I stumbled upon this fascinating map of global migration patters on the NY Times website. Here is a link:

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/world/20070622_CAPEVERDE_GRAPHIC.html

The countries are divided into two categories, green for the countries where more people were coming in, yellow for those where more people leaving. 

I was surprised to notice that Russia had more people entering than leaving–I always thought that Russia was more a source of immigrants rather than a destination for them. Another surprise was Spain: more immigrants entered Spain than any other country! (I guess everybody likes Spanish food?? Kidding aside–what could be some possible reasons for this?) I was also surprised to see how many people were immigrating into Afghanistan…I would have expected the opposite! Why does Afghanistan attract so many immigrants? Or do the positive numbers come from foreign troops?

What are your thoughts? Possible answers to my questions above, about Spain and Afghanistan? Interesting observations? Surprises?

*Keep in mind, this map is from 2007. Do you think it would look any different in 2014?

Our tour of the Grand Concourse last Saturday gave me a different perspective of the Bronx. The elegance of the architecture lining the street, the beauty of the fountain, and the overwhelming feelings of vanished wealth portrayed a Bronx of luxury and money and not of poverty and struggle. It was definitely a tour worth taking.

It was strange finding out that the buildings we entered, with their beautiful Art Deco interiors, were now extremely affordable. I left the tour thinking that if more people knew about the now decaying beauty of the Grand Concourse, and the affordability of the apartments lining it, then there would be a furious migration to the area, for better or for worse.

This came up last night — the Honors College has some great A/V equipment available for you to check out for a week at a time. All you have to do is fill out this form three business days before you want to pick it up. We certainly won’t require it for the final class project, but you might enjoy trying out professional-grade equipment like a digital SLR camera for your final project. I can confirm that pictures taken with that kind of technology are noticeably nicer than smartphone camera pics.

Despite the rain and wind, I enjoyed the tour on Saturday and definitely learned a lot. My favorite spot on the tour was the statue of Die Lorelei. I volunteer in the South Bronx so I walk through that park and pass that statue once a week. Somehow, I had never stopped to look at the beautiful statue. Hearing the incredible history of it and its place in history made me appreciate it even more. I will definitely stop and look at it for a moment next time I pass it. 

To me, the most significant part of the tour was the emphases Sam put on the idea that just because a neighborhood is poor, does not mean it has to be ugly. When we walked into the lobby of the first building on Grand Concourse and he showed us how much planning had gone into the building of the lobby so that there was a perfect view from the corridor of the fountain and the light, I was blown away. This, along with the statue in the park are things I would have never noticed but do make an incredible difference in the aesthetic of the neighborhood. It does prove that sometimes all you need is a little thought, not money to improve the way a place looks.

I have attached a picture I took of the statue and an English translation of the poem that the statue is based on. 

 know not if there is a reason
Why I am so sad at heart.
A legend of bygone ages
Haunts me and will not depart.

I think that the waves will devour
The boatman and boat as one;
And this by her song’s sheer power
Fair Lorelei has done.

Here are some great examples of online storytelling from the Times.

The Guardian also had a great interactive story on the NSA revelations.

The “Cover Story” series from Pitchfork is also great. See the Daft Punk story, for instance.

Any other neat examples you’ve come across? Please post links in the comments.

I was fascinated by this article in tomorrow’s Times on a relic from a former German P.O.W. camp in rural Charleston, South Carolina. Today the relic, a brick chimney, is located on land owned by a family with deep roots in South Carolina’s Jewish community. The chimney may soon be turned into a landmark, in which case, as the author of the article puts it, “Jews would be required to keep a Nazi-built relic on their property.” Incredible. Thought some of you might be as intrigued as I was.

I thought the walking tour of the concourse was really interesting.  My best friend literally lives right off of the concourse on 165th so I knew my way around the neighborhood although not much about its history.  The Joyce Kilmer Park stop of the tour was the most interesting part to me because that was where my friends and I took our prom photos before we went to the actual location of prom in Midtown.  We took our photos right in front of the Heinrich Heine fountain.  It was interesting to actually learn about the history statue.  Without having gone on the tour, I would’ve just taken the fountain for granted, thinking “Oh, it’s just there.”  But now, when I visit my best friend and we walk past or through the park I can tell her what I know about the fountain :)

Keeping in mind that our final project is to put together a website, I found this really neat online book by Matthew Butterick called ‘Practical Typography’. The book focuses on deciding what kind of type (font) to use for certain cases. I think it would be really cool to use some of his ideas and implement them to give our project a really nice, professional look. Here’s a link to his book: http://practicaltypography.com/

What do you guys think?

Hi everyone!

Every year, Macaulay hosts an Arts Night to showcase student talent. Do you have any talent? If so, consider submitting to Arts Night! 

Artwork can either be dropped off at the Macaulay Building, or given to one of the campus curators. Please be sure to label it with your name, campus, and the works title. Sasha Whittaker and I are campus curators. 

Greetings everyone,

Here is a link with interesting statistical information on NYC ‘s immigrant population:

http://immigration.about.com/od/usimmigrationhistory/a/New-York-City-S-Immigrant-Population-Soars.htm

The article mentions the percentage of immigrants in many service jobs and the number of countries that NYC’s immigrants come from. The average income of immigrant families is also stated. The article does an amazing job at comparing different numbers and percentages over the last 4 decades (1970-2010). 

Two weeks ago, John Boy posted a New York Times article where many critics scrutinized the admissions policy for New York City’s eight specialized high schools. In the upcoming fall school year, only seven blacks and 21 Hispanics have gained admittance to Stuyvesant High School. A recent article published by SILive once again highlights the low representation of blacks and Hispanics in another specialized high school, Staten Island Tech. 

Link for the article is here.

Just like Stuyvesant, SI Tech came under fire after the results of the admittance rates revealed that no black students will be part of the incoming freshman class this fall. The article, however, blames the entrance exam, even dubbing the SHSAT as ‘faulty.’ As an alumnus of SI Tech, I strongly disagree with the arguments presented in the article. I think that the admissions process should not be changed because the SHSAT does indeed give a fair playing field for all test-takers. Furthermore, unlike standardized exams like the SAT, the SHSAT is not meant to trick students; it is straightforward! It is neither discriminatory nor racially biased; it is merit-based. If admissions system is changed, then these schools will no longer be the ‘jewels in the crown of our public school system.’ If a student is unable to attain the score needed to get into these specialized high schools, the finger cannot be pointed at the test. There are plenty of factors that can determine how well a student performs on the SHSAT. Such examples include: Does the student have the motivation to study? Is the student learning the proper materials in school? Is the student receiving support from their families and teachers? Does the student have the confidence that they will do well? Etc. Others will argue that the reason some students are unable to do well is because they lack the economic resource to pay for test prep. This assumption is completely wrong. I never took test prep and I still managed to get into SI Tech. How? Through a lot of studying! I am aware that some people lack the motivation to study, but I believe that if a students wants it enough (like I did), they are able to get it.  

So what does everyone else think? Should the SHSAT stay or go? 

Last week, the New York State Senate rejected the Dream Act, which would give financial aid to college students who are undocumented immigrants. What do you all think – is it good that the Dream Act was rejected? Or should it have gone through? (Is it worth our tax dollars?)

Personally, I really support giving undocumented immigrants a college education–especially to those who were brought to NY as infants. Moreover, as the article pointed out, having more people with college degrees benefits the state economy.

Check out the article here:

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/new-yorks-dream-act-dies/?hp&rref=opinion

I read this article a couple of weeks ago and it just occurred to me to relate it to NYC.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?2021

The article is about a strange, exciting form of dance music that is emerging out of the isolated housing projects of Lisbon, Portugal. Although the music is definitely intriguing, it is the circumstances surrounding the creation of the music that makes it relevant to this class. 

If this were last semester, I would ask some question like; What art (in any form) is being produced in NYC at this moment? For this semester, however, I’ll ask a different question; Is there a certain neighborhood or group of people within New York that has a flourishing arts scene? If so, is the art these people are creating at all informed by their living circumstances in New York (their neighborhood) or their cultural background? 

-Will

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/reel-life-the-mesmerizing-saga-of-56-up-16-09-2013/

“Seven Up” is a british documentary first aired in 1964 that followed various seven year olds from different economic and social classes.   Intended to be a commentary on the Britain’s class system, the film revealed another interesting perspective;   how much where one comes from shapes their views on life.  The results were so fascinating that the filmmaker Michael Apted decided to continue the series, returning each seven years to check up on the lives of the children-turn-teenagers-turn-adults. 

So how does this apply to us?  This picture allows us to look at people’s lives over time and how they evolved, much in the way that we have been doing in this class.  While not scientific, the study here is comparable to those stories we have looked into.  When someone’s story is told, other people identify with it, or at least with some elements of it.  What made the film so compelling to such a wide range of audiences was everyone connected to it in some way.

I thought it would be both interesting and concise to look at the segment from CBS’s Sunday Morning that shows the longevity of the project and outside interviews on it.  It’s really curious and cute, take a look!

            My visit to the Tenement Museum expanded my view of New York’s past. Prior to the visit, when I thought of life in New York’s tenements, I thought of the tenements themselves; the cramped living spaces, the lack of bathrooms and and the increased risk of disease. My thoughts of the people in those tenements didn’t extend far past “those poor people”. Seeing the inside of the tenements; the elaborate ceiling made by the original owner, the commentary from the woman who once lived there as a child, and the cabinet her father made that was different from all others, it showed me a level of intimacy about tenement life that I never really thought about before. When I thought of such large families having to share such a small space, I imagined it as being smelly and cramped. I never thought that living in such close proximity might also create the possibility of bringing them closer together. The stories I heard made me see tenement life more as a story and less as a set of statistics. I thought a getting a better experience of tenement life would depress me, but instead, it made me see tenement life as happier and even made me feel a bit more connected with people of the past. It showed me that even when life isn’t easy, there are still ways to make happy memories with one’s loved ones. I now wonder if people in the future will look back on my time period, seeing it as desolate, despondent and outdated, not fully realizing that for us, in spite of what statistics might indicate, we were still able to find happiness. 

In assignment three, I talk of photographs taken by my maternal great-grandfather, Bruce Mackinnon Iles, of my grandmother Gloria at The City College of New York in 1942. (My Lala was exactly our age at the time.) I went back home this weekend to spend time with my Lala and she was kind enough to give me some of those photographs. I figured you all might like to see her on the campus we go to everyday and realize that although many things have changed, others have remained the same. 

My grandmother is on the left of each photograph.