Free Speech and Other Delights

I finally, just now, saw the clip of Kanye West on the NBC Katrina Relief Telethon, after having only heard about it secondhand. As admittedly exciting as it is to see someone exercise his rights to free speech and create a little controversial moment, the absolute best thing about that clip was Mike Myers's double-take reaction, just after the sentence, "George Bush hates black people." I could watch that over and over.

The other big clip of the moment is Cheney on CNN with the guy telling him, "go f*ck yourself." I've only seen the replay of the clip, where the word is bleeped, but, from what I've heard, it went out live, uncensored, on CNN.

I know America's not a perfect country. I think these comments are evidence of the racisim and class warfare that still haunts us, and are very important problems we need to solve. And, yet, my overwhelming reaction to these two clips was gratitude that we have Amendment 1 to the Constitution; we have the right to free speech. I've been pretty depressed at times while doing my research on human rights in Middle East. The almost total lack of freedom and protection experienced by others in the world really gives me pause, and makes me grateful that I live in this country. Granted, I'm not sure that everyone in the U.S. gets to experience these rights equally, but at least we have them.

That's about as ineloquent a way as I can state it; I'm tired now and my head hurts, but it's my sentiment nonetheless.

And now for something completely different - if you want to see the answers to the movie quiz, check The Turner Family's answers; they got 'em all.

The Movie Quotes Quiz!

Very easy. Just name the movie the quote comes from.

First one to get all 10 correct wins a DVD! Good Luck!

1. They don't look like Presbyterians to me.

2. The only true currency in this bankrupt world... is what you share with someone else when you're uncool.

3. I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!

4, Just look like we are a married couple, spanning time!

5. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever dream I would have sons like these.

6. So shines a good deed in a weary world.

7. You're a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.

8. I am a star. I'm a star, I'm a star, I'm a star. I am a big, bright, shining star.

9. It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.

10. Mikey, why don't you tell that nice girl you love her? "I love you with all-a my heart, if I don't see-a you again soon, I'm-a gonna die..."

Answers

I'm posting the answers to the Beatles quiz as a comment to this post. If you don't want to see the answers, don't click.

Travis placed first with twenty points, with Wendy following a close second with seventeen.

Good job!

Also, if I had a little time in between class and study, what would be a better quiz? Movie trivia? Movie quotes? Does the total geekosity of quizzes render the question moot?

Hated to Do It...

But I added the word verification to my comments. I'm getting tired of getting spammed, even though, ironically, I've faithfully purchased every product advertised in the spam.

"One More Time..."

As requested, the next line to each Beatles song has been added. Backing vocals are in parentheses.

1. We said our goodbyes (Ah, the night before)/Love was in your eyes (Ah, the night before)

2. You know you made me cry/I see no use in wond'ring why

3. Sheep dog standing in the rain/Bullfrog doing it again

4. Each day just goes so fast/I turn around - it's past

5. Once there was a way to get back homeward/Once there was a way to get back home [sic]

6. Cream tangerine and montelimat/A ginger sling with a pineapple heart

7. It's been a long time/Now I'm coming back home

8. All thru' the day/"I," "me," "mine," "I," "me," "mine," "I," "me," "mine"

9. Oh dear, what can I do/Baby's in black, and I'm feeling blue

10. We were talking about the space between us all/And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion

Procrastination is Fun

I am putting off writing the 10 pages I have on my ILJ paper, due Monday at five. Argh. I'm starting to get stressed.

I just found out my grade for Evidence this summer: a B-. So, my dreams of having a 3.0 GPA after the summer semester were dashed (a B+ would have done the job). I have a 2.923, which is just a little bit down from where I was before Evidence.

If you all want, I'll go ahead and post the answers to the Beatles quiz. (Thanks to Travis for being the only one so far to post.) I know the suspense has been killing you, er...not bothering you at all.

Update

NO ONE has posted any guesses to The Beatles quiz. Does anyone care? Doesn't anyone want to win the grand prize?

Quiz Time!

OK, I've been wanting to do this a while. Close your books and clear your desks of everything except a number two pencil.

How well do you think you know The Beatles? (I know...this is probably a quiz that interests only me) Below are 10 lines from Beatles songs.

Clues:

A. Each line is the first line of its respective song.

B. Each song was written by The Bealtes, not an outside composer.

C. The songs are all currently available on CD (i.e. no bootlegged songs).

D. The songs run the entire gamut of The Beatles recorded output.

OK, for each, name 1) the song title 2) the album the song appears on. Bonus points for composer(s) or lead singer(s) of song. Extra bonus points for any other "trivia" about the song.

There are 100 available points. Have fun!

1. We said our goodbyes

2. You know you made me cry

3. Sheep dog standing in the rain

4. Each day just goes so fast

5. Once there was a way to get back homeward.

6. Cream tangerine and montelimat

7. It's been a long time

8. All thru' the day

9. Oh dear, what can I do

10. We were talking about the space between us all

No cheating by looking these up.

You Know You're A Geek When...

...you think it's really cool that you get to stay in your school's library after it closes!

I was at the law journal office yesterday from 2PM to 10:30PM. The library closed at 8PM, but law journal folks are allowed 24-hour access. I was working on subciting an article for publication, which means I had to check footnotes in the article, and make sure they were correctly formatted, and that they correctly quoted or paraphrased the source.

I was the only student in any of the three journal offices, and, when I left, no one else was in the whole library (as far as I knew). If I wasn't so exhausted, I might've run around and had one of those "locked-in-a-department-store-overnight" moments, as I raced around the stacks, playing and laughing. Of course, my chances were hurt, because it would've unfolded in real time, not montage, and there would've been no cool '80s soundtrack to underscore my wacky shenanigans.

Most of the lights were off in the library, but it wasn't creepy at all. I attribute this to our library being of fairly recent construction, and not one of those old, Gothic libraries. If I had been in OU's library after hours, I probably would have been terrified.

Oil Storm! - Part Deux

I drove home from the law school yesterday, beat and tired, thinking I'd postpone filling up at $2.79 a gallon. A lot of times this past year, I'd go ahead and fill up, only to watch gas prices drop $0.20 the next day. Not a wise move. Gas prices were $2.99 at some stations earlier today, and had already climbed to $3.10 by the time I drove home at 4:30. The cheaper stations were holding out at $3.05. And this is Oklahoma!

I immediately thought of the summer of 98 in Norman, where gas prices ranged from $0.69 to $0.75, depending on where you gassed up. I never thought I'd see $3.

I know this is a result of the terrible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, and I don't mean to sound flippant. I think it underscores the need for an alternate energy source to power our cars. It reminds me of Oil Storm, the chessy made-for-TV disaster movie from a few months ago. A disaster similar to Katrina was one of the catalysts of the widespread chaos depicted in the movie. In the real world, there are some media punters speculating that we'll see a return of the rationing and shortages of the Carter years. The reserve has already been tapped. I don't want to sound like I have a doomsday sandwich board around my neck, but I wonder if we'll ever return to the good ol' days (and corresponding gas prices) of 1998. I come from the middle class - fairly well off - and even I have a hard time paying for gas. How do the lower income families survive?

How is everyone else. How are gas prices where you live?