Dreams of Texas

UB Policy debate team has somehow managed to set itself up to go to the Texas swing tournament. Jeff and I will officially be representing the good ol' UB. Katie and I haggled/listened to stupid jokes/smiled and nodded our way through SA administrators and maneuvered ourselves two seats on an airplane bound for Dallas. (Its the top dot on the map:::I thought the map might help everybody out and really visualize it for y'all)

Unfortunately we need to miraculously come up with a binder with a random assortment of highly important activities that we have done throughout the semester. They actually froze our budget because we didn't provide them with some picture book of debate doings. This must be the epitome of insanity. It's not like anyone really is going to look at all the hundreds of binders odd clubs at UB have given them. Or they shouldn't. Some real prioritizing needs to be done if they are actually paying someone to do that.

This seriously is going to be a surreal step for us. Our debate team actually on a plane. That should certainly prove interesting. I can't wait to see how I'm going to check in the debate tubs at the airport. That's going to be ridiculous. I can't wait.

The plane leaves at 9:50 on January second and even has a bonus layover for an hour and a half in Chicago. This is very agreeable to me because I think Chicago's airport is strange and I like wandering around it. Maybe we can take crazy pictures of us there. Jeff might not be so pro, but I'm sure I could convince him. We will definitely need pictures though. Hey -- we could even put them in the f***ing SA binder for next semester.

I miss Gelspan

All the talk about hurricanes and global warming has made me significantly miss last year’s topic. Maybe I’ll find a way to run the ice age disad like army pulled on us just for old times. Or better yet, I wonder if we could just run last years affirmative, and just insist it was 2004/5. It's not like they are going to have any evidence saying otherwise...

Arctic Natives Seek Global Warming Ruling

I still am in a mild state of shock that US policy hasn’t acknowledging global warming yet. It’s ridiculous that we are one of the two countries that hasn’t signed the Kyoto Protocol, and not because of some half way legitimate reason, but because of the economy. I would even feel better if it was because they didn’t believe it was happening, or would have big impacts, or basically any other reason. But limiting emissions by 2012, over the course of six years, is not going to have that significant of an effect. With all the recent environmental activity and such you would think Bush would at least attempt to address the problem.

US/China relations

I don't know how you can spend weeks in a country trying to work on relations, and come out with them being worse. I thought for sure I would find great new cards for the relations DA saying that since Bush came back from China, relations are at an all time high.

http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/04/editorial/special.html

Apparently that is not the case. Is it 2008 yet because I'm getting really really sick of US politics as of late. Insert heavy sigh here.

"In fact, Sino-Japanese relations are at perhaps
their lowest level since the countries re-established formal diplomatic
relations in 1972. A key reason for this state of affairs is the Japanese
cabinet's strong support for Taiwan, a Japanese colony until the end of World
War II. Bush's trumpeting, while in Japan, Taiwan's democratic evolution and
thriving economy could hardly have gone over well with the Beijing leadership,
although he did reconfirm America's "one China" policy."

Well at least there is a little positive in this:

"Nevertheless, the two-year Japanese ban against
importing U.S. beef was not rescinded, despite Bush's efforts."

As if US wasn't slaughtering enouph, lets add other countries to the supply we have to meet.

The Prids

I stumbled upon a new band, The Prids, and then while checking them out online, found out that they are all vegan. Is there a better combination? Music and veganism. . Now I wish I had money to pick up their Love Zero CD. Why can’t everything be free? Like college…



Some of the songs are instrumental, and so I’ve just been studying in the library with it playing on the computer. I get distracted if there are lyrics. There are huge lines today in the library, and I can see a few of them glaring but music is essential to studying; everyone knows that.

Contact

Of love and all things cold
And do you come in convertible
With the contacts
With the tear ducts
And a longing to destruct
My mind and the rain complains
Offer up you mind to me

Ohio debate

So, I was all excited about going to John Carroll this weekend. I had a partner that didn’t hate me (score!!) and who would be marginally cooperative. I even did speed drills, which, I mean…. I don’t do. But they proved fairly productive, and now I think I will do them. I made this super e-spec block too, which took me two hours, but there you have it. I got to use it even in one round, which unfortunately, I think was the highlight.

Everything was going great until 12:30 the morning we are leaving when my partner decides to disclose that he’s still in NYC. THANKS YASIN.

But, whatever. I dealt with it. I was marginally terrified about going maverick in varsity, but you have to do, what you have to do. And Buffalo needs to represent.

I gained a Case West partner mid trip, which also ended up meaning we could go JV. You would think this would increase our chances of winning, but then again, funny things can happen. Like losing every round you debate in and only getting a lucky little BYE.

I wouldn’t even be as frustrated, if I knew went wrong in half of the debates. I went to get practice after hearing about Yasin. But we lost on things that weren’t even on my flow as arguments, which I still don’t understand how that is possible. I need to make a threat kon summary that just has threat kon does not equal threat kon, and read it regardless to whether they even answer the K. How you can win on an argument where all you say is that you aren’t making these things up, for 20 seconds, I will never understand.

I feel reasonably bad though because I think we could have really won the second to last round, I just spent to long on their four f***ing T violations. I knew they weren’t even going to go for them, and I knew I should somehow be making a summary where I addressed all the T’s on one flow, but I failed miserably. As it was I spent 5 minutes of prep, trying to put blocks to them and then make up some Boeing DA answers, which, by the way, is my new least favorite disad. My partner loved it, he’s a type of engineering major that is apparently applicable to the argument. It did not, however, produce any answers to this argument. Just an add on that we won, I guess, but the impact was less then what the neg had. .

Live and learn though right?? Who knows. All I know is I should really get back to studying for my politics of gender finale.

Not sure if I should feed my computer addiction

As if I needed another reason to go online, I decided to create a blog.