Loving Myself Every Day

Where Men Win Glory Review

Pat Tillman was the professional football player turned soldier who was killed fighting in Afghanistan in 2004.  The story itself was shocking and awe-inspiring; it had a hypnotic effect on the American public.  It showed the United States at its best, as well as at its worst, caught in a war that polarized the nation.  So undoubtedly, When Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman had the makings for a best-seller. 

The basic facts of the Tillman story are inspiring to all that know it.  He walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army.  He joined the Army Rangers – an elite unit – and was killed in April of 2004, in a canyon in Afghanistan.  Unfortunately, the story takes a turn for the worse at that point.  Army commanders and Bush administration officials omitted the fact that he’d accidently been killed by men in his own division.  Tillman was portrayed as a hero who died fighting the enemy; and officials even fed the phony account to the grieving Tillman family.  The truth, however, came out later.

 The books author, Jon Karakauer, has now told the full story.  Being that the story is so riveting and that Krakaur is a notable writer, it should be a good read.  Unfortunately, Krakaur fails to fashion it into such.

 One major problem with the book is that all the drama – Pat Tillman’s death and the cover-up that ensued – are saved for the very end.  The rest of the book covers Tillman’s life before enlistment and the progression of the war in Afghanistan.  The chapters are dedicated in an every-other-one fashion.  Thus, the reader cycles through boredom and interest.

 That’s not to say that the civil war in Afghanistan and its transgressions against human rights isn’t interesting.  Or that Pat Tillman’s life was boring.  Both evolutions are startling and thought-provoking.  The war’s history spans back to the 1970s and involves numerous other countries and major players (which gets confusing at times.)  And Tillman was a man of character and principle; the sketch of him though is not enough to draw the reader into the moments that are on the way.

Overall, Krakaur could have done better with his writing.  Why not delve more in-depth into those last 100 pages and figure out who gave to orders to cover up Tillman’s death?  Though Tillman’s story does not lose any of it’s inspiring qualities on account of Krakaur’s horrible delivery, it definitely changes the level of interest in the story from curiousity to boredom.

Art Review

Art is so subjective as it is, but if an artist is capturing their emotions, can it still be subjective? Or does it then become more objective and the viewer is supposed to see it that way? Perhaps it is too much to ask of the viewer to see it that way.  These are the questions that fill one’s mind when looking at Nan Wilson’s work at the Sioux City Art Center.

Much of Wilson’s work could be characterized as abstract.  There are obtuse shapes, bright colors, and use of items we don’t usually consider to be art supplies – caulk or wire, for example.

The title of the showing is “It’s About Time.”  This title was said to refer to the fact that many of these painting were starting in the late eighties when Wilson was living in Florida.  After she moved back to Sioux City, her relationship with some of these pieces changed.  Titles have changed due to reinterpretation by the artist of what she may have been feeling when she painted it.  In some cases, the paintings themselves have changed.

Wilson’s work “Primary Impulses” is one of the pieces being shown at the art center.  Three canvases span 144 inches, but the only colors used are blues and yellows and reds.  Yes, there are varying shades of each, but the strength of the primary colors put back to back in that way is staggering.  The three simplest colors, the basis for all other colors are used to make you wonder, what are our primaries? Whether they be needs, wants, friends, we all have a top three. On top of the base colors, though, there are criss-crossing swirls of black, almost as though a ire is woven around the primary colors.  This “wire” effect could indicate some sort of bonding to each other, or it could signify being tied to one another.

The artists use of bright colors and abstract shapes gives this art a feeling that works.  It’s not dark, but it’s not bright.  It’s not happy, but it’s not sad.  You don’t get a feeling that the artist is neurotic or arrogant about their work.  But it is beautiful and it should be viewed while it’s here. 

Wilson’s show will run through November 14.

Facebook approval is down

According to a recent survey, older generations are less satisfied with Facebook after the release of “The Social Network” movie.  However, 18- to 34-year-olds approval is up.

Read the full story here.

I think it’s sick that even CNN is obssess with Facebook.  I saw a TV show the other day where a mother didn’t even recognize her daughter because she was so addicted to a video game.  Is that what our generation is becoming with Facebook? I know people that find it harder and harder to get work because they are always on Facebook.  But what we don’t understand as a society is that Facebook, as wonderful of a “tool” – if you can call it that – as it is, will never replace face-to-face interaction and people-to-people connections that we as humans instinctually crave.

Gov. Branstad Speech

As governor, he went to every county in Iowa.  Now that he’s a former university president, Terry Branstad feels the importance of speaking at college campuses.  And his message of better financial aid resonates with those that saw him speak at Morningside.

“I support private and public higher education,” Branstad said in his speech.

Other topics that arose during Branstads speech were unemployment, the budget, gay marriage, and small businesses.  But financial aid was the big issue on everyone’s mind.  A teacher even asked about funding for community colleges.

Students at Morningside College, a $30,000 per year school were especially receptive to the idea of more financial aid.

“I like that Branstad is a friend of private education, Morningside could use a friend in a high place,” said Courtney Brown, a junior at Morningside.

The importance of financial aid is a refreshing break from hearing about such topics as gay marriage and abortion.  It’s a real issue that we can change right away.  And perhaps Branstad said it best himself when he said, “I want every kid to come to school ready to learn.”

TOES attempts to make campus greener

In the past few years, green has become more than just a color.  Going green is a movement that businesses, schools, and households are trying to accomplish.  TOES (Totally On Earth’s Side) is the student organization striving to make Morningside College a greener campus.

Already, Morningside has made two major accomplishments in going green.  The first is recycling.  Jim Stroh in the biology department applied for the $15,000 grant that made Morningside’s recycling initiative successful. 

“I recycle because it is no more difficult than throwing things in the trash,” said Emily Greenlee, a freshman.  “And it helps reduce waste.”because it is no more difficult that throwing things in the trash, and it helps reduce waste.

 Secondly, Morningside College’s kitchen uses only cage free eggs.  Not only that, but the source those eggs are bought from is recognized as being humane to their chickens by the Humane Society of America.

But there’s still a long way to go for the home of the Mustangs.

Right now, TOES is applying for grants and starting proposals to help make Morningside’s campus more green. 

For example, Morningside College’s sprinklers run even if it’s raining, and the lawn fertilizer being used is not biodegradable.  TOES has already started proposals for that.  And later this year, the college is bringing in some sustainability experts to see about making the college’s buildings more energy efficient. 

TOES is also planning on applying for a grant to build a Eco-house – a house where students live in a green and sustainable fashion in an energy efficient house.  Morningside College has already acquired land by the new student houses that could be used for this project.

Another idea that has met some resistance is trayless dining.  The only wait is for a written proposition from student government because it is hoped that it will be a student-led movement.

It seems that movement is well on its way though, because when asked what else Morningside could do to be greener, Greenlee says, “Trayless Tuesdays would help inspire more green activities.”

All of these movements, though are equally important.  “The major thing to Morningside green is to create a culture that is enthused about conservation,” says Dr. Tom Gilbert, a philosophy professor and faculty advisor for TOES.

But it’s not just TOES students who are excited about going green.  Jessica Standard, a senior, took a May Term class about how food impacts the environment.  Since the class she has become a vegetarian.

Standard says that she thinks Morningside College should reduce red meat consumption and offer more vegan options because the meat industry contributes a huge amount of methane gas to the atmosphere, which is much more harmful than carbon dioxide. 

“If we all gave up meat for one meal a day, we would greatly reduce our carbon emissions,” says Standard.

The best part about eating vegan foods, though, is that many companies that make vegan options are already making important contributions to the green movement.

If we don’t start taking environmental issues seriously it is not going to be our kids or our kids kids that have to deal with the problems that global warming is causing, it will be us. Our weather patterns are already fluctuating so dramatically and by taking small steps we all have the power to make a difference

“If we don’t start taking environmental issues seriously, it is not going to be our kids, or our kid’s kids that have to deal with the problems, it will be us,” adds Standard.

So whether you think it’s more helpful to change your diet, join TOES, or only turn off the water while you brush your teeth, the point is you’re joining the green movement.  And that’s enough.

W. Movie Review

            History always repeats itself, but we hope that by learning about it we can prevent the same mistakes.  That is a recurrent theme throughout Oliver Stone’s W.  And the question that keeps popping into your head as you watch it is this: why?  The movie is by no means an inaccurate portrayal, but it’s by no means a farce.  It even has the makings of a traditional biopic, like big name actors – including Josh Brolin as George W. Bush and Richard Dryfuss as Dick Cheney – and President Bush’s quotable quotes and lies.

            The movie starts with Bush wearing the number 43 and standing on a baseball field in an otherwise empty stadium. An invisible announcer introduces him — “the 43rd president of the United States!” — but when he looks around for the crowd, it isn’t there. The scene, though a bit overused, is very powerful.  The field of dreams does show that the underlying thoughts of the movie – life, political, and otherwise are all a performance. In the movie, Bush transitions from one job and identity to another before taking on the role of a lifetime.

            Brolin transitions through those roles with ease, but like all the major White House Players, his character is too current and too looming for the performance to be complete.  Bush has yet to be obscured by time, he’s a figure that belongs to us.  Good as Brolin is, he can’t touch the original.

            Director Oliver Stone goes easier on Bush on screen than some of his off-screen remarks suggest.  Stone characterized Bush as “a bum” in an interview with Larry King.  But the movie shows him more as a drunk womanizer and a spoiled son of power — James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn play George H.W. and Barbara Bush — who, swaddled in privilege and hurt, doesn’t stick with a single book, job or woman. That changes when two epiphanies: Jesus Christ and a little lady named Laura (Elizabeth Banks) sent him down a different road and over to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

            Because W. focuses more on Bush’s first term and not on the catastrophic second, it is more comedy than tragedy.  That’s with the  exception of graphic images of wounded and dead soldiers late in the film.  Giving the impression that though Bush’s presidency is comedic, the costs are deadly. The horror of the image is startlingly effective, but very morally and structurally suspicious.  It’s not ill-intended, Stone just can’t go deep without them.

He does go deep at that moment, but doesn’t stay there for long. In W. he doesn’t need to haul out the dead or excavate the depths to keep us hooked: he just needs to show Bush giving up sweets in support of service men and women.  The joy that is Stone’s work has always been located in excess and extremes that can drown out the white noise of life.  This movie though gives that constant excess a different, but hilarious new form.

Weekly Article

This week, the FBI charged 133 people (including 90 police officers) with trafficking drugs through Puerto Rico.

Read the full story here.

This story is a little shocking to me.  Though yes, we are talking about a part of Latin America, Puerto Rico is a province of the United States.  I think this story would have been less shocking had it taken place in a place like Colombia or Costa Rica.  Especially with so many law enforcement officials being charged as well, it is especially shocking.  It’s nice to think that our politicians and public service officials are not corrupt.  And maybe in a place that is not under a real “rule” by the United States, it’s easier to understand.

Paper 1 Final Draft

Aloise Ferris sets the table in her quiet house.  She sets out two plates, two forks, two knives, two glasses, and two napkins.  Her husband, Keith, is very quiet today.  Dinner is almost ready, fried chicken, bread and butter, and leftover steamed broccoli.  She dishes up both plates, sits down, and looks at the chair where Keith sits.  No one is there.  Aloise quietly sighs and gets up to put the contents of the other plate in a container. 

Keith has been gone for several years now, ten this coming February.  But Aloise still finds herself sometimes setting the extra plate at her kitchen table.  That happens less now than it did at first though because Aloise has begun to make friends in the community.  Female friends.

“When my husband first passed away,” Aloise says, “I often found myself sitting around the house.  Five of my eighteen grandchildren lived right down the street, so I didn’t want to miss a visit from them.”

Several years ago, though, her daughter and their family moved a mile away.  That mile was all it took for Aloise to turn into a social butterfly.

“Well, I joined the Red Hats, the Senior Sues, and I started playing cards with four other ladies in the neighborhood,” Aloise says, patting her cropped white hair.

Alosie says that when she would go out before the women would either  talk badly about their husbands, or about other women.  And Aloise says, she hated that.

“I never had anything to add,” she says.  “I had a wonderful husband.”

Women tend to do that.  One study found that women are more likely to agree with one another than they are with men.  Furthermore, women also use more intense language than men do, making everything they say seem more dramatic.  Also, if a woman is more “nurturant”, their behavior is reinforced by that of the other women.  That means that if a woman is talking badly about her husband, the women around her are more likely to say similar things and make it seem worse than it actually is. 

Virginia Horner, unlike the Aloise and her friends, still has her husband.  She doesn’t leave the house much on account of that fact.

“Well, Dad is 90-years-old now,” she says.  “So it’s hard for him to get around.”

She says her life is very different from ladies that have lost their husbands.  Those that are left, anyway.  She’s not sure if she would go out with friends, even if there were.

“I’m 82-years-old,” she says with a phlegmy smokers cough. “So a lot of the ladies we were friends with are gone, not that I think I would go out anyway.  The roads are always so busy, I don’t go anywhere unless I have to.”

It may not just be the fact that many people in that age group have passed away.  Another study found that in some groups, age is negatively correlated to the interdependence of female friendships.  So, the fact that Virginia is 82-years-old may also affect her friendships with women.

Female to female friendships are increasingly uncommon as women age, but the loss of a spouse may encourage friendships.    Common interests may fuel many adult female friendships, as do conversation in many forms.  Regardless, the importance of these bonds is not lost.

“Sure, the ladies get catty if they lose their pennies in poker,” says Aloise.  “But going to cards gets me out of the house.  It’s fun to go out sometimes.”

Pocket Lint

Asking Paul Treft for pocket lint was not the most awkward conversation I’ve ever had with him.  Those are his words, not mine.

My freshman year of college, the mens basketball team went to Branson, Missouri, for the national tournament.  Paul was the one who drove the cheerleaders.  The poor man has 3 sons, so driving with 6 girls for 8 hours had to be difficult.  We talked in silly accents, made up a nickname for him, and generally just drove him crazy the entire way to Branson.  But even that wasn’t the most awkward part of the trip.

When I walked into his office today, Paul Treft said, “Hey Grace, how’s it going?”

“I have the worst assignment ever,” I said angrily.  “Paul, do you have some pocket lint?”

“Pocket lint? Ummm,” he said, as he checked his pocket.  “There ya go.”

I thanked him and told him about my stupid assignment and my stupid professor and how awkward this is.  Paul laughed and said, “Grace, this is not the most awkward conversation we’ve ever had.

In Branson, Paul reminded me, I said I forgot something in my hotel room.  And Paul, being a dad to boys said, what is it you need to get.  I hesitated and hemmed and ha’d about what I needed before he figured it out.

Ross, if you want to make this assignment really awkward, make a tampon one of the scavenger items.

Thomas Ritchie

Some guest speakers are better not speaking.  Or not even being guests.

Thomas Ritchie is the online director for the Sioux City Journal.  He made a visit to a Morningside College class to speak about the importance of social media to journalism.

“The share button is changing media,” Ritchie said in his presentation.

But many students felt their guest was unprepared.  He spoke more about his own adventures in social networking than about the importance it has on current events.

“He was pretty unprepared,” said Alison Kusler, a sophomore.

It is a fairly unanimous vote than Ritchie should not be invited back to Dr. Fuglsang’s class.