Things I Learned This Week
Artists, volcanoes, and racism, oh my!
The school workload is starting to get to me, but the year is young. Here’s some tidbits I picked up this week.
I was only a few years old when I learned this bit of artistic knowledge. Being raised by a visual artist, surrounded by artists my whole life, and having always considered myself an artist, you would think I would have known why artists hold their thumb or pencil up to what they are drawing, right? It’s pretty obvious, but I’ve never heard a teacher explain it out loud. D’uh.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is a sweet, sentimental film dealing with 60s-era race issues. At the time, some thought it made too light of Black struggles in America, but forget that this is about an older Black man and a young white woman. It’s really just a story about two people in love. The themes of youth, overcoming grief, parents and children, and second chances are universal no matter what color you are. Sidney Portier might be the classiest man who ever lived, but the two final monologues sealed the deal for me. Bea Richards (who plays Portier’s mother) monologues about passion and remembering young love. In turn, Spencer Tracy (the girl’s father) gives a kick-ass monologue about saying screw it to racism. Not to mention Katherine Hepburn can cry on cue like nobody’s business—two thumbs up.
Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolfe is fire. The short short story of a jaded book critic and his last moments of life. I read this for World Lit, and man, oh, man, it's so great. The end is breathtaking. I’ve never read any of his books, but now his memoir This Boy's Life is bumped to the top of my TBR list. Spend the 13 minutes to read or listen to Wolfe read it himself here.
A girlfriend turned me onto this Work Life episode with Danielle Allen—political scientist / Harvard professor—where she discusses the current state of higher ed concerning inclusion, academic freedom, and mutual understanding. She talks about steps for promoting critical thinking while strengthening students' capacity for judgment, being more precise in identifying wrongs and promoting human rights and navigating the academic environment with a politically neutral but morally clear stance. I can’t explain it as well as she does, so have a listen.
Having a child who loves music is one of the great joys of my adult life. I’ve listened to Ants from Up There by Black Country, New Road, on loop at his rec for half a year. I would suggest a song, but it’s really best consumed in full. The lead singer had a breakdown right before this album came out, so when my husband and I saw them in San Antonio this year, it was sans the frontman. Still, sooo good. This week, I learned that if you listen to this record too many times, it will full-on break your heart and consume you with an overwhelming malaise you’ll find difficult to shake. Partake at your own risk.
I learned about plate tectonics and why some of the Hawaiian volcanoes are active, and some are dead. It is one of the coolest, most fascinating things I have ever heard. Sincerely. It is too hard to explain here, but if you are a science dummy like me, watch this eight-minute video that explains it all.
Lastly, always be inspired by the young people creating around you, and PRO tip from a favorite junior, when it comes to cramming or getting shit done, the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack (all of them) is key. Trying it out today. :) BTW, y’all are registered to vote, right?
Quote of the week.
When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language. — James Earl Jones (RIP King)
‘Til Tuesday kids.
Burgin
(I’m finishing college at 50+, follow along and read my story here.)