That Would Explain It.

The New York Times published this story today about the influx of American students in foreign universities, with a special focus on the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews. While I've encountered a number of foreign students studying abroad for the year or semester during my time here, there have been a few Americans that I've bumped into along the way that are studying here permanently. I can't say that I would've liked to have started and ended my college experience at Edinburgh (mainly due to the teaching style and because I would like to work in America after graduation), but it does make sense given the lower cost of tuition here. Plus, Edinburgh and St Andrews have great reputations on the international stage.

Bye, Bye, Bye

TRL - MTV Shows

MTV aired its last episode of TRL on Sunday after 10 long years of providing afterschool entertainment to millions of teens. An all-star line-up of celebrities, many of whom rode the TRL wave to pop stardom in the late '90s and early '00s, made appearances in a 3-hour-long tribute to the MTV staple. It really is the end of an era.

Picture This Face

"Before you vote, when you're in the voting booth, picture this face."

Luda!

Got an email from ASPC [Associated Students of Pomona College] today which was sort of depressing seeing as I'm 5,000 miles away from where this is going down. It read:

Ludacris tickets go on sale TOMORROW (10/23) at Bridges Auditorium at 9:00am for a Saturday, November 22^nd show.

Tickets are $35.00 w/ 5-C ID

Just when I thought I would finally get to see "Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)" live...

Sorry for the Bloviation

I recently wrote an editorial for the "Comment" section of The Journal, a student publication here in Edinburgh, addressing the prevalence of US presidential election coverage on this side of the pond. Just thought I'd share, a snippet:

The presidential election brings promise of change in the international political system amidst a crumbling economy and ongoing military strife throughout the globe. For Scots and Americans alike, the election presents the chance for a sea change in international politics as usual, and a 180-degree move away from the policies of the Bush Administration. It’s an opportunity to stop and rectify the damage done to the world economy, to relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, and to Iraq. In an increasingly globalized world, America’s success is the world’s success.

You can read the full text of the article here.

Toledo Represent

During last night's presidential debate, "Joe the Plumber" was mentioned some 25 times (that's 21 by Sen. McCain and 4 by Sen. Obama). I'd just like to point out that Joe is from TOLEDO, OHIO. Represent!

Seriously though, Joe's a small business owner (note that all plumbing businesses making less than $14 million a year are considered "small") whose firm makes about $280,000 a year and is thinking about expanding his plumbing enterprise. Joe asked Obama last week whether he would see higher taxes under an Obama plan.

Obama's answer: You would only see a 3% tax increase on revenue over $250,000 because your firm is part of the 5 percent of businesses nationally that are seeing those kinds of figures.

Joe's response on Fox News and later reappropriated by the McCain campaign: Redistribution of wealth is "kind of socialist."

100 Years...100 Movies

On a lighter note, I've recently realized that I haven't seen any of the films that I really should be watching. As great as Superbad is, I don't think it'll be making any Top 10 lists in the near future. The world just wasn't ready for it. In any case, I have started watching some of the movies off AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list, starting at the top with "Citizen Kane." I don't know if I'll be able to make it to all of them this semester and make it to all of my lectures, but over time I think I can do it.

I will be providing reviews from time to time. In the meantime, if you'd like to join me, you can get most of the movies from this awesome movie blog that I tracked down the other day.

CITIZEN KANE anyone?

http://rapidshare.com/files/71664692/1941CK-kp.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71666931/1941CK-kp.part02.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71669637/1941CK-kp.part03.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71671876/1941CK-kp.part04.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71674473/1941CK-kp.part05.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71676746/1941CK-kp.part06.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71679452/1941CK-kp.part07.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71682073/1941CK-kp.part08.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71684536/1941CK-kp.part09.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71685680/1941CK-kp.part10.rar
Password: klepal

You Get What You Wish For...

As the video above shows, however, perhaps McCain's campaign has been too effective among the base. Speaking at a rally in Minnesota last week, McCain (who I believe is a decent man who despises racism) was forced to take the microphone away from one of his own supporters in front of a crowd numbering in the hundreds. John McCain, once a decent man more interested in speaking for the people of this country instead of at them, is slowly realizing the effect that his hate-mongering campaigning has had in America. It's frankly disgusting that these sorts of attitudes still exist in America, and John McCain knows it. I commend him for returning to his straight talk roots, but I think that for McCain, it may be too little, too late.

Like A Brick.

In a week of looming economic darkness, a hint of light for Americans abroad. The falling exchange rate hit an all time low this week, dipping today to $1.73 per pound. (That's almost 25 cents lower than when I left California in August.) The figure above shows the downward trend since early July.

With the £500 billion British bailout and interest rate cut announced today, however, that may change in the very near future. That the value of the GBP is falling like a brick against the USD in a time when the US economic infrastructure faces ruin shows just how central the American economy is to the rest of the world. For now, I'm withdrawing while the rate lasts.

Responsibility

TV, Not Telly.

Being in the UK, or just out of the United States for that matter, means that I cannot stream full TV episodes from American sites like nbc.com and mtv.com. Apparently, they have their software read your IP Address to determine whether or not you're accessing their copyrighted material from abroad. That means, no new episodes of Chuck, The Office or The Daily Show. Darn. It also means that I've had to get slightly more creative in getting the TV fix that I need. Yeah, I know that I'm supposed to be seeking out local media and immersing myself in all that's British, but frankly shows on the Telly are really not that impressive. I mean, have you seen British Deal or No Deal? Seriously.

Aside from the stuff that I can access via Megaupload and Rapidshare links of blogs, here's a list of the top 3 sites that have been keeping me current:
http://www.surfthechannel.com
http://www.hulu.com
http://www.megavideo.com

Any other suggestions?

Never Bet Against America

I was chatting with a former co-worker living in Los Angeles yesterday and was asked -in a tone you'd expect following a natural disaster, an earthquake, a flood, not during casual conversation - how my family was doing. Thing is, being insulated here from what's going on back in the States, it seems that the credit crisis and the potential collapse of the stock market may be weighing just as heavily on the collective American mind.

Perusing internet news about $700 billion bailouts, the WaMu buyout and imploding cross-aisle talks has been, to say the least, frightening. With so much of Wall Street in free fall, it's not difficult to imagine a bleak economic future rivaling, as some pundits have suggested, the Great Depression. Although I doubt that conditions will ever get that bad, I'm certain that the economic environment that I return home to and will eventually enter into will be vastly more different than I, just a year ago, could have imagined.

And amidst all of this, political theater seems to have dominated what should be a period of rapid crisis prevention. While McCain attempts to play White Knight and Obama begrudgingly is forced to follow suit, real progress is being hampered. The Paulson Plan, I believe, may be flawed and may be too interventionist, but I believe that action needs to be taken. I'm disappointed in the splinter group of Republicans who have turned their backs not only to the (in this case) agreeable Democratic core, but their own party leadership and constituency. Yes, we shouldn't ever rush into things, but we must begin to see that something needs to be done now. The details can be ironed out once things settle down -- perhaps that is when it'll be all right for us to drag the issue through the political wringer.

Like Obama said earlier this week: "When you inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations, sometimes it's not helpful. Right now, the key is not people worrying about who gets credit or who gets blamed, but just getting things done."

Above you'll see some clips of Clinton on Letterman getting to the core of the issue. Yeah, the interview definitely has some interesting political implications, but I'm most impressed with his stance on the crisis.