marquer l'histoire

I promised my sister that I'd blog about tennis, the men's finals in particular, because it was so cool to watch Rafa at his best. Nadal played Federer in the finals on the clay court at Roland Garros in Paris this past Sunday. Unlike the long, close match at Wimbeldon last year, Rafa beat Federer pretty fast in 6-1 6-3 6-0. Everyone seems to love Federer, the suave Swiss who pretty much always has control over the match he's playing (except when he had mono this past Australian Open) so I couldn't help but hope the Spaniard underdog would win. It was bittersweet though seeing Federer fall so fast and hard, especially since he's vying for Sampras' career grand slam title record and needs 2 more to tie it, 3 to beat it. Of course I want him to beat it, because Sampras is annoying AND a republican.

I'm a big fan of the Williams sisters and neither of them were in the final, so I'm not going to comment on the women's match. Dinara Safina is fun to watch with her attitude and huge comebacks, but I need to see a little more of her before becoming a fan.

AP's book pick

George Soros came out with a quick book this Spring about the current financial crisis and how it fits into his analysis of the evolution of finance since he started out on his own in London in 1947. He does a great job of not only explaining the credit crisis, but also his philosophical ideas that relate to the human element that is inseparable from markets and how people behave. He definitely wrote quickly, which shows in his writing, but it's worth the 160 pages and a couple of afternoons of reading.

for those of us starting jobs/internships this summer

ok, i stole this from fashionista, but i think it's a good list to follow this summer.

"Flip-flops, Crocs, ripped jeans, denim shorts, chipped nails, exposed lingerie, and makeup experiments." - Meredith Melling-Burke's list of fashion don'ts for her interns, from Style.com.

obies in the news

Ok, well, maybe not in the actual news, but after they blow up from being on our blog, they probably will be in national media outlets.
A former teammate of mine and ap's has created a magazine with two other Oberlin students. I was really impressed when MDH gave me a copy of the first edition, and just wanted to share the online version with others. Keep in mind this was all created while taking a full semester of classes!

a long time gone

Yes, we are fully aware that it has been almost a month since our last post. There are many reasons for this:
AP had finals and then senior week and then graduation! She starts work in two weeks and then will be considered a full-time member of the real world.
B had a huge, time sensitive project due at work that was taking up her evenings. She then began the move from her apartment to her Dad's basement in order to save money for the summer before she joins ap in the bay area. Which leads me to our next news:
Since ap has gone back to the bay, she is starting the apartment search for the two of us. As of 11:30 p.m. EST yesterday, she had found "the perfect apartment". B is anxiously waiting to hear about said apartment, but fully trusts ap's judgment.
Things are beginning to settle down for the two of us, and afterwards, we hope to be back in full force.

late night switch up?

It has been leaked that Jimmy Fallon is going to take over for Conan O'Brien, O'Brien for Jay Leno, and Leno will retire to play with his 8,563,290 antique cars.
Personally, I don't care because I don't have TV. At first, when the radio said Jimmy Fallon, I was picturing Chris Kattan and was really worried; he's so annoying. So, as long as it's Fallon and not Kattan, I think it will be okay. And from what I understand, O'Brien is pretty popular and will probably follow well in Leno's footsteps.
Um, one last thing though, where are all the ladies in these late night line ups???

badass female of the week (and past 40 years)

She was a black woman who just wanted to live with and love her white husband in peace. Mildred Loving, who died last week, inadvertently became an icon to those fighting strict and religiously fueled laws regulating marriage. Richard and Mildred Loving were married in Washington, D.C. in 1958, but after moving back to their home state of Virginia, were arrested for violating laws prohibiting interracial unions. Their fight to love each other went all the way to the Supreme Court, where, in 1967, laws banning interracial couples from marrying were turned over when the court said that the freedom to marry is "a basic civil right." Loving's incredibly appropriate last name has even been given to a national organization that recognizes June 12 as Loving Day, a day to celebrate interracial couples.
Unfortunately, this struggle still sounds familiar, even to someone born as late as 1985....Loving's struggle parallels that of many non-traditional couples currently wishing to wed. The court's decision to rid the nation of laws banning someone from marrying another simply because a third-party doesn't like it seems like a no-brainer to many of us today (and did to the court of 1967). Yet, why are we still fighting such a strong force that wants to keep gay unions, marriages, and parenting illegal? Is it only because the nature of the court has changed, thus making such a case obsolete these days? Or are we fighting greater social barriers? Will the issue of gay marriage progress with the passing of time, much as interracial marriage did, or are we facing a fiercer fight? What about those of us who see the issue as much more complicated than gay marriage or no gay marriage?
What do you all think?

video killed the radio star

I found myself listening to "Once in a Lifetime" by the Talking Heads over and over and over today. It made me really sad because that song ALWAYS reminds me of Oberlin, especially my first year there. After cross country camp that year, the team watched "Stop Making Sense", the live DVD. It was pretty much my introduction to the Talking Heads (come on, I went to Winfield...), and was a pivotal moment, foreshadowing how Oberlin was about to change my life. I wanted to share it, especially because I love that I can just get on the internet (Thanks Al Gore!!!) and immediately watch David Byrne hit his own forehead while singing.
I also was reading one of my favorite blogs, Feministing, and they had a Menudo video on there. I could not stop laughing, especially because they are all wearing black boots just like the ones I will be putting on in about one hour to go dancing. These are the boots that my sister-in-law looks at and says "Go back to 1985" when I wear them, but I have to remind her that I was born in 1985, so that would be weird.
After reminiscing about the Talking Heads and watching Menudo videos on feministing.com, I couldn't help but look up other awesome vids on youtube.
Here's some more oldies, but total goodies:

Too bad the crack got him

I never knew a chain link fence could be so sexy

I never knew glasses and a flat-top could be so sexy

When I heard this song as a little girl, I immediately associated it with my parents

Obvi.

what is justice?

Can we ever really answer that? There is so much discussion of the Bell/Snipes trials at this moment, it is hard to gather one's thoughts on it all. Our friend Micah posted a couple things about it over at his blog and I weighed in on the comment section.
Thoughts on justice, racism in the court system, sentencing laws, etc.?

Badass Female of the Week

Her 11th album comes out today and at 49 years old, she is still hot as hell. This is a great post about one of my all-time idols: Madonna. Her latest album, Hard Candy comes out today which includes collaborations with JT, Timbaland, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. A friend of mine at Oberlin recently went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with her family and they all raved about a letter that is there that Madonna wrote to a friend during her first year in college. Apparently it's really interesting and well written. I think the entry fee for that place is finally worth it.