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Obama Watcher

“I would say at this point that he still has that magic.” – Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL.)

Magic. Star power. Balls. Whatever one calls it, Barack’s got it. And yes, he is Black enough. But, alas, this champion of ethics reform (ethics? out of Chicago?), recently deemed a “rock star” by the unsurpassable political mind of George Clooney, still trails in the polls.
The latest Rasmussen Report shows Obama garnering 23% of the support for the Democratic nomination to the 39% of a certain “liberal” New York senator. For once, the Democratic Party is actually less divided than the GOP. Yet a question remains as to whether either of the forerunners will survive the primaries. The party as a whole finds both candidates unelectable; an astonishing 54% say that a Caucasian male, most likely John Edwards, being nominated is likely, if not inevitable. Is it possible, that in the year 2008, the country’s mainstream progressive party, faced with presidential hopefuls including a woman, the country’s only Senator of African descent, and a Latino governor (New Mexico’s Bill Richardson is of predominately Mexican heritage) with a résumé longer than H.E. Sheikha Haya Rashed al Khalifa’s monogram, would still choose the WASPy male personal injury attorney?
So, in these times of doom, gloom, and intimidating statistics, what is Barack up to? At the moment, the whole of his campaign workers is keeping busy with the “Countdown to Change”, organizing in the early primary states of Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada, and New Hampshire. Maintaining its grassroots philosophy, the campaign relies heavily on the contributions, both organizational and monetary, of individual volunteers around the country. Barack continues to sit down to quiet, official dinners periodically with members of his constituency, generally chosen from those who have made small contributions to the election effort.
Meanwhile, he’s been remaining highly present in the media, recently writing a hard-hitting article for the New York Daily News on his plans for Middle Eastern foreign policy, including the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act he introduced to Congress in May. The near-constant stream of debates has continued, including the AFL-CIO debate in my hometown of Chicago a few weeks past, during which Obama’s opponents continued to attempt to undermine his readiness for the presidency. Most arguments were easily deflected on his part with grace, although even his most die-hard supporters grow a bit weary of Barack reiterating the fact that he voted against the war, unlike his opponents. When the strong corporate and lobbyist ties of a certain “feminist” were mentioned, she attempted to avoid the subject by smiling at the audience and saying, “So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I’m your girl.” My girl? Really, Senator Clinton? I was under the impression that you’re 59? Isn’t that a little old to be making public statements befitting a 13 year old running for captain of the junior high cheerleading squad? Go red! Red white blue!

Dispatches from Community Meeting

On Tuesday afternoon Antioch’s most famous weekly rendezvous again gave daytime tv a run for its money. First years: Community Meeting is Antioch 101. It’s where progressive ideals and the quirks of living in a tiny community grind against each other in the hopes of accomplishing the week’s business. And the whole institution facing annihilation twist just ups the ante as Corri, Chelsea, and Rory moderate the room.
With a guest appearance by Andrzej Bloch, the college’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO), the meeting climaxed and reached its restless denouncement during Pulse. Bloch, appointed to the COO role in light of former president Steve Lawry’s hasty resignation, danced in front of the room while he fielded questions from an array of community members representing nearly every constituency on campus.
Bloch, in a speech pre-empting Pulse, stated that Lawry’s early resignation came as a surprise and he refused to answer any questions pertaining to the specificity of Lawry’s decision. Bloch made it clear that as COO he is committed “to secure the best conditions for students and faculty.”
He announced that he was making budget room for new library employees.
He also stated and reiterated throughout the course of the meeting that he must serve a dual role in the capacity of COO. First he must keep the closing date of the college in mind and he must keep an eye on the possibility that the college might stay open.
Many faculty members raised issue with the tenor and significance of the new language of the title “Chief Operations Officer.” Scott Warren asked that, if in a standard corporate structure the COO must report to a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who the CEO of the College is. Bloch responded that he had not thought of the implications of the new terminology and that he didn’t have an answer to the question at that time.
Susan Eklund-Leen asked that Bloch clarify the reasoning behind Lynda Sirk’s hiring into the new position as assistant to Bloch. The latter responded that with Syrk installed as an assistant that communications would be streamlined. Eklund-Leen then asked Bloch who she worked for, the University or the College, and to “run tight herd” on her.
Bloch was later grilled by alumni relations officer Aimee Maruyama ‘96 whom on Friday was one of the employees who were asked to go home early. The locks to their offices were subsequently changed, their FirstClass access was restricted, and the IT department constructed out of office reply messages to any incoming email to their account, signing their names at the bottom. She asked, “I wonder if any of us have given you a reason to show that level of mistrust for our professionalism?”
Bloch answered, “Already the decisions were made. And I’m not going to second-guess why those decisions were made.”
His response garnered dismayed laughter, boos, and hisses from the crowd. He promised to speak to Maruyama about the decisions and asked them to “just accept it for what it is.”
Nicole Bayani asked Bloch if he would want the College to stay open, to close, or to reopen again in four years. He said, “Suspending operations at the college is not a wise idea,” and that he was “open minded to any possibilities that could keep the college open.”
Emily Mente asked if Bloch would continue Lawry’s commitment to attend each community meeting for the rest of the term to which he agreed.
Earlier in the meeting candidates for AdCil and ComCil announced their intentions for running and listed their credentials. Some old faces and some new, but each candidate was on board with perrenial ComCil candidate Scott Warren’s charge that “this year, more than ever, we need to build community.”
But looking on the bright side if all this happened second week what could we possibly be afraid of eighth week?

Question of the Week – Why was Steve Fired?

Mish’s Movies: Ratatouille

Ratatouille (helpfully spelled out phonetically on the movie posters, reminding us that yes, this movie is theoretically aimed at the under 10 crowd) follows the story of misfit French rat Remy, whose aspirations of becoming a chef are held back by his unsympathetic, garbage eating family. Destiny intervenes when a freak accident involving a shotgun toting grandmother and the Parisian sewer system lands Remy in the kitchen of his idol, the late Chef Auguste Gusteau. There, he teams up with the inexperienced “Linguini”, a garbage boy with similar dreams of chef-dom. The rest is director Brad Bird’s usual blend of sly wit, slapstick timing, and beautiful rendering. Beautiful rendering. I won’t subject you to the depths of my animation geekery here, but I will say that this is one of the most gorgeously animated films I’ve seen in awhile.
What impressed me the most about this movie was the depth to which Bird was willing to layer the story. The black and white messages usually crammed onto every inch of screen time were notably greyer, and as a result what should have been a simple animated feature held a note of realism I’d be gratified to see in mainstream non-animated films. Despite a humbler story-line than his previous films (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, and the wreck that was Cars) Bird retains a sense of pathos that comes across perfectly and sets Ratatouille apart from any other animated film produced this year.
I also have to throw out a nod to Pixar’s traditional pre- and post-film animation sequences. The short at the beginning, “Lifted”, is worth the price of admission alone. Fortunately, you won’t have to pay it: youtube.com/watch?v=Qs3FfayHBM8 Watch that, then keep in mind the following 105 minutes only get better from there.

(webeditors note – this URL returns ” This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by PIXAR” but you can do a search on youtube for ‘Lifted’ and possibly find one they haven’t yanked yet).

McGregor moves to Campus West

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Since 8 a.m. today moving trucks have been pulling up to Livermore Street and parking on all sides of Sontag Fels Hall. Movers are bustling in and out of the building, carrying cardboard boxes and office appliances. Three weeks before the beginning of their September Term, McGregor is moving to Campus West. Over the next four days, the University will be transferred to the new 94 000 square feet building on the edge of Yellow Springs.

McGregor University President Barbara Danley declared that she expected very minimal disruption in the activities of the University; “The building is already wireless, and we have a commitment to respond to our learners to the best of our capacity,” she said in an interview this morning. She confirmed that the IT department would be moved to the new campus but assured that service would continue to be provided to the college. She further dismissed the rumor that the building would be shared by franchised businesses: “We have committed ourselves to doing no harm to the Yellow Springs businesses”, she explained, “but we need to have a service providing quick food—not fast food—to our learners”. Danley reported having contacted local businesses such as Current Cuisine and Young’s Dairy to cater to the University.

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