Repetitions on the culture industry

By James Liu / June 26, 2003

Certain recent developments in the music industry have brought me not the least bit of consternation. First, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has become quite a bit more vigilant about what they take to be “piracy.” The second is iTunes, a new proprietary music service by Apple. As anyone with any knowledge about...

City Life

By James Liu / May 8, 2003

The other night, I headed downtown to the Civic Orchestra to see Baremboim conduct Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto and the Seventh Symphony, a piece of music I’ve been in love with ever since I heard it on the radio years back. It was a free concert, so I was kind of surprised that I couldn’t...

Sociology of caffeine consumption

By James Liu / April 24, 2003

Apparently, it’s a bad time to be in the coffee business. The Cafe Siena on 55th closed altogether. Meanwhile, the Seattle Coffee Company (Seattle’s Best and Torrefazionne) were recently acquired by Starbucks. I miss the Cafe Siena, though it’s no more than a minor personal lament. I was never more than an occasional customer, and...

Some thoughts on the Iraq crisis

By James Liu / April 4, 2003

I am reluctant to enter the political fray because voicing my opinion seems a weak alternative to actually doing something. Still, I am no political idiot; I follow the news and often enough, I am paralyzed by my ambivalence between the two opposed ideologies. However, when my own voice seems under threat, I am liable...

Secrecy from the White House

By James Liu / March 7, 2003

The First Amendment is once again in peril. While it is true that in wartime, the Supreme Court usually sticks by the government. Fair enough: all rights have limits, and in certain emergencies those limits have to constrict somewhat. Nevertheless, certain rights are integral to America, such that losing those rights, such as freedom of...

How to teach: Some basic ways

By James Liu / February 7, 2003

This nation is plagued with a shortage of math and science teachers, and an overabundance of unemployed philosophy majors. Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has signed agreements with the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology to get math and science majors to teach in public schools. These programs help to...

Copyright laws deny freedoms

By James Liu / January 31, 2003

It is an odd notion to think that someone owns an idea. It’s in your head, but if it’s to become anything at all, it must go out into the world, but how is it possible to hold onto it? Whatever we mean by ownership, intellectual property can only be a rough analogy to it....

Ryan makes a Quixotic gesture

By James Liu / January 21, 2003

In the second half of Don Quixote, Sancho Panza becomes the governor of an island, and develops a reputation for being wise. One peculiar institution of the island is that whenever somebody sets foot upon it, he is asked where he is going, and what for. If he happens to be lying, he is hanged....

The all-too-short break

By James Liu / January 10, 2003

So winter break ends, and all the students return, making Hyde Park a college town again. As we return, there is new bitterness in the air: griping about classes starting again, the hope for escape, by transfer if possible, or a year off. One wonders what happened to Hugo Sonnenschein’s student life improvements that were...

Love for Harper Library

By James Liu / December 3, 2002

I experienced one of my most cherished memories of my time in the College so far during finals week of autumn quarter last year in Harper Library while studying Hegel. I was on the edge of falling into the same deep sleep that had overcome almost everyone around me, and the sun was finally coming...

Risky admissions decision

By James Liu / November 12, 2002

The decision of Yale and Stanford to change their admissions style to Early Action from Early Decision reminds me of the summer before last, when after having finished high school and the college admissions game, I engaged in an online argument with James Fallows on the Atlantic Monthly discussion board. His recent article suggested that...

College expansion traps

By James Liu / October 29, 2002

While the controversy over the Core may have engaged all of our attention last spring, after the College announced the virtual canceling of the Western Civilization sequence, what will have a more dramatic effect on the character of the College—its continuing expansion—has largely flown under the radar. The University of Chicago has always prided itself...

Don’t blindly trust Republicans

By James Liu / October 17, 2002

I have been opposed to any war in Iraq for some time. I had hoped that, for now at least, I could stay above the fray here in the ivory tower. After reading John Lovejoy’s piece last Tuesday in the Maroon, I can no longer do so. Lovejoy, if I understand him correctly, contends that...

Sleater-Kinney takes on success, September 11

By James Liu / August 15, 2002

One Beat Sleater-Kinney Kill Rock Stars A lot has happened since Sleater-Kinney’s All Hands on the Bad One release in 2000. Time magazine named them “America’s Best Rock Band”. Corin Tucker had a baby named Marshal Tucker Bangs. Carrie has been working on an independent movie called “Group.” September 11th happened. Yet, no output from...

Depave downtown Chicago

By James Liu / August 1, 2002

Last Friday, I went to a Critical Mass ride. No, I don’t mean that exhibit sponsored by the Smart Museum. Rather, I mean one of those post-industrial anarchistic phenomena that could only have started in the late nineties. The general idea of the ride is that if there are enough cyclists on the road, all...

U of C: Dump Microsoft

By James Liu / July 18, 2002

Everybody knows that Microsoft is an evil monopoly, but of course, most of the advantage of being an evil monopoly is that customers have nowhere to turn. Since people have nowhere else to turn, they can do just about anything that they very well please. The key phrase here is of course, just about. Monopolies,...

Amtrak can’t do the job

By James Liu / July 11, 2002

Amtrak sucks. Anyone who genuinely likes rail, and moreover, likes getting somewhere more or less has to agree. Sure, long distance rail travel is a charming way to see the country, but it is certainly not a practical way to go from place to place, at least not with the current system. America needs a...