Category: Uncategorized

I know it’s not my normal blogging day, but I feel compelled to write.  I had the privilege to see previews of two amazing shows this week: Cabaret presented by MUSKET and Trumpets and Raspberries, a University Production.  What struck me the most about both of these productions was how stylistically innovative and complete they were.

Remember, I was watching tech rehearsals, so at this stage in the game, the look of the show wasn’t even 100% complete, but I was amazed by what I saw.  Both shows possessed distinct styles, from movement to costumes to scenery to lights.  I don’t want to say that it’s rare to have such a fully immersive theatrical experience, but in a way it is.  I think that these shows specifically struck me because they were set in wildly imaginative and different worlds: Cabaret in 1930s Berlin and Trumpets in 1960s Italy.

The directors of each of these shows had very clear concepts, and that was evident in the final product.  These are not safe directors.  Malcolm Tulip, a professor, and Roman Micevic, a senior directing major, each have very individualized styles.  I could watch Trumpets and say, “Oh, this is a very Malcolm show.”  When I tell that to people in the department, they nod their heads and understand, but what makes Malcolm such an effective director is that “Malcolm style” is something you recognize when you see.  It is not predictable or by the numbers; it is almost the unpredictability that makes it Malcolm.

Hats off to the designers of these shows.  I would name them all, but since I don’t possess programs, I would be to worried to leave someone out.  They not only perfected their vision in the show, but made that vision mesh with the other members of the team.   I can’t imagine what Cabaret would look like if the Emcee’s make-up and the harsh white spotlight weren’t working together.  Trumpets would be a completely different experience if the props and costumes weren’t both willing to take a step into the absurd together.

Both of these shows took steps outside of realism, a tricky thing to do in American theatre, and the final products are stunning.  Theatre is about taking risks, going for broke, thinking outside the box.  These two shows, which could not be more different– one comes out of the commedia delle’arte tradition, while the other stems from expressionist cabaret– have inspired me to be fearless.  What is most incredible is that by moving beyond the bounds of contemporary realism, their themes resonated with today’s culture for me more than many shows I have seen that are based in everyday life.  I left the theatre amazed by the visual but also touched by the emotional and tugged by the cerebral.  I know that this is a crazy time in the semester, but I hope that if you have time this weekend, you will let yourself get lost in these fantastical enchanting worlds for  just a few hours.

For the most part, it seems as though the vast majority of novels and non-fiction books we read growing up in the United States were from either American or European authors.  However, the Middle East has a rich literary tradition to rival the West’s with famous poets like Hafez, Rumi, and Khalil Gibran and novelists like Elias Khoury, Tahar Ben Jelloun, and Kahled Hosseini, famous for writing The Kite Runner.  The Middle East is often stereotyped as having heavy restrictions on intellectual pursuits and freedom of speech, which in some cases is true, there are many writers who are internationally renowned.  There is even a high school in Brooklyn named after Khalil Gibran and English translations of Rumi have sold over half a million copies worldwide, him being one of the highest selling poets in the U.S.

“When I am with you, we stay up all night.
When you’re not here, I can’t go to sleep.

Praise God for those two insomnias!
And the difference between them.”

-Rumi

Middle Eastern nations have embraced many Western authors as well.  Though a good deal of the books have to be pirated, some of the best selling writers in Iran are John Grisham, Danielle Steel, and Harry Potter is a favorite of young people, just as it is here, same with “Pinocchio” for young children.  There has also been a longstanding divide between Israeli books and those from other Middle Eastern nations which, in recent years, has seen some progress.  In 2009, Israel overturned a law from World War II which banned books from or translated in “hostile countries” like Syria and Lebanon.  This means that Israeli citizens will now be able to access a much larger selection of Arabic writings, which will hopefully add to some form of open dialogue in the region.

Americans often have a very one dimensional way of viewing daily life in the Middle East, and usually focus on aspects related to violence, insurrection, Islam, terrorism, and sexism.  The region is viewed as a place of constant turmoil, where daily life is shattered by suicide bombings and oppressive military presence.  These generalizations overshadow the culture that continues to grow out of a historically literary, but diverse, place.  There have been many writers who encourage the de-stigmatization of the Middle East, like Reza Aslan, Edward Said, and Tariq Ali.  Literature is important in spreading this awareness because it allows for a personal aspect of Middle Eastern life to be shared globally in an enjoyable manner.

Bored of that playlist you automatically reach for when you want music? Overwhelmed by the constantly changing industry? Confused by the visually over-stimulating portion of the internet that is supposed to be showing you new music? Or maybe you just aren’t very social and have never heard of Pandora? Whatever the case is, if you are looking for ways to find music that won’t cost you any money and are easy to work with, here are your answers. Happy searching.

Welcome to the Hype Machine, my absolute favorite and most used website. Hypem is unique because it serves as a funnel for the rest of the music blogosphere (or at least the important parts). When certain noteworthy blogs update new songs, they automatically feed into Hypem’s website. The songs get placed into the “Latest” tab, for members to peruse and judge. If you particularly enjoy a certain song, you can click the heart button and add it to your favorites. The songs that get the most clicks as favorites get transferred into the “popular” tab, which is where I suggest looking, and where there will be the best collection of new songs. www.hypem.com

Downsides: Extremely remix heavy (sometimes they are great but it gets extremely frustrating). Duplicate heavy (if two or more blogs update the same song they will all show up on Hypem).

Recently, you may have heard people talking about this new program called Spotify. Beginning in Sweden and now operating in about ten countries across the world, Spotify is an amazing service. Listeners can search through thousands of full, studio quality albums and stream them all for free. Legally. Tons of major record labels have agreed to let Spotify stream their music. Spotify is great for listening to new albums in their entirety without having to buy the whole thing. www.spotify.com

Downsides: Starting a couple months ago, unless you pay for a premium account you only have 10 hours of streaming per month. Don’t let this stop you, but just a heads up.

If you’re in the game of playlist making, you’re about to switch up your style (unless you’ve heard of this already, and now I just look foolish). Grooveshark has a massive library of music, and is a great place to build playlists. Create an account, assemble that playlist in the comfort of your own computer, then later log into that account on any other computer and start blasting those tunes. I also use it to create playlists I want to share with other people, which I do by sending them the username and password. They can then add songs to the playlists or create their own on the same account. It’s kind of like tapas food, great for sharing.  www.grooveshark.com

Downsides: A lot of poor quality songs, make sure you sample before adding to your playlist.

Sunset is one of my favorite music blogs. They have a great selection of hip-hop, indie, mashups and dubstep. Their team of about 5 or so writers does a fantastic job working together to ensure a constant source of new, good music. www.sunsetintherearview.com

Downsides? Good question, I can’t really think of any. I’m just really into this blog

Here’s a list of other blogs if you aren’t satisfied with all of this. Just google these names:

Pigeons and Planes – Pretty Much Amazing – Good Music All Day – Some Kind of Awesome

I first discovered Doulas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” four years ago when a friend and I watched the Garth Jennings’ film from 2005. A couple weeks later, I walked into the Askwith Media Library looking for a Harry Potter audiobook and, thanks to a very funny and helpful librarian, walked out with the original “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” radio series on CD instead.

The history of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is a little strange. It began as a comedy radio series on BBC radio and was later adapted into a series of five books. Both were written by Douglas Adams. The stories in the first three novels are similar to those in the radio series, but the fourth and fifth books deviate from the original source material.

If you’ve never read, listened to, or watched anything related to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” the basic storyline revolves around the Earth being destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway. Arthur Dent, an Englishman who befriended the alien Ford Prefect, is saved by Ford before the Earth is destroyed.  Ford (who lives on Earth and appears human) and Arthur hitch a ride on one of the demolition fleet ships and, using Ford’s trusty Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, proceed to travel throughout the galaxy on a series of adventures that include (depending on the version of the story), whales and flowerpots falling through space, yarn people, an infinite improbability drive, singing dolphins, a depressed robot, genius mice, a horrible spacey tea substitute, and a plethora of aliens and ridiculous high jinks.

The story is amazing fun, filled to the brim with perfect ridiculousness, and if you’ve never read it, I highly suggest you do.  That said, you could just go on your own hitchhiking trip through the galaxy in a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy game on BBC radio 4’s website.  This game puts the player in the same role as Arthur Dent in the radio and novel series.  You have to navigate your way through the galaxy with your friend Ford, never forgetting your trusty towel and Hitchhiker’s Guide.  The game, which uses text based controls, puts you right in the story and has a choose-your-own adventure feel.

The game was originally created for early computer gaming, and Douglas Adams worked with programmers and designers to create much of the dialogue seen in the game. If you choose to check this out, I give you fair warning that it is extremely addictive, but also that it may be difficult to navigate if you don’t know a little bit about the story.

For those of you who’ve never given “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” a chance, you should check it out; it’s sure to make you laugh.  For those of you who know and love this wonderful story, 42 will always be the answer.

Don’t Panic!

From around the age of 14 on, I have been fascinated by scientific illustrations.  As a teenager, my room was filled with anatomical drawings; when my grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer I sent her a detailed charcoal drawing of a set of lungs.  I still believe they are ridiculously underappreciated as an art form, though I also think their quality has declined with the advent of digital technology that can just produce a model on a computer.  Meticulously  drawn diagrams of plants and animal bone structures always captured my attention in biology class far more than the lessons being taught, but I have no doubt that these illustrations helped me to understand the beautiful intricacies of science better.  Not only do they serve an aesthetic purpose but they are instructional, and I for one have no problem with art being used as a tool to

get people interested in or excited about academics.  Prior to photography, they served as a means of relaying information all over the world; for example, zoologists in England could see what a rhino looked like without ever having seen one in person.  It used to be in Europe that only executed prisoners were allowed to be dissected (and occasionally in public).  Due to Christian convictions at the time, it was believed that dissection prevented any possibility of entering heaven and the forgiveness of the deceased’s sins.  Many anatomical illustrations are, in fact, of executed criminals.

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to the slats of moon light patterning across my sheets, and it strikes me, a bold and lucid flash against the crags of stupor that accompany the half-consciousness of the half-night, that I’m quite technically an adult already. It was last Wednesday, that I walked back home from class on campus listening to the episode of This American Life entitled “Fear of Sleep”, Act Five: A Small Taste of the Big Sleep. You can probably guess what the title intimated but here are a few excerpts taken from the transcript online:

“I can feel time whizzing by. And I’m trying to hold on to something generally. So I usually start grabbing the walls or like clinging to the pillow. And I’m like this isn’t going to go away. I need to hold this. I need to hold on to time. I need to stand in this river and just not move.”

“Like it’s a kind of very primitive feeling. You have to just, like, flee from this totally horrible thing that’s happening to you. But there is nowhere you can flee. And understanding at the same time that what you’re fleeing and trying to run away from is the complete cessation of you.”

A procession of public disclosures detailing early morning revelations, of the sort that only a good rousing from delta waves sleep can elicit, passes on by. The trail of stories ends with a woman articulating her sad resignation and an eventual amorphous and non-committal acceptance. I’m disoriented when I stare at the darkened ceiling, and while I can empathize and on other nights sense all too well for myself that utter suffocation of this done deal of life and its stony indifference, as I become cognizant in degrees, what my mind wanders to is something on a slightly smaller scale, a sub-category of this larger motif. It’s a rude awakening nonetheless, as my thoughts circle on to the fact that I’ve passed the threshold of twenty and now I must be quite serious if academia is what I want to pursue. That I must think responsibly, deeply from now onwards until I can no longer. Sylvia Plath was precociously serious, I had realized earlier that night; I hopelessly browsed through a few of her published journal entries, all eloquently wrought on paper by the tender age of 18, to remind myself of the deliberation, the self-doubt, and the nerve that it takes to procure decent writing. Thoreau’s journal too, is trenchant by the time adulthood overtook him – succinct bursts of wit and honesty that would herald Walden and Civil Disobedience. And then an influx of young but promising women and men parade in my mind’s eye, apparitions like Macbeth’s dead kings all suspended with their portfolios bursting with talent while I think on the day ahead, a schedule penciled in with a series of urgent nothings. They all began at some discrete moment in time on an ordinary day, not particularly unlike any other, a smudgy event that only in retrospect we identify as the first star that formed in their life’s constellation. Yet they wrested their discontent with the world into some comprehensible form – either shimmering and snapping prose or unabashed and seismic visual forms. While Ira Glass’ interviewees flee from the scythe, budding artists and/or the young persons of our generation seem to shudder at the thought of insidious mediocrity. In a plaintive tone, Plath expresses that to be a round peg struggling in a round hole “with no awkward or painful edges – no space to wonder or question in”, you might as well be finished. It has been a constant debate in my head and at least a million others: Is melancholy and frustration or the glow of high spirits the better catalyst? For me at least, I’ve been more of a member of the former camp – needing some sense of dissatisfaction to light the proverbial flame and get things a’rolling.

Alternatively, it doesn’t take very much for unconsciousness to take over once more – there’s no struggle to fall back into the warmth of slumber, only that dreaded contentness that Plath makes mention of. It’s just a flash in the pan, these unsolicited midnight “insights”, that under the afternoon sun, seems to wither in consequence.