Sahara Avenue.  Of course, no ordinary watering hole will do for Barry, because the elite geek in him always seeks out unique and savory libations.  A long time ago, I remember going to that same place for amazing Italian food with Barry when it was a restaurant known as "The Venetian."  Now, it's a very old-time kind of place, very much turn of the 20th century, with drinks made with Absinthe and other now little-known ingredients.  I sat amazed when I asked the waitress for my usual Malibu Madras and was told that they didn't stock Malibu and that if I wanted a cocktail, well, it was a trip via time machine to Progressive Era America, or it was nothing.  With Barry's help (after all, he was the one who figured out that my drink was a Malibu Madras), he helped me pick out a drink called "The Blackthorne" which was a combination of Sloe Gin, Vermouth, Bar Syrup, Lemon, Bitters and Orange Bitters.  Here's the catch.  The recipe they use is from Tom Bullocks' 1917 "173 Pre-Prohibition Cocktails."  Don't believe me?  Here's a look at just a part of the menu:

I had a Blackthorne, Barry went with an Aviation.

Ah yes, vintage Barry, if it doesn't require a cipher and extensive research & development to understand it, he's not happy.  As I looked at the menu, I texted Ace (who's at home in bed with the flu), "Where's George Clooney and the rest of the cast from 'O Brother Where Art Thou'?"

When my drink arrived, I took one taste and said, "It'll definitely kill bacteria."  Yeah, it was very unique.  It had some tasty moments and I did down the whole thing, but I promptly followed it up with a glass of wine.

The Blackthorne
But when it was all said and done, I decided to call it an early night, besides, I couldn't sit any longer knowing my pal is going to be on the road in just a few short days to a place I wouldn't live in again for all of the money in the world.  I'm a Vegas girl, I've lived here far too long to be able to adapt to life in a "normal" city again.  I really hope that Barry can handle the change and if I know anything about my best friend, he'll do fine wherever he is.

As I was leaving, I hugged him and told him the same piece of wisdom he gave me some nine years ago, "Planes will always keep flying" and that if he needed me, I was just a phone call away.  And all those years ago he was right, the planes did keep flying and life eventually brought me home.  I honestly hope everything goes well for him back in the "real world," but if worse comes to worse, I can't help but think that someday he'll find his way home too, a little worse for the wear, but filled with experiences that he wouldn't have had otherwise.  And just like when I came home, I'll be there for him, just like he was there for me.  After all, what's a best friend for?

Well, at least now when I write, I can clue Barry in to something important by saying, "Houston, we have a problem."  LOL.  Besides, if the UNLV NSAC team gets to go to Nationals in Austin, I know who I'll be calling to invite for a front row seat to the big show.

Good Luck Barry.  You're my best friend and I love you so very much.  We'll all miss you so much, from me to Rub to Tom and the rest of your motley Vegas crew.  We're a handful, but we all adore you.

They say "Don't mess with Texas", right?  Well, don't let them mess with your ponytail.

We'll be here waiting for you.

I think of you like Castor in Tron Legacy when he says, "Let's step away from these primitive functions," "Libations, for everybody!" and "I'm steppin' away for a moment boys... Change the scheme, alter the mood, electrify the boys and girls if you'd be so kind."

The song of the day is for you Barry.  From the Tron Legacy Original Soundtrack, for the fun times at Utopia to all of the electronica we love so much..."End of Line."  Time for you to change the scheme and alter the mood, electrifying all of those sheltered boys and girls, that is if you'll be so very kind.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

What is wrong with universities these days?

I am in absolute awe of the BS that is happening on college campuses all around the country.  As I was reading the news on CNN.com I was absolutely shocked, here's the short list:

  • The Penn State Fiasco because of Jerry Sandusky.
  • The Florida A&M student death from hazing (which has brought forth even more students saying they were hazed).
  • Syracuse having issues with sexual abuse from the head coach of the basketball team.
  • A University of Oklahoma professor suspended for sexual abuse charges.
  • And at UNLV, students just got an 8% tuition hike but they're firing some of our best professors.
Now, you tell me, why on earth are we paying such ludicrous tuition costs for that kind of bull?

This is not in any way, shape or form localized to just one school.  It's a coast to coast issue.  What is going on on all of these college campuses?  What is truly sad is that I'm more than positive there are even more skunks that will be flushed out in the coming days, weeks, months and years.  In essence, buckle your seat belts kids, there is more coming down the pipe.

I have sat broken hearted for the last three weeks.  Why?  My favorite professor, Scorsese, has been fired.  Why?  No room in the school budget for him.  What?  Wait a second.  We just had an 8% tuition increase (with more hikes promised in the future) which were justified by the Nevada System Higher Education for the reason that our higher tuition will pay to bring back professors to the school, yet they're getting rid of Scorsese, who every single IMC student agrees that he is THE heart and soul of the IMC program at UNLV?  Really?

I am truly outraged, but I'm nothing compared to the hundreds of students I have personally spoken with that say that the dismissal of Scorsese takes the whole department and flushes it down the toilet.  

We were given a letter that said that there are three professors that are taking on the IMC school and that we shouldn't worry. To that I cry a resounding "BS!"  Of the three, the most popular and well-respected on the list is our school's new director, so he doesn't have time to teach.  The other two, well here, you tell me:  One of them, the students hate with a passion.  They don't respect the professor and they will do everything including cut off limbs to avoid being in that professor's classes because the teacher is bitter, mean and just needs all-around work on their people skills.   The other?  Well, hold onto yourself for this one...the other professor only teaches classes online and to boot, is very problematic to get a hold of, then makes you wait to continue assignments until you get the go-ahead after you've contacted them.  So, in total, both professors asked to take on the IMC load not only repulse the students, but make them inclined to change their majors instead of carrying on.  The students don't want the two professors they are being saddled with and the only reason that Scorsese is being let go is a combination of politics and poor funds management.  To all that I say, "He's getting the job done and he cares about us, leave the man alone and let him do what he does best, teach."

How sad is it that the students at UNLV are paying more for tuition and for our money we're getting piss-poor professors?  Don't get me wrong, I've had some outstanding professors at UNLV, but they've been extremely rare.  The really great ones like Doc T either moved on, been fired or are saddled with the same mountain of BS the students are.  What galls me to kingdom come are the people who have the audacity to wonder how the Jerry Sandusky's of the world got to keep their jobs for so long.

I personally think that the entire university system from head to toe needs to be gone over with a fine toothed comb, then had a nuclear bomb taken to it.  I know that Elementary and High School teachers are having to take competency tests, so why aren't university professors asked to do the same?  

What happened to actually READING the evaluations that the students are asked to turn in at the end of every semester?  I can promise you that if someone actually sat down and read the evaluations that came down from half of the students I go to school with every day that are having to endure this mountain of bullshit, a good portion of the pee-poor professors we have to deal with would be sent packing, saving the university hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and bringing in quality educators instead of pompous professors, who just because they are tenured, believe they are absolute monarchs.

This semester, I got to meet some great people thanks to Scorsese.  He knows everyone in town when it comes to Ad, PR and IMC.  I'm serious, he has the whole town on lock.  He brought in the most amazing man to our Media Planning and Buying class who WAS a professor at UNLV until the same thing that is happening to Scorsese happened to him.  Add on Prof H. from two semesters ago, and I've got a list of three highly qualified individuals, who are some of the most outstanding educators that I have been lucky enough to sit in their classrooms for even a day, and they are gone because some numb-nut sitting up high in his plush office on the fourth floor doesn't think they are worth keeping because they either a.) don't have their doctorates or b.) they aren't tenured.

Then they sit and wonder why admissions are down or that students would much rather go to the local community college, pay one-third the tuition and get a better education.

The whole system needs to be turned on its head and shaken until all of the garbage is cleaned out and even the lint has been emptied from its pockets.  Get rid of the ineffective professors, bring in the educators that KNOW how to educate and let's get this show back on the road in the right way.

I go to school every day with disheartened students who watch their favorite, highly effective professors get the boot.  The students know they are getting screwed right, left and center, being asked to pay more but getting less for their money.  

How truly sad.

The worst part of it all is that I'm a 40-year-old student and I'm watching these kids starve and work themselves to death because they know they need a quality education to succeed in the world.  I can do nothing to help them except to tell them to keep persevering because tomorrow just might be a better day.  I don't know how many times I've looked at all of them and said, "The one constant in the universe is change.  Let's hope some of that change lands in the university system."

Meanwhile, there are dirty athletics programs, more perverts than holes in a block of swiss cheese, hazing situations in organizations from the band on down, and students not getting 1/100th of the education they are paying for.  What is wrong with this picture?

*Sigh* We're paying to get screwed in more ways than one.

As NSHE Associate Vice Chancellor Crystal Abba told a group of students protesting our tuition hike said,“You don’t have to support it just because you think it’s a foregone conclusion.  You are the only opposition to that. [But] it has so much momentum it will roll right over you anyway.”

When I wrote my congressman about the crap going on at school, I got a form letter back that said, "Thanks for your letter and for voicing your concerns."  That was it.  No "we'll look into it" or anything.  Yeah, politicians really care what happens to us starving students that are only asking for one simple thing:  A good education.

The really great educators in the world do a thankless job.  They are the ones with enormous hearts that make room for every last student they come in contact with.  They rarely hear a thank you and they rarely are given a pat on the back by their bosses but they give their heart and soul so that students like me can get a decent education.  Scorsese is one of those educators and he got the boot for all of his sacrifice.

Sad.  Sad.  Sad.

But on to better news and a dose of hope for the future.  The semester wrap-up is coming up tomorrow, stay tuned for all of the semester's highlights starring Scorsese, Doc L., and special guest appearances by Doc S., Doc Cat and Prof. H.  Yep, it's a cavalcade of all-stars on the next installment combined with a preview of the semester break's fun holiday festivities.  Set your bookmarks for all this and more from your favorite Eternal Sophomore.