Gingrich describes Palestinians as 'invented people'

It just keeps getting better with Gingrich. First he wants to abolish child labor laws and now this --

“Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places.”

Dear Mr. Gingrich, considering that Pakistan and Bangladesh were once a part of India and did not exist prior to 1947 and 1971 respectively, does this mean that it's okay to view the Pakistani and Bengali citizens as invented people as well? Are you really that simple minded?

capricho no. 43

Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, 1797, etching. 

'Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of the arts and the source of her wonders'. - Francisco Goya

Candiru Catfish & Penises

So as I'm getting my Grey's Anatomy fix on Netflix, they mention something so absurd I had to Google it.

McSteamy and Burke reviewing an X-ray revealing the candiru catfish lodged into the patient's urethra.

From River Monsters: Candiru Catfish:

The Candiru is the star of an urban legend — which turns out to be true — of a man who was urinating in the Amazon River when a 6-inch Candiru swam up his urine stream into his penis. The fish remained there for days, until a surgeon was able to remove it.

 

What's a Prisoner Worth?

I have a stack of reading material (old copies of the New Yorker and Newsday, as well as a textbook on skin carcinomas I picked up from a local thrift store) piled on top of my toilet's tank, and I often earmark really good reads that I want to share with my friends. Sometimes, I'll post links to the articles on my Facebook (which go largely unnoticed in that platform of useless status updates about being hungover, heartbroken or some other uesless shit), but for the most part, I carry these notable reads on my mind and rarely ever get a chance to discuss them at length. But now I'm going to create a new label on Rough Draught called "poop reading material."

During my last bathroom session, I came across "What's a Prisoner Worth?" in the October 24 Newsday edition.

1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 1 Israeli. Does anyone else find this shocking? It never occurred to me to do research on the number of prisoners on either side.

Interesting points from the Wikipedia page on Palestinian Prisoners in Israel:

• "...as of 31 August 2011, there were 5,204 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, of them 272 in administrative detention."

• "...between the years after the Six Day War (1967) and the First Intifada (1988), more than 600,000 Palestinians were held in Israeli jails for a week or more."

• "Between October 2000 and April 2009, approximately 6,700 Palestinian children between the ages of 12 and 18 were arrested by the Israeli authorities, according to Defence for Children International's Palestine Section (DCI/PS). The number of Palestinian children held in detention and interrogation centers, as well as prisons, both in Occupied Palestinian Territory and inside of Israel, was 423 in 2009. In April 2010 the number was 280. DCI/PS reports that these detentions stand in contravention of international law."  

• Read their whole section on notable Prisoner Exchanges and Releases.

 
Now I know that there are two sides to this story (that's your cue to opine here), and I acknowledge that some of these prisoners were incarcerated because of acts of terrorism, etc., but take one second (or several) to think about this -- ONE THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS for ONE INDIVIDUAL. How did the Israeli government choose which prisoners deserved freedom?

Wikipedia (as well as various news articles and websites) might not be the greatest or most reliable source for my information, but I find that it quenches my thirst for a discourse on this topic. I'm getting tired of friends who tell me "Politics bore me." It's not boring, people! Wake up! Where is the compassion? These events are happening and being experienced by individuals, people with families, previous careers, and aspirations of all sorts.

Hello there. I went on a 2.5 year hiatus from this blog, but was encouraged to start contributing again as I read through old entries (thanks for posting that nostalgic status on Facebook, Kat). This space used to integrate so many different perspectives from college students aspiring to be writers, scientists, politicians and artists. It's a beautiful thing to fast forward and see where we all stand as we approach our mid twenties. Although the founders of this blog are rarely all in one room, let's keep this blog going because we were all an integral part of each others' lives during our most formative years -- we inspired each other, which made life so enjoyable back then (hey, guys, remember FtL! events?) and would certainly (at least in my opinion) serve as a much needed distraction from our current demanding lives.

And a fitting song for this entry, Youth Lagoon's "17":

 " Oh when I was seventeen, my mother said to me 'don't stop imagining, the day that you do is the day that you die' "

FYI: The Frenulum

Imagine accidentally tearing it?

Good Quote, Excellent Movie:

"Vice, Virtue. It's best not to be too moral. You cheat yourself out of too much life. Aim above morality. If you apply that to life, then you're bound to live life fully." - Maude from Harold and Maude

Artist of the Week

JULIAN SCHNABEL

Although Julian Schnabel's isn't exalted for his modesty,

"I'm the closest thing to Picasso that
you'll see in this *#@ life" (from Wikipedia),

his ingenious plate paintings, which integrate broken ceramic plates to create images with varying textures, are extraordinary. The novelty of Schnabel's work is reminiscent of Seurat's pointillism pieces, in which small dots of paint create an image, that strangely enough remind me of the discrete quantization of matter. Yes, I've been a chemistry student for far too long.

Not only does this man create eloquent fine art, but has also directed The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a French foreign film that I behoove you to watch at some point in your life. Here is a clip to catch your interest:

New Artist Alert: CLUES

Who remembers The Unicorns?

The group unfortunately disbanded in late 2004 leaving us eager for something equally fun and melodious. Luckily, Clues was formed in 2007 to excite our aural sensations.

Silverlake Steps - Clues - "Perfect Fit" from We Listen on Vimeo.

The band is made up of Alden Penner (former vocalist of The Unicorns), Brendan Reed (The Arcade Fire), Ben Borden, Lisa Gamble, and Nick Scribner, thereby creating a sound much akin to The Unicorns and Arcade Fire. Every song is engaging in its own manner for each has a similar melodic theme but evolves completely differently. Some of their stuff is geared towards the sappy-lyric obsessed emo kids (like me), while others are a bit more upbeat and danceable to (hey, I enjoy this too, don't call me an emo kid!). They will be in New York on June 17th, for which my friend Mike will be traveling to all the way from Rhode Island! (Nudge, I think all of you New Yorkers should make the subway trip). The show is $12 and available for purchase at: TicketWeb.

Yacki's Track to Success, Pt. I

My mom gave birth to a calf. I weighed around 10 lbs. when I was born and it was difficult being a fat kid.

About 1 year old and able to hold an adult sized bowl of food.

Everyone gawks at the grossly chunky kid. None of my friends made fun of me (to my face), but I clearly recall this one time that everyone laughed hysterically when my ("friend") Alexander pulled down my gym sweatpants in the middle of the playground thereby exposing my grandma underwear and chubby legs. It was traumatizing.

This is me at age six with my only true friend, Ramona.

All the boys saw me as just a friend, but I wanted more. You might be wondering what an eight year old might have possibly known about dating. Here's some background: I was pretty much raised by my grandmother, who religiously tunes into Canal 41: Univision, a Hispanic channel that broadcasts some of the raunchiest soap operas. So, every birthday, I'd blow out my candles and wish for my papi chulo. My wishes didn't manifest themselves for a long, long time.

Why? Probably because I was a fatty. I wore size 11 jeans (at 5'2" then) and would soothe my insecurities by calling myself a curvaceous Latina (the only visible curves were the rolls on my torso). I began identifying myself as wholly Peruvian, and denied my Japanese descent for a few months. That transient phase ended after graduating middle school and entering high school where I found some White friends. My obsession with Lil' Wayne was replaced with one for the front man of Dashboard Confessional, Chris Carrabba.

Left: Lil' Wayne, Right: Chris Carrabba.

In my freshmen year of high school, I started taking better care of myself. I discovered make up and no longer looked like a little Asian boy in a dress.

This is me looking like a little Asian boy in a dress.

This was around the same time that my first boyfriend and I got together. Luckily, he wasn't a douche bag about my weight. I ended up giving rice (a key part of the Hispanic diet) and lost a few pounds, but still weighed around 155 lbs. I was fat and happy throughout high school until we broke up after three years of dating. I became a health fanatic and dropped to 130 lbs.

Unfortunately, the healthy mindset dissipated shortly after stepping into my current relationship. Luckily, my weight hasn't varied much from 130 lbs., but I'm FREAKING OUT now that summer's right around the corner. This happens every so often, especially when I want to procrastinate from things I should be focusing on (i.e. studying for my physical chemistry final that is in three days).

My goal for the next few weeks is to go down to 120 lbs.

My current statistics are as follows:
Height: 5'4"
Current Weight: 131 lbs.
Goal Weight: 120 lbs.
Frame: Medium

I have been keeping track of my calories for the past five days, and it was incredibly difficult for the first "three day hump" because I accidentally consumed a 700 calorie Mango Margarita from Blockheads that left me starving for actual nutrition. I intend on sharing some of my irrational fears, but mostly (I hope) interesting nutrition and biochemical facts with you guys.

Today's Lesson:
In my opinion, drinking light beer is futile. I discovered Heineken Light a few months ago through my best friend, and it was love at first taste, which was odd because I never really liked the taste of beer. However, Heinken Light had this almost soda like taste, which amused my soda-loving taste buds. Now, if you're out and about, dancing and drinking, you tend to want to get more and more inebriated as the night progresses. So, you purchase as many tasty beverages as necessary to get to this point. This amounts to several gratuitous dollars spent because turns out Heineken Light only has 3.5% alcohol content! This is false advertising, if you ask me. I can consume almost the same amount of ethanol from certain yogurts. So, go for shots, ladies. One shot (typically 1.5 oz) of most vodkas, gins, and whiskeys is about 95 calories and about 40% alcohol. You would have to purchase two Heineken Lights to consume this amount of alcohol, which is costing you about 200 calories, $14 (if each beer costs $6, +$1 tip/drink), a bloated tummy, and another fat roll. This applies to most light beers, which range from 3.5%-4% alcohol content.

Cute Couple of the Week

Dolores Fonzi & Gael Garcia Bernal

Celebrity SCOOP: They just had a baby.

Oh, Gael...you're so drea...*drool*...I mean, congrats on having a beautiful baby boy!

I love good lyrics.

Guys, I'd rather do anything than my lab report about a particle in a box...

So, I'm going to post some of my favorite lyrics.

Yelle - Tu Es Beau
"Tu es beau mais qu'est ce que t'es laid." - (Fr.: You are beautiful, but that is what you're ugly for.)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Runaway
"Can't help looking back. Highways flew by. Run, run, run away. No sense of time. Want you to stay. Want to keep you inside."

Lykke Li - Tonight
"Dry my eyes so you won't know. Dry my eyes so I won't show. I know you're right behind me. And don't you let me go, let me go tonight. Don't you let me go."

The Get Up Kids - Long Goodnight
"It comes with no reply. Hold on too tight. I hang on every word. If it all ended tonight, you know that I wouldn’t mind. Back to the good old times."

Au Revoir Simone - All or Nothing
"Everywhere is somewhere, baby. So can't you see we're in the middle of somewhere? Nowhere just means knowing nothing of where you've been or where you're going."

The Parenthetical Girls - Love Connection
"Chapped lips, tongue kissed, insert expletive, fluids of a summer night. With slight duress, forced imperatives.......So take my lip between your teeth and taste me by devouring."

My rant...

Why is it that when one of your cavity fillings comes out and you don't have health insurance you either have the option of A) letting your tooth decay until the pain becomes so unbearable that you will (A1) lose your tooth or (A2) need a route canal (an $800-$1000 procedure), or option B) paying hundreds of dollars (~$200-$400) for a gratuitous amount of X-rays and a single tooth filling? Why is it that today in America we don't have universal health care, and the mere mention of it drives some people to heavily politicize the situation? HEY, I simply need health care! I don't care if you think associating universal health care with socialism will discourage me from bitching. If you think universal health care, "A.K.A." socialism, is bad, I'd rather just be considered Canadian. It's been months since I went to the doctor. My lungs are growing weaker every single time I get sick. I've been sick three times in the past 9 months, each time with bronchial infections, and in only one instance was I actually able to take antibiotics (which cost me $120 for a 10 day supply). I don't shit money, and my job won't offer me health insurance because I'm a motherfucking intern, a part-timer that doesn't get all of the benefits of a multi-billion dollar company. UGH! The frustration.

Oh, and don't get me started with the motherfucking MTA. They're vicious with their fare hikes. It seems it was only months ago that they raised the monthly unlimited from $76 to $81, but now $103? For fucking Christ's sake, so many people have been laid off, and as aforementioned, I have so many expenses as it is. Let's pray to God that the fare hike proposal is not passed tomorrow.

Should I just move to Canada? Would they welcome me?

FYI

The L Magazine and Regent Releasing cordially invite you and a guest to a special advance screening of THE SONG OF SPARROWS, Tuesday, March 31st at 7p at a Manhattan theater. E-mail: Songofsparrows@thelmagazine.com with your full name.

Neue Gallery

A few weeks ago, my friend and I went to the Neue Gallery, a neglected German/Austrian museum that is located just a few steps away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was my first time seeing a work by Klimt in person:

Gustav Klimt, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907,

oil, silver and gold on canvas.

It's about 3 feet tall and breathtaking. The brushstrokes are so thick that you can imagine the artist standing in front of the the canvas.

I discovered another artist by the name of Egon Schiele. It's surprising how much work he produced within his short life span (334 oil paintings, 2,503 drawings). Take a look at one of his pieces that I found particularly good:

Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait with Arm Twisted Above Head
1910, watercolor and charcoal on paper.

A majority of his work is extremely lewd, and some of his portraits even make you wonder if he had incestuous relations with his younger sister, but it's his use of colors that evoke this sense of morbidity, which for some reason reminds me that I'm flawed.

Jenny Holzer: PROTECT PROTECT

I'm not a big fan of modern art, but this exhibit blew my mind. Both her innovative medium (LED screens) and writing are incredibly engaging. And her Iraq war inspired LEDs and portraits leave you questioning whether the material you've just been exposed to is factual. I highly recommend you visit her special exhibit at the Whitney Museum, which ends May 31st.

Jenny Holzer, Green Purple Cross, 2008, and Blue Cross, 2008.

Win of the Week

Rocks. Every kid had a different fascination. Mine was rocks. I remember the thrill of purchasing rocks and adding them to my collection. I slowly lost interest in the collection and lost a majority of my rocks. My fascination was reinvigorated after walking through a collection at the New York State Museum in Albany, NY, which is where Arvind pointed out this beauty:

(Coming Tonight)

If you're interested about how rocks fluoresce, click:

BAND ALERT

Akron/Family's "Ed Is A Portal" mixes a variety of genres that keeps you wondering what's next. Enjoy.

Akron/Family - Ed Is A Portal (mp3)

The Parenthetical Girls

Disclaimer: If you're Aileen Olmedo, then do not continue reading.

I don't mean to ruin the ending of Anna Karenina, but I remember sitting in my Tolstoy versus Dostoevsky class and practically 90% of the class already knowing it. I felt stupid, so I sat there quietly and pretended to know it.

Basically, I came across this song on hypem.com, and not only was the vocalist's voice interesting, but the lyrics were fucking amazing:

And when they pulled you from the tracks / Your body splayed and split / Your chest flushed bright as it was in life / When they pulled you from the tracks, mindful of your separate halves / Your face relaxed lying flat upon your back / Body brushed beneath such crushing weight / Stolen in your awkward stage that you never would escape / The same state that decorates your chest and face with a scarlet mark of shame when you'd stutter out of place / And when they pulled you from the tracks your eyes gone milky white, strangely alive.

These lines remind me so much of when I started Part Seven of Anna Karenina. I remember reading these lines and crying so hard:

A little muzhik, muttering to himself, was working over some iron. And the candle by the light of which she had been reading that book filled with anxieties, deceptions, grief and evil, flared up brighter than ever, lit up her all that had once been in darkness, sputtered, grew dim, and went out forever.

The Parenthetical Girls - The Weight She Fell Under (mp3)

I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.

FYI

The L Magazines and Fox Searchlight Pictures are giving you a chance to win a screening pass for two to see "MISS MARCH", Thursday, March 12th at 7 PM at a Manhattan theater. To enter, send an e-mail with your full name, date of birth, and phone number to MISSMARCH@THELMAGAZINE.COM.

The L Magazine and Regent Releasing cordially invite you and a guest to a special advance screening of "TOKYO SONATA", Tuesday, March 10th at 7 PM at a Manhattan theater. To enter, e-mail: TOKYO@THELMAGAZINE.COM with your full name.


(I'd suggest you give a fake number or your home phone number because it's questionable why they would need your number in the first place.)