Recently, I read an article that centered on a Harvard professor’s anger after a recent grad whom he taught (Jared Kushner, the son of realllly powerful real estate developer) went out and bought the New York Observer — and then slashed the paychecks of the Observer’s freelancers, one of whom was the Harvard professor himself. The professor was pissed that Kushner, who most likely gave him attitude in the classroom, had the money and the audacity to do something that monumental, while the professor was making around $15,500 a year.

“When intellectuals act as clerks and students act as clients, how do college teachers differ from corporate accountants?” the professor angrily writes. “…the sedulous banality of the rich degrades teaching into a service-class preoccupation whose chief duty is preparing clients for monied careers.”

Big words (I mean, he teaches at Harvard. I think it’s a prerequisite), but what the guy is basically saying that rich students make him feel like he’s not doing anything except helping them learn how to grow up and screw the little guys. Rich kids make this guy feel like he’s nothing more than a stepping stone toward big conglomerate world domination.

He’s sort of got a point, but it’s a moot one, because…I mean…duh.

A lot of insanely rich kids grow up believing most of the human race is there to serve them. I attended undergrad at a private liberal arts college where Gucci purses and Prada shoes were perfectly in place at 8:30 in the morning, and you better believe there were some kids with major attitude in class. A degree was something they simply had to tolerate before Daddy or Mommy or Uncle Dearest would set them up in some prime position at whatever giant company their family owned. Read More »

I can’t speak for all women (even though I tend to try), but a lot of my self esteem comes from my ability to perform tasks well. Like bowling, or making people laugh or getting really good grades in school. My parents were never the type to stand over me and push me to do well. I pushed myself. Poor performance on an exam or in a class meant that I was not good at something and made me look bad next to my friends.

The fact that I did well in school left me with a lot of confidence and self worth when I moved on and began doing other things. I knew that I could do just about anything if I wanted to, which is how I approached the job hunt after college and how I continue to approach every task that is put in front of me. I know I am intelligent and capable and that leaves me with a sense of comfort and mental clarity as I go through life.

I can totally understand, then, the results of a recent study that claim that women who are expelled or drop out of high school experience a much higher rate of mental instability and depression than men.
For one thing, the inability to complete a task will weigh on anyone; especially one that will affect the course of the rest of your life. And, because women tend to be more in tune with their emotions, it makes sense that this would affect them more than their male counterparts. (Or at least what those macho, “I’m fine” boys are reporting.) Read More »

I was hangin’ out last night, watching Tori and Dean, Home Sweet Hollywood (OMG…did I just admit that?) when I got a text from my brother. He had just turned on the news and heard that Estelle Getty - the one and only Sophia from Sicily - had passed away.

Golden Girls was one of my all-time favorite shows growing up, and even more so now that I actually understand all the jokes. It was Boca Raton’s answer to Sex and the City…before Carrie Bradshaw was even tapping away on her MacBook. It was way ahead of its time, and has since stood the test of time. Not the fashion, maybe, but the content for sure.

Of course, Sophia wasn’t Getty’s only role. This woman was a comedic genius and definitely someone I have always looked up to (metaphorically, of course). I spent all morning looking for funny old videos of her career on YouTube (because my DVD collection of the entire Golden Girls series isn’t enough), but instead found a bunch of crazy people making sad montages set to depressing tunes. It just didn’t seem to fit; this woman spent her life making us laugh. Why should we remember her with tears?

Then I found this gem. Estelle Getty at her finest. God, I love this woman.

[Update. Christian has made BAIL and may have been arrested for simply yelling really loud at his fam…)

Most people know that I have an obsession over Christian Bale. I mean, I have a thing for few Hollywood actors (a “thing” being an intense belief that the time will come when we will bump into each other in the street and realize we are soulmates), but I really, really love myself some Bale. He’s been hot ever since he was legal, has the cutest accent, is a fantastic actor, and has always seemed pretty normal and unwilling to take sh*t from anyone.

But guess what I just heard on the cab ride into work? Christian may be so used to not taking sh*t, that he didn’t take any from his mom and sister last night in London — and by ‘not taking sh*t’, I mean freaking out at his family in a hotel room.

Reports from all over are flooding in that Christian’s 61 year old mom and 40 year old sister filed a complaint against the actor yesterday, citing that he “lashed out” at them before The Dark Knight premiere across the pond. While it’s still hard to figure out what “lashed out” means, one can guess that he maybe assaulted them…somehow. Reports at 8:30AM this morning say that Bale has been arrested in connection with the complaint.

I wasn’t there, and the info is scarce, so it’s really hard to tell how concerned to be about all this — but to ask the police to arrest your own family member? His mom and sister were either really afraid of him, or really don’t get along with him at all.

The tabloids are calling it “The Batman Curse”, and lumping it in with the death of a crew member last year on the film, as well as the death of Heath Ledger last January. I just call it a damn shame.

Say it ain’t so, Christian, say it ain’t so.

This is not a new story, but CNN recently did a report on it and I feel the need to once again air my consternation over Purity Balls. Never heard of a Purity Ball? Well, it’s when fathers and daughters dress up and dance together and pledge to a giant cross that they will forever be linked when it comes to the daughters’ virginity.

If it sounds just a little creepy, that’s because it is. There’s nothing wrong with fathers taking an active role in their daughters lives, and I don’t even see anything wrong with fathers talking frankly to their daughters about sex and the consequences — but there’s just something inherently weird about a daughter pledging to her father that she will remain a virgin until marriage for him. Read More »

When I was in high school, my parents always told me that the only way I was ever going to do anything in life is if I went to college. NOT going wasn’t even discussed. You had to go to college if you wanted a job. If you wanted to work at McDonald’s or WalMart forever, then fine, you could skip out on college - but everyone knows (at least according to my parents back then) that working at WalMart wasn’t really a job as much as it was a sentence to the worst life ever.

Well, I went to college, and I even did my parents one better and went to graduate school. Armed with both a BA and MFA, I was certain I could pretty much get any job I applied for, and would get paid 35K at the minimum.

Ha. Ha. Ha. And I’m not alone. Not only have most of my friends with MFAs scrambled to find anything to pay the bills post graduation (working at Borders, in a file room…with freaking MFAs!!), but it seems like degrees in general are losing the battle to inflation.

According to this really long and slightly boring article from the Wall Street Journal, college degrees no longer carry a promise that you’ll immediately grab a job and get paid in awesome wages.

“What employers want from workers nowadays is more narrow, more abstract and less easily learned in college. Read More »

Whether you are pro or anti Iraq war, I’m sure you’ll agree that Iraqi society is in shambles. Of course this is in large part due to their recovery from the totalitarian regime but its greatly aggravated by the past five years worth of violence.

Female suicide bombers have emerged as a recent phenomenon of this war.

It seems that there have been 20 suicide bombings carried out by women since the beginning of the war—8 since 2007. Most of these women have lost a close male relative—a husband, brother, father, etc. Eleven of the twenty have been from the Diyala Province—currently the headquarters of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The big question is WHY? Read More »

During next month’s Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, hundreds of the city’s homeless will be given movie tickets, passes to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Zoo in an attempt to spare them “being caught up in the mayhem” of the convention. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will also be providing bus passes to get to events outside walking distance to facilitate the exodus. Read More »

In the late eighties, Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page promised (in song no less) that he’d buy me and every other lady ever lots of frivolous and unnecessary items like a llama, Art Garfunkel and a monkey.

Looks like he forgot all about the little ditty that made his band famous and spent the money buying a ton of cocaine and marijuana. Page was arrested in New York last week for possession of a controlled substance.

The best part? When the cops showed up, Page and his female friend tried to hide the mound of coke under a napkin. I can’t believe that didn’t work! That’s how I hid a quarter pound of parmesan cheese when I spilled it at Pizza Hut 10-years ago. I guess the Syracuse PD are a little more thorough than the hapless staff at my local “Italian bistro.”

The news of this arrest is disappointing but not exactly surprising. Despite putting out a very good last effort and a popular kids album, Barenaked Ladies have been trying to run away from irrelevancy since “Pinch Me.” It looks like it finally caught up to them. Read More »

It’s time for the news with Kandy Korrespondent!

Well as the national presidential race gets into full swing it seems that the Iraq war will once again take center stage. (suprise suprise right?) Both candidates have been skipping around the issue in recent months– hinting that they would do things differently, would have to respond to the situation, make calculated decisions, etc.

Tuesday was no exception.

Barack Obama told a group at the International Trade Center in Washington, DC that the US government’s preoccupation with Iraq must come to an end.

Obama: “This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st Century.”

This is a great statement. It speaks of the challenges of the 21st century as more important that our petty war. Peace and Prosperity Baby!

But can he really deliver or is this just a sound bite? Read More »