Blogging the 2009 STAR

Filling in bubbles on a sheet of paper rarely sparks the flow of any creative juices, but there was something inspiring about hearing my normally fairly intelligent teacher say, “Look at the name in Section 1 on the front page of your answer document. If your name is not there, please raise your hand” for the eighth time.

The vast amounts of unstructured time fostered a certain awareness of my surroundings I guarantee I never would have had if iPods were allowed. 

Here for your pleasure (or disdain) are some intricately detailed and thoroughly ordinary moments as recorded (and embellished) by myself and a few of my classmates.

She was blonde. She sat propped against the wall, legs crossed casually. Her hair was swept into an elegant bun, a few locks tumbling down to brush her tanned shoulders, which were hidden by her aged and well-loved black jacket. Her laptop keys clicked as she glanced around the room, recording her world.

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Her lips moved silently to the song only she could hear. Bent over her sketches, she turned her head this way and that, trying to find new eyes. The pearls sat in her ears next to the white earphone. She began to sketch.

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Her feet tapped against the ground to the rhythm of the music in her head. Her hand supported her chin thoughtfully as she glanced over her shoulder. Her legs formed artfully acute angles to the ground until she stretched them. She sighed, disturbed by the topic of her book. (The book was Hitler and the Nazis.)

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He was watching them. His flip-flops tapped on the ground at uneven intervals. Impatiently. When they glanced up at him, he quickly turned and pretended he had been opening a packet of trail mix the whole time. His eyes snapped to the teacher. And he began watching again.

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She sat sideways in her chair, nonchalantly cracking another bite off her half-eaten apple. She jotten down a few notes, one hand steadying her paper and the other on her pen. Her teeth held the apple firmly in place, her eyes daring it to fall. It didn’t. She slid her phone from her pocket and began to text.

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Her legs were crossed unconcernedly, her flip-flop dangling absentmindedly from her toes. Her hand went repeatedly to smooth her hair. Flipping it over her shoulder, she made a witty comment. She kept raising her voice, laughing louder than needed, waiting for them to turn their heads.

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Sitting in the chair, she stared up at the ceiling. Casually looking around the classroom, her eyes always darting back to the clock. Her expression was bored. But as the toxic Sharpie smell spread throughout the classroom and reached her nose, she snapped alert. Her eyes, idle no longer, swept the room for the source and the culprit.

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She slept.

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He stood up, sliding between the chairs blocking his path. He wasn’t needed, so he slid back down, waiting. When she tossed his essay on the desk in front of him, he took a look and smiled ruefully. His friend grabbed the report, glanced at the grade and threw him an apologetic look. He shrugged, a self-conscious smile still playing on his lips, and turned back to his thoughts.

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The flowers on the table lay wilting, forlorn, trailing into the white icing on the cake. Her head, covered by the hood of her green jacket, rested on her arm. Every so often, without looking up, she would slide her hand to the left to sneak a fingerful of icing.

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And the bell rang.

Note: This article is based upon factual events, but does not strictly adhere to the constraints of reality. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons is almost entirely accidental (except in maybe a few cases). But if you think you’re in this article: hey! That’s pretty cool.

Candidate Comparison

High school government is traditionally focused on school spirit and planning enjoyable activities for the student body. Rarely does the occasion arise that a student brings a broader social issue to light before announcing his or her candidacy; indeed, high school candidates tend to announce and then endeavor to prove themselves to voters.

But this could be the year that everything changes.

Candidate #1: Kevin Ward (sophomore) is well-known for his advocacy for equality of minority groups at Paly. 

As a member of freshman TEAM, Ward was not able to run for student government his freshman year, but took an active role in ASB this past year. After running unsuccessfully for the sophomore vice-presidency, Ward applied for the position of Sophomore Site Council Representative and was successful. 

During his time in office, Ward created the new ASB office of Diversity Commissioner, a post he has filled and will continue to fill for the remainder of his term. 

Ward's Facebook campaign page (Kevin Ward for ASB President) has 316 members.

Ward is head of the Paly UNITY club and was featured in the recently released film "Not in Our Town" by the Working Group.

Candidate #2: Olivia Diamond (junior) has been involved in student government since she was elected president her 8th grade year at Jordan Middle School. Diamond has most recently served as co-Spirit Commissioner with Lucy McComas. 

Diamond's main campaign emphasis has been on increased student participation in ASB activities, and she has made herself more accessible by connecting with the electorate during lunchtime campaign stops at various lunch spots around campus. 

Diamond's Facebook campaign page (Olivia Diamond for ASB President 2010) has 256 members. Diamond was also the only ASB presidential candidate to reply to a Facebook message requesting a campaign statement for use on this blog. (Ward denies having received the message and technical difficulties may be at fault for this.)

Diamond is also responsible for the creation of Spring Spirit Week, which will take place the week of May 19.

Candidate #3: Ivan Zhou (junior) is the current Junior Class President. His Facebook campaign page (Ivan Zhou for your 2010 ASB President) has 208 members and features an extensive statement including details of his past work and future policies. According to his page, Zhou is a strong advocate for the return of Paly's International Fair, a program which had been cut due to lack of interest. He also promises to recreate the election system with specific changes such as introducing mandatory speeches for all prospective officers and altered rules for campaigning. Finally, Zhou wholeheartedly supports the newly established LinkCrew, a team of upperclassmen who work to smooth the transition for incoming freshmen.

Best of luck to all the candidates and Paly, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!!!

UPDATE: Kevin Ward will be the next president of Palo Alto High School ASB.

Berlin Wall: Palo Alto Edition

On Friday, a Palo Alto Weekly post began like this:

"The sleek, blue train zips on elevated tracks along Churchill Avenue, soaring high above passing cars, traffic lights, meandering bicyclists and the occasional pedestrian."

Of course, the subject of the article was California's controversial high speed rail project, which, if it happens, will follow the current Caltrain tracks with four street crossings in Palo Alto, including one at Churchill Avenue.

City officials say the most cost-effective method of implementation is an elevated track, but according to the article, tunneling (subway style) and something sinister called "open trenching" are also on the table.

The post goes on to explain architect James McFall's endeavor to create an accurate representation of the appearance and impact of such a track. Complete with a video that is now on YouTube, McFall's computer-generated rendering presents a bleak future, and not just because of the primitive graphics.

A 21-foot concrete wall runs adjacent to the Paly football field with a square tunnel at Churchill Avenue for street-level transportation. The structure is the width of four train tracks and projects significantly into the current location of the bike path, also parallel to the football field. Atop this gray "train aqueduct" stand telephone poles, almost doubling the height of the entire construction. The landscape resembles that of either Tatooine made entirely out of dirty styrofoam or a town in Alaska. The video ends with a voiceover. The voice (presumably that of the architect) says, "High speed rail: it's going to be here for generations. Let's do it right."

Mr. McFall, I may not know much, but I know a good job when I see it. I've seen high speed rail done right. And sir, that is not high speed rail done right.

Now, to be fair, the rendering is rudimentary, only meant to show the essential aspects of construction. A full Palo Alto backdrop for the desolate rendering would no doubt make the prospect more attractive. And a wall really is less expensive than a system of tunnels, something that matters in an economic environment such as ours. Also, if elevated tracks really are built, it is highly unlikely that they would stand on an unadorned gray concrete wall.

But the fact remains that historically, a concrete wall through the middle of a city has not been the answer to the city's problems.

Commenters on the post have already begun to make their objections, with 80 responses so far.

One responded, "This high speed rail project just sucks. I hate the idea of having an ugly looking thing like that literally 10 feet away from some people's homes and from Paly's football field." And just to reinforce the point: "Geez, it just makes me so upset."

Others were more rational with their responses: "this is really terrible...but it does not give a good alternative...what does underground look like?"

And my personal favorite, "Mr. Diridon, tear down that wall."

I am not opposed to all high speed rail. I am opposed to dumb high speed rail. I would welcome the opportunity to get from SF to LA in 2 hours just as much as the next person. But my desire for fast transportation is in no way worth a split community, a blight on the face of Palo Alto, and the effective realization of a Palo Alto version of the Berlin Wall.

TV: Beloved American Pastime or Thing of the Past?

"You don't have a TV? Dude, how do you live?"

How does one respond to that question?

"I read books"? Weird.

"I do homework"? Nerd.

But luckily for the handful of us whose parents were determined to deny us access to Elmo, Barney, and Miley Cyrus, there is now a moderately socially acceptable answer.

"I watch it online."

Thanks to online services that provide free access to full episodes of countless TV shows, we deprived children have been provided a chance at redemption.

Hulu, quite popular at Paly, invites you to "Watch your favorites. Anytime. For free." According to Hulu's "most popular of all time" section, those favorites include seven Family Guy episodes, 11 SNL excerpts, and, at #1, "Talkshow with Spike Feresten: Cable PSA." A click on the link to this last and ominous title leads to a video about an old lady who cannot figure out how to convert her analog television to digital. Given, it's quite entertaining, but the fact that this video is the most popular of all time may give some clues about general viewership demographics. 

But regardless of the average viewer's strange fondness for struggling old people, Hulu appears to be quite profitable; according to TVByTheNumbers.com, the company will rake in as much as YouTube in 2009.

And the resources hardly end there. More mainstream favorites such as Gossip Girl, House, and Dancing with the Stars can be found at CWTV, HouseMDEpisodes.com, and Fancast, respectively.

Not all of these sites are legitimate or legal, and some are downright sketchy. But they are rampant on the internet. Many networks have given up fighting copyright law altogether and begun posting full episodes on their official websites. NBC offers full episodes for the majority of its shows, as does MTV.

Of course, conventional television may still be the most convenient and immediate way to stay up to date on the hottest shows. And there is a certain connection among those who share obsessions for certain shows. Knowing that everyone in your time zone who cares about One Tree Hill is watching the exact same episode at exactly the same time as you is exhilarating. And it's quite difficult to scream about how Rachael left that dude at the altar last night on Friends when everyone watches the episodes at different times.

It remains to be seen if more networks will follow NBC and MTV in posting entire episodes online, but if they can net just as much from online advertisers as television ones, there may be a major shift in how the majority of America watches American Idol.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch Celebrity Apprentice.

Restaurant Review: Passion in Every Spoonful at Junnoon

       “Life is short; eat dessert first.” This well-known piece of lighthearted advice is rarely taken literally. Instead, those who subscribe to the dessert-first policy live life passionately for the moment, take risks, and enjoy every minute of it.

        As usual, a more concise translation can be found in another language: in this case, one word in Urdu: junnoon. The word stems from the Farsi junoon, meaning obsession, craziness, and passion, and the downtown Indian fusion restaurant of the same title takes its namesake seriously.

       Trendy Indian décor infuses the atmosphere at Junnoon and promises a vibrant scene – if you can get in the door. Entrance to the restaurant is a challenge; the heavy copper-plated wooden door blends into the building façade, and one might accidentally walk through the window unless directed otherwise. As a party of 11, there was a 20 minute wait for a table, but the glowing glass coffee table, crystal ceiling hangings, and stack of bamboo near the door in the entry lounge made for easy and engaging conversation.

      The main dining area was a deep carmine; dimly lit but comfortable and intimate. Almost as soon as we sat down, complimentary plates of the thin, round chips called papadum were placed before us, accompanied by a yogurt-peanut sauce. Although rather bland and unenhanced by the dense yogurt-peanut blend, the papadum came in handy later when trying to snag bites of curry from across the table.

     When ordering, a dining companion mentioned his peanut allergy. The young blond waiter with an intriguing but unplaceable European accent swiftly pointed out the menu items that contained the offending legume and conjured up a peanut-free yogurt and avocado raita, on the house.

     The temperature in the restaurant was warm enough to warrant comment; a nearby thermostat read 73. But all temperature concerns were soon remedied by passionfruit mango lassis ($6) and virgin mojitos (also $6). The lassi was full-bodied and velvety without being heavy. The sweetness of the mango was tempered by a light tart dash of passionfruit. The mojito, on the other hand, was downright sour. Refreshingly chilly and served in a tall tumbler, its raw flavors of mint, sugar, and lime did well to awaken the palate.

     Junnoon’s kitchen closes at 9:30 p.m., so to get our order in on time, our obliging waiter brought dessert menus along with our main menus. Both were printed in an uninspired but quite legible font on thick yellow parchment. All menu selections strike the balance between providing patrons with variety but avoiding an overwhelming inundation of choices.

    Appetizers  Lamb kebab rolls ($9) were terrifically satisfying. Served with a flavorful and zesty green mint sauce, the appetizer was outstanding in its balance of substance and taste.
Spinach paneer parcels ($8), despite their endearing name, packed in some serious spice. Six quiche-like cups of puff pastry filled with a piquant spinach-cheese mixture had no need of the even hotter red garlic aioli sauce, but the flavors served as effective preparation for the heat of the entrées.

    Entrées   Tandoori black pepper steak ($20), served with roasted sesame yellow sweet potatoes, was juicy and substantial, but it was nothing without the sweet and sour pomegranate molasses. The sauce poured more like ponzu than molasses and brought out bitter, savory, and intriguingly dark undertones in the meat while adding its own tang. 

     “Old Delhi Style Chicken,” ($19), was essentially a colorfully named chicken tikka masala, also known as butter chicken. A spicy red curry carried the tender meat well, although the former lacked definition and could have been improved by evoking a measure of sweetness to balance the spice. 

     Tamil chicken ($19) incorporated cubed chunks of chicken into a more temperate yellow curry. Unfortunately, the yellow curry leaned toward chalkiness, but members of our party with lower spice tolerance appreciated the respite.

     Sides   Garlic and rosemary naan ($4 and $3, respectively) had a crispy exterior and a warm, tender interior. Four pieces per order left only a taste for each diner, but the flatbread soaked up excess curry remarkably well.

     A side of black lentils took a little longer to arrive, but was well worth the wait; the lentils were suspended in a vaguely spicy mahogany sauce that provided a solid base for other more exotic dishes.

    Dessert  Dynamic and delicious though the appetizers and entrées were, the true caliber of a restaurant can almost always be measured by dessert. Here, Junnoon does not disappoint.
Because we had a birthday in our party, the icy vanilla kulfi (normally $7) was on the house. A wafer of caramelized sugar accompanied the rich vanilla ice cream, which carried hints of cardamom.

    But the pièce de résistance and quite possibly one of the best desserts I have ever tasted was the spiced molten chocolate cake ($8). A petit cylinder of chocolate cake was filled with heaven in the form of hot chocolate sauce lightly touched with cinnamon. Alongside the cake of joy and happiness rested several grapefruit slices and ginger vanilla ice cream that was more vanilla than ginger. Both were pleasant, but neither could match their divine companion.

     Like most upscale restaurants, Junnoon automatically adds an 18% gratuity for parties of eight or more. With eleven high school sophomores to wait on, our server more than earned his tip. But despite the lateness of the hour and the high energy level of the customers, the wait staff was courteous throughout. There was never a moment when they seemed exasperated or even mildly annoyed, and for this they are to be highly commended.

    Indeed, there is little room for criticism at Junnoon. And although the “eat dessert first” philosophy evokes passion and a love of life, the overall quality of food, ambiance, and service at Junnoon merits a rather different aphorism: “save the best for last!”

Capitol Crisis

The California state legislature has been in a budget stalemate for the past eight months, but I never fully appreciated the gravity of the situation until State Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) began handing out toothbrushes to his senate colleagues Tuesday morning.

One of the privileges extended to interns for State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), besides calling him "Joe", is an open invitation to the state Capitol in Sacramento, and that is where I spent my Tuesday. 

The architecture of the building itself is actually quite fascinating; for example, the Capitol "dome" is really made up of two nestled domes, and if you know the right people, you can climb a spiral staircase through the gap between them to get a 360 degree view of Sacramento. On Tuesday, 30 mph winds and driving rain prevented us from making the ascent, but I am determined to get up there someday.

But by far the most intriguing part of my day was the part we spent on the floor of the Senate, listening to lawmakers yak about the final bill in the budget package, which concerned taxes. Always a hot-button issue, the subject of taxes tends to elicit hyper-partisan behavior on both sides of the aisle.

We were seated behind the press. "Don't say anything you don't want in the LA Times," Joe said with a wink, but the reporter assured us that everything was off the record.

The debate continued. The Senate was only one Republican vote shy of the required 2/3 to pass a budget, so the discourse was more procedural than substantive, and many senators left their seats to converse with colleagues or left the room entirely.

The most memorable quotes of the afternoon require the use of a broad range of adjectives.

Sincere: "Living within our means does not guarantee a meaningful life."

Cliché: "If we don't pass this, the California dream will become the California nightmare."

Failed analogy: "California is that plane. But this is no ordinary plane. This is the - big - jumbo plane."

Oh-screw-it: "Face it, we're in this mess because we didn't fix our fiscal a** back then."

The dialogue was interrupted by a brief appearance by Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, the pilot who safely landed a plane in the Hudson after a run-in with a Canadian goose. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had held a ceremony honoring the captain earlier. Several senators congratulated him on his courage and presence of mind.

"From one pilot to another, thank you," said Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria). Maldonado has a reputation for being a moderate Republican, and he was the one who cast the deciding vote on Thursday's ultimate budget compromise. Unfortunately, Gloria Romero (D-East LA) felt the need to respond to his comment with, "I'm not a pilot. I don't have a plane like some of my colleagues. But as a passenger, thank you, Captain."

We ended the day with a chat with Joe, who pointed to the air mattress he was going to be sleeping on that night as an illustration of the life of a legislator. Then the omnipresent loudspeaker on the ceiling announced the start of a Democratic caucus in five minutes, and Joe headed off.

Approximately 32 hours after I left the Capitol, our state had a budget.

And because the budget is effective until mid-2010, it's the earliest one we've ever had.

Spotlight: My Hero

The first sentence of my script was, "The name Desmond Tutu resonates richly with people all across the world," but I could guarantee that 90% of the 7,000 high school students assembled in the field house of the University of Maryland had no idea who the guy was.

If you are included in that 90%, let me be the first to tell you that Desmond Tutu is an archbishop from Cape Town, South Africa, 77 years old, and one of the most adorable people I have ever met.

But the man is more than his lovable name. As a vigorously anti-apartheid activist and an Anglican Archbishop emeritus, Tutu is incredibly knowledgeable on issues ranging far and wide, from the current Gaza conflict and the Vietnam War to what Mary said when the archangel Gabriel told her that she would bear God's son. 

Tutu was ordained to the priesthood in Johannesburg. In 1978, he left his post as Bishop of Lesotho to become the new General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. This was the position from which he led a formidable movement for justice and racial reconciliation in South Africa. His tireless work was fully recognized in 1984, when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1996, President Nelson Mandela appointed Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the association set up to investigate human rights violations during apartheid. Since 1998, Tutu has been a visiting professor at several overseas universities and has published several books, the most recent of which is entitled God Has A Dream.

Right before I stepped onstage to introduce him, I grabbed a pen and burst out, "CanIpleasehaveyourautographplease?" He smiled obligingly, gently took the pen, and wrote on the back of my speech, "God bless you. Desmond." I can tell you, I nearly melted.

Tutu is a spectacularly charismatic speaker with calm amiability and warm South African accent that immediately puts people at ease. He connects with crowds artfully and quotes scripture effortlessly. He spoke about how, again and again, God chose young people to be, as he put it, "God's collaborators," citing examples like Jeremiah (a prophet), Francis of Assisi (founder of the Franciscan friars), and, of course, Mary (Jesus's mother). 

And yet, the strict and uptight manner one might expect from one who has spent nearly his whole life in the clergy is just not there. At one point, Tutu, assuming both roles in a conversation between God and Jeremiah, said, "Jeremiah, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Jeremiah responds, "Oh, God. You don't seem to know very much about human biology." 

Desmond Tutu is one of those rare souls who radiates pure and simple joy to all those around him. Indeed, Tutu exemplifies the ideal religious leader: one who is at once deeply pious, inspirational, wholly morally upright, and a true advocate and activist for peace.

He stepped off the stage to a thunderous standing ovation. 90% of the people had just learned who Desmond Tutu was, and 100% loved him.