Cyrus Farivar

Such were the words of my RW1 professor Sig Gissler today, summing up the life of a journalist. Gissler, among other things, has a reputation of being a very good, but very strict RW1 prof. He scolded someone for being five minutes late to class today. He also is the administrator of the Pulitzers, so I suppose it’s good to stay on his good side. Hardened and raised by Chicago and the Midwest, Prof. Gissler reminds us to “put hay…

First things first: Anyone wanna come visit me in September or October? You can now get round trip direct flights from SFO to JFK on

Courtesy: You’re Entering a World of Lebowski (The New York Times, August 8 2004) There’s a LebowskiFest here in NYC on August 13-14! I’m really tempted to go on the night of the 13th for the screening…I’m going to Philly that weekend…

Today I woke up around 8:30 and explored the neighborhood (walking down Broadway) a bit and obtained some food (eggs on a bagel at Nussbaum & Wu’s) and apartment supplies, including paper towels, orange juice, and toothpaste (not necessarily in that order). The rest of the day I just hung out mostly, and played phone tag with my Dad concerning what the strategy was to be concerning my bed. Last night, I slept on a sleeping bag on the floor.…

First let me say to all you guys who came to the party last night that you’re better friends than I’ve had in a long time — really. You guys are amazing, and it was wonderful to feel that I’ll actually be missed. Maybe that seems overly self-deprecating or whatever, but honestly, it meant a lot to me that you came, and made me laugh and fall over when I was bowling (Rich, Jake and Aaron). I’ll miss you guys,…

I’ll be back from LA this evening. If people want to hit up the Albatross, I’ve got two drink tokens that Rachel and I want to use up. I leave for NYC in two days. In other news: if you want to have a baby, go to Australia.

“You know,” he began, deadpan, “that in Islam we believe in angels. We believe that, after death, the person has to go into the ground and an angel comes and asks three questions. Who was your God? Who was your prophet? And what was your book? The right answers are: There is only one God, Muhammad is the prophet, and the book is the Koran. “So then this Muslim died. And the angel came and said, ‘Who is your God?’…

Most of the al Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and authorities are not sure whether the casing of the buildings has continued since then, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday. More than half a dozen government officials interviewed yesterday, who declined to be identified because classified information is involved, said that most, if not all, of the information about the buildings…

WASHINGTON — The federal government warned Sunday of possible terrorist attacks against “iconic” financial institutions in New York City, Washington and Newark, N.J., saying a confluence of intelligence over the weekend pointed to a car or truck bomb. Specifically, the government named these buildings as potential targets: –The Citicorp building and the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. –The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank buildings in Washington. –The Prudential building in Newark. U.S. Warns of Possible…

Neat/infuriating articles from around the country/world: [Neat] Muslims in Las Vegas, Part I: A Straight Path Through Sin City “What happens here, stays here,” winks the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in a national advertising campaign. The cityscape is awash in straightforward invitations to adult frolic. Seminude vixens beckon from freeway billboards, taxicab placards and newspaper racks, taking seductive bites out of apples, coiling themselves around serpents, posing seven across, hip to bare hip, buttocks flexed. What’s a good…