May 2006 Archives

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Yeah... I'm just a little late with this...

April was not a record-breaking month for newkai.com, but it came in second in three of the five categories.

There was a new top photo, pictured above.

The most visited sections of my website were AIS2002.COM, followed by my weblog, photos, KaiCams, and videos... Same order as last month.

Google's index of my website increased significantly, from 733 to 1280 pages... Craziness. Currently the most searched-for phrase that leads Googlers to my site is depressing lyrics, followed by Long Beach short bus lyrics and IB Sucks.

Well, I'm a month late on this story, but it's a great one. I was aware of it, but really read up on it for the first time tonight.

The Syracuse Post-Standard publishes a little multiple choice quiz weekly, where, as in many multiple choice tests in life, at least one of the answers is far-fetched, or even humorous. Here is the quiz question that started it all:

2. Bill O'Reilly put his spin on current events as the keynote speaker for Wednesday's Boypower fundraiser for the Boy Scouts. The Fox News personality was especially critical of:

a) The American Civil Liberties Union, for pointing out flaws in the United States of America.

b) Liberal newspapers and other "secular progressives" for urging tolerance and generosity.

c) Syracuse University, for denying organizers the use of campus facilities because of the Boy Scouts' prohibition of openly gay members.

d) Former associate producer Andrea Mackris, for making him about $10 million poorer when he settled the sexual harassment lawsuit she filed against him.

The correct answers were a, b and c.

Bill O'Reilly attacked the paper in his show:

O'REILLY: Then a couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Syracuse, New York, to give a speech in support of the Boy Scouts, who had been thrown off the campus of Syracuse University after the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] complained.

For my trouble, I was smeared twice by the Syracuse Post-Standard. The villains at that paper are publisher Stephen Rogers and editorial writer Mark Libbon. These men are not only unprofessional, they are incompetent.

Over the past few years, the Post-Standard's circulation has declined nearly 30 percent. It is a disgraceful newspaper, nicknamed "substandard" by some in upstate New York.

Now, we posted contact numbers for Rogers and Libbon on billoreilly.com, should you want to speak with them.

And that is what we'll continue to do. Any media person who uses smear tactics in any way, not just on me, but any way will be featured on The Factor and inducted into the billoreilly.com "Hall of Shame."

We will keep a running list of media smear merchants on the website, in addition to our "don't buy, don't advertise" list.

As you know, we debate issues all day long on this program. I have no objection to any media criticizing my stand on any matters of the day. But beginning today, the smear stops here.

You guys want to do that? We'll let everybody know about it. That's called accountability.

Apparently O'Reilly has a problem with smearing. That's why he countered with the following smears:

• Calling the publisher and editorial writer "villains", "unprofessional", and "incompetent"
• Calling The Post Standard a "disgraceful newspaper"
• Using the nickname some conservatives call it ("Sub-Standard")

I don't have a problem with O'Reilly stating his mind, but it's ridiculous how he tries to play the "fairness" ticket. I wish he'd just admit he's a moderate-to-conservative republican so he can painlessly rant all he wants (as is his right), without attempting to gain sympathy from the American public for something he's not.

Saving the best for last, however, the publisher that O'Reilly insulted and who he told his viewers to more-or-less harass, is dead! And he's been that way since 2002! As Keith Olbermann responds after airing the O'Reilly clip on his show:

OLBERMANN: Hey, good luck with that. If Bill has actually found a working phone number for Stephen Rogers, then he's buried the lead. He's broken the biggest news story of the century, because Mr. Rogers is dead.

Thanks to the following articles/sites:

• "FOX News' Bill O'Reilly encourages viewers to harrass publisher of Syracuse Post-Standard" - News Hounds
  
• "O'Reilly gets Smeared from the Grave" - Sweet Jesus, I hate Bill O'Reilly, International
  
• "Olbermann hosted authors of Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly" - Media Matters for America
  

Today I created and released a film of 79 photos of last summer, which I'm using as a "trailer" for this coming summer. I think it came out great. Have a look:

Vienna Summer 2006 Trailer

Today I came across some photo disks from 1994. My dad used to send his undeveloped film out to Seattle Photo Works, and they'd send back the developed photos and these disks with photos on them in some strange format that thankfully GraphicConverter for Mac can read. I found three disks in total, two of which just have scenery or tourism attractions in Ottawa, Canada, respectively. But one has two photos from the first Vienna trip my family ever took (the real Vienna Trip I!). Additionally there were a couple of my spring concert as a 4th grader in the African Road Elementary Orchestra. Most of the photos are of my family's pool being built. All these photos were taken in May 1994.

4th Grade: Pool Construction & Vienna

It's time to finally synchronize my weblog with my life again...

I passed all my exams and graduated... I suppose that's the main point that's conveyed in this entry here!

Let's start Wednesday night, about nine hours after I handed in my last assignment. There was this thing downtown called Senior Celebration going on. Mike and I took public down there, had four or so beers (at least one was free), talked to people, and then hopped on some shuttle back to the Hill. We told the driver to drop us off at Faegan's, where we spent another couple hours.

Saturday at 9 a.m. (way to early) was convocation. Convocation is like a mini commencement for just your college (SU has somewhere around 13). Being in the largest college, Arts & Sciences, this took forever. There were a couple of speakers and then they called every single name so we could get an Arts & Sciences pin. Weeew!

My parents came up Saturday afternoon, and after we had dinner at Danzer's German Restaurant, I went out to Faegan's, and had one of the best nights I've had in years. Nights out haven't been fun in ages, as it seems everyone just stands/sits around. Friday night, however, everyone was having about as much fun as if they were at a high school house party.

Sunday morning I got up at 6:15. Subsequently, Mike and I were among the first people at the Carrier Dome, which assured us front row seats of our section. We were about as close to the stage as you can get as an undergraduate (about five rows in).

Commencement wasn't bad. Billy Joel gave a short repetitive speech, but everyone forgave him because he's not much of a talker. He led the crowd through a Syracuse University version of "Down in New Orleans", which you can see here. That night everyone went out one last time for Senior Sendoff at Faegan's, which was decent.

Monday I stuffed about as much junk into my Saturn as it could hold and headed home. Tuesday I drove my dad to JFK Airport. Thursday I went back up to the apartment with my parents' Subaru and crammed it up as well. This Wednesday my mom and I will rent a van and finish off the move-out, taking home big items like my bed and my desk.

I'm trying to obtain some order in my parents' basement, while also starting to pack for Vienna. I leave Sunday afternoon and get there Monday night... Yeah, that's another story.

Here's to the geniuses at Starbucks in Vestal, who will hand you a brim-filled cup of extremely hot coffee at the drive-thru window, which will then spill in your car and burn a rectangle on your finger, should you attempt to plug the opening in the lid.

Note: This post was posted while I was enraged. Please see the partial-retraction in the comment section.

So I took over three weeks off from webloging. I've been finishing off here at Syracuse University, and not much has happened in the last few weeks. I had to somehow survive two horribly hard classes, chemistry and calculus, as well as finish up other requirements.

My chemistry final last week went pretty well. My calculus final was pretty hard. I just hope there's some curving there to help me out. Commencement is this Sunday, and I will be flying out to Vienna on May 28.

That's all there's really to say right now. I am currently working on a ten-page final essay on Austria and fascism, which is due in slightly less than eleven hours. Then it will all be over.