When it comes to politics, I can talk about reforms I’d like to have implemented, injustices that I’d like to see corrected, and policies that seem like the right way to go.

When it comes to politicians, on the other hand, I’m lost.

Give me liberty or give me: A confused and frustrated college student’s issues with the American political process.

Everyone tells me what to do with my vote. Each faction paints the others as part of the problem and itself as the beacon of truth, the salvation that can be ours for a vote or a donation. The media is no help, it’s owned by large corporations and staffed with fervent supporters of political parties. When I look at a news source that I might like to read, the first thing I do is go to the “about us” section of the website to find biases, then look up the editor-in-cheif (and other high ranking people) to see if I can find out if he donates half his salary to causes or parties I don’t agree with. I have to investigate just to get a vague idea of what side of the story they’re presenting. Let’s not take it too far though, the media in this country is a whole other discussion.

At this point it’s pretty easy to see the republicans aren’t the answer. Scandal after scandal, a foreign policy disaster, the deficit, the environment… there’s no need to be the billionth person to go on about what they’ve done to this country. But tell me, if the democrats were in a similar situation would they really be so much better? They’re just as corruptible as the current administration is, as Tom DeLay well knows. They weren’t exactly foaming at the mouth when President Bush first started talking about Iraq, either. I think the democrats have been less forceful than they could have been because they envy the republicans for riding in roughshod and just taking everything they wanted, subtlety be damned. What about the Green Party, then? Even without the whole “they’ll never get elected, you’re throwing away your vote” stigma, I have to be skeptical. Anyone can spout idealism and talk about radical reform, but once you’re on top, it’s nice to stay there and not rock the boat.
Why should Nader be any more inclined to live up to campaign promises than the other candidates?

Essentially, I feel like there’s no one I can trust, like any given candidate will screw me somehow. I believe in the democratic system, even as President Bush erodes it by expanding the powers of the executive. The only thing I can have any faith in is the voters themselves: they’re the most honest force in the system. Here’s my radical idea: end political parties and lobbying groups. Make it so that each candidate is entirely individual and cannot be beholden to small but wealthy corporations or other such groups. I think the greatest acheivement of the writers of our constitution (+10 cliche points for invoking the founding fathers) is that they divided it and made the branches check each other. Political parties and lobbies are too strong because nothing is keeping them in check. In an individual-based system, the public will check and balance itself because it is inherently divided regarding what policies individual people support. It’s like applying free market economic theory to the democratic process. Some might argue that our side of the equation is balanced, with lobbies on one side and the public on the other; That might work out on paper, but we all know the people are asleep and I have no doubts that corporate lobbies (maybe not so much for other types of lobbies) would rather keep us that way.

I’ve only been eligible to vote in one election and I’m already sick of it. Am I the only one who feels like a mouse who has to choose between cats?

-Vic

Insert poignant speech about the passage of time, fond memories, and bitter regrets.

I’m gonna go have a drink.

-Vic

By the way: I’m an amateur photographer, for those who don’t know. My work is on my DeviantArt page. Essentially, Flickr is for snapshots and DeviantArt is for art. Enjoy.

-Vic

Nowadays, while commercial “hip-pop” is stronger than ever, I’ve noticed the beginnings of a movement that isn’t all about money, hoes, violence, etc. Most people (in my demographic) still dismiss hip-hop as a genre or embrace the most commercial aspects of it in order not to have to worry about musical taste at (frat) parties.

Holla baq fo’: An explanation of the elements of a hip-hop song and a rundown of some great artists at varying levels of obscurity.

I find that hip-hop music is either dismissed out of hand by people or embraced for all the wrong reasons. You can’t dismiss an entire genre based on the nonsense you hear on the radio; if I have to hear “Get Low” or “Yeah” at another college party I’m going to throw that damned computer/stereo/whatever out the window. I know it’s funny to hear Lil Jon say “WHAT? OKAY!” but enough is enough. It’s possible to vary the playlist and still please the dancefloor crowd.

Let me throw out a small disclaimer here: My experience with the vast majority other people’s taste in hip-hop has been people I’ve known from Westchester County, NY and people who go to Lafayette College: essentially, white suburban kids, AKA the mainstream. There are plenty of people in the world who do not commit the above sins and it is from those people that I would invite comments and critiques on this post. But enough disclaiming, let’s get down to business.

What is a hip-hop song?

Note: While I might mention a lot of artists here, I will only link those that I recommend.

First, let me explain that when you hear a hip-hop song you are likely hearing the work of two separate artists. Very often, the music comes from a producer or a DJ and the rapping comes from the rapper, who is the one getting all the press. So when you hear Ludacris’ “Stand Up”, you’re hearing Ludacris’s vocals over music produced by Erick Sermon. Therefore, when considering new hip-hop groups, it’s just as important to know who the producer/DJ is as it is to know who’s rapping. A pretty good list of important producers/DJs in the hip-hop world can be found here.

However, there are plenty of great artists who make the music and rap over it. Erick Sermon, mentioned above, is one classic artist (originally of EPMD) who does so. Another, much more obscure artist that does so to great effect is Edan. Also, certain DJs/producers release solo albums and invite lots of guest rappers to perform over the music, such as Kutmasta Kurt [Note: I only recommend the album "Redneck Olympics" and even then only with reservations]. One problem with this formula is that the lyrics are often limited to braggadoccio (which we will come to later).

The music itself is much more widely varied than what you see on MTV. I won’t get into whether certain styles are better or worse, because it comes down to personal preference, but I just want to point out that it’s not just all that grandiose crap (in my opinion) the mainstream likes so much. A Tribe Called Quest‘s music was heavily jazz-influenced, while Edan’s is very electronic and close to another genre of music called “trip-hop”.

Just like the music, there is a lot of variation in rapping styles. It might all sound the same to mom and dad, but a rapper that is good at what he does has three areas in which he must excel.

The anatomy of a rap

I would break the vocal component of hip-hop music into three components: flow, delivery, and content. The flow and delivery make up the rapper’s “style”, which is to say how the words sound, and the content stands on its own as the subject material. It’s difficult to describe in words how something sounds, but I’ll do my best.

Flow

A rapper’s flow is his ability to follow the rhythm of the music. He should speed up easily into the equivalent of sixteenth notes or slow down smoothly to half or whole notes. This is essentially the natural ability to carry a tune. Dres of Black Sheep has a really nice flow. check out their 1991 album, “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”, I haven’t heard any of their new stuff yet. Faster rapping is more difficult, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better. Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony rap at ridiculous speeds, made less challenging by their slow beats, but I don’t want to spend time on them… I can’t stand that style. Diverse is a much better fast rapper, in my opinion.

Delivery

The delivery is essentially a rapper’s ability to put feeling into the rhymes. Is he acting the part, putting emphasis on important words and changing his tone of voice appropriately, or is it deadpan and lifeless? Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 has a deep, rich voice and a pretty good delivery, especially when he raps for Ozomatli. One mainstream rapper who is a guilty pleasure of mine is Ludacris. He has a great delivery not only on each rhyme, but over the course of the whole rap. What makes him a guilty pleasure is the underdeveloped aspects of the content of his rapping, which we will address now.

Content

The first component of the content section is, as in the case with any type of music that includes a vocal element, songwriting abilty. I’m referring strictly to the mechanics of the writing: do you hear clever metaphors and grander themes throughout the song, or is it disjointed? Are the rhymes varied and interesting, or are they forced or simplistic (the worst case of which being rhyming a word with itself)? A little known Canadian duo, a rapper and a DJ who operate under the name of the latter, DJ Format, demonstrate some great wordsmithing skills (and a nice delivery). The rapper, abdominal, has a great song called “Ill Culinary Behavior” that is one long metaphor that introduces the album as if they were hosting the listener at a dinner party… really clever stuff.

The second part of content is the maturity level of the lyrics. I’d like to start of by saying that higher maturity doesn’t necessarily make for a better song: Pharcyde‘s album “Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde” is a lot of fun at around an early high school level. On the other end of the spectrum, Mos Def deals with heavy issues like racism, corporate abuses, and so on while packing a flow and a delivery that shatter that of other rappers. his album, “Black on Both Sides”, is one of my favorites in the genre.

Though immature, an important part of hip hop content is “braggadoccio”. This is a nice word people use to refer to rappers rapping about how great they are or what they’ll do to a sucka MC. This is how a lot of rappers establish themselves, especially when freestyling, and makes a nice showcase for their flow and delivery ability. You can make a few good raps out of pure braggadoccio, but its best to find a balance, as we find with Giant Panda, between that and real content.

Well, there you have it. I hope it’s easier to see the nuances in hip hop music after considering all these points. At the very least you can drop some names and pretend to know something if you get caught in a conversation about the genre. For me, Mainstream hip hop’s greatest sin is the dismal quality of the content, though there are some serious affronts to proper flow and content.

“Hip hop will simply amaze you, praise you, pay you, do whatever you say dude, but black it can’t save you.“
-Mos Def

Rock steady, beatjunkies.
-Vic.

France

France is a beautiful place and it pains me that I have to spend my last days here wishing for finals to be over.
To be fair, my experience is limited to Tours, a small city that is certainly not Paris but is not the deep countryside either, and Paris. I visited Normandy, the northern coast, for a couple of days and it was enough to show me that there is a difference between Tours and the countryside. Therefore, my viewpoint is slightly more city-oriented, though Tours had a good amount of small-town charm. The two places have the same values, but some are more magnified in one place than in another.

Eating

French idiomatic expressions revolve almost entirely around food and livestock. It’s cute and it shows how integral food is to the culture here.

Outside of Paris, I found that food is natural and healthy. French food is often seen as heavy, as indeed it can be, but the day-to-day meals are not the same as what we might encounter at a French restaurant. Fresh ingredients are essential and readily available at the farmer’s market(s) centrally located in each town; you can taste the difference. Dishes are often simple, yet showcase the flavors of the ingredients rather than try to outdo them with spices or sauces (note: I love spices and sauces, but they cannot make all the flavor of a meal with the exception of pasta). I was blessed to have a host mother there who was an excellent cook; she made one dish that was nothing more than fresh tomatoes from her sister’s garden, cooked and lightly spiced (oregano? basil? I don’t remember). It was utmost simplicity and utterly delicious. Leftover food from one night is often incorporated into the next night’s dinner (I’ve seen this in Paris as well, though there is a larger tendency here to leave leftovers for people to eat for lunch). This is partially because French refrigerators are miniscule. After dinner comes a round of cheeses, which has caused me to fall in love with Chevre (goat cheese) and Camembert (a soft, creamy variety). French desserts, especially pastries are of course an institution both here and in Paris. To compare a Dunkin’ Donuts croissant to any neighborhood bakery here would just bring me to tears. They’re also less than a euro each.

I talked a bit about the regional food of Normandy in an earlier post.

In Paris, there is an enthusiasm for natural and healthy food too, but it is easier to get caught in the supermarket nonsense of frozen and microwaveable meals. To be fair, my host mother in Tours was a theater actress and my host mother in Paris is a magazine editor, so there is a slight issue of available cooking time. Even so, my Parisian host mother tries very hard to make new and interesting dishes, though I have to admit she can be heavy-handed with the spices and sauces. Parisians retain the French healthy attitude of organic, unmodified produce: Fruit is normal-sized, softer, and sweeter (see my affair with the pear), milk is whole (though I can’t handle it… I drink the equivalent of skim) or half-cream, and meat is hormone-free. I think Europeans are smart to distrust modified food, whether it is GM, hormone-injected, or stuffed full of antibiotics and other things against the dangerous conditions of factory. Even junk food is better for you: Coca-Cola is made with real sugar instead of corn syrup (and is therefore not as heavy). Americans lose weight when they come to Europe and i’ll give you a hint, it’s not from the smoking.

To learn about the nonsense in which GM food corporations are involved, I refer you to Stolen Harvest by Vandana Shiva.

Sightseeing

In one of his standup routines, Eddie Izzard said “I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from,” and he’s absolutely right. We may have things like the empire state building and the golden gate bridge, but really could give a shit about them when compared to castles and cathedrals and ooh, Hemingway lived here and Victor Hugo was there and oh wow there’s the Bastille. You can see pictures of Chambord castle or the bunkers of the D-day beaches on the internet, but it is absolutely nothing like being there. All that history weighs heavily on the French, though, who are constantly reminded of the past glory of the empire. I wouldn’t be suprised if that’s a psychological reason for France’s resistance to the EU constitution referendum. Paris isn’t as densely populated with history as Rome, though, which is positively choked with it. Rome can’t even have a proper metro system because ancient Roman ruins are blocking the excavation of tunnels. I’m sure the upkeep of all these things weighs heavily on the budgets of European nations as well. Paris, however full of famous historical places, is really about exhibits. the Centre Pompidou constantly hosts exhibitions of photographers, filmmakers, designers, and all kinds of artistic and cultural figures and movements. A lesser-known wonder is the Institute for the Arabic World, which has lots of contemporary and historical exhibitions and a great (though overpriced) tea-house. There are countless tiny museums and exhibitions to see and a much greater proliferation of foreign movies (foreign meaning not French, but also not American) in theaters around the city.

I will definitely miss having press invitations to event openings provided by my host mother.

Cultural differences

The French have certain social expectations that I haven’t seen in the US. Unless the place is overrun by tourists, you are expected to greet cashiers and counterpersons upon entering and say au revoir or bonne journée to them when leaving. Sometimes, they even like to chat a bit: I walked into a tiny photo-processing shop once and inquired if they had a particular type of film and the cashier chastised me for not giving her at least a bonjour. French culture is warm and friendly in this way. People are more passionate about their work here, if their work allows for any passion at all (for example, it’s tough for a cashier in a department store to be passionate). I walked into a chain wine shop in Tours to get a gift for my host family and put myself at the mercy of the man who worked there, explaining that I knew nothing about wine. Instead of handing me a bottle and saying “just take this one,” he asked me questions about what sorts of food the wine would be drank with and showed me several different bottles, explaining the differences and the proper storage temperature and breathing time of each. I insist on being an informed consumer whenever I can and walking blindly into a shop was difficult for me, but I left feeling like I had got the most out of my purchase and didn’t feel like I’d been pressured into buying at all.

French conversations also have certain expectations that I wrote about in my first post in France.
While French people can be warm and accommodating when you have context to meet them, things are different in the street. This also occurs in New York City, but in case you’re reading this from elsewhere, French women will not establish eye contact on the street or in the metro. This is taken as a sign of flirting and can just bring more unwanted attention than the absolutely stunning Parisian female population already receives. This doesn’t, however, stop them from blatantly staring at you from inside cars or behind closed metro doors.

A note that doesn’t fit into any of the above paragraphs is that French people will take care not to wake you up if you’re sleeping, even if you fall asleep in the livingroom. I know that at least my parents will make all kinds of noise in the morning. Once I agreed to go to a movie with my host family, but fell asleep. Instead of waking me, they just went without me, which I rather appreciate because I kinda needed it. They told me afterwards that I’d done well to fall asleep because the movie was terrible.

I don’t want this to run too long… books have been written about cultural differences and I don’t need to write another one here.

Quiche out.

-Vic

Human beings love to categorize each other. It’s that much easier to relegate someone to a certain type of person than to really try to figure them out. It’s only fair, however, to say that people often make it difficult to understand them. That said, I find that it’s easy to confuse cultural differences with stereotypes. I’ve always been pretty good about trying to ignore stereotypes, but I admit that before I came I thought I might be lost in a culture for which my French classes hadn’t even tried to prepare me. It wasn’t the case at all. Paris isn’t such a leap, culturally, from New York City anyway.

Being alone was hard for a while. There was a period of 2-3 weeks in which I didn’t know anyone at all. I’m not talking about just as I arrived, I met people easily enough then. Somewhere in the middle of the semester, I found that I simply didn’t have any friends here. The people I had been hanging out with certainly had time to hang out, then, but they didn’t call me and if I called it just never worked out. I took a hint and just let it go. That was during one of the worst parts of my ordeal with Beth, about which different people know different amounts, and so there was literally no one I could call. I don’t think I’ve ever been more disheartened than that time spent sitting in my room looking out the window. “est-ce que tu sais que tu es à Paris?” [do you know that you're in Paris?] my host mother asked me at one point. I really don’t know exactly where that time went, but it’s like a big void in the semester, just white noise in the middle of the transmission. I enjoy my time alone and I know I need it from time to time, but when it’s not taken by choice, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Paris, France or Easton, Pennsylvania, you’re just nowhere.

Just then, it all started coming back together. I met a couple people in my photography class, a couple in my communications class, so on and so on… and I could come out of my trance. My post about the Roisin Murphy concert takes place just as I come back to life. I’d essentially lost touch with the Americans from my study abroad program and this came back to haunt me when I wanted to plan a trip to Rome, so I ended up going alone. I didn’t slip back into the void though, I did research and looked up everywhere I wanted to go and everything I wanted to do; I’d never been more on top of anything in my life. There, I learned independence. Not in the sense of providing for my own meals and living outside of a family, but in the sense of living each day for yourself: it’s great to have friends around, but there’s no reason to miss out on things if they’re being flakey or otherwise holding you back.

Living with people in a hostel is like meeting them on an airplane. Your time together is short, friendships are transient, ephemeral. It didn’t affect me so much, my time alone in Paris prepared me for the time in between when the friends I’d made at the hostel had left and before I’d met their replacements. During that little stay I made about as many friends as I have in the entirety of my semester in Paris. I have a much smaller chance of seeing these people again, though, than I would if I still knew any Americans. I guess it’s just another excuse to go see Germany, Brazil, and Chile.

I’ll be very glad to see you all when I get back.

Finally, the official allotment of chances you receive with the opposite sex is one. You’ll either waste it or you’ll take it.
-Vic
PS: It occurs to me that some of these things I’ve learned seem rather basic. I’d like to point out that there is a difference between knowing something and learning it. If someone tells me something I know it, but if I experience it, then I’ve learned.

I don’t leave the country for another week, but my experience here is essentially over. I have to write essays and study for finals until January 10th and then on the 11th I visit a friend in Salamanca, Spain until the 16th, when I go back to the United States. I haven’t done anything special since my trip to Rome, so this curtain is closing.

These past four months constitute the longest time I’ve ever been out of the US and the longest time I’ve ever lived in someone else’s home. That has had an effect on me, Paris has had an effect on me, people have… etc. This post is a sort of closure for my whole experience. Some things here may be of some interest to people planning to go abroad in the future, but I haven’t fleshed out what I’m going to write beforehand, so we’ll see.

This is a long post broken into easily digested smaller pieces. Read whichever of the sections that interests you.

Excuse me for not starting with something very meaningful. I’m still doing work and that’s what’s on my mind.

What I’ve learned.
Academics

The internet is a god and I am unworthy.

I wrote an economics paper in French. The fact that it was in French wasn’t nearly as much of a problem as the fact that it was economics. These concepts are not so hard to understand, but the way textbooks try to explain them just makes me want to stab myself in the eye. The only reason I finished the paper at all is because I looked up concepts on Wikipedia and then just cited the other sources without really reading them. Here’s a hint to textbook authors: before diving right into the mechanics of a theory, write out a little definition in one or two sentences, not everyone speaks your crazy language of numbers and technical jargon.
Finals and essays are assigned over the Christmas break period and the majority of libraries close from Christmas until New Year’s… let that be a warning of the nonsense you can run into on this continent.

I’ll let this one go here… I’m just complaining.

-Vic

World wanderers click for: 10 good things to know if you plan to spend a few days in Rome1. Termini Station might seem centrally located on the map of Rome, but a lot of the sights to see are a significant walk, as are Trastevere and Testaccio… If you can stay on Via Vittore Emanuelle, that is a pretty good compromise, though you’ll always end up walking a lot if you go to see more than one or two things in a day. Termini, however, is a great place to catch the (sometimes useful) metro and most of the (always useful) buses.

3. Nightlife. If you want to go to an English-speaking bar, go to Campo di Fiori (specifically the Drunken Ship, where you can play Beirut, which some people call Beer Pong). If you want to go to a club, go to Testaccio (not shown on the tourist map), but prices vary.
4. There are lots of Gelato places near the Fontana di Trevi. I had a better one called San Crispino on Via della Panneteria, but I got a smaller size for the price.

5. Delicious food for cheap at Sora Margherita. I will only give the name here, so that it’s not too easy to find… I’m hoping only food enthusiasts will make the effort to find it. I had an appetizer (a good sized one), an entree, a dessert, a small carafe of red wine, and a coffee for 23 euros. Expect to speak Italian, very specific hours of operation.

6. A quick and different sort of church to visit is the Santa Maria della Concezzione dei Capuccini. Go to see the crypt under it (there’s a sign that says “Coematerium”). It’s a small crypt decorated with the bones of hundreds of monks, a morbid fascination but an interesting 15-30min to spend near the Piazza Barberini.

7. You’ll be beating the crowds by going there during the off season, but you’ll also be going during the time when all the repairs and restorations are being done, so beware that your view of the Piazza di Spagna might be ruined by a giant billboard of Demi Moore in sunglasses mounted on the repairs scaffolding.

8. I’ve never been more wary of little kids than in Rome. If you’re not watching they’ll jack you for your wallet while you’re not even looking, or even if you are… they don’t care. I saw a lady smack around three of them trying to get into her purse. It depends on what neighborhood you’re visiting, but they love tourists so keep an eye out. Same goes for the buses and metro.

9. Sandwiches can be had in lots of places (especially walking back into central rome from the Vatican) for less than 2 euros. Nothing amazing, but useful if you want to eat cheap. A caffe and a cornetto (croissant) can also be had in the morning for less than 2 euros.

10. The Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums close early, get your ass up and hop on the bus around 9-9:30 if you want to have lots of time.

OMFG SPECIAL BONUS TIP: An Italian guy told me that while Paris was great for expensive restaurants, Italy is better for smaller, mid-priced trattorias.

Arrivederci,

-Vic

turns out that extra essay stuff wasn’t true. Now I don’t twitch and tremble so much.

I don’t remember how old I was, but I was just not that enchanted with the taste, plus it itched my gums to take a bite out of one, as it did with an apple. After that first taste, I left them alone for the most part, preferring the tropical and berry families to their orchard-dwelling cousins. Since my arrival in France, however, I have found that our story would not end so quickly.
After the jump: A second taste and a deflowering

Soon after my arrival in Paris, I found that the pear was very noticeably represented in French desserts. Where New Yorkers have apple sauce, Parisians have compote de poire. I’d fooled around a bit with pear compote in Tours, reveling in the simplicity and texture of the dessert and then had made things more serious with a few pear slices mixed with other fruit in something like maple syrup. The sparks hadn’t exactly flown during our first meeting, but now I was intrigued enough to give it a second try. I sat alone in the kitchen, knife in hand, a plate in front of me with a fresh pear upon it. I cut a small slice and tasted it. I was quickly on to a second, then one slice led to another and soon I had abandoned the knife altogether and found myself face-deep in the soft flesh thinking nothing but “mmh, oh… this has to be the peariest pear I’ve ever… mmh, oh my..”

Finally I looked up, juice dripping from my mouth and feeling a satisfaction usually reserved for other experiences. I looked back down at the ravaged fruit for a long moment, remembering the softness of the flesh on my lips and teeth, the gentle sweetness on my tongue, and the wild abandon with which I had gorged myself upon it.

We still see each other in tarts, compotes, and other places; it brings a tiny smile to my face whenever I learn that we’ll meet again after dinner.

I have had some absolutely delicious food in my lifetime, incredible dishes from regions all over the world, but they just don’t compare to that night on the countertop.
That, my now weirded-out friends, is the story of my first foodgasm.

-Vic