Thank you,

Ellen Johnson

[Update: Oh dear. I just heard the first one. It is way too short! The theme tune, combined with the commercial for Caltech, and the other sponsors is longer than her part. I'm worried that they're going to be afraid to have actual science in there so as not to "scare" the public....Come on guys (the various scriptwriters and editors mentioned on the homepage)! This is a great opportunity...don't squander it. Give Sandra Tsing Loh something to get her teeth into. She'll make it work! Use the MacDonald Observatory's Stardate as your model, read daily by the excellent Sandy Wood. It is short but not too short and just a perfect daily taste of astronomy. Come on....try harder. Please.]

-cvj

Ok….. I’ll permit ten hits. Just ten, mind you!

Cheers,

-cvj

Her speech was way better than Ray Bradbury’s. He started my commencement address with

Before I start, how many of you here today read me in high school? How many? You’re all my bastard children, aren’t you? (Applause) Thank you, thank you for that.

and it was all downhill from there.

Now I expect to get at least 10 hits from people reading your blog to see who this crazy Techer-turned-lawyer-hair obsessed woman is. Only, except we Caltech “grad turkeys” don’t call ourselves Techers.

Thanks,

-cvj

And at that moment, the light bulb went on. I remembered the one thing that freed me, post-Caltech– And I believe can free you. . . . The advice being not “Dare to dream”– Every young person dares to dream-frankly, it’s all they do all day! But many bright young people, under their A student masks, also harbor a secret passion. . . And the key to releasing that last exotic bird to flight is not “Dare to Dream,” but, listen carefully, “Dare. . . to disappoint. . . your father.”

That’s right, Caltech graduates. . . Freedom begins now! Diploma in hand, start today veering wildly off course! have the fabulous graduation lunch, at the Ath. . . or Burger Continental. . . Let your parents get a few bites in, and then boldly unveil. . . your hideous summer plans! Skiing, snorkeling, belly-dancing, sleeping– Maybe try out for American Idol, why not?

And you Asian students? That goes double for you. You know who you are?don’t make me come and get you. Don’t be shy. Look at me–I went into the liberal arts which, for a Chinese father, is like pole-dancing.

I’ve been a fan of Sandra Tsing Loh’s NPR & Marketplace commentaries for years. I had no idea she had training as a physicist. And now, via Cosmic Variance, I find out she’s got a new show called The Loh-Down on Science. There…