There was a Statie on the highway to the airport. My dad slowed the car when he saw him, just out of habit, I guess. State Police cars aren’t uncommon on I-95, but it seemed like that police car was maybe put there – that it was meant to slow my parents’ car down, just to keep me on the ground a little longer.

There was fog in Boston last Tuesday. All the Boston-bound flights were delayed, which meant I had to cool my heels in Reagan for a couple hours. Logan is right on the harbor – fog isn’t out of the ordinary – but there was weather between DC and Canada. Why was my particular flight delayed? Was something keeping me in Washington?

You can read patterns in random events. Maybe that fog and that cop were just random, normal things. Maybe everything is what it is, and the only connections that exist are the ones we make up. It’s hard not to see (or want to see) connections between things, though. Last week in Washington and today in Massachusetts, it’s like there was something that wanted me to stay.

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Yeah, I know this is two days late. The links still work just fine, though, so click on:

• Make chain reactions to win this simple, funnily named game: Boomshine

• The Emo Baby Name Generator

• These warning signs sure are wacky!

Hit the jump for lame Batman comic book covers, a bizarre squid ever, and a Mario Kart love song.

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A friend asked me yesterday if The Daily Monthly was going to post any more of those neato house music videos, as we have been known to do in the past. Ask and ye shall receive: I present to you the unveiling of a new column, Techno Tuesday. Neat alliteration aside, this weekly series will treat you to a mind-bogglingly awesome slice of visual electronica each week. To start things off, “Sex & Sun” by Aloud. It isn’t really house music, but it’s hyper-kitschy and Eric Prydz decided it was cool enough to remix, so there:

For the video on which this is based, go here.

Hit the jump for the laziest, catchiest schlub you’ll ever see.

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On the future of American automakers, everyone, it seems, has a different opinion. The consensus here at Georgetown (speaking anecdotally) is that they should be allowed to fail. Automakers’ woes are attributable to a few things: their inability to anticipate the market’s move to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars; their unwillingness to retool factories or modify their product offerings as such; and the crushing weight of labor and health care contracts. So why should taxpayers bail them out – effectively absolving them of their failures?

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My family is hosting a couple of our Turkish friends during Thanksgiving. This has given my father ample opportunity for verbal witticism, such as “Since you are from Turkey, will you be bringing the turkey?” Bad puns aside, how did it happen that the country and the bird share the same name?

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Hailing from North Carolina, Will Marks (COL ‘09) is a regular writer on the Georgetown blog, Saxaspeak. He also serves on the Corp board. Will speaks about both of those activities as well as his favorite theology  class in this week’s installation of Gtown Gchat.

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So, looking back at my body of work, I write a lot about going out. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an integral part of senior year – being 21 opens a lot of doors, both literally and figuratively – but going out isn’t all I do. I go to class sometimes; I shop for food; I read the New York Times in its entirety. I’m just living my life! But when the biggest decision I have to make is, “What blend of fair-trade coffee do I want this week?” (legit) then it can be difficult to actually deal with a real-world question like, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

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Have you ever wondered how to categorize the blog you’re reading? Wonder no longer, as Typealyzer professes to answer the age-old question: “What type is that blog?” Here’s what they had to say about The Daily Monthly, accompanied by the above picture and the distinction of belonging to the category of ‘The Performers’:

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

This fits quite nicely with Vox Populi’s recent evaluation of our femininity, but a second opinion is always nice. Hit the jump for analyses of Vox Populi, SaxaSpeak, and the Hoya’s sports blog.

UPDATE: The Heckler’s fantastic blog has now been included. My apologies for the omission.

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At last, here it is. The movie every tween has been counting down the days - and hours, and minutes, and seconds- for. Let’s face it, a good number of college students are pretty psyched too. For as much hype as this movie has gotten, the trailer leaves a lot to be desired. It’s boring and seems unprofessional - like someone made it on their laptop while waiting in line at Starbucks. It’s kind of creepy too, and not in a good way - in more of a bad acting, overly dramatic way. And there’s a lot of scurrying up trees. This trailer had a lot of potential, but I have to say it disappoints. C.

Twilight

You can’t keep the Indy staff from finding great ways to waste your time. Today’s bonus edition has a definite political tone.

The Franken/Coleman battle rages in Minnesota, currently with Coleman in the lead by the non-existent hairs on his chinny-chin-chin. Now you can be the judge of some of the disputed ballots.

Wonkette points on an unfortunate (or accurate??), hilarious juxtaposition from the NYT’s front page.

Need to know what the Obama man is up every hour of the day? Politico’s got you covered.

Dear Indy,

My parents want to take my 15-year old sister and I on a “family vacation” and told us to suggest places to go. Where can I go that will be fun for both the two of us AND our parents?

–Vacayyyyy

Hey Vacay,

There are a ton of places that you’ll be able to go where you can have fun with your entire family! As much as that sounded like a commercial for some cheesy family-time vacation spot, there really are a lot of places that’ll cater to everyone’s needs. First, I would consider Florida. Especially at this time of year, Florida will be great for everyone. There are a bunch of spas and resorts to choose from, and Disney World is always a winner for South Floria vacations. If you want to be courageous and head up north this time of year, I would suggest Colorado. Known for its snow sports and lodge-like atmosphere, Colorado will cater to anyone’s needs! Mom and dad can read by the fire while you and your sister spa it up/go skiing/go snowboarding or snowtubing/whatever! And if you REALLY wanna get crazy, I’d head out west! Places like California and Arizona are great this time of year for a relaxing, fun vacation. There’s tons to do, from visiting the Grand Canyon to seeing Disneyland and Hollywood to just RELAXING! I hope this helped!

Dear Indy,

My sister just got her license and wants to drive me everywhere. The only problem is, she’s not a great driver and I’m, like, AFRAID to get in a car with her. What do I do?

–Bad Driver :/

Heyyy,

Okay, let me answer this by starting out with an anecdote. When I first started to drive, I would accidentally run red lights, make left turns on red, merge sporadically–the works. I thought I was doing amazingly, but it wasn’t until my OWN sister proclaimed that I was a “crazy driver and needed to chill out…A LOT” after which she slammed the door to my car and ran out that I realized I needed to change certain habits. That said, I’m not suggesting you do EXACTLY what my sister did (It was mean!) BUT I do think you should talk to your sister about her driving. Be gentle–she’s probably really proud of herself right now for passing her test and for actually being able to be on the road–but be direct, too. Once you talk to her, hopefully she’ll get the idea.

A Georgetown student at the National Day of Protest Against Prop 8

Well, he probably wouldn’t approve.

A Born Idler at the Walsh Blackbox, 11/14

You don’t have to travel far from Georgetown to enjoy new music. In fact, sometimes you barely have to leave campus. If you were one of the concertgoers at the Walsh Black Box theater last Friday night, you know what I’m talking about–A Born Idler and the Daley Machine, both bands of Georgetown students in celebration of A Born Idler’s new EP, You Will Be Destroyed. Read Full Post

Thanksgiving approaches, so we all have oodles of time to waste, right? Here are your weekly links:

• I knew that cats were up to no good, but now there’s proof.

• Dolphin jumping has never been more interactive or addictive.

• Google is hosting thousands of pictures from LIFE magazine, dating back to the 19th century. This one’s a real time-waster, so watch out.

• UPDATE: Sarah Palin totally hearts Ivana Trump. Who knew?

Hit the jump for cheery Christmas tidings and Snoop Dogg on Martha Stewart’s show.

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I’m all about puns, so a New Republic article called “Debt Man Walking” caught my attention. The article sets out in layman’s terms the process by which the dollar – and America’s financial health – became tied to other nations’ economies. I won’t attempt to summarize the piece; rather, I’ll fast-forward to the point where the author, John Judis, discusses the state of our economy and how it arose from a cauldron of international spending and borrowing.

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