Matt's Kampf

Fucking Christ

2006-09-05T17:12:36Z

Alright, I'll write in my goddam live journal. Are you all happy? Are you fucking happy now?

Brian you would enjoy this. In Chinese a lot of words are made by attatching synonyms. Thus the word for "look" translates, syllable by syllable, as "looksee." Sometimes attatching synonyms can strengthen or personalize a statement. So a Taiwanese friend of mine was telling me about his Japanese friend, and he said "I have Japanese friend, he is my buddy-friend."

alright i['m tired. fine. bye/. post back on here since i've had the decency to post in the first place and blah blah. chris what's your phone number again? I've lost it and i want to call you guys.

What a weird dream...

2006-02-20T14:57:51Z

I had a dream last night where Dan Goldberg and I were taking a Spanish test together. The teacher (who is my Spanish professor this semester) brought in bagels and cream cheese for everyone. And every question on the test was just an instruction to make yourself another bagel with cream cheese and then check off the box on the test sheet. Most of the bagels where raison or blueberry or something. Anyway, after the test I remarked how easy it was. And Dan said he would have gotten a one hundred if only he could have checked off the boxes fast enough. Then I realized that the test hadn't been one sheet long, it had been hundreds of pages of instructions saying to make a bagel and then check off the box on the sheet. Dan had of course just started checking boxes and neglecting the bagel part. But i had only done one page out of over a hundred! Humiliated, I realized that I must have failed horribly.

Congratulations are in order...

2006-02-16T15:34:41Z

To Rene Preval for becoming President of Haiti. Or perhaps condolences are in order? I don't know; it's a pretty tough job he's got... I wonder if he reads this livejournal. None of the Steelers posted after I congratulated them, so it'd be a nice change if M. le President would drop by and give us a comment.

Interesting Fact

2006-02-16T05:56:33Z

Boy I hates them scits! Did you know that the etymology of "skittish" is from "scit?"

Interesting Stuffocles

2006-02-15T21:14:55Z

Did you guys know that the word "skittish" is derived from the epithet "scit"? God I hate scits!

Indeed

2006-02-15T20:49:00Z

I wish Beth Satkin would post on this livejournal. It would be really exciting if someone new posted here...kind of like meeting a secret friend.

I think I'll just gab about my day and complain about how "he" never notices me...

2006-02-08T05:10:11Z

Psyche! Anyone who reads this livejournal knows that I try to keep it as meandering and nonsequitorial as possible. That means little to no recounting of what's been going on. No sir, you'll never hear me talk about how my "crush *sigh* never notices me." And when I complain, my complaints have to be completely unjustified and betray how a) selfish and b) immature I am.

For example. I don't think I should have to wait in line for coffee any more. I've done my share of waiting in line, and from now on I should get preferential treatment.

Secondly, a certain Beth Satkin has been contacting me via friendster. This is odd since a) I haven't had anything to do with friendster for years and b) I haven't had anything to do with Beth Satkin for years. What is odder is that her taste in music bears an uncanny resemblance to my own. For any Oxford pals who read this, this is one of my best friend's sisters who just happens to listen to Francoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg.

By the way, this mood is a real gem.

Superbowl

2006-02-06T21:02:53Z

I watched the Superbowl. I didn't think it was very exciting, but congratulations to all Steelers players who read this livejournal.

The Return of the Patriot's Sweatshirt

2006-02-05T17:09:56Z

Oh there was a time when this livejournal was updated regularly. Why can't I just let it die? What purpose does it serve except as a markerstone for its own miserably failed existence? It's much easier to keep a livejournal in a foreign country, where schoolwork is much lighter.

Wow!

2005-12-20T05:26:52Z

Someone actually posted on my livejournal. And it's not someone from Westfield! And it's not Jake from Oxford! Crazy, eh? Ethan, thanks for stopping by, and good luck on that Milton paper. I've never read Milton, but I loved the epigram to Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus.

Diamonds!

2005-11-15T03:57:21Z

I've finally figured out what I'm going to do after I graduate: Diamonds! I'm going to hunt for Diamonds in Africa! Pretty good idea, eh?

Also, Chris and I have realized that it is impossible to have a road trip with everyone this break. This is, of course, terrible, terrible news.

Problems with Democracy

2005-11-02T07:24:07Z

In the 1960s, the French Left opposed giving the vote to women because they thought they would be too easily influenced by priests. Am I mistaken, or do I detect similar undue influence on Chris from Scott? He said "Scott and I nixed Montreal"? Chris, by "Scott and I" do you mean "Scott"? I have to say, it isn't like Chris to nix, since he's usually pretty keen to go along with anything. My suspicions are further aggravated by your generous alternative to the South. We could also go skiing in Vermont because "Scott likes skiing." Well, gee, are there any other things Scott likes that we could do? Maybe we should just become Red Cross members for the trip!

And whatever happened to Chris and I have complete control and everyone else has an advisory vote?

I personally love skiing, and am open to any of the options. But I do think Quebec would be more exciting, being a foreign, foreign-language-speaking country. It would also evoke memories of the famed European expedition.

Protocar, Protoss God of Procrastination

2005-11-02T05:22:29Z

I am in the midst now of penning a difficult paper for my History of the French g'lightenment class. Here are some of the terrible things I do to procrastinate:

1. Masturbate
2. Write stupid livejournal entries (compatable with number one)
3. Solitaire
4. Clevermedia--thanks a whole lot for that, Chris.
5. Stare at my facebook.com profile (I can't get over how unwordy it is! It just looks beautiful!)
6. Read mindnumbing blogs and newspaper articles (Did you hear string-theory now has a rival in multiverse theory?)
7. Make monkey noises in the mirror

Also...are we really going down south? And Dan, are you coming or are you ditching us to become some kind of Bedouin Sheik?

Speaking of that Patriot's Sweatshirt...

2005-10-30T21:58:53Z

I went to a gay Halloween Party last night. It was basically what you'd expect...if you expected a tenth grade halloween party instead of a gay one. To wit, it was like a nightclub with lights that were about three times as bright as they should have been. I always hate those things...by which I mean "dances." They are useful for getting action, but without the swirling anonymity of a larger city, even that is difficult.

But before that, I had gone to a Rainy Day party. That was nice, if more of a "gathering" than a party, which is really fine by me. Also, Jamie and Cloe are compulsive cookers, which is great for me, a compulsive eater. I indulged in what must have been some of the finest dips and cakes north of Binghamton.

Also, there is a must read article in this week's New York Times magazine on the growing pension crisis.

I miss them now they're gone...

2005-10-26T03:41:49Z

The plastic on the tops of the Danon yoghurt containers. But what gets me is...what'll the do with the seven hundred billion tons of plastic?

Seriously, though, don't you feel like your Danon yoghurt is so...unprotected and vulnerable now? It's like...any little thing could puncture it and there goes breakfast.

Unrelated

2005-10-26T03:39:46Z

I do still plan to attend. It is conceivable I will cancel on you, since I have two essays due next week, but my guess is I'll make it. Friday night, yeah?

Winter Break

2005-10-24T15:12:27Z

Damnit, Chris. I told you I'm going on family vacation the 27th for a week. Can we do it when I get back? When does school start for everyone?

Shit's goin' down

2005-10-23T05:54:12Z

Alright, I have my first Chess Match this week. It will be via computer to an opponent from University of Illinois. Word on the streets is they're good. Also, I know I'm in for a fight cause my opponent's name is Olexandr "Sasha" Kokhan.

This time, I am Matthew

2005-10-10T00:36:36Z

So it's like this then. Ahem. At Cornell recently there was an anti-war exhibit that consisted of the number of boots of soldiers who have died. The trouble is, this sort of exhibit does not resonate with the average Joe. If the anti-war movement wants to appeal to a mass demographic, it needs to be less artsy and esoteric. Rather than hyper-symbolist "boot exhibits," in order to reach the guy in the pick-up, the anti-war movement should be doing things like one-man silent dramas, interpretive dances, and body poetry.

Homecoming Home

2005-10-05T04:14:28Z

I discovered in the Cornell Library of folk-history, an old ditty from Union County. I think it aptly describes my situation:

Oh I been a way a long, long time
And I know what travelin' yields
For I been a-sick a-very sick
For want of my West Fields.

And I been travelin' many a road
I been happy and I been grievin'.
I've been in love, and I been in hate
And I done my share of thieving.

But I shall return, oh I'll be back
As long as the sun turns over.
So light me a fire, and sing me song,
For I'm comin' home this Fliptober.

Note, I will not actually be home for Fliptober. I miscalculated. But I'll still be in the Fields in this weekend.

The First Day of Cold

2005-09-28T12:04:49Z

This morning is one of the first days of cold of the year.

And, yeah, I'm familiar with the history of Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorf's illustrious newspaper. But you certainly can't compare USA Today with Der Völkische Beobachter. USA Today is conscientiously apolitical, while of course the Thule Society purchased Der Münchener Beobachter in 1920, to use as a mouthpiece. For those unfamiliar with the Thule Society, it was a racist German group dedicated to celebration of how awesome Nordic culture and religion was, and how much everyone else sucked, especially Jews.

François Loos's email address, I believe is francois.loos@cabinets.finances.gouv.fr.

Hallo!

2005-09-23T15:57:25Z

Interesting Factoid: After WWI, Germany temporarily stopped using capital letters to help pay back the war debt.

In the Cornell Library Cafe there is a newspaper stand meant for USA Today, that says, "The Paper of the Nation" or something like that. But in the stand they stock the Ithaca Journal, so it looks like the Ithaca Journal is trying to sell itself as America's choice newspaper.

"Pro" is not the opposite of "con"--spread the word.

The Contest

2005-09-16T02:07:01Z

Drew so far has the best marine Limerick. The contest ends on Sept 21st, the Fall Equinox!

Interesting fact: Twice a year, on the Fall and Spring Equinoxes, the statue in the quad of Ezra Cornell casts a shadow in the shape of a snake!

Back to the Roots!

2005-09-16T02:04:47Z

I'm taking this livejournal back to its roots. You all remember what it was originally intended for, right? Outing communists!

Heh, just kidding. It was about my beloved Patriots Sweatshirt. Speaking of which, I just read an article that says sexism may lead to shorter life spans amongst...men! A study shows that in more sexist societies the life-expectancy gap between men and women is greater.

I'm no doctor, but I suspect this study is bogus. The sacred mantra of statistics is that correlation does not imply causality. Indeed, I think it's pretty obvious that wealthier nations have less sexism and better health-care than our brothers living in the savage hinterlands of civilization. Better health care means we're better at fighting all those nasty little things that, um, kill men. We also tend to have less tribal warfare, and men are the principal soldiers used in tribal warfare. Etc, etc, I think you all get the point.

Getting back to the Patriots Sweatshirt...

2005-09-06T03:54:20Z

Sometimes I regret the level of informality to which the English language has sank. Translated word for word, the formal farewell of a french letter is "Please yourself to accept, sir, my distinguished sentiments". In spanish, the informal salutation is "Esteemed So-and-so".

I say, hrrmph to all these "Hello," "Dear," "Sincerely," and--in England or Academia--"cheers" nonsense.