http://maardybum.tumblr.com/

How Hijackers Commandeered Over 130 American Planes

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:03:09 -0400

How Hijackers Commandeered Over 130 American Planes :

What a read, history is crazy.

Doses and Mimosas

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:50:00 -0400

Doses and Mimosas

Some people do drugs…I do this (at Locale Cafe & Bar)

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:49:47 -0400

Some people do drugs…I do this (at Locale Cafe & Bar)

I am so tired of hearing peers (and others, but mostly peers) criticizing, to put it lightly, people...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:22:49 -0400

I am so tired of hearing peers (and others, but mostly peers) criticizing, to put it lightly, people conversing in presumably their native tongue that’s not English. In my area, this is especially noticeable when it comes to Asians, whether they are Asian-Americans or immigrants, i.e. “Fresh Off-the-Boat-ers”. Actually, I take that back: castigating the Asians is not just especially noticeable but completely particular. I’ve never heard disapproval directed towards two people speaking in Italian or Hebrew, both of which correspond to cultures our community is pretty substantially comprised of. Granted, many Italian and Jewish families have established their roots a long time ago, relatively, so English and American-living may have become what’s familiar to them, whereas empirically, the presence of Asian communities is much more recent.

But even this is too draconian of a speculation and besides the point. To denigrate and coldly judge people conversing in non-English is incredibly condescending and inconsiderate. Aside from the “walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes” argument, they should have the freedom to do what is comfortable for them. If we can dress however we want to or blare music in our car with the windows rolled down, how are these venues of communication/self-expression any more acceptable than my speaking to and conversing with a Chinese girl who doesn’t know how to get to the A/C/E lines?

Sure, I understand and agree that at times it may be uncomfortable and even inappropriate for people to be speaking exclusively in another language. For example, it’s irritating and awkward if employees who work in a service or industry that’s hinged on customer contact are incessantly chatting in a different language (okay, we’re all thinking it…nail salons). Or, given circumstances in which odd behavior paired with foreign languages could be slightly alarming (airport security). But rarely do I actually see the aforementioned peers unleashing their fury over situations like those. Most of the time it’s just rolling their eyes followed by an annoyed side comment to a classmate, or a melodramatic squirt of words into the cybersphere.

I’m not an anthropological specialist and this post may contain a lot of logical or misinformed fallacies. And no, I’m not writing about this because I’m an Asian-American. Actually, a lot of comments I hear come from Asians about other Asians. It’s just frustrating to see people championing ‘Merica and all that entails but ignoring, and in some cases even condemning, the different cultures that call this land their home, no matter how new or old. Homogeneity never achieved anything, and the fact that I even have to take the time to write this post is disappointing.

zsazsasays: flickeringmuse: The Laws of Robotics 1. A robot...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:44:07 -0400

zsazsasays:

flickeringmuse:

The Laws of Robotics

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

jhnmyr: A week out is too close not to share part of my new...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:14:09 -0400

jhnmyr:

A week out is too close not to share part of my new song with you.

Single hits iTunes next Tuesday…

Enjoy (partially)

JM

I guess John Mayer doesn’t settle for hushed comebacks. 2 albums released in a year? Can’t wait to hear what he’s got in store on August 23rd!

"There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do..."

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:29:40 -0400

“There is no African, myself included, who does not appreciate the help of the wider world, but we do question whether aid is genuine or given in the spirit of affirming one’s cultural superiority. My mood is dampened every time I attend a benefit whose host runs through a litany of African disasters before presenting a (usually) wealthy, white person, who often proceeds to list the things he or she has done for the poor, starving Africans. Every time a well-meaning college student speaks of villagers dancing because they were so grateful for her help, I cringe. Every time a Hollywood director shoots a film about Africa that features a Western protagonist, I shake my head — because Africans, real people though we may be, are used as props in the West’s fantasy of itself. And not only do such depictions tend to ignore the West’s prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems.”

- Uzodinma Iweala, “Stop Trying to ‘Save’ Africa”

UofR takes on the invisibility cloak!

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:29:16 -0400

UofR takes on the invisibility cloak!

The things I find in my old journals… #ExistentialPoetry...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 20:00:04 -0400

The things I find in my old journals… #ExistentialPoetry #HumptyDumpty #??????

Photo

Mon, 27 May 2013 23:36:47 -0400

And the hunt for the perfect font/size commences.

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:52:19 -0400

And the hunt for the perfect font/size commences.

What can we learn from the outrage at Abercrombie & Fitch but utter silence at Brandy Melville's "One Size Fits Most" sizing that's really no bigger than a size S or 2?

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:22:00 -0400

That consumers can choose to purchase clothing wherever they want and neither of the two corporations have an obligation to provide attire for everyone. It’s basic economics.

Mike Jeffries just decided to vocalize it in a douchey way, that’s all.

"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you."

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:22:04 -0400

“The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.”

- Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace

Trip to Paris with Momma last summer. Happy Mother’s Day...

Sun, 12 May 2013 16:35:45 -0400

Trip to Paris with Momma last summer. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

"It’s important for the next generation of introspective little girls to know that they..."

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:53:00 -0400

“It’s important for the next generation of introspective little girls to know that they don’t need loud personalities to be strong people. It’s a shame that many children’s films, even ones determined to present a tough, modern heroine, end up equating confidence with extroversion.

Children’s literature, on the other hand, is filled with quiet, clever heroines. Roald Dahl’s “Matilda”, Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”, and Meg Murry from Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” come to mind. These beloved characters are not extroverts, but they are also not wallflowers; each girl draws upon her wits, imagination, and quiet inner confidence to overcome immense obstacles.””

- Enough Feisty Princesses: Disney Needs an Introverted Heroine | The Atlantic

7 Saucy Ways To Flirt From Uncovered J.D. Salinger Letters

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:16:36 -0400

7 Saucy Ways To Flirt From Uncovered J.D. Salinger Letters:

Here’s what it might be like to be J.D.’s favorite fangirl as seen in new letters attained by The Morgan Library.

Photo

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 01:34:23 -0400

Why is this so catchy & precious & morbid

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:12:56 -0400

Why is this so catchy & precious & morbid:

Be careful!

what is it that you want to do (career-wise)?

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 01:02:15 -0400

That’s probably one of the worst questions you can ask a college freshman. Or maybe that’s just me. Probably the latter (hopefully not?), but I’ll try to answer your question to the best of my ability i.e. to the best of my limited, naïve, and relatively unworldly knowledge at this point in time.

Maybe the best way to answer your question is by giving you a timeline of my thought process as I’ve waded through freshman year, dipping my toes into this water and that water, trying to find an area of study they refer to as a major. So, kicking off freshman year, I was leaning towards something in the social sciences. People always fascinated me, whether it be their motives, their behavior, their minds, their demeanor, variability in societies, etc. Just them, their being. So I enrolled in psych 101 which was pretty much a scripted introductory course that was interesting albeit a bit dry. But to be honest, I got thrown off the psych track when I (ashamedly) faced the fact that a psych major was probably gonna do me squat after school. So. On we go.

I also enrolled in principles of economics taught by the highly renowned but equally infamous Professor Rizzo. Seriously, his name is whispered without a hint of an accent amongst even the tightest-knit groups of international Chinese econ-major-hopefuls (I am Chinese so I can say this). A quick aside: Economics was conceived as an elective course in my high school and anything outside of the AP/Honors/standard core curriculum was pretty much deemed as a joke class, so admittedly I had no idea what “social science” really meant. All my preconceived notions about econ were limited to a degree of math (turn-off) but was very attractive to companies and employers post-grad (college undergrad boner status). Well, there’s no way really to describe the course unless you’ve experienced Rizzo in the flesh. His teaching style is purely application-based. No graphs or supply-demand curves were thrown up until about two weeks before the final exam, no numbers, no competition theory, no nada. Well, no, there was definitely something. His intent was to illustrate economic theory with the most thought-provoking yet commonplace examples. For example, the first question on our first exam was a picture of a beer ad featuring an ice cold dripping from condensation bottle of Bud. The question was simply: Why is this not just a bottle of beer? If you want to know the answer, you can message me because it actually is a bit complicated. But anyways, I’m getting a bit sidetracked. I really enjoyed that class, enough for me to be a TA for it next semester. But then microecon this semester changed everything. My mind just isn’t configured like that. I don’t enjoy the class and I dread the homework because not only is it beyond my comprehension, it makes me question with every graph and question why I’m doing this in the first place. And it’s scary when I couldn’t find an answer. So as of right now, econ doesn’t look to be major material.

So when it came time to register for fall classes next semester, I was having a bit of a premature quarter-life crisis. That’s when I sat myself down and asked myself: what do you honestly enjoy? And when I considered some of my past activities, I realized that I liked helping others, and I liked interacting with people outside of my own scope of society. I love traveling, and like I previously mentioned, I am ceaselessly fascinated by people. So I stumbled upon the public health major and after talking to a few people, it seems definitely worthy to check out.

Simultaneously, I considered the newly formed Digital Media Studies major. It’s a interdisciplinary study of the humanities, engineering, and social sciences and it seemed so incredibly relevant today and more importantly, tomorrow.

Why these two completely different areas, you ask? Well, after school, I’m interested in working for a non-profit organization. Companies such as TED greatly inspire me because it’s not just a machine-like industry churning out professionals and figures and 9 to 5’s. It’s an accumulation of ideas, motivation, vision, and outreach. So maybe what I want to do is integrate public health and DMS to simultaneously help others and spread awareness through the most potent form of communication today: the Internet.

But that’s just me thinking out loud over a prolonged period of time. Like I said, I recognize that I am entirely naïve and will probably really really like some money after I graduate to start paying off student loans. But there’s still this something something. Call me gullible for buying into that “do what you want and make your life enjoyable” bull. But for some reason, no matter how loud money talks and how attractive a secure job looks, I can’t let myself become ignorant of I hope to be is more important than the socioeconomic or political or whatever circumstances: my self. So once I figure out the answer to your question without going off on a million tangentials, I’ll let you know. Maybe that won’t be for another two decades, who knows. C’est la vie.

This can’t be floating around in my blogosphere and not...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:53:02 -0400

This can’t be floating around in my blogosphere and not have a place on my blog. There’s this gravitational pull. So I will just let it be.