Journalism @ MindSay

How people can so easily be taken by so-called honors has always puzzled me. The press regularly touts Pulitzers, for instance, but why? Joseph Pulitzer was not interested in truthful journalism. After purchasing the New York World, he changed it to focus on human-interest stories, scandal, and sensationalism. Excellent journalism was never a priority of his, and the prizes reflect it. So does the mainstream press which is yellower than ever in both the conventional journalistic sense and the colloquial sense of cowardly.

Even worse, however, are the Nobels. Alfred Nobel established the prizes in his will after having been called a "merchant of death" by a French newspaper. Although mostly remembered today as the inventor of dynamite, Nobel was mainly an arms manufacturer. Apparently he established the prizes to assuage his guilt, which is reminiscent of the Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity on his deathbed in hopes of escaping eternal punishment for his many horrid deeds.

And the prizes have not been distinguished. Nobels are political prizes. They are almost always given to those committed to Western civilization and Capitalism. When given to non-westerners, the recipients are always those who are critical of the non-western civilizations they live or lived in. From the Nobel Committee's point of view, nothing is prize worthy that isn't Western.

Most of the economics prizes have gone to conventional American economists, and look at the mess they have gotten the world-wide economy in. And the Peace Prize recipients are a study in themselves. Arafat, Peres, Rabin, Wiesel, Sadat, Begin, Kissinger, Chamberlain all received it. If you survey the complete list of ninety recipients, you will not even recognize most of the names. If anything distinguishes these people, it is their failure to produce peace. In fact Alfred Nobel didn't even call it a peace prize: "the fifth prize is to be given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of international fraternity, in the suppression or reduction of standing armies, or in the establishment or furtherance of peace congresses [emphasis mine]." The attainment of peace is not one of the criteria. Mother Teresa received the prize; she had nothing whatsoever to do with war and peace.

So now Obama has gotten the prize. Big deal! Why was it awarded to him? Because he, like all Western diplomats, talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. He talks change but implements none. He appointed people with deep ties to the banking industry to the treasury who then bailed out the bankers and protected their bonuses. When the treasury bailed out the auto industry, it reduced the wages and benefits of workers. He reappointed a Bush holdover to Secretary of Defense (read perpetual war) and is in the process of expanding the war in Afghanistan and extending it into Pakistan. He continues America's unqualified support for Israel which is the main destabilizing circumstance in the Middle East. His healthcare reform has turned into an insurance industry, medical provider, and pharmaceutical company income enhancement bill. He is a protector of the economic status quo and a hegemonist—a true child of a decadent civilization, exactly what the Nobel Committee looks for. The deadly arms manufacturer would be highly pleased.

©2009 John Kozy

I found my Journalism class to be really monotonous, at the beginning of the year.

But, now things are getting better, because we're teaming up with the newspaper staff, and writing stories for the May issue.

And, yeah, I'm writing a story about a kid who digs graves, which is really, really cool.

 

Though you ought to know.

Elliot Smith - Elliot Smith is to indie music as Joan de Arc is to the Catholic culture: A saint. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, grew up in Texas, but lived in Portland, Oregon for most of his life, he gained popularity with his rock band Heatmiser before beginning his solo career in 1994. As a solo artist, he was mostly well-known for his guitar playing skills, but he was also rather adept at bass, clarinet, drums, harmonica, and the piano. He was also well known for using multi-tracking to to harmonize with himself. Now that you have the background information as to who he is, time for me to tell you just why this guy is such a badass.

Besides being known as one of the men to 'single-handedly' redefine the singer / songwriter genre, he has influenced artists such as Regina Spektor and Cat Power. He released five amazing albums while he was alive with labels such as Kill Rock Stars and DreamWorks. His self-titled album is my personal favorite out of the five with a single like "Needle In The Hay" that is an excellent example of who he was as a person. But in my opinion, the crowning achievement of this incredible man's career was the album that was posthumously released, "From A Basement On The Hill". This entire album is packed with music that I can't stop listening to. During his life, Smith battled with depression, alcoholism, and even ADHD, and his lyrics really show that more than ever on this album, his voice taking new heights and such a sensitive personal side that he's just too amazing to ignore. Tracks like "Memory Lane" and "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free" are lyrical genius and makes you want to lay in the grass on a warm sunny day and watch the clouds go by, picking out shapes here and there with the sweet taste of fruit in your mouth.

Now, besides being a pillar in the baroque pop genre, why is Elliot Smith truly such a badass? On October 21, 2003, Elliot Smith was living with his girlfriend Jennifer Chiba. They began to argue as happens with couples from time to time, and Chiba locked herself in the bathroom. Suddenly she heard a scream, and she opened the bathroom door to find Smith standing with a kitchen knife in his chest (!). She pulled the knife out of his chest, resulting in him collapsing and her calling 911. Smith made it to the hospital, but he passed away at 1:36 PM at age 34.

Okay, now let's step away from the facts and look at this. You're the epitome of an indie rock God, you live with your girlfriend, you get in an argument and she locks herself in the bathroom. You feel like killing yourself, and have plenty of antidepressants and ADHD medications and access to who knows how many drugs in order to do the deed. But no, no pills for you; no overdosing. You could slit your wrists, but that takes such a long time and isn't always guaranteed and more looks like a cry for help than an actual attempt at suicide. So what do you do? STAB YOURSELF IN THE CHEST.

Now, the official autopsy report that was released a couple months later in December wasn't entirely conclusive, therefore leaving open the possibility of homicide; but none of the authorities seem to be investigating this further, leaving it at the general conclusion of suicide. Also, a possible suicide note was found written on a Post-it note reading, "I'm so sorry--love, Elliot. God forgive me." What the coroner's report did reveal was that there were no traces in his system of illegal substances or alcohol at the time of death. In other words, not only did he stab himself--he did it stone-cold sober.

If that doesn't scream 'Epic Rock & Roll Badass' I don't know what does.

Rest In Peace Elliot Smith.

In recent times, I have been plagued with a seemingly unanswerable question: who or what do I want to be as an adult? Which career will I choose?

 

I think, however, I finally know the answer.

 

I want to be Eric Rohmer.

 

Eric Rohmer, for those who are not familiar with international cinema, is a French filmmaker who has been making unusual, excellent and intelligent movies for almost 50 years. My concern, however (and this is unrelated to the fact that he is one of my favourite film directors), is more to do with his career prior to filmmaking - that of an intelligent, intellectual film critic for the influential French magazine Cahiers du Cinema (other names who shared this pursuit were Chabrol, Truffaut, Rivette, and one of the most famous names in cinematic history, Jean-Luc Godard).

 

Of course, I fully realise that I may never have the necessary talent that Rohmer possessed to move into the world of filmmaking. However, I believe I do share his passion for analysing films, and perhaps some of his critical writing ability - could this alone be sufficient for me to become a film critic, even a great one like Rohmer was?

 

However, one does not become an esteemed film critic overnight, and I am puzzled as to how exactly I would achieve my goal. Some have suggested looking into a journalism degree, but, to be honest, I am held back from exploring this field by the sheer immoral populism of the mainstream media. One of the last things I want to become is some writer for a major newspaper, with exaggeration, fear, and looseness with the truth being my main weapons, in a desperate search for irrelevant, barely existing news. That is the opposite of my dream, yet I fear that that is where a degree in journalism would leave me.

 

And, more than anything, I see such a degree as unnecessary - surely, possessing a basic writing ability as I do, a degree in journalism seems useless, especially in relation to being a film critic. Surely film studies would be a far more relevant field of study for the work I want to find.

 

At least I'm thinking about it, I suppose. I hope that counts for something.

I finished My Antonia, definitely an american classic and it reminded of  of love for lydia except tony had no neurosis and  stoof for the archetypal earth woman of the plains.  I preferred Lena's existance, but then I wanted to have been a milliner. and she was blonde.

 

I also have sleyed the reed for the next project- brown tweeds 8 epi . I am going to focus on getting nice selvages this time.

 

so tomorrow I can start the CEU's and I will be perfectly on track by midweek at which point I shall collapse in a fit of over abundant planning and need some time to just wing it. winging it- alone- is restorative time. no lists no appts ( shit I have two next week) but still fewer  must do items than this current rush. Procrastination is delicious until the deadline hits. ack !!

 

and if you care the japanese maples in my yard are intensely red- the same color we intend - and have intended for a year- to pain the dining room. It would be nice to get that done before thanksgiving, don't you think?

 

and  to Norman Mailer- he could be a real pain  in the  ass but his journalism was awesome.

 

"Every moment of one's existence one is growing into more or retreating into less. One is always living a little more or dying a little bit. " Good bye Norman.