First off, if you still care about the election, check out the link (under News) to a page that points out 57 things that show more or less that Geroge Bush will steal the Presidency from the people. I am not a fan of Al "I Invented Democracy" Gore, but he won the election. Anyone who says otherwise needs to put down their NRA and Christian Coalition newsletters and read a real newspaper. Voter fraud, miscounts, intimidation of black voters, and a cadre of power, all led by George W. Bush and his brother, "Uber Jeb." I am ready for Civil War. You should be too.
Now, on to lighter topics.
It is finals week here in Mankato, and I have decided that finals are the least useful grading method I have ever encountered. Ninety percent of the "Finals" given here are simply a regular test on the last chapters studied. They are rarely comprehensive, which is what a final really should be. But better that a big test on things you've forgotten would be a paper. Everyone hates papers. I know why. For professors, they require more work to grade, because they can't just be put into a machine. For students, they require thought. You can't cram for a paper. You need to put comprehensive thought into a subject or concept, and make a cohesive argument or assertion. Thought is undervalued these days. I suppose finals are perfect for people going into the corperate world. They require rote memorization of facts and figures, not thought. This is perfect for a desk job. Some of us, however, perfer thoguht to memorization. Of course, this could be because i can't remember my phone number sometimes, let alone 50 facts. I plead the fifth on that subject.
My next subject is winter break. As I spent the summer in an internship with a small police department, I have no job over break. This means I will be spending a lot of money without any real income. This is not, however, a diatribe against consumerism and the loss of Christmas spirit. Christmas spirit is, in all actuality, the idea that we should take all of the customs of a religion that isn't ours, make them our traditions, then tell the other religion they are evil and if they don't convert we will kill them. Oh, just wait until Valentine's Day, you lovers of revisionism.
Anyway, the problem lies in that I really want to buy gifts for my family and friends. On the other hand, I would like to receive cash. See, I am travelling to London, England and Reykjavik, Iceland in January. This is an expensive trip, and most of my liquid cash will be used to pay for the trip itself, leaving me with little money to spen while inthese fine cities. I would like to experience the finer points of London (such as several evenings in pubs) and Reykjavik (all night clubbing in a city with 20 hours of darkness). This takes money. Besides, I really don't have anything I want bought for me that I wouldn't rather buy myself. Except for a bottle of Jameson Whiskey. But that is only because I want my uncle to buy me liquor, due to how absurd that seems to me.
Why is it that money is not an acceptable gift, especially in special situations. I could pawn off all of my gifts, but then I wouldn't have them when my relatives came by for a visit. Ah, to be out of college.
Finally, I will not be updating much over the next month. My home computer is worthless in running these fine pagebuilding tools, which I must use because I don't know HTML. I know, i should just learn it, but I have more important things to do, like write rambling e-mails to The Lost. So have a Happy Solstice (the only upcoming holiday with any physical basis), New Year (because it is a great excuse for rampant hedonism and drunkenness), and beginning of the next semester of school for you fellow students. And for students, look into the profits made by your school bookstore. If they are ripping you off (they are), call them on it, and buy your books elsewhere until something is done about it. You have the power.
Solinus Mahok
I'm Ken Feucht, and I am getting drunk on New Year's Eve.