Mentaltown: support local artists

Lauren Barth '09 sends in some info about a local blog/tv-show by Elvee, a Middletown resident:

Do you like idealistic local musicians? Tune into Connecticut Public Access Channel 15 the first and second Tuesdays of the month at 11pm, or visit mentaltown.blogspot.com to see what rap/hip hop artist Elvee has been working on. Mentaltown episodes are part goofy talk show, part music video, and part political commentary with a lot of local pride, all shot here in Middletown, CT. (Most of them mention Wes!)

The site looks pretty cool. Def worth checking out!

Vote Joe John (Again) on Queerty

Probably because many of you voted for him last week, Joe John Sanchez III '07 is currently a finalist to become Queerty's next music reviewer.

Here's an excerpt of his test review of Empire of the Sun's new album:

The psychedelic elements and falsetto vocalizing may elicit comparisons to MGMT, but a deeper listen indicates that the androgynous duo conjure their flamboyant image from older influences. Their mix of outer-space antics, soul searching and appropriated culture calls to mind George Clinton’s P-Funk mythology and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, with pitch-shifted vocals on some songs eerily evoking Bowie’s minions in Labyrinth. But unlike Jareth the Goblin King, Emperor Steele and Lord Littlemore act as benevolent leaders fixated on spreading peace, joy and colorful imagery. As contrived and idealistic as their goals may sound, they resonate heavily in our distressed times, making these boys as close to indie-pop Obamas as humanly possible.

Help him seal the deal, vote here until Monday.

Vote Joe John for Queerty Music Reviewer

Joe John Sanchez III '07, former Wesleying blogger and currently of It's The Money Shot, is in the running to become a regular music reviewer on Queerty.com:

I worked in gay media for 2-3 years, including a gig with a prominent gay social-networking site, I have a firm grasp of what my fellow gays are listening to. And with modesty aside, my eclectic tastes and already-existent press connections put me in a position to be a tastemaker. From personal connections to lesbian rappers (Shunda K of Yo! Majesty totally loves me) to up-and-coming crunchy guys with guitars, I'd love to explore upcoming queer artists while continuing to evaluate mainstream pop, indie, electro, hip-hop and other genres.

Help a brother get some exposure writing about music on the Internet, vote here and make Joe John's dreams come true.

New Argus Site Online

The Argus launched an impressively revamped website this week, with a fresh new layout, comment capabilities, an automated Wespeak submission form, and even a blog featuring online-only content, the aptly named Blargus.

Already the Blargus has a style column harking back to the heyday of Well Dressed Wes, an economic analyst, and a lively political debate involving campus conservative Mytheos Holt. I'm curious to see what else will come from this expansion of the non-zero-sum game of online Wesleyan media. Looks good, Argus.

Wish you were in Mexico?

Well, here's the next best thing. WeSquash (good one, Shona) is in the midst of a weeklong trip to Puerto Vallarta (through the 14th), and both teams have collaborated on a daily online trip log, including pictures. Check it out here.

New Wes blog: Wesleyazn

Schuyler Swenson '09 sends in info about her new blog, Wesleyazn:

Wesleyazn is a new blog I've started that I hope will be used as a source for information about Asian American politics, art, pop culture, music, literature, current events, etc. and a place for discussion about the Asian American community and events at Wesleyan. If you'd like to be a contributor, please send an email to wesleyazn@gmail.

We've added it to our blogroll in the sidebar "Wes 2.0"; check it out!

Roth in HuffPost: Roth Praises Wesleyan Students' Activism

Michael Roth wrote his third column for the Huffington Post this past Friday. In the blog, Roth praises Wes students' activism this election season.

In these last days before the election, many thousands of college students across the country are heading off-campus to work for candidates who they think will make a difference in their lives and in the lives of their fellow-citizens. [...]

Barack Obama has generated enormous excitement among young people across the country. As adolescent cynicism has given way to a deep hope for change, students are expressing their faith in the electoral system in the old fashioned way: they are participating in it. On my own campus, Wesleyan University, this engagement in electoral politics has energized student and faculty life in powerful ways. Wesleyan has long been known as a progressive school in which students often express strong views about the importance of social justice. When Senator Obama gave the Commencement Address in the spring, he lit up the campus with his energy and gravitas, with his commitment to public service and with his call to students to take responsibility for the public sphere. [...]

At Wesleyan I often say that education isn't about watching other people do the research, it's about doing that work oneself. This election cycle is a key part of our students' political education because they aren't spectators. They are taking responsibility for the work of politics themselves. This is good for their education - and for our future.

Wesleyan currently boasts 13 pages of hits on the site, while Amherst only has 9. Go Wes!

Huffington Post: Participation as Education

Roth in HuffPost: "In Praise of Poise"

Michael Roth posted his second column for the Huffington Post yesterday, this one a little more pointed than his somewhat bland pronouncement of hope in the face of financial meltdown.

He praises Obama's poise as compared to McCain's irascibility in the last presidential debate, and takes apart a recent David Brooks column:

Poise does connote a state of equilibrium, a state of balance. It is perfectly compatible with passion, but it does mean that one is not at the mercy of one's passions. When others around you are freaking out, people exemplify poise when they maintain an ability to think clearly, to make judgments thoughtfully, to stay balanced. These are some of the qualities that make for strong leadership because we have confidence in people who are able to keep their wits about them even when those around them are losing control. Steadiness and stability go hand in hand with poise, and these, too are qualities that we seek in those who are given great power and responsibility.

...We are entering a period of our history in which even the most thoughtful of our leaders are likely to be severely tested. Unlike David Brooks, I don't worry about our next president being boring. Instead, I look for poise, and its complement, tact, when judging the candidates. Thoughtfulness and balance, the ability to inspire and the capacity to work productively with others will be crucial qualities for our next president. For our sake, they'd better be.

Huffington Post: In Praise of Poise

Roth in HuffPost, on Trusting Institutions

President Michael Roth has apparently joined Arianna Huffington's complex social network, as a blogger on Huffington Post. How did this come about? Do they have a Blackberry connection from some West Coast dinner party?

He writes about our shaken trust in the financial and political institutions of America:

It's a cliché that trust is a lot easier to destroy than it is to build. When children tell us that this time they are telling the truth, and that they lie only some of the time, they are about to learn that even one lie destroys the credibility of all your other statements -- even when these other claims are true. One lie creates general uncertainty. We are seeing this everyday on Wall Street and in the banking sector. Governments are desperately trying to restore trust, but as long as there is lingering (and, I might add, reasonable) uncertainty about who is holding the bad debts they once tried to profit from, it will be impossible to have the basic trust that makes our credit systems work.

...The cure for the erosion of trust is not medicinal; it's social. Participation builds trust. On the university campus where I work, the only ways I've seen trust successfully restored is to involve people once again in whatever activity they'd become uncertain about. From athletics to music, from lab science to poetry workshops, participation reduces uncertainty and builds faith through practice. When you begin again to seek or offer credit in secure ways, when investments can be protected, then you feel prepared to take a few new risks. When you get involved with your fellow-citizens in a political campaign or make your voice heard with your neighbors, you begin to see that democracy isn't only about attack. Democracy is about participating with people who you grow to trust by working together.

Teachers know this. We have to earn the trust of our students everyday so that they can risk making mistakes, so that they can take the chance to open themselves to learning. That's why we encourage the participation of our students.

Our current, acute crisis of confidence will pass. Then we must rebuild trust by participating in our economy and polity rather than just try to tear down others who are doing so.

A lot of people read the Huffington Post!

Huffington Post: "Trust" in the Economy and Electoral Politics

Class Deans Join Web 2.0

The SARN Peer Advisors would like you to know that, in an unprecedented gesture of tech savviness, each Class Dean has started keeping an official blog. So far the posts are more detailed versions of the kinds of things you get from them in emails, which can be especially useful if you're the type that tends to overlook said emails.

They'll be posting about the important events and deadlines that pertain to each class year. Check out their blogs for links to forms, resources, scholarships, and fellowships. Contact information and office hours are also listed.

What do class deans do? They are there to assist you in navigating your academic and co-curricular life. Go to them with your questions, concerns, or just to chit-chat. They'll help you solve problems and get connected with the appropriate resources on campus. Get to know your Class Dean!

Dean David Phillips ('12)
http://classof2012.blogs.wesleyan.edu

Dean Noel Garrett ('11)
http://classof2011.blogs.wesleyan.edu

Dean Maria Melendez ('10)
http://classof2010.blogs.wesleyan.edu

Dean Louise Brown ('09)
http://classof2009.blogs.wesleyan.edu

Clearing out our inbox

Wes alumni continue to pound out the blogs. Case in point: Himanshu Suri '07 sends us a link to his new blog, Gordon Gartrelle, which is devoted to "contemporary Indian/Indo-Diasporic art, indie/hip-hop music, fashion, and humour." It's now in our Wes 2.0 blogroll; check it out!

And it's not just on the blogs that Wes alumni are active; it's also in magazines targeted toward teen girls. A Wesleyan student spotted Jean Pockrus '08 in CosmoGIRL magazine:

I came across an article called Living On the Fringe: Who Says We All Have to Be Into the Same Things? Meet Five Girls Who Share Passions That Thrive Outside the Mainstream. Jean Pockrus was featured as "The Freegan."

The article quotes her: "Our culture drives us to consume so much more than we need. There's always a newer model to buy, and people throw out perfectly good stuff—including food. Freegans reduce waste by reclaiming and repurposing discarded items instead of buying new ones—often by dumpster diving—and using what would otherwise be thrown away. A lot of my freegan friends are really great at turning discarded stuff into cool things like jewelry. We can't eliminate all waste, but we can get creative about reducing it."

Meanwhile, Gwynne Hunter '10 points out that Wesleyan has created its own Wesleyan on Broadway site to promote In the Heights, the hit musical by Wes alumnus Lin-Manuel Miranda '02. Lin's created a rap and Wes-centric promotional video for the special September 5 showing of In the Heights. Funds raised through ticket sales will support Wesleyan financial aid.

Finally, Jason Reif '09 checks in from his internship at Rooftop Films, and would like to tell you about this New York-based organization that puts on a summer film festival, with events mainly in Brooklyn. There are movies, bands, open bars... and even non-rooftop venues. Check 'em out at RooftopFilms.com, or read the Rooftop Films blog (written by interns like Jason) at IFC.

New Blogs: Food, Nearsightedness

Some new Wes bloggers added to our bloglist (Wes 2.0 on the sidebar):

- Daniel Meyer '08 is a new contributor to New York Times food writer Mark Bittman's blog, "Bitten". From Meyer's first entry:

Daniel Meyer is a Boston native who graduated from Wesleyan University this past May and promptly moved to Brooklyn. He’s currently working at Greene Grape Provisions in Fort Greene and for Flying Pigs Farm, and with this initial post, appears to be destined to become a Bitten regular.

Check it out if you are into delicious things.

- Conor Byrne '11 has a culture blog called "SQUINTING", in which he writes through the lens of a bespectacled person "viewing the finer things in life through strabismus-inflected eyes":

Conor Byrne is a 19-year-old sophomore at Wesleyan University. He enjoys the finest in film, music, art, dining, style, and gadgetry, and plans to share his interests on this very webpage, mostly for the personal purpose of keeping track of stuff he thinks is cool. Peruse, ponder, and enjoy.

Links:

- Bitten - Mark Bittman in NYTimes

- SQUINTING with Conor Byrne

Sophista-Funk

Tala Bouzarjomehri and Jillian White '08 have started a lifestyle blog, Sophista-Funk, devoted to creative things:

"Sophista-funk is for the person that dares to be different. Lover of art, music, design and fashion, the sophista-funk carves her own space in the world. She is inspired and inspiring, seeking out fun and creativity wherever she sees fit- cause in the end, its all about personal style, baby."

Check it out, link added to "Wes 2.0 sidebar.

Relevant Blogs: Middletown Eye News & more

Interested in Middletown? There's a pretty sweet newish blog dedicated to filling in the gaps from the sparse "official" media coverage of the town called the "Middletown Eye." Check it out at http://www.middletowneyenews.blogspot.com/ . Its "invite to write" explains:

Think of Middletown. Forty-two square miles. An active Police Department. Municipal meetings nearly every night. Cultural performances galore. Sports at many amateur levels. There's no way that even a handful of reporters can do the town justice.

But what if we become the reporters - those of us who go to the meetings, and concerts, ballgames and social events. With a digital camera, an audio recorder and a laptop, we might be able to do a far better job than the newspapers ever could.

Middletown lovers, unite!

Also, various other blogs have some interesting and relevant entries:

• Vegetarian Nutmeg describes an experience at It's Only Natural
• Crazy Pete's Blotter describes her experience coming to Wesleyan & Middletown for last week's Writer's Conference
• The Dispatch has an account of experiences of the Journalism Workshop - Camp Take a Stand - that took place at Wes two weeks ago.
  

Snack Yourself Silly

Benjamin Bernstein '10 has launched a snack food review blog, Snack You Silly, with the ambitious goal of reviewing "every snack in the universe by 2032".

If you've been wondering about the quality of such food products as Burger King's Ketchup and Fries Potato Flavored Snacks, Oatmeal Cream Pies, and Cosmic Brownies, but can't be bothered to sample them yourself, this could be an invaluable source for informing your junk food habits.

Professor Out on a Lim

If you're a political junkie you might be interested in "Out on a Lim", Assistant Professor of Government Elvin Lim's aptly named blog on current American presidential politics. Link added to "Wes 2.0" sidebar.

Thanks to Bradley Spahn '11 for the tip.

A different perspective on Spring Fling

Ed McKeon, a Middletown resident and the prolific blogger behind Caterwauled, provides a different perspective on the happenings at Spring Fling:

Suddenly, a young woman, topless and distraught walked by, followed by a friend who persuaded her to get her blouse back on. The distraught woman and her friend struggled and argued across the length of the courtyard until a Wes Security SUV arrived, and the distraught woman was confronted. She struggled with the security personnel, and another security car arrived. She was handcuffed. The original responders were quickly followed by four Middletown Police Cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck. Whatever this sad young woman was struggling with, the response to her belligerence seemed a bit over-the-top. (There may be a legitimate reason for the response that I can't fathom because I observed the entire altercation from a distance, and don't know what kind of threat she represented.)

Needless to say, the combination of exuberant, end-of-the-semester, pre-finals over-indulgence, and on-high-alert safety personnel, creates an atmosphere that is, to say the least, tense.

In other news, Goodnight to the Rock & Roll Era has posted a review of The Hold Steady's performance, and has photos and videos from Spring Fling... like the one below:

Death By Blogging

Wesleying is a fairly laid-back blog. Certainly there's no Nick Denton-type slave-driver, and I doubt there are any posters here resorting to serious coke and Adderall habits in order to deal with the immense pressure of posting emailed events and quirky anecdotes about this place.

But blogging can apparently get pretty serious, as in the case of two prolific bloggers who died recently of stress-related heart problems:

They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment... Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.

To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic... But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.

Possibly a good thing then that there's no financial incentive here, and if anyone on Wesleying is losing sleep over the blog it is purely out of their genuine concern for the student body's awareness of Wesleyan's grueling 24/7 news cycle.

Full article: In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop

For the Love of Food

Campus food guru Lauren Rothman '08 is now blogging! http://in-good-taste.blogspot.com
She turns this...
...into this:
'nuff said.

Wesleying: Still Waiting for Our Book Deal

So the founder of everybody's favorite racial deconstructing blog Stuff White People Like, Christian Lander, just got a $300,000 book deal. According to the NYTimes, this is part of a larger trend of popular blogs getting attention from publishers... including I Can has Cheezburger, of lolcat fame.

Even the snarky can retain a bit of wonder. On Wednesday, Mr. Lander, who is white, added his 92nd entry to Stuff White People Like: Book Deals.

“White people,” he wrote, “like having their dreams come true when they least expected it.”

Uh, apparently all we need is more snark and 1.6 million hits a day and we're set.