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Last week, I attended the workshop at the Sidney Mishkin Gallery where they were displaying jazz photographs taken by Milt Hinton. This was my second time visiting this gallery. The first time I visited was with my English class in which I was able to see photographs by some of the most famous and talented artists that have ever lived, such as Andy Warhol. Before arriving at the gallery to view Milt Hinton’s photographs, I knew that I would be viewing something creative and beautiful based on the photographs I saw the last time I went to that Gallery.

I was not disappointed with the photographs I saw. The workshop was a collection of candid photographs taken of notable people in the jazz world such as  Cab Calloway, Billy Taylor, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk, Gene Krupa, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Pearl Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Barbara Streisand in unexpected areas like bars, bus stations, and recording studios. Walking around the gallery and looking at all the photographs, I really got the essence of jazz and the world of jazz; though most of all, I got a feeling of what New York City was like in the mid 1900’s. These photographs really captured classic New York City, this was the era that I’ve always heard  about and wanted to know more about. Through  these photographs, I tried to get a feeling what life might have been like in New York City during that time and couldn’t help but compare it to New York City today. I came to the conclusion that in some ways we still kept some of the classic New York City, and that there were some similarities between the New York City I saw in the photographs and the New York City I see everyday. I knew that my children and their children will look at pictures of New York City today with the same curiosity that I have for Milt Hinton’s photographs.

-Naomi Hakimi

Last week I attended a workshop with Sheridan, Mike and Joe. We attended a workshop called Small Talk: Its A Big Deal! Part Two. I initially walked in thinking about what can I possibly learn about small talk that I don’t know. In my eyes small talk is a very simple and easy task. I find it easy to strike up with a conversation with a person I don’t know. However, what was taught in this workshop taught me new things as well as reinforce what I already know about small talk. At the beginning of the workshop we defined what small talk was: it was generally “an informal conversation between two people or among a small group of people. Body language is very important in the area of small talk. Body language shows us if people are approachable or not or if they are being receptive to what you say. It is important to seem approachable so people can initiate small talk. The way they react shows where the conversation will be headed. If they are fully engaged in the conversation it will lead into an interesting talk whereas if they were not very responsive, the conversation would go no where. It is important for us to be a good listener as well as a good conversationalist in order to maintain a good conversation. They spoke about how it is easier to approach a person and initiate small talk rather than approach a group of people and initiate small talk. It is more difficult to initiate small talk with a group of people because you don’t know what their conversation is full about especially if you came in middle of their conversation. I learned the importance of small talk in job opportunities. We should be able to participate in small talk in order to try to land a job with an employer. We must be able to seem as an ideal employee to the employer and we must be able to stand out in order for them to be interested in us. It is also important that we ask for their information and make sure to give them our information in order for them to be able to contact us if they are interested in us. It is also a smart idea to not only give our information to employers, but to others we meet as well. They may be able to help us get a job and recommend us to worthy employers. It is important to be able to engage in conversation as well as be confident to approach people. We must be able to network in order to get somewhere in our lives. Networking can help us climb in the career ladder and help us become successful. Like they say “Its more important who you know rather than what you know.” If you leave a good impression on who you speak to, it will enable you to open up to new opportunities that you once didn’t have. In the end of the workshop I learned that small talk isn’t something you do just to have fun and socialize, but it is vital to open up opportunities for your future.

I went to the Rubin Museum of Art this weekend, and I had an unexpectedly very good time. We had a pleasant and knowledgeable tour guide, who made the experience so interesting. According to the New York Times, the Rubin Museum of Art is “America’s largest, boldest, and most significant museum devoted to Tibetan and other Himalayan art.” It showcases the art of the Himalayas and the surrounding areas, which portrays mainly the different streams of Buddhism.

Unlike modern western art, it is unlikely to have different interpretations of Himalayan art. Many people in the Himalayan regions were “simple” people, who did not know how to read or write. Therefore, the Himalayan art, whether it’s a painting, sculpture, ritual objects, or prints, was used to visually instruct people on how to follow the teachings of Buddhism. All of the art that was shown to us on the exhibition, were portrayals of different deities. There were many aspects in the tour that I found fascinating, and I will present a few.

As a secular Jew, that does not really believe in God or a higher being, it is very easy for me to connect or understand the logic behind Buddhism. But for a lot of other people on the tour, most of them much older than me, it was not as easy. In Buddhism, there are no gods to be worshiped, or any outside forces of good and evil that pull us to either side. “God” is not a higher power, yet every person’s potential of reaching enlightenment. A person’s life journey is not to please a higher power, but to try and better himself each and every day, in hopes of one day reaching enlightenment. This journey may take many life times, and you will be reincarnated until you finish it.

Many of the deities are portrayed in a very demonic way, holding different weapons, and surrounded objects that represent death. Since there is no good or evil, heaven or hell, these deities are not evil demons that should be feared. They are guides in your journey to enlightenment, and you are able to ask for their assistance. The more demonic looking the deity is, the stronger it is, and the more helpful it will be in defeating your “mind poisons”, or mind blocks that restrain you from bettering your self. The “mind poisons” are usually due to one’s ego, ignorance and attachment to things.

Another thing I found interesting, is that in contrast to Western art, the older Himalayan art does not use specific facial bone structures when trying to portray different beings. This causes all of the Buddhas and deities to look almost the same. The way to distinguish them from one another is by looking at their sitting and hand poses. Each deity has it’s own unique and recognizable pose. According to the tour guide, one explanation to this, is that the people in the Himalayan regions believed that a “beautiful person” is a person between that ages of 15-18, so a lot of the Buddhas and deities have young looking faces and bodies. Overall it was a very interesting experience, it is always nice to learn about cultures and beliefs that you are not usually exposed to.

Last Thursday, I attended the Sidney Mishkin Gallery. At this gallery it displaced many of Milt Hinton’s Jazz photgraphs.  He started photographing all the back in 1936.  He carried his camera everywhere and took pictures of virtually everyone in the “world of jazz.”  I found this very interesting because all of these photographs took place in the streets, bars, recording studios, and even bus stations of New York City.  If you are from New York, just by looking at the pictures one can tell that they were taken in New York City.  Many of Milt Hinton’s subjects included Cab Colloway, Billy Taylor, Willie “The Lion” Smith, Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk, Gene Krupa, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Pearl Baily, Ella Fitzgerald, and the very famous Barbara Strisand.

Milt Hinton says that he “tryed to capture something different.”  He would sneak up on people and snap a photo when they least expected it.  This is what i found most interesting.  One particular photo in the gallery that cought my attention most was ashot of a regular New York street with a few people walking opposite ways.  This was interesting to me because even way back in 1936 the streets of New York remained to have the same type of look.  Everyday when walking to class I see people walking beside me.  Some are walking the same way and some are walking the oppostie way.  This daily action that I do was basically captured in Milt Hinton’s camera and is now displayed in the Sidney Mishkin Gallery at Baruch College.

I recently have went to the Sidney Mishkin Gallery – Milt Hinton’s Jazz Photographs. I found this gallery very interesting because I use to be a musician myself. I played the saxophone and I enjoyed very much learning and playing classical and jazz music. The whole gallery this month was dedicated to jazz and learning about the history of where some of our greatest pieces of music came very had a huge impact on me. The atmosphere of the gallery was a great and relaxing one. There was no one there to talk or anything so I got to enjoy the gallery to the fullest. Walking around and seeing the pictures of the greatest jazz musicians was a great experience. Playing the music was one thing but learning the history of where the music came from helped me understand the music and helps me play it better. Learning the history of the music helped me get a better understanding and helped me get the flow of the music better. Another picture I found pretty interesting is the Benny Goodman. It shows him holding the Clarinet but it almost looks like he’s conducting. I found this pretty amazing because the picture is very misleading you do not know if he’s conducting or playing. The clarinet in one hand and his other hand raised as if he’s keeping time.

 

I recently attended a workshop called Internship Seminar and I was very pleased with how helpful and informative the workshop was. Theresa Accardi, who is the Internship Coordinator, basically directed the whole workshop and did a very good job at presenting how we can go about obtaining an internship. She first talked about what an internship was and the kinds that are available. An internship can best be known as a learning experience or career exploration to see if this is what you see yourself doing in your near future. She noted that it’s important to complete the internship tutorial before applying for an internship, which is available on baruchcuny.edu/careers, so I know this is the first step before applying. She outlined the important steps to take to get an internship which I will briefly share with you. First, we have to develop a resume and cover letter, and get it reviewed at the Starr Career Development Center. The next step is to look for internship listings on STARR search and see what really interests you and you qualify for. Before we prepare for interviews, we have to send the resume to the employer so that it can be looked over. Of course it’s important to prepare for interviews ahead of time to decrease the nervousness and feel more confident when asked specific questions, such as “What do You see yourself doing in the next 10 years?” If you get an offer, the last step is to notify the Starr Career Development Center and begin this learning experience that will benefit you tremendously before you are secured a job. She mentioned that we are even able to obtain credit for an internship but first we must consult the professor who handles internships for the major. There are two other types of internships which are unpaid and paid. Most internships are unpaid, but there is a slight chance one may get an internship and be paid for it. For freshman, she didn’t recommend looking so much into getting an internship, but she stressed the importance of attending these workshops to get an idea of what we have to do the following years in college. Something I learned that I didn’t think was so important before, was when someone interviews you or receives your resume and is considering you as a potential intern at the company, it is so important to send a Thank You letter for his or her time and consideration. Employers are really appreciative of Thank You letters. Theresa also talked about getting along in the workplace; it’s important to communicate with your supervisor to prevent miscommunications. Things we should avoid are talking about personal issues, complaining, and walking out on an internship. Towards the end of the workshop, she also provided us with tips on how to be an effective “small talker.” It’s important to always keep a sincere smile, be curious about other people, be engaging and strike up conversations with new people, and most importantly, be a good and attentive listener. All these helpful tips will definitely help me in the future when I begin networking with professionals or begin my search for an internship.

Yesterday i attended a Workshop about small talk with Joe ,Melin, and Sheridan. Walking in i figured this would just be some gigantic waste of time that would benefit me in absolutely no way possible. Turns out it was only a small waste of time. The idea of small talk and learning how to small talk is something simple and learned almost at the earliest stages of life in middle school or at the park. Small talk is just making conversation to pretty much take up time or to pass the time during something like an airplane flight. although we did learn that small talk is something that when used properly in certain situations with certain people in different places, good things like job oppurtunities or relationships could start up. now that i think about it, the guy who led the workshop was completely right. I used small talk when i met the guy who became my future boss by starting to talk about sports, then leading to school, then to the fact that i needed a job that was easy and paid good money. This small talk led me to my job which paid $14.50 an hour for 3 hours a day to pretty much talk to other after school counselors and hit kids with dodgeballs. Small talk can sometimes lead to you and the other person finding out that you have some kind of connection for example i met a girl in my speech class and after some small talk we learned that our dads have been working together in construction for more than 5 years and then some more small talk led to us having a strong relationship now. The man whose name im still not sure of nor do i think anybody does did a very good job with the handout sheets and the tips that he gave on how to small talk and how to keep small talk when you think the conversation could be ending. Things like switching topics or using a keyword from the previous topic to move onto another topic can help in any case when the conversation seems to be dying. for example  you can be having a conversation about how you like the band guns n roses and then i would say yeah i like lsitening to them while i ski, and that person can then in turn start a new small talk conversation about how they like to ski. Certain situations can end in a good way if you know how to small talk correctly for example you can use things like hey it was nice meeting you but i have to go, can i call you sometime so that we can meet and continue this conversation. all in all despite the awkwardsness of the group meeting itself, the workshop was good and actually taught me a few more tips about something that i already felt i had a good hand on.

Today I attended a workshop at the Starr Career Development Center in VC 2-190. The workshop I decided to go to was called Small Talk: It’s a BIG Deal! Part Two. In this workshop we first discussed about what is the definition of small talk. Many kids raised their hands to answer the question and they were all partially correct. Finally the guy said that small talk is generally an informal conversation among 2 people or a group of people. After we talked about what small talk, we discussed body language. Again the guy asked us if we knew what exactly is body language and a few kids raised their hands to answer his question. Body language is any sign given off by our bodies that has meaning to another person. Body language can be positive or negative depending on what kind of signal. For example we talked about crossed arms. Crossed arms is a negative body language and usually means “I’m thinking and don’t want to be disturbed. Stay away!” During the workshop we also talked about what open arms mean to another person. Open arms is the opposite of closed arms and means “I’m receptive and available for contact.” Another thing we discussed was that people should always remember to make eye contact when making small talk because eye contact sends the signal “I’m listening – keep talking!” As time progressed we came across how to remember people’s names. There are many different ways to remember a person’s name, but everybody is different and he or she may find it easier to remember a name in a certain way than another person. A couple of ways we explored were rhyming first names with other things (Example: Curt the Flirt), combining first names with sounds that are similar to action words or objects (Example: Phillip, as in fill up my gas tank), picking the same initial as a personal interest (Example: Bob the Builder), or choosing a feature and associate it with the name (Example: Julie’s big sparking eyes make you think of Jewel Julie). When a person wants to keep a conversation going he or she should try to use techniques to talk about hot topics. Some of these techniques are free information, iceberg statements, common interests, hot buttons, instructions, or key words. When a person wants to move onto a new topic, use key words. Trying to create small talk among others in a group can be hard once and a while. When approaching a group ensure that one always observes the energy of the group. One wants to be able to match their energy or be slightly higher. If one does not observe the energy, trying to start a conversation can be disastrous and create a bad first impression. Overall I thought this workshop was going to be really dumb and boring, but instead I found it to be very helpful and informative. These topics we talked about will definitely be beneficial to me when I try to create small talk with someone whether it is at a party or a bar because who knows I can probably meet someone who is a CEO or really high up in a successful company.

 

Hi, I’m Michael Shin. I was born in Manhattan and raised in Queens. I grew up in Flushing, New York. I went to Elementary School in P.S. 32. For Junior High School, I moved to Little Neck and I attended M.S. 67. Then for High School, I actually took the specialized high school test and was supposed to go Bronx Science. Besides Bronx Science, I would’ve went to Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside if I didn’t want to go to school too far away. Before I could’ve made my decision to go to either of these schools, I moved to Great Neck which is in Long Island. In the end, I attended Great Neck South High School. All my close friends went to Bronx Science, so I was mad at first about not being able to stay in school with my close friends but I got used to Great Neck. Anyway, I’ll start of by saying that I did not do very well in high school. I was the “rebel” of Great Neck. Ironically, Great Neck’s team name was “The Rebels”. Anyway, taking tests and doing assignments weren’t problems for me in high school. The fact that I hated the school because I wasn’t in the same school as my close friends drove me to cut class and stay away from Great Neck as much as possible. Unfortunately, I realized too late that I should have just made the best out of what I had in Great Neck. Sooner or later, I started to involve myself to the other people in Great Neck. I didn’t just stick around with people that I knew before I moved to Great Neck. I just never really wanted to go to class but I had to because my grade point average was slowly decreasing. Other than that, I actually miss Great Neck a lot and I still keep in contact with all of my close friends to this day.

 

Honestly, Baruch was not my first choice. It was one of my last choices; Baruch was just a safety for me. I wanted to go to a state university like Stony Brook or Binghamton. I didn’t decide on a major while I was applying and I still don’t know which major I want to pursue. So I still feel like whatever school I went to, I could do what I want in the future. I wanted to go to Stony Brook because my cousin goes there. Also, my close friends mostly went to Stony Brook or Binghamton. My actions in Great Neck backfired on me and got me rejected to most of the schools I would have went to if I was accepted. I still want to transfer. This is not only because my close friends aren’t in Baruch but because I feel as if nothing happens in Baruch. Although, I should not be worrying about being with my friends and having fun all the time, I would want to have fun and be with my friends while being in school.

 

My role in life as of right now is a student. That is why I must try to make the best out of what I get in Baruch College and manage to get the grades I want to transfer to the school I really want to go to. I want to keep the mentality that I have to do well in school no matter what happens. My parents are working to make money so that I could stay in college and maintain a good grade. I want to live up to their expectations. My parents are my life. They raised me and took care of me and I want them to be happy and give them what they want in return for what they did for me. I want to make enough money in the future so that they could stop working when they grow older but still have me to support them. My mentality about my family, parents especially, has always stayed the same and will never change. I also want to keep a good image for my younger sister. She’s currently a junior in high school. She does better than me academically and I’m proud of her but at the same time, I feel like my actions can influence her in the future.

 

I identify myself as someone who just wants to have fun. When I have school work or any other kind of work, whether it’s physical work or paper work, I try to finish as soon as possible so that I have time to do what I want to do. Unluckily, my best skill is procrastination. I wait to finish everything at the last minute even if I know it is important. Because of this, I often forget to do some of my work. It’s a bad habit that I have to get rid of but everyone is amazing at procrastination. Other than that, I like going out with my close friends and just having fun. Honestly, the only reason I dislike Baruch so much is because it’s not what I expected. I came here thinking, “my close friends are still gonna be around me and I have a lot of friends from high school that are going to Baruch. We can go out, party together and chill everyday.” That’s not happening at all. I currently dorm in the city and nothing happens there either. My routine during the weekdays aren’t changing. It’s the same thing over and over again. I go to school, go to my dorm, study when I want to, and sleep. During the weekend, I’m so bored that I usually go back to Great Neck to meet my friends that are commuting. It’s really not what I expected. I expected my dorm life to be the typical dorm life like Stony Brook, Binghamton, Albany, etc. On top of that, I have a room mate that can’t speak English. This frustrates me a lot and it makes me want to stay away from my dorm. When he is in the room, I pretend he isn’t there and I do my own thing. When I first moved to the dorm, I was expecting parties left and right but there are none. My life in the dorm is my laptop and me. I see my friends who attend Binghamton and Stony Brook through Facebook. They’re having the time of their lives. I always ranted about how I hated Great Neck and I’d rather go back to Great Neck than be at my dorm.

 

My biggest fear in life is being alone. I hate being alone and because my family and close friends mean everything to me, if I lost them, I don’t know what I’d do. One time I felt ashamed and that’s when I didn’t get into the school I wanted to get into. It upset my parents and ever though we all do stupid things to upset them sometimes, I hate when I see that I upset them. I’m not saying Baruch is a bad school, I’m just saying it’s just not a place where I saw myself but I had no other choice. I definitely did not want to go to a community college. One time I felt really proud was when I got my SAT score back. I got a 2070. I don’t care if anyone got a higher SAT score than me in the block but I was really proud of my score. I studied my butt off for it and I actually felt like I earned the score. My SAT score proves to me that I can do well in school and what I put my effort into.

 

My motto in life is “whatever doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger”. That quote just says a lot to me because it’s true. It isn’t meant in a physical way, it could be for any situation. For me right now, the quote is just a motivational quote to get by. For example, Baruch is not where I want to be but not being in Stony Brook or Binghamton isn’t destroying my life. I just have to make the best out of what I can here. I’m just going to stay here for a little bit, try to maintain or receive good grades so that I can transfer out. At the same time, Baruch is slowly getting better for me. I don’t know if I’m getting used to it but I’m starting to feel comfortable with people in the school. I found out that a couple of people in my classes live in the dorm. I have friends that I’m beginning to get close with in Baruch. The work is slowly getting harder but I can manage to get by. I’m starting to actually study in the dorm or do my work. I still go out a lot but everyone has to sacrifice a couple things.

 

This is my blog post. I’m posting a little late because I was very sick the whole weekend that the assignment was due.

Okay so I guess I’m gonna be typing this as it comes to my head because I didn’t type it the first time and I’m late…again. Well my name is Luis Morales, I have a middle name but uhh I’d rather not have people know it. I’ve always liked my last name I don’t know why but it I think it’s really cool. It’s not that I don’t like my name it’s just that I feel like I could have a cooler name, I always wanted a name that people could make up nicknames for the best one that comes out of mine is Loui, which is pretty wack, I don’t know, I guess it doesn’t really matter, if my parents thought it was good I should too. So obviously I’m a freshman here at Baruch, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog. If some people couldn’t tell, I’m 100% Mexican, born and raised in Brooklyn, located in the greatest city in the world NEW YORK. I’m the second of  three kids, I have an older sister and a little brother, they’re pretty cool although they sometimes get annoying and get me mad but I’m glad I have them otherwise it would get pretty lonely and boring at home. My sister has always helped me with my homework and stuff because she’s only one year older than me and all the things that I am learning she already learned just one year ago so she still remembers most things. My little brother is three years younger than me but he’s cool because he doesn’t act like an idiot or a little kid (most of the time) and we talk about guy stuff together, like cars, shoes, sports, games, and of course… girls. =D  We also play baseball, football, and basketball together so I always have something to do with him. My mom and dad are pretty cool also, I love them all.

I don’t know a perfect way to describe myself, but I guess saying that I am pretty well rounded is a good way to do it, if it doesn’t make me sound cliché or wack.

In high school I wasn’t as social as I would have liked mostly because I thought I was the shit and for like a year and a half and I thought everybody else had to earn my friendship, which set me back in the social scene and although I didn’t completely accomplish becoming super popular I think that I came as close as I could to catching up after being set back a couple of years. Since I’m talking about school I guess I should talk about college, I wanted to go to school in Miami because the weather and the girls match: they’re both hot!!! Another reason that I wanted to go is because I wanted to experience college life to the fullest and that meant dorming and partying, which is hard to do if you go to school in the city. The school in Miami I wanted to go to was way too expensive even with their $11,000 scholarship and Baruch wasn’t my second choice it actually didn’t even make top five, but the way I see it, things happen for a reason and now that I’m here it seems really cool and I guess I should make the best out of it and study hard but also have fun, before I become a “real adult.”

There’s a lot of things that I regret doing and not doing in the last four years of my life, I know it sounds like something everybody says but I guess everybody has regrets and sometimes it’s not like we didn’t do something because we chose not to do it or did something else instead, sometimes we just couldn’t do it, either because we were physically incapable of doing it, or we put ourselves in a position were we couldn’t do what we wanted to, or simply because we were too pussy to do it. I don’t know, I guess these are the reasons why I didn’t do some (a lot of) things. I don’t remember if it was a movie that I heard this in, but I’m pretty sure it was a movie, and although I’ve heard it in a lot of other shows and movies also, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen the movie that I remember this scene from it would be nice to see the movie (or show) again but I guess it doesn’t matter, all that matters is that I remember that quote which is my inspiration for doing a lot of things that I would be too scared to do, but when I say it in my head I get enough courage to do it. If you think about it, it isn’t really like a big quote or whatever but you can always plug it into any context or situation that you find yourself in and in need of inspiration; the two simple words that drive me are “What If?” I know it seems simple but they’re inspirational words, It’s like this: you can’t go your entire life wondering “what if?”, you have to take risks even if you end up failing at least you know that you tried to do it, whatever “it” may be, and that way you won’t end up dying with too many regrets, because everyone dies with regrets but the more risks you take in life the less regrets you’ll have. Yea so that’s my motto and I hope to put it in practice soon because life will suck if I don’t.

Damn, I wrote a lot, and no bullshit either, I’m the fucking man. As far as the picture goes, I can’t really think of a good one to put up, I don’t wanna put up some dumbass pic, so I guess if I can’t find one i won’t.