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09.10.02 >1220 Try as I might, I couldn't phrase an entry well enough to follow up on the subject of my last post. So I'll point you to this post instead. Good thing about the blogosphere: in the words of my friend Jason, "When you have trouble expressing something, there's always someone else who has managed to say it just right for you." - - I also want to relate this neat story to you, as it was told to me during an interview yesterday: Royce Harris Vaughn, the Founder of the OMI (Oceanview/Merced/Ingleside) Business League, was going up and down Ocean Avenue (the central commercial corridor for the Ingleside neighborhood) with his son several days ago, hanging up flags in preparation for the one year anniversary of 9/11. He and his son came to this little bakery that catered primarily to the Chinese immigrant population in the area, and started to hang up a flag in front of the store. The owner, a little old Chinese guy who spoke no English and rarely got involved in any of the neighborhood activities, came out to watch them. He suddenly went to his car and pulled out an accordion, and proceeded to serenade Royce & Son with "The Star-Spangled Banner." 09.08.02 >2311 Earlier today I happened to come across this post on Jeff's blog, and I got pretty upset. So I sent off an e-mail to Jeff to let him know that not all Californians share the same opinion as Dave Winer or Jill Stewart where 9/11 is concerned. More on this tomorrow, when I'm less tired and grouchy and more focused. For now, though, know that what happened that day cannot be easily disparaged or forgotten. 09.07.02 >0017 From We Were Soldiers: Colonel Moore (Mel Gibson): I wonder what was going through Custer's mind when he realized that he'd led his men into a slaughter.- - A case of political correctness taken a bit too far: School-sponsored 9-11 Remembrance Day to exclude patriotic symbols and religious references Or maybe it's those Berkeley peaceniks trying to dredge up some of their long-forgotten fanaticism for oldtime's sakes. Whatever it is, it's disgusting. 09.04.02 >1417 I am totally on a reporting roll here. WOOT! 09.03.02 >1502 I've been spoiled rotten by Broadband. Ick... >1239 The guy whose foot I'd nearly stepped on on the bus turned out to be a classmate in my U.S. Foreign Policy class this morning. We struck up a conversation before the instructor walked in (our instructor is the same person who taught my other Int'l Relations class last semester - a really nice lady who knows what she's talking about), and in the course of that fifteen minute talk I found out that he - his name was Solomon - was from Ethiopia and that this was his first semester at State. He's not a foreign exchange student, as he's lived in the States for a few years now and even did a short stint in the Army before enrolling in college, but he's still getting used to the "American way of life." The conversation turned to my major, journalism, and we discussed information distribution via the mainstream media and how journalists' ethics influenced the way they wrote their stories. A friend pointed out a couple days ago that perhaps it's not a good thing to be a journalist out there right now, especially an American journalist since the murder of Daniel Pearl. This was brought back to mind as Solomon said, "Some journalists will sacrifice their lives to bring the truth to light. That takes courage. But when you lose your morals and values [in the process of reporting], you become that other person, whatever that may be." He looked me in the eye then. "So I hope that doesn't happen to you." |