Author Archives: Allison Baker

Dearest Readers,

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that my parents are no longer financially responsible for me (wait, how is that good?). The bad news is that my four years at this fine institution are up (not for a lack of trying, though).

I am sorry to say that aside from the high-speed chase sequence between the Americans and Russians (featuring actor Shia LaBeouf’s skintight leather pants), I found the Disneyland ride more thrilling than the long-awaited fourth installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise.

Have you ever had a flirtatious encounter with someone and then kicked yourself later for letting such a golden opportunity slip between your fingers? Yeah, me neither…

But let’s just say that you did have one of said chance encounters and you never used the opportunity to make your move.

“Music is my boyfriend/ Music is my girlfriend/ Music is my dead end/ Music is my imaginary friend.”

Music keeps us company on long drives and while ignoring semi-acquaintances on the way to class, but if you aren’t careful with your list of favorite music on Facebook, it can keep you from getting a date (she listens to Celine Dion’s “Miracle” . voluntarily?).

If the only letters you see in the phrase “reading for pleasure” are “D-I-E, P-L-E-A-S-E,” and you simply don’t have the time to read books that make you look smarter than you are – I have a few suggestions in the Love It/Loathe It tradition. Really, they are all fine works of literature, but this way, if you don’t have time to read them, you will at least have all the information you need to pretend you did.

Last weekend, I (and apparently the rest of the movie-going public) went to see “Baby Mama” and, to my chagrin, I was pleasantly surprised. Although Tina Fey has consistently proven her power to successfully entertain the public with her written and performed contributions to “Saturday Night Live” and her series “30 Rock,” I wasn’t certain that “Baby Mama” would appeal to anyone in the 18-25 demographic.

Earth has had a pretty good week, but it has had better. On Sunday, revelers showed their appreciation for the Earth’s handiwork by partaking of a certain mind-altering leafy substance and on Tuesday, people showed their respect for the biosphere by reprimanding litterbugs as they attempted to toss empty bottles into trash cans.

I’m pretty picky about who I think is allowed to make fun of America. John Stewart: fine. Journalists: hard to tell when they’re joking. Foreigners: not cool. An American making fun of American stereotypes is funny (Dave Chappelle, for example), but anyone not lovingly satirizing the grand ol’ U.

For some, “blog” can be a four-letter-word (OK, it’s a four-letter word for everyone). The anti-bloggers wonder, “Why do people need to subject the rest of the world to their ‘profound’ insights regarding the universe when they could just get a roommate or a shrink like the rest of us?” Touché, blog naysayer, but not everyone has the privilege of having their “profound” insights published weekly in their college newspaper (wink).

It’s the beginning of the quarter, and (if your professors know what’s good for them) you probably have a little more time on your hands than you did a few weeks ago. Whatever will you do with the time? I have four ideas for you. If you’re anything like me, you have your few staple TV shows and then whatever happens to be on before or after.

The war on Iraq is good. No, the war on Iraq is bad (it’s worse than the butter is bad/butter is good debate). Honestly, I’ve probably changed my opinion about the United States’ military strong-arming of Iraq more than Hillary Clinton. But after viewing the short film “Una Causa Noble” at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival this weekend, I may have finally found my official position regarding the war that keeps on taking.