The Daily Roundup, though not really daily.

Over the exam period, in my moments of boredom on the internet, I collected random bits and pieces of interesting things that I had planned to post but never got around to...so today I'm just going to post all of that crap so I can clear off my desktop. However, to start the day I wanted to direct my attention towards an interesting article in the NYTimes today...

I have always stated outright that if admissions processes were merit-based, that Asians would fill the top schools, if not absolutely, than at least overwhelmingly. Likewise, I have also played on certain stereotypes about Asians ever since I became self-aware enough to realize that my life and the community in which I grew up was not normal, but inordinately Asian -- Mainly, skill at math, skill in science, and the universal slant-eyed bowl cut inclination to piano and violin etc. Today, the NYTimes verified the fact that I was, am, and always have been right about Asians, dubbed the "new Jews." (In case that comment was confusing, it's a reference to the Ivy league history around the turn of the century of changing admission standards from an academic meritocracy to the concept of "well-roundedness" in order to exclude Jews and increase the number of robust, shiny-eyed Protestant stock.) In any case, the article is here, and it's an interesting look at Asians and college admissions, proportions, and the problem of Asians being better than everyone else (despite my strenuous objections to the contrary).

On a lighter note, I would just like to point out the vitality of the free press and the importance of the media in shaping our perceptions of global conflicts and cataclysms:

On top of that, I would just like to post a picture of politics.
What a lovely picture.

Finally, back to the issue of Asians, I just wanted to post a picture of Kim Jong Il.
Besides the interesting note that the new UN tactic to attack Kim Jong Il and pressure him into subservience on the nuclear issue is a ban on trading luxury items with them, which include Mercedes, BMWs, Cadillacs, expensive liquors (b/c he loves Hennessy. And johnny walker scotch), Rolexes, sporting stuff (he loves basketball), caviar, Harleys, and American movies.

Kim is reportedly under his physician's orders to avoid hard liquor and prefers French wines. He also is said to own an extensive movie library of more than 10,000 titles and prefers films about James Bond and Godzilla, along with Clint Eastwood's 1993 drama, In the Line of Fire, and Whitney Houston's 1992 love story, The Bodyguard.

Remember: Kim Jong Il loves Godzilla. Just let it roll off your tongue. "Kim Jong Il Ruvs Godzirra"

Anyway. The real purpose of the picture is to demonstrate how disproportionately large the wine glass is to his head. That is the key.

...And now I return to reading the records of the Federal Convention of 1787, which means reading through Madison's hand-written notes from the Constitutional Convention...which, while rewarding, is fucking tedious.