7-18-02 - Thursday Musings
7-17-02 - Life Decision
7-16-02 - GAY CLUB Rules
7-15-02 - Cell Phone Roulette
7-12-02 - Friday Thoughts
7-9-02 - Vacation Rules
7-5-02 - Threesome Etiquette
7-2-02 - More Reader's Mail
7-1-02 - The Tubing Trip
6-28-02 - Guest on Cheating
6-27-02 - Semi-Political Ramblings
6-25-02 - Ode to the Marquis
6-21-02 - The It Factor
6-20-02 - Some More Ramblings
6-17-02 - Reader Mail
6-14-02 - Encore, Please
6-13-02 - Birthday Thoughts
6-11-02 - Soccer Masturbation
6-8-02 - Objective Ratings
6-6-02 -Thursday Thoughts
6-5-02 - World Cup Bandwagon Jumping
6-4-02 - Mayer, Comfortable
6-3-02 - Mayer, City Love
5-30-02 - Thursday Thoughts
5-29-02 - Memorial Day Weekend
5-23-02 - Thursday Random Thoughts
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(Editor's Note: I'm obviously writing from the perspective of a heterosexual male, but I readily acknowledge that all statements I am about to make about Rice women could easily be applied to Rice men. In reality, girls at Rice have it much worse than we do.)
Since we first stepped on campus at Rice, we have all complained about the lack of good looking members of the opposite sex at Rice. Gradually, over time, we complained a little less. Finally, by the time graduation came around, you hardly heard anyone complain about it anymore. Most people would attribute this to the maturation process that people experience between the ages of 18 and 22. Most people would be wrong. In reality, our standards have just been worn down over time. Worn down is probably an understatement...they have been brow-beaten.
Think about this seriously for a moment: Have you noticed how every year everyone comments on how the freshmen girls are more attractive than the previous year? Does this mean that Rice's Admissions Office is finally doing the right thing and weighting looks equally with SAT scores? Have you noticed how when you go back to hang out with your high school friends (assuming you had some...this is Rice we are talking about) that some of the girls you never noticed before now look very attractive to you? Are they like wine and just improving with age?
In reality, the new Rice freshmen aren't any better looking than before nor are the high school wallflowers blossoming before your eyes. Our standards have just been lowering over time. To prove this point, find the last four copies of the Meat Sheet (Rice's Newcomer's Guide with pictures of all of the freshmen). These shouldn't be hard to find...we all have that one friend who saved all of the copies (mine's initials are RWS). Now look objectively at all of the pictures side-by-side...you will quickly notice that the girls from your freshmen class are definitely on the same level as the newest freshmen. The girls are not getting prettier...we are just not expecting as much of them.
With this in mind, all of us Rice students and alums must make some adjustments as we continue to objectify women. Until we have managed to completely remove ourselves from the Rice mindset (this could take up to a decade, see Chip Aucoin) ,there must be two separate scales: A Rice scale and a Rest-of-the-World (ROTW) Scale. In the effort to stop offending others when I am already behind, I will use myself as an example here. On the Rice scale, I am a solid 8. I have a sense of humor, I'm not too dorky, I'm fairly well read, I'm pretty confident, and I have pretty normal guy interests (sports, beer, girls, movies). I have numerous flaws, but they aren't quite as front and center when compared to my competition. On the ROTW scale, my flaws come out. My good qualities still exist, but people are more likely to notice that I'm pale, balding, flabby, and an average dresser at best. My competition is not so blindingly bad as to make me look like a huge catch. On the ROTW scale, I'm probably about a 6. (Ed Note: I couldn't rank myself below a six....who wants to go through life thinking that they are average or below average. I can't imagine how sad that must be.)
From the example above, you can see that the lowering of standards at Rice leads to an approximate change of 2 rating points. I know that this may sound like I'm complaining, but I actually think that this can be a healthy thing. With our new lower standards, we all think that we are doing better for ourselves than we actually are. This can lead to an increase in self confidence...something that most Rice students and alums greatly need. And when we graduate, a whole new world of opportunity opens up in front of us.
1) "Big Blue Sea" - Bob Schneider
2) "Life on a Chain" - Pete Yorn
3) "Deep, Dark, Truthful, Mirror" - Elvis Costello
4) "Gone Out the Window" - The Violent Femmes
5) "Panic'" - The Smiths
6) "Mary Jane" - The Vines
7) "Regulate" - Nate Dogg and Warren G
8) "Shining Light" - Ash
9) "Dead Disnee" - El-P
10) "The Bar is a Beautiful Place" - Ryan Adams
Do you ever go through an entire day without showering? For numerous reasons I made it to 7:00 PM yesterday and I couldn't stand the smell of myself.
