Pop goes the Cupertino 'bubble'

Residents often refer to living in Cupertino as living in a bubble. But it seems that the uneventful days of Cupertino are past. Barely a week ago, two major international events happened in Cupertino. One was the shooting spree of Shareef Allman; the other was the death of Steve Jobs. Both are pretty cataclysmic events in themselves. What's even scarier is that they both happened on the same day.  The Cupertino bubble not only popped, but popped with a bang.

Resist hate

Just when everything seems to be back to normal, something else happens.

Failed college essay

College essays are difficult work

I wrote many attempts for college essays, but a lot are simply not not good enough. So I'm posting all the rejects on here. Just because they're bad college essays doesn't mean they're badly written. Well, some might be.

Here is one. I liked the story.

Viewing the Room

Theatrical release poster from 1985 film

Although the tradition of Grand Tours-- fashionable youths roaming the European continent-- had ended, one cannot help but feel its spirit lives on in the gaggle of on-lookers and sight-seers crowding St. Peter's Square or the Florence Cathedral every year. Tourism, no matter what era, remains the same.

However, a traveler on the early twentieth century will have an experience more akin to the Grand Tours. At the turn of the century, even as class barriers begin to crumble, travel was still dominated by the middle class. A female traveler in this era, for example, would travel with a chaperon—no respectable young female will be without one. She, like her itinerary, would embody convention.

That is the basic premise of A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster.

Newsgate

The phone-hacking scandal of News Corp has already engulfed Britain and has every chance of spreading across the Atlantic. Accusations of phone-tapping into victims of 9/11 have surfaced, and the FBI is investigating these allegations as well as corruption charges. 

In honor of Independence Day

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Little House

There once was a small house. Surrounded by long-limbed cypresses, the house stood in idyllic seclusion. It was a little house, in soft pastel and delicately painted colors.

That house is empty now. But once, long ago, there were people. People who laughed and lived and loved. They are all gone now. But sometimes, you can still hear them.

Cleopatra

Coin depicting a likeness of Cleopatra.

One of the most enduring and least understood figures in Western history, Cleopatra VII is most remembered for her tumultuous personal life- mainly her affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. But she is so much more than that. Cleopatra's death meant the end of the Hellenistic era and the beginning of the Roman Empire.

Shangguan Wan'er

One of the most fascinating figures in Chinese history, Shangguan Wan'er (664-710) was a noted literary figure and politician of the Tang Dynasty, associated with powerful women such as Wu Zetian.

Beach-from my memories of Laguna Beach(show and place)

He stared at the beach. The sun was up, had been up already for hours. There was nothing he could see but stretches of tan sand, bare as naked skin, and the sparkling sea, with waves almost beckoning him forward. There was no one here; the beach was deserted except for the seagulls and their cry. That was strange-but then he supposed everyone went home to sleep off the hangovers from last night’s party. Trash, flotsam of last night’s party- beer bottles and plastic knickknacks-were embedded in the sand, like last night’s memories were embedded in his.

Obsession with trivia

 

One thing my friends will tell you about me is that I'm a master of pop culture. Whenever we play Trivia, people always fight for me to be on their team. Because I always win.

Clearly more Americans want to be like me, because they seem to be fixated on some of the most trivial matters that can ever occur--like the Anthony Weiner affair.

random scene- inspired by a prompt on boredom

 Just something fun I wrote : )

Tiananmen Square Massacre

June 4, 1989. Thousands of protesters are gathered on Tiananmen Square, demanding political reform.

primary sources and research

I was researching today for my history class and my friend asked me what a primary source is. Specifically, her question was “Why can’t any book be a primary source?” So I told her. Firstly, a primary source is defined as “an original fundamental and authoritative document pertaining to an event or subject of inquiry” (Dictionary.com). In other words, it is a reputable source of information that (usually) is from same time period as the subject being researched. A primary source traditionally includes newspaper articles, pictures/photos, memoirs, autobiographies, and now, videos. Anything that is contemporary as well as factually correct counts.

The value in primary sources lies in its ability to provide insight into the topic. A primary source does not filters the information presented. It does not press present-day prejudices and assumptions into that information. By analyzing a primary source, one can also discover the context of whatever their researching taken place in. They will not only glean information they’ve been seeking, but also knowledge of the attitudes toward that topic. As a result, the researcher is unimpeded in his work and can form his or her own conclusion. This is highly critical as otherwise the research will denigrate into nothing more than propaganda.

An example that comes to mind when talking about primary sources is the character assassination of Cleopatra. As we all know, Cleopatra was the queen of Egypt who had affairs with both Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. She suicided after the Battle of Actium and Octavian became the Emperor of Rome, etc. But much of the details we receive about her-the story of how she dissolved pearls in vinegar and drank it-are dubious, if not completely false. Since no primary source about Cleopatra exists, we must rely on her enemy, the Romans. No wonder we can’t get an unbiased story of her life.

Comrade Liu? GOP obstructs 9th Circuit Appeals Court nominee

On May 19th, the Senate successfully filibustered the nomination of Goodwin Liu to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This effectively ended his nomination, as he withdrawn his name from consideration on May 25, resulting in a clear victory for the Republicans.

Goodwin Liu is a qualified nominee for a judgeship: a brilliant Berkeley constitutional scholar, a widely regarded jurist who had been praised by conservatives including Kenneth Starr (Lewinsky case prosecutor) and John Yoo( proponent of torture), he has broad bipartisan support. Obviously, his qualifications were not on trial here; this was merely one of battles in the GOP's ongoing war with President Obama. On display during the hearings were several things, not least the Republicans’ hypocrisy. Previously declaring that filibustering a judicial nominee is unconstitutional, the GOP now unanimously embrace the tactic in opposing Liu’s nomination. They justify this hypocrisy by demonizing the candidate: Sen. Charles Grassley(R-Iowa) accused Liu of desiring America to be more like “communist-run China.”

That comment is not only inappropriate, it borders on racism. Liu=Chinese name. Consciously or not, Sen. Grassley’s remark reflects a wider trend towards racism among the conservatives.  Many of the comments I read on the conservative blog Big Government (http://biggovernment.com/tfitton/2011/06/02/senate-rejects-liu-nomination/) shows this. Sample comments: “Sorry Liu. It looks like there is nothing left to do except move back to China where good little commies go far.” Another says: “Thanx Gawd[sic]. His full name should be Liu Mao Marx.” And one of the most offensive of all: “Obama is following Bush's lead in outsourcing jobs that require no moral compass to Asians - a people who see life as cheap… Bush had some pet Asian that gave him some patina of legitimacy for torture as you may recall…You can bet they will use some Asian to give the order to ransack your house - they have no real connection to our values. ”

While not representative of all, these comments clearly show that racism has been institutionalized in the Republican Party. Had the nominee been white, would they accuse him of “making America Nazi-like?” Obviously not.

I am not a law student, I am no lawyer, I cannot judge the validity of Goodwin Liu’s legal arguments.  But I do know hypocrisy and racism when I see it.