UT Memory #2

The two loves of junior year. The lifestyles that accompanied them. The secrecy, imagination, and closeness. Being part of a team, an “us.”  Holding on tight and letting go. Being yourself and being comfortable. Knowing what it’s like to never want to be apart. Laughing. Playing. And the ultimate realization that they were both entirely too short-lived.

Hang on to the ones that matter, folks. And if you can’t, hang on to the memories.

Comparisons Are Easily Done

This was a short but decent week. It consisted of: class (both attending and teaching), grading, planning, reading, writing, a “family” dinner with the roommates, a new TV show (Glee), Beatles Rock Band, and general goodtimes with the TAs. Notice that sleep is missing from the above list.

Ah, sleep. I’m used to bouts of insomnia on occasion, but this is different. I do not have a regular schedule. If anything, I find spots of time throughout the day when it is quiet and hopefully catch at least one “Z.” Tuesday night, in fact, was 100% sleep-free. But it did give me the opportunity to get some work done and watch The Final Destination online. Awful, awful movie. Nothing but a time waster. Of course, that’s all it was really intended to be, so I guess no harm done. Anyway, the noise/sleep problem should be fixed soon. The waiting game for now.

Despite these settling-in snags, I’m doing fairly well in Mass. I’ve been here almost three full weeks, and everything is pretty much in full swing. I find myself eating healthier foods and generally being more active. There seems to be an energy here that’s positively electrifying (pun intended). People move fast, talk fast, but are still somehow…chill – is that the right word? It’s wonderful. The cultural differences between the Northeast and the South are definite and many, which is in no way a complaint.

Shifting gears, I’ve become more aware of the cynicism that surrounds me. I’m guilty of being quite cynical at times, and I kind of wish I was not. Many of my friends use it as a defense mechanism. Sometimes it’s a little…much. Then again, if you need a defense mechanism, it might as well be cynicism, right? You can squeeze some great humor out of pessimism and sarcasm. It’s got that going for it.

Now the UT-UCLA game is coming up. I’m anxious to see the Vols continue the ass whooping that was so encouraging last week. I never thought I’d be so loyal to a football team, but GO VOLS!!!

This Is Not Difficult

It's sad people might need this, but it's a start.

Video Essentials – Part I

I’m compiling my favorite music videos, organized by genres that I invented. Part I follows:

Visual Representation – “Untitled,” Simple Plan
Simple Plan’s “Untitled” has long been one of my favorite videos for its use of visual metaphor. An emo song with a message (sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving), the video depicts a fatal car crash caused by a drunk driver. At the moment of impact, each family member of the teenage victim is shown being physically and violently hurled across the room. The driver perishes, but the lives of her family are literally ripped away from them. The editing and visuals of the video are powerful and effective. It’s an exercise in simple and creative storytelling, and it gets me every time.

Single-Take Awesomeness – “1234,” Feist
Feist’s “1234″ is by now a catchy little jingle everyone remembers from the Apple commercials. But the video for the single deserves a little praise. Consider the fact that the entire video is filmed in one take. Not only do the dancers manage not to screw up the choreography (after who knows how many takes), but they manage to appear and disappear from sight. I still have trouble figuring out how all those people got behind Feist at the beginning of the video. Like the infamous Tootsie Pop question…the world may never know. Throw in the outrageously campy costumes and funky dance moves, and you’ve got yourself a cult hit!

Hilariously Nonsensical – “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Bonnie Tyler
“What the effing crap? That angel guy just felt me up.” Seriously, what is this video about? What is this song about? The oversinging, the young boys fencing/footballing/swimming, the glowing eyes, and that goddamn angel kid. Put it all together and what have you got? Hell if I know. But it’s great to dissect, particularly with people who are adept at observational humor.

Special Effects & Set Design – “Cry,” Faith Hill
As far as aesthetic qualities of music videos go, this one has has been at the top of my list for a while. Though the special effects are relatively simple, they serve the song well, fusing past with present and erasing time. The camera moves slowly and deliberately, catching the action rather than focusing on it, while Faith Hill’s expression and body movements are appropriately subdued. The set is positively gothic, being grimy, wet, and overgrown, but it contributes to the desperation of the song and represents well the singer’s inner feeling. Indeed, from the very beginning, when Faith Hill walks from the blurriness into focus, I just really, really love this video.
This video is not embeddable. To view, go here. And listen with headphones on and the volume up.

U.S. News: UMD #1 in New England again

I really do, honest-to-God despise ranking systems, especially when they are determined by one of the lamest of all circulated publications (U.S. News and World Report) “to help you make one of the most important decisions of your life.” As in, “not to help us stay financially afloat with our rankings issues because no one buys our publication for any other reason these days.” However, when people get excited about said ranking, it needs to be posted.

I couldn’t find on U.S. News‘s website how, exactly, we ranked number one, but then I realized that there were two criteria in the following press release: 1) New England universities – not just northern, and 2) public. Those criteria really narrow the list down because New England is really only six states and U.S. News usually puts private schools way ahead of public ones. For the 2010 rankings, we actually place Number 62 in the master’s universities North category. It’s verrrry important to rank schools based on geography, according to USN≀ so much so that they do not offer master’s rankings on a national scale – only based on North, South, East, and West quadrants of the country. In other words, we’re not that special in U.S. News‘s oh-so-generous and helpful eyes, but hey, out of six pretty educated states with fairly well-funded public school systems, WE’RE NUMBER 1! WE’RE NUMBER 1!

“UMass Dartmouth has once again received the highest ranking among New England public “master’s” degree universities in U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 edition of America’s Best Colleges released today. The College of Engineering, meanwhile, has again been ranked among the nation’s best undergraduate engineering programs.

“Our innovative programs, connecting groundbreaking research and meaningful service to a personalized learning process, prepare our graduates to compete in the global economy and build strong communities,” UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack said. “As we continue to evolve into a major regional research university that also highly values community engagement, these strong rankings in a category that focuses on the undergraduate learning experience are a credit to the faculty and staff of the university.”

The “master’s” category in America’s Best Colleges included 572 colleges and universities around the country that “provide a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs” and ranks them within regions of the country. Besides its comprehensive undergraduate and master’s programs, UMass Dartmouth’s doctoral programs are expanding in areas that are critical to the needs and aspirations of the region, Commonwealth and nation. These include marine science and technology, math education, engineering, nursing, chemistry, and Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory.

The College of Engineering was listed among the best 50 undergraduate programs in the country at public and private campuses that are predominantly focused on undergraduates. The campus was ranked 42nd along with Boise State, Cal. State-Long Beach, Manhattan College, Mercer College, Oregon Institute of Technology, and Seattle University.  UMass Dartmouth was one of just four New England institutions on the list, along with Smith College, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and Olin College of Engineering.

“We are very pleased by this ranking, which speaks to the high quality of the college and especially our faculty, our students and our staff,” said Robert Peck, dean of the College of Engineering.  ”At the same time we remain highly focused on the development of dynamic educational programs and interdisciplinary research initiatives leading to world class distinction.”"