rilo kiley, pinkberry, and homesickness

I went to go see Rilo Kiley play Webster Hall last week–they were excellent. I was a little anxious since I can’t decide whether or not I like their new stuff. No, I like their new stuff, but not as much as their older stuff, it’s much more disco-esque and poppy, which, if it’s the direction the band is going in, is totally all right by me. I was even more nervous because the two openers were pretty anti-climatic. In any case, Rilo played an excellent mixture of old songs, new songs, songs from Blake and Jenny’s solo records, a cover. I’m sure the set list is floating online somewhere, but my favourite moment was when Blake and Jenny played “With Arms Outstretched” and had, literally, all of us singing along with them. I was actually pleasantly shocked at how on key we all were! That moment ranks as one of the highest in my paltry gig-going history, along with Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out” and Amy Millan’s cover of “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.”

Liz bought a cute halter that was made by the lady who makes clothes for Jenny Lewis, and I thought that was pretty damn cool, and wished that there were some in my size.

Did I mention that Liz almost burned down my kitchen that day? We were trying to cook, and failed.

She still owes me $4 and ice cream. I want ice cream so badly.

Speaking of “ice cream,” Dana came to visit Matt and I from RISD yesterday and I discovered the delights of pinkberry, a non-fro-yo place that’s opening up two blocks away from my building that is supposed to cure (cause? which is it?) cancer. Yum, it was like getting green tea ice cream, and I adore green tea ice cream, except not really ice cream and not really fro-yo, with lots of yummy fresh fruit.

In other news, I’m terribly homesick. I really want to go home next weekend, as my dad’s returning from China. I want to be able to talk to my brother about books and school and life since he’s just awful on the phone, and I want to go grocery shopping with my mom and watch football with my dad. Also, it doesn’t help that I have absolutely nothing in my fridge since I ate the last of everything for lunch just now.

please, just shut the hell up

So the media is having a field day calling Columbia a terrorist-loving, asshat-hoarding, germ of the Ivy League (not that I particularly care about the last bit), for inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak on our campus on Monday. I, unfortunately, will be in a five-hour chemistry lab. Look, I understand completely that he is a hateful, vile, fascist, misguided, cruel, sexist, anti-semitic, idiotic farce of a president. Yes, I know he denies the Holocaust ever existed, doesn’t believe in human rights, supports Navvab Safavi and more likely than not cheated his way into the presidency. He is a reprehensible character, certainly.

So of course, aside from the Zionists, Mayor Bloomberg, John McCain, Mitt Romney and a bunch of other pseudo-intellectuals, this incident just gives the media another excuse to rag on Columbia. We’re apparently a bunch of worthless cheaters, whiny prestigious crybabies who want some fame with a world leader, sex-starved nymphomaniacs, and spoiled brats. So nothing new. But this time, just look at the headlines:

Columbia’s disgrace
Columbia, the Germ of the Ivies
Terrorist Leader Welcomed to USA
Rafael Medoff: Columbia “Invites Hitler to Campus” –As it Did in 1933

So if all those people above can exercise their right to free speech, I can exercise mine as well: kindly shut the hell up if you do not have a rational, objective argument.

I’ve always been an advocate of free speech, intelligent debate and discussion, without which no progress can occur. Wouldn’t we be mighty hypocritical if we tell Middle Eastern countries that they need to have more freedoms like freedom of speech, and then not let the President of Iran have such? We have people crying out from all sides, shouting this, shouting that, accusing the board of trustees that they’re rampant terrorist enablers and making a huge fuss. Frankly, from what I hear, Ahmadinejad is actually a pretty crappy speaker, and with his illogical and spiteful views he’s bound to have terrible arguments. PrezBo has already said that half of the time alloted will be Q&A, so I’m hoping Columbia students will get over themselves and show up to the game, ready to play hardball, instead of holding this ridiculous rally I see posters flying about anywhere. I bet money these answers will be all over the Internet, exposed for everyone to see.

Brian Lehrer on NPR had a couple of great things to say, that I agree with wholeheartedly:

Some people ask, “Would you have let Hitler debate whether there should be a Holocaust?” Actually, I wish there would have been the chance. Most people learned about the Holocaust after the fact. If Hitler had to defend the plan, maybe global outrage would have stopped or lessened it. What happened without that debate certainly could not have been worse.

Four: Are we so insecure about the wrongheadedness of Islamist extremism or Holocaust denial that we think they can’t be discredited in debate? To Ahmidenijad’s core supporters, he would win just as many points by being denied the forum as for anything he says in it. For everyone else, I can’t wait to see the YouTube videos that’ll be posted for all the world to see of Ahmidenijad evading the specific questions from the Columbia crowd.

And Five. The United States stands to look strong, not weak, by showing the world our values: seeking truth and accountability based on FREEDOM of speech, not denial of speech. Denial, as we know, is Ahmidenijad’s claim to fame.

I am sick of trying to explain that inviting a speaker does not necessarily mean endorsing his views. It is true the gates will be locked and security will be much tighter than usual on campus on Monday, but I feel like security is mostly trying to keep outsiders from storming our campus and having students get caught in the crossfire. Besides, I think it’s delightfully ironic that Ahmadinejad is given the chance to speak when he cannot even do so in his own country.

And frankly, I think “Columbia students harshly criticize Iranian President, who eventually loses face” is a better headline than “Columbia students riot again and kick someone in the head.”