7 Quick Takes (9/10/10)

–1–

This week I announced my revamped posting schedule for the blog, and the new series on the only religion I ever wished I could convert to will start on Sunday.

In the meantime, I thought I’d use the 7 Quick Takes this week to give a rundown of what I get up to at school, especially as a belated apology/explanation for the sparse posts as school was kicking off.

–2–

First things first. I’m a senior political science major, and I’m also in a 5-year Masters program in Public Health, so my schedule ends up pulled every which way. This semester I’ll be taking

Introduction to Epidemiology
Immunology for Epidemiologists
Graphs and Networks
Stephen Sondheim and American Musical Theatre
Lyric Writing for Musical Theatre

I had to decide between doing a full year senior essay in political science or taking the seminar on Sondheim. And by ‘had to decide’ I mean ‘had to pick Sondheim.’ One small illustration of why I love him so:

–3–

Aside from this blog (and plenty of papers for class), I do my writing at the Yale Daily News and the Huffington Post. The YDN columns are supposed to occur once every two weeks, barring a shakeup, and I’m trying to stick to writing for HuffPo on the off week. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Today’s HuffPo column takes a critical look at the planned Koran burnings for the anniversary of September 11th. Pastor Terry Jones’s actions are deplorable, but they are not unreasonable within the context of his religious practices. So how can we use religious practices as a way to evaluate the truth or morality of their theologies?

–4–

This week was particularly fun since my friend and I were holding auditions for the production of Iolanthe that we’re co-directing this term and that meant I got a lot of chances to try to quickly explain the typically convoluted Gilbert and Sullivan plot.

“So, you see there’s a boy who’s in love with an ingenue who’s the ward of a Lord Chancellor who lusts after her and once trysted with a fairy who was thrown out of the fairy kingdom for loving a mortal and giving birth to a half-fairy son who’s in love with an ingenue who’s the ward of a Lord Chancellor…”

–5–

The center of my life on campus remains the Yale Political Union. We just came off a very successful debate with Karl Rove, and I’m really excited for the guests we have this semester. A definite highlight: a debate in October on gay marriage between Maggie Gallagher and Evan Wolfson, both members of the YPU when they attended Yale.

I love getting the chance to question and argue with popular pundits every week on the Union floor. It’s even more satisfying than yelling them at them through the TV screen, and the responses are much more interesting when they’re real.

–6–

I love working on craft projects (though I’m always over-optimistic about how much I’ll do when I pack supplies). So far, most of the space in my room that isn’t occupied by bookshelves is heaped over with fabric, yarn, spraypaint, assorted electrical components and a sewing machine. After all, the countdown to Halloween has already begun!

–7–

And I’d hate to end the list without mentioning one of my all time favorite extracurriculars: