This just in, California voters truely do live in their own, abet slightly warped, movie.

In other news, I have a cold. I'm doped up or down on cold medicine. I've fulfilled 1000% of my daily suggested Vitamin C intake.

I'll write again when I'm more lucid.  ¶ 11:35 AM

  Front page coverage:

Or, if the link doesn't post: http://www.datelinealabama.com/article/2003/09/24/4686_news_art.php3(copy and paste)

Does anyone else think there is something wrong with the Greek system here at UA?

Case-in-point: http://www.cw.ua.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/09/24/3f711d9f4d3b8(copy and paste)

Maybe they are taking their little clubs to seriously. Really folks, this is what gives the "south" a bad reputation.  ¶ 6:50 PM

  News: Met with the fine folks at Birmingham News this afternoon, but found out they do not accept grad. students as interns. Why? Seems quite foolish to turn down the expertise that grad. students can provide at the price of an intern. Of well, their loss.
I turned in another article for Dateline Ala. this afternoon that might be uploaded tonight. The story revolves around a new DVD that UA is using in place of the typical college brochures you often see in high school. I've seen the DVD and was impressed; original music by Deana Carter(I dono, some country music singer) and lots of interactive features, including that ever-popular "extras" section. Check it out:



Oh, thanks for the pillows, mother. My couch is actually a couch now; no longer a piece of furniture stolen from a hospital waiting room. Thanks for the CDs Eric, Johnny Cash is on deck.

More updates later...  ¶ 2:46 PM

  Since someone is waiting with "baited breath," here is an update. I have decided to keep things simple, due in large part to my lack of time(my foot for an Ethernet connection!!).

Academic Update: Still fighting internal politics to obtain clips for an internship this summer. Typical "gotta have experience to get experience crap." Looks like I'll have to go it alone.

Social Update: I don't speak German, but if I did...no that still won't help. The roommate might be a go.

Cycling Update: Rain?! In Tuscaloosa, Ala.? Well, one day of rain won't hurt anything, but I certainly won't get my self dirty just for a ride. I'll simply use my pent-up anger to destroy the Tuesday night ride, maximum heartrate be damned.

Other Updates: Keep your eyes on DatelineAlabama for future articles. Hopefully someone with half-a-brain will actually edit them. Also, check out the Crimson White @ www.cw.ua.edu.

Ok, baited breath. Lets see if this new format will work.(wow, just saw the spellchecker...nice)
  ¶ 3:00 PM

  Argh, the links didn't post. Check out these newspapers' web sites instead:

www.nytimes.com
www.tuscaloosanews.com  ¶ 11:13 AM

  The rock has been moved! Will the Christen fundamentalists shrink from their stand against the law and government? Stay tuned...

Here is the story from Tuscaloosa:

Here is the story from New York:

Thanks for reading.  ¶ 11:12 AM

  Tuesday brings about several hopes for change here at UA.
I have been talking with my advisor about the opportunity to gain application writing experiance through a student-run publication via the print or web media. As some of you familier with UA's student media know, the web site Date Line Alabama is a current popular site for students and persons interested in AL news from a student-run media organization. It also has a link to a news site for Pickens County, AL; more of a community service project, this web site allows students to gain practical journalism skills as well as provide a source of recognition to the citizens of this area. Pickens County is a fairly rural place; I've never been there, but I assume it can't be worse than places in SW Virginia.
On other news, classes are progressing smoothly. Reading is quite intense for most classes, save for the two undergraduate courses of Editing and Reporting, but enjoyable nonetheless. I am actually encouraged to read the news everyday(A joy for most that know me)!
The "Ten Commandments" are becoming quite a national headline. Though I'm not sure that AL wants to be on the map for this type of political strife, it is an interesting debate. From what I've heard and read, the "rock" will probably be moved this week providing the lawsuit filed by the Christen Defense Coalition is struck down(as it probably will). This fiasco is eriely similar to the situation discussed within the text of Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer's new book, which details how the evolution of fundamentalist Mormon faith brought about the death's of a young women and her infant child on behalf of "God's Will." Having almost completed the book, I must admit the Mormon faith is more intricate than I had previously thought; the faith is also more widespread than most would think as well. I would encourage anyone interested in this current state-church debate to explore other situations where people place God above the government and law before making judgement based on emotion. I wonder if comparisions of radical Islam faith and this faction of Christianity have been inacted(being that both clearly want God, or Allah, as the central authoritarian figure above all others)...
Thanks for reading.  ¶ 9:19 AM

  Yes, I have not been very diligent in updating my blog.
I have been constantly busy the past few minutes, hours, and days both adjusting to school and life in AL. Either of these items have not been an easy proposition to handle.
I have successfully completed the first class from each course in my schedule. This has left me both relieved and intimidated; probably more of the latter.
Aside from the undergraduate courses to which I have been suggested to complete to, "bring me up to speed," the graduate courses seem much more involved and interesting. Research Methods, a course hopefully preparing me to the rigors of academic, uhm, research, is a larger class mostly comprised of lecture and subsequent note-taking.
International Journalism, the other graduate course, is much more interesting. There are fewer than 10 students in the class, only 3(including myself) of which are first year students. I feel somewhat underexperianced compared to the second years, especially after the class introduction.
"I worked for three different newspapers after my undergraduate work," one would say. Or, "I have traveled to five different countries over the summer," another would state. Yes, I'm worthless.
Remember folks, if you want to be a graduate student, you must have a love of reading. And with that comment, I must close this post and read a few chapters before then sun sets.
Thanks for reading.
  ¶ 2:12 PM