There is something that I frequently experience but rarely talk about. It is something that affects me on a daily basis. It is something that, when experienced causes me great frustration. I know I cannot be alone, but I rarely ever hear anyone else speak of it. What I am talking about, of course, is which direction to turn when you suddenly realize that you’re about to have a head-on collision.

I, rather instinctively, head to the right. Since the US is a ‘right side of the road’ country when we drive, it makes sense. On stairs, I also always start off on the right side. When riding my bike on campus, I always veer to the right. But sometimes, about once a day, someone always turns to the left, which is my right and into the inevitable awkward slow-turning of the bikes or side-stepping with funny faces and the occasional heavy sigh.

Life would be much easier if people just did what I wanted them to, rather than exercising free will.

Today was very obnoxious. As many of you, my dear readers, know I am a Photography major (BFA) in the Arts College at ASU. I am also pursuing a concurrent degree called a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) from University College. In order to be officially a dual-major, I have to have both schools recognize my desire to gain two degrees. I also need major status to be able to enroll in certain classes. This is where it gets tricky.

I have petitioned, and been accepted to the BIS program. However, unless I change my first major to BIS and then make my second major the BFA I cannot get “major” status at university college. The School of Art wouldn’t let me petition for dualmajors until I completed 12 hours in the art school. I finished up that requirement last semester. Keeping up so far?

Today I had advising with my BIS advisor hoping to get an over-ride so I can get into my BIS301 class. She said I had to be able to make it my major in their computer before I could do that, which meant I had to do the petition at the art college. I waited 2 weeks after making my initial appointment to be told there was nothing they could do today. Guess how long a wait it is to get my appointment with the College of Art? Yup. Two more weeks. I have no idea how long it will take for the petition for dual-majors to go through, so then another two weeks probably after that for another advising appointment. And even then I will STILL need manual overrides for all of my BIS classes since the computer system doesn’t understand the dual major thing. WTF? Are dual majors so rare that they can’t make the system robust enough to handle that? Barf.

Anyway. This weekend is Phoenix Pride and Sigma Phi Beta Initiation. I am gonna be strung out all weekend long. yay

Biggles Bunny.

Mr. Bigglesworth and I wish everyone a most joyous Easter

Canyon de Chelly Flickr Set.
On my trip to Kansas City for spring break, I decided to take a nice scenic 200 mile round trip detour to visit Canyon de Chelly.

My main photographic interest there was the White House Ruins. These are the only ruins at the monument that you can get to for free without a Navajo guide, as the park is deep in the Navajo Nation’s land.

The White House Ruins have been photographed by numerous historical photographers like Ansel Adams and Timmothy O’Sullivan.

I read on the blog at queerpunks.com about some news from my home state:

Anti-Phelps bill goes to Kansas governor Posted by Adam A church that protests military funerals across the United States, claiming the deaths are God’s punishment for a country that harbors gays, is facing possible restrictions in its home state of Kansas. A bill that keeps protesters at least 150 feet from a funeral was sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday. She is expected to sign it. “Kansas families will finally have some modicum of privacy as they bury their dead,” said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt. The small fundamentalist congregation pickets burials of U.S. troops killed in combat and says the protests are a form of religious expression protected by the U.S. Constitution. In response, at least 32 states have enacted laws restricting funeral protests, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In an unusual move, the Kansas bill also allows family members to sue if they feel protesters defamed the deceased. That is an exception to the general rule of law that one cannot libel or slander the dead.

Get the full story here.

Today I had another amazing opportunity, courtesy of my experience at ASU. I watched Al Gore give his Inconvenient Truth presentation at Gammage Auditorium on the ASU campus. Before the presentation I was at the VIP reception (a benefit of being a fraternity brother with the person who coordinated the entire thing - thanks Jimmy!) and was about 40ft away from the former Vice President when he spoke to us before his presentation.

Its really amazing that within the last 5 months I have seen two men who are my political heroes: Bill Clinton and now Al Gore. If you haven’t seen An Inconvenient Truth I highly suggest that you take a look at it. I already knew a lot about what VP Gore had in his presentation, but I also learned a few new things. Al Gore is fucking hilarious in person - something that I don’t think many people picked up on when he was a candidate. He was making jokes about himself and the current administration that had the entire house laughing!

I’m really glad I came to ASU because I have had so many opportunities here that I’d never have been able to enjoy back in KC. Yay!