Asking For Directions

New York isn’t known for its hospitality. You could probably go as far to say that there’s almost none to note on. The city doesn’t lend its self to want to ask for directions from a passerby, or to even stop for too long, staring up at the skyscrapers, for fear of proving that you’re a tourist. Everyone’s appears to be in a rush and too busy to answer questions, mostly. However, you can find those people, but usually, they too, are not “from” the city.

I really began to realize what this inhospitable nature meant for how people visiting feel towards New Yorker’s. I recently went to Holland, Amsterdam in particular, and almost everyone there was the exact opposite of New York. If you had a question of where to go, or how close you were to such and such, they’d not only answer but most of the time would go out of their way to help. This really did make the city that much nicer. When speaking with one of my cousin’s friends, a Dutch student living in Den Haag, a city just outside of Amsterdam, he commented about New Yorkers by simply telling me “they look a lot nicer than they really are.” He continued by telling horror stories of his first trip to New York, when he didn’t speak English as well as he does now and how hard it was to ask and receive directions. His picture of the city was definitely tainted by these experiences and didn’t enjoy New York as much because of its inhospitable nature.

The way people view a new place is weighed very heavily by not only how the city looks; buildings, museums, etc. But also by the people they see living there. Holland seemed to have it right. Not only was the city it’s self-beautiful, but also the people matched with their friendliness towards foreigners. People genuine liked to help you and were proud to show of their English or knowledge of their city. New York could certainly benefit from learning a few things from the Dutch. It takes almost no effort to simply point someone in the right direction, or to serve him or her with a smile at the cash register, but for some reason you don’t see a lot of effort ever being put in to make visitors welcomed.

Living in the city now I can feel the city hardening me slowly. I no longer stop to answer questions as much as I did the first few months. I push past people to get to the front of the line. I even ignore some people asking for directions without thinking about what it was like when I first got here and had to do the same. After visiting Holland I’m going to try to reverse the effects the city has had on me. I’d really like to change, even if only in a small way, how people see this beautiful city. New York is a beautiful place, people just need to take time to continue to make it that way for not just those living here, but also those just visiting.

The Child's Way Out

I recently discovered, while stumbling, a man by the name of Stephen Wiltshire. Stephen is an artist who draws by memory, his specialty being aerial views of cities. What’s most amazing about these drawings is that they are drawn completely by memory, without the aid of pictures or previous sketches. Now as if that wasn’t hard enough he also remembers these aerial views from only an hour helicopter ride in which he views the city below, taking a mental snapshot of each building, each street, down to every window of each building.

What struck me was his childhood however. Stephen is autistic, and growing up was a mute child, unable to relate to people, and until the age of 5 was incommunicable to the world. He found his voice through art. I take a drug cultures class at the New School and this stemmed a thought of whether children are possibly missing their true calling, being prescribed a medicine that makes them socially able, but removes an intrinsic part of them in the process. Are we too quick to prescribe drugs to children when they have a problem, without taking other paths of action, like in Stephen's case of going to the right school. We seem to be taking the easy way out by prescribing children.

This quick fix is explored in blogs such as Kevinmd and the issue of children and prescription drugs is rising, with parents and doctors preferring to use pharmaceutical means as opposed to psychotherapy. Are we taking away what makes kids, kids? Or are we taking away the part of people that might be their nature or their gift? These questions have to be asked and the epidemic of over medicating children is spreading.

Our World Becoming 3D

I recently went to the movies to see the new Alice in Wonderland, a Tim Burton film, and wasn’t pleasantly surprised. However what I was impressed by was the amount of commercials. I arrived in Boston yesterday and thought that a movie would be a nice relaxation after a long bus ride, however, I spent close to the same amount of time watching commercials as the real movie, only a slight exaggeration. What this brought to mind is the seemingly recent influx of commercials in almost every type of media. I expect the commercials from movie theaters, however even YouTube it seems has commercials. Our media forms are taking a turn towards an even distribution of commercial time and actual media. Possibly this is the new tend to follow.

Now not to move away from commercials the real issue that is pressing from my movie outing is the new 3D craze. Alice in Wonderland was in 3D, which I hadn’t experienced yet and thought was cool. You get a very different movie experience in three dimensions, however I felt that the movie lost something being in 3D. No longer do movies have to depend on a flawless plot, or cinematography that blows you away, all you need is cool landscapes with the occasional bug to fly virtually into your face. This new trend of movies is blowing out of proportion. Since Avatar it seems every new movie will be in 3D, and I can’t help but think this is a turn for the worse for movies. People want the instant gratification of seeing bad ass scene without any “traditional” art of cinematography. All of the scene in Alice that caught my eye were simply because they quite literally popped out at me. There wasn’t a shot in the movie that I thought, “wow this is a beautiful shot,” I rather thought “wow that’s cool animation, but not a real image.” We are moving towards a movie generation that nothings real, everything’s either enhanced or animated, and this disturbs me.

Just like commercials are becoming now movies need to do the same, and that is an even distribution of “real” movies and 3D. It’s nice to have a variety but this is not the case. We need to keep movies in some way about art and to me the traditional is art.

Driving In The City

In Maine getting your license is a right of passage among teenagers. Without a license you are limited to the confines of your house, or even worse left to have your parents drive you to meet friends. However with public transportation in New York City the problem of driving is eliminated. It is in fact more of an issue if you have a car in the city. You have to find a parking space, you have to deal with the crazed taxi drivers whipping through tiny streets, and worst of all the streets themselves are too complicated to actually know which one goes which way. Most people I know that have lived in the city before, or are natives to the city don't have licenses and have almost no clue how to drive. To be quite honest a big part of the reason I came to live in the city was the fact that I would never have to drive. I'm scared shitless of driving, as well as being a relatively poor driver. Here I never have to worry about it.

A year ago my sister died in car crash and from that point on setting foot in a car is almost unbearable. Each time the driver accelerates or makes a turn I envision myself crashing and the impact that would have on my family. Driving was no longer an enjoyment but a hassle. In New York however, even when I'm riding in a taxi I feel safe. The drivers almost always seem to be quite competent, and the distance I travel in the taxi is never very far. I can't help but wonder if the city because many people don't drive, is it safer? Of course there's also the drunk driving aspect. In Maine it was a common occurrence that people would drive home after consuming alcohol. Driving drunk in the city seems much less prevalent with people able to take public transportation and taxi's and the peace of mind of knowing your friends haven't crashed on the way home is calming.

I specifically remember driving home from a party that I had gone to in the city and was in a taxi and phoned my father. He asked what I had been doing and I truthfully told him that I was drinking. He responded by saying that moving to the city was one of the best things for me and him, that knowing I was able to get home without being in a car with someone drunk gave him peace of mind. However what I can't help but wonder is whether people who have never left the city have any desire to drive or if public transportation is good enough that people couldn't care less whether they got from A to B in a car or a train. I try to think that people like that they don't have to drive. Public transportation is much less dangerous than being in a car, and from what I've experienced so far, much less of a hassle. The experience of getting your license may be lost in the city, but at least people don't have to worry that their car will break down, or that their son or daughter might not make it home.

Coffee House Cabaret

New York- The first spring Coffee House Cabaret for the New School community was held Thursday February 18th, and was a collage of preforming arts by New School students.

The Cabaret is a monthly display of the variety of New School talents present at the school, and was open to any student who wished to showcase their art. This months Cabaret featuring: an original dance performance, a poetry reading, a guitar trio, as well as singer songwriters. The show was held at Wollman Hall at the New Schools 12th street building. The relatively small preforming area, with seating close to the performers themselves, allowed for an intimate viewing experience for those present. "It was easy to hear everyone one performing which was nice." said Andrew Lenec 19, a freshman at Eugene Lang. The show itself was well put together and ran smoothly without interruptions from the crowd.

Previously the Cabaret was not as well responded to, and many students left before the show ran its entirety. This resulted in long pauses before the show could continue after acts, without having people moving around while the performers were on stage. The casualness of the previous Cabaret, taking place in the fall of 2009, was not followed through in this springs show. Performer's were well rehearsed, with transitions moving faster, and very few people didn't stay for the entire show.

As well as the viewers positive response to the changes from the previous show, the performers themselves were likewise pleased with how the show went. "This was my first time playing at one of these," Joel Kruzie said, a 19 year old freshman studying music at the New School, "it's a no pressure performance, with a lot of different acts... and we got a good applause from the crowd which was nice." With a good response from the crowd Joel and his trio of guitarist, all freshman studying at the New School, plan to play at another Cabaret when they get a chance. With this months, and first of the spring Cabaret shows, more viewers also plan on coming back. "I hadn't been to one yet, and I was glad I came... It was nice to see other students from my school preforming," said Lenec who plans on going to next months. With no cost for admission the Cabaret provided New School students with an affordable night out filled with talent.

High Heels in Winter

Wintertime in New York City doesn’t seem to stop young women from wearing nothing but leggings and a skirt through the slushy winter mess, no matter what the cost. Well the cost for looking good in the winter is the inability to feel ones legs, an expense I don't think of in Maine. Coming from a very small town in Maine I’m almost to used to seeing everyone, including the “fashionable” people wearing layers of clothing under their jeans, and always a heavy winter coat. This being my first winter in New York I was surprised to see that the way people dressed, primarily woman, did not change significantly even when the streets were cluttered with snow. I know it's expected living in the city that you "look good" but the almost gas like prices for beauty is most certainly raising.

I’ve never really walked in high heels, but I’m willing to bet that walking in the snow with even just a three inch heel can’t be easy, and is most likely fairly dangerous. Still I see girls who are presumably going out to a club or even just walking around in heels and skirts. Too many times have I heard complaints at the end of the night, "I was so cold tonight!" well my answer is simply no shit. The higher standard of fashion is outweighing the need to be warm or to walk comfortably. It's more appropriate to not blame the weather, but rather the city we live in. It is unacceptable it seems to go out side ones home without looking your best. This may not be the case with everyone in the city but certainly a vast majority of people living here follow the rule that you just don’t wear sweatpants outside. People have this idea that you have to dress a little better if you live in the city, and frankly I don’t object to this idea. The cities population as a whole really does look better, but at some point comfort needs to play a part as well.

I’m not what you would call a fashionable person. I try to follow the dress code of wearing what’s comfortable, without being a complete slob. This is probably the result of growing up in a small town in Maine where Carhartt is considered a designer brand. The city however forces me to dress a little better. I came back to Maine during winter break wearing what would have been a normal day’s outfit in the city and met a frenzy of laughs saying, “the cities changed you man, you look like your going out on the town.” You simply don’t wear tighter jeans and a nice shirt to ride around in a truck. However at home I felt the sense again that you could wear whatever you wanted and it didn’t really matter. The city however has rules.

I remember one night that I had gone “out on the town” and had been persuaded to go to a salsa club of some sort. Upon coming to the entrance of the club the bouncer looked down at my shoes, seeing that I was wearing sneakers, said that I wouldn’t be allowed in without dress shoes. I was in shock that the shoes I wore were what were preventing me from entering. I had on a nice shirt, decent pants, and even a damn scarf. The club from the outside didn’t even appear to be all that nice, but still they strongly enforced a no sneakers rule. I was embarrassed by this refusal of entry and left the club with the other two unlucky guys who wore sneakers. This unofficial law would seem to be a contributing factor to why woman even in winter wear heels. If they, heaven forbid, wore something that they could walk through snow in, they surely wouldn’t be able to go anywhere.

The War on Prisons

The war on drugs is one of this nations biggest follies. Since its start it has been overwhelmingly unsuccessful, with not much being done to change drug laws or to limit the amount of incarcerated people the war on drugs has given this county. With the war on drugs continuing as it has been, and the drug laws remaining the same, prisons are overflowing. As Senator Jim Webb says "either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States; or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice." It would seem that no longer is it just a war against drugs but a war against the criminal justice system.

We are moving slowly towards the issue of drug legalization, but we are no where near it seems close to alleviating the over population of prisons in the United States. Government officials seem to give much less attention and money towards what prison does to the inmates of this drug war. The approach to stopping violence is by incarcerating drug offenders. However this isn't the right approach. Rather than providing drug offenders with comprehensive drug treatment they are rather thrown in jail. On the website Drug War Facts it states that the "department of corrections data show that about a fourth of those initially imprisoned for nonviolent crimes are sentenced for a second time for committing a violent offense. Whatever else it reflects, this pattern highlights the possibility that prison serves to transmit violent habits and values rather than to reduce them." The war on drugs isn't solely about getting rid of drugs but rather limiting crime, reducing addiction, and hopefully soon about decreasing the population of prisons.

We can no longer be oblivious to the facts of the drug war. The current drug policies don't work to stop addiction, the rate of drug related crimes is not decreasing, and we are in a financial recession. We need to realize that not all drugs should be considered the same and that by perpetuating the law enforcements idea that anyone who does drugs is a criminal and should be punished rather than helped only worsens our nations drug issue.