Recently in US Culture Category

Like the popular folk song states, "I'm from New Jersey."  Yes, that State next to New York defined by the "Turnpike", Tony Soprano, and Bruce Springsteen.  However, and as Lee Siegel point out in an excellent Wall Street Journal article, "The Hidden State of Culture", New Jersey often gets a bum wrap.

New Jersey has produced countless artists, academics, musicians, intellectuals, actors, and its geography goes from gritty to picturesque in a matter of miles.  New Jersey is also packed full of cultural diversity from eastern European immigrants from Italy and Croatia to Asian imports from Korea and Vietnam.  

New Jersey is, indeed, awesome and Mr. Gorka we are good enough and do expect much! 

Sometimes it's obvious, but most of the time it's not.  What am I talking about?  I'm talking about how we, as humans, are comforted by following the pact or making decisions that everyone around us is making.  For example:

- We like buying Google stock because it helps us find things (there are alternatives) and the media loves Sergey and Larry.

- We like buying SUVs because they are safe (not really) and Bob has one in his driveway.

- We like buying Green because it helps the environment (not all the time).

- We like not saving much because easy credit is (once was) available.

- We like buying our own home because there's a tax savings (doesn't off set initial investment) and because we're told every American is entitled to one (not true).

"There's a choice we're making we're saving our own lives. It's true we'll make a better day just you and me"

I think it's time Wall Street gets together and records its own version of We Are the World, maybe something along the lines of "We Are the Capitalists".

Seriously, folks, have a listen to the original 1985 recording and it will make you feel warm and tingly all over, regardless of your bank's share price.

The current political and financial scene in Washington and New York could not be unfolding in a more dramatic fashion.  Key congressional leaders, the President, McCain, Obama, and Secretary Paulson met late into the evening yesterday only to walk away with no deal to rescue US banks and the ailing markets.  Click here for a brilliant account of the events via Stolberg of the New York Times.

Meanwhile, the US Government seized control of Washington Mutual and sold parts of it to JP Morgan Chase.

This is high drama with tons at stake, folks!

Why are Americans so divided when it comes to political choice?  The 2008 documentary Split: A Divided America takes a close look at the current state of American politics and the problems surrounding how we choose and elect a President.

The movie is a must see before heading out to vote in November.  Here's the trailer and the official documentary site:

 

If you're any where near the NYC metro area, then you're bound to notice great tension in the air.  The tension is the by-product of recent financial news headlined by the financial giant Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy.  Today's NY Times summarizes the current state on Wall Street well:

Nervous investors tried to make sense of a rapidly changing financial landscape on Monday as the State of New York offered American International Group a lifeline, the Bank of America began the task of assimilating Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers started its journey into bankruptcy.

The surprising development surrounding this disastrous Monday is that the Fed allowed Lehman to file for bankruptcy.  If you remember, the Fed rushed in to bail out Bear Stearns over concerns that if a major bank was allowed to go bankrupt, financial disaster would follow. 

So what can we make of the recent developments?  From the latest news reports, there are certainly more banks to fall (even the mighty Goldman Sachs is mentioned) and with no real, grand, government intervention likely, we may see some real downturns before the Banking sector can recover.

Read all about the current financial misery at:

NY Times Business section

Wall Street Journal

Financial Times

 

OPEC is taking measures to cut oil production in order to control market pricing - don't you love the oil cartel.

George Bush has ordered fighting to begin in Pakistan.

The world didn't suck itself into a man-made black hole.

You think your family was competitive, see the latest review on The House of Wittgenstein.

Finally, what makes working class and rural Americans vote for pro-business Republicans when their interests will not be served?  Psychology Professor Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia attempts to offer an answer.

The NY Times has a terrific interactive map on how people across the world spend their discretionary income.  Some interesting findings include Japan spending more on recreation than clothing and Greece throwing money at clothing versus electronics.  Read the full article here.

The US Government likes to keep unemployement between 2-5 percent, 0 unemployment is actually a bad thing (according to some economists), so it's quite surpising to see the latest unemployment figures at over 6 percent.

Have you ever given much thought to what it must have been like for an intellectual during the Inquisition?  Say, for example, you opposed the Church and read a little Plato; that could get you in some serious trouble, as it did for the sixteenth - century heretic Giordano Bruno.

OK, so I just updated my Facebook status to read, "Vincent is feeling Old World" and I need to explain the thinking behind the status:

I just finished watching Emanuele's Crialese's The Golden Door and it was truly magnificent.  Crialese tells the story of a Sicilian's family voyage to the US in the early 20th century.  The film is simplistic in story, but very rich in language and meaning.  The language component is remarkable in that Crialese manages to accurately reproduce the Calabrian/Sicilian dialect.  The film has rich dream sequences and true to life depictions of the immigrant experience at Ellis Island (psychological tests and all - looks like the Soviets weren't the only ones trying to create a perfect society).

The film had tremendous meaning to me as I'm a first generation American - my parent's immigrated to the US in the early 1970's (from the same environment that Crialese depicts in his film).  However, you don't need to be an immigrant's son to appreciate the film, so go out and find the DVD or purchase it on Amazon.

Here's the trailer:

I recently read Mayle's A Year In Provence while laying on the beach.  The book is a fantastic read and it especially motivates the reader to eat and live well.

The eating and living well philosophy has been mostly foreign to the American lifestyle, but with the green and organic movements in full swing attitudes towards the "good life" have changed and really taken root in North America!

Go to your local library and check out A Year in Provence and then make a great meal when you're done with the book!

I've been reading David Brooks since the publication of "Bobos in the Paradise" and I've been thoroughly impressed with how he describes American society and our "unique" way of living.

Brooks appears on PBS' Newshour and is also a NY Times Op Ed Columnist.  His latest column is entitled, "Lord of the Memes" and is a must read; here's an excerpt:

But on or about June 29, 2007, human character changed. That, of course, was the release date of the first iPhone.

On that date, media displaced culture. As commenters on The American Scene blog have pointed out, the means of transmission replaced the content of culture as the center of historical excitement and as the marker of social status.

Think about what Brooks just said, viz., that the "means of transmission" (say, the iPhone or a Facebook page) has "replaced the content of culture" (say, a piece of classical music or a novel); this is a significant and scary shift!

Finally, here's a brief bio from the PBS web site.

NPR aired a series of radio reports on the US health care system as it relates to Europe and Asia and they, in sum, described how other countries manage to run state sponsored, universal, health care programs.

The program was eye opening!

Given a recent conversation on "where would you live in the world" I dug up some info on 1., standard of living and 2., human development index.  Here are some fun facts to consider next time someone asks the "where should you live" question:

 

• The United States ranks 4th in GDP (or gross domestic product), but 92nd in terms of distribution of wealth (in other words, if you have money in the US it is a great place to live <but given the concentration of wealth in the US, most individuals don't benefit from high GDP and associated increases in productivity>). 
  
  
• HDI or Human Development Index measures average achievement of a country based on life expectancy, adult literacy rate, and gross domestic product per capita at PPP or purchasing power parity (basically, how to compare the purchasing power of two currencies). 

Here are the top ten:

1. Norway
2. Iceland
3. Australia
4. Luxembourg
5. Canada
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Ireland
9. Belgium
10. United States

So, where would you live?  If you got bucks, set up camp in the US; if not, pack your bags and move the clan!

- from the UN (http://hdr.undp.org/en/)

The American Scholar recently ran an article on why a Harvard or Yale education may not be the best decision for most high school or post graduate students. 

The article is very compelling and argues that the Ivies are creating careers and not minds - an important distinction in higher education.

I'm convinced that your average American citizen has the financial IQ of a cockroach.  After all, where else in the Western world is the savings rate less than 1 percent (the instinct in the US is to spend rather than save and that's a problem)! 

Read the latest on America's financial disaster (consumer debt and the mortgage crisis).

You can always count on HBO to experiment with new series and this summer is no exception with the premier of Generation Kill.

Generation Kill is based on Evan Wright's book which follows the Marines of the First Recon Battalion through the first forty days of the Iraq War.

The series is nicely done, including a great performance by the highest ranking official on the ground, "the Godfather:"

 

The writer Chrisopher Hitchins participated in a water boarding session to truly understand the techniques used by the American government at Guantánamo and elsewhere.  You can view the video here, courtesy of Vanity Fair magazine.

If you've spent any time in New York City then you're probably well aware of the NY / NJ Port Authority; they run the Hudson River crossings (and constantly increase tolls), World Trade Center re-building project, etc.  The NY Times recently ran a nice article profiling the Executive Director of the agency, Christopher O. Ward, who happens to have a degree from the Harvard Divinity School (should we be praying when we cross any of the bridges?).

 

The NY Times ran a profile piece on co-Facebook creator, Chris Hughes this morning, including his new position with the Obama campaign as "online organizing guru."

Hughes set up Obama' web site, which is a social networking wet dream, including tons of interaction points focused on email, text messaging, donate, and the ubiquitous Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, etc. calls to action.

Obama is the first presidential candidate to effectively use the web for organizing and motivating voters and it may be the tool that helps him win the Presidency.

Every once in a while I have a realization about how well, for the most part, we live as American citizens.  Sure, I understand that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer (with the income gap growing each year) and that wages adjusted for inflation haven't grown in well over 30 years, but when compared to other countries living in the good old U--S--of--A ain't so bad.  I was reminded of my situation when I came across an old photo of my grandfather along with my father and uncle somewhere around 1961 or so:

My grandfather Vincenzo is the dark skinned man in the middle while my father Tommaso is on the right; my uncle Francesco is to the left of my grandfather.  Keep in mind that my grandfather is probably around 35 in the photo, but he looks much older (a sign of the hard work and struggles of living in post War Italy).  The photo was taken in Calabria.

In my view, David Brooks is one of the preeminent op-ed writes in the US.  Brooks constantly gets "it" right and his latest piece, "The Great Seduction", published on June 10 in the New York Times talks about the startling economic reality in the US. 

Here's snip it from the piece: "a typical US household with income under $13,000 spends, on average, $645 a year on lottery tickets, about 9 percent of all income!"  Read the full article here and then go and read some his books, including "Bobos in Paradise", "On Paradise Drive"

For another interesting take on US culture and community see Putnam's brilliant book, "Bowling Alone."

The 2008 French Open kicked off at Roland Garros this past weekend.  Roland Garros is actually the name of the tennis center where the Open is held; more specifically, Roland Garros was a French aviator and WWI hero.

The French Open is played on red clay versus the Decoturf surface at the US Open in Flushing, Queens.  Red clay surfaces are made up of crushed red brick and traditionally play slower than harder surfaces, including the grass surface at Wimbledon.  Specifically, clay produces a higher bounce and removes the "big power" advantage that most US players are used to on harder surfaces.  In my view, the clay game (including HAR-TRU surfaces) is tons of fun, more strategic, and is not just about battling it out at the baseline, but rather necessitates that the player has an overall game (including the ability to play at net, lob, slice, etc.).

Check out Ralphael Nadal, who many consider to be the best clay court player alive today:

 

The American Idol finale took place last night and for the most part the show featured slightly washed up singers (attempting to mimic Freddie Mercury) and "Brady Bunch" like numbers by the 12 finalists.  The highlight of the show was Gladys Knight, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Junior performing the song, "Midnight Train to Georgia:"

 

For a critical look at American Idol see the recent New Yorker article.  Oh, the New Yorker seems to think that Idol does, indeed, work.

The New York Times ran an article on the correlation between food/diet and social status.  In turns out that the lower your status the more junk food you are prone to eat / include in your diet. 

The Wii Fit is receiving a ton of media attention as of late and was featured on the Today Show this morning and in the Fashion and Style section of the NY Times on Thursday (why not the Sports section?). 

I'm not convinced the attention is warranted but if the video game system can get American's just a few inches off the couch (I'm thinking most folks have their console near their couch and TV), then Nintendo has created a winner, correct?  Only in America!