I often times wonder how many lives have been saved through prior proper planning; in my book, carrying a pocket knife is one such way to ensure that you have yourself covered in a widerange of less-than-desirable instances. At the very least, there is a sharp blade that can function as many different tools (it’s what separates us from the monkeys
The Scoop is asking us what we brought to college. Well, I brought some fantastic tunes.
Among my massive iTunes album collection is this gem from
1978- “This Year’s Model” by
Elvis Costello. Often lumped in with the punk/new wave movement of the late 1970’s, Costello actually tends to lean more towards pop song writing- albeit some of the most bitterly composed lyrics of the era.
“This Year’s Model” is no exception, as it opens with a whispered “I don’t wanna kiss after all)! The knife on my desk has two blades, a bottle-opener, and a leather-punch. The way that it catches the light from the artificial light at my workplace connotes a sense of seriousness, like the friend who has got your back come hell or high water. A beautiful wood-inlay adorns the sides, and the pitted surface of the bark has been rubbed a bit through years of use. In my mind’s-eye, I see my grandfather who gave me my very first pocket knife and many more including the subject of this description. Even in old age,
Grandpa still manages to catch the light and give that comforting feeling. Knowing that I symbolically carry around a family member so dear, a Fresno
State alum himself, is such a good feeling. One of my favorites! you, I don’t wanna touch.” “No
Action” certainly sets the tone for an album that seamlessly combines cold apathy, brokenheartedness, furious sarcasm, and Farfisa organ to create a musical experience that draws you in, chews you up, and spits you out leaving you completely disoriented. It’s a 13 track romp that rarely sees a break in the energy.
After “No Action”, which is a song about a man who is disgusted with his girlfriend, come a power trio of songs, “This Year’s Girl”, “The
Beat”, and “Pump it Up”. The three songs rush by the listener in a whirl of irony mixed with miserable lust. “Pump it Up” is the star of the bunch, and is also
Favorite things that brought me to Fresno State!
One of my favorite possessions, and one that gets me from A to
B.
featured in Rock Band 2. It has some of the most unclear lyrics on the record, leaving the listener to fill in the blanks.
“Little Triggers” is next, and is relatively unimpressive. It evokes images of a 50’s doo-wop singer crooning to his girl. It’s the only spot on the album where the energy drops down to a minimum level, and it would have probably benefitted from being placed later on the album.
The sixth and seventh tracks, “You Belong to Me” and
“Hand in Hand” are quick ditties. The former is bouncy and catchy, but the latter tends to lean towards dull songwriting, mostly due to the music itself,

and not the lyrics, which are sharp as ever.
“Chelsea” is the first truly incredible song on the album, and it’s followed by three tunes that all keep up with
“Chelsea’s” standard. “Lip Service”, “Living In Paradise”, and
“Lipstick Vogue” are all excellent as well, but for completely different reasons. “Chelsea” itself is a song about last year’s model and how nobody wants to be with her any more due to the newest model being so fresh and exciting. “Lip Service” contains great lyrics about how men can be so cruel to the women they love. “Living in Paradise” is a groovy song about jealousy, and the bass drives through each verse with a soft implied ferocity that must be heard to be understood.
“Lipstick Vogue” is so good, it’s almost unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a frantic, mean spirited take on pop music since Love’s “Seven and Seven Is”. “Lipstick” roars along at 155 BPM, but feels a lot faster. Only Costello has enough rage in him to even suggest that the idea of love is “just a tumor”. If I could recommend one track off the album, it would be “Lipstick Vogue”. By the way, as a bass player myself, my opinion is that Bruce Thomas is one of the best bass players ever.
Just saying.
Sadly, “Night Rally” is surprisingly unremarkable.
It’s quite a let-down, given that the songs that sandwich it at #12 are some of Elvis’s best tunes.
“Radio Radio” follows as the encore, and it is an ironically radio friendly protest song about the airwaves. “You better shut up or get cut out/They don’t wanna hear about it/It’s only inches on the reel-to-reel,” sings
Elvis with an arrogant tone reminiscent of The Sex Pistols;
A very fitting ending to an album that is simply begging to be listened to.
If you have already given Elvis the King your undivided attention at some point in your life, why not try the Other
Elvis? I guarantee you’ll like what you hear, but be prepared for something different from what you’ve heard before.
“This Year’s Model”- 9/10
When living in the dorms, you have a limited amount of space to identify as your own. The cold cinder blocks and the creaky wooden frame bed can tend to feel a little off-putting so we find something to make it even a little like home. We bring trinkets and decorations from home that will harken back to days before the dorm.
Whether it is a favorite blanket, a treasured stuffed animal, or a picture of friends at other colleges, we all have something that is uniquely ours. These things make our new home a little more home-y.
There are plenty of objects I could single out that I am thankful for bringing to college.
Our fluffy rugs--both last year and this year’s iterations--have seen many a gathering, movie night, and study session. The patio chairs that make wonderful nap zones are also awesome.
The most important aspect of my life has always been music and as such, I would not wish to go through college without bringing my own personal library of music.
Back in high school, I was tremendously involved in the instrumental music program and since then I have continued volunteering my time during the marching season. The memories I have during those four years are not memories that can be captured in a single picture
(or even a movie, for that mat-

ter). The whole of my music experience is best captured by recordings of our performances.
Each piece is a memory catalyst that takes me back to the days when I could wear a tuxedo regularly and sit up on stage with the glaring lights and completely let go. I filled my iPod with these memories and they mingle with hundreds of other songs that make up an indispensable aspect of my identity.
I grew up listening to my dad’s classic rock like Emerson
Lake and Palmer, Queen, and the Electric Light Orchestra. I learned to hold classical and wind band music very near and dear to my heart. I (much like the borg, to betray my nerdiness) assimilate the notable music tastes of those I meet, associating each new group with a friend made. It has gotten to the point that when I listen to my iTunes library on shuffle, any span of fifteen minutes can include jazz, opera, dubstep, and symphonic metal and much more. Each song, artist, and playlist compose an indispensable part of my identity, however cheesy that sounds. I feel empty when I don’t have a song stuck in my head and I am often found humming, whistling, or otherwise singing something at all times.
When all is said and done, I could not live without my music and I am tremendously grateful for the advent of the personal media player. Now
I never have to be without a song to sing.
The best thing I brought with me to college is this squishy purple ball. I call it my Destressitizer.
It’s hard to understand its greatness until you’ve had it there next to you during a frustrating homework assignment or extra long paper. It’s also excellent for those days when there is absolutely nothing to do, not even homework (or maybe you are just avoiding the homework…) because in addition to being a good means of taking out your frustration, it is also just plain fun. So, I sometimes call it the
Unboredifier or Procrastassister when it is not acting in its official destressitizing capacity. I know you’re jealous of my word creating skills. And of my squishy purple ball. I might let you borrow it if you ask nice.
Just recently, Microsoft, the giant among software industries, released its newest evolution of the Windows OS,
Windows 8. It is immediately apparent upon using the OS that
Microsoft had been working, and working hard on this, for quite a while. I had the chance to try out the developer’s preview (pre-beta, e.g. ready for the app developers) this past week, and so far, it has dazzled.
First of all, the new
OS is designed to be ubiquitous, i.e. it will function on both tablets and a PC, and users can switch between the two interfaces. The desktop interface’s the same as the standard Windows desktop, with icons, a desktop background, and gadgets. However, there is one crucial aspect missing - the start menu. Rather, the erstwhile

‘Start’ button now leads the
Metro interface (Figure 1).
The Metro interface, I have to say, is much cleaner that
Apple’s iOS. It is composed of
Metro tiles - rectangular “tiles” that represent icons and kill two birds with one stone - they open up apps, and at the same time, they display pertinent information related to the apps. The Socialite app (Facebook) tile shows recent updates, so you can check Facebook without even opening the app. Similarly, the News app tile shows recent updates right on the Metro desktop.
One of the most promising aspects of Windows
8 is its platform base is huge. It will be able to run Metro apps
(similar to Apple’s apps) as well as native Windows applications, such as Word, Adobe Pdf, Photoshop, and just about any Windows software.For the tech guys among us, it can also run Visual
C++, SSH, and Dreamweaver.
Further, I am sure the Consumer
Preview (public beta) will come with Skydrive, which is sort of like Apple’s backup plan, except Skydrive backup offers 25
GB of data storage. Free. That’s five times as much as Apple provides. Because of its ability to run most of the applications out there, you can keep all your iTunes music, and in the future, probably run your Apple apps with an emulator. For me, the future looks bright for Windows
8. Already Windows has a majority market share of over 80% of the OS market. With the introduction of Windows 8, the gradually declining market share (Figure 2) will increase again.
Figure 1. Windows 8 Metro interface

Figure 2. Windows OS market share
You are all students here; you all know the time it takes to walk from class to class during the day. What would you say if
I told you that you could easily cut that in half? That’s right.
Wheeled transportation is the way of the future!
I understand the reasoning behind not buying an expensive bike that you have to chain up and worry about getting stolen.
I understand if you are afraid of careening off a longboard and breaking your face. I understand that rollerblades are not the footwear fashion-statement you want to make during class. But,
I tell you, I have a solution.
Scooters. They are relatively safe (brakes and handlebars) and easy to ride. When I came to college, I didn’t know how to ride a scooter, but it didn’t take long to learn.
I have to say the best thing I brought to college was a scooter. I really have no idea how much time it has saved me, but I do know that when I have to walk instead of ride – the speed difference is highly noticeable.
Scooters can also be customized a bit! I added a bike bell to mine. It serves as a hands-free
“hello” to my friends and a
“look out for your lives” to slow-moving pedestrians. One can also consider adding streamers to the handles for a festive look. Personally, I am waiting on a cup-holding attachment for my Starbucks.
All in all, scooters are wonderful to have around! Plus, the commute time you save can be put toward doing something you enjoy!

Looking around my desk in my dorm room, one can easily pick out some of the things that are important to my life. Sports, chemistry, and politics are easy to pick out, but the one thing that stands out is that I must be a Disney-lover. I have several
Vinylmation figurines on my book rack (which contains at the moment 2 books on Walt
Disney) and a pair of Mickey
Ears off to one side. As many of you already know, I love all things Disney and more importantly Disneyland; Walt Disney is a personal hero. And as such, my favorite item I have brought to college, sums up this passion quite clearly: a framed print of the original Disneyland Monorail poster.
When one enters The
Happiest Place on Earth, you walk under the railroad tracks and through a little tunnel that serves as a berm to the outside world, but also serves as a preview for what you are about to experience in the form of posters displaying some of the more favored attractions that line the walls. Walt originally came up with this idea when building the park, as he saw Disneyland as a movie, and the posters were the previews to get guests excited.
He even wanted there to be a curtain at the end of the tunnel, but that plan fell through.
The Monorail poster is a favorite of mine and as such, I adorned the wall of my dorm with a smaller version of it. Not only is the Monorail a Walt
Disney original, but it was the first operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere.
Walt truly was an innovator, and the Disneyland Monorail is a prime example of that. The print also exudes a certain charm; created in 1959, it has a very classic and nostalgic view of the future. Tomorrowland, as Walt intended it, was meant to show the future of society in what was then the far future of the
1980s. The 50’s were a time of great innovation and technological discovery and so futurists became optimistic for the near future of society. Shiny chrome plating, and fast moving vehicles, which may or may not be flying abound in such images of the future. It’s a whimsical and humorous vision of the future now, but one that still has a certain level of kitschy charm.
Harkening back to a simpler time, but yet projecting a future, that we still haven’t seen come to fruition, the poster inspires me. It fills me with happy Disney memories, but also gives me some inspiration to continue my studies and go forth into chemistry, trying to do my small part to make Walt’s vision of the future a reality.