Newsletter: Chlorotrianisene Chlorpromazine Diclofenac Tramadol hydrochloride overdose Terbutaline Tobramycin What is viagra Quinacrine Generic ambien Discount pharmacy phentermine purchase Viagra alternative and woman Viagra uses Free sample prescription for viagra Novobiocin Phentermine resident sale virginia Norflex M357 vicodin Nadroparin Differin Cialis new viagra Berman sister female viagra study How long does xanax stay in system Isosorbide Viagra sale uk Esomeprazole Catapres Methyldopa Cheap online phentermine Extra cheap phentermine c.o.d. Payment Meprobamate Perscription phentermine No perscription viagra Soma restaurant Cheap quality viagra Viagra suppliers in the uk Buy viagra woman No prescription cialis Cialis reviews Book hydrocodone sport Online phentermine order Cheap diet online phentermine pill Viagra recreational Hydralazine Cod tramadol money orders Viagra doseage Dangers of phentermine heart Amoxicillin Diclofenac Chlortetracycline Pharmacy phentermine affiliate Phentermine blue capules Viagra and ischemic optic neuropathy Ceclor Buy viagra line Carvedilol Lotrimin From generic india viagra Codeine Viagra from canada Lisinopril versus viagra Viagra compared to levivia Deferoxamine Drug information picture identification tramadol er bvf Oxybutynin Viagra side effects Tramadol Xanax in urine Aldactone Androgel Phytonadione Generic xanax 2mg Avalide Xanax online cheap Cyclandelate Cod delivered phentermine Without prescription phentermine Order viagra canada Buspirone Generic xanax 2mg Trazodone Tridihexethyl Nizoral Bentyl Tripelennamine Cyclobenzaprine Method of payment accepted cod phentermine Viagra samples Paromomycin Buy lvivhostcom online viagra viagra Congress viagra Death cases from taking phentermine Flexeril Diet ky phentermine pill ship that Aspirin Glucophage Buy discount viagra online Echothiophate Order phentermine online uk Ergotamine Nizatidine Diet medication online phentermine Coumadin Cialis co drug eli impotence lilly Phentermine diet medication Viagra online Ephedrine Pravachol Viagra generic drug Buy phentermine in canada Carisoprodol Rabeprazole Buy hydrocodone Language phentermine ru Mestranol Phentermine free shipping 90 supply Terfenadine Xanax online without a prescription Buying xanax online Viagra online store Epo Free viagra Naratriptan Oxycodone Viagrarecords Zestoretic Phentermine usa pharmacy Hydrocodone drug Viagra Demecarium Blindness viagra Lethal dose xanax Phentermine free shipping Clindamycin Flagyl Phenindione Buy cod online phentermine Ethopropazine Cilostazol Accutane Tramadol active ingredient 90 cod count day phentermine Tramadol hydrochloride Ethambutol Leuprolide Viagra info Lodine Generic viagra cialis levivia buy cheap Effects of phentermine Urokinase Cheapest phentermine diet pills Pentobarbital Viagra pill Phentermine no prescription free shipping Phentermine $70 no prescription Fda us approved phentermine Compare cialis levitra Climara Lithium Timolol Electricity Cialis discount online Alprazolam xanax over night Viagra testimony Levallorphan Tramadol and dosage Oxacillin Budesonide Imdur Any drug interaction xanax and cold meds Taking xanax while pregnant Prescription soma Encainide Mylan xanax Killer pain tramadol Drug information picture identification tramadol er bvf Depakote Cialis for sale Methdilazine Adipex ionamin phentermine Buy phentermine saturday delivery ohio Phentermine medication Azathioprine Cleocin Review of herbal phentermine Naltrexone Hydrocodone description Arava Esomeprazole Cialis com Phentermine fact Vicodin withdrawal symptom Tramadol hcl acetaminotran par Cialis review Xanax valium Phentermine shipped to tn Phentermine 90 Cialis reviews Levitra vs cialis Can woman take viagra Esmolol Buy hydrocodone where Buy phentermine by cod Budesonide Imitrex Viagra without a prescription Viagra mexico Herbal phentermine Paris cheep phentermine Toradol Ambien side effect Better than viagra Order soma Permethrin Phentermine 37.5mg Viagra testimonial Phentermine reviews 5 mg sale Viagra pill cutter Soma seed Cheap diet online phentermine pill Buying phentermine Viagra patent expiration Viagra pill splitter Nortriptyline Phentermine no credit card required Viagra alternative uk Order viagra without prescription Drug test tramadol Flexeril Diet page phentermine pill yellow Phentermine buy cheap Cialis generic canada Letrozole Lowest price on phentermine Foradil Hydrocodone for ibs Hydrocodone lortab Good morning viagra commercial Purchase xanax online Phentermine medical insert Electricity Sofia viagra Weight loss phentermine Wholesale phentermine Ethotoin Order xanax no prescription Prescription for viagra Butalbital Viagra and ischemic optic neuropathy Hydrocodone Phentermine for less Lisinopril Phentermine forums Multivitamins Corticotropin Cheapest viagra on line Pravastatin Clofibrate Methenamine Cheap phentermine online 37 5 Phentermine ky Phentermine interactions Imipenem Phentermine 37.5 pay by money order Tramadol use in dogs Xanax anxiety Pfizer viagra online Diet phentermine Buy Celexa Order ambien online Prescription free viagra Tramadol without prescription Daunorubicin Ribavirin Order phentermine on line What is phentermine civ Phentermine no credit card cod Lethal dose of xanax Mexican pharmacies online+no precription xanax Ambien Safe internet shopping generic viagraeng Phentermine capsules Micronase Echinacea Dextromethorphan Ursodiol Phentermine amide Klonopin Disopyramide Phentermine uses Thyroglobulin Canada viagra Singulair Discount fioricet Discount vicodin Hydrocodone m357 Klonopin Buy viagra online Fenfluramine Non prescription phentermine Discount cialis What is xanax Viagra testimonial Maximum dosage of phentermine Cheap fioricet Add a link viagra Is phentermine safe Elocon Buy phentermine online same day delivery Free pack sample viagra Warfarin 100 mg viagra Xanax half life Xanax alcohol Discount pharmacy phentermine Tetanus Viagra on line uk Benicar Phentermine 37.5&90 $89 mastercard How does phentermine work Buy buy domain link online online viagra info viag Cialis purchase Prednisolone Esomeprazole Adipex diet phentermine pill Tramadol narcotic Cheap phentermine without prescription Hyperalimentation Phentermine side effects dangers Mifepristone Gemfibrozil Ordering phentermine Lorazepam Abbr href rel title title viagra Epinephrine Drug phentermine testing Avapro Guanethidine Buy xanax Cheap tramadol cod free fedex Buying viagra on line Cheap tramadol cod Ordering 30mg phentermine Ketoprofen Safe internet shopping generic viagraeng Cialis co drug eli impotence lilly Cialis drug for impotence Xanax high Free phentermine prescriptions Pyridostigmine 50 mg viagra Risperdal Ceclor Isoflurophate Next day delivery on phentermine Quinapril Phentermine drug information Zyprexa Phentermine effects Where to buy xanax Xanax sexual side effects Premphase Cheapest viagra online Get viagra online Female use viagra Cheap prescription viagra Online pharmacies with doctor consultation for viagra Phentermine prescription Lopid Cheap phentermine online Oxymetazoline Phentermine shipped cod Ibuprofen Aminoglutethimide Hydrocodone drug Free online phentermine shipping Phentermine buy cheap Phendimetrazine Buy domain onlinebigsitecitycom phentermine Tramadol no prescription Provera Ambien addiction Viagra sales uk Discount viagra sales Viagra faq Glipizide Vicodin for sale Phentermine 15mg Olsalazine Beclomethasone Aminopterin Get phentermine No prescription needed phentermine Phentermine forums Phentermine shipped to tn Allegra Canada xanax Viagra lowest price Hydrocodone Glyburide Phentermine florida Free viagra trial Calan Xanax overnight delivery Buy cheap online viagra Phentermine no consultation Tramadol hcl tab Pulmonary hypertension and viagra Buy tramadol online Tomorrow Meropenem Aldactone Buy cheap phentermine cod Arthrotec How long does phentermine stay in your body Monopril Albuterol Oxtriphylline Celexa Brand drug generic name viagra Diet hcl phentermine pill Paxil Phentermine resin Buy discount cialis Catapres Naprosyn Bar gold xanax Erectile dysfunction viagra Prescription weight loss medication phentermine Online viagra sales Prescription viagra Phentermine in stock Viagra 100 mg Time released phentermine Line pharmacy phentermine Lomefloxacin Chemical name for viagra Ups cod phentermine Glipizide Add a link viagra Oxycontin xanax bars percasettes and lor tabs Primidone Diprolene Digitalis Iodothyrin Prescription phentermine with cod payment Combivent Order viagra now Buy cialis soft tabs Buy phentermine online pharmacy No perscription generic viagra 50 hcl mg tramadol Phentermine in florida Keflex Lethal dosage of xanax Soma 350mg Diet pills phentermine How viagra works Hydrocodone apap Thioguanine Hyzaar Bontril Price for generic viagra Dont buy on black market get viagra legally Free sample herbal viagra Saturday delivery phentermine Phentermine without perscription Ondansetron Capreomycin Phentermine online prescriptions Chlorambucil How to use viagra Xanax online cheap Amaryl Xanax online no prescription Bexarotene Us pharmacy phentermine Buy hydrocodone online Theophylline Phentermine fact Buy xanax no prescription Phentermine and lexapro Dexchlorpheniramine Leo phentermine order online Viagra cialis comparison Cheap viagra order online Prescription order viagra online Erection viagra Hytrin Cheap vicodin Dyphylline Iprindole Cheap soma Oxycodone Morphine Cheaper viagra levivia cyalis Cefoperazone Cialis on line Vicodin Buy Lipitor Buy phentermine online payment method cod accepted Montelukast Time released xanax Order phentermine online Viagra faq Woman take viagra Viagra sales uk Cheap phentermine online withour prescription Xanax lethal dose Viagra lowest price Buy xanax no perscription needed amex accepted Flavoxate Xanax addiction Cialis comparison levivia viagra Fluconazole Buy free phentermine shipping Ciprofloxacin Soft tab viagra Felodipine Tramadol dosage Soma carisoprodol Flonase Ambien sleep aid Buy Zyrtec Lynestrenol Viagra pill splitter Tramadol 200 mg Flutamide Cheap viagra order online Cimetidine Generic india viagra Altace Pharmacies ship phentermine c.o.d method Cialis on line Chlorpheniramine Genaric viagra Wholesale pfizer viagra Zyprexa Lamivudine High cortisol level phentermine Anafranil Thiabendazole Flomax Nasonex Phentermine $89 Buy viagra online cheap Meridia sibutramine Phentermine diet plan Femara Bethanechol Viagra overnight shipping Meridia diet Best price phentermine Famvir Phentermine guaranteed overnight shipping Guanfacine Locoid Tramadol 100mg Low price phentermine

Checking myself

July 3rd, 2008

Periodically I am having a conversation about race or gender or something, and I do something bad: I invoke the words of a woman or person of color as support for some point I’m making.  It’s shady.  Because that woman or person of color or person with a disability or WHATEVER did not give me permission to use their words to advance myself.  It’s exploitative.  I’m trying to check it.

To “check” one’s privilege is to stop and understand that you are exploiting a power differential, and that you need to stop.  Men calling a woman a b**** (that’s a word men can use against women, but women have no such word to use against men).  Straight people calling someone a f** (same deal).  Checking your privilege is realizing that you’re exploiting that differential and stopping yourself, preferably before you start.  But better late than never.

So anyway, I was looking back at some old posts, and came across this one, where I invoke the words of a veteran to prop up my support of the new GI bill.  And it made me think: am I exploiting this person?  The military preys on people with less privilege.  That’s how they snare people: offer college educations to people who don’t think they can otherwise get one.  Am I, a person who was basically handed not just a college education but multiple opportunities at graduate education, exploiting this person?

In the end, I decided: no.  Because the veteran explicitly says that they are “spreading the word among my fellow vets and my family and friends, asking them to spread the word about Bush and McCain not supporting the GI Bill.” And so in reblogging their words, I’m doing something they ASKED me to do.

But what about this post, from a couple months ago, where I liberally quote Latoya Peterson and dnA, two people of color?  I’m quoting them, with attribution and links.  And in some sense, deferring to their analysis, without any real changes of my own.  But I chose their voices out of many.  And I chose to crop their voices out of the original context of their own blogs, and their own writing.  And I chose to add my own voice, and post it on my own blog.  And my friends read it, and I get some status from this whole thing, right?

So how messed up is that?  What if I had just posted links to their entries, or the full content?  Is that something I should be doing more of?

Or should I try to use my voice and my own writing to translate ideas for my audience?

Honestly, I’m not sure.  Advice?

  1. Kate Says:

    I think there’s a risk with quoting anyone else’s words regardless of gender or race. If you’re going to be careful of “invok[ing] the words of a woman or person of color as support for some point [you're] making” then you should be aware of the person who grew up in West Virginia or the person who’s mother died when they were four, or the person who owns a private jet because you’re not them, either.

    As to you quoting people, go for it. It shows you’ve done your research and you’re not pulling your whole entry out of your butt. All I’m saying is if you’re going to give special consideration to two groups of people you should acknowledge EVERY person you quote or reference. The way you write this, I think to myself, “so he thinks it’s okay to exploit the words of white males because he is one?” That’s totally ridiculous, and I’m pretty sure that’s not actually what you mean.

    Just be aware that in your acknowledgement of other genders and races that you are also ignoring your own gender and race.

  2. Mel Says:

    We quote when 1) someone has said something in a way that we could not do as well, 2) to demonstrate research, and 3) to acknowledge authority. This is not a gender / race issue. As long as one is honest about attributing quotes and explaining context, I don’t see any issue. It’s actually kind of an honorable thing to do; you aren’t “stealing” or plagiarizing, and you are bowing to higher authority on an issue. If you are, however, using these quotes to “get some status from this whole thing,” though, you are being quite dishonest. Are you, or is that a byproduct?

  3. Ari Moore Says:

    I’m a queer vegan working-class feminist, and I actively put my words out there in an effort to get my perspective heard - so when folks (of any identity) quote me or link to me, I’m very happy about it! So my personal take on this is that if you’re doing it out of respect, and making it clear who your sources are, and they put it out there for public consumption in the first place, then you’re probably helping to spread their message and increase their visibility, and that’s probably a good thing.

  4. Jonas Says:

    I think this is nothing to worry too much about. Generally speaking, we all have privileges … Women and minorities have them just as white-men do. Granted there are different kinds of privileges..

    It’s one thing to check your privilege when offering a job to someone, or when making an assumption about how a person or a situation is for another without due regard to your own perspective.

    It’s quite another thing to check your privilege when you are discussing ideas. Indeed, it sets a bad precedent. If we are all required to check our privileges before voicing an opinion - who does that hurt more, those who benefit from the status quo? Or those who don’t? Moreover, the kind of free flowing conversation you might want to have about “isms” is repressed by privilege checking.

    Take your hypothetical racist redneck. There may be valid reasons behind her racism - at least from her perspective. If you cannot appeal to a person’s own perspective, you will not be able to convince her of anything! If she has to check her privilege when explaining her racism, you might never learn that the african american mayor of her small town made things hard on white people there.

    And while I appreciate that privilege checking might help a person state things so as to appeal to another - the ACT of privilege checking in and of itself is so condescending, and such a forceful act of [wait for it] privilege - that it’s hard to imagine how anyone can understand a “privilege free” perspective.

    So while I admire your self reflection, and, as usual enjoy the somewhat unusual perspective you are coming from, I think in this regard you would do well to go a little easier on yourself.

Yes, let’s cure AIDS!

July 2nd, 2008

We’re trying to find a cure for AIDS, because OH MY GOD, AFRICA and everything, but what about the diseases we already have cures for?  Malaria?  You know?  Other stuff?

I think the truth is, the whole “cure for AIDS” thing is easy for privileged Americans to endorse and that’s why we’re so into it.  It’s easy for a few reasons: 1) few of us are disease researchers, so we don’t actually have to DO anything, except maybe donate a little cash, or buy a red ipod 2) it pumps up our economy 3) in the end, the “cure” will only be available to rich white people anyway.

In other words, it’s exactly the kind of “help” that privileged people love.

You know, like writing self-righteous blog posts.

  1. Ari Moore Says:

    Hey now, this is a good blog post! Not everyone has this perspective. You’re helping to raise consciousness among your readers, and that can help lead them to action. You know what I mean? If no one complains that red iPods aren’t doing any good, then people will keep buying them and feeling like they’ve solved the problem. Every little bit counts, in my book.

Actually doing things

June 23rd, 2008

Sometimes you have an idea for something you want to do.

  1. be cool like miranda july and write a book like this.  You know, just write a little every day
  2. look around more in public spaces and look for almost-art. Like, splotches on the sidewalk that kind of look like an alien. Add little eyes so it is an alien
  3. volunteer or get a job with barack obama working on his web site. lots to do there.  I would love that job.
  4. keep working on an old project like forkolator
  5. get on point. go for a run, eat some good food. get a bunch done in a day instead of loafing so much (but don’t hate on the loafing).
  6. call your family

Then you think “oh, yeah, that’d be cool. maybe I’ll do that.  maybe I’ll do that later.  tomorrow or something.”

But seriously, there is no future.  The future doesn’t exist.  We think “the future will be here soon” but it’s not true.  All you get is a bunch of “nows”.  The future is always one step ahead.  And the past is over, don’t try doing anything with the past.  You do it now or you do it never.

If you’re really feeling lazy, you don’t have to actually do it, but just set it in motion.  Think about what you can actually do.  In practical terms, what can really be done.  You know, like writing that first paragraph.  Or contacting someone about something.  At the very least think of that and then think of the time later on when you’re gonna do it.  Plan on it.

And then get back to loafing.  But only then.

This is what a feminist looks like

June 23rd, 2008

The Young Buck - 50 Cent Phone Call

Frisbeetarianism

June 23rd, 2008

George Carlin died yesterday. He is the originator of Frisbeetarianism, the belief that when you die your soul goes up on the roof and get stuck.

This is what happens when you rush out of the house too quickly in the morning

June 18th, 2008

This is what happens when you rush out of the house too quickly in the morning.

This is what happens when you rush out of the house too quickly in the morning.

  1. janeashley Says:

    in san diego probs till tomorrow… tried leaving a message, but your phone is full of other people’s messges… gimme a call if you’re around.

  2. Lucy Says:

    Erik! this happens to me too! One time I left my apartment in Bloomington in such a hurried fluster when I got to the Sample Gates I realized my ENTIRE hoodie was wrapped up in my rear tire. Can you believe I could even bike that far that way?

Imprinting

June 14th, 2008

Strawberry Shortcake

Caption:

“Strawberry Shortcake is a berry sweet, spunky red-haired girl with enough optimism to fill a strawberry field!  She believes things are growing better all the time and puts her heart in all she does! No wonder she has so many berry good friends!”

Translation:

“Strawberry Shortcake, who takes a bashful stance, actively courts the camera, and wears a short skirt to show off her legs, is nice, and takes a lot of bullshit without speaking out against it. She has enough optimism to fill a strawberry field.  Her optimism prevents her from getting angry.  No one likes an angry girl!  She believes things are growing better all the time, and doesn’t like to focus on enduring problems like those crazy feminists always do.  What Negative Nellys!  She puts her heart into all she does.  With enough heart, who needs brains or experience?  Her many friends are evidence that she’s doing things right.  The patriarchy takes care of its own.”

Huckeberry Pie

Caption:

“Huckleberry Pie lives in Huckleberry Briar. His house is a tree fort with lookout port, skateboard ramps, and even secret entrances!  He’s adventurous and fun, and zooms over on his skateboard to visit his friends.”

Translation:

“Huckleberry Pie, who stands confidently and can only be bothered for a second to glance at the camera before he continues skateboarding, lives somewhere cool.  He owns property, and things happen there.  There’s need for a lookout port and secret entrances, that’s how important the things are that happen there.  He has a skateboard ramp because unlike Strawberry he has a body and does things with his body.  It’s best Strawberry doesn’t know she has a body because her body is owned by men.  Huckeberry takes risks and goes on adventures, while Strawberry takes care of the “optimism”.  He actively constructs a social network for himself, whereas Strawberry just draws people to her with her virtue.”

  1. Sarah Says:

    great. keep it coming.

    Just so you know, the double-space after each period is rendered as an  (capital A with diacritical mark) in Safari 3, OS 10.5, text encoding set to UTF-8. I checked your source code and came across a ton of spam for prescription drugs… Wanted to let you know.

  2. Sarah Says:

    I mean, I don’t want to sound critical - you’re doing a great job and I just want to help support you in any way I can!

  3. erik Says:

    No, it’s cool… I don’t know why the A thingy got in there. Must be some weirdness with wordpress. And the spam I think is because of security issues in wordpress recently. I upgraded to the newest version, so hopefully that will help. I just have to go back and find all the entries with the spam.

  4. Jonas Says:

    Gender stereotypes cut both ways. Although I did like to skateboard when I was a kid, I also liked to read, and talked about my imagination all the time (thanks mom) which went over about as well as you can imagine with the other lads.

    Strawberry, whether she gets a little aggro or what, has the same substantive issues as Huckleberry: she’s expected to act in ways not necessarily of her own devise. Gender isn’t just an issue for women - it’s a conformity issue, and it affects everyone.

  5. Mel Says:

    Do little kids still watch Strawberry Shortcake? Remember Jem? The Smurfs? My little girl cousins all love Bratz, which worries me more. Are you planning a write up for them as well? I’d be interested to see what you have to say about bodily awareness (etc) in those more recent products.

    As a side note, Shortcake seemed quite liberated to me when I was a child, and I adored her. Aside from all you’ve said above, which sailed over my head as a kid, here’s what I took away from it: she had her own house and this wonderful, magical garden. She also had spunk, creativity, and imagination, which were very appealing to me. I’m just curious, but have you seen the show? For what it is worth, Huckleberry Pie is a very secondary character. Plus, in keeping with similar natural/ forest tropes in children’s literature, there’s an awful lot that goes on in Shortcake’s magical garden. Really, it was all about the crazy garden… which you can, of course, interpret in any way you wish.

    Indeed, if you are terribly worried about gender stereotyping in stories for young kids, never read your children any Mother Goose, Grimm, fairy tales, or children’s literature of any kind. Dangerous stuff. But do you think most kids really don’t see right through it, and take from it what is important to them? While the blurbs above are admittedly over-the-top as far as stereotyping go, like any other story, people will walk away with many different ideas. So yes, it’s there; what shall we do about it?

  6. Tim Says:

    If it makes you feel any better, showing off her legs appears to be a newfound trick — the 80’s dress included full length striped socks and she’s wearing pants in most of the images that I could find through a quick Google image search.

    Interestingly enough, the only place that I could find her wearing the outfit in the picture you show is on the artwork for Strawberry Shortcake DDR. Within context it would seem that she’s dressing up to go out dancing with her friends.

  7. Mel Says:

    Yeah! She was always in dirty overalls and sneakers. I loved that.

  8. Ari Moore Says:

    So, so great! I love this post.

Is Black Music Month racist?

June 11th, 2008

Jakob Lodwick is full of “anger” about “racist” Black Music Month and “disgust” for some people who think it’s ok.

I’m a bit confused here… Is Black History Month really racist?

My feeling is that what’s racist is the ghettoisation of black music in the other 11 months.  What’s racist is that MC’s and DJ’s can’t get into college music programs, but opera singers and violists can.

And I also sort of feel that if we’re going to be angry and disgusted about anything, it should be the racism in the police and judicial system.  Or the racism in our drug policy.  These are big deals.  Black Music Month just doesn’t seem that serious to me.

Am I missing something?

  1. Kate Says:

    Did you write this knowing that I was going to read it? I’ve got to say something about your statement, “What’s racist is that MC’s and DJ’s can’t get into college music programs, but opera singers and violists can.”

    So here we go. As the resident music major in the family, I would like to clarify your specification of college music programs. Yes, a DJ cannot apply to a school in an opera performance program and expect to get DJing experience. They can get opera experience, but that’s not where their talents lie. Why would you go to a school to pursue an interest that isn’t the one you want? I wouldn’t apply to Cornell Medical School for a Master’s Degree in Composition. I wouldn’t even apply to a music school that has only instrumentalists if I want to be an opera singer.
    There are programs offered at schools that cater to more mainstream musical talents, MCing and DJing being among those. Electronic Music, Music Technology, Music Producing, Sound Engineering are all degrees that utilize the skills that these MCs and DJs have. Is a DJ going to apply to Carnegie Mellon and get accepted? Probably not; that’s just because we don’t have a music tech major and our minor program isn’t strong enough to support the endeavors of becoming a Music Producer. It would not be a wise choice on the applicant’s part. Berklee or NYC? Sure. Even schools that specialize in electronic music (like Stanford) could prove fruitful for an aspiring MC or DJ; granted they would have to push the system to getexactly what they want in regards to the pop culture connections, but it would be possible. Every student has to push buttons in order to get what they want out of their degree; my strong interest in choral music has caused some stir at school because CMU has a predominately instrumental composition department. I learned about different aspects of composition that I am not necessarily going to pursue in the future, but I did it so I could be a well-rounded musician. If MC’s and DJ’s get degrees in music they will have to learn about things that are not necessarily pertinent to their career, but will provide a strong base of knowledge for success. Exposure to a wider range of knowledge allows us to move forward. (This holds true for the students that are in the same program as MC’s and DJ’s; they will be exposed to a new kind of music that they might not otherwise come across.)

    So, no, it’s not racist that MC’s and DJ’s can’t get into college music programs the same way that opera singers and violists can. If they’re smart about applying and challenging the system they have all the chance in the world to be a successful holder of a degree from a university.

  2. Mel Says:

    You’re making a pretty huge leap of logic here in relating DJs and MCs directly with race. Indeed, Lodwick’s post is hardly an intelligent, well thought out rebuttal to Black History Month. Seriously, you should do a better job of picking a good argument from the other side to argue against.

    Down a related avenue we have things like Women’s History Month or Women’s Literature. One could argue that separating out some element simply because of race or gender actually fits the definition of racist or sexist quite nicely. For instance (though I quite enjoy Women’s Lit courses) what does it say that we have a special course for Women’s Lit? Well, many say that is a good thing because all canonical literature is essentially literature of the Dead White Man; that part is easy. Think again, though: what does it say that we define canonical in one way and Women’s Lit in another, each having (I’ve heard a prof make this case) their own approaches to criticism, their own parameters? This says that the canon still does not include women, it makes an *allowance* for woman rather than a real, permanent place in literary criticism. In other words, it is still segregating women to their own sphere. In this case, Virginia Woolf becomes a “woman writer” rather than a High Modernist, Jane Austen becomes a “woman writer” rather than a comic writer or early Romanticist or writer of biting social satire.

    Similarly, having a Black History Month could actually perpetuate some kind of intellectual segregation. During that month, we study Black History. The other eleven months, we go back to plain old history. Black history is therefore not a part of plain old history, by this reasoning. You don’t think that’s racist?

  3. Erik Says:

    Hi Kate! I miss you! :)

    I wasn’t thinking of you when I posted this… but I know you read the blog. And now that I think about it, the reason I know that most music programs don’t accept people on their MC or DJ abilities is because you told me so.

    You’re right that it’s not necessarily bad that different schools have different focuses and a violist won’t be accepted at a school with no viola teacher. I can appreciate that. The problem is that so few schools have DJ/MC programs. And I don’t think that it’s right to call that “music tech”. The human voice is not “tech”, and turntables are mature instruments. Maybe a soundboard or a microphone is music tech, but a turntable is an instrument.

    Erik

  4. Erik Says:

    Hi Mel! I miss you too!

    “Black history is therefore not a part of plain old history, by this reasoning. You don’t think that’s racist?”

    Of course I think that’s racist! I said exactly that in my post:

    “what’s racist is the ghettoisation of black music in the other 11 months”

    And I agree with you that the ghettoization of women’s literature is sexist too. I guess my point was more that maybe we shouldn’t fight against women’s lit classes or women’s studies departments, but rather work on making music, literature, history, and everything else more inclusive.

    Erik

  5. Mel Says:

    I see. Sounds like we are saying similar things, then. :)

    BTW, can you call your bro please? Alex has been trying to get ahold of you for several weeks, to no effect. We both miss you and we were thinking about coming out to visit sometime soon…

  6. Kate Says:

    Wait, I want to come visit, too!!! don’t go without me!!!!’

    Turntables are real instruments just the way Steve Reich was using tape loops in the 80s to create minimalism and phasing. This gets into a very tough discussion as to the differentiation between music and art, if there is one; if a composer(or in your example’s case, a DJ) takes an existing piece of music and then chops it up and reorganizes(or samples) it, is this music or is it sound art? Maybe DJ’s should be going to art school. I mean, you could call what they do installation sound art, in a way. Who knows. We’ll get there one day, having a degree in DJing. However, baby steps. People can get degrees in radio communications which makes them Radio DJ’s… perhaps some degree somewhere will develop into a more supportive DJ program. Give it time.

    I miss you, too. :)

Portfolio

June 11th, 2008

In order to prepare for my new career as a musician, I needed some glamour shots:

Me, playing ukelele in a fake bathroom stall.

Flowbama

June 3rd, 2008

There’s a concept called flow in pop psychology. It’s what happens when athletes achieve the singular focus required to achieve superhuman feats. It’s what happens when chess players drift away so completely into the world of knights and pawns that they can play a brilliant move without really knowing why.

It’s what happens when you become so much a part of what you are doing that the parts of you that are needed for the job at hand are imbued with all of the energy and focus you can muster, while the rest of your unneeded body and mind stand so silent that they seem to disappear.

We all have different gifts, and can enter this flow state at certain times. Certain people only hit this stride while creating art, or playing sports. Others hit this state while working on difficult math problems or while telling stories to a playful crowd of friends. Some people, like Martin Luther King, and like many other preachers before and after him, enter this flow state from behind the pulpit or the podium.

After watching Barack Obama’s speech, it’s clear he’s one of those people. His speech started off slowly and at times he felt cold, listing off his well rehearsed hopes. But he gathered his momentum with great skill, playing the crowd in an expert crescendo. And as he entered the last minutes of his time, with his supporters reaching an ever increasing frenzy, he hit his stride.

He found flow.

And that’s a magical thing. That’s a really magical thing. It’s the difference between craft and art.

I know people say there’s more to being president than speaking well. And they’re right. But he’s got good judgement, a good heart, and he’s spent a lot of years working to better government from without and within.

And those things, in a person who can truly speak to people, is about all I need in a president.