Saw on TV yesterday that the Deisel, Shaq just graduated from LA Police Academy yesterday. Apparently, he's put in 1000 hours of training the last two off seasons. Not only that, but he had to have his uniform, size 22 shoes and 9mm pistol custom fit. Now, the LAPD finally has someone to go after Kobe and he makes a break for it! I bet Shaq won't hesitate to use force if necessary!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised with the subpenas, but it still a bit jarring if you see a real case. I read an article on CNN.com, where they presented one such case, a college kid (his picture showed he could well be one of us) who had a lot of mp3s on share, the record company lawyers went to work on him and now the kid face an astronomical fine that will probably take him decades to pay. If I remember correctly, after the conviction, the company helpfully arranged a monthly installment plan for the kid to pay of his fine, just like a Sallie Mae student loan. Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart?

So, I was reading this article in the newspaper about how the major record labels are starting to crack down on internet piracy. To sum up, they've gone so far as to contact major internet service providers and college campuses, asking for the contact info of piraters so they can subpoena them. Quite frankly, these Draconian moves disgust me. It really pisses me off that we live in a society where we, as consumers, are taught from a very young age, that stealing is wrong. But why are we taught this? Are we taught that stealing is wrong because it is ethically reprehensible? I wish. No, we're taught that stealing is wrong because it will detract from the profits of Giant Mega-corporation somewhere, under the pretense of being ethically reprehensible. I mean, it is wrong for a pirater to steal a two dollar song from a major record company, but it is ethically okay for a major record company to charge a customer twenty times the cost price of a CD? Or for a company to produce clothing through the use of sweatshop labour? They're both forms of theft, except that one form is carefully protected by the laws of the land, and incidentally, that form of theft is far more substantial than the other as well.

I read Tom's article, and I found it pretty thought provoking. I have to agree with Trineesh, being on the outside looking in really is a comfortable place to be. There's a lot to be said for an ethnicity that puts an onus on working hard and scholastic achievement, and frankly, if the day comes that Asian Americans are pulling for their children to become professional athletes, I for one will be fairly disappointed that they could not have done better.

As far as I can tell, the ideal is somewhere in the middle, to somehow balance academics with outside interests, whether they be music, sports, etc. The traditional Asian family probably puts too much onus on school, but by the same token, the typical American family probably puts too little onus on school and too much onus on everything else. As much as I think the former group is restraining, I'll be damned if I put my kids into the latter.

The thing with the dead bodies photos is that now all the networks are showing them. I read Dan Rather justifying it by saying something like :"It's part of our journalistic responiblity . . ."

So . . . . pictures of dead Iraqi = good journalism, pictures of dead Americans = bad journalism

"end up with gas in the morning"? I am not sure I follow your extended metaphor there:)

Here is an article on Asian-Americans and society's meritocracy which I found interesting.

Oh, the guy in angryasian man article is pretty messed up, in my opinion. All the Asian guys I know don't ever entertain the notion of dating black women, so we practice such racial selections as well. It's unfortunate Asian guys end up on the shorter end of the stick, but to go around like a Jehovah's Witness spreading the "gospel" is just . . . .

I am disgusted at the release of the photos of Saddam's dead sons.

I just read the site that Wally linked to. It raises our favorite discussion topic, interracial dating. I guess the reason that Asian guys get all hot and bothered when this subject comes up is that when Asian girls choose to date white guys, then by extension, they are not dating Asian guys, and who are we left to date? The leftovers? I am a big believer in freedom of choice, but lets say you go to a buffet, and all the food is gone and the kitchen is closed. Now, you still have free choice, but you can only pick from the leftovers. Now, I guess, in that situation, the Asian guy has to eat all the leftovers. Oh well, Fair enough, but don't be surprised then if we eat all the food nobody else wants and we end up with gas the next morning. That's what I think.

Ann Coulter '84, A&S w/honors. Of all people to be an alumni with...