Greeting

As the Christians have it, Monday is the day when the souls in hell resume their suffering after a reprieve on Sunday. As we push our respective boulders through the oncoming week, perhaps we can learn to look at daily obligations as microcosmic confirmations of our mortality. With life comes an infinitude of chances to dictate our immediate futures. We are not dead, and we should never feel bound to routine. It is easy to desire change or fear it; it can be difficult to actualize progress or preservation. Metamorphose those mundane Mondays.

-Joe

News Briefs

Stem Cell Treatment Gives Retired Military Dog New Leash on Life

This past week a retired military service dog received stem cell treatments to help save his life. The nine year old German Shepherd named Lexie lost his pal, twenty year old Cpl. Lee, during a rocket attack in Iraq in 2007. Lexie suffered major shrapnel wounds in his tail and down his spine leaving him badly injured. Lee’s parents wanted to adopt the dog, back home in Mississippi, as way to show gratitude for the way Lexie helped their son overseas. Georgetown veterinarian, Dr. Morgan, was intrigued by the story and opted to perform a full operation on Lexie to help him recover. The operation would involve injecting stem cells from fat in the abdomen into the affected joints. This would help create new cartilage where Lexie was badly injured in war. The treatment takes four whole days and has an 80 percent success rate. Lexie is expected to make a full recovery over several months and his recent operation is definitely on the record books of medical science. The above picture shows Lexie training alongside his fallen hero, Lee.

-Seth Nadler

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Preserving the Home the Pen Built

I’ll admit looking at some of the books written by Charles Dickens puts fear in me… mostly because of their size. Once I start reading though, the fear gets loose and runs away leaving only amusement and intrigue. I own the complete works of Dickens and admire his writing very much. So, I was very happy to hear that “The Central London house where Charles Dickens wrote “The Pickwick Papers” and “Oliver Twist” has been given a £2m grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund.” The Doughy Street property in Bloomsbury where Dickens lived was converted into a museum in 1925, and his old study has been kept the same for all these years.

The money to restore the museum comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and will be used to “to restore the 19th Century townhouse and double the exhibition space.” This plan to restore the Charles Dickens’ museum is just one of four other cultural restoration projects by the Heritage Lottery Fund. I grew up near the Poe Cottage in the Bronx, and have gone to it a couple of times, and every time it has been pure enjoyment. The restoration of Dickens’ home I know will also bring enjoyment to countless people. Charles Dickens is an English writer, but truly he is also a universal writer. The Heritage Lottery Fund is doing an amazing thing by preserving not only culture, but also literature.

-Celia Vargas

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11798825

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Websites Seized by the Immigration and Customs Department

A division of the Department of Homeland Security infiltrated the internet this past friday to assume possession of websites offering copyrighted material illegally. Bit torrents, as they are commonly known, offer a forum for the exchange music and other forms of media; individuals who access this material are sharing the media files through a server made accessible by the website. Thus while the owner of the website hosts the file sharing, the transfer of files occurs between a group of individuals. Responsibility for the crime becomes difficult to distribute, since the owners of a website domain only create an outlet for file sharing, making the individuals who download the files equally criminal.

Piracy of copyrighted material has been a major crime in America since the internet became universally accessible to the public. Napster was one of the first major file sharing programs to be accosted by the courts. That was over a decade ago, and the United States government is still unable to control the transfer of media.

Now the Department of Homeland security, a relatively new department in the federal government, is assuming more regulatory powers over the American populace. How do we account for such wide spread "criminal" behavior? Is the solution more severe punishments and to increase the regulatory powers of the government? Or should we find a way to pay artists and make their products relatively free?

Oliver

Article Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/27/technology/27torrent.html?_r=1&ref=technology
Image Source :http://images.forbes.com/media/2009/08/05/0805_online-video-piracy_398x250.jpg

Culture Corner

Bells Are Ringing at City Center

This past week, City Center put on a concert revival of the hit musical “Bells Are Ringing” from 1956. The show is about a young woman who works at an answering service and falls in love with one of her customers. At first they only talk on the phone and but through several plot twists and musical numbers they finally meet in person and fall in love. This show was a throwback to the Rodgers & Hammerstein era when musicals only had one role- to entertain. Several of the musical numbers became pop standards and the show itself became a star vehicle for Judy Holliday and Dean Martin, who was in the film version. One of the most enjoyable parts of the show, for me, was the preoccupation with technology and how it changes people’s lives. In 1956, the answering machine was considered a big deal even though today we take it for granted (few of us still probably own one). In 2010 we’ve come leaps ahead with laptops, iPads, mp3 players, and Tivo. Essentially, technology is changing our lives just as much today as it was fifty years ago. In the musical, the answering machine helps the young protagonist fall in love by leaving messages on her boyfriend’s phone. Isn’t that the exact same thing that texting and Facebook do today? This is one of the fun parts about visiting a revival of a musical which is that there is always something new in the old. Technology is one of those great cultural areas that’s always changing. We can therefore always look back on with a sense of nostalgia.



-Seth Nadler

Image Source: http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/Bells_Are_Ringing_%281960%29%281%29.jpg

Poem of the Week

Poem of the Week


Because I could not stop for Death—


Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.



Few poets bring Death to life like Emily Dickinson can. Filled with internal rhyme and alliteration as well as a steady tetra-meter alternating with tri-meter lines, the poem soothes the ears despite very eerie imagery. The regular rhythm provides a pace of for the poem as though being carried by the trotting of a horse pulling the carriage. The rhythm is disrupted in the fourth stanza with a tri-meter followed by two tetra-meter lines ending in a tri-meter line prior to “pausing before a House” in the fifth stanza. Not only does the poem follow a traditional rhythm but also the sequence of the poem itself.
While many fear death, it was clear that Dickinson accepted it, as though it was a suitor or escort were picking her up. Interestingly enough, she is riding in the carriage alongside both Death and Immortality, two abstractions that we would not normally associate with each other. Yet, they are juxtaposed beautifully in the first stanza. There is a tranquility about the piece that persists despite its grim subject.

- Sun Mei Liu

Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/p/pa/payalmadhu/777005_eerie_forest.jpg
Source: http://www.online-literature.com/dickinson/443/

Currently Reading

The Pit and The Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe

I’m not reaching into the depths of literary obscurity this week: Edgar Allen Poe is fundamental to America’s writing culture, and most of what people have to say about him has already been said. However, there is a reason he is referenced and analyzed so consistently; few authors have matched his absurd and humorously crippling wit. Those who come close fail to imbue their work with Poe’s epically crestfallen, gloomy narrative style which creates a paradox, which, of course, is essential.

Thus, let me continue and report on a classic: the nerve-wracking tale entitled The Pit and The Pendulum. For the minority of people (I hope) who have not read the story, a quick plot summation should suffice the edification. The narrator is seized by the Spanish Inquisition and subsequently tortured. The torture is slow and sadistic. The narrator is mocked. He concocts a scheme for his escape, but is thwarted by an even more elaborate system of torture. He faces the horrifying terrors of The Pit and the Pendulum.

But let us break away from my decoratively descriptive manner and cut into the heart of the story. One of the most unique qualities of Poe’s writing—especially considering his historical context—is its illumination of the shortcomings of the rational mind. Often in Poe’s stories, but particularly in this one, the narrator is devastatingly disturbed by the limits of his critical mind. And yet, his observations present him with enough control to act in his environment. Furthermore and once again in contrast, if you will allow me to shift the paradox into a triangular form, he is reduced to despair because of his inability to truly determine what provokes his actions: is he merely tangled in the tendrils of fate, enslaved by forces external to his willpower? Let us invoke reminiscence by referring quickly to a passage.

“In the confusion attending my fall, I did not immediately apprehend a somewhat startling circumstance, which yet, in a few seconds afterward, and while I still lay prostrate, arrested my attention…I saw clearly the doom which had been prepared for me, and congratulated myself upon the timely accident by which I had escaped. Another step before my fall, and the world had seen me no more. And the death just avoided, was of that character which I had regarded as fabulous and frivolous in the tales respecting the Inquisition. To the victims of its tyranny, there was the choice of the death with its direst physical agonies, or death with its most hideous moral horrors. I had been reserved for the latter. By long suffering my nerves had been unstrung, until I trembled at the sound of my own voice, and had become in every respect a fitting subject for the species of torture which awaited me.”

The language reveals Poe’s metaphysical considerations: the narrator observes the world and systematically presents the series of causes and effects that led to his fall. These observations lead him to congratulate himself despite the fact that he acknowledges chance was his savior, since accident caused the fall. However, he describes the fall with a first person possessive adjective, impressing in the reader the sense that the narrator is responsible for his fall. Finally, the narrator despairingly discloses that he trembles at the sound of his own voice, and is powerlessly subjected to the torturous reality that will ensue. Thus, Poe simultaneously defeats and engages his rational mind. He attempts to empower his will as the source of his actions, but ultimately reduces his circumstances to the consequences of fate.

So reread this awe-inspiring tale and consider whether freedom of choice is ensnared by the inherent and ambiguous deterministic binds of the universe.

Oliver Lamb

Image Source:
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/StephanieWytovich/edgar-allan-poe.jpg

Currently Listening

Circa Survive- Live at Irving Plaza

This past Saturday I attended a concert for the band Circa Survive, and it was awesome. Circa Survive is defined as an Alternative-Indie progressive rock band, but to me they are so much more. I’ve been listening to this band since I was fourteen, and basically my whole high school era. I’m emotionally involved, but I’ll try to be honest in my review of their music and show.

Circa has a definite unique style of music, where instead of combining vocals and melodies to flow smoothly, they do the opposite and clash the sounds. It works well and it has a lot to do with the vocals of front man Anthony Green. Green is pretty well known as a great vocalist due to his ability to hit amazingly high notes, and his energy when singing and performing. Juturna is their first (and my favorite) album, and it’s definitely the most weird. It’s mostly slow bass driven songs and really trippy lyrics that sound like a dream. On Letting Go is their second album, and it preserves a lot of what makes Circa different but also it has a cleaner sound. Blue Sky Noise I’ve yet to accept because the pop sound is so not the Circa sound I’m used to, but in terms of production it’s a very well made album, not to mention their most popular.

Blue Sky Noise was released in April of this year; therefore, the show I went to was mostly to promote the album. The opening bands were decent, nothing to brag about. Circa Survive was really energetic, involving the audience in strange stretching exercises. At one point there were a select few members of the audience who went on stage and sang with the band. There was a lot of Confetti and glowing fluorescent beach balls full of confetti and a lot of lights. The cutest moment by far in the show was the marriage proposal. A guy from the audience, Dylan, was given the shot to propose to his girlfriend on stage, and she said yes. I was with great people and had a great time. I recommend this band, but only their first and second albums, and then again I’m biased when it comes to Circa Survive.

-Celia Vargas

Live from Irving Plaza November 27, 2010:



Live Marriage Proposal at Circa Show:



Image Source:
http://awmusic.ca/1/photos/Circa%20Survive.jpg

Currently Watching - For Colored Girls

For Colored Girls
 
This week I saw the movie For Colored Girls, based on the choreopoem “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf,” and I was very impressed. I read the choreopoem (definition is below) in high school in a drama literature class. There were a couple of parts of the movie that were added in for plot purposes that I thought were interesting and didn’t take away from the original story, so high five to director Tyler Perry. The casting was great, and I could almost feel what each and every single actress was going through. The actresses did an incredible job in making those poems sound as natural as their everyday speech. I always thought it would be a bit difficult to do since the whole choreopoem is abstract yet coherent. The thought of something being abstract and coherent at the same time might sound off, but if you read the poems it will make sense. 

There were only two things that weren’t exactly my cup of tea. First I felt like the actresses made too many facial expressions and I felt it got to the point where it was over exaggerated just to get a certain emotion across. The second thing that I did not like was that Janet Jackson’s partner was gay and gave her HIV. That was not part of the original storyline, it was something that was added in, although I did not mind. I just have an issue with the fact that they could have given him any other disease to pass on to her and they chose to make it HIV because he was sleeping with a man. I understand they wanted to create a real shocker, but it could have been some other serious STD, or if they really wanted to stick to HIV, it could have been contracted from a woman. I just think that there is too much association between HIV and the gay community and we need to move past that…SERIOUSLY PEOPLE!

Choreopoem: Term coined by playwright Ntozake Shange to describe a staging blending music, dance and poetry. Used specifically by Shange to refer to for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf (1975) (web definition)
 
-Mariel Suarez
 
Image: http://newmodelminority.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/for_colored_girls_book_cover_01.jpg

At This Moment

Ashley Cohen and Brigida Pirraglia asked Brooklyn College students: What is your LEAST favorite part of Thanksgiving?

Hussein A.
After awhile the leftovers kinda of kill your thanks for all that food on Thanksgiving lol.

Stephanie M.
The full feeling at the end of the night lol.

Seth N.
Sitting in lots of traffic.

Alisa O.
All those turkeys getting slaughtered. Either that, or all the cheesy Thanksgiving themed shows/episodes on TV.


On a holiday which celebrates the virtue of selflessness as an ideal, the benefit of which is reinforced by a historical example, students may feel a bit abashed about revealing their dislikes. However, we all have them. For example, I dread the impending task of dish duty. Selfishly celebrating? An appropriate manner to celebrate a likewise ironic holiday. After all, the pilgrims were a bit selfish after killing off all the kind natives post-feast with those smallpox blankets!

Greeting

Greetings to one and all, English majors and non English majors alike! If, like these wonderful mountain goats I have decided to display, you are feeling drained of energy and reduced to an electrolyte fiending, rock salt licking state, refresh yourself by taking a gander at our delightful blog! From hominid ancestry at our Museum of Natural History to the American divorce rates that tourists at said museum likely laugh at while walking their nuclear families through our cultural institutions, enjoy!

Image source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2436/3772783803_829f2fcb41_o.jpg

News Briefs

Hello, I Love you, Won’t You Tell Me Your Shame

The Doors, particularly from front man Jim Morrison, is one of the most iconic American bands of all time. Jim was a hard-living, hard-rocking dreamboat who was notorious for his wild lifestyle and inventive modes of lyrical expression. Unfortunately, Jim was ultimately killed by his vicious habits, but not before leaving behind a beautiful body of work.
However, his physical body got him into different sorts of trouble during his life. For example, Jim Morrison was arrested in both Connecticut and Florida for indecent exposure. These minor infractions had been completely eclipsed by his legacy until the Floridian governor, Charlie Crist, began to push for a posthumous pardon for Mr. Morrison. Both Florida and Connecticut have been reluctant to forgive these crimes.
What a farce! Nobody would have remembered that Jim Morrison had committed these crimes had Crist not brought it to the fore. With all the other serious crimes in the world, Crist has nothing better to do than this publicity stunt? Even more ridiculous is the fact that the pardon was not immediately handed out. What kind of a thing to be concerned with is this? Maybe Crist should have made sure he could get the pardon for Morrison before he reminded the world of a dead man’s lifelong struggles with drug abuse, which are certainly invoked by mentioning his indecent exposure.
Forget whether or not the pardons go through, the fans of The Doors will love Jim Morrison regardless. Time finds us all innocent eventually. Who needs a governmental apology?

-Joe

News Source: http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/In-Connecticut-door-closed-for-Jim-Morrison-822636.php
Image: http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID25804/images/JimMorrison.jpg



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To Be or Not to Be…Married





In more modern times, people also have a more modern opinion of marriage. As of today, 40% of all people think that marriage is becoming obsolete. Ironically, only about 3% say that they don’t want to be married. After an extensive research study sponsored by Time Magazine, it was found that divorce rates were actually higher in 1978 than they are today. Many will agree that the American view of marriage is more about money than religion, commitment, and loyalty- what a surprise! Oh, what money there is to be made in the wedding industry, pre-nups, divorce courts, and alimony!

The marrying age has gone up every year since 1960, most likely due to people putting their education before starting a family. Interestingly enough, where marriage used to mark the beginning of adulthood and starting a life, people now see marriage as a capstone after already having a career. More people are finding spouses with a relatively equal pay rate to their own (i.e. male doctors are marrying other doctors instead of nurses and businessmen are marrying more businesswomen than their secretaries).

As of today, America has the shortest cohabitating relationships of any wealthy country in the world. Eight times more children are born out of wedlock than fifty years ago. Interestingly enough, while the number of divorces has plateaued over the last few decades, the percentage of divorces are higher among who can’t really afford divorce, the poor.

So we go back the idea of marriage in America as a business. Many sociologists blame divorce on lack of communication and determination to make a marriage work. After all, it’s always easier to simply leave a relationship if one’s not happy, right? Perhaps if the average American were to settle for alternative family arrangements, people might be more responsible about what they see as their duties as husbands and wives and reduce the need to leave a marriage that’s “not working.”

- Sun Mei Liu

Image Source: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031962-2,00.html
Source: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031962-2,00.html

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TSA Troubles

As if the process of getting through an airport wasn't painful enough, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has recently introduced a new pair of security measures for would-be fliers. In addition to the shoe-less metal detector routine most fliers have become accustomed to, the TSA has begun rolling out full-body scanners across the nation's airports. The full-body scanner’s rays are said to be benign, but they still produce x-ray like images of a passenger's nude body for examination by a TSA employee in private. For those uncomfortable with the full body scan the (ever gracious and benevolent) TSA provides an alternative. Passengers who choose to opt out of the scan are instead subject to an “enhanced pat-down” at the hands of a TSA employee. This procedure involves a “front-of-the-hand slide down technique” that covers, presses, and probes a person's hair, face, chest, and even genital area.

The TSA's new security measures have been met with substantial controversy for being overly invasive. The full body-scanners (soon to be introduced in New York City airports) first burst into national consciousness when a TSA employee in Miami assaulted a coworker (with a police baton, no less) for making fun of his genitalia as revealed by the scan. The pat-downs have proved to be at least equally problematic as well, with instances of a cancer survivors being forced to remove their prostheses. Even children are subject to the pat-downs, and in fact, the above image was actually found on a TSA employee's computer at a security checkpoint in Indianapolis.

The price of safety is certainly steeper than it used to be, but how much is too much?

-James Rodriguez

Source: http://gawker.com/5621363/your-two-airport-security-options-ogling-or-groping
Image Source: http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/TSA-Kids-Closeup.jpg

Culture Corner

An Afternoon at the Museum

Last weekend, I ventured into Manhattan to explore the Hall of Human Origins exhibit in the American Museum of Natural History. Although I learned some fascinating information about the history of Homo sapiens and the path of human evolution, I was more interested in the actual museum-going experience and the typical patrons of one of New York City’s underrated cultural hotspots.

Of course there are the students, reluctantly taking copious notes as quickly as possible for some class requirement. Then there are the senior citizens, leisurely passing the time by gazing at fossils and replicas of organisms far older than themselves. My personal favorite, however, are the parents trying desperately to instill knowledge into their four or five year-old toddlers.

Observing parents and children at the museum offers a humorous glimpse at the lengths some people will go to for a cultural experience. Most of the youngsters I encountered were bursting with energy and would have benefited far more from a trip to the park. There were also the children completely lacking interest: “Wow, look at that Homo ergaster! That’s the first one of our hominid ancestors to emigrate from Africa!” “Can we go to McDonald’s after this?” Clearly, cultural exposure is not intended for all ages.

If you’re reading this and shaking your head at the sorry state of the younger generation’s curiosity level, fear not! There were a few children genuinely enthralled by the exhibition of our hominid ancestors; I overheard a little girl ask where people found the fossils on display and an older boy engaged in a dialogue with his father about opposable thumbs. These interactions restored my faith in the institution of museums.

A trip to the American Museum of Natural History is not for everyone. Adults can’t force their young children to enjoy learning about ancient stone tools or our similarities to Homo neanderthalensis, but if they seem inquisitive and mature enough to handle the rooms crowded with people and information, I would recommend this family-friendly excursion.

- Brigida Pirraglia

Image Source:
http://nycitymama.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/img_0990-682x1024.jpg

Poem of the Week

When Ecstasy is Inconvenient
Lorine Niedecker


Feign a great calm;
all gay transport soon ends.
Chant: who knows—
flight's end or flight's beginning
for the resting gull?

Heart, be still.
Say there is money but it rusted;
say the time of moon is not right for escape.
It's the color in the lower sky
too broadly suffused,
or the wind in my tie.

Know amazedly how
often one takes his madness
into his own hands
and keeps it.

Now—as fall goes into winter and the holidays come with travel obligations and the semester approaches finals—take a moment to reflect on what Lorine Niedecker already has. In her poem, “When Ecstasy is Inconvenient,” Niedecker fights against hysteria by many means: monkish chanting of “who knows,” mimesis of the gull, disavowing monetary interests, and being not a lunatic.

Yet, these moments of suggested tranquility have a wildness of energies, as in “the color in the lower sky / too broadly suffused.” There is something working against the constraint of the poetic voice throughout. The final stanza, which imagines taking madness into one’s hands, becomes control located within the space of the hands. This is the responsibility of the writer, who uses the hands to regulate madness, but the metaphor also extends to anybody who feels as though a breakdown might occur.

-Joseph Fritsch


Image Source: http://www.wiseways.com/images/eaglebay_sunset.jpg

Currently Reading

“The Dunwich Horror” by H.P. Lovecraft

Thrills from archaic necromancy combined with an imaginative rendition of “otherness” through the hybridization of bodily and cosmological forces? You’ve got me sold, H.P. Lovecraft. “The Dunwich Horror” was inspired by a tour of Missouri Lovecraft took in 1928. The opening paragraph, devoted to describing the fundamental perversion of nature seen in the foliage and wildlife, segues into the story of a perverse creature – the bastard of an inbred and an unknown being from an alternate dimension. After rapidly coming of age under the guidance of his “wizard” grandfather, Wilbur Whateley eventually displays to the town of Dunwich a horror brought into existence from the slow, calculated planning of several years.

The story owes much of its richness to the way particular, vivid, geographic references are crafted into an overall aesthetic of suspense. Like Faulkner, part of the credibility and, thus, the horror of Lovecraft’s tales come from references to previously written works. Over the course of his writing career, Lovecraft created an alternate fictional world with its own mythos of elder gods, stock characters, and significant spatial references. Allusions to the Necromonicon, an alleged book of spells created by a fictional character and known by all of the inhabitants of his “Miskatonic Valley” by a fictional historical figure, for example, gives the plot a greater feeling of credibility, allowing the reader to more easily engage in the willful suspension of disbelief.

Like Poe, Lovecraft is a master of foreshadowing. Perhaps this is due to the serial manner in which his works were released. Regardless, it manages to keep the reader voraciously devouring page after page, driven forth by some vague inkling of the revelation to come. For example, in a description of Wilbur Whateley early in the text, one anticipates the revelation of horrific physical deformity and death: “Wilbur was never subsequently seen alive and conscious without complete and tightly buttoned attire, the disarrangement or threatened disarrangement of which seemed always to fill him with anger and alarm” (618). Recollections of gingerly planted minute details from the character’s daily routine are grasped by the mind, forming surprise bridges between different aspects of the story.

The idea of deformity, or a perversion of the shapes, spatial relationships, and sensory experience of the three-dimensional world as we know it, is quite prevalent in this tale and in Lovecraft’s work in general. He often juxtaposes the very local “backwater” town deformities of inbreeding, cultural insulation, and decay with the vast, cosmological deformities of the human world possible in alternate dimensions. Rather than the futuristic speculation similar to string theory being fundamentally different from the archaic, they have a relationship, perhaps due to their affinity with a concept of time and forces unable to be deciphered by the human mind. Both the archaic gods of old and a membrane universe existing between two particles of dust boast the ability to swallow our powerless terrestrial existence. While this may all seem rather vague, from one reader to another, I am simply attempting not to spoil the story. I suggest giving it a read!

-Ashley Cohen

Image source:
http://deoxy.org/gif/nunci.jpg

Excerpt Source:
Lovecraft, H. P. The Complete Fiction and Unabridged. New York: Barnes and Nobles, Inc., 2008.

Currently Listening

A Quiet Place at the City Opera

This past week I attended a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “A Quiet Place” at the NYC Opera.

This was the only opera that Leonard Bernstein ever composed and since its premiere in 1984 it has fallen into obscurity. Compared to “West Side Story” and “Candide”, “A Quiet Place” is the black sheep of the Bernstein compositions in that it never received any acclaim.

City Opera has managed to make the production work in a riveting new adaptation. One of the reasons that the opera never gained popularity was due to its themes of homosexuality, incest and infidelity. The plot revolves around a woman named Dinah who is killed in a car accident and her twisted family that reunites at her funeral. Her philandering and abusive husband shows up along with his daughter who is married to a French man that is having a homosexual affair with her mentally challenged younger brother. Confused yet? Nobody ever said that opera was easy. One of the reasons that this piece is remarkable is because it dares to explore the controversial and challenge society’s norms. At its premiere, a homosexual character would have been scandalous but in today’s world we are more accepting. “A Quiet Place” is an important work because it confronts the audience and makes them uncomfortable with topics that they face every day in real life. What is your opinion of the arts? Should they make us face the harshness of reality or sugarcoat the harshness through escapism?

-Seth Nadler

Image source:

http://www.jackmitchellmovie.com/Gallery%20Photos/Leonard-Bernstein.jpg

Currently Watching - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)

Harry Potter Continued…

It’s no secret that I’m a big Harry Potter fan. So, if you saw me this past Thursday running through campus at 3:05 pm to make the midnight showing of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 1, I hope you were not surprised. I've never been to a midnight showing for the other movies, so this was crazy to say the least. Fans were dressed as all types of characters, and in one instance a movie theater employee was asked a question and he backed away fearfully; I’m sure that guy went to cry in a corner. Eventually, after all the confusion people settled into their seats and got ready to watch the movie happily.

Part 1 is set to break the million-dollar mark with its worldwide premiere, and in all honesty it will. The movie has a legion of fans who are dressing up and sacrificing sleep just to watch it. Not only that, but this movie is worth it. The negative reviews about this first part will probably center on the fact that it skips a lot of details and it alters scenes from the book. I agree some scenes shouldn’t have been changed if ultimately it was leading to the same result. However, the movie can stand on its on and be complete, even with the missing details. Also if anyone feels that the movies are missing too much information, then by all means go read the books. What’s the worst that can happen?

This book is by far the darkest of the series, and director David Yates does a great job capturing that intensity and gloom on the screen. My favorite part in the movie is the beautiful animated scene for the story of the Deathly Hallows, a real innovative treat indeed. I suggest everyone go see it, and I don’t think it matters if you’re a Harry Potter fan or not. The truth is this movie was awesome.

-Celia Vargas

Image Source:
http://thespotlightreport.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/harry_potter_and_the_deathly_hallows_part_1_2_poster.jpg

At This Moment

Mariel Suarez and Oliver Lamb asked Brooklyn College:

Looking back on your high school career and the education you have received thus far in college, are you under the impression that you were exposed to enough books, stories, or texts that originated from a non-western culture?

Wilmarie Morales--I feel many public schools did not offer a wide variety of books, stories, texts.; I wish they did. Looking towards the future I have taken the opportunity to learn more about cultures.

Rebecca Gomez- Looking back on high school years, I was not exposed to many literature pieces at all, except for those that belonged to the curriculum which was mostly Spanish/American and some European. In college even though I had a better opportunity to explore with books and other literature pieces, European and American literature was pre-dominant. I wish I had more exposure to Asian literature as well as some more knowledge about world literature from other religions. I feel like education is limited to European and American traditions, literature, and art, consequently keeping us from other forms of realities and masterpieces.

Javier Padilla- I did take various surveys in “classical” literature in HS and college: poetry, prose, fiction; general American & English surveys; Salinger, Hemmingway, Shakespeare, Emerson, etc. However, I would have to say that I was not exposed to any Latin American, Asian, or any other prominent writings from different cultures or creeds until college and even then it was very limited and sparse. Though college offered multicultural study courses that may have featured such writings, I do not recall any dedicated “Latin, African or Asian Literature” appreciation/ survey type courses. I definitely would agree that in my experience, American education largely does not expose its students to as diverse a set of literature, as its super diverse culture is suppose to represent.

Patrick Valicent- I found that there were a majority of the “classics” by American and European standards, that were not in my curriculum…let alone North African, or South American. The real question is…How we can establish lesson plans and learning objectives for classes so that students engage in these texts beyond the reason of “brief exposure”. How can a sophomore in high school from the Midwest be put in the frame of mind of story, culture, and lore, so his/her interest level is being peaked. This goes for the American and European books answer, the emphasis isn’t on story and the human condition, it’s all very sterile and surrounded by pop quizzes. If a student could have the experience of being exposed to a South African tradition, see the parallels and differences in his own life and have a story structure and content that expands his view of the world…we would have a different America. I don’t feel as if we are neglecting other cultures…I feel the way we conduct classes and the learning objectives are not geared towards expansive cultural emersion, and learning to appreciate the art and expression of the world, instead the class is called “English”

Rori Brennan- During my HS years I was very exposed because of the classes being offered. I wish I could have been more exposed growing up because I feel many Americans are closed to only limited amounts of international news and culture. I think if there was more exposure there would be more open minded human beings.

C.J Williams--I feel that I was largely exposed to European literature. It causes one to feel subhuman and insignificant in many ways. These years in our development as people, are or should be considered very formative. How can one develop a positive self image if they are being taught on a day to day basis that they don’t matter? How can America claim to be a melting pot when the melting pot only has one ingredient?

Ben—It wasn’t until I studied philosophy in college that text was offered on subjects with origins from non European authors. However, it’s no shock professors and teachers are trying to prepare you for life in the society in which you live. I don’t know many high school students that are prepared to process eastern thought. That can come later. Basics should come first.
Dre— Unfortunately I was passed though high school because of my ability to play sports.

Is the individual responsible for his or her awareness of culture or is there an inherent obligation for the state to provide the means for such awareness? Is cultural awareness an inherently beneficial quality?

Certainly those surveyed have demonstrated preference for a diversity of cultural exposure. However, our question was phrased in such a way as to compel them to that inclination. In the great hierarchy time management, how should we direct ourselves to the most rewarding form of experience, and what are the necessary articles of knowledge and types of narratives required to create those experiences?

Greetings from the English Majors' office! Midterms have come to a close and we are all counting down to Thanksgiving vacation. Before the final influx of term papers we should all take some time to enjoy a good book and chill during the November slump. Another good pastime is writing poetry so allow the changing leaves to bring you some inspiration. Speaking of poetry…the Zine is looking for submissions! That’s right- The Zine is our very own literary magazine that showcases the very best of the BC English students. We need your poetry and prose to make this edition our best yet!
Stay warm, keep writing and check out the blog!
-Seth Nadler

News Briefs

A Taste of Things to Come

Have you ever heard of a “supertaster”? No, that’s not a long-lost member of the Justice League with a heightened sense of taste. A supertaster is someone with a higher taste response than the majority people. Psychologist Linda Bartoshuk discovered that about one-fourth of the population is super-sensitive to bitter tastes in foods such as coffee, grapefruits, and green vegetables as a result of a duplicate of a particular gene. Bartoshuk also found that non-tasters, or people with senses of taste that are much less sensitive than average, make up another fourth of the population. This means that genes are partially responsible for differing perceptions of taste.

Charles Spence, the Director of the Crossmodal Research Lab, part of Oxford University’s Department of Experimental Psychology, determined that other senses and moods affect taste. Experimenters have found that wine experts can be fooled into perceiving that the same white wine has a different flavor if the wine’s color is altered with food coloring. Another experiment revealed that carrots are perceived as tasting worse if they lose their crunch. Finally, Lucy Donaldson, a senior lecturer in physiology and pharmacology at the University of Bristol, reports that “Anxiety and depression can make things taste of cardboard.…The brain actually activates what happens on the tongue.”

Such findings are more than just fascinating; they can change the entire way certain products are marketed. Spence explains, “Already in some markets, such as toothpaste, companies have multiple brands that are targeted at supertasters or non-tasters.” Restaurants with “experimental chefs” are considering serving an amuse-bouche, gauging patrons’ reactions, and adjusting the following courses to their preferences. The reasoning behind these alterations is simple: give the people what they want. Since everyone perceives taste differently, it is only logical for purveyors to provide multiple options to ensure that each taster has the best tasting experience possible, no matter whether he is color-blind, depressed, a non-taster, or a supertaster.

- Brigida Pirraglia

Article Source:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/taste-the-difference-how-our-genes-gender-and-even-hormones-affect-the-way-we-eat-2130680.html

Image Source:
http://teenymanolo.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/picky_eater.jpg

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Europe’s First “Import”ant Cultural Practice

The origin of farming in Europe approximately 8,000 years ago is considered to be the most important nexus of survival instincts and social structure in the evolution of human culture. Traditionally, hunter-gatherer tribes in Europe were believed to have developed the practices of crop cultivation and animal husbandry, which caused the wandering nomadic kin group to transition into a permanently settled social group or village. However, new genetic evidence from a Neolithic graveyard in Derenberg, Germany in a study conducted by the University of Adelaide reveals otherwise. Genetic affiliations suggest these cultural innovators were “invaders with revolutionary new ideas, rather than populations of Stone Age hunter-gatherers who already existed in the area’”. Specifically, these invaders came from the Ancient Near East, where farming was practiced as early as 11,000 years ago, 3,000 years prior to its appearance in Europe. Similar to the way geneticists were able to utilize hominid DNA to construct migration routes from Africa to other continents, Adelaide researchers used genetic signatures to trace a potential migration route of the first farmer “invaders” from Anatolia and Hungary to Central Europe.

Image Source: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49884000/jpg/_49884867_e439112-neolithic_settlement-spl.jpg (Caption: Artistic rendition of a Near East Neolithic Settlement)

News Source: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/11/09/dna.reveals.origins.first.european.farmers

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Mwah

How well do you remember your first kiss? Looking back on it now, I would have never figured that that small act of kissing actually had a whole science behind it. Helen Fisher, a Biological Anthropologist from Rutgers University, states that, “kissing is a mechanism for mate choice and mate assessment.” Saliva is a Long Island ice tea of elements, meaning that our saliva contains plenty of hormones in different quantities that get transferred during a kiss. Interestingly enough, Fisher also states that there is evidence that saliva has testosterone in it, and that men prefer to have sloppier kisses. That indicates that unconsciously men are probably trying to transfer as much testosterone in order to set off a woman’s sex drive. Chemistry! Well, humans are not the only ones taking part in this act; animals are also locking lips, trunks, or beaks. Animals that have been spotted in the act are chimps, dogs, squirrels, cows, polar bears, foxes, birds, and even elephants putting their trunks in each others mouths.

Also take a look at these interesting facts from match.com:

1. Two out of every three couples turn their heads to the right when they kiss. 


2. A simple peck uses two muscles; a passionate kiss, on the other hand, uses all 34 muscles in your face. Now that’s a rigorous workout! 


3. Like fingerprints or snowflakes, no two lip impressions are alike. 


4. Kissing is good for what ails you. Research shows that the act of smooching improves our skin, helps circulation, prevents tooth decay, and can even relieve headaches. 


5. The average person spends 336 hours of his or her life kissing.
6. Ever wonder how an “X” came to represent a kiss? Starting in the Middle Ages, people who could not read used an X as a signature. They would kiss this mark as a sign of sincerity. Eventually, the X came to represent the kiss itself. 


7. Talk about a rush! Kissing releases the same neurotransmitters in our brains as parachuting, bungee jumping, and running. 


8. The average woman kisses 29 men before she gets married. 


9. Men who kiss their partners before leaving for work average higher incomes than those who don’t. 


10. The longest kiss in movie history was between Jane Wyman and Regis Tommey in the 1941 film, You’re in the Army Now. It lasted 3 minutes and 5 seconds. So if you’ve beaten that record, it’s time to celebrate!

-Mariel Suarez

Image: http://cellar.org/2009/kissing.jpg

Source: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/kissingscience/
http://yahoo.match.com/y/article.aspx?articleid=8952&TrackingID=526103&BannerID=

culture corner

Podcasting



As I was on the train to work this weekend, I looked up at the scrolling ads telling us to mind the gaps and to say something if we see something. I then noticed Transit Trax, the New York City MTA podcast and stopped thinking about podcasts as the newest form of entertainment, but rather the newest form of social, political, educational, and informative media.
A portmanteau of the word “pod,” from the Apple product iPod, and the word broadcasting, podcasting is the latest way to show to the world, or anyone willing to listen, whatever it many be that you want to say. Whether it be Discovery Channel for science lovers, Indiefeed for the poets, Learning Spanish for those looking to study abroad, non-mainstream music for the rebels, books for listeners, yoga tips for the health- driven, Bill Maher for the political savvy inclined, or particularly special interests for anyone else, there is a podcast for everyone. Like reading blogs, listening to podcasts can be as easy as left clicking a mouse. There is no need to have a portable MP3 player in order get a taste of the podcasting world can offer. Many of them can be subscribed to for free and are there to listen to at your convenience. Today, professors use podcasting for students who miss lectures, politicians use it to campaign, and medical journals use it to share interviews and article summaries.
If you happen to be looking for another way to send your unique message into the world, the vast cyberspace, also known as the Internet, is at your disposal. Just think, if the MTA is podcasting, who isn’t?

- Sun Mei Liu

Image Source: http://www.beffreyandjungle.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/podcast.jpg

Poem of the Week

Jabberwocky
By Lewis Carroll

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.


Go get ‘em Alice!

It doesn’t make sense. That’s the first thing anyone says about the Jabberwocky poem, but that’s not true. It does make sense and it has a poetic structure, but it’s just silly. The Jabberwocky is a nonsense poem with made-up words and an overall playful syntax. A major aspect of the poem that hinders logical understanding is the words of nonsense that occur throughout the piece. These words have no real meaning and that makes them kind of hard to recognize, but not impossible. For example “brillig” in context has to mean a time in the day, and “the slithy toves” must be some slimy animal. That’s the wonderful thing about this poem, it just leaves room for your imagination to wander and roam. However, as stated, it has structure. The poem's follows an alternating rhyme scheme, and is divided into quatrains. The poem was first featured in Carroll’s novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found there. Like the protagonist in the Jabberwocky who must fight his way to victory, Alice must fight her way through the fantastical mirror world that she finds herself in.

-Celia Vargas

'Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas— only I don't exactly know what they are! However, somebody killed something: that's clear, at any rate.' –Alice, “Through the Looking-Glass”

Poem Source:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15597

Image Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/TheJabberwocky.jpg

Currently Reading

The House of the Spirits



First published in 1982, Isabel Allende’s debut novel, The House of the Spirits, is a sprawling work. Allende writes the story of not just one character, but of an entire family. The Trueba family is the focus of The House of the Spirits, and the novel traces the lives of its women across four generations. While the majority of the novel’s characters are female, Esteban Trueba, the patriarch of the Trueba family, is the primary male protagonist and counterbalances the female leads.

Outside of just a character piece, The House of the Spirits is also a work about a country. Though the specific Latin American nation is never named explicitly, much of its social and political climates mirror that of Allende’s native Chile. Despite this, Allende never comes across as too heavy-handed in her political considerations, using the Truebas’ country as an integral backdrop instead of a means to push an agenda.

What makes The House of the Spirits truly an impressive work is the way in which Allende handles all of the competing figures within the narrative. Although she writes about a family, as well as a country, Allende never overwhelms or confuses the reader. Even magical realism, which plays a prominent role within the text, never detracts from the book’s literary realism or political context. Instead, The House of the Spirits is a sweeping novel held together by its fully formed pieces, much more than the sum of its parts.

- James Rodriguez

Image source: http://www.gresik.ca/images/spirits.jpg

Currently Listening

The Great Southern Trendkill




Pantera is not for the faint of heart. Neither is most metal for that matter, since many of the artists that create it do so with the intention of inspiring fear and anger. "The Great Southern Trendkill" is no exception. The song begins with an eruption of fast-paced distortion, on all the levels of the instrumentation--even the vocals begin with a bone shattering scream. And don't worry, this textural quality is unrelenting as the song progresses. Except of course for the bridge, where Dimebag Darrell, the guitar player of the band, invokes southern tradition by playing a relatively old-fashioned sounding solo; the solo beings with a melody that is clear and slow, a feature not always present in metal soloing. The solo does conclude with Dimebag Darrell's usual virtuosic and speedy display, but there's no doubt that man is referencing a sound closer Lynyrd Skynyrd than a contemporary like Slayer. Listening to the lyrics, the audience is presented with the frustration that the lead singer, Phil Anselmo, has with the destructive superficiality of mainstream trends. But if you share in his misgivings about the modern world, never fear, Pantera is the Great Southern Trendkill.


Infused in the best metal bands is severe criticism of conventional culture, or in other words, counter-culture. This quality in metal bands can be clearly observed since the genre's conception; Black Sabbath, the first metal band, featured lyrics that reflected the corrosive effects of industrial society. Songs like "Killing Yourself to Live" challenge the benefits of modern life. The instrumentation, with its heavy riffs and powerfully aggressive tone, parallels the content of Ozzy's lyrics. Pantera molded this vision into a sound much more ruthless and savage. That is, the music is nearly apocalyptic in tonal quality, utilizing higher levels of distortion and more machine-gun drumming. The quantity of alienating and infuriating realities imposed by the post-industrial world appears to have increased: Pantera, formed some twenty years later, sounds unabashedly more destructive.

Phil Anselmo embodies the vision of his band. His vocal style codified the modern metal vocalist in many ways (if not it damn well should), and his attitude was nearly Christ-like in nature (the aggressive and abrasive performance he would put on every night eventually led to a severe back injury, which did not stop him from continuing the many tours he performed after the incident. Unfortunately, the injury caused him severe pain, which led to a near overdose on heroin and the eventual collapse of the band). The music, especially Anselmo's performance, can at times have an atonal quality to it, because his screams often do not emphasize melodic phrases. Love was the initial emotional weapon of the counter-culturalists, and the beautiful melodic harmonies featured in many bands of the 1960s are reflective of the role artists believed love would play in absolving post-industrial mechanization. Now it appears the weapon is of a more ruthless emotional nature.

Modern metal always leads me to an age old sociological question: when combating oppressive forces, is it better to act passively or aggressively? Peaceful Martin Luther King Jr. or (at least initially) the Malcolm X approach?

It's hard to say which is better able to mitigate the crippling barriers erected by the concentration of power--a seemingly inherent consequence of industrial life. But the Hippies were unable to carry out the entirety of their societal reformation. The popularity of metal music appears to reflect a growing trend towards aggression.



Oliver Lamb

Image Source: http://img466.imageshack.us/i/pantera1997lf8.png/