It’s with mixed feelings that I begin a new semester. Two years into the M.P.A. program at OU, I’ve fully (and happily) returned to Student Mode. It’s everything I recall about school, but ten times better – because now, I have some of the experience, perspective and maturity I sorely lacked as an undergrad. I’m not going to blow off an entire semester by going out drinking every night, and skipping class. Stupid mistakes that were once made have not been repeated.

Hell, no – not this time around.

But no sooner do I finally get back in the groove, everything draws to a close. After this semester, I only have one more class and my final paper standing between me and a Master’s degree. But, here’s the thing – I don’t want it to be over. I love being a student, and kind of want to stay in grad school forever. (Although, preferably without this pesky, comparatively dull, day job of mine that persists in clamoring for my attention.)

For now though, I’m still a grad student – and am already savoring this semester’s classes. Actually, now that I’ve gotten the less-interesting classes out of the way (I’m looking at you, Stats! You too, Public Budgeting and Finance!), this semester may prove the most fascinating yet. I’m taking P SC 6173 – Organizational Culture and Ethics, and P SC 5343 – Public Policy and Inequality.

Making things even more interesting is the fact that Public Policy and Inequality is taught by Cindy Simon Rosenthal (also known as the mayor of Norman). And Organizational Culture and Ethics is taught by a professor (who shall remain nameless) with a reputation for being, well, kind of terrifying and difficult. Whereas this would have reduced me to a trembling, cowering wreck two years ago, I’ve since gained enough confidence in my academic abilities to now relish the challenge. (Bring it, I say. Bring it.) Plus, from what I’ve seen of this professor so far, I find him somewhat intense, but not at all scary. Actually, I rather like him. And I will continue my 4.0 streak. I defy anyone who stands in my way.

Tracy Flick, signing off.

After a somewhat draining week (first week of classes, yay), Two-Headed Blog is looking forward to the weekend. Besides simply sleeping for hours and hours, here are a few things on the agenda:

Tonight at the OKCMOA, we’ll (finally) be seeing Food, Inc.:

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Food, Inc. features interviews with some of Two-Headed Blog’s personal heroes – Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation). Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto). Joel Salatin (farmer extraordinaire, owner of Polyface Farm). Yep, we’ve been eagerly waiting to catch this film for some time. (Screenings are Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29, at 5:30 and 8:00pm.)

And tomorrow, Two-Headed Blog will be hitting Campus Corner in Norman to check out the Dustbowl Arts Market. 60 local and regional artists will be peddling their wares from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm. There will also be live music from 2:00 - 10:00 pm. Good times will, undoubtedly, be had by all.

Remember the Proust Questionnaire? Well, it’s back:

What is your most treasured possession?

It’s been a couple of weeks since he’s passed away, but a John Hughes apparition keeps whispering “don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t you forget about me” into my ear. With that in mind, I wonder:

What is your favorite John Hughes movie?

Strangely, all of these billboards are animal welfare-related. Two of them I really, really like – and one irritates the crap out of me.

First, the good.

I’ve recently begun to notice mysterious billboards popping up around OKC – specifically, near the I-35 / I-240 interchange. I spotted the first one a couple weeks ago, as I was heading eastbound on I-240, just west of I-35. It featured an adorable dog peering out through the bars of a kennel, and said something to the effect of “23,000 animals were killed in the OKC metro last year.”

The second mysterious ad is on the digital billboard located on southbound I-35, just south of I-240. This one had a picture of a mastiff-ish dog curled up on an ominous, stainless steel table, again peering forlornly at the camera. The accompanying text read something like:

UGLY
This beautiful dog will be dead in 30 seconds.

I tried to do a little Internet sleuthing, but can’t seem to find any information at all about these billboards. Who’s paying for them? Where did they come from? Is this a nationwide campaign, or just something targeting OKC? I want to know! I want to know!

Even though I tear up every time I see that poor, unsuspecting mastiff on my commute home from work, I think these billboards are brilliant. I’m very, very glad that they’re there.

Now, for the bad. (I found this one on Sociological Images, who found it at Huffington Post.)

Once again, PETA seems to be doing everything they possibly can to keep me from supporting them, even though I agree with them on many things. Check out their latest billboard, which I guess is supposed to make everyone want to go vegetarian:

Where do I even start?

Spend more than a few moments thinking about what foods can fall under the label “vegetarian” (or even “vegan”), and you’ll soon realize that a vegetarian diet isn’t always veggies and whole grains.

Fritos. Oreos. Fried cheese sticks. Beer. All of these can be consumed by vegetarians.

PETA needs to pull its head out of its ass and realize that there’s a difference between a “vegetarian” diet and a “healthy” diet. Sometimes the two overlap, but many times they don’t. Also, there is a body of research suggesting that animal fat doesn’t, in fact, lead to heart disease and diabetes, the way we’ve been led to believe. Whether this is truly the case or not (I haven’t read enough of the research to really comment) – I think that at the very least, the jury’s still out on what really constitutes a “healthy diet.” And I’m going to listen to science on this one, not PETA. If I choose to eat vegetarian, it’ll be for reasons other than hoping it will get me that “killer beach bod.”

Besides making dubious weight-loss claims, this billboard takes aim at a group of people (fat women) who are already relentlessly mocked by our society. How, exactly, does heaping even more abuse on fat people serve in drawing attention to another often-abused group (animals)? I don’t see the connection.

And while I’m ranting – I’ve long disapproved of PETA’s strategy of utilizing mostly naked women (thin, “sexy” women, of course) in their campaigns. I understand that sex is the quickest and easiest way to draw attention to a cause, but as a feminist, I have a real problem supporting it.

This, combined with PETA’s anti-obesity rhetoric, has played a large role in me wanting to distance myself from this organization as much as possible. Even awhile back, when I was my most ardently vegetarian self, PETA still pissed me off.