Oh, the quotes I provide...

Greenstock was a couple of weekends ago, and it was a great success. Here's an article by my friend, Addie, from the Davidsonian. I was interviewed during the event, and a quote was attributed to me in the article. If you're too lazy to read the entire article, here's my quote:

I hope the remainder of your day is great!

Culturally Aware in 2012 Update, April 5

I figured an update on the "Culturally Aware in 2012" challenge was in order.

Would Lincoln Be Elected Today?

This Wednesday night I had the privilege of listening to an amazing speaker. My friends and I ran over to Duke Family Performance Hall and flew up the stairs to get a middle seat on the second level of the theatre, sitting at 6:58pm. We stared ahead or looked down at the crowd below as we waited for the event to begin. At 7:10, Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson was introduced to the crowd. Dr. Jamieson has written a total of 16 books, has been featured on Bill Moyers' show, Washington Post, CBS, and others. An article was written about her this week in the Charlotte Observer, honoring her for her work. She is Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at University of Pennsylvania. She runs a site, FactCheck.org, and a sister/daughter site, FlackCheck.org. Both are very useful tools for thinning out the deceptions and lies inherent in political ad campaigns.

The crux of her political mission is to get the false ads and lies out of political campaigns. One way she does this is through FlackCheck, where there is an option to email your local stations, demanding they only air ads that are factually accurate. Stations can turn down independent ads (those by Super PACs are to be accented here) if the manager of the station is even a little bit worried about the factuality of the ad. Jamieson believes that the advertiser has the responsibility to keep ads factual and the manager has the responsibility to turn away ads if she doubts the credibility of the ad's facts.

Acknowledging Dr. Quillen

Thursday morning, the president of Davidson spoke to a committee of the Senate. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is comprised of members of both parties, and was having a hearing on the affordability of education - likely due to Obama's State of the Union promises to make higher education more affordable.

Needless to say, Dr. Quillen was extraordinarily impressive as always. I am so proud to be at the school that I am attending, and even more proud to have such a wonderful woman as my president. My predecessors did a wonderful job finding a new president.

I'm looking forward to Quillen's Monday signing of the Davidson Climate Action Plan and unveiling of the solar panels on Baker. Honestly, I will probably give Dr. Quillen a hug then.

The Artist

It's wonderful to begin the year with a movie as wonderful as this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed all 100 minutes of this silent film. Michel Hazanavicius' masterpiece will hopefully inspire even more directors to create what I believe to be a lost medium - silent film. (Please note that the theatre isn't silent completely, as music plays to set the mood for the movie at times.) The acting fit perfectly to the style of the movie by including large displays of emotion that would seem ridiculous to a current audience in a modern film. Whether these displays were Jean Dujardin's massive smiles and head twitches or Berenice Bejo's silly but adorable dance movies, they seemed effective in making the movie lighthearted where needed, and dramatic elsewhere.

My generation truly missed out on silent films, and that really saddens me. Us kids of the 90's were right at the edge of cassette tapes and kid's cartoons, and technology of media exploded from there. I'm so sad I never got to sit around with friends listening to vinyls like my parents did (though I admit I have listened to Dad's records quite a few times over, mostly in secrecy). I remember VHS tapes, and how awesome they were, but they were quickly replaced with DVD's. I grabbed a VCR from home and several VHS tapes and I've brought them to Davidson, not to be ironic and nostalgic, but to fully enjoy every single movie so much more. The only VHS tapes I can find are classics and they might be damaged such that the entire movie has a slight pink tint, but they are so much more appreciated than the fifty DVD's I buy every year. Rewinding a movie might be a pain, but it reminds me to slow down every now and then between scenes in my life.

I know I've strayed from the topic of The Artist, but the fact that Hazanavicius made a silent film - one popular in the mainstream - after decades of none at all amazes me. I enjoyed myself so much watching the film, and I sincerely hope that more of the style are produced soon since the film has done so well.

Culturally Aware in 2012

My New Year's resolution is to become more culturally aware. I'll admit, this title comes as an attempt to glorify a silly challenge I'm putting myself through in the year.

This year, I want to build my vocabulary and develop my abilities to explore, analyze, and conclude from what I see, hear, and learn. (Be on the lookout for a 101 things in 1001 days sort of deal in the next week or so--I assure you it will appear from somewhere... I just have to sit down and think through what.)

Essentially, I heard my brother talking about participating in the 50 books challenge where participants try to read 50 books before December 31st comes to an end (~a book a week) and decided I wanted to do something like it. Over the past few weeks, though, I've decided that I wanted to change this a little bit to span more than just books. I want to cover stories of people real and not, descriptions of the world near and far, and views I agree and disagree with currently. I want to gain as much as possible from this experience as well. Unfortunately, studies and money might come into conflict with the completion of this challenge but I will try my best to complete it. Here are the challenges:


1. 30 new books in the year
2. 20 new movies in the year
3. 10 new friends in the year (which I must have some interesting story with) Note: if I'm friends but don't have an interesting story, acquisition of a story counts towards this.
4. 10 new museums or art galleries in the year (which I must see at least one full exhibit in)
5. 5 new cities visited in the year (which I must eat in and see something exciting or thrilling in)


I might be editing this list over the next week or so. I will also try to blog my "accomplishments" as they come - book reviews, movie reviews, interesting stories with friends, thoughts on museums, thoughts on cities.

If you are interested in joining me in this challenge, I would love to have you! Please let me know if you are going to participate, and maybe we can do some stuff together. I would love the company.

Wrapping Up 2011

On a scale from 1 to 10, this year was an '11.

I recycled--that was my idea for our graduation shirts last year (with a couple modifications to make it more relevant). I'll admit that. But there's no denying that this year has been wonderful. I absolutely adored living through the 2-oh-1-oh plus 1, as my father called it a few times in January.

II watched a clip from NBC, in which a kid said he was hoping for a better year in 2012. I suppose everyone didn't have as awesome of a year as I, so I decided to check in with some friends on Facebook. The following list is from a variety of people from a variety of life stages, a variety of level of acquaintance with me, and a variety of backgrounds. I hope it helps to sum up how people feel about 2011 and 2012 alike.

Among my friends there are those who view 2011 as wonderful, and 2012 as a challenge they can overcome:

As 2011 draws to its final hours I have no idea what to say. It was the best year in my life so far (I do plan on living forever so a lot to look forward to). Tonight at 12 am, a new year starts. A year full of smiles, laughter, and love. My biggest fear in life is growing up. 2012 is a big year in my life and the year where I believe my fear will conquer me. Starting 12 tonight I will embrace my inner childhood more than ever, not the one that whines and cries but the one who never forgets to smile, the one who doesn't let others stop him, the one who always let out a hand for friendship, and the one who makes sure that everyone around him is always smiling and laughing. 2012, come at me. --Kushal

There are those who met the call to review 2011 with sarcasm:

Wait, I'm supposed to be listing things this year? Oh, it's New Years Eve. Um...
Dude, I can barely list what happened yesterday. Okay. This year, I existed. Happy New Years Eve. --Lindsay

There are those who are hopeful:

Happy New Years Eve everyone! Time to leave things in the past and look ahead into the future! --Jomel

There are those who were given gifts of life:

Happy new years Eve! I'm sad to say goodbye to 2011, we had a great year! The birth of Quinn, we bought our first house and the countless memories we made along the way! I can't wait to see what 2012 brings us! We're ready, bring it on! --Whitney

There are those who are glad for a new year and the blank page it brings with it:

Ready for a New Year... Ready for a new start... Ready for new friends... Ready for new love. Bring it 2012!!!!! --Eddie

And there are those who write perfectly the way I felt about this year:

I throw around adjectives like they're no big deal - incredible, wonderful, lovely - but here the sun sets on a year that truly was impossible to believe, full of wonder and love. Moments extraordinary and extra ordinary alike, shared with friends old and new. It's been a year of new places, new dreams, and new friends that I very much hope are in for the long haul. After the best year of my life, it takes serious nerve to ask 2012 for anything more, yet ask I will. Be safe, be brave, but above all, be happy. It's a big world out there.   --Carrie

I hope my friends have given you a wide view of feelings about last year and this new year. I think allowing Facebook to describe last year and thoughts on next year really provides a view into how great the human spirit is. We humans have met adversity and fought it head-on. No matter what is thrown to us, we are able to keep moving and continue hoping for the future. Those recovering from bad years aren't shutting down, but are instead moving forward into the new year with hope and wonderment at what could be. Those blessed with good years are thankful for those years and looking forward to even greater years to come.

No matter your story, no matter your background, no matter who you are, you are connected with everyone else simply because you are human. We humans will prevail and the human race will never cease to amaze me. Thank you, everyone, for a terrific year and a satisfactory first semester of college. It's you who enrich my life and make it all the better.

And, guys, have a wonderful 2012.