So, Kaylan and I watched Pretty Woman tonight, since it was on the Davis Student Housing Channel, or whatever it's called. Hmm.... It actually wasn't THAT bad; kinda cute actually...but MAN is it dated! The music, the cars, the CLOTHES! It makes me sad that probably a lot of the movies that we watch today will probably be the same in like, 15 years.

And now, on a totally different note, I must post some information about Rasputin, since Leah just did a report on him, and told me about him. That guy was crazy!! Just read this bio that I got off encyclopedia.com:

Lived from 1872-1916. Russian “holy man,” a notorious figure at the court of Czar Nicholas II. He was a semiliterate peasant and debauchee who preached and practiced a doctrine of salvation that mixed religious fervor with sexual indulgence. Because of his personal magnetism and his ability to check the bleeding of the czarevich Alexis, who suffered from hemophilia, Rasputin gained a powerful hold over Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna and, through her, over the czar.
Rasputin's disgraceful behavior, the czarina's attempts to shield him, and a series of scandals involving his appointees helped to undermine the imperial government. It was suspected at the time that Rasputin and the czarina were working for a separate peace with Germany. In Dec., 1916, a group of right-wing patriots, including Prince Felix Yussupov and the czar's cousin, Grand Duke Dmitri, conspired to assassinate Rasputin. With an intricate plan, the three invited Rasputin over to the Yusupov Palace on December 30, 1916 to meet the Tsar's beautiful niece. Whi le waiting for her to appear, the men fed Rasputin poisoned wine and tea cakes. This did not affect him. Dismay came over Yusupov and he shot Rasputin. Miraculously, Rasputin staggered out into the courtyard where Purishkevich and Pavlovich were preparing to leave the palace. Purishkevich shot the staggering Rasputin again, but it was only later, when they bound his body and threw it into the Neva River that he died.

This is the creepiest part:


Yes, he is REALLY scary looking. I can't believe they named that CD store after him....

I find it kind of ironic that the first time I have an actual valentine, I'm not going to be around for Valentine's Day!

Yes, I guess I can post it now: Dylan and I are "going out."
This is Dylan from Davis, (not Porter Dylan). I put "going out" in quotes because frankly, I'm not quite used to the idea yet. But we'll see how things go.
I'm sorry for all of you who have no idea who this Dylan is. Maybe someday you'll get to meet him.

My birthday is in less than three weeks! And I'm gonna go home for it! Hooray!

Ok, does anyone else think that my linguistics book uses some...um...disturbing sentence examples?



Doing my homework can be such a downer!

Hmm...I think this is the longest period of time that I haven't updated for quite a while! And I didn't even try not to blog!
So, you may ask: What news is there?
Welp, there's some. I'm not sure that I want to post it all on the blog. But let's see...the ants left for the whole week until they came back again last night and attacked Kaylan's peanut butter. So she sprayed them with her Sweet Kiwi body mist, since we didn't have any Raid. Needless to say, they were still here this morning.
And then we went to go see Ted Leo and the Pharmacists last night. For free at the MU. And they were really good! I bought their shirt and their CD. 20 bucks. A little too much money to spend just spur-of-the-moment. But I couldn't help it! They were really good! Ted Leo, actually, was really good. His voice reminds me of Ben Folds. Which is definitely a good thing. And he joked with the audience in between songs.
So yeah. That's not all the news. But that's all that I'm going to post right now, since I'm going to eat dinner. Yes, at 5 pm, like an old lady.

Aaah! We have ants in the dorm! They go all the way around, and they're gradually working their way inwards, so that they can EAT US ALIVE! Or maybe not. But they are all over the walls. Dylan suggests that we get a pet anteater to help solve the problem. I thought that was an awesome idea, so I looked up anteaters on the internet. Unfortunately, they only live in tropical, humid climates. And apparently they eat about 30,000 ants a day. Hm...I don't think even we have QUITE that many ants.

Brigitte sent me these pictures in an email. They just made me stop for a second, and brought a couple tears to my eyes.

Okay, there's this site called my pet fat. It's kind of taken from the idea of the pet rocks, except it's a blob of simulated fat that you carry around with you to remind yourself not to eat fatty foods, like cheeseburgers or bacon, or something. You can buy it in several sizes, ranging from 1 oz. to 5 lbs. (pictured above, and setting you back $90). What WILL they think of next?

*ps-Hannah, I got this from ljc's site, too!

Ok, so now I'm in the badminton class at 10 am on Mondays and Wednesdays. And then on Monday night at 8:30, I took an "aerobic kickboxing" class at the rec hall with Alicia. And now I am SO sore! Actually, it's getting a little better, I think. It was worse yesterday. But it still rEaLly hurts when I have to sit down in any sort of chair. And tonight I decided I'd kill myself a little more by taking the abs class with some people. So now my butt will be sore, my thighs will be sore, my arms will be sore (from badminton), and my stomach will be sore! Yay for fitness! Ha ha.
I swear I'm not turning into one of those fitness freaks--I'm just really bored, and there's nothing else to do on weeknights!

YAy! Not only are the White Stripes nominated for four awards, but they're also gonna be playing at the Grammys! Who cares if the Grammys suck? I'm still watchin' 'em!

Oooh, the apple ipod mini. Only 3.6" tall. Can I have one? I don't usually need that much technology, but They're So Cute!!

Sometimes I feel like posting pictures of cute kittens.


And no, I don't know who that guy is that's holding the kitten. Sorry.

ps-it makes me sad when The Shins play in San Francisco, and then their tickets get sold out before I can even decide if I want to go or not. Who's heard of the Shins anyway?!

Oooh man. College is nice...but sometimes it's not. I don't really feel like explaining, but don't worry--I think everything will work out in the long run.

ANyway, yesterday was interesting. I went to Sacramento TWICE in ONE day! Ha ha. It's funny how things happen coincidentally like that. Liz, Kanani, Kaylan, and I took the Yolobus to Sacramento to see Young Black Stallion on the IMAX screen there. Liz rides horses, so she wanted to go see it. The trip was kind of funny, because the bus ride took an hour to get there, and an hour to get back, and the movie itself was only 55 minutes long. And the joys of public transit! On the way there, Liz was telling us about this guy who's gonna get released from prison, and how the equestrian team had to be careful about it because apparently he's been writing letters to one of the girls on the team, and then this old scary lady sitting next to me interrupts us and decides to tell us how we can avoid rapists, and how we can use our horse to protect us against rapists. I guess she meant well, but it was actually pretty creepy, because she looked like she just got out of prison herself!
So we saw the movie--extremely cheesy, hardly any plot (we were the oldest people there without our parents)--and we barely got out in time to catch the next bus back. So we RUN to the bus stop, and the busdriver lady tells us it's her break, so we have to wait twenty minutes while she goes to use the bathroom. And we can't get on the bus, even! Even though it's really cold. So we wait at the bus stop forever. And then she asks us where we're headed, and we tell her Davis. And she says, "Well, I'm going to Woodland--Woodland and then the airport," as if we're on the wrong bus. So we pull out the map of the route, and it says "Woodland, airport, Davis." So Liz asks if she's gonna go by Davis, since it's on the route, and she says "Yes," as if it's obvious. We decided that she probably hated us or something. She looked really scary too. So we sat at the very back of the bus.
And that's just the movie part of the day!
We got back at 6:30 (we left at freakin' 2), and then my friend Daniel told me about his friend's band which was playing that night at Capitol Garage, which is actually about a block away from the bus stop we got off at. So Scott, Ivan, Dylan, Liz, Karie, Corie, Bria, and I all pile into Scott's car and drive out there again for a show at 9 pm. The first band was called the Suicide Squirrels. It was a wannabe White Stripes, with just a guitarist and a drummer. Except they had no lyrics and it was basically just one guitar riff over and over for each song. And then the second band, the Clorox Girls (three guys), threw water and powdered sugar all over the audience. Yeeah....so we left after that, because both of the bands kind of sucked. And got home at around 11 or so, and played Catchphrase (woo hoo!) until 1.
So that was my Saturday. Sorry if you couldn't make it through the whole story. It was a little long-winded.

Here are some late hiking photos:


Jumbo rocks scenery


Me and Leah in a really cool crevasse

So remember how I donated blood way at the beginning of the year? No? Well, I did. And I didn't know what type of blood I had, until they sent me this little card yesterday that said I was A+. That sucks! I really wanted to be type O. Because with type O you feel special, since everyone can accept your blood, and the blood people are always asking you for donations. But with type A...no one cares! Naw, I guess type A isn't that bad...but I just was hoping for more! *blurry camera shot with tears in eyes*
OK, I can't believe I just wrote a paragraph complaining about my blood type.

Take the What Should Your New Year's Resolution Be? Quiz



Riiight....

I'm back. I love having high-speed internet again. Going home reminds me to count my blessings. Hehe. It's so nice to see everyone again! I had my first day of classes today, and it was ok. My linguistics professor reminds of Chris Kattan--he looks kind of like him. Except he has huge Harry Potter glasses and a strong Spanish accent. He also talks about linguistics as if it's science, which isn't that great. For example, he said: "Think of the subject as the nucleus of the sentence." Scary!! Is that supposed to make it clearer for me?!
My beginning painting class is tomorrow. Hope it's fun!
And I hope all of you people who read this are enjoying your new semesters/quarters!

Yes, I'm in love with Orlando Bloom too. How could I not be?

I saw Lord of the Rings today! That movie is freakin' long. Almost 3 1/2 hours! That's, like, how long it takes to drive back from camping at Joshua Tree! Speaking of which--DON'T GO CAMPING IN THE WINTER. Or at least, not unless you have a super-heavy-duty tent, and super-warm sleeping bags, and you know how to build a decent fire to keep you warm! Those are all things that we lacked on the trip. So, because it was so dark, and we didn't have a good fire to sit by, Cammy, Leah, Christina, Me, and the Porters all forced ourselves to go to sleep at 8 PM. Which doesn't really work, especially if you're used to going to bed around midnight or 1. However, looking back on the trip, it was actually pretty fun. It was just getting through the night that was the difficult part. THE SUN FELT LIKE IT WOULD NEVER COME UP! Ha ha.
Ok, I feel like I got a lot of CDs for Xmas, so now I will list them, since I feel like listing them. I hope you feel like reading the list.

REM: Reconstruction of the Fables
REM: Reckoning
Cold Mountain Soundtrack
The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow
Some random sampler
Bad Religion: Stranger than Fiction
Brendan Benson: Lapalco
The White Stripes single: Hardest Button to Button

Ok, maybe it wasn't that many CD's. But it felt like a lot. I'm planning to go buy more tomorrow--probably Queens of the Stone Age and Beck. We'll see.
I really recommend the Shins, if you're looking for a poppy indie band. They're quite good. Good lyrics AND music.

Random post: Adrien Grenier, the actor who hasn't really done anything since Drive Me Crazy with that Sabrina the Teenage Witch girl, is really hot. There was a cashier that looked kind of like him at Marshall's today. It reminded me of this fact.

Jude Law turns 31 today! Happy birthday, my love!

I miss you Kaylan! If you're reading this.


Today I am happy. Among the many things to make me happy today, I got to go Xmas shopping with Cammy. Yay for Cammy being back! I mean, I love college friends--but sometimes (read: virtually always) it's nice to have a friend that has known you since you were in 1st grade and knows you inside-and-out.

"My love for you is like diahrrea (sp?). I just can't hold it in." --Hannah at the Xmas party confessing her love for me. Ok, maybe not exactly that, but one of the more memorable quotes from the party. Yay Hannah! It was so nice to see you!
And of course it was great to see Tony and Alex. And Corie. But I see Corie at school. So she doesn't count. He he. I think that's it for the people that read my blog.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. So you know what that means for the day AFTER tomorrow! Stuff! For me! Just what I always wanted!

Some random thoughts:
Had the Xmas party last night. It was nice! Everyone I hoped to see showed up, and even though I didn't really get to have an "in-depth" conversation with each person, it was still really nice to have everyone come by. Our haphazard caroling was fun. Poor Cammy--left early because she was still adjusting to the west-coast time change. But at least she came for some (most?) of it!

I saw Pieces of April today at the Academy. Yep, I know, if it's playing at that theater, that means it's old news. But I still hadn't seen it yet (Thanks, Davis). That movie is great. I mean it. It is definitely one of the best movies I have seen in a while. Better than Girl with a Pearl Earring, Last Samurai, at least a little better than Station Agent. So yes. If you see a movie this week, see Pieces of April before it leaves theaters completely. It's hilarious and poignant and all that blah blah blah.

One last thing: I'm reading Cold Mountain, because I figured I should actually read the book before I see the movie, especially since I'm pretty much the last person on the planet who hasn't read it yet. So I'm almost done with it...and I don't know if I still want to see the movie! Ha ha. Of course I'll still see the movie. It's got Jude Law and Jack White in it, who am I kidding? But the book is so...depressing! And violent! I mean, I know it's very poetically-written, but...in basically every other chapter someone gets killed! I'm so sick of it! Maybe I'm missing something. I think I am. Because the novel is basically a "modern-day classic" or something like that. Oh well. Maybe it'll all come together at the end.

I GET TO SEE CAMMY TOMORROW!! YIPPEE!


*One piece of advice: DON'T see Adaptation. I rented it yesterday...not worth the 4 bucks. AND I HATE THIS SLOW CONNECTION!! WHY? Why does my family have to use dial-up AOL? I'm so spoiled from college!

Well, I'm home. And it feels pretty much like it did when I left. Which is good, I guess. My main regret is that I couldn't bring my laptop home (no space), because I didn't realize how much I love it compared to THIS FREAKING THING! Ha ha. I guess the internet would still be slow on my laptop, but at least the mouse would WORK, and the keyboard wouldn't be so old and clunky and nasty. But enough complaining. It's good to be home! I knew I missed Kim and Myra, but I don't think I knew how much until I walked in the door and saw them. I was so happy--Kimmy remembered me! She was soo excited to see me! She just followed me around for like an hour after I got home, sitting next to me whenever I sat down, and wanting me to pet her. And when I went upstairs, Myra slept on my bed just like old times, and she followed me around too. Awww! That's why people keep pets. That just made itself perfectly clear to me. Because they love you and remember you! I mean, sure family and friends sort of do that too, but...not quite in the same way!
Oh, and the other thing that makes me glad to be home--good independent movies! (Which my parents also happen to pay for). Yesterday, Dad, Leah and I saw Girl with a Pearl Earring. Really good. Every scene was so perfect and beautiful, and the story line was really subtle and interesting. I like that Scarlett Johannson girl. She picks good roles. And then today the whole family saw The Station Agent. Yes, I know it came out a long time ago, but it wasn't playing in Davis, and none of us had seen it yet, so we decided to go. It was really good too! That movie's harder to explain exactly why it was good, but it just was, ok? Just go see it sometime!
Hmm...any more news? Not really. Our VCR stopped working, so I convinced mom and dad to buy a VCR/DVD player--awesome! So now we can actually watch DVD's on our puny little TV. It's quite thrilling.
Ok, I'm getting fed up with this freaking keyboard. Hopefully I can see some actual people soon (hehe--other than my family, of course). Come to my party! It's at 7:30 this Saturday night!

Thanks, Hannah! I'm such a nerd to be playing MASH at 9 in the morning before my final.

You will live in House.
You will drive a fuschia prius.
You will marry Johnny Depp and have 3 kids.
You will be a professor in Mexico.

A professor in Mexico? I can see it all now...

play mash

Yay! We really are going to get a couch for our room! It's gonna be a loveseat, and Kaylan's dad is bringing it up tomorrow. Yippee! Ok, now back to studying for my last final.

Oh yeah--I better get at least a B on my consciousness final--I think I almost gave myself a migraine studying for it! I studied for about 4 hours straight, and I was really stressed out. Luckily, I noticed that I was getting a headache before it was too late, and I took some pills. I can tell when I have one because I lose feeling in my tongue. Pretty weird. That was a close one.

Ok, so now that I have a break between finals (woo hoo! again--the hardest ones are done! Now my last one's on Friday), I must tell you about all of the turmoil that has happened in my very dorm. It's pretty thrilling, ya'll...
So, our building has a name now--It's no longer Infill Building 3-it's Miller. So as you can probably guess, everyone's like, "It's Miller time!" and making lots of jokes about our name. People were drawing beer cans on the floor's white board, and stuff of that nature. Well, apparently some very important people came through to look at the new buildings, and they saw the references to beer. So our awesome RA, Peter, who's usually pretty relaxed, got in trouble for not erasing the stuff. So he asked people not to write beer-related stuff on the board, but then people did anyway, and the important people came and saw it again. So now we have to ASK Peter before we write anything on the board. And I just realized that that probably doesn't sound very horrible to anyone reading this. But it's pretty annoying. Because it's like we're little kids again or something. And I'm not even that mad about it. But a LOT of people are. It's funny. Some anonymous person typed out a whole page about how we have the right to say what we want, and then taped it on the white board. And someone else printed out a sheet that said "Censored" and taped it over a some art on the wall in the lounge. It's good times.
Oh, and they made Kaylan and me take down our Christmas lights that we had wrapped around the bench outside the room. I don't even know why. That's the worst part. It makes me sad. But now I have them around my window.
Ok, sorry if that story was pointless. But I figured you were probably all dying to hear the latest news about 2nd floor at UC Davis!
3 days till I go home!!

We have 22-hour quiet hours until Saturday, December 13th. Which is when I'll be gone home. That's right. We are only allowed to be "loud" from 5-7 pm every day. So right now, I'm BLASTING Sublime, because I CAN! The silence is going to drive me CRAZY!!

ps-German final at 8 am tomorrow! Woo hoo! Wish me luck!

My mom sent me pictures of us in Napa Valley during Thanksgiving break. Most of the pictures look really bad (no offense, Mom!), but here are some of the better ones.


Me, Mom, and Leah sitting in one of the winery gardens we visited


Leah, looking rather creepy, giving my dad a head massage in the dorm


This picture cracks me up. It was the last shot on the roll, and Leah was about to make a weird face, but I took it before she was ready, so she ended up looking a little messed up in the head.

Yes, well, I just realized that many of you may look at this site and think "What a strange family Kate has." And you will be right. But they're pretty awesome, too.

"i know that clumping cat litter is a perfect metaphor for something....

but what?"--zefrank

Sorry, another quote from zefrank. Couldn't resist.

Guess what!? The White Stripes were nominated for best album of the year at the Grammys! (thanks, Billy!) I'm so excited, I might actually watch! I've never watched the Grammys before, because I never actually cared. But the White Stripes are nominated for more than one award, Coldplay's nominated, Fountains of Wayne, Queens of the Stone Age...too bad the awards aren't til February 8! That's like, 4 days before my birthday! Who wants to watch them when they're THAT far away?!

"I've been thinking a lot about how we are all improvising in life. We are confronted by the unexpected - things we see, people we talk to, even thoughts that enter our heads, and we have to react in the spur of the moment. It seems to me that many of us spend a lot of time fighting against our spontaneous reactions to what we experience in favor of what we think is appropriate. In some cases the thoughts that come into our head when we experience something seem strange and out of place and we are encourages to ignore these ideas and "focus". It is a bit frightening to realize that you don't have much control over what thoughts pop into your head.

I'm interested in what happens when you give up that control. Free association can feel very disorganized and odd, but it is a way to experience parts of yourself you don't know that much about. It seems that this is what is at the root of a good brainstorm - talking without knowing what you are going to say next. It is having faith in yourself beyond what you can mentally grasp at that moment. You get to experience first hand what your mind consists of. Try it. Look at something and start talking. Say what the thing reminds you of and let that thought trigger another. The way you connect ideas is different from anyone else.

I think its what freedom feels like." --zefrank

I think zefrank has an interesting idea. Because it is true--a lot of people try to hold back their initial thoughts and reactions because they're afraid of what people might think, or ashamed or shocked that they reacted that way themselves; but it's totally natural. Why hold back? It might be the way to living a longer, more satisfying life. Or it might be the quickest route for everyone hating your guts....

I miss Cammy.

And all you other guys too :-)

Man. I should so NOT be blogging right now. I have my last non-final German test the day after tomorrow--and it covers all of this grammar that I don't really understand (ie passive voice, subjunctive I and II, you get the idea...), so I need to review a lot tomorrow. The other thing I have to do is my 10-pg term paper on animal consciousness. I really have no idea what I'm talking about; I mean, I think the information is really interesting, but I have no idea how to organize all of the information into a coherent essay. We'll see how that turns out.
In OTHER news...We decorated for Christmas today! Kaylan and I went to Rite-Aid and bought Christmas lights and weird plastic green and red sparkly string stuff. We put the string stuff around the door, and put the lights around the bench that is right outside our room. It makes the whole floor much more festive! Colleen and Katherine have mistletoe hanging in their doorway...
And I played Cranium for about 2 hours tonight, rather than do my essay or study. It was me and Dylan vs. Jessica and Katherine vs. Colleen and Tommy. And me and Dylan won! It was good times. Took me back to previous Cranium-playing memories...
12 days till I go home! I can't wait!! Presents! Food! Family! Friends!!!

I hope everyone had a warm, happy Thanksgiving!
I did. I was kind of depressed at first, because on Thursday morning I was pretty much the only person left in the dorms, besides another dude that was on the floor above me, and my family didn't come up until 1:30 in the afternoon. But then we (mom, dad, leah and me) went down to a "hotel" (ahem--motel) in Napa Valley and looked at a couple of wineries (they were really cool), ate REALLY good food (some angel hair pasta, artichoke pizza, mashed potatoes, Thai food), and went shopping at some really cool thrift stores (I got pink legwarmers for $1). PLUS I got to see my family! It's amazing how I haven't seen Leah for about 3 months, but I still manage to argue with her about little things. Not that that's a bad thing, we actually got along pretty well. I guess I still have to mature a little more though...what a surprise. Ha ha. When Kaylan comes up tomorrow, she's supposed to bring a sofa with her for our dorm. Hm, we'll see if that really happens.
Less than two weeks until I get to go home for Christmas! And see everyone!!
Oh yeah, guys--Christmas party at my house December 20th! Everyone is invited!!!

Corie and Bria left me for Thanksgiving today. Bria left me her fish Little Cow to take care of. I hope he doesn't die, since I have bad luck with fish sometimes, as does my friend Cammy (ha ha!). I'm sad that I'm not going home, but not really. It's gonna be fun. Everyone's leaving on Wednesday, and I'm pretty much going to be the only one in the dorms that's still here on Thursday...I should take advantage of that and run around the halls naked, as my pal Alicia said. It's all gonna be worth it, tho, because I GET TO SEE MY FAMILY!! Yay!!

This picture of Jude Law amuses me.

Oh yeah. Today I dyed my hair. With a permenent color! Scary. But I dyed it a medium brown color, so it didn't show up at all. So no one worry, when I see you all at Xmas, I will look exactly the same as I did during school and the summer. I know you are all breathing a deep sigh of relief. :-)

I think people that have xangas should not be allowed to put songs with their journals. I mean, sure, it might have SOUNDED like a good idea to whoever thought of it, but I say, if I want to listen to music, I'LL decide WHEN and WHAT SONG it is!! Why can't I just read a xanga in peace?!

Ok, I'm done now.

So, Rolling Stone ranked "The Top 500 Albums of All Time."
I think I can understand if Weezer's Blue Album(#297) and Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Chili Peppers (#310) are ranked higher than the White Stripes' Elephant(#390), because those are really good, basically classic, albums. But the Strokes Is this It(#367)? How can that album be ranked higher than Elephant? And Coldplay came in last, barely making the list with Rush of Blood to the Head at #473! I think Coldplay is way better than the Strokes, and it belongs up there with the White Stripes. Oh well. Pinkerton wasn't even on the list. I guess when it's kind of hard to please everyone with these kinds of articles.

Oh, and in case anyone wonders, the #1 ranked album on the list is Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles. Seems a little random, but then, I've never actually heard the album. So I guess I wouldn't know.

Last night, Corie and Kaylan and I watched Swingers. It was kind of funny, because I thought that the movie was ABOUT swingers...you know, those couples that...yeah. But it's actually about a group of guys (ie Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn and some other guys)who go to swing clubs and try to pick up girls. It was actually a really well-done, funny movie. I liked it.
Then, we proceeded to be exemplary Integrated Studies nerds. We hung out in the lobby of the dorm until, like, 1 AM playing... Hangman! And not just any old hangman, NERD hangman! Dylan was the one making up the words, and he used words like "endorphin" and "vacillate" and "axiom." It was really, really pathetic. But still really funny at the same time. After we finished playing hangman, Kaylan and I decided to do our (stupid and pointless!) IS journals at 2 in the morning. It was good times. But I am very sleepy now. I need to get back on a regular schedule.

JACK OF ALL TRADES

JACK WHITE is to contribute five tracks to the COLD MOUNTAIN film soundtrack, including two new songs "NEVER FAR AWAY" and "CHRISTMAS TIME WILL SOON BE OVER".

The White Stripes guitarist will also play the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger", "Great High Mountain" and a cover of legendary bluesman Howlin' Wolf's "Sittin" On Top Of The World" on the compilation.

As well as appearing on the soundtrack, White has a small role in the film as an itinerant singer and musician. Cold Mountain – a Civil War-era drama and adaptation of Charles Frazier's book - is set to open on December 25 in the US and stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger.

As reported on Billboard the album, released Stateside on December 16, will also feature songs from bluegrass artist Alison Krauss and pianist Gabriel Yared.

The tracklisting for Cold Mountain is:

Jack White - "Wayfaring Stranger"
Reeltime Travelers - "Like a Songbird That Has Fallen"
Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus & Tim O'Brien - "I Wish My Baby Was Born"
Alison Krauss - "The Scarlet Tide"
Tim Eriksen & Riley Baugus - "The Cuckoo"
Jack White - "Sittin' on Top of the World"
Tim Eriksen - "Am I Born To Die?"
Alison Krauss - "You Will Be My Ain True Love"
Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church - "I'm Going Home"
Jack White - "Never Far Away"
Jack White - "Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over"
Stuart Duncan & Dirk Powell - "Ruby With the Eyes That Sparkle"
Cassie Franklin - "Lady Margaret"
Jack White - "Great High Mountain"
Gabriel Yared - "Anthem"
Gabriel Yared - "Ada Plays"
Gabriel Yared - "Ada and Inman"
Gabriel Yared - "Love Theme"
Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church - "Idumea"

I'M SO EXCITED! I'M SOO BUYING THIS CD WHEN IT COMES OUT! And not just because Jack White is on it...I actually think the other songs should be good too--it's the same guy who did the soundtrack to O Brother, Where art Thou?, so it can't be bad!

THIS JUST IN:
Billy Bob Thornton's favorite TV show of all time is Saved By the Bell.

Yep, he said it on Conan like, 5 minutes ago. I had to report.

I saw three bands tonight:
1.The Lashes
2.Cobra High
3.Pretty Girls Make Graves

This is how I would rate them on a scale of 1-5:
Lashes: 4
Cobra High: 2
Pretty Girls: 3

It was funny, because the lead singer of The Lashes was a guy, but he looked kind of like Kelly Osbourne. Good times. And Cobra High and Pretty Girls Make Graves weren't actually that bad, but they were SOO amplified in a tiny space that I really couldn't tell how their songs sounded. That's why CDs are sometimes nice. But yeah--The Lashes could be big, man! Keep an eye out for them!

You have wonderful taste in movies, music, and so
on. I am just so proud of you,
it.....well.....I think I love you.


Do you have good taste?
brought to you by Quizilla

Ha ha! I knew it! If the quiz says it, then it must be true! I have good taste!

Ok, I just had to post this because it's really funny. WHO kisses like that?!

Today I actually gave blood! It was amazing. Because I have a (relatively) long history of failing my blood-giving attempts. Junior year: forgot my ID card, so couldn't do it. Plus, I was FREAKED OUT about giving blood and probaby wouldn't have gone through with it anyway. Senior year: got as far as the chair where they poke you with the IV, but then they said my veins were too small for their needles...glad they didn't attempt to poke me before they decided that. So today, Corie, Karie and I go out to Freeborn Hall to attempt to give blood. And they actually took mine! They really took it! I feel like such a saint. Well, not really, I actually feel a little light-headed still, but I'm just glad that I finally did it. AND I didn't pass out or anything! The nurse who took my blood was really nice too, she talked to me about classes and school for pretty much the whole time she took my blood. And it was kind of funny, because she couldn't see my vein, she could only feel it, so she drew on my vein with a "Surgical Skin Marker," and once you use those, you have to give them away, since they have to be sterilized. So now I have a surgical skin marker. Anyone need one? I actually made the mistake of writing my name on my arm and drawing a bracelet around my wrist with it, only to find out that it doesn't really scrub off in the shower. I guess that's why it's "different" from the usual markers.
Ok. That's pretty much all I have to say.

Aww! Look how cute they are! (And yes, Jack needs to cut his hair)

This is a short film by zefrank called "Cause". It's pretty funny, kinda weird, a little bit thought-provoking...just go watch it, ok?
Oh yeah, you need Quicktime, too. Just so's ya know.

Your inner disney song is "River Bend"
from Pocahontas! At this point in time, you're
not sure if you want to do what other tell you
to do, or wait for something you want to come
along. You can't wait to find out what will
happen next in your life. Don't lose hope!
It'll all be revealed eventually.


What's Your Inner Disney Song?
brought to you by Quizilla

What the? Why do I always get the disney movies that I hate the most?

I just think this photo is very arty-looking and cool. It's me and Jessica getting into playing the bongo drums at Colleen's boyfriend's house in Berkeley. And yes, everyone who lives in Berkeley owns bongo drums!


This is also at Colleen's boyfriend's house. Don't ask.

Far surpassing gas-guzzling SUVs, the largest consumer of fossil fuels in the US are the animal factory farms which produce flesh, dairy, and eggs for human consumption. The production of animal flesh, dairy, and eggs accounts for 1/3 of ALL raw materials used for all purposes in the US (note that vegetables and fruit use less than 5%). Energy is required to bring food to the animals and even more is required to remove their waste.

*Length of time the world's petroleum supplies would last if everyone ate factory-farmed meat: 13 years

*Length of time the world's petroleum supplies would last if everyone were a strict vegetarian: 260 years

Oil Exploration and consumption is upsetting the natural balance of the oceans, land, and is seriously threatening the lives of animals and indigenous peoples by destroying fragile ecosystems. It is apparent that alternatives to fossil fuel consumption must be found in cleaner, more sustainable energy sources.

THAT'S (sort of) WHY I'M VEGETARIAN!
(not to make all you meat-eaters feel guilty, or anything)

Ok, I finally got my film developed from this summer/college. So here are some pics of random people in my dorm that I'm friends with:

Eugene, Ping, Josue, and Sharmen



This is Alicia. It was the first day the cold weather hit, and she was having problems warming up, so she was walking around dressed like that. We gave her newspapers and made her sit on the bench outside our room!



This is Dylan (on the left) and Scott (on the right) making fun of some girls who were lying outside in their bikinis. It was HILARIOUS to see how the girls reacted when Scott and Dylan came outside!



This is Scott (a different Scott) "trayboarding" on a stolen tray from the DC. Colleen and Scott invented the sport. He was actually pretty good at it...you can't tell in this picture.


Dylan and George playing soccer in the lounge area. A frequent spot for sports (you have no idea how scary it is to hear a soccer ball or a frisbee hit your door when it's closed--quite frightening.)

Ok, that's all I feel like posting. But I hope you guys liked the pics!

We went to San Francisco today! Since it was Veteran's Day, we had no school, and Kaylan, Colleen, Jessica and I decided to drive/take BART to SF! It was fun. And we took these awesome pictures! It's me and Jessica in the back, and Kaylan and Colleen in the front. (I just scanned two of them, since it takes up a lot of space to show all four)



Yes, they are extremely unflattering pictures of me. Sometimes I have problems looking normal in photos!

There are twelve pounds of milk in one gallon of ice cream. Is that crazy or what?



ps-I know this because Kaylan is in animal science. And she likes to tell me interesting facts like that. Oh! She just told me another very interesting fact. Milk is 88% water. Oh, what amazing fact will I learn next?!

Billy got to meet Naomi Watts and Benicio del Toro tonight. It makes me happy, but at the same time, I'm sad that I didn't get to meet them myself!

I had something else to post...but I forgot what it was. Oh yeah! I FINALLY finished One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (That's why it was up there for so long). It's only about 270 pages, but it took me FOREVER to read, because I didn't always feel like reading it in my free time. It was pretty good. I especially reccommend it to people who haven't seen the movie, since it's pretty much exactly the same. If you read the book, see the movie after, not before.
Since I'm not reading a book right now, I decided to put up one of my "childhood favorites"--Jame's Thurber's The 13 Clocks. It is one of the weirdest little kids stories ever, but in a good way, not a morbid "Roald-Dahl" way. I mean, come on, it's James Thurber! I love his short stories. He's a pretty weird author in general. But the book is really good. I've read it like, 4 times, since it's only 124 pages. So yes. I reccommend it. And I think I spelled reccommend wrong. But I don't care.

Billy is my friend. But this conversation is an example of why he bothers me sometimes. He knows exactly how to make me confused, annoyed, and angry...all at the same time!

BuckoGal : do you get excercise
BillyBob7x : no
BuckoGal : i can't spell
BillyBob7x: but i lose weight
BillyBob7x: lol
BuckoGal : ha ha
BuckoGal : do you never eat?
BillyBob7x : sometimes i eat a lot
BillyBob7x : sometimes i eat never
BuckoGal : ha ha
BuckoGal : same here!
BuckoGal : i only ate one meal today
BuckoGal : at 5:30
BillyBob7x : good job
BillyBob7x : anorexic
BuckoGal : but then i had a lot of food on the weekends
BuckoGal :ha ha
BuckoGal :i'm never anorexic
BuckoGal : food tastes too good
BillyBob7x :haha
BuckoGal :i''m just lazy
BillyBob7x : vegetarian?
BuckoGal : huh?
BillyBob7x: are u stil
BuckoGal : yes!
BuckoGal : and proud of it
BillyBob7x : im not
BuckoGal : i'm trying not to eat ANY meat now
BuckoGal : ha ha
BuckoGal : wait
BuckoGal : you're not vegetarian anymore??
BillyBob7x: nope
BuckoGal : what??
BuckoGal : why???
BillyBob7x : cuz i dont care
BuckoGal : why don't you care?
BillyBob7x : cuz it tastes good
BuckoGal : billy
BuckoGal : i should call you right now
BuckoGal : but i don't feel like going outside
BillyBob7x : lol
BuckoGal : i can't believe that
BuckoGal : are you serious?
BillyBob7x : no
BillyBob7x : im lying
BuckoGal : really?
BillyBob7x : muahahahaha
BuckoGal : YOU CONFUSE ME!
BillyBob7x : id never eat meat
BuckoGal : i hate you!!!!!!!!!!!
BillyBob7x : thats demon's food!
BillyBob7x : lol
BuckoGal : so.....what is the TRUTH?
BillyBob7x : im still a good vegetarian
BuckoGal : whew
BuckoGal : you have no idea how happy i am
BuckoGal : ha ha
BillyBob7x : haha
BillyBob7x : why
BuckoGal : it's like--a reflection of your morality or something
BuckoGal : ha ha
BillyBob7x: lol
BuckoGal : i don't know
BillyBob7x: sounds good

Yes, Billy likes to trick me sometimes. But I love him anyway.

I just got back from playing ultimate frisbee again. It was actually fun this time! We went out to the field after it had rained a lot yesterday, so there was some mud, but it was really fun because we weren't keeping score this time, and no one really cared about winning. Our team lost. And I'm proud of it!

I've added Burt's Bees to my list of links. This is because they are awesome. They use almost 100% natural ingredients, never test on animals, aren't overpriced, AND they have a big conservation effort going on, where they're buying lots of acres of the great North Woods in Maine to protect the wildlife and keep them from being developed. And their chapstick rocks. What more could one ask for in a company?

Today they had a "Tunnel of Oppression" near my dorm...yep, that's what it was called. We didn't really know what it was, so we decided to go for fun. It wasn't very fun. It was a kind of "museum of tolerance" type of thing, showing how apathy and different types of oppression towards others can build up around us and inside of us, without us really being aware of it. Like being mean to a homeless guy, or making fun of homosexuals. Kind of cheesy, but hey--at least they were trying to spread a good message, right? I got this good quote out of it too, which I will share:

In Germany, they first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up becaue I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionist, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the homosexuals, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a homosexual.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me--but by that time no one was left to speak up.
--Pastor Martin Niemoller

Interesting times at Halloween

This photo is disturbing for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most disturbing reason is that he is wearing my jeans.

Hmm.
This guy digs his rats.

The End of the World
Ok, this is a really funny little cartoon.
Warning: Language and some violence

Ok, I'm NOT crazy! I promise! I looked at Kaylan's computer, and there's basically nothing wrong with my blog. Except I had to fix the comment boxes. And now there are no comments. And it makes me sad. Oh well. Everybody comment! Make me feel special!
So guess what, guys? I got to see Gandhi speak last night! For free, too! Ok, so it was exactly MAHATMA Gandhi, but it WAS his grandson, Arun Gandhi. Very exciting. Well, ok, maybe it wasn't that exciting either. But it was kind of inspirational, regarding ideas of nonviolence and tolerance of those around us, and all that sort of thing. He told about the memories he had of his grandfather, too. So yes. If he comes to your school (which he probably won't, because UC Davis is SPECIAL, and they asked him to come), then go see him!
ps-Halloween photos are coming! I'm sure you guys just can't WAIT to see them! But I have to shoot up the rest of the 3 shots that I have left on the roll.

Ok. SOMEthing is wrong with my blog. I'm so sad! It's never had problems before! But there's a weird dandylion-looking thing instead of a bracket-thing next to my title, and the comments boxes are gone! Why? Why?! I will try to fix it as soon as possible.

Welp, Halloween is over. I think I procrastinated a little too much this weekend; I had about 200 pages to read for the conscious thought take-home midterm tomorrow, but um...just didn't read any of them. But because of my procrastination, I figured out what classes I'm (hopefully) taking next quarter. Art Studio (beginning painting), Conversational German 6, Linguistics 103B, Beginning Badminton, and Constitutional Perspectives. Does that sound like a lot? I think it's only about 17 units. But yeah. I don't think the badminton or the art class is gonna be too hard. And hopefully, I can be in the fencing club, too! So I can get actual excercise! Riding my bike to class only does so much....
ps-Jessica's dad said he doesn't need the jumpsuits back. So I get to keep it! Anyone need to dress up as a janitor anytime soon?

It's Halloween!!

It's officially cold here. It was 65 degrees today at 1 in the afternoon, and that makes it certifiably cold. At night, it got down to, like, 50 degrees. Yeah, the people from So Cal can get picked out pretty easily lately....


Yeah, I really need to get myself one of these.

Ok, I'm happier now. I decided even though I kind of don't like my German teacher (she's kind of old and hard of hearing), sometimes I really do like her a lot. Like today, when I forgot that we were supposed to turn in corrections to an essay, and I asked if I could turn it in to her later, and she was like, "Sure! Just put it in my box!" Ok, maybe she wasn't THAT excited about it. But she let me turn it in late, and that's all that matters in the long run. I'm planning my classes for next quarter. I think I'm gonna take art studio with my pal Ivan--it's three hours two days a week, and I really don't need it for my major, but...it's art! Art is fun. I hope.
They're showing The Shining in the Chem building this Friday! I'm probably gonna go see it. But it is going to FREAK me out. I already know. I've already attempted to watch the TV-edited version at Corie's house (remember, guys?), and that didn't go so well. So we shall see when I have to watch the whole thing. But I've been reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (It's taking me FOREVER! But it's good), and it makes me want to see a Jack Nicholson movie. Because Jack Nicholson was really good in that movie. Not the Shining, but Cuckoo's Nest. So yeah. I've kind of run myself into a dead-end here....
Speaking of Halloween, guess what? I'm really excited about our costumes. Me, Kaylan, Colleen, and Jessica are gonna be janitors! Because Jessica's dad owns an auto-repair shop, so he can get us jumpsuits. And they come with name tags! So Colleen is gonna be Eugene, Jessica's gonna be Charrell, Kaylan's gonna be Joswe (sp?), and I'm gonna be Ping! Isn't that awesome? We will represent many ethnicities.
Welp, now I'm gonna go look at sofas at the Davis thrift store! Byee! (as Hannah says.)

Ach, I'm listening to Coldplay right now (Warning Sign, to be exact), and it's making me feel kind of depressed, very emotional. I don't really know why. Maybe I'm PMSing. Maybe I'm just thinking of Mr. Jansson in the back of my mind. But I don't really have anything to be worrying about right now! I hope it's only me getting adjusted to college.

Mr. Jansson was great. He was funny, smart, and very different from any other teacher I've had. I was so lucky to be in his class.

This is what I did on Saturday, except I was in San Francisco, and these people were in Washington DC. Bring the troops home now! End occupation!

This thing is cool too. It will entertain you for at least a minute or two.

Ghettopoly
An example of a Chance card from this game is, "You got yo' whole neighborhood addicted to crack. Every player pays you $50." Apparently, the game isn't being sold in stores anymore because it's racist and politically incorrect. It's still a little funny, though....
Oh, and the same people are coming out with a Redneck-opoly soon, too!

YES! I've finally figured out how to post photos on my site!! This is definitely groundbreaking, folks. Well, in case you wondered, this is a picture of me and my awesome roommate Kaylan, on the first day that we moved in. Hence the disorder in the room behind us. Who am I kidding? It's always in disorder.

My parents sent me this pic of Myra and Kim:

See, if my mom weren't there taking the picture, I KNOW that Kim would be chasing Myra through the house trying to eat her. And Myra knows it too. That's why they're looking at each other like that. It makes me laugh. I miss my pets!

This is Kaylan's dog, Lucy. She likes to fetch balls in the pool. Isn't she ADORABLE?!

I'm in a good mood right now, because I'm listening to Belle and Sebastian. So I stole these optimistic lyrics from Corie, who also makes me happy:

I've met some people along the way, some of them split some of them stay,
some of them walk some walk on by, I've got a few friends I'll love till I die
From all of these people I try to learn, some of them shine some of them burn,
some of them rise some of them fall, for good or bad I've known them all
We live our life in our own way, never really listened to what they say,
the kind of faith that doesn't fade away we are the true believers

well you can fight or you can run, under a rock till the war is won,
play it safe and don't make a sound,
but not us we won't back down
true believers all the way, you and I
-bouncing souls, true believers circa 2001 or somethin like that

Folks, I have found my calling. If I can't go rescue all of the endangered animals out there, I'll rescue something else instead: Endangered languages! Yes, they really exist. Right now, there are approximately 6,600 languages in the world, and over 90 percent of these languages will vanish in the next century. A majority of endangered languages are spoken by small communities, such as the tribes of Papua New Guinea and the Aboriginal people of Australia, and over 90% of these languages die in the current generation. Pretty interesting, huh? Well, I found this soo interesting that I have decided to write a 3-page paper on it! Ok, fine, it wasn't exactly MY choice to write the paper, and I probably wouldn't write it if I didn't have to. But I still think the subject is pretty cool.

I saw Taking Back Sunday in the Quad at Davis today. I'm terribly sorry I don't have a picture to post of them, like Alex does. But they looked pretty much the same, except the lead singer had a shirt that said "A**hole" on it this time. Me and my neighbors Colleen, Jessica, and Catherine went to see them, b/c it was a free show and because I'd actually heard of them! Wow! That's not common at Davis. Anyway, they weren't so hot, in more ways than one. I just don't see the difference between Taking Back Sunday and...oh...the other 6 emo/punk/whatever groups that sound exactly like them! But it was kind of interesting, because after they'd played 3 songs, they had to stop the amplification, b/c there was some speaker on the other side of the quad who needed to talk, so the lead singer sat down with an acoustic guitar on the grass, and the audience sat in a circle all around him, and he just played and sang like that, while the other members of the band kind of stood w/ the rest of the crowd and watched. And it surprised me, because when he sang normally, without screaming or a microphone or anything, he sounded a lot like the lead singer of the Violent Femmes! Kind of whiny, but in a good way. I actually liked them better that way.

I had a pretty good weekend. But probably the most important part of the weekend for me was on Friday night, when I saw Bowling for Columbine in the Chemistry lecture hall for $3. Why did no one tell me how amazing that movie is? I never saw it before it came to video because I tend to associate the word "documentary" with dry and boring subject matter. Bowling for Columbine is the complete opposite. I couldn't take my eyes off of it, and it just amazed me in so many ways. It really opens your eyes to reality, I think, no matter how much you think you know about gun control and racism in the US today. The movie's funny, partly because of how unbelievably ridiculous it can get, while at other parts it's impossible not to tear up.

EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET, RENT IT NOW!

I have to post one of the most amusing compliments I've heard in a long time, said by my bestest friend Cammy: "Kate, you're not un-athletic...you just refuse to TRY!" This was said in response to my Wednesday blog. It made me laugh. Cammy, I love you.

I love how candy corn has 9 ingredients, and the first 4 are sugar, corn syrup, honey, and salt.

I somehow got talked into playing Ultimate Frisbee tonight with people from the dorm. WHAT was I THINKING? It's basically soccer, running back and forth across this huge grassy field, trying to catch a frisbee in the dark, and throwing it to other people. I suck at it! It felt like 7th grade PE all over again; trying to avoid having to run, dropping the frisbee every .time someone threw it at me... Luckily my relatively un-athletic pal Colleen was playing too, so we just "guarded" each other until the game was over. Good times, though! My friend Dylan (the same one who hates Friends), is like a STAR soccer player--he is an UNBELIEVABLY fast runner, and he was on my team, so we won. Very exciting. Especially when we finished and got to go home. Ha ha--I'm so amazingly unathletic!

I saw Intolerable Cruelty with Corie tonight. It was...odd. Sure, I liked George Clooney and I guess Catherine Zeta-Jones was pretty good, but...it was just too bizarre! So, I was forced to change the movie o' the moment to the standby choice, which happens to be Milo and Otis right now. That movie never gets old!

Words from Jack White

Move over children,
Let’s get comfortable now.
We can talk to the animals.
We can breathe with our brothers.
We can hope for the best.
We can challenge the mind.
We can open up and rush forward blood vessels upon the ground.
We can deliver fresh food to someone who cannot get it themselves.
So why do I worry so violet? Why do I need more from you and more from life?
Why is it that I don’t become satisfied?
Cannot we break that rule? Cannot we break the tradition of mind?
Satisfaction is death. Satisfaction is death. Satisfaction is death.
It is the pursuit of happiness that brings us happiness, and not the happiness achieved.
I thought about this yesterday too.
So violet, will you then ever be satisfied with me?
You need to constantly pursue me.
You need to chase after something in me,
Always.
You can never be satisfied with me,
I hope you cannot.
I hope you cannot.
Let’s pursue this further.

Jack White
III

Hm.... Very interesting. Kind of.

Today, I learned a valuable lesson. I learned that it is not a good idea to wait until 5 pm to eat, because it will make you very shaky, and make it difficult to walk without feeling light-headed. Here is a list I felt like making.

The Joys of College:
*Going to the school library on Sunday night and discovering that not only is it open, but it's actually possible to find the book you want relatively quickly.
*Getting your homework done on Sunday before 10 pm.
*Watching SNL and finding it hilarious not necessarily because it's funny, but simply because you're watching it with a big group of friends who find it funny.
*Having someone on your floor who plays Weezer on acoustic guitar in the lobby.
*Talking to your best friend (aka Cammy!) on the phone.
*Lavender-scented hand soap in the bathroom (not that nasty cherry-almond kind).

Obviously, I had a good day today! I just hope it lasts through tomorrow....

I can totally relate with Alex on the needing to buy music, regardless of the dearth of cash. (Ooh, big word.) Yesterday, Colleen and Jessica and I drove down to Concord (East Bay area, if anyone wonders) and we went to Tower, and it made me...sad. They had this whole rack of $8 Cd's, and I wanted three of them! Hot Hot Heat, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead (don't ask), and Joss Stone. But the problem is...will my parents be happy to see that I've spent 20 dollars on CD's? When I need other stuff? Maybe I'll just reward myself at the end of October and give myself a Halloween present. Yes. ANYWAY, it is Friday morning... I use dots too much...and I just realized what a pointless blog this just was. But Alex made me feel like venting.

*ps: We had our traditional "Friends" watching group last night, and we invited this guy Dylan to watch it with us, but he says he doesn't watch because it's "a show about rich white people who don't do anything." So?! It's still kind of funny, gosh darn it!

I saw another funny shirt today:
The guy waiting for a hamburger next to us at the dc had a shirt that said, "Talk nerdy to me," in computer-font. It was funny!

Well, apparently, Arnold is our governor now. I am unable to sufficiently express my disappointment and anxiety.

This is a picture of Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger, courtesy of my good friend Billy. You should all say thank you to him.

"The fundamental step is to consider an abstract 'vector space" - a field, if you like, that is bounded by the objective states of neural activation. Mental states would be vectors within this space. It works like this: a neuron can either be 'on' (that is depolarized, 'firing') or 'off' (polarized, 'not firing'), but its firing rate at any moment can only be estimated statistically - for example, as the number of firing within a brief period of time (40 times a second, for example). Experience - at least the elementary features of it such as speed of motion or pitch of sound - is encoded in this firing rate, and I refer to this code, together with its contribution to experience as the 'conscious correlate of the neuron' (CCN)." --taken from A Quantam Description of Mind, Dr. Andrew Duggins

This is my reading homework for the weekend: explaining consciousness through quantam theories. Am I really expected to understand this? Even after reading it 4 times, like I just did?

It just dawned on me...Arnold could be our governor in, like, a month! He's doing really well in the polls, apparently. DO NOT VOTE FOR HIM!!

Only 2 weeks in Davis and I'm already checkin' out the music scene! And judging from tonight, it's...uh...in need of some help. Bria, her friend Alyssa, and I went to this "Turbulence" thing at the UCD gym tonight. It was pretty cool; only 2 bucks to get in, and you got free food (free Jamba Juice!! Who would have thought?!) and pizza hut pizzas, and then they had some bands come out and play. The first one, called Lemon Yellow, of all names, were really bad. They were the usual rip-off of Good Charlotte/Blink 182 that seemed to be very popular at MHS, too, when I went there(Domestic Fury, anyone?). After they played, some dancers came out while the next band set up. This band, called Tryte, looked better; they had bongo drums, and the lead singer played with an acoustic guitar, instead of an electric one. So that made me want to hear them. As it turned out, they were a lot better than Lemon Yellow. The lead singer played harmonica and guitar, (and his name was Octavio! That's pretty cool right there), and the other lead guitarist was really talented. The only thing was...their music just wasn't that exciting. I got a free demo CD and I was just listening to it again, and it's not so great. But yeah. It was still fun to see a band live for free. This is what they looked like, if anyone cares:



Yeah, but the music wasn't the best part of the night! After Tryte finished, Bria and Alyssa and I went to another room, where they had those blow-up obstacle courses! So we had a lot of fun racing each other on those for laughs.
And now, it is 2:30 am, and I am mighty tired. I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Um..yeah. Don't ask.

Kaylan (my roommate) got to flip a sheep today! Ha ha! What can I say--that's what happens when you take animal science at Davis. Their first lab, the class goes out to the sheep farm and learns how to grab sheep around the neck and flip them over on their back between your legs (A very good skill to have in case you need to sheer the sheep or clip their hooves). A girl named Arielle came by our room to say hi, and Kaylan said to her, "Hey, we got to learn how to flip sheep today! I'll show you how! Here, Kate, you be the sheep--" When she said that, Arielle just straight up walked out of the room! And didn't come back! It was so hilarious! Kaylan and I couldn't stop laughing. I was like, "Kaylan! You scare all our friends away!" I love her.

I soo want this bumper sticker for my (nonexistant) car!

What was that phrase that Mr. Ace always said? Peace, love, _____; bring it together! What was that third word?! Was there even a third word?