NPR Stories of the Day: November 11 - 17, 2012

I listen to a lot of National Public Radio. I used to listen to my local station when my father drove me to elementary school. When I entered college, I found out I could listen to NPR on iTunes podcasts. I have been assembling the list of daily NPR stories and their taglines for about a month now, so I figure I could share them to a larger audience. Here are the NPR stories for the week of November 11, 2012. If you only read one of them, I recommend the story about education practices between Eastern and Western cultures.

Election Day 2012 Reflections

I had something to say about the presidential debates this year. I even managed to post all of it before I knew the election outcome. Now that Barack Obama is officially reelected, I can talk a little about what I was up to the day I exercised my civic duty.

Astronomy Pictures of the Day: November 11 - 17, 2012

Every once in a while, instead of a neat image, NASA posts a link to a video with an explanation. Last week we had a video from the Youtube user melodysheep. With that, here are the NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Day for the week of November 11, 2012.

Beach Blanket Babylon: Musical Theater and Incredible Hats

Logo for the SF show Beach Blanket Babylon

There’s a show on the North Beach of the city of San Francisco. It’s apparently the longest running musical revue around. I had the chance to attend it recently with my family to experience one of the city’s institutions. While Beach Blanket Babylon shows its age at points, it remains fun to watch for everyone in a magical musical journey.

Third 2012 Presidential Debate Impressions

Less than a week after the town hall meeting, on October 22 President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney met in the final matchup before the election. There would be no Saturday Night Live skit based on this confrontation. Again I headed to the meeting place with the large crowd, eager to follow along on Twitter and on IRC. Both candidates tried as much as possible not to talk on foreign policy during this debate as much as the forum wanted them to.

Network After Work Event Impressions

Logo for Network After Work

I’m currently looking for work in my field of expertise. A family member suggested I attend a networking event up in the city to make more connections. I was pretty satisfied with the experience that the national event group offered me that night.

Second 2012 Presidential Debate Impressions

On October 16, the second Presidential Debate would pit President Obama and former Governor Romney in a rematch. This time, the format was a town hall meeting with all issues open to discussion. I sat down with a larger crowd to watch the debate projected onto a large screen. I also had my laptop on hand, so I was posting to Twitter and an IRC room about the debates. It was the most fun I had since the debates started, probably because Barack Obama was not allowing Romney to attack without a fight.

Forever Alone: Review of a Revue

Promotional Image for the Revue Premiere

I love comedy. One of my favorite things to do is watching an improv show or participating in one. When I heard that one of my improv class teachers was in a show separate from the regular Comedy Sportz San Jose events, I eagerly went downtown to watch. I definitely enjoyed what they had to offer that night.

2012 Vice Presidential Debate Impressions

As Romney gained traction in the election, everyone was preparing for the second debate of the month, the debate between Vice President Biden and Congressman Ryan. I remember watching Biden passionately argue with Sarah Palin four years ago, and I was looking forward to seeing Biden in action again. This time I went to a more packed bar with the TV volume turned up to drown out the noise from patrons and the sports broadcasts. Little did I know how Biden would surprise everyone when he faced off against the Republican rival.

Film Review: The Miracle Worker

Poster for The Miracle Worker

Note: This was submitted as an assignment for my Women in Culture class. I am reprinting it here because I think it adequately analyzes the acting, direction, and general themes of the film for the purpose of a review.

In the time following the American Civil War, industrialization was changing the structure of American society. On an Alabama estate, a blind and deaf girl was struggling to communicate with others and feel her way around the world. Frustrated with the girl’s behavior, her parents requested a teacher from Boston to personally train the girl. The 1962 United Artists film The Miracle Worker chronicles Anne Sullivan’s tutoring of Helen Keller and the incredible accomplishment the pair reaches in communicating thoughts and emotions.

First 2012 Presidential Debate Impressions

I managed to watch all four of this year’s presidential debates live. Instead of sitting at home in front of my Xbox 360, I traveled around to interact with fellow debate watchers as the primaries went on. For the first debate I got stuck in traffic for about an hour before tuning to the radio to hear it begin. After watching the rest in the bar at a local restaurant, I had some idea of how the presidential race would change.

Astronomy Pictures of the Day: Week of September 23, 2012

When I was at Northwestern University, I was excited to get my hands on Mac OS 10.4 Tiger and install it the first day of release. One of its new features was Automator, which let users create scripts using basic templates without too much knowledge of computer languages. I made my own script, using directions from a magazine, to take the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, download it to my computer, and set the image to be my desktop.

The APOD site, in addition to displaying excellent images, offers descriptions of the phenomena shown. You could look through the archive, or you could just look through this list of APOD material for the week of September 23, 2012.

PAX 2012 Trip Report

PAX 2012 aka PAX Prime

This Labor Day Weekend, I was on vacation with my family in Seattle for a family event. When I realized what was going on, I suggested that we stop in the downtown area to check out the convention center. Someone sold me a Three Day Pass, and for the duration of the weekend I spent my mornings and afternoons at the 2012 Penny Arcade Expo in downtown Seattle. This is but a sample of my experience there.