Love. What is it good for?

So there I was listening to a little Edwin Starr when it got me thinking, well what about love? What is it good for? And I came to the very groovy conclusion of , absolutely everything. SAY IT AGAIN!

In all seriousness, love really is a great thing. It's the glue that keeps us together, it's what makes us want to be around one another, to help one another. We all know that warm fuzzy feeling we get when we're with someone we love, but did you know that aside from just a good feeling inside there are actual health benefits associated with love as well?

Harry Reis, PhD and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Human Relationships, tells us that "There is very nice evidence that people who participate in satisfying, long-term relationships fare better on a whole variety of health measures".  The department of Health and Human services backs this claim with quite a few research proven benefits of love.

Just by taking a small dose of love everyday you can expect to see: Fewer doctor visits, less colds, lower blood pressure, less stress, faster healing, less anxiety, and even better natural pain control.
Not to mention that people who maintain long lasting relationships are proven to have a lower chance of succumbing to depression or substance abuse and tend to live longer happier lives.

So get out there and get yourself some love. Make a friend, find a mate, give a stranger a hug, it doesn't matter, just a little bit can go a long way.

9. "Living On One Dollar"

As our discussion of poverty is coming to an end, I came across a  documentary called "Living On One Dollar" on Netflix. It is 56 minutes long and after 56 minutes it left me feeling sad. The mission starts with 2 friends and 2 film makers who go to a village called Peña Blanca in Guatemala for 2 months. They have to live like it is their home. They get a "house", land and all with only $1 each. They came up with an efficient way to earn money, they would draw numbers out of a hat and that is how much they "made" that day, ranging from 0-9. Th natives there don't know when or how much they will get paid because they don't have a set job, most are day laborers and work in fields. Chris, Zach, Ryan and Sean were eating under 500 calories each day, sleeping on the ground, getting bit by fleas while they slept and eventually Chris got sick and had to be taken to the hospital but the medicine to make him better was too much money, they didn't have enough.

Chris, Zach, Sean and Ryan started befriending some of their neighbors and they met Chino, 12, who can't afford school so he works in the field as his job. He is 2 and Chino already knows that he will become a farmer, Chris asked "If you could be anything what would it be?", Chino said farmer but Chris asked again and Chino said a pro-football player.

Rosa is 20 years old who never got to finish her education but wanted to start her own business. Supplies for school is only $25 (American dollar) and most families cannot afford that.

The 4 guys became very close with Anthony or Antonio. Anthony invited the guys to his home for a traditional pulique dinner which is made only 2 times a year, the cost of ingredients is expensive but Anthony and his family insisted. Anthony has a large family to take care of and he is the only one in the village with a set job and can rely on a constant pay check. He actually paid for all the hospital bills for chino's mother when she was very ill. Anthony called Chris, Zach, Sean and Ryan his brothers and invited them back to his house whenever they wanted and he will provide shelter and food.

Chris and Zach made a point that people with nothing are willing to share and give anything they have, even if it is limited. People like Anthony are willing to spend money that needed to be saved and spend it on ingredients for guests to have dinner. I recommend watching this, it opened my mind a lot more an it took me into the world that people actually have to live through. This isn't some Hollywood documentary where they make it seem not so bad or the worst thing in the world. It just shows how 4 guys from America having to survive how native do, which is very difficult.

Its all about survival!!!

10. Mississippi Burning

The film itself stressed the important of equality, and the whole superiority complex people are struggling to comprehend recently. The detectives in the film had treated the case just as they would any other, not getting hung up on the rumors of the two boys being pro-equality, as well as to include the black boy in the tally of those who were missing. While on the other hand natives to the state of Mississippi would only acknowledge the two white boys as "faking it" and laughing away up in the north at "us southerners", and not even giving the time of day to the other young boy, all of white stirring up a commotion over feelings of intrusion. This film can be see as almost a parallel of modern day Ferguson and  the entire situation being summarized into the conflict of white vs black, when in reality if we looked beyond that, we might be able to settle out the issues at hand a bit better. People have a tendency to feel the need to ignite a personal spark deep down inside and apply themselves into the the problems at hand, it's not entirely wrong to do so, but it should not all be based upon a single persons feeling on an issue, and bettering only themselves.

Hurricane Carter

   In 1975, Bob Dylan, the famous American folk songwriter, wrote a song entitled "Hurricane," recounting the retrial and second conviction of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, an African American professional boxer who had been found guilty of a triple murder.
   The first conviction came in 1967, after Carter and another man, John Artis, were identified as the two black men who had entered a Paterson, New Jersey bar and killed the bartender and two patrons. The man who had identified them, Alfred Bello, saw them walking from the direction of the bar and hid from them as they approached and got in their car, which was parked nearby. His testimony served as a central point in the conviction of Carter and Artis.
   Eight years later, Bello recanted his testimony, and Carter and Artis were released on bail, pending a retrial. Once the court proceedings began, Bello was given a polygraph test, and it was confirmed that Bello was telling the truth about having seen Carter and Artis...after already claiming that he hadn't, which is what prompted the retrial. It was also overlooked that he claimed in the 1975 trial that he had been both inside and outside of the bar during the shooting, while in the first trial he claimed that he had never entered the bar. This contradicting claim was added to when a tape recording of an interview with Bello revealed that he may have been bribed or induced into testifying.
   Regardless, after almost nine hours of deliberation, a jury found both Carter and Artis still guilty. However, in 1981, Artis was released on parole, prompting Carter's attorneys to appeal for a writ of habeas corpus three years later. Finally, in 1985, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted it, citing racial prejudices and gross oversights in regards to the police work done on the case, and Carter was released.
   While Carter was eventually found innocent, the media responses to his case have been found to be largely questionable. Dylan's aforementioned song makes a host of claims about Carter that have been considered inaccuracies and embellishments. Also, in 1999, the film, The Hurricane starring Denzel Washington as Carter was released, which, while receiving positive reviews and numerous awards, was slammed for its historical inaccuracies.
   Most of the accusations come regarding Carter's habits outside of the ring; for example, during his short-lived release in 1975, a woman who participated in a fundraiser for his bail claims to have been beat by Carter over a disputed hotel bill. This was eventually dismissed in court.
   Also, Carter himself stated that he and another man used to wander about on the streets, armed with guns, looking to pick fights - he even claimed to have knocked out a horse at one point.
   He served in the Army, as well, though for a short time - he was court martialed four times and eventually considered unfit for service.
   Does this change the fact that the U.S. justice system finds him innocent of the fated 1966 triple homicide? No; these statements have hardly anything to do with the case. The point is that, during the whole incident, he became a media darling and a rallying point for civil rights activists that led to claims that he was "all love." Meanwhile, his often violent habits and tendencies were casually left out of question.
  Still, after his release, Carter eventually became president of the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted, a Canadian organization that advocated individuals such as himself who are convicted of crimes they did not commit. Perhaps he had a change of heart; after all, he was in prison for almost twenty years.
   I don't believe I was trying to prove a point here; I think it's just a fascinating tale of another civil rights case that got heavy media attention but was, perhaps, inaccurately portrayed.



 

blog #9

"Who's afraid of Aunt Jemima" is a story quilt by Faith Ringgold done in 1983. It is meant to look like a quilt and depicts the famous syrup Aunt Jemima in all different occupations. This artwork has to do with racial and gender issues and inequality. African American women are shown having occupations similar to white males. The medium, a quilt, was done purposely because women were known as making quilts and are connected with feminine art. The statement being made is that not all African American women can be generalized as the happy and successful Aunt Jemima. This quilt work brings to light the oppression and struggles of African American women and their history.

8. Met Trip

The Met hands down has to be one of the most exciting, and all around best trips I have ever taken at ESM. It wasn't as though we all had to experience the same locations, yes there were required pieces to go view and contemplate, but we were free to roam the areas in which intrigued us. My favorite portion of the museum was definitely the Asian wing which consisted of  a mixture of vintage and slightly more modern kimonos. I wasn't able to get photos since we ventured there last and were pressed for time, but they were truly works of art. I'm slightly disappointed I hadn't gone on the third Met trip that was offered, it never gets old. Every time you go you end up discovering a whole section you completely skipped over in your past visits.

I didn't upload them in any order, I just wanted to show you the pieces that caught my eye. I'm more of a fan of paintings than sculptures, but the African wooden statues really interested me. The way they captured the human form in a loose and creative way just baffles me. I'm some what envious I can't do the same. 

American Sniper: The Story of Chris Kyle

Instead of watching the first half of the Super Bowl, I sat down with a bootlegged (ohhhh arrest me) version of the new film American Sniper. You must have all seen the trailers for it but if you haven't, it follows the story of Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in all of United States military history. With Bradley Cooper as Chris, i was expecting a decent film.

But I was also expecting this film to be a disappointment in the matter that many military films today are practically propaganda for the US military. I was expecting another one of those films similar to the trash movies about the raid on Osama Bin laden or the, dare I say, disgrace to cinematography, Act of Valor.

But I was surprised.

American sniper was an incredible movie. In most respects, it was nothing near propaganda. It did not glorify military lifestyle. It did not make war look fun. And it didn't portray Chris Kyle as a perfect protagonist. It showed the horrific brutalities of war. Kyle's battle with losing close friends in the field and his fight with PTSD after returning stateside. Truly, a down to earth war film.

My only complaint being that there were moments of the film that portrayed all Middle-easterners to be an enemy in a way. There was no positive portrait of an middle-eartern throughout the film. The only exception being the member of Kyle's squad that speaks the language but he may have been American. I don't really remember. Even the Saudis that were being trained to fight insurgents are mentioned, and mentioned only once, in a sort-of-negative manner. In some sense, a demonization of any middle-easterner. But not too bad.
There were also allegations that director Clint Eastwood purposefully portrayed a link between the September 11th attacks and Iraq. But I personally didn't catch that.

Regardless, any of the small complaints i had, are small. Barely present at all. As a matter of fact, there is much more controversy over Chris Kyle's real life story compared to the film.

Coming from someone who once considered military service as a career path for some time, i am presently not very gung-ho about war or any escalated violence. But I found American Sniper to be a very powerful movie. I suggest if you have the spare time, to sit down and watch it.

It is a terrific film and a respectable tribute to one of the most famous men in US military history.