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In the Studio
So I'm writing this on Sunday, September 5, at 12:30 in the morning as my radio show, "The Bro Show" has it's premier showing. Wait, wouldn't it be a listening? I don't know. Anyway, things are frantic here at WTBU, The BEAT of Boston University. Broadcasting live at 89.3 FM or 640 AM...
Written on September 8th, 2010 in Campus Culture
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Dead and Not So Gone
Late nights under the sky during this past summer left a lot of time to reflect on metaphysical problems that don’t have any real impact on us or society. However, sometimes they can help us internally and give us a little inner peace. The latest thought experiment I have deals with a kind of...
Written on September 8th, 2010 in Keeping Conscious
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Summer Roundup
Hey Culture Shock Readers! Do you guys feel left out because you forgot to check Culture Shock during the summer? Are you a new freshmen or transfer student and are just finding us? Well if so, here are five posts from the summer that are a good starting point for you to check out! Poland- The Nation of Strength- Allison teaches us about her Polish cooking and gives us some history from the country! Born Into Fortune- George talks about how lucky we are to be in the developed world. Thoughts on the “Ground Zero Mosque”- An anonymous writer gives us some things to think about concerning the Islamic Center being built in New York. The Reluctant Graduate- Monica helps talk about the bittersweet feeling from graduating a year early. Embrace Your Inner Dork- Eric nerds out...
Written on September 7th, 2010 in Keeping Conscious
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An Interview with BU Alum Mark Rosewater, Head Designer of Magic The Gathering
Boston University has a great legacy and community of success. With alumni in almost every corner of the world and in almost every profession, you never know who you may have that community with. As a kid, I grew up playing this card game called Magic, The Gathering (yes I'm a nerd). Part of...
Written on September 7th, 2010 in Keeping Conscious
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Taboo
I return to Boston with a tattoo confirmed and a consultation meeting planned. The naysayers dislike it not for the design, or the irrational decision making (I have sat on the idea for a year), or even for the actual process of inking my body, but only because of the stigmas surrounding...
Written on September 6th, 2010 in Keeping Conscious
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Oil: Blessing or Curse?
Feb 18th
Children watch as oil is “cleaned up”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/africa_polluting_nigeria/img/1.jpgWhile President Umaru Yar’Adua is out of the country for health reasons, acting Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan is trying to woo back oil companies. His new attempts draw attention to the stain oil is leaving in the Niger Delta.
About a third of Nigerian oil is stolen, either through corruption or redirection of pipelines. Oil is often stolen by gangs. Militants and political groups often explode pipes to disturb oil collection. Leaks are common because of poor infrastructure.
Leaky pipelines threaten the livelihoods of many Nigerians. Sometimes locals gather around a leaking pipe to collect oil for profit. Sometimes the pressure rises and the pipe explodes without warning. There has been no systematic recording of accidents and deaths related to leaks but they often injure local inhabitants who see oil as a way out of poverty.
Over 2.5 million barrels of oil have been leaked into the traditionally fertile land of the delta. These are only the recorded numbers – the reality is likely higher. Fish are dying, and where they can be found they are often too poisonous to eat. Nigerians are poisoned from the methane gas, and the water is undrinkable. Land is increasingly infertile.
In the distance Nigerians can see the oil burn. It is the only way oil spills are ever cleaned up.
LikeA Quest For Art
Feb 17th
I love nature and the outdoors. I enjoy curling up on a nice comfy boulder and reading a good book under the summer sun(doesn’t everybody?…).
I love my family, I love dancing. I love piña coladas—but only the way they make them on a beach in Mexico. Heck, I even love science.*
http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/7/3/11/f_cutepuppym_1069e43.png
As deceiving as the last 52 words may have been, I am not an optimist with happiness gushing out of every pore in my body.If you happen to be a puppy, you’ll find that I can be a very sweet person. Otherwise, you’ll find that it takes more than your cute face to keep me happy.
I spent my first year at BU on an anti-social floor in a building made up of juniors and seniors that didn’t want to mix with freshmen. I was excited to have an international roommate, only to find she didn’t want to speak to anyone who wasn’t Korean(even after I took her out to dinner!). Perhaps she was intimidated by the our language? NOPE. She spoke perfect English–to her other international friends.
This was only a prelude to what turned out to be a very unfortunate year.
I didn’t realize it then, but the one thing that helped me get through it all was art.
Some of us tend to ignore art and its importance, but it’s everywhere. It’s in the shade of pale flower petals or the soothing sounds of a river. Unfortunately all that Boston has to offer us are dead tree branches and the polluted Charles. I had grown up in a household enlivened by mariachi and banda music and sweetened by the smell of my mom’s cooking.
http://kidscuisine.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/mexican-food.jpg
No more delicious food for me; suddenly I had to go out and actively find the colors my life was missing.
Luckily, I did find a place where I could truly express myself. I started dancing, cooking, and enjoying life. Here’s the kicker: that place wasn’t BU.
Foxwatch: The Stewart-O’Reilly Smackdown
Feb 17th
- O’Reilly reaches over the table to rip out Stewart’s throat
Titans clashed last week as Jon Stewart brought his famous brand of humor to Fox News Channel and The O’Reilly Factor. Bill O’Reilly, all 6’4” of him (that’s nearly 2 meters in height), towered as he sat across from 5’7” Stewart. It was a true David and Goliath story: The brave warrior of the people stood up to the giant; The most trusted newscaster in America on the most trusted network in America; “Our” generation and “our” America squared off against “their”generation and “their” America. It was truly a sight to see.
Major points of the interview: More >
Journey Through Lent
Feb 17th
Catholics often refer to the season of Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter, as the most sorrowful time of the liturgical year. We start off on Ash Wednesday with a grounding ceremony in which ashes are placed on our foreheads in order to remind us that we “are dust and unto dust [we] shall return.”
The ashes provide the framework for a season of sacrifice to help us draw closer to God and prepare for the pain of his death and the glory of his resurrection. In the following days we are supposed to choose something to give up ranging from a tangible good to time offered up through service.
Lent for me has always been somewhat trivial. I would give up my favorite foods, but it would seem to me like I was going on a diet instead of doing something for God. In recent years, I have begun to feel guilty about how little I give up in comparison to others and have turned Lent into a competition. If one of my brothers gave up chocolate, I would want to top him by giving up all sweets.
We would even compete over who had the best looking cross.
This year, I want to make sure that I turn Lent into the journey that it is meant to be and avoid focusing on myself. Each week I will explore the practices and sacrifices of different religions. I will spend one day learning the religion through open dialogue with a person of a selected faith. Then, during the remaining six days I will make those sacrifices in a way that incorporates my own beliefs. I feel that by finding the similarities in other beliefs I will become more tolerant of all human beings and discover new connections to God that I have never felt before.
The 21st Century Philosopher
Feb 16th
Life has got me thinking, how do we define the 21st century philosopher? Does such a person even exist?
Ahem, Zeek. Obviously you are not hip with the postmodern circle. Have you forgotten Zizek? Please tell me you’ve at least heard of Zizek…
Don’t get me started on Zizek. That quirky Slovene may have captured my mind and heart when I was a freshman (and yes, I even bought The Parallax View), but the man is no modern-day Socrates, even if he was featured in “The Unexamined Life”. I would consider him more of a pop-philosopher. Also, he makes no sense.
Le gasp!
I’m sorry. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe he is a philosopher. Him, and Cornell West, and even Bernard-Henri Lévy.
Speaking of BHL, maybe you should check out the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/world/europe/10levy.html?ref=europe
Disclaimer: These questions are not meant to slight any current Philosophy majors, in fact, I have the utmost admiration for you in your pursuit of Truth (or its closest approximation). If you are a Philosophy major, your comments, additional ponderings, or even personal cursing would be much appreciated.
Second Disclaimer: Even if Cornell West isn’t a 21st century philosopher, he is still the man.
Is it Hoarding? Is it Art?
Feb 16th
Have you ever seen the show Hoarders on A&E?
Last night I went to Providence to see the new digs of one of my best friends Rae Charles. She’s a textiles artist and my ex roomate who recently returned from the Vice offices in Belguim to live in an arts-collaborative-abandoned-warehouse. Rae is a gem, her work is amazing. http://faecoleman.com/
I’ve been to makeshift half illegal warehouse residences before…but thiiis culture shock was similar to that of watching A&E’s Hoarders for the first time.
(For the record Rae came into this household as a NON-hoarder, I can’t claim her to be one, and I hope this post does not reflect negatively on my lovely friend. )
What I experienced coming into that Providence building was like coming into a museum of so much colorful stuff, artfully placed with a sense of purpose. Visual purpose? Chaotic candyland of cool stuff. So much cool stuff that one must climb like a cat to get to one’s resting spot.
As I was falling asleep in my nook besides hanging dolls and buffalo murals, deep philosophical thoughts entered my head, such as: “Does the eye EVER rest here?” and “If the eye cannot rest, can the mind?”
I have to note that Rae and her roommates are really productive , they use the space for work, to host all kinds of bands, collaborative projects and performance art. They love their lifestyle and I can’t blame them.
This place was awesome to visit. As sensorily jaggering as it is, the whole thing reminded me of the crazy village Max and Monsters made in Where the Wild Things Are.
So to take this a step further….could it be that the people on A&E’s Hoarders, too, view their homes as magical, purposefully designed places of imaginative chaos? Or are they psychologically deranged? Should our association with purpose of objects within the homes of others the defining factor in judgment of their lifestyle? Whatever, watch this…
