Exiled in America...Pearl Jam compass
MK106165
Posts: 38
Hi guys,
I can't believe I've been a Pearl Jam fan since 1991 and this is my first post to the forum. What the hell is my problem? lol Anyway, as a long time fan I think I have a pretty good idea of the tastes and political views of the majority of PJ fans. So, I wanted to make a plea to you guys to support me and my book Exiled In America: A Gen-X Journalist's View on Life, Politics, Culture, Religion and Social Control in the 21st Century. This is not a corporately backed book (I guess I didn't scream loudly enough about mice having human brains to interest corporate houses). I really just chose to to say the hell with it after my 30th rejection letter stated in a handwritten note that circled two items in my proposal letter "world run by public relations persuasion specialists" and "right wing whack jobs" with the response "not for us" and "your criticisms seem inflammatory, not our style." I just decided to go unfiltered since it is an anti-corporate fascism and anti-media model. There is no synergy or corporate glad handing for these guys to promote. A little about me briefly: I worked as a journalist/editor for daily and weekly newspapers for a decade for companies like Gannett (Shreveport Times) and the Sun-Sentinel Community Newsgroup (Florida). I was also a national music journalist for publications like Metal Edge, Metal Hammer and Creative Loafing, among others. I quit in 2003 because I was tired of the corporate ethics trumping journalistic ethics. My experience in Shreveport, especially following 9/11 (you might recall Barksdale Air Force Base was where Bush first addressed the nation is in Shreveport) really was the final straw for me. So, decided to get my Master's in communication/rhetoric and I've been teaching rhetoric/persuasion/effective speech from the classical concepts of Cicero at Penn State ever since. My goal was help young students about to enter society gain the critical thinking skills they would need to defend themselves and really understand how rhetoric operates. Assessing credibility (ethos) and having what I call a BS detection kit is critical for a member of society not to become one of what Plato called the masses of asses who could not be trusted to know when they were being led astray by rhetoric.We teach our course from a civic engagement standpoint, so these skills are critical. I had been wanting to write a book for a long time, but it didn't all gel in my head until the Tea Bagger explosion at the town halls in Summer 2009. My book is a visceral response to that blending journalism and academics in the tone of George Carlin. I assure you it doesn't suck. I would not promote it here or anywhere if it was not something of which I could be proud. In addition to the political themes explored here which I know will be of interest to you guys, the music section is heavily, heavily grounded in my Pearl Jam experiences and their comments as well. I am using them as an example of what is RIGHT about music because they deliver "something sacred" to the audience. So, PJ fans there is definitely a huge Pearl Jam presence in this book. I did send a copy to the band a while back (an advance copy) and hope they enjoy it. I would love to hear any feedback from you guys as well. So, help a brother out will you? The platforms for voices unfiltered by corporate censorship are vanishing rapidly. There is a 1,000 word blurb on the Buy Books on the Web link (don't worry, this book is NOT another Super Size Me...it's just the intro to pervasive effects of advertising in the greater picture of the multi-pronged assault on us and our reasoning abilities). I have also included the link to it on Amazon (also available through Borders...Barnes and Noble in January). Anyway, thanks for reading. All those who value reason and facts....and like George Carlin and Bill Hicks will enjoy this book. Thanks again and take care.
Mark E. Kohler
Communication Arts and Sciences Penn State
http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product ... 414-6176-5
http://www.amazon.com/Exiled-America-Ma ... 588&sr=1-1
I can't believe I've been a Pearl Jam fan since 1991 and this is my first post to the forum. What the hell is my problem? lol Anyway, as a long time fan I think I have a pretty good idea of the tastes and political views of the majority of PJ fans. So, I wanted to make a plea to you guys to support me and my book Exiled In America: A Gen-X Journalist's View on Life, Politics, Culture, Religion and Social Control in the 21st Century. This is not a corporately backed book (I guess I didn't scream loudly enough about mice having human brains to interest corporate houses). I really just chose to to say the hell with it after my 30th rejection letter stated in a handwritten note that circled two items in my proposal letter "world run by public relations persuasion specialists" and "right wing whack jobs" with the response "not for us" and "your criticisms seem inflammatory, not our style." I just decided to go unfiltered since it is an anti-corporate fascism and anti-media model. There is no synergy or corporate glad handing for these guys to promote. A little about me briefly: I worked as a journalist/editor for daily and weekly newspapers for a decade for companies like Gannett (Shreveport Times) and the Sun-Sentinel Community Newsgroup (Florida). I was also a national music journalist for publications like Metal Edge, Metal Hammer and Creative Loafing, among others. I quit in 2003 because I was tired of the corporate ethics trumping journalistic ethics. My experience in Shreveport, especially following 9/11 (you might recall Barksdale Air Force Base was where Bush first addressed the nation is in Shreveport) really was the final straw for me. So, decided to get my Master's in communication/rhetoric and I've been teaching rhetoric/persuasion/effective speech from the classical concepts of Cicero at Penn State ever since. My goal was help young students about to enter society gain the critical thinking skills they would need to defend themselves and really understand how rhetoric operates. Assessing credibility (ethos) and having what I call a BS detection kit is critical for a member of society not to become one of what Plato called the masses of asses who could not be trusted to know when they were being led astray by rhetoric.We teach our course from a civic engagement standpoint, so these skills are critical. I had been wanting to write a book for a long time, but it didn't all gel in my head until the Tea Bagger explosion at the town halls in Summer 2009. My book is a visceral response to that blending journalism and academics in the tone of George Carlin. I assure you it doesn't suck. I would not promote it here or anywhere if it was not something of which I could be proud. In addition to the political themes explored here which I know will be of interest to you guys, the music section is heavily, heavily grounded in my Pearl Jam experiences and their comments as well. I am using them as an example of what is RIGHT about music because they deliver "something sacred" to the audience. So, PJ fans there is definitely a huge Pearl Jam presence in this book. I did send a copy to the band a while back (an advance copy) and hope they enjoy it. I would love to hear any feedback from you guys as well. So, help a brother out will you? The platforms for voices unfiltered by corporate censorship are vanishing rapidly. There is a 1,000 word blurb on the Buy Books on the Web link (don't worry, this book is NOT another Super Size Me...it's just the intro to pervasive effects of advertising in the greater picture of the multi-pronged assault on us and our reasoning abilities). I have also included the link to it on Amazon (also available through Borders...Barnes and Noble in January). Anyway, thanks for reading. All those who value reason and facts....and like George Carlin and Bill Hicks will enjoy this book. Thanks again and take care.
Mark E. Kohler
Communication Arts and Sciences Penn State
http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product ... 414-6176-5
http://www.amazon.com/Exiled-America-Ma ... 588&sr=1-1
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Comments
Good luck w/ that left-wing hit-job you're calling a book. Don't you know? If you want to make the NYT Bestseller's list, it has to have a conservative slant:
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-po ... eller-list
Why would anyone pay $30 to read what we get in the MSM everyday for free?
And in your profession, it's "Publish or Perish". Got tenure? Oooh.... too bad...
to the OP - good luck with your book ... the miseducation of westerners is running rampant and the notion of critical thinking is going by way of the dodo bird ... i hope you find an audience ...
why so antagonistic all the time? there are plenty of forums to act like that...don't want his book don't get it but there is no need to hide behind the anonymity of a forum post and act like that.
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
Thanks for the open mind and the attack on me without having read a single word of my book. It's 14.95 by the way...not $30. And also by the way, you could stand to benefit from what I tell my students every year...I don't care whether you are liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican or in between....learn the difference between socialization and education. Challenge assumptions, probe, ask questions, do research...get the skills to think for yourself. Don't believe what ANYONE tells you, including me. Check it out for yourself.
Not a big fan of the personal attack on the author, but ti certainly rasies a good question about the people that are teaching at universities. I have a good friend that is a professor at a University and it amazes me every day that she can't see that she is spouting off her opinions and teaching them as fact to her students.
It takes a special kind of person to teach certain subjects without injecting your own personal beliefs. I hope this author is one of those special people.
are you suggesting he is not qualified to teach at the university? ... is it because his theory does not sit with your own personal biases?
critical thinking is fast disappearing in our society today - whether or not you agree with the specific consequences he cites - that's your perogative however, if people don't start learning to dissect information adequately - we will be nothing but pawns of a corporate strategy ...
Well, it takes a special kind of person to also not understand that EVERYONE is biased in some way based on their framework of beliefs, values and knowledge. If a public speaking class dealing with civic engagement issues and significant social problems isn't the place to hear views from ALL sides, including mine...where is it OK? These students aren't living in a bubble. If they can't hear different points of view, examine facts and learn to make up their minds for themselves, what's the point of getting an education anyway? And if ALL I did was INDOCTRINATE from my own point of view I wouldn't be teaching there. Do you really think central PA is a liberal hotbed? Perhaps you should watch this, I show it to my students at the beginning of the year before they hear student speeches from MANY different points of view. This isn't a liberal math class.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colber ... ted-debate
Now where exactly did I do that?
I just said that, in my experience, college professors often include their personal beliefs and biases and present them as facts without even really knowing they are doing it (or some not caring).
I then said that it is difficult to teach certain subjects without presenting your opinions and beliefs as facts and that I hope this author was one of those special people. Never mentioned that he wasn't or did anything wrong. How would I know? I'm not in his class.
Lighten up francis, read what I said. I never said you did anything. I don't know you.
Just because 1 person attacked you...don't attack some else.
you said it raises a good question about people teaching at universities ... it's how i interpreted it ...
I didn't attack you either did I? I am sorry if I seemed like I did...I was defending myself. But your point is well taken. What you said at the end of your post must have slipped by..so again, sorry, but I am pretty passionate about what I do.
Yeah, it raises a good question. I think that is true. Not that every teacher does this, but it certainly raises the question about people teaching others. Teachers obviously have their own beliefs, opinions, biases, etc. And it would be hard to keep them out of your lectures I would think. Especially if you are very passionate about them...passionate enough to say, write a book.
still not sure what you are trying to say without saying it ...
professors often write books ... they are in academia - that's what they do ... part of being a professor is publishing journals and articles ... sometimes they write books ...
Well, I don't promote my book in class if that's what you are wondering. And as I said, a course that's all about interpreting rhetoric , the views of others and how it's constructed so one can learn the critical thinking skills to make up one's own mind about what others say is THE class to do this. But again, I really stick to the content of the course. Any opinions of mine are kept to a minimum, I just point them in the right direction to learn how to get a better understanding of an issue from a variety of sources and how to assess credibility on them. So far, I've gotten overwhelmingly positive feedback from my students all different political persuasions.
the book sounds interesting. good luck with it.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
I'm really not sure how much clearer I can be...someone passionate enough to write a book about something would have a hard time keeping that out of their teaching I would think. Not impossible, but difficult. Hence why some teacher do present their opinions as facts without realizing it. The subject matter makes a big difference. A right wing nutjob math professor would have a hard time presenting his political points as fact to students or in his papers about Differential Equations. Now, a rightwing nutjob that is teaching history...political science...journalism...etc. is much tougher.
People tend to simply disregard this issue and I think it's wrong.
I'm not even addressing this individual at all as I have no idea how he teaches.
No worries and thanks for the post! I am kind of used to it happening sometimes on these forums, especially when new. I posted to the Iron Maiden board on the last tour mentioning the ONE new song they were playing (which was highly advertised by the band itself) and you would have thought I broke in their house and killed their dog and set fire to it. It's all good. Thanks again.
Godfather.
Look, you certainly don't have to prove yourself to me. Your class sounds outstanding, even if you were injecting your own beliefs I'd be able to see through that.
Seriously though, sounds like a great class and good luck with your book. Takes a lot of effort to do something like that and it's great to have that kind of passion. I was trying to talk about the topic in general, your post and the first response made me think of it. Perhaps I've derailed your thread...but at least you have gotten a bunch of bumps out of it.
On another note, I think the liberal brain washing done by professors is WAY over blown. Most of us who went through University will attest that a majority of our professors didn't even know our names and barely addressed the class. Mostly it was GA's until more advanced classes.
Now in your history style classes maybe.. but even then it's sortof the topic.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
uhhh ... like i said ... most professors publish ... it's part of their job ... it's part of being in academia ...
I think those that take the opportunity to promote carrying guns in classes after a shooting somewhere are more insidious than anything I've ever done. We've got about 27 students in each our classes and I really make the effort to get to know each and every one of my students. I know ALL their names by the end of the second week. I try to engage them as people. And they are smart enough to figure out for themselves where I stand and that I am not out to indoctrinate or hurt them. Hey, we've got Alabama here too...as they say about PA between Pitt and Philly...lol. I've had students like that too...and I direct them to several sources on the issues and they usually see they've been socialized more than they've been educated. Seems like EVERYTHING that doesn't jibe with ideology these days is labeled as indoctrination. I saw a great bumper sticker when I first got here that said "Liberal or just well educated?" Please don't flame me for that..lol.
LOL...seems like I may have a moth like attraction to the flame though.
See there, you probably just sold 100 books on here simply b/c I said I wouldn't buy it.
You're welcome.
It's all good...you do raise an important issue though. There are a lot of teachers who don't know where the line is or even if they've crossed it.
LOL...thanks! Just curious, if Pearl Jam recommended it, would you buy it then? But really it's all good. Everyone is entitled to say, like and buy whatever they want. It's a "free" country right?
Hail Hail HIPPIEMOM
Wishlist Foundation-
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I hear you and it's all good. Like you, I am a longtime fan, but fairly new at posting here (and as you can tell, I have quite a band of "enemies' already- probably b/c I disagree like an asshole.)
I know that in the academic world, my professors were constantly struggling to publish their work. That's who I heard the phrase, "Publish or Perish" from. Quite a competitive field w/ so many people vying for tenure, etc...
You're right, I did not read your book, but several words that you said were in it would keep me from doing so; much like the comments from the last publisher you spoke of.
-Right-wing whack job, Teabagger, etc... It's not personal, but when an author uses these words, he/she is already alienating half of their potential audience. (Potential publishers see that- and there's not a lot of money in publishing left-leaning books right now anyways- not that your's is- but the catch words make it seem that way).
I'm sure your book has a lot to offer- maybe you can make the same points w/ the use of words like "tea-partiers" instead of "teabaggers". (Let's be honest-Teabagger is intended to insult: Not gonna sell.)
And if you can get ED to endorse it, I'll buy 2 copies. Deal?
No hard feelings and good luck w/ the book.
(The kids in the hall are gonna have field day w/ this one: Me advising someone to tone down the rhetoric)
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce