Between the stream of "Brooklyn Morning" newsletter emails, the "Holiday Bash" fliers hurriedly pressed into my hands via my more extracurricular-involved peers, and of course, the blow-up ghost gate blocking the entrance to the BC cafeteria, I can't help but feel touched (or perhaps slightly smothered) by the spirit of Halloween.
For those of you who, like me, don't know much about the holiday aside from glowing pumpkins and kids knocking on doors for candy, I did a little research about the historical origins of Halloween, or "All Hallows' Eve." Turns out, the holiday as we know it is a convergence of pagan and Christian festivals. The first was Samhain, a new year's celebration of the ancient Celts of modern-day Ireland, to mark the end of light, summer harvest days and the beginning of dark, cold winter days. They believed that on the night before Samhain- October 31st- the division between the dead and the living was blurred, and both beloved and harmful spirits could pass through from the Otherworld. Consequently, the Celts wore spooky costumes and masks to ward off evil spirits.
The holiday adopted a Christian face in the 600s, when Pope Boniface IV declared November 1st All Saints' Day (or All Hallows' Day in Middle English), a day to honor saints and martyrs. Many say that the pope was trying to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a similar festival relating to Christianity. In any case, the night before All Hallows' Day became known as All Hallows' Eve, which is where today's name- Halloween- stems from.
Now, for those of you more interested in partying than a history lesson, I suggest you check out myspace.com/s4s123 to rsvp for BC's Halloween Party, Friday night at the Student Center.
Whether you find yourself trick-or-treating this Saturday night or just hanging out with friends as on any other weekend, I hope you have as stress-free a week as possible in the midst of midterms, and a reinvigorating weekend. Enjoy the blog!
STUDENTS AND FACULTY PROTEST PROPOSED CUNY BUDGET CUTS AT CITY HALL
Students, professors and activists gathered last Thursday at City Hall to protest Governor David Paterson’s proposed $51 million budget cuts for CUNY in addition to the $45 million already cut for the 2009-2010 academic year.
Demonstrators braved both foul weather and intermittent jeering from passers-by as they stood holding home-made banners on the steps of City Hall. Organizers of the rally said they hoped to draw attention to Paterson’s proposed plans for CUNY, among other public institutions which will bear the brunt of Albany’s attempts to fill the state budget deficit.
The rally was organized by the CUNY Campaign to Defend Education, a group comprised of students and faculty but open to anyone who supports keeping education affordable and accessible. The CCDE also seeks to reinstate CUNY’s original open-admission and tuition-free policies.
Roy Ben-Moshe, a Brooklyn College senior, said the CCDE was founded to unite the student body and to preserve the university as a public facility. “There are groups of students who are very upset about how the administration is handling our budget,” he said. “[…] [The state government is] cutting every public institution that supports working-class people so the upper-class doesn’t have to pay taxes.”
CUNY was tuition-free until 1975, when the state government cut funding due to a fiscal crisis. In 1999, due to pressure from Mayor Giuliani, CUNY’s open-admissions policy was overturned. Members of CCDE are concerned that, with the newly-proposed budget cuts, CUNY could barely be considered a public university and would restrict options for low-income students.
Larry Hales, a student at City College, stood and spoke after demonstrators were heckled by a passer-by: “We just had our first right-wing suit pass by and make a derogatory comment,” He said. “He had money for his college education but somehow there is something wrong with us for not being able to afford ours.”
Budget cuts for CUNY passed in May resulted in a tuition hike of $300 per semester in the senior colleges for the 2009-2010 academic year. CUNY’s community colleges raised their tuition $175 per semester, placing them among the most expensive community colleges in the nation.
Doug Singsen, a student at CUNY Graduate Center and one of the organizers of the rally, said it is possible for students to effect change within the universities. “Our goal in this and future protests is to prevent the proposed budget cuts from taking place,” he said in an email, “something that CUNY students have successfully done in the past.” He cited the 1969 occupation of City College by students and faculty which resulted in the initial administration of the open-admissions policy as well as separate departments for Black and Puerto Rican Studies.
Students and faculty worry that yet another set of budget cuts would force some students to abandon their studies and force departments to cut already limited programs and classes.
-Ariana Costakes
Photo: Ariana Costakes
New Vaccine Raises Eyebrows
A vaccine has been recently released by a pharmaceutical company in the United Kingdom. No, it isn’t a vaccine to prevent swine flu or the recent breakouts of HPV— but a vaccine that can help cocaine addicts break their addictions. This vaccine is known as “TA-CA” and was developed by a pharmaceutical company named Xenova. It is said that the vaccine does not stop the cravings for cocaine, but will stop addicts from experiencing a high when they take it. Xenova states that taking away the factor that causes one to be addicted will prevent people from becoming re-addicted if they abuse the drug again.
But how does this vaccine work?
Mr. Donald Oxlade, the chief executive of Xenova, states, “the vaccine for cocaine addicts works in very much the same way a regular vaccine works.” He further explains that the vaccine is created by attaching the cocaine to a large protein molecule. This stimulates the body’s immune system to produce antibodies that recognize the drug and attack the agents within the drug that cause addiction. Oxlade claims that the vaccine stops the cocaine from getting from the bloodstream to the brain, the heart, or other organs, “… [W]which is where you get the high, and of course where you get the addiction.” Thomas Kosten of Baylor College of Medicine says that while these antibodies are in the bloodstream targeting cocaine, the drug does not have an effect. Kosten makes it clear that the antibodies “…don’t destroy, they neutralize the cocaine and make it vulnerable to a cholinesterase enzyme that will then break it down.”
This vaccine might seem ground-breaking, or mark a turning-point for people who are trying to kick their addictions, but this vaccine also raises a lot of ethical questions. Lesley King-Lewis, the chief executive of Action on Addiction states, “A lot of cocaine addicts have complex social and psychological issues. Once one drug stops working, if these underlying issues aren’t addressed people may move on to another drug that does.”
The questions I posed to myself while reading this article were: the aim of this company may be to help people kick their cocaine addictions by removing the high, but would this be effective in the long run? Will the addicts turn to a different drug? Or does this vaccine somehow promote the usage of drugs? How powerful is this vaccine? Would it work effectively for someone who is a heavy cocaine user?
But on the flip-side this vaccine could help wean people off cocaine altogether; since they won’t be able to experience a high, they might not be interested in it any more. Plus, if this vaccine is successful, they might be able to make a vaccine to erase the high of other types of drugs. The people looking to kick addiction must take a series of treatments that take around two years, but usually it can take longer to be completely effective. King-Lewis also wants to make it known that this vaccine does not work alone, that other forms of support would also be needed for cocaine addicts to stop using, “…as it is more than just the physiological addiction that causes people to use again. Craving is a very complex issue that won't necessarily be solved with a pharmacological intervention.”
The newest hype that’s been skyrocketing through Youtube is the story of a young NFL cheerleader, Desiree Jennings, who ten days after receiving a standard flu vaccination, experienced a number of serious side effects. According to the various websites that have pooled information on this tragic incident, Ms. Jennings has contracted a rare neurological disorder known as “Dystonia” which causes her to become racked with frantic muscle contortions and spasms when she tries to walk. While this disability has affected her in every faculty of her life, she strangely has no trace of the disorder when she runs or walks backwards. She serves as the video’s poster child for the anti-flu-vaccination movement and claims she is the voice of “one in a million.”
While I have yet to find a legitimate news source regarding this story, its presence has the same effect. If this horrible trauma is indeed a hoax, it still stands as the panicle of our medical-friendly-fire. Desiree exemplifies our fears, worries, and possibly strongest of all, our paranoia—which strikes us on every front. It causes us to ask ourselves, do the cons, even if rare, outweigh the pros of medicines and vaccinations?
One can easily argue that a fear of such minor occurrences is not a reason to protect ourselves against more debilitating threats. But I believe this vein of thinking raises an even more important, ever-looming topic of debate: are these fears of ours rational or not? Has the American public become overly germaphobic? Has our obsession with medical precautions become harmful? While the flu vaccination and many other precautionary measures have saved thousands of lives, are all of them necessary? Do we overuse them? Flu season has become an almost romanticized occurrence every year, and some people who are fully able to fight off the flu receive the vaccination anyway. Could any complications arise from this kind of behavior—if not in this instance, but in others? Can our behavior create drug and vaccine resistant strains of viruses and germs?
Some see the cup half empty; some see the cup half full; and some see the cup as a stepping stool which can be used to climb to the top of a wall. If you are one of the privileged few who view the world as an obstacle course, then you probably are a daring practitioner of parkour.
Perhaps nobody describes parkour better than its founder, David Belle. On his website he says, “parkour is an art to help you passing any obstacle to go from point A to point B only with the human possibilities…this art has been created by few soldiers in Vietnam to escape or reach: and this is the spirit I’d like parkour to keep. You have to make the difference between what is useful and what is not in emergency situations.” Right. Never mind; perhaps it could be better described. But before we jump all over Belle’s grammar, let’s keep in mind that he’s French. And he can probably jump a wall and get at us quicker than we can hit the backspace key and delete. So easy does it, Belle; it’s all good. Never mind the punctuation. We’re more interested in your art anyway. What is parkour?
Parkour is basically a discipline in which traceurs—practitioners of the discipline—run, jump, climb, etc. through an “obstacle course” in the most efficient manner possible. The “obstacle course” is actually the environment around the traceur. While parkour can be practiced anywhere, an urban environment is viewed as the optimal place due to its abundant structures: walls, steps, rails, buildings; all these and more make for better obstacles. The objective of this discipline is to train the body to efficiently navigate itself through its environment during an emergency.
There aren’t many set “moves” in parkour, because the ideal move for a particular situation varies based on the traceur’s body, the speed at which he/she is moving, the obstacle acted upon, etc. The challenge is to train the “bodymind” to react with the most efficient technique in any situation. There are, however, some basic movements that a traceur will learn including landing, balance, swing, vault, climb-up, gap jump, wall jump, etc. Yes, they are what you think they are.
It is likely difficult to truly understand what parkour is without seeing it for yourself, so have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2XjL1OMbTs
While it appears entertaining, it is important to stress that parkour is specifically intended for use in emergency situations, and its practice is geared toward that. “If you do acrobatics things on the street with no other goal than showing off, please don’t say it’s parkour. Acrobatics existed long time ago before parkour,” says David Belle. So be inspired! Learn the discipline. But not for acrobatics things on the street. Only to “help you passing any obstacle to go from point A to point B only with the human possibilities.”
Shadows are falling and I've been here all day It's too hot to sleep time is running away Feel like my soul has turned into steel I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal There's not even room enough to be anywhere It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well my sense of humanity has gone down the drain Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind She put down in writing what was in her mind I just don't see why I should even care It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well, I've been to London and I've been to gay Paree I've followed the river and I got to the sea I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
I was born here and I'll die here against my will I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer It's not dark yet, but it's getting there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Not Dark Yet” is one of those weary telltale songs that just has a way of draining its audience of anything remotely bright. Bob Dylan cut the release of Time Out of Mind, the album this song premiered on, shortly after the artist was laid waste by a “Cork Screw Virus,” which is caused by heroine addiction and/or chicken farming (both of which Dylan is rumored to do). Legend has it that this song was directly inspired by his near miss with knockin’ on heaven’s door. The song makes this feeling apparent, with its gloomy nostalgia which makes you feel like “every nerve in [your] body is so vacant and numb.” The words carry with it a weight that can only be compared with that of a hospital bed— the last pistol shot of the dim fading grace of every tear and every sleight of hand, all the afflictions that we pick up and carry through life. The poem brings you into this limbo between dusk and darkness— that it’s truly not dark yet, but it’s getting there.
Anyone who has watched the Scotsman, Craig Ferguson, host The Late Late Show on CBS, is aware that his monologues are full of intelligent, comical jokes, honesty, puppets, dancing, lots of gesticulations and tons of laughter. His quirky sense of humor, Scottish accent, and amusing personality make him an eminent entertainer. Throughout his career in entertainment he has been a drummer, comedian, actor, director, and has written three films, The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I’ll Be There. Adding to his list of talent is the debut of his first book, Between the Bridge and the River, which is becoming widely popular.
Ferguson’s novel is unpretentious, thoughtful, magical, realistic, offensive, hilarious, heart wrenching, grotesque and, most of all, endearing. He disregards nationality, culture and religion as he boldly writes about American society and conservative Christians with aplomb, and mocks anyone and everyone. The novel is a story conveying self-realization, which is told through the various lives of four characters.
One of the characters, Fraser, a Protestant Scotsman, is a manipulator who is also lazy, and ends up hosting a semi-religious “thought for the day” program on television. Within his dreams he goes through psychoanalysis with the deceased Carl Jung and alters his life after a major sex scandal. “Jung, of course had died in 1961, which was the year before Fraser was born, so the conditions so the conditions under which they met were slightly unconventional, but as Fraser had never had any form of treatment before, he had nothing to compare it to. It seemed normal to him and was certainly much cheaper than paying a living therapist, who, chances are, would be nowhere near as good as Carl” (p. 48).
Another character, George, a Scotsman as well, has been married once and has a child, but is now divorced. He has terrible health but he ends up transforming his life by falling in love with Claudette. She is an eccentric Frenchwoman but, unfortunately in her past, all of her boyfriends have died tragically; she is hoping to change this cloud of bad luck with George. “Stay away from me, I am death,” she told him in perfect English. George thought for a moment. “Then I’d expect you’d be more than happy to help me light a cigarette, Oh Dark One.” “I mean it,” she snapped. “So do I,” said George. “If you are Death you could take me now and save me a lot of pain…” (p. 87).
The other two characters, Leon and Saul, are brothers. They are two lonely men who have nothing at all and eventually become televangelists and stars. Saul and Leon work as a powerful dynamic duo to create an empire for themselves, but during this process the close bond they once had begins to disintegrate. The brothers become extremely rich and emotionally indigent—they are supposed to be representations of the larger American society. “From the moment they had been born, their DNA contained a combination of madness and showmanship, so it was inevitable that Saul and Leon would have ended up in Los Angeles, the home of the attention seeking spiritually disenfranchised. In the years that they were there they plowed the depths of greed, insanity, and nihilism, which is to say that they participated fully in the civic activity of Beverly Hills, their chosen parish…” (p.192).
Ferguson ridicules Hollywood, the sexual politics of contemporary America, and religion. The novel takes the reader down a clever yet hilarious twisting and winding road as the peculiar characters unite somewhere in Alabama during a religious convention. Ferguson explores the various corners individuals could turn down in life and the adventures that are possible. In this novel he turns down “the road not taken,” and delves into the inquisition, what if the road wasn’t taken?
The novel conveys the journey through life where people attempt to search for self-fulfillment in religious belief, accretion of material possession, a hunger for power, the lust for greed, or the bonding between two souls to find love. Ferguson expresses that there is no such thing as impossible, and it is up to fate which individuals walk in and out of our lives at certain moments. Everything happens for a reason, but only if you allow it to.
Craig Ferguson says it best with one of the lines from his marvelous novel: "The Universe is very, very big. It also loves a paradox. For example, it has some extremely strict rules. Rule number one: Nothing lasts forever. Not you or your family or your house or your planet or the sun. It is an absolute rule. Therefore when someone says that their love will never die, it means that their love is not real, for everything that is real dies. Rule number two: Everything lasts forever…” (p. 226).
Amy Winehouse is the frontrunner of a group of soul-inspired debutantes participating in a new age of a female British invasion—along with Lily Allen, Duffy, and Adele—all of who remain the only new and interesting thing to creep into music since the start of the new millennium, besides for maybe The Strokes—and I truly hope she recovers from her tabloid faller of bar fights, drugs, and marital calamities, since despite her insistency on shocking and telling the world “fuck you,” she remains the most talented artist to come out of the UK since the late 70’s and early 80’s invasion of punks, new waves, and post-punks, complete with the tirades of a jerky obsessive who never gets the boy/girl. Winehouse never gets her man, either, though she guides us through her obsessions in the only way a true obsessive can, never restraining from stating exactly how she is feeling while picking apart all aspects of her failed relationship with her husband, Blake. And yet Winehouse has the decency to hide just enough of her lyrical ironies behind the guise of a woman who just might have been hurt a little too much. This is precisely her appeal, even though most fans may have a very hard time believing she is or has ever allowed herself to be victimized.
Winehouse’s biggest hit is “Rehab,” a roman a clef of her life. She never fails to be completely forthcoming in her songs, and she humorously confronts her recreational drug use and her dangerous seduction with alcoholism, both of which has blown up severely in her face since the single was released. And there is something so masculine about the way Winehouse attacks. Amy doesn’t take crap; when her target is her man, there is no restraint. On the title song, “Back to Black,” Winehouse snaps back about her husband with machismo, “He left no time for regret/Kept his dick wet/With his same old safe bet.” But she reserves the sheer of her callousness for herself. “You go back to her, and I go back to black...” (Black, an euphemism for drugs, alcohol, and depression). There is a prophetic and casual listlessness in this song, where Winehouse is resigned to the fact that life is only going to get worse—that it is the only conceivable path left for her, and listeners are left to worry that this Amy and our Amy are the same, especially when she sings, “I love you much/It's not enough/You love blow and I love puff/And life is like a pipe/And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside….” There is nothing romantic about abusing one’s self, but Winehouse has successfully attributed the metaphor of blackness with the juxtaposition of depression and anesthetization, similar to the punks who compared political fascism to romantic liaisons. “I stay up, clean the house, at least I’m not drinking/Run around just so I don’t have to think about thinking,” Winehouse moans in “Wake Up Alone.” Amy has both the anger and the lyrical prowess of an Elvis Costello, which one without the other would make her sound phony quickly, but combined, make her a star.
With the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) drawing to a close this week, I’d like to look back at one of the few shows in the festival’s history that have made it to Broadway: Next To Normal. I saw this show, by some string of luck, at its first performance after the Tony Awards (standing room tickets a half hour before a show starts are awesome) and, despite the months it’s been since early June, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s production has stayed with me.
The Tony Award-winning Broadway Musical stars Alice Ripley as Diana Goodman, a mother who is suffering from bipolar disorder. At the opening of the play her life seems relatively “normal”—part of a typical suburban family, Diana lives with her architect husband Dan (J. Robert Spencer), 16-year-old daughter Natalie (Jennifer Damiano), and a son (Aaron Tveit) who is about to turn 18. It is not until Diana’s first psychotic episode (in which she makes sandwiches on the floor) that something appears to be wrong.
Soon we see that nothing is normal inside the Goodman household. Dan is a workaholic, struggling to be both a father and caretaker/husband to his wife. Natalie, while brilliant, devotes all her time trying to be perfect—at everything—in the hopes of going to a good college and winning the love of her mother. Diana has had bipolar disorder for sixteen years, frequently experiencing hallucinations. Their son, who encourages his mother to stop taking her medication, holds a secret the whole show rests upon. Completing the small ensemble are Henry (Adam Chanler-Berat), a stoner/philosopher/classmate of Natalie’s who tries to get her out of her shell through jazz, and Dr. Madden (Louis Hobson), Diana’s latest “rock star” psychiatrist.
While Next to Normal is one of the first musicals to incorporate contemporary music that isn’t geared towards teenagers, the score in no way feels gimmicky. The music expresses the emotions and issues of each character quite well; the “rock” isn’t limited to a guitar and drums, but has the classical sounds of a piano and swelling cello notes mixed in. There are louder, harsher pieces mixed with softer ones, making the score balanced and beautiful. The music also multitasks, telling every character’s story— we see how Diana’s illness affects every member of her family— with individual songs paralleling the lives and problems of more than one cast member (“Wish I Were Here” shows both Diana and Natalie spiraling out of control). The music is very effective, acting as a catharsis for both the characters and the viewers: at a certain point in the show (“I Am The One [Reprise]”) more than one person in the audience was weepy.
My one qualm about the show was its portrayal of bipolar mania. Although I do not know much about the disorder, I did leave the theater feeling slightly peeved at how manic Diana is. Her psychotic episodes and illusions don’t seem to stem from one illness, but border on schizophrenia. Even in cases of bipolar disorder, Diana’s reactions are extreme and often unrealistic. While the musical itself doesn’t feel exploitive (aside from a line in “My Psychopharmacologist and I”), the selling of “N2N” pillboxes had me afraid that half the viewers would find Diana “funny”—or worse, believe that she is an accurate portrait of someone with bipolar disorder.
Despite its flaws, however, Next to Normal will leave you hopeful and loving life. The show, built around a family you’d assume you’d never relate to, is one very much about acceptance and healing, not just for Diana, but for everyone—the audience included. Each character is broken, no matter how put together they seem at the beginning of the show, and loss has shattering consequences even for the strongest of us. But there will be “Light,” no matter how dark it may seem, and Next to Normal ends on such a hopeful note. “The price of love is loss,” sings the cast in the final number (“Light”), “But still we pay/We love anyway.” Work to accept the past, work and you’ll be healed, ask for help (including professional help) when you need it, be helped and you’ll survive. Life won’t be perfect—no matter what, no life will ever be “normal”—but, at the end of the day, perhaps you’ll find something “next to normal.” And that might just be okay.
- Christina Squitieri
For ticketing information go to http://www.nexttonormal.com/
This week, Victor and Rachel asked Brooklyn College Students:
Do you think that Brooklyn College does enough in providing computer services to its students?
Avi Greenberger: Yes they are. The only thing missing is better access to color printers.
Hadassah Norowitz: The computers in the library are great but our 'free' prints should roll over between semesters... Also, Wifi could be extended to buildings like James and Ingersoll.
Christina Squitieri: I think the printing is great, especially since it's extending to the library, but I wish there was a way to get color copies for free, even if they cost more "prints" (so have a color copy cost 2 print-outs, or even 5 or something. I usually end up with so many extra black and white prints but am still spending money for color. I also think the WiFi really needs to be extended. That and to get a network that supports the iPod Touch!
Frieda Chkouri:yes... we get more than many other colleges... we even have access to unix computers!
Jay Idler: I agree with Christina on the iPhone/iPod touch. I think they should have wireless printing available also.
Joel Abraham: The current WiFi system does support the iPod Touch. I use the Touch with BC-WiFi. Contact me for help setting it up.
Neyra Azimov: yes. Library comps are good, though I refuse to walk through shady Roosevelt to get to the WEB building. and I really wish the Honors Lounge fixed their comps .They're ridiculously slow.
Ilya Aldo Raine Ryvin: agreed. honors lounge needs to do something with their computers. Maybe stick a printer in there too.
Haran Nathan Ratnasabapathy: a printer would actually be good. but iono whether they would put a printer in the lounge since ink and paper cost $. and the school already does provide us with free printing in the library, the cafe and building thingamajig behind roosevelt. but yea, lounge computers stink.
Nicholas Austin Ferrell: Sure, why not? But I have a better question.
Do you think that computers do enough to provide Brooklyn College services to squirrels?
If you think about it, you may find that it blows your mind.
Dina Khaimova: With computer services there is enough. With printers there is not. Other CUNYs get more than our 300 pages per semster, paying about the same amount of money for tuition. I find myself exceeding the 300 page limit.
You don’t wanna go out in this weather. It’s rainy, and muggy, and cold, and icky. The beach is a long-forgotten dream, apple-picking season is pretty much over, and snowboarding season is at least a month away. Well, maybe it’s the perfect time to curl up on your couch with a hot cup of cider and read the Boylan Blog. Miriam warns of the dangers of “No Tolerance,” Alana unveils the mystique surrounding Tarot Cards, I dwell on a missed opportunity, Christina empathizes with two notoriously evil literary characters, David betrays his allegiance to Dylan to briefly review Costello, and more. If you’re too antsy to stay indoors, glean some inspiration from the temperamental weather to either write something for our Fall Open Mic or draw something to publish in our English Major’s Zine. For more information on either, check out the panel on the right side of this blog. In any case, enjoy the postings and feel free to provide feedback!
This past Monday, October 12th, a student was suspended for bringing a weapon to school. That in itself is not surprising, as the Christina School District in Newark, Delaware has a zero-tolerance policy for weapons. What is shocking, however, is the fact that this student is six years old, and the weapon in question is a camping tool.
Zachary Christie was so excited about his new Boy Scouts utensil- a fork, spoon, and knife in one- that he brought it to school to use at lunch. Unfortunately, he was spotted and sentenced to 45 days of reform school before he could get that far. “[T]his is out of control,” Christie’s mother, Debbie, told one newspaper. “He is not some sort of threat to his classmates.” She intends to appeal her son’s punishment through school disciplinary committee hearings, and has started a website (helpzachary.com) to help garner supporters to pressure the school board at next week’s open meeting. In the meantime, she is homeschooling her diligent son who she says takes school so seriously, that he sometimes “wears a suit and tie.” Though the president of the school board conceded that the zero-tolerance rule might be adjusted for younger children, he stands by the decision to suspend Zachary. He and other school administrators argue that the ban must be enforced in order to protect other students, as it is difficult to distinguish innocent mistakes from dangerous threats.
Past school-related tragedies (such as the infamous Virgina Tech shooting two years ago) have spurred zero-tolerance policies in schools like Christie’s. It makes sense to ban sharp objects that could potentially harm people, but the clause stating suspension or expulsion “regardless of possessor’s intent” ought be reconsidered. Obviously, there may not be a need to judge on a case-by-case basis, if most cases involve unbalanced or disturbed teenagers wielding knives or guns. But in the case of a serious Boy Scout bringing a camping tool to school with pure intentions, a zero-tolerance rule makes zero sense to me.
In the most idiotic story I’ve heard in at least a week—the sham of Richard and Mayumi Heene trying to gain fame by lying about their “balloon boy” son flying away—I'm reminded of how stupid humanity truly is. These parents weren’t satisfied simply being simple; it was necessary for them to have a reality television show as well—they figured they deserved to be on Fox and be aired right after House MD, and if they can only fabricate a mildly interesting story for a very typically dull news week, all their dreams would come true. But it might have been easier for them to just have eight babies at once, or to try to eat a sour apple pie filled with worms, fleas, and grasshoppers. Albert Einstein once said that you can always rely on the stupidity of the human race. I’m sure even Einstein would not have bet these odds. On a lighter note, this story is pleasantly reminiscent of that classic Simpson’s episode when Bart pretends to fall down a well, setting the town into a panic. The only difference is that we actually care about Bart Simpson.
You walk through various hanging beads to arrive in a dimly lit room. In the center there is a round table with a crimson velvet tablecloth; ancient chairs and candles of various sizes are burning to create a soothing yet mysterious atmosphere. The dealer is a mystical older woman with layers of dreary clothing, a multicolored head-covering, and a hunch in her back. You observe her rough skin and creepy elongated fingers as she places a deck of seventy-eight cards on the table in front of you. You may get The Fool card—upright this card represents new opportunities, unlimited possibilities, passion and pleasure. If this card is placed in reverse (upside down) it reveals there is a bad decision or a hesitation of some kind in your future. Or you may receive the Seven of Wands card—upright this card symbolizes a fight one soon may have, stiff competition in business or victory. If this card is reversed it conveys that you shouldn’t allow people to take advantage of you and be wary of indecision. Whichever card may be placed in front the person, it is going to expose something significant about that individual’s life. You may begin to become skeptical about how these cards are capable of knowing the future; after all, aren’t they just cards? Where are these cards from? Why do they uncover different information for everyone?
The Tarot Card deck has been utilized as an oracle for many centuries and there has been a great controversy over the origin of these cards. Certain medieval versions of these cards date back to the early 14th century and, due to the Italian-crafted imagery on them, some say they are from Italy. Others argue that the cards are derived from Gypies, from either China or Egypt, since Gypies are linked to fortune telling they are said to have had a hand in creating the cards. The origin of the deck is further questioned when the Kabalistic philosophy is taken into account. It is, however, agreed upon that the tarot has been an extremely popular way of telling the future.
The cards were also used to play new type of card game called Triumphs, which is very much like Bridge. Twenty one of the special cards served as constant trumps and were able to be played regardless of what suit began the game. This game became increasingly popular among the upper classes in northern Italy and eastern France. As the game spread to new locations, the pictures were altered many times, and the cards spread to Sicily, Austria, Germany and other countries. As centuries progressed devotees of the occult art in France and England began to observe magical meanings in the perplexing symbols on the cards. They began to wonder what the original designs were and when they were first created.
The Tarot deck contains seventy-eight cards broken into two separate categories. There are twenty-two major arcana cards that are supposed to portray the journey one is to take through life; they commence with The Fool card and terminate with The World card. Through the centuries people have perceived these cards as the road through life, while clergy members believe this is the road to Hell and the Devil. The Devil card is within the major arcana set, it represents enslavement, addiction and misdirection from Lucifer. Another misunderstood card in this set is The Death card, which does not symbolize physical harm or death but rather some sort of change or transformation. The Fool card is actually the predecessor of The Joker, which we discard before shuffling regular decks.
The other category the deck contains is the fifty-six minor arcana cards. These cards closely resemble the playing cards we use today. The minor arcana cards consist of four suits: the Wands (Clubs), which predicts energy, growth, enterprise and glory; Cups (Hearts), which convey love, happiness, fertility and beauty; Pentacles (Diamonds), which represent money, industry and material gain; and Swords (Spades), which symbolize aggression, force, ambition, courage, strife and misfortune. There is also the King, Queen and Knight (Jack) of each suit and the Pages which symbolize the young men or women of the court.
However, Tarot Cards weren’t introduced into the Western Culture until the early 20th century and became increasingly popular during World War I. The cards expose our thoughts as well as our actions in our subconscious and unconscious mind. They should only be used in a positive manner for if they should be used in a negative (evil) way the “evil” that is put into the universe will return to the invoker. The deck is appropriate for gaining knowledge about oneself, grasping a better understanding of one’s life struggles, and creating a new perspective. They can also assist to clarify past events or even help on how to make wonderful events occur in the future. It is human nature to fear the unknown but these cards were not intended to invoke terror or evil but to give an insight onto understanding one’s self better.
Most people are uncertain of whom they are, but there’s a sprinkle of romanticism and intrigue in having a card flipped over from the 1300s to reveal something about yourself. With the world clouded by chaos, war, and sparks of hatred, delving into the unknown to have a stranger explicate your life with a flip of a card doesn’t seem so frightening after all.
If you’ve ever lived in society, most likely you’ve heard of Hamlet, William Shakespeare’s beautiful play about a troubled, disaffected prince whose mother marries his uncle within weeks of his father’s death. Odds are, if you’ve read this play, you’ve also heard the names Gertrude and Claudius, Hamlet’s mother and uncle, the adulterous rulers whose “banality of evil” lurk in the shadows of the stage.
Odds are, you’ve either hated these two, or ignored them completely.
But what happens when you dig deeper? John Updike’s novel, Gertrude and Claudius, cracks open the play and original myth, trying to sew together a story of what happens before Act I begins. Written in three parts, Updike’s novel opens with Gertrude as a young princess begging her father against his choice for her husband, the cold and uncaring King Hamlet, whose military strength makes him a valuable asset to their kingdom. Sixteen-year-old Gertrude, in a situation where a woman’s words are meaningless, finally concedes, and spends her days alone. Her little Hamlet, born soon after their wedding, follows his father everywhere, worshipping him, while his mother increasingly becomes an afterthought. Gertrude’s only happy moments come when her brother-in-law, the less-honorable Claudius, comes to visit: a man who talks with her, excites her, and makes her smile. Claudius sees Gertrude not just as a woman, but also as a dear friend. He teaches her new things, tells her stories of his travels, and gives her the attention, respect, and love that she has never received from her husband. The two fall for each other and, slowly—almost unwillingly—start a secret love affair. Their romance starts as a friendship and progresses over the years, with Gertrude all the while struggling with her own sense of right and wrong, torn between the man who makes her whole and the man who is her husband.
One of the best moments in Updike’s book is his explanation of King Hamlet’s death. Spoken of briefly in Shakespeare’s play, Updike frames the case quite differently—the king’s murder is suddenly not a cold, calculated act for power, but instead becomes the passionate last resort of a desperate Claudius. When the king suspects his wife of infidelity, he turns to Polonius, whose loyalty lies with his king. Confronted, Claudius discovers he will be imprisoned for his acts, and Gertrude will be killed. His pleas to spare his lover do not work—the king gives him a few hours to leave before Gertrude is taken away. In one final despairing act to save her, Claudius commits the murder, slipping into the garden with poison. Gertrude knows nothing of his actions, and mourns the death of her husband volleying between sorrow and relief.
With little nods to Shakespeare’s language embedded between Updike’s words (Gertrude, as a young girl, “doth protest too much”), his story is told with a kind irony—a coy laugh at the ridiculousness of the paths our own lives are forced into taking. Gertrude is miserable; she feels no warmth toward her husband or her son. Claudius has always loved her, and will always love her. And yet they are on opposite sides of the same coin, linked through something deeper than royal connections, but stuck in a world that makes it impossible for them to touch. Updike’s language is contemporary but beautiful, telling their story in such a way that even the most skeptical readers (I went in screaming, “How dare you drive poor Hamlet to such misery, you horrible people! How dare you!”) will find that more than one tragedy has brewed in Elsinore’s halls. The couple’s similarities to the young prince gives new meaning to their words, and small secrets—it is Claudius that allows Hamlet to pursue his love for Ophelia, as his father was completely against it—flesh them out, not as enemies to their troubled son, but as allies. The final irony comes with the last sentence, a tragically happy ending blind to the massacre to come.
So the next time you see Hamlet, give Gertrude and Claudius a chance. Their story is unseen by the sullen narrator, buried beneath eyes that will not see—that Shakespeare won’t allow to see. Maybe Hamlet is right, and his mother is a whore who marries her husband’s brother purely out of lust. Maybe Claudius kills solely for power. But maybe, just maybe, they were two people, forced apart by politics and circumstance, who truly cared for one another. Maybe they were just as lost as Hamlet was, stumbling through a world that is “out of sync,” groping for something—or someone—who can bring some sense to their world. Maybe their only sin was wanting a love that was like “meeting [one]self from afar.”
And maybe, at the end of the day, that’s one crime we’re all guilty of.
- Christina Squitieri
Image courtesy of amazon.com Picture: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41809218WYL.jpg
Elvis Costello and The Attractions, This Year’s Model
“I don’t wanna kiss you/I don’t wanna touch,” Costello sneers to begin his sophomore album with “No Action,” only a few months after the release of his critically acclaimed debut, My Aim Is True. With these words he adopts the New Wave, instituting pop into punk with an electric synthesizer, but maintaining the alarming self-hatred that made the rising punk scene in 1970’s London so memorable. This Year’s Model narrates like a novel; it is a handbook, a sort of confessional narrative to the testament of brokenhearted, disgusted men, therapeutic in its derisiveness, ironic it its restraint, and heartbreakingly unsatisfying through the realization that all is left so unsatisfied. Costello astutely steps into the role of the boy who always misses his chance with the girl, painting the picture of a Romeo standing atop the balcony begging her to “not leave me so unsatisfied.” But there is truly no satisfaction to give, and as the climax of “No Action” builds, Costello resigns to the truth behind his scowl: “If I’m inserting my coin I’m doing just fine/When those things in my head start hurting my mind/When I think about the ways things used to be/Knowing you’re with him is driving me crazy/Sometimes I phone you when I know you’re not lonely but I always disconnect it in time….” Elvis whimpers in fright, trying desperately to escape from himself, and to disregard the truth of his romanticism; it would be easy to just roll with the punches, but his uneasiness toward that certain woman—“This Year’s Girl”—stems from his love affair with love, and the anguish of his hope that the illusion is not delusive, and that he could come out from behind his façade of the bitter geek, and give himself to someone who is not merely a fashionable this year’s model. But as Costello dips deeper into his despair, questioning his own analytical radar, he slowly becomes angrier, harsher, and sadder, and the question slithers. Because if there is anything left good in the world, it is beyond him, and he wants nothing more now than to just imagine. So he seeps into solitary masturbation, recreating his fantasy world, while speaking candidly of all man’s fantasy. On “The Beat,” he is lonely, still believing that there is someone left to believe in, except his trust is on thin ice: “I don't go out much at night/I don't go out much at all/Did you think you were the only one who was waiting for a call?" On “Pump It Up,” Elvis is clearing his mind, letting all his emotions free-flow, keeping everything from going unsaid, because he won’t be fooled, yet again. “She's been a bad girl/She's like a chemical/Though you try to stop it/She's like a narcotic/You wanna torture her/You wanna talk to her/All the things you bought for her/Putting up her temperature….” Elvis concedes he has accepted the solution, a typical, numbing anxiolytic to the misery of his sexual frustration, but then soon enough tries to rise up once again to reconnect, and as he emerges from his fantasy he sets himself up to be kicked while he is already fallen, and to let himself be fooled once more by a falsified woman who raises him up and then stomps him back down callously. In Costello’s world, there is no such thing as a dual woman: they are one-dimensional tricksters, fakers and users, who say nothing, give nothing, and love nothing. The only thing Costello believes these women contribute is sex appeal—that tawdry tease of frustratingly letting him know what he will never have. But Elvis doesn’t want to assert this negativity; he wants so badly to negate his assumptions, and believe that there is a rapport left fighting for. But the rapport he tentatively seeks is already gone, lost within a world that values the idea of “Chelsea” more than truthfulness or romance, as Chelsea defines fashionable London, the habitat of, more than anything else, this year’s model. So as his glimmer of hope fizzles, he turns to aggression, attacking his enemy verbally—poetically—and fierily clinging to this plight of his in order to be able to exhibit his adamancy so honestly. Because if Elvis can no longer love, then there is nothing left for him to do but hate, and to lower the woman to the point where she is nothing more than a double entendre. So he admits his refusal to apologize on “Hand in Hand,” instead opting for curt accusations and spewing out blame. But just like he finds himself on “Pump It Up,” unable to resist the temptation—Chelsea women are a drug—here again he finds himself pondering, “If I’m gonna go down/You’re gonna come with me” (oral sex and annihilation), though it’s necessary for him to ease off the drug slowly. But Elvis will not be cast aside, or fall for her corruption anew, so instead he lowers himself, too, in order to get rid of the wretched feeling he endures after victimizing himself. “Don’t you know I’m an animal?” he states, hiding behind his buster, undecided whether he wants himself to be the victim or the victimizer, or which version of humanity is easier to live with, humility or arrogance. But life itself is miserable, quite hellish to Costello—“Don’t you know I can’t stand up steady/But you can’t show me any kind of hell that I don’t know already”—so he completely rips away any humility he might retain—a metamorphosis he can live with. Elvis despises ruthlessness, but finds it necessary in order to wake up every day and live in a world that he believes owes him everything. Much like Frank O’Hara once wrote, “Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern,” Costello too finds himself helplessly conforming to a world that he is not ready for, and the lifestyle worries him. If Chelsea is nothing more than imperialism—a “Lipstick Vogue”—its licentiousness is what Elvis desires, though fears just as strongly; its sex allures him, but haunts him just the same, apprehensive because it is something that has eluded him for so long, only scarcely letting him participate within its decadence. Yet he is not fooled to believe in its panache, or that this particular Chelsea girl is more than “just another mouth in the lipstick vogue.” And so he continues to wonder if he should even bother to contest.
Dexter, now rambling along on it’s fourth season, is a complex mastery of both emotions and forms. Michael C. Hall stars as “Dexter,” who, stated in his simplest form, is a serial killer who’s been trained to kill other serial killers. The show follows around the protagonist, as he leads his life during the day as a blood-spatter analyst, and during the night kills and dismembers the bottom feeders of moral society. But what’s amazing about the show isn’t just its chilling themes and gruesome, but its compelling brutality; it’s how the scenes are composed as if they were ripped straight out of a horror film. Every aspect of every moment is worked to finite detail—the music, the lighting, even the placement of the smallest objects gives Dexter the chilling thrill that can only come with living in the mind of a serial killer for the duration of the hour show.
But, what I personally find the most amazing is the skill and prowess of Michael C. Hall. The actor previously starred on the series “Six Feet Under,” where he played an overly dramatic homosexual funeral director, and now he plays an antisocial serial killer who has to feign human interaction. Now, in my opinion, to successfully act out a role, but clearly not living it, is an achievement all of its own. For an artistic buffet to please all of your savage unconscious desires—Dexter is a must see.
This week Sabina Santiago and Ariana Costakes asked: Governor Patterson has proposed more budget cuts for CUNY (among countless other public institutions) to fill the state deficit. How would additional tuition hikes affect you?
"Asking for me and other students to pay, literally, for the failings of neoliberal economic policies and wantonly bellicose foreign policies is not ok, Gobna. How will it affect me? It will effectively screw me harder than I am screwed already. Currently I live in a vermin-infested basement and my bank account is overdrawn. Maybe if Patterson gets his way I'll have to start eating the vermin, because dropping out of school again for financial reasons is not an option." -Ingrid Feeney
"Further hikes would make me have try and find new ways to save money. One way I recently discovered (at the BC cafeteria, in case anyone is interested) is that if you bring your own cup and tea bag, you can get hot water for free! Just no milk or lemons or then you have to pay!" -Meaghan Keeler
"It will make me drop out of school." -Jason Lee
"More faculty might be dismissed, this will reduce the classes that are offered and overcrowd other sections." -Mariel Acosta
"I really wanted to take additional classes, but with the tuition hikes I'm not sure I will. Also, if CUNY is getting to be expensive, I might consider looking for scholarships at private universities and getting my graduate degree there." -Christina Squitieri
"My parents pay for my tuition, and I don't get financial aid. My brother is also in college, so this would affect my parents more because now they would have to pay more money for the both of us." - Victoria Lai
"Gov. Patterson is a ---- (I leave that part out). Tuition hikes will effect me because now I will need more money to go to school, and I am already struggling. I fear that I won't be able to afford school soon." - Zahraa Alawie
"Tuition hikes?...what else? If tuition goes up how will I afford to also buy my books?" - Anonymous
"I have financial aid, but I fear they would soon cut down on that, and then I will really be in trouble. I believe the amount of loans that students take out are going to increase if this happens, and loans are never a good thing. We have to see what happens." - Sarrah Diaz
Okay, so we’re right smack-dab in the middle of the semester. For some of us, midterms are in full-swing; for others they still loom threateningly with the twenty-odd papers we still need to hand in and the bags of laundry we still haven’t washed. Rent is three weeks away and in this recession, perhaps a few hours overtime at work would help. And that super-fit trainer at the gym probably wouldn’t even recognize us anymore if we finally decide to show our faces again. Breathe. Take out a pen and paper (give your eyes a screen-free vacation for five minutes!) and make a list. Relieve your brain of the pressurizing burden and put it all in print. For me, this simple activity already alleviates most of the stress. Once the tasks are in front of you, you can arrange them in order from most-to-least urgent. Individually, they don’t look so scary. This is doable—you can do it! And remember: sleep is urgent every single night! Sometimes we choose to sacrifice one night’s worth of sleep so we can hand in a paper at 9:30 the next morning, but sleep is really not expendable—if only leads to shoddier output in the long run. And if you plan efficiently, this should not be necessary. Most of all, at the risk of sounding cheesy, believe in yourself. You’ve done it before; you can do it again. Good luck!
No, it isn’t science fiction, Armageddon, nor another plan put out by an overzealous politician trying to scare off the latest nuclear threat (Reagan’s “Star Wars,” anyone?)—it’s real. On Friday, October 9th, a few hours after this article is being written, NASA is planning to send the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), along with its rocket booster, crashing-landing into a permanently shadowed area of the moon. While this isn’t a “bomb” in the technical sense of the word, LCROSS and the heavy Centaur rocket are purposefully being sent towards the moon’s surface at 9,000km/hr (5,592 mph), causing them to create huge—some say explosive— impacts, much larger than those created by previous satellites sent out to explore our solar system. The impacts will be taking place at approximately 4:30 a.m. and 4:34 a.m. PDT for the satellite and rocket, respectively, hitting the Cabeus crater, an area near the moon’s south pole. The plan is to use these impacts to disrupt about 10km (6 miles) of lunar dust, giving scientists an opportunity to explore the area for signs of water ice—a find that could revolutionize our understanding of the moon. This planned crash comes only a few weeks after NASA determined the south pole of the moon was the coldest spot in our solar system, reaching at least a full degree colder than Pluto. This discovery prompted astronomers to search for the presence of certain volatile chemicals, such as hydrogen and even water, that recent studies have hinted toward. Whether or not water ice is found on the moon, I wouldn’t start investing in an ocean-side piece of property just yet—the average temperature at the moon’s south pole is a balmy -397°C (-683°F)!
-Christina Squitieri
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2009/M09-127.html http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2009/M09-127.html http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/articles/its-official-water-found-on-the-moon http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/articles/its-official-water-found-on-the-moon http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Tech%2Band%2BScience/Story/STIStory_440121.html http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Tech%2Band%2BScience/Story/STIStory_440121.html Picture courtesy of NASA Picture: http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/images/218.jpg
Nature Used to Nurture The inhabitants of Susya, a small town in the West Bank, had been struggling to get by without electricity for too long. While the surrounding Israeli and Palestinian settlements had access to electricity grids, this small town of 300, unrecognized by the Israeli government, was not supplied with an energy source. Their solution came from a most unexpected source: a group of pro-peace Israeli scientists and humanitarians called Comet-ME. Comet- ME is a group of philanthropic physicists who aim to provide electricity- deprived Palestinian villages with renewable energy sources that are dependable and green. To help the villagers of Susya, the benevolent group installed solar panels and wind turbines around the dusty settlement, a move which successfully provided all 300 Susya residents with a reliable, renewable energy source. While the villagers, most of whom live in caves and tents, do not have access to land lines, the new power sources enable them to charge their cell phones, thus granting them the ability to communicate. Residents also express hope that this resource will benefit business endeavors: they can more efficiently produce butter with a churner than by hand; they can preserve food longer in a solar-powered fridge and sell it later. Comet-ME’s mission is to provide similar villages with an amenity that will empower them, fortify their confidence, and ultimately endow them with the capacity to fend for themselves. With all of the less-than-encouraging news emanating from this small region, it’s heartening to read about a group that transcends politics and looks to nature, both to realize that we are not that different from each other, and also to find the solution to an unfortunate and unnatural situation.
Most spiders are known for devouring insects but, a new spider has been discovered that only eats plants. Unlike its relatives, this vegetarian only munches into the leaf-tips of acacia shrubs. This recently founded eight legged spider, the Bagheera kiplingi, resides in Central America as well as Mexico and is considered to be extremely precious among its ancestors that have roamed the earth for millions of years.
The Bagheera Kiplingi is very tiny, averaging the size of an individual’s pinky fingernail. Kiplingi’s must create hunting strategies to sneak past guard ants who attempt to keep the acacia shrubs away from other herbivores. However, Kiplingi’s spend almost their entire lives on the acacia shrubs, so they must attempt to avoid the ants in any way possible. While these spiders still have their silk, they utilize this to their advantage by producing silk drop ladders that they use to maneuver around the ants. The spiders also savor the tips of older acacia leaves where ants are less likely to patrol.
The spider’s clever schemes to obtain their food seems to be successful since in the Mexican spider population, almost ninety percent of the spider’s diet is derived from plant tissue, ant larvae and nectar. In Costa Rica though, only sixty percent of the spider’s diet is from acacia plant tissue. Researcher Christopher Meehan of Villanova University in Pennsylvania stated that “this is really the first spider known to specifically 'hunt' plants; it is also the first known to go after plants as a primary food source."
This is an amazing new find which conveys that as the earth evolves so does the species within it. Not only are human’s trying to eat healthier but it appears the animals are as well. These new species of spiders are clever, intelligent and definitely hungry and if you plan to visit Central America or Mexico you may be able to observe these magnificent spiders in action.
Are You A Heartbreaker? People within every culture enjoy reading romance novels, love sonnets, and affection hallmark cards. Some like watching mushy movies; some enjoy listening to sweet soothing music. Even a specific scent can make a heart skip, thinking of that special someone. While having a supportive significant other can make the heart grow fonder, it can also be a cause of death. A traumatic breakup, the loss of a loved one, devastating news, or even a thought that tugs on the heartstrings can unleash a great amount of stress hormones that can literally stun the heart. This can create life- threatening situations that cause heart spasms in otherwise healthy individuals. While it may seem a person is having a heart attack, since the effects are similar—shortness of breath, sudden chest pains, and adrenaline increase—that may not be the case. They may just be diagnosed with “broken heart” syndrome. This disorder was first realized fifteen years ago by Japanese researchers and was named “Takotsubo” Cardiomypathy. The disorder was named after an octopus: “tako” meaning trap and “tsubo” the swollen heart resembling the item. Studies from John Hopkins Medical Center have shown that while this is more likely to occur to women, it affects men as well. Overwhelming emotional suffering can generate the release of immense amounts of stress hormones that affect the heart greatly. Adrenaline (epinephrine), noradrenalin (norephinephrine), proteins (neuropeptide Y), brain natriuretic peptide, and serotonins are discharged by the excited nervous system, creating symptoms that appear to be a typical heart attack. Sylvia Creamer, 73, of Walkersville, MD, experienced tightness in her chest after having an emotional talk about her son’s battle with mental illness. “I started having this heavy sensation just pushing down on my chest,” said Creamer, shortly after she was taken to a hospital, where doctors began to treat her for what they initially believed was a heart attack. However, her arteries were acting properly and the doctors ultimately determined she was just experiencing unusual heart malfunctions. People who have heart attacks often experience long- lasting damage to the body and can take weeks, or even months, to recover. People diagnosed with cardiomypathy, however, show astonishing improvement within a few days and have no lingering damage to the body. “Takotsubo” Cardiomypathy may be one of the most prominent discoveries that actually create a link between the mind and body. It is still unknown why women are more vulnerable to this syndrome than men, but it may be due to hormones or the way women’s hearts and brains work together. Doctors are now familiar with the signs and understand this syndrome better than they have in the past, but not all of the causes have been uncovered about the Broken Heart Syndrome, and a vast amount of research is still being done. So, next time you have horrific devastating news for another person remember to be gentle and tell them with ease; you don’t want to “break their heart”. - Alana Linchner
When a friend calls to me from the road And slows his horse to a meaning walk, I don't stand still and look around On all the hills I haven't hoed, And shout from where I am, What is it? No, not as there is a time to talk. I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground, Blade-end up and five feet tall, And plod: I go up to the stone wall For a friendly visit.
This succinct 10-line poem struck me by its simultaneous universality and distance from today’s world. Although American poet Robert Frost passed on only a few decades ago, his writing seems to come from another era, another universe. When was the last time you saw a man hoeing his field? For that matter, when was the last time you saw a farm field altogether? Obviously, times have changed since the horse-riding, field-hoeing 1920s. Yet the salient change that we should be concerned with has not to do with agriculture, but with our behavior towards one another.
As New Yorkers, I’m sure we can all agree that our day-to-day lives are fast-paced, even overwhelming, at times. Between rushing to classes, putting in those long hours at work, running errands, and extracurricular hobbies—not to mention those underrated-but-necessary activities eating, breathing, and sleeping—who has time to keep in touch with old friends? I know that if I don’t make a conscious effort to get together with my friends outside of college, my chances of seeing them before their wedding days are slim to nil.
With the wonderful inventions of the computer and telephone (and, let us not forget, the computer-cell phone combo), one would think communication would be a cinch. And it may be—but only in a small sense. Call me old-fashioned, but I hardly think a 2-line instant message or BlackBerry Messenger (better known as BBM) qualifies as a legitimate conversation. Truly keeping in touch with someone means speaking to them every once in a while, even if meeting up proves infeasible. Unfortunately, as easy as it is to call someone up to talk these days, it is rarely done. I can’t speak for you, but I can speak for myself. And in this case, I’m guilty of not quite practicing what I preach.
Since graduating high school, I’ve realized that time will either bond people together, or it will push them further apart. Sadly, a couple of my good friends from my teenagehood have drifted so far away that I feel as if a brick wall now stands between us. Maybe if I’d tried a little harder, called a little more often.... If it’s not too late to rebuild some friendships, maybe I can still “go up to the stone wall,” as Frost says (albeit in the figurative, not literal sense), and make the connection with my long-ago friends.
No one sets your priorities but YOU. So the next time a friend calls, consider putting down the novel and picking up the phone. The book will still be waiting for you tomorrow. Your once-close friend might not be.
As students during the semester we find ourselves pummeled by our coursework. Whether you find solace in playing online games like Mahjong or Poker, going out for coffee with friends, or just enjoying a movie, you value the time spent doing what you enjoy. Being an English major, I find solace in a good book. Oddly enough you’re probably thinking why books? Wouldn’t you want to escape all that reading? Yes and no. I like to take a few moments away from all the assigned readings, and just read something for the sheer pleasure of it.
One of the books that I’ve read that has touched me in ways I didn’t know possible was Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. Though this work is a piece of fiction it explores the unspeakable issues concerning family and community tragedies. The first line of the novel plunges us into the story and reveals the daunting manner in which the story will be told: “My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” What makes this novel bizarre is the fact that Susie narrates the story after her death from heaven. She watches the grieving process of her family and friends, and even learns in heaven to cope with the brutal and horrific nature of her death. Making Susie the narrator of the story is an effective way of portraying this heart wrenching tale of loss, and it emotional impacts us as readers. Susie is able to watch her family, yet at the same time it’s a sad realization for her that she will no longer be a part of the family or be able to comfort them. We also witness how her unexpected death tears apart her family. Through Susie’s death we observe a father’s turmoil of not being able to let the memory of his daughter’s heinous death escape his every thought, and a mother’s inner retreat as a means of escaping the reality of her daughter’s death. This in turn, caused the estrangement of their marriage. We see a sister battling with the fact that she is the only daughter left and the living with the guilt that she is alive, and her younger brother’s confusion about what happened to his sister, and his parents being unable to answer the question of “Where is Susie?”
We also come to learn through her narration the life and circumstances of her killer (Mr. Harvey) following her death. We learn of his sadistic background; how he had raped and murdered over a half dozen other girls and women. When Susie stumbles upon some of his victims in heaven she begins to try and find some justice for not only her murder but that of the other victims. Susie has this unique ability to channel through to people, and in turn is able to leave subtle clues pointing to her killer, whom happened to be a next door neighbor. What makes Mr. Harvey such a chilling character is how he built this underground shelter and lured Susie into it. It was in this underground shelter that he brutally raped her and chopped her into pieces. The most disheartening part of the novel is when the family discovers the news of her death. It first started off with someone finding a book of hers, but her mother refused to believe that meant anything tragic. Then they discovered just an elbow, and still her parents believed that she could still be alive even if she was missing her arm. Yet, when they discovered a hat of hers (made by her mother) her parents knew that Susie could not be alive. The scene that details this is compelling and tragic: “But when they held up the evidence bag with my hat inside, something broke in her [the mother]. The fine wall of leaden crystal that had protected her heart—somehow numbed her into disbelief—shattered” (28). What makes this story so unnerving is that they never find her complete body. Yet, through all this tragedy this story offers a message of hope, faith and even joy. Susie is able to see her family finally piece back together and get the satisfaction of knowing her killer eventually got caught. Susie also learned to be at peace with her death.
It was through Alice Sebold’s own rape during her freshman year at Syracuse University, that’s she felt compelled to write. She started off writing Lucky, a memoir of that tragic incident. Sebold titled her memoir Lucky because the detectives told her that her rapists previous victims were all murdered. Consumed with the trauma and the bitter aftermath, she experimented with heroin, but soon realized that she had to find an outlet; she found that outlet teaching creative writing. It was through teaching that The Lovely Bones was formed, she states to David Mehegan of the Boston Globe: “That idea of a shadow that travels with you, that has another destiny than you might have imagined, has always fascinated me. For me that shadow has been a teenage girl who died.” It is obvious that Susie’s character mirrors that of Sebold’s. Perhaps, Susie’s death was the part of Sebold that died when she raped. The Lovely Bones is one of those books that draw you in, and which you finish before you are aware of it. Yet, it finds a way to linger on—forces you to think, feel and wonder about death, grief, family, love and the mysteriousness of life itself. It is now being turned into a major motion picture; let’s just see if they will be able to capture the dark yet hopeful essence of Sebold’s narrative. P.S. - Go out and read this! I also recommend Sebold’s memoir Lucky. - Sabina Santiago Picture link: http://www.shared-visions.com/Reviews/LovelyBones-m.jpg
Fans of folk and roots music all around Brooklyn and the other boroughs will be delighted to know their soulful drama isn’t fading into an abyss of commercialized electronic sounds. And even if you’re not a die hard folk addict—if you just like the edge of the early works of Bob Dylan or other acoustic pieces, the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music is a must see. Stationed in a quaint little venue near on Columbia Street between Hamilton and Woodhull, Jalopy has everything—from a music repair shop, to lessons, to a beautifully decorated stage set up for a verity of performances, varying from blues to folk to a ukulele fest. Their cover shows (nicely inexpensive, perfect for college students) are superb.
On my second stop over at Jalopy I had the pleasure of hearing the musical styling of Randy Burns and later that night, Jalopy’s own guitar and mandolin instructor, Ernie Vega. Randy Burns, who arrived first on the scene in 1966, has played at some famous venues such as The Gaslight Cafe on MacDougal Street. He’s opened for such brand names as Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, and Jack Elliot, and (in my personal opinion) put on a fantastic performance. With a very soulful folk style, Mr. Burns performed some classic Dylan songs such as “One Too Many Mornings” and many of his own songs, one of my personal favorites “Jesus Loves the Late Night Girls.”
Ernie Vega, known for his fanciful finger picking style and mandolin prestige, also put on a fantastic show—performing not only his own work, but interpretations and taking wonderful spins on older songs.
But, best of all—every Wednesday night Jalopy hosts a series of shows they call “Roots and Ruckus” a free night of various folk sounds. The night is jam packed with young incredibly talented musicians. I had the great thrill of seeing The Dough Rollers perform last Wednesday night, a deep-rooted folk band with an amazingly ancient sound. When I first entered, I thought their lead singer was at the least eighty years old, and was shocked to discover he is actually only twenty-two—and just using a perfected old country voice.
Jalopy is a must see—check their calendar and head on down.
-Victor V. Gurbo
http://www.jalopy.biz/
Image: James Carey Group at Jalopy Theatre 05.30.09, walnut and sumi inks with graphite and H2O crayon on paper
It's never too early to submit to the Junction! Send in your poetry, short stories, and artwork to bczinesubmissions@gmail.com and bring a hard copy to 3416 Boylan.
The Poetry Club meets from 12:15 pm to 2:15 pm every Tuesday in room 2307 Boylan. Poetry Club is open to all creative writers, so stop on by!
Stop by 3416 Boylan during the week to pick up a copy of the latest Junction and information about majors, publishing opportunities, internships, and more!
Created by Dr. Roni Natov's English Majors' Counseling Office Executive Editor: Dr. Roni Natov
Editors: Kerri Byam, Katherine Conte, Joel Cruz, Nora Curry, Kerry Gertner, Sarah Gonsalves, Tumpa Mira, Margaret Sarsfield, Ryan Skrabalak, Ocean Vuong
News Brief Editors: Kerri Byam, Nora Curry, Ocean Vuong
Culture Corner Editor:
Ryan Skrabalak
Poem of the Week Editor: Joel Cruz
Currently Reading Editor: Sarah Gonsalves
Currently Listening Editor: Nora Curry
Currently Watching Editor: Katherine Conte
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