Bravo to the age of Web 3.0. Remember the days of dial-up Internet? So do we, but pretty soon it’ll be a thing of the past. Google announced Wednesday that it’s planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks that will deliver Internet up to 100 times faster than the average current speed. That means when you’re surfing cutethingsfallingasleep.org during ASU 101, those mind-numbingly adorable videos are going to hit you faster than ever before. As Google’s announcement suggested, imagine downloading a high-definition, full-length movie in less than five minutes. Pretty awesome, right? Especially if it’s a feature film about kittens falling asleep.
Boo to UA for encroaching on our turf. On Wednesday, Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn announced a deal with the kitties down south to create a “UA Chandler” campus in a former Motorola facility. Now, nobody needs to tell us how much more appealing the Valley is than certain other parts of Arizona. But even amid all of plans to open campuses in every vacant plot of land around the state, ASU has respected one principle: Tucson belongs to UA. On the bright side, Dunn said Chandler is also still working to get a Colleges@ASU campus in the downtown area. Could this make Chandler a quintessential college town? Or will it become the frontline of Arizona’s turf war? It’s unclear at this point, but we certainly don’t need Wildcats any closer than they are now.
Bravo to Valentine’s Day. Stop groaning — even “successful singles” should be able to find something to celebrate come Feb. 14, whether it’s the Chinese New Year, National Pancake Week or Statehood Day. (That’s right, our beloved Grand Canyon State will be 98 years old on Sunday.) So whether or not you’re feeling amorous this Valentine’s Day, try to focus on what you have instead of what you don’t. (A boyfriend, for example). Why not make Valentine’s Day more like Thanksgiving? At the very least, a tryptophan-induced coma is a safer way to drown your sorrows than tequila shots at an anti-Valentine’s Day party. See? You’re thinking more positively already.
Boo to the Iranian government. This week, Iran marked its 31st year underneath a regime that, as Sen. John McCain told reporters on Thursday, puts its own selfish needs ahead of its own people. The Iranian government’s track record of human rights violations preceded last summer’s presidential election, which led to the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and has only gone downhill since. While Ahmadinejad is a platinum member of the “Boo”-worthy club, there is some positive news: the people are fighting back, ASU students included. Demonstrations, including one on the Tempe campus, have hit local streets in the last week. If nothing else, it shows that student activism is thankfully alive and kicking.
Bravo to the Winter Olympics. The opening ceremonies are on Friday, and we can’t wait to become super obsessed with sports like speed skating, bobsledding and curling for the next two weeks. The Games feature some of the best athletes in the world that rarely get much publicity during non-Olympic years, and it’s always nice to see them get their time to shine. The Olympics also bring an intense wave of national pride as we watch the U.S. rack up medal after medal. And who knows? We might see the next “Miracle on Ice,” or the next Tara Lipinski or Shaun White might steal our hearts.
