The College Payoff

The Value Of College: Earnings Tied To Major, Degrees & The Undereducated American

Links:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/04/college-value-worth-payoff_n_918781.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/24/college-major_n_866359.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/27/recent-grads-college-investment_n_885557.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/13/negotiate-young-women-college-graduates-first-job_n_875650.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/03/college-bubble-burst_n_857082.html
http://cew.georgetown.edu/collegepayoff/
http://cew.georgetown.edu/whatsitworth/
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/undereducatedamerican.pdf
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/education.pdf
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/psychology-socialwork.pdf
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/arts.pdf
http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/humanities-liberalarts.pdf

The Messiness of Events

Anthony Bourdain and Roberto Salas, photographer, on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations Cuba episode.

Anthony Bourdain:  "Does the camera always tell the truth?"

Roberto Salas:   "No, the camera is one of the worst liars in the world."

Anthony Bourdain:  "I wouldn't have expected you to say that.  Why do you...?  What do you mean?"

Roberto Salas:  "Because the mind that's behind the instrument is what goes into the image.  I don't deny the fact that at the beginning I was totally enamored of the whole system of what was happening in Cuba.  My images reflect that.  Fidel for me is an exceptional individual.  If I didn't feel that way, maybe I wouldn't have taken the pictures that I took of him."

Quick blurb about The Miracle of Freedom by Chris and Ted Stewart on Entertainment Weekly's "Nonfiction Top 10" list for July 22, 2011:

"Freedom, written by a pair of brothers, outlines seven key historical steps toward the development of a free society, but strangely the abolition of slavery is not one of them.  Sales of the book have skyrocketed since Glenn Back gave it a shout-out."

Product description from Amazon:

"In The Miracle of Freedom, Chris and Ted Stewart make a strong case that fewer than 5 percent of all people who have ever lived on the earth have lived under conditions that we could consider free. So where did freedom come from, and how are we fortunate enough to experience it in our day? A deeper look at the human record, write the authors, reveals a series of critical events, obvious forks in the road leading to very different outcomes, that resulted in this extraordinary period in which we live. They identify and discuss seven decisive tipping points: 1. The defeat of the Assyrians in their quest to destroy the kingdom of Judah 2. The victory of the Greeks over the Persians at Thermopylae and Salamis 3. Roman Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity 4. The defeat of the armies of Islam at Poitiers 5. The failure of the Mongols in their effort to conquer Europe 6. The discovery of the New World 7. The Battle of Britain in World War II The journey to freedom has been thousands of years long."

The Stewart brothers are also the authors of Seven Miracles That Saved America.

"-The unlikely discovery of America by Christopher Columbus

-How (and why) desperate English colonists were able to survive the starving time at Jamestown

-The Battle of New York during the Revolutionary War

-The miraculous creation of the United States Constitution

-Abraham Lincoln's desperate prayer that turned the tide of the Civil War at Gettysburg

-How a series of extraordinary events changed the Battle of Midway during World War II

-The preservation of Ronald Reagan's life from an assassin's bullet, allowing him the time he needed to help extend freedom around the world"

Links:
No Reservations, the Cuba episode - http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Episodes_Travel_Guides/Cuba
APB Speaker Profiles - http://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/roberto-salas
What He Saw at the Revolution - http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/arts/design/12gran.html
Entertainment Weekly - http://www.ew.com/ew/books/
GlennBeckBookList - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP89kL8mLIo
Amazon Product Description - http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Freedom-Seven-Tipping-Points/dp/160641951X
Amazon Product Description for Seven Miracles That Saved America - http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Miracles-That-Saved-America/dp/1606411446/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311470559&sr=1-1

Hostile History

I confess I'm feeling a little hostile towards Walter Benjamin and historical materialism.  I'm working through it though.  I do appreciate his contribution to discussions beyond the "this, then that" narratives of history, but he gets referenced so bloody often and it all feels so...overwrought and indulgently righteous at the moment.   Like I said, I'm working through it.

From Wikipedia:

"Walter Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist. His work, combining elements of historical materialism, German idealism and Jewish mysticism, has made enduring and influential contributions to aesthetic theory and Western Marxism, and has sometimes been associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory."

"Theses on the Philosophy in History is an essay by Walter Benjamin."

"In the essay, Benjamin presents a critique of what he calls 'historicism,' a notion of history that conceives of the past as a sequence or “causal nexus” of events that are fixed, and which give rise mechanically to the present and future. According to this concept of history, the work of the historian is simply to explain “the way it really was,” by uncovering and arranging historical events in their proper order of appearance, retelling the past as a lifeless series of moments that follow each other 'like the beads of a rosary.'"

"Historical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx (1818-1883) as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans collectively produce the necessities of life. The non-economic features of a society (e.g. social classes, political structures, ideologies) are seen as being an outgrowth of its economic activity. Since Marx's time, the theory has been modified and expanded by thousands of Marxist thinkers. It now has many variants."

"Historical materialism can be seen to rest on the following principles:

• 1. The basis of human society is how humans work on nature to produce the means of subsistence.

• 2. There is a division of labour into social classes (relations of production) based on property ownership where some people live from the labour of others.

• 3. The system of class division is dependent on the mode of production.

• 4. The mode of production is based on the level of the productive forces.

• 5. Society moves from stage to stage when the dominant class is displaced by a new emerging class, by overthrowing the "political shell" that enforces the old relations of production no longer corresponding to the new productive forces. This takes place in the superstructure of society, the political arena in the form of revolution, whereby the underclass "liberates" the productive forces with new relations of production, and social relations, corresponding to it."

"Historicism is a mode of thinking that assigns a central and basic significance to a specific context, such as historical period, geographical place and local culture. As such it is in contrast to individualist theories of knowledges such as empiricism and rationalism, which neglects the role of traditions. Historicism therefore tends to be hermeneutical, because it places great importance on cautious, rigorous and contextualized interpretation of information and/or relativist, because it rejects notions of universal, fundamental and immutable interpretations."

"Historicism may be contrasted with reductionist theories, which suppose that all developments can be explained by fundamental principles (such as in economic determinism), or theories that posit historical changes as result of random chance."

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Concept_of_History_/_Theses_on_the_Philosophy_of_History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_materialism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicism

Dissecting the Croak, Part III

The Things They Carried

Speaking of "The Things They Carried"...awesome fucking story.  I loved it. Funny, sad, bittersweet, cleverly and consistently structured. Humanizing. Ingenious. The theme of carrying weight so appropriate and descriptive of things tangible and intangible and so consistently and appropriately applied, yet never so much so that it weighed the work down.

Lieutenant Cross attempts to redistribute the weight he carries, prioritizing the weight of responsibility for his men over the weight of his fantasy love for Martha, the girl back home. But can he, the soldiers or anyone put the intangibles down? Can you lighten the load or merely replace one intangible for another like Freud’s screen memory? The “messiness of these events” are contained and carried in packs on backs, in feet on humps, in minds, hearts and guts and turned into O’Brien’s narrative of the Vietnam War. A catalog of things the soldiers carried turns out to carry a lot of emotional weight.

Note:  "The Things They Carried" is a short story within a book called The Things They Carried.  I read a comment written by a vet on one of the sites I surfed who said O'Brien's book was a precious gift to Vietnam vets.  The other comments by vets on various sites indicated a similar, shared affection for O'Brien and his book.  Also, there is a beautiful message from father to son in that video I posted.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Things_They_Carried
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_O%27Brien_(author)
http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/thingstheycarried.htm
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133518.The_Things_They_Carried
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125128156
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127133594
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/02/136503834/returned-combat-veteran-anxiety-trumps-logic
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2010/04/wednesday-on-the-newshour-writer-tim-obrien.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnNMUYJ9fm8  (Youtube has the entire story as an "audio book" from PRI in seven parts.)

Chameleon Lenny

I just read "Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta" a short story by Kate Braverman. It was written in 1990 and won the Best American Short Story 1991 and the O.Henry Prize. It was orginally published in Squandering the Blue, a short story collection.

Kate Braverman said:

"I once said that “Tall Tales” is my version of “Little Red Riding Hood” at the millennium in Los Angeles. It’s an ancient story, an archetypal tale, set beneath the tattered palms in the ruined California tropics under all that vivid and tawdry blue. It’s about predators in a cutting-edge city at the end of a mean thousand years.

'Tall Tales' is about the legacy of Vietnam, which continues to infect the American conscience, often in unexpected configurations. It’s about tarnished consciousness and some unspeakable sordid pulse at the core of the American Dream. On one level, its about the irresistible lure of evil, it’s strange sheen. It’s about relationships between men and women itself. It was here before us and it will remain when we are gone. It has something to do with sexual obsession and the glamour of danger and the fragility of ordinary life. It’s about power and survival in a landscape where the boundaries between dream and reality have dissolved, probably to a rock-and-roll beat."

It's a good story.  I found it intensely creepy and disturbing in no small part due to the fact that I "know" that guy.  I "know" Chameleon Lenny.  I've met him and interacted with him and I know what he is about.  I left him behind.  I like him back there.  In my past, not my present or future.

So yes, the story reminded me of guys I've known in my own life, as well as points made in recent essays I've read for class including one by Marita Sturken (who referenced Freud and his theory of "screen memories") and others we have read about history and cultural memory (American Political Lit).  It reminded me of the current conversation going on in my Black Lit class about pimps and whores and playing the (psychological) game.  The story reminded me of the lyrical significance of sense memories and sense descriptors used in “The Gangster We Are All Looking For” by lê thi diem thúy (more readings from class).  Here so much is blue, blue, blue.  “There is only this infected blue enormity elongating defiantly.  The blue that knows you and where you live and it’s never going to forget.”  Blue is like a screen memory.  Her addiction, the chameleon, is a load she can replace, but never put down.  Much like the death of Lavender for Cross in “The Things They Carried" (another reading and a fantastic story.)

The story reminded me of movies by Adrian Lyne and Zalman King. Stories about dysfunctional desire that is as much of a game as the one in the pulp fiction books we’re reading for that Black Lit class. 9/12 Weeks, Wild Orchid, Fatal Attraction. Chameleon Lenny and what he offers are a fatal attraction for the narrator of “Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta.” Hollywood glorifies him. Society makes him a kind of hero.  This woman takes him like a drug.

The story reminded me or made me think of a lot of stuff, which I suppose is the mark of a good story or an indication of where my mind is at, particularly being in the midst of a bunch of analytical lit classes.  Of all the stuff it reminded me of, though, it reminded me most of men and situations I have known in my own life. I know this guy. I have sense memories stored in my body too, which is why I felt a little sick reading “Tall Tales From The Mekong Delta.” I understand the draw. I understand the consequences. I also want to reach through the story and stage an intervention. I know Chameleon Lenny. I’ve met him before.  She should run, not walk.


Links:
http://www.katebraverman.com/talltalesfromthemekongdelta.html
http://www.katebraverman.com/talltales.html
http://www.amazon.com/Tangled-Memories-Epidemic-Politics-Remembering/dp/0520206207
http://wrt.syr.edu/pub/reflections/19/salibrici.html
http://lozoquals.blogspot.com/2010/12/book-review-tangled-memories-by-marita.html
http://ushistory.wikispaces.com/Sturken+-+Memories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gangster_We_Are_All_Looking_For
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Things_They_Carried
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_O%27Brien_(author)
http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/thingstheycarried.htm

Olivia Newton-John's Daughter Defends Graphic "Horror Film" Video As "Artist's Job"

Olivia Newton-John's daughter defends graphic video

People are talking bans for the music video because they feel the video legitimizes or glorifies suicide.

"The video shows Chloe appearing to snort a powdery substance, lying in a bed with slit wrists and holding a gun to her head. After the death of Amy Winehouse, the project has been steeped in controversy.

'It's so funny -- I don't think I went that far,' says Chloe. 'It was a metaphor for what I was going through, so I wasn't like, 'Yeah I want to slit my wrist or put some electrical devices in a bathtub.' It was just about being in a lot of pain and dying inside in front of the one you love and them not noticing what you're going through.'

Still, after receiving such strong negative feedback, Chloe released a more positive video with the intention showing her fans that she's 'alive and well.'

What do you think of the video? Is it art, or is it going too far?"

She says it is "the artist's job to challenge ideas."  Maybe she can find some inspiration or relief in her Dad's teepee.

Links:
http://www.etonline.com/music/112804_Olivia_Newton_John_s_Daughter_Chloe_Lattanzi_on_Her_Graphic_New_Music_Video/
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43933901/ns/today-entertainment/
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/olivia-newtonjohn-silent-on-daughters-graphic-shockrock-music-video-20110725-1hw36.html
http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2011/07/chloe-lattanzi-olivia-newton-johns-daughter-makes-horrid-inscrutable-video.html
http://instinctmagazine.com/blog/chloe-lattanzi-says-play-with-me-in-her-cray-cray-new-video?directory=100011
http://www.starobserver.com.au/celebrity-2/2011/07/22/dark-road-for-newton-johns-daughter/57450
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYou42GVpRQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdJZRZDxqao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWa-K8xHUos