On average, three dollars is typically donated proving that humans are innately altruistic.

Let’s run the experiment one more time except this time let’s change the amount you are allowed to give from -$1 to $10, -1 being that you can now take one dollar from the next person. On average the number was zero for this experiment, proving that humans are not all that altruistic this time.

Now let’s run the experiment one last time but further change the amount you are allowed to give from -$10 to $10. So now you are able to take all ten dollars of the next person an and leave with twenty dollars if you so choose. What do you think the results of this experiment turned out to be?

On average, -$1.5 dollars was chosen; the participants anonymously stole $1.5 dollars from the next person.

This was just one of the stories told by Stephen Dubner at his guest lecture at UNCG on March 25. Although he does not proclaim himself to be an economist or even to know anything worthwhile in the field, he co-authored Freakonomics with Steven Levitt — who, incidentally, is an economist. Knowing that Dubner is not an economist but rather a journalist is important to realize beforehand as the book is a record of dozens of economic anomalies presented in a very easy to understand and enjoyable fashion (the Dubner aspect of the book, I suppose).

On the whole, the lecture proved to be very interesting. Dubner was able to just appear on stage and instantly dive into an hour long lecture as if it were a comfortable conversation piece. He easily segwayed from one economic topic on to another and made the audience forget that each topic, which was presented more like a story, was on the often-boring and mundane subject of economics, which is often called the dismal science as it tries to reduce the splendors of life down to mathematical equations.

The other interesting story of the lecture was the story of Yale economist Keith Chen and his idea of introducing the notion of bartering with money to capuchin monkeys. The purpose was to introduce the idea of exchanging money for food and see if the monkeys somehow exhibited some sort of behavior that we humans could learn from.

The enclosure was separated into two main cages, one where several capuchins lived and another which was empty where the assistants would interact with the monkeys. The two rooms were separated by a gate. Every day, Chen and his assistants would open the gate to let one monkey into the empty room and give him several small plastic discs. They would then take them out of the monkey’s hands as they gave him grapes. They repeated this process for several months until they monkeys began to understand that when they give the humans two discs they receive a bowl a grapes. This was the first phase of the experiment.

Chen then began to alter certain aspects of the monetary system. For instance, they raised the price of grapes to four discs while leaving the price of bananas to two. The capuchins picked up on the price hike and went without the more expensive but tastier grapes in favor of the bananas in order to save more discs. Another incident of the price hike was the robbery of several discs. One day when the capuchin was in the empty room and presented a tray full of discs he smashed the tray backwards so that the discs flew into the other room for everyone else. The monkeys exhibited a lot of the same behaviors that humans do with money, even in hard times.

It was during this time that Chen noticed something very unexpected. He watched one of the male capuchins gather several discs from his private stash, walk up to one of the females, give all of the discs to her, have sex with her and then walk away. Chen had witnessed capuchin prostitution.

One last interesting tidbit that I picked up from the lecture was that of the realtor and pimp and the value they bring to the table. If you’re trying to sell your house, hiring a realtor to sell it will yield a smaller return on investment than a prostitute who uses a pimp. Dubner calls this the “pimpact.”

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1. The Prevailing American Right
2. If I Had Money…
3. Higashiyama Zoo

In order to be classified as a North Carolina resident a form much be filled out and handed back to the registrar’s office. Universities are businesses like any other really with a single goal: to make money. They institute a policy where anyone who has lived in the state of that university for at least one year is considered a resident of that state and is privy to reduced rates on their tuition. Everyone else must pay the out-of-state fees. The difference between the two classifications can sometimes mean double or more in fees. UNCG’s estimated cost of attendance for the 2008-2009 year for a resident is $4,527. The fees for an out-of-state student is $15,798. That’s nearly a 3.5 times hike in price! So with this kind of incentive to be classified as an in-state student, it’s no wonder they take advantage in collecting information.

The application to be considered an in-state student is so invasive that it’s questionable if it’s really a joke at times. Most of the questions are intended to be answered by the applicant and involve information about their parents but if the applicant is married then their spouse must also answer the questions — even if they are not attending or will ever attend the school. Some of the more interesting question –

8. List the secondary (high or preparatory) schools you attended in sequence

9. List ALL post-secondary schools (universities, colleges, junior colleges, community colleges, etc.) you have attended (including UNCG):

The form requires the name, address and starting and ending full date (month, day and year). If you’re married, you’ll have to also list all of the schools your spouse attended.

The form goes on to ask for the applicant’s father and mother’s information. This includes name, occupation and home address with a starting date. If your parents are divorced you will be required to answer questions about court appointed guardians of the children as well as their home address.

22. List in chronological order to date of this application ALL places you have spent at least seven consecutive days during the past three years. Your response must include your current address, all other places lived, and vacations.

This is one of the more implausible questions. They require the city and state of the place (it assumes that you haven’t visited anywhere outside of the US), the purpose of the visit and, again, the beginning and ending full date of the visit (month, day and year). If you’re married, your spouse will have to also list all of their locations.

22. Name each state or foreign country where you did each of the following during the last 24 months. List each time you did each such act. (If not done in the last 24 months, list where and when such acts were done the last time you did them; if never done at all, write “never.”):

Ignoring the fact that there are two questions marked as question 22, this question takes the cake. Beneath it are ten subquestions which ask for the state and full date (month, day and year) for each. These questions are: a) registered to vote; b) voted; c) called to serve on jury duty; d) acquired or renewed driver license; e) listed personal property for taxation in the county where you live; f) filed state income tax return and whether or not you filed as a resident or nonresident; g) acquired ownership of property for use as your principal dwelling; h) inclusive dates of such property ownership; i) whether the state income was withheld during the current year, the same question for the previous year, and if the total amount withheld was refunded; and j) registered/licensed a motor vehicle.

24. List the addresses at which you own and maintain personal property (clothing, furniture, cars, checking or savings accounts, stocks, bonds, pets, jewelry, appliances, etc.) and give the percentage of value (of such personal property) maintained at each address:

The form requires and address and the percent maintained at that address.

25. List all of your employment for wages in the last 24 months:

Job title, employer, address, starting and ending dates, and number of hours per week are required for each employment. If you’re married you’ll have to list your spouses employment as well.

28. If you (1) now live regularly with, (2) have lived during the immediately preceding 24 months with, or (3) continue to maintain close ties with and periodically live with another person who is a relative by blood, marriage, or court order (legal guardian), or (4) have been claimed within the immediately preceding 24 months as a dependent for taxation purposes by someone other than yourself, answer the following for each such person. (Answer for only one adult person at each address.) If married, complete for spouse; (if separation occurred within last 24 months, complete for spouse; if divorce occurred within last 24 months, complete for ex-spouse).

This question is a two part question. The first part asks for the name, address, relation, previous address, if they’re a veteran and so on. The second part is the same as question 22 was with asking for voting dates and so on.

30. In support of your claim to North Carolina as your bona fide permanent residence you must attach copies of your residentiary acts including, but not limited to: your North Carolina driver license, vehicle registration, voter registration, North Carolina income tax returns, year-to-date cumulative wage earning statements from all jobs held during the current year, listing of personal property taxes, etc;

31. If you are basing your residency upon your spouse’s North Carolina residence, include a copy of your marriage certificate and copies of your spouse’s residentiary acts (listed above);

All sorts of extremely confidential documents are requested in those two questions but what are you to do? If you want to attend the school and would like to avoid the outrageous surcharge tacked on when being classified as an out-of-state student, then you have no choice but to divulge any and all personal information that they require. You can’t refuse to less they deny your acceptance or North Carolina resident status; you can’t falsify any information otherwise you risk being expelled or being denied the diploma that you’ve worked for; you can’t be concerned about seeking permission from the possibly many close people related to you to have their personal information included on your application form.

What is amazing is that all of this information will be consolidated into one form and handed over to one business for their storage. While information such as voting and motor vehicle registration isn’t too hard to come by, they are contained solely within that department — in looking up someone’s voting registration history you can’t find out about their income tax refunds. And of course we’re supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside knowing that UNCG won’t lose our information or leak it somehow, ignoring of course the recent security breach at the Financial Aid office which exposed banking information or the school’s history for such breaches.

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2. Placement Test 2
3. 79th Annual Commencement Exercises of Bennett College for Women

Without constraining herself, Kiki Smith, born in Germany 1954, uses a wide variety of media to express her thoughts, ideas and experiences. From drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, books, performance, sounds and video, Smith does not limit herself to any one particular medium. “My work has its own agenda,” she has said. “I think I am the most ordinary person, but then I have this art thing that’s using me.”

Her work often showcases the human body and different aspects of it both from a physical and psychological perspective, providing a sense of intimacy. Stretched out in one long sinuous zigzagging path, the human digestive system that is represented in Kiki Smith 1993 (1993, etching on Japanese paper) runs itself from the tongue to the anus. Abstract splashes in the background combined with a finishing sprinkling of water create a wrinkled and bubbled surface evoking the senses. Not only internal organs but the human body as a whole can be found in Smith’s works. Sueño/Dream (1992, etching and aquatint on handmade Japanese paper) displays the body without any skin, revealing the musculature structure of a human body. The figure is flayed in a fetal position, seemingly floating in a sea of white. This body is physically and psychologically vulnerable, with the lack of skin and positioning of the body and in this piece Smith has cleverly embodied the fragility of life. Adopting a sculptural approach to printmaking, Smith began the work using her own body lying on a copperplate and allowed the printer to trace her outline.

Classifying Kiki Smith as an artist from the feminist movement carries with it the danger that upon entering her exhibitions, a spectator’s ability to interpret her art without bias is jeopardized by certain preconceptions of feminist art. One of the movement’s goals is to reflect women’s lives and experiences and so we can expect that many of the works will involve or depict some aspect of femininity. As a result of feminist stereotyping this may also create an expectation that the exhibition’s tone will be that of anger or aggression and many of the transgressive works will be obscene or pornographic. While these expectations may be found in Smith’s other works, they were not particularly present in this display. A number of pieces depicted animals or inanimate objects, while others showcased human inner organs or body parts. However, there were a few pieces which played very well to Smith’s feminist classification such as Sueño or My Blue Lake.

How I Know I’m Here (1985 – 2000, linoleum blocks printed in four sheets Thai paper) showcases the artist’s own body, both inside and out, over sixteen feet. The piece consisted of many photographs taken by fellow artist and friend David Wojnarowicz of Smith biting her toenails, eating a watermelon, picking nits out of a child’s hair or picking her nose along with various key internal organs to portray the senses.  The print is presented as almost a narrative. The eye travels the length of the image back and forth spotting new organs or scenes with each pass. The beating heart offsets the breathing pair of lungs in the first panel while the stomach and brain surround Smith eating watermelon on the forth panel. All throughout there are dense lines depicting muscles, veins and nerves. In fact there is at least one thick, white vein which runs the course of all four panels. This combination of both internal and external depictions is a recurring theme in Smith’s works.

Taking an opposite and perhaps complementary approach to Sueño, in My Blue Lake (1995, photogravure, á la poupée inking and lithograph on mold-made En Tout Cas paper) Smith sets out to figuratively skin the woman of the painting. Here she peels the skin and presses it across the page in a nightmarish fashion, transforming her head, neck and shoulders into a flat typography. The title of the work suggests that laying the skin out flat creates a lake, with the woman’s head and shoulders creating an inlet. Her hair marks the ending point of the shore and blue brushstrokes throughout the skin further reflect the image of an inlet.

The layout of the works in the exhibit played very well to Smith’s versatility. In this exhibition alone Smith deals with the external and internal human body, animals both dead and alive, as well as abstract concepts. Etc., Etc. (1999, photogravure on mold-made hahnemühle) demonstrates the artist’s abiding interest in nature. The text running down the right edge, “Let me freeze again to death,” (quoting the poet John Dryden’s and Henry Purcell’s opera King Arthur, of 1691) is an allusion to the work’s themes of the cycle of the seasons and nature’s suspended state during the bleakness of winter.  Several other works including Bird Skeleton (2000, etching), Ginzer (2000, etching) and Falcon (2001, etching) followed before the viewer was confronted with Smith’s more renowned style depicting the body in How I Know I’m Here and Kiki Smith 1993 next. This gives the viewer a chance to ease into the exhibition before taking on some of the more provocative works.

Though the beginning of the exhibit did not immediately dive into Smith’s pieces which dealt with the human body, this did not detract in any way from her etchings. Further illustrating the artist’s capabilities for varied media, Smith’s etchings show a rich and detailed portrayal of animals, the subject of which are dead and taxidermic. Ginzer is an excellent example of Smith’s extreme style portraying the corpse of her cat which apparently was brought to her workshop after it had died . The finished etching takes on a morbid quality by capturing an inanimate corpse as an animal portrait. This was carried further in Falcon, another etching inspired from a taxidermic bird.

The death pose of Ginzer is strikingly reminiscent of the wolf in Born (2002, lithograph on mold-made T. H. Saunders paper). This is one of the many works of art in which Smith’s inspiration for her heroines springs from her readings of popular fairy tales. The Eastern European influence is evident with the portrayal of a more gruesome interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, following the tradition of the Brothers Grimm. The little girl and her grandmother are both shown wearing red capes and in a motherly embrace having sprung out of the dead wolf’s stomach. This lithograph took over three years to complete.

Animals are used as a focal point in many of the works. Carrier (2001, etching and aquatint in colors with hand-coloring, on En Tout Cas paper) shows six mice swimming in synchronization towards the left of the frame, with one of them riding piggy-back. The etching is devoid of any stark color variations, sticking with unsaturated blues and grays. The mysterious pool of water shows up again in Pool of Tears I (2000, etching, aquatint and chine collé) in which four mice are surrounding a woman figure which is representative of Alice from the fairy tale Alice in Wonderland — again referencing Smith’s favorite fairy tales. The sepia tone and “dry” look bring an almost nightmarish effect and carry on the morbid theme set in works earlier in the exhibition. Her use of animals as the main focal point continues in the collaborative effort with Susanna Moore’s Hunters and Gatherers (2003, seven etchings on hahnemühle). Smith’s illustrations provide the ideal backdrop for the open-ended haikus found in the book such as “The urgent serpent / mistook the rabbit for the / magician’s habit.”

Smith has not been one to apologize for or retreat from her style. In fact she has expressed the wish that her works were riskier.  Her oeuvre is both controversial and extensive in nature and therefore leaves much room for interpretation of meaning and substance. “It’s like making landscape painting — millions of people can do it for eternity and it can always be different,” she says. “There are so many aspects that never occur to you, and also some that do but you’ll never really get to.” This latest exhibit by Smith exemplifies her ability to move beyond the stereotypes of feminist art and her traditional boundaries. One gets the sense from this exhibition that she has stepped out of her comfort level and embraced the opportunity to experiment with new themes and ideas.

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2. “The Revenger’s Tragedy” Review

Departing from a strictly “traditional” theatrical production, “The Revenger’s Tragedy” begins with nearly all of the participants of a wedding celebration being murdered with machine guns and stage lights a blazing. Then, with the action having died down, a screen is lowered on to mid stage and the play’s title is projected. This is followed by brief shots of each of the main characters on the screen. First impressions hint at this adaptation using more innovative techniques and moving away from the traditional interpretation of the play.

The use of the projection screens throughout the play to introduce scenes or create the set, added to its overall look and feel and helped to detract from the industrial look of the rafters, pipes and metal cages which adorned the stage at all times. One of the more notable scenes was that of the park with a silhouette of trees projected against the back of the stage. At first the stage was alive with shadows of rustling trees but as the characters walked in front of the projector their shadows were cast against the back wall and the concept of the park was lost. These screens were also used to introduce scenes and act as a narrator for action in a clever and imaginative way. However, there are times when they were over used and detract from the action of the play. This occurred when the Duke (Max Waszak) and Vi (Emma Reaves) played Pac-Man which was projected mid stage. Although their dialogue is important to the play, the audience’s focus is on the Pac-Man game and not the main dialogue.

Though much attention was given to the use of a projection screen, the stage lights were for the most part underutilized. The scenes in Club de Lux used different colored lights to portray a night club scene and went further by using dancing extras. The major separation between background extras and foreground characters was not evident, leaving the audience lost and confused as to whom to focus on. This separation of action could easily have been achieved through the use of lighting and drawing the main dialogue to front stage. Instead we saw colored lights roving automatically across the stage and sometimes shining directly into the audience, temporarily blinding everyone.

At the time this play was written by Thomas Middleton, of course, directors did not have access to such contemporary effects as neon lighting and projection screens. This production is clearly a modern adaptation and writers Jim Wren and Joe Sturgeon deviated from the original significantly. As advertised, this adapted Jacobean revenge tragedy takes its inspiration from Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill.” As with the movie, “The Revenger’s Tragedy” begins with a murdered wedding congregation and one sole survivor, Vi, who then single-handedly seeks out and murders each of the people who had a part in her lover’s death. The ending of the play, in fact, also takes a page directly out of “Kill Bill” as Cassie (Rebecca Bruder) fires the ellipsis to the phrase “The End”, projected on the screen behind her using a hand gun. Wren and Sturgeon carried on the Tarantino legacy with excessive use of violence and profanity, although the consistency of these two elements is sometimes lacking. The result is a more satirical version of “Kill Bill” than any real homage to the female action thrillers, as suggested in the marketing materials.

The adaptation to change the main romantic relationship from a heterosexual one, as was the original, to a homosexual one between Vi and Gloria (Rebecca Nerz) lacked any clear, strong reason. Perhaps the lesbian relationship could have worked if only the actual relationship that inspired Vi to plot against The Duke and his family was developed more deeply. What was missing from this tragedy was an exhibition of the type of love that would drive a lover to carry out such violent and gruesome actions as were displayed in this play. While the ghost of Gloria is a character in the play, she is not fully utilized to tell the tale of the love of these two women. There is a feeling of disconnection and displacement of the character. The longing and despair at love lost is completely absent. What we are left with is almost empty violence.

With the lights, projector and music, this production tried too much to be like a movie and in the process forgot that it was supposed to be engaging the audience. Far too many sound effects through the sound system were either off queue or missed entirely. Entire fight scenes appeared odd as punches were heard before or after the physical punch would land. Guns were fired with the gunshot heard moments later — or at times not heard at all. Acting by most of the characters seemed too dramatic, with the exception of perhaps the incarcerated son of the Duke. The Duke was the most noticeable in facing the audience when he spoke his lines, a technique which is common in theater although his was the only character to consistently perform it. Other times actors would have their backs toward the audience, something which was repeated scene after scene by numerous characters, disconnecting the audience and isolating them.

However, there were some positive elements in the play. The use of metaphor was evident in costuming. Often red clothing was used alongside red lighting, creating a sense of foreboding and foreshadowing of the violence to come. In a Tarantino-like fashion, red was also used to signify death as Gloria appeared with flowing red sequins down her dress and blood flowing in the bathhouse after the Duke is murdered. These elements sometimes created humor amongst the audience in there overtly grandiose fashion. The blood coupled with gothic style costuming made the play seem like a cruel satire of the fairytale Cinderella. With Vi as the heroine and the two evil stepsisters Amber (Ali Bayless) and Susie (Rachel Loebs) along with their siblings tormenting Vi at every step of the way, elements of classic fairytales emerge. The dark twist to this fairytale, however, is found in the mass death at the end.

Overall the production was an interesting change to the more typical approach to theater. The use of projection screens, music and costuming was innovative and exciting. However, the focus on these elements of theater was at the expense of more traditional aspects — acting, plot and lighting among the most important. The audience was at times overwhelmed by the special effects and fanfare of the production and missed out any real character depth or plot development. It would seem that sometimes simplicity is the most important criterion to success.

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3. Review of Kiki Smith Art Exibition

学期が終わった一週間後、プロクシーに住んでいる学生が帰国しなければならないでしょう。UNCG の学区が 1 月 8 日に始まるので、私は 12 月 24 日に帰国しなければならなくても、リーのアパートに引っ越して、1 月 5 日まで残りました。それで、帰り期限が迫りながら、気持ちがだんだん悪くなると分かります。すぐ、時間が迫ります。

日本にいる過ごしたのはすばらしかったでしょうか。したいことが全部しましたか。帰国した後に、逆カルチャーショックに苦し むかもしりません。寂しくなるかもしりません。すぐ日本に帰る気になるかもしりません。離日するというだけで、日本にいる間に友達が作るのを失うというわ けではありませんよ。私達は相談に乗りますよ。

無事の帰宅を祈りしていて、私と連絡が途絶えないで下さいね。

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例え。1600 年からのアジア文明というクラス（HIS 216）では、水曜に地図上でいろいろ地域名と都市の位置を示すというのマップクイズがある。非西洋諸国の地理というクラス（GEO 104）では、外に出かけて見聞するというの 1 枚レポートを書かなきゃ。信じられないね。

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2. 日本語はハードワークですよ

メールをオレに送ってもらう友達が多いで、まだ返事をしなかったね。ごめんなさい。だってみんなからメールを見て読むたびに、泣き出す。毎日毎日まだ泣き出しそうだ。今週末にメールの返事を書いてみる。

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1. 終業日

少なくとも明日の夜は早朝までのパーティーがある。

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初めは 7 月まで日本に日本語を勉強するつもり。でも、来たから日本のことをすごく楽しんでいるから、4 月 6 日に僕の大学（UNCG）に以上滞在したいのを要請するというメールを送った。先週にやっと返事を受け取った（1ヶ月待った！）。

12 月末まで日本に滞在する！！（^^）

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今学期僕は多くを学ぶ。

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