Winter 2013

In my senior year at Stanford (2011-2012), I lived in Branner Hall. The Resident Fellow there is Tom Schnaubelt, the director of the Haas Center for Public Service. I do public service things, and I was active in my dorm (I was the financial manager, for instance), so I got to know him over the year.

"Tehanu" steps back from the series' focus on epic journeys and instead focuses on Tenar and her place in the world.

"The Daylight War" is my favorite novel yet by Peter V. Brett, and it's one of the best fantasy novels that I've read. It describes how, after the events of "The Desert Spear," Arlen and Jardir prepare for the coming new moon.

The rest of this review will not contain spoilers about "The Daylight War" (though it will describe plenty of broad trends and things that you learn very early on), but it will assume that you have read the previous two books and spoil those.

Rachel Maddow gave a talk at Stanford for the Center on Ethics in Society's 25th anniversary. Apparently, Rachel Maddow graduated from Stanford and wrote an honors thesis in Ethics in Society. And, apparently, the Ethics in Society honors program has students read and critique her honors thesis even today. Cool!

Reposted from http://online.wsj.com/article/APa9708795dccf45989978762612ecbb30.html

Associated Press

NEW YORK — New York City's Robin Hood Foundation has received a lifetime achievement award from a national organization that promotes public service.

The Robin Hood Foundation was presented with the top prize at the Jefferson Awards ceremony in New York on Wednesday.

Robin Hood has donated $1.25 billion to fighting poverty in New York City since its founding in 1988.

Planescape: Torment is my favorite video game. It's story driven, it explores interesting philosophical ideas, and it it bucks a lot of trends in roleplaying games. And it's a great time for Torment! There's going to be a remake.

Reposted from http://news.yahoo.com/nfl-york-jets-legend-marty-lyons-wins-2013-0506244...

NFL and New York Jets Legend Marty Lyons Wins the 2013 Jefferson Award For 30 Years of Giving Back
PRWeb

Robin Hood Foundation, three young "Globechangers" and well known entrepreneur also win Jefferson Awards. CBS newscaster Lesley Stahl served as Mistress of Ceremonies.

Reposted from http://paloalto.patch.com/announcements/stanford-student-wins-2013-jeffe...

Stanford student wins 2013 Jefferson Award
Posted by Michael Knowles
March 5, 2013

The Stanford African Student Association put on a culture show with African culture focused student groups and African performers.

The Stanford Cultural Interactions Club put on an event called Sounds of Diversity, which brought together musicians from different cultures. I got in late, but I still saw a Turkish ensemble that caught my interest.