09:39PM Cartooned
If I had to classify who I was in elementary school, I definitely would have to say I was a nerd and a cartoon geek. I had big plastic glasses with thick lenses, my nose had a permanent parking slot in books, and i still watched cartoons. No, not the Japanese anime I would later get involved in for three years; my interests lay in Disney/Warner Bros./Hanna-Barbera type cartoons. I was especially involved in superhero cartoons, such as Superman, Batman, and (joy oh joy) Super Friends. Naturally, this also extended into live-action interpretations of superhero 'toons; I tuned in to Adam West's Batman, Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman, John Haymes Newton's Superboy, and Dean Cain's Superman.

These days I don't look so much like a nerd, but I haven't totally abandoned cartoons. They give me a simple visual pleasure; in their world, plotlines are short, characters are either good or evil, and they're easily digestible. But the fact that cartoons for kids are written by adults isn't lost on me anymore. Cartoons these days seem more sophisticated than I remember Super Friends ever being. Intertextuality with other visual media abounds in Dexter's Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls; their grand-daddy is, of course, The Simpsons. Each episode is so chockful of in-jokes, parodies, and satire that those are the major reasons I watch it.

Now that I think about it, watching cartoons at my age is more fun than when I used to watch them as a kid. I used to get lost in the fantasy world the cartoons presented; now that I'm more self-aware and at the same time aware of the process behind cartoon production, I can really enjoy what these writers and artists put into the whole package.

09:15AM Keeping My Head On
If you think having no job will give you occasion to be more creative, think again.

I've had a lot of time on my hands since I finished taking the comprehensive exam for my degree. Now all I have left is my thesis. That may be making a little bit of an understatement, since the thesis is a major prerequisite for graduation. Not to mention by enrolling in the thesis subject last sem, I've inadvertently put myself under time pressure to complete the thesis in a year.

At the same time, my mind and body are starting to rebel against schoolwork. After seven years in college, I'm raring to be doing something else. Alas, I must do the thesis or perish as another out-of-school statistic. Besides, in my application to the degree program, I promised to complete the degree.

I keep running into a mental block every time I try to jumpstart my thesis. I'm lazy and I'd rather be doing something else. I've never done a thesis before; my undergraduate degree didn't require one. So my question is: how did you stay motivated? I need help...

01:47PM Vidiot
Three weeks ago my family and I went on a DVD shopping spree, snagging whole TV series seasons. We got Alias 4th season, 24 3rd season, Desperate Housewives, and Lost. Of course, with the abundance came a binge, and I ended up finishing Alias in three sittings.

I'll try not to give everything away, since my sister hasn't seen the season yet, but suffice it to say it was up to Season 1's par in terms of satisfaction gained from watching. Ü Season 2 retooled Alias from the cloak-and-dagger routine and turned it into a more straightforward spy series like The Agency. Season 3 just delved too deep into the Milo Rambaldi mystique and lost the heart of the show, which was the human interaction between the core characters. I'm glad JJ Abrams (creator of Alias) refocused the show and got it back onto solid ground. Season 4's finale resolved a storyline that had been stretched to the point of nausea and opened the door for a new storyline.

Of course I wouldn't be a well-rounded Alias fan if I didn't go online to check for spoilers, casting news, and other tidbits for the upcoming Season 5. I'm one person who doesn't mind finding out how it all ends, so I head over to Alias Media to get news and pics. I'm sad to see that beyond this season, Jennifer Garner's relationship with the series will end (presumably to take care of her baby with Ben Affleck and to explore other projects). Also there have been rumors circulating that Michael Vartan, who plays Sydney's love interest Michael Vaughn, may be leaving the show early this season as well. As the show seeks to survive beyond the 5th season, they're adding new cast members, hoping that fans like me will develop an affection for the new characters. Time will tell, but I'm not as snarky as the folks over at Television Without Pity. I'll most likely stay tuned.

04:26PM I, Writer
I've known about this since May, but only now have I been able to summon up the courage to tell people about it. Ü I'll dispense with being cryptic and just say it straight: one of my short stories has been published in an anthology!

Three semesters ago, I took a Creative Writing Nonfiction class as an elective. For some reason, during one week most of us submitted short pieces about illness, phobias, and disabilities. At that time, my professor had already been thinking about compiling nonfiction pieces about "maladies, real or imagined." She recruited our works and solicited short stories and poems from other writers to come out with My Fair Maladies.

I only recently acquired my free copies and bought one copy for myself, so I hadn't seen my story in its final form. Mine is not the best in the bunch, but I feel honored to be published alongside these talented people, especially since this is the first piece of mine to see print.