South Asian Quake:
Will it Encourage Indo-Pakistani Peace? “This earthquake presents an opportunity for India and Pakistan to put aside all of the negativity they have held against each other since the partisan, and to instead focus on the humanistic goal of helping people.”
California’s November 8 Election Results Schwarzenegger’s Political Future Uncertain after Referendum Defeat Page 2
The Two Faces of Ecotourism “This dilemma begs the question: Is ecotourism just a façade?”
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In Search for the Meaning of Soka Education An update on this year’s Soka Education Conference. Page 7
A Victorious Life EMILY FRAUSTO Excerpt from The New Human Revolution, Vol. 15 DAISAKU IKEDA Schwarzenegger’s Political Future Uncertain after Referendum Defeat MICHAEL BIANCO South Asian Quake: Will it Encourage Indo-Pakistani Peace? JESSICA BENNETT The Two Faces of Ecotourism GIULIANA SCHROEDER Founder’s Message to the 5th SUA, Aliso Viejo Student Festival DAISAKU IKEDA PBRC Expands Role on SUA-AV Campus MICHAEL STRAND In Search for the Meaning of Soka Education DAVID WITKOWSKI Fine and Dandy Like Sour Candy On Being Platitudinal ELIZABETH KURITA Gorgonzola Cheese CHESTER ONG rhombicosidodecahedron MONICA KAWAI
Student Festival `05
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Founder’s Message on Page 5 Photo by Emily Frausto
E
ver since the advent of the modern mp3 player, there has been a drastic change in how people listen to music. Sure there is the obvious difference of carrying 7000 minutes of music, instead of your basic 70 minutes, but I’ve still found something to be missing. In high school, I used to own a CD player/radio. It was nothing special, but the fact that I had easy access to listening to the Mancow (Chicago’s version of Howard Stern) and his sidekick Turd, made those excruciatingly long days of school that much more bearable. There’s always music to listen to, but there is just something about live talk radio that makes me feel more connected to the outside world. Fast forward a couple years. There’s no good music on the radio and people are too afraid of being regulated by the Federal Communications Comission (FCC) to say what they really want. Yet I still feel detached from everything, meandering around, lost in gigabytes of music. Here’s where it gets interesting. In 2004, a new form of broadcasting called, “Podcasting” began to revolutionize how radio is broadcasted.
Evolution of Podcasting
With the advent of blogs (short for web logs), people have been able to keep up to the minute diaries about everything; from what some dude had for breakfast, to the latest minute by minute news during a disaster like the London bombings or Hurricane Katrina. These blogs can be subscribed to through an Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed, which can be picked up by an RSS aggregator (such as iTunes). Sometimes these news sites post media files (audio or video) that would automatically download along with the latest news feed. This eventually turned into modern-day Podcasting. Using a Podcast program, you can essentially keep up to date on the latest news with an mp3 file, which is automatically downloaded to your computer while old episodes are deleted.
Why should I? First of all, Podcasting is free. Its name is derived from the iPod, which made it popular, but an iPod is not necessary to
listen to Podcasts. Just as there’s a website for everything these days, now there is beginning to be Podcasts about anything, too. Check out www.podcastalley.com for a comprehensive listening of all the Podcasts out there. They can range from CNN to two guys drinking beer and sitting in their apartment talking about tech news. Anyone can make their own Podcasts with a microphone and a computer. Podcasting has opened up the radio format, much like how the internet has opened up the field of writing for people who aren’t professional writers.
How do I get it? The easiest way to start listening to Podcasts is to install the latest version of iTunes, which is available for free at www.apple.com/itunes. Once it’s installed, click on Podcasts, and then click on Podcast directory (be sure to have iTunes music store enabled). Then, search their directory for anything that appeals to you. Here’s a list of Podcasts that you might enjoy:
Diggnation: My favorite Podcast features Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht who talk about the top stories on the social bookmarking site, www.digg.com
Retro CRUSH: Robert Berry, an amusing nerdy guy, talks about everything from “retro pop culture commercials, TV, videogames, and more”
Engadget:
Covers the latest news in consumer technology and electronics
Tiki Bar TV: This is a quirky video Podcast that centers around making assorted Tiki bar drinks.
If you have an iPod, your Podcasts will automatically be added to it whenever you synch your music with iTunes. And if you’re an anti-Apple elitist who doesn’t want to use iTunes, you can also install iPodder (http://ipodder.sourceforge.net/index.php) and follow their instructions to subscribe to Podcast feeds as well. And iPodder will even work on your Linux box, nerd. All kidding aside, listen to a few Podcasts, find what you like, and enjoy.■
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EMILY FRAUSTO (EDITOR IN CHIEF); MICHAEL STRAND (MANAGING EDITOR); MICHAEL BIANCO, JESSICA BENNETT, ELIZABETH KURITA, CHESTER ONG, GIULIANA SCHROEDER (EDITORS); ANDREW REKER, GIULIANA SCHROEDER (HEADS OF LAYOUT); LEILANI HORINO, LEEMA YAMADA (LAYOUT TEAM); JULIE YOSHIMACHI (GRAPHIC ARTIST); KAREN CASTILLA ROCA (BUSINESS MANAGER); MITSUKO IKEDA (STRATEGIC PLANNING COORDINATOR); KRISTI GOLDEN (STRATEGIC PLANNING ADVISOR); CHELSEA NAKABAYASHI (STAFF ADVISOR); ARMANDO DUBON, SAEED FAKHRI-RAVARI, SAM MORALES, DERRICK SPRINGER, PAMELA STOYKA, GEOFF WESTROPP (TECHNICAL SUPPORT)
The Pearl strives to emulate slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl’s efforts to bring out the human side of every story. Following his courageous model, The Pearl opens channels of communication in an endeavour to articulately and respectfully express differing opinions. The contributors to The Pearl report on issues of concern for the campus, the local community and the globe, aiming to unify the campus toward the realization of the mission of Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo.
Synergy Through Self-Discovery
Student Festival `05
Photo by Andrew Reker