Crystal.

Let's see if my school newspaper will publish THIS (yes, I wrote it)

2009-10-19T01:44:43Z

I am rather saddened by the level of fanboyism that still courses through the blood of many Americans when we discuss Barack Obama. While I understand why the American public would be excited that Obama won the election nearly a year ago, I am honestly surprised that same blind excitement is still present in our media and in the words of our citizens. I'm also surprised less people are shocked that our president has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Historically speaking, the Prize has gone to what Alfred Nobel himself described as a person who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." It has such prestigious figures as Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama as winners. These people are famous for creating positive change, often risking their lives in order to do what is best for all people. Obama, in my opinion, does not fall under that description now, let alone within the first two weeks of his presidency, which is when he was nominated.

Let me be clear: I am not anti-Obama. I am also not someone who will blindly follow someone simply because he has the ability to speak well. And to be completely frank, that is all I have seen Obama do: talk. I was unaware that this was a sufficient reason to be nominated to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner, let alone win it. Remind me to start working on my rhetoric.

The author of the opinion piece my school's newspaper stated that "no longer is our country viewed as it has been for the past decade by the international community." I would like to see proof of this, as I was in Europe last summer and there were still plenty of people who think America as "that country of Bush leads," and I'm pretty sure the Middle East still hates us. Why is this? I would wager it's because while Obama has made many a pretty speech, nothing has changed. We are still involved in wars, threatening Iran, denying genocides, and ignoring many of the injustices going on in our own country, let alone the rest of the world. Guantanamo Bay is still open because Obama prematurely made a promise to close it and didn't think about where the inmates would go. I have yet to see the "reversal of the Bush doctrine" the author spoke so highly of. President Bush doesn't and shouldn't have any effect on whether Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize; after all, this isn't the Anti-Bush Prize.

Obama most recently snubbed a fellow Prize winner and my personal hero, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in an effort to "keep China happy." Let me restate this in a way that will show my utter disbelief: Obama, in the first time since His Holiness has been meeting with presidents starting in 1991, denied a meeting to one of the most peaceful men on the planet in order to keep a country with absolutely horrendous human rights policies happy. This, mind you, is after he raised tire tariffs a considerable amount, which is something that was bound to anger China. My confusion lies not only in the fact he was so willing to say no to someone who was probably the last person to say, "Let's piss off China! Bomb them or something!" but the fact he got a Nobel Peace Prize despite this.

Let's not forget the gay community that Obama has also left in the dirt. During his campaign, Obama stated that he did not support the Defense of Marriage Act or Don't Ask Don't Tell and was going to get rid of those. A year has passed and not only are those two pieces of legislation still in effect, but his administration even backed DOMA! In fact, not only did his administration back DOMA, but the language used to defend DOMA made it sound like the administration was (wrongly) comparing homosexual marriage as the same or similar to incest and pedophilia. Words can't express how betrayed the gay community (and the many supporters, including myself, that it has) felt when this came out.

Some people have stated that the Nobel Peace Prize was given to Obama because he will eventually make change happen. If that is the case, he needed to win it when he actually deserved it. It's ironic that this man has won a peace prize when he's continuing not one but two wars, refusing to acknowledge genocide in Darfur and other places, and snubbing a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has dedicated his whole LIFE to peace. Obama won over a gynecologist who, because of the horrors he saw while growing up, has spent years helping his fellow countrywomen in the Congo who have been sexually abused. He also won over two organizations that work together to disable land mines and help those who have been handicapped by them. The beforementioned parties have done more for peace in my opinion than Obama has. I realize that change takes time, but it also takes action. Obama may say he has a lot of intentions, but he has yet to make any sort of solid action for me to believe he seriously wants any change.

Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize is an embarrassment to those who received it prior to him, and it will make later Nobel Peace Prizes less meaningful in the future. If you don't have to do anything to get it, I say next year they give the prize to me, since I did more for human rights when I went to Washington DC to peacefully march for equality for gays than he has since being elected president.

crystal_mercury @ 2009-07-21T17:31:00

2009-07-21T15:32:33Z

Mercury Ice now has over 200 members... Again. For like the 5th time. Woohoo!

Also, Chris has given us some more reviews!

Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition - PC
Droplitz - iPhone
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 - Xbox 360 (Our 400th article!)
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce - PSP
Knights Onrush - iPhone
Fight Night Round 4 - Xbox 360
Toki Tori - iPhone

UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 16 (7 (43.8%) by me, 4 by Zeth, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by AcetylCoa, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 41 (17 (41.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by Phunky Philosophy, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 75 (27 by Chris, 20 (26.6%) by me, 10 by Aileen, 4 by ShinDenjin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 147 reviews (54 (36.7%) by me)

Dinowoman has put up a lot of artwork recently (I think somewhere between 50 and 70 pieces) so be sure to check that out too.

Yet Another Content Update

2009-06-16T22:35:46Z

Loveless by Yun Kouga (manga, AcetylCoa)
Atmosphere - When Life Hands You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (album, Phunky Philosophy)

UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 16 (7 (43.8%) by me, 4 by Zeth, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by AcetylCoa, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 41 (17 (41.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by Phunky Philosophy 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 68 (20 (29.4%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 140 reviews (54 (38.6%) by me)

Thanks to Christine and Wiki! You guys rock!

I am really, really excited that we are not only getting more reviews, but that different people (read: not me) are doing them. Slowly but surely the numbers are going down, even if it's a few reviews at a time.

In other news, expect more updates soon, like in the interview sections and some of the member content (like music).

Cosplayers: advice?

2009-06-15T12:03:12Z

There's an anime con here in Evansville in February 2010 and I was thinking about going. Problem is, I'm not sure what I would want to go as, and if I did, who I'd be. I thought about doing Kaname Chidori (FMP!) or maybe even Ninian (FE, I like her outfit, not necessarily her), or maybe Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon, duh) or Seras Victoria (Hellsing)... I mean I could do Tifa (FF) again like I did in high school for fictional character day or whatever it was during spirit week, but I dunno. Haruhi would be hard considering I've never seen The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya but I guess that would be an option as well, since people are starting to associate her with me. OH MISTY WOULD RULE! But it'd be kind of disgusting if I dressed up like her, actually, considering it's like, short shorts and a cutoff shirt. But it'd be so cool to bust out my Pokeballs again, maybe bring a deck with me like old times.

But ignoring all that, where would I even get a costume? Do people normally make them or buy them? What about wigs? Accessories? Do people go in character or just dress up? I've never been to a con, or even really seen stuff from a con, other than pictures from fellow LJ buddies (like Christine) who go, so I really have no freaking clue what I'm doing. It would be so badass to go though. I mean this is assuming that the con even ends up happening. It doesn't look so hot right now, but at least there's open discussion about it, and they do have a few months. I think it should be okay. I'm trying very hard not to get too involved... I don't want to end up on a committee or anything. Lord knows I have enough to do already.

I was also asked if I wanted to do a panel, but they want stuff on Otaku or Japanese Pop Culture, which to be completely honest I know nothing about. I had been thinking about offering to do a panel on character development for roleplaying/fan-fiction/etc., but they didn't really seem interested. Which is fine. But I just wonder how many people they're going to get who would be willing to do a panel and know what they're talking about with such a limited scope, especially considering the area. I mean Evansville isn't exactly Chicago or San Francisco. Again, I've never been to a con, so they probably know a lot more about what they're doing than I do. It's interesting to watch it unfold in any case.

New Mercury Ice Book Reviews

2009-06-09T16:22:46Z

Four book reviews by Zeth have been approved:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The Lost World by Michael Crichton

UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 15 (7 (46.7%) by me, 4 by Zeth, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 40 (17 (42.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 68 (20 (29.4%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 138 reviews (54 (39.1%) by me)

Thanks a bunch to Zeth! His reviews have resulted in a 16.9% drop in the percentage of book reviews done by me and a decrease of 1.2% when looking at total reviews.

This.

2009-06-07T21:26:29Z

Just to piss Chris off =P

2009-06-03T13:24:56Z

GOLDEN SUN 3 IS COMING OUT IN 2010!!! <3<3<3

YEAAAAAH

FANGASMS GALORE!

Mercury Ice Content Analysis Update

2009-05-28T20:48:12Z

Three new reviews have been added:

Assassin's Creed - Xbox 360, Play Station 3, PC
The World Ends with You - Nintendo DS
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume - Nintendo DS

The (bottom) two by theshim are excellent. Morbid Anatomy's is okay. I think he'll get better with time, assuming he comes back.

UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 11 (7 (63.6%) by me, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 40 (17 (42.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 68 (20 (29.4%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 134 reviews (54 (40.3%) by me)

I think this is good progress. Hopefully by the end of the year we can get everything down to under 25% by me.

Small Update, I guess.

2009-05-12T03:55:32Z

I officially start Cognitive Psychology tomorrow. I've read part of the first chapter (we're covering all 14 in the class) and it's pretty interesting so far. I am not entirely sure it'll be relevant to what I want to study, but I also want to branch out and try other things, too; after all, if I hadn't done that with Psychology I wouldn't be where I am now.

I went to the dentist's today. I have a hole in my top right wisdom tooth, so they'll be taking all four out (which is what I wanted initially but my dad and the old dentist said no) when I get back from Germany (which I leave for on Saturday). They're filling a small cavity that I guess the other dentists missed on Thursday. I'm also getting a scan for oral cancer or whatever it's called at some point... I'm not a smoker so the risk isn't high at all, but it's just a good idea to get it checked.

I also went to a Student Writers Union/The Aerie executive meeting (which I had to leave early because of the dentist's appointment). I am the president of SWU next year and the Art Editor/Layout Designer of The Aerie. My Aerie jobs aren't terribly difficult; I review art when it comes in during submission times and say "Yes" or "No" and I make sure the layout looks decent. Huzzah. Being appointed president was a bit shocking but I'm excited. I have the rare opportunity of working with competent and hardworking people. It'll be great being able to trust people enough to delegate tasks to them instead of doing it myself.

I have a massive headache so I'll be going to bed soon. It's been kind of a depressing past few days. The end of the year always makes me a bit nostalgic and uncertain. I'll be okay though. I think.

Finals Results

2009-05-08T18:52:47Z

Projected grades:

ENG 303 (Poetry Workshop): A -- Well, I'm thinking so anyway.
ENG 432 (20th Century Poetry): A -- Well, I'm thinking so anyway.
ENG 498 (Internship): A -- Well, I'm thinking so anyway.
GERM 204 (German IV, essentially): A -- Maybe? I never have any idea how well I'm doing in her classes.
PSY 303 (Research Methods and Statistics I): A (Without the final exam, I have 101%)
PSY 381 (Psychology of Gender): A (Final grade: 98%)

At least I'm done. It's been a pretty nice week so far. I got $106 back from selling books, which is roughly half of what I spent. All in all not a bad deal.

Also yesterday was a year with Michael. It was a wonderful day. He got me a really cute necklace (which I am wearing now), a Visa card so I can buy ad space on some websites, and flowers with a cute teddy bear. We got to talk on the phone and had a nice day overall. He was really sweet, like he always is. <3

For my birthday I would like...

2009-04-26T18:13:55Z

A couple posts (or more) at Mercury Ice would do.

=D

Writer's Block: Going Greener

2009-04-22T21:48:07Z

How could you better “green” your life? What’s holding you back?

Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco.

View 314 Answers

Alternate energy, less plastic bottles and bags, recycle more, use less paper.

What's holding me back? The fact I live on a college campus and can't exactly demolish my apartment building to install solar panels or something, I need plastic bags for trash, and there are limited recycling opportunities here.

Mercury Ice

2009-04-07T04:26:44Z

Aileen has donated four more wonderful reviews for the DS:

Big Bang Mini
BOING! Docomodake
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Princess Debut

Updated count:

Video Games Reviews: 64 (20 (31.3%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Kennori, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage)

Total: 130 reviews (54 (41.5%) by me)

Thanks Aileen!

crystal_mercury @ 2009-04-05T23:28:00

2009-04-06T04:29:07Z

I love Michael Prazak. I know we'll get through any hard times, because we're willing to work on becoming even better for each other.

You're my favorite, Michael. <3

Updated Content Analysis

2009-03-29T18:35:22Z

Book Reviews: 11 (7 (63.6%) by me, 2 by Michael, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 40 (17 (42.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 60 (20 (33.3%) by me, 20 by Chris, 6 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Kennori, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage)

Total: 126 reviews (54 (42.9%) by me)

I put up 3 reviews by Chris, 1 by SuperShin, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Michael, 1 by Mystara, and 1 by Nathan up today, for a total of 8 new reviews. That is really exciting for me.

Books went down from 87.5% by me to 63.6% by me. You have no idea how happy that makes me that less than 75% in every category is by me. Chris has caught up with me in the video game category as well, which I would be a bit hesitant about but there's much more variety in the video game section compared to the others (20 reviews by 11 different people) that I'm not too concerned.

The ones that I'm hoping the most for new reviews is books and tv/movies, though honestly I'm excited when anyone posts a review for anything. I'm still at a little below half overall for submissions, but honestly 8 great reviews to be put up in a day is wonderful. I'm really happy and grateful to all who contributed.

Question

2009-03-22T17:23:11Z

Is anyone good with Photoshop, particularly banners, and willing to do one or two as a favor?

Writer's Block: Big Debates

2009-03-16T02:35:18Z

Do you think stem cell research is good, bad, or dangerous? Should it be funded by the government?

Submitted By srkfanatic15

View 500 Answers

I think it's definitely good. Name one bad thing about it, barring people stealing fetuses or some crazy shit, lol.

As for being funded by the government, I don't know. I'm conservative in the sense that I don't want the government spending a bunch of money, but in this case I suppose I'd say okay because it's going toward an actual result, an actual product. I want two conditions though: one, the government makes sure the money is going where it needs to go, and two, the government can't pick and choose who gets the treatments that come from it.

crystal_mercury @ 2009-03-05T10:50:00

2009-03-05T16:51:09Z

This really amuses me for some reason (and no, this isn't what you might think initially):

Writer's Block: Desert Island Time

2009-03-02T23:46:10Z

You're packing your bag for that magical desert island that happens to have electricity, a TV, and a DVD player—what five DVDs do you take with you?

View 501 Answers

The Hours, American Beauty, Night at the Roxbury, K-PAX, and ummm... hmm... some Disney movie, like The Little Mermaid. I'd see if I could sneak in Anastasia too.

crystal_mercury @ 2009-02-16T18:39:00

2009-02-17T00:41:08Z

I was going to post, but now I don't even feel like it. I don't know what to say, really.

I guess I'll just let you guys know I'm back from Chicago.

crystal_mercury @ 2009-02-06T13:56:00

2009-02-06T20:04:44Z

I've been feeling crappy on and off the past couple days. Wednesday I was just out of it after having some problems in the morning, and today again I had a big headache (which has subsided a bit). I think most of the problem is I'm dehydrated. I need to drink more water.

Other than that, things are going pretty well. I got the Honors floor next year, which makes me wonder where Pippa is going to be. Maybe she decided to move to the apartments. I'm really excited about being an RA in the residence halls though! I get to help new freshmen and get my own room and have people come to my programs and it's going to be awesome!

Also! Michael got accepted to present his research at the APS conference in San Francisco in May. I'm so proud of and excited for him! <3

crystal_mercury @ 2009-01-23T09:34:00

2009-01-23T15:35:44Z

Michael got his first grad school interview!!! I'm so excited for him!!! <3<3<3

crystal_mercury @ 2009-01-07T19:46:00

2009-01-08T00:49:02Z

Did anyone else find this funny?: "LiveJournal.com is currently unavailable due to emergency maintenance. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with our recent company layoffs! It's a technical problem, not a lack-of-personnel problem.

Thank you for your patience."

Anyway, Aileen submitted five reviews to Mercury Ice! =D I will be reviewing Valkyrie tonight, and Grapes of Wrath sometime soon (I finished it today), if anyone is interested in reading those.

I'm glad that's starting up again.

EDIT: http://mercuryice.com/index.php/tvmoviereviews/311

Okay computer people

2009-01-06T19:37:11Z

Someone please tell me how to avoid an 80080005 error when I try to backup my computer using Vista's Backup and Restore Center, since apparently it's $59.00 to ask Microsoft for help. I'm talking a Complete PC Backup and Restore Image; I'm backing up files just fine right now.

EDIT: According to Dell: "I have researched on the error message which you are getting with your system. The error is caused by a bug in Windows Vista file and Microsoft currently does not have a fix for the same."

Greeeat.

crystal_mercury @ 2009-01-01T21:25:00

2009-01-02T02:26:01Z

Well this year's off to a great start so far.