Here's some pictures of our visit to Bridget's family the other day. I managed to take a few pictures of the cat, but after that we were way too busy being comfortable and having a good time. The picture of Bridget, Kaleena and I was taken after a quick ATV trip up to the cabin. In case you're wondering: yes, we are freezing Anyway, thanks a bunch for the hospitality and the amazing meal!

Back to work department

Well, it's time to get back into first gear. Although I don't have any exams coming up (except for one that's due today...), I do have assignments for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Let's go...

Side note: this article is named after the 'Weekend update' articles posted on the Colgate website by the Communications Office...

Not much news from here. It's progressively getting colder, slippier and darker. I think I'm having some target fixation issues, because I don't remember much happening this week except for my exam. Fortunately I also don't recall having any exams next week, so my reporting should be a little more regular.

In the search engine department

It looks like my little pet peeve has paid off -- a search for Students and Alumni for Colgate on www.google.com now turns up this site as well as a Syracuse news report. The news report quotes one of the most prominent alumni behind the organization, saying that "The principal goal is to have the college reconsider the need to buy the fraternity houses." Now isn't that much clearer than... well... any of the content on their website? Why not present a well-argued case in favor of that rather than beat around the bush with other accusations?

As Bridget mentioned, real snow has finally come to Colgate University. I took a few pictures of it this morning, but fortunately (?) it stopped snowing shortly after I made my way up to class. In short: I only have one decent picture of the snow. The other ones are just random shots I made on my way down the hill today. More news as the story unfolds...

On a Students and Alumni for Colgate side note.

Oh before I forget. Something I read on the Students and Alumni for Colgate forum, in a post by someone named 'Elizabeth 99':

[...] This is a little thing called freedom of speech. As a conservative with four years of capitol hill legislative experience, do you think I lashed out at every Kerry supporter on every website i could find? Not a chance, I listened to all points of view and I had enough faith in the rational people to deliver such a mandate as we saw in the election.

To me, actions speak louder than words. I personally don't think it's right that first week freshman year my RA made all of the girls in our dorm put a condom on a banana...that's not what parents or students, or even the colgate financial aid department should be paying 40k a year for. But they do, and I dealt with it.

So I suggest you deal with people expressing their opinions, because they will do and say what they want, and its a testament to this great nation of ours to let all voices be heard.

'Elizabeth 99,' on the Students and Alumni for Colgate forum.

Hamilton is getting chilly now. Wednesday was a very confused climate day. It started with a frosty morning dew (suggesting Winter), followed by Fall style rain that lasted throughout the day. It's been pretty rainy in general, with the occasional bit of hail thrown in. The great thing is that it's also been windy. On the bright side of things, the heaters in 84 Broad Street were fixed recently; thank you Colgate University.

The 'the world is a strange place' department -- Students and Alumni for Colgate

Starting a week and a half ago, an organization called Students and Alumni for Colgate launched a website that basically blasts Colgate University for being too... erm... tolerant. I'm intentionally leaving the address of this website out of this article because I don't want help their site ranking. Instead I trust you will be able to find the site on your own. Hint: the Colgate Maroon-News (the school newspaper) is full of references to the site.

Well the elections are finally done, we'll be listening to Bush talking about the "free nations of the world," and well... life is back to normal. I'm glad Kerry decided to concede rather than let the thing drag on in the courts. Of course it should be noted that Kaleena was particularly disappointed with her home state's performance...

For me, the elections have mainly been an amazing cultural experience. The elections here were a lot more of an 'event' than they are in The Netherlands. Hundreds of students went to the COOP (Campus Center) to hang out and watch the results come in. The place was completely decorated and featured food specialties from the swing states.

See the top picture for the response of one of the Colgate bloggers (currently available live at http://bookexchange.colgate.edu/colgate/item/30).

Even with the past few years' events (the coming / mostly going of LPF, Leefbaar Nederland, etc.), I don't think Dutch politics will ever be as spectacular as it is in the United States. The comparison between the US and the EU is even more sad if you look at the turnout rate. In the words of Kaleena, International Relations major: "Europeans can't appreciate a Good Thing." I somewhat agree, but I probably shouldn't because I haven't bothered to vote... (In my defence, I only recently had my first opportunity to do so.)

In The Netherlands' favor, with the 30+ parties we get to choose from, there is a lot less 'binary' thinking going on. In the United States, it seems a lot of conservatives voted for Bush because of his standpoints regarding gay marriage and stem cell research (he is against both). In other words, despite the fact that some disagree with the war in Iraq, they still voted for Bush because these other issues seemed more important to them. That's a pretty scary compromise if you come to think of it. I also think that the fact that the parties are so regional might be an indication that there is a need for more 'colors' than just (Republican) Red and (Democrat) Blue.