Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Greetings
– Maya Angelou
Okay, so maybe it’s not quite that extreme, but nothing can stay the same forever, right? On that note, we’d like to say the fondest of goodbyes to this version of our blog. The Boylan Blog has had a warm and well-nurtured life on Blogger, but sometimes you’ve got to cut the cord. This week we’re moving to our new home on Tumblr at boylanblog.tumblr.com. It’s a new look and a new platform for communicating with you all, but the people and the commitment to bringing you thoughtful articles about news, culture, poetry, art, and more remain the same.
We hope you’ll consider the new blog a medium not just for hearing what we have to say but also for interacting with us. You can always check out the Boylan Blog for the latest department announcements and other things that we think will be of interest to the members of our stellar English community, but we’d also love to hear your questions, whether it’s about the goings-on at Brooklyn College or just a thought you’d like to share about something we wrote. So come to the new site, learn about what’s going on in the English Department, and let us know what you're thinking about what we’re thinking!
Our new blog home (designed by the multi-talented Kate Conte and Joel Cruz) will freshen things up a bit, but we encourage you to look back at all of the old articles that remain here at boylanblog.blogspot.com. The headlines might change everyday, but the things we have to say about a poem, a film, or a book never go out of style.
Thanks for reading our blog! And without further ado, head on over to boylanblog.tumblr.com.
- Nora Curry
Image Source: http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/change-architect-sign1.jpg
Monday, November 14, 2011
Greetings
As in, Keep Going! with all of your scholastic endeavors (but stay here, reading the Boylan Blog). If you are currently (as a good friend of mine put it) "boiling in the stew of life"--up to the eyes in papers, deadlines, and notes you did or did not take (curses!), this is a message of solidarity to the 99% of the student body who didn't record every lecture, attend every class, comment on each discussion point, and so on. Keep Going! Soon you will be rewarded with turkey, football, a couple days off, and possibly a cancelled flight leaving those weirdo relatives at home.
(Are we allowed to make 99% jokes and puns?)
Anyhow, take a minute out of your boiling-stew mid-November days and check out this week's blog. Since, as part of that 99%, you're probably procrastinating anyways. Here's some clerical reminders:
1) Making Work Visible writing contest. Open to all CUNY undergrads. The deadline isn't until January 2012, but be sure to visit http://www.lehman.edu/academics/arts-humanities/AHlaboressay.php for more details.
2) The Poetry Club meets every Tuesday during common hours in 2307 Boylan! Get your verse on.
3) Start sending in your submissions to the Junction! Send in your poetry and other creative writing to bczinesubmissions@gmail.com and bring a hard copy to 3416 Boylan.
4) Creative writing classes will be offered (FOR THE FIRST TIME! WOW!) during the winter session. Come to the office for more details.
Last, we'd like to genuinely thank to all of those who came to the Open Mic last Thursday. You know who you are. Every year we're reminded that the true epicenter of youth poetry is Brooklyn College; this past event was no exception. Well done to everyone.
And double thanks if you laughed at my eye-roller of a banana joke.
Be excellent to one another, and do good work,
Ryan Skrabalak
image source: http://0.tqn.com/d/dogs/1/0/R/1/-/-/Basil.lobster2.CourtneyPerry.jpg
News Briefs
It is the matter of a broad grin, arching eyebrows, a looping mustache, a thin goatee, and haunting eyes. For those familiar with pop culture, this description immediately brings to mind the in/famous visage of the Guy Fawkes mask worn by Hugo Weaving in the blockbuster hit “V For Vendetta.” And, if like most of us who love the movie and have read the graphic novel on which the movie is based, you know that the Guy Fawkes mask served as the symbol of something grand and revolutionary. As the character V tells us, “it is an idea... and ideas are bulletproof.” The mask--- the idea that it symbolized--- stood up against an oppressive government not unlike the one created by George Orwell in “1984.” The man behind the mask, Fawkes himself, was not just a figment of Alan Moore's (the writer of the “V for Vendetta” graphic novel) imagination, he was a soldier fighting in the Spanish war against the Low Countries in the early 1600's. What he became in/famous for however, was his involvement with the Gun Powder Plot--- a plot to de-throne King James I ( a Protestant king) in favor of his third daughter, Princess Elizabeth ( a Catholic). The November 5th Gun Powder Plot, though a failed excursion, has taken its place, much like the visage of Guy Fawkes, among British history and lore.
So, what has this all got to do with anything important? Well, it seems that four hundred years after the failed Gun Powder Plot, Guy Fawkes' in/famous visage has made its way into another revolutionary movement: the “Occupy” movement. It has now become a global symbol, showing the solidarity of the ninety-nine percent, in places such as Germany, China, Latin America, and of course, Zucotti Park. The mask, as a symbol of the movement itself, appears to signify a disenchanted generation disgusted with corporate greed and an ever-increasing gap between the one percent and the ninety-nine percent. The mask first came to the forefront of the protests through hacking group 'Anonymous', who have now joined in with the Occupy movement. It is estimated that at least one hundred thousand masks were sold last year alone, with constant increase as the Occupy movement participation expands. Still, the plot thickens, as it seems that the mask is officially licensed by Time Warner (a large, one percent-ish corporation). To get around the double-edged sword of wearing something filled with symbolism whilst inadvertently supporting the very agencies you're fighting against, Anonymous, with much success, have started producing replicas of the mask.
Still, as we take all of this into account, we must not forget the important things: a mask, and the revolutionary movement it stands for. Many people are less than impressed with the use of Fawkesian masks in the Occupy movement because they view it as protestors glorifying the wrong type of revolutionary. I would beg to differ. I don't think that the Occupiers are glorifying the mask, they are standing firmly behind an idea, and that idea is one of change--- the mask, a symbol of it. So whenever you see that broad grin, looping mustache, and haunting eyes, remember that it symbolizes an idea, and that ideas are, after all, bulletproof.
---Sarah Gonsalves
Article Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058020/How-Guy-Fawkes-masks-symbol-anti-greed-protests-globe.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Image Source: http://media.cnbc.com/i/CNBC/Sections/News_And_Analysis/_News/_SLIDESHOWS/ScenesFromTheProtests/CNBC-occupy-Chicago-scenes-17.jpg
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Ah, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. The night when we all get to watch beautiful women walk down a runway in lingerie. But this year was extra special as Victoria’s Secret showcased what might just be the most expensive bra on earth: the diamond-encrusted Treasure, worth something around 2.5 million dollars, trumping last year’s contribution to the world of ridiculously priced lingerie by half a million. The only one of its kind, Treasure glittered its way down the runway on the breasts of model Miranda Kerr, who said she was nervous about wearing it because she is “still breastfeeding!” You wouldn’t know from looking at her that she just had a child, but maybe that’s because she weight trains and drinks protein shakes to prepare for her shows. She puts what The Daily Mirror calls “a lot of effort” into pre-show preparation, meaning that beyond just working out she gets “waxed, shaved, [and lasered].” Good for you, Miranda Kerr! Good for you, Victoria’s Secret! Good for you, America!
Except maybe we should replace “good for” with “shame on.” Is making sure that every sliver of body hair and milligram of fat on her body is erased really something we should admire Miranda Kerr for? After all, is a 2.5 million dollar bra worth any less if a regular woman wears it? While it’s fantastic to be in shape, and fantastic to get back in shape after having a child, the Victoria’s Secret angels have always been an integral part of the media obsession with “the perfect body.” But there’s an even larger problem here: their contribution to unrealistic body standards in popular culture aside, Victoria’s Secret spent 2.5 million dollars creating a bra. The absurdity of that statement demands that it be repeated: Victoria’s Secret spent 2.5 million dollars creating a bra. 2.5 million could provide 50,000 cows to villages and families in need. It could pay for a year of school for roughly 250,000 children in Africa. It could support a year of contraception and counseling to a woman in South America or India. Or, it could buy a huge, gaudy, diamond-covered bra that only one or two women will probably ever wear. There’s never a perfect time to spend that much money on a hunk of glittery junk, but it seems that Victoria’s Secret couldn’t have chosen a worse time to show just how much more money they have than everyone else: with the population at 7 billion and counting, water shortages, food shortages, education shortages, cutbacks, high unemployment, foreclosures, full-to-bursting prisons and a serious AIDS epidemic (to mention just a few important issues), should we really tolerate such a brazen demonstration of waste and wealth? I suppose that’s up to you to decide as you go about your holiday shopping. Keep in mind, that amazing push-up bra that would really boost your “confidence” might actually cost you (and the world) more than a donation to a worthy charity.
--Margie Sarsfield
Article Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/11/10/miranda-kerr-models-2-5-million-bra-at-victoria-s-secret-fashion-show-115875-23551262/
Image Source: http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/nov2011/2/6/miranda-kerr-wearing-a-2-5-million-bra-walks-the-runway-during-the-victoria-s-secret-fashion-show-in-new-york-pic-ap-55708063.jpg
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Occupy Wall Street protestors have had it hard. Met with amused disinterest in the beginning of the protest nearly two months ago, demonstrators are now met with anger, dislike and police violence. Most are being forced out of their publically owned park encampments and are seeking refuge else where, willing to give up their space before giving up what they believe in. In response to this systematic eviction, some protestors have migrated to college campuses.
The OWS in California have migrated to Berkeley campus, taking a nod from protestors who have set up shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts’s own, Harvard campus. Unlike Harvard, (who seem to be allowing the protestors only if they are students with valid IDs and keeping their mythical gates locked otherwise) the 3,000 Berkeley nomads were not permitted to stay. The University’s policy was strictly: no tents, no slumber parties.
You have to remember that the OWS:NYC branch (for now) is in the good graces of the private owners of Zuccotti Park. The police can only glare imposingly at the protestors as long as they remain within their boundaries... Interesting trivia fact: Mayor Bloomberg’s girlfriend is on the executive board of those who permit OWS in the park. That must be a fun conversation at dinner.
Maybe the other OWS camps should take a cue from OWS:NYC.
-Kate
Article Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/us/occupy-wall-street-protests-shifting-to-college-campuses.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
Image Source: http://cdn.visiontoamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ows-protester-being-arrested.jpg?0673a6
Culture Corner
America’s obsession with beauty seems to be constantly growing. In advertisements, many readers are brainwashed into thinking that they should look like the portrayed models. The photos tend to emphasize tan skin, long legs and a skinny body shape as the ideal look. However, people don’t seem to realize that the pictures are often photoshopped to such an extent that the models barely resemble their true appearances.
Check out Dove’s video below which reveals the deception behind glamorized beauty:
This idea of exaggerated beauty is also seen on the television program Toddlers and Tiaras. The episodes show children, even from the young age of two, participating in beauty pageants. The kids undergo a physical transformation in order to receive high scores from the judges. For these makeovers, pageant contestants utilize curling irons, hair straighteners, hairspray, fake eyelashes, fake nails, flippers (clip-on teeth), makeup, skin shimmer (glitter) and fake hair. As a result of beauty’s representation being distorted for these children at such a young age, they will likely think that this “plastic Barbie idealism” is necessary.
But what does all of this say about the real image of beauty? That pale skin is ugly? That women who wear sizes bigger than zero or a small is unacceptable? That you need all of these makeup products to be called pretty? With this mindset, society is inadvertently promoting eating disorders and low self-esteem.
Although celebrities such as Sofia Vergara, Kim Kardashian and Demi Lovato have come forth as role models to encourage loving one’s physical appearance, additional change needs to occur. People must educate society on these false perceptions and promote the acceptance of true beauty; otherwise there will be greater consequences than toddlers dressing like adults.
~Kerry Gertner
Article Source: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras/pageant-tool-kit-pictures.htm
Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl6rzOcuooI
Image Source: http://epicself.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/un-natural-beauty.jpg
Poem of the Week
How to Get Under My Skin
by Mindy Nettifee
first off, you can stop looking for the zippers.
i hid those long ago, when my two sisters
and twelve-year-old boys everywhere
made rather athletic headway exploiting my soft spots,
disguising insults as compliments i wouldn’t discover
until later, in therapy,
like bummer cracker jack prizes.
get subtle.
start with how much you love orangesicles.
start with jokes about Egon Schiele and pedophilia.
start with lame stories from summer camp,
your first awkward salty kiss.
nostalgia is anesthesia.
i’m gripped by how soft you remember humiliation—
that summer you were grounded,
how you mapped the route out of that house, that town, that promise.
there’s small openings everywhere:
the last time you saw your mother,
how you picture her sleepless nights on your sleepless nights.
how you save your best punch lines.
bust one out for me.
i’ll weaken like a nurse in a massage chair.
i won’t notice i’m tearing up.
lean in and smell my shampoo.
let it get dark.
i go down when you figure out how close i came,
just by looking me in the eye.
when we compare childish suicide attempts with hot sauce and aspirin.
i go down when you cast shadows on my shadows,
when it doesn’t scare you that i don’t know how to flinch.
when you ask me for nothing.
Derrick Brown, editor of the 2008 illustrated poetry compilation The Last American Valentine, begins his collection by asking that the reader, “Come at this book quiet and ready. Come at this book with un-sarcastic amazement for that melancholy, drifting and striking feeling, whether you have it, want it, need it or wonder about it.” The “it” of which he speaks is poetry’s oldest and most fickle friend: love. The Last American Valentine is an attempt to gather together the work of an eclectic variety of American writers in order to provide a poetics of love for today’s cynical age, wherein it seems everyone either doesn’t believe love can last or believes that every love poem is a bomb of clichés waiting to explode with cheesiness across the page.
Mindy Nettifee’s poem “How to Get Under My Skin” stood out to me in Brown’s collection because of its frank but sweet simplicity. Nettifee doesn’t try to pile unrelenting metaphors atop the idea of love; instead, she forges an intimate connection between speaker and listener with details of both her life and that of her potential lover. It is the personal histories and idiosyncrasies of an individual that make it possible for us to love and be loved. That kind of feeling doesn’t begin with trite phrases or sexual advances, Nettifee seems to say, but rather with you telling me about one summer ten years ago or the things that keep you up at night. “There’s small openings everywhere,” she says—sweet and subtle ways for one human to access another.
The Last American Valentine is a mixed bag, ranging from the humorous to the sexual to the pared down and beautiful, with varying degrees of effectiveness. But whatever the results, Brown’s aim resonated deeply with me. I’ve had this secret fear since I was much younger that I would have to grow up in a world in which no one really believed in love anymore. Everything from rising divorce rates to the mocking tone that gives voice to phrases like “hopeless romantic” might lead me to think that that’s already the case, but it would be treason to my fourteen-year-old self if I gave up on that ideal now. I’m thrilled that contemporary poetry seeks to be so many things: an agent of social justice, a source of humor, a medium for the expression of joys and sorrows, a forum for quirkiness and linguistic prowess, a bridge from one desolate heart to another. But I hope I haven’t seen—and hope I never see—the day when poetry can no longer be taken seriously and sincerely as a medium for the heights of human passion. If all of the language we might use to talk about falling in love sounds clichéd, it’s probably because billions of us have shared that same beautifully sickening surge. But the task of the poet is to find new ways of speaking. And the task of the human is to find new ways of loving and relating to others. That way we never have to fear the loss of love or poetry, and we’ll always have a world in which two people can begin to ache for one another over simple talk of “orangesicles” and “lame stories from summer camp.”
- Nora Curry
Image Source: http://static.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-last-american-valentine-illustrated-poems-to-seduce-and-destroy/7925330/thumbnail/320
Poem Source: Nettifee, Mindy. “How to Get Under My Skin.” The Last American Valentine. Ed. Derrick C. Brown. Long Beach, CA: Write Bloody Publishing, 2008. 23. Print.
Currently Reading
Coming Clean About Stephen King
There was a time when, if you asked me to list my favorite novelists, you would have gotten half the truth. I would have certainly said Ivan Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Virginia Woolf, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Henry Miller. I might have added Kurt Vonnegut, Dave Eggers, or Ray Bradbury to the list if I was feeling brave. But there was no way in hell you could make me admit my love for Stephen King. What sort of self-respecting, English-majoring, intellect-having person lists Stephen King next to Virginia Woolf? Not I! But here’s the thing: when I get into one of those moods where reading a book for pleasure is about as appealing as scraping my fingernails off, I just need to pick up a Stephen King book to fall in love with reading all over again.
This happened recently: the semester is half over and I’ve had about all the required reading and analytical essays I can stand. I had started Catch-22 a few weeks prior and, while I was enjoying it, I had begun to feel like every page was a chore. Then I found an old copy of Needful Things on my bookshelf. I vaguely remembered the plot line: a creepy guy opens a store in a small Maine town, sells people things they think they need, and all hell breaks loose. Sorry, Joseph Heller, I really liked what you were doing, but it was time for some serious paperback therapy. As soon as I began reading, I felt those parts of my imagination that too much school had seemingly closed down open up again. King’s style, while not necessarily worth applause, is immediately recognizable and, in its own strange way, comforting (though, that might just be because I know it so well after having read and re-read so many of his books and short stories.) His writing is clear and often very clever. He might abuse simile once in a while, but his dialogue is pretty admirable and the man knows how to use language to build tension. But the joy I get from reading Stephen King is not from stylistic nuance: it’s the sheer fun of listening to someone tell you a story over a campfire or a good meal. It’s not being able to wait to hear what comes next. It’s knowing what comes next, but needing to find out every detail about it. It’s missing your stop because that damn bastard of an author is about to kill off that poor sweet lady – and her dog! Of course, King has his epic failures (Cujo and The Dead Zone come to mind,) but I dare you to put down The Stand or It halfway through.
So yes, world, I am willing to tell you that Stephen King is one of my favorite writers. Because beautiful prose and highly-charged themes are wonderful, important, necessary things – but a story so good you don’t leave your room for a day and a half? Now that’s needful.
--- Margie Sarsfield
Image Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ILi5pjUAbZY/R0ymPMuWGpI/AAAAAAAAADY/c5JTKi8sLfs/s320/NeedfulThingsBookCover.jpg
Currently Listening
Boards of Canada, Solange, and "Left-Side Drive"
I am a huge fan of Solange Knowles. Some say that she’s famous for being Beyoncé’s younger sister, but there is so much more to Solange than her sibling relation to her older global sensation of a sister. At first, I never paid much attention to her because I assumed that her glow only came from the off-cast refractions of her older sister’s spotlight.
Silly me, how wrong was I? I took a chance and began to listen to her music in the fall of 2008, and I haven’t stopped since. Solange Knowles is a five-edged sword; she is a singer, songwriter, actor, dj, and dancer. As far as I am concerned she is an artistic genius. Her music has the ability to touch rare parts of one’s being, parts that are inanimate and/or have not been alive in a while. I listened to Solange’s sophomore album Sol-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams and her music had the latter effect on me. Some songs made me nod my head, others made me belt along, others had me laughing and crying, and all of them made me want to dance.
Solange Knowles waited five years before releasing that sophomore album, and she is slowly torturing her fans with another 3+ year wait. She has yet to release singles from a new album, and I have been trolling music websites for any new music that I can find. I happened to stumble upon her cover of Boards of Canada’s “Left-Side Drive.”
One of my friends, a former Knowles sisters hater turned avid listener and devoted fan, posted the song on her blog. It had been a long while since I had heard anything from Solange, and it is an understatement to say that I was excited about hearing something new. I was also excited that she was covering a Boards of Canada classic. Although many viewers on YouTube have admitted to having other recreational purposes for the song (er, eh-hem), Solange wrote an abstract song about the complexities of love and relationships.
The lyrics are ambiguous; I believe it was intentional so the listener could make his or her own interpretation. The relationship she speaks of is a romantic one, the “during“ stage of love. In western media, the guy likes the girl, the guy gets the girl (with minor obstacles, quite minor), the guy lives happily ever after with the girl. This may also be the case with the girl liking the guy. No one talks about the struggle, the work, the ugly side of love. Love does not always come in pre-packaged frozen dinners—there are ellipses in a relationship; it is a slow simmer at times.
- Kerri Byam
Image Source: http://rnbxclusive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Solange.png
Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMJ4_GmHJJ0
Currently Watching
In the Got Talent Series, all parts of the globe have been put on watch in hopes of finding the most talented individuals, everywhere from China to America. In Ukraine’s Got Talent, 2009 winner Kseniya Simonova turns grains of sand into tears of a distant past.
Her story begins with an image of a couple peacefully sitting on the bench. It is quickly disrupted by the advent of World War II. The husband is sent off; a train signifies his departure, leaving his lover in shambles and a son. Bombs of sand invade a harmonious scene to show people in turmoil. A woman appears, ageing by the unset of war. Time passes. A child grows with the assistances of a father. But by the end of this story, the father returns to his anxious family. With such a emotional story fueled through drawbacks of war, it no wonder why members of the audience are brought to tears.
Kseniya Simonova masters fleeting art, art that causes us to stare in amazement only to vanish in mere minutes. Although the sand artist could duplicate this performance, her images will never be identical grain for grain. Sand animation eliminates the sense of permanence found hanging on museum walls. Aside from the art itself, Kseniya Simonova incorporates music to which her body synchronizes with. Every motion is executed with speed and grace, giving its observer all the more to rave over.
~Joel Cruz
Image Source: http://unrealitytv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/americas-got-talent-logo.jpg
Illuminations
Where Children Sleep
What does our room say about us? It holds our exhaustless imagination and dreams- a place where we are free to rule our own kingdoms. When I was eight, my bedroom was filled with posters of the Spice Girls, stuffed animals won from the annual school carnival, and piles upon piles of books I could never stand to throw away. Not much has changed from then till now; the posters have collected a significant amount of dust, the stuffed animals now have white cotton peeking through the threadbare edges, and the books have managed to find an official home on an actual bookshelf. This is my room.
In James Mollison's book, Where Children Sleep, he takes pictures of children and their bedrooms from all over the world, from the top floor of an apartment building on Fifth Avenue to a favela in Rio de Janeiro. After being born in Kenya, growing up in England, and working in Italy, Mollison wanted to come up with a means of addressing children's rights to people of all backgrounds, regardless of location, age, or gender. Each of the photographs come with a small caption underneath, mentioning only the first name of the child and perhaps a few words about their hobbies or jobs.
Mollison wanted to make sure the shots of the children were taken in front of a neutral background, outside of their bedrooms. This technique separates the children from the wealth or poverty surrounding them, letting them each stand alone as individuals. What is striking about the stand-alone snapshots of the children are their eyes. Each set of eyes looks back at you with a certain emotion, and as you look at their bedrooms, that emotion multiplies tenfold, and for a moment, connects your existence to the existence of a little child in another corner of the world, someone you will probably never even meet.
Although a majority of the photos are of children living in third world countries, some are also from places where you would think poverty does not exist. Alyssa's tiny, scorched bedroom with the gaping roof is located in Appalachia, a couple hours drive from here. The Romanian boy who doesn't even have a roof and calls a small mattress on a patch of grass his room, lives in the outskirts of Rome. Sometimes it's easier to think of poverty as something distant that can only be found in developing countries. Seeing Indira's blanket and straw fortress with her hatchet in hand breaks our hearts, but we ask ourselves what we can possibly do for someone who lives all the way in Katmandu, Nepal. At times like this, we need to realize that poverty can be found everywhere, even in our own “first-world” neck of the woods.
I now see my Spice Girls posters on the walls of Thais' room, my stuffed animals on Kaya's floor, and my books on Lamine's wooden bookshelf. We all have a lot more in common with each other than we think; we just need to remember it and use it to implement the changes we want to see.
--Mira
Indira, 7, lives with her parents, brother and sister near Kathmandu in Nepal.
Jaime, 9, lives in a top-floor apartment on Fifth Avenue. His parents also own luxury homes in Spain and in the Hamptons on Long Island.
4-year-old Romanian boy who shares a mattress with his family in the outskirts of Rome.
Thais, 11, lives with her parents and sister on the third floor of a block of flats in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She shares a bedroom with her sister. 
Lamine, 12, lives in Senegal. He is a pupil at the village Koranic school, where no girls are allowed. He shares a room with several other boys.
Alyssa, 8, lives in a small, shabby house in Appalachia. 
Joey, 11, lives in Kentucky, USA, with his parents and older sister. He regularly accompanies his father on hunts. He owns two shotguns and a crossbow and made his first kill – a deer – at the age of 7.
Kaya, 4, lives in Tokyo, Japan with her parents. Her mother makes all her dresses for her, usually 3 a month.Image Sources:
http://www.designmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/wherechildrensleep7.jpg
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01738/INdira_1738650i.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NxgRw_CGnxQ/TjUgl6fUmMI/AAAAAAAADuY/l5A5eUepY8w/s1600/where-children-sleep-new-york.jpg
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01738/Anonymous_1738646i.jpg
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01739/Thais_1739096i.jpg
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01739/Lamine_1739111i.jpg
http://www.coolbaby.es/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/where-childrensleep-Alyssa-Usa.jpg
http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/964/jamesmollison12.jpg
http://www.urbanicablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/888882.jpg
Monday, November 07, 2011
Greetings
No Need to Cry!
We know you're having a tough time studying and writing essays (and maybe crying). Also the fall season is in full swing and old man winter is already hinting his arrival (hopefully later than sooner). But not to fear, the Boylan Blog is ALWAYS a warm place to cozy up with weekly articles on culture, poetry, music, and movies!Also check out the reminders below:
1) Making Work Visible writing contest. Open to all CUNY undergrads. The deadline isn't until January 2012, but be sure to visit http://www.lehman.edu/academics/arts-humanities/AHlaboressay.php for more details.
2) The Poetry Club meets every Tuesday during common hours in 2307 Boylan, so come and share your creativity!
3) Start sending in your submissions to the Junction! Send in your poetry and other creative writing to bczinesubmissions@gmail.com and bring a hard copy to 3416 Boylan.
4) Join us in the Woody Tanger Auditorium (room 150) in the library November 10th 12-2 pm for Open Mic!
5) Creative writing classes will now be offered during the winter session. Come to the office for more details.
~Ocean
Image source: http://www.womansday.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/wd2/content/family-lifestyle/holidays/carve-the-perfect-halloween-pumpkin/707645-1-eng-US/Carve-the-Perfect-Halloween-Pumpkin_featured_article_628x371.jpg
News Briefs
Looks like Texas is taking it to court. State governor Rick Perry and the US Justice Department began what could be a lengthy trial with a unique three-judge court this past Wednesday after the state sued the federal government in order to win approval for new district voting maps. The change would give Texas four additional seats in the House of Representatives, but Texan minorities are arguing that the boundaries created by the new districts discriminate against Latinos and would limit their voting power. Obama’s Justice Department claims to have significant evidence demonstrating that lawmakers in Texas took racial data into consideration when drawing the new district boundaries, and, as a result, Latinos are a distinct minority in all of the new districts.
Why so much federal interference in Texas? Because the state has a history that is marred by voter discrimination and is required under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to get permission from the federal government before making significant changes to anything voting-related. Nevertheless, many Texas officials, including Republican senator Kel Seliger, are calling such accusations hogwash and arguing that there is no sufficient evidence of discrimination. Seliger has chalked it up to the divisive political atmosphere that encourages Democrats to jump at the chance to knock down Republicans who are currently in the majority. As the back and forth continues, a San Antonio court is preparing for the possibility of having to design an entirely separate set of maps for the primaries in case the trial is not resolved by March.
And how are us non-Texans supposed to react to this finger pointing session from which we are physically so far removed? Should we be proud that Obama’s administration is keeping tabs on such discrimination? Or should we question if it’s a play of the race card in a game that was really only about getting Texas more seats in the House of Representatives? In some ways this trial plaguing one Southern state is a crystallization of much of the difficulties we as individuals face all across the country in the current political atmosphere. We can’t afford as Americans (and as humans) to let voting discrimination occur in any form, and it is our imperative as a nation to investigate these possibilities and ensure fair practices. But at the same time, there’s that uncomfortable nagging borne of partisan politics—that unsettling feeling that if our administration is doing the right thing, it’s not necessarily for the right reason. Whatever his motives, Seliger has a point: the blame game is a favorite in American politics, and there’s always a chance that this show of moral righteousness is a tool for the Democrats to keep the Republicans at bay. But while I think we’re right to question whom we can trust and do our best not to cry wolf when it comes to race, there’s a little something worth celebrating here, too. We don’t have to dig too far back in our country’s future to find a time when voting discrimination was simply the norm, and it’s a pretty good feeling to know we have an administration that isn’t letting that negative history repeat itself.
--Nora Curry
Article Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/02/141916779/court-to-decide-if-texas-voting-maps-discriminate
Image Source: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/vote-aqui.jpg
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Much talk was generated after the passing of Steve Jobs. Many spoke of Job as a marketing genius and his innumerable contributions to Apple. Countless media outlets outlined his career and praised his accomplishments. His legacy remains evident through the youngster with white headphones that sound like loudspeakers and phones that became educated just to compete with the iPhone.
Given his prestige, it’s no surprise the German Lunor Classic Rund PP, the name of Jobs’ signature glasses, bumped up in sales after his death. In Hong Kong, Power Bloom, the Asian distributor of the glasses, placed them in a display case which read, “Steve Jobs 1955-2011: We have lost an ultimate genius. What he has left us are his overwhelming ideas and his favorite glasses.”
I chose to discuss this in this week’s news brief because it’s clear that Jobs’ passing is being used to a company’s advantage. Power Bloom’s marketing executive Garick Tsui was questioned about this; he responded, “People see these as a tribute to Mr. Jobs.” Good way to cover your ass, Tsui. I would be inclined to believing this wasn’t the work of an opportunist if I hadn’t seen this before.
After the death of Michael Jackson, his music could be heard from every speaker created. Fans were buying track after track, album after album; sales were shooting through the roof. This wasn’t a marketing scheme; Michael Jackson was a phenomenal artist whose musical prowess and dancing finesse created such a demand for his music. However, there were those who began publishing books and films in, what appeared to me, an attempt to dip their hands in the money pot.
Is there a line? When a great and influential figure passes and sales relating to that individual increase, what should be considered the work of an opportunist? But is it morally inacceptable to monopolize on the deceased? I understand that when people lose someone dear to them, they cling to the things that embody the one they have lost. But, really, Steve Jobs’ glasses?
-- Joel Cruz
Image Source: http://photos.appleinsider.com/jobsglasses-111104.jpg
Article Source: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/11/04/steve_jobss_450_eyeglasses_a_hot_seller_following_death.html
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Early Friday morning, six volunteers in the 15 million dollar Mars500 experiment walked out of their “spacecraft,” ending a 520-day long simulation of a journey to Mars. Just outside Moscow, the all-male crew cramped together for 17 months as an attempt to understand the physical and emotional toll of traveling to the fourth planet from the Sun. Upon “landing,” Italian-Colombian participant remarked “On this mission we’ve achieved the longest isolation ever so that humankind can go to a distant but reachable planet.”
An earlier 420-day simulation was cancelled in 2000 after a fistfight broke out amongst participants and one male participant attempted to kiss a female participant against her will. Perhaps this explains the all-male crew for the last simulation.
In these times of regressing public interest and support for space exploration and travel, how can this experiment function for us as citizens of the world, of the global society? Are the 17 months and 15 million dollars worth the trip to Mars? What exactly is the point of going to Mars? Just to say we’ve “done it?” Surely the psychological toll is immense—the participants of the Mars500 trial run will need pretty severe social and physical rehabilitation. After all the money spent and all the loneliness endured, can we look back and say it was worth it? Participant Romain Charles argued “Mars is the next logical step for human expansion.” What is so logical about a 15 million dollar, year-and-a-half long road trip to a desert?
--Ryan Skrabalak
Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/us-mars-isolation-odd-idUSTRE7A349220111104
Image source: http://i.space.com/images/i/5986/i02/vote-mars-landings-10-02.jpg?1294163306
Culture Corner
The cold had bite. The lake was so opaque I had mistaken it for black top. It wasn’t the dead of winter but the first weekend in November when we pulled up to our hotel at 8pm. My Mom and I drove down to Philly for the weekend to visit my younger brother at school, tour the campus and take in some much needed, non-exhaust-filled air.
My brother’s campus is twice the size of Brooklyn College’s (though not nearly as charming) complete with its own rugby/football/soccer field, right in its sloped hills heart. There’s ‘The Perch’— the equivalent to our Student Lounge in SUBO with pool tables— that has a stage, FREE coffee and beverages, couches, coffee tables, armchairs, big screen HD televisions, ID swipe-in doors to keep the space safe(and open) 24/7 and other nice accommodations that our fair college has yet to get hip to. While there, I also discovered Hogwarts— or so is the nickname my brother gives the oldest and most ornate building on the main campus. (He’s not far off the mark.)
Unfortunately the only safe places to eat along the City Avenue strip consists of Chiles, Olive Garden, Wendy’s and the ever faithful 7/11. If you brave world travelers ever find yourself in this situation, my recommendation for Olive Garden is the Venetian Sunset drink with the Seafood Primavera and a cup of the Chicken and Gnocchi soup. Or if you’re feeling like a hot tamale, the Trio Fajita and a bowl of chili should see you through Chiles without any complaints. Just expect to wait an eternity behind hungry, rowdy natives.
On the last day of our mini vacay, we visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Just two exits away from our hotel, we navigated Philly’s roads like it was the regular old George Washington. On the enormous steps of the Western entrance, the view of roughly brushed fall leaves meshed with sheer sunlight reflecting off a rushing bay sprawled out across the horizon like a sleepy morning stretch. Definitely a good sign to start the day with.
We toured exhibit after exhibit of Monet’s, Van Gogh’s, Cassatt’s, Rembrandt’s and a couple Picasso’s, though the most eye opening paintings were the ones by painters I’ll never remember. For me, the beauty of art is that the artist is only another medium. Their names, backgrounds or stories pale in comparison to what they leave behind. All else often gets lost. But the art remains. That might be the ultimate fear of an artist, too. To be overshadowed by their own creations and fall by history’s wayside. Then again, Monet and the others have gotten it together. Maybe the brilliant ones truly find balance in the end.
But the highlight of the Philly Tour was one shinning moment: finding the Rocky Balboa statue. Although the statue has been moved off to the side and down from its rightful place of glory, it didn’t stop the crowds of kids and adults running up the Eastern steps, arms up and triumphant, dancing at the top.
Eat your heart out, Thunderlips.
—Kate Conte
Image Source: http://turtlerunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/r1rocky2.jpg
Poem of the Week
Sarah Kay reminds me that poetry isn’t just meant to be read, it’s meant to be felt. I was fortunate enough to come across her work while looking through some of the speakers at the TED convention earlier this year. TED is a nonprofit organization that provides a platform for speakers interested in sharing their ideas in the fields of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Sarah’s first poem during her presentation was “Point B,” a beautiful piece about the lessons a mother passes on to her daughter.
In the midst of our hectic lives, there is a silent comfort in the simplicity of her poem. She is not setting out to revolutionize the world with her work; she is reminding us to appreciate life, its joys and its sorrows. Her sincerity and self-acknowledged naivety breathes hope into the listener. With the political and financial turmoil our generation has been handed, Sarah makes me believe that there is still good both in us, and around us. It’s because of her that every time I think of the waves hitting the shoreline, I am filled with an unexplainable sense of optimism about the future.
My favorite line from the poem is, “I want her to see the world through the underside of a glass-bottom boat.”
What does the world look like from the underside of a glass-bottom boat?
You are no longer in the boat to keep you safe: you are drifting in the wide, open sea, looking in on the people still in the boat, all cramped together and afraid of tipping over. Once you let go your fear of getting wet, you become a part of the undersea world you have only wondered about from afar. You learn to embrace the foreign and take a look at your own world from the outside. You understand better what our world has, what it needs, and what it can still do.
--Mira
Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sSfbQk7DxE
Lisa Jarnot
I was recently turned on to Lisa Jarnot's poetry by a professor of mine. I read a bunch of her work online, and almost immediately I identified with her words, her rhythm, her images, her song. It was one of those moments where one knows a shard of one's self lives in particular lines of poetry; a warming, familiar feeling. A hot cocoa of verse. What made the feeling even more fantastic and fulfilling was how oblivious I was to her words. The discovery was beautiful.
BROOKLYN ANCHORAGE
and at noon I will fall in love
and nothing will have meaning
except for the brownness of
the sky, and tradition, and water
and in the water off the railway
in New Haven all the lights
go on across the sun, and for
millennia those who kiss fall into
hospitals, riding trains, wearing
black shoes, pursued by those
they love, the Chinese in the armies
with the shiny sound of Johnny Cash,
and in my plan to be myself
I became someone else with
soft lips and a secret life,
and I left, from an airport,
in tradition of the water
on the plains, until the train
started moving and yesterday
it seemed true that suddenly
inside of the newspaper
there was a powerline and
my heart stopped, and everything
leaned down from the sky to kill me
and now the cattails sing.
What I love about this poem is its nonchalance, and the sort of quotidian rhythm that it sings itself in. I thought first of Frank O'Hara's poems--the opening line "and at noon I will fall in love" reminds me so much of O'Hara's "The Day Lady Died" ("because I will get off the 4:19 in Easthampton / at 7:15 and then go straight to dinner") and "Personal Poem" ("Now when I walk around at lunchtime"). Jarnot tosses these images over her shoulder like a peacoat and walks about with them, casually. A darkness undercuts the poem--this is where O'Hara's and hers differ--but there is a sort of jubilance that Jarnot uses to wrap about the overhanging gloom, for example "my heart stopped, and everything / leaned down from the sky to kill me / and now the cattails sing" lords an uneasiness to the piece. Jarnot's wild eye and ear for enjambment and internal rhythm lend the poem a conversational tone as well.
Jarnot lives in New York City. I just ordered her 2001 book, Ring of Fire, and I am very excited for her poetry to avalanche in my blood.
Be excellent to one another, and do good work,
--Ryan Skrabalak
Image source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HkY1TkCcO9Y/R7x2rYH19fI/AAAAAAAAAlg/iha5b99D2-U/s320/jarnot.bmp
Currently Listening
"A Whole New World"
With the arrival of such innovations as Apple's iPod, it is safe to say that most of us spend our free time listening to music as opposed to the old ways of reading a book. Being avid music listeners, we have all amassed some rather impressive collections of music, varied by personal preference and spanning several decades. As such, every now and then, we inevitably come across a song we simply cannot resist listening to. And no matter how many times we press the “skip” button, we somehow always find our way back—a constant struggle and a vicious circle. For me, this is a spot-on description of my interaction with Disney's “A Whole New World” from the popular movie Aladdin. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I do listen to Disney songs. In fact, I have a vast collection of them on my iPod and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Disney's Aladdin links many of us back to our childhoods, when our imaginations were captured by blue genies, flying carpets, magic lamps, and a witty parrot. Aladdin in many ways represented a new direction for Disney—it depicted a new culture with different values, traditions, and beliefs (but we won’t get into the politics of the film). Upon release, Aladdin was well received by the general public and, to some extent, became widely-known for its soundtrack. “A Whole New World” imprinted itself on the minds of its audience not simply because it represented a significant point in the film (the point when Jasmine and Aladdin fall for each other), but because it was a beautifully written piece whose lyrics took us on that magic carpet ride along with Jasmine and Aladdin. As children, we may not have understood the concept of love and what it entailed, but we sure knew that something special was happening between Jasmine and Aladdin as they wove in and out of cloud formations. For me, the magic of the song is not the wonderful imagery or the music or any of that (though all of that is fantastic); the magic of the song is what it represents. And what it represents is a link back to my childhood (and I'm sure, a link back to many of our childhoods). It represents a time when we were innocent and unaware of the troubles of life. It represents a time when our imaginations were free to explore this whole new world with the ensemble cast of Aladdin. For this reason, “A Whole New World” will always hold a special place on my iPod if not in my heart, and will always leave me with the compulsion to hit the repeat button once it has run its course. And, as per tradition, it is now inevitably stuck in my head.
- Sarah Gonsalves
Image Source: http://a.dolimg.com/en-US/disneyfans/media/history/movies/aladdin/mov_aladdin_240x240.jpg
Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLsdJlfA23E
Lyrics Source: http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/movies/aladdinworldmid.htm
Lyrics
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride.
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming.
A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here
It's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you
Now I'm in a whole new world with you.
Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky.
A whole new world
Don't you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath - it gets better
I'm like a shooting star I've come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be.
A whole new world
Every turn a surprise
With new horizons to pursue
Every moment red-letter
I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you.
A whole new world
That's where we'll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me.
Currently Watching
The Never-ending Final Destination
If you fast forward twenty years, it is likely that moviegoers will be watching Final Destination 11 in theaters. This movie saga seems to be never-ending, yet it still manages to rake in impressive profits and consistent audiences. The Final Destination series is like the energizer bunny—it keeps going and going and going.
The first movie of the saga was shown in theaters in the year 2000. The sequels that followed were released every three years, with the exception of Final Destination 5, which was released only after two years of the previous film. Each movie’s plot is based on a group of teenagers or young adults who cheat death. One of the main characters foresees an event, ranging from an airplane explosion to a rollercoaster accident, which would result in the group’s untimely death. However, by the protagonist preventing this prophetic vision from coming true, Death seeks revenge by killing off these characters one by one.
The movies are known for its gore and pyrotechnics. Although the films’ conclusions are predictable--everyone always dies—you are still somehow sucked into the plot and held in suspense by the death scenes. Now the ultimate question: How long will it take before audiences tire of this movie series?
Check out the first Final Destination trailer below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD_MAz96L70
~Kerry Gertner
Article Source: http://finaldestination.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Destination_(series)
Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD_MAz96L70
Image Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NI-cnP2EfN4/TlkByx2c0sI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/EVJrZgmCcjs/s1600/2.gif
Illuminations
The Secret World of Henry Darger
The number of pages in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy: up to 2,500. The number of pages in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series: up to 4,176. The number of pages in Henry Darger’s unpublished manuscript, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion: 15,145. That number doesn’t include the hundreds of illustrations meant to accompany the text. 15,145 single-spaced pages, discovered posthumously and written in between shifts as a dishwasher and janitor, about the adventures of seven prepubescent sisters fighting a war against evil, sadistic adults.
Darger’s private world has become the art world’s epitome of “outsider art,” characterized by works made by naïve or untrained artists who have had little contact with mainstream art institutions, and who are often mentally ill. While there is controversy over whether or not Darger himself suffered from mental illness, his work reflects a vast inner fantasy completely removed from the world as we know it, and the violence and sexual deviation in some of his illustrations suggest that Darger may have channeled some personal turmoil into his art. Alongside brilliant, watercolor scenes of pastoral bliss where young girls and friendly beasts play happily are bloody scenes of torture and war where young girls are impaled, crucified, and left bleeding on the ground (we’re talking entrails and empty eye sockets here).
The Vivian Sisters and their fellow females are often portrayed with male sexual organs, a phenomenon Darger never explains in the accompanying text. Darger used cartoon girls from magazine and newspapers, like the Coppertone girl and Little Annie Rooney as templates for his illustrations, but The Story of the Vivian Girls is also populated by fantastical creatures of Darger’s own creation, such as the “Cat Headed Blengin” and the “Eagle Headed Blengin,” dragon-like amalgams of the worldly creatures for which they are named and Darger’s own imagination.
Praised for his use of color and for his surreal and vivid landscapes, Darger is certainly the epitome of the unfettered artist: he worked in complete privacy, telling no one of the world he was creating, had no formal training, and created without thought to critical reactions. Did he ever plan to make his work public? It’s hard to know for sure, but one gets the feeling that Darger was creating this world for himself and only himself. He placed himself as a character in his manuscript, and while an autobiography was discovered along with The Story of the Vivian Girls, there is no evidence that he ever wanted anyone to know what he was up to alone in his apartment. Which makes me wonder: do we have any right to be examining, studying, and psychoanalyzing his work? What would Darger say if we asked him why his beloved Vivian Girls have penises? Darger lived an isolated life, holding menial jobs and generally avoiding contact with the outside world; now, he’s an art world celebrity. He has no known living relatives, no one who might be offended or embarrassed by the spreading of work that was probably never meant to be spread, but does that make it alright? Surely, artists can learn something from studying Darger’s skill as a painter and the depth of his fantasy, but aren’t we still participating in voyeurism? Does the right to privacy stop at death? Keeping in mind that we are getting it out of context, the following passage from The Story of the Vivian Girls might make a few observers uneasy:
“All the Gold in the Gold mines
All the Silver in the world,
Nay, all the world,
Cannot buy these pictures from me,
Vengeance, thee {terrible} vengeance
On those who steals or destroys them.”
---Margaret Sarsfield.
Image Sources: http://imgs.abduzeedo.com/files/nathan/henrydarger/darger12.jpg
http://imgs.abduzeedo.com/files/nathan/henrydarger/darger21.jpg
Monday, October 31, 2011
Greetings
“You’ve got to be really brawny to have that kind of strength—the strength to relax.” Or so says leading (angry) man Jimmy Porter in John Osborne’s 1956 play Look Back in Anger. As you stare down the barrel of the second half of the semester, Porter’s words might seem like the antithesis of everything we’ve been taught about hard work, but sometimes our greatest strength is in learning how to balance all of our responsibilities and still have moments to simply enjoy being in our own skin. Maybe that means putting on a clever costume today and doing some trick-or-treating. Or maybe it means curling up somewhere with a book that no one told you you had to read. Maybe it means baking some cookies, watching a good movie, or going for a cozy walk in the chill Fall air. But however you go about it, just remember as you start powering your way through to December that you can’t do everything everyone asks of you without doing something for yourself. After all, we just saw the biggest October snow since the 19th century. You owe yourself a warm beverage and some time with your feet up.
But before you start relaxing too much, check out these announcements:
1. You’ve been asking about it and here it is! Our Open Mic is next Thursday, November 10th from 12:15 pm – 2:15 pm in the Woody Tanger Auditorium. If you’d like to perform your original work, sign up on the door of our office in 3416 Boylan before the slots fill up! Otherwise, we’d love to have you in the audience to witness your talented peers in action.
2. If words on a page are more your cup of tea, fear not! The Junction is accepting submissions for this year’s issue and we’d love to read your work! Email us your poetry, other creative writing, and artwork at bczinesubmissions@gmail.com and bring a hard copy of writing submissions to 3416 Boylan.
3. The English Department is offering three Creative Writing classes during intersession. There will be two sections of Intro to Creative Writing (M-F 9:30 am-12 pm, 2 pm-4:30 pm) and one section of Fiction 1 (M-F 9:30 am-12 pm). Stop by the office or shoot us an email at boylanblog@gmail.com to get information about course codes/sections.
4. The BC Slam Team is hosting its second open slam this Thursday, November 3rd at 7:00 pm in the Occidental Lounge (SUBO) to finish assembling a stellar team, so check it out!
And as always, come by 3416 Boylan during the week with all of your questions. Now start exercising your strength of relaxation with a leisurely scroll through this week’s Boylan Blog!
Happy Halloween!
- Nora Curry
Image Source: http://gotshabbat.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/relax.jpg
News Briefs
The 2012 Presidential Race May Not Be As Sexy
Three years after the 2008 election, little has changed in America’s economic climate. We are still in a recession, and as of August 2011, the country’s unemployment rate is at 9.1%.
President Obama is running for a second term, and presidential campaigns for the Republican Party are picking up speed. Herman Cain, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney may be at odds with each other for the upcoming primaries, but in the end, it is all for one cause: to run for office against the current President of the United States in hopes to become the next President of the United States.
Obama met with donors in Hollywood who offered $38,500 each toward his campaign. He informed his beneficiaries that the 2012 election will not be as sexy as the historic (and sexier) 2008 election. Many presidents have been re-elected over the years, ranging from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush. Obama has a fighting chance to win again. However, President Obama’s wavering popularity is enough reason to worry.
Attendants at the fundraiser such as Will Smith and Magic Johnson listened to Obama’s precaution toward ensuring a successful re-election. He warned that the upcoming process will not be an easy one; it will take persistence and hard work.
So, here we are again. Get your ballots ready. The United States of America is due for a less sexy presidential election in a year.
- Kerri Byam
Image Source: http://worldfamousdesignjunkies.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/obama-hope-sheppard-feirey1.jpg
Article Source: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-warns-hollywood-election-will-not-be-sexy-first-one
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Switched at Birth
If you look into the nursery of a hospital, you will see rows of babies bundled up in blankets like cocoons. With the vast number of babies in the room, it would certainly be a challenge to identify your own child merely by physical features. In order to recognize your child, you can either look at the label on the bassinets or check the wristband attached to each child. The label on the bassinette states the baby’s doctor, gender, mother, date and time of birth, weight, height, and length. But what if something goes wrong with this process? What if your baby is wrongly labeled or the label itself goes missing? What if your baby is taken home by someone else?
One would think that with the combination of modern technology and a hospital staff’s caution that this situation could never happen. Think again. Two girls who were born in eastern Russia and grew up a few miles from each other were unknowingly switched at birth. The girls were born only fifteen minutes apart in the same maternity ward and were accidentally given the incorrect nametags.
The twelve-year-old girls and their respective families recently found out this surprising news. One of the two mothers, Yuliya Belyaeva, was told by her ex-husband that he would not pay child support for their daughter Irina because she did not resemble him at all. The results of many DNA tests revealed that neither Yuliya nor her ex-husband was Irina’s birth parent. As a result, Yuliya was determined to find her biological daughter.
With the police’s help, Yuliya was able to locate the daughter she gave birth to. Yuliya stated that “their daughter, Anya, was blond and looked just like me and my ex-husband. And our daughter was dark-skinned and had dark hair and looked like the other father. He's a Tajik, and she looked just like him."
Nevertheless, after finding out the truth, both girls chose to stay with the parents who raised them. This predicament has led both girls, as well as their families, to befriend one another. However, due to the distress that resulted from this mistake, both families are suing the hospital for $160,000 in damages.
- Kerry Gertner
Image Source: http://static.blisstree.com/files/2009/01/cmsphoto017565-hospital-nursery.jpg
Article Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/girls-switched-birth-stay-wrong-moms/story?id=14803170
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7 Billion
Today is a pretty special day here on Earth! The global population just hit 7 billion, and we can all give ourselves a pat on the back because it wouldn’t have been possible without each and every single one of us! Why, it was only just 12 years ago that we crossed the 6 billion threshold. The UN has estimated that by 2100, the population will reach a staggering 10 billion people; some of us lucky few might even survive to see this happen.
For those of us who might be having a hard time grasping how big 7 billion really is, here are a few analogies to boggle the mind: 7 billion seconds ago, it was the year 1789 and George Washington was being inaugurated into office; if you decided to take 7 billion steps along the equator, you would have walked around the world 106 times; if you stacked 7 billion people on top of each other, you would have reached 27 times the distance to the moon (Please take into consideration that we now have enough people to take on this endeavor…are you busy next weekend?).
All jest aside however, the concept that we have managed to make so many of us has some pretty serious implications. Everyday I push and shove my way on the subway to get to school on time, but now that I can put a number to the people I’m pushing and shoving, it all becomes a little more surreal and a lot more frightening. Does this Earth have what it takes to carry our weight? Can we make the necessary changes to accommodate all the newcomers?
Food and water shortages, overcrowding, scarcity of jobs, destruction of natural habitats – these are just some of the problems our generation is currently facing and will continue to struggle with in the future.
At times like this, it’s easy to feel disheartened by all the Goliaths waiting for us to shoot down. But it’s also times like this when we need to look back on our past achievements and recharge our batteries of hope. If you haven’t noticed, we humans can be pretty darn amazing. We can talk to people miles away, drive to the other side of the country in a matter of days, heck, we don’t even let gravity keep us down. So then why can’t we tap into our well of amazingness and solve the problems ahead?
With 7 billion ideas, talents, and inspirations all working with each other, we definitely can.
- Mira
Image Source: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2011/10/23/1319388589182/Tapei-motorbikes-007.jpg
Article Source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/29/world/7-billion/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
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Redefining "Bird Brain"
Are humans the only species with enough smarts to craft a language? Although many animals have their own form of communication, none has the depth or versatility heard in human speech. We are able to express almost anything on our minds by uttering a few sounds in a particular order. But are the rules of grammar unique only to human language? Perhaps not; according to a recent study, songbirds may also communicate using a sophisticated grammar, a feature absent in even our closest relatives, the nonhuman primates.
In each experiment, the birds were presented with the same songs until they became familiarized with the tune. The researchers then created novel songs by shuffling the notes around. But not every new song caught the birds’ attention; rather, the finches increased response calls only to songs with notes arranged in a particular order, suggesting that the birds used common rules when forming the syntax of that song. When the researchers created novel songs with even more complicated artificial grammar—for example, songs that mimicked a specific feature found in human (Japanese) language—the birds still only responded to songs that followed the rules.
If the tweets of birds can be roughly likened to strings of human words, and if birdbrains process songs in a way similar to how human brains process language, future research may tackle whether these animals possess other cognitive abilities once thought to be singularly characteristic of human intelligence. The next time you hear a bird chirping outside your window, you might think twice about what’s going on inside his little birdbrain.
- Ocean
Image Source: http://kswpgoodfriends.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/birds-singing.jpg
Article Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20615-first-evidence-that-birds-tweet-using-grammar.html
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