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… until spring break
nutrition, 15% online final
natural hazards, 30% 2-hour final + 5% extra credit
Practices of Othering and the Logic of Human Rights Violations: Race, Eugenics, and Crowds, 45% 8-10 page paper on 3 case studies
war and the nation state, 75% 3-hour final
=180%/400% … a little less than half way to go
*
17 credits until graduation (4 quarters and one class), but 18-22 credits if i double major
Beijing Taxi Trailer:Three cabbies’ bumpy ride on China’s road to modernization, directed by Miao Wang (UChicago alum ‘90 who majored in economics)
“BEIJING TAXI is a feature length documentary that vividly portrays the ancient capital of China going through a profound transformational arch. Through a humanistic lens, the intimate lives of three taxi drivers thread through the morphing city of Beijing confronted with modern issues and changing values. With stunning and poetic imagery of Beijing combined with a contemporary score rich in atmosphere, we experience a visceral sense of the common citizens persistent attempts to grasp the elusive. Its society is living through enormous contradictions adjusting to a new capitalist system from a Communist-ruled and educated society. Set in the Beijing before and after the 2008 Olympics, BEIJING TAXI takes us on a lyrical journey into fragments of a society riding the bumpy roads to modernization. Though the destination is unknown, they continue to forge ahead.”
(via threewaters)
Success Story: Beijing Taxi
“In terms of pledge rewards, I feel like it’s important to create some value in the rewards. I always believe that if you put your heart into creating something, people will sense that, and more willing to stand behind that. You’ve put all your heart into this film you’ve worked on for so long, your rewards should in some ways reflect the same heart and attention you’ve put into the film and not just something you slapped together.”
Producer Ted Hope has a great essay up from Miao Wang on how she managed her recently successful Kickstarter campaign. She discusses rewards, email newsletters, and all kinds of useful nitty-grittys. Go read it!
kickstarter is an awesome web 2.0 fundraising campaign platform driven by social media. from the trailer, the documentary seems like a great piece of ethnographic research about modern-day China in the midst of Olympic transitions; the director is a UChicago alum who majored in economics!
a hyacinth, a nightmare & other odd encounters
i walked through the bushy paths near the linne statue at night a couple weeks ago. a dry, browned hyacinth ball lay in a puddle. snow was melting. i chose the same way home, but by then, the hyacinth was gone. blown away, i guessed. eight months ago, i trailed the same path with a dear friend. the weather was warmer but it was also a wet night.
a couple mornings ago, a woman with orange lipstick and thick white make up held a kitchen knife in my mother’s bedroom in my dream. i turned my back against her and tried running away. i tripped because of the cracks on the wooden floor paneling. then i got up, and her knife slashed my face. the next thing i knew, i was in the living room, and my mother immediately went up to the woman, and the knife slashed my mother’s shoulder. i woke up disconcerted. for the rest of the day, i kept having flashbacks of moments with a close friend. i felt uneasy about how suddenly precious those times felt.
yesterday morning, i saw a girl with a furry panda backpack and huge red & white headphones which made me think of childhood and lady gaga. two instances of inexplicable happiness. i encountered another girl singing a musical on my way back from dinner that same night. what bursts of joy.
as i put on my puffy coat this morning, i wondered how much time we spend in a lifetime zipping up. just now, hot chocolate in hand, reading clasped under my arm *the wind blew* i caught myself uttering “i love you” in the dark.
The University of Chicago saw a 42 percent increase in undergraduate applications for next fall's freshman class
It will mean bad news for most of the 19,306 students interested in attending the Chicago school next year — double the number who applied in 2006 — but good news for a university trying to broaden its appeal and boost its popularity nationally. he university plans to accept the same number of students as last year, about 3,700, meaning it will accept just 19 percent of applicants, compared with 27 percent of the 13,564 who applied last year. Twenty years ago, 73 percent of applicants got an acceptance letter.
U. of C. officials attribute the increase to a combination of factors, everything from more far-flung outreach to publicity that comes with having President Barack Obama as a former faculty member.
eerie studying …
holga135bc
regenstein library interior
university of chicago
hyde park, chicago il
Westboro Baptist Church Prostests at UChicago >:(
on Monday, March 9th from 12-2 PM (including in front of the Law School) because of Barack Obama’s connections to the university. Its message: hate. DO join the celebration in Hutch Courtyard -Eat and drink free hot food and drinks (donations welcome) -Listen to music -Donate any amount you can to charity (possibly Broadway Youth) -Sign a petition to reverse Prop 8 and promote equal rights for all -Enjoy RSO performances DO stop by Eckhardt Quad -Sign/decorate a banner promoting positivity DO check out the front of the Div School -Feel free to join in a prayer/song circle that accepts everyone DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES engage WBC along University -Avoid their protest route altogether if possible… take alternative routes through the quad -Ignore their shouting and do not respond…. as soon as you engage, WBC will try to egg you on and get you in trouble (from an email i received through the housing listhost)
an accomplishment today … i’m a big fan of seventh generation. Non-toxic & biodegradable, Hypo-allergenic, Free of phosphates & optical brighteners, Safe for septic & greywater systems, Not tested on animals and Kosher-certified.
