Thursday April 30th

Hello Readers,
Two classes, one TIRP session, one take home final, a 10 page paper and three exams left. That seemed like a lot less until I wrote it down. But have no fear, you are all more important that school work could ever be so a steady stream of blogtasticness will remain through finals week. Which also means that I have exactly two weeks to figure out how to make a sustainable summer income off of this blog. Given our recent press in major publications, my nomination for a Pulitzer Prize, and now, a Nobel Peace Prize nod, this shouldn't be too difficult. Nevertheless, spread the word.

Well since its been a boring week, I don't have much personal material of note. Headlines are dominated by swine flu and the media has pretty much given up on reporting on anything else. I'm kind of out of material. But as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you nothing, talk about some random things that no one cares about and make them care, not because they really care but just because they want something to read. That's what I live my life by. So that brings us to a brand new Daily Topic which I will potentially turn into a series: US PRESIDENTS THAT YOU DON'T KNOW

ZACHARY TAYLOR:


I know that when you hear the name Zachary Taylor, you probably think "I didn't know that James Taylor had an even less-famous younger brother." But when I hear the name Zachary Taylor, I immediately think, "of course, 'Old Rough and Ready,' the 12th President." This could be because I am vastly more intelligent than you. It is more likely because I have a computer and Wikipedia. But it's most likely because I have a deep respect for the office of the presidency and take the time to know everything about each and every one. Except for the second Grover Cleveland. But anyways, Zachary Taylor, 12th President, was a revered and respected military general who served predominantly in the Mexican-American War. Although handwriting, spelling and grammar were "crude and unrefined throughout his life," he was elected President in 1848 as a member of the Whig Party. However, Taylor served only for a year, for as General MacArthur once said, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. Or die a sudden death due to gastroenteritis." BUT WAIT. There are still doubts about how this great President met his demise. Some historians speculate that Taylor was poisoned while sampling food on the Fourth of July. So why aren't people more interested in how Taylor died? Because he was replaced by Millard Fillmore and we all know how that turned out.
Hail to the Chief,
-ROF

Daily Food: Subway. Eat Fresh.

Daily Activity: Phone Rescue

Daily Song: Hail to the Chief

Daily Attire: Party Shirt

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Heavy Fighting Enters Third Day in Pakistan

Daily News No One Should Care About: "Worlds Largest" Roadside Attractions Lure Gawkers

Daily Life Goal: Become a President You DO Know About

Daily Complaint: I Got Hit With a Waterballoon

Daily Drink: Dr. Pepper

Daily Studies: U.S. History

Wednesday April 23

Welcome,
It's Wednesday and the last week of classes at USC is half over. Finals are a week away and the impending sense of, "I never learned this," is upon us. Instead of attempting to gain the knowledge I should already have, I'm here, talking to you. If you are an expert in the field of international relations, geology or introductory Spanish, please finish reading and then contact me for a crash course. Seeing as I have spent a total of 3 hours today reviewing for my geology final and there have been extremely important discoveries in the field of science today, the Daily Topic seems pretty appropriate: THE UNIVERSE

It seems a little broad, I know, but I mean the Universe isn't THAT big. Okay so maybe it is. And maybe it contains everything ever. But scientists today say that they have discovered...(wait for it)...THE OLDEST EVER OBJECT IN THE UNIVERSE. Some people may find this amusing at best and cast it aside. But stop and consider that statement. In the vast unknown that may or may not have limits, scientists have claimed to find the oldest thing ever. Cool? Sure. Extremely arrogant and hubristic? Definitely. The object discovered was the explosion of a 13 billion year old star, which scientists believe to be the approximate age of the universe. But as a semester-long student of geology, I'm going to step up and call BS. Sure, they have all kinds of "computers" and "software," but these numbers are "theories" at best. Any 9 year old kid with a telescope could pull 13 billion out of a hat. To claim that we have found the oldest of any of the trillions and kajillions of objects in the universe is downright disrespectful to the many of things in the universe that are older. I know for a fact that object GRB 48295723 is celebrating its 14th billion birthday on Saturday. I know. I was invited.

But now that we're on the topic of the universe, prepare for your mind to be blown and your world to be rocked by the theory I'm about throw at you. Dark = Light. Let it sink in. Picture yourself looking up at the sky at night. There are a bunch of stars but mostly the sky is black. But then think about how far the universe expands (forever, duh). Then think about all of the stars everywhere in the universe. Then think if you could see them all at once. They would all overlap and the sky would be completely composed of stars. So when you look at the dark night sky, you're looking at trillions of stars so far away that their light hasn't gotten here yet. Ergo, the blackness of the night sky is actually, in fact, light. And that, my friends, is real science.
Q.E.D.
-ROF

Daily Food: Chipotle Steak Burrito

Daily Activity: Water-Balloon Launching

Daily Song: Attention Span - Rebelution

Daily Attire: Rainbows

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: U.S. Economy in Second Straight Quarter of Steep Decline

Daily News No One Should Care About: Scientists Spot Oldest Ever Object in Universe

Daily Life Goal: Find a Summer Job

Daily Complaint: The Economy

Daily Drink: Miller Light

Daily Studies: Geology Review

Tuesday April 28

Dear TDR Enthusiasts,
Today is an important day in the blogging world. The Daily Routine has officially existed for one week in the blogosphere. And in that time it has amassed 11 followers and tallied over (okay, exactly) 100 views (okay it was 99 but that's close enough right?). It has even been featured on the cover of Time Magazine and the New York Times says that TDR is "mediocre at best." I have even received a nomination for the first Pulitzer Prize in blogging. It's been a good week. And as much as I want to thank you (yes, you reader) for your support, I have to thank myself more for coming up with such a brilliant idea of how to spend my time. Today was an important day in world news, from low-flying Air Force Ones terrorizing New York City, to Arlen Specter becoming a Democrat, from coupon clippers to a 30 pound, cell-phone-swallowing cod. But one story that went relatively unnoticed is one that hits close to home for me. Which brings us to today's topic: CENSORSHIP

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 yesterday that federal regulators can clamp down on so-called "fleeting expletives" on television. In other words, whenever a character in a show or even an athlete or performer experiences a moment of frustration, pain, emotion or disappointment, they are legally forbidden from using any kind of expletive on national networks. To quote Bono, "really, f---ing brilliant." I join Justice John Paul Stevens in his dissent, in which he presented this statement: "As any golfer who has watched his partner shank a short approach knows, it would be absurd to accept the suggestion that the resultant four-letter word uttered on the golf course describes sex or excrement and is therefore indecent." Bravo, sir. I can attest from my round of golf last weekend with Justice Stevens, that his slew of curse words were by no means meant to be indecent (although the things he was saying about Scalia may have been).

But while this decision presents controversy to the nation, it does not come close to the injustice suffered by your very own yours truly. After updating this blog yesterday, I hit "post" only to find that my network access was unavailable. Moments later, I received a notification from the USC Information Technology Services informing me that because of abnormal activity, my IP address had been blocked from the USC network. When I called, they informed me that my computer had been scanning the network in a way consistent with that of a computer with a virus. They asked me what I had been doing at the time in which this activity had occured. I assured them that I was most assuredly NOT using a program called Limewire to download potentially copyrighted music. They reluctantly complied to my demands of having my internet back. But I think we all know what is really going on here. Apple computers don't get viruses. This was censorship at its worst. As you may have noticed, yesterday's Daily Complaint was USC Wireless, due to their incredibly slow and unreliable connections. Clearly, USC took offense to this and went through extraordinary lengths to preserve their cover up of how bad their wireless network actually is. These lengths included censoring this blog and directly violating my First Amendment rights. I have only one response to you, USC: F--- You.
You're Welcome,
-ROF


Daily Food: In N Out Double-Double

Daily Activity: Celebrating TDR's Success

Daily Song: Matisyahu - Message In a Bottle

Daily Attire: Sweaters

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Sri Lanka Denies Swedish Foreign Minister a Visa

Daily News No One Should Care About: Coupon Queen Saves 97% on Groceries

Daily Life Goal: Save 98% on Groceries with Coupons

Daily Complaint: ITS shutting off my wireless

Daily Drink: Champagne, to celebrate my success

Daily Studies: Espanol, para mi oral entrevista.

Monday April 27

Good Afternoon,
Its been a slow Monday. I was able to drag myself out of bed for my fifty minute, 11 o'clock class. O'clock is a strange term which I think goes largely unnoticed in every day life. It turns out that it is a contraction of "of the clock." Sensible enough. Anyways, I have a long and uneventful day ahead of me. I could play some Tiger Woods or maybe do some in depth research about South Africa's nuclear history, or maybe even play chess against myself. We'll see what happens. I was surfing today's new stories for potential news for my Daily News Everyone/No One Should Care About and I happened upon a remarkable story which also happens to be today's Daily Topic: 5 U.S. CONGRESSMEN ARRESTED.
Yes you read that correctly. I too was astonished to find this headline hiding between the absurd amount of swine flu stories. Intrigued, I read on. This morning at a protest for Darfur at the Sudanese embassy in Washington D.C., three congressmen and two congresswomen crossed a police line in an act of defiance in hopes of raising awareness of this important world crisis. After repeated warnings from police, the lawmakers crossed the line and are being charged with misdemeanor trespassing. Congressman John Lewis of Georgia gave a statement while in handcuffs, "You have to find a way to dramatize the issue...this is another step toward helping to free the children of Darfur and put an end to the genocide, to the violence; crimes against humanity." Police then removed his shoelaces and belt so that the elected official would not kill himself or others in the transport van to county jail. Although some may find this act of defiance trivial, I applaud the efforts of these Representatives and have a deep admiration for elected officials standing up for a cause that they believe in.
But the question is, who will know. [insert rant about media here] Since the beginning of the Darfur conflict in 2003, there have been an estimated 450,000 deaths in that region and some source say that this could even be largely underestimated. That comes out to an average of 250 deaths PER DAY. Avian Flu and SARS combined since their outbreak have caused 556 deaths. Now swine flu has caused about 149 deaths. And what are the new source websites mobbed with headlines of? Certainly not the deaths in Darfur or even the protests of five U.S. Representatives, but swine flu. On the New York Times home page, there are NINE seperate headlines about swine flu and not one about the Darfur protest in Washington. To me, this is inexcusable. Our country, the world, and especially the media needs to get its priorities in order.
I'm out,
-ROF

Daily Food: Egg and Cheese Sandwich on an English Muffin

Daily Activity: Geology

Daily Song: Rush - Tom Sawyer

Daily Attire: LL Bean Slippers

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: U.S. Lawmakers Arrested in Darfur Protest at Sudan Embassy

Daily News No One Should Care About: Assessing the Danger of New Flu

Daily Life Goal: To Get 100 views on the Daily Routine before tomorrow

Daily Complaint: USC Wireless

Daily Drink: Red Bull Cola

Daily Studies: International Relations

Daily Movie: The Big Wednesday

Sunday April 26

Greetings Friends,
Because I have exorbitant amounts of time on my hands on this fine Sunday afternoon, and since today is especially uneventful, you are the lucky soon-to-be reader of the unprecedented Daily Routine Double-Blog. In the past week I have come to several conclusions. First that writing and maintaining a blog is some of the most stressful and demanding work that I have faced since, well, ever. Second, that I could make up half of the things that I say here and you may never know. Third, I do make up half of the things that I say on here. But not that. Or that. Lastly, The price of fame is a high one. And what with the development of this blog and my moments of fame at the LMFAO concert, I have been struggling with that price. Regardless, [insert shameless plug for blog here, then weep while knowing that no one will regard it with any sincerity] please keep the fame coming. Tell your friends. Anyhoo, without further ado, lets begin.
Weekend Recap: I awoke on Saturday, still basking in the glory of the concert the night before. I was immediately reminded, for I had slept in the frames given to me by the one and only RedFoo. I dressed, and headed to the football scrimmage to see the Trojans take on their most feared and toughest opponent: themselves. As predicted, however, the Trojans came out victorious. After a Chipotle lunch, I returned home for several hours of rigorous Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 training. As the hours grew later and our hunger more prevalent, the elderly gentleman who inhabited our apartment last semester prepared us a feast of beer-battered halibut and seasoned steak fries. It tasted like...winning gold. We then entertained a few guests with rousing games of charades and several rounds of sparkling water. After a late night snack of Taco Bell, we retired to our quarters. And that brings us to today. After baking a confetti cake and several forkfuls of frosting, I retreated to the roof to perfect the bronzeness of my skin. And that brings us right up to this very second. And I've decided that you (yes you [insert own name here]) are lucky enough to not only have a Double-Blog but you get the opportunity to be interactive and give your own responses to today's topic. Which brings us to today's topic: WHAT ANIMAL WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

I don't know about you but this is a topic that I have thought long and hard about. I've bounced back and forth between choices, from dolphin, to penguin, to monkey. But in the end, there is only one choice that I can bring myself to make: male lion. It could be my early exposure to "The Lion King," or it could be my week of safari-ing in South Africa when I was nine. Or it could be the fact that the male lion is the single greatest animal ever to walk the planet. In addition to being the largest of the big cats (or all cats), you can't beat a cat that has a mane and whose roar can be heard from up to five miles away. While males are the leaders of the lion pride, they are not expected to hunt yet are given the first opportunity to eat at a new kill. The lionesses raise cubs and hunt for food while the male serves strictly as a leader and an intimidator. In addition, lions have no specific mating season and will forgo eating and mate between 20 and 40 times a day when the females are in heat. According to Wikipedia, lions also enjoy blogging in their spare time. In sum, while being incredibly lazy, lions are able to reap all the benefits of life that an animal could need. Endless amounts of red meat, women and respect.
Roar,
-ROF


Daily Food: Confetti Cake with Confetti and Chocolate Frosting

Daily Activity: Baking and Bronzing

Daily Song: Slightly Stoopid - Closer to the Sun

Daily Attire: Suits

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: North Korea Says It Has Restarted Nuclear Work

Daily News No One Should Care About: U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency Over Swine Flu

Daily Life Goal: Backflip on Skis

Daily Complaint: Its 20 degrees hotter in Andover than in L.A.

Daily Drink: Water

Daily Studies: N/A

Daily Movie:

Saturday April 25

Hello TDR Faithful,

Please accept my most sincere apologies for the tardiness of this post. However, as it is 11:57 pm, I have successfully continued my world-record streak of daily postings. Thank god for technicalities. So in the second night of the college weekend, we had to make the most of the day. After attending a ski and snowboard rail jam with prime seating on the SAE roof, we proceeded to perfect the art of frame-making while preparing ourselves for the one and only LMFAO, live, in concert. Which brings me to the topic of the day: THE LMFAO CONCERT.
This was the highlight of my day, weekend, week, possibly life. For those of you that don't know, LMFAO is an electronic group composed of the esteemed RedFoo and SkyBlu esq. Their most famous works of art include, YES!, I'm in Miami Bitch, and Get Crazy. They are also known for their exotic dress and stage antics. And of their wardrobe, perhaps the best accessory is: the frames. For the sadly misinformed, frames are generally colorful and loud sunglasses with the lenses popped out. Knowing this, before the concert, I carefully crafted my own pair with electrical tape. We then departed for the concert and managed to elbow to a position in the second row. Before the concert started, the band approached the audience and caught a glimpse of my frames. I handed mine to him and requested a trade. He complied. I am now the proud owner of RedFoo's frames. And he a proud owner of mine. My life is complete.

The Transaction Taking Place


Daily Food: Beer-Battered Halibut

Daily Activity: Making Some Sick Frames

Daily Song: LMFAO - Yes

Daily Attire: Frames

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Rwanda Suspends BBC Radio Service

Daily News No One Should Care About: Bull Runs Loose in Supermarket

Daily Life Goal: To Walk on the Notre Dame Football Team

Daily Complaint: Its 20 degrees hotter in Andover than in L.A.

Daily Drink: Harp

Daily Studies: Sunglass Design

Daily Movie: Rudy

Friday April 24

Greetings My Fellow Americans. It's finally Friday and I'm pretty sure I've set a new world record in the blogging world with four consecutive posts. Go me! So last night was the beginning of the weekend on the college calendar and I sought out to unwind after my final Spanish quiz of the year. Muy divertido. The esteemed institution of Pi Kappa Alpha was hosting a modest gathering of a dozen or so students with a "Dazed and Confused" theme. After a few glasses of wine and some hors d'oeurves, I discussed various topics of relevant world events, fine art, and dining with several of the party-goers. However, in accordance with the theme of the party, one topic that I conversed at length about was one of my favorites: 1970's MUSIC.

I consider Dazed and Confused to be not only an excellent movie and a social commentary on coming of age of American youth, but it also has what I consider to be one of the best soundtracks of all time. From the opening scene with Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" playing to Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel Like We Do," and Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy," Dazed and Confused captures the music that defined this generation. As a child of the seventies (okay child of children of the seventies), I have a love for this music. While I can never deny that the 1960s was the best single decade for music perhaps ever, the 1970s represented the last great epoch of rock and roll. Rock had its dying gasps in the 80s and had a fractured and largely unpopular (in the most musical sense of the word) following through the 1990s and 2000s. But while the 60s represented a revolution of rock music, the 70s represented rock at its best: aged to perfection. Often, 70s music is hidden in the shadow of the late 60s, especially 69's Woodstock. But the number of bands (some of the best of all time) who reached their prime during the 70s is remarkable. The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Cream, Simon and Garfunkle, Santana, Van Morrison, The Jackson Five, Led Zeppelin, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Foghat. Keep on Reading and Keep on Rocking,

Check ya laterrrrrr,

-ROF

Daily Food: N/A

Daily Activity: Party at the Moontower

Daily Song: Scarlet Begonias - The Grateful Dead

Daily Attire: Bleached Jeans

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: North Korea Decides to Indict 2 US Reporters

Daily News No One Should Care About: Stripper Stands in at School Reunion

Daily Life Goal: Play Golf in Scotland

Daily Complaint: The Digression of Music

Daily Drink: Ahhh Sixer

Daily Studies: None... Clearly

Daily Movie: Dazed and Confused

Thursday April 23rd

Hello TDR Faithful. Welcome to today's installment of the Daily Routine. Its day three and I've amassed an incredible cult following. 8 whole followers. I don't know if you can have anything other than a whole follower. Probably not. Anyways, lets keep the ball rolling and keep this blog's following growing exponentially. I've thought long and hard about what I'm going to write about today. That's actually a lie. I'm still talking because I haven't decided on a topic for today's discussion. Which brings us to today's discussion topic: PIRATES.

Pirates: the pillagers and plunderers of the high seas. The United States arraigned a Somali man/boy yesterday for the first time since 1885 with Section 1651 of Title 18 of US Federal Law. The statue states: Whoever, on the high seas, commits the crime of piracy as defined by the law of nations, and is afterwards brought into or found in the United States, shall be imprisoned for life. Some people are focused on the actual age of this piratical fiend and if he should be charged as an adult or not. I think we have more deep and pressing concerns. Where did the pirates go for the last 125 years? When did the transformation take place from the swashbuckling, rum-swigging, peg-legged, parrot carrying pirates of old to these Somalian teenagers with AK-47s? This seems trivial and silly until you think of it. Were there pirates in the early 1900s plundering steamships? And more importantly, when did the parrots and eye patches go away? Also, why the recent insurgency? I can think of only one answer: FACEBOOK. In a recent Facebook development, the website allowed users to make their language of choice, "Pirate". From then on when users log in, their profile and all links are in pirate language. As we can see, this seemingly harmless feature has had devastating effects on the youth of Somalia. It has caused them to turn to the life of piracy while taking on a modern approach to the art of plunder. So thanks Facebook, for putting United States ships and captains in danger. Savvy?

Daily Food: Oranges, to prevent scurvy

Daily Activity: Tiger Woods PGA Golf 2007

Daily Song: A Pirate's Life is the Life for Me

Daily Attire: Eye Patches

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Pirate Suspect Charged as Adult in New York

Daily News No One Should Care About: Stunt Guy to Ride Coaster for 18 Hours

Daily Life Goal: Sail a Pirate Ship

Daily Complaint: Spanish Quiz

Daily Drink: A Bottle o' Rum

Daily Studies: La Comida en Espanol

Fair Winds!
-ROF

Wednesday April 22

Hello Dedicated Followers. Happy Earth Day. Its day two in the blogging world and I've been closely studying the ins and outs of the blogging community for 12 straight hours. Its another sunny but more bearable day temperature-wise, however I promise not to abandon you for more exciting outdoor fads like parkour. Also, due to popular request, I have decided to actually write more in addition to my Daily facts.
So here is today's Daily Topic: SWORDS. While searching for today's Daily News Story No One Should Care About, I happened upon a story from my hometown, beloved and faltering newspaper, The Boston Globe. "Man Tries to Rob Dry Cleaners with Sword." According to the police, a man dressed as a ninja entered a dry cleaner and brandishing a sword (sheath as well), and demanded money from the cash register. Now normally I would consider this a story that no one should care about, however, as I read, I came to a realization: This is something that everyone should care about. So I did a little background research on the history of the sword and tried to determine why you don't hear more news stories like this. I mean, I guess a sword is a little bit harder to conceal but it seems like a sacrifice that many would be willing to make in order to say, "this is a robbery" and pull a glistening sword out of a sheath. Well, it turns out that (if this is possible), swords are even cooler than I thought.
Swords date back to the third millennium BC. Empires and people throughout the world used swords in battle, from the Japanese katana or samurai sword, to the Scottish claymore, to the Arabian scimitar. However, with the development of modern weapons, swords fell by the wayside. But the sword has always remained the weapon of choice for the most noble. British Major Jack Churchill stormed the beaches at Normandy and led the charge with his sword at the ready. So why can't the sword make a comeback? George Lucas sure thought it could and it's only a matter of time before some MIT engineering major invents a real life light saber. And the noble sword users always named their sword. Arondight was the sword of the great knight Lancelot, King Arthur's Excalibur is perhaps the most famous sword and Naegling was Beowulf's legendary sword. Now there exists another great sword in history: Galaxy, the great sword of the masked ninja of Weymouth, MA. And so I digress.
Thanks for reading fellow citizens. Godspeed.

Daily Word: Sword n. a weapon having various forms but consisting typically of a long, straight or slightly curved blade, sharp-edged on one or both sides, with one end pointed and the other fixed in a hilt or handle. Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE sweord; c. D zwaard, G Schwert, ON sverth

Daily Food: Cold Papa John's Pizza

Daily Activity: Recycling

Daily Song: Give Peace a Chance - John Lennon

Daily Attire: Anything made out of hemp and Birkenstocks

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: Man Tries to Rob Dry Cleaners with Sword

Daily News No One Should Care About: 700 Pound Woman Seeks Help

Daily Life Goal: Own a Sword

Daily Complaint: Geology 105 Pop Quiz

Daily Drink: Antipodes New Zealand Artesian Water Certified Carbon Net Zero in Recyclable Glass Bottle

I'm open to suggestions about more Daily categories. Help a blogger out.

Faithfully,
-ROF

Tuesday April 21

Welcome. I recently decided to try this thing called "blogging" or perhaps "jogging" it could be a soft "j". I apologize if you haven't seen Anchorman and I have already lost you. Don't give up on me yet. It's hot here in LA today so I decided to pursue some indoor activities to stay cool eg. dominoes, laundry, jai lai, meditation, and blogging. I'm still figuring out what exactly people manage to write about all the time but here we go.

The Daily Word: blog: v. To write entries in, add material to, or maintain a weblog.

The Daily Food: soup d'jour

The Daily Activity: blogging, jogging, logging, dogging (didn't know that was a real word but look it up it's a good one), fogging

The Daily Song: Summer Breeze - The Isley Brothers

The Daily Attire: Vineyard Vines Boardshorts

Daily News Everyone Should Care About: South Korea Frees Blogger Who Angered Government

Daily News No One Should Care About: Second Claim of Paternity for President of Paraguay

The Daily Life Goal: Start a Blog

The Daily Complaint: It's Really Hot