I had a presentation for my EALC/GWS (East Asian Lang and Culture/Gender and Women’s Studies) class this past Wednesday. I presented ‘Barriers to women’s cultural change and revolution in China’ to my teacher and classmates. In order to prevent my audience from being too bored, I included some comics in my power point slides. As to how they relate to my topic, I’ll leave that to you guys. Enjoy.

Cover slide insert:

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I’m sure the video will do a far better job of explaining, but here’s the jist of it: Craig Venter, the person featured in this video is talking about his research in synthetic organisms. He and his research team have developed a method of quickly producing chromosome chains for insertion into empty cells. (Remember cloning?) By doing this, they can effectively create entirely new species of bacteria and other simple organisms. Nifty.
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I’m in the undergrad library right now. I had some soup for lunch (Roasted tomato and red pepper bisque – delicious, btw) and then I started looking for an open computer. I saw two open machines, so I tried the one on the right first. It didn’t work, so I sat on the one to the left. This was around 1:20. Since then, others have come by to use the broken compy on the right. I told the first several people that came the computer was out of order, but they didn’t pay my words any notice and sat down anyway, only to get up again. My warnings didn’t seem to have any effect, so I stopped.

Right now, its about 2:30, and I’ve seen 16 17 people come by to use the machine. It’s been pretty amusing actually, to see all those hopefuls come to the computer only to have their hopes crushed by this non-operational computer. It’s 18 people now. Some people have actually sat in front of the computer for a good couple of minutes, staring at the monitor, wiggling the mouse frantically to try will the computer to life. Now it’s up to 19. Others have tried the power buttons, while one individual got on his knees to check the power plug connections on the the floor. The monitor powers up just fine, fooling some to wait and see if the computer will work as well. Now we have our 20th victim.

Sometimes they come in small groups, and I can see the excitement on their faces as they spot the empty computer seat, a potential source of study, pleasure, or socializing. The joy quickly fades from their face as they realize this computer is merely a hunk of plastic and metal bits which serve no purpose except to humiliate them. There’s our 21st. Make that 22. I swear, some of these people see others before them fail, but decide to try anyway.

Many of them glance over at my station, if only to catch a glimpse of the electronic freedoms that I am experiencing, the very ones they have been denied. Or maybe they’ve actually managed to read some of the text that I am typing right now, noting their disappointment, but unable to retort except to trot off with their heads bowed in shame. Absolutely delicious.

Ah, the bell. Time for class.

I read all of the books below ‘cept the first back at home over Spring break.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. I read this book with Daphu. I actually managed to read this book during school. Of course, I’m sure every male has already seen the movie, and can prolly quote at least a line or two. What I didn’t realize was that before the movie, there was a book. The movie follows the book pretty well, with some minor differences. It’s definitely a fun read. Although both have their merits, I appreciate the movie more. Prolly because Brad Pitt’s hot. It’s a great book though.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I reread this book, and it was still as good as I remembered it. It’s prolly one of the more well known sci-fi novels out there. Revolves around the child Ender Wiggin, as he is cultivated to become commander of the fleet against the alien “Buggers.” I don’t want to say much more except tell you that it’s a great book and it deserves to be read.

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. Technically a sequel to Ender’s Game, but this along with the next two novels, Xenocide and Children of the Mind, have a linked plot pretty distant from Ender’s game. It’s not as great of a book as Ender’s game, but I found the story interesting. Ender is no longer a child, but much older. There are no battle stories like there were in Ender’s Game, but the plot is interesting in its own way. You could get away with reading this book without having read Ender’s Game beforehand.

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. A parallel novel to Ender’s Game, the story follows the experiences of Bean, another child who is in Ender’s Game. Bean has his own set of rich experiences which allow the story to take place at the same time as Ender’s Game, but be uniquely entertaining at the same time. A great read. I liked it better than Ender’s Game, but although if I hadn’t read Ender’s Game in the first place, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it quite as much. I wonder if that makes any sense.

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. Daphu read this, and I stole this from her reading list. The story revolves around a boy named Prosper and his brother Bo. They ran away from an angry Aunt who is pursuing them through a private detective. They are taken in by group of runaways and orphans, who themselves are supported by Scipio, the thief lord. The story was amusing at first, but new elements which didn’t really work started popping out of nowhere. It was an OK read, I guess.

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. The plot continues a couple decades after Speaker for the Dead. The problems which are present are made aware of in the previous book, and this book builds on them. A good read, but definitely not a standalone book like Ender’s Game.

I wasn’t able to read the 4th book, Children of the Mind, as I ran out of time. I’ll prolly get around to it eventually.