Google gives FREE internet
Google set up FREE WIFI all over Mountain View, CA (near where I'm from)
Google is amazing!!! Check out the quick story:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/free-citywide-wifi-in-mountain-view.html
In the news today! Amazing!
NEWS ALERT
from The Wall Street Journal
Aug. 17, 2006
A federal judge ruled against the tobacco industry, ordering companies to admit they lied about the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes. The judge ruled that the industry conspired for decades to deceive the public about the dangers ofsmoking and now must pay to help smokers kick the habit.
For more information, see:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115583822189038540.html?mod=djemalert
Went to Rascal Flatts, it was nuts
Knock yourself out:
http://community.webshots.com/album/552510346NUOzgn
More Ovaltine, please!
More Ovaltine, please!So, they brought the Ovaltine commercials back to the big screen (and by big, I more or less mean the medium sized TV in my living room).
You may have thought that Ovaltine was just a drink of chocolatey goodness... but apparently, there's more: Definition as found on UrbanDictionary.com: A kids' drink that is added to milk. Ovaltine is a powerful, but non well-known aphrodisiac.
--> Ex. This wicked ugly guy kept spouting these lame pick-up lines at me, but when he gave me some Ovaltine, his hideousness was suddenly really arousing.
The moral of the story is: Lookin' for a good time? More Ovaltine, please!
The Final Frontier
06.22.06
Infiltration. Make money at any cost.Today was by far my favorite of Dr. Bergstrom’s lectures. It was on the Russian Mafia, and everyone knows that hearing about an organized crime unit and their ruthlessness is semi-Hollywood (but no embellishments) and a form of entertainment. He talked about money laundering through various means, whether it was the Cayman Islands or restaurants and movie theaters. He defined organized crime as “groups engaging in political/economic VIA illegal means”. It’s funny, because I guess I’ve always assumed that all different ‘regional’ mafia were all generally similar, but apparently the Russian mafia is way more intense and ruthless than other mafia cells, like the Italians. Apparently, California used to produce and distribute a report on crime that had detailed commentary on organized crime; the last report that was prepared a couple of years ago An interesting fact about a vacation spot I think I have visited with my family on a cruise... the Cayman Islands, is that while the population is only 36,000, there are over 60,000 banks and trusts, as well as $800 million in assets on the islands… impressive! One more fact for the hopper is that at least a whopping 3 million people are employed by crime organizations. Wow!
On a more personal note, I cannot believe that today was the last day of lecture. It honestly feels like we were sloshing through the rain, confused and with all of our luggage—desperately trying to find George Street. This has been the experience of a lifetime, everything I expected and more. Just the opportunity to hear worldy perspectives, live in flats in Jericho, meet loads and loads of international people, and travel from European city to European city. I am so grateful that I was able to go on this trip, and it has changed quite a few of my outlooks on life, people, politics and friendships, and I am glad, because transformation is always good.
Next stop: Maybe London tonight, and then I leave for Nice and Geneva on Sunday!
Oxford makes me drink too much
06.21.06
It has been brought to my attention that we might be in fact living on an island… Unfortunately, England lost last night… which I guess means more drinking! It was a wild night, but for some reason it was free drinks from friendly people everywhere I went… not bad. However, I definitely paid for it this morning… there was not enough coffee, water, or aspirin to cure what last night left me feeling like.
Dr. Bergstrom’s first lecture, on the Politics of Thailand was somewhat appealing, mostly because it is all news to me! Dr. Bergstrom is really visual, animated and descriptive. So when he was describing the current crown prince’s ridiculous and haphazard lifestyle, or when the king was mysteriously killed, I was extremely entertained. I did learn some things that pieced previous information I had known, together. For example, I did not know that Thailand’s old school name is “Siam”. Not as educational, but interesting, was the recollection of if someone of royalty, etc is caught being “naughty” (I’m still not 100% sure what his definition of that is) then they are placed in a velvet body bag and beaten to death. The fact that 75% of the country is one religion (Buddhism), is a big deal. It just merely means that there is less conflict since there is a significant majority. My favorite part of the lecture was when he was talking about Thailand’s current King and how lucky they are to have him as a ‘ruler’. Interestingly enough, the king’s parents were traveling/working in the States, so when the mother went into labor, the current United States’ President declared a whole floor of a hospital “Thai territory”, so that the king could be technically born in his own country.
Good news is that Dr. Bergstrom’s second lecture was on the Politics of India—something I was interested in hearing about. India is fascinating to me… India accounts for one-sixth of the world’s population (right behind China), and it is the fourth largest economy in the world; I think that is absolutely amazing! Unlike the United States, India’s history goes far back, almost 5,000 years. I love the United States more than anything, but I will say that for traveling sake, I find it so interesting when visiting Europe, and hopefully in the future, India and the Middle East—the amount of history that is behind these countries. The United States has under 300 years of history, which is nothing compared to India. Even here in Oxford, it is mind-boggling to walk around this city, or even sit in a classroom that is part of this 800+ year old, world-renowned university and imagine who was there before, what events it endured, etc.
While I thought Dr. Bergstrom’s talk on India was interesting, every day this week he has somehow mentioned his paper or thesis that was on an Indian Viceroy… and today he talked about it once again, and it was so redundant… oh well, you win some and you lose some.
Bob spoke on United States and British Foreign Policy. He basically said that they have somewhat similar foreign policies since the creation of the Monroe Doctrine. An interesting comparison he made about the countries is that while England is often viewed as an island, he said that the United States is ultimately one, too. Not geographically, because of Canada and Mexico, but geopolitically because Canada and Mexico are not a threat to us. I didn’t know where he was going with it at first, but after explaining it, I understood the concept that he was relaying to us.
After lectures, we went home to read and study. Not a lot of that happened. The weather was cold so we stayed in, even though Nick was trying to have a barbeque at 4 Kingston. So instead, we watched Mexico play Portugal (Mexico lost) in the world cup, it was a fun time, even though Nick and Gus were really upset at their people… haha. Way later, Matt and Jeff started prank calling our house. It was actually hysterical, and then they somehow managed to climb up the side of our house, and our roommate (Azusa Pacific), let’s call her Trumpet, totally freaked out. We apologized for our friends’ ridiculousness, which she was extremely accepting of, well so I thought, but then she went into the kitchen and came out with hot water that she boiled… and tried to pour it out the window onto them, then she ran outside and tried to chase them! I literally had no idea what to say, except for “Please don’t do that” and an inner note to self of her insanity. Needless to say, she really lost it and now I don’t think I’m going to be confronting her about her never doing her dishes…..
Officially Sponsoring the Tide Pen
06.20.06
“China is a sleeping giant. Let her lie and sleep, for when she awakens she will astonish the world.” – Napoleon Well, while my morning technically started off on a good note… we were on time and the weather was nice… I managed to spill coffee all over my white top. I realize that getting something on a white article of clothing is inevitable, but I swear it looked like I took the top off the latte and just started pouring. In turn, I would like to officially endorse the Tide Stain Removing Pen. I got almost all of it out! Now onto bigger and more significant things…
I was so excited for today’s first lecture on The Politics of China. My grandpa talks about China all of the time, sends me articles, etc. He always tells me that China is getting bigger, better and stronger every single day, and that it is already a regional superpower, and that China is well on its way to becoming a superpower in manufacturing, technology, and telecommunications.
Once again, Dr. Bergstrom started with facts and figures to make the lecture more realistic and momentous. China is the third highest trader in the world, has the highest economic growth in the world in the past couple of decades, is the second largest consumer of oil, lastly, in 2004 there were two billionaires in China, and in 2005 there were 10. The exponential growth of China and its quest to take over the world is climbing fast and steady. Some things that he talked about that I think we should be concerned about are: the uneven balance of trade (China sells six times than what they buy from the U.S.) as well as the fact that China is engaged in a major military buildup that goes far beyond its defensive needs. Dr. Bergstrom also touched on how Israel has been selling arms to China—we created and have continually stuck by Israel, I just don’t know why the United States hasn’t made a big enough deal about Israel definitely breaking some agreement I assume that we have with them about selling weapons like that. I do vaguely recall reading something about Rumsfeld around this time last year freezing some shipments, etc. but it just sounds like a slap on the wrist.
Dr. Bergstrom spent quite a significant amount of time making fun of Louis Vuitton… I am quite the collector when it comes to that couture line, but I definitely know that there is a lot of criticism that goes along with “overpaying” for a handbag. However, Dr. Bergstrom forgot to touch on what a ridiculous profit couture companies make, personally, I think it is a marketing phenomenon and I don’t mind being a part of it. But that’s just me! In conclusion, I really enjoyed his lecture on China today, I read or hear commentary on the growing China, and how China is officially becoming a full fledged competitor of the United States every single week, and I was glad to be able to hear various points of views on it.
Our last lecturer was Mr. Le May, who spoke on World War II and its’ effects. I was so excited to hear him speak, because in Tim’s introduction, he said that the lecturer had been a speech writer for Winston Churchill… it was like he was a walking, living, breathing piece of history! However, I could barely hear him, and I don’t feel like he spoke enough about his experience and involvement—which would have easily made the lecture ten times more interesting.
Tonight England is playing Sweden! So we are on our way out to the Victoria to go watch the game, and of course… have some beverages, as well!
Class and Tabloids
06.19.06
Class never goes out of style
Today was our first day back for classes, and the weather was really dumpy! It’s actually raining right now! It’s hard to believe because the weather has been so nice here! Our first lecturer today was Dr. George Bergstrom who actually used to be in the Political Science department at SDSU. He actually gave an interesting talk on the British Class System. I really liked the format of his lecture because he started off by giving a very quick rundown of the intricacy and importance of class in British society, but then followed up with quotes from different sources.Dr. Bergstrom said that “nothing happens without class distinction” in Britain. At first I thought it was somewhat of a broad, maybe embellished statement, but after his lecture, it was proved to be extremely true. It was at first hard to relate, because the United States’ history is nowhere as old as British history. Their class distinction roots back generation after generation, not to mention that their country is run by a monarchy (a class in its own).
What I found interesting was when he talked about the English public school system as the “cardinal reinforcer of class”. Until he started to talk about, I totally forgot that the English public school system and the United States public school system are two very different situations! In the United States public schools are run and financed by the government; adversely, public schools in England are exclusive, independent and are definitely not free. I know Oxford is definitely exclusive, but the numbers make it seem even more dramatic. Only 6% of English students go to public schools, however at least half of Oxford freshers are from public schools. It’s a really dominating factor, but I feel like it works somewhat similarly in the States. My school, just like many others really stressed the “college prepatory aspect”, and in turn, our first Senior semester English class was geared around our application essay, interview preparedness, etc. Just like the public schools in England, the private schools in the United States heavily prepare their students to be in the prime applicant pool for top universities. The prime example Dr. Bergstrom used was Eaton. Eaton has produced 18 Prime Ministers, has huge family lineage within the alumni and student body, cultures boys’ accents, etc.
While he did bring up the growing gap between the rich and the poor (which is a big problem we have in the States), I admittingly like exclusivity. I always have my whole entire life. It’s the concept of the have and have nots. Maybe it’s just because I believe that to an extent, everyone can control their destiny. It’s not wishful thinking, I’ve seen it happen. Rags to riches, what a mere set of goals can do for someone, mentors, etc. I get motivational e-mails, and once in a while there is something meaningful, “Where there is vision, there is life and growth, accomplishment, fulfillment and joy. Visualize the very best for your world, and allow your life to follow that vision.”
For lunch we went to this awesome Mongolian Barbeque place. You pack whatever you want into a bowl (the guys showed us space-saving secrets, haha), and then the chef ‘woks’ it for you, and it was only 5.50! So cheap for here! After that we still had a lot of dead time until our last lecture, so we walked around Oxford… I don’t want to admit it, but I started thinking about how I am going to miss this place that I have gotten used to.
Our last lecturer, Nick Thomas, who is currently under contract for The Telegraph, was a nice deviation from the norm. He spoke about all of the different forms of media in England (Press, Weekly Magazines, Radio and TV). It was especially interesting since he is a writer himself. I didn’t realize what a different media “climate” there is in England (compared to the States). England is about one-third of the United States’ population and the whole country is under the same time zone—making the market relatively compact, meaning that everyone watches the same 6 o’clock news and that there is more national coverage. He also shared his point of view as to what stations and publications are “rubbish”—gotta love the British!
The rest of the day has been spent studying. There was a minor interruption because some of the girls who are in our program had stuff stolen out of their flat, but they found out it was by their roommate…. Blah blah blah, the police came… it was interesting for a minute, but no longer (unfortunately)—it gave us a reason to take a break, that’s for sure!
Last, but definitely not least, we finalized our travel plans for the last travel week. We are going to Nice, France and Geneva, Switzerland! I am so excited!! But before, almost our whole group is going to go to London on Friday for the night and go to something called the "Ice Bar"... it's a bar made entirely of ice, and you have to wear a huge parka they give you when you enter.... I'm excited!
