tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16262928248248460162024-03-07T21:59:21.768-05:00The Thoughtful MillennialThe Thoughtful Millennial is a space for Millennials to define ourselves by observing and critiquing our pop culture and sociological habits. We seek to define our own relationship to cultural trends both sweeping and subtle that pundits have used to stereotype us with. We are more than a book-ended demographic driving change while totally oblivious to it. We have a voice, and we can use it! Critical analysis of pop culture, music, film and books, plus humor & cultural commentary.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-65191695674296846432015-02-16T10:49:00.003-05:002015-02-19T13:35:41.362-05:00Follow Up: Is Nate P. a Misogynist?<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I recently read an <a href="http://thehairpin.com/2014/05/a-certain-type-of-male-thinking-an-interview-with-adelle-waldman" target="_blank">interview</a> with Adelle Waldman, author of of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Love Affairs of Nathaniel
P.</i> entitled "A Certain Type of Male
Thinking". It was quite interesting to hear her comment on her own book
and her writing since then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Perhaps most central to the public
reaction to the book was the general disgust among women with Nathaniel P. as a
character and their question, "Is this how men really think?" Waldman
admitted she had done almost zero research for the novel because the questions
she needed to answer were those that almost any man would not answer honestly,
probably even to a therapist, much less a woman. So she took five years to
decipher the inner life and feelings of men who found themselves lukewarm about
a woman, then interested, then deeply in love, and who eventually became
distant and lost interest in her. Most notably, she insists that the reason for
this frequent trend in male behavior is not "commitment phobia" as
many women are apt to believe (and often place blame on men for their failed
relationships). I think Waldman recognized that something far more complex was
happening in the inner life of a man for him to fall in and out of love with a
woman. Not only that, but she does a terrific job of uncovering the gradual
psychological process that drives this shift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Even though it has been some time since
the original hardback publication of the book, Waldman says she still enjoys
debating such questions as "Is Nate culpable?" and whether or not he
ends up with the right woman (not Hannah, his gentle girlfriend whom he becomes
cold to, but a sort of airhead he can feel free to act out his pornographic
fantasies with as well as express anger openly with). However, the girl he ends
up with may be more suitable to his needs and temperament, as well as his--I
would argue--<i>debatable</i> level of misogyny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Is Nathaniel a misogynist, or is he simply
a representative Millennial male? Perhaps many feminists would argue that he is
both, or that both categories almost entirely overlap. But for better or worse,
young women will be encountering these kind of men more frequently, so for them<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>knowledge is power</i>. It behooves
women in their twenties and early thirties to read this book, albeit with a
critical eye, while reserving judgment (keeping in mind their boyfriends and
male friends as counterexamples). Men and women alike will benefit from this
read and it will surely spark discussion between them about the way they relate
to each other. I have an optimistic view: to me Nathaniel P. represents a
subset of Millennial males in most ways, although his characteristic thought
patterns may sometimes be almost universal in others. His character is by no
means a one-size-fits-all archetype. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Therefore, take heart, young women! Don't
read all of Nathaniel's qualities into every guy you meet or date. And please <i>try<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>to empathize with him. You may
discover a whole lot of humanity and some gutsy qualities , good intentions,
and virtues. As Waldman said in her interview, Nathaniel P. is representative
only of a "certain type of male thinking", yet it is better for women
to "know what we're dealing with rather than to be deceived." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">~ Trevor Swett</span></i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-17167627892988506002015-02-14T14:45:00.000-05:002015-02-14T15:24:21.311-05:00The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. : a Profile of the Millennial Male<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kOMOPGjI5_0/VN-uy5SIoiI/AAAAAAAAASk/AJ83eOTwN8U/s1600/nathanielp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kOMOPGjI5_0/VN-uy5SIoiI/AAAAAAAAASk/AJ83eOTwN8U/s1600/nathanielp.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Adelle Waldman's debut novel <a href="http://adellewaldman.com/novel/" target="_blank"><i>The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.</i></a> received widespread critical acclaim, and she was heralded as a modern-day Austen, defining the new social and sexual mores of our time. Her fine eye for the subtleties of relationships between men and women in this brave new world is unparalleled. While <i>Nathaniel P.</i> might be interpreted as a feminist critique and skewering of the Millennial male's ineptness in romantic life--and indeed many critics <i>have</i> portrayed it as such--Waldman displays so much empathy for Nathaniel as a character and as a man beset by challenges for which modern culture has left him ill-equipped and poorly socialized that the reader is apt to view him in a sympathetic light.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Is he a coward? A rake? Does he lack the capacity to love?</i> These qualities might be inferred by his female friends and perhaps quite a few female readers based on his treatment of women in the novel. Yet they are hardly the truth. The truth is he feels vulnerable and disconnected in many intimate situations with his girlfriend and ex-lovers, he fears and often rejects his own feelings of intimacy with women, he is <i>rakish</i> often when emotionally troubled or tempted by an ex, and he <i>does </i>have the capacity to love, yet it is buried under so many layers of cynicism and bravado that serve him as a fortification against feeling deep emotions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One reviewer, Allison Amend (author of <i>A Nearly Perfect Copy</i>) wrote, "Nate is so convincingly drawn you'll want to hug him, lecture him and shake some sense into him simultaneously." Hannah, Nate's girlfriend and primary love interest--we follow the course of their relationship from start to finish--seems to be a most eligible young lady. Almost universally regarded as "pretty and smart" or "smart and pretty" she seems to be Nate's ideal type, and he hones in on her quite ardently.</span><br />
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<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> begins with the "<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Times have surely changed since the days of the early 19th century's British landed gentry. If we were to rewrite this sentence for Nathaniel P., a Millennial "up-and-coming" writer of the bohemian set in contemporary Brooklyn, it might read: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man who is making a modest living as a freelance writer in Brooklyn must be seeking to get laid with hot, bookish chicks." Like many Millennials, Nate is renting an apartment in a big, desirable city in a gentrifying neighborhood, working multiple jobs with no stable means of income, and unable and uninterested in home ownership (<a href="http://t.co/3jI01fuTrH" target="_blank">economics</a> suggest he would only be able to live in some place like Utah or Oklahoma if he took this route anyway). Marriage or even the possibility of "settling down" without marrying seem light years away. It is an undeniable fact that Nate's paltry housing, low income, freelance job and deep devotion to writing as well as a drive to advance his career</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">, and the lifestyle of living in a huge, permissive and anonymous city all effect his relationship with Hannah and his attitudes toward women, sex, and romance.</span></span><br />
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But neither is Nate's character the sum total of the sociological factors effecting him. Waldman explores his deep psychological makeup, from his early encounters with the opposite sex, to his new intellectual elitism in college and his friendship with the brash, intelligent, yet strident Jason.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have never encountered a female writer to write so fluently from the male point of view. Waldman's insights into the male psyche are astonishing. The experience of reading this book was like talking with a lifetime friend who is honest enough to expose both your strong points and your weaknesses, yet still love you no matter what. You feel your friend often understands you better than you understand yourself. By relating to Nathaniel P., his struggles, often heroic, sometimes disappointing, we get a better understanding of ourselves as men. Not only that, but Nate is the quintessential Millennial man. Not a mover and a shaker, but an up-and-comer, just like you and me. He's making his own way, but the going's tough. And he's confused, very, very confused. Bombarded with dissonant opinions, especially concerning dating and romantic advice (the two primary unsolicited advice-givers are mainly his friend Jason, the macho intellectual meat-head, and Aurit, the thoughtful, yet doctrinal feminist who blames Nate for making "poor" decisions). The voices Waldman gives her female characters are as finely-tuned and diverse as her male ones and sometimes serve as foils. One finds that, in addition to a thorough character study of Nathaniel's psychology, worldview, and M.O., the emotional range, perspectives, and attitudes of a broad spectrum of women are simultaneously explored by their reactions to Nate (mainly those of his ex-lovers and female friends).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recommend <a href="http://goo.gl/6Yljev" target="_blank"><i>The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.</i></a><i> </i>to any woman looking to understand their boyfriends, husbands, companions, dates, lovers, or male friends better. It should also be required reading for any man who needs to examine himself and find a better path to intimacy that ultimately he knows or will discover he craves.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~ Trevor Swett</span></i><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-49446007984774576472015-02-13T14:29:00.001-05:002015-02-13T19:57:54.759-05:00How Many Millennials Does It Take to Screw in a Light Bulb?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CTXnf2vCshs/VN5doRhR7SI/AAAAAAAAASU/jVdQSeaYshU/s1600/lightbulb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CTXnf2vCshs/VN5doRhR7SI/AAAAAAAAASU/jVdQSeaYshU/s1600/lightbulb.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. one to Tweet about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> one to re-Tweet it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. one to photograph it for Instagram and edit the photo to give it "cool lighting".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. one to share it with all their Facebook friends (close friends, acquaintances, and strangers), so that everyone can know they are currently screwing in a light bulb and exactly in which trendy part of town they are doing it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. one to upload a Youtube video of the process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. four hundred people to comment on the Youtube video, while actually spitting vitriol at one another and arguing about other totally unrelated topics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. twenty people to "heart" the Instagram photo in a cloying love-fest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. one to develop an app that rates your "light-bulb-screwing-in ability" and markets in-app purchases to you of "virtual light bulbs".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. one to get a clever picture of their friend messing up while screwing it in and make it into a meme that attracts 4,000 viewers, most of whom leave stupid comments not worth reading that many people will read anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">10. ONE</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> to physically screw in the light bulb.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11. another one to congratulate him or her for accomplishing it without resorting to Wikihow or Yahoo Answers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>TOTAL: 4,429</b> Millennials to screw in a light bulb.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>~Trevor Swett</i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-2123011529512336182015-02-12T13:30:00.000-05:002015-02-13T19:59:12.150-05:00The Scary Side of Life as a Millennial: Big Data Knows When You Go to the BathroomI was shocked (and appalled) when I read <a href="http://saintsal.com/facebook/" target="_blank">this article</a>.<br />
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I plan to write a detailed blog post about its implications soon... meanwhile I think I'll try and build up the courage to delete my Facebook account. However, I think there's still a cost/benefit question to be posed here; Facebook does provide a great deal of utility for keeping in touch with friends and locating those we haven't seen in years. Might we do that by other means if we weren't so lazy/reliant upon on it? Of course! When I heard from a news report that Facebook's newly <i>required</i> separate messenger app included software that gave FB "super permissions" that allowed it access to your personal data on your phone, I deleted the app. Nevertheless, I have since reinstalled it because I have a friend who moved to Mexico City and it is the best way I have to keep in touch with him. For better or for worse, Facebook is something we Millennials have grown up with, at least since our college days, and most will probably have a hard time letting go of it, even given an overwhelming reason to do so.<br />
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Perhaps most disturbing is the extensive harvesting of even the most private data by Facebook and its cooperation with the NSA, the CIA, and other federal security agencies that just so happen to be spying on our nation's own citizens. My friends, any notion of "privacy" and the separation from private and public life are relics of a bygone era. For all intents and purposes, Facebook now knows when you have your "morning miracle".Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-90838232807280423902015-02-12T00:57:00.000-05:002015-02-12T15:46:41.919-05:00OkStupid<i>Why So Many Millennials Hate Online Dating, Yet Keep On Doing It</i><br>
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<b><br></b> Dating should be fun, right?<br>
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Stop the music--cue the record needle scrape!<br>
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Say WHAT?!?<br>
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Sure, maybe back in the day... pick her up at eight, drive down to the diner for some milk shakes--strawberry and vanilla--and head on down to the drive-in movie theater to watch a re-release of Gone With the Wind. Maybe you'll get to first base when Clark Gable kisses Vivien Leigh.<br>
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But in today's strange world of first dates with people you've met online, the guiding principle seems to be that timeless line Gable utters the film: "Frankly, my Dear, I don't give a damn."<br>
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Because online daters have no solid previous connection to each other (least of all, in most cases, a personal introduction by a mutual friend--although some apps allow you to find or see people with whom you share friends on Facebook), there is little at stake in the first meeting or online interaction. It is thus easy to cut bait at any time, a choice many people may make at any stage in the process. In my experience, very many people are willing to go out for coffee or drinks and see how things go on a first date. After all, they are online for a reason. Yet making it past the first date to the second might be almost as difficult as passage from East to West Berlin during the height of the Cold War. The barrier to getting from A to B can be as impenetrable as the Berlin Wall.<br>
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Why is this? Given zero previous social ties and lacking any standing relationship with the other person, it is super easy to write them off! I found this out the hard way in the hard-knock dating scene of New York City, where it felt like if you hadn't yet made a killing by selling an ingenious app to Google, gone to a top Med or Law school, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro by age twelve, or cured a vicious disease with a miracle vaccine, you were likely just an <i>average</i> <i>guy</i> (read <i>waste of space</i>) who didn't deserve the time of day. During these difficult times, I seemed to get enough first dates, but was quickly and thoroughly dismissed as an obviously unfit mate.<br>
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I seriously considered rewriting my OkCupid profile like this to see what kind of new replies I would get... How would <i><b>you</b></i> respond to me with this self-description, ladies???<br>
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<i>I have an I.Q. of 202, which occurs which occurs in
approximately ONE in 10,881,400,000 people. As I am writing this there are
approximately 7,290,250,000 people alive on earth. Statistically, I should not
exist. I have invented an app which I sold to Google for 4.7 Billion dollars. I
have climbed Everest 7 times, and stopped at least twice each time on the way
to call my mom to make sure she wouldn't worry about me. I have founded a
worldwide foundation that fights for human rights, ending poverty and disease,
and preventing ethnic cleansing and violence against women and children. I hold
boxing titles for championships in the United States and Europe, and have
defeated the Ukrainian boxer/former presidential candidate Vitali Klitschko
both at boxing and at chess, at which he is also a prodigy. Jay-Z has publicly acknowledged that I am cooler than he is, and also that I am a bigger man. He also added in a comment to The Source magazine that I am "his boy." Not sure what that means, but I like it!</i></div>
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<i>I could go on and on about my many accomplishments, but I AM MORE
INTERESTED IN GETTING TO KNOW YOU! </i>:-)</div>
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All kidding aside, I did find New York to be a tough dating market. One fellow dater described her theory for why the scene was as bad as this: 1. People are way too busy. and 2. Everyone thinks they can do better.</div>
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I would say these two obstacles could get in the way in any major city, but since I've moved to DC I've found people to be more approachable and accepting on dates. I've generally had a much better time going out, and it doesn't feel like the girl is sitting there judging me against a check-list of ideal partner qualities she has in mind. Down here, people are genuinely interested in <i>relating</i> to each other, and don't tend to leap to judgmental conclusions very quickly. I've heard similar stories from friends who have had much better luck dating in other cities where people are more "relaxed" or "down to earth"--Chicago, for example.</div>
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So, the problem I had been blaming alternately on myself and alternately on "OkStupid" or whatever app I was using at the time, turns out to be a problem with neither me nor the dating platforms, but with the Millennial social milieu and how we, myself included, utilize these dating resources. The more we can focus on relating before judging and giving each other a chance before writing each other off, the more likely we will be to forge meaningful and successful relationships.</div>
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<i>~ Trevor Swett</i><div><i><br></i></div><div>Please, if you are so inclined, <b>share this post </b>using one of the share buttons below or forward it to a friend or colleague. We are looking to expand our readership! Thanks!<br>
<br></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-53559394001024939392015-02-03T22:23:00.001-05:002015-02-13T20:01:22.365-05:00Who are the Millennials?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There
are no exact dates defining the birth years of the Millennial generation. The
Pew Research Center gave tentative dates between 1981 and 1997. A May 2013 Time
cover story dated Millennials as those children born between 1980 or 1981 and
2000.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One online commentator referred to
the term Millennials, previously often coined Generation Y, or the
immediate successors to Generation X, as <span style="background: white;">“a dumb way for baby boomers to other-</span>ise <span style="background: white;">the generation that they’ve saddled with all the
world’s biggest problems.” I would have to agree with this statement,
particularly as it pertains to the unsustainable mess of Social Security and
Medicare entitlements, which</span> Millennials <span style="background: white;">will pay for all their lives and then inherit without
benefit when the funds dry up. It is true that the Boomers have put off the
burdens of the world's biggest problems for future generations to deal with.
From global conflicts to climate change to sovereign debt, they have acted
consistently in this manner. Not to mention the financial crisis, largely
caused by Boomer's irresponsibility and greed, that led the country into the
sinkhole of the Great Recession, which struck just as many</span> Millennials <span style="background: white;">were finishing college or entering the workforce. But
enough about politics and playing the blame game! Who really cares about that
stuff anyway?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The point is that
the Boomers have somewhat lazily and broadly stereotyped and denigrated their
children's generation, a generation that they, as parents, were chiefly
responsible for raising. Yet, the Baby Boomer's are also</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i><span style="background: white;">trying</span> </i><span style="background: white;">to understand Millennials, a generation so vastly
different from their own, in the way a parent tries to understand his or her
own children. There is still love and compassion behind this effort because
many of the good-hearted Boomers have</span> <i><span style="background: white;">good intentions</span></i><span style="background: white;">, yet
are perhaps still seeking to mold their children in their own image. They
may find it hard to stomach the change that is occurring so dizzily around
them. Indeed, if I as a Millennial am frequently confused by and find it hard
to keep up with the rapid social, cultural, political and technological changes
that occur at warp speed in my world, I can hardly imagine how my parents feel!
When their primarily source of news and information is the PBS New Hour, it's
hardly surprising that they feel disconnected from their children's worldview
and values. Indeed, many probably suspect that their Millennial brats have not
developed these humanistic traits that make them citizens of the world and not
just world class Candy Crush players.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Baby Boomers
had relatively tranquil childhoods during an era of quiet prosperity and
social, familial stability. All that changed with their coming-of-age during
the Civil Rights Movement and their suffering through the horrors of Vietnam,
which included the Draft, a life-threatening menace so terrible that it is
almost unimaginable to one of the Millennial generation, except perhaps to the
men and women of our armed services who have faced combat in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Bob Dylan's famous song and lyric of 1964, "The Times They
Are A-Changin' ", might have been the mantra of a generation. And the
times <i>did change</i>. The Civil Rights
Act passed in 1964 due largely to the mobilization of activists in the African-American
community and growing sympathy among whites. In 1965, the United States began
deploying regular combat troops to Vietnam. The war escalated to its peak in
1968 with the Tet offensive, a campaign by the Viet Cong that failed in its
goal of overthrowing the South Vietnamese government but succeeded in
convincing the majority of the American populous that their country was losing
the war. Protests against the war grew even stronger. Cries of "Hey, hey,
LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" rang out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1968 was a horrible
year. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4th and large-scale riots erupted
in major cities across the country. Bobby Kennedy's assassination followed on
June 6th. In May 1970 at Kent State University in Ohio, National Guardsmen
fired 67 rounds over 13 seconds at a group of unarmed college students
protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine. A student strike of
4 million young people shut down high schools, colleges, and universities
across the country in response to the incident. Public opinion continued to
shift against the war. By the end of the prolonged Vietnam War, Baby Boomers
had lost trust in government. Moreover, they had grown up in a climate of
turmoil, violence, protest, and civil disobedience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Through the
tumultuous nightmare of that era, a new culture emerged, largely as a result of
the Boomer generation's efforts and a power shift. The Draft was abolished in
1973, and although President Carter later created the Selective Service in 1980
for the event of an emergency crisis, conscription was in effect dead. The
Women's Movement continued to gain further ground by leaps and bounds, as did
the efforts to attain equality for people of color. The Baby Boomers had
weathered a true storm, but through their determined efforts to push for
political and social change, they emerged victorious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now, how could such
a generation fail to recognize the innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship
of its children's generation? Perhaps because the Millennials are fomenting an
entirely different form of change than the Boomers. Or maybe the Boomers have
witnessed such drastic social, economic, and political change in their
lifetimes that what's going on now seems like a flash in the pan... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Also why do Boomers
seem so ready to "saddle" our generation with "the world's biggest
problems" without regret? Perhaps they've thrown in the towel--having gone
ten rounds in the ring in their youth through the hard-knock times of the '60s
and '70s. Perhaps they are resting on their laurels and looking forward to a
well-deserved retirement. However, psychological research has shown that in old
age people feel the need to give back to their communities and leave a legacy
for loved ones, family, friends, and for those causes and institutions which
they hold dear. Although they may make a major contribution to a great,
"world-changing" cause late in life, it is most likely to be a
financial one. I certainly don't feel like if I were in my late fifties or my
sixties that my top priority would be to tackle the World's Biggest Problems.
I'd do what I could, but I'd probably be exhausted from a long career and ready
to "hang up the gloves" as the Spanish saying for retirement goes. If
I'm like most people, I'd be far more likely to make a contribution to my local
community--to stay active in my local church or synagogue, to work part-time at
something I enjoy, to teach, to volunteer, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">However, I think there
is an element of amnesia here. The further one gets from one's past, the more
inaccessible and sometimes rose-colored it becomes. In the past two decades, Baby
Boomers have enjoyed a level of economic prosperity unprecedented in American
history (until the Great Recession rocked the boat for a couple of years). Since
the rise of the PC, the Internet, AOL, and Netscape to the Tech Bubble to our
current age of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and mobile devices, Boomers have
embraced new digital technology as a means to huge financial returns in the
Stock market and the creation of wealth. Has the dizzying ascent into a more
wealthy, technology-driven economy created a new matrix of social values?
Certainly a carry-over from the 80's "Greed is good" ethos, the rise
of technology since the 90's made the dream of more exorbitant wealth more
attainable for many Americans and sent the overall economy up, up, and away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, here's a theory:
because the Boomers control the majority of capital, they are free to underpay
Millennials. Unless a Millennial founded a start up and was very smart about
how he financed it, he is unlikely to be paid commensurately relative to the
value of the service he provides. Why is this? His company may be controlled by
Daddy Warbucks at Venture Capital Firm X, who has the money but not the skills
to do what his young partner provides as a technological entrepreneur. So, he
may if he so chooses employ a team of digitally savvy slaves to do his dirty work
while he rakes in millions of dollars in profits. There a subset of Millennials
that is an under-paid class of hard-working programmers, graphic artists, web
designers, social media experts, digital marketing innovators, etc. that are
not paid according to their knowledge and experience. This concept could be
extended to dozens of other skill-labor industries beyond the tech sector!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Yet despite
Millennials being their underlings and making them tons of money with
innovations their own generation did not come up with, there seems to be a
certain distaste for Millennials among the Boomers. They have been called
"slackers", "entitled", and the "Boomerang" or
"Peter Pan" Generation for moving back in with their parents (during
the recession and afterwards when jobs were scarce) and delaying adulthood if
only in their self-concept. One of the questions this blog will attempt to
answer is the extent to which these labels accurately describe a broad subset
of the new generation, or whether they are simply pure stigmatization of the
Millennials by older generations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here's another
theory I would like to suggest. The Baby Boomer generation fomented change
through massive sociopolitical movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, the
Women's Liberation Movement, and resistance to the Vietnam War. From their
efforts and the terrible crucible of world events, a brave new world emerged.
Yet when the dust cleared they could see themselves as survivors who eventually
built an America on their own terms. Not only were they survivors, but they
were agents of change whose united action totally revamped a nation socially
and politically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Millennial
generation has tried, and so far, basically failed to change America for the
better through politics alone. Political gridlock in Washington is practically
taken for granted. Obama has entirely renounced his early promises to "reach
across the aisle" for bi-partisan cooperation (not that Republicans have
been so open to it anyway). How many "Change We Can Believe In"
posters from Obama's first campaign lie embarrassingly stashed in even the most
ardent democrats closet or behind a bookshelf? The fact is, the
"Change", the "Hope", the Pie-in-the-Sky--whatever it was
that captured the American imagination in Obama's first electoral campaign of
2008 (I too fell victim to this)--DID NOT come. The political movement that had
been galvanized especially by the Millennial generation crowned a leader that
failed to follow through on the promise of "Change". Thousands of
young people had campaigned tirelessly for him across the country; how
devastating when the leader you believe in so deeply fails to deliver the
revolutionary change he promised so fervently. Might you feel... Betrayed?
Disillusioned? Perhaps become more cynical about politics?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unlike their
parents' generation that catalyzed change <i>politically
</i>in the face of drastic social upheaval, Millennials have been working for
change in a time of less social dissonance and through more <i>apolitical</i> means (this may all change in
the wake of Ferguson and escalating racial tensions). Many Millennials have
incited change through involvement in social-entrepreneurial ventures (entirely
unlike the flamboyant but necessary demonstrations of the '60s and '70s). Author
David Burstein has called Millennials "pragmatic-idealists" for their
approach to social change; recognizing the need to work within and outside
current institutions, they also understand the need to create new institutions
(a case in point would be the charter school movement). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Thousands of Millennial
college graduates have joined organizations like Teach for America and New York
Teaching Fellows every year to address educational inequality. Many become
career teachers and educators. Yet they choose to do so within organized
programs that are designed to strategically address the challenges of inner-city
and disadvantaged schools in an organized, structured way. The socio-entrepreneurial
approach to tackling the deficiencies of our educational system is a novel
innovation of our age, and Millennials are spearheading this movement. From the
Baby Boomers perspective, perhaps it is difficult to comprehend the social
impact Millennials are having for the good because it is usually <i>not</i> within the context of unified political
pressure like the social movements of the Boomers' youth but within new, disparate
socio-entrepreneurial endeavors with varying missions and goals that seek to
tackle problems from the ground up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Is the Millennial
generation failing or succeeding to build a world on its own terms? Will we be
able to have it our way, like a Big Mac... like the Boomer generation did..? ...Is
that even the right thing to aspire to? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Will Millennials
continue to be more effective at making progress through socio-entrepreneurial
innovation and technology, or will they recalibrate their political prowess as
well? Has political apathy set in after the disillusionment with Obama, and if
so, will it continue? How will Millennials confront questions about race, gun
violence, and police power in the wake of the events in Ferguson and other
flashpoints around the nation? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The earth is
shifting underneath our f</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">eet.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">~ </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Trevor Swett</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-4589650808505433842015-02-01T18:29:00.001-05:002015-02-04T16:09:40.217-05:00Upcoming Posts/Blog Events<b>Soon to come...</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">
"Who are the Millennials"<br />
Let's be clear who we are talking about here, people. An opening investigation and rap sheet on my generation.<br />
<br />
Talking 'Bout My Generation, "Haters Gonna Hate"</div>
<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> A discussion about the online dating revolution, and changing attitudes toward sex, love, and marriage. We will respond to David Brooks' critique of online dating and the new mindset of daters, "The Devotion</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue Light, HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> Leap." </span>To quote the title of a David Bowie song, what is "Modern Love"?</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A guest blogger, with deep knowledge of music, sports, Americana, and the tech world!</div>
<div>
<br />
A review of Ben H. Winter's <i>The Last Policeman </i>trilogy, including the final installment, <i>World of Trouble</i>. Discussion of Pre/Post-Apocalyptic Literature as a hallmark of the Millennial generation's pop culture.<br />
<br />
By the way, our generation produced <i>The Hunger Games</i>?!? What the hell!... Give me <i>Battle Royale</i> any day!<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Also a review of <i>Spoiled Brats</i>, a short story collection by Simon Rich.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And much, much more...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
TWS</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-38445452954240658392015-02-01T12:43:00.003-05:002015-02-04T19:37:01.869-05:00The Thoughtful Millennial<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I think this blog is finally
taking shape and direction, and despite the levity of its more recent content,
I would like to formally introduce a new conception of its purpose. I am
renaming it The Thoughtful Millennial in this spirit.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
I am part of the generation/demographic group known as Millennials. Much has
been said and theorized about my generation, its current impact on social and
economic trends, and its relevance for the future of America and the world.
Most of what has been said about us has been written, spoken, and propagated by
the older generation, the Baby Boomers, and their immediate successors. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />I would like to give voice to the Millennial generation itself,
but not in a political, self-aggrandizing, pushy, or self-seeking way, but in
the spirit of self-examination. The maxim "Know Thyself, and To Thyself Be
True" is timeless, and the opportunity for reflection about our
generation's shaping of society at large--the society that is and will be our
own and our children's--as well as its existential meaning for who we are both
individually and collectively is invaluable. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
I would like to make clear that in my sociological, psychological, and cultural
inquiry I do not seek to promote any agenda, support any organization, boost
any political party, or further any particular cause. My hope is to penetrate
into the hearts and minds of my generation, and see what lies beneath the
surface. The question of who we are and how we are evolving is at the center of
our inquiry. If I am provocative, it is not to denigrate an opposing point of
view, but rather to incite discussion and debate. I hope that this site becomes
a forum for this kind sharing of ideas and polemics! </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
It might be argued by some that Millennials are lazy, self-absorbed,
technology-obsessed, ego maniacs. The advent of social media has made possible
the opportunity to flaunt one's<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>narcissism writ
large. Indeed, psychologists have found scientific evidence that narcissistic
tendencies are increasing rather alarmingly in concert with the use of social
media (It turns out the number of selfies one posts on his or her Facebook page
is an excellent empirical predictor of narcissism manifesting in other contexts,
and it appears to be rising considerably in the overall population.).</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
I'm not going to be some old-fart, wet blanket and say that the advent of
social media heralds the demise of Western Civilization. All I'm saying is:
people post too many pictures of what they had for breakfast, folks flaunt too
many gorgeous vacation photos that make their friends stuck at work feel
jealous and under-privileged, and please for the love of all that's Holy STOP
with the stupid cat videos! There is enough stupidity on the Internet for it to
be multiplied exponentially in people's News Feeds.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people who use social media in an responsible,
thought-provoking, and socially beneficial way. But they are in the minority. I
suppose what I would like to say is:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>use
it, but don't abuse it.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was
recently having a conversation with a friend at a bar about the topic of
Millennials. He was a #GenerationXer or something. What he said intrigued me:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"They
feel powerful, because they can tweet something and people will listen to them
and it will be everywhere. They'll be on the news. When they have a bad day,
they post about it on their twitter feed and receive instant sympathy. When we
had a bad day, we just opened a can of soda... or whatever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Don't try and out-Tweet them;
Don't try and out-Facebook them, because YOU CAN'T WIN! </span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">You just can't do it, so don't even try...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">They
have the power... It's scary."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now Millennials have
harnessed and mastered the power behind social media, but how are they using
it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Idiotic Facebook and Twitter posters may seem ubiquitous, but they
are more like a few clouds that block out the Sun. There are </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">true</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> gems hidden
in the detritus of social media; you just need to know where to look. I admit
am a relative novice at "mining" for these diamonds of intelligent
commentary, wit, and creativity. If anyone has any recommendations of good
Twitter feeds, sites or blogs, please pass them along! (trevorswett@gmail.com, or leave a comment) Of course the blogs of great famous magazines and periodicals provide content well worth exploring that is easy to find and navigate; I am interested in finding the hidden corners of the Net where individuals are making vital and sometimes unnoticed contributions!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />
The new purpose of this blog will be to examine not only the cultural minutia
of music, film, and literature, but also to investigate the psychology and
habits of the Millennial generation through a self-conscious and self-examining
lens. What do we have to offer and how are we contributing? Where are we
falling short and how can we do better? And, in a word, what is our culture to
become?</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-18540711852407291562015-02-01T11:08:00.001-05:002015-02-02T08:52:03.193-05:00Today's List of Plausible (Yet Questionable) Indie Band Names<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">But first... some words of wisdom from <i>Wayne's World</i>'s Garth:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MnuqFiJ1d0c/VM9-L_IZzuI/AAAAAAAAAR8/gwOW7Sjd6RU/s1600/waynesworld_garth1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MnuqFiJ1d0c/VM9-L_IZzuI/AAAAAAAAAR8/gwOW7Sjd6RU/s1600/waynesworld_garth1.png" height="213" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Too true, Garth. Too true.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">By the way, if you steal one of these band names for your band, I want some form of compensation. Like, at least a hat or a t-shirt.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Today's List:</span></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Take As Directed</div>
<div>
Lingerie Parade</div>
<div>
The Soap Suds</div>
<div>
The Metaphysicians</div>
<div>
Go Ahead, Make My Sandwhich</div>
<div>
Robinson Crusoe</div>
<div>
The Minimalists</div>
<div>
Dying in Vegas</div>
<div>
Nite-Light</div>
<div>
Blue Eyes</div>
<div>
Samson's Son</div>
<div>
Requiem for a (wet) Dream</div>
<div>
Leopold & the Nite Owls</div>
<div>
Jailbait</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
***DISCLAIMER: I haven't checked if any of these bands might actually exist.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy the Super Bowl!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">-TWS</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-78721438017704179892015-01-31T15:17:00.001-05:002015-01-31T16:38:11.494-05:00Unrivaled Rocker: Jack White So Awesome He Will Appear on Baseball Card<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the spirit of this blog of focusing not only on music new and old but also on pop culture and the interaction between the two, I am pleased to be writing a little bit today about the illustrious career of that eccentric bluesman/rocker/electroshocker known as Jack White (born John Anthony Gillis, 1975). As an expected one day shoo-in for the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, and a veteran of the rock scene for over 25 years, you may wonder why Jack White's "Rookie Card" is just coming out... Read on and ye shall see!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jack White is perhaps best known for his founding of the White Stripes
in which he was the lead singer and guitarist. The White Stripes rose out of
obscurity in the Detroit underground rock scene and attained widespread commercial
success and critical acclaim in the early to mid-2000's. Often credited with catalyzing
the garage rock revival of that era, the band would score big hits with the
singles "Fell in Love with a Girl" and "Seven Nation Army",
both of which propelled them to stardom. A fusion of hard blues rock and garage
rock, the White Stripes style utilized a lo-fi, simplistic recording technique
that let their vocals and riffs shine through with unusual poignancy arguably
unrivaled since Nirvana's classic albums of the 1990s. Jack White's deft guitar
skills and Meg White's Spartan drumming proved to be a killer combination. By
the time the band broke up over a decade since its founding, it would boast six
Grammy awards. Yet even with the eventual cessation of recording by the band in
2007 and its 2011 </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">dissolution, Jack White became the father of many other successful
bands that would bear his </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">unique stamp of creativity and style. The Raconteurs, for example, were
a successful band he helped create with members of other high-profile groups. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They played in a similar style to the White
Stripes but with an added incorporation of bluegrass and country influences.
Jack White continues to rock on and has produced two solo albums,
"Blunderbuss" (2012) and "Lazaretto" (2014), both of which
peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 Charts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those of you who have been waiting <i>all these years</i>, you will soon be able to purchase a Jack White baseball card from Topps if you so desire (as well as an Eddie Vedder if you prefer)!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shockingly, White is smiling with a broad goofy grin on the card--quite unlike his usual madman, evil genius smirk. Perhaps it's because he just threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Detroit Tigers home game!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OSNI_u4rzAQ/VM06Gxo9OII/AAAAAAAAARc/hk8xTpZ5yTo/s1600/baseballcard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OSNI_u4rzAQ/VM06Gxo9OII/AAAAAAAAARc/hk8xTpZ5yTo/s1600/baseballcard.png" height="199" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You never looked better Jack!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For contrast, let's take a look at Jack and Meg White as the walk the red carpet at the 2004 Grammy Awards...</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PaxTFZEKwc/VM07K3SU7HI/AAAAAAAAARk/le2_uVV4Jd8/s1600/whitestripes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9PaxTFZEKwc/VM07K3SU7HI/AAAAAAAAARk/le2_uVV4Jd8/s1600/whitestripes.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check out the smirk! Also, the outfit. Stylish, but in a creepy "I Am Michael Jackson" kind of way. Not exactly the kind of guy you'd bring home to mama.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, congratulations, Jack, on learning how to smile! Your musical genius will only be more appreciated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More on White and Vedder's baseball cards from Topps:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/01/jack-white-and-eddie-vedder-featured-on-topps-baseball-cards/</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-48019435318093666092015-01-28T20:02:00.001-05:002015-02-04T15:55:07.314-05:00What's Next?<div>
I'm planning on reviewing Ben H. Winters' trilogy that began with The Last Policeman. I've yet to read the final installment, World of Trouble, but I just might have to get some thoughts on paper about the series so far.</div>
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For those unfamiliar with the books, they are a purported history of man's last days on the planet as an asteroid hurtles toward earth to destroy it. Yet one dogged, idealistic young detective in New Hampshire clings to whatever meaning he can find and is still determined to solve one particularly puzzling case.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-75268492777383147752015-01-28T11:32:00.000-05:002015-01-28T20:41:50.497-05:00EXTRA! REVIVING BLOG! Today's list of questionable Indie band names.<head></head>
Hello, travelers of cyberspace and good people of the Digital Age.<br />
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I have decided to revive this blog seven years since its inception in the original spirit in which it was first created. Expect book and film reviews, humor, cultural commentary, and maybe a little creative writing thrown in the mix.<br />
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For my inaugural blog post, a list of potential, though perhaps <i>questionable</i> names for new Indie bands. Maybe ones that never quite made it? Or might they be household names by 2016,,.?<br />
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<i>Potential Indie Band Names</i>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jose Conseco</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Band of Cows</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Gospel According to Christopher Walken</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no Sequel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No Redeeming Qualities</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Al Gore and the Internet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Geppetto</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lassitude</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Archival Tendencies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recession-Proof</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beethoven's Fro</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tricycle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Southern Cheese Revival</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Permanent Hardon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Silent Fixation<br />Sensitive Thugs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Inventors of Sound</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Accounts Payable</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Loretta's Sweater</span></div>
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<b>For the low down on this blog's true purpose, please read the following post I revised today from an original 2007 entry entitled "Starting from Scratch, and a Non Sequitur":</b><br />
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The non sequitur, of course, is the title I have chosen. The "Blues Star Wedding Cafe" sounded something like the title of a Tom Wolfe novel and also expressed the spirit of the online space that I'm trying to infuse with life (if only as a great and maniacal experiment a la Frankenstein or The Fly).<br />
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I'm inaugurating this new blog which I hope will serve as my own mental clearing house. The only rule for selecting topics on this blog will be "eclecticism above all". Expect book reviews, movies reviews, humor, maybe some creative writing, and hopefully an open space in which dialogue about contemporary culture can take place.<br />
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Hope you enjoy it; feel free to participate in the discussion if a topic interests you or you have something new to bring to the table here. COMMENTS and INSIGHTS WELCOME!<br />
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<b><i>Until then,</i><br /><ln>Trevor</ln></b><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-71390021187273586172007-11-29T23:54:00.000-05:002008-08-27T19:22:39.416-04:00Don't Try This At Home: review of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0-l5VmnB7I/AAAAAAAAABM/1tVBrNbDO0U/s1600-R/hoffman_hawke.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 0px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0-l5VmnB7I/AAAAAAAAABM/KkZ0ixG1y6w/s320/hoffman_hawke.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138508104323237810" /></a><br />Moviegoers beware, <em>Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead</em>, Sidney Lumet’s new film staring Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and Ethan Hawke, may make you feel like reaching for the aspirin even if you don’t have a headache. Not that <em>Before the Devil Knows You're Dead</em> is a bad movie. On the contrary, it is an exceptionally well-crafted film with excellent acting and a unique, gritty style that will probably land it in contention for Best Picture at the Oscars; however, some of the movie's moments are so tense and jarring, and Phillip Seymour-Hoffman's character so incredibly repulsive that taken together they may induce a need for painkillers in the audience. Seymour-Hoffman's character Andy displays a disdain for others and a childish self-indulgence that make him overwhelmingly despicable. The only thing equaling his capacity for evil and manipulation seems to be his cowardice and his ability to produce flushed, pig-like smiles in between doses of cocaine and heroin. The moments in which he is shirtless and his pasty, ample flesh occupies the screen are some of the more regrettable ones of modern film, although their necessity in the context of the storyline may be debated. Seymour-Hoffman delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as Andy, the older of two brothers who hatches a plan to rob their parents’ jewelry store. Andy cajoles his younger brother, Hank (played by Ethan Hawke), into executing the robbery. In the spirit of many amateur-heist movies, the film traces the fallout of the robbery after it goes awry. Lumet has had veteran experience shooting this kind of picture. In 1975 his directed <em>Dog Day Afternoon</em>, the classic depiction of the true story of a bank robbery in Brooklyn by an amateur criminal and the ensuing police siege and media circus. <em>Dog Day Afternoon </em>developed a portrait of an idiosyncratic amateur’s criminal’s psychology and personality; Pacino’s character was gay, manic-depressive, and a cross-dresser.<table class="dog_day_afternoon.jpg"><br /><tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R1BBalmnB9I/AAAAAAAAABc/7UtCSkXHts4/s1600-R/dog_day_afternoon.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R1BBalmnB9I/AAAAAAAAABc/oi1Os4Lvj_M/s320/dog_day_afternoon.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138679099856193490" /></a></td><td><em>Lumet's 1975 film </em>Dog Day Afternoon <em>explored the relationship between crime and an individuals' unique psychological disturbance.</em></td></tr><br /></table> <br /><br />Lumet’s earlier film explored the motivation for a crime from a psychological perspective and used the claustrophobia caused by the police siege to produce a pressure-cooker of a character study. <em>Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead </em>abandons the closed-confines scenario (Pacino’s character only exits the besieged bank at the end of the film) that defined <em>Dog Day Afternoon </em>and continued the tradition of Hitchcock’s <em>Rear Window</em>. In contrast, we are transported from interior to interior and story to story belonging to each of the characters as the mounting precariousness and desperation of the brothers’ situation maintains the pressure that the confined space created in <em>Dog Day Afternoon</em>. While the earlier film traced the motivations for the crime to the character’s experience and personality, there is little such scrutiny paid to them in <em>Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead</em>. Indeed, the motivations for the crime are nothing less than ordinary: Hank and Andy both need money and a way to escape from their personal problems. The focus of the film is the breakdown of family, relationships, and sanity in the wake of a criminal scheme gone awry.<br /><br /> I don’t want to be a spoiler, so I won’t reveal any more details of the plot. Suffice it to say, <em>Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead </em>delivered enough twists and thrills to get me through at least one week of boring temp work (I am currently on assignment at a labor union doing data entry in their member dues database), which is saying a lot. <table class="tomei.bmp"><br /><tr><td><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0-mO1mnB8I/AAAAAAAAABU/VnD_VqYpZ5s/s1600-R/tomei.bmp"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0-mO1mnB8I/AAAAAAAAABU/Kj7T7pQ8UHs/s320/tomei.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138508473690425282" /></a></td><td><em>Marisa Tomei knocks 'em dead as Andy's beleagured wife, while Hoffman and Hawke do most of the actual killing</em>.</td></tr><br /></table> Worth seeing for the caliber of the performances by Hoffman and Hawke, as well as the beautiful half-naked body of the stunning Marisa Tomei in the role of Andy’s wife (and Hank’s lover). Among these gems of performance there is also the coolly indifferent presence of a laconic drug-dealer resembling the David Bowie of "Diamond Dogs" days. <br /> <br /> I give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars. Recommended for strong profanity, adult situations, and well-crafted drama revolving around morally questionable acts.<em></em><em></em><em></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-52246924613304940342007-11-20T21:11:00.000-05:002007-11-20T21:17:19.076-05:00Cool Short FilmI found this <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/11/filmmaker_chris_vincze_shoots.html">short film</a> by Chris Vincze online. Charming, succinct, and poignant. Have a good night.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-55139501625486038272007-11-20T08:41:00.001-05:002007-11-29T22:05:26.939-05:00Brand Names and Graffiti<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0L7p-_P2bI/AAAAAAAAAAg/cR-YF1xmb9E/s1600-h/alpha_tag3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134943223857273266" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0L7p-_P2bI/AAAAAAAAAAg/cR-YF1xmb9E/s200/alpha_tag3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>As I read Pelevin's <em>Homo Zapiens</em>, I find myself increasingly fascinated by the concept of brand names, a subject he explores in great detail. The hero (or we might call him an "anti-hero") of the novel is an advertising copywriter in post-Soviet Russia. The story uses the comic exploration of the advertising industry as a window into the psyche of Russia at this historic juncture.<br /><br />Tatarsky, the novel's protagonist, invents slogans and advertising concepts to promote Western goods in the Russian market. In his writing of spots for television ads, he endeavors to translate the Western name and concept of a brand into a uniquely Russian one. In what appears to be a dream or vision early in his days as an advertising copywriter, Tatarsky ascends a mythical structure which, it transpires, is a sort of tower of Babel, a spiral shaped tower called a ziggurat (a structure he has read about in a book given to him by his advertising boss). Finding himself in a room with "lingering traces of a soldier's life", Tatarsky spots some racy photographs of naked women on the walls. In one poster, a naked woman with a golden suntan runs across a tropical beach. "It wasn't even so much her face and figure," we read, "but the incredible, indefinable freedom of her movement, which the photographer had managed to capture." Transfixed by the beauty of the poster, Tatarsky sits down at a table. He examines an empty pack of Parliament cigarettes that he has found on a landing in the tower:<br /><br />"The palms on the empty Parliament pack and on the photograph were very similar, and he thought they must grow in the same place, in a part of the world he would never get to see- not even in the Russian style, from inside a tank- and if he ever did, it would only be when he no longer needed anything from this woman or this sand or this sea or even from himself. The dark melancholy into which he was plunged by this thought was so profound that at its very deepest point he unexpectedly discovered light: the slogan and the poster for Parliament that he had been searching for suddenly came to him. He hastily pulled out his notebook - the pen turned out to be inside it - and jotted the ideas down:<br /><br /><em>The poster consists of a photograph of the embankment of the river Moscow taken from the bridge on which the historic tanks stood in October </em>'93<em>. On the site of the Parliament building we see a huge pack of Parliament (digital editing). Palms are growing profusely all around it. The slogan is a quotation from the nineteenth-century poet Griboedov:</em><br /><br /><em>Sweet and dear</em><br /><em>Is the smoke of our Motherland</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>Parliament slogan:</em><br /><em></em><br /><em>THE MOTHERLAND'S #1 SMOKE! </em>"<br /><br />Coupling the verses of a nineteenth-century Russian nationalist poet with the aggressive promotion of Western advertising, the slogan epitomizes the ironic fusion of Western culture and ideology (the promotion of the concept of being "number one" and devoting oneself to consumerism) with idiosyncratic and anachronistic Russian culture. What emerges from this bizarre experiment in advertising is a portrait of the Russian mentality at this juncture, when it is both steeped in the Zeitgeist and cultural meanings of the past - one wonders when the quintessentially Russian experience of place will not be to see it "from the inside of a tank" - and the uncertainty and compulsive consumerism of the present.<br /><em></em><br />A few years ago, while traveling in Argentina, I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of a young graffiti artist from Brooklyn. As two ex-pats wandering among the antipodes on the other side of the world in the great and mysterious city of Buenos Aires, we quickly stuck up a friendship based on mutual interest in the place and people around us. We met many a time at a place we referred to as "the spot," a local bar whose name I have forgotten that stood on the far corner of the Plaza Serrano in Palermo Viejo, in the middle of a trendy and upscale neighborhood where I once witnessed a knife fight between two young men doubtlessly involved in some dispute over a woman. We gathered there to sit among the small and closely-spaced tables, eat peanuts and drink beer. We talked about women, sex, growing up, and our dreams for the future. Trevor was a photographer as well as a graffiti artist, an activity which, although a kind of serious hobby, occupied much of his time. In a coincidence of fate, we shared the same name. Our lives had unfolded on seemingly opposite but parallel tracks until they coincided. While he had been born and raised in Brooklyn, left home at the age of fifteen, and been in and out of schools and trouble, I had attended a prestigious and exclusive private school and gone on to college. I saw him as my alter-ego from Brooklyn, and I sought, by means of association with him, to experience vicariously those pleasures and experiences which my life had yet to afford me in its conformity.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0L-sO_P2dI/AAAAAAAAAAw/3Fi4GERur94/s1600-h/graf.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:20px 20px 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tT94kloaCq8/R0L-sO_P2dI/AAAAAAAAAAw/3Fi4GERur94/s200/graf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134946561046862290" /></a>As I got to know Trevor, he initiated me into the world of graffiti - a <em>demi-monde</em> that I had known nothing of until his introduction of it to me. What I had so often overlooked as garbled non-sense scrawled on walls, bridges, and railways depots, was in fact a secret language of hundreds of writers communicating with one another. Each writer possesses what is known as a "tag" - their identification of sorts, their call-sign and their code-name. Graffiti writers go their entire lives writing the same tag on buildings, trains, tunnels, and gates. The tag serves as the vehicle and sign-post of the writer's unique identity. The essential secrecy of the code - the fact that its meaning is known to the writer alone - forms a crucial part of grafitti's anthropology. To let the meaning out would be akin to a magician divulging the secret to his act. </div><br /><div><em>To Be Continued ...</em></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626292824824846016.post-14047447245685932332007-11-20T08:13:00.000-05:002015-01-28T14:16:24.389-05:00Pelevin's Homo Zapiens<div>Victor Pelevin, one of modern Russia's most imaginative and brilliant satirists, has written an excellent novel on the advertising industry in Russia following the collapse of communism<em>. Homo Zapiens </em>first appeared in 1999, and was translated into English by Andrew Bromfield in 2000. The story follows the adventures of one Babylen Tatarsky, a Russian who works at a kiosk in Moscow one day fate leads him to discover a career in the advertising industry. Following this discovery, Tatarsky becomes immersed in the surreal world of advertising, injecting capitalist spirit and Western ideology into the void left by the breakdown of Soviet communism. Tatarsky becomes a very successful copywriter filling this role of "translator" for brands and concepts from English into Russian. He often steps into the role of author, going beyond the work of a mere translator, inventing slogans and scenarios that promote the products of capitalism with bizarrely Russian concepts and copy. The reader of <em>Homo Zapiens</em> will find himself surprised and delighted with the fusion of Western products and Eastern ideology, which often takes a genuinely comic turn.<br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /></div><em></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0