Today's "Not Newsworthy" Headline

Via ABC News: 'Lost' Fans Fear Obama Speech Will Bump Premiere

1. This isn't news.
2. I like Lost as much as the next guy, but it certainly isn't more important than a presidential speech.

Watch the premiere at the same place you live your lives: online.

Today's "Not Newsworthy" Headline

Via the NYT: Obama Meets with Security Advisers

Shouldn't it be assumed that our president meets with his security advisers regularly, if not more than daily?

Today's "Not Newsworthy" Headline

Via CNN: How Tiger's Wife Spent the Holidays

This is not news.

Today's Rejected Ledge Starring: My Nuts Are on Fire!

"Today's Rejected Ledge" is a daily column written by me and submitted to the Daily Iowan, who in turn rejects it. Sometimes it is written specifically to be rejected, sometimes it is not. When each of these is the case, is for you dear reader, to figure out.

Danny Devito has a Twitter Account and the man does not disappoint. Check out my top ten favorite tweet's of the Troll's since he created his account.

10. Balls starting to heat up. Going to see Siegfried! First time. Backwards, I know, never the less.12:18 PM Oct 11th from Tweetie

9. Caw caw cacaphony cloud covered canopy circle onex dinguses defying Sir Isaac in solidarity, screaming BEWARE LITTLE TROLLS!3:13 PM Oct 11th from Tweetie

8. Kung Pao. Szechwan. Mu Shu. Beer. Go Chinese Bitches! http://yfrog.com/16r2fjj7:29 PM Oct 10th from Tweetie

7. Tickling ivories. Temp tumble takes toll on Troll toes! Chill is on the pumpkin. No fire on balls at all! http://yfrog.com/1szufj1:35 PM Oct 10th from Tweetie

6. Phone dead. Ducked into the Pompidu. Fem. Art. Paris is raining it's balls off! Actually it's genitals..Art and Effect!1:10 PM Oct 7th from web

5. Digg my troll feet dear bitches! http://bit.ly/3voulk1:51 AM Oct 11th from web

4. Magma moment thundering roar of fans feeling fullness. Linger yes! Eyes now open, feeling cool sheets,stretch in silence. Esto perpetua!6:40 PM Sep 27th from web

3. Pumped about tomorrow night. LA and four thousand blazin crotches! Viva flaming Palladium genitalia! http://yfrog.com/0i3qnkj3:48 AM Sep 25th from Tweetie

2. The time has come the walrus said to speak of many things. Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of Hot balls! The nightman cometh! Bitch10:04 PM Sep 21st from Tweetie

1. I just joined Twitter! I don't really get this site or how it works. My nuts are on fire.3:43 PM Sep 5th from web

3D Garbage Portraits

Just thought I'd make tonight a dump.

Via Digg: Check out these sweet renditions of classic portraits constructed using random objects.

Today's Rejected Ledge

Another soon to be abandoned blog by Nate? Yes.

My new idea? I've started writing Ledges. Aka the back cover of the Daily Iowan sports section, which have generally been written by Andrew Juhl since my freshman year. I have grown more and more to like his stuff, but sometimes it falls a little flat (which everything that has to be written once a day will do). This Star Wars one was pretty sweet, but then again it's hard for me to not like any reference made to Star Wars.

Anyways, most of these I write, I expect to be rejected by the DI, hence the title of these posts. Sometimes I mean for the rejection, like in this first one, sometimes I don't. You figure it out. Anyways, I'll say this will be a regular thing, until it isn't.

Things Deemed Newsworthy that Aren’t

1. Celebrity Eating Habits: barring any diagnosed medical condition, if you don’t want to be fat, eat healthy and exercise. Don’t base your happiness on disgustingly determined societal images of “Celebrities.”

2. Strike that last one. It should read Anything to do with “Celebrities.” Britney Spears should be exiled. Perez Hilton uses Paint to draw cum stains on pictures. I guess knowing about Brody and the Kardashian’s fued makes you credible.

3. Political Sex Scandals. Human Beings, especially those that run “news organizations” have no right to be morally presumptuous of other human being’s lives.

4. Anything to do with “Celebrities.”

5. Intramural Sports

6. The coverage of animal rights over human rights. Michael Vick rightfully spent 18 months in prison for murdering dogs. Dante Stallworth spent 30 days in prison for the death of another human being. Are we all degenerate?

7. Reviews: Movies, music or literary. Consume media because it moves or inspires you. Formulate your own opinions about things (especially about this statement).

8. Jon and Kate. Maybe the 8. Seriously, Jon and Kate disgust me.

9. Did I mention celebrities?

Note: Nathan Ley wants to inform readers that he wishes he was as jacked as Brad Pitt in Fight Club, was quoted in a Daily Iowan intramural sports story this semester, used to write movie, music and literary reviews for the Daily Iowan, and is usually morally presumptuous of other human being’s lives. He doesn’t really have a problem with dog killing though – well at least not while human killing continues.

A Quasi Semi-Sort of Response to Frank Durham

Journalism Professor Frank Durham wrote an interesting op-ed piece in the DI today. You can view it here. And while I don't disagree with him in any way, I did feel that a response was necessary, so I wrote one. Hopefully you will see it in the DI on Thursday. Here it is early though...

A Quasi, semi-sort of, not really response to Professor Frank Durham.

I don’t believe anyone would say binge drinking is a “good” thing. I also don’t believe that anyone would try and argue against the statements Professor Durham made in the Guest Opinions section of the Daily Iowan on Tuesday May 12. However, something should be said in response and luckily being direct does have its place. Here goes.

In two days I will have finished my junior year here at the University of Iowa. I will be one class shy of completing an undergraduate degree in Journalism and four courses shy of completing another in Informatics. The majority of my time here has been spent furthering my education, though I have certainly willingly participated in binge drinking on a number of occasions.

Professor Durham, you are 100% correct in saying the problems of the world are ours to inherit and attempt to solve – we accept this challenge willingly. As a soon-to-be senior though, it has been my experience and that of my peers that this university and its faculty are not always conducive to providing us with the necessary tools.

Much too often do I see dedicated, ambitious students fall victim to professors and classes dedicated not to the actual learning and understanding of real-world concepts, but rather busy work and irrelevant assignments that promote grade-grubbing more than knowledge. Too often are students enrolled in classes where the majority of their grade is based on attendance and homework assignments that should be used for understanding and not evaluation, rather than conceptual papers and tests. Too often are students enrolled in classes where overly qualified and intelligent foreign professors cannot speak our English language or understand the basic structure of our national society.

Please do not misconstrue my words. I have no doubt about the intelligence of the foreign professors utilized on this campus, but is there no screening process? Some people are simply not meant to teach – I assume this is why Iowa offers an education degree program, to develop practical and useful teaching methodologies. No student should be subject to the teaching policies of someone they cannot even verbally understand.

I would never argue that a student who skipped all of his classes would thoroughly and explicitly understand intricacies of a specific class, but the merit of his or her grade should not pertain to his or her presence in a lecture hall. Most likely if a student is skipping enough class, his or her grades will be so reflected, but if a tuition student chooses to skip class and subsequently fail out, so be it.

And while these problems seem common place among the student body, they appear to be either unknown or utterly ignored by the administration. Along with classmates, I have submitted three end-of-semester evaluations honestly critiquing professors and their classes (two in the journalism department) in such a manner as to hopefully warrant a serious review of their teaching practices and course syllabi. All three of those professors continue to teach and with relatively unaltered syllabi.

Certainly I am not naive enough to believe any single set of those end-of-semester evaluations are taken in the least bit seriously, but even that in-and-of itself is genuinely discouraging as a student. In a conference with the interim director of the journalism school this semester, he admitted the amount of course work expected for a specific journalism was absurd. It will be interesting to see the dynamics of that class next semester.

I have had truly incredible professors at this university; professors who have challenged my views on education, work ethic and life in general; professors who have dedicated their time to the further advancement of the men and women in their classes and myself; professors who have acted much more than simply published scholars and academic employees; professors who have helped all their students continue to believe in the intrinsically good nature of human beings.

Make no mistake, the students at this university wish to learn and better themselves not only to the point of personal success but also to the points of influencing the lives of others in positive ways. We strive time and time again for excellence because we realize the enormous pressures and problems that stand ever growing and ever waiting for us once we enter the “real world.” We want desperately to do what you say Professor Durham – save the world. We know there are professors out there, men and women alike who want to help us. Sometimes though, we just need something, however small or large it may be, to restore our faith.