The Collected Writings of Sardonicus

So, I guess another Christmas came and went, as soon will another year. School's rough, as is pretty much everything else, but things are good overall.

For next semester i'm signed up for 4 courses, but it's really just a tentative schedule. I have no doubt there will be tons of changes once class starts:

ANT306-EAS306_S2006 Current Issues in Anthropology: Vietnam and Southeast Asia: War, Remembrance, Forgetting

HIS372_S2006 Revolutionary America

HUM229-REL229_S2006 Great Books in Buddhism

POL441_S2006 Seminar in International Relations: U.S. - China Relations

A pretty good list, huh?

Ladies and gentlemen of the supposed jury, Chef's attorney would certainly want you to believe that his client wrote "Stinky Britches" ten years ago. And they make a good case. Hell, I almost felt pity myself!
But ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider: Ladies and gentlemen this [pointing to a picture of Chewbacca] is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk, but Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now, think about that. That does not make sense!Why would a Wookie, an eight-foot tall Wookie, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks? That does NOT MAKE SENSE! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does NOT MAKE SENSE! Look at me. I'm a lawyer defending a major record company, and I'm talkin' about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberatin' and conjugatin' the Emancipation Proclamation... does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does NOT MAKE SENSE! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests.

GOING HOME!! HUZZAH! HUZZAH!! Done with classes for the semester :)

“Porta” is Latin for “gate”. Turns an item into a Portkey.

Met my advisor for the third time today. Things seem to finally be shaping up with my thesis. Argh, I have three papers to write for Deans Date, which is gonna be a drag. A 10-12 pager for art, a 10-pager for Woody Woo, and probably a 4 pager for history. Eh, it'll be all right, right? I do have around a month to get them done. Which means I'll probably be on campus for a lot of the break.

Bob Novak, the columnist who first published the name of former CIA operative Valerie Plame accused President Bush of knowing full well who the source of the leak was but covering it up. I find it extremely suspicious that Mr. Novak, a right-wing bigot, was not punished for his role in the leak, yet numerous individuals within the more liberal publications were fired or arrested.

Huh, the US Government rejected Cuba from participating in 2006's World Baseball Classic. Apparently it was a decision made by the US Treasury Department, but I'm definitely interested in knowing how this develops. I'm not aware of the specifics as to why Cuba was rejected, but I'm getting a little tired of the US's constant attempts to sabotage Cuba in any way they can. The CIA has already made 6 assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, and the times they tried to depose him through other covert operations is probably much higher. Sorta funny, actually.

Here is a summary of some of the more humourous attempts at discrediting him:

Although some plots against Castro involved attempts on his life, several others were intended to make him discredit himself in public by influencing his behavior.

One of the first methods the CIA considered for "getting rid" of Castro involved contaminating the air of the radio station where Castro broadcast his speeches with "an aerosol spray of a chemical that produces reactions similar to those of lysergic acid (LSD)." The idea was that Castro would flip and trip on the air, making a fool of himself via hallucinogen-inspired ranting. A member of the CIA's Technical Services Department (TSD) discouraged the scheme because they couldn't count on the chemical's effectiveness (IG's Report, p. 10). One can only wonder why they didn't just use some of the LSD which Eli Lilly Company offered to covertly manufacture for the CIA "in tonnage quantities" for use in their MKULTRA program. (3)

Another member of the TSD cited in the Inspector General's report recalled experiments with "psychic energizers", although he could not link those experiments to plots against Castro (IG's Report, p. 11).

One plan that came a bit closer to fruition was the Contaminated Cigar scheme, although it was aimed more at discrediting Castro than killing him. The CIA prepared a box of cigars that had been treated with "some sort of chemical." The cigars were probably "intended to produce temporary personality disorientation," according to the report. "The thought was to somehow contrive to have Castro smoke one before making a speech and then to make a public spectacle of himself." (IG's Report, p. 11)

However, WH/4 Chief J. D. Esterline recalled that the contaminated cigars may have been associated with a scheme to make Castro's beard fall out. Esterline said the cigars were never used because "they could not figure out how to deliver them without danger of blowback on the Agency." Esterline destroyed the cigars in June 1961 (IG's Report, pp. 11-12).

Another CIA plot to discredit Castro involved dusting "thallium powder into Castro's shoes when they were put out at night to be shined" during a trip he made outside Cuba. This diabolical plot co-incided with a Castro appearance on the David Susskind Show. (4) Thallium salts have depilatory effects; the CIA's plan was to "destroy Castro's image as 'The Beard' by causing the beard to fall out." The plan went as far as testing on animals, but it fell through when Castro

More can be read at:
http://www.parascope.com/mx/articles/castroplots.htm

So I've finally started to make some progress on my senior thesis. Well, with the research anyway. Just a few more days until winter break... then I'll really push myself to put pen on paper. I think I should get at least 20-40 pages done by January, and I think that's definitely doable. But it means I'll probably be here on campus for most of winter break. Gonna be pretty boring... I unfortunately don't have many plans for the holiday. But there will definitely be a couple of bright spots in there :).

Need to dump some baggage? It's not a lot, of course, but it has been bothering me a bit. Yeah... I think that's the best course of action. It might take some prodding though... But eventually, POOF... it'll be gone. Then my kingdom will be saved.

Anyway, went to the gym to let off some steam. Now I'm hungry... hmmm what to eat, what to eat... Pizza? Nah, had pizza too many times this week. Chinese? Maybe... Thai? Too far away... I'll settle on something.

Lumos
“Lumen” is Latin for light. “Luminosus” is Latin for “bright”. Produces light from the end of the caster’s wand.

Sorta trying to figure out what's going on. I think I've been able to get past some things lately, and it's definitely a weight that's been lifted off my shoulders. But it's an improvement in my situation only if something else is true, and I'm still not sure if it is or not. Hmm, would it even be a good thing if I got what I wanted? Sadly, probably not. Sorta silly all this highschool junk is catching up to me now.

Anyway, had a few uneventful days... but I did get to see Colonial again Sunday morning. Haven't gone for a meal since I dropped Colonial in the beginning of the school year. Argh, time's moving way too fast. I got fitted for my cap and gown today... it's unreal. My time in college is quickly coming to an end, and I haven't yet really taken advantage of it. I wonder what things I'll regret. But... I never really seem to regret anything. I guess we'll see.

Prior Incantato
Creates an image of the last spell cast by a wand.