Zotters Blog

Reading through latest TIME magazine issue, there was a short but fairly enticing article entitled ‘The Moment - Day One: Back to School' that reminds readers that most primary and secondary schools across America are about to or already are in session.  It also reminds readers that both main candidates in the upcoming elections are not really giving any new or substantial plans to upgrade and prepare these students for the 21^st Century...an issue that over the past decade has become a bigger and harder one to deal with. 

Yes there are some charismatic messages, such as from Obama who vigorously told viewers, in his latest Democratic Convention speech, that he supports the "moral obligation to provide students a world-class education," and sure, both sides do have a small list of talking points from

This past Friday we learned that John McCain had selected Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his VP for the Republican ticket. Gee, that's just peachy. It was particularly noteworthy that Palin just had a baby this year with Down's Syndrome rather than aborting it. Over the weekend, there was blog speculation that the baby was not Sarah's but actually belonged to Bristol, Sarah's high school-aged daughter. Wow, that's right out of a plotline on Desperate Housewives. On Monday, Labor Day, the story is revealed that Bristol is currently pregnant in her second trimester and will be marrying the father. Well, how ironic is that.

In theory, abstinence is the only way to guarantee that someone won't get pregnant or develop an STD, but in reality, it's not a feasible line of thinking for everyone to implement in the

 Way to steal the spotlight from Obama! 

I was shocked this morning when greeted with the news that McCain had announced his VP pick - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

I had already heard about Palin in the news when she gave birth to her youngest child, Trig, who was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome.  It was impressive that a mother who already had four children chose to not terminate her pregnancy due to the prenatal diagnosis, but that she was a major political figure to boot.  I was also shocked when she returned to meetings at work just days after giving birth, but I understand that such sacrifices must be made when you have such a high-powered position where hundreds of thousands depend on her leadership.  Of course, the public must be understanding when it comes to her personal life and the caretaking of the

When I ask people why they don’t care to recycle or why they nonchalantly chuck coffee cups out their car windows, the most common response is one of apathy. “I don’t care. Why should I?” Sometimes they do it to spite me and my “kind.” There’s something tragically wrong with this picture: we Americans are vastly aloof from reality, in fact far less down-to-Earth than many of us would argue. The scourge here involves a lack of understanding about the way life-forms interact with one another and the planet. Most of us are unaware that without the sun the vast majority of life would be extinguished, or that forests filter water, hold soil together, and act as storage for carbon. More generally, because we do not face the ecologically unsound repercussions of our lifestyles it becomes more difficult to

As this year's cohort of medical school applicants works on their secondary applications and gets ready for upcoming interviews, I thought I would post and debunk some undesirable reasons to want to be a doctor, some funny, some serious.  I probably don't need to say this, but it really is important to know why you personally want to be a part of the profession, not just to answer the question but to have real justification for going down this path when it does become difficult.

• "I will be able to get it on with my hot colleagues like on Grey's Anatomy."  In real life, med students study a lot, and there's, like, work to do in the clinical setting.  Plus, the attendings are usually not as attractive as McDreamy or McSteamy.
• "I will make a lot of money."  In actuality, it takes 4 years to get through medical

In June 2008 I warned UCI's Earth System Science department that if they didn't stop their blind pursuit of global warming scare tactics, they would soon be thoroughly embarassed. Apparently these onward marching pilgrims just can't help themselves as the cult of global warming continues to survive.

 In a new report released this week by UC Irvine researchers and graduate students, UCI ESS claims to have made another revolutionary discovery in the realm (religion) of global warming: they claim that trees across Southern California are 'migrating' to cooler climates due to the warming of the planet.

  The scientists ruled out air pollution and fire as reasons for the tree deaths and habitat shift. "For one thing, air pollution, specifically ozone, is a big killer of trees in the mountains of Southern

Is it a person who zots? I mean, that would be an anteater, correct?

 Am I an anteater? For most sports based schools, that would be a slam dunk. But UCI is very anti-sports. Maybe not intentionally, but we stink at all of them. Also, I'll be all graduated in two quarters, so even partial anteaterdom would be short-lived.

 I like the zot sound effect. It smacks of zounds, ziggy, and other funny z words. The zotter, much to be taken from that. Doubt, envy, excitement, it's really the greatest words that comes to mind when you think of "zotter".

 Also, since I did win a million dollars on NBC's "1 vs. 100" (by the way, look out for my fabulous about.com article on the subject), I must quote that great comedian from "Chapelle's Show" whose name I can never remember and say, "I'm rich, biotch!". Honk, honk,

Having visited Beijing last year for the first time since sixth grade, I was stunned at how quickly the city grew upwards. Skyscrapers competed with luxury hotels for the attention of businessmen and tourists alike, making Beijing feel less like the capital of a socialist superpower and more like a Chinese New York City where a new generation of young professionals were starting to take hold. Sure, they still can't openly speak out against the government, but their new money speaks for itself. Judging by the expanding economic openness in the capital, democracy for China will be achieved more economically than politically.

And now more than ever China's flagship city is being exposed to an international audience, giving China more television exposure than it could have ever wished for. China wants to

I find it amusing that we consider our cars to be extensions of ourselves on the road.  However, I don't find it as amusing when other drivers become hyper-aggressive when "protected" by their metal casing.

I will confess, I have been prone to letting my thoughts (and my hand gestures) slip out of control on a drive here and there (OK, OK, it was so bad at one point when I resided in New Mexico that I had to limit myself to one flip off and one cussing out of a driver.  Per day.)  I will also confess that I reign in such behavior when I am driving in what I think of as "high-risk zones," (i.e. the 73, Los Angeles County, anywhere at night or that's relatively vacant).  I also behave myself when there are others riding with me.  But I have never actually acted out by using my vehicle, my hands, or any other

I saw the below video on the Zotters homepage RSS feeds today. The video argues that the photo recently put up in the Anthill Pub of Amir Malik Ali "demonstrates the hatred of Jews."

I would just like to clarify that the photo was put up among many others because it was among the final winners of a competition held by the New University Photo Team this school year for the "top journalistic photos" of the past few years. It was chosen as a winner of this competition by neither the Associated Graduated Students nor the Anthill Pub staff. A little research would behoove the filmmakers.

 I don't agree with most of what Malik Ali says. But I find it hilarious that a photo depicting him having an argument with a UCI student on Ring Mall can be interpreted as