Recently I received a very enlightening message from a Daily reader who suggested that I act a little more “normal” and write about things that seem to make more sense.

Well, I’m open to any comments concerning possible articles; so after some thought I decided to go about “a return to normalcy” (Harry Truman) by bringing up a few issues that have recently transpired here on campus.

Bear with me, as structure and freaks don’t often.

Let’s start off with something the real Daily journalists have deemed important enough to write at least two (maybe three, as I stopped counting) articles about: Professor Jane Farrell-Beck’s discovery that Herminie Cadolle was not the inventor of the brassiere.

I don’t wish to detract from this momentous finding, as life as we know it could not exist without this garment, yet I think that the issue may be receiving just a little too much press.

Apparently, the professor came across her findings while doing research for another project and was shocked that such a documented lie could have become accepted as such a long standing, unchallenged fact.

I can understand how the first column was necessary to show how Iowa State professors are working hard to displace the lies of history and instill our impressionable minds with truth, justice and the American way of life (Superman reference).

After all, these people are training the future leaders of the world and their jobs are to go about this process with the most truthful information available.

While these statements may be plausible, will the truth about an accessory (or necessity depending on your sex and personality) with “two cups in the front, two straps in the back” (Jason Alexander) really mean anything more to the average student than a trick question on a textiles test?

I do believe that knowledge is valuable for its own sake yet I really don’t want to hear about something twice if I didn’t want to hear it the first time (parallel this with the thought of me writing two columns a week: scary).

So while this discovery is quite important to those individuals involved in the field of historical textile patents, maybe the information should be limited to a one-time appearance in our “exciting” student lives.

Speaking of excitement, the GSB, in its constant quest to represent the student body, has decided not to have a headlining band for the Veishea celebration.

I would like to take back some previous comments I made concerning this organization.

In the past I referred to the GSB as a useless organization with little power and even less connection with the students they represent, yet president-elect Adam Gold has shown me that my first and second statements were wrong.

It seems that to accomplish the goal of alienation from the student body he used his “power” to do very little.

The original goal for this group of “elected officials” was to line-up a nationally known band over spring break using the $15,000 that had been allocated for the project.

Guess what? University policy strikes again.

It seems that Gold and his recruiting crew ran out of time in their quest for the grail known as “Good Band.”

Now I don’t want to sound negative toward a university organization (as that goes against my style), but maybe Mr. Gold should have enlisted the help of those who had previous experience with lining up bands.

It seems that Gregory Parks, director of the Maintenance Shop, offered his assistance in the acquisition of a band, yet he was refused.

Now correct me if I am wrong, but hasn’t Parks been a key coordinator in bringing to campus such people as Henry Rollins (for free!) and The Charlie Hunter Trio (a really outstanding jazz group)?

Call me kooky, but it only makes sense to use resources that are reliable and experienced when a person is presented with something they know very little about.

It seems that the reason why the personnel at the Maintenance Shop, along with other equally qualified sources, were not involved was because the GSB didn’t want to ruffle any one’s feathers by choosing one group over another.

Seems fair: Don’t use any student resources and piss off all the students and unused organizations by wasting the only opportunity this college will ever give you to bring some interest to our lives, as opposed to getting help and lining up a band that could bring in people from all over Iowa for Veishea.

Another qualm with the band idea was that Fish Bone, the scheduled band, didn’t have a big enough fan base to necessitate its involvement.

Do these GSB members think Iowa is nothing but hicks?

People would come out of the woodwork to see Fish Bone. It would become a Mecca for Midwest freaks.

Even if this band is inappropriate, there are hundreds of bands that could easily pack in crowds big enough to cover any necessary expenses (Dave Matthews Band, Veruca Salt, Counting Crows, or hell, you could even get an older band like Creedence).

My point is that when GSB finally had a chance to show the students what it can do and gain some respect, it dropped the ball (don’t ever again ask why election turnouts are so low).

Well, that is my normalcy for the week. I hope everyone understood, or at least stayed conscious, for the column.

I will leave you with something which goes against a suggestion I was recently given, but hey, I can only be normal for so long — “When you’re strange, faces come out of the rain, when you’re strange, no one remembers your name”(JDM).

Ryan McCammon is a sophomore in Animal Science / Veterinary Medicine from Mason City.