"The difference between me and a diplomat is the difference between a sledgehammer and a razor blade. I really shouldn't be in the diplomatic corps." -- Bill Janklow

The mighty pile of homework is acquiesced. In peer review in my english class, one of the people who read an essay I wrote complained about how she had a hard time understanding what I wrote. Maybe it's because I keep using words like 'acquiesced' where 'done' or 'ok' would do. (Among other things.) She gave me some good feedback about the outline, though, so I was constructive with her criticism in the end.

Mostly filler this time, filler mostly about some lectures here at chilly Iowa State. Chuck D came to our little hamlet and spoke about interracial relations and their impact on music last night, and was incredibly insightful. He wasn't eloquent, as he explained during the speech, but he wasn't eloquent on purpose, because he thought he could connect with his audience better that way. He was right, and as he sat on his stool and explained his issues with the perpetuation of a racist society and the US's foreign policy ("It's f***ed up!"), he spent a lot of time being right and winning over the crowd. Fantastic speech, really.
Tonight came a bit by Carla DeSantis, a businesswoman and journalist fighting for gender equity in music. This speech was slightly less engaging, largely, I think, because she was attempting to describe a social problem (stigma on women in music) from a business perspective (placing more Jewels and Ani DiFrancos and fewer Britney Spearses and Christina Aguileras on MTV and Clear Channel radio). DiFrancos made some insightful points about how horrible the music industry has been for the past twenty years or so, but she seemed to have neither a clear vision for the future or even of the present situation.
Chuck D, though. Wow. Hopefully when Chuck D retires from the music business he will go into teaching music history at some university somewhere. He's very passionate about music history, and serves as an excellent lecturer on the subject.

Battle Royale!

...Joan has this tendency to be unerringly correct about this sort of thing.

Finally, closure department: First, I changed classes a while back, and it looks like I made the right call. Professor Wu's English may not be the best, but his love for Calculus is plain to see despite that, and as a consequence following him through the lectures is a simple task. Thanks StrangeTalk!
...Secondly, Rapid City is no longer on fire, 500 jobs or so have officially disappeared, and South Dakota governor Bill Janklow made a rare display of compassion in meeting with the victims, demonstrating understanding and empathy for those dealing with the economic aftermath of the fire. Hooray for Wild Bill!
I'm going to bed, because I'm a bit sleepy. G'night!